The Legend
Fantasy Masks AU: Chapter Fifty-One (END)
A JSE Fanfic
This is it, guys. The final part of Fantasy Masks ;A; I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S OVER AAAAAAAH It's going to be so weird to not be writing this story. While I've finished other AUs before this, none ran as long as this one, both in terms of word count and in terms of how many years it's taken to post. I can remember back to when this was just a vague concept in my brain of "hey what if you did a fantasy world with the JSE guys?" God, so much has changed since then. I graduated college, for one XD I got truly close to my group of friends, and I like to think I gained a lot of confidence in myself. So much has changed.
It feels like this is the end of an era, you know? But it's an era I'm so happy I got to go through with all you readers. This story has been a real hit with you guys, and I appreciate everyone who's read it, whether you stuck with it from the beginning, started midway through, are just now reading, or are reading in the future after the work is complete. Thank you all so much ^-^ I couldn't have done this without you.
And now, the final summary. Chase, having met up with his family again, starts to sort out how their lives will work from here on out. And he's not the only one. All five of the guys discuss what they'll be doing in the future, now that Jack is the King again and things are starting to settle down. And again, thank you all so much for reading. I hope you've enjoyed this journey :,) <3
Previous Part | From the Start | More AU | Read on AO3: CrystalNinjaPhoenix
Taglist: @brokentimewatch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So... this is the palace, huh?” Stacia looked up at the wall around it. “I’ve never been this close. Are you sure it’s okay for us to go inside?”
“Of course it is,” Chase said, nodding decisively. “You’re my family. And besides, Amy and Quen have already been in there.”
“We slept in there for one night,” Amabel said cheerfully. “The night before we came to see you.” That night was already three days ago. Chase and the kids had spent most of the next day talking to Stacia about everything that happened, leaving her in total awe. Chase ended up spending the night in the small house where Stacia had been living, but in the morning he’d gotten up and headed right back to the palace, though he came back to check on her and the kids regularly each day (because yes, the kids were staying in the house again. As amazing as the palace was, that was their home.)
“I suppose that’s true...” Stacia said slowly. “It’s just... it’s unbelievable that you can just walk right in here, Chase.”
“I’m not the only one,” Chase said. “Jack—the King wants to make it easier for everyone to come visit him. He said that was how his parents did it, and he thought it was a good idea. Uh, of course, everything would still be secure. We don’t want anyone dangerous to walk right in. But... he wants to be open, you know?”
“I suppose so,” Stacia said again, in that same slow tone.
They approached the gate, and Chase looked up to see who was standing on the wall watching this time. Lukas was up there. He looked down at Chase and nodded respectfully. Chase waved, then led Stacia and the kids through the open gate. “Alright, these are the grounds,” Chase said. “I can give you a short tour before I have to go meet the others.”
“That would be lovely, Chase,” Stacia said, smiling.
They walked around for a bit, with Chase pointing out different buildings and what they were. The servants’ quarters, the laundry building, the armory. All while they circled around the main palace in the center. Stacia couldn’t help but keep glancing at the tall towers beside her, balking at their height up close. Amabel kept chattering about what the different flowers planted in the gardens meant, and saying how they all looked a lot healthier now. Seemed like someone was maintaining them regularly now.
After a while, Chase took them into the palace. By now, the interior of the building was completely different than it was back when Chase was first here, infiltrating it to try and rescue Jameson. Everything was a lot cleaner, and there were servants and even visitors bustling about, making clear that this was a place to be lived in instead of the strange, silent place it was back then. “Can we see the throne room, Dad?” Quentin asked. “We still haven’t seen it, in all this time!”
“Well, uh, of course.” Chase nodded, though he felt a bit uneasy thinking about the throne room. He just saw in his mind that place from the draísling, where Jack was trapped. He knew where it was, though. It was easy enough to remember, since it was arguably the most important room in the palace. “It’s over this way...”
He recognized the hallway they took from the dreams he’d had; it looked not too different from it had in his mind, though everything seemed older. The grand wooden doors at the end of the corridor were propped open, a royal warrior and a Masked Phantom both standing guard. They both saluted Chase as he walked by, and nodded at his family.
