Chapter 70

This chapter has been copied from the original and may contain typos and grammatical errors.

~*~

Anwyn, Liam, and Romeo’s homecoming was well met by the community, and everyone was happy for their coming child. The council was more forgiving than anyone had expected after they heard everything that had happened.

“While we stand by what we said before,” the head of the council said, “that we didn’t want you to leave, we can say with honesty that we are happy that none of you were killed, and that you were able to save your daughter from what sounds to be a horrible life. We’ve talked at great length about whether or not to discipline the lot of you, but we’ve decided that we would have all done the same for our own family and no one can fault you for what you set out to do, and what you have accomplished. We welcome you home.”

The trio breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, we are happy to be home. Beyond happy. We’re so relieved-” Romeo sputtered.

“We understand,” one of the other council members said. “No need to thank us that much, Mr. Romeo. You may all go now.”

~*~

Gloria waited days on end for something that no one else besides Aunt Lily knew could be possible. She hadn’t thought to censor her story the first time she told it, and she had included the part where Blake had been influenced to create an heir, a part that she had struck from her other retellings. She didn’t need her parents looking at her with pity, or more mutterings about how they were all happy that it was finally over and how it couldn’t have turned out better.

It could have been better. She could have never gone on that horrible trip with a boy who told her he loved her. She had believed him and now she could be carrying his child? Was she pregnant? Would she have to live with the violence taken against her for the rest of her life?

She sat in her room for days, trying to read or draw, but all of the quiet time she spent alone was time that she spent in her own head, and she couldn’t get rid of the thought. She just had to wait, and waiting was the worst thing.

Gloria supposed that Midshore suspected something, but didn’t know what it was, and she didn’t pry. She was so busy blending back into her important place in the society of the Islands that she didn’t have time to pay attention to Gloria. She had cures to brew, bones to set, plants that needed harvesting before they were past their prime; the list was lengthy. Gloria didn’t blame her. She only blamed herself.

It would be another week before she could know for sure, and every day was agony, reliving the time she had with Blake. She saw his face when she let her mind wander, his cold, pale eyes unseeing as he held her there. It hadn’t been Blake, but it may as well have been. He’d done so many other things to control her.

She had barely been let off of the little island they’d returned home to in the past two weeks, not that she wanted to leave. She felt embarrassed, and everyone would ask her what happened even if they’d already heard. Rumors flew quickly in a small community like this.

Ember was doing well as monarch on the Mainland, or so Midshore told. Talks were open between the Islands and the Mainland now, though they were both being held at arm’s length. The Islands didn’t trust the Mainland for their power hungry and explosive ways, and with the amount of refugees that had come from there the Island government was wary to be open. But with the thought of returning to or visiting family and close friends lost on the Mainland, the council didn’t see why they should prevent the talks between governments that could one day bloom into a friendship.

“I think I’ll go to Mara’s house tomorrow,” Gloria said while they sat and ate lunch. It was a Saturday so there was no school to worry about, and wouldn’t have to tomorrow either.

A quiet mood came over the table, and no one spoke for a moment. Anwyn swallowed. “Are you sure? If you like, you can come with me on Monday and see her and Mabel in class. We’re talking about your favorite book this week. You might like it.”

Gloria had expected this. No one wanted her to go anywhere by herself anymore if she was leaving the island, and she understood why. But she wasn’t broken, and the Islands were incredibly safe now that Blake wasn’t walking around them.

“I don’t really want to go back to school, mom,” Gloria fought to smile. “And besides, distracting them at school would be impolite. I’m sure Aunt Lara would want to see me too, she’s my favorite aunt…”

“I don’t see why you’d want to save the trip and go with me, you wouldn’t be alone-” Anwyn started.

“Mom, I’m not going to wander off! I’m fine!” Gloria shouted. She was being irrational and she knew it, but it had been this way since they got back. Her room felt too small, her little patch of sand felt confined, and where she had once looked out to the horizon for inspiration she now felt like it was too wide. She both felt cooped up and exposed at the same time.

