Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Serena POV.
I lazily got out of bed while listening to Bella complain while still lying down.
"Get up, my love, we still have things to work out." I said playfully, Bella, just moaned even louder.
"You're not the one who's incredibly frustrated." Bella growled, glaring at me. I laughed without any compassion.
"You said it yourself, it's your problem, it's your punishment, deal with it," I said mockingly. Bella just glared at me even more, but made no effort to get up. I rolled my eyes playfully. I cast a cleansing charm for both of us and let Aria start dressing me once more.
"I want us to get married."
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"W-What?!" I suddenly squealed as my brain rebooted once again. "Marriage?! How had I ever come to that decision?!"
"Yes, get married." Bella said casually as she turned over in bed. "In Orario, I introduced you as my wife the whole time. The idea of you being my fiancée again doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. I want to get married." Bella said it easily. I opened my mouth before closing it completely blank. I blinked a couple of times.
"Does that... mean going back to the magical world?" I asked, frowning. Bella wrinkled her nose.
"I don't plan on getting married without Andy." Bella said without hesitation. I remained still for a few seconds before slowly sighing to calm myself down.
"Okay," I finally said as I began to calm down. "This transition from 'wife' to 'fiancée' feels strange to me, too. I think of you more as my wife than my fiancée. I... I have no problem making it official."
"We can do it. Once I'm done with Smasher, I'll open the magical world, and we'll go there," I said calmly, smiling slightly. Bella smiled gently and nodded.
"Okay, kill Smasher, and we'll get married," Bella said as she finally started to sit up. I nodded, feeling a surge of excitement.
"You know the others will want to marry me too, right? Literally, Enid will practically explode, even Ravel, despite seeming indifferent, will want to, and then there's Narcissa, I'm sure she'll also take advantage of the moment to marry Lucius too; they've been engaged longer than we have." I gestured slightly, approached Bella, drew a set of lingerie from a drawer, and began to dress her gently and slowly.
"I'm not worried, I'll be the first," Bella said confidently. "Ravel will get married here or in Phenex territory, along with her Family. Enid will also get married here in Pentagram City, and I'm sure neither of them minds sharing the ceremony," Bella said nonchalantly.
"Each one deserves to have her own ceremony." I said, letting my hands wander over Bella's body.
"Yes, that's what they want, obviously, but as I said, I'm sure they'll volunteer if the idea occurs to them," Bella said, shrugging her shoulders.
"I'll bring it up when we're alone." I said, finally grabbing Bella's clothes and beginning to dress her properly.
"And Cissa... you're right, she'll want to marry... ugh, Lucius, but it'll be easy to arrange both marriages quickly when we're in the wizarding world. Lucius's father's disappearance, leaving him as the last Malfoy, might push Grandpa to let Narcissa marry Lucius quickly." Bella hummed as she got dressed.
"And what about us? Do you have any way of convincing your grandfather? We left after the winter break, literally, we haven't even been committed to the wizarding world for a week." I asked curiously as I finished tying Bella's tie.
"I'll take care of it," Bella said as she kissed me on the lips.
"Okay, when... when we're done, we'll get married." I said softly.
"Don't make me wait too long," Bella said, her eyes sparkling slightly.
"I won't." I sighed with a smile. "Now, come on, I really want to get to know Riveria better," I said as I stepped back slightly from her. I heard Bella sigh.
"We're talking about getting married, and you mention another woman, you're really bad at this." Bella mocked as she bumped my hip with hers. I rolled my eyes.
"You brought her here, don't complain now." I said curtly as I broke the time bubble that had been trapping us inside. Bella clung to my arm, and we crossed it at the same time.
We went straight into the living room, where everyone was sitting around a small table with snacks.
"Sorry for the delay, Bella's... punishment took longer than I expected." I said apologetically. I could see Bella glaring at me, and I just smiled mockingly in her direction.
"Yeah, sure, 'punishment'." Rebecca said mockingly with a shit-eating smile. I rolled my eyes.
"I hope you've settled in well," I said softly, looking at Riveria. She just nodded.
"Yes, although you didn't take long, and uh... I hope Bellatrix's punishment wasn't too harsh?" Riveria said innocently, and I could hear everyone sigh.
"Don't worry, she's enjoying it." I scoffed.
"Is she enjoying it?" Riveria asked, confused, before pausing for a few seconds, blushing slightly, and coughing softly. "Forget it," she said quickly. I could hear Rebecca chuckle softly.
"I didn't get to." Bella snarled, glaring at me. I scoffed, led her to one of the long sofas, and sat down. No sooner had I sat than Ravel suddenly appeared on my lap. I blinked a few times; she…
"Oh come on! It's not fair!" said Enid as she was halfway up the sofa.
"It's not my fault if you're slow," Ravel said as she settled onto my lap. Enid practically growled.
"You cheated! You can practically move at the speed of light!" Enid complained as she finished crawling to my side.
"Again, it's not my fault," Ravel said petulantly. Enid snorted and clung to my arm. I chuckled. I let my arm go around Ravel's waist, but still, I leaned down and kissed Enid's head to comfort her. Enid practically cooed as she snuggled even closer to me. Bella snorted at the scene, but simply sat down on the other side of me.
