Authors Note1: To avoid confusion, the start is the same as the first chapter, basically the whole story of Riveria and Bell was a memory of her.
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Riveria still looked up to the bright sky while she walked through the grasslands, smiling while she wallowed in memories.
When did it start? Back then I think...yeah it was back then probably. In the moment he catched me and held me in his arms during the training...I think that was the start. Many things led to it in the end, but I think in that moment my feelings for Bell ignited as a tiny !
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Eventually Riveria lowered her gaze again and looked at the enormous forest in front of her. It was the first time she would visit her homeforest since she was there to get the Flower for Aina.
And what a journey this was, Riveria rememberred every day, every moment she spent with Bell...and she was too happy about them. She smiled at the memory of their first kiss...it was a very important memory.
"Riveria, do you need a rest?"
"Hm? Oh no, everything is okay...Bell."
She showed him the special deeply-in-love-smile that was reserved for him alone. He wore his usual white armor, the chestplate was repaired, as well as Fairy´s Dawn on his back. To repair a weapon with the Durandal effect that was broken, wasn´t easy.
Bell had needed a few special ingredients, they were really surprised about them. Now the name "Fairy´s Dawn" wasn´t really fitting, so he called it "Fairies Dawn", similar yet different. At first the weapon was a symbol of his undying love for Ryu, but now...it was a symbol for the elves he loved.
To repair the sword they had needed strands of hair...elven hair. They were a magical race and apparently feelings of affection would help a lot. So Riveria had cut off a few strands of her hair, but they needed more than just her hair. The amount wasn´t as important as the difference of the hair. Lefiya was the next since she had accompanied them,
after her..Ryu did the same, as well as Eina. With the hair of the four elves, Fairies Dawn could be repaired, the cracking lines were still visible, they shimmered in a changing color, going from green, to chestnut, to blond and to brown, in a changing order. So whenever Bell looked at his sword, he thought about the four elven Maidens that he was engaged to.
Bell wasn´t the only one that accompanied Bell, Aina was there too. For her it would be the first visit of her homeforest after all these years. She felt a bit uneasy about that, but Riveria wouldn´t tolerate any badmouthing about her dearest friend, and Bell also wouldn´t tolerate it too.
Aina had joked a bit about Bell´s chivalry towards her.
"You know, Mr. Bell...just to be clear...I am married...you already have charmed by beloved sister Riveria and my daughter Eina. So...even if I am flattered a bit...don´t try to seduce me too. Even when I have to admit you are pretty handsome...no wonder my daughter and my sister fell for you."
She had winked to show that she made a joke.
Riveria and Eina got really flustered when they heard that.
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They were able to enter the forest without many problems, but they walked slowly. Mostly because of Bell´s truly gigantic backpack...it was even bigger than the last time, since he carried the stuff for more than two people. Aina had a smaller backpack on her own, but they refused to let Riveria carry a backpack.
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"It´s lady Riveria!"
"Lady Riveria is back!"
"It´s her!"
"Our Princess!"
As expected, they were greeted by the elves of the main village, as soon as they entered.
"And her knight, her knight accompanies her!"
The elves also greeted Bell, the story about him saving Riveria and the whole forest had spread among the elves. The fact that he was a human made it even more fascinating for the elves. It was due to the story of Riveria´s and Bell´s journey, that more elves would leave the forest to see the wide world, but not forever and most of them would return. Over time, it would be known as the path of the wanderer, and it helped the young elves very much to get more experiences and grow up.
Without knowing it, Riveria and Bell had managed to slightly open up the elves of the royal forest more for the world.
The elven knights that guarded the village let them pass, eyeing who followed the two. Aina still felt a bit uneasy about the knights...she had bad memories about them.
"I thank you all for your warm welcome, but please don´t only greet us. This is Aina, my former chamberlain and my sworn sister. She and I share the same blood, we have the same ancestors, and I won´t tolerate that anyone talks ill about her or don´t shows her the respect that she deserves."
