Chapter the Thirtieth

Laughter, chatter, food, and merrymaking. Sunlight filtered through amber tree leaves into a decorative throng room, where elves, stars, and Llorleyans celebrated. It was Aria’s coronation. She was to be, officially, queen.
She, Gilligan, and Tamello stood by the throne, apart from the rest of the throng. After a brief conference, Tamello left, and Gilligan looked to Aria. He asked gently, "When will you tell them?"
Aria looked at him for a long time. She loved the way his light sparkled in his hair like playful sprites. She and Gilligan, too, would soon be dancing like sprites- higher and higher, right through the clouds, where you could "see the sun and rain grow" (or so the lullaby said).
"They won’t like it at first, if at all," she said.
"It’s more a matter of whether the one person in question will agree. It’s if not that makes it a risk." He grinned. "Shouldn’t you have asked first?"
She shrugged, smiling as well. "Probably. Too late now."
"True. You always were impulsive," he teased.
"You’re such a boy," she laughed.
"Proudly." Then, more seriously, he pulled her close for a kiss. "Courage, love. Then on to our wedding."
"And home," she added.

She walked to the front of the throne and called, "Please! May I have everyone’s attention?"
Between laughs, "shh"s echoed in the room.
When Aria was sure everyone was listening, she cleared her throat. "I cannot be queen of Llorleya," she declared.
**
A wave of shock hit the throne room. Aria waited for stunned silence before she felt continuation was possible.
"Dear Llorleyans, I wish I could stay. But I promised my grandfather…" She sighed. "I promised the Starking I would go to Celestia. I cannot rule you both, and Celestia need me more. Gilligan… Sir Gilligan and I will leave soon."
"But who will rule us?!" cried a young voice. Aria looked down and saw a dark-skinned boy pushing his way forward. "If you aren’t queen, who? Who?!"
The word reverberated in the room. Who? Who, indeed?
Aria knelt in front of the boy. He was ten at the oldest. "What is your name, little voice?" she whispered.
For some reason, he stepped back. "Joel," he said, almost stiffly.
"Stand here, Joel, and you shall get your answers." She rose and cried, "Tamello! I believe we need a song."
The green-winged minstrel had obviously been expecting this call. "What shall I play, Starqueen?"
"Something important," she said gravely. "Something forgotten."
"As you wish," sang Tamello. He bowed his head over his guitar and picked out a tune the castle hadn’t heard since the age when fairies had lived in it.
"A long time ago, far beyond human memory
For Men were only new
The fairies alone dwelt in Llorleya
And it was they who ruled.

They loved not war; they didn’t make swords
But humans came over the seas
They made fragile bonds with the fairies in Llorleya
And hoped to live there in peace.

It has long been ordained that beasts rule beasts,
Fairies rule fairies, and Men rule Men
So though Men might have submitted to fairy kings for a time
The fairies gave them the crown and the land.

But the line of the Sky Kings did not fade away
They did and still wait and protect
For though fairies stepped into the sidelines
Never did they forget."
The whole court was in silence. For some reason, heads began to turn toward Wynd. The fairy noticed this, and if her wings had been intact, they would have gone rigid with panic.
Tamello stopped playing and singing, for, as he said, "What happened next was never put into song, for fairies were driven from even their guardianship, and had no heart for music.
"When fairies were abandoned by Men, it was long thought that the Heir was lost. But let me tell you a tale- or as it is, a tale within a tale.
"The Heir at this time was a Wanderer. He had a wife, and two young children- one son, one daughter. But one night, the Heir and his wife died. Quickly and suddenly it happened, while their children were yet young; too young to remember. The fairies knew nothing of it, and so could not rescue their new Heir, the son of the dead fairy.
"Though very young, the boy raised his sister, and they lived together as nomads, traveling from place to place. They did not know who they were. All they had was each other; and they became not only as brother and sister, but as best friends.
"But one day a tragic thing happened. The boy, then a young man, died. And his sister was also believed lost." Tamello paused. "There is one detail I have left out. Their father had wedded a human. And his children were human as well."
And as Wynd relaxed and retreated back into Raphael’s arms, she revealed Rayne standing behind her.
Rayne.
Everyone knew it without being told.
Rayne. She had rallied the fairies and given hope to Aria. She had worked inexplicable wonders for both. She had fairy blood. She had human blood. She was both fairy and human, the link between the two races. She could unite them. She could rule them both.
And what a queen would she make! She was, after all, the Heir of the Sky Kings.
But would she agree? She was Llorleya’s last hope for a ruler. If she refused, it could fall back into war again over who should take over… Or worse, the fairies could be cast out again.
Aria came forward and spoke to Rayne. "As a star, I cannot rule Llorleya. Even if Celestia did not need me, a human must. But how can we be sure this human can also rule the fairies? To prevent them from disappearing again, one would have to be a fairy as well- so the next King or Queen of Llorleya must be both human, and fairy. You are the only one who can rule now, Rayne." She lifted the golden circlet from her own dark hair and held it out. "Will you rule Llorleya in my stead? We need you."
Rayne’s arms trembled, but she took the circlet. "I will. For Llorleya and the fairies."

