[Chapter Size: 3100 Words.]
Third Person POV
Mizunagi.
...
...
Madara stared at the griffin in front of him. It had certainly grown larger and had also gained a few battle scars over these three years...
"Looks like you haven't forgotten us..." he said, while the griffin pecked him lightly with the tip of its beak as it lowered its eagle head toward him.
It didn't take long for a green glow to appear beside Madara. Ciri seemed unwilling to wait much longer after lunch and appeared as well, having left Aren with Eira at the castle.
She wasted no time and threw herself onto the griffin, laughing cheerfully as she wrapped her arms around the feathered creature's neck.
"Toto, it's been so long! You stink, we need to give you a bath right away!" she said, still laughing, before pulling back slightly and smiling happily at seeing her old friend again.
"I'm noticing the differences too. You've gotten a few scars, but it's good to see you again!" she said playfully, while Madara watched them with interest, a faint smile appearing on his face.
Another glow appeared farther away. Madara, Ciri, and Toto looked in that direction and saw Eira himself appear with none other than Aren on his back.
"Well, the boy wanted to come no matter what..." Eira said in defeat, keeping Aren safely on his back thanks to his magic.
The unicorn's eyes also turned toward the griffin.
"It's been a while for me too, Toto."
He had spoken himself, after all, since he also knew the griffin from the many times they had met, especially when they were in Ard Skellig. At that small cabin in the forest where they would go, bringing the unicorn along, the griffin was always there. As such, it had become a sort of companion as well.
Back then, the griffin didn't pay much attention to the young unicorn. Eira couldn't even speak, only making foal-like sounds. But what should have been a monster had been cautious around Toto. The difference between the current Eira and that foal was staggering, after all, Eira was more powerful than dragons at this point.
In any case, what surprised him was Eira emitting a small glow to make him recognize that he wasn't a threat. Toto raised his head and let out a sound of recognition and greeting. The unicorn then calmly joined them, watching Aren, who was curious.
"Is that a monster?!" Aren asked in surprise.
"Come here." Madara picked the little boy off Eira's back and placed him in front of Toto. Aren was somewhat afraid, but at the same time he tried to appear brave, seeing that his parents weren't afraid of the monster... while the griffin sniffed him without any sign that it intended to attack.
"This is our son." Ciri was still around his neck, petting him.
Aren soon found himself hugging the griffin's head just like his mother, and they decided to bring the griffin to the castle as well. Meanwhile, Aren immediately threw himself onto its back, with Eira beside him, using a form of telekinesis to keep him from falling as they walked around the castle.
"Just don't fly with our son. He's too young." Ciri had already made that clear, since Aren could probably end up traumatized if subjected to something like that so early on, not to mention it was dangerous. She had already told Madara that she wanted to fly with Aren so he could start getting used to it. Ciri had the ability to fly with her powers, which shouldn't have been too surprising at this point...
After playing around for a while and getting tired, Ciri took Aren to sleep, while Madara, Ciri, Toto, and Eira stayed outside. Ciri took the opportunity to bathe the griffin, who smelled so bad that she had to use a spell to remove the odor from Aren after he had been playing at riding him.
Madara took the opportunity to spend some time fishing and talking. The only one who didn't speak was Toto, obviously, but he lay there on the deck, with Ciri sitting on top of him as if he were a dog fresh out of a pet grooming salon. In fact, that term was also familiar to Ciri after traveling across worlds.
Toto accepted her touch very well. Well, she had known him for a long time. Toto had been bothered by her ever since Madara found him as a youngster in Cintra, and when he had been summoned to Kaer Morhen, Ciri was the one who took care of him the most.
An hour later, Aren woke up and ran outside looking for his parents, the griffin, and the unicorn...
"Let's take him for a walk!" Ciri requested as she quickly stood up. The boy ran to her before being attacked by several kisses on his chubby cheek, making him laugh.
In any case, the promise to take him for a walk through the forest was fulfilled at that moment. It was mid-afternoon when the three of them walked through the forest. There were no trails or paths there. After all, it was quite a secluded place, which was good in a way.
"I wonder if this place is still our property?" Ciri couldn't help but ask. She loved that place.
"This place belongs to you?" Aren couldn't help asking when he heard that. After all, he still had no idea about many things concerning his parents.
"Yes. Did you know that a king gave us this place? The King of Sodden. He's a great friend of your father's," Ciri said, unable to hide her smug smile.
Aren was quite stunned by that. He still seemed to have no real idea who his parents truly were, but he was surprised and excited at the same time.
"In principle, it is ours. We have the official document. Thorne would never go back on his word after giving us this territory..." Madara said, while finding a blackberry bush in the middle of the forest, picking a few berries and giving some to Aren to try, then offering some to Ciri, who ate them happily.
"You're deep in thought..." Ciri accused at one point, as Madara's eyes became distant.
