~

Prologue: It is many years after the events of "Invaders", and Karr and Karen have been living in bliss ever since. But a new Grendel has risen, continuing the legacy of d'Graht....

~

Setter, now a grown norn, leaned against the railing on the very top level of the tower, staring out over the sparkling seas and the Island. Karr had said he had the gift of prophecy, and he was only now coming into it fully. As far as Setter was concerned, he didn't want to be a prophet. The only prophets he'd known -- Tiar and Ira -- hadn't had the best of luck. Tiar had been poisoned by a human, Ira had been made half cybernetic. Neither were futures he especially wanted to pursue.

His gaze flickered to the Grendel Tree, far in the distance. A shiver ran through him. He felt something very bad from that tree, something very very bad.

He decided to keep it secret, for just a little while longer.

~

"Mommy! Daddy!"

The excited little girl norn ran towards Karr and Karen. Grinning, Karr picked up his little daughter and swung her around in the air.

"How you doing, Kerra?" he asked his giggling daughter.

"Just fine, thanks," she replied with a huge grin, then hugged him. Karr grinned and set her back down on solid ground. Kerra promptly ran over to Karen and hugged her, too. She then scampered back to play with her toys. Karr and Karen shared a smile.

"She reminds me of Jina," Karr grinned. "Just as hyper and just as cute."

"And just as noisy," Karen agreed, also grinning. "I wonder what she'll be like as a teenager."

"I try not to think about that," joked Karr. "She'll probably drive everyone insane."

Karen laughed, and the two went to go play with their young daughter.

~

"Hey, Setter! Want to fence?"

Eliot's voice cut into Setter's thoughts as he sat at the edge of the waterfall. "Not right now," he murmured. "Got too much on my mind."

Eliot frowned. "Aw, it's not all that prophecy stuff again, is it?"

Setter nodded. "I'm getting little flashes of insight, and occasionally I see little fragments of the future. It's annoying, but Ira says that all I can do is wait for them to come in full."

"I'm sure you can fence in the meantime," Eliot said, sounding annoyed.

"No, my mind has to be on it when I fence. I'm too distracted right now."

Eliot stared at the back of Setter's head for a while, then turned and walked away; half out of respect for his friend's privacy, half for pure resentment.

~

Sassy huddled in one of the darkest corners of the cellars, feeling miserable, as per normal. She gnawed on a shitake mushroom, more for the need to do something than out of any real hunger. For the sadness she felt, she could have cried; except she had passed beyond tears long ago. She believed herself to be the last of the Norns, had believed it since those impostor Shee had blown away the rest of her race.

She shivered at the memories. She had been down in the cellars at the time, and had heard strange noises from above. She had then gone up in the lift, only to find the dead bodies of norns all around her. Dazed, she had wandered the empty Albia for a long time, not finding a trace of life anywhere. She remembered when she had seen the bodies of Annie and Sam, her two best friends in the world. She had cried her eyes red and dry when she'd seen them. And finally, a long time after, the spaceship had returned. She had fled to the cellars and never returned to the surface.

And now here she was, living off shitake mushrooms and hootch. Dimly she wondered what exactly had kept her alive all this time. It wasn't hope. For her, all hope had vanished long ago. What, then, was it? Was it stubborness? To refuse to let the race of Norn die?

'Probably,' she thought bitterly. But what was the point? Without another male in the world, there was no hope left for the race. She looked over at one of the lifts, and made her decision. Better to go out quickly than to linger. She made her way slowly to the lift, and sent it up.

~

Eliot wandered into the jungle, reflecting on all that had happened in his lifetime. He'd been only a child when Karr had come running triumphantly ino the Garden after defeating Rrak. Later, the humans had come, masquerading as the Shee. He had grown up on that spaceship. And now, his best friend was becoming less and less his best friend.

Behinds him, he heard the chugging of one of the lifts. Curious, he turned around as the lift reached the temple, and gasped at the sight of the Norn within.

She was horribly emaciated, and slightly pale from a lack of sunlight. Her blond hair was matted, and she had to lean against one wall of the lift for support. Eliot's heart went out to the suffering Norn, and he moved towards her to comfort her. She heard his footsteps and turned to look at him. He stopped, as her hollow-looking green eyes fixed on him. A small glimmer appeared in her eye.

"A Norn?" she murmured, slurring slightly. "I thought I was the last."

Eliot's heart wrenched at the sadness in her voice. "No, you're not," he soothed, laying a hand on her shoulder. "What happened? Who are you?"

