The Prince and the Sol

EPILOGUE

ELIZA'S POV

*4 YEARS LATER*

The sunset is the prettiest I've seen in months. Winter sunsets are especially beautiful, just because there are less of them. Pinks and oranges shimmer on the newly fallen snow, slowly fading to let the Christmas lights brighten the night.

"Claire? It's bedtime, pumpkin!" I call, poking my head out the door. My breath disappears in the frigid air. No response. "Claire Natasha, it's time to come in!" Still nothing. I sigh and retreat back inside, knowing what's about to happen.

I walk into the living room, where Peter and Ned are lounging on the couch watching Christmas Vacation and munching on the homemade cookies we spent yesterday baking. "Hey, Eliza," Peter says, tossing me one. "Wanna watch with us?"

"Maybe in a bit. I need both of your help."

"What's up?" Ned asks eagerly. Peter's brought his friend here a couple of times over the years, and since they're both on Christmas break for college, the two decided to crash here. I was ecstatic when they asked. They've been here a few days, and so far, it's been a blast. It's like having two slightly annoying younger brothers in the house.

"Neither of you have seen Loki in a while, right?" They both shake their heads. "Go get some boots and warm clothes. I think there's an ambush waiting for me outside," I reply. The boys instantly run to grab various hats and scarves while I pull a coat on. This should be fun.

"Do we have a plan?" Peter asks as we all hover in front of the door.

"Well, there are really two situations that could possibly occur. It all depends on if Loki plays fair. If he plays fair, we can take them."

"What happens if he plays dirty?" Ned asks.

"Then he's going to use clones and we'll all be goners," I say, shrugging. "Ready?"

The three of us creep outside, carefully shutting the door so they can't hear. I bend to form a snowball in my mittened hands.

"Attack!" A little voice squeals. Snowballs start to fly in every direction. My daughter runs forward and hits me with one right in the face.

It's absolute mayhem. As soon as I see more than one of my husband, I know it's over for us. But we're all laughing and cold and excited and soaking wet within minutes, and I realize how much I love this life. We throw snowballs until the sun goes down, the white lights on the cottage as our only illumination.

"All right, mercy!" I yell with melting snow and tears of laughter streaming down my face. "You two win!" All of Loki's clones disappear and the real one walks up to me, grinning.

"Is that so, love?" He winks.

"Now!" I dive out of the way just before Peter drops a massive snowball right on Loki's head. He and Ned high five, and I only laugh harder.

"That was very good," Loki admits, brushing himself off.

"Nice one, man!" Ned exclaims.

"Claire, it's time for bed," I remind her. She gives me a pouty face. "You have to, or else Santa won't come tonight." She instantly runs into the house as fast as her little legs can carry her. The group follows her in, all eager to get into dry clothes.

About an hour later, we're all in pajamas and getting ready to go to bed. I pour a few mugs of hot cocoa and hand them to Ned and Peter, who are setting up sleeping bags on the living room floor.

"Sorry we don't have an extra room," I say.

"It's no problem. This is better than a dorm, anyway. We were gonna fight over the couch, but I didn't think that was really fair to Peter," Ned says matter-of-factly.