He went to An Ning and embraced her. As a father he wanted to give his daughter everything, even the moon. What he didn't want was for her to continue loving a man who, based on past experience, will likely disappoint her in the long years ahead. He didn't like Richard, even more so that his brother Han. But... after all, An Ma was realistic. He may love his daughter but he knew he cannot live her life for her. He can only point her to an exit but even then he cannot force her to walk towards it let alone open it and disappear inside. And there's also the children to consider. The twins who have clearly longed for their father and were now looking at him like he was the next best thing next to an iPhone.

An Ma started to feel alarmed though when An Ning cried and tried to apologize to him. Apologize to him? For what? He threw his wife a helpless look, which made Ceres laugh.

"Ning Ning, you know Dad always had this macabre sense of the ridiculous," she told her daughter, meeting her husband's suddenly indignant look with a chuckle. "Enough with that crying stuff and help me with this preparation. You, too, kids. Your grandmama suddenly decided we are going to spend the rest of the day having a picnic outside. I don't know who put the idea in her head. Dad said she looked out the window, saw some eagle or bird flying outside and told him to prepare a feast for a picnic. I told the cook but there are still stuff to be prepared. So, hop to it and come help me."

The idea for a family picnic actually came from Li Cheung. He was sitting on a chair, quietly watching his wife brush her long hair in the mirror as he always did in the mornings, when he suddenly thought of what their lives had been like in the last twenty years or so. Hippolyta had not really been happy and so was he. There was always the thought of Ceres at the back of their minds, the worry of something wrong nagging at them.

That worry had intensified when they found out what happened to Saravia. The Amazons under siege from his stepsister, their daughter imprisoned, and there was a granddaughter now, Ceres' daughter An Ning. In the last last years or so, Hippolyta had quietly mourned and blamed herself. They could only see and watch from the one-way mirror inside the time machine how everything went absolutely wrong for the people they left behind, especially the people closest to them.

Hippolyta and him had tried to immerse themselves in work. Building a country was easy because they've done it before but it had not been easy emotionally. They've done good work and Ceresia was thriving but it wasn't the same. It was just a subst.i.tute for the original and they haven't been that content with it either. They wanted to go home. Home had always been Saravia. They've traveled enough miles to last them a lifetime. Now, all they wanted to do was rest their bones surrounded by people they love and who love them back. Saravia, the place where he first met Hippolyta and where he spent years trying and finally winning her love.

Everybody of course decided to have the picnic near the pond besides Gu Sheng's picturesque house. Tables and chairs were laid out along with picnic rugs on the gra.s.s. Nian Zhen took out several fis.h.i.+ng poles for those inclined to fish; Hank brought the darts out with him, and Ban Chao with Kang Jun as her unwilling help surprised everyone by laying out an archery target on the opposite side of the pond, which intrigued the twins. Even Kari got part of her wish fulfilled when perfectly baked golden brown egg waffles were served along with several sweet treats, including An Ning's favorite macaroons.

A quite emotional Hippolyta presided over the celebration. Ceres had never seen her mother looked so vulnerable and teary-eyed before. Hippolyta had always been this strong, amazing woman who was unfazed by anything coming her way, an enemy, an a.s.sa.s.sin, death, even a rat. But now, Hippolyta's eyes contained some undefined emotion as she looked at her family. Her family.

Ceres let her eyes wander around the group. The last time her parents and she had been together on a picnic like this one was about several months before Hippolyta and Li Cheung disappeared. That had been the start of everything going wrong for her. An Ning was born the following year and taken away from her almost immediately. She lost a lot, not only her freedom but also her child and An Ma, who didn't even know it wasn't the real Ceres he eventually married.

Her daughter An Ning, during her short-lived marriage to a man who eventually betrayed her, had also traversed the same path reluctantly taken by her grandmother and mother. The three of them had lived lives with its many ups and downs, cried tears, even hid their grief from others.

But in the end, they've come full circle from where they were in the beginning. Hippolyta and Li Cheung. Ceres and An Ma. And now An Ning with the addition of the twins, the future of their little family seemed set and secure. Their family. It had taken over twenty years to call each other that again. Hippolyta's family.