She sighed, turning away from him and looking down. "My name is Sassy," she said quietly. "I used to be one of Karr's students. As for what happened...the humans happened."

"The humans...I remember them."

Her head whipped around to face him again. "You survived the attack?" she demanded, incredulously.

"Sort of. I wasn't there for the attack, actually. Karr and Karen herded me, Setter, Jina, Tiha, and Draco onto the ship before they left, at the late Tiar's instructions."

Sassy stared at him, her mouth falling slightly open. In an instant, all she had thought, had believed about herself, had been shattered. The race wasn't dead or dying. And the humans...

"What happened to the humans?"

"They're dead. We killed them. Draco, Karen, and Karr did, that is. Ira too. Somehow the humans got hold of him and made him a cybergrendel."

"A cybergrendel?"

"Mm-hmm. And you remember Setter?"

"Setter..." She searched her memory. Setter. Oh, yes. He'd been the charismatic, imaginative one who Eliot had been best friends with.

"Yes."

"He's becoming a prophet. We're kind of growing apart now, because he always has something on his mind."

'Growing apart?' "Are you Eliot?"

"Yeah."

Sassy blinked. Eliot had been a child when she'd last seen him, and now he was a near-adult. Had that much time passed? Apparently it had.

"Come on, we need to get you something to eat. Karr ought to be happy to see you."

Sassy managed a small smile. Eliot gently took her hand, and led her back to Gardenfalls.

~

For the first time in years, the Grendel Mother bulged with an egg. Aging as the creature was, the egg-laying was a slow, tedious process. But at last the egg tumbled free and shattered on the floor below. A grendel, newly-spawned, rose from the shards. He looked around. The words of his predecessor, the infamous and evil d'Graht, sounded in his mind.

'You, my friend, will be my gateway...to revenge.'

The Grendel let out a throaty laugh, and moved to obey his mentor's commands.

~

Setter suddenly cried out, falling to his knees. This aroused the attention of several nearby Norns, who ran to assist him.

"What happened?"

"Setter, speak to us!"

"What's the matter?"

Setter stood, with the help of Ira and a Norn. Weakly, he leaned on Ira for support.

"I don't know, I just...It was so cold, so dark...so final!"

Images danced in Setter's mind. He saw two Norns...a father Norn and a daughter. The father was embracing the daughter. Setter didn't recognize the two, nor did he recognize the voices that spoke the words he heard. "Is mother...gone?" the daughter said.

"Yes...I'm afraid so," replied the father, the unfamiliar voice heavy with sadness. "It was terrible..."

"Lad!" Ira fairly yelled, yanking Setter out of his visions. Setter tried to focus his vision again, and saw the concerned look on Ira's face.

"Wha...wha?"

"Setter, what happened? You were so distant...like you were in another world!" a bystanding Norn exclaimed.

"He was," Ira declared. "He was prophesying."

"But what did I see?" gasped Setter. "What is going to happen? Ira, I saw a young Norn and her father...the girl asked if her mother was gone...the father confirmed it. They were so, so very sad...I wanted to reach out, to comfort them, but they were only visions...just visions..."

"A death," Ira said. "Easy, lad, we don't know how far ahead in the future it is. For that matter, you might have been looking into the past."

Setter said nothing.

~

"Karr! I found someone that you might like to talk to!"

At the sound of Eliot's voice, Karr jumped and ran to meet him. He was instantly struck by the Norn woman he led by the hand. There was something alien, yet very, very familiar about her.

"Who are you?"

The Norness half-smiled. "What, you don't recognize one of your old students?"

It hit Karr.

"SASSY!"

Sassy grinned, an honest smile now, and the two hugged.

"Sassy! I thought you were dead in the attack!"

"No, I wasn't. It's both fortunate and unfortunate."

"How?"

She looked away. "I lived in the cellars for most of my life, living on shitakes and hootch. It was a living hell, and I dared not go up to the surface, for fear the humans would kill me. Karr..." She looked him straight in the eyes. "They killed Annie and Sam. They couldn't get to cover in time...it was...so horrible..."

Karr hugged her in sympathy, patting her gently on the back. "I'm sorry, Sassy, really I am."

Sassy said nothing...no words could be said. They would have sounded hollow.

"Karr!" a voice suddenly yelled. Sassy and Karr broke the tender embrace as a Norn ran up, frantic. "Karr! Karen has disappeared!"

