Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kyrie grinned and nodded. "That's the idea, yes, provided they all want it. I'm not sure about Amir, though perhaps he's started talking since we left."

He was of the age where he ought to be able to, but when the group had left Makshim, the toddler had yet to utter a single sound.

Then the food was brought, and conversation became more general around the table as everyone ate.

The following day, Mari's coronation took place, and the people of the city were happy to recognize her as their queen. The ceremony took place in the morning, and the entire remainder of the day was spent in celebration by all. Before bed, Uruloki gave the travelers the gift of tongues, for which they were grateful.

The day after, Mari, Maravel, Cael, Kyrie, Mathias, Chesnet and a legion of soldiers left to recover the rest of the country, and Lancaeriel began her lessons with Miyuki. As promised, the conservatory had been cleaned and dusted before the two made it there, and the soil in the pots had been cleaned up and replaced. There were no signs of rot anywhere, and it was a pleasant location for the lessons to take place.

Andarien was given free reign of the forge, and in addition to the pocket watches he made for his sister and his parents, he made a few extras with various designs before moving on to other projects, including a few music boxes that played some of the tunes he learned from the people in the castle while animating a figure - an animal, a dancing person, whatever it might be - on top of the box.

Within a week, Earendil had recovered enough to move about the room on his own, a little at a time, and by the end of three weeks he was back to normal, aside from the scars that lined his cheeks like warpaint. His eyesight and hearing made no further recovery, however, and he joked that he could now see as well as Lin, though she could hear better than him.

As promised, Wren made herself quite familiar with the castle and the city and helped the people to recover from the two centuries of tyranny that they had endured.

Spring faded into summer, and every two weeks, a messenger would arrive with news that another city had been liberated and that all had gone well. Finally, after having been gone nearly two seasons, Mari and the others returned to the city. They were welcomed by a trumpeting fanfare and the people lined the streets, cheering as the entourage made its way to the castle. They had neither more or fewer people than when they had started out, and there was a wide smile on Mari's face when she led the way through the castle gates.

Cael's sister Iadrim had taken to tagging along with Miyuki and Lancaeriel during their lesson times, both out of a curiosity about magic as well as an eagerness to get to know the woman who was her brother's wife from another life. At the moment, she was waiting with bated breath for Miyuki to take the meal out of the box, with Lancaeriel watching over them both.

The young girl jumped nearly out of her skin when the fanfare sounded, and Lancaeriel laughed and pulled her to her feet.

"They're back," she said excitedly, her pale eyes sparkling brightly. "Miyuki, are you coming too?"

"Cael!" Iadrim squealed, taking off for the door at top speed.

While Iadrim raced down the hall towards the tower stair, Lancaeriel followed at a more sedated pace. They were only a few steps ahead of Andarien, who had Eon, Zeus, and the newly named Kaede - so named for the leaf-shaped birthmark on her nose - in tow.

"Finally!" he beamed, hurrying after them. "They've been gone forever!"

Andarien grinned at Miyuki. "Well, at least we both got a lot done while they were gone," he chuckled. "And now that Kyrie's back, maybe we can send another message to Uncle Daeron and Aunt Iorlas."

Not to mention Shiro and Kaito.

They hurried down the stairs and to the entrance hall, where Iadrim was already waiting with her parents and brothers. Lancaeriel joined them, and Andarien hurried to stand next to all of them. Kaede, an adventurous and curious Eevee, wanted to rush forward, but Eon grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and held her back with himself and the rest of the Eeveelution family.

Andarien was about to reply when the massive front doors opened, and Mari led the others into the castle: Mathias and Chesnet walked behind her and to either side; then behind them were Cael and Maravel; then a row of soldiers, each of them holding a banner bearing the Ruavia family crest; and then a few more rows of soldiers.

The servants and others who had gathered knelt on one knee when Mari stopped and looked around. She was smiling, though she appeared to be quite fatigued, and she looked as though she could use a bath (though so did everyone else, to be fair).

"Your Majesty," said one of the servants, stepping in front of the others and bowing low. "Welcome home."

Mari took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Thank you," she said warmly to the man. "It is good to be home."

Cael was looking around, and when he spotted his family waiting at the edge of the hall, he grinned and left the formation to greet them. Lancaeriel's eyes were shining brightly, and she didn't wait for him to come all the way over: as soon as she saw him heading towards them, she also ran forward to greet him. They threw their arms around each other in a tight embrace, and then they came back to join the others.

Miyuki's voice caught the attention of most of the people who had just entered, and she smiled warmly in their direction.

"Thank you," she said happily. Then her tone turned apologetic. "Please forgive me for not taking the time to talk with all of you, but I'm afraid there is work to be done. I shall speak with you all at dinner, all right?"

Without taking the time to wait for a reply, she turned towards the soldiers who had entered with her and dismissed them, ordering them to rest. Then she headed off with Maravel, Mathias, Chesnet and the servant who had first greeted her.

Andarien was confused. "Cael, don't you have to go with them, too?" he asked.

Cael grinned and shook his head. "My part here is finished. I no longer have a role to play in the castle, and am now free to be myself. Truly myself."

He squeezed Lancaeriel's hand tightly.

Kaede wriggled herself free of Eon's grip and darted forward to examine the newcomer. She sniffed at his boots, then looked up at him.

Cael chuckled down at the Eevee. "I see Ai had her babies," he grinned, kneeling down and putting a hand on each of Kaede's and Suki's heads. He rubbed them gently. "Energetic, aren't they?"