Epilogue
After
I had finished moving in with Andrew, I tried again to explain to him
that I was part of a whole other world. He still didn't quite believe
me, assuming that I was seriously loyal to my LARPing. I chuckled and
kissed him.
He
didn't have much time to help me unpack and set up our house before
he had to start filming his TV show. This meant that he often worked
late, and sometimes he even had to spend the night in his trailer.
But he always came home whenever he could.
This
actually worked in my favor because – as I had once asked Bruce for
the power – I actually did skip through as much time in my original
world as possible. I had a clock and my cellphone placed in front of
my mirror there so that I could check on it from the mirror in my
Royal Bedroom. If I got a call from Andrew or if it was getting close
to the time that he planned to come home, I'd return. If I couldn't
return right away, I'd disconnect the mirrors, which would in essence
stop time at that point for me to return to later.
At the
moment, I was currently sitting on the cushy bench in front of my
mirror in my Royal Bedroom. I faced away from it as the maids worked
on my hair. I'd just come from a bath, so I was naked except for a
towel wrapped around my hips to catch the water as it dripped from my
hair so that it wouldn't ruin the cushion I sat on.
My
maids knew they had plenty of time to fuss over my hair because I had
more or less nothing to do at all that day until a party in my honor
began later on. They planned to try out as many styles on me as
possible until I fell in love with one of them. Of course, they
peppered their pampering with frequent kisses.
I
hummed softly, thoroughly enjoying their touch and the fact that I
was now almost four months along in my pregnancy. This meant I was
over the queasiness and starting to get hungry. Not at this exact
moment, but in general.
Soon,
I would start showing, and then I would either have to fully convince
Andrew of the truth, or I would have to remain here until after I'd
given birth. Not to mentioned stopped bleeding! A large part of me
hoped that Andrew would want to share in my experience even a little,
happy that it wasn't going to affect his life. We would wait to have
our
kids as long as he wanted.
After
one particularly deep kiss, my maid looked up and shrieked in terror.
I looked around to see what she was so afraid of. In my mirror,
Andrew stood watching us with a confused expression. A glance at the
clock showed me that he was home early.
Happy,
I gestured for my maids to stand aside. Getting to my feet, I walked
over and kissed my mirror. After that, I turned to face Andrew with a
joyous grin.
“I'm
so happy to see you! What are you doing home so soon?” I asked
after I'd kissed him.
He
pointed to the mirror, trying but failing to say something. I looked
over my shoulder and noticed that my maids were talking to each other
as they watched us, only it looked like they were a TV show being
played at five times the normal speed. I waved my hand at the mirror
and broke the connection so that neither mirror showed the other
world.
“Wh-wh-wh-what
the?!” Andrew finally managed to stutter.
“Oh,
that's just my other world,” I informed him cheerfully. “You
know, the one where I'm the Queen and I fight with swords and have
magic.”
“B-b-but
that's role-playing!” He protested, looking as if all the blood had
drained from his face.
“Baby...”
I purred, holding his face so that he had to stop staring at my
mirror and look at me. “I hate to be in a rush, but I don't really
have a lot of time to explain all this now. I have to be back in
about five hours, which means I can only stay here for an hour at the
most.”
He
tilted his head in confusion but didn't say anything. I kissed him
again, and then hugged him for a few long moments. When he felt a bit
calmer, I tried again.
“Andrew,
my love, why are you home early? Do you want to go out for dinner?”
I asked, trying to be positive because he had once told me that
coming home early likely meant that he was fired or the show had been
canceled.
“Uh...
Uh... Oh! Right! I have great news!” He informed me when he finally
managed to drag his thoughts away from my mirror world. He kissed me
and then grinned at me. “We're going to be filming an episode on
location in Hawaii! I came home to pack. It won't be an actual
honeymoon, but it can be like a mini pre honeymoon before we get the
time to have one for real!”
“That's
awesome!” I cheered as I threw my arms around him. “I can't
wait!”
“We're
asked to only bring the basic necessities,” Andrew informed me
insistently, as if afraid that I might insist on bringing everything
we owned.
“Travel
light, got it!” I exclaimed with a grin. To prove that I took him
seriously, I pulled out a small, carry on sized bag, and stuffed it
with my favorite red
bikini,
a pair of yoga pants with matching cami, and a sarong. I'd add things
like my phone just before we left. “Done!”