Madara sighed.
"That's true. I'm still thinking about a lot of things. I'm a little restless not knowing everything that's been happening on the continent since we returned," he said.
"Madara..." Ciri murmured, sounding tired.
She didn't want him thinking about those things right now. He needed to pay attention to the son they had never known until yesterday. At the very least, they had agreed on something: they would stay with Aren for as long as they could without thinking about anything else, to the point that Madara hadn't even sent clones outside. After all, they had been missing for three years, so what difference would one more day make?
And Ciri was a walking disaster warning system. She had become a competent seer and knew very well when something bad was about to happen. So as long as she didn't say something was wrong, then everything was fine.
Still, they planned to return to Novigrad that night.
He simply gave her a small smile.
"Sorry. I can't deny it. The entire continent is beyond our reach at the moment. But I still kept my word. I haven't even sent any clones out yet."
"But you're still thinking about it..." Ciri simply sighed. She could understand her husband.
Knowing what was happening across the continent was also a way of protecting their family. After all, they would soon need to have a complete understanding of the status quo of the continent.
Despite the fact that both of their powers allowed them to fight the entire world alone and still come out victorious, she could understand that concern. After all, it wasn't just Madara. She carried her own worries as well.
Her husband was curious about the Valley of Dragons in the north, about how Kovir was reacting since Madara had emptied their vaults and taken their documents years ago, about the Eternal Fire religion and the terror left behind after the end of Radovid's reign.
She also wondered whether that religion and its ideals had spread to other kingdoms, such as Kaedwen. What had happened to Kaer Morhen? Were Geralt and Vesemir doing well? Where was Yennefer? Was King Bran dying sick in his bed? And how had Nilfgaard's invasion of the north continued?
Ciri herself wanted to know about Cintra, about her own father, Emperor Emhyr, and the possible Lodge of Sorceresses that Tissaia and Triss had mentioned...
There were many unanswered questions since they had returned to their world. Even though Tissaia and Triss had already provided a great deal of information, their knowledge had limits. Madara and Ciri would have to see things personally.
There were so many questions, yet she and Madara had forgotten all of them. They had agreed not to touch on the subject after meeting Aren and to spend at least one day with him.
And inevitably, those concerns returned.
As much as Ciri wanted to complain about Madara, she could also feel the weight of all of it. It was a wall that still stood between them and the peaceful life they wished to have with their son.
"You're thinking too much. What about our property in Toussaint?" Madara tried to tease her, noticing that she had also become trapped in her own worries. Even without reading Ciri's thoughts, he could imagine that she had been thinking about all of this as well.
She looked at him and laughed, returning to being the cheerful and affectionate Ciri.
"That's true. You spent quite a bit of money buying that from the Duchess..."
The truth was that they hoped everything was fine. Unfortunately for them, the journey to other worlds had not been something planned in advance. They had been forced to leave suddenly, abandoning everything behind.
"It was an excellent vineyard. I just hope I haven't lost it..." Madara said, while Ciri let out a small laugh.
They noticed Aren staring at them, still not understanding much. So Ciri began explaining about the places where they had lived, mentioning several interesting properties. The cabin in the forest of Ard Skellig, as well as the cabin on the highest mountain in the Skellige Isles, which was also located in Ard Skellig.
There were other properties as well, old sorcerers' lairs that they used as laboratories and even personal vaults.
They walked through the forest for some time before deciding to head back. Ciri teleported everyone when it was already late afternoon.
"We're going to take you back to the temple," Madara said in the end.
Aren looked shocked by that.
"Wait! We're not going to stay here together?" he exclaimed. After all, going back to the temple meant they were going to leave him there again.
'They promised!'
Ciri was quick enough to pull him into a hug.
"Calm down, son. We're not leaving," she murmured gently, thinking that Aren might expect them to simply disappear once more.
"We just have a few things we need to take care of. There are still people who want to harm us, and your father and I need to deal with that. But don't worry, we're not leaving this world. Not this time."
Ciri spoke while Aren still looked agitated, tears forming in his eyes.
"Pinky promise?" he murmured.
Ciri immediately smiled, finding Aren incredibly adorable.
"Of course. Your mother pinky promises."
She announced it while raising her hand, and Aren's much smaller finger wrapped around hers.
Then Ciri leaned forward and kissed his cheek again.
"And you won't be alone either," Madara said after stepping closer. "Eira and Toto will go with you to the temple."
That seemed to cheer Aren up considerably.
In any case, they moved away from the area.
Madara dispelled the entire castle after they had organized everything, storing away what he had not created from wood. Quickly, the castle vanished as though it had never existed, leaving behind nothing but an empty stretch of land.
Whenever one of them used the Wood Release Technique to construct buildings, it ended up destroying all the surrounding vegetation and part of the terrain, which was fairly obvious. But that didn't matter. After all, the castle could always be rebuilt.
