2 Years Later

"I first met Grant when I decided to go on a treasure hunt." Nimma said smiling while swirling the glass of champagne in her hand. "God that was quite a trip. He twisted his ankle and I had to carry his useless carcass up the mountain. Honestly I've seen kids cry less when they stub their toes. Let me add this was during a flash flood and if it weren't me for this dumbass would've drowned." Everyone laughed as Nimma smacked Grant in the head. "Selmmie based on my experience you'll be pulling all the weight in this marriage."     

"Don't I know it," Selmmie said and she gave Grant a kiss on the check.

"Yes. What's really important is that Grant is a good man. He'll support you through the bad times and rejoice with you in the good ones. Grant, Selmmie, I know you two will have a long marriage of happiness and love. To Selmmie and Grant!" 

The room loudly echoed her toast for the bride and groom. Eridani and Alsyne even got a half glass of champagne each but based on their facial expressions they didn't think it tasted good. She felt Caspian take her hand and she looked at him and smiled.

The reception was beautiful. Nimma and Caspian supplied the abundance of flowers as a preview to the floristry they would open in a few months. Even all that beauty couldn't hold a candle to Selmmie. She was absolutely radiant.

As Selmmie and Grant took the floor for their dance the lights dimmed and Nimma thought about what a long road it'd been getting here.

After finding the treasure they'd lived on the mountain for a week before the flood ended. They were able to find the Rangers on their way up to look for them. After getting back to hysterical Selmmie and Eridani, Nimma filled out the correct paperwork in order to claim the treasure. Thanks to Caspian's connections it was handled quietly and quickly without interference from the Towers.

The official story was Nimma found the treasure while being stranded on the mountain with Grant. Caspian and Jace since they weren't supposed to be there snuck away before the Rangers found them. Nimma and Grant refused to lead anyone back to the resting place of the treasure claiming that as a burial site it should be left in peace. Nimma and Grant had gone back to bring every piece of treasure back down with the secret assistance of Caspian and Jace. It was then properly catalogued by museum experts and they were given a check for the amount the whole was appraised at. A new exhibit dedicated to Regina's Reign was due to open in the Museum of Myrasian History in about six months. Nimma had been allowed to keep some small pieces of jewelry if she desired, so she picked out a few and kept them in a safe at home along with the journal that started it all.

No one said anything about Celeste and her operation. No bodies were found and no one appeared to be looking for any. If the Towers knew Celeste had been up there they didn't seem to care about her fate. No missing person reports were ever filed for Celeste. Jace knew the names of the other men who'd signed on to assist her and only some of those people had reports filed. Nimma felt bad that those families were looking for people they'd likely never find.

True to his word Grant didn't take a penny of the money even when Nimma offered some. He said he hadn't worked so hard to make a new life independent of the Towers' wealth and influence only to except their money again however indirectly.

Once the claim Nimma filed had been approved the media circus began. It was one of two though thankfully she wasn't as involved in the second. She was national news as the descendant of a famous outlaw who went on to find their hidden treasure.

The Towers being the people from whom all the treasure had been taken were of course pressed for comments. They released a statement that it was truly amazing such a find reignited interest in local history. Not long after that Tucker sold the law firm to the Towers. Selmmie and Nimma received statements that they were reluctantly closing the business as profits never eclipsed expenses which was a lie.     

It did make up Nimma's mind about how best to honor Regina's final request. Nimma built Selmmie her own law firm. Selmmie brushed up on the law practices she'd need in order to prosecute the case against The Towers' Mining Corporation while still investigating the case. It was a year before they had enough evidence to slap the Towers with a lawsuit for the illegal waste dumping.  

In that time much had happened. Nimma paid for the medical bills and expenses for Jace's wife. The woman was now healthy and cancer free. As luck would have it Jace's wife, Claire, was a paralegal and Selmmie offered her a job at her new firm. She accepted and the pair had relocated to Star City even before the firm was opened.

