Queen Of Adis

The Cheshire cat gave out its signature smile before talking to get their attention from Fenrir. "Dear human, now is the time for you to claim your prize and for me to tell you the truth."

It stood on its hind legs and a huge crimson circle suddenly materialized on the snow-covered ground, surrounding her and her kids. Then a towering firewall rose up from the edge of the circle and isolated them from the prying eyes of the onlookers.

The Cheshire cat's appearance slowly changed into a little girl wearing a pink dress, hair as red as the blazing flame and eyes in shade of lushes spring forest.

Both Haru and Vladimir's mouths gaped open and their eyes seemed to jump out from its sockets. Mr. Bear couldn't take the simultaneous shock anymore and finally fainted on the spot.

"I am the voice of those whose words were taken for granted." The little girl started in a voice that belonged to an a.d.u.l.t woman. "Everyone worsh.i.p.s me as the 'Protector of Home and Family.' The warmth you feel and the sun you wish to reach belongs to me. My name is Vesta, the goddess of the sacred flame."

As soon as the little girl revealed her name, she morphed into an alluring woman with hair that trailed on the ground and melted the snow. Her once fair skin was now coated in healthy glow of tan and her ensemble didn't leave much to the imagination. She was floating in the air as though her b.a.r.e feet refused to touch the cold snow.

Haru hurriedly stood up in a daze, apparently impervious to her sore muscles anymore. Everything that had happened today seemed to have taken a toll on her as she appeared to lost all her means to communicate or even make a sound.

Vesta drifted closer to her and c.a.r.e.s.sed her pale cheek. "It was I who pleaded the other gods to bring you in this world as my flame of life is starting to weakened and my existence is lowly fading. Today, you have displayed valor fit as the King's true mate and compassion that a true Queen must possess. Moreover, you have the heart of a mother that loves beyond blood ties and race. You willingly give someone a home even without having one for yourself. You have restored my faith in this world. And thus, I am gifting this to you."

The goddess of fire opened her palm and revealed to her a glowing seed. "This is the last memory of my dear sister, the goddess of spring, before the cruel goddess of ice defeated her and took her life. I snatched this from Yggdrasil's care when I have heard of your ingenious plan. Dear human, please bring the dawn of spring back and don't let this world forget the memory of my sweet sister."

As soon as the seed touched Haru's palm, it seeped into her hand and disappeared. Haru gasped in astonishment while her mind was in overdrive. 'What in the world just happened? Where did the seed go? What am I supposed to do with it? And most importantly, the little doll was a hot damn goddess?!'

Haru blinked when Vesta cupped her face and suddenly kissed her eyes. She stiffened at the gesture and forgot to breathe for a moment. Then the s.e.xy goddess embraced her tightly and rubbed her cheek against her, causing her huge b.r.e.a.s.ts to be squeezed between their bodies.

She instantly got jealous of her well-endowed b.r.e.a.s.ts and wondered if Adis would be okay with her average size boobies.

"Tee-hee-hee," the goddess giggled in her usual disturbing laugh then casually talked to her. "I bet the Demon King would love your b.r.e.a.s.ts regardless of its size."

Haru grimaced and her face instantly reddened. She buried her face in her hand as she thought to herself, 'How could she read my mind?'

"I don't read mind," Vesta blurted out.

Haru gave her the look that said, 'Like hell you don't!'

"This may not be the first time you have heard it, but your thoughts and emotions were clearly written on your face. The demon king must love teasing you."

She sighed as she couldn't find a retort to that. She guessed it was true since Adis seemed to see through her expressions all the time.

Vesta let out another giggle and exclaimed, "You really have beautiful eyes. Just like my beloved's. He was the one who told me about you and your fate. Lately, he's been very busy taking care of unscrupulous clergy. But he had seen your arrival and he's been waiting for your visit."

Haru's brows creased as she wondered who her lover was. She opened her mouth to ask, but Vladimir beat her to it.

"Beautiful lady, what did you do to my friend, Vesta? Did you eat her? Please say it isn't so," Vladimir's eyes watered as he innocently asked his wonder.

