Life After Nicole's Fixed World

4. We Did It!

It was the next day and everything seemed to be going as planned. They played it out as it was before only pretending to have just figured out that after King Arthur's crown was in the possession of the serpent brotherhood along with excalibur, that excalibur needed to be replaced back into the original stone he was pulled from in order for the laylines to be recharged. The day continued as planned and they were in the tunnels now fighting like before.

When the fight was over, excalibur was dying with very little raw magic left. Magic had been rereleased into the world and Flynn was propped against the stone bleeding out from the wound caused by excalibur that had been created from being controlled by Lamia. It was happening again. Eve and the kids were crying silently as they watched Flynn. "We're both dying. Again." He said with a slight laugh trying to make things light.

No one dared to move. Eve was crying the hardest it seemed and she squeezed his shoulder. "You promised you wouldn't leave again."

Flynn smiled slightly. "I won't. At least, not permanently. Just play this out. I'll be ok." And it was the last thing he said before his body gave out and his shoulders slumped.

"No! Flynn!" Eve cried and she looked at Cassandra.

The redhead who was crying herself quickly grabbed the dying excalibur and thrust it  into Flynn's body by the flat of the blade. And just as before, there was a strange blue glow that surrounded it before Flynn jumped awake and alive once again. He looked around then picked excalibur up off of the ground and gently laid him on the top of the stone. "It's ok, old friend." He said. And excalibur melted into the stone before completely disappearing.
          The librarian looked to the others who were all wiping away their tears except for Eve who cried harder and hugged him with all her might instead. Flynn kissed the side of her head and rubbed her back soothingly. "We did it, guys. We made it through. We and the library still exist and magic has been rereleased. Now... who's ready to go home and figure out what we should do next?"

Everyone laughed and Eve didn't let go of her librarian, but the kids instead joined them making it a group hug. After about five minutes, everyone let go. "Our family back together again. For good this time." Cassandra said.

"Our crazy makeshift family of magic protecting librarians." Ezekiel added.

Everyone laughed again. Then Jacob decided to speak. "I don't know about Cassie and Ezekiel, but I for one have been feeling it for a while now." He started. "The two of you, Eve and Flynn, you're like the parents I never had, but always wanted. I grew up with a father who blamed me for everything that went wrong and a mother that died before I could ever really get to know her. I was the black sheep for a long time. But then you two came along, gave me a job that I can use my real skills for and introduced me to magic. I love being a librarian and I love you guys so much. Cassie and Ezekiel, you're like the younger siblings I wish I had. Cassie, you're so smart and so thoughtful. You think of others before you think about yourself. And I admire your love for math and science. It's incredible and I love watching you use that gift of yours. Brain tumor and all. Ezekiel, you're the annoying little brother that always seems to get himself into trouble. But you're so smart when it comes to technology and I admire that."

"Thanks, Jake." Ezekiel replied with a soft smile.

Eve and Flynn were both smiling as they listened to everything. "Overall, you all are my true family." Jacob ended.

Cassandra spoke next. "I agree with Jake. About all of it. Only for me, I felt the parent daughter connection immediately after you both said you trusted me. Even after I betrayed you. You both saw more in me than I saw in myself. And then you not only introduced me to magic, but you encouraged me and you made me realize that with or without my gift, I was meant to be a librarian. You gave me a family that actually cared and loved me for me. Unlike my real parents who wanted me to be something I'm not. Wanted me to become someone that could fulfill their own dreams instead of my own. I admire Jake for the passion he puts into everything he does and I can't thank you enough for loving me like your little sister the way you do. Ezekiel, as much as you like to pretend you don't care, I can say for certain that you do. And it shows with your actions. Especially when one or all of us needs you the most. And as annoying as you can be, it only serves to make me love you more as my little brother that I wish I could've had a long time ago. No matter how makeshift this family is, it's a true one. And I wouldn't change that for the world."

Ezekiel only smiled. "I can't top anything they've said. Like, at all. But they're right. The two of you are more like real parents than our own. You gave us incredible jobs, introduced us to magic, but more importantly, you gave us a real home and accepted all of us faults and all. You gave us, no, you MADE us a real family. I wouldn't go back even if I could."

At this point, Eve wasn't just smiling. She was crying happy tears from being overwhelmed by the love she could feel radiating off of the three lits as they told their stories. Flynn couldn't stop smiling and laughed. Whispering in Eve's ear, he said something that would change their lives forever. The guardian laughed and nodded. "But only if they want to." She said.

"Only if we want to what?" Cassandra asked.

The couple looked at the three lits. "Well," Eve started. "Flynn has this idea that I can agree with. It's a little crazy, but I think it would be great if we did. It'll strengthen our bonds to each other and it'll be us as a family against the world. But you don't have to if you don't want to. It's your choice."

The three kids looked at them expectantly. "It's an ancient ceremony that hasn't been used in centuries." Flynn began. "But what it will do, it'll make us all family by blood. The three of you will have some small physical changes to your appearance. But it will as Eve said, strengthen our bonds to each other. Basically, the magic involved will allow us to feel when one of you gets hurt and alert us to which one. It will also allow for the three of you to feel when your siblings or even us are in danger and alert you to who it is and let you know how that person is feeling in the moment."

The lits all looked at each other then at the couple. "Let's do it." They all said at once.

Eve couldn't contain her excitement and squealed. She held her arms open and they all gathered in another, but this time short group hug. When they parted, they all held hands and walked out of the tunnels together on their way to change their lives forever.