9 . 2 . 10

Last chapter! Ahh!

It might have been the end of the world, except for the fact that everything then went black, and Faidn found himself a moment later in the sickroom, on his back on the floor. He stared up at the ceiling, unable to comprehend everything that had happened in the last hour. Everything he had just experienced could not have actually happened. It just wasn't possible.

"Iriana!" Lilliana screamed when Iriana sat up on the bed, disoriented, and Faidn had to sit up very quickly to avoid having his head trampled by the overjoyed princess.

Nre was right behind her daughter, rushing to her friend's side. Rare tears glistened in her eyes as she sat on the bed and embraced Iriana, who was starting to cry in relief. Faidn stood up, blinking a little against the vertigo, and looked over at the reuniting group, a funny feeling in his stomach.

"You made it," Carvin said, coming up behind him.

Faidn tore his eyes from the girls and looked at his friend. He realized with a jolt that Carvin looked younger than he had in years. His eyes were shining with relief.

"I guess I did," Faidn muttered, looking down at himself, as if to reassure himself that he hadn't actually died. "I mean, it seems that way, huh?"

"And you saved Iriana," Carvin said, grinning.

"It was... Karl," Faidn said with difficulty, not wanting to give up the credit for that, but unable to truthfully say it was him. He made up for this annoying fact by throwing a modifier onto the end of Karl's name. "The scallawag."

"Right, and I'm sure you had no part in it at all," Carvin said, chuckling.

"Well, maybe a little," Faidn allowed, remembering the kiss forcefully.

He felt lightheaded for a moment and put a hand on the foot of a bed to steady himself. Searing pain shot through his hand and he bit back a shout, pulling his hand back to look at it more closely.

"Ouch," Carvin said, joining his friend in examining the appendage.

It was red and puffy, and blisters were starting to form on the palm and fingers – from the heat of the dragon's scales. Small lacerations oozed blood and puss. Faidn was not impressed.

"Stupid overgrown flying newt," he grumbled, looking at his other hand and realizing that the damage was the same.

"How did this happen?" Carvin asked, looking at his friend's injuries in disbelief.

"A dragon," Faidn said without much thought, looking around the room for a cabinet that would have some sort of medical supplies in it.

He hadn't noticed the pain until he'd looked at it, and now his hands were killing him. He could feel every heartbeat in his fingers: agonizing pain.

"Oh, a dragon," Carvin said, adopting his friend's nonchalant tone and shrugging. "No big deal. Easy work for a mighty general like you."

Faidn couldn't help laughing at the obvious shock that lay beneath Carvin's words.

"Right," Faidn replied, nodding. "No problem at all, really. Iriana's a quick thinker, too."

He glanced over at her; she was reliving the battle in glorious detail to Lilliana, who was hanging on every word. Nre looked very pale. Carvin noticed his gaze.

"She helped?" he said, sounding a little surprised.

"I couldn't have done it without her," Faidn said honestly.

And, truthfully, he was alright with that.

"Well," Carvin said, raising his eyebrows. "It sounds like you two are a good team."

"Yeah, I think we are," Faidn said, knowing that Carvin was talking about more than the dragon. "I need her." He paused, then added: "I also need something to put on my hands, before I cut them off."

Carvin laughed, waving him over to the cupboard by the door. As they got closer to the door, Faidn turned his gaze to Swana and Karl, who were by the door. She was kneeling at Karl's side, her forehead on the palm of his hand. He was in the middle of lecturing her, such a bizarre turn of events that Faidn wondered if he hadn't died after all.

"...you that that was stupid. 'Oh, there's enough magic!' you said, well, how'd that work out for you, child-wonder? You about killed yourself trying to get out of there."

"Don't pretend you care," Swana muttered tiredly. "And stop yelling. My head aches."

"Karl's been like this ever since you all went in," Carvin said in a voice just loud enough to be heard over Karl's strident tones.

He smeared some burn solution onto Faidn's hands; Faidn bit his tongue and closed his eyes, trying not to think about his hands. It was very easy to focus on Karl instead.

"Your head aches!" Karl shouted. "I'm the one who pulled five people out of a blooming enchanted object, and then did half the work getting you out again, since you about passed out."

"Karl, stop."

