Origin ARS Volume 6
By Scottie Futch
Copyright 2016 Scottie Futch
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Chapter 1
The night comes on quick for those who work with their hands, for those who bury their heads in the hard labor of a difficult life. This is true of both the common man living in a homeland ravaged by war, and the traveler who merely intended to pass through but instead chose to help rebuild a shattered city.
Sleep eluded Scott as he lay in his bed. His goddess love snored softly, a sign that her body was nearby but her true self was busy with work back in her homeland.
Ero, the sweet and overly exuberant fairy, rested within his mind. They had shared a few quiet moments during his brief slumber, but he could not rest for long. There were too many thoughts that burdened his mind.
He slipped out of bed and padded softly over to the sliding glass door. They had a room on the eighteenth floor of the Golden Legend Hotel. It was not exactly the penthouse, but it had a nice view of the city due to the fact that the hotel sat atop a high hill. The hotel rented rooms by the day, week, or month. It had taken half of their general fund, but they had set up shop in decent surroundings for the month after they had finished their reconstruction efforts.
Quietly, he opened the door and moved out onto the balcony. The sights and sounds of the city drew his attention immediately. He was high enough above the hustle and bustle of the city that he could not hear people speaking normally, but he was still close enough to the ground that he could easily hear the noise of traffic and the occasional shout.
The people of Valkovia were hard at work, even now. The city and its people were determined to rebuild, to continue with their lives. The resilience of those people was quite the inspiration for Scott. He had once been like this city, more than a little broken. Unlike the people here, he had simply drifted through life while he allowed the debris of his lost chances to surround him.
"What the hell have I been doing?" he asked the city softly. He was not a teenager, despite his appearance. His life had been littered with a series of lost opportunities and failed developments that could have allowed him to achieve greatness. It took arrival in a fantasy world, a place that played havoc with his mind and emotions, to cause him to properly reflect on his failings.
The people of the city continued to rebuild, and in his heart Scott knew that he must do the same. His goals needed to coincide. He needed to develop his level and his skills, but he also needed to develop his mentality and drive. During his time on Earth, he had chosen to become a soldier in order to give his life purpose. It had worked to some extent, but the current situation was different.
Uncertain whether the board of directors would truly unleash hell on ARS, Scott could only focus on the immediate situation. The end of the world, and the end of the ordinary days for the good people of ARS, could come at any moment. Yet, he was in no situation to do anything about it should that eventuality come to pass.
"The government doesn't seem like it's going to be of much use to me," said Scott softly. Captain Johnson may, or may not, prove useful in that regard. However, Scott already had a strong feeling that he was on his own as far as Earth-based support was concerned.
A gentle breeze played over his skin for a moment. As he felt that gentle breeze, he had to admit that he honestly did not care if those plans came to fruition. Earth did not feel like home to him anymore. If he were even more honest with himself, it had never felt like home. His home was Rhea, Ero, and now Herbert. "My life is here, with them." he spoke softly to himself.
Scott stood on that balcony for quite some time before another defining thought crossed his mind. He closed his eyes then slowly nodded his head. "It begins tomorrow."
"What begins tomorrow?" asked a sweet and curious voice.
The scent of her, a soft but fragrant scent similar to spring flowers after a gentle rain, greeted him not long after her words reached his ears. His eyes opened slightly and a small smile arose on his lips. "Everything, Rhea."
The elf maiden walked over to him then stood at his side. She gazed out at the city, just as he did. What she might have seen, Scott did not know for certain. Despite their growing closeness, her thoughts were often a mystery to him. A goddess in the form of a beautiful elf maiden, which was the role that was played, and which the truth? It was a hard thing to deal with, to find a quantum of certainty.
In time, she spoke again. "I have good news, and bad news."
Scott reached out to her, and placed his hand atop hers. He squeezed it gently then asked her in a quiet tone. "Tell me?"
"The good news, first?" she asked, her voice soft yet still above the level a whisper.
"Sure." he said simply. He could always use a little good news.
Rhea nodded then said, "I love you."
Scott's smile grew slightly. "Good news indeed."
She chuckled softly then unleashed a heavy sigh. "Bad news... I've caught up on my work, but I've been dragged into a working tour of the Divine Commonwealth."
"Divine Commonwealth?" asked Scott. He had never heard her mention such a thing before.
"Yes. The Divine City is separated into hundreds of wards and boroughs. Billions of us live there. However, there are satellite cities and other smaller towns surrounding the area as well."
"I see. How long will you be gone?" he asked. This was certainly bad news. Not only would he miss her, but it would impact training and questing. The board might end up waiting a decade or two, but that did not mean that they could take their sweet time while increasing their power.
"It's going to be four days on and about a week off here due to the time difference. I'll visit a few towns or wards per day, but each day in the city is four days on ARS." She blew out an annoyed breath then took another. "My mother has agreed to help me make the schedule work so that I can be with you here for those four days of ARS time every third day during the trip."
Scott glanced at her, and in the process he noted that she had closed her eyes. "We'll just have to make every moment count when we are together." he said.
