i didn't want to end this series i just didn't

6 months later

"You two are really going to live in a van?" Colt asked as he and Ian loaded up the last of the boxes. He scratched the top of his head as he looked around it. Sure, Guinevere II wasn't nearly as beat up as the first Guinevere was, but she still wasn't in good enough shape to live in. "Just a van?"

"Not just a van," Barley said, poking his out of the back doors. He took the box from his stepdad and pushed it up against his seat. "We are living in Guinevere II. And, uh, not forever. We'll figure it all out."

Ian gave Colt a look. "Please. You know they'll be living in the van for a few years."

"Hey, we're newlyweds," Barley laughed. "We gotta figure everything out all slow-like. We don't have time to build a house right away. We will waste our youth if we worry about all of the small details like where we are going to live and how we are going to make a living."

"Barley, your mom and I were talkin' earlier and, uh, there's nothing wrong with needing a little bit of help. Now we are gonna give you enough to find a real house somewhere nearby." He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Here---"

"I appreciate it, Colt, but we are gonna be fine. I think we'll build a house in the Enchanted Forest."

"Do you know how to build a house?" Colt asked.

"No. But we will figure it out." Barley took another box and pushed it in the van.

Colt shook his head and rubbed his face tiredly. "Now Barley, I just want to make sure you're taking care of your wife. Being a husband is a big responsibility, you know, and---"

"And I think he's doing a pretty great job so far," you said, walking up to the van. You smiled at Colt and then peered inside to see Barley pack away box of dishes. "Oh, baby, be careful. Don't break our mugs, okay?"

"I triple wrapped 'em," he said. "And I am being extremely careful. I promise."

"Good. Thank you."

"You are welcome, milady---" He turned and gasped. "Babe, you look amazing. Is that a new outfit?"

"Made it this morning," you said, holding your arms out. "Who would've guessed that you could make a dress out of ice for every single day?"

He jumped out of the van and took your hand. He spun you around in a circle. "You look as beautiful as the day I married you."

"Which was yesterday," you reminded him, stepping close to him. You kissed him on the lips. 

"And it was the happiest day of my life," he said.

Laurel stepped outside of the door. She sighed and touched her chest as she walked up to Barley and grabbed his face. "Oh, my big boy is all married and moving out. It seems like just yesterday your dad and I were watching you run across the room and scream for us to play with you. And now you're all grown up, oh come here!"

"Mom," he said. He squeezed his eyes shut and laughed as she peppered kisses all over his cheeks. "Okay, okay, I get it. I love you too, Mom."

She pulled away and pinched his cheek, then looked at you. She took your hands and held them tight. "I am so happy that you married my son. I wish you the best of luck taking care of him."

"Thank you," you laughed.

"Laurel, uh," Colt said, putting his hand on his wife's shoulder, "you know they're living in a van, don't you?"

"They mentioned it," she said. She nodded.

"Don't you think that's a little..."

"Just for a few days, Colt," you said. You wrapped your arm around Barley and leaned against him. He put his arm around you. "I have a plan."

"You do?" Barley asked. He laughed. "First I've heard of it!"

"Well, it's a surprise," you said. "A wedding gift."

"Aw, babe!" He hugged you close. "You are the best wife ever."

You laughed.

Barley clapped his hands. "Alright! Hate to break this, but we've got to get going. We've got a lot of driving to do."

"Okay, well, do you have all of your boxes?" Laurel asked. "Can I pack you a lunch to go?"

"We're okay, Mom," Barley said. He wrapped his arms around her. "I love you. Thank you for everything."

She held him close. "I don't want to cry, so, uh just --- just call me, okay? Call me if you need me, if you miss me, call me when you get there..."

"I will, Mom." He pulled back and kissed her on the cheek.

She turned to you and you hugged her gently. While she told you goodbye, Ian hugged his brother and shyly said, "I'm, uh, gonna miss having you just across the hall. I'm just gonna miss you, Barley."

"Aw, Ian. It'll be okay. We'll have you over all of the time," Barley promised. "And I will visit every week."

"That sounds great," Ian said. "See ya, ___."

"See ya." You held up your hand and he gave you a high-five. You pulled him in for a quick hug.

"Well, milady," Barley said, "our chariot awaits."

Laurel leaned against her husband as Barley shut the back doors of the van. He walked you to the passenger side and opened the door for you. You rolled down your window so you could wave to the family as Barley started up the van. He pushed his foot down on the brake and glanced at you.

"You ready for a lifetime of adventure and excitement?" he asked. 

"I was born ready." You reached over and took his hand. "Are you?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," he said. You breathed in deeply and nodded. "You don't need to feel guilty or anything. I want to move. I want to be with you. You're my family too."

"I love you." You raised his hand to your lips and kissed his knuckles.

"I love you, too. Oh. I made you a romantic mix, too." He let go of your hand to rummage through his tapes. He pulled out one of them with your name and Lightfoot written in red marker and a heart doodled on the side. 

You smiled when you saw it. "Aw, you did!"

