Epilogue...

Six years later...

Gertrude walked down the hall, inspecting what the other servants were doing. Caviare and Kamaria were dusting a rug outside the window. They smiled at Gertrude who smiled back.

Caviare had regained her memory after spending time with Kamaria and the other servants, Gertrude had recovered from her injuries and Cassian had forgiven her. She was so emotional that day, but everyone understood why she had done it. Cassian had also made her son, Caius leader of his guards.

With Isander gone, their days were peaceful.

A little girl with sandy blonde hair ran and almost collided into Gertrude. "Bithia Oprah, how many times have I told you to stop running along these halls? You may hurt yourself."

"Sorry grandmother, mother had sent me to bring something from the storage house, so I was rushing," tears welled up in the little girl's blue eyes.

She always cried when she was scolded.

Gertrude sighed and crouched down to her height, "There, there" she wiped her eyes, "Do not be such a crybaby everytime. Come on, I will follow you to the storage house."

Her blue eyes lit up, "Really grandmother?" she asked and Gertrude nodded. "Yay!" she grabbed Gertrude's hand and started dragging her, careful to not make her trip.

Caius and one of the cooks, Lenny, had tied the knot and after some time, they had a beautiful daughter and they named her Bithia.

Gertrude and Bithia passed a huge portrait, but then, Gertrude came back to look at it, "Grandmother, you always look at that portrait, who is that woman? Is she related to Lord Cassian?" Bithia asked and Gertrude smiled at Nola's portrait.

"She is a woman who finally had peace in death. We both suffered the same fate, being used by evil to hurt who we cared about so much."

Bithia looked at her grandmother like she understood what she was saying, then she looked at the portrait of the beautiful woman with bluish-green eyes and short black curls.

They went out of the manor and were about going to the storage house, but they heard horses neighing and they turned and saw two carriages rolling in.

"Oh dear, they are quite early! Hurry child, go fetch whatever your mother sent you to fetch. I will go and inform His Lordship that his guests arrived earlier than planned."

Bithia hurried into the storage house while Gertrude went back inside the manor.

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Cassian sat at the gazebo with Soteria and Azrael, "How is your eye? Are you finally able to open it?" Azrael pointed at Cassian's left eye which was covered with a black eye patch.

Soteria gulped his whiskey, "Actually, I like the eye patch look, it makes you look older and cooler. Now you really look like a general" he laughed and Cassian rolled his eye.

They heard laughter and turned to the pavilion on the landing of the steps of the manor.

Xylia was laughing at a joke Noelle had told. The baby in Gertrude's arms, woke up and started crying, "Oh, you poor baby" Gertrude cooed and handed him to Xylia.

The other baby in Lenny's arms woke up and started crying and she was about to give her to Xylia, but Noelle took her.

"Taking care of twins is a hassle" Noelle laughed as Lenny helped Xylia loosen her corset, so she could breastfeed her twins; Elysium and Elysia.

When Elysium had a nipple in his mouth, he calmed down and suckled from his mother's breast. Noelle carefully handed Elysia to Xylia who gave her other nipple to suckle from.

"It is...but I would not trade this for anything in the world" Xylia smiled at her babies who were still suckling, their hazel eyes, roaming around and then back at their mother. "Motherhood brings unexplainable joy" Noelle smiled as she looked at younger son who was clinging tightly to his father's hand.

A tear dropped out of Azrael's eye and Soteria looked at him, "Are you crying?" he teased and Azrael sniffled, "The air here is just so dusty...something flew into my eye" he said as he looked away, while Cassian and Soteria laughed.

"I apologize for my lateness," someone said and everyone turned to who had spoken.

Cassian's heart softened as he gazed upon her. She felt him looking, so she looked at him and smiled.

She bowed to Soteria and Azrael who smiled at her.

A tan, chubby girl tried to steal Noelle's truffle, but Gertrude caught her hand, "Of all the attributes you had to take, you took your aunt's stealing habit, but you are much more slower than her," she smiled and Noelle looked at the girl, "Astraea is just shy to ask for truffles, let her eat to her heart's content" then she gave Astraea a bit of her truffle.

"Thank you, your highness," she bowed and looked at the twins sleeping in Xylia's arms, "They seem to have gotten bigger, Aunt Xylia" she said, her big grey eyes moved from one twin to the other. "They're growing" Xylia said and Astraea looked at her, "Would they grow up and look like you, Aunt Xylia?" she asked and Xylia shrugged, "Let's wait!"

"Bubbly! Come on!" a boy with golden brown hair and light green eyes called her.

Astraea turned to her mother, "Mummy, Sorin is calling me the nickname you gave me" she pouted and Zemira ruffled her dark kinky hair, "Maybe he likes you" she whispered in her ear and her daughter's face heated up, "Mummy!" she blushed as she looked away then she ran down the steps to meet Sorin and Bithia.

"Mummy says you might like me, but let me just tell you, I have no intentions of marrying you. You are still a prince! I will only marry a king!" she pouted.

Sorin furrowed his brows, "I will be a king after my father, and if I am king, I will not even marry you! You are short and chubby. I will marry Bithia!" he pulled Bithia closer to him and Astraea hmphed and stomped her foot on the grass, "Fine!"

"Fine!" Sorin hmphed.

Bithia laughed nervously as she shifted slowly away from Sorin, "Mother says those who bicker a lot always ends up together, and she always uses Lord Cassian and Lady Zemira as an example."

"Bithia!" Lenny cautioned her and Cassian laughed while Zemira looked down, all flustered.

