Epilogue
Nuri
Taking a deep breath, I focused my attention on my hair as I stared back at my reflection. I had trimmed it short a few months back as a farewell to the old me since I've grown in both confidence and my position as the leader of the Alorea tribe. On top of that, it made it easier to stop a certain individual from pulling my hair just because he felt like it. Quietly laughing, I brushed my hair down before standing from my vanity. As I pushed in the chair, I turned and stared at our bedroom.
Over the past few seasons, our home has changed as well. With Kaisen and his father's new invention, we were able to hang pictures of our fondest memories along our walls but we kept those outside of our room, plastered to the walls of the halls and our living room. We had added plants to our home to make it feel slightly better but we had to keep some in higher places. But, most of all, we added more rooms to our home during all hours of the day. We wanted to have enough rooms to house our friends and family whenever they stopped by but a few were off limits as we saved those for our children.
"My heart, are you ready?" Mizail called, pulling me from my thoughts as I softly smoothed down the dark red dress I wore before stepping out of our bedroom, making sure to close the door behind me. As I made my way down the hall, I could hear my husband quietly talking away. Rounding the corner into the living room, I smiled up at my two favorite people as Mizail held our son in his arms. "Look, Melios. It's mommy." Mizail cooed at him as our son gurgled happily while looking between us with his hazel eyes. Mizail had him dressed up in one of the orange onesies I had made with my mom's intricate designs stitched into it.
"Hello, my babies." I smiled as Mizail handed Melios to me before he went to get our cloaks. I gently kissed my baby's chubby brown cheeks while he smiled up at me before Mizail returned. He carefully wrapped my cloak around me before tying the strings while gesturing for me to sit down. "You know, I can put my shoes on by myself now, right?" I asked while holding Melios' head as Mizail laced up my sandals.
"Yes, but I enjoy doing this." He looked up at me with a smile as my heart swooned. Had somebody told me that married life could be beautiful depending on who you got married to, I think younger me would've laughed and called them crazy. But, as the person I am now, I can see my life with Mizail being so much more different from my previous marriage. He's still the sweet, kind yet stubborn guy I met in the desert except this time, he's not in his true form. "By the way," He started while pulling me from my thoughts, "what do those designs on the clothes you make us three mean?"
"Oh, those are protection sigils. I can activate them at any time if I feel we need them but after the explosion, I've started to incorporate them more into all of the clothes I make. I'm also learning how to make them go off by themselves in case I'm not around to do so." I explained as he finished lacing up my sandals before standing and helping me up.
"You really are a great leader." He smiled as I handed Melios back to him before he put our son in a chest carrier while covering him with his cloak. Once we were all ready, he headed out of our home while Mizail shielded me from the sun with his wing until we got into the inside of the mountain. "I say this all the time, but the Gods and Goddesses chose such a caring and loving mate for me." Mizail added as happiness filled me while I grasped his free hand before kissing it.
"The Gods and Goddesses chose such a strong and patient mate for me. I'm grateful for a second chance at life with you." I smiled up at him as Melios gurgles made me smile even wider. "And you too." I laughed while gently rubbing down Melios' black curls. I always wondered who he got those from as both mine and Mizail's weren't curly whatsoever but I try not to think about it too hard. I squeezed Mizail's hand as we grew closer to my shop. "I'm nervous. What if they don't like it? What if they see me and think bad of me?" I asked while looking up at Mizail, who looked around for a second before pulling me away from our path and down an empty street. After walking a little more, he stopped before turning to me.
"My heart," he called softly, "you've been waiting for this for a long time and so has the tribe. I believe in you and I want whatever you desire. If you want to put this off, we can do it. We can go home and relax and prepare for this another day. It doesn't have to be today." He assured me as I shook my head. No, I needed to do this. If we were to go back home today, it'd be the fourth time that I canceled it. All because I was worried about what they would think of me and the things I've made. I had gained some weight with Melios and was worried what my people would think of me. This would be the first time since Melios was born that I'd see everybody. "Nobody would dare say anything about you. I wouldn't let them nor would my lorna and your neighbors. You just gave birth to the most precious being in our life a few months ago and that was the best thing ever." He smiled as I wanted to cry. "We got this, my heart." He pulled me close, careful of Melios while softly kissing me before leaning his forehead on mine.
"We got this." I repeated while wiping a stray tear away before Mizail kissed me one more time. Once I promised him I'd be okay, we set back on our path to my old neighborhood, hand in hand. As we turned the corner and headed towards my shop, the nerves bundled up in my stomach as I noticed all of the Aloreans gathered outside.
"We got this." Mizail whispered the closer we got to them as I nodded while taking a deep breath, ready for the nasty looks and hushed whispers. What greeted us though was the excited chatter of our people who welcomed me back and gushed over Melios. That bundle of nerves quickly fell away as a few of them held care baskets out towards us and excitedly talked about the opening of my shop.
"I'm confused." I spoke up as Yusa made her way through the crowd before standing in front of us. "You're all excited to see me back?" I inquired, my mind unable to wrap around that fact alone as they all nodded.
"Yes, suna. We've seen you hard at work before you got closer to your due date. We're also very excited to see what you have in stock as this will be a big help to our usual tailor and we're also happy to see you healthy and glowing." Yusa explained with a smile on her face as she too was holding a care basket. Smiling, I unlocked the door to my shop before stepping in as the crowd followed behind me. Once inside, one of the ladies from the neighborhood helped me by taking people's currency or trade items while Yusa pulled me and Mizail aside. This was the first time I've seen her since we came back from our sacred ritual but she looked better than ever. Smiling, she pulled us into a hug.