The interior was... sort of the same as the dream. Much like the hallway outside, it was older than it was in the draísling, the edges of the stone worn darker and smoother with time. The green carpet in the center was a slightly different shade as well; perhaps it had been replaced over the years. There were less candles in sconces, and in the roof there were two large panes of glass, allowing the sun from outside to come streaming down from above. At the end of the room was that half-circle dais, and on that dais was the wooden throne... and in front of that throne was Jack.
Chase stopped, surprised.
“Hello?” Jack turned around, clearly having heard the family come in. “Oh! Chase! Hi, I was... I was actually thinking about going to find you. Or... send for you? One of those. I wanted to talk to you.” He smiled slightly, and Chase reflected how truly different he looked now, how just a simple change of clothes made him look like a completely different person from Aneirin, even though it was the same body standing before him. Jack also was not wearing the gold circlet. No, that was sitting on the seat of the throne, as it likely had been since their arrival. “Oh? Who’s this?” Jack’s eyes drifted to Stacia.
“This is Stacia,” Chase said, “My wife.”
“Y-Your Majesty!” Stacia gasped, bowing low.
“No, no, you really don’t have to do that,” Jack quickly said. “This isn’t exactly a formal context, is it?”
“No, not really,” Chase said, smiling slightly. “It’s okay, Stacy.” Stacia stood up straight, still looking a bit nervous as she brushed off her skirts. “What are you doing in here, Jack?”
“Thinking,” Jack said. “Actually... reflecting would probably be a better way of putting it.” He looked back at the throne, tilting his head. “It’s a nice chair. But I... I can’t sit in it yet.”
“Of course, that’s perfectly reasonable,” Chase said.
“Thank you.” Jack looked back at him and the family, walking on over. “Hello Amabel, Quentin. Good to see you again.”
“Hello, Your King Jack sir,” Quentin said, smiling. Amabel gave a very short bow.
“What did you want to talk about?” Chase asked. “And will it take long? I promised to meet up with the others today. I-I was just showing the family around because I wanted Stacia to see the palace.”
“It is a nice palace, I don’t blame you,” Jack chuckled. “No, it... it won’t really take that long, I think. I just wanted to...” He paused, thinking. “I wanted to know how I could thank you. For all your help.”
Chase blinked. “You don’t have to thank me, Jack.”
“Well, I want to,” Jack insisted. “You really have no idea how much you helped me. And not just by getting rid of that spirit, but before a-and after, as well. I... I owe you a lot. And I want to show my appreciation.”
“O-oh,” Chase breathed. “Well... o-of course you can... do that.”
Jack smiled shakily. “Right. So. I, uh, had to check the treasury and all that, and though the spirit was spending a lot on warriors and... boats? I suppose? Even though he was spending on that, just about everything else was cut off, so there are a hoard of funds in there. I’m working on spending those on where they should be spent again, like re-establishing the fund for the city doctors, but while we have an excess, I could—”
“You’re offering money?!” Chase interrupted, surprised.
“Well... yes, I want to give you something,” Jack said. “That’s what I meant.”
“I didn’t... quite grasp that part...” Chase said, blinking wildly. “I... Jack, that’s... that’s very kind, but... you should put the royal funds to something else. Like the doctoring fund you mentioned. Or, uh, you could help make new schools? The kids have been enjoying theirs.”
“Most of the time,” Amabel added insistently. “Sometimes it’s boring.”
“Well it’s still good for you,” Stacia said, apparently getting over her daze at being in the King’s presence in order to lecture her daughter.
“I know, Mom,” Amabel groaned.
Jack gave a little laugh. “That’s... well, I guess I should do that. But really, Chase, it will take a tiny dent out of the fucking pile of gold and jasper if I were to give you a bit of it.”
“Honestly, I-I don’t even know what I’d do with a fund,” Chase said slowly. “What would I spend it on? Well, uh... food, I suppose? Clothes? Maybe... a new bow or something?”
“Books?” Jack suggested. “Books are good. Or art supplies. An instrument. Things that give you hobbies.”
“...hobbies, huh?” Chase said to himself. “Well... it might be easier if you just gave me something like that directly.”
