Author's Notes: Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. It really means a lot to me. I'll be posting details about up and coming projects in my tumblr (which is linked in my profile) for anyone interested in what's to come. Thank you so much again.

(Side note: I was dissatisfied with the way Frings and Cecille's romance plays out in TotA, so I fixed it. :D)

Tales of Vesperia and other Tales characters are the property of Namco Bandai.

71 - Epilogue

Once upon a time, there were two boys who grew up in abject poverty. They were as different as night and day. The first boy, with hair and eyes as dark as night, grew up on the streets as an orphan, and the second boy, with sunlight hair and sky blue eyes, had a who father was a well respected knight who died in the line of duty. His life and death inspired the two boys to promise to change the word together.

They struggled together to survive, scrapping for food and doing whatever they had to to keep from starving. One day, the dark haired boy snuck into the orchard of a noble after eying some of the lord's apples. He grabbed a few, but the nobleman set the dogs on him. He managed to escape with a single apple that he and his dear friend shared. And so they were bound together by the fruit of destiny.

The two boys grew and together they entered the Knighthood in order to fulfill their promise to change the world. After a very short time though, the dark haired knight left in order to travel the world and find his place, as he knew it was not as a knight. The blond knight stayed behind, and through hard work and determination began to rise through the ranks.

As much as they wanted to fight side by side, their paths took them far from each other. They fought one another and grew apart. The blond knight set out to change the world with the strength of goodness and justice. The dark haired knight set out to save the world because he had known all along that he could not change it, only save it. Beside him was his faithful dog partner. The dark haired knight dirtied his hands for the sake of the world. The things he did were not popular. People came to despise him, but everything he did was for the good of the world and the good of his friend.

On his journey, the dark haired knight met many friends. There was a young princess who he showed the world and taught to make choices for herself. There was a boy who dreamed of one day forming a powerful guild. There was a genius mage whose knowledge brought her only loneliness. There was a man who had forgotten how to live. There was a Krityan woman who saw only her mission before her. All of them came together and, with the blessing of the great star Brave Vesperia, they defended the world against the ever-lingering catastrophe of the sky, the world devouring Adephagos.

Through all of this, the dark haired knight and the blond knight rekindled their friendship, but not everything was pleasant between them. Each still harbored long hidden feelings of love and anger that caused them to once more start to drift apart. The blond knight confessed how he felt, but the dark haired knight still chose to deny his feelings.

But the dark haired knight's heart was stolen away by darkness, and he was left with only a gem for a heart. Feeling empty and angry, he shut out the world. The blond knight came, and with the help of the dark knight's kind and brave friends, they drove away the darkness and helped him find his heart and he and the blond knight stood together once more.

But that darkness returned in the form of an enemy they had faced on the road to destroy the Adephagos. He was filled with dark madness, and saw only the dark haired knight as his equal. He became obsessed with the dark haired knight and his destruction and was bent on destroying the whole world to do it. Even as the darkness consumed the crazed man, the dark haired knight stood against him. In the end, even with his friends at his side, he stood to fight the man alone and nearly gave his life. His heart stopped, but through the force of his own will, he was able to survive.

The dark haired knight still wanders this world. Often far from the blond knight who is still his dearest friend, neither of them were sad because they both walked their paths, determined that one day, those paths will bring them back together again.

The End

She read the letter twice over and with a sigh, she stuffed it into an envelope. She hoped that of all the letters she had given him, this one would be read. The letter she was going to leave with it was meant to be read also, but he had ignored all of her previous letters. The choice was his. Know the truth about everything, her feelings, her struggles with them, how she loved him and not Yuri Lowell, and how she tried to forcibly remove him from the picture. Or remain ignorant. She no longer cared to hide her secret. She wanted to come clean.

Sodia walked quietly from her now empty room in the barracks up the halls that separated her from Flynn, like many miles of distance between them symbolically, and to his room.

