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The Wars of Legends

Vignettes in Nimue's Domain

Bonus #1: Growing up in the Water Palace

Beta:

Welcoming Mother

It was late at night in a darkened bedroom and its two eight year old occupants were hiding behind the tapestry by the door to their bedroom as they sensed their mother approach. The girls' mother had been away for months on business and the young girls had missed her dearly.

That was why even though they knew they should be sleeping, they were going to surprise their mother. Hence, why they were hiding.

"She's coming," Rose whispered excitedly to her twin as their mother's presence in their mind got ever closer.

Aster just nodded, equally excited.

Just then the door to their room slid open and a sliver of light spill into their otherwise darkened bedroom. The shadow of a woman blocked some of the light from the corridor and soon resolved into the form of the girls' beloved mother, Nimue.

"Now where have my little darlings gone?" Nimue asked playfully as her eyes roamed everywhere but where the two girls were hiding.

Stifling their giggles, the girls used their hands to count down to three before launching themselves at their mother.

Nimue didn't even pretend to be surprised, instead with a smile on her face she caught the two girls with her arms spread wide and pulled them into a hug.

"There you are Rose, Aster." Nimue greeted her daughters lovingly as she planted kisses on their foreheads.

"Welcome home, mum~!" The twins chorused delightedly.

Welcoming Father

The eleven year old twins of Nimue hurried through the halls of their mother's palace as they made their way to join her for dinner. They two identical twins were even more identical than usual today, as in a bid to trick their mother, they choose to dress identically for the occasion.

I honestly don't think it'll work. Aster thought as they walked through the richly decorated palace halls. Mother has never failed to tell us apart.

Even so, her twin Rose had insisted it would be fun to try again regardless. Without any real reason not to do so, Aster had ultimately decided to humor her sister and play along.

"We're here, Mother." Rose declared for them as they reached the dining room at last.

"Come in girls." Their mother replied through the closed oak doors.

That's odd. Usually Mother would have at least asked someone to open the doors for us. Aster thought as she pushed the doors open alongside her twin.

As they did, they saw why their Mother had behaved so uncharacteristically. For sitting next to their mother Nimue was another woman, their father Ganos Lal! A sight that had the two children freezing in shock.

"Good evening girls," Mother said with amusement clear in her voice. "As you can see your father is joining us tonight. Her day to visit us was changed this year. So I decided to use it as a chance to surprise you."

Aster listened with only half a mind to her Mother's explanation. The woman had barely finished when the reality of the situation registered for her and she threw herself across the room and into her father's arms. Rose right beside her as they glomped their long missed father tight.

"Hello Aster, Rose," Father greeted them patting them one of them on the head as he said each name. Except…

"Ganos dear, you got the twins' mixed up." Mother said with a chuckle that had Father blushing crimson and the girls themselves giggling into the folds of their father's dress.

Teenage Squabbles

It was a beautiful summer day in the New Water Palace on Londinium and the teenage twins of the planet's ruler had decided it was the perfect weather to just spend time relaxing in one of the palace's many gardens. Aster, as usual for overly studious twin, was reading a treatise on how to be a good ruler recovered from the ruins of Tobin civilization that the Goa'uld destroyed on her tablet device. In contrast, Rose was having a much more fun time playing a wargame on her own device, complete with holographic display and loud sound effects.

"Rose, cut that out," Aster cried out in frustration when the noise finally got to her. "Can't you see that I'm trying to read?"

"Go somewhere else then," Rose shot back. "You have the whole palace open to you."

"But I like this spot. And I got here first." Aster argued, stomping her foot angrily.

"That isn't an argument! The palace is huge! Surely you can find another comfortable spot."

"If you think so, then why don't you move then?"

"Because I like it here."

"Well so do I!"

The twins glared at each other, both unwilling to back down.

The stalemate was broken when Aster raised her right hand and gathered power into it that she proceeded to lob at Rose's tablet as an energy bolt, destroying it.

"Aster!" Rose shouted, furious, even as she conjured a set of vines and sent them to strangle her twin.

Aster, the bitch, danced away from the vines and continued lobbing energy bolts at her, which Rose was forced to conjure a wall of vines to shield herself against.

"Lady Aster, Lady Rose! Please stop!" The various guards shouted as they tried to step between the feuding girls or otherwise intervene.

Neither girl was willing to let them. With a thought, Rose conjured a new set of vines that ensnared half the interfering guards even as Aster proceeded to deal with the rest by trapping them in energy bubbles.

