And here goes the fourth chapter! It's a bit on the shorter side and honestly... it contains a lot of drama I think. I feel like, some of the characters actions and reactions of this chapter are more about how I wished for them to react than how they would actually react xD
Either way though, I still hope you can enjoy this chapter!
On a side note, some of those events mentioned here will get a better explanation later on in the story!
It was the day of the Wargame. The whole city was excited for the upcoming show! Well although most of them didn't really think Hestia familia had any real chance…
Loki and her familia were currently sitting in Twilight Manor's large living room as Loki used her divine powers to produce a vision of the battlefield after the permission to use Arcanum had been granted. The whole room was packed full, as no one wanted to miss this show!
And among all those people sat Riveria. Just like all of the other members her gaze was fixed on the projection Loki produced for them as they waited for the battle to begin!
Truth be told… this was a difficult situation for her. She had hardly been able to sleep last night due to how much she worried about Bell (well that and from the shame she felt from suddenly kissing him…). Even now she could barely keep her hands from fidgeting! Though of course she couldn't show any such behaviour! With so many people around, someone would definitely notice and she didn't know in what way they would interpret it.
Of course Loki had already sensed her follower's inner turmoil, but… well it wasn't anything she could deal with right now, she had her hands full.
And so the elf could only watch in silence, trying to calm her nervous…
"They won! Argonaut did it!", Tiona exclaimed, shortly after Hestia familia was formally declared the victor of the Wargame, taking Aiz's hands and jumping up and down in joy!
Riveria for her part simply let out an almost inaudible breath of relief as the news settled in… though really, she wanted nothing more than to join Tiona in jumping around right now! She couldn't though! It was unbecoming of an elf…
All around her, words of praise for Bell and the new members of Hestia familia that had joined prior to the Wargame could be heard!
But… sadly that was only the calm before the storm.
The tragedy happened several days later, after the city had begun to calm down from the recent event and the aftermath of the Wargame, though it were only those people that didn't have any stakes in the Wargame that had calmed down.
Many people had gambled on the outcome of the Wargame and, as the stakes had been heavily favouring Apollo familia, many people had bet vast sums of money on their victory, and as a result, had lost everything!
Mortals and gods alike were bankrupted in a single day just because they had tried to make some easy money. And as a result, many individuals held a grudge against Hestia familia now!
In a city as big as Orario, with so many inhabitants, some individuals were simply bound to try and get back at Hestia familia!
Of course it was a difficult task to take down the members of Hestia familia, after all they had seen them fight! They knew that Bell and his companions wouldn't go down without a fight!
And so, all of that evil energy accumulated and eventually focused in on the weakest part of their familia, their goddess Hestia, instead…
It was a quiet and warm evening when the citizens of Orario were able to see a phenomenon they hadn't seen for at least seven years now.
A giant column of light originating from a backstreet, piercing the heavens, announcing the departure of a goddess from the mortal realm…
The news of Hestia being sent back to heaven spread like a wildfire through the city and, while many people would give Bell and his friends their condolence, it barely took a few hours for Bell to be swamped with requests to join a new familia! It was to be expected, considering his new-found fame, but it also meant he didn't get any chance to grief over his loss...
The newly joined members of Hestia familia didn't have the same sort of problem since they weren't nearly as popular with the gods and aside from that, they all had a familiar they could go back to…
Naturally Bell was offered a place by close friends of Hestia as well, such as Miach or Take, however unlike the other gods, those two weren't pushy. They told Bell to take his time, to mourn the loss of part of his new-found family and sort through any offers he had gotten after he was feeling better…
Eventually, the whole mansion they had acquired from Apollo after the Wargame was surrounded by gods and goddesses as well as their familias, all trying to offer Bell a place among them!
Soon enough, Bell couldn't endure it anymore! With the help of his friends, he fled from the mansion. Even with help though, since he didn't have a Falna right now, simply getting away proved to be difficult!
Thanks to his friends however, Bell managed to make a break for it. He ran and ran and ran, eventually ending up at the only place he could think of where he would be alone…
After she had heard the news, Riveria had immediately set out to find Bell! No matter what kind of feelings she had for him or that he might or might not hold for her, right now she felt that he needed her!
However, her task proofed to be difficult. She couldn't find him anywhere in the city and Apollo's former mansion was surrounded by gods when she arrived! Though… it seemed like the crowd was getting smaller.
