Epilogue
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He came across her atop the knoll, as he had several times over the last few days.
Millie rose from her kneeled position beside her father's tombstone, brushing off the grass and small clumps of dirt that clung to her snug fitting breeches- an outfit accommodation made when she was tending to matters on the lands surrounding the estate.
The day was overcast, the grey light glooming the surroundings with a sombre atmosphere that added to the cold of the winter afternoon. Despite this, an abundance of violets bloomed persistently at the bases of the gravesites belonging to the Ravensfield ancestry, including Millie's mother and father- a gesture of gratitude bestowed to her on behalf of Kaede or Caëlhon. It was a small memorial on the grand estate- a secluded area of respect with an ample and undisturbed view of the majestic property with all its rolling hills, pristine forests and encroaching wildlands. Five generations of her family were laid to rest atop the knoll, each bequeathed with an intricately carved gravestone that was resplendent with the family crest.
Her head angled towards Blayne as he approached her quietly, a soft smile gracing her lips as she saw him and turned fully to meet him. Crests of pink blossomed against the apples of her cheeks, bitten by the frigidity of the weather, and he was quick to instil his warmth into her by drawing her into his arms. She came willingly, sliding her fingers beneath the coat that he wore and snuggling against his chest.
"You found me," Millie murmured, tipping her chin up to regard him with a mischievous glint in her Arctic eyes.
"I'll always be able to find you," he told her, dropping a kiss to the tip of her nose. He had been driven by the insurgent need to be by her side today particularly after the premonition flashed through his consciousness with a force that rendered him still and frozen amid a particularly bustling transferral of halcoons to their new territory within Ravensfield. Though the unerring images that stirred through his mind had lasted but a second, he had stood by dumbly as several of the small hound-like balls barraged against his knees in their misplaced panic, sending him sprawling amidst the brambles of the forest floor.
When he had recovered, astonished and dazed, he left with nary a word to Rogane, who had been assisting him corral the yelping little beasts, to seek his wife. Blayne was not prone to premonitions- of any kind- and he believed the surge of unfamiliar magic within him a residual aftereffect of Aëghan's administrations to his body two days prior. Later, as he weaved through the woodlands towards where he sensed Millie would be, he reflected on just how much the Dravolese had been retaining from him for so many years. Indeed, other than his obvious ability to change forms into a massive black-scaled serpent, Blayne had not realised he held the power that he had- and had been playing them all for fools all this time.
An icy breeze suddenly pummelled through their legs, despite their closeness, and blew a strand of ashen hair across his wife's eyes. Tucking it back behind her ear, his heart gave another squeeze as he brought forth the recollection of the images he'd witnessed, that had compelled her to seek her out immediately simply to be with her and revel in her company.
"You look... intense," Millie pointed out, cocking her head to the side curiously. She shifted slightly against him so that she could place a fingertip against the point of his chin. "Perhaps you need a respite from all the madness near the manor."
Since his recovery, he had spent more time outdoors as they began the arduous process of relocating, and sometimes outright convincing, creatures and beasts into new, safer, and welcomed territory. Millie had presided for a few hours but her presence had largely contributed to nothing and his wife was not one to stand idly by, so her and the Llaelleanoid had tended to matters within Ravensfield- matters that he would otherwise be compelled to oversee that was fitting as his new role. One of which was the imminent incarceration of her cousin and the magistrate who had taken him into custody for his pivotal role in the crimes against the family. Theo would await trial yet before his fate was ensured, though there was an overwhelming amount of liberal supporters in Millie's human circles willing to lend their voices to her prosecution. It had already been advised that the criminal would be pleading guilty to his misdeeds in hopes for lenient punishment if he were to truly convince his judge of his remorse for the error of his ways and that he believed he was simply acting out of what he perceived the wellbeing of his only remaining family- at the time.
Yet Blayne was grateful for her intervention with the smaller, pedantic tasks within the estate that allowed him to remain in the environment he felt most comfortable in while he adjusted- he was familiar with handling a beast or corralling skittish halcoons, but not so much the particulars of a luncheon that would entertain guests of high import from London.
To add to the madness, Addilyn Holt had begun conducting her screening and matching process from within the manor, at Millie's insistent behest, that consequently drew a plethora of characters from the city, mostly eager misses and just as eager faeborn males. The males he could endure- most took their leave immediately with one dark look from Blayne- but the ladies... the ladies giggled and whispered when they passed him, some bold enough to engage him in conversation and by now Millie's dictates had been so ingrained in him that he was too polite not to entertain them.
Mercifully, it had been agreed upon that the beastkeepers would need to begin the arduous process of locating the species they were protecting, installing fresh wards and boundaries- a fresh start, a better start.