Rhea's eyes fluttered open and she looked over at him. Her expression was a strange mixture of soft and intense that would cause the casual onlooker to think that something terrible had happened "Yes. Yes, we will."
He slipped his arm around her waist with a practiced hand. Their relationship had improved considerably in recent months. Misunderstandings were far less frequent. In some ways, that made it harder to separate for that much time. "We all have things that we have to do in this life, I guess."
"I guess..." she said, a hint of petulance in her tone. It was obvious that she did not relish the upcoming tour. "It'll take the better part of a year in Divine City time to finish the tour, though."
Scott kissed her softly on the cheek. "I'll be here."
Her smile brightened a little even as her cheeks reddened slightly. "At least there is one good thing to come from this."
"You'll be able to drum up more business for ARS?" asked Scott. He was rarely accused of being the brightest bulb in the room, but he could easily discern the use of such a tour.
Rhea's entire face lit up with joy. "Yes! That's exactly why I'm doing this."
Scott pulled her closer. "We all do our parts. Who knows, maybe the board won't be able to start their shenanigans."<
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"I doubt that, they're notorious for forcing world resets. Still, this might buy us a few more years." She paused briefly then quickly added. "To prepare." It was obvious what she really meant.
His arms moved slowly, and after a moment he wrapped her in a warm embrace. He placed his forehead to hers then spoke in a quiet, confident, tone. "We'll have forever. No matter what comes, we'll face it and win."
"Scott..," said Rhea in a soft, warm, tone. Her eyes began to shimmer in the light as unspent tears welled up. "I don't... What if it doesn't...?"
He silenced her fears with a kiss. His nose gently brushed against hers. His arms held her tight, and for quite a while, before that kiss broke. Silence reigned for a moment. When he spoke, it was to say. "It will. We will win."
Bright green eyes widened. Rhea pulled her head back and she looked at her husband-to-be in a strange new light. His expression caused strange sensations to fill her both in body and mind. "You have that look..."
"Which look is that?" he asked her lightly.
Her nostrils flared a little then she looked down slightly. "It's the look you had in your eyes that day when we met on the street."
"Is it?" he asked her in a soft tone. That day had been the prologue to everything that had come about in their lives. One casual encounter, a single instance of helping someone out of a bad situation, had led to everything that had happened in his life.
She nodded mutely then bit her lip a little. "You looked at that guy just like that and he left."
Scott understood her meaning completely. His expression, what he felt, it was the expression and sentiment of a man who would not give in to anything. There had been few moments in his life where such an expression had arisen. Most of them had occurred during difficult and dangerous assignments in the military.
Hidden under a small mountain of emotional debris, random amounts of bullshit, and a lack of ambition, there was a man who would succeed at all costs. It was that man who Rhea saw in Scott's eyes at that moment, the man she had fallen in love with decades ago.
The loving couple spent the next two hours together. They spoke sweetly, and then made love even more sweetly. Exhausted, and thoroughly fulfilled they held each other close and drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow promised to be the beginning of a new adventure, and a new chapter in their relationship. For now a warm and blessed sleep was their reward for the closeness they had developed.
It was not long before morning came, as it often did, subtly and without warning. Scott awoke then sat up in bed. He glanced to his side and saw Rhea slumbering peacefully, the silk sheets draped across her naked body like a sensual second skin. Her impossible beauty caused the man to take a shaky breath. She was a sight to behold in the moonlight, but in the light of day she took his breath away.
It was a strange day indeed when he did not think of his good fortune for having found the love of such a sweet, and loving girl. Whether goddess, elf, or whatever she wished to be, she was the one who had helped him find redemption for the ill-spent life he had lived.
He reached over and lightly traced the curve of her face. He did not wish to wake her, but he could not resist. Hers was the face of a woman, a goddess, who had loved him for decades without him even being aware of it. No man was that fortunate, and yet it was the truth that he had come to accept.
Scott spent a little time simply gazing at the architecture of his fiancé's face. A brief moment passed wherein he wondered if such a thing was a masculine activity, but he silenced the unworthy thought. He had to develop a thicker skin and a determined attitude. The attitudes of other people and their critique of his lifestyle and personality were something he needed to discard entirely. The elven goddess slumbering so sweetly next to him, the fairy in his head, and the Grassrat who currently practiced dance moves on the balcony, these were the people who mattered most.
Once he finished gazing lovingly at his fiancé, Scott took care of those morning rituals that are common to most people. He was quite pleased to have access to an actual toilet and a working sink. Such things existed at various inns back on the casual server, but they frequently required people to share space with others. When they went out to the field they had often spent days, sometimes weeks, in dirty clothes. They could be cleaned easily enough. Simply putting items into storage had helped with that to some extent as most of the dirt and debris would be removed. However, such a luxury no longer existed.
"I wonder if we can just go back to Earth to do our laundry and take a crap from now on?" he mused idly, before he set about brushing his teeth. It was a worthy thought. Further, doing so might actually cut down on expenses. If not for the time difference, they would probably just avoid inn and hotel fees altogether and live on Earth between hunting sessions and questing.
