It has become quite warm.
Alfia wiped her forehead before she went back to her work, even when evening came close, it was still really warm. At the moment she was kneeling in a bed of turnips, removing weeds and picking ripe vegetables from time to time. The quiet life here in the village was really good for her, she hadn't slept so well for a long time and simply enjoyed the days. Depending on the location, different villagers grew different things and traded them with each other. Of course, there were things everyone liked, like potatoes and turnips. At first, she thought life here would be quite monotonous and tiring, but she was surprised by how much fieldwork was involved.
And of course, there was another reason why she enjoyed life here so much...actually the main reason she enjoyed it so much...and that reason worked right next to her.
That reason was small, adorable, and had white hair.
"Bell, make sure to drink something when you get too warm, okay?"
"Okay!"
Bell was a happy child, he enjoyed living with his grandfather, his "uncle", and his aunt...even when Alfia sometimes had the slight feeling that Bell saw something else than an aunt inside her. Alfia had arrived together with Zard two and a half months ago and while she loved Bell...her heart also was troubled.
She wanted to be there for him, wanted to protect and do everything for him...but...
A part of her heart held Alfia back, Bell was Meteria´s son, not her own. If she would give in to her feelings...it felt like she would be stealing Bell from her sister.
Meteria...what shall I do...
Two people in the house had a guess of her feelings. Zeus had already planned for this in the beginning, when he told her where he would go with Bell. And Zard easily noticed how different Alfia became after having contact with Bell. What should´ve been just one look from afar, now became this.
I haven´t seen her smile like this in years...or ever before.
Alfia only smiled when she had been in Meteria´s presence. And never, not even once, after the death of her sister, had she smiled...until she met Bell.
The old man next to Zard grinned. "They look quite cute together, hm?"
"Can´t say no to that, old man. Is all going according to your plan?"
"You bet. It became much more lively ever since you two came here."
"Hmpf, felt lonely?"
Zeus showed him a fatherly smile. "Very."
The old god had much experience due to his long life and he saw that Alfia was troubled inside, he also saw her deeper feelings, that she tried to deny herself. Zeus saw that Alfia enjoyed spending time with Bell and that deep inside her, she already saw Bell in the same way that Bell looked at her.
Bell longed for a mother...and Alfia returned his feelings, even if she forbade herself to admit them.
Zeus sighed. "If only she wouldn´t hold back so much. Why does it have to be so complicated for her? Can´t she just admit her feelings and be happy with being his Mommy?...Or let´s better say...his young Mom."
"Oy, oy. Don´t let her hear those words."
"Pff, as if she is able to hear anything when she is with Bell."
"True."
Despite Alfia´s very sensitive hearing when it came to noises, she only had eyes for Bell when they were alone like this. Yet her eyes often wandered around for a few moments, scanning the area for every possible danger or threat.
Zeus did his best to bring these two closer together, Zard just let it be, if it would happen, it would happen. Not that they had to do much for that, Bell was at Alfia´s side nearly all the time.
You can´t escape your fate now, Alfia.
Suddenly Zeus heard a crow caw, it was nearby so the caw was pretty loud. Subconscious, Alfia moved closer to Bell and wanted to put an arm around him to protect him, from whatever made this sound.
This always happened, her body acted without thinking before she relaxed again.
He could basically hear her thinking. If you put my little Bell in danger, I will destroy you.
She is really overprotective.
Zeus also noticed that Alfia´s expression had changed since her face had stopped hurting. But why did it hurt in the first place? She was...not used to smiling so much...and now she was smiling most of the time.
Zard looked up at the crow. "You think "she" is watching?"
"Hm, maybe the crow will tell her, I don´t know."
"Afraid she might find you?"
"Of course I am! And yet...I don´t think even "she" would do something, not when Bell is so cute."
"Don´t think she might want to take him away?"
"Do you think Alfia would let her?"
"No, but what if she would appear here one day and become his grandmother?"
"My boy...never let her hear these words. She isn´t like that."
"I thought his mother was her favorite. And despite how she was, I have a strong feeling that he could awake a soft side in her."
"Oh.." Zeus checked to be sure that Bell couldn´t hear them. "Hera had her soft sides, trust me."
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"Mo-...Aunty Alfia, look!"