Aina´s eyes widened when she heard Riveria´s words...she was really touched. For elven terms it was a quite bold declaration, but Riveria had to think about what happened to Aina in the past...this would not happen again. Riveria didn´t directly used her status as the princess, it was a declaration of just herself.
"M-My greetings to you, lady Aina."
Some elves were shocked, especially the older ones, but soon Aina was greeted in the same way, at least she got greeted politely.
"Aina, come. My knight..."
Riveria looked to Bell.
"As you wish, Mylady."
Bell bowed down politely, hiding a smirk...he loved it when his queen showed her royal side. He went side by side with Aina, smiling into her direction, while they followed Riveria. She led them through the village, towards a different tree than Bell had seen the last time here. The tree was more or less in the middle of the village and way bigger than the others. Not as big as the one of the Spider Queen, but quite the sight. It was the elven counterpart of a royal palace, not where the royal family lived, but where they held court. Since elves lived such long lives, they tended to have more interest in politics and relationships between the family branches. Riveria and Aina had explained it all to Bell up to the last detail, since he needed to know it all, to not embarrass them. The more conservative elves would be shocked enough to know that Bell was Riveria´s husband...not to mention the other thing...
There were no further guards inside the village, it was pretty unlikely that someone here would try to do something to the king. But an elven knight ran to the tree while they walked, to announce her. Not only to inform the king about the sudden visit of his daughter, but also because it was fitting that the Princess was announced correctly.
Riveria led the way with dignity, they followed a cobbled path of white stones that wound between scattered trees, interrupted by a small bridge as a stream ran right through the village. The path finally ended at the base of the tree, intertwined roots cascading up to a door of sorts that marked the entrance into the colossal tree. Nobody seemed to move the door, it swung open of its own accord, behind which Bell saw a hall that filled the entire hollow space in the tree. Dozens of spirit lanterns hung here, they were basically empty vessels in which spirits of light sat as they pleased, filling the inside of the tree with a pleasant light. Small windows were driven through the trunk higher up, Riveria had assured him that the tree was so big it was hard to even notice. A delicately crafted tapestry of leaves and vines ran from the door through the room. At the end stood the throne of the elf king, at the edge of the circular hall there were ten chairs for various high-ranking high elves, not all of them were filled, because nothing important had actually lined up for the day.
"I present you, Princess Riveria!"
The elven knight that ran ahead of them stood next to the carpet, bowed down politely and stepped to the side.
Some of the high elves leaned forward and rested their hands on the arms of their chairs, gazing at the newcomers. These elves wore silver circlets on their heads, in contrast to the king who wore a golden one. Riveria had explained to Bell that all the elves in this hall had a high rank even among the high elves...so he had to be careful with his words, it was a good thing that Bell spoke elvish fluent now. King Larfal looked really majestic how he sat there, the whole scenery brought the old words of his grandfather back to Bell.
The Fairy King.
Riveria walked over the carpet, the king's throne stood on a ridge in the ground, three steps carefully carved and decorated in the ridge. It wasn't Riveria's father's idea, the throne room was much older than him. She stopped in front of the lowest step and looked up to her father, she displayed all the regal dignity that Bell adored in her. It strenghtened the wish in him to kneel down in front of her again...yes again...Bell had actually kneeled more than one time in front of Riveria...it was part of his little knight play with her.
"Father, high council, I apologize for the sudden visit, but it was impossible to send a message in advance."
"Riveria, my daughter. It is good to see you again."
Bell had to remind himself that they were at court at the moment...he had seen how these two acted around each other when this wasn´t the case. A series of polite greetings followed with the other high elves, until one of them suggested they should leave for now and let the king talk with his daughter and her companions alone.
Eventually the door closed and they could talk more in private.
The kings eyes wandered past Riveria.
"King Larfal, I wish you the best health."
Bell bowed politely.
"Bell Cranel, it seems you protected my daughter as you promised."
"And I will do it until my last day comes."
"Good."
The king nodded, then his eyes wandered further.
"My king, I am pleased to see you well and in good health."
Aina bowed down in the way she was expected to.
"It has been a long time, Aina Tulle."
