A/N: Warning! This chapter is all sorts of bonkers.
Suppose that's what happen when you put two powerful individuals together.
As ever, feedback really is the wind beneath my wings, and I wanted to thank you, one and all.
None of this would be possible without you. Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others.
If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Now for your questions, comments and concerns. We'll keep it brief to avoid spoilers and other things.
Q: Did you hear about the DLC?
A: Ummm...? What DLC? Is there one?! Already?!
Q: Make that Naruto-as-Godwyn story as well! Do the Miquella one, too!
A: Don't tempt meeee. Its gnawing at the back of my mind, but I've got updates aplenty already!
Q: Did you know Marika was a trickster when she was younger? The mimic veil description mentions it being called Marika's mischief.
A: I did not. Well, well, well, now I've got ideas...
Q:...how much is about to change?
A: The dynamic here is that Naruto and Marika, while desiring different things, have no interest in kicking up a war. Which brings about the intrigues. Radagon's free to be the father he always wanted to be, which means Ranni, Rykard, and Radahn get every bit of his attention. Rennala doesn't go batshit crazy; because he never leaves.
Radagon is best RadaDAD. Yes, that's a pun and I am not sorry.
Meanwhile Morgott and Mohg have been brought to the surface to reunite with Godwyn, much to Marika's chagrin.
Everyone's healthy, everyone's alive, everyone's safe...
...for now.
Q: How young are the runts?
A: Most of the Demigods are younger than the ones we know; if only because the Knight of Black Knives -and the subsequent Shattering!- hasn't transpired yet.
Godwyn, Morgott, and Mohg are clearly older than the rest, seeing as they were born first.
Malenia and Miquella are clearly younger, as in Canon.
Q: Will Malenia still have the Rot? Will Miquella be curse to eternal youth?! Please don't let it be so! They've suffered so!
A: Nope. They were cursed by the Outer Gods due to Radagon and Marika, who are essentially the same person/same soul in two different bodies, laying with one another. It was never made entirely clear if Radagon and Markia were siblings or whatnot, but that's what I've chosen to interpret it as.
However, in this era, Radagon never became Marika's consort. A very unwilling Naruto did.
Which means, you guessed it, Malenia and Miquella are happy and healthy.
...and become far more powerful as a result of their parentage.
Alright! I've kept you long enough!
As ever, I own no references, quotes, memes or themes. Not a wit or a one.
I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.
Lastly, I'm aware this is Ranni's line, but it still applies to the world of Elden Ring as a whole.
And in the words of Kaif...
...SPOILERS!
"You do realize this means war."
"Oho? You dare to challenge a prank master?"
"Dear Consort, I've been at this game for far longer than thee...
~?
Mischief and Madness
Marika was easy to tease.
Naruto discovered this fundamental truth relatively early on in their...relationship? Courtship? Hateship? He wasn't sure what he had with the Queen; or if it was anything at all for that matter. He couldn't stand her half the time-likewise for Marika!-yet inevitably when tempers flared and wine flowed, somehow they kept falling into bed with one another.
Regardless, this discovery made what came next all the more entertaining for him. Not so the Eternal Queen.
It began with tiny things between his adventures in the Lands Between, subtle little acts to simultaneously see where her limits lay and get a rise out of her. A misplaced undergarment here, a bit of dye there, then a bit of misdirection when she least expected it.. Toss in the occasional oil pot and he had her sputtering as much as slipping and sliding everywhere.
He'd never forget the look on her face the first time he pegged her with one of those pots. Heh.
She'd been after him with her hammer the entire day, much to everyone's chagrin.
Worth it~!
Unfortunately, in his glee, he failed to realize another truth. Marika could give as good as she got. Indeed, she was a trickster in her own right. There was a veil known as Marika's mischief after all. That should've been his first warning. More fool he for ignoring it. When she finally stopped trying to smack him with that hammer of hers, he assumed she'd given up.
Marika knew not the meaning of such a phrase. He wouldn't realize that until much later.
Her vengeance proved slow and insidious, subtle even, taking place over a great many days. By the time he noticed it was too late. Rather than call him out like anyone else, or try to beat him like a certain someone who shall not be named, she retaliated in kind. Not with pranks or poking and prodding, but something else altogether.
She used herself.
A slip of cloth here, a bit of skin there, a subtle touch when they passed one another in the hall. She'd feign weakness and lean against him for some reason or another, reveling in the way his face burned. Her hand would run over his thigh when they sat together. Other acts in private he didn't care to speak of. She was clearly trying to tempt him. He knew it. She knew it as well-blast her. It was working, too.
Now that he knew the pleasures of the flesh he was...aware of certain things, things he'd failed to notice before.