“Well, alright, then.” Jack shrugged. “In that case. What would you like?”
“...um.” Chase’s mind went blank. He looked at Stacia and the kids. “In all honesty... I’d want something that we all can use before anything else,” he said slowly. “Though I don’t... Oh! Stacia, what if we got... what if we got a new house?”
“A new house?” Stacia repeated.
“Only if you and the kids wanted, of course,” Chase said. “But it might be nice to have a bigger house. One that’s a bit more central in the city, if we’re going to be living here now.” And they would. As much as Chase missed the mountains, his family had made a life here. He and Stacia had talked it over, and they agreed that Chase would settle down here with her in Suilthair, instead of the whole family getting up and moving to a new city in the mountains. “And maybe one with three bedrooms, so the kids can each have their own space. And more storage, you know?”
Stacia nodded slowly. “That would be nice. We’re all the way out on the edge of the city. Maybe, if we had a house on the edge of the island... I-if that’s alright, Your Majesty.”
“You can just call me Jack,” Jack said, smiling slightly. “A house. Alright. I can get working on that. I know that there are some on the beach that just became... available.”
“Available?” Chase raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, you know...” Jack waved his hand. “Some nobles had a little too much fun under the spirit’s reign. I’m taking care of them in various ways. One being they lose access to any houses they don’t need.”
“W-we don’t need a noble’s house!” Chase quickly said. “I-I don’t know what we’d do with that much space!”
Jack laughed. “Don’t worry, the ones I’m thinking of are the perfect size for the four of you. I wouldn’t give you anything excessive. Is there anything else?”
Quentin raised his hand. “I would like some books.”
Again, Jack laughed. “Storybooks?”
“Mm-hm.” Quentin nodded.
“Oh! And I want a garden!” Amabel said excitedly. “I loved our garden back home! In Hilltown, I mean!”
“The house will have a garden, don’t worry,” Jack assured her. “And Chase... I know you don’t want a whole fund, but let me at least give you a lockbox’s worth of money. Just so you can have some emergency savings, at least.”
Chase was about to protest, but he felt Stacia put a hand on his arm. And he stopped, reconsidering. Stacia was probably telling him it was practical to have a little bit put away for an emergency. And honestly, it was probably impolite to keep refusing Jack’s suggestions. So Chase nodded. “Okay, Jack. That sounds great.”
“Great!” Jack smiled. “I can get started on that soon. Now... you were meeting up with the others?”
“Right, yes, I should probably get going for that,” Chase said. He looked at Stacia. “Do you want to keep looking around the palace?”
“I... yes, I do.” Stacia nodded. “It’s not everyday you see the inside of a palace, isn’t it? Do you mind if we just wander around a bit, Your Ma—Jack?”
“Of course,” Jack reassured her. “Just don’t go into any bedrooms, you don’t know who’s staying there.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” Stacia laughed.
“Oh! Let’s show you where we stayed that one night!” Amabel said. “It’s a bit dusty and old there, but it’s still so fancy!”
“Most things in the palace are still a bit dusty and broken,” Jack warned them. “Don’t get your hopes up too high.”
“I’m sure it’s still lovely, Your—Jack,” Stacia said. “Now... go on, Chase.” She smiled. “We’ll meet you at that gate where we came in. Is that okay?”
“Yes, that’s perfect.” Chase smiled back. Then, after a moment of hesitation, he leaned forward and gave Stacia a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Hey!” Quentin held his arms up. “Hug?”
Chase laughed, and leaned down to give him a quick hug. Amabel stepped back; she wasn’t really a hugging person. “I’ll see you two soon, too, don’t worry.” He stood up straight and nodded at Jack. “I’ll... see you around, Jack.”
“See you around,” Jack said. “And... thank you again. It’s the last time I’ll say it, I promise.”
Chase smiled a little. “You’re welcome.” He nodded at everyone. “Goodbye. I’ll be back soon.” And with that, he hurried out of the room to go meet with the others, Stacia and the kids waving behind them, their plans to meet up again solidified.