Bell and Alfia were busy picking tomatoes and zucchini, while Zeus was handling carrots, Zard went inside the house to check on dinner. He was the one who cooked every time, and today´s dinner was something that took many hours in the oven. Alfia was surprised at how far ahead Zeus had thought. He had obtained different types of tomatoes, zucchini, and carrots, that ripened at different times and tasted slightly different. But even with the different ripening times, they had more than the three of them ate. They used some of them to trade with the villagers, others were dried for the winter.
Alfia had never thought about the amount of work that was necessary to prepare for winter. But it was nice to live like that. Her daily routine was mostly the same. Get up, wash, have breakfast with Bell, Zard, and Zeus, spend time with Bell, tend the fields, spend time with Bell, lunch, spend time with Bell...finishing up the fields, set the table for dinner, and spend time with Bell until he got too tired.
Even when they tended the fields, Alfia spent most of her time with Bell. The few times that she worked alone or next to Zard, were when Bell went to his grandfather to help him. After the first two weeks, Bell even lost his shyness towards Zard, his sheer size and mass had intimidated him. But now he was like the uncle that Bell never had.
Bell had picked a pretty big tomato and he sure was proud of it.
"It looks amazing, Bell. Put it in the basket, carefully."
Even though Alfia wore a simple linen dress with an overskirt, as she hated a petticoat, she looked stunning...instead of her usual shoes, she wore boots suitable for fieldwork. She had worked on that dress a bit so that her armpits and a bit of cleavage were free, as well as much of her back...she really didn´t like to sweat. There was a large basket between her and Bell, they moved cautiously from plant to plant, picking only the ripe ones.
They had to move carefully since the ground was pretty wet in some places, it had rained the night before.
But since Bell was quite hyper...the inevitable could not be long in coming...
"Wuäh!"
"Bell!"
Alfia couldn´t react in time when Bell jumped up...and stumbled. He fell face first to the ground...luckily for him the ground wasn't hard...but...muddy.
With a soft splash, Bell fell sprawling...
"Bell, are you okay?!"
Alfia immediately forgot everything else and jumped to his side to check on him...and so...
There was a sucking sound as her boot didn't want to get out of the damp earth fast enough.
"Kya!"
Zeus saw what happened from the distance, he shook his head...but had to admit that Alfia making this certain sound was cute.
Runs in the family I guess...like parent, like child as they say...
Maybe it was just because Alfia was a big klutz sometimes...but now she and Bell lay side by side in the mud. It was better for Zeus to not go over to them right now, he knew how Alfia could react when she was embarrassed.
"Buäh..*Ptui*."
Bell sat up and spat out some mud, Alfia got up a bit slower.
"*Ptui*...Bell...are you hurt?"
"No...are you okay, Mo-...Aunty?"
"Yeah..."
Alfia looked down at herself, her whole dress was dirty, as was her hair and skin...Bell didn´t look any better.
"I think we have to take a bath..."
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"Mmmmmh..."
"Come on, Bell. Hold still."
"Yes..."
Alfia knelt in front of Bell, a towel wrapped around her body, she tried to be as gentle as possible as she rinsed the mud out of his hair.
"Did you get soap into your eyes?"
"No."
She smiled slightly. "Are you worried because of your clothes?"
"I made them all dirty..."
"Don´t worry, sweety. We will wash them and then everything will be good again."
"Really?"
Alfia gently patted his head. "Don´t worry."
"Okay."
"Now, shall we go in?"
"Yes!"
She had to admit that Zeus sometimes really was a genius, however, he had done it, and the bathtub was embedded in the floor, and it was huge! Easily big enough for two adults to sit in at the same time! Alfia walked behind Bell and hung up her towel, while he carefully climbed in the tub.
She got inside herself and sat down, leaning against the edge. Bell loved to play with the foam, rubbing it on his arms and chest, watching how it slowly moved down before he caught it and placed it on himself again. Since he was just a child and had no ulterior motives, Alfia allowed him to place the foam on her too...only years later he would get embarrassed when memories came up, of how he had played with her chest.
Eventually, he sat down and leaned back, using her bosom as a pillow, like most of the time.
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Outside of the bath, Zeus cried bloody tears...again.
"I didn´t teach him that! To get himself dirty so he is allowed to bathe with such beauty! He really is my grandson!"