Ceres met her mother's eyes and winked. Hippolyta laughed, leaning against Li Cheung's side. They both looked over to An Ning, who was trying to teach Pollux how to release an arrow, the both of them giggling hysterically. An Ning was wearing a mid-calf sleeveless dress, which was almost the same as Lux's oufit. Mother and daughter were almost the same height but were of the same built so that they almost looked like twins. They looked achingly beautiful with their long hair unbound and swaying to their hips, the smile on their faces eerily similar in their brilliance.

Mother and daughter seemed to gather the sun in their orbit, attracting Nian Zhen's heated gaze to An Ning like he couldn't wait to find a secluded place and love her. As for Gu Sheng, to say that he was dazzled was an understatement. His eyes were so glued at Lux it was doubtful he would even notice a snake if it crawled towards him and bit him in the ankle.

Castor was sitting beside his sister, teaching Kang Jun how to fish. Nian Zhen walked over to them and sat beside his son without talking, content to just watch and listen. After a while, An Ning and Lux also watched Cas as he threw the bait into the water and waited. The line moved after a while and they all watched with bated breath as Cas expertly pulled on it and the ma.s.sive head of a fish soon appeared on the surface, looking sullenly at them like he got caught while napping.

Cas was casually reeling the line in, talking to his father, when the fish did something totally unexpected. It pulled itself backwards, resisting and evading Castor's line with an angry twist of its body. The move surprised Cas who almost let go of the line but for Nian Zhen, who instinctively reached out his hands to hold his son and the line steady. The both of them battled the fish that was now swimming to and fro on the surface of the pond like it was mocking them, swis.h.i.+ng its ma.s.sive tail every time it gets near the sh.o.r.e.

"What the heck is wrong with that fish?" An Ma said, annoyed. "Doesn't it have the sense to realize its truly and tightly caught? Idiot."

"I think that's not an ordinary fish, darling," Ceres said. "I am not sure but it looks to me like an ancient version of the pike family. Very aggressive fish. Watch out!"

The warning came too late as the incensed fish, still battling the line held firmly in Castor's hands, dove and disappeared in the murky waters, forcing Cas to step in the water which was exactly what the fish was waiting for because it accelerated its fast start movement and swam at a dizzying high speed.

Castor would have fallen face down into the water but for Nian Zhen who caught him tightly around the waist. Nian Zhen teetered on the sh.o.r.e while holding on to Cas but was caught by An Ning who pulled at him with all her strength. Then Pollux was behind her mother, her feet planted on the ground and her young arms around her mother's waist. Gu Sheng also lent his strength to the struggle, holding on to Lux with one hand. Kang Jun caught his free hand and held on tightly, his other arm clutching at Ban Chao who winced at him angrily because he was pinching her wrist instead of holding on to her hand.

This conga line of defense, however, proved ineffective against the the supernal power of the dratted fish which had now accelerated its swimming rate to prepare to fly its way out of the water.

"He's going to fly away! Let go, Cas! Let go!" screamed An Ning.

But Cas didn't let go. Instead, he looped the reel line along his arm then pulled with all his might. The big fish was caught mid-flight, its ma.s.sive body twisting and turning trying to get away.

Something swished past their heads and a huge net suddenly covered the fish which fell back on the water with a splash. Li Cheung retracted his hand and shrugged, muttering to his wife beside him, "That fish is a monster. Not fair to the boy." Hippolyta chuckled and kissed him affectionately on his cheek.

Cas let go of the line then waded into the water. Taking a handful of the netting in his hands, he then proceeded to drag the fish to sh.o.r.e still struggling and squirming. When the netting was taken off its twisting body, the fish looked practically beaten and exhausted. Cas stared at it for a while with a frown on his face.

"Are you going to let it go?" Nian Zhen asked by his side.

Cas again stared at the fish.

"No," he said, smiling at his dad. "This is my first genuine kill. I am not letting it go."

An Ma laughingly clapped his hand on his back.

"Attaboy! Let's skin this monster alive and on to the fire!"

