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I had a bout of inspiration for the ending of this story last night. I just had to pen it down before I forgot it. WARNING: Contains mega spoilers as to who Jetsam really is and what happens in the final battle with Lelouch.
It's been two years since Lelouch was defeated, Sarah and Jareth were reunited, sad and Phoenix Rose disappeared. I know he's in a better place now, but I still miss him every day. But then... I look at Flotsam and I'm reminded of how much of him is still around.
I received an invitation from the Labyrinth just the other day, requesting my attendance at the wedding of the Goblin King and Queen, so that must mean things have been going well. I hadn't heard from Jareth, or Sarah for that matter ( cry I know she wasn't really my child, but I still feel a little like her mother. I want to know what she's up to, and it worries me when I don't know.) in over a year.
Melissa, Kaname and Zero were invited too. I wonder how the two brothers will adjust to walking on land. They know they have a sea-witch to turn to if they need legs, and this one won't charge a fee of one voice. That reminds me; my magic powers have augmented over these past two years so that I can change form, create things from nothing, and shadow warp at will. Of course, I only use dark magic when necessary now. I will not be swayed by the temptation of shadows like Ursula. Flotsam said I could never be like her, but I still try my hardest every day.
Speaking of Flotsam, he is a stand alone sorceror, and my equal as a fellow sea-witch, now. He recently opened a book store in Port de Gambino, not too far from Jareth's operahouse, the place where this whole thing started. We still see each other, and our romance has far from fizzled, but we don't come together as often as I have a job to do and so does he. Keeping the ocean clean of oil, nuclear waste and other trash is not an easy job, but I've made it mine and I like it that way.
*sigh* What I wouldn't give to run those silken, blonde strands of his through my fingers again right now. Oh! That reminds me. Jasper returned home to our mother, the one most affected by my running away from home, and told her about me. He stayed with her until he finished college (I can't believe they let him back in after two years away!) and got a basic Master's in teaching. He came back a few days ago, ecstatic to see how much I'd grown and how little things had changed with my living style. I swear my brother, your sacrifices will never be forgotten; after all, it is what gave me a wonderful music teacher and two more beautiful friends (one of which was you, but I didn't know it at the time), not to mention a stellar boyfriend who loves, protects, and accepts me as I am.
*sigh, again* If only I could say the same for Melissa. Not too soon after we defeated Lelouch, Mat and she had a big arguement. She wouldn't digress too much, but it took a long time before they could become "just friends" again. Not a day goes by where I don't wonder, 'What if Lelouch was the right boy after all?'
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I was on my way to Jareth and Sarah's wedding, which was to be held in the foyer of Jareth's operahouse, when I saw something in the Operahouse square: a seemingly dead body, prostrate on the ground, blood trickling from its mouth and dripping from its hands onto the cobblestones. I took action immediately and started running towards it. "Where are you going?" shouted Flotsam, aka my date to this event. "We'll be late for the ceremony!"
"I'll be late," I shouted back to him. "You go on ahead. I need to tend to this poor soul first."
He stared at me for a few moments, but then he took off. He knew better than to get between me and a comatose person in distress. Heck, that was how he had been when we had first met (see Ch.3), and I hadn't stopped until I had nursed both him, and my brother, back to health. "It's one of your most admirable qualities," he'd said when we were on a "stay-at-home" date last month. 4laugh He looks sooooo cute in a T-shirt and sweatpants, especially when he lets his tail show!
I reached into my bottomless bag and took out a few bandages, a wash cloth, rubbing alcohol, and a green apple. It was going to sting by the look of this person's injuries, so the green apple would give them something to release stress on. They couldn't very well squeeze something as their hands were all bloody. And such hands they were, a musician's by the look of it because of the elegant tapering of the fingers. The palms had a few old scars, and though they were ages old, the blood on them made them appear fresh.
I wasted no time in cleaning off the hands and tying up the sprained left wrist. Then, I did an internal scan of the body, which was male from what I discerned from its clothing now. The legs were fine, a little jolted perhaps but fine; internal organs were functioning well, but the heart appeared shrivelled and shrunken. 'Did this person suffer a broken heart recently?' I wondered.