“Gloria, apologize to your mother,” Liam said calmly.

Gloria fumed for a moment, then relented. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled.”

“Apology accepted,” Anwyn said, and took a bite of food.

“Why is Gloria angry?” Robin asked.

Gloria set her jaw, but it was Anwyn who spoke. “I think Gloria is frustrated, and we aren't communicating the way we’re supposed to. We all get angry sometimes, especially when we feel like we’re not being heard. It’ll be ok.”

Gloria stood up from the table, taking her plate with her. “I’m sorry, I can’t be here right now,” she said as she walked out to the porch and the sand.

~*~

Rosa looked at the body of her ex-husband who lay on his slab of hard stone, very much dead.

“You missed out on a great son, you know.” She sighed. “We could have been magnificent, if you had taken me as a partner instead of a trophy. Been kinder. I should have shown more kindness to Seneca, our son. Maybe he would have wanted to be the ruler more then. Now we have a half-blood mermaid who is the queen now. I can just imagine how you would have been enraged at the idea of a mermaid on the throne. You’d want to sleep with the girl before seeing her rule, but I guess times are changing.”

She sat down on a nearby chair. “Times are changing faster than we ever imagined they would. Talks are open with the Islands, laws are being repealed on spellcasters. You heard me right, Galant. We’re letting spellcasters live here out in the open. Who would have imagined? Apparently they’re not all bad.

“You missed so much by being on the wrong side. Who knew that little girl with the scar on her face would ever be able to stand up to you? I never imagined it; she seemed so timid, and to fall for that guard who spoke so little… life is strange. But it’s better with you not in it. Rest in hell, Galant.”

~*~

Anwyn met Gloria outside at the water’s edge. The ocean was calm tonight, and the waves were nearly nonexistent, but it was nice to have the soft rhythm of them back again.

Gloria was staring out at the horizon, a tear occasionally forming a trail down her cheek, her breathing slow but steady. Her hair was down, moving gently in the wind. She tended to wear more conservative clothes than she had once worn, Anwyn had noticed, but after everything that had happened she wouldn’t be surprised if Gloria had changed.

She sat down next to Gloria without speaking. She knew that if Gloria wanted to say something, she would eventually. Anwyn just had to be there to listen.

Out of habit, Anwyn counted the waves like time in a song. It was five waves before Gloria said anything.

“I’m not pregnant,” she stated blankly.

“Oh,” Anwyn said, not sure how to answer that. “Did you want to be pregnant?”

“No, I didn’t. It would have been Blake’s and I just- I didn’t want to- He made me-” Gloria pulled at the beginning of sentences, and Anwyn stared at her daughter. “I didn’t want to be pregnant, but I was worried that I was.”

“Baby, I understand, and I am so, very sorry that you had to go through that. It’ll never happen again, I’ll make sure.”

“I love you, mom,” Gloria smiled through her tears, “And I know it’ll never happen again, because I will never fall for the wrong man again. But that’s the thing,” she trailed off.

“What’s on your mind? Tell me.” Anwyn said softly.

“Mom, I love him. Seneca. I know you don’t want me to leave you, and I know that I could never leave you, not fully, but I... I love him. And I know that he would never hurt me.” She smiled like a love stricken girl.

“Gloria, you thought that about Blake. How could you be sure? He’s the king’s son, for the Creator’s sake.” Anwyn clucked.

“I can tell what he’s feeling, mom, and he’s only ever felt kindness towards me, unless I was annoying, but he’s never felt ill will towards me. He saved my life time and time again. Mom, we’ve been seeing each other in our dreams for years, and he makes me feel like there’s a future that I never considered. One away from the Islands, one with a partner by my side, not Blake pulling me through life. I swear, I love him,”

Anwyn sat on the bench, torn. She had just gotten her little girl back, now she had grand ideas. “What do you have in mind?”