The goddess grinned at his naivety and leaned down to look at him closely while petting the silver pup with her delicate fingers. Instead of answering his question, she made a revelation.

"Dear child, this goddess has a secret to tell. I have heard your plea within the darkness, so I guided the Kings to set you free. It was I who whispered to the centaur to place the quest within the Queen's reach. And the rest, let us all say, is history."

"So that explains why you knew too much about my boy, Vladimir." Mr. Bear finally recovered and climbed on the kid's shoulder to speak with the goddess.

Vesta's eyes just glinted mysteriously but neither confirmed nor denied the claim. She looked back at Haru as she drifted away. "It is time for me to leave but we shall see each other again. The gods' promise still stands, -- at the first sign of a new life, your true power shall set free."

The flame wall slowly vanished together with the goddess, echoing her whispers in the air.

"Be strong, Haru, for the journey up ahead will either break or make you. From today forth, the birth of a Queen shall be known throughout the realms."

When the firewall was completely gone, the onlookers started to gather and buzz around them. The mages and people from the sacred church barraged them with questions.

"What was that about? The huge firewall was so powerful that no kind of water spell could penetrate to it."

"You are an ordinary human, right? What are you doing here? And why are you with a demon? Is that small pup a demon, too?"

Haru instinctively hid Vladimir behind her while her stance refused to be intimidated by the crowd.

"Did you all hear a woman's voice that lingered in the air must now. She said about the birth of a queen. I didn't hear about any of the Kings having a lover right now."

"Hey, did you not know? There's a rumor spreading that a human female was currently staying at the Light Palace and even contracted the great artisan Ulysses to create a glass building for her."

"What are they going to do to a glass structure? Tsk! That's so wasteful! If that's true, then whoever that woman is, will never understand the citizens' suffering. There's no way she'll be a good queen."

"Eh? Where is that human female and the demon kid?" one of the beings from the crowd turned his head and found that Haru's small team was already gone. The being just scratched his head as he got back with the gossipmongers. "Do you think that maiden is the future queen?"

Someone from the crowd answered with certainty. "Nah! There's no way the future queen will brave the danger and pull that heroic stunt just now. I bet the future queen is a spoiled lady from a filthy rich household."

While the crowd was still busy sharing their endless assumptions, Haru and Vladimir were panting from running for a while and simultaneously looked at the back. They both sighed in relief when they saw that no one followed them. When their eyes met, they burst into laughter without any reason.

"Whew! That was scary! I thought those beings are going to drill us for answers." Mr. Bear breathed out while holding his c.h.e.s.t as though there was a heart placed inside. "Mademoiselle, can we go home now? I am dying to take a long and nice hot bath."

Haru nodded in agreement. She wanted to take a bath, too, and see her beloved devil. Her body suddenly tensed when she remembered something. "Eh? I'm unable to ask who was Vesta's lover so I can pay him a visit."

"Mother, she did not answer my question, too," Vladimir seconded. "I only understood that she was the one who brought me to you and father. For that, I will be forever thankful to her."

She smiled and ruffled his head. She patiently answered his question to give him peace of mind. "That beautiful lady and your friend Vesta are one and the same. The little girl you met was just a disguise, probably to check if you are doing okay in the orphanage." Then she tilted her head and frown. "Wait! Does that mean, the seed that she gave me is my prize from our game?"

"Pfft!"

The Vampire boy and Mr. Bear laughed boisterously.

"Talk about a lame prize. Hahaha, mademoiselle, you've been cheated!" Mr. Bear teased her in between his laughter.

As though Fenrir could understand the cheerful atmosphere, he also wiggled and made a tiny sound.

Haru's eyes lit up when she heard the pup. "Eh, you are also laughing at mother, Fenrir? Hmph! I'll make sure to tell you and big brother on your father." She teased with a sweet smile on her lips.

She leaned down to tickle the pup but she abruptly heard her bones at her lower back cracked. "Ow, ow, my bones! I guess you naughty kids' punishment will have to wait until your father is done giving me a full body massage." She exclaimed and winced as she started to move forward.