Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Serena POV.
"That was all of them, wasn't it?" I asked, almost pleading, in Ravel's direction; she just laughed slightly.
"Yes, at least those to whom we owe respect, with whom we have business dealings and a pleasant relationship. On the other hand, according to GLaDOS, there are another dozen important families, including a couple belonging to Old Satan's faction, to whom we don't really owe anything. Those latter ones are even enjoying the gambling tables. We can meet them if you like," Ravel said, shrugging.
"Ugh, no thanks. Remind me later to send letters thanking them for coming, but I'm done," I said wearily. "And about those devils from Old Satan's faction, I'm really tempted to make sure they lose everything somehow," I said mockingly. "But unfortunately, fixing the gambling tables would reflect badly on us, even if they deserve it. As long as they don't cause any trouble, we'll just have to put up with them," I said dryly. Ravel chuckled slightly.
"We can always send Lucius to play with them; he'd be excellent at making them angry or luring them into losing everything, or at least most of their riches." Ravel scoffed, and my eyes gleamed.
"Ah, an excellent idea, my love," I said with a loving sigh. Ravel just snorted amusedly. "Unfortunately, Lucius and Cissy seem very comfortable dancing; I'm sure Cissy would stick me with a thousand needles if I interrupted them," I said ruefully. Ravel laughed.
"Yes, she will," Ravel said with an amused smile. I sighed wearily.
"Come on, we have to meet up with the others. I already sent a message to meet on the dance floor. I really want to dance with you all," I said with an expectant smile.
"You want to feel our bodies on yours." Ravel replied with a smile of her own, and I smiled back shamelessly.
"None of you complained, and in fact, you were the ones who started it." I retorted in kind, and Ravel shrugged without remorse. I rolled my eyes. "Come on, I can see Freya is still on the platform; it looks like she's with Horn and Ottar." I said easily, Ravel nodded, and we returned to our platform. We passed through the defense with ease.
"My Odr, you're back." Freya sighed dreamily as she stood up. I just nodded.
"I didn't take too long," I said easily, walking over to the bar, grabbing a glass, and pouring myself a drink before quickly downing it. I poured myself a second glass before my gaze shifted to Horn and Ottar. "I see you filled them in," I said as they both looked around, almost stunned, before their eyes settled on me.
"I did," Freya said with a smile.
"So what then?" I asked Ottar and Horn curiously.
"I will serve and protect Freya, in whatever world she may be in, and against any god who would harm her," Ottar said immediately without any hesitation.
"I, too, will follow Freya to serve her; that is my purpose," Horn said with the same determination. I nodded firmly.
"Then, welcome to my family," I said with a gentle smile. "I won't ask you to do anything, so you can continue serving and protecting Freya however you like." I told them both. They both seemed satisfied with that, even Ottar seemed happy despite his stoic expression.
"That's fantastic!" Freya said happily, and I smiled at her amusedly.
"Finally, you'll have someone who can serve you properly. Poor Dobby can't be everywhere; he's already too busy with the mansion to attend to you." I said playfully. Freya pouted and looked at me.
"Let me tell you, I'm more than capable of taking care of my basic needs myself, and I'm also more than capable of taking care of myself," Freya said indignantly. I raised an eyebrow.
"You called Dobby for help because you didn't know how to close your dress three days ago, and you called him for help preparing the bath because you didn't know how to put in the bath salts, bath bombs, and oils." I said with a raised eyebrow, and Freya blushed deeply.
"Serena!" Freya complained, embarrassed. Horn and Ottar looked at their goddess, slightly surprised, before smiling faintly. Ravel chuckled, and I joined in.
"Admit it, you're spoiled, little goddess." I teased her as I took my seat. Freya just snorted and crossed her arms, then bit her lip and gave me a suggestive look.
"Not enough for you," Freye said flirtatiously. I rolled my eyes. I grabbed Ravel by the waist before she could slap my hands away.
"You've groped me enough for the last two hours, unless you want us to start something you know you won't be able to stop, and that will ruin our night of dancing, then you can use Freya." Ravel said dryly as she sat down opposite me. I pouted.
"Yes, please!" Freya said without hesitation, seizing the opportunity. She didn't even wait before sitting on my lap with a wide smile on her face. I sighed, but I didn't move Freya. In fact, I let my hands wander along her slender, smooth waist. Like the other girls, her ball gown was thin enough that I could feel her body with extreme ease.
I could feel her plump bottom in my lap as she squirmed and twisted in my arms. I could feel the heat radiating from her body and simply let myself go. I placed my nose in the crook of her neck and gently inhaled Freya's intoxicating scent. My hands found her belly and lingered there before tracing shapes over her body absentmindedly.