She observed them for a while, trying to pick up on information from the crowd, eventually learning that Bell had ran off a short while ago.
Fortunately, Riveria was one of the few people that were able to guess where he might be…
After a brief walk, she slowly ascended the stairs of the city wall, the setting sun blinding her as she arrived at the top.
Just as expected she found him there, sitting on the ground, his face hidden behind his knees as he leaned against the cold stone wall.
Truth be told, Riveria was at a bit of a loss. She had come here because she felt it was the right thing to do, that she needed to see Bell! But… now she wasn't quite certain what to do or say…
She knew he wouldn't want to talk right now, but the feeling of loneliness must eat away at him too! He reminded her of Aiz when she was younger…
Deciding that she didn't have any words to say, she simply, quietly walked towards him before she sat down beside him, embracing him from the side.
Bell was taken aback at first as he hadn't noticed her arrival, but… once she pressed his head against her chest, once he heard her calming heartbeat, once he felt her hand gently stroke his hair… he lost all sense of weariness and alertness.
Instead the emotions he had been bottling up inside of him were slowly surfacing now. He didn't have any time to check who was embracing him right now before tears started to fill his eyes and he tightly hugged Riveria back, crying into her chest as he did…
It took quite a while for him to calm down. He kept sobbing for a long time, mumbling about his now lost goddess as he did and all the while, Riveria didn't utter a single word. She simply kept gentle stroking his hair, providing him with what he needed more than anything right now, someone he could open himself up to, someone that would accept all of his tears and sorrow for him, someone that didn't try to act as if they understood how he felt…
When eventually Bell calmed down, he pretty much immediately fell asleep, seemingly too exhausted from all of his sobbing, but even now Riveria didn't stop gently stroking his hair to make him feel at ease. The only thing she did was move him into a more comfortable position, giving him another lap pillow.
Bell wasn't out cold for too long though. Roughly half an hour later, Bell's eyelids slowly flickered open. His eyes red from tears slowly began to focus on the world in front of him and there he saw a goddess!
Or at least… he would have described her like that in the current moment. He found Riveria's face above him, giving him a gentle smile as she stroked his hair, his head resting on top of her soft thighs, all while she was illuminated from behind by the setting sun.
"Am I… dreaming?", Bell asked, trying to comprehend this image.
Hearing him, Riveria's smile weakened a little as it was now filled with a bit of sadness and pain it seems as she told him: "I wish it were like that. I wish I could tell you that all of this is just a nightmare you will wake up from soon…"
Hearing her voice, Bell slowly came back to reality. All the memories of the recent events came back to him now and his blissful state soon vanished.
"Riveria I…", Bell began, not sure what to say. After a few moments though, he finally told her: "Thank you…. for… being there for me." Bell had naturally remembered how she had consoled him earlier and he felt the need to thank her for it. Of course it wasn't like that solved his troubles but… at least he felt better now. He didn't feel as sad anymore as he had now gotten to share his pain with someone…
"Riveria…", Bell once more began, though he stopped his words. Soon after he began once again: "I… before the Wargame-"
But before he could finish, Riveria put a finger against his lips telling him: "Shhh. No need to talk about this now. Please take your time with it. You have other things to worry about now, I doubt you would want to talk about this now right? You are just forcing yourself for others again…"
Of course she knew Bell wanted to talk about her kiss from before, but… he definitely wasn't in any condition for even more emotional turmoil! Thus, she told him to wait. Perhaps, she had to admit, there was also a bit of fear of being rejected in her that wanted to push this talk back for a while longer…
On Bell's mind however was no such thing as rejection! He had been wrecking his head about what to do with Riveria as he was torn between her and Aiz but… the scene with her just now had settled it for him! She had been there for him, provided him with what he had so desperately needed! How could he ever reject her now?
Perhaps it was unfair to Aiz, perhaps she too had tried to find Bell and be there for him, but that didn't change the result.
Anyway, for now he decided to comply and not talk about this matter any longer. Instead he ask the elf whose lap he was currently laying in: "Why did you come here Riveria? I thought… that I would be alone up here."
"I felt that… you needed me right now. Only you and members of our familia know that you used to train here, so I figured it would be the most likely spot to meet you.", Riveria answered his question, being careful not to mention the old home of Hestia familia in the abandoned church. She had never been there herself, but heard about it after Apollo destroyed it. Since it had been destroyed, she had ruled out the possibility of Bell going there as she was unaware of the underground rooms of the church that were likely still intact.