She knocked, but received no reply. She entered anyway. He was probably in a meeting with the Council at this time of day. This room hadn't changed, but the way she viewed it had. It was a cold place, near barren of decoration save what was in it when it became his. It was not her place. It would never be.

She stepped into the bedroom. Even here, she felt the same. The bed she once longed to be in, made with military precision was not her place. She didn't belong here. She never did. She never had a chance, no matter how hard she fought her battle. Flynn's eyes were only for Yuri. She had really known all along and just wouldn't accept it. He wasn't good enough for Flynn and he knew it. And she knew that she wasn't good enough either. In the end, she couldn't forgive herself for raising a blade against him. She had tried to do the unspeakable. Yuri wasn't so bad, really. She had always been so harshly judgmental because she envied what he had with Flynn. In the end, he had nearly died saving them all, and she finally had the chance to view a tiny glimpse of what Flynn saw in him.

Sodia shook off her apprehensiveness. This was her path. She set the letters on the desk where he would be sure to see them. Without another thought, without giving herself a chance to second guess, she walked out.

Dear Sir,

I respectfully resign from my post as lieutenant. I have only the utmost respect and admiration for you and I know that you can change the Empire, the whole of Terca Lumireis, for the better. I no longer have a place as your trusted aide. The whole world is open to me and I am leaving Zaphias. I am sincere in wishing you the best of luck.

Sodia.

The long days he spent behind bars afforded him a bit of relaxation he did not allow himself most other times. Traveling the world, doing any guild work he could get his hands on, keeping generally busy between Zaphias and Dahngrest was a lot of work. This was not the first time in the past several months that he had ended up in the castle dungeon, and it certainly wouldn't be his last. He was proud of himself, and of Flynn, and allowed himself to scratch another tick mark in the stone wall, counting his number of visits. It had been in the double digits for a while. At triple digits, he promised himself a party.

He enjoyed listening in on the conversations of the guards that kept watch over the jail. It was a good source of information about the state of the capital and the goings on within. And it was a great way for him to keep an eye on how Flynn was doing without any direct questioning.

"Who's this criminal anyway?"

He was the only one in the dungeon on this particular visit, so he was certain they were talking about him.

"Don't you know? He's the notorious Yuri Lowell. Watch what you say though. He's also the Commandant's lover."

"Are you serious? Huh. I bet he'll be getting out on 'good behavior' any time now then?"

"No. Even though they're lovers, Commandant Flynn is very stern with him. Lowell always serves his full sentence. He doesn't let him off the hook easily."

"Wow. That's pretty noble of our Commandant. I don't know if I could arrest my wife if she committed a crime."

Yuri was glad that the knights he had overheard up to this point held Flynn in the greatest of regards. There seemed to be an overall sense of satisfaction among the Imperial Knights, and in the whole of the capital.

"Yeah, and Lowell never complains about it. Except when it comes to the food."

He smirked, and crossed his legs, stuffing his hands behind his resting head.

Another set of footsteps approached. They weren't heavy enough to be Flynn's and he didn't recognize the clink of the heels on the stone stairs. He didn't recognize the voice that followed either.

"I am here for the prisoner Yuri Lowell." It was a woman, stern and steadfast.

"Of course, Captain."

He tilted his head back to look at the door upside down just in time to see a woman of medium height approach the cell door followed by one of the guards. She looked as stern as she sounded. Wheat blond hair pulled back, braided and pinned into a tight bun against her head and austere garnet eyes hold him that she was not one to be trifled with, but he would try to press his luck anyway.

"Yuri Lowell, Commandant Flynn has requested your presence at once."

"Oh yeah? He couldn't be bothered to come down and get me himself?"

"I will be taking you to meet him. If you don't want to be shackled, you will come with me at once."

He rolled easily off the cot. Why they even bothered to shackle him anymore at all boggled him. He hadn't resisted arrest in well over a year now. He always went along quietly. "Whatever you say, Captain...?"

"Captain Jozette Cecille. Follow me."