He pranked her even harder in retaliation; as such, her flirtations grew all the more overt.
It could only end one way. Things finally reached a head nine months later.
(.0.0.0.)
Victory was hers.
Marika wasn't smug about her triumph; nay, she was a Goddess. She did not rejoice in finally getting one over on her Consort. Of course not. She was above such petty things. She had no need for vengeance, nor did she feel the need to gloat...
.
..
...but here she was, sprawled out in the sheets, grinning like a loon. Grinning, as her Consort stomped away, naked as the day he was born. She could have let him go as she had before; but such was not her way. Marika needed to have the last word. She had to. It was simply her nature.
"Leaving so soon?" she cooed after him. "And here I thought you had more stamina than that."
"..."
"I'll have a bit of cheese and bread from the kitchens." She continued on into the silence. "A pitcher of juice, too."
Naruto kept right on walking. "Bite me."
"No, thank you." She licked her lips and sank back to the sheets. "I already had my fill...
A frustrated shout rattled the walls and ceiling. Marika reveled in his anger, though she knew she'd pay dearly for that later.
What was the phrase of which her consort had grown so fond? Worth it? Yes, that was the one.
Spreading her arms above her head, she closed her eyes and sank into the pillos with a content sigh. She'd taken him to bed again, but this time the last words was hers! Wine and words had flowed but t'was she who had taken the initiative, she who had shoved him down and ridden him to oblivion, she who stirred first and needled him relentlessly for his brief lapse. Let him stalk off to the kitchens. His sulking would avail him naught.
"I win."
It felt damnably good to say such. Thought he could prank her, did he? Silly boy. She had been playing this game far longer than he. Naruto thought himself a master in the art of pranks, when in truth he was but a novice. The outcome of their "war" had never been in question. He'd already lost. He simply had yet to realize it.
...what was that?"
Blast, had he heard her? "T'was nothing, mine consort."
His shoulders stiffened -and really, they were very nice shoulders- as an angry tremor rattled him. He didn't give her the satisfaction of looking back, but he did flip her a middle-finger salute. Her gaze roved over his arm and the bite marks she'd left there, the scratches that were even now healing. Stubborn boy. He'd given as good as he got, but it didn't change the fact thatohyesthatfeltrathernicelowerpleaselower...
Wait! When had he moved?!
Rational thoughts dissolved into mindless bliss as strong hands grasped her by the buttocks and lifted, hoisting her upright with ease. Heat shot up Marika's pale neck. How bold. Had he done such to her in public before her subjects, she would've slapped him silly. Now she made a pleased noise, happy to see his fire again, but alarmed by his speed all the same.
"Thou dost not lack for speed it seems.
"You said you won." Warm lips brushed her ear, sending a shiver shooting down her spine. "Care to say that again?"
"Glady!" She snapped back, tossing her head. "This is my victory and 'tis not a thing you can go abouuuuuu...
Words trailed off as he laid a line of scalding kisses against her neck. Felt rather nice actually.
Marika huffed, body beginning to squirm. "You do realize, of course, that this means war."
There it was. That impish smile again. "You dare challenge a prank master?"
"Dear Consort, I've been at this game far longer than thee...
She threw her weight back, sending them tumbling down into the sheets. Stars flashed before her vision as his forehead struck hers. Two could play that game! Marika returned the favor twofold, drawing a hiss from him. Blue eyes met gold. Something sparked all over again. She wasn't sure who moved after that, only that someone did. Him? Her? Didn't matter. His lips were on hers, her mouth on his, his hands holding her tight. Her legs locked 'round him, a fire burning in her breasts, hitching now against his chest as they clawed at one another anew.
To her shame, she cried his name more than once as he took her.
Time blurred, and the world with it. When it was done and they lay together, spent, Marika found she could scarcely move, but she couldn't contain her smugness. She let herself cuddle against him, enjoying the comfort of his hard body against hers. She even deigned to let him hold her, nuzzling against him in a rare moment of release. Because you see, she'd won. This was the proof she'd sought. He desired her. He wanted her. He needed her. Even if he wouldn't admit it. She'd get him yet. And then...
...then what?
Marika felt her lips purse as her thoughts soured.
She'd finally gotten one up on the baffling blond boy, that couldn't be denied, but what came after?
What did she want from this? What did she want from him? To break him? Once, such a thought would have entertained her. Now she disagreed. To break Naruto -assuming such was even possible!- would rob him of that fire that infuriated her so. It would also take the life out of their little war. Such would be boring. Monotonous, even. He would never yield to her. Never cry out her name in ecstasy as she did his. She could try to shatter him, but doing so would rob Naruto of what made him...well, him.
