"I am so sorry! I did not know it was you all those years. Even so, I still should have freed you. Forgive me," the words ran from Gandr's mouth like water from a fountain. They would have kept coming had not his mother silenced him by covering his lips with her delicate fingers.

"I am here now. You are here now. That is what matters. We will not dwell on what should have been. The future will be our focus. We cannot let the past define us." Bukuri's words were salve to the halfling's aching heart. The emotional wound, which had been carrying for too long, could finally begin to heal.

Gandr stood and kissed his mother on the cheek. She smiled, stepped back and used her wind magic to brush away the halfling's disguise. Under the gnomic facade, which looked mostly human, was the true form of the halfling.

His ears were somewhere between rounded and pointy, as if something they were only half finished either direction. His skin was not the pasty paleness of the gnomes or the gold of the elves. It had a strange goldish tinge, as if it could not decide one way or the other what it should be.

This strange, uncommon appearance is why the other gnomes had tormented him as a child. As soon as Gandr had learned to shift, he had changed himself to be more acceptable and never looked back. He even hid his true form from those at the palace, worried deep down that they would find fault with him as well.

But now his mother had stripped him of his disguise. He cringed, wanting desperately to hide. The only thing that kept him in place were the beautiful purple eyes that started at him with undying affection. Once again she took his face, this time in both hands. Her voice was stronger than before and filled with conviction.

"There you are, my son. I am happy to see you at last."

Those around could not help but shed tears at the happy scene. Even stoic Reyan, who had quietly been watching the scene a short distance away, blew his nose and sniffed back a sob. "It's the pollen," he told the soldier next to him. "The stuff always makes my eyes water."

Devrim was so enthralled in the display that he did not ask the question that was most on his mind. As the last of the troops entered the camp, the unasked query was answered. "She is not with you," he whispered to Brinn.

The princess's smile became pained. "I really thought she would catch back up, but alas, Aurora was more delayed than expected. Have you not received a message in the mirror?"

Devrim shook his head and looked back toward the camp. "No message last time I checked, but I left it in our quarters when I heard that you were arriving. I will head back and communicate to her that you have made it safely. Maybe that will encourage a response from my wife."

He turned to leave, sad that at least as far as it mattered to him, his efforts at looking respectable had been wasted. His shoulders slumped as his feet reluctantly headed toward his tent, alone.

"Lover boy!" Brinn called, forgoing his title and even his name. "Look!"

He strode back to the elven princess, squinting hard at the horizon. At first could not see what the eagle-eyed elf was pointing at and after a time he thought it might be only a mirage of the Beachy Plains. At last, he was sure that a group of shadowy figures was travelling toward them. They all were dressed in cloaks which, though they were all different shades, all seemed to meld into the surroundings quite well. This was why the Emperor had had such difficulty spotting them.

Devrim had no doubt about their leader though. In front of the camouflaged group, a woman with fiery hair rode proudly atop a glorious young unicorn. He had no doubt that he was viewing his wife, but something about her appearance was certainly different.

"Oh yeah, I was supposed to warn you about Aurora's hair." Brinn realized when she saw the man's face.

"So it wasn't just the mirror. I was afraid to ask."

"She met the Maker…"

"And came back changed, so I see. Quite a transformation from the young girl I made friends with so long ago." Dervim gave a nostalgic grin.

"Do you wish you could go back?" Brinn wondered.

"No. Each day is an adventure, but I have loved the journey with her. I will always enjoy our time together." The Emperor was overcome with love for the woman who held his heart. She was so near that he could almost call out to her.

Not wanting to wait another moment, he took off in a full out run towards the approaching group. His feet seemed to be nearly flying, and he realized that Brinn was using her wind magic to speed his run.

The Guardians surrounding the Empress tensed at someone coming full speed at their leader, but Aurora called them back. Whispering in Utku's ear, the woman called the beautiful unicorn to a halt and asked him to lower the shield he had raised.

Devrim's pace barely halted as he grabbed his wife around her waist and pulled her from her steed. With his remaining momentum, he swung her at arms' length in a circle above his head before setting her gently on the ground to embrace her. The Emperor kissed her so hard that she finally had to pull back to gasp for air.