Zard sighed again when he saw Zeus like this. "You never change, old man."
"Don´t you want to be in his place?! See her like this?!"
"I don´t, stop trying to bring me together with Alfia."
"Don´t waste the time you have, boy! I´m sure she is a Tsundere in her heart!"
"A what?"
"She acts mean but is actually pretty nice!"
Zard rolled his eyes, even on her best days, he just knew how Alfia normally was. After all, he was the only person outside of her familia to have ever seen her act normally. The fact that he had been living together with her for years said more about him than her. And one thing was for sure, Alfia was not a person to look for a lover. Zard was the closest that came to a partner, but not a romantic partner.
"Give it up, it´s enough that she softened up so much."
"Kuh, curse you kids and your "adult relationship"."
"Oy, we´re definitely NOT like this."
"It may surprise you, boy. But this time I didn´t mean "that" when I said adult relationship. You two act like a couple that has been married for many years!"
"Hah..."
Zeus was the only person that managed to let Zard sigh so much. "If that´s what you see, and if you will be quiet then, just pretend it is like this."
"So you do secretly love her?!"
"I care for Alfia...and I care for my peaceful days."
Now it was for Zeus to sigh. "Hah...well I guess this is all I can get."
"Finally..."
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"Bell?"
"Hm?"
"Do you want to read a book after we had dinner?"
"Yes!"
Alfia had learned what made Bell happy and that made her happy.
As often as she was in thoughts for a while, Alfia was a bit troubled. Not about the fact that she bathed with Bell, he was too happy about that...but her heart and her mind were a bit in turmoil.
Was it okay to do all that? To be there for Bell like that? While he was really happy, Alfia always had the feeling of doing something wrong. Zeus had told her she would grow into her role as his Mom...Alfia didn´t understand why he always called her that, she explained to him time and time again that she was his aunt.
But Zeus would just reply that he didn´t mean to be his mother, but his Mom.
Alfia´s heart really wanted it, to give in to her feelings and be Bell´s Mom...but her brain held her back...that wouldn´t be right towards Meteria.
"Wobb~Wobb~Wobb~Wobb~Wobb~Wobb."
She looked down, Bell had placed his hands on her chest from the side and squeezed them slightly together before letting go, holding his head between them...yet he managed to look so innocent when he did that.
"Bell...no playing with my breasts..."
"Okay."
He let go of her and just moved his hands through the water, sometimes pretending to be water monsters that attacked Alfia´s legs.
And like always...
Alfia joined the game and used her arms and hands like ships that fought against the water monsters. Never before would she have thought to play in the bathtub and laugh like that.
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Zeus cried even more bloody tears outside.
"Old man, how about you continue with your projects? Might distract you."
"Yeah...probably...maybe..."
So, while Bell and Alfia took their bath, Zeus cried bloody tears...as always...he was busy with his carving. Zeus was in the process of making a board game for the three, he called it Dungeon & Monsters.
It was basically a hero that went on a journey to save a Maiden in distress from monsters, even went into the dungeon to do that. When Alfia would see her figure for the first time...a female mage with a large hat...she would at first look at Zeus, then accept her fate.
The mage couldn´t really fight, but support the Hero...or from another point of view...watch over the Hero like a mother would do.
Bell would always play the hero...he even had fun when the worst possible event occurred. Then the hero was able to save the princess but had to fight against a Minotaur alone, Bell always beamed all over his face when that happened.
"It´s just like Argonaut!"
"Yes, it is."
Zeus grinned whenever they played, Alfia would do everything to protect and help the hero, even when her figure got hurt in the process. The old man often took the role of the narrator, using his best voice, and even releasing the tiniest amount of Arcana, to impress Bell even more. Alfia and Zard knew this feeling, especially Zard! Zeus had often done this in Orario to impress the ladies, the only ones who had all been immune to him, were Hera and her followers.
For Bell, it was just like his grandfather was the greatest narrator of all time! And when Zeus pretended to be a god, claiming with an echoing voice that the hero had gone on a journey, following the order of the god Zeus...Bell´s eyes shone.
Zard would always play the counterpart in the dungeon, the minotaur´s weapon even looked like his true sword. And Zeus explained how this minotaur devoured everything and planned to do that with the fair maiden!
Oy, Oy. Old man...this kinda hurts.
