•Key•
Y/n: Your Name
L/n: Last Name
F/n: Fake Name
H/c: Hair Color
H/l: Hair Length
E/c: Eye Color
F/c: Favourite Color
2/f/c: Second Favorite Color
F/a: Favourite Activity
F/f: Favourite Food
N/n: Nickname
M/n: Mother's Name

Italics are thoughts...

Your POV

Walking through the Enchanted Forest - a place that my mom has once warned me about, but is now letting me walk through no problem - our little group finally reaches our destination: the home of a witch named Hyria. At this little house, we reunite with three other women, Katelyn, Aphmau, and Lucinda. They're all happy to see us alive, but Hyria smiles more at Zianna's presence.

Turns out, Hyria and the Ro'meave Family are old friends. Zianna knows her, Vylad knows her, and Garroth knows her, but I don't. Neither does my mother. So, we stay out of their little reunion until Zianna takes a small glowing object out from the hidden pocket of her O'khasian dress. My eyes widen, recognizing that object from a book I once read.

That's a relic... Shad's relic! I remember Vylad mentioning something about Ivy having a relic, but I didn't know it was that one! Doesn't Garroth have a relic too? And Aphmau- wait, why is it-?

"Interesting... why is it still resonating?" Hyria asks, taking the relic from Zianna's hands.

"Odd, it wasn't doing that when I pulled it from Ivy..." Zianna mutters.

"Perhaps," Vylad begins, "that is because it's resonating for someone who's here?"

Hyria then turns her attention to Aphmau. "I need to speak with you, Lady Aphmau," She says, "In fact, I need to speak with everyone here. Come inside. There is much to discuss."

"H-Huh?! What are you talking about?" Aph asks.

The elderly witch just chuckles, "It is time you all learned the truth... about Irene." She then walks into her house. Puzzled and reluctant, we all follow her.

In her warm and cozy home, Hyria begins to tell us a story - the story of Irene and the other Divine Warriors. The story is long, and about how Irene felt about her life as a Goddess; her emotions, and how they slowly drifted away. As Hyria talks, Vylad and I sit together, listening intently. I remember Zane as a child ranting on and on about the history of Irene... he would've loved listening to this. Memories of him fill my mind; memories I was so close to forgetting about an hour ago. Still, I try to focus on the story.

According to Hyria, Irene sealed her memories and powers away, then gave her a staff that would someday glow. When the staff glowed, Hyria had to place the staff somewhere that needed Irene's help. When hearing this, I notice Vylad's eyes widen. Soon enough, I realize why.

"... hundred of years later, a boy who had just reborn into a Shadow Knight came into my forest. A boy who, even though lost all he had, still cared for his brother," Hyria explains.

"... and you said, "Take this and place it somewhere that needs the help of Irene"," Vylad continues, "I placed it near the village Garroth was in, knowing that it was going through hard times. Just afterward, I saw a girl who wasn't there before. Hyria, back then, I didn't think you meant the help of the actual Irene!"

"W-Wait, what?!" Aphmau exclaims, staring at him.

Hyria takes a deep breath, grabs Aphmau's shoulders and says with a smile on her face, "Aphmau, you are Lady Irene."

We all go crazy after hearing this. This news is so sudden and unbelievable, but, at the same time, it kind of makes sense. Her kindness, bravery, strength, power, acceptance... all traits of Lady Irene.

Finally, after we settle down a bit, Lady Ro'meave asks, "What does this have to do with the relic we see before us? It's going to Aphmau, but, why? She already has a relic."

"Well, there are two ways a relic can find a host. One is for them to seek someone of like personality of the original wielder, in this case: Ivy. The other is to find a member of the bloodline," Hyria responds.

After a bit more talk, we find out that the last descendants of Shad were the family of Falconclaw. Aaron was a member of that family, and Aphmau was going to have his child. This news shocks Zianna because, well, Zane - her child - was the reason all of Falconclaw perished. I guess memories of him flooded her brain as well because she asked to step out right afterward. Garroth, Vylad, my mother, and I follow her out, hoping to comfort her. Although, it seemed like Garroth was only leaving to get away from the whole situation.

Now, here we are, trying to soothe Zianna's sobbing. "I-I've always known something was wrong with Zane! I always hoped my love would change him... that all of our love would change him... but it was too late!"