"Did you miss me?" She asked with a musical laugh.

"Does the earth miss the warmth of the sun?" he asked in return. His cheeks were flush with exertion from his run but his eyes shone with admiration.

Aurora blushed heavily and was unable to resist the urge to kiss the man again. Not that she wanted to resist. "You are wonderful, my love. I missed you too." She pressed her forehead to his.

"Brinn told me about your hair and the Maker..." Devrim whispered softly.

"I know I look different," the fiery haired woman moved her hand from around his neck up to her crown. A crease formed on her brow.

"You are a vision of all that is right with the world," he beamed.

"You have become quite the poet since I left," Aurora took his hand and they began to walk back toward camp.

"Well, I stole that last line from Mairwen, but the line about the sun was one hundred percent yours truly," Devrim admitted with a lopsided grin.

"And who was sweet Mairwen describing with such flowery language? Surely not Renat." The Empress leaned her head on Devrim's shoulder and she could feel him stiffen at the boy's name.

"No! At least I hope not. She was describing me," the Emperor answered her humbly.

"Then she could not have found truer words. You do look quite handsome. I like the curly lock down your forehead. You should do that more often." The woman tilted back her head and fluttered her eyelashes to plead her case.

His heart fluttered in return. "I will do anything for you, my love," he called softly.

Walking on her tiptoes, she put her lips to his ear. "Funny," she said coyly, "I was just about to say the same thing to you."

A smile split Devrim's face in two as his mind began to race. By the time they reached the camp, his thoughts were clearly elsewhere. Mairwen met them first and the two ladies hugged for an eternity.

"Mother, I have missed you so! There is so much to tell you." Mairwen chirped. Aurora's eyes flicked to Renat, who was slightly hidden in the crowd to avoid interrupting the touching scene.

"Indeed there is much to discuss, and I want to hear it all!" Aurora agreed as she gently tucked the girl's long black hair behind her ear.

The Empress greeted all of the leaders and generals by name. She took extra time on Nurlan and thank him for all his service. Aurora had spent the last months realizing just how much her guard actually did for her, and she was grateful.

She dipped her head when she was introduced to Orhan. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Cheiftain."

"The pleasure is all mine," Orhan responded as he went down on one knee and placed his hand across his chest. "But we have met once before. I believe you unintentionally visited on your world tour ten years ago."

"Oh yes, I…" Aurora was trying to find a delicate way to explain when Orhan chuckled softly.

"Do not fear, Your Majesty," the Chieftain said under his breath. "Anna and Ezer were marvelous guests. If you should run into any of my people who claim to know you, then you will know why."

"It is very good to see you, Chieftain Orhan. I like you better each time we meet," she added with a conspiratorial grin.

Aurora introduced the Guardians and their leader, Vahan.

"I had no idea there were so many of you," Junayd commented with wonder. He looked at the small sea of hooded figures and noticed that the capes seemed to make it hard to focus on any one Guardian. Huddled together, their forms were almost indistinguishable from one another. "How many are you, exactly?"

"That in an excellent question," Aurora said without having an answer.

With all the introductions complete, Devrim took his wife's hand. "If you all will excuse the Empress, she must be very tired. I will get her something to eat and make sure she gets some rest."

Aurora denied his claim. "I am not tired, my love, and not hungry for food at this moment." She smiled at him.

Devrim flashed a Cheshire grin. "I need some time with my wife. Anyone who disturbs us except in the most dire emergency will be executed."

The grey-eyed man swept up the Empress in his arms and carried her off amid cheers and "Glory to the Empress!" Aurora was far too happy to scold her husband.

"Why do I get the impression that he isn't kidding about execution?" the Chieftain asked, chuckling as the couple disappeared in the throng of soldiers.

Junayd and Nurlan exchanged a glance and shrugged. "Because he's not."

And everyone knew it. Because except for a meal left at the tent's entrance, no one dared to bother the Emperor or Empress until the following morning.