He
looked my bag over from where he was busy packing his own bag, and
then smirked at me. “I think you might need at least one dress!”
I
giggled. “No problem! I'll be right back.”
Walking
over to my mirror, I kissed it and then reassured my maids that
everything was all right. They spent a few more hours finishing my
hair – using a combination of braids and curls that looked oh so
good on me. Then they dressed me up in a new creation by Lady Leeza.
This one had been covered generously in tiny jewels – probably
crystals – that flashed almost blindingly.
The
party was wonderful! People were finally learning how to dance and
enjoy themselves. The musicians made far less mistakes than before. I
had a great time! Near the end, Nathan took me into his arms to whirl
me around the dance floor.
“When
is Ian coming back?” He wondered, and then blushed lightly. “I
was thinking that maybe we could, uh...”
I
bit my lip and grinned at his suggestion. “Oh Gods! Now I want to
hunt him down and drag
him back here!”
Nathan
rolled his eyes at me and snorted dryly.
“Unfortunately,
he asked for me to let him have some time to himself, and I gave my
word, so he won't be back until he calls me and asks to come back,”
I explained.
“That's
too bad,” Nathan murmured, and then leaned to whisper in my ear.
“But maybe we should go to bed anyway.”
I
groaned in a combination of temptation and frustration. “I'm sorry,
I promised my other husband that I'd hurry back and spend some time
with him.”
Seeing
a look of protest on Nathan's face, I cut him off. “But I promise
that I plan to be here for a long time when I get back. Probably the
rest of my pregnancy... Therefore, you'll get me all to yourself for
months!”
He
grinned at me. “I look forward to it.”
Excusing
myself from the party – it was winding down anyway – I returned
to my room hand in hand with Nathan. Once there, I rummaged through
my closet until I found a knee-length blue dress that I loved, and a
calf-length green dress that might possibly be the most modest one
that Lady Leeza had ever made me, provided that the light didn't hit
it just right.
Kissing
Nathan, I was powerfully tempted to stay with him for the rest of the
night at the very least, but I resisted. “I'll miss you!” I
promised. “See you in a few days. Not sure how long it'll be...”
“I'll
see you when you return...” he murmured, obviously not eager to see
me go, but trying to smile for me anyway.
After
kissing my mirror, I turned around and held up my dresses for Andrew.
“So... which one do you like better?”
“Whoa!”
Andrew exclaimed. “How did you do that?! You, like... vanished!
And then a second later, you're back in an exquisite evening gown
with your hair looking fantastic! And I say that as a straight man,”
he muttered the last bit.
“Magic...”
I stated with a patient smile. “More importantly, which dress do
you like better, the green one or the blue one?”
“Uh...
both?” He stated, looking them over. “The blue one looks a bit
daring... But hey, if you can't walk around practically naked on a
beach in Hawaii, then where can you?!” He then looked over the
sparkly dress I wore again. “More importantly, what are you
wearing?! I love
it!
That looks perfect for attending a premier!”
“I
thought so too!” I replied with a grin.
“Our
flight leaves in the morning,” Andrew informed me huskily. “How
would you like to spend the rest of the evening in bed with me?”
“That
sounds heavenly!” I agreed with a blissful sigh. But before I let
him pull me into bed with him, I stopped him. “I have something
important to ask you...”
He
intuitively understood that it was about my other world. He looked
over at my mirror again. He bit his lip slightly as he thought.
“You're
a Queen over there, right? That means that you have responsibilities
and stuff...” he murmured. “Although I still
can't believe that it's real!”
I
nodded in response to his first two statements, and then smirked
softly. Then I half frowned as I looked down. How he reacted to this
could change our entire lives!
“One
of the things that happened over there is that I... Well... I'm
carrying an Heir. You know? Like a future King or Queen. Possibly.”
That actually depended on Bruce and who he felt was the right person
to succeed me. “I can stay over there the entire time and you'll
never even know I'm gone. But I was kind of hoping that you'd want to
see me from time to time as I get bigger, like a kind of practice run
for when we decide to have babies of our own.”