"It's alright, Zianna. At least you tried. I didn't even notice anything about that boy..." My mom says rubbing her back.

"Mom..." Garroth mumbles, but his mind seems to be preoccupied.

"Garroth?" Vylad asks. "Aph-"

"I know what you're going to say. I still love her, Vylad. Even after everything that's happened! I know this hasn't been easy for her, and I know I haven't helped. But now, I just need time to process this." The blonde explains.

He's talking about Aphmau... that's why he left so suddenly. He was mad about Aphmau's pregnancy and wanted to do something productive other than mope. That must've been why his plan was so undeveloped as well...

"I know this can't be easy for you," Vylad starts.

"I guess, yeah. I mean, I knew she was special but Lady Irene?"

The brunette sighs. "I'm talking about Aphmau and the baby."

His brother rolls his eyes. "Are you really going to give me relationship advice? I get it, you and Y/n are extremely happy together, but your relationship hasn't been exactly perfect."

"It depends on what you define as perfect," I retort, "There has never been a relationship with no disagreement, but when a relationship thrives even with these disagreements, that's when two people are perfect for each other. Besides, I'm sure Vylad wasn't going to give you relationship advice anyways... were you?"

The boy beside me shakes his head. "No, I wasn't. I was going to say... I know something about what you're going through. You and Aphmau. As someone who was born without a father, I know what it's like to... let's just say I am very familiar with situations like these. Say what you will about Garte; I'm not here to debate that. I'll always be thankful to him for accepting me. For letting me be apart of your family."

"He's right, Garroth," Zianna says with a shaky voice, looking up at us. My mom takes this as a sign to stop comforting her and steps aside. "I'm very proud of your father for what he did for me and our family. I was terrified when I was pregnant with Vylad, but your father told me he loved me regardless, and that everything was going to be okay."

I decide to add to the conversation. "I'm guessing that's why Vylad is mentioning this. Garroth, I know you don't like your father much... but you've got to be accepting of Aphmau's child just like Garte was of Vylad. Who knows, maybe she or he could be something special to someone someday, just like Vylad is incredibly special to me."

"Aw, cute!" My mother squeals. We all turn to look at her. "U-Uh, I mean... carry on."

"I agree with Y/n. Although I don't know Aphmau well, I can tell she wants you to be there for her. She needs you. She cares about you, Garroth," Lady Ro'meave says.

"You're right. Mother, Y/n, Vylad... thank you. I... I want to be there for her from now on."

Vylad replies, "Then you probably should be telling her this, not us."

"Oh, heh, you're quite right," Garroth chuckles.

"Do it, Gar Gar!" Zianna cheers.

At that moment, the rest of the ladies exit Hyria's house. It's time to head back to Phoenix Drop. While Zianna decides to stay to catch up with her old friend, the rest of us - Aphmau, Katelyn, Lucinda, Garroth, Vylad, and even my mom and I head back home to Phoenix Drop.
~
When we get there, Vylad, Garroth, and I are crushed by my sister's hugs.

"YOU GUYS ARE BACK I'M SO HAPPYYYYYY~! Wait... GASP! IS THAT MOM?!" Owl screams, dashing off to hug her mother.

"I'm glad she hasn't changed since we've been gone..." I laugh.

"She never changes," Garroth replies, grinning.

"Garroth?" A familiar voice calls. We turn to see Aphmau walking over to us.

I grab Vylad's hand after seeing her. "We'll leave you two alone," I say, dragging V away from the two.

As we walk back to the Phoenix Alliance portal, the two of us begin to talk.

"I'm glad that's all settled," Vylad remarks, draping his arm over my shoulders as we walk.

"Yeah... You know, I forgot how hard it must've been for you to have been born of an affair..." I reply.

Vylad shakes his head. "Let's not think about that now, okay? That's already happened. The past is in the past. Now, everything is peaceful again. Ivy's been defeated, we're both okay, our memories are intact... right?"

I nod. "Right."

