Chapter Thirty: A Happy Ending

Haru sighed as she lay back on the soft grass, not bothering with a blanket, since her parents would be around shortly in order to pick her up. Hiromi, on the other hand, was bundled against the approaching night chill, lying on her back, and almost asleep. But it wasn't very often that Haru had time to stargaze, and she wasn't about to waste it by dozing.

"Hey, Hiromi?"

"What?" the girl mumbled at her, waking up at her.

"Do you ever wonder what we're doing down here, instead of up there?" She pointed up at the stars. The petite redhead groaned.

"No, not really. Why, do you want to be an astronaut?"

"Nah. I mean, what are we supposed to do down here? Don't you want to leave a mark when you're gone?"

"Haru, it's a little late for such deep thoughts. Oh look, it's your dad."

The brunette sat up, seeing the headlights of the family car. She sighed, and stood up in order to pick up her camping equipment.

"See you when school starts."

Her friend nodded, and trudged back into her house. Her dad parked the car, helped her load her stuff in the back, and then they headed home.

On the way, Haru watched the stars from her window as the trees passed by.

'I don't know about Hiromi, but I'd like to leave a mark that will last past my death.' She looked up at her father. "Daddy, what are we supposed to do when we're alive?"

The man shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road.

"To leave this world a better place than we found it. Why do you ask?"

The girl shrugged, finding more peace with her father's answer than her best friend's.

"Just curious."

ooOoo

Haru groaned, feeling her head with one hand. A pounding headache had taken over her senses, but it was thankfully fading as she regained consciousness. She slipped her slim fingers through her scalp, a little surprised that the strands were as long as the wig, even though it was really her hair.

'I knew it. Wear the wig too long, and it merges with your head. Oh well, at least it's a decent look on me. The slim brunette sat up, a blanket falling into her lap.

She looked down… to see Baron's jacket. Someone yawned next to her. Haru looked over, and saw Aaron, fast asleep with Muta also snoring softly on his other side. But the tawny human was wearing Baron's clothes.

'What? How on earth did he get here?' She looked around, a little stunned as to where 'here' was. She was in a beautiful little clearing, which framed a small and beautiful lake.

It was exactly how she had envisioned the place that Brimstone would be defeated in.

'But how did I get here? I'm pretty dang sure I didn't write myself into the book. Maybe Aaron has a clue as to what's going on.' Sighing a bit, she reached over, and started massaging one of his shoulders. He began to move around in his sleep, murmuring contentedly.

"Come on, Aaron. I want to talk to you."

He opened his glorious green eyes, and looked straight into her soul.

"Yes?" he enquired, smiling softly at her. Haru stared, unable to believe it.

Although Aaron had been Baron's double, she had been able to spot out the differences between them almost immediately. The way Aaron looked at her had always been just a shade different then how Baron looked at her, and Aaron had a different smile as well.

But she had never seen that distinctly feline smile on those lips, even when he was teasing her. And his eyes… they seemed to suck her in, promising to never let go. They were eyes that knew her, heart and soul, in a way that Aaron hadn't quite known her.

But Baron did.

Shaking a bit, she leaned forward, and cupped that human face between her hands in order to examine it closer. Yes, she could still see some traces of Aaron in that face, but…

"Baron?" she whispered, wondering if she had gone mad. He grinned at her, and pulled her onto his lap, softly inhaling the scent of her hair.

"Correct on both accounts, actually. Feel free to call me whichever name you feel like. To be truthful, names don't matter that much to me."

Haru started hyperventilating.

"What happened?"

He started laughing at her.

"To me or to you?"

"Um, let's start with you and go from there."

He laughed at her again, and kissed her cheek tenderly.

"Well, since Baron was the one you wanted, and Aaron was the one that you could be with, Rosemary decided to kill two birds with one stone, and merge us together. It's quite lucky that we had the same DNA in our veins, and that our personalities were so similar, or she might not have been able to do it." He kissed her cheek again, but this time it was a bit closer to the mouth.

"And now that I don't have to worry about silly restrictions like species and life spans, I can find the courage to tell you that I love you, Haru. I love your sweet spirit, and your courage. You're one of the bravest people I have ever known, and it would be the greatest privilege of my life to keep loving you, if you'll accept me."

Haru's jaw dropped.

"If?!" she whispered before wrapping one arm around his neck, and dragging down his face to meet hers so that she could kiss the daylights out of him.

Not that he minded in the least. A familiar purr worked its way through his throat, making the love of his life giggle helplessly as Muta continued to snore.

A new future began to unfurl in Baron's mind. When Toto came back with Rosemary and Rowan, after they informed the survivors of Brimstone's death, he and Haru would join their numbers, and help to rebuild the once mighty kingdom of Malgea. The soon-to-be-queen had experimentally tried to reach the outside world after Haru had made her entrance, but now that the book was finished, the portal between the worlds was gone forever.

In their home world, people would continue their search for Haru, possibly for years until they gave her up for dead. Although he knew that this would cause his sweetheart pain, he also knew that she wouldn't regret her decision to renounce her former life for Malgea.

Especially since she was getting him out of the deal.

Suddenly, Haru remembered part of she had written before mysteriously falling asleep.

'Those loyal to the princess and her beloved were rewarded with their hearts' desire, even if they didn't ask for it.' She giggled, and hugged her beloved closer, realizing that it was she herself who had made it possible to be with the man she loved. And now that she had her heart's desire, she would never let him go.

'Rosemary! I'm impressed!'

ooOoo

In the Human Kingdom, there is a library. Within the library, there is a secret room that no living person knows about.

And within that room, there is a book, protected against the changes time usually bestows on paper, and protected forever from the outside world.

And on the last page of that book, are written these words:

And so the wicked wizard was vanquished, and peace restored to the land. Those loyal to the princess and her beloved were rewarded with their hearts' desire, even if they didn't ask for it.

The princess, who soon became Queen Rosemary, spent the rest of her days mending the damage that had been done to the land and her people, which were sadly few in number at the time. And although it would be several centuries before Malgea could reclaim its former glory, that time would always be remembered for the courage of the people, who refused to lose hope in worst of circumstances.

For where there is hope, there will always be a way.

ooOoo

Lots of love to; Lunarobi Pride, Bambi4ever, Thundercat, Archon Dragon, Chantal, Rebel of my Destiny, Ghost Wulf, NinjaoftheDarkness, kittydemon18, gacktxx, Nonimouse, Worldsno1actress, QuickStar, Lanari, Anonomous-Allstar-Fan, fallen-rose15, Drifting One, HyperMint, ShiroLight, catwizardofthesand, Grassina3, Poet on the Run, ArtsyChick, Singer-Number-1, EagleBlaze954, ChildofEden13, Bibishi Kuronecko787, Twilight Journey, EgyptLover4, fringeperson, lemntanimegrl, Sapphire-StarLight, kilala fae, Astracia, cuteknight101, sesshoumarufan18, and Rini's Ghost for the kind, loving, and frequently hilarious reviews. You guys are awesome.

And an extra bit of love to Rebel of my Destiny for giving me her idea. I sure hope that you're pleased about what I've done to it, and thanks for waiting so patiently for it.

Whew! I'm starting to get a little tired from all this! But thankfully not enough to stop. And going with tradition, here's the summary for my next story;

Life can be really tough when you're a witch, green, and happen to be despised by everyone that even hears of you.

There were a couple of people requesting that I write something like my next story, so I hope that it will be as warmly received as my other stories. Can anyone guess what it is?

Lots of love,

YC