Fated Ones
DISCLAIMER: Danmachi belongs to its respective owners. This story is a fan-made depiction of a fan what-if route of the original work and the characters in it abide by the fictional laws in the setting.
Story Commissioned by a patr'on.
[Chapter 8] Y[ours]
Act 1 - Part 8
Artemis floated on a cloud of pure and undiluted bliss.
Never before had she felt this way, to be so full and content; Not even hunting the deadliest of monsters had brought this high to her or driven her so insane either. Whether it was because she had finally consummated the love that was meant to be for eons already or because she had never tasted such emotions, she didn't know —nor did she care.
An act that she had always perceived as vile and degrading had become something that she was looking forward to redoing all over again, as long as it was with her beloved and eternal partner, and hopefully, she would manage to remain conscious for the entirety of it —to actively partake on indulging her desires and granting his too.
If there was one thing and one thing alone that she hadn't liked about the whole thing —Actually, thinking about it, there were several things that she hadn't liked, but only one really had to with Bell Cranel. Of the things she didn't like that did not include her lover were that it was far too tiring, even her Divine stamina hadn't managed to keep up with her lover, and some positions forced her to work muscles that she hadn't known were needed in certain positions, and of course… how easy she found herself addicted to the act…
But that was all on Artemis herself, the only thing that she hadn't liked about consummating her love with Bell Cranel, her Orion, was that he was not her Orion…
No…
That was wrong to say.
Bell Cranel was her Orion, but he was so much more; far too much more that even uniting with him had brought Artemis a sense of completion that did not hold a candle to what she felt for Orion.
And in that same sense, the issue that she disliked was that Artemis felt that she had not filled with Bell's heart entirely.
As enraptured as Bell was with her…
As much as Bell only thought of her, and her alone…
Artemis did not fill Bell's soul with her love.
It was scary.
A Goddess, one of the three-titled virginal Goddesses, had given Bell Cranel her all and she had not managed to fill his soul whole.
It had nothing to do with the way he grew up or his fears, not even if she were to mistreat him would it make sense for the way her love hadn't managed to fill him whole; Artemis alone simply wasn't enough, and that was what she hated most.
A whole eternal life she thought that she would be able to find someone for herself alone, she was not blind or deaf to the stories of love sung by her enamored maidens; Heavens, Bell Cranel had shown her why her maidens believed so strongly in that which they called 'love', but how was Artemis supposed to understand whether it was Artemis herself that was lacking, or Bell Cranel was…
…
No…
Bell had shown her nothing but love.
Had thought of nobody but her and her alone as they copulated.
She could feel it in his soul, vast and powerful as it was.
Artemis was not lacking in anything at all, or rather, Bell Cranel had found absolutely no fault in her at all.
But he simply was…
Far too much.
From the moment she granted him the right to end her title as a virgin and drawn blood as they finalized their vows, Bell Cranel's soul had shone so bright; so, so, so bright and blinding, that even Artemis had to avert her eyes from his, and from his soul, because it was devouring her whole —No, that was wrong to say too.
Bell Cranel wasn't hurting her.
Bell Cranel…
How could she even explain it in words?
It was scary.
Artemis was addicted to him, to both: Orion's soul within Bell Cranel, and the vast expanse of Bell Cranel's soul itself; So much so that she had become… Oh… the things she had sung in his arms: the pleas and promises that she had begged from him… Where she mortal, she would've become… Oh… the woman she would've become….
It was so scary…
But also, so damn exhilarating.
Gods and Goddesses descended to the mortal world in search of Entertainment, to mingle with the mortals and to understand their ways and woes, but immortals they were —Divine constructs of the World and human worship, but their existence alone simply did not allow for them to fully act as mortals did.
For even in their weakest of moments, the Divine were still that: Divine.
Bell Cranel had literally stripped Artemis of her Divinity until she was but a mortal woman seeking mortal yet eternal and immortal love in his arms.
And it had been so damned fun and addicting…
To the point that Artemis had not been able to remain conscious to Bell's physical love, or rather remain fully coherent; her body craved and responded to Bell's every movement, but her mind had long since been overloaded to the point that she could only feel… oh… oh….
Just thinking about it made the cloud of pure undiluted bliss on which Artemis floated even more potent…
But at long last, the unforgettable moment was over, and Artemis had finally managed to rest; both in mind and body, as Bell's and someone else's words echoed far, far, way too far in the distance that she could not bring herself to care.
