Chapter 9: Preparations

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners.

Lux reappeared in his chambers after his elves assured him that any mess left from the birthing had been thoroughly cleaned up.

"Master, would you like to hold our daughter?" Bella asked, holding out the small bundle. Lux smiled. His slave was such a thoughtful woman, at least to him. To everyone else, she was still the same hateful bitch.

Taking the little one into his arms, he expected to see something resembling a wrinkled potato. Instead, his child looked like a beautiful little doll with a full head of dark hair, olive skin, and grey eyes like her mother. On top of that, the infant seemed remarkably active, curiously looking at him and her surroundings. Well, whatever. He knew any children coming from his divine balls were going to be exceptional.

"You're going to be a little hellion, I just know it," he baby-talked, lifting his little girl up and receiving cute giggles from the funny faces he made.

"Well done, my Bella. She's absolutely gorgeous," Lux said, making his loyal slave beam with pride. "What's her name?" he asked.

"Delphini… Delphini Black."

"A beautiful name. I'll let you and little Delphi get some rest," he told her, returning the baby to her mother and turning away.

Lux stopped before Apparating away, feeling Bella's hand grab his own. "Please, Master… stay with us," she begged, giving him those slightly manic puppy dog eyes.

He guessed he could do that much for the woman who just birthed his first child, Lux thought, sliding into bed beside his baby mama.

Running a hand through Bella's hair, he watched his daughter slowly fall asleep with a smile on his face. Bella didn't last much longer either, nodding off with her head resting on his shoulder. Even with an enhanced body from carrying his child, the labor still seemed to take a lot out of his slave.

But Delphini, huh? Lux was pretty sure he remembered something about a shitty Harry Potter sequel with Delphini as the daughter of Bellatrix and Voldemort. Either way, that wouldn't have been possible in the AU verse his Bella came from, not when the Voldemort he'd gained the memories of had made himself into a eunuch.

Lux scooped his sleeping daughter out of her mother's arms, handing the tiny bundle over to one of the elves on standby. They'd bring little Delphi to the nursery and take the best care of his precious daughter.

Lux also popped away from his sleeping slave after handing off his daughter. He had plans to advance. It was time to let the people of this world know that a new god had descended.

~A New God's Conquest~

Like a ninja from one of those cartoons her imbecile of a cousin would watch, Rose crept through the castle's halls, heading for the room she knew had been turned into the nursery.

Reaching her destination, she spotted two elves dressed as little butlers standing guard. She wasn't worried about them; they'd just ignore her as they carried out their duties.

Rose opened the door, spotting a maid elf in each corner of the room. They turned to her, and she placed a finger over her lips, signaling them to be quiet.

She tiptoed up to the crib, finally laying eyes on the daughter of the man she was falling in love with and the woman who previously wanted her dead for being the fated enemy of her lord.

Sure, Rose still didn't get along with that bitch at all, but now that the woman was infatuated with her new master, she didn't have to worry about being cursed in the back.

If it weren't for Lux convincing her that Bellatrix was nothing more than a tool controlled by Voldemort that he'd freed from the grasp of the Dark Lord, Rose would have never let her off for the murder of her godfather. Even now, she hadn't forgiven the psychopath, but she at least didn't wish for her death.

Rose scowled. The baby was so absurdly adorable that it made her ovaries twitch. She wanted one of her own. Unfortunately, with her minuscule knowledge of seduction, none of her attempts to advance things with her overly handsome savior seemed to work.

While lost in her baby fever, a hand grabbed her shoulder, making her jump back with a hiss. "Bellatrix... Ahem, I seem to have gotten turned around on the way to my room," Rose lied.

Bellatrix smiled a knowing smile, clearly not believing her convincing excuse. "Tsk, tsk, there's no need to hide your jealousy, little Rose. It's only natural. After all, delivering the child of a god is a blessing of the highest degree," Bellatrix told her, making her roll her eyes. Rose just ignored all the god nonsense, but even though she wouldn't admit it, she was right about her being jealous.

"Tch, you've won this time, bitch. But mark my words, Lux will be mine one day," Rose swore as Bellatrix's eyes narrowed.

