One Tale's End
~ Years Later ~
"That's how it was," you say. "I told him, even if I traded away this world, he was something I wanted to keep."
George gazes up at you, muzzle hanging open in amazement. On the other side of the sofa, Bragho ruffles the boy's pointy ears. "Bet you didn't know your mom was so cool, eh?"
George stammers as he looks over the mansion's living room with new eyes. There's the menacing black space-knight helmet in its plastic case, the silly photo of Wylan posing with boxing gloves outside a museum, and the fedora and bullwhip. "So all your movies are from a whole other planet?"
"Only some," you say. "The 'Skyhopper' ship there is from a book that wasn't a movie back home, and the bat-girl figurine there with the halberd is based on a true story. The 'Legend of the Chalice' franchise isn't our fault. And your dad made up some of the others by himself."
Bragho says, "With a lot of help. Anyway..." He glances over at you.
You gulp. "Right. George, that's why we need you to stay out of that box of costumes in the poolside room. I thought we'd locked it away."
"You kinda did." George taps claws together guiltily. To distract you he says, "So you were a boy once?"
"Which is why I'm not grounding you. For that or the little incident with your sisters and the box of worms."
"You knew?!" The twins are chasing each other around the living room again, oblivious to your story. You get the feeling you'll be telling it all again someday.
You say, "So, that one box is a family secret, okay? And you are definitely not to touch them unless you want to give your parents a heart attack. Or till you're older, and understand what you'll risk."
Bragho chimes in. His fur's a little grizzled and he's gained a few pounds, but he's the same guy who's been on your side all along. "Someday, you'll have that chance to explore other worlds like we did. If you want to. Your mother and I agreed. And there're five that we found between us, so that's enough for all you kids with two choices to spare."
You glance over at him, tail twitching, and mouth the word, "One." Bragho's face is suddenly a mix of joy and terror as he looks down at your stomach. You'd been meaning to tell him anyway... For now you give a Mona Lisa smile.
George is caught up in looking at the movie souvenirs, and at the wooden bat above the fireplace. "And baseball? That's from another world too?"
You nod, then sniff the air and look back at the big custom oven in its brick hearth. "And the pizza over there, which smells about done. A lot of the things that made us so rich are from our... unusual background, but we still worked hard to get where we are."
"Back to the beginning," says Bragho. The mansion's on a hilltop that's special to you both.
The twins wobble back to you, panting. You scoot over so they can sprawl on the sofa beside you, tails draped over your lap.
George's ears flicker, as though he's not sure what to make of you. He's just learned he's sort of an alien, and his parents are both from other dimensions. ("It figures", you can practically hear him think.) And he could take a costume and go to a world of griffins, or a couple of others, or stay here and live in a world more complicated than he'd known it was. He looks up at you and Bragho again, finally fixing big eyes on you. "You were playing a game. That's what this whole costume thing was about, right? So... did you win?"
You blink, surprised to be reminded of the rules you once fished out of a pocket. The costume game seems far away now, hardly real. But you got through it with your mind and spirit intact, and brought some of your favorite things from Earth along. This world's more peaceful and free thanks to you, too, though how that happened is another story. There's hot pizza in the oven, the warm fur of your kids brushing against you, your best friend Bragho sneaking fingertips over to scratch your shoulder, and a country out there that you helped create. The fur of your cheeks feels matted with tears. And there's more to see yet in this wonderful new world, more to discover.
"Yes," you tell him, and hug him close. "This is what winning feels like."
Written by Snow on 18 July 2010
The end (for now)