As she led him out of the dungeon and into the parts of the castle that he still wasn't as familiar with yet, he wondered where Flynn picked this one from. He knew that if Flynn had promoted her from within the ranks, she must have done something terribly worthwhile for him to notice. He followed her without issue all the way up to Flynn's state room, and they waited as she knocked. Flynn's voice from within permitted entrance.

Uniformed and ever knightly, Flynn was seated on one of the sofas within and motioned for them to sit. Yuri sunk easily into the sofa, crossing his legs and leaning back in a manner that didn't portray any worry about the coming interrogation. Had this been an intense interrogation by any means, Flynn's state room would not have been the place for it. Both knew that if Flynn asked, Yuri would tell him the truth. There was no reason for him to lie.

Jozette saluted, and sat stiffly beside the Commandant, her eyes trained on Yuri. She saw him as a threat, much has others once had. Even with her eyes on him, she had a pen and a book and was taking notes.

"Hey."

"Hello, Yuri."

"What prompts you to call me all the way up here? And I was just getting cozy."

"I have some questions about the incident a few days ago involving Count Belcrant."

"All right. Ask away."

"Why did you assault him? I need the whole story."

He leaned back a little more, smirking. "I came into town yesterday to take care of a few things for the guild before I headed back to Dahngrest. After I finished that, I was headed down to my place in the Lower Quarter, and I spotted Belcrant talking to a young man, probably thirteen or so. I was suspicious of course, but as I got closer, I got a good earful of their conversation."

"What was said?"

"He offered the kid a hundred gald to sleep with him."

Flynn swallowed hard, his armored fingers tightening around his knee. "You're certain?"

"Of course I am. I'll never forget when Belcrant offered me that money all those years ago for the same service. So, I thought I'd teach him a lesson." Yuri had never mentioned to Flynn before that the nobleman who propositioned him had tried to take what he wanted when Yuri decided against it and he had been forced to defend himself that time as well. He wasn't going to let what almost happened to him happen to another kid. "I beat that pervert black and blue until the city guards got there." Adecor and Boccos sure had been proud to be able to arrest him.

"I see." Flynn took a deep breath and calmed himself. "No matter the circumstances, what you did was still assault and you still took the law into your own hands. You are to remain in the dungeon for another eight days."

"Whatever you say."

"As for Count Belcrant, I will issue a warrant for his arrest."

Jozette looked at him in surprise, nearly dropping her pen.

"What he did was unlawful and inexcusable. We will take him into custody at once."

Yuri nodded, satisfied. Flynn was going about changing the world through the use of the law, and that pleased him to no end. Even if that meant prison for Yuri, as long as they continued on their paths and kept their promise, in the end everything would be fine.

After a few moments, Yuri and Jozette were both excused and she escorted him back down toward the dungeon.

They walked through those hollow halls, but they felt a little less cold than before. The threat of Alexei's Word was not completely eliminated, but was vanishing quickly through the efforts of the Imperial Knights. Ioder was on track to become the next Emperor. Morale among the Knights was high and the living conditions of the people in Zaphias, even in the Lower Quarter were improving slowly but surely.

"Mr. Lowell."

A shiver ran up his spine just from being referred to as 'Mister', but he recognized the voice and was otherwise unconcerned. He turned to the hall they had turned from, and Jozette behind him about to chastise him.

Aslan Frings marched confidently toward them, but his step faltered slightly and he looked a little surprised when he noticed Captain Cecille standing behind him. A bare bit of blush crossed his cheeks, he nodded briefly to her, and he tried not to stutter. Being flustered like this seemed incredibly unusual, but it was happening nonetheless and he was pretty sure he knew why.

"How have you been, Mr. Lowell?"

"Just Yuri is fine. And things are going well enough."

"You know this man, Aslan?"

"Yes. We fought side by side in Vonael."

"I hope you're keeping your brother out of trouble."

