This is the chapter where we get some suggestive themes. Nothing too graphic, but you'll definitely get the point.
Blaidd perched up on the roof over Godwyn's balcony and looked out over the garden that surrounded the base of the Erdtree. It was a decent enough view. He could see towards the chambers of Marika's demigod children from this vantage point. He saw Miquella reading to a recovering Malenia. He spotted Rykard pacing back and forth while he and Ranni argued.
But he couldn't see into Marika's bed chamber, the throne room, or the sanctuary from this point, much less reach any of them. The Erdtree obstructed his view far too much.
"So maybe spying on Queen Marika wasn't what you looked to do," said Blaidd. The Half-Wolf peered over the edge down to Godwyn's balcony. "A good place to stage an ambush, but one doesn't easily kill a demigod. Not with that sort of dagger. Kidnapping, perhaps? But who?"
Blaidd had to chuckle to himself at the thought of someone trying to whisk away Radahn with his massive size. He'd have to use his gravity magic to assist with his own kidnapping.
He sniffed the air and caught a whiff of something.
"Humm... incense?" he mused. He sniffed again. "No. Perfume. A woman? Well, they do often make for better spies. And children are more likely to trust a woman than they would a man."
The twins did make sense since neither of them had been paired with a shadow. The fall of Farum Azula made eligible beast-men difficult to come by. The Carian royal family was fortunate enough to find an orphaned Blaidd to bond with their daughter Ranni, but he was many times removed from the bloodline.
"But why wouldn't you just disguise yourself as a perfumer if you wanted to take one of the twins?"
Blaidd bounced a bit on the roof and heard that the roof still creaked. An intentional design for precisely the purpose of detecting anyone attempting to go over the roof.
"The question is how did you get here without someone at least hearing you. You escaped through the sewers to throw off the scent, but that couldn't have been how you came. Guards aren't always the most perceptive, but surely they would have caught two tall women leaping over the ramparts."
That left one theory that the intruder might have used a portal that only went one way. And he had just the place where such a device would deposit them: right in the wild gardens where Marika had forbidden anyone to go. All he had to do to prove his theory was follow the trail...
"Oh, blasted," said Blaidd as the clouds opened and a gentle rain began to fall. "It appears getting to the bottom of this problem isn't written in the stars anytime soon."
Blaidd leaped down from the roof onto Godwyn's balcony.
"Oh, there you are. Did you find anything?" Seluvis asked as he looked through Godwyn's bookshelves.
"A great deal more than you, I would suspect," replied Blaidd.
"Even if Godwyn had the ambition to try an elaborate sort of assassination attempt, I doubt he'd have the brains to pull it off."
Blaidd always hated how the Preceptor had to wear that mask along with his silly hat that had the stars drawn on it. It wasn't as though the symbolic appearance of the sown-up mouth ever kept Seluvis quiet. But more, he liked to see people's faces when he spoke with them.
"You would think a demigod would care to have at least a tidy living quarters," said Seluvis as he picked up a dirty cloth with his forefinger and thumb to put it aside.
"I suppose if you had someone wiping your ass instead of you kissing theirs," scoffed Blaidd.
"Don't forget that we serve the same mistress."
"Well, Queen Marika wanted Mistress Ranni to stop by. I'm sure she's worried sick at this point after hearing Godwyn was injured. You keep searching and try not to disturb anything. The last thing we need is for Godwyn to know we were poking around here," said Blaidd.
Seluvis looked around at the rubbish scattered around Godwyn's room. Robes hanging off the backs of chairs, closet doors left open, and drawers where extra clothes didn't quite reach inside.
"I highly doubt he'll notice," Seluvis sighed.
For the past twelve hours, Ranni paced her room in worry. Everyone, noble, servant, and demigod alike was locked down while the guards searched every inch of the palace grounds for the intruders.
The rain lasted a good few minutes before it finally ceased, but that didn't stop Blaidd from coming in soaking wet.
The first she asked was about the twins, which Blaidd assured her they were well.
"Marika had called you, Mistress Ranni. Just you. Which is well by me. I'm not too fond of her shadow Maliketh, to be honest," said Blaidd.
"So he was with Marika and Malenia?"