As long as Bell was by her side or near her, Artemis knew she would always be safe.
So, Artemis gave in to her weakness and dozed off.
By the time she woke up, it wasn't dark but the ambient had become much colder than when she was in her fated one's arms; and Artemis was alone too, staring at the foliage of a tree far above her, wrapped in her spare change of clothes and blankets that kept her body warm yet still cold without her fated one.
For a moment, for a single fleeting moment, her heart became encased by the flames of anger and sorrow because Bell Cranel was not by her side when she immediately woke up, but those flames were doused as soon as her ears functioned as they should, and she could hear his words just a little bit far away from her.
"O-oh, that… Astraea I wouldn't -not to say that I don't wish to- but—"
They weren't alone in the clearing anymore, her friend was with them now, but Artemis did not care for her friend in that moment; all she cared about was knowing that Bell had not left her alone or escaped after claiming her whole. Raising up from her prone position was not without its difficulties, her body ached painfully but pleasantly in the strangest of places, and her stomach still felt so damn warm and cozy, but Artemis found the strength to raise up.
And stare as Astraea's hands held her Orion by the face, covering his face entirely from view and possibly—
"Astraea!" Artemis growled like a predatory beast, "What do you think you are doing with my man!"
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Bell was the one whose body went stiff, in all manners of speech; Astraea lips were but a single's nail's width away from his, her intoxicating breath all but begging him to cross that last tiny expanse of distance and it was not for a lack of trying at all —Astraea's hands on his face held him so painfully, and kept his head so still, that he hadn't managed to press his lips against hers.
He knew it was wrong.
Bell knew that if he tried, that if he really, really tried, he could've easily pinned Astraea down and claimer her lips for his own; hell, Astraea's cerulean irises sparkled with so much longing, desire, yearning and so much Goddess damned love that it was impossible to resist her, but it was his very own affection and respect for the Goddess that Bell managed to hold back, if barely, and with her help.
"Astraea! What do you think you are doing with my man!"
Bell had never been stabbed in the heart, but Artemis's growl sure as hell felt like how a spear would when piercing his chest, paralyzing his mind and robbing all strength from his body.
Every emotion he felt in that moment turned into a singular one: guilt.
He did not think or feel for even one second that holding onto Astraea was wrong, he could feel it deep inside him how Astraea was meant to be by his side; what he felt guilt for was that even when Artemis reaffirmed her claim over him through her choice of words, Bell refused to let go of the Goddess whose lips were so infinitely close to his.
Bell didn't feel it was wrong at all, and that's why he felt guilty.
How could he not?
He knew he could never have both Goddesses, that was not how love worked.
Bell had already given himself entirely to Artemis, so why…
Why did Astraea…
"I am merely…" Astraea spoke slowly but loud enough that Artemis could hear her. What Artemis could not see, however, was the way Astraea lips finally touched Bell's as she gathered her words.
Astraea's lips were as soft as he imagined them to be, and just as intoxicating as her breath that washed over him.
"…making sure that Sir Bell…"
Astraea continued speaking… her lips continued moving against his, slowly but surely pressing in a manner that was both wrong yet so Goddess damned right.
"… does not have any injury on his face."
He felt the way Astraea smiled coyly, the way her lips twisted upwards against his before she moved back, her features slowly turning into a mask of cold apathy though she did caress his face so gently and comforting that he knew her sudden change of mood was not his fault at all. When Astraea hands returned to her lap, crossed over one another, Bell knew it was his turn to let go.
He knew what he had to do.
And the moment his fingers left the curvature of Astraea's sides, Bell's heart throbbed painfully; Still, it was pain that he could ignore momentarily, and in that moment, he focused on Artemis marching towards them with unsteady steps.
He did not think for a minute that Artemis would believe Astraea's words; Hell, Artemis seemed to have disregarded anything Astraea had said at all, her hands were balled into fists, and she was all but ready to swing at Astraea the moment she got close enough.
He could not allow that.
Astraea had suffered enough because of him, because he failed to communicate properly with her; he could not let the same happen with Artemis either, he had to speak out!
"Artemis!" Bell got up, one arm carefully holding onto the mantle hiding his body, "Can you please listen to me before doing anything?"