Even when Bell didn´t realize it one bit, Zeus basically revealed to him who they were, without telling him. But even Zard had to admit, Bell´s sparkling eyes were a blessing for the soul, and Alfia´s reactions and behavior in the game...
She is like a mother dragon protecting her young...or more like...mother bear protecting her cub? Old man, you really infected my mind to think like that.
Alfia looked at him when he thought that, could she imagine what he thought? If that was the case, she didn´t look unpleased. Zeus was sure if a monster dared to threaten Bell, Alfia would simply stare it down.
Oh, dear...when Bell gets older...every woman who lays her eyes on him will have a hard time.
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At that moment, more than a few girls, women, and goddesses in Orario sneezed...as well as a young fox girl who was still in the Far East at that time...wondering why.
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So far all went well and Bell was as happy as never before to have a mother figure in his life.
But eventually...
The day came that Alfia had feared the most...when Bell started to make a certain noise that she had hoped to never hear from him.
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"*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*"
The time went by and Alfia was at Bell´s side for half a year now, autumn would soon make way for winter...and then one morning...Bell started to cough. In the second that Alfia heard this noise from Bell, all color vanished from her face and she stopped making breakfast.
"Bell?!"
Faster than any other person, Alfia rushed to his side. Bell didn´t look good, usually, he was the purest bundle of energy...but now he swayed lightly.
"*Cough* *Cough*"
No, no, no, please no! Not him!
Alfia put her hand on Bell´s forehead...she felt heat.
"Bell, how are you feeling?!"
"*Cough* Not good...*Cough*"
Her heart felt like it got squeezed.
When he swayed stronger, Alfia caught him and lifted him up.
"Mom?..."
It wasn´t the first time that Bell called her that, but this time she didn´t mind. Alfia carried him to the couch and placed him there carefully. Losing no time, Alfia rushed to his room and got his pillow and blanket.
She felt completely helpless and wanted to cry since Zeus was outside, but she couldn´t show that to Bell.
He coughed again, Alfia´s hands were shaking.
What do I do...please don´t let him have "it"...please...Please...not this little angel.
"Mom...Moooom..."
"I am here Bell, I am here..."
Alfia gently stroked his hair to show him that she was there...she wanted to cry when he coughed again. She was so focused on Bell that she didn't notice when Zeus came into the house or what he was saying. Eventually, she found herself at Bell's side as he lay in his bed coughing.
She knelt on the ground next to his bed and held his hand, refusing to leave his side. A cup and a pot of warm tea stood on the small table next to his bed... the picture of Meteria next to it.
For hours and hours, she knelt or sat there, looking at Bell´s face, wiping away his sweat while he kept coughing. Since he was mostly asleep, Alfia allowed herself to cry...she couldn´t believe that it had happened to Bell at last.
Why him...all you gods...why this little angel...he doesn´t deserve this! If you have to take someone, take me! Ever since I came here my illness is mostly gone, only for him to get it now?! Why?!
At some point, Alfia started at first to hum and then to sing with a soft voice. It was a song that Meteria had hummed or sung for Bell, even when he was still in her belly. All the time, she held his hand to show him that she was there.
Zeus came into the room at some point and tried to get her attention, but Alfia didn´t listen...she couldn´t listen...she only looked at Bell.
What do I do...what can I do...this isn´t fair...first Meteria...now Bell...please...no...
Her eyes were as red as Bell´s now, from crying for a long time...she even got a headache because of that...but it didn´t matter. She felt his small hand squeezing her own, Alfia kept singing and gently stroked his hair.
Alfia´s legs, hip, back, and feet hurt from her posture...but it didn´t matter, she wouldn´t leave Bell´s side.
The day went by and eventually...Alfia fell asleep. Her eyes burned from crying so much and she just had to close them.
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Nnnnnh...where...am I?
Alfia opened her eyes...this room looked familiar...but it wasn´t Bell´s.
Where...
She looked around, Alfia was kneeling next to a bed, an empty bed. A gentle wind moved the curtains, the window was wide open.
What is this place?
This room looked exactly like Meteria´s had looked like. Alfia slowly got up to her feet, for some reason she was wearing her goth-style dress. Her feet moved on their own, moving her to a door that led into a garden. Meteria had always loved the garden in their home, but this garden looked different.