A new house. A solid start for all of them in this new city. It was enough to make Chase’s head spin. But it also felt right, somehow. Warm inside his chest. A new home. A new start for their family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marvin was also hurrying to the meeting place. He was running a bit late, since he’d thought he had time to take a long bath now that the bathroom in their shared room was cleaned up. But then he lost track of time and had to hurry to get ready, using a quick magic spell to dry off. Now he was almost running through the hallway, Draco trotting at his side in a way that meant he was in mild danger of being accidentally kicked.
Because of this hurry, he wasn’t exactly listening for people coming. So when he reached an intersection, he was completely blindsided by a familiar face turning the corner.
The two of them both stopped at the same time—though Marvin’s stop was a bit more abrupt, since he was going faster. They stared at each other. Then, Marvin nodded. “Thalia.”
“Don’t ‘Thalia’ me,” Thalia snapped. At her side, Enid was crouching down to glare at Draco, who was glaring right back. “I saw you come back with the rest of this crowd. You’ve been avoiding me, haven’t you? Well, for good reason! I can’t believe you have the nerve to show up after what you did last time, leaving me in the middle of a fucking lake!”
Marvin couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Thalia looked surprised for a moment, then only got angrier. She opened her mouth, but Marvin cut her off. “Listen, Thalia, you were threatening to kill everyone on that boat. At that moment, you became a hazard, and every sailor knows that you have to remove hazards from the ship as quickly as possible.”
“How dare you!” Thalia gasped.
“No, how dare you,” Marvin snapped. “Why are you still in the palace?!”
“I... am still clearing out my room,” Thalia said haltingly. “But I couldn’t leave until I spoke to you.”
“Oh? Spoke to me about what?” Marvin raised an eyebrow.
Thalia took a deep breath. “You know what what you’ve done is a betrayal to our family name, don’t you?”
“Helping save the kingdom is a betrayal? Really?”
“I was in talks with the King about a marriage,” Thalia said.
“Between him and you?” Marvin stared at her blankly.
“Yes!”
“You know the spirit probably wasn’t going to follow through on that. If he was so stubborn about ruling the kingdom that he came back from death to do it himself—which is what happened, by the way, I know, I was there when we all found out—then I doubt he would’ve allowed you even a shred of the ruling power of being Queen.”
“Well, he allowed me to be regent, at least,” Thalia said. “That was a sign of trust. And now, the new King is reversing all my hard work getting close to the old one!”
“Because he doesn’t like you? I wonder why.” Marvin hummed.
“You’re being annoying on purpose!” Thalia snapped. “My point is, the new King—”
“He’s not the ‘new’ King,” Marvin interrupted. “He’s the rightful King. That thing you were getting close to was an usurper of the highest order. He took everything of the King’s, even his body, all of it done forcefully and traumatically. The spirit was nothing to this kingdom, and now, you and our parents are nothing to the King.” He nodded. “Oh yes. I heard what he did. How does it feel to be Miss Tinechroí now? Does it feel different from ‘Lady’?”
Thalia just stared at him, too angry for words.
“It’s got to sting for mother and father too, being the ones to lose the Tinechroí’s traditional spot training warriors,” Marvin continued sweetly. “Not to mention being stripped of their duties. I suppose Conor is going to do his best to carry on the family legacy, now.”
“You’re a family traitor,” Thalia finally said, glaring.
“I mean what I said before I threw you in the lake. They’re your family now, not mine.” Marvin folded his arms. “I won’t even be going by that name now, I think. I think I’ll just be Marvin. Marvin the wizard. Marvin the Masked Phantom. Marvin...” He glanced around, eyes landing on Draco by his side. “Marvin aan Kaith.”
Thalia blinked. “Marvin the cat? That’s idiotic.”
“Well at least it holds more respect,” Marvin said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, you’re delaying me.” He stepped around her and Enid and continued down the hallway, Draco following him. He just knew Thalia was glaring after him, but he didn’t look back at her. He had nothing more to say.
He continued down the hallway until he reached a staircase, which he took up. And up. And up, going all the way to the top of this tower, until the staircase stopped. Up in the ceiling, there was a wooden trapdoor with a ladder coming down it. Marvin bent down and scooped up Draco, lightly tossing him into the trapdoor.
