The light filtered through the thinning canopy, shades of gold burring into red as the sun set over the western ridge.

It had been a long day…a long…everything.

Her mind wandered back, so many centuries had passed, and yet only some of the youthful excitement had smoothed into something less exhausting for those around her.

What did you do with you new power?
Travel! See everything!! Discover amazing things! Oh, and probably rouse on people behaving badly. And make sure my new cousins don’t kill each other. And find out how i fit in to this crazy crazy family. And, gosh, lots of other stuff too.

It hadn’t exactly been a comprehensive list, but she had manage to actually achieve some of what was on it.

Except the “see everything” bit.

Not discounting that she’d seen a lot, a hell of a lot. Some of it she could happily unsee – but she didn’t do that kind of thing any more. A memory full of holes just leaves space for other things to take up residence…and some of them had taken a bit of evicting in times past.

Werewindle seemed to grumble on her hip, if indeed a blade could grumble. It was impatient, it wanted to be off. Whatever life it had lived with Bleys before her had obviously been far more exciting than the last few centuries pottering around in Arden.

It would be strange, travelling shadow unbidden; with no task set her, no quest to follow, no “people behaving badly” to see to. An odd kind of freedom, the yearning for which had formed a large part of her teenage years…and her motivation back before all this began.

“Yes, yes, alright” She muttered, absently patting the sword, as if somehow that would calm it. It had become as mercurial as she was, and also as amusingly whimsical. Damn Hagan. He knew this was going to happen if he just kept putting her off long enough.

“I could have spent a few more hours sleeping, you know.” Oliver’s accusatory tone was not serious. She suspected that although he did love the creature comforts that came with warm stabling, and daily oats and mash; there was a sense of adventure underneath that was only waiting for an opportunity…and a good excuse, to become acceptable.

“You hush up too. I said I would wait until the sun hit the horizon. And I plan to.” She shifted in the saddle and gave him a mock smack on the neck. He harrumphed and sidestepped deliberately to rock her seat, knowing full well she was too experienced to fall for that move any more. He was old now, and he wanted one last great exploration before his time came, one last adventure with her.

As the sun sank further, so they did move closer to the rise out of the forest. The road crested the ascent before them, inviting their progress, delighting in the prospect of seeing them follow it ever on. At the top they paused, a wide gap in their vista, framed by gnarled branches and trunks of trees that were old when Oberon set up his mighty seat.

The sun hit the horizon, the rich orange haze spreading like fire across the infinity point. A cool breeze hurried down the packed earthen road, as if to remind them of the direction their path led.

She slung one leg across the pommel of the saddle, and rested an elbow on the extended knee. She said she would wait until the sun hit the horizon…but she knew she’d wait until it was almost sunk.

She thought back to her parting from Lara…sorry, Queen Lara. That brought a smile. Despite everything they’d been through, deep down they were still those slightly giggly girls at Mardi-Gras, as well as queens and princesses and “lords of amber” blah blah blah, and always would be. It wasn’t as if they were never going to see or speak to each other ever again, but tears did still seem fitting, and there were a number of them…and a last minute jaunt across shadow to as many iterations of Check Point Charlie’s as they could find.

Cain had been somewhat chagrined, but he always seemed to be somewhat chagrined at anyone who decided to wander the wilds. Of course he fully admitted that should he do so himself…he’d go mad in the space of fifty years without something to occupy him.

Her father had been surprisingly happy for her. She suspected that he had long wondered when the urge to leave would finally win out over duty, responsibility, and ultimately laziness. He wanted her to go, see everything at a time of her own choosing, and out of her own desire. He was happy for her…and up to his armpits in archaeology back home, which made her happy for him.

Julia had been less impressed. She had gotten used to having someone around who, while not necessarily understanding her, didn’t treat her like an oddity and could readily engage in matters of conjuration that were beyond many of her company. Julia would miss her. She would miss Julia.

Oliver shifted his weight again, pulling her attention back. The sun was now over three quarters set. The sky had taken on shades of pink running through orange, painting the underbelly of surrounding clouds, and the light was slipping away quickly. There would soon be the last glitter, and everything else would be gloaming.

“Very well, you two.” She conceded, throwing her leg back over Oliver’s side, foot easily finding the stirrup. “Let’s get along then.”

In her heart, she had known he wouldn’t come. He said he wasn’t going to come. He couldn’t have been clearer. He had responsibilities…a job…he couldn’t possibly just up and leave. She told him she would wait anyway. Until the sun hit the horizon.

Oliver, immensely cheered, took several steps in quick succession down the road, only to be brought up short by a voice that cut across the twilight that was quickly falling.

“You really were going to leave without me?” The voice called.

“I waited until the sun set…longer than I said I would.” Her voice rejoined, and she nudged Oliver forward with a squeeze without turning to look.

The owner of the voice snorted, he and his mount emerging from an overgrown side-path and joining her on the road.

“Do you have any idea how long it took me to talk my way out of camp.” He reached a hand out to her as they rode, which she met with her own.

“Next time just take off your shirt. That argument always convinces me.” She grinned impishly and finally glanced over at him as his face turned an interesting shade of green at the thought of disrobing in front of Julia for the sake of winning an argument.

Her laughter only faded as she shifted the world around them and they sidestepped into another place.

Twilight sank easily into evening and the fireflies began their nightly dance among the branches. A dusting of leaves shivered from the overhanging canopy to drift down and eddy in the empty road below.

**FIN**