Origin A.R.S. (18 page)

He had only just woken up, but he was coherent enough to catch the true meaning of what she had said. She did not mean that he looked cold and lonely. She had meant that he looked cold and lonely, too. She was lonely. That was why she had joined him.

“Fine, but no molesting me in my sleep.” he said.

She snorted loudly. “Who molests who in their sleep?”

“You sure didn’t slap my hand away.” replied Scott.

“Why would I?” remarked the girl before snuggling closer. Scott could feel his face heating up at her response. The nerve of this girl...

The conversation entered a lull for the moment. They both continued to lay there in the dark listening to each other breathe. Finally, it was Rhea who broke the silence. “I’m sorry, Scott. It took me longer to finish than I thought it would.”

He did not immediately reply. Rhea grew tense and nervous for a moment. However, when he did reply it was to say, “You don’t owe me an explanation.”

“You don’t think so?” she asked, confused.

“We both have our little secrets Rhea. Don’t ask about my stuff and I won’t envision you doing perverted elf things in the forest.”

“P-perverted elf things? What is it that you think I do!”

“I’d tell you, but you’d either slap me or want to marry me. So, I won’t say a word.”

She laughed softly then patted his cheek. She could see him just fine in the near-total darkness. Even a little light was enough for elven eyes.

“Too bad, I would have liked to have known the outcome.”

“Suffer the mystery.” said Scott.

She pouted at him. She did not like secrets, even if she had to keep one.

“Scott...” she asked after a few minutes.

Sleepily he asked, “Yeah?”

“Is... Is this OK? Me doing this?”

“Mhmm. Warm.” he murmured.

She smiled brightly. He did not mind, huh? That was a start. “I’m glad to hear that... You know I-”

“Rhea...” Scott interrupted her.

“Huh, yeah?”

“Be quiet and keep me warm.” Scott stretched out then cuddled up to the girl who exuded so much warmth.

She started to frown at his commanding tone, but the feeling of being held so closely silenced her briefly. After the moment passed she softly said, “Become your warmth, huh?”

“So warm.” murmured Scott before he slipped into dreamland.

Rhea’s face heated a bit. Unable to restrain herself, she leaned forward and kissed Scott softly on the forehead. She hugged him tightly then fell asleep as well.

The image onscreen snored softly. The elf girl Rhea had succumbed to her mysterious condition once more. Of course, it was the middle of the night and Scott was on watch while they rested just off the side of the road. It had been three days since the duo had left the tavern. They were only a half-day’s walk from Meaden now, and would be able to journey to the mine soon.

Origin gently removed a golden tiara that she had been wearing, and then placed it to the side. She stretched and stood up. She had been in her command chair for quite a while now.

“Well, they look comfortable at least.” She said in a slightly sullen voice.

“Who looks comfortable?” asked a voice from the doorway. Origin turned to see her mother standing there. The Goddess of Agriculture wore a curious expression upon her face. Her soft green eyes and jet-black hair framed a beautiful heart-shaped face much like her daughter’s.

“Just a few people on the world below.” replied the Goddess of Love and Reincarnation, quickly. She had replied a little too quickly and her mother had become suspicious immediately.

“Really? You’re actually spying on people?” Origin was mortified to see that her mother entered her room and made a bee-line toward her screen.

The goddess of love turned quickly and tried to turn off her screen but her mother got an eyeful, even so. “Hmm, hey... that elf girl.”

Origin growled softly and changed the subject, “Mother... what did you want? You don’t visit out of the blue like this normally.”

“Visit out of the blue? We’ve had today scheduled for weeks!” exclaimed Era, Origin’s mother. Her jet-black eyebrows shot upward in surprise. Surely her daughter had not forgotten this most important of days?

“Was today special?” asked Origin before looking to the side and acquiring an unconcerned expression.

“Origin! You know that today is when you agreed to finally start accepting marriage prospects.”

“Pass.” The goddess of love leaned back in her incredibly comfortable chair and made a loud sighing sound. She had no desire to deal with that today.

“You’re already two thousand years old; it is high-time that you started to consider marriage!”

“Why? None of them even know me? They just want to get in good with our family.” groused the physical incarnation of love, life, and reincarnating to live once again.

“Well, yes. That is probably the case, but we can’t have you unwed forever. It is simply not done. If something should happen to you, who would take over as the next in line?”

“Next in line. Next in line! Why can’t Silence do it? How about Theta or Mid? Did you ever think that Shara might be interested in being empress?”

“You know full well that your brother is a male. The crown only goes to the head of the family!”

“That still doesn’t explain why my sisters, especially my older sisters, don’t have to deal with this.” groused the blue haired girl.

“They live in the world Origin, remember? They chose to accept roles that keep them out of politics.” said Era.

“Fine, then let Shara be the next in line.” replied the younger goddess.

Era sighed loudly. “Shara is your half-sister. She only shares blood through your father. We’ve been over this. You’re the next in line.”  

Origin made a sour expression then sighed loudly in a manner similar to her mother. “I’m busy now. You know I love you, but I’m in the middle of important work.”

