“I’m sorry,” I say, wishing I had not asked.
“And the Empress was a lot more powerful then,” he continues. “The truth is, I would have never been able to face her without you. I came back to the plantation district trying to figure out what to do. When I met you and saw what sacrifices you were making, it was hard to stand by and watch. I realized I was a coward and I saw the intensity in which you used the power. Those were two lessons I needed. Seeing how much you believed made me try again. What choice did I have?”
“We complement each other,” I say with a smile.
“It’s true,” he agrees. “Nothing would have been possible without you. I just wish I would have known sooner there were plantation fugitives in the woods calling themselves Saviors.”
We stay silent bathing our faces in the warm sun. We take in the sweet tweeting of small birds in the nearby brush, the whistling of branches as squirrels chase after each other.
“Will you speak of the Empress’s predictions about your fate?” Eric says.
“I don’t see the point,” I say. “Every day is a miracle. I plan to enjoy every one and those I love can enjoy them long after I’m gone.”
“You’re a brave woman, Freya.”
I chuckle. “Woman? Nobody has ever called me that before.”
“Well, then they’re all fools.”
“Thank you,” I say for that and for so much more.
I kiss his cheek and turn to get back to my friends. This new free life is exhausting me already.
“You know, you and I should be together one day,” Eric says out of the blue.
“Excuse me?”
“It would be the right thing. We’d make sure the free world stays free.”
“We can still do that.”
“True. But I still think it will happen.”
I laugh in his face. “Don’t hold your breath.”
“You know it’s inevitable,” he says with a grin.
“You certainly don’t lack confidence,” I say as I’m walking away. “And, by the way, I know you’re pulling my leg.”
To be who you want to be, first you have to accept who you are not. I’m not good at games or politics or manipulation. What I’m good at is ignoring danger and sticking my nose in when it’s not wanted.
Maybe the Empress was right. There could be a ticking bomb inside of me waiting to go off at any moment. I refuse to live with death hanging over me.
So what if I don’t live into old age? What if it falls upon others to learn how to be old again for the first time in over a century? We die when we die. It’s up to us to live while we have the chance.
Damian lifts me into his arms and plants a kiss on my lips. I straighten his wild hair before I kiss him back. I would happily die a thousand deaths to be in this moment with the man I love, with the people I love.
If killing the Empress signed my death sentence, I would do that as well a thousand times over. Today we are free. My son will grow up in a free world. My mother knows herself for the first time and the Saviors have fulfilled the destiny we sought in the wild forest of our youth.
The future is upon us and we’re all here.
THE END
Author Note
I hope you have enjoyed RISE OF THE SAVIORS. Join my mailing list to receive news on upcoming releases & promotions and get a free Plantation story (DAMIAN): Stella Samiotou Fitzsimons Books
Coming in 2015: PLANTATION ORIGINS
The story of Eric, an alien race and Plantation-15
I would love to hear from you! If you’d like a sequel to Freya’s story, a spin off series, a prequel, or, possibly, all of the above, let me know! I want to write these stories if you want to read them. You can find me at:
Blog: Stella Samiotou Fitzsimons
Facebook: Stella Samiotou Fitzsimons
Twitter: @plantationworld
You can also e-mail me with comments, questions or just to say “hello”:
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Want more teen-driven, dystopian science fiction?
Click here to read The Eden Project by DP Fitzsimons
Books in the PLANTATION Series
THE PLANTATION (BOOK 1)
THE DARK LEGION (BOOK 2)
THE SHADOW EMPIRE (BOOK 3)
BEYOND THE RIVER OF TIME (BOOK 4)
DAPHNE: A PLANTATION STORY (BOOK 2.5)
RISE OF THE SAVIORS (BOOK 5)
Table of Contents
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Author Note
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