“What the—Draco?!” A voice shouted.
Marvin laughed a little, and climbed up the ladder.
The top of the tower was clean, all the dust having been swept up days ago. Even so, sunlight shone through a couple patches in the roof where shingles were missing, there was no furniture at all, and the very corners still have a few clouds of dust remaining. It was a small, round room, and some of the space was taken up by the supports for the cone-shaped roof. But it was private and out of the way, which was why they had agreed to meet up here.
“You scared me, Marvin,” Jackie said, crouching down to pet Draco. “You can’t just throw your cat through a trapdoor!”
“I didn’t throw him, I tossed him, it’s slightly different,” Marvin said.
Well as long as he’s alright with it, Jameson said.
“He will be fine, cats always land on their feet,” Henrik assured him. “And even if they did not, Draco is magic!”
Chase laughed. “I’m sure if Draco wasn’t alright with it, he’d be making much more of a fuss.”
Marvin looked around. “So I’m the last one, then?”
“Yea, but no worries, Chase just barely got here too,” Jackie said, nodding at him.
“Don’t push me into the lake like that,” Chase grumbled.
Marvin grinned. He looked around the tower room, then walked over to the main thing left in the furniture-less space. The window. Glass covered a rounded hole in the side of the wall, some thin metal bars dividing it into four sections. He sat down on the floor next to said window, since it was big enough to reach from the roof to the ground, and peered out at the palace grounds below. “Wow... you weren’t exaggerating at all, Jackie.”
“No, of course I wasn’t!” Jackie said. “It’s such a good view from up here, isn’t it?”
“A little dizzying, but yea.” Chase nodded, sitting down on the ground near Marvin as well. Jameson did the same, and soon Henrik and Jackie joined them. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so high up.”
“We all have, we were in the mountains for a lot, they’re much taller than the palace towers!” Jackie said cheerfully.
“That doesn’t count,” Chase said. “It’s rare that you’ll be able to... to see the ground like you can here. Not unless you’re on the edge of a cliff, and everyone knows you steer clear of those.”
“I brought snacks,” Henrik suddenly said, taking off the bag he was wearing. Reaching inside, he took out some small, wrapped packages, passing them out to the others. Unwrapping the cloth revealed scones, slightly sticky on top, with elderberries as decoration.
I haven’t had scones in forever, Jameson said, balancing the one Henrik gave him on his lap as he spoke. My sister Mairead used to love to cook and bake in the kitchen. She could make these amazing pear scones. He smiled sadly.
“...you’ll have to find her recipe and introduce it to us,” Chase said gently.
I will. I know she’d love that.
The five of them went quiet for a bit, looking out the window as they ate. “Mm. Delicious,” Jackie said, mumbling slightly through the bite he’d taken.
“They have them available in the kitchens all the time now, just free for anyone to take,” Henrik said. “I am surprised you don’t know that, Jackie. After all, you are the one who wanted to get to know every inch of the palace.”
“Well just because I know where the kitchens are doesn’t mean I know what goes on in there,” Jackie said defensively. “Are you taking a jab at my exploring the palace?”
“Oh no, not at all, otherwise we would never have known that this place was up here,” Henrik said.
“It’s important to know the location,” Jackie continued to insist.
“Of course, of course.” Henrik chuckled. “Well now. Chase, you mentioned that Jack wanted to speak with you?”
“Chase did?” Marvin repeated.
“Just before you arrived,” Henrik explained.
“Yea, I ran into him in the throne room,” Chase said, nodding. “I was giving Stacia and the kids a proper tour and they wanted to see the throne. Jack was there, and he... he insisted that he should thank me for... for ‘everything I’d done’, he said.”
Thank you? Do you mean, a gift of some kind? Jameson asked. That’s standard practice for nobility, to offer a gift to those they feel have been a great help.
“Is it?” Chase blinked. “Huh. I didn’t know that. Well... yes, a gift. He offered money at first, but I thought that could be put to better use—and honestly, I don’t know what I’d do with a big sum of money. So instead, me and Stacia asked if we could have a new house.”
