The stageplay was a big success, there weren´t many people in Orario who didn´t liked it. Even when it went much different from what Hermes had planned, he was statisfied. As he had promised Bell,
it became the most famous and awesome proposal in Orario´s history, Bell deserved it in Hermes´ eyes. Also he hoped that Zeus had watched, to see that Hermes took care of Bell like he had promised.
But not only Bell...Ais´ expression when Bell knelt down in front of her and opened the box with the ring...priceless.
I hope you two will become happy.
Hermes smiled while he ran away from his followers, who were chasing him...led by an angry Asfi...Bell and Ais had "accidentely" destroyed one third of the castle during their fight...so all the hard work of the Hermes Familia was for nothing.
Also...some staff members of the Hostess of Fertility chased him as well...for calling Ryu flat. And...a not so small crowd of elves...for calling Riveria old.
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"Argonaut! That was awesome! It really moved my heart when you proposed to Ais! And Ais...ehehehe...you beam like never before! Let me see the ring!"
"Not bad Bell...not bad...Ais, show us the ring. *Whistle* Not bad...snatching yourself a man with style."
Tione winked.
Lefiya looked back and forth between Bell and Ais, she smiled to Bell and then looked at the ring too. One by one came the actors of the Loki Familia together. Welf had already congratulated him, as well as Amid and Otara. But then the three had left, since Welf had promised to meet with Hephaistos and Amid had other plans. Bell and Ais didn´t knew that at this point...but soon they would see Amid very often...at strange places.
"Oi, little Rabbit!"
Loki walked towards them, accompanied by Riveria, Finn, Gareth and others.
"Beeeeell! Aiiiiiis!"
From the other side, Hestia came running with Lily, Haruhime and the rest of the Familia alliance behind her.
Soon a very large crowd had formed around the freshly engaged. To make them even more adorable, Ais pushed herself against Bell a bit as so many people came.
"Okay, okay. That leads to nothing here outside. Hestia, Take and Miach, you and your children are coming with us to the Mansion. We got much to celebrate! Also...we have something to discuss and settle...shrimp."
"Hooooo...I will take you head on, flatty."
As the goddesses of Bell and Ais, they had much to discuss about the wedding. Who would pay for it, Loki? Hestia? Equal shared between the two? Also they had to form a pact, since neither Bell nor Ais would leave their Familias.
The festival continued as the large crowd moved cheering to the Mansion.
There were two exceptions...two people who wouldn´t go with them.
Bete and Lena.
"Bete?"
"Mmh?"
"You know...I except you to pull off something like that when you propose to me!"
Lena beamed all over her face, both sat on a piece of wall in a deserted area, had watched the stageplay from here. He had to agree that Bell had become really strong.
"What are you saying...huuuh?!"
Bete had drank much over the evening...and as always...he became brutally honest when he was drunk.
"You don´t want to?"
Lena looked at him.
"Why do I need to propose? I am a wolf you know? We don´t let our prey get away..."
"Eh?"
Bete leaned closer to Lena, put a hand under her chin and raised her face a bit.
"You are my prey now...my mate...you belong to me...you are mine..."
Hiiiiii!
Hundreds of bells rang in Lena´s head and her heart danced in joy...for her these words were truly romantic.
"Bete Loga! I´m so happy!"
She threw herself onto Bete and hugged him, while pressing her lips onto his. As an amazon, she didn´t needed a fancy wedding...that Bete "claimed" her was everything she had ever hoped for. Still...later he would surprise her with a small ceremony with just the two of them, and her favorite flowers.
"You´re so noisy..."
"Make me a child! Right now!"
Lena knew how he would react...the same as always...
"Alright...I won´t let you sleep tonight..."
"Eh?...Kya!..."
For the first time, Bete showed her that he was a true wolf...never before got Lena Tally so happy...and statisfied...
She wondered in her mind...would her daughter have wolf ears and a tail? That she would get a daughter was guaranteed, since she was an amazon.