He half expected his request to be denied with how angry Artemis looked, but no sooner had Artemis heard his words that she stopped on the spot and gave him one of those smiles that left him weak in the knees.
"Yes, my Orion?"
He had Artemis attention, he had the floor to speak, now all he needed to do was explain…
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Astraea fully expected a fight to break out between her and Artemis, friends they were but Astraea had not only touched Sir Bell in an inappropriate manner for one who was supposed to be the partner of another woman, but also because Astraea did not wish to relinquish what little happiness she had found in and with Sir Bell to Artemis, friends or not.
Her emotions were still running wild after staring at Bell's soul from so close, bright, and lovely vast as it was, but Astraea knew that letting her emotions get the best of her merely to satiate her curiosity had been somewhat wrong if only because her actions had put Sir Bell in another tough situation, something that she didn't want to do at all.
Not after she had done him so much wrong by misunderstanding what she had seen earlier.
"Artemis!"
And Sir Bell still found ways to care for her, ways that made her love for him grow bigger and deeper, even when it would put him against the woman that he had made love.
"Can you please listen to me before doing anything?"
Astraea did not like for one second the way Artemis froze upon hearing Sir Bell's request, nor did she enjoy at all how Artemis smiled like a lovestruck maiden who would do no wrong at all.
"Yes, my Orion?"
It made her feel… like she wouldn't care at all if her friendship with Artemis ended right then and there.
Heavens, if Sir Bell was about to say what she thought he was going to, then such an event might occur this very moment and Astraea truly found herself not caring if it happened; She had already lost enough precious things in her life to give up on Sir Bell.
"Before I say anything," Bell seemed so brave in that moment, and so very afraid too, "I need you to understand that what I say will make you upset but please, I beg of you to find all faults on me and blame me alone, okay?"
She sighed, smiling; of course Sir Bell would request something like that, he cared so much for them and their friendship which existed before him to let it fall apart solely because of his existence. It was lovely and she admired that part of him, but at the same time, his penchant for taking all blame would not work in this situation.
"Okay…" Artemis straightened as she prepared herself to hear what no doubt would break her heart, fragile as it was after having consummated her love with Sir Bell.
Yet Astraea found herself not caring, because Sir Bell—
"I feel the same way for Astraea as I do for you, Artemis."
—He loved her. He simply hadn't found the strength or courage to say so until someone had shown him that a mortal and a God could come together.
"And I don't mean it like simply wanting to hold either of you in my arms, but like…" Sir Bell touched his chest, over his heart where his soul shone the brightest in that moment, "When I'm with you, either of you, it just… feels right, like we are just…"
"Like different parts of you calls out for us?" Artemis responded without an ounce of hurt.
Astraea blinked and stared, surprised.
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Artemis knew what her Orion was going to say before he even said it.
From the moment that he hesitated on leaving Astraea's side, the way his fingers had clung to Astraea for as long as he could until he could no longer feel her at all, the way his red eyes glanced at Astraea with the same kind of emotions showing as he had for Artemis herself…
Artemis knew very well what Orion felt, their souls were connected now, and she could feel the shifts in his emotions as he tried to come to terms with the feelings he held in his heart. Not that she knew why she could perceive his emotions, but it certainly made the task of hearing what Bell said easier on her heart.
"I feel the same way for Astraea as I do for you, Artemis."
It hurt a lot to hear him say that, especially after he had professed his love for her in the most intimate of ways, but she had known about those feelings of his from the same moment that they had connected.
Bell Cranel had made her whole, but Artemis had not filled Bell Cranel's soul at all.
She knew that not even with an infinite amount of time that everything Artemis had to offer would ever be enough to fill Bell's soul, perhaps she would fill Orion's soul inside Bell but never Bell's soul in its entirety. Not even if she were to pick new hobbies, change the way she dressed or the way she spoke, not even if she were to suddenly become a new person altogether would she be able to fill his soul entirely.
It was such vastness that scared Artemis when they first met; he had been empty when they first saw him, so insanely empty that upon having his first glimpse of someone whom he was meant to be with had stirred his vast soul awake and called out with all its strength for them.
For both of them, Astraea, and Artemis herself.
That's why he had felt so wrong to her, or so Artemis had come to believe, and her Orion's words only confirmed that thought.