~

"SETTER!"

Setter whirled to face Karr, who was obviously very very angry.

"Yes?"

"Setter, what is wrong with you? You are seeing all these f*cking visions, and NOT ONE OF THEM SAID ANYTHING ABOUT KAREN??"

"Hey, I can't control what I s--"

"SILENCE!!" boomed Karr. "How is it you can see the minutest happenings in Albia, but you CAN'T F*CKING SEE WHEN MY F*CKING WIFE IS KIDNAPPED???"

Setter was trying very hard to be invisible as Karr advanced.

"Karr, I'm sorry I didn't see Karen's kidna--"

"YOU'RE THE PROPHET!!" Karr bellowed. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO _SEE_ THESE KINDS OF THINGS! HAVE YOU ANY IDEA HOW F*CKING PISSED OFF I AM RIGHT NOW?"

"Yes," muttered Setter. "You're telling me with every word."

"Look, Setter," Karr said, his voice now a hiss. He pointed one finger in Setter's face for emphasis. "You're supposed to be the one who can see everything. What kind of prophet CAN'T SEE A KIDNAPPING?" His voice rose again.

"CHILL OUT!" Eliot yelled from behind Karr. The enraged leader spun to face Eliot, giving him a glare that would bore a hole in rock. Eliot was unfazed.

"Listen, oh noble leader," Eliot snarled. "Give Setter some slack. Remember, he has little to no control over his powers right now. He's just developing them. Don't expect him to be able to tell you about every little thing!"

"LITTLE THING?" Karr sputtered. "My wife...my beloved wife, who resurrected me once, inspired me, _loved_ me...was kidnapped, and you call it a LITTLE THING?"

"Did I say that?" Eliot retorted. "No! Karr, you need to calm down before you kill someone or bust an artery. At least chill to the point where you can think. Karen was kidnapped. Yes. Instead of doing something _reasonable_, you're yelling at Setter because he couldn't see with his limited powers that your wife was going to be kidnapped. Anything wrong with this picture?"

Karr gave his ground. Eliot had raised a valid point. Yelling at Setter wouldn't get Karen found.

"You're right," the leader said. "I'm sorry, Setter," he said, turning to the bewildered prophet. "I lost my temper, I--"

"Mornin', lads!" a new, unfamiliar voice called out before Karr could finish. Everyone turned to the source of the voice - an average-height being, clutching a staff in one hand, and fairly hidden underneath a swath of leathers and a wide-brimmed leather hat. Two Nornish eyes peered from under the hat, but in contrast, the legs and tail were Grendelish.

'A Grenorn?' Karr thought incredulously.

"'Ello there, Karr," the Grenorn said with a chuckle, walking up to Karr. "Wot's wrong that ye were yellin' so at this poor lil' boy 'ere, eh?"

"Wha? You know my name?"

"Couldn't 'elp but know it, lad!" the stranger laughed. "'Eard this one over 'ere--" he pointed to Eliot "--mention ye name. Sort of took off from there, wot?"

Karr nodded bewilderedly. This was confusing as hell. "Um, well, okay. Why're you here?"

The Grenorn shrugged eloquently. "Oh, I, eh, wander, from place t'place...Thought maybe I'd stay 'ere for awhile, wot? Allow me to introduce m'self. The name's Arthur." He gave a sweeping bow that, despite the fact that it was horribly overdramatic, looked great. Karr was still overwhelmed.

"Well, I 'ope -- I mean, I hope -- that you'll have a good stay here. Make yourself at home."

Arthur smirked. "Thank ye, m'lad, much 'preciated."

"In the meantime," a curious Setter piped up, "Why don't you take off your leathers, I wanna see what you look like."

Arthur shrugged again, then in one smooth motion removed his leathers. His appearance was beyond strange. From left shoulder to right hip, there seemed to be an invisible diagonal line. Below the line, his body was Grendelish. Above it, however, he was Nornish. Karr realized that he was gaping. Arthur grinned.

"Bit surprisin', eh, lads?" he laughed. "I dunno 'ow I got like this, but I did."

Karr wandered off to find the coffee pot. He had the impression he would need a _lot_ of coffee.

~

Consciousness came first. Then the awareness of the darkness, followed quickly by the realization that her eyes were closed. Still groggy, Karen forced her leaden-feeling eyelids open, and surveyed her surroundings.

She was in the catacombs, chained to the wall. Flickering torches gave a faint, eerie glow to the cave, and shimmered off the Grendel's skin and glinted in his eyes.

