"Dawn... we found your mother." Regis said. I stared at him.

"My... mother?" I asked.

"I know. Quite the thing to hear on your 20th birthday." Clarus said. I stood silent.

"Where?" I asked. Regis handed me a paper with an address on it.

"This is the address if you want to see her." He said.

"Yeah. I... I think I will." I said.

"Let's go then." Cid stood.

"I'd rather go alone, if you guys don't mind." I said. They nodded.

"We'll meet you at the haven when you're done. Be careful." Regis said. I left to go meet with my mother.

I found the apartment on the paper Regis had given me. I drew in a deep breath and adjusted my Kingsglaive uniform. I raised my fist and knocked on the door.

A man answered the door.

"Is this the home of Artimis Caramella?" I asked, more confident than I felt. The man stepped to the side.

"Come in. I'll get her for you." He said. I nodded and stepped inside. I stood at attention.

The man returned to the room with a tall woman. Her hair was blonde and her eyes were green. On her face was a scowl.

"Felix, who the hell is this?" She asked.

"A kingsglaive." He said.

"Are you Artimis Caramella?" I asked. She folded her arms.

"Yeah. I am. Why?" I asked.

"Are you the mother of Dawn Caramella?" I asked, trying not to let my voice shake. She scoffed.

"You're here to talk about that brat? Let me guess, she got in to trouble or got killed or something. If that's all, thanks for the news, have a nice night." She said. I felt a sting in my heart.

"You don't care about your own child?" I asked.

"That little brat is too much like her father. So opptimistic, everyone has good in them, always so damn happy. She's so much like him I couldn't even bare to look at her and that's why I left." She said. I stared silently at her, shocked to my core. She didn't care...

"Alright, tell me what my worthless child has been up to. Has she gotten a job or has she become a criminal?" She asked. I said nothing.

"Is she dead?" She asked.

"No. Dawn is alive and well. She's joined the crownsguard." I said.

"Pfft, just like her father. Probably going to get killed in this damn war like her father, too. Is that all?" She asked.

"Is that all you care about when it comes to your own child?" I asked.

"I just need to know if I'm still paying for a house in Insomnia or not." She snapped. I drew in a deep breath and raised my head, making eye contact with my mother.

"In that case, no. She is now old enough to where she can pay for herself. I'm sorry to bother you, Ma'm. Have a good evening." I said, placing my fist to my chest and bowing. After that, I left her home.

I began to run towards the haven, fighting back my tears. I wouldn't cry. The last time I had cried in front of them was two years ago when Cor crossed a line. I swore I'd never cry again after that.

Finally, the camp came in to view and I felt relief. I was finally back with those who truely cared about me. I walked back in to the camp. They looked up at me.

"How did things go?" Clarus asked with a grin.

"Fine." I said and walked to the skirt of the haven and sat down, staring in to the darkness, watching daemons pass in the distance. I felt my eyes watering. I didn't know if I could keep them back. When I felt something wet hit my hand I knew I couldn't. I heard someone sit beside me.

"Is everything okay?" A gentle voice asked. I sniffed and wiped my eyes.

"I'm fine." I lied.

"You're clearly not fine, Dawn. What's wrong?" He asked. I sniffed again and took my glasses off, hooking them on my shirt and pressing my hands to my eyes, stopping myself from crying. I felt his hand on my back.

"I know it's been fifteen years but... she didn't even recognize me. When I asked her about me... she called me worthless... when I told her that her daughter had joined the crownsguard... she scoffed at me." I cried. He pulled me closer to him as I couldn't contain the tears and they began to roll down my wrists.

I turned and wrapped my arms around Cor's waist, burying my face in to his chest and crying. I didn't know why I was spilling it all to him when we didn't like each other. Maybe it's because he was there and I was at my breaking point.

"What did I do? What did I do that was so wrong that she hates me?" I cried. He rubbed my back and hushed me.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Dawn." He said.

"Bullshit. I had to have done something." I cried. He pressed my head in to his chest and rested his chin on my head.

"Dawn, your mother is just a spiteful woman that can't take responsibility. That's not your fault. You are strong and dependable. You're far from worthless." He said. I sniffled and continued to cry in to his chest. No more words were passed between us, just me crying in to his chest and him holding me and rubbing my back.

—

"This is it. Can I count on you?" Regis asked, looking at us.

"Of course, Your Majesty." Clarus said.

"Always." Cor said.

"I never let ya down before and I ain't planning to start now." Cid said. Regis looked at me.

"After everything we've been through, you really think I wouldn't be there when you really needed me? Of course you can. Til the end, aye?" I said. Regis gave us a relieved smile.

"Thank you... all of you..." he said. Princess Grace rested her hand on Regis's shoulder and smiled gently at him and I watched them, silently, yet aggressively shipping it. Regis smiled at her with a blush on his cheeks.

We had met Princess Grace a couple years back. She was the Princess of Galahd. We had ended up losing Galahd to Niflheim, but many Galahdians had escaped to Insomnia much to our relief. Princess Grace wanted to confirm with Regis that they'd be welcome and it had been love at first sight. Sure, Reggie had confessed to me a couple months before that, but he met Grace and it he forgot all bout his crush on me. And I could tell that Grace liked what she saw with Regis.

