A/N: Thanks for voting! I really appreciate it. This chapter is for all you guys that stuck with me and reviewed through all of this, but especially for The Critic Zoa for keeping me grounded and pointing out flaws to me all throughout. Oh yeah, and Whitney is touched by all your well wishes. She says thanks.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Squeenix, or Disney. (I do own a Mickey Mouse watch I bought in Disney World this past summer. It plays music. You know the song in Disney Castle in KH2? Yeah…that song…)

Chapter 20-Epilogue

Life works in the funniest ways. Mind you, folks, I don't mean funny in a 'ha ha' way. I mean funny in a queer way. No pun intended, I assure you. When a little girl imagines the future, there are a few things that always come to mind. One thing in particular. If you were ever a little girl, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Her wedding. A little girl always pictures her wedding. Some things are key in this mental image. For example, the vision of walking down the aisle of a church in a white dress on the arm of your father. Everything is wonderful and beautiful and perfect, just as it should be. The girl is happier then she's ever been, and maybe a bit nervous. All the attention resides on her and her alone. Sure, there is the groom, but he's merely playing a role. Everyone knows that the wedding is all about the bride, as it should be.

You see, it's my wedding today. The happiest day of my life. I've always imagined exactly how it would look in my mind. I've always pictured it and replayed the way things would happen. I'd wear an elegant, yet simple, dress and my father would lead me down the aisle of that beautiful church with the gigantic stained glass window. The pews would be filled with smiling people, all amazed and breathless at the sight of my beauty, if only for that day. The man of my dreams would be waiting for me at the end. My mother would be in the front row crying her eyes out. Everyone I had ever loved and cared about would be there to bear witness to my most special moment. Everything would go off without a hitch and I would be joined with that most perfect man. Birds would sing and bells would ring and everything would be right with the world. The dreams of a child.

This brings me back to my initial thought. Life works in the funniest ways. Of course I'm about to marry the man of my dreams, but that is the only part of my dream that is the same. Forget about the church. I'm getting married in a graveyard. It might seem morbid to you, but it makes perfect sense to me. I wanted my parents to be at my wedding and this was the only way that could happen. Because, you see, my parents both died before I was five. I never really met my mother. She was murdered at the age of fourteen. My uncles constantly tell me that I look just like her. Uncle Roxas was my mother's twin, so I guess he would know. Still, I look at the one picture that I have of my parents together and I can't see it. We have the same blonde hair and blue eyes, but she was so much more beautiful then I am.

Then, there's my father. He died when I was four. It was cancer. He was nineteen. I vaguely remember him, but not really. What I mostly remember was the way he used to hug me. It might seem like a weird thing to remember, but then again, my father has never hugged you. His hugs…they portrayed so much emotion. He'd lift me off the floor and clutch me to his chest like I was his last anchor to the world. He'd nearly squeeze the life out of me sometimes, but I never minded because his hugs always made me feel safe and loved.

So, yes, I'm getting married in the graveyard where my parents are buried. My mother won't cry for me and my father won't walk me down the aisle, but that's okay. I guess they're sort of here in spirit, as cliché as that sounds.

I think they would have liked my decision. I do that a lot, you know. Make my decisions based on what I think my parents would have liked. Of course, I don't really know what they would have wanted, so maybe that's just my subconscious way of justifying my decisions, but they would have wanted me to be happy, so maybe, in a roundabout way, I do make decisions based on how they'd want me to. Does that make any sense? I like to think, that maybe because I'm in the graveyard, they can see my wedding. Who's to really say? I'm not really sure if I believe in God, but I'd like to think there's a heaven. There just has to be something about there that's better then this…better then life.

But I'm getting off subject. When I was a little girl, I always had that picture perfect wedding in mind. Now, though, I'm about to get married in a graveyard. There's only a handful of my closest friends and family here to witness it. Things most certainly have no gone off without a hitch. I've had emotional breakdowns and doubts and have even flown off the handle a few times. My father won't walk me down the aisle…but my dad will.

I've lived with Daddy Zexion-it was a childhood nickname that just sort of stuck-for thirteen years, since I was eight. Before then, I lived with Gramma Ariel-who's actually my uncle Axel's mother, neither of whom are related to me by blood-but when my dad graduated from college he took custody of me, as was stated in my father's will. They were dating when my father died. Yeah, my father was bi and Daddy Zexion is gay. What of it?

Wow…I'm just having the hardest time staying on subject today, aren't I? Life works in the funniest ways. I'd always imagined an improbable scenario as the picture perfect wedding, but now, as I stand here on Daddy Zexion's arm and uncles Axel and Roxas are sitting on the benches designated for the bride's family, along with Gramma Ariel and my grandparents from my mother's side, the only family I have in the world, I see that I was wrong. As we walk down the aisle, made between the rows of benches and I see my husband-to-be looking at me as if I were the only girl in the world, I realize my picture of perfection was tragically skewed. As my dad lifts my veil, kisses my cheek, hands me off to my fiancé, and I get that feeling that I always did whenever my father used to hug me and I know that my parents really are here with me, I realize that picture perfect is exactly this.

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A/N: Huh. So that was completely and totally unplanned and unexpected, but guess what. I love it! Jeez, writing from Lyric's perspective was wonderful. God, I can't believe this is over. I loved writing it and I hoped you enjoyed reading it, sad ending and all, though I'm not quite so sure it's all that sad with this last chapter. Thank you so much for all the support you've given me. I'd greatly appreciate it if you would review one final time. Thanks.

VampyreQueen