Carvin wrapped his hands in gauze and Faidn winced.

"Sorry," Carvin said apologetically. "Try asking Karl if he can make them any better – if he ever stops yelling at Swana."

"Yeah, I might," Faidn said, looking warily at the fiari and the sorceress. Carvin walked over to his wife and put his arm around her.

"No!" Karl said, furiously. "You're the one always yelling at me for doing stupid things, and now you went and did something absolutely insane and expect me to treat you like a human being? No! I will not respect you! I will not be kind! I will do whatever the—"

"She's asleep," Faidn said loudly, cutting off Karl's rampage.

Swana had indeed fallen asleep, her sweaty forehead resting against Karl's smooth hand. With a look of intense aggravation, Karl gently lowered her head to rest on his leg instead, but kept his hand on her head. Faidn assumed he was doing something magical, probably about her lack of magic that Karl had been grumbling about, but didn't ask. He walked over and sat beside Karl. The fiari's emotions were palpable in the air; his aggravation was ebbing sulkily.

"It worked," Karl said, his face brightening as he pulled his mind away from the infuriating sorceress. He turned to Faidn with a bit of a smug smile. "Although, if it hadn't worked, that would certainly have been a kiss to die to. You really have no mind control whatsoever. I was jealous."

"It did work," Faidn agreed, glancing up at Iriana; she was now hugging Carvin. He looked back to Karl, who was examining him with an odd look. "Jealous?"

"It was... pure," Karl said, hesitating on his words. "Very interesting, I suppose." He paused, then adopted his normal smirk and nudged Faidn. "It was my idea," he reminded him. "Don't forget that when you're happily married with two dozen children, living off in the wilderness someplace."

"Not the wilderness, the palace," Faidn said with a resigned look. He wasn't sure if it was a good sign or a bad one that he didn't mind living in a palace if it meant Iriana was going to be his wife.

"Well, I guess – if you want," Karl said, looking taken aback. "But since Iriana's no longer the heir to the throne..."

"Wait, she's not?" Faidn said, very confused.

"No," Karl said, raising his eyebrows with a superior air. "Did you miss that part of the spell? Whoever breaks the spell is the next ruler of Grendath."

Faidn vaguely recalled hearing something like that, but he hadn't really comprehended what that had meant at the time.

"So, I don't have to be prince-consort?" he said tentatively.

"By the left, no," Karl said, making an awful face. "And a great job you'd do mucking that one up, if you were. Iriana's a regular girl now. Or, will be, as soon as the spell takes effect and her parents come to the sudden and spontaneous realization that Swana would make a much better leader of their country."

"Swana?" Faidn asked, frowning.

"It was Swana's wish that broke the story-spell," Karl said. "I've got the next ruler of Grendath curled up on my lap. Isn't that just precious."

His voice was not at all endearing as he recalled that he was angry at the woman. He nudged her head with an annoyed look.

"She should be waking up here in a few seconds. I'm giving her enough magic to raise a cat from the dead."

Faidn looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Figure of speech," Karl said, rolling his eyes. "She needs to wake up so I can keep yelling. After all these years of bondage, I owe her a nice long lecture before I hit the road."

"Hit the road?" Faidn asked.

Karl nodded, his face oddly emotionless, though Faidn supposed it was due to his exhaustion – physically, mentally, and magically.

"Reese finally used her last wish, and about time, too. I'm a free fairy now."

"Watch out world," Faidn muttered.

Karl gave him a glare, but it wasn't nearly as venomous as usual. He looked down at Swana, who was still peacefully asleep.

"A lecture isn't worth getting magic from actual trees," he finally decided. "Got a blanket?"

Faidn gingerly handed him a blanket that was on the floor, wincing at the pain that tore through his hands. Karl noticed the grimace and put the blanket down.

"Injuries from the dragon?" he asked, holding out a hand expectantly.

Faidn warily placed his hands in the fairy's. Karl closed his eyes and barely brushed his finger along Faidn's wounds. The skin grew together, and the swelling all but disappeared. Karl opened his eyes and grinned.

"I love flower-magic," he said with a self-absorbed air. "I can't usually do that, since I'm generally not supposed to take magic from flowers, who do a lot of self-healing. I take it from the trees, who much prefer to let their scars heal in time."

