"Lucia."

Her Lord's voice causes her to stiffen.

And turn from the window and the knight's sparing in the arena below.

"My Lord?" the hitch in her voice is unacceptable. Regardless of her own thoughts and feeling over recent matters. She is is Godwyn's most trusted knight. She should be better.

And yet, her heart.

Her heart cries out once more.

The recent sight of her Lord atop that girl re-awakening feelings she'd thought well and truly buried.

A Knight lusting after her own sworn Lord is, unacceptable after all.

She is better than her si—Nago.

So why, why does her pulse soar as her Lord approaches with a weird gleam in his golden eyes, the sight of his wide shoulders and broad naked chest making her feel once again like—

No! My duty…my duty…

Even thoughts of her duty fail to distract her for once.

"Lucia, Lucia…" her name on her Lord's sighing lips isn't helping things, the demigod shaking his head as he comes to a stop in front of her and, raising a pair of fingers, gently cusps her chin with fingers that could shatter rock and rend metal. "I've long neglected you, haven't I, my Knight."

"N-no! My Lord has been merely—"

Godwyn, places a finger on her lips, making her freeze.

"No need to lie, my dear Lucia. The fault lies with me, I've long neglected you and your desires. For so long you've my stalwart knight. My loyal servant and…friend."

Her breath hitches and her heart threatens to tear out of her chest.

"I confess, your feelings…were not unknown to me but I thought it best to honor your desires and to avoid…"

He trails off and Lucia understands.

She could see how her Lord wouldn't want to presume or impose, not after that time with Nago.

But even so, this…

"My Lord, what are you trying to say?" she can't help but whisper.

"Merely this," he says and his smile sends her traitorous heart fluttering. "You've been good to me for many a year, and thus, given recent…events."

That was one way of putting Lucia, yet again, being forced to witness Godwyn on-top of another woman. Which…she didn't mind on principle. What she minded, in that long buried, traitorous part of herself was merely the fact, the fact…

She too wanted to experience that!

"I've come to a decision."

A whimper leaves her lips.

"Lucia, my knight, my friend, my…love." At that a whine escapes her. "I go now to Caelid and thus, give you time to think."

"Think…what?"

"About how you want us to proceed."

She opens her mouth only for Godwyn's appraised palm to silence her.

"Ah-huh. No need to answer now. Just know these to be your options. We can remain friends."

Unacceptable.

"If you find it intolerable to bear any longer I can release you from my service and be assured there'll be no bad blood between us and you shall always remain a treasured friend and comrade"

Equally unacceptable!

"Or, if you so wish, we can, I can give you what you've longed for so long."

"My lord—"

The return of a finger to her lips silences her yet again.

"As I said, think about it. No need to rush and, once I return. Pray share with me your decision."

She knows it already.

And her heart, fluttering in joy and disbelief can't believe she is about to be granted her deepest most shameful fantasy.

Still, to Godwyn's words, all she can offer is a tiny nod and a shy smile so unbecoming of a knight. Making the man chuckle and, stepping back, spin and make for the door.

"I shall await your answer most anxiously."

Her Lord is so silly at times…

"Harder you worthless excuses for women! My daughter even before her first blooding could do better than that you sluts!"

Alecto's barking commands to their Order's neophytes come as no surprise to Tiche.

She's long been used to such, and experienced worse herself after all.

But, the implied praise in her mother's words? That is a bit of a surprise.

Not that she lets it show of course as she stands there next to the new batch and her mother, arms crossed and observing. She knows better than to show such emotion in the presence of Alecto.

And its not like its difficult to maintain her composure despite the…

The joy!

The rush from knowing she has her own Lord!

And a victory against Alecto, both hidden, like a knife in the dark waiting for when the time is right.

In fact, if anything the sheer exuberance and joy? Paradoxically they somehow make the task of hiding her true self from Alecto even easier than usual.

And coupled with some quick thinking from Tiche as she made her way back a few days back, choosing to show visible emotion, but not her true jubilant ones, rather…rather she forced herself to recall all those nighs of loneliness and laying in pain in her cot, shivering from the cold.

Alecto had almost cooed.

Clearly her mother had been expecting her Lord to ruin her.

She resists the urge to giggle and send a grin her mother's way.

For the time is not yet right.

And perhaps, Godwyn did ruin her. Just…not in the way Alecto clearly hoped.

But the memory of her and her lord's coupling is almost enough to make her shiver. The heat of his lifeforce entering her and filling her with its warmth again and again.