He
stared at me silently for a long time, but I could tell that he was
confused more than anything. “But wait... wouldn't your mom see
your pregnant belly when you Skype? Wouldn't she think that this was
my baby?”
I
smiled softly at him. “You don't understand. I could be gone from
here for months or even years, and come back to the moment I left.”
I pointed at the mirror. “Just then? I was gone for several hours –
got pampered by my maids, attended a party, almost spent the night –
but I came back a second after I left. I could spend my entire
pregnancy there and no one here would ever even know I had been
gone...”
“Hmm...”
Andrew murmured, his face puckered in thought. This seemed almost too
much for him to wrap his head around.
“But
you can also return whenever you want, and you want to know if I
would be comfortable seeing you grow large with another man's child.
A baby that I probably won't ever meet...”
I was
impressed that he had taken this so well. He'd grasped the situation
perfectly! I gave him a tiny hopeful smile.
He
sighed and pulled me into a hug. “There's this whole other world
that you've tried to share with me, and I didn't truly believe you.
It's almost exactly like my TV show! I go to work and pretend to be a
person in a slightly different reality from ours...”
By
this, he was referring to TV Land, not an actual alternate universe
like in Farscape or Sliders.
“I
could come home and say something like: Today
I got married to Shelly and she's secretly not pregnant even though
she told me that she was so I'd marry her.
You'd know that I was talking TV, but it's like a whole other life,
right? If you came home and told me: Today
I knighted someone and nearly fell over because the baby kicked so
hard that it practically knocked me off my feet!
I'd know you were talking about your other world, but anyone else
could assume that you were working on a TV show too. It's kind of the
same thing, right?” Andrew looked at me like he thought he might
have just mumbled an utter mess.
I
grinned at him, impressed even more. “It is
kind of the same thing!”
He
kissed me. “So just do whatever you were already doing. I'll share
in your life as much as I can.” He frowned as a thought occurred to
him. “If you're spending months or years over there at a time,
wouldn't you eventually start to look older than me?”
“You'd
be surprised!” I replied with a giggle. Now that the important
stuff was taken care of, I pulled him into bed with me. “Just
think, tomorrow, we get to go on a mini honeymoon!”
He
chuckled and kissed me. “At times like this, I feel like the best
thing I've ever done was marry you! You certainly know how to keep
life interesting!”
“Aww,”
I purred before kissing him again. At this very moment, I couldn't
agree with him more. “I love you...”
“I
love you too...”
*****
“Bruce...
I need to talk...” I informed him a bit nervously.
“I
know,” he stated calmly. “I've watched you struggle to make a
decision for months.”
I
nodded and paced the temple in silence for a few moments. The
dedicated High Priestess watched me, which caught my attention. This
was not the same old woman I was used to. This was a different
elderly woman – one who seemed a bit kinder by nature. I guess the
other one had retired at some point over the years.
“Bruce...”
I murmured. “I've been Queen now for over a 150 years. I've served
my required century, and to be honest, I would be content to serve
until I die!”
“Yes,
you've been a good Queen; bringing about and maintaining peace,”
Bruce assured me. “I would love to see you continue on.”
I
nodded in understanding and then sighed impatiently. “However, I
really feel like I must step down.”
Bruce
seemed a little taken aback by my statement. “Why?”
I
smiled softly. “I have obligations to my other world too, remember?
When Chianna was born, I spent the majority of my time here. I wanted
to spend every second with her and Nathan, and as a result, only 5
years have passed in my other world.”
I
paused to smile a happy memory from this morning. “Andrew is
finally ready to start a family!” After I announced this, I
purposely looked up and into Bruce's eyes. I wanted him to see just
how excited I was by this prospect. “I will finally be able to have
the baby I have dreamed of my whole life! My mother and I will be
able to dote on him or her and – and... Well, I'll have to spend
the majority of my time there. Especially during my pregnancy.”
“I
see,” Bruce murmured, but I don't think he fully grasped what I was
getting at.
“So
I've decided that I should step down as Queen,” I announced as if
tearing a band-aid off. “After all, even if I only devoted just 5
or 6 years to my new child – just until school started – that
would still be 25 to 30 years here. I really don't think it would be
fair to Rolandia if the Queen only popped in for a day or so every
couple of months.”
I
sighed morosely. “It wouldn't be fair to anyone...”
