As the Ash Settles

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Happy Birthday Citrine.

Astarion put his hand upon Citrine's handprint as he did every time he passed in the last five years. He opened the door to find Aelius and Diana still sleeping peacefully in their beds. The years had been hard on him. They had for everyone but as he looked over his children sleeping a smile met his face. He had tried every healer, necromancer, he had even gone back to the Archfey but their mother was gone only the stories of her from him and their family kept her alive. That and the portrait he had Oskar paint. Her smile hung above her children on their wall, her mismatched eyes always watching over them.

"Papa?" Aelius' sleepy voice broke his thoughts. Astarion walked over to his sleeping son, his green eyes of those of his mother. He sat on the bed next to him, his hand brushing through Aelius' snowy hair. "Papa, today is the day right?"

A pillow hit the side of the bed, Astarion turned to see his daughter's sleepy hand hanging over the bed her long golden curls a mess. "Be quiet I'm trying to remember what she said." Astarion laughed walking over to his daughter Diana.

"What who said?" Astarion kissed his daughter's forehead.

"The woman with the long braid." Astarion looked up to Citrine's smiling face.

"Your mother?"

Diana grunted, pushing herself up. "No, Momma had lots of braids she only had one." Diana huffed. "It doesn't matter anyways."

Astarion laughed, "So be it little one, Uncle Gale will be here soon with Pappy." he chuckled and left his kids closing the door. He placed his hand once again upon Citrine's. "I miss you my darling, sweet elf."

"We aren't supposed to tell Papa about her Diana!" Astarion heard his son harshly whisper to his sister. Astarion chuckled as he left to head downstairs, his kids had an imaginary friend. He liked that thought.

Astarion walked into Shadowheart and Karlach arguing about a cake in the kitchen. "Listen, it will taste all the same Shadowheart just let me." Karlach plopped a wad of cream onto the cake.

"Fine it won't taste different but it should look nice." Shadowheart grabbed the wooden spoon from Karlach.

"She wouldn't have cared!" Karlached mumbled.

Astarion laughed "I see everything is going well in here." Karlach and Shadowheart's eyes both threw darts at him. "She would have loved it either way." Today was the anniversary of the nautiloid crash and everyone agreed that it was also the day Citrine had been reborn and they would celebrate it as such. "Is everyone able to make it this year?" Shadowheart nodded to him as she stoked the cream around the cake.

"Good, the kids have missed everyone." Astarion sat down at the table watching the two fight for the spoon. A knock came from the front door and he heard Diana yell "Poppy!" before he could stand the sounds of his children barreling down the stairs and crashing to the door.

"Good morning doves!" Tovier's voice rand out.

"Poppy!" they both shrieked.

"I'm excited to see you two too," Gale said with a slight annoyance.

"Uncle Gale!" Aelius hugged him.

Astarion watched his children beg Tovier to tell them about what new animal he had rescued. 'Poppy' they had decided that Tovier was their grandfather and Astarion had no arguments to that. They would often ask him to tell them stories of their 'Grandma Lucia' just like their mother they took in whoever they could into their family. Gale greeted Astarion with a hug as the kids pulled Tovier to the living room to hear all about the animals.

"She would be so happy right now." There was a sadness in Gale's eyes. Citrine's passing still hurt each of them in their own way. Gale had left for a few months soon after he had gone to every major library searching for a way to bring her back, it wasn't till Wyll tracked him down and brought him back to Waterdeep that he came home. Gale still spent many a night reading and scouring every book.