86 Chapter 86 The End

"Tell me again what all happened," said Vonn, picking up another dead branch to add to the pile he was already carrying.

"Vonn," laughed Gia. "I've already told you twice now."

"Just one more time," he pleaded, fluttering his eyes at her.

Gia threw the apple core she had just finished at him, and tried not to snort as she laughed. She failed.

"Why do you want me to tell you again? It's not like it's going to change."

"I just can't believe little ol' you, were able to kill that mage. He was horrible!" exclaimed Vonn shaking his head.

"I told you, I didn't kill him. That blue man… thing, did," she said, getting quiet as she thought about the look in its eyes. "I think he… it, hated that mage even more than I did."

"Tell me about it? I think I remember seeing something blue in there when the mage first chained me up. Once he took my amulet, I don't really remember much," said Vonn, pausing and looking far away.

"I hate that he took your amulet," said Gia, stooping to pick up the bundle of firewood they had piled up. The donkey snorted at her, to remind her to give it the apple core she threw at Vonn, and Gia obliged.

"I couldn't really stop him," said Vonn, "But I think you keep changing the topic. Why won't you tell me about the blue man?"

"It scares me," she admitted. "You know, after all of the magical things we saw on our trip, one more shouldn't have scared me any more than any of the others, but that blue man scares me. It was like… like he wasn't really there. As if he was made up of mist or fire, somehow, and there was nothing I could have done to stop him from doing anything. I… I have nightmares sometimes."

Vonn dropped his armful of branches into the back of the wagon and came to her, brushing himself off before wrapping his arms around her. Being careful of her large belly, he said, "If it bothers you, I won't ask again. I don't want to see you unhappy."

"I'm not unhappy!��� she said, grinning up at him and holding his arms so he couldn't get away. "I finally have the house you kept promising me, our baby is about to be born soon, all of the people in our new town love us, my brother has lots of other kids to play with, my parents are both happy and healthy, and I have you!"

"Sounds like life is pretty perfect," agreed Vonn with a chuckle, stepping back and looking up.

Gia turned to see what had caused him to freeze, when she saw the blue flames approaching them. A lump formed in her throat and she backed up against the donkey in fear. Vonn jumped in front of her, to protect her from the figure as it paused in front of them.

"The mage is dead, mortals. You don't have to worry about him any longer. I was told to give this to you, by a very insistent being named Bob," said the blue figure, holding out the amulet Vonn had lost.

"Bob?" asked Gia, peeking around Vonn. Her fear receded a little at that name.

"Yes, I had intended to keep it for myself, as it can be very handy, but I was unable to pay my tab at this bar, and the barkeep told me to return this to you, as payment to him. It is to go to a boy named Mikey? Bob was rather insistent that the boy get it and not lose it. Something about needing it in the future," said the figure in annoyance. The flames that made up his body flickered as he held out amulet to Vonn until Vonn took it.

"Thank you," said Gia, her fear almost gone. "Can I ask you a question, since I wasn't able to before?"

"Ha! Not a chance! My wish-fulfilling and question-answering days are over. Now that my bottle is destroyed, I will never be subjected to that nonsense ever again!" said the man, shaking his head firmly before turning and disappearing in a flash of blue flames and smoke.

"What were you going to ask him?" asked Vonn, looking down at the amulet in confusion.

"I was going to ask him what he was," shrugged Gia. "If Bob sent him on a mission, then he couldn't be that scary."

��Think you'll still have nightmares of him?" asked Vonn, slipping the amulet over his head and tucking it into his shirt.

"Of the blue man? Probably not," she said, shaking her head. "I will probably still have dreams of being chased by giant spiders, man-eating mermaids, falling from giant trees…"

Vonn laughed as she counted off on her fingers some of the things they had endured throughout their travels.

"Why do you think Bob wanted the amulet to go to Mikey?" asked Gia, grabbing the donkey's harness and turning her back towards the village. "You don't think it has anything to do with his Limcheez, Sprout. Do you?"

"Maybe," said Vonn, moving a couple things in the back of the wagon so they would ride better on the trip back. "I can't tell that he's grown much since we got back. The elves had said he might start growing slower, like they do. It would mean his lifespan was much longer."

"I was worried about that," said Gia softly. "He won't be able to find a wife among the other girls. Not that he should be looking just yet anyway, but what do we do? If he doesn't age like a human, he might still be a child when we are old and die!"

"Even if he looks like a child, he will mentally be much older," said Vonn, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I don't think we need to worry about that right now. What we need to worry about is getting you back home before those contractions get any worse."

Gia glanced up at him. "How did you know?"

"Do you really think I wouldn't notice those winces? Or the way you keep rubbing your belly?"

She looked down with a blush. "I wasn't going to say anything. Mom said I didn't need to worry about any pain until I couldn't walk or talk through them."

"That still doesn't mean we shouldn't hurry back home. Even if the first child takes longer, we need to have time to get everything ready."

She agreed with a small nod and glanced up at him with a smile. He doted on her, and she loved the look of love and care he had in his eyes whenever he looked at her. He would be a fantastic father!

Xx Time skip xX

Gia sighed and set the basket of laundry down on the edge of the bed. She just needed to finish folding it and putting it away before everyone would be returning and ready to eat. Of the seven boys she had given Vonn, only one didn't eat like a wolf at the end of the day, and that was because he ate like two of them!

"Gia, can I help?" asked Mikey, poking his head into the room. Sprout looked at her questioningly from Mikey's shoulder.

"It would be wonderful if you could check on supper? Everyone should be getting back soon and I still have to finish the laundry."

"It would be easier on you, if you had a girl," teased Mikey with a laugh, darting back towards the kitchen.

Shaking her head at his childish antics, a frown furrowed her brow. Their parents had been long dead for almost ten years, and Mikey didn't look to be a day older than when they had first arrived in the village. The townspeople talked about it, and decided he wouldn't hurt any of the other kids when it became apparent, he wasn't aging, but the discussion put a strain on Mikey, and he stopped trying to play with the other kids.

Having been almost another parent to him, it hurt Gia to see him adjust to being different. His bonded partner, Sprout, was with him constantly, and often helped him do whatever he was trying to do. Mikey had learned how to carve better than their dad, draw fantastical pictures, build just about anything with wood, and could identify most everything plant and animal in the forest. But he was still a child physically. Sometimes Gia wondered if he was mentally still a child, too.

"They're here!" called Mikey moments before the crowd came crashing into the house.

Gia glanced at the laundry and sighed. She was never able to get everything done before they got home every night, but it would be alright. Vonn would help her finish after supper, and then they would snuggle together before the fireplace as everyone settled down for the night. The boys loved hearing the stories of how they had traveled across the world before they were born. Mikey loved telling the stories, too.

Lately, though, Gia had started to notice Mikey didn't go to sleep like everyone else did. He would climb up onto the roof, late at night, and stare at the stars, talking to Sprout about some of the things he still wished he could have seen. She didn't think it would be long before he decided to leave. At least he still had that amulet. Gia could only pray to Bob for the boy's safekeeping and easy travels when he did decide to go. Her traveling days were done.