Captive

Chapter Twenty Eight (Epilogue)

Everything had been a blur since Zaleck proposed to me. There was a lot of planning going on, for two things. One, my coronation, and two, the wedding. The day had finally come for my coronation. Things in the town were bustling, the most it had been since I'd been back and after my father's death. I'd never seen the people busy and excited since before I had taken off that day that felt like such a long time ago.

A beautiful gown was hanging off the door. It was a beautiful light blue color, made of satin. It was an off the shoulder gown, with a full skirt and long train. There was a slit up one leg. My hair had been curled in long, loose curls that hung around my shoulders and my makeup was light for the day. I hadn't asked for anything too heavy. With everything done, my mother finally helped me into the heavy dress. I slipped into shimmery silver heels and was ready to take on the rest of the day.

My mother went ahead and I took a moment to gather my thoughts and peek at myself in the mirror. A lot of things had changed in the month that had passed. There was a lot of discussion about Dane and Trittan. It was a lot of closed doors with my mother and I with our advisors. I had already formulated an idea. In those long meetings, I'd pulled Zaleck in, as well as India. I felt horrible for the people of Trittan, always so cautious and nervous moving through the streets. All the guards who had been working for Eb, forcing to do horrible things for him. Compared to Dane, which seemed to close to them but so different, it only made sense to propose the idea.

Thinking back on it, I'm not sure what would have happened if I didn't bring it up. "I propose bringing all of Trittan to Dane and ruling the two regions as one." It had been dead silent in the room as I stood at the table, waiting for anyone to speak. Zaleck, who I'd already had a discussion with, was on board. After all, since I would soon be brought in as the new ruler of Dane, I could not leave to go back to him home and he'd be stuck in Dane. That didn't seem to bother him in any way, but there was concern of what might happen to Trittan. No one was left in the royal family after Eb, so there really was no successor. I'd reached out to Warren, coordinated with him, and he spread the news to everyone in the town.

The only thing left was to get everyone else on board. It would take a lot of adjusting, but I had no doubt that we could do it. And after some time, and more discussion about my plans, my advisors actually agreed to it. I was a little shocked, only because I thought it would have taken a lot more convincing.

So here we were, me standing in front of mirror, staring at myself. Over the month, many from Trittan had started moving over. Some stayed in Trittan, where I'd have advisors placed with the aid of Warren helping rule the area under Zaleck and myself.

As I headed down the grand staircase, my eyes found Zaleck, looking the best I'd ever seen him. He was in a dark suit, hands sitting easily in his pockets. I grinned easily over at him. Without him, I'm not sure how I would have recovered from all of this. But after all, without him, I would have never been in this exact situation.

He stepped up as I reached the bottom of the stairs, offering me his arm. There was only a select few in the castle, everyone else was outside in the grounds where the actual coronation would take place. When I had looked out the window, I'd seen a huge crowd, larger than I'd ever seen, a mix of two regions. It was such a great moment for me, starting off my time ruling with such a positive change.

"If this is how good you look in this gown, I can't wait to see you in a wedding dress." He whispered against my ear, his breath warm, voice husky. He pressed his lips gently to my cheek as my face flushed and I giggled.

"Stop it," I said, my fingers tightening around his arm.

"Never." He murmured, guiding me towards the door. My mother had stepped out before me, also in a beautiful gold gown.

It seemed like a long walk to where I was going, but I was finally there and Zaleck let me go, moving up to my mother and the advisor that would conduct the coronation. I turned to face the large crowd, smiling warmly to myself. After so many horrible things, everything was starting to feel more normal and more right.

It didn't take too long, my mother transferring her crown to me as I recited what needed to be said to take over as a queen. I bowed easily to the crowd at the end, who actually started cheering. Zaleck was up next to me, planting a kiss on my lips. And if it was possible, the cheers got even louder. Everyone seemed to love Zaleck just as much as I did.

In one month, we'd be married, and he would be inserted as king easily. I wrapped my hand around his as we took off towards the celebrations that were ahead of us.

All the celebrations of life that were ahead of us.

Zaleck.

Me.

Our life together.

Ruling two regions and fixing issues that had been going on for all too long.

And, hopefully, living our life together as a true fairy tale. Happily ever after.

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The End

And if anyone would like an idea of her dress,it can be found here:

https://www.zibbet.com/dress-storm/off-shoulder-long-satin-prom-dresses-formal-evening-gown-71706

I would also like to thank every single person who stuck through and read the entire book. I thought this would be a fitting ending. I hope you all enjoyed and thank you for all the support after all this long time.