He smiles. "Good. Anyways, like I was saying... we can focus on the future now that all the chaos has passed. We can focus on each other and each other only. I... I'm a Shadow Knight. A Shadow Knight who was born of an affair. You are a victim of magicks who was once a slave... we all have dark parts of us, and that's okay. No matter what happens you're perfect for me, and I'm perfect for you. Now, let's go live our lives in bliss. We can do that, now." And he finishes his statement with a soft and gentle kiss.
~
-One Month Later-

It's been a month and quite a bit has happened. For starters, Laurance has gone missing. Vylad says he finally went to the nether to accept The Calling and should be back soon. Still, Owl has been incredibly worried about him. Also, Aphmau announced to everyone that she's Irene. This news is still a shock to everyone, but they should get used to it soon. A few other things have happened as well - the whole town of Phoenix Drop is being renovated, Phoenix Alliance Island is soon going to become a city, different people have been coming and going... but Vylad and I are still the same: absolutely in love with each other.

Right now, I'm running through the town of Phoenix Drop towards the Irene Statue. It's already sunset, and I'm late for Vylad and I's planned date.

I hope he doesn't get angry at me for this!

We've been having these kinds of Irene Statue dates more and more often in the evenings. It's almost like this hill is ours now. Nobody ever really comes anymore. Heck, not even Emmalyn and Kenmur visit the statue, and they got married here!

Now, normally, I'm not late for any of our dates. After all, they're my favorite part of the day. But, thanks to Alec, today is different. He kept on asking me for tips on how to get a girl. I don't know which girl he wants to get, but Irene bless her if Alec wants her this much. After a lot of begging from him, I gave Alec a bit of advice and ran when he wasn't looking. Sure, it wasn't the best way to get out of that situation, but at least I escaped!

Anyways, I'm currently running up the path to the statue. When I get there, Vylad is nowhere to be seen.

That's strange... he's normally not late to these either... heh, maybe someone was asking him for relationship advice too- Huh? What's this?

Looking down, I see a small paper heart on the ground. Half of it is green and the other half is f/c. I pick it up, and right in the middle of it there's a message that says, "Turn around." When I do, I drop the paper creation in utter shock.

Vylad Ro'meave, in all his brown-haired, green-eyed glory, is down on one knee right in front of me. He's wearing very nice clothes and a large smile on his face.

"Y/n, when I first came to Phoenix Drop, I was so lost. My mind was messed up. I was self-conscious, sad, angry, and I felt like I had no purpose... but that was until I was reunited with a beautiful girl with h/c hair and e/c eyes. She didn't remember me, but that was alright because after awhile she did."

My heart starts beating faster and faster. My mind races with the same thought: Is this really happening?!

"Y/n, this may seem cheesy but... I love you more than anything else in the world. You have changed me. I could've converted to feeling absolutely nothing. I could've lived my Shadow Knight life in darkness and despair, but you brought light into my life. I want that light to stay with me until death. So..." He takes out a small box from his pocket and opened it in front of me to reveal a stunning diamond ring.

"Y/n L/n, will you marry me?"

I'm speechless. The love of my life is proposing to me, ME! The only word I can utter is a small, "Yes!"

After hearing this, Vylad excitedly jumps up and kisses me, placing the ring on my finger. This is the most perfect moment of my entire life: me, the love of my life, and the sunset.

The only thing left was to tell people.

When we announce it to all of our friends, they're overjoyed.

... especially my family.

"AHHHHHHH! MY SISTER'S GONNA GET MARRIED! MY SISTER'S GONNA GET MARRIED!"

"MY DAUGHTER'S GOING TO GET MARRIED, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

Amid their fangirling session, I hear Chad yell, "AND I CAN BE THE PRIEST! Ah, yes, marrying such a young couple will be a complete and utter joy!" Hearing this, I roll my eyes and sigh.

"WAIT!" Travis shouts, making everyone go silent, "Y/n's Dad won't be there... Gasp! DOES THAT MEAN I CAN WALK HER DOWN THE AISLE?!"

"No, I will! I've known her longer!" Alec argues.

"But I'm her best friend!"

"No, THE GROOM is her best friend!"

"That's it, YOU'RE GOING DOWN BUDDY!"

Listening to my friends fight, I groan into Vylad's chest. He laughs. "It'll be alright..." He mutters, stroking my hair.

"Of course it'll be alright, you'll be standing here right by my side..." I murmur. Vylad smiles and kisses my forehead.

Truly, Vylad is the perfect man for me.
~