Epilogue
So the whole kidnapping was to bring you back to Fairyland?” I asked as we rode through the forest.
Mama rode alongside me, but it wasn’t just the three of us hustling back to where our people were looking over the Pest Control mercenaries.
No, this time we were led by a quartet of faerie knights in full armor on warhorses, and more than a dozen courtiers trailed along like we were some kind of parade.
Mama wasted no time in calling up every reserve member of the Royal Guard in the city to help put the castle back in order after Mab’s death.
There were soldiers hustling through every corridor as we left, running to and fro alongside servants getting everything cleaned up and getting ready for a state funeral, not to mention many other private services for the dozens, if not hundreds, of faeries that died to the disease.
“Yes,” Mama replied. “Mother knew that if she cast her spell while I was away, there would be no one to carry the mantle of Winter Queen, and the realm would descend into chaos, with wild magic wreaking havoc on all the people of Winter.”
“There’s no other heir?” I asked.
“No,” Mama said. “I was an only child, as was my mother. There are no cousins, save a few very distant ones without the requisite power to channel the magic of Winter.”
“And now Nitalia is your heir?” Amy asked.
“Yes. The crown passes matrilineally, so my daughter will succeed me as Queen of Winter.”
“Who’s in charge in Summer now? Titania’s daughter?” I asked.
“Titania had no offspring. She chose one of her handmaidens to serve as the new Queen,” Mama said. “I believe you met her. Honeysuckle?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, we met her. I liked her. She didn’t seem to think much of Grandpa Oberon, though.”
“Another positive mark in her ledger,” Mama said with a sly grin. “I would not be surprised if that alone made Titania choose her to carry the name.”
“Yeah, about that…” I said, then paused, not sure how to continue.
“Yes, our names are part and parcel of our titles, Robbie. I am now Mab, Queen of Winter. Mab is eternal, even as Mab has passed on. And Honeysuckle is now Titania, even as Titania has given herself to Faerie. It is as it has ever been. Mab and Titania are enduring, no matter what should happen to those of us who bear the names.”
“Can I just still call you Mama?” I asked, getting a laugh in response.
“Yes, my dear boy, I will always be your mama, and you will always be my Robbie, my dear little boy.” She nudged her horse close to mine and touched my arm.
“But I will never again be able to come visit you. I am bound to Faerie, and to Winter. I may only leave my realm for very short times, and I may never cross between worlds again.”
“So I ain’t gonna see you again?” I asked, my chest tightening up. I spent a long time thinking I didn’t care if I ever saw her again, but now the thought of it hit me like a hammer.
“Not at all,” Mama replied. “I can no longer come to you, but that does not mean you cannot come visit me. In fact, I will insist upon it.” She reached into a pouch at her waist and handed me a ring with a blue stone in the center.
It didn’t look like it had a snowball’s chance of ever getting on my hand, but when I slipped it on, it changed size to fit perfectly.
I will never get used to magic as long as I live.
“This ring will allow you to open a portal to your chambers in my castle whenever you wish. It will also notify me and my palace staff to your arrival, so you can be attended as befits a prince of Winter.”
“You should probably get used to wearing a lot of blue and silver when you visit,” Amy said, gesturing at the wardrobe of literally every faerie around us.
“As should you, daughter,” Mama said with a smile. She handed Amy a ring of her own. “My home is always open to you, should you choose to travel with my son or alone.”
“Thank you, Majesty,” Amy replied.
“Perhaps someday you shall also call me ‘Mama.’”
“Perhaps, but we would have to have a wedding first. Ours seems to have been a bit delayed.”
“Well, I believe we can arrange something,” Mama said. “After all, the entire wedding party is here, aren’t they?”
Amy and I looked at each other, then at Mama, then back at each other. I shrugged and said, “What do you think?”
“Well, I’m pretty sure we’re not getting the security deposit back on the venue, so we might as well take advantage of still having the building,” Amy said.
“I don’t have my tux,” I protested.
Mama waved her hand, and suddenly I was wearing a tuxedo while riding a horse. She even let out the jacket a little bit so Bertha still fit under it in her shoulder rig.
“What about Skeeter?” I asked. “We left him behind dealing with reporters and missing persons reports.”
Mama made another gesture. “He is waiting for us at the venue.”
I looked at Amy, who grinned back at me. “Well,” I said. “You want to?”
She kept grinning and just said the best damned two words I’ve ever heard. “I do.”
The End