"They seem quite close," Riveria said with a small smile.
"We are." We said at the same time, before laughing slightly.
"So, how did you find the mansion?" I asked gently.
"Magical, literally. We didn't do a full tour, but every hallway and room we passed was filled with magic: cleaning supplies moving on their own, portraits and photographs moving and waving, rooms bigger than they look, and so much more. It's... truly amazing to be surrounded by so much magic," Riveria said with a bright smile.
"I'm glad. When we have more time, I'd like to show you the entire mansion and the whole city. Unfortunately, it would take longer than you could afford to disappear." I said with an apologetic smile. Riveria simply nodded.
"I'll be waiting for it." Riveria said simply. I nodded and looked at Rebecca and Lucy.
"And you?" I asked in their direction.
"It's... disconcerting, going from a world where technology is a constant presence to the next moment being in an old-fashioned, opulent mansion filled with magic everywhere," Lucy said, looking around. "All... the architecture is different from what I'm used to."
"Yes, I suppose the brutalist and 'futuristic' architecture of Night City clashes quite a bit with the bastardized Gothic style of the mansion," I said simply. I was used to 'Hogwarts' architecture, which was primarily Gothic. Still, since Hogwarts had been updated and altered dozens of times across different eras, it ended up a hodgepodge of architectural styles.
The city and my mansion reflected that style –especially the mansion. The four of us from the wizarding world were fine with the mansion largely reflecting Hogwarts. Still, Enid wanted her own changes, so some things were swapped for something more modern, and then Ravel came along and also wanted some modifications, and I didn't mind obliging them.
Modifying the mansion was as easy as clapping, and that's it.
"It's nice, nothing I can't get used to," Rebecca said, bouncing back and forth. "Well, if there's one thing you have to change right away, it's network access. Being disconnected from the network is completely disconcerting," Rebecca said with a grimace.
"Don't even tell me, the number of times I find myself navigating through interfaces over and over again out of habit is incredible." Lucy groaned in frustration.
"Hey, I mean, it's worth it, there's magic and all that, I mean, that Charm in the Main Hall to replicate the stars? It's freaking Preem." Rebecca pointed out simply.
"That's right! There were so many things to see that I got distracted! That spell is a wonderful piece of magic!" Riveria exclaimed excitedly. "Will I really be able to learn to do something like that?" Riveria asked, her eyes sparkling. I nodded.
"Of course, I have nothing to hide. All the necessary books are inside the library. You can take them out of the Pocket Space. Just... think of the mansion as a vault, think of the item you want to take out, and... take it out. It sounds ridiculous, but that's how it works." I said, shrugging. Riveria blinked.
She stared at her hands for a few seconds before a book appeared in them, surprising her.
"Ha! Nova!" Rebecca exclaimed, surprising us all. In her hand was a freshly made hamburger, and she took a bite without a care. "I'll keep saying it, I'll never get tired of this food." Rebecca moaned with pleasure.
"Try some, dear, you'll love it." Narcissa said, handing Riveria a cup of tea and a plate of snacks. Riveria was startled, but she grabbed a curious biscuit and bit into it lightly, her eyes widening.
"This... tastes amazing!" Riveria murmured before finishing the cookie.
"I'm glad," I said with a smile.
"Ahem." Lucy cleared her throat shyly. "If I had a room, could you... place that... charm to reflect the view from the lunar surface?" Lucy asked timidly. I blinked for a few seconds.
"Oh! Just like our room!" Enid said, clapping her hands. "We have a lovely view of the moon," she added excitedly.
"Similar, but close. Lucy wants it to look like she's on the lunar surface, not just seeing the moon." I gently corrected her.
"Oh... you can do that?" Enid asked, confused. I nodded.
"I should be able to, the enchantment simply replicates landscapes, distance doesn't matter much, I mean... the sky of the Main Hall replicates the Night Sky of the human world, which is one dimension away." I said while shrugging.
"Preem." Lucy murmured with a small smile.
"You still have to join." Rebecca mocked. Lucy just snorted and looked away.
For the next hour and a half, we all started chatting about everything and nothing. There were many questions flying back and forth as everyone tried to get to know each other.
It was really nice.
"So... you decided to become a devil again, Riveria?" I asked curiously. Riveria didn't seem surprised by the question; she just hummed.
"Will it not affect my Falna of the Loki Familia at all?" Riveria asked gently, and I shook my head.
"It shouldn't, Bella has a Falna from Miach without any problem." I said simply, Riveria nodded.
"Then I wouldn't mind, especially since there's nothing against it," Riveria hummed. "Still, I'd like a couple of days to think about it." She added, and I just nodded.
"Take all the time you need," I told her honestly. "Unfortunately, I'll have to give you a pawn piece. I would have preferred to give you a bishop piece since it would help with your magic, but they're already in use."
"I'm sorry," Enid said with an apologetic smile.
"Don't worry, I understand," Riveria said, nodding.
"Although... with your strength, I would need two pawns to reincarnate you, perhaps it's better to use the mutated piece." I said while considering it.
