World Memorial Special

"How are you still not dressed?"

Iris huffed in frustration as she placed Marie into Sussane's arms carefully before walking towards her husband, who was facing the mirror, combing his beard for the 3rd time in one hour.

"Can I spray my beard? I guess it's hair, so hair spray should work to keep it in place." Dom replied with his concentration on facial hair.

"It's already perfect. Now turn." Iris complimented and then ordered, carrying his undone bow tie.

"What?-"

"Shush now. The procession starts in fifteen, and the Alpha King isn't even done dressing up." Iris scolded.

"How are you done so quickly?" Dom asked, trying to look at Iris' dress while she tried to keep his head up to tie his bow.

"I had help. Which, if I recall correctly, you were offered too. And you refused." Iris responded smugly, done with the bow tie, and stepping back to admire her handiwork.

"I didn't think you'd be done this fast." He tried to defend himself and failed as Sussane brought his baby girl into his view, clad in a matching outfit with Mama, "Even my princess is dressed?" His tone changed for his little princess as he kissed her forehead, "You won from dada, yeah. Do you know that?"

Iris smiled as her heart swelled at the sight of the big Dragon Alpha King cooing to his little daughter, their daughter.

"Alright, let's go before we get called." Iris spoke just as Clara entered the room carrying some cards.

"Everyone is there. And I've got your speech cards. It's better to stick to them, Freddie and Nate spent hours on these." She handed a couple of cards to each of them and quickly ushered everyone out to the procession grounds.

"In case, I forgot to tell you earlier, you look gorgeous, Little Wolf." Dom held Iris back as Clara and Sussane went ahead. He kissed her hair and held her hand, intertwining their fingers before entering the procession grounds.

"Here goes everything." Iris muttered to herself as hundreds of cameras of global media were trained on them immediately and hundreds of flashes went off to take the pictures of the Royal Couple.

'You are doing great. It's your day, celebrate it, just like the world celebrates you, sweetheart.' Dom mind-linked her, making a smile erupt on her face as more flashes captured their photographs.

They moved to the sitting area and Iris took Marie back from Sussane who had started to search for her mommy in the media chaos. Dom and Iris were seated on the makeshift stage in the middle, with representatives of various human nations sitting to the right and those of supernatural creatures sitting to the left. Everyone stood up in respect and only sat after the couple had seated.

"Hello and Welcome World to the first World Memorial Day!" A very enthusiastic host gave a sparkly smile to the cameras and began the procession.

He thanked everyone for being there. Introduced all the guests after welcoming the King and Queen formally, to which Dom and Iris nodded their heads formally. He then went on to give a brief account of history, which each TV channel had a video documentary of for their audiences around the world.

He then got to the topic of the Final War and the emergence of the supernatural from the shadows. He skipped the gory details and went straight to the celebrations of the victory before ending his monologue with a small birthday wish to little Marie, who had been born on the same day her mother had won the final war.

It was time for Dom and Iris' speeches.

Dom went first and as directed by Clara stuck to his speech cards. It was a formal word of the Monarch of the world, the Dragon Alpha King. It was precise, to the point, full of empathy for the fallen, and strong motivation for future peace and harmony between species.

Everyone present applauded as Dom went back to join his wife and daughter in the middle of the stage. Next was Iris' turn.

She had gone through the speech cards and found something lacking, so on an impulse, she folded them as she walked towards the microphone and faced the cameras.

"Good Day, beautiful people of the world. I, um. I was given these cards and told to stick to them. But I have something more to say. Something not on these cards."

She looked back at her husband, cradling their daughter in his arms as he mind-linked her, his face revealing nothing, 'Babe, what are you doing?'

'Do you trust me?' She asked, her eyes full of emotion.

'Little Wolf, you don't even need to ask that. The answer to that will be yes, till my last breath!' He replied without missing a beat.

She turned back to face the world as she began with emotion, "I was a human once. Just an ordinary nobody. And then things happened to me. I never understood why until recently. I was given magic. I was bitten by a werewolf and an animal was born inside me. I was bitten by a Vampire and I began craving blood as a food source. I made enemies without knowing it and they subjected me to things I would never wish on anyone. The final war showed us what mania can do. It tore families and hurt so many of us. I know, I have scars to prove that I relate to every would aching from the trauma of war. We lost so many near and dear to us. Innocents who did not deserve what fate served them. I see their faces often. And I am so deeply sorry for your loss."

She heaved a painful sigh before resuming with purpose, "I met my husband, a Dragon, when I was terrified. I found family again after a thousand years of pain. The war was inevitable because I understand now that I was supposed to be the one this planet needed for the ones sent to lurk and hide once deserved to see sunlight. And I am proof that all of us can live in harmony. It is possible to co-exist. You've all made it happen for the past year, helping each other, welcoming each other, and sharing with each other. Let us keep doing it and let us drop our ancestral prejudices and allow our children and all the generations to come, to only know peace and prosperity."

Iris had a fire in her heart and she needed everyone to feel it as fiercely she needed the world to be a better, safer place for everyone so that no new Y could ever emerge and no Boloshov could ever be allowed to commit evil atrocities. Full of emotion, she gave one last look to the cameras and walked back gracefully to her husband who was swelling with pride at how wonderfully she had handled the situation.

'Let's write our own speech cards next time.' Dom mind-linked, making Iris look at Freddie in the crowd and smile.

Freddie had taken many months to grieve and hunt evil human allies of Y and then upon his return had taken many more months to move on properly with Dom, understanding that no one can stand in the path of fate and it wasn't Dom's fault that Isabelle was lost.

Then it was time for the flags to be hoisted.

The Royal flag carried the same Dragon and Wolf Yin and Yang symbol of Iris and Dom, which was hoisted by the couple.

Then, the World Union flag was hoisted and had six circles in a hexagon, each representing a fraction of the world, Dragons, Werewolves, Witches, Vampires, Humans, and Minorities.

Then the representatives hoisted their own flags in a perfect row for solidarity.

All flags were hoisted a little lower than the Royal flag to show the sovereignty of the Alpha King and Queen and how everyone accepted them and their rule unanimously.

Once the procession was over, everyone moved to the cemetery where war victims and heroes were buried. First, the Royals paid their respects, and then all the representatives.

Once that was done, the crowd dispersed and the VIPs gathered back at the meeting house that Dom had renamed to 'McBlaze Hold' and was supposed to be used by world leaders when they came to visit or meet Dom and Iris. It was supposed to be a mutual ground for formal interactions.

And that is why, the official lunch of the World Memorial Day was held there.

An elaborate cake was cut for World Memorial Day with a silent promise to celebrate the first birthday of Baby Marie in the evening with family and friends. The cameras captured everything and televised it live across the globe. It was the event of a lifetime and the whole world had stopped to be a part of it, in their own way. National celebrations were to be done after the International procession had come to an end.

It was the celebration of victory over pain and the dawn of a new era on Earth.

**Author's note:

What do you guys think? Should I leave everything with a happy ending, or do we need a Little Marie book? Do you guys want an easter egg for her story? Nothing is planned but anything can happen if you guys want it. The art for symbols, flags, and other stuff related to this book will soon be available on my Instagram @aena.s_ebooks Do check it out, I also plan to show tidbits from all my undergoing works and you can take part in future polls of what do you want to see more and which book would you prefer to read.**