"Thanks," Faidn said, a bit against his better judgment.

The fairy grunted noncommittally, his attention back on the sleeping woman. He set Swana's head on the blanket on the floor with a strange amount of care; she slept on, oblivious. After a last long look at his former master, he stood up and looked around the room. No one paid him any mind, except Faidn, who stood beside him. Their relationship was odd and jilted, but Faidn still nodded at the fairy in farewell. Karl saluted, mockingly, and then left the room free of obligations and cares.

After a hesitant moment, Faidn walked over to Iriana's bed and sat next to her as she finished her story of their encounter with the dragon. He thought she was downplaying her involvement a bit, but she elbowed him whenever he tried to add comments.

"This is my story," she said firmly. "You can tell your version later."

"But no one will want to hear the same story again," he pointed out, thinking that this entire ordeal was a bit unfair.

"I will!" Lilliana shouted. "And Ceecee and Mittie haven't heard it at all."

"See?" Iriana said smugly, smiling at him.

He stuck his tongue out. Lilliana laughed.

"Anyway, back to the story," Iriana said, looking back to Lilliana and raising her eyebrows as if she was far above Faidn's silly interruptions.

Faidn rolled his eyes exagerratedly behind her back. Lilliana slapped her hand over her mouth to hide a giggle. Carvin snorted as Iriana turned around, a peeved look on her face.

"Do you mind?" she said, folding her arms.

He smiled innocently, and she couldn't help smiling back. He found that his head was fuzzy whenever she was around, but he decided that he didn't mind that very much. He allowed her to finish her story with minimal interruptions. When she finished, she sat back on the bed, and her shoulder rested against his. The fuzziness got fuzzier. He missed the next few lines of conversation, until Rose's name brought his attention back.

"Where is Rose now?" Iriana asked.

It seemed they had been filling her in on what had happened since she'd fallen asleep. His brain might have been inhibited longer than he'd thought. She was apparently bad for his mental capacities. He thought about that a moment, then settled more comfortably against her shoulder.

"She and Der—Aerin left before you returned," Nre said. "She took him on a tour of the castle, I think."

"I see how much she cares about me," Faidn grumbled, but not seriously. It was hard to be annoyed when the soft smell of daisies was floating around his head.

"She said she knew you'd make it out," Lilliana said, folding her arms. "But I didn't. Hughes is crazy. Was crazy."

She looked over at a small patch on the floor that was slightly blackened; wisps of ash and paper were all that was left of the book.

"So, it's over," Iriana said, looking around the small group for confirmation.

"Swana said it was," Carvin said, looking over toward the door, where the redhead had been sleeping.

She was gone.

"Yup, it's over," Faidn said, satisfied. Swana wouldn't have left if everything wasn't perfectly taken care of.

Lilliana clapped happily.

"And there's no mushy ending!" she cried, grinning.

Iriana spared the barest look at Faidn.

"No mushy ending," she said, smiling at Lilliana and chuckling.

Iriana,

Your father and I have been doing a lot of thinking. We've decided that you're not suited to be the Queen of Grendath – something that I'm sure you realized long ago. We found an old law that states the King and Queen can appoint their successor if a suitable heir cannot be found. Do not worry; we have composed a very beautiful announcement that will not give you a bad name in any sense of the word.

You may choose to remain as a princess in the court, or you may follow your husband (whom I still have heard nothing about, darling) wherever he may go. In whatever case, you do need to come home soon. I hated to deliver this news to you via letter. Only my assurance in the fact that you would not be devastated by the announcement, and may in fact be relieved by it, compelled me to write this letter. We can speak of this in more detail when you come home.

Oh, we've chosen the enchantress, Swana, to be the next Queen. She's very highly esteemed by all the kings and queens of Ladyra, and an enchantress-queen should help re-establish Grendath's ties to the magical community. They've never been the same since that one wizard went missing shortly after your coronation, you know. It will just be better for everyone, I think, this way.

If you can, bring the General with you when you come. These war-councils are over now, I should think. After Berensia joined the conflict and the entire thing was thrown to the wayside, the General should have plenty of time to make the journey. I don't think your father will hold it against him that Berensia joined on the opposite side of the war, but do warn him of your father's moods.