"I'll leave it up to you, you'll know best," Riveria said with a smile, and I nodded in her direction.
"Okay, with that decided, and although the chat was really nice, we should go find the others." I said to Riveria with an apologetic smile; she just nodded slightly.
"It was a good conversation, I loved meeting you all," Riveria said softly.
"Likewise! We'll be seeing each other a lot! We have to go to a club, Wolfy! You'll love it, Lizzie, we can have a drink and dance!" Rebecca said excitedly to Enid. Enid froze before bouncing excitedly and looking at me expectantly. I opened my mouth before sighing and smiling softly.
"We'll go. When we get back to Night City, we'll plan a date, and I'll call you right away," I told Enid. She squealed with excitement.
"Thank you! The last dance I went to was The Rave'N at Nevermore. This is going to be amazing!" Enid squealed excitedly. I chuckled. Going to a club wasn't really my style at all, but going with Rebecca and Enid didn't sound bad at all.
"Does anyone else want to come?" I asked curiously, looking at the others.
"No thanks, my dear, it's not my style," Lucius said immediately.
"Aw, I wanted to try." Narcissa complained. Lucius smiled slightly and kissed Narcissa's cheek.
"You can still go, my dear, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time." Lucius said gently, and Narcissa's eyes sparkled slightly.
"Thank you, love!" Narcissa said excitedly. I hummed softly as I texted Lucius about Bella's decision to return to the magical world. I could see his eyes widen slightly in surprise before he regained his composure.
He nodded almost imperceptibly in my direction, and I could practically see his mind begin to plan everything necessary while temporarily blocking Narcissa from those thoughts. He would tell her later.
"No thanks, loud music, sweaty people thrashing around like they're having a seizure is not what I'd call fun," Bella said dully.
"I want to go, I want to try," Ravel said shyly as she raised her hand.
"Great! The more the merrier!" Enid said happily. "Riveria?" She asked, bouncing in her seat.
"I think... I think I'll pass this time." Riveria said with a nervous smile.
"Don't worry, as I said, you're not obligated to do anything you don't want to," I told Riveria with a smile that she returned.
"By the way, when we 'return'? I thought you'd sorted out this whole thing with your surprise new wife, aren't we going straight back to Night City?" Lucy asked curiously. I shook my head.
"If you want to go back, I can take you, but I had planned to go to Orario for a while. I want to help Rebecca and Riveria choose some powers, and the dungeon is the best place for them to train with them." I answer honestly.
"Yes! Powers!" Rebecca exclaimed excitedly. "I want weapons! A whole arsenal!" Rebecca said, her face deranged. I paused for a few seconds and nodded.
"I... have some ideas you might like, we'll go over them later," I said simply.
"Templates and added power, right? That's how you got your powers?" Riveria said, trying to confirm.
"Partly," I said softly. "The base templates? Definitely. My Emiya base template is what allowed me to pull off the whole 'Replicate Mystery' thing, but Emiya is only capable of doing it with weapons."
"Emiya has origins and affinities as 'Swords,' but I never felt comfortable using that ability despite it being ridiculously strong. I... made that template completely my own, that ability changed my whole being, I went from 'Swords' to 'Mystery'"
"It will be the same with any template you choose; you'll get a set of powers, and what you do with them afterward is entirely up to you." I said gently. Riveria paused for a few seconds and nodded with determination.
"I'll leave it in your hands, I... do not know other worlds or abilities." Riveria said discreetly, and I nodded.
"That's why I wanted to go to Orario. I... I want to take my time to get to know you, at least for a few days. We can also talk about skills. Just... tell me what you want and we'll go from there." I said softly.
"I'd like that," Riveria said with a smile, and I nodded.
"Oh, before I forget." I said, pulling out my phone.
Added Potential [Riveria Ljos Alf has Pack's telepathic connection (Twilight)] -5
Paper Trail [Riveria Ljos Alf] -1 [382]
I placed the link on Riveria and opened it before opening Rebecca's. Both of them froze in place.
"Welcome to the pack!" Enid squealed, completely delighted that the pack was getting bigger.
"W-what is this?" Riveria asked, thoroughly bewildered. I quickly sent information to both of them, who shuddered slightly.
"Okay, this... is more intimate than it seems, but... not in a bad way, it's... comforting in a way." Rebecca said gently. Enid nodded mentally, happy.
"This... is wonderful, a bond like this is incredible," Riveria murmured mentally.
"It is, you can keep texting all you want, Lucy's giving us weird looks." I said playfully.
"Now... I suppose it's best if we go find Loki and the others," I said aloud as I grabbed Ravel's waist and lifted her easily. Ravel's bare feet touched the ground before she stepped back with a nod.
"I missed you, but now I have to go back." I told Ravel and Enid. They nodded with a smile.
"Don't worry, we'll be waiting for you," Ravel said with a smile.
"And don't forget about going to the Club! I'll be getting ready!!" Enid said firmly.
"I won't forget it," I said playfully as I nodded. "Let's go," I said, gesturing toward Riveria as I created a portal. Riveria, Lucy, Rebecca, and Bellatrix stepped through, and I followed immediately.
Time to get back to work.