Marvin raised an eyebrow. “And you thought... that would be... less trouble than currency? Usually houses cost quite a lot more than anything Jack would’ve planned to give you.”
“...do they?” Chase asked quietly.
“Well, I suppose it depends,” Marvin elaborated. Draco came over to sniff his scone, putting his face right up to it, and Marvin moved it out of the way. Draco continued to try and get at it, though, so he lifted it into the air, pushing Draco back with his free hand.
“Jack’s the King, surely buying a house isn’t that big of a cost to him,” Jackie said. “Don’t worry about it, Chase. Jack knows what he’s doing, he’s not going to give you more than you want, or more than he can afford.”
“Right.” Chase nodded slowly. “Of course. I just... I would feel bad about taking too much.”
“What is too much?” Henrik mused. “You saved the kingdom, you know. What would be ‘too much’ of a gift for someone who did that?”
Chase blushed. “I couldn’t have done that without any of you, you know. Even getting rid of Aneirin, it was mostly me helping Jack.”
“Well, the Horned Elder One chose you for a reason, you know,” Jackie pointed out. “They knew you could do it.”
Chase went quiet for a bit. Then he nodded. “I guess they did. And I guess I did end up doing quite a lot, too.” He laughed a little. “So maybe having a new house isn’t all that bad in terms of, uh, gifts.”
It really isn’t, Jameson said. You like stories, surely you’ve heard of the many stories that end with “and then the King or Queen gave the hero a plot of land.”
“Fair enough, fair enough.” Chase nodded again.
“So... where is this house going to be?” Henrik asked.
“Here in Suilthair,” Chase said. “It’s a nice enough city, and more importantly, Amabel and Quentin have made friends here—Stacia, too. They have a life. I’m... not really sure what I’ll do now that I’ll be living here, but I’m sure I’ll find something.”
“Hunters are always in demand,” Jackie said. “You can do what you used to, just slightly different. You’ll have to take the ferry out of Suilthair, but once you’re back on land you can hunt all sorts of game nearby. Though it’s mostly fields. You might have to change up your methods.”
Chase laughed. “Well, I was always a hunter because I had to be. Now that I don’t have to do that... I wonder what I want to be.”
Well... like I said, you enjoy stories, Jameson pointed out. Maybe you can do something with them. Become a scribe. I’m sure if you have the patience for hunting, you have the patience for writing.
“Working in books? I never thought of that,” Chase said, blinking. “I would like to do something that moves my body, though... Hm. But maybe I can give it a try.”
“You know what book people would love to read?” Marvin said. “The story of how we all defeated the King—but you especially, of course. You’ve spent a lot of time telling other stories, why not record your own?”
Chase thought about that. The possibility had never occurred to him. “I... I-I don’t know. Do you think I’d be any good at it?”
“In the case of something like this, it does not matter so much if you are good at it, I think,” Henrik mused. “What matters is that it is your story, and as long as you tell it the way you remember, the way you would like others to hear, then I think it will turn out very good.”
“Hm.” Chase looked down at the ground, and nodded slowly. “Alright. I’ll give it a try.” Then he looked up at the others. “What about all of you? I’ll be living in Suilthair now, but I don’t think all of you will stay here... will you?”
“Oh, I’ll probably be here for a time,” Jackie said casually. “Jack trusts me to work with the warriors, make them all better. Weed out all the bad eggs that snuck in during the spirit’s reign. That’ll take a while. We’re making some progress here in the city, of course, but Glasúil is a big kingdom. There are bound to be distant corners where those bad eggs still thrive.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised if I get sent off to go check on other warriors someday.”
“Personally, I would love to return to my traveling doctor duties,” Henrik said. “It has been too long since I have been able to. But I would like to get a solid supply of my medicine before I go too far. And also... well, I would like to establish where my home is, so Vsevna can send letters there consistently.”
Chase chuckled. “That’s a great idea. Wouldn’t want him to think he’s losing you.”
“Oh, I would never!” Henrik gasped. “That is a huge taboo in Leylodka!”
“Huh?” Chase tilted his head to the side.