A _Grendel_...?

"Wh...wha..whahyoutakenme'ere?" she slurred, trying to force her tongue to make sounds.

"You are a Norn," the Grendel said simply. "Norns are weak, and deserve to die."

"Icanntdie," Karen said. "Immortal..."

"Then your death will simply take longer."

With that, he made a fist and punched her hard.

~

"Is she...gone?"

Kerra's large, innocent eyes were filled with apprehension. Karr's stomach turned. He didn't want to have to explain to his young daughter.

"We don't know yet, Kerra," Karr said. "She just disappeared. Setter's trying to find out what happened."

Kerra looked down. "I hope he finds her."

"We all do, little one...we all do."

~

A few days pass....

~

Setter gasped as an image formed. It lasted only a second, but in that second, he had managed to burn it into his memory. Karen, chained to a wall in the catacombs, staring with defiance at...what? He hadn't seen it. But he had to tell Karr what he now knew. He leapt up from his meditation spot by the waterfall and ran at top speed, looking for Karr. By the time he found the leader in the kitchen, his chest was heaving with every gasping breath. Karr saw the exhausted prophet and was immediately concerned. "What's up, Setter?" he demanded. "What's going on?"

"Ka-Karen," Setter gasped. "She's in-she's in the catacombs!"

Karr's jaw dropped silently. Without a word, he sprinted away, heading for the submarine.

~

Karen looked up as the lift chugged down to her floor, the defiance still in her eyes. She knew she was going to die, but was all ready to spit in the Grendel's face.

It was not the Grendel that came down in the lift. Instead, it was a tall norn, with white hair. Karen recognized the face instantly and futily struggled against her bonds to go to him. "Karr!"

He dashed over to her side, embracing her. She felt his tears on her shoulder, felt his trembling as he cried. She knew she was going to die....but at least her beloved was here to help her through it.

"Oh, Karen, beloved," Karr sobbed. "I missed you, we all did! Especially Kerra..."

At this, Karen felt a pang of guilt. She could just imagine her daughter's face upon knowing that her beloved, immortal mother had finally met her end. As much as she hated to put her daughter and mate through this, there was no choice. She could not be saved.

To Karr, Karen looked awful. She was emaciated and tired, her snowy hair matted. She kneeled on the floor, her wrists bound in painfully tight manacles. She had suffered the Grendel's torture for too long to live much longer.

"Beloved," Karen whispered. "I'm sorry...."

"Karen, you can live," Karr said, whether to assure himself or her he wasn't sure. "I know you can."

"No," she whispered sadly. "The torture has gone on too long. Nothing can save me, not even immortality or love." She looked at him, agonized. Karr was deeply saddened at the hollowness in her eyes. "I know this won't be easy. Try to help Kerra through it, and then tell the other Norns..." She sighed quietly "...that Karen has finally crossed the bridge."

With that, she closed her eyes, let out a final, tired whimper...and died. Karr sat there in shock, staring numbly at the dead body of his mate...his beloved. He called her name, not wanting to think it, not wanting to believe she was dead. But he knew it deep in his heart, knew it in the marrow of his bones. He stroked her hair and began to cry.

~

From the moment Karr first walked into the Garden, Sassy knew something was wrong. The slowness of his walk, the empty expression on his face...and the awful limpness of the white-haired form he cradled in his arms. It was Karen.

"Karr...?" she asked quietly. "What...what's wrong?"

A lone tear rolled down one furry cheek as Karr bowed his head.

"Karen died."

Sassy stared at Karr numbly, her head suddenly buzzing. She knew what it was like to lose a close friend...but a mate? Furthermore, an immortal mate? Karen had meant the world to Karr...and now she was gone.

"Oh, Karr...I'm sorry..."

He didn't answer just continued into the kitchen to be alone. A few Norns tried to follow them, but Sassy quietly held them back. She knew that the distraught leader needed to be alone. Company would help later, but right now, he had to be alone.

~

Karr seemed distant throughout Ira's speech, as he stared at the body of his mate, lying silent in the coffin. Ira's words ran together in Karr's ears, melted until all that was left was the sound of Ira's odd voice, deep with sorrow. It wasn't until Ira finished, and the flowers brought forward, that Karr came out of his trance. An air of sobriety filled the area as the children laid wreaths of Gentian, Feverfew, Morning Glory around Karen's neck. By her own insistence, Kerra was last. She stepped forward with a single blue Gentian blossom and tucked it with care into Karen's grasp. Karr looked on with pain as the coffin was shut.