“What important work? You were just-” Era tried to berate her daughter, but she was cut-off mid-sentence.

“My job. You know the time is coming when those council idiots will probably authorize a reset.”

“That takes years! It hasn’t even started, yet. Now is the proper time to settle down. Do it before you are swamped with work.”

The younger goddess crossed her arms over her impressive chest and huffed loudly. “I don’t care.”

“Child you task me...” muttered Era.

“If I were actually a child, you wouldn’t even be asking me to do this.” replied Origin.

“I’m just thinking of your future. The council might make the decision for you if this goes on too long.”

Origin sighed then looked down at her hands. “I know that. I just don’t feel comfortable marrying someone who I don’t know.”

“Origin... How can you get to know them, if you keep refusing to meet them?” asked Era.

The goddess of love sighed softly and shook her head. “I already know that none of them would work out, anyway.”

“You couldn’t possibly know that.”

Origin bit her lower lip then casually glanced toward the screen. The image had changed. Scott was kneeling over the body of the elf girl, Rhea. Once again he was straightening the blanket she was sleeping under to make sure she was not cold.

Era’s eyes traveled with her daughter’s and then widened. “You can’t be serious.”

At the top of the screen floated three bright red letters ‘
AFK.
’

“Oh child...” Era wrapped her arms around her poor besotted daughter. She had a rough road ahead of her.

Origin smiled, despite the situation, and allowed her mother to hold her. They stayed that way for quite some time before Era spoke again. “You really did this thing?”

Soft green eyes sparkled gently in the light. “Yes, I really did.”

“Why?”

Origin shook her head. “Do you remember my last trip to Earth?”

“Yes... the system went down and you were stuck there for several days without any resources due to the time variable.”

The girl nodded against her mother’s chest. “Yes, I went in the form of a child.”

“Of course, you had a rough time of it too. Some of the unsavory types took notice of you.”

Origin frowned. “Yes they did, but... someone else took notice too.”

“Oh, you mean that man, the one who scared off those idiots and took you for ice cream?”

The younger goddess giggled softly then smiled. “Yes, I had never had real ice cream before. It was a little different than the stuff that they make here.”

“Honey, what does that have to do with anything?”

A shy giggle escaped Origin’s lips once more. “He asked me if I wanted to be player two.”

Era’s eyes widened due to the shock of hearing such a statement. She pulled away from her daughter and stared at her as though she had said the most ridiculous thing in the world. “He did... That... what did you say?”

“Mid popped up before I could accept.” Origin frowned at the memory of the raven haired seductive goddess appearing in a semblance of her natural form. That wonderful man’s eyes had shifted quickly from her to her dark haired sister. If only she had not gone in the form of a child!

“Oh...” said Era. Her voice was a bit sad, as though something hoped for had failed to occur.

“It’s OK... after having to wait several years I finally have a chance to play with that man.”

“You mean?” Era looked to the screen once more and saw Scott gently stroking the elf girl’s hair. The elf girl snored softly in a rhythmic manner. That was to be expected of an avatar when you were logged in, but not actually playing.

“Yes.”

Era gazed upon the man on the screen for a moment then smiled. “Well, he showed good character when you first met. Though, you have a rough road ahead of you if others find out what he is, dear.”

“Yeah, I was trying to keep it secret. So far only Mid, Silence, and you know. Well, I know too ... but does that really count?”

“Try to keep it that way, child. If word gets out that you have brought an Earth human to the world things will become problematic.”

Origin nodded. “I’m already dealing with Mid’s interest in him. The last thing I need is a horde of slutty goddesses chasing after him, or idiot gods trying to fight him to see if the rumors are true.”

“Well, can you blame them? Everyone loves Earth humans. I might steal yours for myself.”

“Mother!” Origin looked annoyed, but strangely she did not look surprised.

“What, you don’t want a little brother or sister?”

The goddess of love growled softly. Era laughed, but she did not apologize or claim to be kidding. Origin frowned cutely in consternation. This... could be a problem.

While the goddesses debated life, love, and man-stealing the world below kept on spinning. Down on the ground, far below the celestial city, a nice guy gently stroked the hair of a lightly snoring elf. She was a strange girl. She was a girl with many secrets, but he suspected that she meant him no harm.

“I wonder what you are hiding.” It was her secret to keep, but he hoped that she would trust him enough one day to actually share it with him. Till that day came, he would try to understand her needs.

Scott did not know what would happen between them. He was not ready to enter a new relationship; but he was not averse to it either. All he knew was; that Rhea was a sweet girl. He did not want to hurt her in anyway.

###

Thank you for reading the first volume of Origin A.R.S. I enjoy writing this series and will release volumes periodically. I hope that you continue to enjoy them! If you did enjoy this volume, please write a review at your favorite retailer to help spread the word!

Thanks!

Scottie Futch

About the Author

Scottie Futch is a lover of anime, manga, and role playing games. He adores reading and likes to write about odd and interesting fantasy worlds. In his spare times he likes to sit and chat with his duck, named Duck. She is loud, and acts like she is a dog. However, she does amuse him. Due to her amusing nature she will not become his dinner.
Probably
.

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