The king wasn´t really cold towards Aina, he just didn´t knew what to say to her. His orders in the night of Riveria´s depature back then had led to Aina getting hurt...and now he got the message that Riveria had claimed Aina was her sworn sister.
He surely felt bad about the things that had happened back then, but it was unfitting for a king to apologize to someone of Aina´s rank...yet...Riveria´s claim gave him an opportunity.
"Aina Tulle, I heard about my daughters claim and I will recognize you as such. While it is impossible for me to raise you into the main branch, you will be known as someone special to my daughter. Also, I want to ask for your forgiveness, about the events of your depature."
Aina´s eyes widened, the way the king spoke the last sentence made sure he didn´t asked as a king, but just as himself. She was more than a bit surprised.
"O-Of course, my king."
The king nodded...and let his eyes wander further.
"And am I guessing right, that the small person hiding behind you is your daughter Eina?"
"Hm? Oh...ehe."
Aina raised her body and turned halfway around, there was indeed someone behind her...then she looked at Riveria. Riveria turned away from the king and towards Aina.
"Aluneria...would you come to me?"
The small person looked shyly from behind Aina´s legs, wearing a travel cape with a hood. The king looked curious as the person walked fast to Riveria. Never before had he seen a smile like the one that appeared on his daughter´s face right now.
Riveria knelt down in front of the small person...the child.
"It is okay my dear...he won´t do anything to you, okay?"
"Mhm..."
Riveria got up again and faced the king, while the child shyly pulled back the hood of her cape.
"Father, one reason we came to you today...is her."
She smiled again.
"My daughter, Aluneria."
When the hood came down, it revealed the head of a small, seven years old, half-elven girl. She had jade colored hair, looked very similar to Riveria when she was a child...and had fascinating eyes. They were heterochromatic, her right eye was grey, the left green like Riveria´s...a genetic inheritance from Bell's family.
"N-Nice to m-meet y-you, k-king Larfal."
Aluneria bowed down.
"Eh..."
It was a rare ocassion for Riveria to see her father so perplexed.
"Your...daughter...?"
"Yes, Father."
The young girl pressed herself against Riveria´s leg, clutching one hand into her mother´s travel coat. The king´s eyes wandered to Bell for a moment.
Oh right...he told me...that...
Then the king looked at Aluneria again and slowly got up from his throne. The little girl was too impressed with the whole hall, she seemed a little scared. Careful, the king came closer until he was in front of Riveria and Aluneria, crouching down to be nearly on the same level as the girl´s head.
A gentle, loving smile spread on the king´s face.
"Hello, my dear."
"H-Hello..."
He smiled. "I am your grandfather...Larfal."
"I am Aluneria..."
"A beautiful name."
The king slowly raised a hand and held it towards the girl. Aluneria looked for a second up to her mother, who nodded while she smiled. Slowly and shy, Aluneria raised her hand and eventually put it on the king´s.
"Nice to meet you, my dear."
"Mhm."
The one who knelt in front of Aluneria wasn´t the king or a high elf...it was just an old man who met his granddaughter for the first time...the joy in his eyes was easily visible.
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The day that Aluneria was born was the happiest in Riveria´s life.
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"Hnnnngh! MMmnnnh! Ack!"
"Soon Riveria! Soon!"
Riveria gritted her teeth and clenched her hands more. She sat on her bed with opened legs, a blanket covered her lower body, sweat ran down on her and she groaned. The one who knelt in front of her was Aina, she was a trained chamberlain, with all the skills that were needed for that.
Riveria would have never agreed on a simple healer or another person to help her give birth...even heavily pregnant she still refused to let anyone else beside Bell or Aina see her bare skin. Bell wasn´t in her room at the moment, he waited outside and walked around like a nervous rabbit. A wave of pain shot through Riveria´s body again.
"Push, give me another push!"
"Hnnnngh!"
Riveria threw her head back and clenched her hands again...the one who held them...was Ais. She knelt behind Riveria and gave her support, offering her hands so that Riveria could squeeze them...a normal healer couldn´t do that. Riveria was a mage but she was much stronger than a normal person...thankfully Ais was even stronger and could bear with the pain.
