VALKYRIE

Epilogue: Nineteen Years Later

"Faun! Iris! Benjamin! We need to talk to you," Juno Smith called.

Eric Smith walked in from the kitchen, and sat down next to her on the blue couch.

The room was painted tan with lots of decorative pictures and colorful drawing. A few tables lined the room, with fresh flowers in beautiful antique vases. A television was hung on the wall opposite the couch, currently turned off.

A relaxing smell of cinnamon and vanilla filled the room. Small potted plants and trees and shrubs, all living, were set strategically and decoratively against the walls.

The house was very homely and what most people would describe as friendly, a place almost anyone would feel at home in.

Faun Smith walked into the room. She was a thirteen year old with black hair, pale skin and blue eyes.

"Yeah, mom?" She asked, sitting in a bean bag chair across from the couch.

Iris Smith ran in, a ten year old with blond hair and brown eyes. She flopped down next to Faun, on the bean bag chair, snuggling up to her.

Benjamin Smith was the last to come in, the youngest in the family, an eight year old who looked a lot like Eric, with his shaggy brown hair and dark eyes. He clutched his large blue teddy bear in his small arms.

"Yes, mommy?" He asked, his large childish eyes sweeping across the room.

"You kids have been asking about your names. None of them are very common, except Ben's name," Juno said, smiling at her three children. Iris looked at her mom, tilting her head.

Eric noticed how much she looked like her mom when she did that, and smiled at her.

"Who was I named after?" Iris asked curiously, bouncing around on the chair.

"Me too, mommy," Benjamin added, waving his teddy bear around through the air. Eric smiled again.

"Don't forget about me," Faun chimed in, loudly. Eric held his hands up.

"Wait one second. We'll tell you in a minute," he chuckled, waiting for Juno.

"Before I start, I have a question," Juno exclaimed, trying to hold the attention of her kids. They looked up, interested and curious.

"Do you believe in magic?" Juno's question caught everyone except Eric off guard.

"I don't know," said Faun. "I mean, it could be..."

Her voice trailed off as she looked at the wall by her parents, thinking  Benjamin nodded, agreeing with his older sister.

"People say it's not. But I think it is," Iris excitedly opinionated. Juno nodded, and shared a meaningful look with Eric.

"I suppose I'll just come out and say it. It's going to be hard to believe, but just bear with me," Juno said, taking a deep breath. Eric nodded, silently cheering her on and encouraging her with his eyes and his hand squeezing hers softly.

The kids tilted their heads, looking so much like their mother and father that they could actually pass off as their parents.

"Magic is real. Have you ever heard about Valkyries, or ever learned about them in school?" Juno asked, trying to explain their history as best as they could. The children gasped and looked around.

"Magic is real? Why did you never say so?" Iris asked, looking at her parents in disbelief.

"Yes. But did you hear about the Valkyries?" Eric asked, trying to keep them on track. Faun raised her hand like she was in school.

"Weren't they the healers of the ancient battlefields? They were blond with pale skin and blue eyes? Basically angels," She explained, but she was asking a bit more than she was answering.

"Yes, Faun. They were," Eric told her. Juno looked her children in the eyes.

"Do you believe in Valkyries?" She asked, hoping with all her heart that they would say yes.

"Yeah, mommy! I do!" Benjamin exclaimed. Iris and Faun nodded.

"I guess so. I don't really think they were myths," Faun thought out loud.

"Good. Because... your mother... she is a Valkyrie," Eric explained.

The children looked at their parents in disbelief.

All was silent for a few moments, until the kids shouted in perfect unison, "Cool!"

Eric and Juno laughed.

"Faun, you were named after someone amazing. She was my caretaker. She practically raised me," Juno told her daughter.

"That's awesome. Was she a Valkyrie too?" Faun asked. Juno nodded.

"One of the oldest alive. She sadly died after saving most of the Valkyries' lives. Now Iris, you were named after my mother. She was taken away from me when I was born, and I was taken care of by Faun. But she saved my life by sacrificing her own. She was killed by an evil man, the same one who had taken her away from me when I was born. Benjamin was named after my father, who was killed before my mother gave birth to me. The same evil man had killed him because he was in love with my mother and was jealous of my father. All of this was very sad, but the man was defeated," Juno explained, a bit dejected herself, as she explained her children's namesakes.

"All of them made sacrifices and were good people, and we loved them very much," Eric chimed in, holding Juno's hand. The kids looked sad, but they were also happy.

"I want to think about this," said Faun, kind of excited at the prospect.

"Me too," Iris agreed. Benjamin nodded.

"Me three!"

They all took off up the steps, laughing and talking. Eric and Juno stayed on the couch. They looked at each other.

"It feels so good to get all of that weight off my chest," Juno confessed, a bit tired. Eric nodded, agreeing.

"It was rough," he said, holding his wife's hand. Juno looked into Eric's eyes.

"I love you," she said, leaning in.

"I love you too," Eric murmured, wrapping his arms around Juno.

They closed their eyes, and kissed passionately, with love, a beautiful, magical love story that broke the rules of reality; a husband and wife, and Valkyrie and a human, together, happily married and in love, a powerful, earth shattering love, but any love is a beautiful thing nonetheless.

THE END.