Once the firm opened its first act was the Towers' lawsuit. It was a very high profile case. The media coverage of the trial dominated the news cycle for months. In that time more and more people within the company began to come out with stories of the things they'd witnessed of the illegal activity of the family. Not all of it was related to the mining but extended into the other business ventures of the family.

Even with all the bad press and clear evidence Nimma was very nervous while the trial was taking place. Selmmie was risking her career and if she lost the Towers wouldn't forget the embarrassment of this. In the end Selmmie won the case. The Towers' were penalized with a hefty fine and a federal investigation was launched into any business and asset under their name.

The bad media attention forced them to sell many of the small businesses they'd used underhanded means to acquire; back to the people they'd taken them from at extremely reduced prices. Whether or not this was something they believed would buy back some trust and goodwill in the eyes of the public was a matter of debate. Even with everything coming out about the Towers there were still many people who remained on their side.            

Nimma didn't expect a universal turn against the family but she'd thought more people would have stood against them. Regina's version of the events that led to the Towers gaining a foothold in the city was being told more often. It had always been out there but because of the high standing of the Towers it always had been easily brushed off. Nimma wouldn't say it was being believed just because of this huge sandal or that Regina's image in pop culture was going to be completely turned around. Nimma was okay with that. She thought Regina would be too especially with the Towers finally answering for their misdeeds.  

On Caspian's side of things many developments had taken place. Obviously since he'd disappeared he no longer worked at Baria Botanical Gardens. He was okay with that. His family had held his money for him a trust in case he wasn't dead so he wasn't hurting there.

He had Consella shipped to Myras as he now lived there. The unicorn was kept in a stable Nimma built on the back end of her huge property. Though she still was nervous around the animal it made Caspian happy. Seeing him happy made Nimma happy. Alexa told her that Consella had nearly died of heartbreak when Caspian disappeared. Instead of seeing his family when Caspian got to the castle after nearly two years his first stop was to the stables to assure his unicorn he was still alive.      

The battle for the throne of Draconia had finally been decided. Alexa won. The public and most of Draconia was unaware that Richard was the cause behind the civil war they'd spent years enduring. To the public he was on a long sabbatical for his health in another country. Those in the know would call it enforced exile. That exile didn't last long.   

A few months into this exile Richard was killed in a rock slide. Privately Caspian told Nimma Alexa had engineered it herself to prevent any more problems that man might create. She was shocked that a sister could do that to her brother and it showed well why the royals had christened their country Draconia so long ago. Many of the old draconian laws had been rewritten or entirely gotten rid of within their military state but Alexa's actions proved old habits die hard.            

🌺

"You have the emergency numbers right?" 

Nimma pulled out a small flower seed from her pocket. With a tiny flash of golden light a Dragonlilly appeared. It wasn't the first Nimma had worked magic time in front of Selmmie, but as always Selm was captivated by the process. Nimma wove it through Selmmie's hair which made her old friend smile.

"For the last time, Selmmie, yes. I have them. Eridani will be fine. Now please, go see your groom so you can finally go on your honeymoon. He's been terribly patient since you had to delay it for work two months."    

When they got outside Eridani was sword fighting with her new dad and Caspian was leaning against the car on the phone.

"Men should always wear little and move a lot," Selmmie said in a dreamy voice as she watched Grant. He was wearing shorts and a fitted t-shirt for his play duel. 

"Some men look good all covered up." Nimma countered as her eyes wandered to Caspian who was dressed as usual in a three piece suit without the suit jacket. Caspian must have felt her gaze. His head turned to her and he winked causing Nimma to smile.   

"You always were crazy about a sharp dressed man."

"Like you aren't," Nimma snorted. "We're ready," Nimma called to the others. Grant stopped the fight to look at Selmmie and smile. Eridani took the opportunity to win the duel by sharply stabbing him in the gut.  
"I win, sucker!" Eridani threw down her plastic sword and beamed.

