(Delphinium; Resurrection Era Year 31)
Time passed. The Resurrection Cultivators returned in February of RE Year 31, and their relevant parents and family members went to sleep that very night and woke the next morning with the new memories of the events of the Rebirth Era inside their minds. It soon felt as if they had always known about it, which was not an uncommon effect. And also rather convenient, as the Commanders and Chance alike could now remember how to store and call up their uniforms the same way they did weapons. To hedge the odds more, Tasia added more protective charms to all of them.
If there lay any humor in the events, it was the Elder Cultivators suddenly remembering Tasia was pregnant and had brought home a daughter. She had not mentioned the former or brought Anna to the castle upon arriving home just so that the memories from the Lag Delay could catch up; it would be better for Anna herself because she had already bonded with her greats and grands alike, and having to re-introduce herself might be odd.
So, when Tasia walked into the Delphinium Castle with Anna, she murmured, "Count back from five."
Anna did, and she made it to exactly one before Sayena and Yvette came zipping into the grand entry hall. She muffled giggles as Yvette scooped her up off the ground. "Grandma!" She happily hugged Yvette around the neck. She really liked how her mom and grandmom alike smelled like irises. She then held her arms out to Sayena to be cuddled as well. "Aunt Sio—Sayena," she corrected herself.
Sayena grinned. "You'll get used to it, honey. Ooh!" She snuggled Anna more and then put her down. "March!" she ordered Tasia, pointing to the hall that led to the nearby medical room.
Tasia rolled her eyes but marched. "You'd think I hadn't been under your care already, or Aunt Kacey's. Or my own sister." She did not complain as Sayena put her through a full physical however, as medical science had advanced some in the last five thousand years and it would make everyone feel better to be reassured she and her son were mutually healthy after that summoning event.
"How did Olivia and Tosh like being sudden grandparents?" Yvette asked as she leaned in the doorway with a grin.
"You're going to have competition for spoiling Anna, just a warning. And I've never seen Tosh blubber up quite so fast as having Storm return home with a Caretaker and then discovering his eldest is both pregnant and brought a six-year-old daughter home. Anna called him 'grandpa' and made him bawl. It was adorable."
"You did that on purpose," Sayena lightly scolded Anna on a smile.
Anna beamed. "Aunt Raine told me to!" She gave a little yelp of surprise as she was scooped up and then turned her head to see Asheria holding her. "Hi, Aunt Ashe."
Asheria grinned. "I've wrangled your Aunt Beth. We're going to make you your official gown as an Iris princess!" She headed back out with Anna in her arms. "Maybe throw in some aspects of Aria, considering your parents. It's fitting."
And so, life settled back into a normal rhythm. Those who had been attending university finally graduated—on time, thanks to hard work—and Anna enrolled in private tutoring rather than a public school, since she shortly proved again to be her mother's daughter by learning too fast for a regular environment.
In June of RE 31, Tasia gave birth to a baby boy that was immediately doted upon by everyone within sight or hearing. He had his father's black hair, his mother's caramel eyes, and a terrifying blend of their striking beauty. The Flower Mark of an Activated Ruler Cultivator of Iris had been etched over his heart, renewing the proof and hope of the rebooted lineages. He had also been born with a powerful dose of majik—as expected—and it already appeared to sway to the Conjuring side dominant in his father. Many times in the first few months of his life, someone would go to his crib and find he had created something out of thin air. Mostly inanimate objects, thankfully, though one or two new pets joined the grounds of the Delphinium and Protea Palaces alike.
With a marriage looming next year of Theo and Kimber, eyes began to study the rest of their generation curiously. Things were still on schedule for the rest of the worlds to be repopulated and the kingdoms reborn by the latter half of RN Year 33. On the surface, it still appeared as if Reagan, Emily, Ryan, and LeAnn had not found their soul mates. None could take their thrones without being at least engaged, and none of their generation wanted to be on those thrones without all of their friends by their side. It had been assumed that the kingdoms would rise with the crowning of the new generation, but now people began to wonder.
