Annelise

Epilogue

There'll be one last chapter after this. 

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PIERCE CLUTCHED HIS daughter's hand with a melancholic smile on his face. She looked rather pretty today, dolled up in her frilly black dress with a bow on her hair. Even after all these years, she still liked to wear cute things. "What's that in your hand, Lila?"

She showed him what she was holding behind her back. To his surprise, it was her favorite childhood storybook. "It's The Myridian Princess, dad. I thought mom might like it if I read it to her."

Pierce found himself with a funny expression on his face. Lila was turning out to be far more thoughtful than he was. It really staggered him sometimes. "I think that's a brilliant idea," he replied, inciting a dazzling smile from her.

Lila released his hand and sprinted towards Annelise when she saw her. Pierce gave Annelise a bouquet of plentiful flowers, watching in silence as Lila cleared her throat and began to read the last lines of the book:

"... Still very ill, she softly slept. The prince knelt by her side as he prayed and wept, "You must promise to marry me, if you revive. And if you do not, I shall give you my life." But it was not long until she recovered overnight. She found herself well, much to the prince's delight. And so the Myridian Princess fell in love, under the stars and heavens above, she kissed his lips upon her waking: "Your life, I do not need. It is not mine for the taking. But if you so wish, then I shall accept your heart. In this life and the next, till death do us part."

Lila closed the book once her tears started to soak into the pages. Pierce almost stopped her as she began to pluck flowers from the bouquet Annelise held in her hands, but he refrained from doing so. Lila scattered the gardenias, the forget-me-nots, the gladiolas, all around her face, wreathing her in flowers. Once she was done, Lila rose to her feet and held her father's trembling hand.

"There," she finally said. "Doesn't she look like a princess?"

Pierce stared down at the clear view casket where Annelise rested in, buried in flowers. He bit back a river of tears as the funeral director ordered the coffin to be lowered into the earth. They stayed there, long after the service was over, until the skies began to darken and the clouds wept in remembrance of all that had passed.

And even after many years, Pierce Dawson still wore her ring.