“Oh yes, Vsevna talked to me about it in his last letter,” Henrik said. “There are many sailors in his country, you know. And many of them fall in love and get married and all that with people who would prefer to stay on land. In Leylodka, if either the sailor or their partner breaks trust and becomes unfaithful while the sailor is on the sea, then that is grounds for the worst of social punishments. You will be shunned for life for that!”
“That’s fascinating,” Marvin said, eyes wide.
“It is, is it not?” Henrik said.
“Your last letter, huh?” Jackie said, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. “You’ve already received one?”
Henrik rolled his eyes. “Yes, I have, and it was quite nice to hear from him. I sent another letter back with the messenger bird. I wonder how long it will be before he receives it.”
“I still don’t know how messenger birds are able to find ships out at sea,” Marvin said. “There must be magic or something involved.”
Chase laughed. “Must be.” Then he sighed. “What about you, Marvin? I can guess where Jameson is going after this.”
All of them glanced at Jameson, who was playing with the now-empty cloth that had held the scone. He nodded. Your guess is probably correct. I have to return home, to the Jairsolas claim. Jack has told me he’s already working on disbanding the warriors in charge there, but there is no doubt so much that still needs to be done.
“When were you thinking about going?” Jackie asked quietly.
As soon as possible, Jameson said. Though I’m not sure when that will be. I would like things to calm down a bit with the Masked Phantoms before I go. Uphold my new position in the administration.
“I imagine all the Phantoms will have their future plans figured out by fall,” Jackie said helpfully.
That’s perfect, then. My birthday is in fall. It feels... right, to be home again when that day rolls around. Jameson smiled slightly.
Henrik put his hand on Jameson’s shoulder. “I know that the people of the claim will be glad to have you back,” he said. “You cannot possibly be as bad as whatever the warriors were doing.”
Oh, I know, Jameson said. I’ve been listening for news. I haven’t heard much, but I already have some ideas based on what I did.
Chase laughed. “In that case, you’ll do great, James.” Then he looked at Marvin. “Uh... what about you?”
“Right, yeah, you asked me earlier,” Marvin said. He ran a hand down Draco’s back, petting him. The cat began to purr and settled down next to him. “I’m... not sure what I’ll do. Or where I’ll go. Definitely not back home, I can tell you that. I’m never going back to the Tinechroís again. And I didn’t even like living there that much, so I don’t want to go back for the environment.” He sighed. “Maybe I’ll become a magic scholar. Learning about magic all the time sounds fun.”
“Only you would say that, Marvin,” Jackie laughed. “You know, isn’t there a school for magical scholars? It’s one of the three universities, isn’t it?”
“Well, yes, but it’s full of pretentious asses,” Marvin said. “And also, I’m not sure how much funding those universities got during the spirit’s reign. We didn’t hear anything about them, so that’s not a good sign to me.”
“I... didn’t even know we had those,” Chase said slowly.
Well you know, Chase, that’s another thing you can do that’s not just hunting, Jameson said. Learning. I’ll bet there’s something out there you’ll be fascinated by.
Chase laughed. “Yea, I’ll take that bet.”
Jameson smiled, then looked over at Marvin. He hesitated. You know... if you’d like... you can come to my claim with me.
Marvin blinked. “To the Jairsolas claim? And... do what?”
Whatever you want, really, Jameson said. I just... I think you would like it there, once everything got back in order. And... well, maybe it’s a little selfish of me, but... I would like to have you there. As support. And companionship. He paused. Because... you’re my friend. You were... probably my first friend. I wouldn’t be here if we hadn’t met.
Marvin’s expression softened. He blinked wildly, then rubbed his eyes on his sleeve, hiding the gathering tears. “Yea... I don’t think I would be here, either,” he said. “I’d probably still be fighting with these two.” He nodded at Henrik and Jackie.
“Hey...” Jackie said half-heartedly.
“I’d love to go with you, Jair,” Marvin said.
Jameson smiled. He looked at Chase. Of course, I’ll write you, once I get there. And you’ll have to write me back.
“Of course!” Chase smiled. “I’ll write you as soon as possible, whenever I can.”
“What are we, fish guts?” Henrik asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jameson laughed silently. I’ll write to you, too, Henrik. And you too, Jackie. We’d all better write to each other!
