Forbidden - Complete

Thanks Danny, that was what I was aiming for. And yeah, I've read it by now, and commented.

Did you mention an epilogue? Is one still on the cards? I miss your stories, do you have any plans for another one?

I do have an epilogue planned, and more for Changeling too. Just haven't had inspiration or been in the mood to write often recently.

That sucks. Hope you rediscover your inspiration soon. What about your miniseries? Should we consider it to be finished?

Have you read any of my latest chapters Pippy?

Strangely, it hadn't hurt. She'd expected it to, had almost been braced for the pain, but there was none. Just an emptiness.... like she was floating, now. Detached. All she could sense was darkness, and she clung to the same memory, keeping Sean's face in her mind. He'd be with her.... he had to be.....

Slowly, that darkness seemed to fade, drawing away as if afraid of the new gleams of light which were appearing, faint and blurred. She floated towards them, a sensation of being drawn. It was so strange.... and yet familiar, too. Homely. She felt like she belonged there, wherever there was.... still, she couldn't see a thing. There was no noise, and she seemed to be completely alone. However, almost as soon as she'd noted the silence, it was replaced by piping and a drumbeat, another familiarity which brought a smile to her non-existent face. It'd been so long since she'd heard such a melody. So many years ago. A lifetime ago. A time when she'd felt truly free.

"Where am I?" she whispered, and was startled to find she still had a voice. Immediately, too, she knew her answer. She was home. Back where it'd all began for her. Back at the Livery Inn.

As soon as she'd realised, her vision cleared, the blurriness coalescing and the lights revealing themselves to be the fire and the lanterns overhead. Smiling, she walked forwards. Again she was feeling drawn, and she knew who'd be beside the fireplace before she could see him. Just as he had been when they'd first met.

"Sean?" she called out. Her voice was now trembling, as if afraid. What if she was only imagining, a dream forged from fear, and her speech would break it?

She seemed to be worrying in vain, however. He raised his head, smiling back in recognition. That smile made her pain and grief fall away. It didn't even matter anymore than they were both dead.

" Rún," he greeted her, his tone warm and affectionate. She sat beside him, and her face was by now almost glowing. It was too much.... could she really have all of this? This freedom? Could it truly be that easy?

"I just couldn't stay away..." she began explaining. Unknown to herself, her voice began taking on a pleading tone. Would he react as his imagined voice had, hating the idea? Would he have wanted her to live? For their son's sake.... the son he didn't even know about.....

"Sean, I need to tell you..." she began again, blushing.

"About our son?"

Startled, she nearly leapt out of her seat.

"How do you know?!"

"I learned... later.... afterwards," he answered vaguely, but she knew what he was referring to. After his death.

"I.... are you.... do you forgive me? For not telling you.... for using you.... I didn't realise....not 'til it was too late..."

"I realised for both of our sakes," he silenced her. "I knew.... but I knew I couldn't say, either. We couldn't have anything more, so it'd be unfair to point it out... it would only have hurt us both."

"Eastside and Westside," she nodded. The same divide as it'd been right from the start.

"Not anymore.... you're a Westsider, aren't you? You even said it yourself."

"Am I?" she frowned. "I mean.... I know which side I chose.... but I was born as an Eastsider...."

"You're here," he pointed out. Again, she understood immediately. She was there. She'd found herself at the Livery Inn, and it wasn't just because it was where she'd first met him, or realised their love. This place... it was the heart of the Westside Alliance. It was where she'd signed up. And she belonged here... in this place, in the streets of Westside. She truly was a Westsider.

"I.... where do we go? Onwards, from here?"

"I don't know," he smirked. "I'm not exactly an expert... I haven't seen anyone leaving. "

"So we stay here?"

"In Westside, I think", he nodded. He seemed certain, and after a while, she found herself catching that certainty from him. They'd stay here, in Westside, free at last, with no need to return, no need to replace the mask that had been dismissed for the last time. One day, the others would join them too, in many years' time. Anya, Darnell.... everyone. Everyone who mattered. She was back on the streets of Westside once more, and this time, she would never turn her back on them. She would never leave. The red banner was fluttering in a constant breeze, and its defiance was theirs. There would be no surrender.

That's an awesome ending Lowri!!

I was going for a Together In Death. And the "she's a Westsider" and the last bit crept in.

It's awesome

Nice little ending, very well written. Think the story works just as well without it if I'm honest though. Brilliantly self-contained. How are all by the way? x