The Prince's Wish

Epilogue

"Oh my God," I laughed, "that is not how you make a stir fry!"

I released myself from the table and walked to the kitchen bench where Danyl was attempting to chop various vegetables.

"Leave me alone," he said, "I'm new to this whole cooking thing."

I rolled my eyes and pushed him aside, taking an apron from the hook beside the fridge and ushering Danyl to tie it. "Well that's what you get for leaving your world of perfection and maids and servants and blah de blah."

He tied my apron into a neat bow and spun me around, kissing me on the lips. "This world is perfection because it has you, Adara."

I laughed and kissed him back before turning to the bench. I grasped the knife carefully and made an obvious slice down the middle of the capsicum. "Like so," I told him.

"Maybe I should just clean the house," he said. "When are your parents coming?"

"They'll be here at five," I said, "and you have to pick Macy up from day care at four thirty."

After the mess with Elondra in Elsetime, Danyl's step-son Jiem was left heir to the throne. Danyl had waited for the passing of his grandfather. When it happened, Danyl moved to my world and we grew closer. Soon, we were married and I fell pregnant. We welcomed a beautiful girl to our family three years ago, when I was nineteen. And after Danyl's grandfather, Mason, we named her Macy. Being so young, my parents had been skeptical about me and Danyl and our ability to raise a child. But as soon as they saw us together as a family, they were head over heels in love, and we had their full support. 

It was hard to leave Macy at daycare three days a week. But normally, Danyl and I would be at our jobs and there was no way we could take a three-year-old to work with us. Today, though, Mum and Dad were coming over to celebrate my twenty-second birthday and Danyl and I agreed that we couldn't have Macy running around when we were cleaning and cooking and setting up the place. Joan and Clayton - Macy's god-parents - were away on their honeymoon and couldn't undertake babysitting duties.

It was only for a couple of hours, but we were struggling without our daughter. We hated not having her around, and we hated even more the idea of leaving a two-year-old with people who were practically strangers to her.

But Macy was happy and healthy and so were Danyl and me - yeah, we were young parents, but we were married and we loved our daughter very much.

We loved our life here, and that Danyl was finally in the normal world.

Not that he ever fully adjusted.

Which is why, on the day of my twenty-second birthday, Danyl was struggling to make a stir-fry.

"You're so cute and helpless," I said to him.

"You're so mean and rude," he spat back.

I pulled his head in close and kissed him on the forehead. "You're funny with all your normal-world words."

He kissed my lips quickly. "I'm trying really hard, you know."

"I know," I said. "The place is pretty clean, I think. Just give the table tops a once-over and it should be fine."

"Your wish is my command," he laughed, grasping my hand it pulling it to his lips. He kissed it softly and went on his way.

When he was finished, he set out to pick up Macy from day care and was home in time to meet my parents at the door. They arrived with a bottle of wine, and we seated them at our dining table with an array of candles and food.

Macy sat on my mum's lap, her blonde curls being constantly brushed out of her face. Before we had even started the main meal, Dad had sneakily handed Macy a chocolate bar that was smeared all over her skin and top. Unlike when Mum was raising me, she just giggled and let Macy eat to her heart's content.

"A toast," Danyl said once we were all settled at the table and Macy had been wiped up a little, "to the most beautiful birthday girl in the world."

"And a toast," Dad said, a big smile on his face, "to the most perfect family - Adara, Danyl and Macy."

We touched our glasses together. Danyl smiled. I smiled. Macy smiled.