So it was not Aria who was crowned that day, but Rayne (who was afterwards called Fairykin). And though she felt so inadequate, I can safely assure you that she was much more capable than she thought.
********
Queen Rayne and Bronden walked- or, rather, walked and flew- side by side in the gardens. It was nearly winter, and few birds and no flowers graced its winding paths. Rayne had drawn her cloak tightly around her, but less out of cold than habit, for being near Bronden as he glided just over the ground took her mind off the bitter wind. They strolled in quiet, but Rayne thought to herself that it was a pleasant, peaceful sort of silence.
"Rayne?" said Bronden after a time, as though reassuring himself that she was still there. "Queen Rayne?" he corrected himself.
Not looking up, she said, "Yes, Bron? And you of all people should never need to bother calling me queen."
"There’s something I should tell you." At first, Rayne thought he sounded perfectly serene, yet underneath she heard inner turmoil. He went on, "I meant to say this sooner, but so much happened after the battle that I didn’t want to disturb you. And after you became queen, I was even less sure of myself than before. But now I fell that I can say this truthfully and without doubt of myself. All I can ask of you is that you listen."
Rayne looked up quickly, heart racing. It was unlike Bron to say so much. And what was he leading to? Undisguised hope- and perhaps more- shone in her purple eyes. So different than Violet’s had been, yet similar, thought Bronden as he gazed into them. A pang hit his chest- but that was not what he had come for.
He lighted on the ground and turned to face her, dragging his lame leg. He held onto her arm gently to stay her, for her pace had quickened with her heartbeat.
"I didn’t realize this until the battle. We were both fighting- you on the ground, I in the sky. I suddenly found myself looking for you, and not finding you. I became increasingly worried for you until I saw you unharmed. But it was in the time I thought I might have lost you that I realized this." Bronden stopped flying and grasped Rayne’s upper arms, turning her to face him. "I realized that I love you, Rayne. And I would be honored- in fact, nothing would make me happier- if you would give me your hand in marriage."
Rayne’s face was glowing with such long-unexpressed love that there could be no doubt of her answer.
Bronden untied her braid and her hair fell long and loose down her back, lending its brilliant red luster to the grey morning. He ran his strong fingers through the strands of molten fire, as gently as if they were feathers on the wings of a live dove. Then his arms encircled her willowy form, and without realizing it at first, Rayne looked down and saw he was carrying her through the air.
Her eyes were filling with tears of joy. For the first time since her brother Josh’s death, she felt whole.

And so it was that Queen Rayne Fairykin wedded Bronden the Cripple, a full fairy. And this was a double wedding, taking place on the same date as the marriage of Starqueen Aria and Sir Gilligan, formerly of Llorleya. After the wedding, with tears at the parting and yet excitement, Aria and Gilligan left for Celestia, their true country- yet Llorleya would be forever in their hearts and on their minds.

Raphael did not return to Celestia with his people, but remained in Llorleya, wedding the fairy Wynd. She became the guardian of Rayne’s castle, and of Rayne and Bronden, and of Rayne and Bronden’s children, and of their children’s children, as long as they should live.
The elves also returned to their own homeland, and were no more plagued by invading humans. They still did not know how Torlith had had so many men, or even fairies, for that matter, but their land was free and their honor protected, as they had helped in Llorleya’s deliverance. Ever after, Elves and Llorleyans were friends, and it became a point of elven pride for one to visit to Llorleya.

Now, Celestia- there we have a place I wish I could describe more accurately. Have you ever seen a palace float? Have you ever heard songs that swell up from the soul and harmonize like music of God, filling one with painful joy? Have you ever trod on sky? No? Then I cannot leave you hanging in imagination, can I- anymore than I can truly show what it’s like.
Imagine smooth white turrets on a castle floating on a clod of earth, suspended in midair… Imagine walking on open nothingness, unsolid and yet supportive… Imagine a night where the stars are so near you can speak to them… Imagine a heart so full of overwhelming praise that music flows out instead of words…Imagine all the pain you’ve ever experienced and put it into a dart of purest joy…
But now imagine that you are Aria and Gilligan, and the real enchantment of Celestia is not, for you, the floating dwellings, the brilliance of the sky, or ever the songs; but rather the knowledge that you are home, really home.
If you can begin to comprehend this, you might be part star yourself. In which case I bid you to please drop by and tell me, have you ever been so happy you started flying? Then we might be getting somewhere.
**********
A solitary star flew above the point of a spire on the floating white castle. Song is so thick in the air today that inhaling seems to draw it in, she thought. As the thought occurred to her, she breathed in deeply and let herself fall out of the air- just to see if song sustained one’s flight.
Something caught her, but it wasn’t starsong. It was the arms of another star. "I shouldn’t have to catch you anymore," teased a voice.
She looked up into laughing hazel eyes and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yet, dearest Gilligan, here I am- and here you are."
He pulled playfully at a dark lock of her hair. "Let go of me, Aria," he said with a laugh, trying to extract himself from the stubborn embrace.
"Silly. I’m never losing you again!"
"Nor would I have you to." Then he kissed her, long and soft, and Celestia seemed to brighten with the strength of their love.

I’ve always loved to listen to this tale, even before I realized the full extent of its sorrows and joys. And because I love it so much, I’ve written it down in it’s truest, most accurate, real form, without the myths some Men have added to it.
Llorleya is not through with its adventures, but those are other tales and shall be told another time, for this one has drawn to its close. The truth about Aria and Gilligan is this: they lived Happily Ever After.
Let me show you. It goes like this-

And the stars over Llorleya shone on and on, always and forever…
happily
ever
after.

The End...
Until We Meet Again