It was thus to this scene of bedlam that Nimue arrived.

"Stop!" Nimue boomed in the inhuman voice of the Goa'uld.

Both twins recognized that voice instantly and froze. Turning to their angry looking mother, they couldn't meet her eyes and looked away shamefaced. All whilst released the various guards they'd incapacitated.

"What happened here?" The Ascended Goa'uld demanded.

"I was annoying Aster while she was reading with my game," Rose began. "She confronted me and-

"I went overboard and destroyed Rose's tablet with an energy blast." Aster cut in, trying to take the blame.

"And that led to the chaos earlier?" Nimue asked, incredulous.

"Well, we ended up fighting after that." Rose admitted.

Nimue turned to one of the previously ensnared guards for confirmation and received a nod in reply. This just caused her to close her eyes in exasperation and take a harsh breath in dismay.

"Both of you are at fault here then," Mother concluded with a frown. "That being the case, I'm grounding the both of you. No device time outside of lessons for the next week and you're restricted to the palace for the same duration.

Both twins just nodded contritely.

"Now apologize to each other."

"Sorry Aster/Rose." The twins said at the same time.

This earned amused smiles from both of them, but they smothered them immediately as their mother cleared her throat.

"Now you'll both help clean up this mess you've created then head back to your rooms immediately." Nimue ordered. "Is that clear?"

"Yes, mother." The twins chorused obediently.

Blending

Aster and Rose, now grown women, stood before a large pool in the depths of the New Water Palace that was full of their Goa'uld siblings all ready to select a host. Their mother was standing on the water in the middle of the pool and addressed them.

"Girls, what you're about to do is a big step. Choosing to bond with one of your Goa'uld siblings is a life-long commitment. Are they truly willing to do so?"

"Yes," both twins declared confidently as they took a step towards the pool.

Nodding in satisfaction, Nimue turned to the pool and using her booming Goa'uld voice addresses the teeming masses of creatures within.

"My symbiote children! I've shared all I know about my human daughters with you. As they enter into this pool and offer themselves to you to serve as your hosts, may those willing come forward. And may the fittest of those, bear the honour of becoming their other halves!"

With that she turned back to the twins and nodded.

Aster exchanged a look with Rose out of the corner of her eye, and received an encouraging nod in reply.

I'm ready. Aster told herself as she took one last deep breath before she confidently walked side by side with her twin into the pool.

As she stepped into the water, she could feel her many eager siblings swarm around her as she descended the steps built into the pool's edge. It might have repulsed or scared some girls. The Goa'uld were very snake like and were coated in a layer of slime. But Aster had grown up around the creatures and these were her siblings besides. She was not at all afraid or unsettled by them.

As she stepped deeper into the pool, the Goa'uld pulled away, choosing to circle her and Rose at a distance instead in what she understood to be in the interest of fairness. Like their mother said, this was a competition of sorts for their siblings. Only the fittest among them would get the chance to bond with them.

When she'd walked till the water reached her chin, she took one deep breath and sneaked another look at Rose before she opened her mouth and dipped her head into the water.

Her Goa'uld brothers and sisters immediately shot towards her like bullets, each one vying to be the first to reach her and become her host. It therefore took only a handful of seconds before one shot into her mouth and with a small pinprick of pain, burrowed through the back of her throat so it could wrap itself around her spine

As her new symbiote attached itself, Aster felt a new presence gently settle itself into her mind and in a gentle voice ask her for permission to take control.

With a mental smile, Aster handed over control of their now shared body

Watching from the metaphorical back seat, Aster watched as her new Goa'uld half lifted their head and following ancient tradition let their eyes flare white and spoke in the booming voice of her kind.

"My name is Kalise."

Hello Kalise, Aster sent with a mental giggle. May we get along well.

We will. Her other half assured her.

Meanwhile, Rose's own new symbiote had likewise finished settling into her twin's body and lifted her head.

"My name is Eldina," her sister declared.

"Welcome, Kalise, Eldina, to adulthood." Mother offered with a proud grin.

A goodbye

The twins stood in the Morgana Spaceport on Londinium as Rose prepared to depart on one of the many Ha'taks busily loading up supplies on the facility's extensive tarmac.

"I guess this is goodbye for now," Aster offered, causing Rose to roll her eyes at her sister.

Must Aster always be so melodramatic? Eldina sent, with a mental groan.

Don't judge her too harshly, Eldina offered. You know she's the sentimental sort. This is in her nature.