"I missed you, Yusa." I sighed as she pulled back to look at me before I noticed what she was wearing. She had been wearing one of the new outfits I had made her that also had the protection sigil stitched into it. "You're wearing it." I gasped as she nodded.
"Of course, suna. I'm finally able to live how I want to. But, we're not here about me. We're here about you three." She explained while looking between us as I smiled. "Not only do I have a cute grandchild but also a healthy and glowing daughter-in-law. How are you feeling, suna?" She asked as I sighed.
"In all honesty, I was worried about what our people would think of me and the things I made." I explained while looking back at the once fully stocked shelves that were quickly being run through by our people. "I considered not coming back again today as well but I have such an amazing and patient mate that convinced me to come. I was worried about how I would be seen since I gained a good bit of weight with Melios but I see I worried for nothing." I expressed as she nodded in understanding.
"We were worried about you, Nuri. We were worried if you were getting plenty of rest or eating enough. We weren't worried about you gaining weight because who doesn't when they're carrying such a precious gift?" She asked while cooing at Melios who gurgled happily. "But, seeing you today has put our minds at ease. You are not alone anymore, suna. You can always lean on us when it gets too much." She smiled while pulling me into a hug again as I felt like crying again. "Why don't we head to the back and sit down for a little?" She suggested as I nodded before she guided us around the counter and into the kitchen. As we sat down at the dining table, I noticed something else about Yusa. There was a new tattoo like mine around her finger.
"Yusa, you got married again?" I asked in surprise as she looked at me confused before noticing where I was staring. She smiled brightly before leaning back in her seat.
"I did, suna. I met him a little after you and Mizail came back from your sacred ritual. He had lost his mate to the explosion and we both decided that we didn't want to be mates but friends instead. One thing after another, we somehow ended up performing our sacred ritual around the time you stopped leaving the cliff." She explained as I looked between Mizail and her in confusion.
"How?" Was all I could muster out as she seemed confused at my question.
"How did I get a new mate when I already had one?" She asked as I nodded. "I dissolved our union and it was accepted by the Gods and Goddesses even though it's unheard of but sometimes seen on rare occasions. I believe mine was a rare occasion. Vutur was such a sad yet terrible man and as a result of all the things he's done, I guess that was what made them decide." She explained as I sat there in shock while Mizail quietly rocked Melios to sleep. "I didn't expect to get another mate, especially that soon, but I'm happy." She smiled as I reached across the table and patted her hand.
"Congratulations, Yusa. I'm happy for you."
[~~~]
The opening had been such a big success that everything I had stocked on the shelves were completely sold out. I would have to bring back the extras I made just in case something like this happened but that would be at a later time. Once I closed up shop for the day, we got some help taking all of the care baskets back to our homes before heading back to the square to celebrate and feast with our people on my return and Yusa's successful ritual. After a while though, I couldn't stay awake too long as I was still tired from waking up with Melios even though Mizail took care of him so I could get some rest.
I leaned on Mizail as we slowly made our way back home. It had grown dark now as I held Melios close to me in his carrier to keep him warm. "That was better than I expected." I mumbled while Mizail's arm kept me steady as we made our way up the stairs of our porch. He quickly unlocked the door before carefully guiding me into the dark living room that soon lit up with his flames. He carefully set me down on the couch as I gently rubbed Melios' curls as he slept.
"I'm glad. Did you have fun?" He asked while undoing my sandals as I nodded. Melios didn't stir at all when I carefully took him out of his carrier while Mizail undid my cloak. Melios had been in the arms of his grandmother all day while she showed him off to the tribe and gave him all the love and attention he wanted. During that time, I helped myself to some good food while Mizail did as well, pointing out and explaining the dishes as usual. During all of our feasting and Melios' showtime, some of our people performed for us. They had missed my dance performances I used to do but I promised I would as soon as Yareli cleared me to dance again. "Here, let me go put him down for tonight." Mizail offered while carefully taking Melios from me before disappearing down the hall as I quietly made my way over to the sunroom. The stars were bright tonight compared to most nights as I plopped down onto one of the giant cushions.
Just dropping by to let you know your mom said she's proud of you and can't wait for you to visit her soon. Keahi explained through my thoughts as I nodded, still staring up at the stars before Mizail came into view before laying down next to me. I heard the soft click of the baby monitor Kaisen made right before Lily had her little girl.
"Mizail." I softly called as he pulled me into his arms while pulling one of our extra blankets over us. "Will Melios be okay in the nursery?" I asked as Mizail gently kissed my head while my eyes refused to stay open much longer.
"Yes, my heart. Get some rest, I'll look after you both tonight." He soothed as I sighed while snuggling into him. "I love you." He whispered as I slowly started to doze off.
"I love you too."
/////
Hello everyone!
I just want to start off by saying, thank you for reading whether you made it this far or not.
I hope you enjoyed hearing Nuri and Mizail's story (though my updating schedule has been everywhere lately and it's currently 5 in the morning). My next plans are to get some rest (I really need to sleep) then start on book three which will feature Yareli and her unseen mate, Inzeh. Hopefully I'll publish something this upcoming week or before the month is over. If it's not book 3, it might be another book outside of this series. So many good ideas!
If you're liking this series so far, please check out Lily's book, Desert Lily.
Hopefully, I'll see you all again in book 3 but if not, again, thank you for reading!
Ellandrea
P.S. If there was something you wanted to see, but I missed out on it, please let me know!