“I give you all my solemn vow right now that I’ll write to you all whenever I can,” Jackie said.
“The same here,” Henrik added, nodding. “And we should all meet up and visit whenever we can, as well.”
“Holidays would be great for that,” Chase said. “Though I don’t doubt that the city will get very crowded on holidays. Everyone will come to visit their family and sell their wares and do all that stuff.”
“Then let’s make our own holiday,” Marvin added. “Honestly, I think we deserve one.”
“Oh, they’re already talking about ‘Phantom Day,’ you know,” Jackie said.
“Are they?!” Henrik gasped.
“I’ve also heard ‘Freedom Day’ and ‘True King’s Day’ thrown about, but I like Phantom day,” Jackie said. “It’s what they’re calling the day we all marched up to the castle and Jack announced that he was unpossessed, then gave everyone the day off work, basically.”
“Well that’s not the right day for the holiday,” Marvin frowned. “If they’re celebrating the day the spirit was banished, that was actually weeks before.”
I don’t think the greater population of the kingdom knows the exact day like we do, Jameson pointed out.
“Well, then we’ll have to tell them! See Chase, this is why you writing things down is important.”
Chase laughed, a sound which faded off into contented thoughtfulness. “You know... if we’re going to have visits just for us, then maybe they should be on days that are important just for us. Like... the day Henrik, Jackie, and Marvin first made the Phantoms. The day Marvin and Jameson met. The day I met you all, stumbling into Wyvernlair.”
The others looked at each other and nodded. “I don’t think we remember the specific date, but that was sometime in spring, I think,” Jackie said.
And Marvin and I met in winter, Jameson added.
“And Chase came to us in the fall,” Henrik said. “If we add in the day of the spirit’s banishment, those are four days, one in each season. We can schedule our visits around those days. Four per year sounds very doable, especially if we all stay a while to make the travel worth it.”
“And we should meet up if there’s anything important happening, of course,” Jackie added. “Like if one of us decides to court someone. Or if Henrik marries Vsevna. Or if Chase decides to have another kid.”
Chase made a choked noise in surprise. Henrik did not look any less shocked, himself.
Marvin laughed. “And we should all meet up to see the Jairsolas claim when it’s back in order, too. And we should try to meet up for important birthdays!”
This all sounds very doable, Jameson said, smiling.
“Yea.” Jackie nodded, smiling as well. “I think... I think we’re all going to get very busy eventually. But we’ll always make room for each other. We have to promise that. Right now.”
Henrik chuckled. “Of course, Jackie. I swear it. After all I have been through with everyone, I could not forget about you all.”
“That’s what I think, too,” Marvin said, nodding. “We went into the Wyldwood together! We saved a kingdom together! No matter what, we’ll always be there for each other.”
In that case, shall we make it an oath now? Jameson said. Oaths are very important for this kind of thing.
Chase smiled. “I’ll make that promise.” He put his hand out. Silently, the other four also did the same, all of their hands piling on top of each other. “We all swear it now. After everything we went through for this kingdom, after everything we went through together, we’ll stay companions through the years, no matter what else happens.” He paused, his eyes watering as he continued to smile. “Thank you all. So much.”
They all smiled at each other, and they made their promise.
The tales of the Masked Phantoms lasted long through the years of Glasúil. Though many of the details were lost, the struggle of King Jack’s early reign reduced down to simple sentences in history books, the legend would only grow. Jack proved to be a fair King, though he made his fair share of mistakes, and the people remembered him fondly. But the story of the Phantoms rang throughout the kingdom for centuries to come.
Five friends had banished an evil spirit. Not through force, though the battles were always present in the telling, and always exaggerated for whatever was the most impressive. No, the spirit was banished through a different kind of strength. A strength of the heart. A strength wielded by one man from the mountains and four others who, really, weren’t all that special when you thought about it. And yet, they’d changed the history of Glasúil.
And throughout the years that followed, their oath held strong. They never forgot each other, and never left each other behind. As long as they lived, they continued to visit and spend time together. The five who had changed history. The five who had changed each other’s lives.
