The palace, once filled with whispers and shadows, now buzzed with celebration. Banners fluttered in the wind, bells rang from the towers, and people flooded the streets to witness a moment of hope — the wedding of General Kael and the mysterious woman who had saved the kingdom.
Diana stood before a polished bronze mirror in her bridal chamber, dressed in robes of ivory silk. Her hair was adorned with jasmine flowers, and a single golden pin — Mei's gift — held her braid in place. Outside the window, the garden was alive with music and laughter.
"Are you ready?" Mei asked, peeking into the room.
Diana turned, her heart full. "I think I've been ready since the day I fell through time."
The ceremony was held in the Temple of the Phoenix, a sacred place where vows were believed to transcend time itself. As Diana walked down the aisle, villagers, nobles, soldiers, and even former servants watched with admiration. She wasn't just marrying a general — she was becoming a part of history.
Kael waited for her beneath the ancient arch, dressed in silver and black, a quiet smile on his lips. When she reached him, he gently took her hands.
"In another life, I would have searched a thousand worlds for you," he whispered.
"And in every one," she replied, "I would have found you."
Their vows echoed across the marble chamber, solemn and powerful. As they sealed their promise with a kiss, petals rained from the ceiling, and the crowd erupted in joy.
But as day turned to night, Diana found herself alone in the palace garden, looking up at the stars. In the quiet, the weight of everything she had endured finally settled — the betrayal, the imprisonment, the love, the war.
And then, like a whisper, it came.
The mirror.
It had reappeared — lying on the garden bench, glowing faintly in the moonlight.
Diana approached it slowly. It looked the same as the day she'd found it: ancient, otherworldly, calling to her.
She picked it up.
In its glass, she didn't see her reflection — she saw the attic. Her old life. The world she had left behind.
The choice was clear.
Kael found her moments later, still staring into the mirror.
"It's your way home, isn't it?" he asked softly.
She nodded. "I think… I was only meant to stay long enough to fix what was broken."
"And now?"
Diana turned to him, tears in her eyes.
"I could go back. My world, my studies, everything I left behind is waiting. But… it's not my home anymore."
He reached out, taking her hand.
"You don't have to choose."
Diana blinked. "What do you mean?"
Kael smiled, then touched the mirror. The surface rippled — and for a moment, she saw a vision: the two of them in her world. Kael in modern clothes, laughing as he tried coffee for the first time. Diana leading students in a classroom. A life that blended both timelines.
"The mirror brought you here," he said. "Maybe it can bring me with you."
Her heart raced. "Would you come?"
"For you?" he whispered. "Always."
In the weeks that followed, Diana and Kael began preparing for a new journey — not one of escape or war, but of discovery. Together, they studied the mirror's magic with the kingdom's most trusted sages. They learned it was an ancient artifact tied to the will of the stars — and that it only opened paths for those whose hearts were unshaken by fear.
And one evening, as the cherry blossoms fell again, Diana and Kael stood hand-in-hand before the mirror.
She looked at the palace one last time, at the kingdom that had become her second life. Then she turned to him.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
Kael smiled. "With you? Always."
The mirror pulsed.
And the world around them changed.
They awoke in her grandmother's attic — just as lightning cracked across the sky.
Diana gasped, gripping Kael's arm. He was real. Here. With her.
He looked around in awe. "So… this is your world?"
She laughed, tears of joy on her cheeks. "Welcome to the future."
Years later, they built a life that no one could have imagined. Kael adjusted quickly — he taught history, practiced martial arts, and found peace in a quieter time. Diana became a professor, sharing her "research" on ancient civilizations and weaving her story into every lesson.
And every spring, when the cherry trees blossomed, they would visit the garden behind their home, hand in hand, their fingers entwined like the threads of fate that had drawn them together.
Because across time, across pain, across worlds — they had chosen love.
And in that choice, they had found a forever that no magic could break.
The End