Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Welcome to the next chapter of this story!
My apologies for not posting it yesterday, writer's block had me in a little bit of a grip yesterday when I got home from work.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
The door to a spruce and oak house opened at the edge of a small village, and Steve stepped out into the morning sunlight. He stretched his arms above his head as he looked up into the skies, a big smile plastered on his features. The miner looked to the horizon, seeing the trees of a large forest in the distance, along with the faint tops of a few tall buildings.
Steve had done a great deal of mining the previous night, and he knew he and his family would have plenty of supplies and ores for quite some time. The man was a great miner, so finding the things his family needed wasn't too big of a problem anyways. And now, he had a chance to have a day off.
"Steve?"
Steve turned on his heels to see his fairy wife, Stephanie, walking towards him. She lightly beamed as he looked to her. "Hey, Steph, what's up?"
"Are you heading to Creatoria," she asked.
"Yeah, actually! I'm gonna take today off and go see Celina and Brine and Cenlar. I might do some trading too, so I can get us some more materials." He tilted his head. "Did you need me to grab anything specific?"
Stephanie shook her head softly. "I don't think so. Everything in the farm is ready to be harvested, so I think we're good."
The sound of small footsteps from behind the fairy caught Steve's attention and the two turned to see a small boy. He had to be no more than a year old and he stumbled a little as he walked towards Steve and Stephanie. He had short, fluffy brown hair, green eyes, and peachy skin. The boy wore a red long sleeve with white ends, gray pants, and tiny black boots. A small pair of pink and purple wings sprouted from his back.
The boy looked up at Steve and smiled widely, making small babbling noises at him.
Steve chuckled and knelt to the little boy's level. Only a year ago, he and Stephanie had become first time parents and they had had a son, a little boy named Anthony. He was quite the energetic little one, and Steve adored him more than he could ever say. The boy could walk, but words were still a little beyond his capability right now. But he was growing well.
Steve ruffled his son's hair. "Heya, champ. You're awake early! Did you hear us?"
The boy made a noise to indicate he did, and Stephanie giggled at him.
The miner spoke again to Anthony. "Well, I'm gonna go see Auntie Celina, Uncle Brine, and Uncle Cenlar. I'll be back before sunset, okay?"
His son seemed to understand and nodded softly. Even though he only made babbles at the moment, Anthony was a pretty smart kid. And he knew what his father was saying.
Steve gave him another nod and a kiss on the top of his head. He then stood and turned his gaze to Stephanie. "I'll see what the traders in the kingdom have today, and if there's anything I think we need, I'll grab it. I'll see you around sunset."
"That's fine, Steve. Be careful, and tell everyone we said hello."
"I will. I love you," Steve replied as he placed another kiss to Stephanie's cheek. He then turned around and began to make his way down the gravel and cobblestone road leading out of his village. Today would be a good day, he could already tell.
The sounds of boots against gravel could be heard as the miner made his way past the trees and into the plains biome where Creatoria stood. He could see from the hill he was on that the people of the kingdom were out and about, several moving across the town square and some alongside the river or their homes. The castle stood out among it all, the stone brick structure's blue and magenta flags flying proudly in the slight breeze.
Steve began to make his way down the hill and towards the castle walls, waving to and greeting several citizens as they noticed him. The miner was a common sight in the kingdom, especially since Celina had awoken his memories of when he was a Demi-Deity.
It seemed so distant sometimes. Long ago, Steve had been a Demi-Deity, Brine's twin brother. After Brine's fall from grace and his becoming ruler of the mobs, Steve had tried to go down to protect his brother and save him. However, his efforts had been thwarted by the queen of the Gods, Iraura, and his older sister. She had put him into an everlasting slumber to save him from suffering the same fate as Brine, then had him reborn as a human years ago.
Had it not been for Celina befriending Brine, Steve may have never remembered his brother, or anything about his past life.
Steve's thoughts had drifted to this when he realized he was at the entrance to the castle, and he walked up the stone brick steps to the doors. They opened when he reached the top and he stepped inside.
The inside of the throne room was decorated with banners, colorful concrete blocks, and flowers in pots that let off a faint, pleasant smell. Steve could see the furnaces, crafting tables, and bookshelves standing proud, alongside the gold and iron thrones at the back of the room. A few tables and seats also stood. But his eyes moved back to the thrones as he heard laughter.
Celina sat on the floor near her throne, Brine sitting cross-legged beside her. She was knitting as he talked, and she laughed at whatever he had just told her, eyes closed with a wide grin. They both seemed very content as the miner watched for just a moment.