That doesn't make it any less annoying. Rose shot back.

She let none of her frustration show on her face as she pulled her sister into a hug.

"It's only a tour of duty on the borders, sister." Rose reminded her twin. "Not even a contested one. Nothing's likely to happen. So don't worry, I'll be back in a couple of months. Tops."

"I'll always worry." Aster insisted.

"We'll always worry." Kalwart corrected, the slight dip of her head before she spoke and the tilt to the left signifying just which of her sister's three personalities was speaking.

"Well, don't." Eldarose replied, giving the appropriate signal of who was replying as well. "We can take care of ourselves."

"I don't doubt that, but we still worry." Kalwart informed them seriously.

Eldarose just sighed.

"Kalwart, that's enough." Their mother insisted as she came over to lay a comforting hand on the aforementioned daughter's shoulder. "As your sister says, she's fully capable of taking care of herself. So stop being a worrywart and let her leave to do her duty."

Kalwart pouted but nevertheless nodded and stepped behind their mother.

"I'll make you proud, mother." Rose said, indicating her control by tilting her head upwards.

"You already have," Nimue assured her. "Just go do your duty and come home safely."

"I will mother," Eldarose replied offering the System Lord a salute.

Nimue returned the salute before gesturing towards Eldarose's waiting senior officers.

Nodding in reply and sending one last reassuring look to her twin, Eldarose turned and walked towards her officers.

I'll make Mother proud. I will. Eldarose thought, her other personalities offering their wordless agreement.

Bureaucracy

Aster sat in her office in the administrative wing of the New Water Palace working through the seemingly endless stream of bureaucratic documents that had ended up in her inbox awaiting her attention as part of her duties as one of her Mother's administrators.

She was interrupted when her secretary walked in and deposited a tray of food on her desk.

"Is it lunch already?" Kalise asked in surprise.

"Yes," the younger woman replied with a long suffering sigh. "Honestly, my lady, you need to keep better track of time. What would you do without me to remind you to eat?"

"Probably skip meals and work till I pass out," Kalise confessed even as she saved her work and dismissed the hardlight displays of her computer. "You're a lifesaver."

The secretary just shook her head. "Well, enjoy your lunch, mam. I'm going to grab my own. Just leave the empty tray on my desk when you're done, I'll have one of the servants clear it."

"Thank you," Kalwart offered as she dug into the delicious meal the kitchens had provided her today and offered her departing secretary a lazy wave.

We really should take better care of ourselves. Aster noted with a mental frown.

Agreed. Kalise added. Before Mother gets worried.

Like she isn't already? We all know she picked out our secretary on purpose because she knew she'd do stuff like this. Kalwart reminded.

Okay, make her worry less. Aster corrected herself.

New resolution? Kalise asked.

New resolution. Kalwart agreed.

Then it's settled. Aster concluded. We'll try to stop skipping meals from now onwards.

Taking stock

Vivian curled into Ganos' side as they both lay back on the headboard of their decadent four poster bed in their bedroom in the New Water Palace. Vivian had just finished sharing how the girls had taken on positions within her domain, with Rose joining her navy as an officer and Aster by becoming a bureaucrat in her administration.

"The girls are all grown up, huh?" Ganos opined with a wistful sigh. "It seemed like just yesterday that they were trying to confuse me as to who was who."

"Well, it has been decades," Vivian told her lover gently. "Little girls tend to grow over that kind of stretch of time."

"I know," Ganos said, sounding sad. "And I've missed so much of that time in their lives."

"It's not your fault," Vivian assured her.

"Maybe, but it will still be something that I'll always regret."

"Don't think about it too much, my love." Vivian said worriedly. "It won't do you any good."

"I know, I know."

"Enough sadness," Vivian said insistently as she pushed her lover back onto the bed. "I don't see you anywhere near enough to let it tarnish our time together."

"And what would you like to remember our time together by instead?" Ganos asked coyly.

Nimue's answer was to lean down and kiss her lover.

So I did this mainly in response to PeterJAC's suggestion to write some sidestories to flesh out lacking bits in this Book. As I said in my initial response to him in Book 2's Chapter 3, I actually have sidestories written previously set later in the verse's timeline that addresses some, though admittedly not all, of the issues raised about missing details. That said, since it's such a concern I've come up with this to tide people over.

It's not proofread as throughly as my normal chapters, so errors are probably everywhere. More so than usual. Do let me know if you spot any.

Till then, ciao~!