Bruce
looked sad and disappointed. “I understand.”
“But
I have an idea, if you'll agree to it,” I added hopefully.
Bruce
nodded to indicate that he was willing to listen. After I was done
explaining, he had a wry smirk twisting his lips. A soft chuckle
escaped him.
“I
love it!”
*****
I
strode into the dining hall as regally as ever. I had just come from
my visit to Bruce, and so I was dressed up as fabulously as I ever
had been. With a joyous grin, I looked around my court. It was
nearing dinner time, so everyone was here.
“You're
looking happier than you have in quite some time,” Nathan remarked.
His expression was guarded. Even though I hadn't talked to him at all
about the possibility of stepping down – or even written about it
in my journal – I think he knew it had been on my mind.
“It's
about time you got back!” Chianna huffed almost petulantly. “I'm
starving!”
She
was a mystery to me. At about 150 years old, I would expect her to be
a mature adult, but she still seemed like spoiled teenager. One who
had been raised as a Princess at that.
Which
wasn't to say that she was a horrible person, just that she was
strong willed and a bit selfish. In many ways, she reminded me of
Nathan when I'd first met him. I smiled at her, and then cast a lovey
dovey glance at my wonderful husband.
“What's
that you are carrying?” Nathan asked me, gesturing to indicate the
scroll tucked in the tight hem over my left breast.
I
pulled it free and held it up. “It's a message from God. Who wants
to be the official messenger?”
Everyone
except Chianna looked at each other seriously. A message from God was
no light matter! Chianna – who had been exposed to my atheist views
on more than one occasion – looked impatient and bored.
Lord
Antony finally stood up and stepped forward. “It would be my
honor,” he said with a formal bow.
I
handed him the message with a kiss on his cheek. “Cheer up,” I
whispered in his ear. “It's good news.”
He
smiled at me as he kissed the hand he'd taken the message from. “Yes,
my Queen.”
I
settled myself in my usual chair as he reverently broke the divine
seal on the scroll and rolled it open. He cleared his throat
delicately and took a deep breath. He even cast a nervous glance at
me before beginning.
“Our
most beloved God – in his divine wisdom – has heard her Majesty's
concerns and made an edict; witnessed by all of the Priestesses and
his Holiness...”
Lord
Antony gasped in surprise and clutched his heart as his eyes bulged
and flew to me. “Your Majesty!”
“Keep
reading,” I insisted with cheerful firmness.
He
took a deeply fortifying breath. His voice shook slightly as he
continued.
“In
God's own words: I
hereby accept the resignation of Queen Kaitlynn as the ruler of
Rolandia and appoint Lord Nathan as King.”
There
was a shocked silence punctuated by several soft gasps. No one could
speak for a moment, not even Nathan – who looked a bit pale. In my
mind, I heard the voice of our dearly departed Lady Sophia squeal: Oh
Natey! I always knew you had the making of a King inside you!
Slowly,
as people recovered, they looked to Nathan for his reaction. Even
Chianna was silent in astonishment. She probably couldn't understand
why I would resign since I'd told her that I wanted to be the Queen
until I died. Even so, she understood that this was a huge moment for
all of Rolandia.
Nathan
finally found his voice, a hint of color returning to his face.
“Wait... Me?!” He shook his head in confusion. “Why me?”
I
smiled at him. “Because you have been by my side – more or less –
for my entire reign. You know what it takes to rule a Kingdom in a
time of peace because you've watched me do it. I happen to agree with
God on this.”
Actually,
he happened to agree with me, since this was my plan, but I wasn't
going to tell Nathan that because then he'd think he had the option
to refuse. I am certain that he would want to decline and pass the
honor on to our daughter, but I felt that she wasn't quite mature
enough to be Queen yet. Ironically, I didn't have to mention that to
Bruce. He had already come to that conclusion on his own, and was
concerned about having to choose between the members of the Royal
Houses.
Nathan
narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously. Other than Ian, he knew me
better than anyone. “Wait. Why
are you resigning?”
I
sighed a bit sadly. “I'd prefer to tell you that in the privacy of
our bedroom.”
Nathan
had a look of enlightenment cross his face. “Ah. That. You may as
well say it in front of everyone since you'd only have to explain it
to them later. Or worse, I'd have to!”