I could feel Freya shudder with pleasure on my lap, but she did nothing to stop it; in fact, her body relaxed even more against mine, and she let all her weight fall against my chest, while she bit her lip.
I looked once more. Horn seemed almost in shock before blushing slightly. Ottar didn't even seem to flinch at the sight of his goddess in such a situation.
"So, Freya told you about the seal?" I asked them both. They both straightened up and nodded. "Will you take the seal or not?" I asked once more. They both seemed to hesitate.
"I will," Ottar said after a few moments as he took a step forward. "I hate the idea of belonging to any other 'familia' than that of my goddess, even if it's not exactly the same, the... implications are. My goddess is unique to me; I have dedicated my life, and will continue to do so, to serving Freya-sama."
"But, despite my... displeasure at relying on forces other than my own, if what Freya told us is true, and from what we could see of you and the other beings of this world participating in the arenas, then... though it pains me to admit it... my strength will not be enough," Ottar said regretfully before his expression hardened. "As the only member of the Freya Familia at her side, it is my duty to protect my goddess, and if what I need is that 'seal,' then I will do it."
"Ottar." Freya sighed fondly.
"I will too," Horn said. "Ottar will be protecting our goddess, and it is my duty to serve her. So, even though I don't need the strength of the 'seal,' my wish is to serve her for as long as I can. As a human, my lifespan doesn't even come close to Freya-sama's. If the seal can extend my life so I can continue serving her for as long as we both live, then I will do it." Horn said almost fanatically. I shook my head in disbelief.
"Horn, my child." Freya said, completely charmed and moved.
Freya could certainly do questionable things when she wanted to, but she truly loved her children, and they loved her even more. I simply sighed and nodded.
"Very well, we'll talk about it later," I said to both of them with a smile. They nodded. "How's everything in Orario?" I asked curiously, more to keep the conversation going than anything else. I had Bella and Riveria if I wanted information about Orario, but Horn simply nodded anyway.
"Rakia has invaded Orario. Loki's forces repelled their initial attack. With the upgrades and the addition of the Freya Familia to the Loki Familia, we can't lose against Rakia; it's only a matter of time. Nothing else of note has happened since then. Riveria has been operating in the shadows. Many members of the Familia noticed, but I suppose you know more about their movements than we do," Horn said matter-of-factly. I nodded.
Rakia? The city ruled by Ares? So fast? I quickly reviewed my thoughts before realizing that, yes, it was actually my fault that nothing more interesting happened. The whole Ishtar problem never happened since she wasn't in Orario, and Riveria must have prevented everything involving the Freya familia, Knossos, and Evilus.
I had given Riveria free rein regarding Evilus, but I hadn't followed up on it. The last few weeks have been really busy. I'd have to catch up on what had happened with Evilus 's remnant.
And the fact that the war with Rakia was already underway meant the whole problem with the Xenos would soon continue. Hmmm, maybe I can go back to my initial idea of talking to Uranus and Fels so I can bring the Xenos to the underworld.
"The monsters... are part of the dungeon." Ottar said. I snapped out of my reverie and saw him looking at one of the screens. I glanced at what he was looking at before nodding.
"Yes, they are." I confirmed easily. "The dungeon won't miss a few thousand monsters; it won't even notice it's losing them." I said easily, and Ottar nodded.
"I'm back, Gonks !" Rebecca said, landing on the platform as she twirled around happily. Her body was pretty battered, though most of her wounds had healed, while her dress was ripped and torn in several places, which she didn't seem to mind in the slightest. I moved my hand and mended the dress as she slumped into the seat before grabbing a half-full glass and downing it without a fuss. "Nothing beats a good drink after beating up a bunch of Gonks!" Rebecca laughed. I snorted in amusement.
"I see you had fun," I said to Rebecca playfully.
"Of course it was! It was fun shooting them!" Rebecca said cheerfully, then looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "And it looks like you're having fun too," she said with a lascivious smile. I wasn't even ashamed that my hands were still groping Freya's body; at this point, my hands had a mind of their own when I had one of them in my lap and got lost in my thoughts.
"I had to do something while I waited for you," I said without any shame. Rebecca laughed.
"You should add more arenas," Rebecca said easily. I looked at her in surprise.
"More?" I asked incredulously. "Aren't these six enough? Besides, what other themes do you want to add?" I asked, confused. Rebecca shook her head.
"Not different arenas, MORE existing arenas." Rebecca emphasized before taking another drink. "I was down there, there were lines of thousands of people waiting their turn, and those who came out of their fights wanted to participate again. A single arena, even if it's for 32 people and only lasts between 20-30 minutes, is far too little for the thousands of people who want to enter." Rebecca said with a grimace—something I countered.