“I want Midshore to take me to the Mainland and let me find him. I think I know where he’ll be, and I want to see if he’ll have me- if we can build a life together from the fractured pasts that we both have. If we can make it work. If he loves me the way I love him. It may not work. He could have gone back to Krista, or he could have decided to be a hermit, or he could have set to sea as a sailor, but I have to find out.”

Anwyn felt her heart rate pick up and her breathing become heavier. She bit her lip. “But, Glo, we just got home. I can’t lose you already. I love you too much,”

“Mom, I love you too.” She pulled her into a large hug. “But Pops always says that he learned from Dad that if you’re afraid to do something, you should probably do it. And this makes me terrified, but it feels right. And I’ll have Midshore with me- She can teach me to teleport that far. I’ll come back in the winters because I don’t know who would want to live in the cold like that,” Gloria said with a chuckle.

Anwyn sighed. “I’ll have to talk to your father about it,”

“I say go for it,” he said, startling them both.

“Dad, you weren’t a part of this conversation, you shouldn’t have been listening!” Gloria scolded.

“Sorry, I was looking for my wife and overheard declarations of love. And I think you should do it. I’m not going to stop you from pursuing your future. You have my blessing.”

“Liam, I thought maybe we would talk about this more…” Anwyn edged.

“Gloria’s been in a funk for weeks, Annie. We’ve both seen it. If this is a way for her to go forward and stop looking back, then I support her for taking that step.”

Anwyn took her daughter’s hand. “Apparently I’ve been outvoted,” she said as she kissed her forehead. “We love you and want you to be happy.”

~*~

It had been three weeks and some change since the insurrection at the palace, and Seneca had tried to build a life away from his mother and reputation. He was going to make a living on his own now, without the help of his mother, without the title of prince, without the safety of a body guard or anyone to have his back.

It was… quiet. The base had always been rather quiet to not attract attention, but for the past forever his mother had always had someone over to talk business with, and Barnabus and his wife were always bustling him from one thing to another. It was time to eat, or it was time to train, or it was time to learn. Being his own man was intimidating, and it had made his legs weak more than once.

He’d needed a home, and he’d been lucky. He’d found a place for sale near his home community, where he could see the ocean, and think of the loss and potential the waves had held for him, but he was done with the ocean. He was going to keep his feet planted firmly in the soil.

Seneca was exhausted by the time he fell into bed. The property had been cheap since the house was run down and the prior owner was a supporter of their cause. Getting the place suitable to be lived in was tougher than Seneca had thought it would be and he had spent the past three days just trying to clear out the broken furniture.

It took only a few breaths for him to fall into sleep, waking up to the swirling sky of the dreamscape. I expect I’ll be alone. I should never have told Gloria I loved her, I’ve scared her off…

The white violin was easily found in the greenhouse. Gloria’s box with strings, he thought with a smile. She was always being musical, maybe he could adopt some of that now that he was his own person.

“I’d love to see you play it.”

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as the sound tickled his ears. “I wouldn’t know the first thing about playing it,” he said, not wanting to turn around and ruin the immersion he had created. If he turned around, she wouldn’t be there, and he would be alone. Better to imagine her ghost than to have it disappear completely.

“I could teach you,” she said, walking around him and picking up the violin. Her hands were a vivid orange, and her white tattoos stood out on her skin.

“You’re…” he trailed, spellbound. You’re here.

She looked at him, curious. “If you tell me I’m no good, I’m going to hit you,”

“I’d never say that,” he said, still staring at her. She was beautiful, shining like an angel. When she had restored him, he thought that he had been in a dream, to see her all in white like that. She was always so vibrant, but she was only so pristinely dressed here, in the between.

“You’re talking a lot less than you normally do, Seneca. Cat’s got your tongue?”

“I’m- I’m surprised to see you,” he stuttered, his mouth dry.

“I had no doubt I’d see you,” she smiled, stepping closer to him, closer than was casual. “I’m hoping I’ll see you again very soon. Where are you? How can I find you?”

