The next 20 years went as follows:
((Long post! Sorry mobile users!))
Webby’s visit to the Council wasn’t as fruitful as she’d hoped at first. They were rigid in their rules- no mortal may join a demi-mortal, and she was lucky they didn’t confine her to the Subworld. As she prepared to leave, one of the Conciliators stopped her at the exit portal- the ghost recognized them immediately as the representation of Love. They told her that there was a way, if she and her intended were determined to marry. They had a head start already- Once was no stranger to magic. They would need to make him a full-fledged mage; he would need a teacher, and take an exam to prove he was worthy of the title. Webby had never heard of this process before- of course, she was told. His situation was unique. Human first, then a ghost, then human again, then fae, then a mix- if any mortal could become what he had to, it would be him. Webby listened carefully- the Council always spoke in riddles.
She met her daughter and sister outside the portal’s entrance- after much scolding (on Nikki and Ami’s part, as it happens), she told them of her visit.
Ghost agreed to the test eagerly, after their return. He met with his fiancee’s chosen tutor, though their personalities clashed greatly. She wasn’t at all what he’d expected. Baniti was young, feisty, and not the most patient, either, but under her tutelage, his powers thrived- soon he was manipulating his heat with precision and confidence.
As well as his training was going, there was turmoil boiling beneath the surface of the Subworld. Ami’s presence had not gone unnoticed after all, and there were some people who were less than happy about an angel in their Realm. The ancient war hadn’t been as forgotten as the Council had hoped.
They attacked one day, when the family had taken a day trip to one of the cities in celebration of one year of Once being a mage-in-training. A part-sphinx had flown into the air and demanded that whoever was sheltering the angel to give her up. Once urged his family to portal home, as he was strong enough now to defend them. Gretchen took Ami back to their home in Terran, and once she was certain the protection spells were secure, she returned to the city, just in time to bear witness to Once’s arm be forcibly removed from his body. She gathered him up and whisked him away to safety, looking back to see the villain’s defeat at the hands of Baniti and others.
Once was a wreck for a long time after that. He grew sullen, withdrawn; he would respond to nobody but Ami for a time. His behavior was desperate, obsessive- even more than it had ever been, except for one other time, when she had come across him in an alternate reality. So terrified of this similarity, Gretchen considered taking Ami and fleeing, but she stayed, and ever so slowly she brought him back into the light, away from that path. It took years.
As the time passed, Gretchen found herself using her ghost name less and less often, preferring her old name instead. Five years after first visiting the Council, Once took his mage exam and passed, and they were wed.
It was a wonderful time in their lives. Anon magic brought the Ghostly Trio back for the event, and there were far more guests than anyone had remembered inviting- angels, demons, ghosts, fairies, gorgons, magical birds, aliens, monsters, and a few humans made up the considerable guest list.
When he put the ring on her finger this time, it stayed, as if it had always belong there. If you asked them, of course, they would tell you that much was obvious.
Beth blossomed into a fine young ruler, and she and Ami became closer as time went on. Though she had no title, Ami was the closest thing Utopia had to an ambassador, and the things she and Beth taught each other were highly beneficial to both worlds.
Nikki became a guardian of the young angel after the incident with the part-sphinx, having grown to love her as her sister had grown to love her.
Fifteen years after the Council refused to bend the rules, Gretchen sat down in her home, weary. She’d been getting more and more tired throughout the years, and while she was happy, she felt there was one more thing missing.
The answer came to her as she spoke to an old friend, aided by another Anon spell.
She wanted to feel at peace with her life, but if she let herself, then she would cross over, Kat explained. She couldn’t rest as a ghost, it was against their nature.
A short talk with her husband later, and the decision had been made. She’d been dead long enough, it was time to live again.
She sought out the queen of all witches, the only one with enough Will to do what she asked, the only one she trusted enough to get all the details just right.
She became human again. She chose an age, as well- her body might as well match her soul. Once teased her a couple of times, saying someone her age shouldn’t still have green and blue hair, but it simply grew that way, with her new body.
She took up gardening, as old people seem to do often. Her transition from ghost to human altered her powers somewhat, and made her a ghost-turned-witch. She would always laugh about this whenever she told someone. “Isn’t that something?” She’d ask, chuckling.
She spent the next five years making potions and spells for the lonely, for the lost, for the scared. She spent them watching the children become adults and the Realms reunite and the universe get that much bigger. She spent them with friends and family, she spent them seeing people learn and grow.
It was a good life, after all, she mused.
The End
