Beyond the Glow

Epilogue

"Asra! Wake up!" Calls a muffled voice, accompanied by a loud banging on the other side of my door.I roll over, pulling my pillow over my face. The one night I decide to actually sleep outside the lamp... 

"Go away. I'm sleeping." I mutter, listening with a frown as the door opens, and quiet footsteps cross the room to my window. Whoever it is whips the curtains open, and I reach over to the bedside table; doing my best to locate my lamp without looking. If I slip in now, I might be able to get a few extra hours of sleep. 

"Oh no you don't." My hand lands on empty air, and I let it flap around on the table before letting out a frustrated sigh and cracking open my eyes. 

"What do you want that couldn't wait until later today?" I groan, squinting at the black haired person in front of me, the light from the now open window obstructing my view. "I think I deserve a few full nights of sleep for once you know." 

"Of course you do silly," Leila says, coming close enough for me to make out her face now. "But that'll have to wait until tomorrow night. It's already morning, and I have something planned tonight." 

"Not another 'We saved the Kingdom' speech. They're so boring." I groan, letting her drag me out of bed anyways. We'd been giving them almost nonstop to the previous soldiers and Nobles since the mess in the courtyard, the workers and homeless that were living terribly during the reign of Adriana and the King understood completely. The nobles, such as Cynthia; were having a harder time adjusting to the new rules. 

I let Leila pull me out the door, already dressed from last night. I hadn't even had the energy to change in the second it would've taken, I was just so tired. I wave to a few people in the halls, on our way to the old council room. The entire castle is getting a refurbishing, removing the terrible carvings on the doors, and replacing them with better, less gruesome ones. 

I let out a sigh, trotting after Leila down the halls. I'm supposed to be in quite a few of them, apparently. I've been posing and getting dressed up for them all week, really, if it meant I could have a second of silence, I would say we just replace the carved doors with boring wooden ones. Anything to just get a bit of shut eye; sadly I don't really get have a say anyways.  

"When is this all going to be done?" I yawn, finally slowing behind Leila in front of the council room. She rolls her eyes, and I glare at the back of her head; exhaustion making me bolder than I would normally be. "You would be tired of all this too if you had to pose for five-thousand paintings and retell how you took down a witch for the history books every five seconds." I grumble. 

Leila lets out a laugh, "I'm sure I would be, but just watching you makes me tired. So, I managed to get you a day off." 

My eyes widen, and my feet feel immediately lighter, "Really?" 

"Well, we still have to ask the King for permission." She snickers, and I roll my eyes. 

"I should've known it would be too good to be true. You have a cruel sense of humor." 

"Oh boo hoo. He can't say no, otherwise tell him you'll bring Adriana back, he's sure to listen to anything you want after that; Miss Golden genie." 

I grin, and the doors open in front of us, allowing us into the courtroom. There's only a few people, since the Underground is still rebuilding, but they're the ones I trust the most. 

"Look who's finally out of bed." Says Len, standing to greet me with a hug. "We almost thought Leila got lost trying to find your room again." 

"It's not my fault this place is so big!" Protests Leila, and Len smiles, leading me to my seat at the table and sitting next to me. Across the table sits Leila, and next to her; Fira. At the end of the table are two empty chairs, and I smile at them, imagining I can see their honorary members sitting right with us, despite the fact they'll probably never be in attendance.