Once all the carriages had disappeared over the hill, the forest grew quiet.
The tree near the cottage rustled. The pink bird fluttered down from the branch and landed on the soft grass. Her feathers shimred in the morning light, soft and pink like the blossoms still drifting through the air.
Then she shifted.
Her wings folded into arms. Her beak softened into lips. Her feathers beca a dress, pink and flowing, that swayed in the breeze.
A little girl stood where the bird had been.
She had pink hair, long and silky, that fell past her shoulders. Her eyes were the color of clear water, pale and bright, with flecks of pink that sparkled when she moved. Her skin was creamy and soft, her cheeks dusted with freckles, her lips red like ripe berries.
She looked like a doll. A perfect, porcelain, impossibly beautiful doll.
She watched the road where the carriages had disappeared.
"Peach will miss you," she said softly.
Her voice was high and sweet, like wind chis in a gentle storm.
She wrapped her arms around herself and swayed back and forth. "Kelpie," she said, tasting his na. "Kelpie Kelpie Kelpie."
She had never t anyone like him before. A water child. Kind and gentle and full of light. He had let her stay on his shoulder. He had shared his rice. He had promised to let her go.
But she hadn't wanted to go. She had stayed until morning, watching him sleep, morizing his face. Then she had flown away because he asked her to.
But she didn't want to.
"Peach will visit," she said to the empty road. "One day. Maybe."
She touched her chest, where her heart beat beneath her pink dress. "Peach will find you."
A butterfly landed on her finger. She smiled. Then she shifted back into a bird and flew into the forest.
******
The castle gates opened wide, and the carriage rolled to a stop in the courtyard. The horses stamped their feet, their breath misting in the afternoon air. Before the wheels had stopped turning, the doors of the castle burst open.
Alina ran out first, her hair flying behind her, her arms already reaching. Dante followed close behind, his crimson eyes bright, his usually composed face split open with relief.
Lucien climbed out first, his red eyes scanning for his parents. He saw them, and sothing in his chest loosened. He had been brave in the mountains. He had taken care of his siblings. But now, seeing his mother running toward him, his eyes burned.
"Mama," he said, and his voice cracked.
Alina reached him and pulled him into her arms, holding him tight against her chest. She kissed his cheek, then his other cheek, then his forehead, then his nose.
"I missed you, my lovely baby," she said.
Lucien's face turned red. "Mama," he mumbled, trying to pull away.
She kissed his cheek again.
"Mama."
"I missed you so much."
Lucien sighed. "I missed you too."
She kissed his nose.
"Mama!"
Alina laughed and let him go. His face was the color of apples. No, the color of ripe cherries. No, the color of sothing even redder.
Sable observed, climbing out of the carriage behind him. "Your face is very red."
Lucien muttered, "Yours will be too."
Alina turned to Sable and pulled him into her arms. She kissed his cheek, his other cheek, his forehead, his nose.
"I missed you too, my sweet boy."
Sable's face turned pink, then red, then the sa shade as Lucien's. "I missed you too, Mama," he said, but he didn't try to pull away. He hugged her back, his small arms tight around her waist.
Alina kissed the top of his head.
Dante walked to the carriage and lifted Lilith out himself. She was small and warm and slled like peaches and milk. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her face into his shoulder.
"Papa," she said.
His voice was thick. "Lilith. I missed you."
He kissed her forehead. Lilith pulled back and looked at his face, his sad face, his dramatic face, his I-haven't-seen-my-daughter-in-three-days-and-I'm-dying face.
She reached up and grabbed his nose. "Wiwiff missed you too," she said.
He laughed. The sound echoed through the courtyard, warm and bright. His daughter had her tiny fingers wrapped around his nose. She had done this since she was a baby. He had no idea where she learned it. Alina claid it wasn't from her. Dante was certain it wasn't from him. Maybe it was just a Lilith thing. A Lilith thing that made his heart swell every ti.
He kissed her nose. She grabbed his nose again.
"Again," she demanded.
He kissed her nose again.
"Again."
He kissed her nose again.
"Again!"
"Later," he said. "First, let's go inside."
Lilith pouted but let go of his nose.