These two became really happy together...and Lena Tally would manage to do something that no one in Bete´s Familia was able to do...she changed him a little bit. Making him just a tiny bit softer and explain to him that people often didn´t got what he tried to tell them. Since if they wanted to acknowledge it or not...Bete was the person in his Familia that told the others not wanted they wanted to hear...but what they needed to hear in certain situations.
In a not so distant future, he would become the father of two girls.
Something that would let Lena brag about much in front of her friends, Aisha and Samira, showing off her big, round belly.
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"So Shrimp...it´s time..."
"Yeah..Flatty...let´s do this..."
"Ahm Hestia...Loki..."
""Shut up, Take!""
Both goddesses glared at each other...then they raised their mugs.
""The one who faints first, loses!""
And so...a fierce drinking battle between the two started.
The party hall of the Loki Familia was filled to the brim. The Hestia alliance didn´t sat in one corner, but were spread out in the room. Members of the Loki Familia that joined the smaller Expeditions of the Hestia alliance had started to become friends with them, the four Familias grew closer.
Of course Bell and Ais were the centerpiece of the attention...especially for the women.
"Ms. Ais...can I take a look too?"
"Alicia, of course."
Ais raised her hand and showed Alicia the ring. The female elf smiled widely by the sight.
"You better take care of her for your whole life, Bell Cranel."
"I planned to do exactly that, Ms. Alicia."
"Hehe, good."
One by one, the Familia members congratulated the two...until only the high executives were left.
"Bell Cranel."
"Mr. Finn."
The prum smiled, Riveria and Gareth came with him.
"You did really well, your fight...your spirit...your determination...they were just right."
Bell nodded by Finn´s words.
"Ais?"
"Finn?"
"The ring suits you, congratulation."
"Thank you, Finn."
She smiled and the ring blinked in the light.
"Hey little missy, boy. Was ´bout time, eh? Geez...I remember when you were this small and only had fighting in your head...and now you sit here as a young woman...ready to marry...time sure runs..."
Bell and Ais smiled, they entangled the fingers of their free hands, they nearly shone, so happy were they.
And then...came "the last boss".
"Ais..."
"Riveria."
"Would you let me see it?"
Ais raised her hand and showed Riveria the ring, they didn´t told her that Bell had asked Loki and Riveria for permission.
For a long while Riveria looked at the ring, then at Ais, then at the ring again. Finn and Gareth smiled wider and wider...they noticed the expression in Riveria´s eyes...they knew about the fight that happened inside her. One part of Riveria was relieved and happy...the other...the motherly part...had trouble to let her little girl go.
Eventually Riveria glanced to Bell...she was happy that he was the one in Ais´ heart...but he was also the one that wanted to take her little girl away...
Riveria sighed lightly.
"It suits you really well, Ais."
Then...for the first time Riveria didn´t cared if someone heard what she said next...she was just herself.
"Bell...you better watch over my little girl."
Ais´ eyes widened by the words that Riveria used to refer to her.
"I will, Ms. Riveria. Forever."
Ais´ eyes shone even more...she forgot the people around them for a moment, looking at Bell...before kissing him softly.
The three leaders of the Familia smiled, while the rest started to cheer loud. It wasn´t their last kiss of the evening, ever since Ais got the ring from Bell, she got really cuddly and clingy.
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"Beeeeeell! My little Beeeeeell!
A small figure suddenly hugged Bell from behind after a long while, Hestia was crying.
"I wash sho tooouched by shat proposhal! Little Aiiish...you are shoooo lucky! *Hic*"
Hestia...was drunk. Bell glanced to the table where she had sat with Loki...the goddess of the Loki Familia had her head on the table and was knocked out...Hestia had drunk her under the table. He swallowed by the sheer amount of empty bottles...gods could be really fearsome.
"Thank you, Goddess."
"Aaaiiiish! Let me sheee the ring!"
"Here, lady Hestia."
Ais smiled and showed her the ring too, suddenly a fox woman and a prum appeared from out of nowhere. Haruhime and Lily got shining eyes while they looked at the ring.