"When I'm with you, either of you, it just… feels right, like we are just…"
Yes, she knew; it hurt to admit, it hurt to say, and it hurt to accept that—
"Like different parts of you calls out for us?"
—Bell Cranel was fated to find love in more than just one person, for his soul contained more than his alone.
"Y-yes, something like that?"
She knew that she could ask him to remain only hers, but that would only hurt him in the short and long term in the same way that it would hurt her if she accepted such a fact, for it was that, a fact.
Orion belonged to Artemis and Artemis belonged to Orion.
But only a portion of Bell belonged to Artemis, whereas Artemis belonged entirely to Bell.
Artemis closed her eyes, "Bell, do you love me?"
"With all my heart."
He did not lie; her Divinity found no lies.
He would love her with nothing less but his whole heart and body for the ends of times; heavens, his soul —all of it, even the parts that did not belong to her— loved her, but not all of his soul was complete with her alone, that was all there it was to it.
How scary…
"Then you don't need to say any more my Orion." Artemis gazed at the young man that she loved, one who did not believe for a second the words that had come out of her mouth. Then she gazed at her… friend… who stared back at her with so much hope but fear too, "I don't like it… But I understand… And you'll probably understand soon, too."
She was certain of that.
Her only solace was that, out of all the women out there in the world, Bell Cranel had found another part of himself in the only woman that Artemis could trust… the only Goddess that shared so many moments of joy and pain with her, and understood her emotions best…
If it was Astraea, then…
"I guess we have much more in common now, Astraea."
The future wasn't looking so scary anymore.
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Nobody spoke on the way back, not that Bell expected anyone to; not after all that had happened in the last few hours, but if there was one issue that concerned him, it would be how both Astraea and Artemis held onto his elbows while he pulled the cart with their dried clothes and the sealed and refilled water tank.
The reason the Goddesses' close proximity concerned him was because if anything jumped out from the woods, he would not be able to brandish his weapon immediately to protect them. He didn't expect anything to attack them, but Bell never trusted the forest, so all he could do was pay even more attention to his surroundings.
Only issue with such an act was that it also meant that Bell was paying even more attention to the way Artemis's snuggled against his left side and how Astraea did the same to his right side. It was only when they both hugged his arms that Bell noticed the minuscule difference of their bosoms, of which Astraea was surprisingly the bigger of the two, even when Artemis did not bind her bosom since Bell had been the one to dress her.
By paying so much attention to them, Bell also noticed how neither Goddess had looked at each other at all —Both used him to block the view of the other. That made him feel disgusted with himself, for having become something that the Goddesses would ignore each other presence… They were friends, he was just…
No.
He could not speak for them, nor could he pretend to know the reason for why they acted in such a way between them.
It was already a miracle that Artemis and Astraea hadn't come to blows when Bell admitted his feelings to Artemis, and Astraea; Hell, he still did not believe that Artemis understood what he meant with his words earlier, the fact that she could only made Bell respect and love her even more.
Thankfully, the Goddess only ignored each other until they were out of the forest and but a few seconds away from entering the village by the same gate from which they left in the morning —Though they didn't stop holding onto him, even after crossing the gate and receiving several raised eyebrows by some of the villagers who hadn't gone back to their homes with how late it was.
The Sun hadn't descended entirely yet, but it wouldn't be long before its orange glow disappeared behind the treetops.
In between the three of them, it took no time getting all their clean clothes sorted out in Bell's bedroom, though neither Goddess could help him when it came to setting the water tank back in place, so the bathhouse worked as intended —Or so he believed because where Artemis decided on preparing dinner while he fixed the water system, Astraea decided on…
"We have to see if it's working correctly, no?" Astraea gave him a coy smile that made his stomach flutter, then set his heart ablaze by untying the knot on the back of her neck and letting her dress spill down her body, revealing just how much bigger she was compared to Artemis. "You and Artemis washed yourselves in the river, I haven't had the chance to clean myself so what perfect way to test it out, right Bell?"
He had dumbly nodded, or at least believed to have done so because he couldn't remember doing absolutely anything else but stare as Astraea left the door to her bath stall open and took her long and very-much deserved bath.
She must've been teasing him again, because there was no way that she needed to raise her long legs that high or spread them so far apart either to lather them with soap; nor did she really need to pay so much attention to her bosom and—
"Bell, I forgot my clothes, could you bring them to me?"
