71

Epilogue

I live on.
Cats always land on their feet, after all.
I feel empty in the days that follow the battle. The dead are honored in mass funerals by origin. Yes, even the Beasts who fought for their freedom are burned on funeral pyres.
Queen Ruby is found, dead, lying in the forest a few days after everything settles down, when scouts go out to bring in the residents of the First City. She was killed by Beasts in fleeing the war, a coward as ever.
The King's body is burned far away from those of the rebel soldiers and Beasts. His ashes are buried deep in the ground, and sheets of black glass are laid across the ground there, where no grass, no flowers will ever grow again.
The City is burned completely to the ground, the glass melted and shattered. Tents are erected there as temporary homes, while the soldiers plan out a new city, a perfect duplicate of the Old City which they call home, except new and clean and human.
Yes, we gladly welcome the return of the City's inhabitants, who are forced to adapt to this new, harder way of life, of rebuilding and remaking, but they warm up to it eventually, and become more friendly towards Workers and Predators, who both, in the war, also came and helped finish the battle when they saw the palace fall.
After the battle, many of the Beasts return to the Wold, to continue their lives there. They fought for their home, too- To rid it of the intrusion of those who do not belong, to free Men so they may leave them alone. When they are no longer needed, they retreat into the forest- except for a few, for instance, Sir Blarg, that remain to help the humans in their petty ordeals.
As for Coal, there is a grand funeral thrown for him. They call him a hero, and say that they are sorry for me- But it's just empty words. I don't go to the funeral- I don't need to see him, cold and dead. Because for me, Coal will always be very much alive and warm. He always was, so full of the joy of life, as if every day he was surprised to find himself still alive, it was such a great gift. I never doubt the reason he took the bullet for me, and I would have done the same for him.
Some things are worth dying for. True love is one of them.
I never take credit for throwing the sword. The way I retell the story, it simply slid across the floor on it's own and hit the King. All the same, I'm given a magnificent golden medal.
First chance I get, I throw it into the ocean.
Yes, I finally get to go to the ocean, and I have Coal buried on a high hill overlooking it, because that's what he reminds me of. The ocean. Wild, unpredictable, but completely, and always free.
Engraved on the stone that marks his grave, on that green, grassy hill, are the words "HERE LIES STONE". Because to me, he'll always be Stone. His true name represented his station, his title as a Royal, and he always hated being Prince. So in death, he is simply the mysterious wolf-boy who roamed the Wold, and stole my heart.
I near old age, now, as I sit on that lonely hill by the ocean, wondering when it all may end. I found love, of course, and married, had two children, all of whom I still love dearly. I do not feel as if I have betrayed Coal- He wouldn't have wanted me to live a lonely life- I love him to this day, and I love my husband, whom I've grown old with, the same.
I look out into the ocean, imagining the blue eyes I've never forgotten, which are exactly like the sea. A dark shape appears above the water, coming from the open ocean, framed against the sky.
A Glare. The bird which, under the religion of the First City, is said to carry the spirits of the dead to the underworld, which was also sent to find hope across the vast ocean, hundreds of years ago. I squint, and make out the scroll clutched in it's talons. It lands beside me, and I curiously pry the crisp white paper away, unrolling it and skimming the few words on the paper.
I smile, and fold away the scroll, looking up into the sky, my cat tail, now grey, whisking in the long grass. Help is coming.
And so a new world, and this time a good world, may rise from the ashes of destruction. Because if there's one thing us humans have never and will never lose hold of, it's hope.
After all, to hope is to be human.