I'm not going to say much, so you can get on to reading! The epilogue is short, sorry, but I had to tie up some loose ends in case the readers didn't make the connections earlier :) By the way, I've already started writing a new story, and you can look for the first chapter coming out in September or October. Thanks for reading!

Epilogue

The Kingdom of Rielle, 1523

Harper stepped out of the portal and into the summer night of Tierrelle. Or… was it? Something had changed while he was gone, he could tell. The first thing he noticed was how Creoll wasn't waiting for him, like he had said he would when he ran away. He looked to his left and started to walk towards his house. There was definitely something weird going on here. He looked up to where his house should have been, but noticed it wasn't there either. He looked around wildly for something, anything recognizable. And that was when he noticed it: the Royal Palace was still standing.

He looked up at it, the white and gold towers gleaming in the summer twilight. Odd, because when he left Rielle it had been winter… he shrugged it off. This was getting weirder by the second. He was starting to wonder if he had even gone back through the right portal, or to the right time period.

There was a great shout near the palace which shook Harper out of his thoughts. He decided to wander towards it, knowing he would have to find out sooner or later what was going on. His legs led him through the maze; amazingly, seeing as he had no idea he knew how to get through it.

His heart almost stopped as he watched two people moving across the lawn in front of him. A boy, with sandy hair, and a girl with blonde… could it be? Harper's head told him it was impossible, it couldn't be Siskel; but his heart was hoping beyond hope it was.

The couple turned towards him, laughing and joking; oblivious to the fact they were being watched. They sat down on a bench by an old, droopy willow tree. Harper walked quietly to the willow tree and sat down on the side opposite them, listening silently to their conversation.

"Why do you want to sit here?" the boy asked, with slight disgust in his voice.

The girl sat down beside him and pecked his cheek. "Oh, just because… there are legends that love comes out of this tree."

Harper's heart was in his throat. This was… this was his willow tree! But then, how had he come out of that other tree?

"And you believe the legends?" The conversation continued.

"Yes, and no… sometimes, I have dreams about Harper, and he comes out of a tree like this. I miss him… I wish he could have seen us together."

Harper inhaled sharply. These people knew him! Suddenly, there was silence as the conversation between the young couple stopped. "Did you hear something?" he heard the girl ask.

"Alex, you're hearing things. No one is allowed to see us during the first hour of our marriage. You know that."

His heart dropped. So he was back in his own time, except now… he made the connection quickly. Siskel and he had stopped the Silver Palace in the past, so the monarchy was still alive in the present. And Alex… his eyes widened in sudden realization. Alex's last name was Somstone… as was Tiler's… his heart sank in disappointment. Siskel had married Tiler.

He tuned back into Alex's conversation. 'Who did she marry?' he wondered silently.

There was a pause in the conversation. "Tell me the truth. Why do you really like sitting by this tree? I see you here all the time." The boy was speaking again.

Alex sighed. "Mike, I can't explain it. But… Queen Siskel spent her first wedding hour here, and I guess I just feel something here. Something… like whispering, on the wind. If I listen closely enough, I can hear voices. I know it's Siskel, but it isn't her fiancée talking… it's someone else. The voices are sad, and I always wonder why…"

Harper shivered as memories came flooding back to him. His last minutes with Siskel seemed like days ago, when it was really only a few hours past. He knew exactly what Alex was talking about – his and Siskel's tearful goodbyes.

"It doesn't matter what happened in the past, Alex. No one really knows why Siskel was so sad, and I don't plan on having my wife just as sad."

"Of course, Mike. Thank you. We will have a wonderful life together, and hopefully Harper will come back from… from the portal. And remember we will always be together. Always. Love is eternal, right?"

Harper smiled to himself. Of course. Love was always eternal.

The End