He turned around without a word, left and came back with Astraea's change of clothes and a towel a minute later, and a hickey on the neck —courtesy of Artemis who had caught him midway on his errand.
"Thank you, Bell," Astraea stepped out from the stall only for a second, her entire body wet and glistening with the bathhouse's light and seeming all that more divine in that moment, "Here, a token of my appreciation."
She pecked his lips before giggling and dashing right back into the stall, though this time she did close the door behind her.
Bell could not, for the life of him, remember what Artemis's dinner tasted like that night; not only because Astraea's lips had overpowered the food's flavor, but also because neither Goddess allowed him to sleep alone that night. Sleeping with them was not the issue, in fact he had been somewhat looking forward to resting in the arms of either Goddess that he loved; the issue (and the reason he couldn't remember dinner) was because neither Goddess wore beyond what was necessary to cover the essentials to bed.
He didn't even know they had such clothes!
Could they even be considered clothes at all…?
Artemis wore small green hotpants, and only that, to bed while Astraea had more mercy on him by picking a cerulean negligee that had most of her cleavage and back exposed, with a matching cerulean bottom piece that felt very nice against his skin… Something he realized when Astraea locked their legs together and pressed herself a little too hard when they finally went to bed.
The highlight of his night though, was Artemis giving him one long kiss before offering her mesmerizing bosom for him to rest his head against while she ran her fingers through his hair, lulling him to sleep with the love and comfort that he never in his entire life expected to ever find.
…
Except…
He did not sleep well.
His fear of all that happened during the day being a dream did not let him sleep well.
Maybe he would wake up the next morning, alone in bed, with all the events of the previous day being nothing but a dream —something his mind conjured after running his body so ragged for the last few days…
But the next morning came sooner than expected, and his fear existed for nothing, because Artemis was there in the morning, ready to greet him with another long kiss and whispers of staying in bed longer with her love, and because Astraea was there too, sleeping for longer than she normally would.
It had only been a day since Artemis and Astraea became everything he cared for, and if anything were to happen to either of them, Bell would make the world burn.
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Sir Bell went out during the morning, mostly to check how the village was faring before returning back home; Astraea was a little too slow to notice his return, so Artemis was the one to receive him with open arms and a rather intimate kiss.
Seeing them like that soured Astraea's mood a little bit, actually more than just a little bit.
While Artemis had somehow been fine and accepted that Sir Bell and Astraea would eventually get together in the same way Artemis had with him, Astraea was still upset over the fact that if she had been just a tiny little bit more direct and aggressive with her feelings for Bell, she would've been to one to claim his first with hers.
More than once Astraea found herself looking away from the two because Artemis had become a literal love-struck maiden, not that Astraea could blame her —She knew of how long Artemis had longed to find her love, her dear Orion, and how much the Goddess of the Hunt had cried for his loss.
But it did not make it any easier seeing Sir Bell reply so affectionately.
It was only Astraea's sense of justice that made her hold back from doing the very same things to Sir Bell. She wished for Artemis to have her share first, not only because she deserved it after wishing for it for so long, but also because Sir Bell's love had made Artemis forget almost entirely about her fallen Familia.
She knew better than anyone else how hard and agonizingly long it could take to get over the loss of one's beloved Children, so she was not in the least surprised that Artemis made Sir Bell become her pillar of support during her mourning period. Without him, when he needed to go out for a quick errand, Artemis would hide in Sir Bell's bedroom, either under the covers of the bed or wrapped herself with a clothing of his as she cried for those she lost.
Astraea offered her shoulder during those moments, regardless of how complicated their friendship had become now that they both loved the very same man.
The only times that Astraea thought, not that she would, of no longer offering her support to Artemis was when Astraea had been in charge of dinner while it was Bell's turn to take a bath, and she heard Artemis's… moans… coming from the bathhouse.
Nobody said anything about the burnt dinner that night, nor did Artemis dare say anything when Astraea chose to sleep fully naked and cling to Bell like a possessed koala or rather, Artemis was far, far, far too satisfied and in her own little pleased world that she couldn't bring herself to care.
Her dreams were quite graphic that night, and Astraea woke up to an even more visual scene because either Artemis or herself had untied the string to Sir Bell's pants in their sleep, and he was poking one of her thighs very ostensibly. She left the bed quite fast after that, mostly just so she wouldn't have to explain to neither of them why there was a wet spot on her side of the bed that morning.