"And so," Ira said sadly, beginning the last words of the funeral, "the circle of time has turned, and even though Karen is no longer among us, we shall always remember and love her...for the spirits of the departed live on forever, in the hearts of those that remember."

Kerra turned and sobbed quietly. Karr picked the child up and hugged her, as she wet his shoulder with tears. The coffin was taken to the top of the watchtower by Eliot and Sassy. Almost inaudibly, Karr whispered a goodbye to his beloved mate.

~

Ira walked away alone, lost in thought. Many things had happened. Karr had had to face his evil brother, humans had landed, masquerading as the Shee, Ira himself had been made into a cybergrendel, and now Karen had died. Eliot and Setter, their names synonomous with the word "friendship", were growing apart as Setter developed abilities Eliot couldn't understand. Yes, many things had happened. None of them good.

He was acutely aware of the unnatural thunking of his metal foot as he wandered down the wood floor of the treehouse, and into the rest of the Grendel Tree. His old home. The humans had stolen the potency of his prophetic abilities when they had made him into the creature he was now, so he only had little flickers of awareness. Which was one reason he was so eager to help Setter train his own abilities.

What was that? He stopped and stood at attention, striving to recover the fleeting feeling. But no use, it was gone. He cursed loudly and hoped that Setter had seen it as well.

~

Eliot and Sassy sat together under the waterfall, listening to and watching the descending cutain of water. The new Grendel recently slain by the now-elusive Hand, there was little left to do in Albia but mourn. It seemed now that a cloud covered the once-cheerful world. Neither knowing what to say, the two Norns sat in silence.

"Bet Karr's really sad," Eliot's voice came.

"Who wouldn't be?" Sassy commented. "Karen meant the world to him."

"I know," Eliot said. "Have you seen how empty he looks?"

"Yeah," Sassy replied with a shiver. "Creepy."

"Maybe he'll get over it...eventually."

"Eventually."

They sat in silence for a little while longer. Eliot's hand moved to hold Sassy's. She didn't resist. Together, hand in hand, they sat there for a long time, thinking. Again, no words could be said. Abruptly, Eliot turned to look at Sassy. She looked back. Eliot leaned over and kissed her on the lips. Caught by surprise, she stiffened, but soon relaxed. The two moved to hug.

They embraced in silence, kissing, and all the hardships of recent days faded away.

~

At dead midnight, when all of Albia was asleep, a lone form moved through the darkness. It was Arthur. He made his way through Albia, from the warmth of the kitchen to the Grendel Tree, and then to the hives, and from there, to the watchtower. Reaching the top, he gazed at the polished wood coffin that held Karen's corpse. Slowly, he opened it, revealing the beauty within. Karen lay there, her body not yet decaying, a look of seraphic calm on her lifeless face. Many of the flowers around her neck had withered, but the blue Gentian she clutched still lived. Arthur smiled.

"Terrible waste, lettin' such a pretty one die," he said. "Wot 'appened that ye died, pretty Norn?" He smirked slightly and took the Gentian from her grasp. He collected some of the pollen from it, and rubbed it into the fur on Karen's chest. Then, he produced a small knife from somewherein his cloak, and made a small cut on one of his fingers. He let a single drop of blood fall on the area he had rubbed with pollen, and then withdrew his hand, replacing the flower in Karen's grasp. He then proceeded to make a series of gestures over the corpse with his Grendel hand.

"Sleep well t'night, pretty one," he said. "Sleep deep an' peaceful, an' be wakened by the mornin' light." He smiled. "When the light of day first shines on ye pretty face, awaken, an' rejoin ye mourning family." He then took the lift down, leaving the coffin open.

~

The next day, a heavy fog covered the ground. Many Gardenfalls Norns transferred to the Island for a little while, to avoid the chill brought on by the fog. A few others crowded close by the fire, grumbling at the cold. Karr, however, simply sat on the bridge, staring into the water below. Ever since Karen's funeral, he had been distant and quiet, giving many other Norns the impression of an animated shell, just alive enough to eat and sleep. Indeed, Karr did feel quite empty. Karen had been his beloved for the longest time, had once resurrected him by way of laying an egg that he was reborn from, had inspired him when he was preparing to fight Rrak...and now she was gone. His little daughter came and sat by him.

"Hello, Kerra," Karr said thinly.