"Always," he told her meaningfully, "though you are, and always will be, my favourite respite."
Her smile was wide and beautiful. "Goodness, with sentiments of such romance, it is any wonder how you've remained unwed for so long." She extracted slightly but kept and arm snugly tucked around him as he held her to his side, and slowly they began to amble down the knoll back towards the manor house.
"Before I met you, notions of marriage and a family... they were not worth thinking about, Millie." It was true- Blayne had never spared a thought to it, consumed by a world that did not welcome his kind and the existence he had fought to have in it, he believed that he had been granted more than he could aspire to. A wife, let alone a child... again his heart clenched tightly within his chest and he couldn't help his gaze as it found her, devouring her graceful profile as they walked together.
"Well, at least I am able to grant you a happy marriage, I hope. As for a family..." Her voice trailed off in reflection, an almost sad look crossing her face. "Perhaps it is not possible for a human and a Draëllian to produce children, but I am endlessly happy to have found you regardless."
As they entered the woodlands, a few bara made their presence known by scampering boisterously across their path and trailing in their wake. A clustering of pixies trilled happily from the boughs of nearby trees, their presence illuminating the dimness of the shadows with colourful luminescence. Over the past two days, Blayne had shown Millie more creatures that she added to her journals in the evenings when they had time to spare- wisps and trolls and lipads- all of which had enthralled her and allowed him to absorb the wonder and excitement on her face.
"You cannot possibly know how marvellous you are," he said to her fervently, squeezing her tighter against his flank. "If I were to live out my days with only you at my side, I would leave this world wholly fulfilled. Never doubt this for a moment. However, do not concern yourself with whether or not conception is possible between us- it is."
She turned her gaze to at him then, a small frown lining her brow in perplexity and speculation. "And you are certain of this how?"
He contemplated telling her of his premonition, contemplated revealing the joy and warmth and love he had felt as he witnessed her nursing their swaddled, tiny daughter to her breast with a clarity that had immobilizing him with an ache of such magnitudinous poignancy he had lost his breath for it, but he thought better of it for now. A knot of intense admiration and emotion burned his throat as he realized that Millie deserved the happiness of the unexpected, the joy of the unknown expectancy when she discovered for herself that one day soon she would bear their child... so instead he drew her to him and lowered his lips to hers, murmuring, "All this love, all this joy... surely it is worthy of being shared with another soul, made only of us?"
He felt her lips spread in a smile against his as she curled her fingers into the lapels of his coat, dragging him closer to her. Then she said, which inspired his laughter to rumble from him in troves, "Perhaps I am not the sort of woman to share your affections, husband."
But his laughter was smothered by their embrace, by her seeking mouth and silken tongue, and even though her words were spoken in jest, Blayne considered the life she had begun to carve out for the two of them- of his brethren and his kind, of her family and her people, all of it to be shared between them with affection and familiarity.
They were already a family, with more than he could ever want or need.
The End
＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊
Glossary & Pronunciations
Characters
The Beastkeepers
Blayne Leowyn – Blane Leo / win
Rogane To'ran – Rogan Torn
Kaede C'Lainn – Kade Coo / lain
Caëlhon C'lainn – Keel / lin Coo / lain
Dravolese
Aëghan Dranora – Ee / gan Dra / nor / ruh
Enorae – Ann / nor / ray
The Fae Beasts
Teprouma – furry cattle-like, land-based creatures used for transportation of bulky goods and textiles
Other hounds – canines humans use for scent hunting
Bara- stoat-like creatures with luminescent antennae
Llaelleanoid– spectral being of Hielda, know to covet souls of the dying on battlefields in Draëll (written in Italics as derived directly from Draëllian and the only creature to purportedly act at the behest of god)
Valkyrie – winged creature contained by Aëghan, only one known to have crossed through The Reveal.
Halcoon – cute, rotund canines that live in trees, though not very adept at it.
Wunvil – huge grub, emits putrid mucus when terrified
Púca- shifter, takes many forms to coax a rider
Pixies, trolls, wisps - mischievous tiny humanoids of varying genus
Lipad - harmless amphibian-like creature with the ability to purify begrimed water
Aesthetic Conceptualization- https://pin.it/3RoT2ka or check out pinterest-authorashmontgomery for not only this book, but others (probs should have put this at the beginning but eh, sue me).
Author's Note:
Thank you for taking the time out to read this weird little world and all its darkness and intricacies!
The support was magical- more than I thought I would generate with such a tale lol!
(And yes, Lillian's is in the works- for now at least).
Do pop a note to say what you'd like to see more of- if anything! Of this story, or others, hell- my genre base is so wide at the moment I could probably contrive something on Mars at this rate. :)
Anywho, take care and keep safe!
Much love, as always-
Ash x