NOELLE’S POV,
“Are you ready?” I ask Gabriel.
He puts on his jacket and gives me a kiss, “Yes darling, where are the kids?”
“Probably at the school saying goodbye to their friends,” I answer.
We walk towards the school together and I feel grateful when I think about the number of people that go there today. In the first years after the war, not many people came to Liberum to learn about magic. But with the years of peace growing so did people’s trust and I am happy to say that Liberum is now known as a place of magic and wonders. More and more children with gifts get born every day and it is great to see diversity spread.
At the school, we find our 2 daughters surrounded by friends. Fiona our second child is showing off with balls of fire that she is juggling in the air. With her red hair and icy blue eyes, she is a perfect mix of me and Gabriel. However her feisty attitude she solely got from me. Our youngest daughter Grace runs to me and jumps in my arms. Grace, her looks make sure she steals the hearts of everyone she meets. She has dark-brown hair and also Gabriel his piercing blue eyes. She is a sweet girl who always cares for others. Both our girls are extremely gifted with magic, Fiona is strongest with fire magic and Grace with lightning. “Where is your brother?” I ask them.
Fiona points outside, “With the dragons of course, where else.”
I give Fiona a bop on her nose and say, “Okay miss know it all. Come on, we also need to go because otherwise, we will be late.”
Grace and Fiona look disappointed that they have to leave their friends but Gabriel says, “Hey come on girls. You know your nephews Odin and Thor will be there and also Celene. So you will have plenty of friends to play with.”
I smile thinking about the twin boys of Holly and Nolan. They look cute but they love doing naughty things so I am excited to see what they come up with this year. Besides that my girls look up to Celene because she is so beautiful and calm like her mother Luna. It is good for my girls to sometimes see how ladies behave because I am certainly not the best example.
We walk to the dragons and I see my firstborn son Atlas laying on the grass with his dragon Fury. Thorn and Dagahra got 3 babies with a mix of blue and golden scales. It is like it was meant to be because all my children now have a dragon of their own. My girls don’t need them necessarily because they also got angels wings but Atlas has no magic or wings. He does however have a special gift with dragons and spends every free hour with them. Sometimes I worry about him because he is a special boy. A bit shy and he sometimes feels left out compared to his gifted sisters. But I know he will grow into a great ruler someday.
I walk to him and kiss him on his head, “Ready to go? You and Fury should lead the way because you are the best dragon master.”
Atlas his face lights up and he doesn’t know how quickly to get Fury in the air. I get on Thorn his back with a smile and say, “Ready to go to Dandion again Thorn?”
Thorn is dancing with his paws, “Always ready for an adventure mistress.”
We all get up in the air and fly to Dandion where we arrive when it is already dark. The kids are excited to be in the big booming city again but I convince them they have to go to bed because they need their energy for the peace festival tomorrow.
When the kids are in bed we go have a drink with Julias, Luna, Holly, and Nolan. We catch up about things that happened the past year and think back to this 10 years ago. The day where we were standing at the wall looking at the big army of hell approaching. We bring back memories of our lost friends and laugh about the adventures that now seem ages ago. We all have kids and busy lives with ruling so the contrast with 10 years ago couldn’t be bigger. Liberum is known now as a beautiful serene place where gifted people can learn. Dandion and the whole Mortal Realm is blooming with diversity and business. The difference between rich and poor is much smaller than it was 10 years ago thanks to Luna and Julias efforts. The Sea Realm is rebuilt and slowly growing under the rule of Pippa. She is a hard-working and caring woman that always has the interest of her people at heart. The Sky Realm has developed into a place for adventurous people. Holly and Nolan also formed a special brigade that keeps the peace in all the Realms. People can go to the Sky Realm to try out training to be selected for the special peace team. I think it is safe to say that 10 years later we all have found our place in this world and we work together every day to make and keep the world a better place.
The next day we get ready for the festival and I put on a tight red dress. Gabriel his eyes devour my body, “Still can’t believe I got so lucky with such a beautiful wife.”
I smile at him and stroke his beard, “You look very handsome yourself.”
Gabriel has a few grey hairs on his beard and hair but besides that, he looks as handsome as ever. Might I even say more handsome knowing he is the father of my beautiful children. I put my arms around his neck and lean in for a long and passionate kiss.
“Ieww, mom, dad let’s go,” Fiona says with an impatient voice.
Gabriel looks at her strict, “Slow down young lady. There is always time to show your beautiful mother some love. You should be happy because without all this love you wouldn’t be here.”
I give Gabriel a teasing push and laugh, “Okay that is enough for today. Let’s go dance and eat.”
We walk outside into the festivities. There are market stalls with games and food everywhere and in the middle of the city, there is a band playing on a big dancefloor. We walk around with the kids for a while before they run off to go play with Holly and Nolan’s twin boys. I go dance with Gabriel and after a while, the kids join us. I dance with Atlas while Gabriel holds one of the girls in each arm swaying to the music. During the dancing, I look into Gabriel his eyes and I can see he feels the same way. This moment dancing with our kids having fun, it is perfect and I know we couldn’t be happier.
At midnight we go to the lake where a big plateau on fire gets pushed onto the sea to remember all the lives we lost 10 years ago. We stand there silently all lost in our own thoughts. Gabriel has his arm around me and he holds Grace in his other arm. I have my hands on Atlas and Fiona their shoulders and they lean into me. Looking at the fire with my family I know that everything that has happened was worth it.
Word of thanks
To everyone who read my book, I want to thank you for taking a chance on my debut book. I hope you have enjoyed reading about Noelle her journey full of adventure, magic, and romance. Please leave a review to let me know your opinion of the book. Also, follow me on Instagram at Booksbymeike so you will know where and when my second book will be available. Hopefully, I can entertain you with more books in the future!