"Adrien has not yet completely reformed, but I believe in him."

Yuri nodded and smiled a little. "That's good to hear. Now, if you'll excuse me, Captain Cecille here was just returning me to my cozy jail cell."

"Of course." The lion hearted captain looked over to the stern woman. "I was wondering if you had yet to consider my proposal, Jozette."

She looked away. She was blushing now also. "I am still thinking things through."

Things were getting awkward quickly and rather than remain between whatever such romantic issue the two of them were having, he started back on his own. After only a few seconds, Jozette was stomping up behind him to catch up and quickly taking the lead once more. She glared back at him a few times, but he didn't mind.

"He's a good guy."

She didn't respond, and as soon as they reached the jail, she passed him into the custody of the guards. And as Flynn decreed, he laid in that jail cell for eight days. Minor offenders came and went every few days and no one paid him much mind. He felt a bit lazy for spending so much of it sleeping, but what else could he do?

Estelle came by for a visit while she was in Zaphias and didn't comment on his current state of imprisonment. She kept him in the loop about the goings on with the others and after a little while, made her way back to Halure.

Eight days passed slowly and in the afternoon on the eighth day, he was finally released and all of his belongings returned. He smirked at the guards as he passed into the garden and scaled the back wall up to the balcony that he knew was Flynn's. The Royal Guard surely witnessed this, and knowing who he was, did nothing to stop him. He had been planning this little bit for the entirety of his sentence.

His afternoon meetings seemed to last forever. He was just ready to get upstairs and get a little rest in before dinner. He was tired, but he felt good about it. The new troops were the best conditioned that he had ever seen and his work with the Council was going much better than previously. It seemed as though he had proven himself to them that, while he was young, he had many great plans for the Empire and with the means to do it, he could improve things. There seemed to be hope for their dream yet.

He entered the calm and solace of his state room. He was glad to be alone for a little while.

Flynn started pulling off his armor and cape as soon as the door was shut. He was ready for a short nap and then he would work on the military dispatches. After that, dinner and a shower. The moment he stepped into his room, he knew that something was amiss. Well, perhaps not so much amiss as a little odd.

There was Yuri, sprawled across his covers, reclining. Around his wrists that were up against the wooden headboard, were the heavy metal shackles that were commonly used for prisoners. He was grinning broadly, one eyebrow raised with the intention of mischief. Flynn was at a loss for words.

"So, Commandant. Any chance of me getting off early for good behavior?" His voice was thick with lust and Flynn could tell from this distance that Yuri had been aroused for quite some time. And suddenly his interest in a nap was lost.

"Not a chance."

He strode over to the bed and leaned over Yuri. He kissed him hard, running a hand up his chest. The dark haired man arched up to meet him, moaning. He wasted no time. He knelt on the bed fighting to get Yuri's vest and then his shirt off. The shackles made that awkward, so he just pushed them up to Yuri's elbows in order to expose his chest. His fingers and lips moved across every inch of skin and he reveled in every moan and gasp.

Yuri lifted his arms, draping them, shackles and all, around Flynn's neck and pulled him into another hungry kiss. "Do take your time."

Flynn slid his hand down his abdomen and between fabric and skin and gingerly ran his fingers along Yuri's length. He moved up against that hand, increasing the contact, and moaned long and low. "I hope you haven't been suffering long." He pulled back, ducking underneath Yuri's embrace and taking his pants with him. "I can't help the idea of teasing you a bit though."

"What do you want me to do?" The dark haired man looked at him seductively from under half-lidded eyes as if he already knew the answer, but Flynn would give him one anyway.

"How about you show me how you take care of things yourself?"

Yuri spread his legs a little, displaying himself to Flynn, who rocked back on his heels toward the end of the bed where he could take the whole sight in. He shifted on the pillows a bit so that he could lean against the carved headboard of the bed. His lithe and shackled hands came down and those pale hips rolled up to meet them. He tilted his head back, exposing inches of delicate neck that had long been lacking the bruised bite marks that Yuri was so fond of giving and receiving. As those fingers began to move and that voice call out a little, softly at first, Flynn had to resist jumping straight back into things. He anchored himself, watching intent and enthralled.