Rose noticed the dark flash pass through the older witch's eyes, making her shiver. All this time spent watching Bellatrix act as the loyal servant made her forget how vicious the woman truly could be.

Bellatrix lightly stroked her neck with one of her graceful hands, her trembling only increasing. "You'll watch that dirty mouth of yours around my child," Bella said, and she could only nod at those words. Rose really didn't want to get on the bad side of the crazy lady, who, by all means, was far closer to Lux than she was.

"Good, I'm glad we could come to an understanding," Bella said, her menacing glare flipping like a switch, a pleasant smile back on her face before she turned to leave the room, leaving Rose standing there in a daze.

~A New God's Conquest~

Val stewed in her rage. She and her group had been thrown into the dungeons, and if it weren't for the routine meals, she would have thought they'd been forgotten.

She was of the Free Folk. She couldn't believe she'd been captured twice by the kneelers.

Val perked up, hearing the steady footsteps from down the hall. This wasn't the time for their normal meals. She readied herself; this might be her chance at freedom.

But alas, it didn't seem to be so. Six of the fully armored warriors that had captured her in the first place were heading for her cell.

With their flesh completely covered, the only thing making her believe they weren't statues was the eerie glow from the slits of their helms. It made her shiver, reminding her too much of the tales of the Others.

The warriors didn't say anything, two of them entering her cell and hoisting her up by the arms. She could only follow. Even if she had the strength to fight off the fully armed men, then what? She didn't even know the way out of this outrageously large castle.

So she was dragged along, and even then, she couldn't help but marvel at her surroundings. She'd heard that the kneelers south of the wall lived in large castles, but this was insane. Val guessed that this castle alone was larger than the largest Free Folk settlement she'd ever seen.

Sure, that wasn't saying much, but still, this castle alone could house her entire village with plenty of space left over.

Finally, though, they seemed to arrive at their destination, the warriors knocking on a door before being ordered to enter by a familiar voice.

The man claiming to be a god leisurely reclined behind a desk, gesturing for her to enter while the others left them alone.

This might have been her best chance for freedom; left alone, she might have been able to defeat this man. But she didn't. This man had her hackles raised; something was telling her that in this situation, she was nothing more than prey before a predator.

He smiled at her, and something told Val that he knew exactly what she'd been thinking.

"Tell me, Val, what would you do to see your people uplifted from the rag-tag bunch of raiders they are?" he broke the silence, the ridiculous words he spoke making her forget to question how he knew her name.

"I'd do anything, but what does that matter to a kneeler like yourself?"

She didn't know what this man was up to, but she was starting to get a bad feeling about this whole thing.

"It matters when I've been wavering on whether to wipe your people clean off the board or to bring them along to prosper with the rest of the civilized world," he said, making her eyes go wide.

Was this man serious? Val didn't know why, but she was taking the threat seriously. Even when, for thousands of years, the Crows tried to do the same but time and time again failed, she felt the man standing before her was different.

"Like I'd trust the words of a kneeler," she scoffed, trying to put up a brave front.

The so-called god didn't respond, instead getting up from his seat to stand before her.

She tried, but she couldn't keep the smirk off her face, seeing that she stood a good few inches above her captor. Again, he seemed to know what was going through her head as he rolled his eyes.

Still, even with the height advantage, there was just a certain presence the man had about him, and she couldn't even react when he placed a hand on her face.

"Such beauty… Fortunately, the slavers had enough restraint not to… taste the goods," he said, making her scowl and try to move his hand away. She couldn't, though; he was too strong, and all she could do was stew in her rage at being reminded of her capture.

"Enough games. What are you trying to get from this?" she questioned, starting to tire of whatever this man was playing at.

"As I said, you have the chance to see your people prosper… That is if I see fit to do so."

"And as I said, why would I trust the words of a kneeler."

"First off, I kneel before none. And second, would you trust the words of your husband?" he asked, anger building in her chest, understanding the meaning behind his words.

"As if I'd take a kneeler for a husband," she gritted out, seething at his knowing smile.

