It was so peaceful. Lana felt completely safe and at ease for the first time since they had seen Dad and Uncle Thomas captured. Someone was humming, a voice so very familiar and soothing...

"Thank you so much, daughter. You succeeded in what we could not," a man spoke. "But it is not your time yet."

Lana slowly opened her eyes to look at the face of the Dragon Prince. "I'm tired...Can I just...stay here with you and Mom a little longer?"

Ilyana softly caressed the head of the little girl resting on her lap. "We're always with you," she promised. "Your other family is calling for you. They would be sad if you didn't return."

She didn't hear anything in the misty landscape. It was like she was wrapped in a cloud, isolated from the rest of the world.

Sam and Alex. Dad and Uncle Thomas. Aunt Valeria. Veka. Sophitia and her grandma. The sky wolves. All her friends back in the human world. She'd miss them a lot if she couldn't see them anymore too.

And everybody was counting on her to save Ildathach. They believed in her. She'd have to go back.

Sarkan laid his fingers over her heart. "We will always be right here."

~*~*~

Luis's eyes filled with tears of relief when Lana finally regained consciousness. Mariana smiled and helped her sit up. Samantha caught her in a crushing hug almost immediately after, and Alex – embarrassed over having bawled his eyes out just a moment ago, thinking she would die - muttered something about being glad to see she was okay.

Lana scanned the small crowd gathered around her. "Where's Uncle Thomas?" she asked. "Is he okay?"

Mariana and Luis looked at each other.

"Well, about that..." Luis started.

"Can you imagine?" Alex instantly forgot his embarrassment and red eyes. "Uncle Thomas was Mom all along! She used magic to turn into a different person!"

Mariana chuckled. "Just with a different appearance. I was still the same as always inside." She gently stroked Lana's head. "I'm sorry about deceiving you. Twice, I suppose. My real name is Mariana, but you can still call me Mary." She hesitated for a moment. "Although I would be glad if you would call me 'mom'."

Gears turned in Alex's head. If Lana was the daughter of Ilyana and the Dragon Prince and Mariana was Ilyana's sister, then... "Is Lana our cousin?"

Samantha smacked him upside the head. "She's our little sister, stupid!"

"Ahem," Youna cleared her throat. "Might I have a word with the princess?"

"Yes?" Lana replied hesitantly. She was being strangely formal again.

Youna dropped to one knee in front of her. "The entire Dragon Clan is at your service. Once we return to the castle, we will start the preparations for your coronation."

"Huh?!" Lana didn't even know what a coronation was.

"She's asking you to become the Dragon Queen, the ruler of the Dragon Clan," Mariana explained with a smile. Then she turned to Youna. "I'm afraid you will have to wait about ten years that she grows up."

"Of course!" Youna agreed instantly. "Who would you like to name to act as a leader in your stead until you come of age, Your Highness?"

Lana directed a pleading gaze at her father. She had no idea what to do.

Youna noticed her gesture. She smiled softly. "If you don't want to make a decision yet, may I have your permission to form a ruling council for the castle town for the time being?"

"Okay," Lana answered quickly. "Yes. You may. I mean, you have my permission."

"Stop bothering her already!" Veka announced, bouncing up and down. "There are more important things to do! Lana, hurry and open the door!"

Lana nodded, a determined expression forming on her face, and stood up. She took the Medallion of the Sun when Mariana gave it to her and placed it around her neck with its counterpart. She took a deep breath, walked to the engraved door and pressed both her hands against it.

First, the medallions lit up with soft light. Then the engravings on the door also started glowing. Then the entire door, so bright that Lana had to turn her gaze away. When the light faded, there was only an empty doorway.

She hesitantly walked inside, and the door reappeared immediately behind her. The chamber she came to was small and dimly lit with tiny, floating green lights like fireflies. They flickered on and off, like struggling to keep going.

At the center of the room stood a small, withered tree, barely three feet tall. Its leaves lay dead on the ground around it. Lana realized that this – another, smaller tree – was the heart of the Tree of Life that Asara had told them about.

That meant that she was supposed to pray here. Yet nobody had told her what to pray for. Some part of her wanted to pray that her mother and father would return to life, but she knew that they would not want that.

She crossed her hands like people always did when they prayed. "Please...Could everyone just be happy?"

~*~*~

The following morning, when the former rebels were all setting out for their respective homes, the Tree of Life was once again spreading magic to every corner of the world, its leaves as vibrant as ever. Lana had seen the little tree revive right in front of her eyes, and it had filled her heart with happiness.

There was still lingering sadness in the air, both from the years of terror under the mad Dragon King's rule and over friends lost in the battles, but for the first time in almost a decade, the denizens of Ildathach could face the day with genuine hope.

Their human friends could also return home and rest from their grueling ordeal. Luis had had enough of magic and the responsibilities being an heir of Merlin brought with it for a good while and very much planned to spend the next years focusing on the "boring" everyday life with Mary.

On the other hand, Samantha, Alex and Lana wanted to return to Ildathach someday, preferably soon. They hadn't been able to honor the invitation of the salamander boy they had met or to properly thank Sophitia's grandmother for her help. There were still many magical creatures they had not met, and if Veka was telling the truth about the wind fish and their travels, there were entire new continents waiting beyond the sea.

But all of this is a story for another day.