And doing do in private.

Intimate.

Using the excuse of one of the initiates slipping, the young girl failing her jump, she growls and narrows her eye in a glare.

Her mother preening and misconstruing the reason behind it, Alecto turning and barking at the neophyte with more cruel and biting comparisons even as Tiche takes advantage of the brief respite to regain full control of herself and put the joy under lock and key.

For now.

She can reminisce when in private…

…and when her Lord's task is seen to.

The task which…has left her a bit in the dark really.

Give her someone to kill.

A place to break into.

A woman, or, unlikely as it is for her Lord's tastes to lie in that direction even a man and she would do it.

But…

"Tiche, I have a task for you."

She'd agreed immediately of course.

Anything for her chosen Lord. Her light in the dark.

"I am not strong enough."

Preposterous, and yet, if Godwyn said so he must have a reason. And as his knife she would see any task through.

"Thus, I would have you, my loyal knife—"

The memory alone enough to almost make her grin and giggle again.

"Well, you know, of course, of how we all can, over time, imbibe Runes and thus grow."

Common knowledge known to most anyone without hay between their ears, yes.

"Find me a way to speed up the process."

The task has her, so far, well and truly stumped.

She of course will see it through. For if Godwyn feels there is a need for him to speed up his growth she won't question the words of one wise enough to see through Alecto's lies.

But as to the how…

The memory of her Lord's light flooding her womb, filling her with warmth, even as she used her gifts, courtesy of her blood to avoid any…issues. At least until Alecto is put in her place and her Lord, chooses to bless her with a child…

A tiny smile flickers for an instant, her traitorous body going against her will but thankfully, the neophytes are too young to catch it and her mother is berating yet another 'foolish girl'.

Her Lord's task is most vexing, chiefly for daring to hinder her Lord and his growth, and by association cause her to do so as well.

She will see it through!

Somehow!

…and hopefully she'll receive yet more of her Lord's glorious excess lifeforce and heat~

Perhaps I should let my body age some over time? Lord Godwyn seems to appreciate the hints of age in mother's form…

Spying the Hunk, clad in his polished and repaired black armor alongside that curious cylinder seating atop her Brother's back, Lansseax, flying close to them can't help but huff.

At first she'd been…miffed that Godwyn had declined her offer to bore him upon her back but then, upon seeing her brother, Fortie of all people insisting that he should do it?

It'd forced her to relent.

And now, as they cross this enormous sea, the Erdtree brilliance behind them and somewhere to her left she can, even now, faintly sense her Grandfather. His presence unmistakable if you know where and how to look. Curiously, she can't sense her dear mother and… she can't sense Florissax at all.

Curious but irrelevant.

Still, as the distant landmass in the front grows nearer with each second, if slowly still, she can't help but be happy she allowed Fortie to carry her barbarian.

For her brother to risk carrying another on his back while flying over waters…

Even if Godwyn is unlikely to be more than miffed were he to fall even from such a height.

Well, Lansseax had her mother's wing and the tales spoken with a soothing voice as a shield…

And her once spitfire of a brother drawing attention whenever Lansseax did something to offend…

G-Gransax hadn't been kind to her brother.

Or her.

But she dared not give voice, nor think that last part too often.

So, to see Fortie smiling as he says something which causes Godwyn, seated upon her brother's back to laugh…

It makes her smile too.

And then she giggles, for even if the terrifying goddess had all but kicked her out after… and all but warned her that if she ever dared to hurt her 'darlin boy' somehow, the next time she wouldn't be so kind. So for Lansseax's sake there better not be a next time…

Godwyn's bewildered face when she stole a few kisses here and there these last few days, the lust smoldering in his eyes each time…

The hunk liked her! She'd washed her mouth fully so the goddess words weren't true nuh-uh!

"Sister…" her brother's booming voice and sigh makes her blink. "Don't thrust out your tongue while flying…why…why are you like this…"

Oops?

With the treaty finally finalized and to be signed in a couple of days after the lawmakers and other small folk spent so long arguing over the minutia, some would question why I would choose to leave the Capital and more than that, ask the two siblings to accompany me.

And they would be right to at first glance.

But—

"Please-please-pleaaaaase!"

I resist the urge to grown and massage my forehead, my good mood borne from Fort's amusing tale once again vanishing.

For my little gremlin of a pest has been all but buggering me non stop ever since we lifted off Leyndell and after we've been flying over the sea for a few minutes.