Those little moans and spasms were maddening to him and the whole time, Yuri's charcoal eyes remained locked with his, and that was only making it harder to keep control of himself. After a few moments, he was unable to hold back any longer.

Flynn rocked forward, one hand pushing Yuri's arms over his head, pinning the locked center of the shackles against the headboard. His other hand moved down between Yuri's legs and began to speed things along a little. He splayed his legs a little wider. Yuri arched into his hand, making wonderful noises, and then even more as he slid his knee up the bed and pressed them between the dark haired man's legs. He bucked a little and Flynn increased the pressure until it was surely almost too much for him to hold back. And Yuri didn't. He gave Flynn what he wanted with a long, growling moan and a final thrust into Flynn's hand as his fingers tightened around him.

He didn't give him a lot of time to recover. Yuri didn't really need it, in spite of how hard he was breathing. As soon as he had stroked him to orgasm, he was moving his fingers along the pale chest, tracing down, teasing, scratching, kissing and biting. Every sound that followed only urged him on.

Yuri lifted his arms, but Flynn pinned them against the headboard once more, and Yuri smirked at him. "I didn't know bondage was your thing."

"When it suits me."

"Pervert."

"Pot calling the kettle black."

"What say you quit teasing me and we move things along?"

Flynn really wanted to watch him moan and writhe and be teased longer, but he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to hold out. Yuri had amazing endurance, but whenever they got around to things like these, Flynn's patience seemed to run thin. If their luck was good this time, they would have all night before Yuri would disappear across the world again for what could be weeks.

"If that's what you want."

He found the bottle of oil from his nightstand, and without ceremony began to prepare Yuri. His fingers were a little rough. He was being hasty and trying to mask his excited fumbling, but Yuri didn't seem to mind. It hadn't taken Flynn much to discover that the dark haired swordsman liked things a bit rough, and he didn't mind supplying that.

A knock on the door, startled them both. He had completely forgotten that it was the middle of the afternoon and people could still need to call on him.

"Don't you dare."

He pulled his fingers back and wiped them on the bedsheets.

"Goddamn it, Flynn. Don't do it."

"I'll only be a minute."

"That's what you said last time."

Flynn stood anyway, fixing his clothing a little. It was lucky that he wasn't having to struggle to get dressed, although he still had to struggle to get himself together through the lust that was surging in his brain, commanding him to go back and ignore the knock.

Yuri cursed a few times behind him, but he muffled that by closing the bedroom door, and as if nothing was happening, he strode to the door of his stateroom.

He opened the door to Jozette Cecill.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Sir."

"What is it, Captain?"

"I have some information to go over with you regarding the new troops. It's not urgent or anything, but there are still things I would like to bring to your attention."

"Certainly, Captain. I am not feeling so well right now, however, and I believe that I'm going to retire for the evening. Can we postpone until tomorrow morning, perhaps right after breakfast?"

She seemed a little startled. "Should I call the doctor? Or is there anything I can get you, Sir?"

"No. Thank you for your concern, though. I believe all I need is a good night's rest." He told himself that she wasn't a replacement for Sodia, but she easily fit into the space left by his long time comrade. She had accepted the promotion to captain from being a lieutenant under Captain Aurion because of her work in the field, and had been a figurehead in the capital after an injury on the battlefield left her with mostly deskwork to occupy her time. She had not been satisfied with that at all, but after a while, she took to it.

"If you say so, Sir. I hope you start feeling better. I will see you in the morning." She turned and headed back down the hall, allowing him to close the door and return to his bedroom.

He opened the bedroom, door. Yuri was scowling up at him from the bed, still handcuffed and still ready to continue. Flynn pulled off his uniform, hanging it neatly in the armoire. Yuri huffed and sighed, but said nothing and only watched. He took his time, drawing out what he could of their time together. The teasing was a lovely bonus.