If only she could get one more moment alone with Sir Bell…
Only one…
She would not let him escape the next time.
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Three days went by in the blink of an eye for Artemis ever since she had become one with her Orion, of which she had indulged in reenacting the act in secret with him once every day except it wasn't exactly the same as their first time, but Bell still showered her with the same amount of overwhelming love and effort.
She had already accepted the fact that she would not be able to walk straight for at least another week with how overwhelming Bell could become when she uttered just the right words, but as much as she continue exploring the feelings that she never had known before -Artemis knew that she was starting to get in the way of her Orion's duties.
Though they were not so much as duties as it was his usual routine.
Bell was not complacent with his current strength, any moment that he did not spend either by Astraea's or Artemis's side, he was training or dealing with the village. It seemed that word had gotten around about another two nearby villages getting razed to the ground by either monsters or bandits, so Bell had to leave the house more and more often as any news trickled by.
It was scary how dependent she had become of Orion in the last three days.
No sooner was he gone that her whole being suffered over the loss of her Children, of which only one light still remained and slowly recovered its strength —But she wasn't alone in those moments. Anywhere Artemis hid to cry, Astraea found her and offered her shoulder and words that the Goddess of Justice had no doubt told herself far too many times in the past.
Truly, if there was any woman out there that Artemis wouldn't feel many negative emotions for sharing her fated love, it would Astraea.
She still felt jealous of the moments Bell and Astraea shared, as simple and mundane as they were; it bothered her greatly how Astraea only needed to smile and Bell would become a stammering mess in her presence, not that Artemis couldn't do the same, but it took her a whole lot more effort earning the same response from her Orion.
Artemis knew that she was inherently different from Astraea, otherwise Bell's soul would not be calling for the Goddess of Justice.
But knowing and accepting were two different matters, and Artemis did not enjoy one tiny bit accepting such a thing —Still, Bell did not show preference, or rather found a way to not show he cared for one more than the other… outside of reenacting their vows, of course.
Astraea had made it quite clear that she would not jump Bell in the same manner that Artemis had done, a bit of a backhanded comment when spoken through the smiling visage of the walnut-haired Goddess, rather she would wait for Bell to no longer be able to hold himself back and pounce on her which would in turn show that Astraea did not need to coerce him into a relationship…
.. Artemis didn't coerce him into doing her… right?
"Artemis."
She only offered for him to join her in the waters and everything from there was mutual… right?
"Artemis"
Right!?
"My love?"
Artemis blinked and found herself hugged from behind in Orion's kitchen, with Bell's chin resting on her shoulders, "Ah… Orion, you're back already?"
"Yeah, I needed to request something from you…"
She felt his hesitation, so she showed her support by placing her hands over his, "What is it…? Is it…"
"No, no, um, not this time…" Bell coughed awkwardly, "It's something else."
Ah… well, she could indulge with him later, he wouldn't deny her, never.
"What is it then, my Orion?"
"I've realized that I'll need more strength than I currently have if I'm to protect the loves' of my life."
Artemis slowly nodded, that made sense. Still, Bell was already strong, how much more did he think he needed to be to protect her and Astraea?
"You're quite strong already," Artemis tilted her head.
"Not enough." Bell shook his head, "Miss… Rethusa told me about the feats that high level adventurers managed and…"
Oh…
"She… Miss Rethusa offered me a spot in your Familia, Goddess… but… since…" Bell hesitated even more and hugged her all the tighter for he knew what his words would make her remember —she could already feel the tears gathering in her eyes. "You're the only one I can… ask this…"
…
She wasn't the only one, though.
There was another Goddess, one who had already gotten through the pain that held Artemis back from accepting her Orion's request.
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"And that's why I'm asking you to take Orion into your Familia," Artemis held his hand as they spoke to Astraea in his bedroom, the place where the Goddess of Justice had been busy sorting their clothes.
Bell knew whoever he asked, it would bring them pain —Artemis had lost her Familia and Astraea… she never spoke of hers… so he knew that something… must've happened in the past, and while he knew he could trust Astraea, he didn't wish to hurt her any more… so he went to Artemis, whom he knew would be hurt but understand where his desire came from.
Not that it worked the way he wanted, in the end he was hurting both Artemis, having made her cry at the reminder of her Familia, and now Astraea was petrified upon hearing his request spoken through Artemis.