She hummed a song that Riveria had done for her when she was a sick child, trying her best to spend Riveria comfort.
"I can see the head, give me another push!"
"Ack!"
Various green glowing magic stones surrounded them, they were meant to help Riveria with her labor pains, but even with them it wasn´t completely painless.
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"Mmmmnh..."
"Bell...I know it is much to ask...but please calm down a bit..."
"As if you are calm, Lady Loki."
"Of course I´m not calm! My little Ri-Ri gives birth in there!"
"Loki...don´t talk about lady Riveria like that."
"Be quiet, Lefiya."
"*Sigh*"
The three were the only ones allowed in front of Riveria´s room, all the other girls and women from the Loki Familia were banished from the women part of the Mansion for the next hours. They could only hear Riveria´s groans from the inside...hoping everything would go well.
"Mmmnh..."
Bell walked nervously around...he was like that at the birth of every child of him. Riveria´s wouldn´t be his first child...nor the last.
Suddenly they heard a loud scream from Riveria and froze when it became silent afterwards...then...a high pitched scream of a small voice.
"Ah..."
"Oh..."
"Hm!..."
All three looked at the door, listening to the cry of the small life in there. After a few minutes, the door opened slightly and Ais appeared.
"Bell, go."
She smiled and made room for him, closing the door after he went inside. Her hands were red and tingled.
"Ais...is she..."
"Both are okay."
"Phew...thank goodness..."
Loki sank down on her chair and exhaled. Lefiya´s face beamed in joy.
"Lady Riveria´s child...and Bell´s...ehehe."
Unseen by them outside, Bell cried in joy when he looked at his daughter, lying in Riveria´s arms, who also cried in joy. They kissed for a long time, then they kept looking at their newborn child, while Aina silently left the room.
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Eventually when Bell left the room for a while, Loki was allowed to go in.
The sight before her was magical. Riveria sat in her bed, the legs pulled close, the window was slightly opened at let fresh air in. Her hair stuck to her head, due to the sweat from giving birth.
"Riveria."
She looked up from the small bundle in her arms, Loki caught the glimpse of a small head with pointy ears.
"Loki."
The goddess came closer and looked at the baby.
"Hehe...you really did well, Mommy."
Riveria smiled. "Who is a mom?"
Loki smiled too. "You totally are now, Riveria."
Riveria´s smile was filled with love. "Yes...I am."
Goddess and Elf kept looking at the baby, Riveria allowed Loki to gently stroke the baby´s head.
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Yes, Riveria would never forget the day of Aluneria´s birth. She smiled when she looked at her father, he had sat down on the lowest step to his throne, Aluneria now sat on his left leg and smiled to her grandfather.
The old elf was beyond happy to meet her. The reason why Riveria didn´t came earlier, was because the travel to the forest took a week, doing that with a new born or a very young child in the wilderness...she wouldn´t allow it.
"Do you like it here, Aluneria?"
"It is impressive. Mama-...Mother told me how it looks here...it is even better!"
The girl slowly lost her shyness towards the king and talked normal with him.
"I am happy that you like it here, would you like to see more of the village? Maybe the home of our family?"
"Yes please!"
The king looked to Bell for a moment, then he nodded to show him his thanks.
"Father."
"Yes, Riveria?"
"There is a second reason I wanted to come here."
"And that is?"
Instead of answering, Riveria opened her travel coat. The king´s eyes widened...Riveria wore a usual robe, but it was slightly changed...to make room for her swollen belly.
"Don´t tell me...you..."
"Yes, Father. I am pregnant again."
"A...second...grandchild?..."
"No."
"No?"
The king looked up to her and didn´t understood for a second.
Then...
"Don´t tell me?!"
"Yes, Father...I-"
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Riveria still rememberred her and Bell´s expression when Amid told them the result of the examination.
"You are awaiting-"
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"Twins are growing under my heart."
"Twins...Twins?!"
"Yes! In Mama´s belly are two babies!"
Aluneria beamed all over her face, excited to become a big sister soon.
"Twins...Twins..."
Children were already rare for Elves...but twins...that was beyond rare.