I will see you soon, dear.

Your loving mother and queen,

Thyatira.

.

So, I know that probably didn't wrap everything up as neatly as you would have liked. But, please think twice before you yell at me. After you think twice, go ahead. --readies self--

Faylinn: A great song for this story... o.O --laugh-- Yes, sorry. Some of them were worse than others, but I'm glad it didn't keep you from appreciating any of the other content, because I spent quite a bit of time on that chapter. Quite a bit. After this one? Hm, you'll have to see, now won't you? --grin and wink-- Rest assured, I don't think I'll stop writing anytime soon.

Pimpernel Princess: Thanks! I'm glad the switches worked out well for you. Yeah, some more description of Iriana's magic will probably come in on the rewrite – it was a little sketchy. I'm glad you liked the fairy-tale kiss! It was long in coming. --grin--

Captain Fantastic: Oo. I think you should do it more often; the review is oh-so-much longer and lovlier. --smile-- Ha! I knew you'd be happy that you completely called the dragon. Brava, Captain. Yeah, I had to defy it. That would be far too easy. And they also would have been covered in guts, which was not part of the plan. --laugh-- Yeh, description doesn't come naturally to me. --wince-- Duly noted. Whoohoo! – I'm glad the adjective did that. It was semi-purposeful. --grin-- Ssh, it gets skewered in a minute! --laugh-- Yay! I'm glad that line struck you. And yes – Karl, of course, couldn't let a sweet moment go untainted. And I'm also glad you liked the last line. Huzzah! Oh, fragmentation is alright; it was a lovely and long review, as I mentioned above, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hm, it's interesting that that's considered more mature. I feel like I've used that before, only thinking of it as an alternative style as opposed to a "better" one. It's good to know that it is considered more advanced; perhaps I should delve into it a bit more. Though I would miss the wry comments only really available through reported thoughts... but ah, well. I'll come to some conclusion. Thank you for the tip! And, here's your book! --hands it over--

Eva: It's alright, I understand. You're a busy woman. I was wondering where you had gone, though; I was starting to think that you maybe had stopped reviewing, or worse, reading! But, I'm glad to know that you haven't. Oh! Really? You were holding your breath? --delighted laugh-- Well, the spider threads are the book's magic, reaching out to get her, to suck her into the book. Does that make sense? Hughes was trying to "rope her in" as it were, when she was outside the book – those were the spider threads. And they were the book's magic. Now, she's inside the book and using the book's magic, so she is kinda using the spider threads if you want to think of it like that – isn't it nice how she turned things around from being haunted by them to making use of them? Oh, I'm glad you've come to love Iriana; weren't you one of the readers who was saying at the beginning that Iriana was rather flat? Thank you so much for all your glowing comments!

Mazkeraide: You were the only one. You get points for that. --laugh-- (I enjoyed Avatar, but, then again, I went into it expecting a go-green-hippy-animal-rights type movie, so I was pleasantly surprised at the parts that weren't like that. And I liked the animation. O.O) Well, there's your ending! Take it or leave it. --grin-- I'm glad the POV switches worked for you; I just couldn't figure out any other way to make that whole scene flow, and be able to see into both of their heads, without it. Oh, Mazzie. Fine. Here's Fidoglio's latest book, Blood and Rime. Roderic found it frighteningly compelling. Enjoy.

So I'm not going to write a long and emotional note to you all, because I feel I probably do enough of those to last everyone the rest of their lives. Instead, I'm going to say thank you to everyone who reviewed, and an especial thanks to those of you who reviewed on a mostly-regular basis (Faylinn, Eva, Captain, Mazzie, Pimpernell Princess, and anyone else I forgot). All you reviewers get some gold stars for sticking with this story through two hiatuses. You guys make me a better writer, and I appreciate every bit of encouragement and constructive criticism I can get.

As for what I'm writing next... I've decided that Nasap's rewrite has finally come due. I'll be posting it as a separate story from the original, because I don't want to lose all of my thoughtful reviews. You should start seeing some movement in that venue soon, so keep your eyes open for something like "Not All Surprises Are Pleasant: Revisited." (Doesn't that just sound like the stuff of nightmares...)

Reviewers get a piece of end-of-fic cake!