The sea…

Which the sight of greatly comforted part of me…something confusing for I know I am not of the Eldar the Scholar Tolkien spoke off.

But more importantly than that, the fact part of me finds nothing out of the ordinary with the existence of said sea is problem enough.

For the rest of me, the younger me knows that there should be something there even as a weaving I can but faintly detect on the edges of my being. And that only because I know it to be there and, my memories of a world without a drop of Ether has improved my skill with the weave and my ability to sense it many fold.

And thus, the little gremlin…

"Pleeeeease!"

For the last time no. And there is nothing you—

"I'll do you a favor! No questions asked!"

The retort dies on my lip.

Thankfully, the pest attached to me shows her worth, good. Otherwise, unwanted infestation or not she would disappoint me.

"Within reason! No asking me to go away or something equally banal!"

That…could prove useful.

Your word then?

The scoff is clear. "Who do you take me for! On my worth as a goddess! Your goddess!"

Strange, your name isn't Marika.

"Mouuuu!"

Still.

We have an agreement, then. I send and an elated gasp reaches me.

"Truly! Yes! My prince even if he's a tease is the beeeest!"

Ignoring the pest's yapping I sigh, and with only part of my focus directed towards Fort, I…open myself towards the goddess. Prepared to fight against her if need be but…

There is no need. For she is clearly even more hesitant than me, only sending the thinest and most…timid I suppose would be an apt description, of tendrils through me, and peeking at the world outside.

Gremlin?

"Hmm…hmm. This doesn't make any sense?"

The fact that she doesn't react to my preferred mode of address, something she is usually vehemently against is worrying.

Gremlin?

"She couldn't have. That would be…stupid. No, beyond stupid. Surely…"

Ok, this I'm starting not to like the sound off.

Goddess?

"…Big sis Lethe grant me strength…Marika actually went and—Eh? Did you just? Squeee~"

And without having to do anything from my part, the gremlin seems to, shudder, the part through me vibrating in excitement and collapsing in on itself. Leaving me alone.

Curious but, ultimately, I've more important matters to attend to then a pest of a goddess whom I fear, will have to deal for many a year yet.

Important matters like, the rapidly growing hamlets and villages lining the coast and a big encampment of soldiers some ways further in.

"There, my friend," I say and receive a nod from Fort's majestic head as with a roar that no doubt has some of the small folk glad to be wearing brown pants, we dive, Lansseax close behind. Landing in short order and as the terrified soldiers standing watch, clutch their spears with pale faces, I leap to the ground.

"L-lord Godwyn?!"

The joy in their voices and the relief in their faces no doubt thanks to my appearance proving that my friend and the teasing minx are not more of Greyoll's brood come for another attack.

The fact that I'd send word I'd be visiting on Dragon-back, alongside a description of the siblings, no doubt helped matters.

And indeed, as my friends shift into the forms I've grown used to seeing them in, a palpable wave of relief seems to spread over the soldiers and their commander's striding out the gates to meet me.

"My Lord Godwyn! Your presence is the greatest of honors as well as that of the esteemed Lord Fortissax and Lady Lansseax," the commander, a grizzled, scarred man missing one of his eyes says, offering a deep bow.

Even as one of his arms remains wrapped around the hilt of his sheathed blade.

Making me nod. Liking the man already.

For even if he expected no trouble from us, our appearance might be enough to provoke some of the very reason I decided to make the trip to begin with.

And the distant roars, followed by the appearance of winged drakes near the horizon seems to confirm the man's caution.

"Goddess take them," the grizzled man spits. "Apologies my Lord, but welcomes will have to wait," he says with an apologetic nod. "Might I be so bold as to ask you to lend us your blade."

A bloodthirsty grin splits my face.

"My friend, that's why I am here."

The recent rumors of drakes unaligned with our Dragon allies, assaulting our villages?

A way to both give service to my people and wet my blade?

Why, that's almost better than sex!

As if having some inkling to my thoughts, I can feel Lansseax giving me the stink eye.

And speaking of Lansseax and Fort, the incoming drakes are the reason I requested they accompany me.

I am strong, yes.

And the drakes will merely serve to wet my appetite.

But I am not sure I can yet win everyone's favorite source of Runes in that 'game', not against Bayle's mate on my own.

Not when Greyoll stands healthy and whole and not afflicted by Rot.

"Stinky feathered goddess! Hmf!"

And the pest is back.

So be it.

Not even her return can ruin the prospect of a good fight!