"Yup. It's a wedding gift." He smiled. "It's pretty romantic if you ask me, so prepare for some tears to fall."

"Will I be crying or will you be crying?" you asked, eyebrows raised. 

"Eh, maybe both of us." He pushed it in and turned the volume all the way up. As the music began to play, he looked at you. "For my beautiful wife."

Barley sang along to your favorite love song as he let off the brake. You held onto his hand tightly as the two of you started your life together. 

bonus ending

On the first morning in the Enchanted Forest, Barley woke up just after sunrise. He moved his arm over to find you, but his fingers brushed against cold blankets. He sat up quickly and rubbed his eyes, then yawned. The van was lit dimly by a single lantern sitting on the dashboard.

"Hey, babe? You in here?" he asked softly, but he already knew that you weren't.

He rubbed his eyes again and scooted forward in the dark. He slid on a hoodie and slipped on a pair of shoes and then hopped out of the van. He shivered in the cold, hugging his arms against you. 

"Hello?" he whispered loudly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sparkle of blue. He moved towards it, pushing through some bushes and walking past a few tall trees. As he stepped into a clearing, he saw you standing in front of a huge ice structure. You moved your hands and brought snow and ice down on the surface. 

"Whoa," Barley said, eyes widening in amazement. 

You turned. "Barley! You're up early."

"I woke up and you were gone," he said. "What... what is this?"

"Well, it's your wedding gift from me, but I wanted you to see it when I finished." You sighed and turned your attention back to it. With a flick of your wrist, you cleared the windows. "How do you feel about living in an ice palace?"

Barley gaped. "An ice palace?!"

"Mhm." You said with a nod. "I'm thinking of giving it a permanent frost and flurry over it. So it'll always snow around here, but we can have heating inside so you won't, you know, freeze to death. I haven't figured out all of the details."

"You're building me a palace out of ice?" he asked. 

You looked at him and nodded. "You like it?" 

"Like it?" He turned towards you and put his hands on your waist. You laughed as he lifted you into the air and spun you around. "I love it!"

As he set you down, you beamed at him. He ran up to the entrance and touched the door. There were imprints of snowflakes etched into the soft blue. 

"My wife has built me an ice palace! My wife!"

"Shhh... you're gonna wake up Honeymaren," you said. "She lives next door, you know."

He turned towards you. "My wife is amazing," he said. Then he bent down and scooped you up into his arms. 

You gasped and wrapped your arms around his neck. "What are you doing!?" 

"It is tradition for the husband to carry his wife inside of their new home, isn't it?" he asked. "I am only following tradition. I will now carry my beautiful ice princess into our beautiful ice palace."

"It's not finished yet," you said. "We don't even have a ceiling yet."

"Wouldn't it be easier to make the ceiling inside?" he asked. Barley walked to the door and kicked it open carefully. "Also, I want an chandelier."

"Then a chandelier you will get," you said.

He walked inside. "Oh --- and an ice skating rink in the backyard. I think our kids will like it."

"Barley!" you laughed. "We don't have kids."

"I'm just planning!" He shut the door behind him. 

For the next several weeks, you and Barley worked tirelessly on building your perfect home. It stood several stories tall, with staircases made of ice and furniture made of ice and draped over with furs and fabrics that you thought looked great. As you decorated the sofa with pillows, you stopped and sighed. You turned around to look at Barley.

He was shuffling through family photos that you had packed away. "Hey, baby, which photo should go on top of our fake fireplace?" he asked. "Me and Ian or Blazey and my mom?"

"Whichever one you want," you said. You smiled. 

He nodded. "I think we should put the one of Ian and I on the side table over there... and oh, there's this one of us on our first date too. We should put that on the wall. And --- you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," you said. "Why?"

"Because you're just standing there staring at me," he said. 

You laughed and looked away. "Sorry. I'm just..." You inhaled and looked back at him. "I'm just grateful."

"Aw, for me?" he asked. He put the pictures down and walked towards you. He held his hand out for you to take. 

You did, keeping your eyes on his as you walked around the coffee table to stand in front of him. "Yes, for you. For our family."

He spun you in a circle. You slowly moved into his chest. "Well, ice princess, I am grateful for you, too." 

"You'd better be," you joked. You raised your free hand and glanced up at the top of his head. You smirked; you'd made a crown of ice that sank down on his hair. "Ice prince."

He looked up at it and laughed. "That's a good one. I like it."

"Good," you said. You took both of his hands now and reached up to kiss him. 

Everything in your heart was right. You were home.

Until the river's finally crossed,

You'll never feel the solid ground.

You have to get a little lost

On your way to being found;

Where the northwind meets the sea

There's a mother full of memory 

Come my darling, homeward bound

Where all is lost --- then all is found. 

thank u to everyone who commented on, voted on, or just read this series. thank u for loving it so much and for making art or stories inspired by it. i appreciate u all sooo much and i can't wait to start another series for you soon!!

in the meantime i will say that i actually wrote FOUR endings to this series bc i had the worst time deciding. if you all are interested, i can publish each of those endings for you all to read :-)

thank u all