Marika...didn't want that. The thought startled her. Alarmed her. Terrified her. Why? She wanted to control him. To make him hers. Didn't she?
'I don't want him to change.'
She nearly jolted upright, and it was only his arms holding her that prevented such. Pah! Such nonsense.
...still, surely there was nothing wrong with enjoying this game a little while longer. No need to cut her entertainment short.
A tiny shiver shook her, it felt...dare she say good, to have something to focus on. A challenge. A goal. An endgame. To be pushed in a way she hadn't since she was a wee slip of a girl. He'd actually made her try, exercising both herself and her charms. Not that she'd tell anyone! Radagon would never let her live such indignity down. And unlike the other half of her soul, Marika chose her battles wisely.
Naruto could have his petty victories. T'would be she who won the war.
And what would come of such a union? Children, perhaps? T'was not an unplesant thought.
She'd like a proper pair of twins, unsullied by her mistakes. Morgott was still skittish around her-to say nothing of Mohg!-but they at least, had a place here. Henceforth, the Omen twins would serve the Golden Order for the greater good. Even if they could never stand to inherit, their place was made clear.
Naruto was to blame for that, of course.
Shortly after he'd plucked the Omen twins from the depths -much to her chagrin!- Naruto had waltzed right into the Erdtree. Not five minutes later, he'd emerged with the Greater Will's blessing. To this day Markia didn't know what he'd said to the Elden Beast, only that he'd wrangled some manner of concession from the steward of the Greater Will...had he threatened the Elden Beast? Nay, surely not. Even he wasn't that foolish.
It still did little to dull the fact that she'd abandoned them. Her boys. And she'd thrown them away because the Greater Will demanded it.
That was not a bridge so easily mended, no matter what Godwyn might wish.
Ah, but she digressed.
Yes, a fresh start sounded nice. A chance to begin anew. To correct her mistakes. Perhaps a daughter. She'd rather like that. Malenia sounded like a lovely name for a girl. Miquella too, if it was a boy. Twins. Yes, that sounded nice.
Unbidden, her mind strayed, imagining a darling little redheaded girl tugging at her skirts for attention. In her mind's eye she looked down at her and gasped. She was perfect; a flawless union of her mother and father alike, and yet for all that, her eyes were the most piercing shade of blue.
"Mama~!"
A little voice squealed in her heart. Eeeeeee! No! Nay! Never! Pride reared its ugly head soon thereafter and the daydream shattered. She would not be his broodmare!
.
..
...but a child! She wanted a child! From the first moment she'd entertained the thought, a seed had sprouted in her. Now it took root, growing with passing moment it. Godwyn and the twins would soon be young men, and Radadon had his own pups to look after, young though they were Was it so wrong to want a daughter of her own? Could she not have a child -children!- on her terms? Who was to say that she couldn't? On a whim, she acted. She was a goddess after all, and she'd just laid with her Consort. It was the work of but a moment to ensure such, to make certain her womb quickened.
Marika laid a hand on Naruto's chest and nudged her beloved. He stirred with a sigh.
Steeling herself, she looked him in the eye and batted her lashes. "Would you like to be a Father?"
Her dear Consort had no say in the matter, of course. He would be one, whether he wished to be one or not! Still, she wished to see the measure of him.
He creaked open blue eyes with a sigh, utterly unaware of what she'd just done. "You're pregnant, ain'tcha?"
Marika's silence proved telling. Donwright smug, even. Now came the final test. His response...?
She heard Naruto's throat close. "...fine. you're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Twins." She said instead. "I shall have twins. A boy and a girl."
Naruto made a squelching sound. "You did that on purpose."
Marika only cuddled closer, hiding a smile in his chest.
How her Consort surprised her, even now.
"They'll be wonderful...just you wait...
A/N: Aaaaand cutting it there. See you next week, hopefully~!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular story, and others.
If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly? And have some previews~!
Far flung though some may still be.
Once again, SPOILERS AHOY!
Seriously, ye be warned~!
(Previews)
A pregnant goddess was not a happy goddess.
Naruto tried not to laugh. He really did.
"Oi! Play nice, kids! Don't make me spank you!"
"A ball?"
"I am queen of course. Do you think it odd that I would hold court?"
Yeah, but I usually stay away from that sorta thing. Ain't really something I like...
"People love heroes. But real power isn't this." She mimed a motion. "Its the ability to bend the world to your will. "
A tiny hand tugged at his sleeve.
Naruto hummed and gently, ever so gently, patted her head. "Just a second sweetie. Daddy needs to kill a few people...
"Bite me, knave!"
"Promises, promises...
Marika pursed her lips. "You will do no such thing."
"Nope. Already have."
"Cease thine noping!"
R&R~!