The Nine's

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Once we appear in front of the Winter Elves gates, I drop to my knees.

After two years, I'm home, I never thought I would be again. I thought I would wither away in the compound, unable to die, but losing every piece of me.

Slowly the doors to the gate swing open, and I see those long blonde waves of my youngest sister step out.

I let out a sob, for every moment I've missed but every moment I've just regained from escaping.

And then she sees me, and her eyes fill with tears, as she sprints to me, tackling me in a hug I never thought I would get again.

"You're home." She cries as she squeezes me tightly.

"I'm home." I brokenly whisper as I stroke her hair and plant a kiss on her temple.

I feel another impact, and I spell embers, so Cate has found her way outside.

She cries into me, her words unintelligible as she squeezes me tightly, and I breathe in, smelling every scent of fire there is in this embrace.

We sit there like that for what seems like forever but even that isn't enough.

Until I hear a throat clear, and we separate, there, standing in front of me, is Cerys.

Her long dirty blonde hair falls at her waist in soft curls, framing the swollen belly in-between the curls.

"Girls go take Amaury inside."

They start to protest, but all it takes is for her to hold her hand up to silence them.

She kneels in front of me, cupping my face with both her hands, her eyes completely filled with tears.

"I thought I'd never see you again."

"When have I ever been that predictable?" I laugh through my cries.

We embrace, and she holds me for a long, long time. Soon, the rain starts falling around us, I'm finally feeling emotions I've needed to feel for quite some time.

"You're pregnant." I say against her hair.

"It seems that's true." She says against mine.

I pull away, looking at her, still making sure my arms are in hers, just in case this is a sick dream.

"You found your Promised then?" I ask her.

She smiles and nods, letting me know she finally found someone worthy of her.

"More on that later, you stink, let's get you cleaned up."

She says as she gathers her skirts, and we walk arm in arm through the gates.

As we walk through the streets, the Elves stop and just look at me, reaching their hands out to touch both Cerys and me, a showing of good faith.

We go into the small castle nestled in the top of the mountain, and into a bedroom, a massive bed in the corner with billowing white sheets and blankets on them, with vines grown all over the walls, my books line up on one wall with a bookshelf sunken into it.

"You got all of my books from the cottage?"

She just keeps staring at the wall.

"I held out hope you would return, so I made a condition that they made a room up for you too."

I scan the room again, among one of the walls, there's a dark oak fireplace, vines framing the heath.

One door leads to a closet, and the other to a bathroom I have yet to see.