"Haaaa...that ring suits you perfectly, lady Ais...that was so romantic."
Haruhime´s tail wagged.
"Master Bell sure did something amazing...to think the whole stageplay was for the single purpose of a proposal...wow."
"Ehe, I would have been happy if he had just asked me in a park or something like that."
Bell surprised most people when he jelled out.
"What?! No way! By no means that would be okay for my Princess! My Queen!"
"Eh?"
Ais noticed that Bell swayed lightly.
"Bell...did you drink?"
But Bell Cranel didn´t drank alcohol, the fumes in the party hall were enough to make him lightly tipsy. Also he was still excited from the stageplay and the fight.
Riveria noticed that Ais also had slightly flushed cheeks...and she knew all too well what happened when Ais drank alcohol...this girl really couldn´t handle it.
So Riveria used a special form of hidden communication, to tell Alicia and the other elves to lure everyone away from Bell and Ais, so that she could talk to them alone.
"Ais? Bell?"
"Yesh?"
Ais smiled happy, swaying a bit.
"Yesh, Mother-in-law?"
Riveria coughed lightly. "It´s too early to call me that, Bell Cranel. Anyway...why don´t you two go to bed? It´s pretty late and you had a long day, you don´t want to miss your chance to walk around at the festival tomorrow, right?"
"Sounds good..Bell...I´m sleepy..."
"Me too..."
Riveria couldn´t fight her motherly instincts, so she accompanied them to Ais´ room and wished them a good night. Even if she was a bit ashamed of herself, Riveria waited nearby for a few moments until she heard them mumble something.
"Nighty..."
"Mnnn...night..."
Soon, she heard the soft breath of them sleeping.
Sleep well, you two.
Riveria went back to the party and did what she always did, making sure that no one went too far while they partied.
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"Is it too tight, sword Princess?"
"Ms. Mikoto...just Ais."
"But ahm..."
"We know each other for quite a while now...isn´t it okay?"
"Mmmh...Ms...Ais.."
"Just Ais is okay."
"Th-That is too much! A kunoichi must keep distance to the master!"
"Kunoichi? Master?"
"Kunoichi is a far eastern word...and since you are Sir Bell´s betrothed...I mean...I am still in his debt."
"But Bell told me it is okay?"
"Still...I sullied my honor and I have to continue until I have cleaned my name!"
Bell told Ais that Mikoto was sometimes a bit extreme about her behaviour in the past. But even when she tried so hard...it was even harder for Mikoto to not give in to Ais...since it was so hard to not like Ais.
They were standing in Ais´ room, Ais was in the middle and had her arms spread to the side, while Mikoto walked around her.
"To repeat my question, is it too tight?"
"No, it feels comfortably."
"Good, it is your first time wearing one, correct?"
"Yes."
The last day of the festival had a big far eastern influence, so much that it was nearly like a far eastern summer festival. Which meant...Mikoto was helping Ais to put on a Yukata. It had a light blue color, nearly white, with various blossoms on it, the "belt" around her waist was of a darker blue.
Bell got help in another room from Ouka, he would wear a completely white one. Many members of the two Familias would also do it, Haruhime helped Hestia and Lily.
And...
Riveria would also wear one, a green one with leaves on it. Haruhime had explained to her how to put it on, but she did it alone. It had needed Ais´ puppy eyes and a sentence...a very "mean" sentence.
"I wanted to go together with you...Mom...I have...some questions.."
"What questions?"
"What...to do...when I and Bell...will be newlyweds..."
Kuh...
Riveria always got weak when Ais called her that...and that her little girl now even got "wife training"! Ais had even asked Haruhime and others for help. Riveria of course had an eye on that...since for example Tione wanted to tell Ais about a secret technique, the "Naked Apron".
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"Mmmmmh!"
"Ais, is it tasty?"
"Mmmmh!"
Ais beamed all over her face while she nibbled on the candied apple. It had become early evening and they strolled through the streets, visiting various food stalls and looked at others. Ais got an addition to her Yukata, a rabbit mask that she had at the side of her head for now.