The fish was so ma.s.sive, one side was enough to feed thirteen people.

Later, the exciting hunt for the big fish taking its toll, it was not long before everybody was yawning, falling on the rug and on the gra.s.s then falling asleep.

Nian Zhen pulled An Ning on the gra.s.s with him, settling her between his legs with her back to him then embracing her from behind. He nuzzled her neck, watching the twins as they and Gu Sheng and Ban Chao and Kang Jun continued with their archery using an apple as a target.

"Happy?" he whispered, nipping at her ear. He trailed a fingertip down her long neck, loving the feel of her against him, the intoxicating smell of her body and the soft skin that would turn red when he did something particularly lewd during their lovemaking that embarra.s.ses the h.e.l.l out of her.

"Hmnn...," An Ning answered, smiling as she turned her head for his kiss.

They sat touching and kissing each other like they were alone in their own little world. Nian Zhen was feeling happy since he could finally be open about his feelings for his woman like the other males around them. He held her hand and again studied the fingertips, the strong hand that could fight her way out of a war yet hold his heart on her palm gently like a delicate fruit.

His Ning Ning had never been an angry and bitter woman even if he had hurt her in the past. She had always been fair even to him. Maybe that was the reason why she was never destroyed by what he did because she had enough sense to realize that his betrayal did not really matter in the grand scheme of things. She was angry but she went on with her life without any regret. Unlike him who died regretting even the fact the she was sleeping soundly when his soul quietly and silently left his body.

A shadow suddenly obscured their view. They looked up and saw Hippolyta smiling at them. An Ning scrambled to her feet, helped by Nian Zhen.

"Is something wrong, grandmama?" An Ning frowned.

"Calm your heart, granddaughter," Hipployta said, smiling benignly. "Nothing is wrong. But I want you to come with me. I have something to say to you. Alone, please," she added, as Nian Zhen moved as if to accompany An Ning.

The two of them moved a little farther away from the group until Hippolyta stopped and looked at her granddaughter. An Ning had a perplexed look on her face, meeting her grandmother's eyes with a little question in hers.

"I want you to have this," Hippolyta said after a while then she took off her golden girdle, the wide belt she usually wore around her slim waist that proclaimed her as the queen of the Amazons. The girdle was an integral part of her wardrobe. It announces her status not only to her followers but the world. Hippolyta had worn the girdle for over a millennium and now to see her without it was a shock.

An Ning looked at it and took a step back, astounded.

"Grandmama," she gasped.

"This belongs to you now," Hippolyta said. "It's time I transfer the power of the Amazons over to you, my darling granddaughter. You have done well. You have done what other Amazons have not done in the past and created power for yourself. You are stronger than all of us and this girdle attests to that."

"I don't want it," An Ning said, rejecting what Hippolyta was saying without even thinking about it. "I don't want to be anyone's queen. I just want to be me. I just want to be a simple mother to my children."

"You can do that but you also have other responsibilities that need your attention. This world is not exactly the world I want to leave you behind, my granddaughter. It's too crazy even for me and there are princ.i.p.als in this game that haven't as yet showed their hands. But I am confident that you will surpa.s.s all these challenges and become victorious in the end."

"Princ.i.p.als?" An Ning asked, surprised.

"You and that husband of yours opened up several worlds that normally don't interact with each other, Ning Ning. But that may not be the case after this. Even my own Ceresia is not immune to this change."

"What is it? What is it you're not telling me, grandmama?" An Ning asked, too anxious to realize she was actually raising her voice to her own grandmother.

Hippolyta didn't answer, merely stepped closer to An Ning and fastened the girdle around her tiny waist without another word. Then she did something that stunned An Ning and the people who were staring curiously at them.

Hippolyta dropped to her knee and bowed her proud head, pledging her allegiance to her granddaughter who was now the new queen of the Amazons.

Ceres gaped at them, stunned beyond words especially when she saw the familiar gold belt now clasped around her daughter's slim waist. She looked at her mother then without another word, Ceres dropped to her knee, bowing her head as she publicly acknowledged her daughter's sovereignty.