"I—" Astraea looked straight at him, almost as if she was staring through him, "I—"
He could see it in Astraea's cerulean gaze, the fear and pain of something in the past that still haunted her to this day. His stomach felt heavy knowing that it was him who dug those memories from her, and just as he was about to simply discard the whole idea and try to find a way to overcome his mundane limits…
Astraea slapped herself and put the most stoic look that he'd ever seen on her, to the point that it scared him a little bit.
"I hope you understand what you're asking of me, Artemis," Astraea straightened herself and put one hand to her bosom, "If Bell is to join my Familia, our entire relationship will change whether you like it or not, and I won't let go off him, I won't give him to absolutely nobody else. Not even to you, he will be mine, my Child."
Astraea's words made him feel things again, far too many things for him to even understand where one emotion ended and the next started, but he could summarize them in few words, and those were: Damn, I love this possessive side of Astraea too.
"I… understand," Artemis tightened her hold on his hand, "But he will always be my Orion too, whether he's becomes your Child or not."
Astraea gave her coy smile, "Of course, that would only be just."
So, he would be joining Astraea's Familia instead huh… Well… His body was long since ready to accept Astraea's love, now he only needed to steel his heart and soul to accept not just her love, but her blessing too, or so was what he understood from how Miss Rethusa explained the process of receiving a Falna worked.
"Now then," Astraea's smile turned downright menacing, "Bell, strip for me."
—?
"Wha?"
"Strip for me."
Never before in his life had Bell taken his clothes off so fast.
"Good, come here," Astraea motioned for him to stand where she sat on the bed and between her legs, "Turn around and kneel for me, thank you."
Did… did Astraea always possess this commanding side to her?
It was… um…
"You'll feel a little bit of pain, but it won't last long, so bear with it for me, okay?"
"Y-yes!"
Artemis was glaring at him, and staring too, her face was red from anger and… Did Artemis really need to stare at him down there so much!? She was not making things any easier on him!
"Where did I put that needle, ah there it is."
He couldn't see Astraea but he darn well felt when her fingers traced his entire back, as if searching for something before she had found it at the very center, in between his shoulder blades.
"Bell Cranel," Astraea whispered in his ear, "You're mine no— Huh?"
Bell felt something move inside his soul, several things in fact. The same burning sensation from when he took Artemis's virginity spread across his entire back, like a raging fire burning beneath his skin and heating up his very soul.
"ARTEMIS!" Astraea screamed at the top of her lungs, "Am I joke to you! How dare you trick me like this! I thought you were better than that!"
Astraea… wait…
"H—huh?" Artemis pointed at herself, "T-tricks? What are you talking about?"
I can't speak…
"How could you ask me to give Bell my Blessing when he already has yours!?" Astraea growled with so much anger and pain, "Is this some sick joke of yours to rub it in my face that he's—"
"HE HAS MY WHAT!?" Artemis's became pale.
I need to… speak...
"—He's… oh…" Astraea's voice trailed off, "You… uh…"
Artemis hurried to Astraea's side, all but pushing Astraea aside as she stared at the Falna shinning on Bell's back.
"But I never—" Artemis gasped, "Was it my blood!? That's not possible right!?"
"Oh, it very much is," Astraea growled and pressed another finger to Bell back, coincidentally the one that she had pricked to grant her Falna to Bell. "You're seeing it for yourself"
His soul moved again, shifting to accommodate for something new yet again, accepting and devouring the Divinity in his vicinity; one pressing against his back in that very moment.
"He's your Fam—" Astraea stopped speaking.
"It's changing!?"
Oh, he was changing alright; memories —events of the past became extremely clear to him at the same time as the emotions he felt in the present sharpening, as if the haze clouding his judgement had been lifted… and that which he wanted and needed to have becoming all the more important to achieve.
"That's… my emblem…" Astraea muttered, "and… yours is right… beside… it?"
He could feel his connection to Astraea as clear as a sunny day, and at the same time, feel an equally clear connection to Artemis too —A much more intimate connection than anything he ever felt before.
And two missing pieces of himself called out even louder to those he lacked.
- 0 -Act 1 Part 8 End - 0 -
A/N: Hungry… tired… but mostly hungry… and also tired…
- Jas / Shiiva
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