The Prince and the Punk [EDITING]

Epilogue

Janice

In a digital world, concealing identities can be tricky, especially if the people concerned are instantly recognizable, high-profile royalty.

On day one after our escape, Xavier transfers a hefty sum of money into my account. For a while afterwards, I'm paranoid of someone using the transaction to track me—and therefore Xavier and Katie—down. However, if the monarchy made sure to keep one thing secure, it was the transactions made by its members. Clandestine exchanges of money were seemingly common enough to warrant complete digital security, which makes things easier for me.

After that, Max alters Xavier and Katie's tattoos, adding and thickening lines to make the bar codes unreadable. He does it to help, but I think part of him enjoys watching Xavier squirm under his needle.

We try to lay low at first. Xavier and Katie stay in my apartment, and I keep my job at the café, mostly to keep up appearances. It doesn't take long for the isolation to upset Katie. Staying hidden inside with no one to talk to but me and Xavier quickly takes its toll on the social girl, but fear of the current political climate keeps the royal fugitives hesitant to venture out the front door.

For a while, anarchy reigns, which, in my neck of the woods, doesn't change much. Crime still runs rampant, and things remain just as ugly as they've always been. People, however, seem more energized than ever before. They're glad to be rid of the monarchy, despite the gruesome manner in which it was destroyed, and they're hopeful that the next form of government will be better.

Slowly, things start to feel normal. The world starts to gain some semblance of order as people rally around leaders of their own. Nations are born—some large, some small, some freer than others, but not one of them a monarchy.

Things cool down, but staying in the city is stressful for everyone, so we make plans to leave, much to the dismay of Max and Danny. We bring almost nothing with us, save for a few clothes and some of Katie's favorite toys. For obvious reasons, air travel is out of the question, so we set out in the car with no destination in mind.

With no monarchy left to control the portscreens, the windows are clear. For the first time in our lives, we can watch our surroundings fly by as we speed down the highway. We pass through quaint little towns and big cities much like the one we've just left. We pass farms with rows and rows of crops sprouting from the earth. We pass cow pastures and forests and meadows with more green in them than any of us have ever seen. We stop the car and change our coordinates just to see what lies down dirt roads. With perfect clarity, we see the world as it truly is—green and vast and sprawling—and for the first time, I'm glad to have defended it.

It's devastating to think that we never knew these places existed. We never knew the sky could be so blue, or the stars so bright. Already, it feels impossible that we survived so long in the city, where things were cloudy, dim, and colorless—polluted despite countless bills passed to reduce the carbon footprint.

All three of us fall in love with the purity and freedom of the country, so I go alone to scope out the nearest town. It's large but sparsely populated, and connected to the rest of the world through two-lane highways that run through nothing but forest. The outskirts of the town are filled not with thugs and skyscrapers, but with houses of varied size built on acres of land. Towards the center of it, the buildings—many of which are decades old and lovingly maintained—are closer together. Shops, restaurants, and even hair salons start to pop up, and pedestrians with smiles on their faces fill the wide sidewalks. Even in the center of the town, I can still see trees atop rolling hills.

I park the car and wander aimlessly down the street, marveling at the color of the place. The small houses in the middle of town have lush gardens and sport vibrant colors.

A café catches my eye, and almost out of instinct, I start towards it. When I open the door, I have to stop to gape in surprise. Inside, it's warm and inviting, full of chatter and clanking silverware. Families are seated in booths, digging into large plates of food. The smells of coffee and syrup waft through the air, making me realize how hungry I am.

I take a seat at the counter and, after a moment, am greeted by a plump, grey-haired waitress. She takes my order and welcomes me to the town before running away to bring someone else their food.

I'm much later returning to Xavier and Katie than I thought I'd be, but they're too enthralled with my description of the town to care.  There couldn't be a more perfect place for us, so we buy a small house just outside of town using a sizable chunk of Xavier's money. It's isolated enough that people will leave us be, but close enough for me to work in town.

Though the people here harbor no particular ill feelings towards the monarchy, Xavier and Katie stay wary of being recognized. We dye Katie's hair pink—a color she chose to match mine—and Xavier grows his bangs out just enough to cover his eyes.

Time, though, is the best disguise. It's also the best therapy. It allows us to let go of our guilt and grief. Xavier starts to forgive himself for running away, and lets himself mourn his parents. Eventually, I tell him about Slater and everything that happened in the Space Corps. The past grows more and more distant, and slowly, wounds heal.

Nothing is perfect—not us, not the world, nothing—but together, we try to make the best out of each day. Some days, we fight. Some days, we find ourselves in grim, irritable moods. But most days, we're happy. We've beaten the odds. We've gotten out of situations that might have killed us, and after everything, we're okay.

The spark between me and Xavier returns, and we start to spend most of our time together. We take things slow, knowing we have all the time in the world and no one to fight against.

For now, we're exactly where we want to be—we're together, and we're staring down a well-deserved happily ever after.

++++

Is that it? I think that's it. Holy shit. It's official—I wrote a freaking BOOK!! I FINISHED A BOOK!

I might cry.

Um wow.

Thanks to you for reading this far, especially if you voted and commented (and if you didn't, go ahead and say something right here because I'd really like to hear from you). Also thanks to (most of) my friends for letting me constantly talk about this thing and occasionally giving me advice. Thanks to everyone that did read-for-reads with me or added this to reading lists or shared with your friends.

Oh god I don't know what else to say.

Thank you and I love you.

I made it through editing and I'm gonna submit to the Wattys now (cross your fingers with me).

Bye!