Steve then moved towards his friends with a wave and spoke with, "Hey, Celina! Brine!"
The queen and Demi-Deity looked towards him and their faces seemed to light up at the sight of him. "Stevie!" Celina exclaimed, hopping to her feet as she put her knitting supplies into her inventory. She then ran up to the miner and embraced him, as she always did when she greeted him.
Steve chuckled and ruffled Celina's hair as he returned her hug. "Hey, kiddo. How are you?"
"I'm well, thank you for asking," she replied. Her smile was like a ray of sunshine, bringing happiness wherever she went.
The queen heard footsteps behind her and she turned to see Brine by her side. He reached out and hugged the miner as well, and Steve happily hugged him back.
When they had finished, the miner asked, "So, what have you guys been up to? It's been a little bit since I was last here."
Brine responded with, "Not much out of the ordinary, really. Things have been really laid back lately, so we've been enjoying the calm."
"That's good to hear. Hey, have you seen any wandering traders in the town square today? I was gonna see if I could trade some of the emeralds I got a while ago."
Celina tapped her chin in thought, before snapping her fingers. "You know, I saw a few by the fountain! Let's head down there and we can see what they have!"
Steve and Brine nodded and followed the queen as she made her way out the front doors.
Back in Steve's village in the forest, the sounds of an oak door opening followed a young woman living in a treehouse. She had peach skin, emerald green eyes, and orange hair tied up in a high ponytail. She wore a green, long sleeved v-neck with white lace, gray shorts with a green belt, and green boots with white trimmings. The woman also had a quiver strapped to her back as she took her bow in hand.
Alex looked to the forest floor and smiled, before climbing down the ladder leading from her home. When she reached the gravel road, the archer looked up into the sky. There were a few fluffy clouds passing by with the sun hanging proudly amongst the blue.
Alex grinned, before looking into the village and making a sprint towards the inner parts of her town. She weaved in and out of the trees as she moved down the road, up until she stopped in front of a two story home with a large farm to the side of it. Alex looked up at the windows and murmured, "I should check if he's home so we can head into Creatoria."
The archer walked up to the door and knocked. A moment or two passed before a young man opened the door. His sky blue eyes and dirty blonde hair stuck out against lighter skin. He wore a sky blue v-neck, black fingerless gloves, white pants, two brown belts with white buckles across his chest and waist, white pants, and gray boots.
The young man looked at Alex and beamed. "Mornin', Alex! How are you?"
Alex chuckled. "I'm well, Sam! How about you?"
Sam, as the young farmer was known, answered, "I'm good! I just finished breakfast with Amy and the kids. What are you up to this mornin'?"
"Well, I was going to head into Creatoria to do some trading and see how everyone is doing. Wanna come with me? You don't have to, but I'd appreciate the company!"
Sam nodded in response. "Sure! Let me grab a few things, let Amy and the kids know where I'm headin', and we can go. You can come inside and say hi if you want."
Alex beamed. "Of course!"
A set of glowing eyes narrowed from the shade of a large oak as the owner of them sat inside the leaves. Her orbs focused on the young woman as she stepped into the farmer's home, the doors shutting behind them.
The being scowled a bit. If she wanted to target the archer, she was going to need to get her alone. She needed to plan this carefully if she was going to trap the Demi-Deity in the nearby kingdom. The archer known as Alex would be a good candidate to put her plan into action, but she would have to isolate her first.
How the Demi-Goddess would do that would be something to think about, though a few ideas had already crossed her mind. She would have to check back with her master to put her plans into action, even if he had already given his orders. Very strict orders, at that.
The sounds of laughter and voices coming from the doors had the being looking up to see Alex and the farmer known as Sam walking out the doors, waving to the rest of the farmer's family as they moved. She watched them close the doors and begin walking down the gravel path towards the small kingdom to the north.
The DemI-Goddess waited for a moment, until the humans were out of sight, before hopping out of the leaves and into those of another tree. She did this a few times as she followed the humans, making sure to stay far behind enough to keep them from noticing the rustling of the trees' foliage.
The half-goddess knew she would have to take her time. She hated to wait, but she knew she had to put her master's plans into action when the time was right, not when she wanted to. There was only so much she could do right now, and the Demi-Goddess knew she'd have to plan this very, very carefully. No need to rush unless her master said so.
These humans and the Demi-Deity would suffer. Those who she targeted always did.
And they'd never see it coming.
Author's Note: Ohhhh, seems like someone is watching very closely. But who could this being be?
Find out soon!
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