"Good morning!" exclaimed a vivacious voice inside Scott's head. He could not help but smile. Ero had woken up.
"Morning, Ero. Did you sleep well?" he asked mentally, while he continued to brush his teeth.
She made a soft, cute, noise. "Oh fairy well after we spent that quality time together, Mister Motor Boat."
Scott nearly choked on his toothpaste. "Ero... You could have killed me."
A warm giggle echoed through his head briefly, before the smiling fairy slipped out of his mind and appeared next to him. She hovered in the air for a moment then began to grow. Soon, she was human sized. "Did you miss me, Scott?" she asked, a warm smile on her soft pink lips.
"Of course. Who wouldn't miss their best fairy friend?" he said with complete sincerity, and a warm smile
Ero leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Good. Can I have the sink, or are you still trying to pretty yourself?"
"All yours dear lady." he said lightly before making a grand sweeping gesture toward the sink.
"Thank you, gentle sir." she said enthusiastically. She took charge of the sink. While she brushed her own teeth she looked at Scott in the mirror. After rinsing once, she said. "So, what's the plan?"
Scott slipped his arms around her then lightly caressed her stomach. "Depends. How is the little mama doing?"
Ero's face reddened slightly. "We're doing well. No sickness or anything. That doesn't really happen with fairies. Though..."
"Though?" asked Scott before he caressed her ear with his cheek. He kissed her softly on the shoulder while he caressed her lower abdomen.
"I spoke with a few of the fairies who were helping out during the debris cleaning mission. One of them turned out to be a fairy mid-wife."
"Did she have any words of wisdom?" asked Scott.
"Yes..." Ero leaned back against him and looked at their image in the mirror. It made her heart practically sing to see his arms wrapped around her. "I should go visit a fairy hospice and have an elder look me over. They'll be able to tell me how our baby is doing."
Scott kissed her on the ear. "Alright. We'll get right on that."
"Uhm, yeah... But..." she said, haltingly.
"But?" he asked.
"If I go..." she said softly before stopping. She took a breath before she continued. "If I go, they'll want to observe me for a month to see how the lunar cycle and tidal forces effect me."
"I'll be without my best friend for a month?" asked Scott. That did not sit right with him, but he would not hesitate to make it happen. The health and safety of Ero and their baby was top priority. If he were to be honest, he would prefer it if she did not go adventuring at all until the baby was born.
"Yeah..," said Ero softly.
He kissed her softly on the ear then whispered, "I love you Ero. We need to take you to see a fairy doctor."
She made a soft hiccupping sound then turned around swiftly. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she looked at him. "Scott..."
They shared a warm embrace for a time. While they did so, Rhea awoke and checked to see where everyone was. For a moment, jealously and annoyance flared within her, but when she saw that Ero was crying she managed to force those unworthy emotions down to where she kept them ca
ged inside her heart.
"Rhea...?" asked Ero gently after she noticed the elf maiden standing in the doorway.
"Good morning Ero," said Rhea in a soft, measured tone. She blinked once, slowly, took a breath then asked "What's wrong?"
Ero sniffed the air a little then chewed her lip. "I was just telling Scott about what the mid-wife said."
"Oh? We do need to get you to a fairy doctor," said Rhea, a slight smile on her lips. That smile could have meant a lot of things, but it was still a friendly smile.
The fairy girl nodded twice then embraced Scott tighter. "Yeah, but..."
"No buts, young lady. You're going to the doctor," said Rhea with a gentle smile.
Ero made a cute face then stuck out her tongue. "You're not my real mom!"
Rhea laughed a genuine, heartfelt laugh. Scott tried his best to hold it in, but he could not help himself. He laughed as well. The girls were trying so hard to get along despite the issues that even he was not too clueless to miss. He could not help but feel joyful and relieved during moments of such good humor.
"Ero, go hug your fake mother," said Scott. He released the fairy girl then swatted her on the bottom.
"Oh. Anything for you, daddy." remarked Ero with a grin.
Rhea rolled her eyes then huffed a little, but her smile returned when the fairy girl gave her a warm hug. Ero asked her, "Forgive me?" The elf lightly stroked her hair for a moment then kissed her on the forehead. "I forgive you."
"Gonna ask me to forgive you?" asked Ero cutely.
"No," said Rhea with a slightly amused smirk.
"My step mother is so cruel." remarked Ero with a giggle. "I should bite her or something."
Scott interjected. "You know... I might be from the South, but not that far South."
"Yeah?" asked Rhea, confused.
"We're starting to sound a little inbred," said Scott.
That brought another round of laughter from everyone. They did have a strange relationship dynamic, but at least it was not that strange.
Morning rituals were finished, and everyone gathered in the common room of their apartment. Ero, once again the size of a doll, fluttered over to the table and sat down on an overturned coffee cup. It was her official seat at the hotel round table until they purchased something more suitable. She could sustain human size for a much greater period of time now that she had gone up a tier, but that did not mean that she could be human sized for lengthy periods of time. It drained her stamina and mana continually.
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