Nevermore

Epilogue (Pt 2)

50 years later

Niamh's grandmother had always been good at telling stories.  Every Saturday night, she and her two brothers would listen to her stories beside a toasty fire. Stories of fairytales and fantasies ; nightmares and dreams. Wizards and witches ; princesses and princes, tales of old. 

Her grandmother had been the founder of the town, The Retreat, where Niamh lived. It was a peaceful place, protected from the world by a barrier, guarded by the Lady of the Lake. No one was sure how far the Haven stretched (the name of the surrounding land) a team of people regularly hiked and kept marking new discoveries. 

When the Retreat had first been settled it had been called the 'Safe Haven' but the name had evolved over time.  Niamh's family (including her grandmother) lived in the oldest house, equipped with a farm. In the centre of the town, there was a statue of her grandmother, Hazel, in her youth. After all, she had saved and brought a bunch of refugees from the Good and Evil war here. Niamh was aware there was another world out there but it could not be reached. The Lady of the Lake's power had drained, leaving them all stuck. A curse and a relief. In the other world they would be killed. 

Above the crackling fire, on a shelf, was the bones and skeleton of Hazel's dear snake, Diablo who had passed long before she was born. His legacy had continued, leaving most families with a pet snake. Niamh had one herself, a baby one, not yet dangerous even though the snakes were loyal to their owners, well trained when they were able to be. The snake's name was Sabre, the young snake a slippery silver shade.

Hazel toddled into the room, settling down on a cotton chair, her grey eyes sweeping across her grandchildren with a smile. Niamh had the same grey eyes but her hair was ginger, like her father's. Her two younger brothers fidgeted beside her, waiting for the story to begin. There were three years between all of them - Niamh was twelve, Jonah nine and Luca six.

"Are you ready for tonight's tale?" Hazel asked. 

"Yes, of course," Niamh leaned forwards in anticipation. 

"Many, many years ago, there was a Master and his Queen, trying to take over the world. Kingdoms were afraid of what was to come and began building up defences. One kingdom sacrificed one of their own to Evil, a pleading gesture. The sacrifice escaped and found a friend, a snake. Together they ran to an abandoned place, shook by the cold. Let's call the sacrifice Hope. Hope rescued two girls who were being hunted by the Evil Master with an invisibility ring and together they rode to the city where Hope was going to be sacrificed earlier, to rally an army. On the way, they were almost murdered by one of Evil's assassins, where Hope's snake suffered a mighty injury. Luckily, he was cured. The final battle was coming and the army of Good was prepared , Hope sent to spy on the opposing side. She listened on the Master and the Queen's conversation in the woods and knew Good was going to lose. She collected as many people as she could, staying invisible mostly. She led the people back to Avalon, where she had met the two girls before and went into a portal to a new, untouched world where she built her own community and married the love of her life. Not long later, a Wolf Prince and Dragon Queen came through. That was when we- the people got stuck in their new world."

"What about the two girls? The armies? What happened?" Niamh cried. 

Hazel sighed. "As Hope had predicted, Evil had won. She received information on her friends from the spirit who allowed her through the portal, from time to time." A frown tugged on Hazel's face. "They lost so quickly, my - Hope's friend's army of rats didn't prevail as she had thought."

"Was Hope you, Grandmother?" Niamh whispered, curious. 

"Indeed. That's my story."

"How can you live with yourself? Leaving your friends?" Niamh asked, wide-eyed, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

Hazel's eyes grow suddenly sad. "I don't."