Her right hand was holding the candied apple, the other cotton candy. Bell carried other food boxes for her, she wanted to try various far eastern delicacies, such as yaki soba, Taiyaki and Okonomiyaki. They got many of those by the food stalls or the Takemikazuchi Familia. And of course...since it was Ais, she got an extra large portion.
The special potato snacks also couldn´t be missed. Bell was a bit surprised how much Ais was able to eat...and how cute she looked while doing that.
They had only walked with their Familias at the beginning, but everyone saw that they wanted to stroll alone over the festival.
Yet...
"Aiiiiis!"
"Hmmm? Loki?"
"Hey Ais, Bell, how are you two doing?"
"Lady Loki, thank you, quite good."
"Hehe, Ais, I have something for you...but could you do me a favor first?"
"Hm?"
"Could you crouch down?"
Ais tilted her head, but did as Loki had asked her and crouched down a bit, balancing on her feet, not touching the ground with her knees. Maybe Bell and Ais were too innocent to notice the lewd spark in Loki´s eyes.
"Have you tried this already? Here...try it..."
Loki held a chocolate banana to Ais.
"Mmh...it looks delicious."
How Ais crouched in front of her goddess and how Loki held the banana...it looked really lewd. Ais tucked some hair behind her ear and nibbled on the tip of the banana.
People that saw it had to gulp by this sight. Loki was close to getting a nosebleed...when...
Crunch!
Ais bit the upper quarter of the banana off and chewed on it for a second before gulping it down.
"Delicious, thank you Loki."
With a horrified face, Loki looked at Bell for a second, who looked a bit confused about the situation.
The goddess went on her way...not sure how to feel right now.
"Phew...well at least both are innocent airheads and didn´t g-"
A hand on Loki´s shoulders stopped her self talk.
Riveria´s hand.
"Ri-...Eeep!"
Even in the stageplay...Riveria didn´t had such a frightening, demonic face.
"Loki...can we talk for a moment? About what you just made Ais do..."
"Ri-...Rivera? Where are you leading me...wait...why is Alicia here...and the other elves? H-Hey...I´m your goddess, you know?...Iaaaaaaaaaah!"
The horrified cries of Loki were soon muffled...the elves of the Familia didn´t tolerated any lewd behaviour by their goddess...and they were glad that Bell and Ais didn´t understood Loki´s intention...
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After spending hours and hours with their Familias at the Festival, Bell and Ais returned happy to the Loki Mansion. It was a really funny festival, Bell watched for a while when they walked together with Riveria, how Ais and her "Mom" tried their best to catch gold fish with small paper fans. Both tried many times but they never got the hang out of it, eventually Bell tried his best...and won the first price in an instant. It was a full course weekend in Orario´s new Spa facility. With all you can eat buffet, special saunas, all kinds of bathes and other things. They wrote that they are even prepared for elves. So...instead of going with Ais, Bell gifted the price to Ais and Riveria, to give them a mother-daughter weekend. Riveria had sworn to herself, she would do all these kind of things with Ais, on behalf of Aria.
Bell leaned on Ais´ windowsill and looked up to the moon, she had asked him to wait for a while, then she left the room. As far as Bell knew, they were the only ones in the Mansion.
His mind drifted around as he rememberred the stageplay.
Grandfather...I am engaged now...would you have imagined that? And she is the one I met in the dungeon! You were right...not exactly the way around you said...but you were right. How I wished I could talk to you...
Eventually Bell heard the door getting opened and closed again.
In the moment he wanted to turn around...
"Hoooo? You are quite bold hero...to come and try to assass...assassa...asssi-Kyun!...to kill me in my bedroom..."
Bell blinked perplexed...Ais had bit her tongue while she spoke...and when he turned around...he could barely stop himself from having his eyes fall out.