They watched and waved as Selmmie and Grant drove toward the airport.

"Aunt Nimma can I go to a party at Mary's tonight?"  

"Oh you mean the same party your mom forbade you from? No."

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"We'll be back before ten." Nimma told Claire. "If anything goes wrong just call and we'll be back in a flash."

"Go on. I grew up with four brothers. I can handle anything this kid can dish out."

"Alright. See you later." 

Selmmie and Grant were still on their honeymoon and would be for another two weeks. Eridani had been left in Nimma's care for the time being. Tonight Caspian wanted to take Nimma on a special date to celebrate Nimma becoming a master of magic and for the opening of the floristry which would be in just two weeks.  

"Ready?" Caspian asked. 

"Ready. Take me wherever it is you're taking me."

Caspian turned out to be taking her to a meadow on the south side of town. It was almost exactly like the one she'd frequented as a child before the Towers turned it into a mine yard. A huge picnic was waiting for her when they arrived.

"A picnic at sunset, how romantic." 

"I hoped you'd like it."

They sat on the blanket and Caspian poured the wine. The Disillusion Mountains were painted pink and orange as the sun began to set behind them. From this vantage Nimma could see the peak where Regina rested. She wondered if the woman would be proud of her. She hoped so.

"Hey." Caspian tucked a lock of hair behind her ear getting her attention.

"Hey." Nimma smiled. "Are you okay? You look...nervous."   

"I am a bit nervous."

"Why is that? You've been entangled in magical warfare and are a powerful sorcerer. What could possibly make you nervous?"

"This." He held out his hand to her and Nimma saw four seeds in his palm.

"I'm not following you."

"You know what I realized the other day, Nimma?" Caspian smiled lovingly at her.

"No. What?"

"I have so many pet names for you, Dragonlilly, babe, goddess divine. You don't have any for me."

"You know you're right. I've never thought about it. Giving things cute nicknames is more Selmmie's territory than mine. You want me to give you one?"    

"Yes."

"Hmmm. I don't know. I can't think of anything. Why don't you pick one?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. I like all the pet names you call me. If I tried to make one up I don't think it would sound as flattering. Do you have one in mind?"

"I do."

"What is it?"

"Let me enlighten you." Three of the seeds rose from his palm enshrouded in golden light. "One strand for the love I have for you." The seed on the left became the vine of a bluebell flower. "One strand for the love you have for me." The seed on the right became the vine of a rose. "One strand for the bond we share." The seed in the middle became something of a hybrid between the two. "String them together for a cord of three isn't easily broken." Nimma gasped as the vines twisted together to become a necklace. Tears came to her eyes as she realized what was happening. "An emblem to hang from the vine as a symbol of the love we share." The final seed blossomed into a blue Dragonlilly. "With this offering I ask. Will you marry me?"  

"Yes. With all of my heart." Caspian moved her hair and fastened the betrothal necklace. "I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her.

As they were packing up a visitor appeared. A silver shadow cat with white spots and missing half its left ear materialized from the direction of the mountains. Shadow cats were strange looking beasts. They were large animals often reaching the size of bears and bigger. They had the longest legs of any cat species relative to the size of their bodies.  

"Caspian."

"I believe it's here for you."  

"How can you tell?"

Simple. Its eyes have you alone reflected in them. It's here to offer service as a familiar."

"What do I do?" 

"Walk up to it and stare into its eyes. If you bond it will whisper its name. The name is what will bond you. You mustn't tell anyone what its name is. That will break sacred bond."

Nimma nodded and walked up to the animal. She stared deep into its eyes which seemed to hold a galaxy of stars.  

"Kagome." Nimma heard. Nimma smiled and offered Kagome her hand. The shadow cat rubbed its face against her palm and before her eyes became the small version she'd seen in the picture of Regina.

"Let's go home." The shadow cat jumped into her arms.

"Well done, Dragonlilly."

"Thank you, husband–to–be."

The End