"Of course. Miquella was with Radahn and your brother's reputation for sure proceeds him. Neither of the twins is any the wiser that anything is amiss" said Blaidd.
Ranni gave a sigh of relief.
"And Godwyn?" she asked.
"That is why I'm guessing the Queen has summoned you. Don't worry, he's more than alive, but..."
Ranni was out the door before Blaidd could finish his sentence.
While there was no question that few things could ever kill a demigod, it didn't mean they were impervious to suffering and pain. What could have happened to Godwyn worried Ranni a great deal. She had just spent the night with him and the next thing she knew, she was ushered and escorted back to her own chambers by Rykard.
He asked her a million questions about why she was with Godwyn, which Ranni shouted at him to mind his own business, as she wasn't one of his heretics.
Rykard embraced her, "I'm sorry Sister. You're right. It isn't my business. I'm only happy you're safe."
Ranni made her way to the Queen's Bed Chamber but stopped when she spotted Maliketh perched on the roof above. Her heart pounded as he glared at her. He licked his lips and bore his teeth. A bellow of steam snorted out through his nose.
He leaped down onto the walkway and paced back and forth as though he wished to pounce on her. His yellow eyes were dilated and fixated on her. He gave a slight growl before he disappeared over the edge and into the night.
It took a moment for Ranni to catch her breath. Her heart pounded to where she swore she could hear it. Never had she felt such an intense hate as she did when that creature locked his eyes on her.
When it came to the few things that could kill a demigod, Maliketh was one of those things. As the stories go, somehow he found a way to annihilate the entirety of the Gloam Eyed Queen's dynasty and effectively erased her name from ever being uttered again.
She calmed down after taking a few breaths and remembered that Maliketh obeyed Marika, even against his own nature. And though they were barely acquaintances, much less friends, Marika bore no ill will for her stepdaughter.
Godwyn was bandaged over the right shoulder and sitting on the queen's bed. His mother stood over him and held both his hands. Although Ranni couldn't make out her words, Marika spoke to her son in a tense, hushed voice. She wasn't pleased with him and Godwyn looked slightly embarrassed as she gave him an earful. His attempts to get a word in were useless. When Marika saw Ranni standing at the door, she slapped Godwyn on the back of the head to shut him up and leaned up against the side of the bed with her arms crossed.
The moment she saw Godwyn, Ranni was in his embrace, even forgetting to show proper respect to the queen. She forgot everything. Duty. Etiquette. Manners. She pressed her lips against his and almost broke down crying.
"Why did thou have to do such foolishness? I fretted over thee, Godwyn the Golden."
"You're going to do this too?" exclaimed Godwyn, looking to his mother.
Marika put her tongue in her cheek to either suppress a laugh or another scolding (it was hard to tell with her). Either way, Godwyn could expect no help from her.
There was never a time in all eternity when Ranni ever thought she could fall in love with this man. She thought he was a childish, immature, spoiled prince. Yet, she had no choice. The marriage was arranged when she was six years old as part of the continual treaty between the Carian Royal Family and the Golden Order. Although she was well aware of the arrangement, she still cried when she reached the age of majority. Before, it seemed strange, abstract, and distant.
But Godwyn was understanding and patient. He let her lead in the courtship, which gave Ranni the space she needed to grow accustomed to the situation.
"I had a dragon," Godwyn said.
Ranni gave him a flat stare. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. She was still a little shaken from her strange encounter with Maliketh, as brief as it was, and so found herself relaxing in his embrace.
Marika excused herself without saying a word, except to give Ranni a gentle, reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. She called for Maliketh and soon disappeared into the palace.
The moment the queen was gone, their embrace became a passionate kiss, followed by another. Godwyn ran his hands through Ranni's hair and then over her shoulders. When his hand reached her thigh, he took hold of her skirt.
Ranni broke off his kiss and looked away with her cheeks flushed red.
"Are you okay?" Godwyn asked as he brushed back her hair.
"I'm sorry," said Ranni. Here they were, left alone for the first time in the place where all life within the Erdtree spun. They had never done this before and it was both exciting and a little terrifying.
"It's okay," said Godwyn. He gave another gentle kiss near her ear and then breathed in her scent.
