I found Caerwyn in the Purjun woods. He was sitting by himself and weeping.

I sat next to him and chastised him while coyly putting one of my hands on top of his. “You should be having fun. The party is for everyone.”

“I can’t have fun after all that’s happened…” Caerwyn replied, looking down. “I miss Terry. I miss the temple. I miss you.”

I leaned my head on his shoulder and wrapped an arm around him while he wept about the past and I wept with him.

He recovered enough after a moment to turn to me and ask, “where is Paris?”

I looked down with a proud smile at how far Paris had come.

“He doesn’t need me anymore. He is a charming man now who can lead and rally armies with or without my help. But… There’s someone else who does need me—the man I loved and wanted from the beginning.”

I smiled at him meaningfully and climbed on his lap where he nervously put his hand on my hip and gazed into my eyes longingly. I removed the sapphire he had given me from my neck and draped it around his. “Your sister was protecting me and looking after me all this time. I could feel it. I think you need it back now.”

And with a pained smile, he pulled me close with his one arm and sobbed all the harder. I pushed him down and laid down with him under the stars—my head tucked under his chin--and we closed our eyes.

After a moment, I told Caerwyn, “he kept a journal, you know. Would you like to read it with me?”

And Caerwyn nodded eagerly.

__

Sheenheim 184

Two years past, and things were looking up. Kingdoms were rebuilding all around the world, moths were freed in the kingdoms that had allied with Nui during the conflict with the lustful god, and those kingdoms were more tightly knit than ever and stayed allied with Nui.

Paris had asked me if I wished to be queen of Nui and have Caerwyn as my king, but I declined.

“You’re a great king, Paris. You know how to rule and you’re good at it.” I assured him.

Besides, Caerwyn and I had plans of our own.

In Nui, we ran the orphanage I had built last year where all children were welcome. We gave all children on the streets a home, parents, and love.

I may not ever be able to get pregnant by Caerwyn, but we loved each and every one of those children—moths and humans alike. They were our children—adopted or not.

We got married, of course, and every night before bed, we read an entry in Terry’s diary and were often brought to tears and laughter from what he wrote.

Life just wasn’t the same without him, and sometimes I needed to just set time aside in the day to remember him.

Paris was proving himself to be a great king. He kept taxes low, solved problems among the citizenry personally, and often called upon me to help him keep relations between moths and humans pleasant. I did so gladly. He still had no new wife, but I hoped he would soon. I think he was still in the process of getting over me.

Paul was ever his loyal soldier and captain of his guard. He visited our orphanage and adopted a child from there who he loved dearly and named Samson.

Meridi who always wanted to be wild and free stayed that way. No husband, no children. She was always keeping her sword skills sharp and practiced often with Paul, but she also opened up her own smithy in the city where she competed for customers with the other blacksmith.

King Torr died soon after the lustful god had left his body. He was in good health, but many assumed he had died of a broken heart and forever mourned the death of his wife who had never loved him back.

Peter inherited the kingdom after that, and Paris would not let that stand. He rallied his allied kingdoms, had many talks with the head priest, Leon, and managed to throw Peter into the dungeon for the rest of his years for what he did to me. I could never thank Paris enough for that. After Peter was thrown in the dungeon, his younger brother Raul ruled Ironwall in his stead and did a grand job ruling.

But the most important thing gained from Peter’s imprisonment was the return of Gerta to Nui.

I met my nephew who my sister had named Tarn and my niece who she had named Zelda, and I adored them and spoiled them whenever I could.

And I was just so glad to have a sibling back in my life again. There was no one more loyal and easy to love than a sibling. It was not the same thing as Terry and never would be, but it was still so wonderful.

Marara had made good on his word and helped the kingdoms that he had destroyed rebuild. After he had finished, he lived among mortals peacefully and did not intervene in their affairs. Rala had greatly desired Marara to come live with her and the other gods in the realm of desire, but Marara refused and replied that he wanted to stay with his new friend, Mimi, and he wanted to see more of the world.

Marara apologized for Terry’s death whenever he saw me and I forgave him everytime.

But God help me, I didn’t think I would ever stop crying over that boy’s death.

__

Years past, and I was living happily, although I would never entirely be able to shake the aching sadness that laid in my heart from past losses and traumas.

I didn’t necessarily get all of the things I wanted out of life as a girl; I hadn’t married a handsome prince--I had instead married a handsome, one-armed templar. I never had my own children, but instead I adopted those lost children who had no families—and even though I was not a queen, I was a mother, which was always my fondest dream and the one I wanted the most.

Many of our children got adopted, but we adopted two for ourselves who we would raise together. A moth boy and a human girl who were abandoned as babies. The moth boy we named Terry, and the girl was named Hannah. We loved those children to death and raised them with the love and attention they deserved. They made me immeasurably happy, despite the sadness that was set in my heart.

The one thing I wanted but I would never have was the opportunity to say goodbye to Terry. He had left the world before I could say goodbye, and that just… That just hurt the most.

But one day, a miracle happened.

God took pity on me as I was having a very bad day and spending it crying when I couldn’t move past old memories I had about Terry—both happy and sad. I wanted so badly to stop crying over him. I wanted his life to be a beacon of hope and happiness to me and to my children instead of a legacy of pain and sadness. I soaked my pillow through with tears and Caerwyn could do nothing to comfort me.

I was in a world of darkness that day. But as I cried, my surroundings shifted into the realm of desire.

God had given me one final gift as his loyal and loving servant.

I lifted my head and saw him standing there in the realm of desire with a grin on his adorable face—glowing golden in his ethereal form—and I threw myself into his arms and told him everything I wanted and needed him to know and he did the same with me.

And I had the opportunity to say goodbye to my most loyal friend—my brother, my savior, and my soul mate.

Goodbye, Terry♡.

The End.