As soon as they hit the outskirts of their hometown, Pacifica bounded off the wagon, smiling and waving at every person they met. Thankfully, the news had reached here well before they had, so Shannon felt like he could let her wander off, without having to fear for assassins.
"It's so nice to see her happy," Raquel said. Shannon nodded. It had been a month after the confusing events of Pacifica's sixteenth birthday, and he still wasn't sure he had it all sorted out. One thing he was sure of, though. No one would be hurting his little sister any more.
"I suppose we can reopen Mom and Dad's store," Raquel said thoughtfully. "We'll need some way of making ends meet. Unless you want to take the prince's offer, and move Pacifica back to the capital."
"I like the countryside," Shannon said. Besides, the capital was a mess, and he certainly wasn't going to move them into the holy city. The Church of Mauser might no longer be after the three of them, but that didn't make them friendly. "If you want to move back to the city-"
"Oh, no. I'm happy just visiting places like that." Raquel smiled at him. "I don't know if I'd like to live there."
They finally pulled up to their old house, boarded up after all this time. "It'll be our first meal here in nearly two years," Raquel said.
"Zephiris, can you go find Pacifica?" Shannon asked. "And, here," he handed her some coins. "Go buy a half dozen eggs and some butter for lunch."
"Yes, Shannon," the dragon nodded to him, then gracefully got down off the wagon.
Shannon had told her that she was free to do what she liked. It wasn't like he needed her services as a weapon any more. On the other hand, he suspected she didn't have anywhere else to go. The only enemies she really had, the Peacemakers, were gone. Might as well let her stay in the company of friends.
For once, he wasn't really sure what would happen next, he thought as he pried off the boards over the door, and they walked in to start the fire in the stove, and Raquel walked around the house, making comments to no one in particular about what needed to be done. They had been living their lives with one goal -- protect Pacifica until her sixteenth birthday, and show everyone that his little sister wasn't the Poison that would Destroy the World, but just a normal girl caught up in circumstances beyond her control. He was as much without a purpose as Zephiris.
"Big Brother!" He hadn't heard Pacifica come in, but he sure felt the force of her hug. "Are we having omelets for lunch? Thank you so much!"
"Yeah, yeah. Omelets for lunch. Now, get off of me so I can make them, all right? And go dig the dishes out of the wagon, so we can eat them." Turning, he saw his little sister beam at him, and run, almost skipping, past Zephiris and Raquel, nearly knocking the basket of eggs out of the dragon's hands. Raquel was smiling, and Zephiris had a faintly amused smile as she held the groceries Shannon had asked her to purchase.
"There's no place like home," Raquel said, "isn't there?"
Shannon thought that normal life with his sisters could be as interesting as the hectic roadside life, if a bit more safer.