Taking Bell's question as some sort of hint, Riveria asked him: "Did you… not want me to come? Shall I leave?", with worry all over her face as she thought she had done the wrong thing.
Really, love was a weird emotion. She knew she had done the right thing! Or, at least she had known moments ago… Bell had even thanked her! And yet she still doubted herself and her actions…
"No! No… please… Please don't leave me as well!", Bell cried out in desperate as she even just mentioned such an idea, seemingly tears already forming in his eyes! The scar of losing his goddess was a deep one indeed.
Seeing how panicked he was, Riveria gently stroked his cheek as she told him: "Shhh. Don't worry. I won't leave you! I won't ever leave you if you wish for me to stay!"
"Riveria…", Bell mumbled as his hand touched hers.
The two of them kept gazing into each other's eyes for a while longer…
By now, the sun had fully set and night had fallen. Now, the two of them found themselves surrounded by darkness.
It was now that Riveria slowly started getting back into a more rational mind-set. She asked Bell who was still resting on her thighs: "What do you plan to do now? Do you plan to go back to that mansion?"
She knew that, at least once Bell woke up, he would surely be surrounded by gods again and she wanted to make sure he was save, so she inquired about his future plans.
"I… don't know. This is such a mess! All those gods they… they just won't leave me alone!", Bell told her as he truly had no idea where to go from here. With his mind in such a disarray, he didn't even think of his old home right now! Not that he would have wanted to go there anyway, considering all the memories of Hestia…
"I see. Then uhm….", Riveria began, seemingly a little hesitant, though in the end she finished her sentence anyway: "…so… if you have nowhere to stay then… you could come home with me. I am sure we have an unused guest room! No one will bother you there and I am sure that Aiz and the others wouldn't mind if you stayed with us!"
Truth be told, she was a little reluctant to suggest this as she thought that maybe he would view this as an invitation to their familia. She didn't want him to think that she had done all of this just out of strategy to convince him! She didn't want him to feel betrayed by her! Naturally she would have loved if he joined! But… she didn't think it was the right time to ask yet…
On Bell's mind however was of course no such thing as a feeling of betrayal! He was simply glad she would help him like that!
"Yes I… I would be glad if I could go with you…", Bell answered her with a smile.
Riveria was relieved to hear that! Truth be told, she had been prepared to follow him and sleep wherever he intended to sleep tonight, even if it meant sleeping outside! Though… that would have been a lot harder to explain to her familia… so she was glad things worked out like this!
Eventually, the two of them finally got up and started their walk towards Twilight Manor…
Unbeknownst to the two of them, they had once again been rather lucky! Most of Freya familia was occupied right now as there had been movements of Ishtar familia recently so neither Freya nor her children had the time to spy on Bell right now.
Freya was under the belief that she could always invite Bell to her familia later and even if he joined someone else, they would simply be able to crush said familia if they didn't kick Bell out! As a result, she had missed this crucial opportunity as she would later discover that he had been snatched away by another familia already, a familia that she wouldn't be able to crush so easily…
Riveria bringing in Bell so late at night caused a bit of a disturbance with the guards. Unlike with Freya, they had been unlucky with the guards. Today, guard duty was done by two elves and naturally they weren't exactly pleased seeing their princess running around with some rabbit during the night! Riveria managed to calm them down relatively easily though as she told them that she just wanted to help him out and that this was more for the sake of a friend of Aiz's than a personal favour. Of course it hurt her to say that in front of Bell, but she hoped he would understand that she was lying!
They didn't seem entirely convinced by her words, but they were never going to refuse an order by Riveria either way, so they got to pass through anyway.
After entering the building, Riveria guided Bell towards one of their guest rooms. She even thought about inviting him to stay in her room! But… well she thought it would be an immodest request and at least this time, her mind won out over her heart's desires!
Eventually, Bell entered the room and the two had one last look at each other.
Gently, Riveria caressed Bell's cheek one last time as she told him: "Good night Bell. I will be waiting for you tomorrow."
"Good night Riveria…", Bell answered as he touched her hand that was currently resting on his cheek…
Both of them blushed a little as neither of them was used to such gentle touches and words, but either way, Riveria soon left the room and Bell closed the door behind her before falling down into bed…
Riveria for her part still had the worst ahead of her though! So far, things had been easy, but now… now she would have to go and explain Loki that she had brought home a guy …!