"From what I know, the woman's consent doesn't mean much in your culture. What was it called again? Ah, yes, stealing. Isn't that right?" her captor teased, almost making her go on the attack.

Was this really going to happen? She didn't think she could stop him if he wanted to steal her. But, no, she was of the Free Folk. She wouldn't submit without a fight.

Just as she was getting ready to fight to the death, her captor backed away.

"I'll let you think about it. For now, as long as you behave, I'll set you up in a room more fitting of my future bride."

Val didn't know if those words were serious or not, but all she could do was prepare herself for what was to come as she was led through the castle by the same warriors.

It was true that she would be obligated to take her captor as her husband if he were able to best her.

But there was a reason women like her weren't constantly harassed by prospective suitors. They might be able to steal them for a night, but then they'd have to sleep with one eye open every night to avoid getting a dagger to the throat.

She'd be ready when the time came.

Lux smiled to himself after his captive left. Val was a true Nordic beauty: tall, blonde, and blue-eyed. He couldn't wait to have her to himself.

~A New God's Conquest~

Lux walked through his super-secret evil lair with Noire on his shoulder and Aurora walking at his side.

Things were going well, in part due to his decision to train up a group of the locals as wizards and witches. They could handle the small stuff that he couldn't be bothered to do.

Even having taught them for just over a year, Bella had told him that even the slowest learner was on the level of a NEWT graduate. This was, of course, only possible because he was a dirty, no-good cheat.

You see, Voldemort had tried to study Ravenclaw's Diadem, but nothing ever came of it. Maybe that was why the Dark Lord decided to taint the precious artifact with his putrid soul fragment. Either way, Lux was in a completely different realm compared to the noseless bastard, so creating an enchantment to increase a person's learning speed was a piece of cake.

Getting back to his work, Lux checked his progress one last time on his newest creation: A beautiful golden kimono accented with silver flowers and a matching silver obi. The dress was obviously meant for his newest slave. Soon he'd be sending people out to spread his name across this world, and he was sure that the jade beauty would make an excellent Saintess.

Okay, he knew that Yi Ti was meant to represent ancient China, but he really liked kimonos, so sue him. Besides, there was no one to call him out on it anyway.

Lux nodded his head. The dress was a magical work of art. Anyone wearing it would be the most protected person in the world. After all, he couldn't allow any harm to come to his Saintess.

Moving on, Lux inspected the row of a dozen triple-masted galleons, all decorated with the banners he was planning to use for his kingdom: the side profile of a silver wolf's head on a field of gold.

He'd have gone for larger ships if the ports of this world could handle them. However, it didn't matter much considering the interior of the ships had been expanded to the point that an army could comfortably be transported in each one.

Noire swatted at her father's head for not putting her majestic self on the banners. She narrowed her eyes at her sister happily trotting along as if she hadn't slighted her. Sure, the silver wolf on the banner wasn't modeled after her golden sister, but at least there was gold on the banner.

"Now, now, Noire. Don't think I've forgotten about you," her father soothed her anger, giving her good head pats. Well, she supposed she could forgive him just this one time.

After soothing his darling wolf pup, Lux spread his magic sense across the many enchantments of the ships, deciding that everything looked up to par. All that was left to do was insert the wardstones that would power the vessels.

Lux hadn't skimped when it came to these bad boys. They'd cut through water like it wasn't there, and that was if the captains even wanted to stay on the seas, considering they could sail just as fast through the air. As the cherry on top, the magical cannons lining the ships would quickly end anyone who inevitably had eyes for his creations.

It might seem like he'd spent most of his new life working on his enchantments, considering his lair was filled to the brim with his creations, the lowest-leveled ones still being on the level of the Hogwarts founders' artifacts.

But that was far from the case. He'd only been given the basics of light magic, along with a spell circle that didn't provide much enhancement to any of his casts.

Now, however, he'd made his own seals. Each took the form of a wolf's head, made from countless runic engravings, one golden and the other abyssal black.

He'd had to work with what he had to create a set of spells to work with his powers of darkness. His stingy parent, Erebus, hadn't given him anything to start with.

So yeah, he'd made significant progress with his magic, and now he was just waiting for the first set of fools to make him use it.

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