"Pardon the interruption. Captain Cecille was just making an morning appointment with me."

"That's great." There was no denying that sarcasm.

"I suppose you hadn't heard about her and Captain Frings." Flynn was going to let the moment stretch, just to see how far his little bit of gossip would go with Yuri flustered and ready for further action but also a very captive audience.

"I don't generally keep up with the Captains." His tone was becoming clipped. Flynn couldn't help but smirk.

"Aslan has proposed marriage to her."

"That's great and all-"

"The situation is a little hairy. His family is one of nobles, and her family is not so the Frings' family has raised some concerns about the proposed nuptials."

"Goddamn it, Flynn." He obviously wasn't that interested, but that was all right because they had some exciting events planned for this evening.

With a chuckle, he moved back to the bed, kneeling once more. Yuri stretched beneath his hand, and inhaled sharply as Flynn suddenly went back to preparing him. He didn't complain though. His legs opened a little wider and he moved against those fingers slightly.

Flynn teased him for a few long moments more, before he finally decided that they were ready to keep going. Yuri obviously didn't mind. He rolled his hips up and his legs off the bed and planted his feet against the bed as Flynn knelt between them. Flynn took a moment to prepare himself, but didn't take long on it. He teased Yuri for a few minutes more before finally pressing into him when the dark haired man was starting to get impatient with him.

Yuri moaned beneath him, the shackles jingling as he stretched and arched and finally eased against him. His charcoal eyes were smoldering and his voice was so lovely as Flynn leaned over him, and began to move, covering him in kisses. He pulled his bound arms up and wrapped them around Flynn's neck.

Those moans and wonderful sounds continued, and he didn't know about Yuri, but he was certainly feeling the having to hold back wearing on him. Bites and scratches and hungry kisses passed almost endlessly between them before finally Yuri tightened hard around him, arching and trembling into a powerful climax. He finished a few seconds behind him. This was not the end of their evening together. It had been six months since he had seen Yuri, and he was going to definitely get his fill while he had the chance. He didn't know how long it would be before they would see each other again.

The rest of their night continued much the same until just before dawn when they both nodded off.

The next morning, he woke to the warmth of Yuri missing from the bed. He jolted up quickly, surely he hadn't left without saying goodbye. As he turned, he saw Yuri dressing from the clothing that Flynn had littered the floor with.

"I was about to wake you up."

Flynn groaned, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "You have to leave already?"

Yuri plopped down on the edge of the bed, and kissed him. "Judy's waiting for me. Looks like the guild's got a big job coming up."

"Be careful."

The dark haired man snorted, and pushed a bit of hair out of Flynn's face. On the nightstand, he dropped a bright red apple that had a large bite taken out of it. "I don't know when we'll be back in Zaphias."

"Hopefully sooner rather than later." Flynn sat up, and pulled him into another kiss. The weeks and miles that separated them didn't seem so lonely as they had before. He never felt like he was suffering in silence like he used to. "Try to stay out of trouble."

"No promises." Yuri pulled back and moved to the window. He opened it, and pulled himself into the window frame. He looked back at Flynn, wearing his standard smirk as a warm summer breeze billowed his hair back. He stood there for a long moment, until they could hear the warble of the whale-like Entelexeia Ba'ul above the castle.

"How's everybody else?" Any excuse to keep Yuri there for even a moment more.

"Pretty good. Karol's good, Rita and Estelle are traveling for research, Raven's helping the guilds get things together still. Oh. And Judy's gonna be a mom."

"What?"

"She got herself pregnant, and Droite and Gauche are going to help her raise the baby. This will be the most terrifying child in the world."

The warble came again and a rope ladder rolled down to the window.

"Gotta go."

Flynn sighed a little.

"I'm going to go save the world, so you can change it." And once again, Yuri was gone.