Inside the castle, the fire crackled in the hearth. Blankets were draped over the couches. Tea stead in small cups. The children sat together, wrapped in warmth, surrounded by the familiar sll of stone and old books and ho.
Alina sat across from them, her hands folded in her lap. Dante stood behind her, his hand on her shoulder.
Alina said, "We have sothing to tell you."
Lucien looked up. Sable stopped fidgeting. Lilith stopped trying to eat her bunny's ear.
Alina continued, "In my belly, there is a little brother or sister growing."
Silence.
Lucien blinked. Sable's mouth fell open. Lilith tilted her head.
Sable whispered, "A baby?"
Alina nodded. "A baby."
"In your tummy again?"
"In my tummy."
Lilith climbed off the couch and walked over to Alina. She pressed her small hand against her mother's stomach. "Baby in dere?" she asked.
Alina smiled. "Yes."
"Wike... in a house?"
Alina laughed softly. "Like in a very small house."
Lilith pressed her cheek against Alina's belly. "Hewwo, baby. Dis is Wiwwy. I'm youw big sister."
Sable kneeled beside her. "I'm your big brother too. I'll teach you things."
Lucien walked over slowly and knelt on Alina's other side. "I'll protect you," he said quietly. "Like I protect Lilith and Sable."
Alina's eyes filled with tears. Dante's hand tightened on her shoulder.
Lilith said happily, "Wiwwy help you na dis baby."
Alina said softly, "We don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet. So we haven't chosen a na."
Sable looked up. "Can we help choose when you find out?"
Alina smiled. "Of course."
"Good. I have suggestions."
"I'm sure you do."
Sable listed, "Fire. Or Fla. Or Ember."
Lucien sighed helplessly. "Those are dragon nas, Sable."
Sable shrugged. "So?"
"The baby might not be a dragon."
Sable crossed his arms. "Then the baby will have a dragon na anyway. To be cool."
Lilith grabbed Alina's nose. "Baby na Wose."
Alina asked, "You want to na the baby Rose?"
"Wose. Yes."
"That's a beautiful na."
"Wiwwy know."
Alina smiled. "Even if it's a boy?"
Lilith considered this for a mont. "...Wose boy."
"Rose boy?"
"Wose boy."
Dante coughed. "We'll think about it."
Lilith nodded seriously, satisfied.
After a while, Sable leaned back against the couch. "I'm glad we're ho."
Lucien agreed. " too."
Lilith snuggled into Alina's side. "Wiwwy too."
Alina smiled. Dante smiled.
And sowhere in Alina's belly, a tiny heart beat, waiting to et its family.
—The end again—
Hello, my dear readers!
I know all of you are sad that the book is ending. Trust , I am sad too. Reading your comnts literally makes cry. Happy tears. Sad tears. Confused tears. All the tears.
But here's the thing. This book has reached its ending. And this is what I always planned.
Originally, this book was supposed to be around 300 to 400 chapters. But then you guys showed up with your beautiful comnts and your love for these characters, and I just couldn't stop. You enjoyed it so much that I kept going. And going and going. And sohow, we made it to 600 chapters!
But now, I have to be honest with you. I don't want to drag this anymore. Because the last thing I want is for this story to beco boring. You deserve better than that. This story deserves better than that. So I am ending it here. The way I always ant to. The way it should be.
Now, don't forget to give lots of reviews. Good ones only, please hehehe. I am begging you with my cutest smile. Because I worked hard. Like, really hard. So please feed my hungry author soul with your kind words.
Also, don't forget to like my profile by clicking that heart-shaped button. And it makes do a little happy dance every ti soone clicks it. So go ahead. Make dance.
Listen, everything ends sooner or later. Even if I had dragged this book forever, it would have had to end soday. That's just how stories work. They begin. They grow. They end. But the feelings they leave behind? Those stay. Those are forever.
You can also enjoy my other works as well. I have more stories in my head, more characters waiting to be born, more worlds waiting to be explored. So stick around. The fun isn't over. It's just beginning sowhere else.
Thank you for everything. For reading. For staying. For loving these characters as much as I do.
I love you allllll! Now go leave so reviews before I start crying again. Hehe.
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