It was beautiful, no doubt. Alfia slowly walked outside, the grass felt cool under her bare feet, but not unpleasant.
Then...Alfia heard someone hum, it was a familiar voice.
No way...
This time she walked on her own, following the noise. Soon she went around a large hedge and stopped. A woman sat there, in a long, white dress, her hair had the same color as Bell´s. She was cradling something in her arms, looking down at it, humming softly.
"Meteria..."
The woman stopped to hum, turning her head, and looked at Alfia, heterochromatic eyes shone when she saw her.
"Hey, big sister...finally awake? Ehehe~~"
"Huh?"
"Alfia...since when did you become such a sleepyhead?"
Her eyes finally opened completely and she looked up.
"Meteria?"
"Of course, big sister...are you still asleep?"
"I don´t know...this feels so...weird."
Meteria smiled again and looked down at the bundle in her arms...it was a baby...Bell. Alfia came slowly closer, not believing what she saw...was this just a dream, probably. Meteria looked exactly like in Alfia´s memory, only much more healthy.
She moved her hand unsure forward, twitching backward one time, then she gently touched Meteria´s shoulder. Tears dwelled in her eyes, she could feel it, the warmth of Meteria´s body.
"You are doing a good job, Alfia."
"Meteria? What do you mean."
"How you care for my little angel...you are doing good."
"Meteria, where are we?"
Her dear sister looked into her eyes and smiled.
"Where do you think we are?"
"Is this...heaven?"
"Maybe...maybe not." Meteria smiled gently.
"Oh..I see...I´m just dreaming..."
"Are you?"
"Meteria...I´m sorry...I...shouldn´t have..."
"Shouldn´t have what?"
"Act like that with Bell...he is your son."
Meteria smiled and gently kissed the baby´s forehead. "Yes, he is...my little angel."
Alfia was quiet for a few moments until her sister looked at her again.
"But that doesn´t mean you shouldn´t act like that."
"Meteria?"
Her sister gently cradled the sleeping baby in her arms. "I want my little angel to be happy...he needs a mother."
"I can´t do that, he is your son!"
"So?"
"I can´t steal him from you!"
"Who said you would do that?"
"I..."
Meteria smiled lovingly. "Alfia...I can´t be there for Bell anymore...but you can."
"But!...But...I can´t steal your place."
"You wouldn´t steal it."
"But you are his mother!"
Alfia saw that her sister kept smiling...that smile that had calmed down so many people.
"Then be his Mom, Alfia."
Both sisters went silent, her words sounded similar to Zeus´.
"What is holding you back? Are you afraid he would forget me and think of you as his mother?"
"Yes...I can´t let that happen."
"Alfia...my dear, big sister...being a mother means more than just giving birth to a child. Take Zard for example, he is already becoming Bell´s father figure, or uncle."
"Huh?"
"It also means to be there for your child, to care for him, protect him, guide him on his way...I can´t do that anymore...but you can."
"But..."
"No buts, if you can´t do it because of your heart or mind...do it for me...and for Bell. My little angel needs a Mom. Who will teach him the important things? How to treat a woman? Zard hasn´t any experience with women, except for you. How to fight for what is worth fighting for? To protect his loved ones?
Zeus is a good grandfather and is doing a good job, Zard will surely become a good father figure...but a boy needs more than this, he needs his Mom."
"But..."
Meteria sighed. "What if he wants to go to Orario and all the goddesses and women there will be after him for whatever reason? And that with Zeus´ teachings..."
"I won´t let that happen!"
Meteria giggled, finally, she saw something of her sister´s usual behavior.
"Then be there for him, Alfia. Protect my little angel...help him on his way...be his Mom."
"I..."
Meteria sighed, then she moved on the bench, turning to Alfia, and shifted Bell into her arms.
"Eh?"
Alfia blinked, Bell started to smile right away as soon as she touched him.
"See? Bell loves you...he even calls you Mom already."
"He did?"
"Haven´t you noticed it?"
"No..."
"Hah...so absorbed in your Mom role already...Bell mostly calls you Mom for a while now. His heart has accepted you and doesn´t want to let go of you. Bell loves you...loves his Mom."
A few drops fell from Alfia´s eyes, one touched Bell´s forehead...he suddenly looked sad.
"See? He gets sad when you are sad...he looks up to you."