"I don't know, Godwyn," said Ranni, with her hands on his chest. "We shouldn't."
"I love you Ranni. You and no other," he said. "I want you to love you fully."
"Wait, Godwyn... My brothers... My father..."
Godwyn paused a moment with his forehead against hers, "What does Princess Ranni want?"
Ranni relaxed her grip on his arm to allow Godwyn to lift her skirt. He spoke kindly with a reassurance that it wouldn't hurt. He would stop if she wished. His lips went to her shoulder, neck, and then the breasts. Ranni's breathing grew heavy and her fear started to give away to passion as he continued to undress her.
"Sun and moon must have intercourse like that of a man and woman: otherwise the object of our art cannot be attained. All other teaching is false and erroneous." (Fabricious, 34)
Marika pushed open the wooden doors to allow a thin sliver of light to cast itself on Godfrey's throne. As she walked towards it, the white ghosts of the past appeared on either side to pay their respects to their Lord's beloved queen. Marika knelt before this throne, laid her head down on the seat, and closed her eyes with a slight smile.
Her power allowed her to traverse time and space, but not to the places where her grace did not extend, so only her memories kept her company.
Godfrey had always had a fond attachment to this place. It was her that he and his closest companions congregated, fraternized, and swore oaths of loyalty to one another. His table was round, with no head to imply that all invited to sit at it were equals. The throne on which Marika laid her head was the seat of his power, where he might stay close to where his warriors were.
"What happened to that little girl that I used to suckle at my breast? "
It didn't surprise Marika to see Enia here; as she was still present in this place - at least some form of it - just as Hewg was now. Just as the Tarnished soon will be, if Marika's plan worked as she designed.
"She grew old," replied Marika.
"And sad?"
"Is it wrong for a goddess to cry?" Marika asked.
"No. It is not wrong. For how can a goddess understand if she does not feel as we do?" said Enia. "But it is wrong to turn your back on the Greater Will and ignore the words of the Two-Fingers."
Marika closed her eyes as she recalled the day she told Godfrey of what the Two-Fingers asked - no demanded- that she do. They sat there, at this very throne, Marika's knelt before him with her head in his lap, and Godfrey in silence.
He shed no tears. There was no tolerance for such weaknesses in Lords. So, it was for Marika to carry the burden of shedding tears for both of them.
There was no argument. For the Golden Order to survive, no impurities could ever exist within the chosen lineage. Marika insisted her children could be hidden indefinitely where their animal nature posed no harm. Where they could be with their "own kind" and none would be the wiser.
Under the streets of Leyndell, they were close enough that she could see to it they had all they needed. It was only after Godfrey left when Marika grew desperate to gather every part of him, she saw how things were. The keepers she had tasked with ensuring the ground's upkeep had neglected their duties and left the entire place in decay while the omens multiplied unchecked. They wore Omen Killer's masks to keep them terrified and controlled. They even invited that despicable creature called Rollo to carry out his sport.
Never had Marika felt such anger. She had these so-called "keepers" taken to the church in the sewers under the guise that they were to be personally rewarded for their service.
As they bowed before the queen with smirks on their faces, she ordered Maliketh to rend them to pieces. Every inch of that church was covered in their blood.
"I do not wish to speak of it," said Marika.
"And I do not wish to pain you further," said Enia. She reached out her hand and Marika knelt down so the blind woman could touch her cheek. "I fear what you intend to do. It is one thing to conquer those within your realm, and another to lay sedge on realms of other gods. The Two-Fingers will refuse to guide you further if you insist on carrying on with such plans. Already the Greater Will has had to pacify their demands for retribution by offering your daughter as a vassal to a god who brings only rot and decay. Caelid was only the beginning. Continue, and not even your stepson's scourge of the stars will be enough to halt the retribution of the heavens. What if that retribution will endanger the life of your grandchild too?"
Marika's eyes grew dark and she grabbed Enia's hand, "I'll shatter the Elden Ring and burn the Erdtree to the ground with my body in it before I allow my domain to be ruled by any outer god."
This part of the story actually has one of my favorite scenes with Marika just acting like a mom. Anyway, let me know what you think. If you want this story to continue, please say so in the comments section.