So this is a random and stupid idea I had based on a story I had planned but I'm starting to think I'll never write. So basically I took the premise of the Fourth Overlord having kids and introduced them here so if I ever do write the story I will have already introduced them. Anyway this has a few references to my other Overlord one shots, such as The Children of Gromgard where I suggest that the Wizard and Second Overlord are children of Lord Gromgard.
"No, absolutely not. I refuse. I have tolerated much throughout my long life, but this is the day I finally put my foot down." Gnarl practically hissed at the the man he had sworn to serve loyally until the man dies or someone better comes along. At the moment Gnarl was hoping someone better would come along and kill Galton Gromgard, the latest Overlord who had the audacity to suggest that Gnarl should look after his brats while he left with his mistresses to presumably make more brats that they could then force Gnarl to look after. Well he's caught onto their plan so they can just forget it, because he's already done the whole raising children thing once and he has no plans to do it again. The next time he finds the long lost offspring of an Overlord he will simply tell them to come to him once they are actually taller than him.
"I really don't see what the issue is Gnarl. We will be back in just a few days, there are no threats that I am aware of and there hasn't been a fun rebellion in months." Galton said that last part with some disappointment, clearly feeling bored after so much success and desiring some kind of break from the routine his life had fallen into. In any other situation Gnarl would remind Galton to be wary of such feelings as they could easily lead to his death much like what happened to previous Overlords, but at the moment Gnarl would be quite happy to see him be decapitated or devoured by an enlarged rat.
"And besides, it's not like we would be in any danger. Even if we are separated from Witch-Boy I have my knife, Fay has her magic and the whore can do what she usually does to get out of trouble." Kelda told him while the other mistresses stood next to her, Juno only half distracted as she ordered the minions to be more careful with their luggage.
"I don't care about that. I wouldn't care if any of you got eaten by wolves or cut up by some wannabe heroes."
"And here I believed you actually liked us." Fay said though everyone knew she didn't really seem to care about what Gnarl thought about them.
"Look, what is wrong with looking after the kids? I thought you liked them?" Galton questioned.
"He better!" Juno shouted while remaining focused on directing the minions.
"I do like them my lord, and I'm perfectly happy to fulfil the necessary role of teacher as well as your advisor. I've done it before with the children of previous Overlords, but none have asked me to do what you are asking. Looking after children outside of school hours is not what I agreed to and is the responsibility of the women." Gnarl replied though the second his sentence ended the women themselves were already in front of the Overlord and glaring down daggers at the elderly minion.
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Kelda asked with fake sweetness that worried Gnarl.
"I...I simply meant..." Gnarl stammered.
"Speak faster Gnarl, or things will become unpleasant." Fay told him while Galton tried to come to his advisor's defense.
"Now ladies, I'm sure Gnarl didn't mean to offend-"
"Why don't you go and help with the luggage dear, then we will join you at the carriage shortly." Juno interrupted him and waved her hand, and after giving Gnarl a look filled with pity he left to do just that while Juno spoke to Gnarl. "Now, as the peasant and the fairy were saying, what exactly did you mean that raising children was our responsibility?"
"I only meant that it is a known fact that women are just better at raising children than men, not that it is their only purpose in life. We've had female Overlords after all and their paramours raised the children." Gnarl quickly said.
"Ah yes, the fabled female Overlords who you tell very little of in favour of talking about thousands of male Overlords. I think with that piece of information, we can deduce that you have a preference on what gender your Overlord should be." Fay said and Gnarl looked between the three of them before bowing his head a little in defeat.
"What exactly must I do to get out of this without getting hurt?" he muttered meekly, not having to look to know the women were sharing smirks of victory between each other.
"Stop complaining, turn around and go look after the kids. After all, they love to spend time with their grandpa Gnarl." Juno told him mockingly and Gnarl reluctantly did as he was told, while hearing the three mistresses laugh together before leaving to join Galton.
As he wandered through the halls of the Tower his thoughts drifted from angry rants about how annoying the mistresses were to the children he had to look after. He was being honest when he told Galton that he liked them, and arguably out of the legions of Overlord children he had seen grown up, such as Godric and Graydon, they were much more enjoyable to be around. But that didn't change the fact he didn't want the responsibility of looking after them and of having to deal with the constant complaining children always had, or having to survive all their attempts to find out how much freedom they have now that their parents are gone, or the never ending struggle of resisting the urge to treat them the way he would treat minion children because if he did the mistresses would flay him alive. It didn't help that while he liked them, he couldn't picture any of them as being suitable successors to the role of the Overlord.