"But even when...Meteria...he has..."that"..."
Meteria gently caressed her sister´s arm. "No, he hasn´t. At least not yet."
"Huh?"
"Bell has a cold, Zeus and Zard tried to tell you that again and again."
"A...cold?"
"Yes, he should feel better after resting for a while. They came in and looked after you two, but you only had eyes and ears for Bell."
"Oh."
Meteria giggled. "You are totally his Mom already."
"Meteria..."
"No buts anymore, big sister. I can see from up here that your heart longs for it. You already train your cooking skills just for him...even when it isn´t going well."
Alfia got a bit red when she heard Meteria´s statement.
"You do everything and jump at any possible danger for Bell and you don´t care what happens to you while you do that. Also...haven´t you noticed that your illness has gotten better since you came to Bell? Yours and Zard´s."
"I did...but..."
"Motherly love."
"Eh?"
"From the first moment when you saw Bell, your heart opened completely to him. You were like that when I was still there too. Remember when my husband sneaked into my room to visit me? You let the tray with tea fall down and rushed to my side to protect me and Bell."
"I didn´t notice that it was...him..."
"Mou, you still don´t like Bell´s father?"
"He seduced you!"
"No, my dear sister...I fell in love."
"Grml..."
"Maybe that will happen to you one day too."
"I doubt it..."
"What about Zeus?"
"NOT EVEN WHEN HELL FROZE OVER!"
"Shh, you are holding a baby, Alfia."
"Oh...s-sorry..."
Bell´s tiny hands clutched into Alfia´s shirt and he kept sleeping.
"And what about Zard?"
"Not you too..."
"Hehe, I know you two aren´t "in love", but you make good partners."
Alfia went quiet for a moment, looking at Bell´s peaceful face.
"Meteria?"
"Yes?"
"Is this really happening? Am I really talking to you? Or is this just a dream that comes from my heart?"
"Who knows, I´m not allowed to say it."
"Mmmh..."
Alfia kept looking at the baby in her arms...then at her sister again. It looked like the garden was slowly moving away from her.
"Meteria?!"
"Alfia...please fulfill my wish...be there for Bell...be his Mom."
"Meteria, please wait!"
"I can´t...I love you, big sister."
"Meteria I...I..."
"And don´t be too harsh in the future when a girl...or more than one...show interest in him, alright? I want to see looooots of grandchildren!"
Alfia took a deep breath. "I will do it, for you, for Bell...for..."
She wanted to say "For my heart"...but for the moment she didn´t allow herself that.
"Accept what your heart wants, Alfia. You want to be his Mom...so do your best."
"I will! I will do my absolute best!"
"Ehe...good. I will watch over you with my husband from above."
"Meteria..."
"Farewell, Alfia. Keep him safe, okay?"
"I will. He will be safe...I will be his Mom!"
Finally, she yelled out what her heart longed for.
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After Alfia was gone, Meteria took a deep breath, slowly getting up from the bench.
"Did you tell her what you wanted to say?"
A tall man, wearing a dark robe came from behind a big hedge.
"I did, thank you for this chance, Lord Hades."
Hades smiled. "Not for that, you were Hera´s favorite, it's the least I can do, even when Morpheus did most of the work, connecting you two."
Meteria smiled. "And thank you for letting me stay in your garden for a while."
"Enjoy it, tell me when you´re ready to move on."
"I will, I just...want to look over my little angel and Alfia a bit longer."
"Take your time."
Hades was about to leave, then he turned around again.
"That reminds me, Persephone made cookies and cupcakes, do you want some?"
Meteria smiled so brightly, her whole body shone. "I do!"
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Nnnnh...
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Alfia didn´t know how long she slept, her whole body hurt due to sitting next to Bell´s bed.
"Mom?..."
Nnnnh...
Alfia slowly opened her eyes, but she still held Bell´s left hand.
"Be...ll...?"
"Mom...good morning."
Her body ached as she moved up a bit...the sky was getting bright again...Alfia had sat by his bed all night.
"How are you feeling, sweety?"
"Better..."
He still looked tired and weak...but he only coughed rarely now. What had caused her to panic so much was actually just a mild cold. Bell had recovered fairly quickly, maybe it was from resting and sleeping a lot all day...or maybe it was a mother's love that gave him strength.