“If
you're sure,” I murmured. He nodded. “Fine. I've decided that
it's not right for me to remain Queen now that I'm going back home
for a few years. Andrew's TV show has ended and he's contracted to do
a few movies. Even so, the time is right for us to finally have a
family of our own, and so I am going to devote my time to him, just
as I have devoted most of the last 150 years to you.”
Nathan
nodded in acceptance. He and I both knew that he was the greatest
love of my life, but that didn't mean that Andrew meant nothing to
me. He honestly did. He was the second greatest love of my life.
Well
technically
Chianna was the greatest love of my life, but that wasn't really
relevant in this situation. She was a fully grown adult now, even if
she didn't quite act like it yet. For possibly the first time ever,
she was holding back her opinion. One look at her told me that she
was more confused than anything at the moment.
“Fine,”
Nathan replied after everyone had a moment to come to terms with this
news. I think somewhere deep down, he had always expected this to
happen eventually. “I accept and promise to rule this Kingdom in a
way that will make you proud.”
I
squealed happily and threw my arms around him so I could hold him
tight and give him a passionate kiss. “I'm already so proud of
you!”
A few
days later, as many people from around the Kingdom as could fit in
the palace were here for Nathan's coronation. He wore a regal outfit
that looked a lot like what my father wore on his coronation day. I
watched from afar as the maids prepared him.
When
it came time for his portrait to be painted, he looked breathtaking!
In my eyes, he was far more regal than I had ever been. He seemed to
shine from an inner light.
I
watched about an hour later as a loving and graceful Priestess placed
the crown on his head and pronounced him King. The moment was
strangely emotional for me. Far more emotional than my own coronation
had been, but that was probably because I really thought I was
dreaming at the time.
Unable
to stop myself, I leapt up from where I was sitting in the first row
next to Chianna and threw my arms around him the moment he turned to
face the crowded throne room. I was practically sobbing tears of joy!
Our lips sealed together for several long moments as the crowd roared
and clapped in congratulations.
There
was a feast and dancing, which was possibly the best part of the day.
I naturally wore a gorgeously sheer dress. Nathan loved to stroke my
body as we danced.
Eventually,
we decided it was time to retire to our bedroom and continue the
celebration in private. When we were done, Nathan fell into a deep
and peaceful sleep. I slept on and off, but then simply watched him
until the sun rose and his eyes opened.
“You're
leaving, aren't you?” He asked before I could even say a word.
“Yes,”
I confirmed, taking his hand in mine and squeezing it. “But I'll
check up on you often through my mirror. If you ever need me for
anything, simply leave a note in front of the mirror asking me to
come and I will.”
“I
love you,” he stated as he kissed my hand.
“I
love you so much!” I assured him, leaning over to kiss his lips.
“Please
go before the maids arrive. I don't want anyone watching me when you
leave,” Nathan murmured. Even though me leaving was an ordinary
occurrence by now, I am almost certain that he was going to cry this
time once I was gone.
“It's
not like you'll never see me again. I will be back from time to
time,” I reminded him.
“But
it won't be the same,” he said, sounding sad.
“I
know,” I whispered, unable to think of anything else to say.
Kissing him one last time – a beautiful kiss to remember – I
stood up and went to my mirror.
He
waved to me almost dismissively.
“Goodbye,”
I murmured, waving to him in return.
“Bye,”
he whispered, his voice sounding choked up.
Kissing
my mirror, I turned to find Andrew waiting for me. He grinned at me
for a moment before it faded in concern. “Something wrong?”
Without
warning, I cried on his shoulder for a long time. When I was done, I
felt much lighter. He simply held me and rubbed my back.
“I
told Nathan that I was going to stay here with you for a long time so
that we could finally start our own family. It was hard, but I know
it was the right thing to do,” I explained, and then smiled at him
as I held up something from the pocket of my robe. “But I brought a
tea almost guaranteed to help us with that!”
Andrew
remembered me telling him about that and grinned at me. “So... you
want to drink some of that now, and then go to bed?”
I
laughed softly. “I'd be delighted!”
Hand
in hand and giggling like little kids, we raced to our bedroom. Very
soon, our family would get a little bigger, but if I had learned
anything after all these years, it was that these precious moments
were always worth the wait!