I moved up to his arms, lithe but strong. His left shoulder had been fractured, and his right ulna had been broken, but I could not set these injuries with what I had here. I would need to bring this young man back home and tend to him there. "Before we go, beautiful," I whispered, "let's see what your face looks like."
I turned his body up and to its side. He groaned as I put pressure on his right arm, but that was nothing compared to my horrified gasp as I recognized him. I should have guessed why those fingers, arms, and the washboard abs that hid his internal organs looked familiar. The mop of tossled black hair, and the slightest hint of scars on the right half of his face, made it blatantly clear. This was Erik Phoenix Legrange, but what was he doing here, painfully injured and passed out in the middle of the street?! This was not the time for questions though, so without another thought, I picked him up "bridal style" in my arms and shadow warped back to the grotto.
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A few hours later, I was singing a spell of healing in order to speed his recovery when he stirred in my lap. (I had laid him down on one of my new chaises, but because of his condition, I couldn't afford to be far way from him and the last thing he needed was to be fussing over Melissa in his sleep. I had sat by his head, lifting it into my lap to stroke his feather fine hair to help keep him still.) "Melissa," Lelouch groaned as he opened his eyes. When he saw me, he weakly exclaimed, "My angel?"
Since Melissa had gone back to her brown-haired look by the time we'd defeated him, this little confusion was to be expected. "No, Lelouch," I said, cupping his cheek with my hand. "Your angel is not here at this moment."
"Where is she, Ana?!" the New-Age Angel said, desperately trying to sit up and grunting with the effort.
"Don't over exert yourself. If you must know, she is with her elder brothers at Jareth's wedding. I would've gone too myself, but then I found you, passed out in the opera house square."
"I thought you couldn't stand me. I'm not too sure I can stand you now either."
"In these two years apart, I have learned to help all those in need, even if they have done me wrong. You are no different than Flotsam was back when I first met him; he had done wrong and he had been punished for it, but I helped him anyway."
"But that's the problem. I didn't do wrong; I did right. I killed the Aura Knight as he had done wrong to my Angel. But now... I don't know how I can face her."
I gasped in horror. I had wanted to kick Mat's a** too when he broke up with Melissa, but I knew I would never have the gall to kill him. However, the fact that Lelouch was feeling guilty for his misdeed showed that he had matured, even the slightest bit, since we had last met. "I was able to face you without flinching, Erik Phoenix Legrange," I said, after a time of silence. "I'm sure that Melissa can face you just as well. She has matured a lot since you've been away."
"I'm sure she has. I've seen it happen myself."
I rolled my eyes. Of course he would have. Even after she had let him go, I had the feeling that he would be obsessing over her as long as his almost fully-fae existence would last. "Well, you won't be able to see anything if you don't let me heal you first, Erik."
"Ana, please. Don't call me that."
I arched one eyebrow at him. "Why not? It's your name, isn't it?"
"No. It's one of my two middle names. My real first name is Aaron."
In a letter reading I had done for Melissa recently, the letter A had figured prominently. I'd said her next boyfriend's name would start with an A, but she would have to wait for him to find her. This would certainly throw her for a loop, but I had to be sure that Lelouch, or Aaron rather, would treat her right. "Aaron, if I let you see Melissa again, will you promise to love and cherish her as if she were your second soul?"
"I already do that before all other things. Why do you ask?"
I stood up and walked over to the shore of my lake. Aaron sat up and watched me extend my hands and part the waves. As I descended under the water, I said, "I just wanted to be sure that my friend would get her Phantom in the end and that I wouldn't regret my decision."
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That evening, the wedding reception for Jareth and Sarah was in full swing. I arrived, more than fashionably late, with the newly washed, dressed, and changed Lelouch on my arm. It didn't take us too long to spot Melissa and her brothers; they were chatting it up with Flotsam by the refreshment table. I tapped Melissa on the shoulder to get her attention. After we had hugged and said greetings, I indicated Lelouch behind me. "I think I found the right guy for you," I said. "This is Aaron Erik Phoenix Legrange, aka your future."
She didn't say anything for a while. Then, she just about jumped on me and gave me a "gut-crushing" hug before she ran over to her happy ending. And so ends my story, finally resolved for the better.
 srs diva 2011 xxl · Mon Jun 27, 2011 @ 06:17pm · 2 Comments |
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