Using Hiraishin himself, Madara transported Aren. His teleportation was safer than Ciri's because, even though she could now control her power very well and conceal it, there was still the possibility of being tracked. It wasn't worth the risk.
Thus, they returned to the Temple of Melitele.
Miss Hilda, who still took care of the place, was startled when an explosion of smoke appeared outside. She saw a massive winged creature emerge from the smoke.
Madara had summoned Toto once again after they arrived, while the griffin let out a mighty roar.
"Be careful with the noise, Toto. We're still in a temple. People will hear you and start asking questions!" Ciri immediately complained.
"You're lucky you're a griffin. People will just look frightened and wonder what kind of eagle has such a loud cry," she murmured, while Toto fell silent.
In any case, they went to calm Hilda, who seemed frightened in a corner. The appearance of the unicorn behind them didn't make her feel much more at ease either.
In the end, Nenneke was called by her after she had calmed down.
"So this is the unicorn that was with you back then..."
Unlike Hilda, Nenneke already knew Eira. She had also seen his mother, the adult unicorn, coming to retrieve him years ago. Although she had not approached or interacted with them, she had seen Madara and Ciri speaking with his mother before he was taken away.
"Hello, Lady Nenneke," Eira himself replied.
That made the priestess show a warm smile.
"So you speak now, clever boy. I can only say that the grace of the goddess Melitele has brought you here. Therefore, there is no reason not to welcome you."
Then she turned her attention to the griffin, who had also been summoned. After all, when Ciri was pregnant, she had often demanded that Madara summon Toto so she could play with him.
"Just don't make that thunderous noise again. I had to go outside and calm down a large group of people who heard your roar and got frightened," Nenneke couldn't help but complain.
Ciri cast a glance at Toto.
'See? I warned you.'
In any case, Madara stepped forward.
"We're going to take care of a few matters in the north."
Then he picked up Aren and carried him over to Hilda, crouching beside his son.
"We're leaving tonight, but we'll be back tomorrow. All right?"
The boy nodded, although he still looked hesitant.
"You promise you'll come back? Pinky promise?"
He wanted to make the same promise with Madara.
Madara raised his finger and nodded. The boy hooked his tiny finger around his father's and then gave him a hug. Taking advantage of the moment, Ciri began taking out his toys, at least the ones that weren't dangerous, just as Madara had requested.
Ciri opened her portal and started pulling out numerous toys, spreading them around the hall in the area of the temple where Aren usually played, alongside the other toys he already had.
The boy was already jumping with excitement.
Then Ciri also took out the book.
"Here, take it. If you want to keep seeing us..."
she said, handing it to her son.
Then she pulled out a second book.
"There are also plenty of pictures in here of your father and me traveling between worlds, along with some friends we made. If you're interested..."
Ciri showed him the second book. Aren quickly nodded and took the other book as well, lifting it with some difficulty.
"Please come back soon," Aren murmured quietly.
"I'll be here before you even realize it, son."
She spoke with a gentle and reassuring smile.
"Now we're leaving him with you. Take good care of him," Madara said to Nenneke, Hilda, and Eira.
Then Ciri took her husband's hand, and he used Hiraishin. Once again, they returned to Novigrad.
It was already night when they stood atop one of the rooftops, overlooking the city.
"You know..." Ciri suddenly spoke, immersed in the memories of the hours they had spent with their son since yesterday. "I thought Aren would be demanding that we teach him our powers, but he was such an adorable little boy..." Ciri couldn't help but smile.
All the resentment and anxiety she had felt upon seeing her son again had transformed into pride and pure love for that child.
"Of course, he was quite impressed after seeing us use so many of our powers so freely. He's curious too. You can be sure of that."
Madara replied, pausing briefly.
"He's a boy. It's obvious that superpowers would immediately become part of a kid's fantasies at that age. And seeing all of that in person, coming from his own parents, must have been a huge shock for him."
Madara spoke in a nostalgic tone. Even he had entertained those kinds of ideas when he was a child, as he looked up at the starry sky with its sixteen moons.
"I'm sure that next time, he'll question us about everything we do and ask us to teach him as well. So be prepared."
Madara showed a faint smile.
It was strange, but he was now a father. Part of him already wanted to show his son how to manipulate chakra and prepare him for any problems that might arise. Despite that, he and his wife still needed to clear the entire road ahead so that Aren, and any other children they might have in the future, could live peaceful lives unlike their own...
Ciri nodded with a smile.
Then Madara turned his attention toward one side of the city.
"Now let's head to that brothel near the city's entrance... Zoltan should be taking care of that place. Let's find out what's been happening in this city once and for all."
Madara spoke in a serious tone, and Ciri nodded as well, her expression becoming more serious.
Then the two of them moved forward together.
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