The Lionfield Brothers ✔

30| Happily Ever After

10 years later

'Stop running! You know I'll catch up to you eventually!'

The small girl giggled, one hand wrapped tightly around the arm of her monster plushy, she pushed past the bramble bushes. Thorns caught around her small legs but wherever they cut - skin sealed itself near immediately.

The four year old ran forwards, the sun warming the back of her short hair. The blonde ringlets curled on pale shoulders as the child ran forward towards the family lake.

Small feet padded over wooden docks to an overhanging willow with an attached rope swing. For so long she had watched her brother hide in the hollow in the base of it and now she lowered herself onto the muddy ground - ignorant of the travesty it caused her white flower dress.

Grey eyes looked into the darkness of the hollow before she looked past her shoulders.

Her brother's footsteps sounded noisy in the forest, echoed with his voice, 'Sorcha! I'm going to come get you, you can't hide from me!'.

The excited giggle from the toddler's mouth was muffled under small muddy hands before she crawled into the hollow of the tree and drew her knees up to her chest.

In the dark, she closed her eyes for just a second before she vanished into thin air.

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'Julian!'

The massive wolf turned around, and huffed once - as if tired before it loped behind a chaise lounge. With a soft crackling sound it shifted in privacy before Julian's head poked over the edge, 'I'm not going to get them'.

Jethriel grinned, pushing his auburn hair back with a hand, 'But they love you'.

'You mean they love watching me turn into different animals for them to torture,' Julian growled back grumpily, although his lips held the ghost of a smile.

'You are one of their favourite uncles,' Keira commented, flashing the shapeshifter a smile over her flannel clad shoulder as she adjusted Jett's tie, 'Vincent has only such little time'.

'You're saying I have a lot?' Julian snorted, pulling on his clothes from behind the lounge, 'Ever since Jaixon had to go back to the Realm I've had my hands full trying to run the damn club'.

'Do we even know why he went back?' Jett frowned, smiling when his wife smoothed it out with soft fingers.

'No,' Julian replied, watching their exchange before huffing awkwardly, 'but we'll probably know when he gets back'.

'Eluen's really handed the club over to him then?' Keira asked, turning to watch the shapeshifter stand up - fully clothed this time.

Julian nodded, 'She's already made the decision but something happened a few days ago so she got sidetracked. She'd given him the place to govern but who ever knows,' he shrugged, 'Jaixon does what he wants'.

'I should go hunt the children down before you go,' Keira commented, given a last adjustment to Jett's tie.

'I'll go with you'

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'Sorcha, just because you're invisible doesn't mean I won't see you,' Daniel shouted, his blue eyes scanning the lake.

At the age of seven, he was the older and therefore adamant on fulfilling his older brother duties. Even if this included playing hide and seek with his invisible sister. åç

Sorcha liked being hidden for hours, and if she could Daniel didn't doubt that his dear sister would loved to be gone for days. Thank God, dad could always find her immediately.

'How do you do that?' he had asked his father once when Jett extracted Sorcha from the kitchen cabinet.

His dad had grinned at him, 'You'll get better at it when you're older'.

The answer was unsatisfactory, even with all the extra lessons he was trying to make Uncle Julian and Vincent give him.

He missed Aunt Pixie, rumour was that she was going back to the Realm to get married. Apparently, it was arranged - whatever that meant.

She had been his comfort when he was younger, the one to babysit him when his parents had to deal with Realm business.

A rustling to his left made him turn, and he gave off a soft chuckle as he spotted footsteps in the mud that led to the tree hollow.

One day he knew that Sorcha would be so good at hiding that she'd learn how to cover her own tracks.

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'We have Pixie's wedding in a month,' Jett whispered, his hand covering his wife's protectively as they stepped through their private estate.

'I won't be too sure of that,' Keira grinned, looking to the side at her husband, 'She told me how much she opposes the wedding'.

'Fae court is not something to be trifled with,' Jett grimaced, 'I know she won't go easy'.

'About Rosie...'

'We'll find a place for her,' Jett cut her off, giving her hand a little squeeze, 'We don't have a shortage on money'.

After the traumatic experiences of ten years ago, and her mind being addled by Edmund and other unspeakables, Rosie had lost her way. Sometimes she knew who she was and sometimes she did not.

Her dear second mother had been switching care homes for the last few years, her mental issue being so much more "complex" than what the doctors were used to.

As they came upon the brush near the lake, both stopped to look at their children.

They sat in the mud, faces covered with dirty fingerprints, laughing as they built mud pies with sticks and leaves.

Between them sat the plushy monster Keira had tried to sew. It had taken weeks of teasing her before Jethriel had helped her finish it.

It was the second toy she had attempted to make for her children. The first one had been a blanket for Daniel - an unseemly rag that her son had carried around for years until rolling it up and using it as a pillow.

They each squeezed each other's fingers before walking towards their children, who both looked at them and smiled - dimples gracing their cheeks.

'Come on kids,' Keira started, bending down to cradle Sorcha in her arms, 'Daddy has to go to the Realm and Stefan needs his feeding'.

'I still thought Stephen was a better name,' Daniel commented from the ground, 'Then he'd be directly named after grandpa'.

Keira smiled, remembering her father always made her want to tear up a little. He had known nothing, with no powers and nothing but himself he had tried to protect them from everything. The simple human that her mother had fell in love with, 'Stefan's name just has a little twist to it'.

'Stefan Elessar,' Daniel grinned, being raised up into his father's arms, 'Elessar was also our grandpa right?' As both parents nodded, the seven year old snorted, 'Why he's just a little old man, isn't he?'

Sounds of laughter filled the forest, it was finally time for their happily ever after. 

A/N: TLB has officially ended, cry cry. I hoped you guys liked this chapter, if there are any requests for stories about side characters I've left enough here to let you choose which one you'd like to read more about! Please comment and vote - I'd love to hear what you guys think <3 Love, J.