Pirate's Treasure

Epilogue

"Hey, what- Hey!" Christian called as I stood up suddenly and bolted out the door, running across the field to the couple that were heading towards us, the man now at a dead sprint as well.

“Henrik!” I exclaimed as I ran into his arms, and he scooped me up and spun me around a couple times, hugging me tighter than I ever thought possible.

“Elisa…” He was crying now, and I could feel his tears dripping on my shoulder. “Thank God.”

He put me down and I took his face in my hands, staring into his eyes, making sure it was him. And I started crying when I knew it was. “It is you.”

“Of course it’s me.” He took me in his arms again, sighing in relief, “I can’t believe it’s you.”

By this time, Christian and Iris caught up, staring at us and standing awkwardly. Henrik broke our hug to bring Iris closer, “And you already know Iris, she came with me.”

“Hi.” I greeted weakly, only because she still looked the same from before, and her attitude was most likely the same way.

“Were you here this whole time?” She accused angrily, “Do you know what we’ve been through!?”

“Iris.” Christian warned lowly, “Stop it.”

“I wasn’t here.” I shot back, “I was taken by a group of pirates.”

“You were… what?” Henrik asked in disbelief, “No… you couldn’t.”

“But I was… let’s go inside, we shouldn’t be standing out here in the middle of the field.” I suggested, and Christian took my hand as we traveled across the field and all piled into the home.

“Okay, first, I need to ask.” Henrik started, but looked around the now-nicely furnished home, losing his thought. "What did you do to the place?"

"We had some money that we acquired elsewhere." Christian answered, sitting us down on the padded couch with his arm still firmly around my shoulders.

"By stealing." Henrik accused.

"No! We found it, fair and square." I shot back at him.

"Fine." He held out his flat hand, gesturing to Christian, “Who is this?”

“This is Christian.” I replied as he pulled me into him, and his other arm wrapped around my shoulder. “My husband.”

“Your what?” Henrik growled lowly, looking him over. “When did this happen? It’s only been two years!”

“I know, and I’m sorry, but-” My voice choked as tears form in my eyes, “We were told you were dead.”

“By who?” He shot back, “This is the first time I’ve heard about it.”

“All of Robin Hood’s men were executed!” I explained, my voice rising sharply. “Robin Hood was the only one who made it out!”

“I…” He stammered, biting his lip, thinking. “I never knew.”

“Anyway.” Christian switched the subject when he saw I was upset, extending his hand. “I’m Christian. You must be her brother.”

“Yeah.” He held out his hand reluctantly, but they shook anyway. “And this is my fiancée, Iris.”

“You two aren’t married yet?” I asked in shock, “But you were engaged two years ago!”

“We left to find you.” Iris complained, “And Henrik said he wanted to delay it until we found you, but we never did.” She scoffed, crossing her arms, “Until now.”

“I’m sorry, I just-”

“And you never even thought that we could be out there somewhere? You just live life here and get married while you worry the rest of us?” Iris shook her head, eyes blaring. “I hope you realize what you’ve done. You didn’t even wait to get married in case we were alive. Who was even at your wedding to celebrate?”

“A lot of people.” Christian jumped in, saving me, “We had the King and Queen, the crew, Robin, David, some nobles who randomly showed up-”

“Wait.” Henrik stopped him, “The crew?”

“Henrik.” I started again, taking a step forward. “Over the year I was gone… I became a pirate.”

He looked like he stopped breathing when the color drained from his face. Given our history, I would’ve been too if he did the same. “But… David… he was killed by pirates!”

He must’ve totally missed when Christian said his name, so I took his hand gently. “Don’t freak out.” I whispered, searching his eyes for any emotion. “David’s alive.”

He took a step back, breathing choppy breaths, shaking his head. “No, I watched him die.”

“So did I, but he was on one of the ships. He was taken and became a pirate, too.”

“That’s not possible!” His hands were now grasping the sides of his head, and Iris was by his side, trying to calm him down. "Why would he not come back after a whole decade!?"

"That's what I said." Christian muttered, shaking his head. "At least my brother looked for me."

I shot Christian a quick glare before continuing, “Please don’t overreact.” I begged as Christian grabbed my wrist lightly and pulled me back. “He’s alive, and he’ll visit."

"When?" His eyes were now lit with hope, "When is he coming home?"

"I've been asking that question for a long time." I sighed weakly, "But he visited three months ago. He probably won't be back for a while."

"That's-" He looked like he was about to blow up in my face, but Iris held onto his arm, which somehow made him calm. "That's fine. I can wait."

"I can't wait." I smiled, thinking of all three siblings being together again. "But now I have to ask… if you weren't here, where were you for two years?”

Henrik and Iris shared a look of exhaustion before he spoke, “You have no idea what we’ve been through.”

"Oh." My voice tried to not sound sarcastic, but the smirk gave me away, "Try me."