Ouch, the worst thing that could happen was being put in the queue. I could only imagine the frustration of having to wait for hours to play a 20-minute match, or even less if you were instantly eliminated. It was awful. I almost shuddered at the bad memories.
"Ravel, send a message to the staff. If they complain, tell them I'll add more arenas... after my wedding. Work on it afterward. If they cause problems, they should be banned from Distracted Globe." I told Ravel. She just raised her thumb, already typing rapidly on a tablet. I sighed.
Actually, creating those Arenas took me the same amount of time as creating Distracted Globe; I had to design them to be capable of completely repairing themselves and adaptable enough to keep changing as situations change.
Especially The Wild Orbit and Zenith, which were the largest of all the arenas. I expected them to be popular, but not popular enough to warrant building several identical arenas. I'll have to monitor the performance of all the arenas in the coming days to see whether additional instances for the other arenas are also necessary.
I quickly looked up when I felt Bella approaching. She looked immaculate as she descended with a satisfied smile on her face; the only thing out of place was a smudge of blood on the corner of her lip, which she noticed because of my gaze. She simply licked her lips while staring at me.
I chuckled as I watched her take a bottle of Sanguis Virginis from the bar and pour it into a wide wine glass, swirling it a few times before smiling slightly and taking a drink with complete ease.
"Your blood, my love, is always better than anyone else's." Bella sighed with pleasure as she drank her wine, which had been specially prepared with some of my blood instead of other people's. I just snorted.
"I hope so," I said curtly. "And now that you've had your fun at the Arena, and I've finished my rounds, shall we dance?" I asked with an expectant smile. Bella just smiled and took another drink.
"Of course," Bella said, my eyes sparkling with excitement. I stood up and effortlessly lifted Freya to her feet. She pouted, but walked away without a word. I went over to Bella, reached out to take her hand, and pulled her towards me. My other hand wrapped firmly around her waist. Bella just raised an eyebrow with an amused smile.
"Let's go," I said huskily to Bella. The last time I'd gone to a dance club with the girls, Bella hadn't come; it really wasn't her thing, and I knew it. She was making a concession on this, and I would take it as such, seize the moment.
I grabbed Bella and dragged her into the air.
"I'll bring the alcohol!" I heard Becca yell as the bottles seemed to reason together while she tried to grab several at once. I chuckled. I dragged Bella toward the zero-gravity dance floor. As soon as we arrived, the music blasted around us as the lights dimmed even further before the lasers illuminated us.
I continued smiling at Bella as I dragged her along, heading towards where Enid and the others were dancing happily. Enid squealed with joy as she greeted me, and I smiled slightly. I still had Bella in my arms and didn't let go; I simply began to move and dance, her body pressed against mine.
Bella rolled her eyes as she smiled, drank the rest of the wine she still had in her glass, and then made it disappear, her hands encircling my body as she began to move slowly, mimicking my movements.
I smiled broadly as I danced alongside her, still able to feel the pleasant buzz of the magic alcohol as the loud music vibrated and rumbled in my chest, letting my body move freely without separating from Bella.
I could feel her body pressed against mine, I could smell her perfume, her warmth, and every movement she made. I was completely focused on her as we danced; I barely noticed when the others joined us. None of them tried to join us or separate us; they simply danced around us in their own groups. I appreciated their gesture of leaving us alone.
Well, except for Narcissa. She was the only one who made me leave Bella after a couple of hours of dancing with her, so she could dance with her sister. The other girls took advantage and quickly surrounded me. I just chuckled while shaking my head. Even Cia was dancing around me happily, as much as a little fairy could.
I grabbed Rebecca and started dancing with her. I could feel Enid leaning against my back as she burst into laughter. I didn't even hesitate to use my tail to wrap around her waist and pull her closer to me. I glanced sideways and saw Freya. My eyebrows rose when I saw her with Horn and Ottar.
Apparently, she had convinced them both to drink some cocktails, which were magical; I could see they were both slightly drunk. Horn was dancing with her goddess without a care in the world, while Ottar almost made me burst out laughing.
He was close to Freya, but his way of dancing was simply to move half a step to one side, then half a step to the other; it was the kind of dance of an introverted person whom their friends had dragged along.
The thing is, Ottar kept his gaze purely stoic as he moved from one side to the other; the only thing that betrayed his state of intoxication was the slightly lost and glassy look in his eyes.
I laughed happily as I continued dancing with the girls. We kept switching dance partners; I even danced with Narcissa while the other girls were dragging Bella along.
When everyone had finally settled down, they ushered Bella and me into the center of the group to dance together one more time. I just laughed happily as I danced with Bella again.
Her body pressed against mine felt right. I really couldn't wait to marry her.
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