A certain green-haired elf in Orario could confirm that it helped a child to recover faster when a mother figure sat next to it.
Alfia gently poured some warm tea for Bell into his cup, and Zeus had exchanged it...only now did she notice the blanket around her...Zeus really was a gentleman sometimes. Over the last six months here, Alfia´s heart had also opened up to Zeus. She started to see his good sides and had to admit, he was a good grandfather.
But it wasn´t that she fell in love with him...that was out of the question for all eternity.
Alfia smiled, she couldn´t tell with words how relieved she was that Bell only had a cold...and didn´t inherit the disease.
"Bell, do you want to eat something?"
"Mhm.."
"Then I will go outside for a few minutes, okay?"
"Okay."
Alfia went with what her heart wanted too, she leaned forward and gently kissed Bell´s forehead...the first time doing that.
"When you feel better, I will help you to bathe, but stay in your bed, okay?"
"Okay...Mom."
She smiled and gently stroked his hair.
"I´m proud of you, Bell."
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Even when her body ached like never before, Bell came first for Alfia. When she went into the kitchen, Alfia bound her hair to a ponytail and started to make porridge for Bell. Her newly found emotions and determination still didn´t increase her cooking skills, so Zard quickly intervened and took over. Alfia still did her best to support him.
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On this morning...Zard and Zeus witnessed something great happening.
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Mommy Alfia...was born.
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Over the course of the next year, Bell and Alfia grew closer and closer together. They really were like mother and son now. Alfia trained every day to become the perfect Mom, she made sure that the house was always clean. She even asked Zeus one time if it was possible for souls in heaven to communicate with people down on the surface in a way. They were things that a god was allowed to tell mortals...Zeus just kept quiet and blinked one time. It was neither saying yes or no...but for Alfia it was enough. When they went for a walk together, Zeus´ eyes widened when he saw something.
A stray wolf came out between some trees and growled at them, he didn´t intend to attack them, just warn them. It wouldn´t even dare to attack someone like Zard, too intimidated by the huge body.
But...Bell got a bit frightened and that was a problem...for the wolf.
Alfia´s behavior changed immediately, she bared her teeth and snarled loudly...she really did look like a mother bear at that moment...the wolf immediately stuck its tail between its legs and ran away whimpering...a second later Alfia's facial expression was back as calm as ever and she smiled at Bell...who was beaming and adoring his cool mom.
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Far in the east, in an elven village, an adult elven woman looked worried at a door in her house, she heard someone sobbing and crying behind the door.
Silent steps came closer. "How is Lefiya?"
"She´s crying again..."
"Poor thing...to lose her parents at this age..."
"My love...I don´t know what to do...how can we help her?"
"I wish I knew..."
Lefiya´s aunt and her husband stood there for a moment, it broke their hearts to hear Lefiya crying like this. She cried almost every day, the rest of the time she looked quite gloomy.
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Eventually, then the second winter since Alfia and Zard arrived came...they had been there now for nearly two years.
It was in this winter...that Alfia revealed something to Bell that she wanted to keep hidden...and it made him only adore and love her more. If Alfia had never come to the village, Bell wouldn´t be at the mountain for a walk in the snow with her...so nothing special would have happened.
Zeus was busy working at the house, so it was just the two of them.
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Alfia´s heart nearly stopped when she heard the rumbling...a certain sound that no one ever wanted to hear in the mountains in winter.
An avalanche.
Bell was playing in the snow a few dozen meters away from Alfia when she noticed the sound and the snow moving.
"Bell!"
"Mom?!"
"Run, come here, fast!"
He was too young to notice the danger that he was in, but when Alfia called for him, Bell immediately started to run. Everything suddenly happened in slow motion for Alfia. More and more snow started to move and slid towards them. She analyzed and calculated the situation in a split second, there was no chance for her to escape the avalanche, there was nowhere to hide. It clicked in her head that the only thing that mattered to her was to protect Bell. Alfia ran towards him while Bell ran towards her...she saw fear in his eyes...so she smiled wildly to show him she wasn't afraid...to reassure him.
Her body reacted subconsciously, faster than she could make a conscious decision.
Bell. Danger. Destroy!
Alfia always hated her own "noises", so she kept a certain spell activated at all times.
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Silentium Eden...release!