"That is so true, Bithia!" Soteria ruffled her hair and she smiled, "Your Majesty." "Your Lord and Lady always bickered, but they ended up together and had Astraea...actually, Astraea was the reason they got together."

"Can we stop talking about this?" Zemira flushed and carried her sleeping niece from Xylia.

Soteria's younger son, Noelan ran to his mother because Bithia would not stop staring at him. She found his amber eyes beautiful, just like the queen's.

"Oh Noelan, would you not like to play with the other children?" Noelle asked and Noelan looked at Bithia and found her still staring, then he buried his face into his mother's skirt, "Why does she keep on staring mother?" he asked shyly and she giggled and gently patted his back.

Unlike his older brother, Sorin, Noelan was actually very shy.

"That was mummy and daddy, they are good together, that is why they had a cute daughter," Astraea smiled proudly.

"Cute?" Sorin raised a brow, "More like stubby." Astraea brows deepened into a frown.

"Better run for it" Bithia smiled and Sorin started running as soon as Astraea started chasing him.

"Do not go too far!" Zemira called out as they ran. "Do not worry, Lady Zemira, I will keep them safe! Father has been teaching me how to fight!" Bithia said as she puffed out her chest proudly and followed them.

"Do not fret, Zemy" Cassian held her face and she looked at him, "Isander is gone, nothing can harm us" he smiled and rubbed her shoulder soothingly. "Even if there was a threat out there, I would not let any harm come near you and our daughter" he said and she held his hand, the ruby on her pink snake-shaped ring, glittering in the sun.

After Cassian had brought Zemira's corpse back to Thurtian, he had first taken her to her parent's house. Verona had broken into tears, while Altair had slapped him, grief settling into his heart. His last child and daughter was gone. Cassian had not kept her safe as promised.

Fortunately, Ivar and Oralie were present. Oralie's mind went to the machine at Dune. It could bring someone back to life. She had immediately told Cassian and without wasting time, he took Zemira to the laboratory.

Oralie and Ivar had worked the machine and it was doing its work, when Oralie reminded Cassian of the consequences; Zemira was going to lose her memory when she regained consciousness.

Cassian knew that, but he still went through with the process. After two hours, Zemira woke up, unaware of her surroundings and of the people who looked at her and who she was, all knew was that she was in pain.

"Contractions perhaps?" Ivar had asked his wife who was confused. That was impossible. With the way Zemira had been stabbed, there was no way her baby would be alive.

Oralie had looked at the machine, "The machine..." Zemira had groaned in pain and held out her hand to Cassian, who was still in shock that she was alive.

"Help me sir, my baby" she had cried. Cassian had grabbed her hand, "I am here with you, Zemy" he had said, then he had looked at Oralie and had asked if she knew how to deliver a baby.

She did.

While Cassian was holding Zemira's hand, Oralie was helping her with her delivery, Ivar had been sent to look for clothing for the baby.

By the time he had come back, Zemira was holding her baby and Cassian had held himself from crying.

It had taken a while before Zemira regained her memories, but while she did not have her memory, she stayed with her parents and with Astraea, her daughter. Cassian visited everyday and she was always happy to see him, because he was the one who had helped her and her baby.

Eventually, she had fallen in love with him...again and they had another wedding. A grander one, and that was when her memories had flooded back in.

She had wept that day, in Cassian's arms as she had thought about everything; meeting Cassian, sleeping with him, marrying him because of the baby he had put in her, hating him, eventually starting to like him, then growing to love him, getting torn away from him, coming back to life and falling in love with him all over again.

Cassian placed a kiss on her forehead and smiled. He was never going to lose her again.

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"Alright" Sorin laughed as Astraea tickled him. "Never call me stubby again!" she hmphed and let go of him. He panted as he got up, "Fine...stubby" he blew raspberry at her and ran away.

She continued chasing him, but then, she got lost.

"Sorin, you better keep running! If I catch you, I am going to make you stubby" she threatened as her eyes roamed around for his familiar golden brown hair.

Her grey eyes widened in horror when she realized that she had actually gone far. "Sorin? Bithia? Mummy? Daddy?" she called out as she looked around. There was no one, she was lost.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she started crying, "Mummy, daddy" she called out, tears choking her.

She decided to stop crying and try to find a way out. She walked through the forest, calling out for help. She soon got tired and was about to sit down, but she saw a short old man in green livery.

She had never seen him, so she was sure he was not a servant. "Hello my dear" the old man smiled through crooked teeth and she wanted to run.

"Come here, I do not bite" he walked closer to her. She was so scared and unfortunately, her feet refused to move.

He kept on coming closer, "I just want to tell you a story." He almost touched her, but then, she broke into a run.

The old man did not pursue her, he just watched her run.

Astraea stopped by a tree to catch her breath. Who is that old man and where did he come from? she thought as she panted. She wanted to cry and then fall asleep and then wake up and see her mother, Zemira, staring at her.

Suddenly, wrinkled, old hands covered her mouth and dragged her. She tried to scream, but he had firmly covered her mouth.

"Now dear, I am not a stranger, I am a good friend of your father. It is a shame that he has not talked about me" the old man snickered and then brought his lips to the little girl's ears, "My name is Cato, and from now on, you are mine," he grinned sadistically and licked the side of her face.

He hit the side of her neck, and she fell unconscious. He continued dragging her, with a satisfied grin on his face.

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The End...and probably the beginning of another 😏

A/N: Thank you for supporting me throughout Cassian and Zemira's journey, hope you enjoyed it.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for a sequel😂