Unknown to most, however, was that that plan still sat firmly on track. Not only did Emily and Ryan expect to again meet their Caretakers after a little longer had passed, but LeAnn had a plan. She had formulated her attack and now just bided her time like a hunter waiting for prey. The day of Theo's wedding, she would make her first motion. After all, that would be about the time for people to wonder why LeAnn had not given much attention to any of her suitors when time had begun running out on her. Enough time that, really, her parents should have been at the point of forcing her hand, but since both knew very well what was going on, she had no concerns there. Everyone who knew what lay ahead could only grin to themselves in anticipation.
Reagan had no plans, other than desperately trying to exercise patience. She had accepted only one or two new suitors since she had figured out she knew her soul mate, and since coming back from Rebirth, she had accepted none at all. She honestly wanted nothing more than to throw her list out the window and yell at people that she knew who she wanted, but she really couldn't do that. She had asked, and her mother had said no. Darn it.
As October came again, a year after the incident that had led to the Paradoxal Pivot, she walked through the gardens of her beloved Delphinium Castle and tried to remind herself it had only been about eight months since coming home. It just felt like eight hundred years. She knew her father and aunt and best friend had been to the Immortal Fields many times over the last few months, but no one would tell her anything. She had expected it to be complicated, but not this complicated!
She felt a sudden presence behind her and whirled around in surprise. Her knees immediately went weak as she saw a familiar green-haired man walking toward her. She felt her head swim but refused to faint again. She wanted to see him! She gathered the skirts of her Ruler gown and rushed toward him on a cry of joy. She tripped, of course, but Pallas had expected it this time and he caught her up to swing her in a giddy circle. "Rea." He held her closer. "I missed you!"
"I missed you!" She clung onto him tighter. "Tell me I don't have to let go."
"You don't. Not really." He eased her back and smiled a little tremulously. "While I cannot spend every hour with you, and most of my time must be in the Fields, I can be with you, and marry you. It has been determined we will do a trial run where I watch over the Fields from afar for part of the day, but must remain there for the rest. To see if I can serve as Archon the way Claret is Librarian and Allister is Knight. My job is different from theirs, so we must take things slowly."
Her smile lit her face and made her eyes glow like liquid gold. "As long as I have you when I need you, I can be happy." She framed his beloved face in her hands. "Am I allowed to visit you there? In person. Not just projection."
"You are! You may spend as much time with me there as you like so long as you are not High Queen and have other duties. Edgar intends to place another connection point in this very garden so you can easily come to me anytime you like. Your wand can bring you to me from anywhere else." He smiled. "Shanae has promised we will know exactly how things will end by the time you are ready to be crowned. The only condition that will be hard for us to handle . . . is that I cannot enter battles at your side as Caretaker. I must wait for you to return so I may Care for you then. Only in the case of extreme danger to you only I can prevent is that lifted."
She took a long breath. "Okay. That's hard. But I guess me being the squishy magical type who stays back makes it a little easier. I have Raine, too. I will accept anything as long as I can be with you in any way, Pallas."
"Then . . . shall I go put my name on your suitor list?"
She giggled. "Why bother? I just want to throw that darn thing away! I don't need it. Let's skip right to being betrothed. Aunt Shanae said that was acceptable. Just show up at a family gathering dragging our soul mate along." She looked up at him from under her lashes, deliberately teasing and coy and sultry. "Are you . . . free right now? I mean, we do have a few hours until this week's gathering. Eep!" She hastily grabbed his shoulders as he swept her off her feet. Her heart beat wild and fast with a combination of lust and love and humor. "You can't carry me inside to my room. You wouldn't dare."
"My beloved, I would dare anything." He walked calmly toward the glittering castle. "You will of course have to tell me which way to go, though. It might ruin the mood if I got us lost."
Giggles welled up against her control as she saw servants spot them and start clapping. "We're going to have so much fun together, Pallas. You will never ever be alone again." She gave him a smacking kiss, and heard cheers. "Thank you, my Archon," she whispered, "for making my dream come true."
He held her tighter for a moment as he paused and then kept walking. "You're welcome," he said softly. "Now which way am I going?"
She pointed the way, giggling anew, and felt happiness welling up from the bottom of her soul. Maybe that was the true power inside a Life Orb. The power to accept your past and change your future through it. If you could find the strength to accept even your most painful memories, then anything was possible.
Even making dreams come true.
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
Bonus Chapter - Defender Masks (December 9th, 2023)->
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