"Dawn and Cor, take to the western side. Cid, Clarus, you'll take to the south. I'll infiltrate and give you the signal." He said. We nodded. Regis asked Grace to stay where we were to be safe. She agreed.

Cor and I took to our position. We stood on a cliff edge together, staring down at the war zone below us.

"Ready?" I asked.

"As much as I can." He said. We stood, waiting for Regis's signal.

"Dawn.. you realize we could die." He said.

"As we could in the last battle, and the battle before that and the battle before that, so on, so on, so on." I said. I looked at him.

"Death is a very real thing waiting for us in every battle. Any of us could die. You, Me, Cid, Clarus, Reggie... though, any Niff will have to kill me before they get to Regis." I said.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Yeah. He's my King. It's my job to protect him. Even if it costs me my life." I said. Cor was silent for a while.

"Dawn... if you die here... any regrets?" He asked.

"Why do you suddenly care?" I asked.

"Because if you die here, I'll know what to do to commemorate you." He said. I chuckled.

"I doubt you'd be able to, Cor." I said.

"Why is that?" He asked.

"I wanted to be a mother." I said. He stared at me.

"You?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, you never would have guessed. It's just... after meeting my mother and thinking about everything I've been through... I dunno. I guess I just wanted to give someone a chance I never got." I said. He was silent. I had nothing left to say.

"What about you? You going in with any regrets?" I asked after awhile.

"One. But I think I can clear it up before it's done." He said.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said.

"What is it, then?" I asked. He turned and looked at me.

"Forgive me." He said. Before I could say anything else, he grabbed my arms and pulled me to him, slamming his lips on mine. I was surprised but, I slowly started to kiss him back. We were going to die anyways, right?

I reached up and cupped his face, pulling him a little bit closer to me. It was a sweet, yet passionate kiss. We pulled away when air demanded it.

"Damn, Immortal. Who knew you could kiss like that, aye?" I said and dropped my hands.

"Now I can die with peace." He said.

"Yeah, promise me one thing?" I asked. He hummed in responce.

"Don't die." I said. With perfect timing, Regis gave the signal and we pounced in to battle.

—

We won. We had taken out the base and we could return to Insomnia in time for Regis to officially be crowned king.

And for him to marry Grace of course.

I stood in the ballroom, watching as my friend danced with his new wife. The two staring at each other with love in their eyes. I adjusted my dress a little and took another sip of water. I felt someone standing behind me.

"There are many whispering about you, Mercy." The person said. I smirked at the name the people had given me. Mercy. For the people I let live and those I put out of their misery. Mercy. I liked the ring of it. Far better than Primal.

"So I've noticed. Immortal." I said. Cor stepped beside me.

"I was surprised when I was told you wouldn't be part of the security team." He said.

"Reggie asked me to attend his wedding as his friend, not his guard. I figured I owed him at least that. After all he's done for me." I said.

"Do you carry emotions for the king, Dawn?" He asked.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told him two years ago. He's my friend and my king, nothing more, nothing less." I said. Cor said nothing.

"Dawn... about that kiss." He said.

"You want me to forget it, right? Just a heat of the moment thing." I said.

"...No." He said.

"No?" I asked, looking back up at him. He looked away, but I could see a soft blush on his cheeks.

"I meant it, Dawn. I have feelings for you, and I want to prove that it's genuine." He said. I stared at him for a while.

"The more I got to know you these past three years, the more I grew to care for you. I know we didn't start off great, but I'd like a second chance if you'd give me one." He rambled. I cleared my throat.

"Cor, would you allow me a dance?" I asked. He stared at me with wide eyes. I motioned to the dance floor as Clarus stepped out on the floor with a girl I recognized as Clementine Astor. Victor and Valencia were also there and Jenine was dancing with Jett Banks.

Cor offered his hand to me and I took his hand. He lead me on to the dance floor and we began to dance. I smiled softly up at him.

"You know, you're not so bad." I said.

"Does this mean you're giving me a chance?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, I wasn't exactly friendly when we met, so I guess it's fair to give you a chance." I said. He smiled softly at me.

Okay. Maybe I developed a bit of a thing for Cor after the whole thing with my mother went down, but hey, at least I know he's got a thing for me.

"Hey, isn't that Dawn Caramella?" I heard Jenny ask.

"You know Mercy?" Jett asked her.

"Yeah. We were friends in high school. So this is what she started doing." I heard her say. I winked at her over Cor's shoulder.

"What was that about?" He asked.

"Just saw an old friend from school is all. I'm glad to see she's okay." I said.

"Thanks to your help." He said.

"Eh, I can't take all the credit. We've got a pretty good guard here. And a great king leading us." I said.

"So what's next for you, Dawn?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Well, BAR is definitely out of the question. After what I went through outside the wall? I don't think I'll be going back to that in the foreseeable future." I said.

"So?" He asked. I smirked at him.

"I think I'll stay in the guard." I said. He smiled at me. Our dance ended and Cor escorted me back to my seat. I wrote my home address on some paper and handed it to him.

"Dinner. This Saturday. Pick me up at six. Don't be late." I said with a wink. He smiled at me.

"I look forward to it." He said and kissed my cheek. He returned to his post and I returned to my seat. In only a matter of moments, Valencia and Jenny descended upon me and were asking me questions about what I had been doing since graduation.