"My...Ri-Ri...is going to have...three children..."
The king was deeply moved.
"Ri-Ri?" Aluneria tilted her head.
"You don´t need to remember that, Sweety."
Bell winked to his daughter when she looked at him.
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The elves of the village looked shocked and perplexed when the king came out of the hall, holding the hand of the small elven girl. Riveria and Bell followed them side by side, Aina went on her way to meet her own family.
One of the high council members moved slowly towards the king.
"My king...may I ask...who is..."
The king raised his voice. "This is my granddaughter, the child of my daughter Riveria. Aluneria Ljos Alfr."
Even Riveria was a bit surprised by the full name...that the king used it...meant he acknowledged Aluneria as a high elf...the first half elven high elf.
"Lady Riveria has a child?"
The eyes of many elves wandered from Riveria to Bell.
"Yes, the child of my daughter and her husband, Bell Cranel. The white knight who saved us all and slew the vile demon!"
Everyone knew who Bell was...he was probably the only human that the elves could accept at Riveria´s side. And even if they were extremely curious, the elves only greeted their new princess politely but gave her the chance to look around the village with her grandfather.
Of course the elves noticed Riveria´s big belly, the information that the Princess expected twins spread very fast over the whole forest.
No one knew it at this point, but the twins would be a boy and a girl. Bell and Riveria agreed to name them after an old legend...Oberon and Titania. The twins would be really close to each other, he would look more like his mother in terms of hair- and eyecolor, she would have white hair and red eyes, like her father.
Many, many years later, Oberon would move to the Royal Forest and become the next king of the elves...since his sisters nor his mother had any interest in that.
Over time many young elves would leave the forest and visit Orario...and nearly every single one of them would receive the blessing of the same goddess. Not Loki...but Astrea. Most elves didn´t liked the gods, especially the lewd ones like Loki, but they could accept the goddess of Justice. They weren´t really part of the Familia, but Astrea was worried about letting them wander through the lands without a blessing.
The goddess would become a well liked guest in the Royal Forest, that she would visit from time to time. And of course the elves that wandered through the lands returned to Astrea often to tell her stories of their adventures and to update their status.
But it was still along time to this point.
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"This is our home."
"Woah...so big."
Aluneria looked with an opened mouth, Riveria saw that her father was really happy to spend time with his grandchild. She was so happy about her daughter...and to have such a nice husband...and caring father.
Bell really loved his daughter...she chuckled sometimes when she thought about a certain event.
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"Mh..."
"Aluneria..sweety...I will be at your side all the time, I will protect you and hold your hands, okay?"
"Okay...Papa..."
Bell only wore swimming trunks and Aluneria...five years old at this point...a swimsuit. It was warmn anough outside, they were on a weekend visit in Melen together with Riveria. His wife wore an elegant swimsuit and waited nearby.
"Mama..."
"I am here my dear. Mama will be very close to you."
"Okay.."
Bell gently started to crouch down, until Aluneria´s feet touched the water.
"Is it too cold?"
"Mh-Mh."
"Okay, one step after the other...learning to swim is fun."
There was a reason why Riveria didn´t teached Aluneria how to swim...she was really bad at doing that.
"Can I do this?"
"Of course, sweety. Your big sister Ardi also did that."
"Okay!"
Aluneria was pretty close to her half-sister, Ryu´s daughter.
The days at the beach became wonderful. Later Riveria stood in the water, it went up to her chest, Bell a few meters away and they let Aluneria swim back and forth between them, always ready to move towards her in case there was a problem. Whenever her daughter reached her, Riveria caught her in her arms, kissed her forehead and let her return to her father.
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She never thought she could feel this much joy from having a husband and a child.
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Riveria Ljos Alfr...was beyond happy.
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Authors Note: So this was Riveria´s arc. The next chapters will start after Bell and Riveria returned to Orario, but before she got pregnant. She will appear in other chapters too, I try to make them more harem like. Next chapter is called "Cat&Fox Date".
But as I said, I will change the rotation, two chapters for Spirit Child, one for Blood of Zeus and so on.