Ais stood close to her door, not her usual expression, but a more majestic and proud one...like she had as the demon queen in the stageplay. And her outfit...Bell had to swallow. Her feet were in dark violet boots, with high heels and golden borders on top, they ended right below her knees.
Her thighs were bare, but there was a long skirt around her waist, black on the outside, red on the inside, also with golden borders. The skirt went down to her feet and was more or less part of the dress. His eyes wandered higher...the skirt barely covered her crotch, showing her wonderful hips on the sides, since it had very few cloth.
There was a golden ornament with a ruby...exact in the middle between Ais´ belly button and her sacred place. Her stomach was also bare, the upper part of the dress only covered a bit of her back and just enough of her breasts to not be able to see the tips. There was a very large, tattered cape, held in place by two big shoulder guards, also with golden borders. Her arms were mostly bare, only wearing two big gloves, in black with red and golden borders. And on her head...two horns, curled forward. In the valley of her breasts rested a pendant with a ruby in it.
His nose started to bleed anyway...this was the original design for Ais, that she had declined, but had asked Asfi if she still was allowed to have it.
"A-Ais?!"
"What is this name that do you speak, hero? I am the Demon Queen!"
She ran her right hand through her hair with a royal smile, tossing it back. Ais came a step closer, the skirt moved strongly around...Bell noticed something...caught a glimpse...Ais...wore no underwear with that dress. So...he eventually guessed what this situation was...he thought about it...Ais got REALLY clingy and cuddly since she got the ring.
"I came here to talk to you, Demon Queen!"
"Talk to me? Don´t make me laugh, you were sent to defeat me, Hero!"
Ais held her hands spread to the side and came a step closer, Bell clenched his fists slightly and moved forward. The situation was a bit surreal...since before both were too innocent to get what Loki was alluding to...and now they did...that.
"Your rule went on too long, Demon Queen. I am here to stop you!"
"Bold words...so try it then, hero! But be aware...I won´t defeat you in return..."
Ais was directly in front of Bell, showing him a seductive smile.
"I will make you mine...hero..."
Their lips met in a passionate kiss, Bell´s arms hugged her instantly, while Ais shoved him backwards, and his shirt up. A fierce battle between the hero and the demon queen started. She used her fighting skills to drive him back at first, until his back hit her wall. The hero countered, driving the Demon Queen back, her legs hit the desk in her personal chamber, losing her balance a bit. But the hero had underestimated the Demon Queen, she pulled her right knee up, right between his legs...she smirked when the hero groaned...or did he moan by her gentle touch?
The hero and the Demon Queen broke away from their fight at the table, accidentely kicking away her chair. The bed chamber became a battlefield, the hero managed to "ripp away" the Demon Queen´s chest armor, leaving her upper body bare to his direct attacks. She "groaned in pain" when he "punched her chest" and rammed his head into that place. In return she tried to disarm him, by breaking his belt and grabbing his sword.
"Hooo...hah...hah...hah...it seems you are quite eager to defeat me...Hero...Quite an impressive sword you have there..."
"I-!"
Surprising him by grabbing his sword, the Demon Queen pushed the hero back and let him fall onto her bed. In an instant, the Demon Queen jumped onto the hero, pinning him down on her bed, so that he would have no chance to escape.
"Grrrr...I will not yield...my Queen."
"Kuh Kuh Kuh Kuh Kuh...you are already mine...Hero..."
In a last act of resistance, the hero thrusted his sword into the Demon Queen...
Even then she didn´t went down, but took him on. At some point they even tried to persuad the other with only words and their mouths...the Hero gave in first...seconds before the Demon Queen also lost her balance...but looked victorious...since she had managed to suck out some of the heroes life force...it would surely make him weak soon.