"Hi, Daddy," Kerra said, just as emptily. She leaned against him, and he put one arm around her small waist. They sat that way for a long time. Finally, Kerra broke the silence.

"I miss Mommy," she said. Karr looked at her, half envying her for her childish ability to see things simply and clearly. 'Pity,' he mused, 'that more prophets aren't children. Prophecies would never be vague again.'

"I miss her too," he whispered to the little girl. "I miss her too."

Meanwhile, up on the tower, a cloud moved out from in front of the sun. A ray of sunlight fell on Karen's face. A long time of silence passed, and then, suddenly, there was the sound of a faint inhaling, then exhaling. The breathing continued...from the coffin.

Karen's eyes flickered open.

"Mmm?" she asked the air, staring up at the sky. She sat up, and realized she was in a coffin. Puzzled, she tried to force memories back, then saw the blue Gentian flower in her hand. Instantly, the events flew back. The Grendel had killed her. But now she was alive. Or was it merely her soul, rising up from the body? She had never died before. She didn't know what happened.

With slight difficulty, she climbed out of the coffin, accidentally losing her balance and landing hard on her rump. She swore mildly, then stood up. Because of the pain in her bottom, she concluded that she was not a departing spirit. She looked out over what she saw of Albia, and rubbed her forehead.

"What in the name of Ira's sight happened? How did I come back?" She sighed, suddenly feeling tired, then went down in the lift, leaving the mystery of her resurrection to wait. She made her way slowly across Albia, finally finding her way to the bridge, where she saw Karr and Kerra sitting there forlornly.

"Karr..." she murmured.

~

Karr jumped, nearly falling off the bridge where he sat. Recovering his balance, he stared at the form that had spoken the words. In the fog, she looked blurry and indistinct. He was about ready to pass it off as a hallucination...but her voice had seemed awfully real.

"Karen?" he gasped. "Is it really you?"

"Yes, Karr," her voice came back. A smile was on her face. There was a moment of tense silence, and suddenly Karr laughed joyously and ran towards his mate, sweeping her off her feet in an exuberant hug. Kerra giggled and joined the hug. The laughter of the three must have carried a long distance, because a crowd of Norns slowly gathered around them. Once they saw Karen, they too started laughing. And amid all the laughter, a lone figure smiled and adjusted his wide-brimmed leather hat, walking away and disappearing in the fog.

Albia was joyful that day.

~

Karr clutched his mate's hand happily, as the two of them looked down from the Treehouse at the wedding below. Ira, as usual, was acting as priest. Karr had to smile, looking down at the bride and groom. Eliot, his blue-silver Purple Mountain hair panstakingly brushed, looked nervous, but happy, as did Sassy, bearing a bouquet of Gentian, Feverfew, and Pyrethium (because it was pretty). Setter, his familiar smirk once more on his face, was Eliot's best man, and Kerra was playing bridesmaid for Sassy. For the first time in ages, it seemed that all Albia was happy. A smile was all over everyone's face, even Ira's (despite the fact that his face was half metal).

"And you, Eliot, do you promise to take Sassy as your mate, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do," Eliot replied, grinning.

"And you, Sassy, do you take Eliot as your mate, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do," Sassy said, with a huge smile on her face.

"Then I prounounce you both, Norn and wife. You may kiss the bride." A cheer went up from all watching Norns as Eliot and Sassy threw their arms around each other and kissed. Karr laughed out loud from the sheer joy of everything. His mate had died, but returned...Setter's prophetic ability was developing more by the minute, it seemed...and now, Eliot and Sassy were getting married. He grasped his own mate's hand and turned to look at her, grinning. She smiled back, and they kissed.

Below, in the Garden, Setter smirked widely as he approached Eliot. That smirk was the look that belonged on his face, it seemed. It was a welcome expression to see on the prophet's face again.

"Congratulations, Eliot," he said, reaching out to shake his friend's hand.

"Thanks," Eliot grinned.

"Think you can handle the chick?"

Eliot laughed out loud. "Yeah, I'll keep her in line."

"Cool." Setter clapped his friend on the back and smiled wider. "Hey, after the honeymoon...how about a bit of fencing?"

"You're on."

The celebration lasted long into the night, and finally, even the most wound-up revelers retired to bed. Sassy and Eliot hugged, looking up at the stars from the treehouse. They looked at each other, and smiled, lying down quietly together.

A quiet kisspop was heard from somewhere in the trees of Albia.

~

Finis