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Her own noises and self-hatred for taking the biggest part of her sister´s strength in their mother´s womb meant nothing when Bell was in danger. So for the first time in nearly two years, Alfia called for her magic. Silentium Eden was a super short chant enchant magic that covered Alfia's body in magic negating "armor". She kept it on at all times and it required her to use a large amount of mind to sustain it.
Despite its ability to nullify external magic attacks, the true nature of her magic lay in its ability to greatly diminish the power of her own magic. Alfia referred to it as not being an "armor" but rather a "seal" to keep her own "noise" within herself.
And now, she broke the seal.
Magic rushed through her body, as her true strength came out.
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Alfia lunged forward the last few feet, catching Bell and pulling him into a tight hug with her left arm while stretching her right out and screaming for the first time in a long long time...out loud.
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Bell "saw" everything...even when her magic was mostly invisible.
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"Gospel!"
A magic circle spread out around them in every direction.
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"SATANAS VERION!"
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Blocks of Sound smashed forward towards the avalanche...Bell´s eyes widened. He heard the magic more than that he saw it...until it hit the approaching snow.
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The avalanche was obliterated.
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As if something massive had smashed head-first into the snow, it exploded and was smashed to the side. The shockwave that followed changed the course of the avalanche away from them. With her magic Alfia had destroyed a natural disaster... it was the most natural thing in the world for her to protect her little angel.
"Woah!"
Bell could only stare in the embrace of his Mom...how the avalanche was smashed to the side and nearly all snow pushed away from this mountain side...it was a good thing that no one lived in the new direction of the avalanche.
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"Hah...hah...hah...hah...Bell...hah...are you...hah...okay?"
He stared at her wordlessly.
Oh no...I used magic...in front of Bell...
She cursed herself more for putting him in danger...even if the avalanche wasn´t her fault and she couldn´t know it to begin with...but her Mommy's side was really strong.
"Bell?"
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"That was so cool, Mom!"
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"Eh?"
Alfia blinked, and Bell beamed all over his face.
"You are so cool! Was what magic? How do you do that? Can you do that again? It looked so awesome!"
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On this day, Bell Cranel learned one thing...he had the coolest Mom ever.
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But he would also start to have questions.
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And while Bell and Alfia walked back to the house, calming down the alarmed Zard and Zeus, the young Lefiya looked out of her window. Winter was different in an elven forest, there wasn´t too much snow.
A soft knock came from the door.
"Lefiya?"
"Yes, Aunty Liliana?"
"Do you want to come to the festival? Something special is happening."
"What is it?" Lefiya got up from her chair.
She didn´t cry so often anymore, only when she visited her parent´s grave, which happened almost every day.
"A huge ship is arriving at the shore soon."
"A ship?"
"Have you ever heard about the Education District?"
"The what?"
Her aunt smiled gently. "You do like learning, right?"
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..
Author`s Note: I know, aside from what happened with Alise it's pretty similar to the original work so far, but visible changes will happen soon.
About updates, I will try to do at least one every week, maybe if I have time, more. The next chapter will have the original chapters 5-9 in it, with of course things added. So that you will be able to see the first big change.
About the seriousness of the story. The original work didn´t even come to the darker parts, so there will be this stuff. There will still be a few changes in here, one that I thought very long about. It will give the story a more serious and darker tone but is very important for the development of the characters. Which will also change what this person can do (magic), I don´t make the change on a whim, but in the series, it was explained how some people developed their magic, that it came from a longing in their soul.
Like Lily wanted to be someone else than she is and got Cinder Ella. How Welf hated magic stuff and got his magic, and so on.
About Alise, I didn´t try to make her too arrogant, just tried to go with her personality. And about how insanely strong she was, I mostly thought, if she was this strong with her skill and level 3/4, how strong would she be at level 6? But you are all right, there are other strong people too, I don´t want to go too far.
Oh and yes, Ship of Hero will appear again.
And yes, Bell will be stronger than in the original work before he comes to Orario, and I try not to baby him too much again.
For Bell´s god and familia, I won´t say something at this point, you will see what happens. Just saying, that Miach will still be important for the cure.
Last thing, about the plot and the pacing, many, many things happened in the original work, and will here, that you will think of as filler or unnecessary, but to move to the point that I intend to, these things will be important to happen first.