When Belinda had been born, the red head soon proved she was as stubborn as her mother while also having the brute force of her father. By the time she was two she was wacking minions unconscious with her own make shift club, a sight which brought tears of pride to the Overlord's eyes and even Gnarl had to admit it had been adorable. But now twelve years old Belinda's strength and love for fighting had also grown to the point that minions ran in terror for they knew that if she caught any of them, she would force them to be her sparring partner and would likely kill them before getting Mortis to bring them back so the cycle can begin anew. Now having a little bloodlust is fine for an Overlord and she is clever as well as skilled in many weapons, but shockingly there actually are problems in life that can't be fixed by hitting them until they stopped moving. Admittedly not many, violence tends to solve many things but there are a few exceptions to that rule. Not two years later came along Ariel who granted had a cunning mind and enough charm to convince lords to hand over all their valuables even if she wasn't the daughter of their violent ruler, with only her mother Juno being the best at reigning her in and stopping her from manipulating her father. Unlike her mother she has inherited some combat ability, though she favours stealth and subtly over brute force, but like Juno the idea of any physical activity was abhorrent to her. She is the opposite of Belinda, and while Gnarl could happily say that she could replace him as an advisor she could never be the Overlord.
Of course both Belinda and Ariel were preferable to Oberon who was born a year later, named after Fay's adopted father who just so happened to be one of the heroes Galton's father had worked with. Gnarl had lived long enough to know there were no such things as coincidences, and wondered what gods had arranged for all these things to happen so Galton and Fay would have a child. Unsurprisingly the boy was insanely powerful with his magic, his father having been born with the raw power of the Tower Heart while his mother a powerful fairy of her own right, but much like the original Oberon the boy was too good to be an Overlord. Sure he played a few pranks here and there, but he only followed the lead of his older sisters and treated all the minions with kindness and respect. It was annoying and unbecoming of a potential Overlord. Gnarl hoped that his kindness was cleverly disguised pragmatism like his grandfather Gallant, but he doubted it and honestly expected Oberon to one day become a hero like so many other children of Overlords who found themselves horrified by the empire built by their parents. He would become a hero and either do battle with his father to save the land, or possibly one of his sisters if Evil forbid they have become the Overlord, and he will either get killed by whatever allies he makes once they fall to corruption or he himself will become corrupt in his quest to bring peace and happiness to everyone.
Not for the first time Gnarl truly felt his age in this moment as he considered the future, and recalled how history always repeated itself with very little surprising him. There will always be Overlords, they will meet some grim demise as none have ever reached old age and he will still be here because unlike every other creature minions can only be forced to die. They get older but unless they are brutally murdered death will never claim them and even then Mortis could bring them back, meaning that Gnarl could keep doing this until the end of everything. If that's the case, maybe he should stop thinking about the future and enjoy the present a little, enjoy the peace of Evil reigning across the land before change inevitably happens. As he entered the throne room, a smile crossed his face as he considered all the fun things he could do with the children. He could take them to the arena and show them some unicorns or spiders fighting each other, he's pretty sure they will all like that. Yes, this might be fun after all and in the end he will have some good memories of a time before things fell apart.
Then there was a sudden but familiar scream, and Gnarl eyes widened in horror as he dashed as fast as he could towards the source. He ran around a corner to see Ariel, but his panic quickly turned into annoyance and realisation as he suddenly found himself suspended in the air inside a net. He saw Belinda had pulled on the rope to hold him up while Oberon, looking somewhat guilty as he did, froze the rope to the wall. The children smiled at each other and giggled as Gnarl struggled against the rope, his anger growing as he found he was unable to bite through the rope.
"Let me out right now!"
"Don't worry, we will. We just wanted to have some fun first." Ariel explained.
"But don't worry, we won't damage anything or do something stupid." Oberon added quickly, earning a look of annoyance from his sisters.
"Why can't you just be like us and stop apologising?" Belinda asked him, and after Oberon shrugged he followed the two girls as they ran down the hallway to get up to whatever mischief they had planned.
Meanwhile Gnarl was again praying that a new Overlord candidate would show up and replace Galton, that way he won't have to deal with the brats ever again.
I know this is stupid, but please tell me what you think. The idea of Fay being Oberon's daughter isn't mine but came from another Overlord fanfic I read called Iron and Ice, and I liked the idea so I'm borrowing it here.