And even when the hero pinned the Demon Queen between him and her window, with her back facing towards him...she didn´t yield...no matter how vigorous he used his sword to attack her...she tried to fight back but her hands got no hold on the glas of the window, so the Demon Queen tried to push him away using her butt, but the Hero saw this attack coming and grabbed her hips stronger...he even went so far as to bite her neck, leaving a mark there. Their fierce battle filled the room with sounds of slapping skin on skin, sweat ran down on both of their bodies. The Demon Queen yelled out when the Hero channeled his fire magic through his sword again, she felt enormous heat inside her. Afterwards the hero got daring, threw the Demon Queen onto her bed, pinned her down and held his sword close to her face, threatening her with it, while he mercilessly attacked her chest again, eventually unleashing his fire magic onto her face...yet the Demon Queen did not yield. She suddenly bucked her body up, threw the weakened hero down, and threatened to crush his head with her thighs...a gruesome...maybe wonderful...death. The hero did his best to persuade her to let him go...his silver tongue convinced her...for now.
The fierce battle of the Hero and the Demon Queen went on and on and on...
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Late in the night, Riveria suddenly startled in her sleep when she heard a loud crash. Sleepy she looked around in her room, but no further sounds came so she went back to sleep.
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In the end, the battle between the Demon Queen and the Hero ended in a draw...for now.
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"Uaaaaahn...mnl..."
Ais swayed lightly from one side to the other, her eyes mostly closed, she had more than a bit bedhair and was really sleepy. She sat in the dining room of the Loki Familia, yawning now and then, sometimes rubbing one of her eyes. Tione, Tiona and Lefiya were at the same table with her, Riveria glanced from the main table to Ais. Bell wasn´t there at the moment, he was in the kitchen to get something for breakfast, for Ais and him.
"Ais...is everything okay?"
"Sleepy..."
"Did you not got enough sleep?"
Tione smirked while she glanced to the clearly visible hickey at Ais´ neck.
"No...we slept enough..."
"Say Ais...what was that crashing sound in the night? It sounded like it came from your room."
Tiona looked curious.
Ais Wallenstein was really sleepy at the moment and only half awake...or she would have probably never answered the question now...
"My bed broke..."
"Huh? How did you manage to do that?" Tiona tilted her head in confusion.
"!" Lefiya´s face and ears went deep red.
"Wha?!"
The jaws of Tione and Lefiya dropped...and Riveria nearly choked on her tea at the other table. All three looked shocked at her...and even more when Bell walked into the room, smiling so innocent and pure... Tione would later explain to her sister what that meant...Tiona would be very impressed.
What did he made out of my pure, little girl...
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The only witness in the morning was a small, innocent bird. It had landed on the window sill and looked inside the room, tilting the head from one side to the other.
Ais and Bell slept on her carpet, halfway covered by a blanket, completely naked...their kneecaps were still red for some reason. Their clothes were scattered in the now very messy room, the horns of Ais´ headpiece hang from a bedpost. The two bedposts on the left side were broken, so the bed was leaned to one side. The fresh morning air was a bit cold, Ais shivered slightly, slipped more under the blanket and snuggled up to Bell, who put his arms around her as a reaction. Ais burried her face in Bell´s neck, and he his at her hair, both inhaling the scent of the other, smiling in their sleep.
It was the most passionate night they ever had...but also the last one until the day of their marriage, since both had promised to wait for their wedding night.
Yet, it wasn´t the last fight of the Demon Queen and the Hero...or even the Demon King who had captured a female Knight...
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Later that morning, a very happy Loki and Hestia came back from the Denatus after the festival, the gods had finally decided their new alias´
Ais Wallenstein would be known as the "Golden Wind".
And Bell Cranel, her partner, as the "White Flame".
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Authors Note: So as I wrote, next one is Riveria´s Epiloge, but she will of course still appear in the Harem story. Then will always come two chapters for Spirit Child and one for Blood of Zeus. Not every girl will have an arc in Blood of Zeus, especially Haruhime and Lefiya will wait until the Alfia story comes. After Riveria´s story part I will make it more of a Harem, with more than one girl in each chapter, but also sometimes solo dates.
The next chapter here will be. "Fighting a trauma", where Bell will help Ais with a problem she got due to Riveria´s hard teachings.,
Before someone asks, no they won´t see Amid because Ais get´s pregnant.