“I’m where I’ve always been. On the coast,” he breathed.

“Then I will be there.” She placed her hands on either side of his face, and just as she was looking at his lips to not miss, he woke up with a start.

“🐸🐸🐸🐸!” he shouted, hitting the covers. “I’m such an idiot!”

See him soon? What did that mean? It certainly felt like she meant to come here, but his place was a disaster! It wasn’t ready for company! Even though he had been exhausted not an hour earlier, Seneca now felt he had enough frantic energy to clean the whole house.

~*~

Gloria woke up on the floor of the greenhouse, with Midshore sitting nearby.

“That was... interesting. I’ve never had an experience like that before. The spirits are not as… decorated as your environment. You’ve seen the spirit’s home, it’s quiet, dark, gleaming. Yours is quite the opposite.”

“Yes, it is,” Gloria rushed, shoving her blanket she’d been sleeping on into her bag. “He’s living on the coast, and you got a feel for him, can you pick him out? Find where he lives?”

“I’m not a tracking charm, I’m not exact, but yes. I got a feel for him. It could take a while, but I think we could find him.”

“Let’s do it then.”

~*~

Seneca’s frenzied cleaning had worn off within two hours and his lack of sleep was starting to affect him more and more as the hours went by. It was hard to see without any fairy lights and just going by candles and moonlight. His eyes were starting to play tricks on him from the flickering of the candle light, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the sky start to change with the dawn.

“Why am I worrying, it takes days to get here from the Islands. I have time… “ he said to himself as he trudged up the stairs to his room. Maybe now he would be able to get some solid sleep.

“It’s odd, I feel fine. Normally I feel sick after I have a dream,” he said as he kicked off his shoes and pulled back the covers.

Right as he was closing his eyes to sleep, a knock on the door downstairs roused him. “It’s not Gloria, it can’t be Gloria, '' he assured himself. “It’s probably Mrs. Grigham wondering if I’ve eaten this morning. Breakfast would be good…”

He shoved his feet into his shoes, leaving the warm fire in his room and stumbling down the stairs half asleep, something that was rather dangerous as the stairs weren’t the sturdiest.

A knock came again. “I’m coming, coming!” he replied lazily, shuffling a bit faster towards the door.

Reaching the door, he opened it, wiping away sleep from his eyes with a questionably clean hand. “How can I help you?”

“I love you.”

It wasn’t Mrs. Grigham's voice, it was Gloria’s. Seneca whipped his head up and blinked. Something was in his right eye, bugging him, and he was trying really hard to not let that bother him from Gloria standing in front of him. She was here! How was she here?

“What- how?- How did you get here?” he stammered.

“I had Midshore take me. She’s getting better at teleporting long ways, and hopefully she’ll teach me, but that’s not what I need to tell you. Sen, you’re-” she broke off, taking a breath, “I feel like you’re my future. I know that you don’t want to be king, and you may have gone back to Krista, and I’ll leave if you want me to, but I feel like you are my one person in life who is my equal, and I want to build my life with you in it. I love you.” she repeated.

“You rehearsed that, didn’t you?” he asked with a smirk.

“More than you would guess,” she nervously laughed.

Seneca grabbed her and pulled her into a strong embrace, squeezing her shoulders. They felt thinner than he remembered, like she hadn’t been eating enough.

“I don’t want to live alone. Live with me, Gloria. Never leave me.”

“I promise,” she said, smiling into his shoulder. Her soul felt like it was glowing, she was so happy, almost as if her heart were full of stars.

That's it! I finished the series! I did it! We did it!

Gloria and Seneca will return in The Last Forever, coming... i don't know when, but it'll come. My mood totally tanked today and I fought myself to post this all day and then Imgur kept not uploading pictures and I don't know why, but what matters is that it's done now. We got here together.

I'm really looking forward to what I have planned in the future, it's going to be a lot of un for me, and hopefully for you guys too! I couldn't have gotten here without you, and I'm incredibly grateful.