(3rd Person POV)
The Clover Kingdom was not as big as Yamamoto thought, so his and Noraleonas's travels weren't long. They continued to travel to the neutral zone and the Grand Magic Zones. They didn't cross over to other Kingdoms. Not because they couldn't or because they were scared. Neither of them were interested. The relationship between them seemed to strengthen without any of them being hte wiser.
After Noraleona had her thirst for battle satiated, she started to open up more to him. From these discussions, Yamamoto found out that she was as much against the marriage their parents arranged as he was. Not for the same reasons; they still felt the same since he wasn't even Solgoleon. There was a hot, fiery passion about Noraleona that seemed to interest Yamamoto, and he couldn't help but find it hot - pun intended. After pressing him for more information, Noraleona managed to find out more about Yamamoto. He relented after she threatened to challenge him more if he didn't talk.
So his tongue gradually loosened a bit, and he told her about his 'life'. Initially, he kept it vague and did not tell her about his not being from this world, as only the dumbest idiots would do that. He told her about his massive amounts of training and dedication to becoming strong and choosing his own fate. He liked to play with fire and learn more uses and techniques for his power. He told her how he enjoyed wandering the lands and planes and experiencing what life had to offer. He also told her about his dampened emotions and lack of excitement in battle.
From that day on, Noraleona started challenging Yamamoto more often. She wasn't as obnoxious as before, but there was an intensity about her training and fighting that had been missing before. Yamamoto didn't know why that was, but Noraleona had secretly made a vow to the heavens. She vowed to become strong enough to challenge Yamamoto and someday give him the excitement he had lost due to overwhelming power.
Both of them lost themselves in the enjoyable journey together and didn't realise that much time had passed and the future would bring a big surprise.
.
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(Noraleona Vermillion POV)
- 10 years later -
"Come on, Fuegoleon! Hurry up!" the 6-year-old, Mereoleona Vermillion, says to her brother, whom she pulls along as she runs through the streets of the Royal Capital. After asking repeatedly, her tenacity finally paid off, and the family of four went to the Royal Capital. Usually, as royals, our family would live in the Vermillion Estate of Clover Castle. But my fiery temper and frequent battles with Sol have forced us to move out of the Capital, not to destroy the Clover Castle and the rest of the city.
"I'm coming. Don't run so fast, Mereoleona," my Fuego says, trying not to stumble as his sister pulls him along. I can't help but smile fondly at the sight. My two cubs have brought me more joy than I could have ever gotten from any fight with my husband.
Mereoleona, my eldest child, is a girl with blue eyes and short, wavy and slightly spiky Vermilion-colored hair. She has blue eyes from me and spiky hair, most likely from Sol. Like her brother and myself, she has red markings around her eyes, and like me, she has one sharp, pronounced canine tooth. Sol often tells me she is my spitting image and calls her mini-Nora when he thinks no one can hear her. This usually leads to us brawling ... I'm not a brute. My girl is loud, bold, fearless, and powerful; Mereoleona will be a powerhouse with a short temper to match. She cares nothing for social status.
[Picture]
Fuegoleon has short hair and wears a dark, short-sleeved shirt with a light-coloured design along the edges and up the sleeves. He has purple eyes and straight vermillion hair, which he has from me. Fuegoleon is a fair person who judges people based on their true worth rather than their social status. He has also shown a charismatic personality that translates to his leadership ability. However, he is currently too young to show that trait since his sister is far too dominant and is the one who commands him to do all sorts of things. Unlike Mereoleona, Fuegoleon is very calm and collected in almost any situation. He will be capable of analyzing and finding his opponent's weaknesses in the future, even while defending against a barrage of attacks; I can feel it.
[Picture]
"She sure is fired up today," Sol says as he walks next to me, watches our cubs run around, and observes everything.
He still looks the same way he did 10 years ago. I can't believe that he doesn't seem to age appearance-wise. Seeing him this way makes my blood boil, and my fighting spirit burns every time. During our journey together, I found myself falling for this bloke of a man. He was the strongest person I had ever met, and I'm sure he has no equal. There are many types of magic in this world, but no one comes close to Sol. Like me, I was told that he was born with Fire Magic but developed it into something more: Sun Magic. Not even he has an idea how it happened. The way he uses flames, in general, to achieve different effects is astounding, and it was the constant sparring with him that allowed me to develop and grow stronger massively.
However, he isn't just strong magically; his physical strength is unmatched. I have yet to come close to hurting him, despite him sometimes acting as if I managed. I once asked him how strong he was, and he told me he didn't know for sure. He doesn't flaunt his strength or care about insults directed at him by other nobles. His calm demeanour sometimes unnerves me, and I am the one who blows up and punches those who run their mouths.
Of course, I was the one to approach him about our marriage. Despite him never telling me at that point, I knew he had feelings for me as well. I didn't even try to find a dumb reason and simply asked him about it. Surprisingly, he said yes, and we got married a year later. That was 7 years ago. So, one year into our marriage, I got pregnant after we grew much closer to one another. I really wanted a child despite not being sure I would do well. But when I held my Mereoleona in my arms, I knew she was my greatest treasure in the world. Whenever I see Sol hold our cubs, his expression brightens with joy and pride.
[Picture]
We walk along the streets of the Royal Capital, following the energetic Mereoleona.
"Oh, oh, look, Mom and Dad. Meat sticks! Can we have some?!" she asks excitedly.
"Of course, dear," I say, and we walk up to the stand, waiting our turn. The people around us look at us in reverence and surprise. The shop owner has wide eyes as he notices our expensive clothes—at least mine and the kids. While Sol finally agrees to clothe himself a bit better, he still doesn't care about looking at his station. And I fear Mereoleona has taken after him, preferring baggy clothes to move well in. I also enjoy those, but sometimes you must be ready to wear clothes according to your station.
"Wha-wha-what c-can I g-g-get you, kind s-sirs?" the owner stutters.
"Meat sicks, please!!" Mereoleona shouts.
"Mereoleona, don't shout like that. You will scare the nice man," Fuegoleon tries to reprimand his sister.
"Bah, I'm not threatening him. If he can't deal with my personality, he's just weak. Dad told us to be ourselves, no matter who we converse with."
"Yes, but he's going to feint any moment ..."
True, the shop owner looks like he will feint at this rate. Seeing the dynamic between my two children, I smile and put a hand on Mereoleona's shoulder.
"It's alright, dear. Please give us 10 Meat Sticks each, please."
"Uh ... yes, of course."
After a few minutes, we are given 40 Meat Sticks, and I take my two cubs and leave Sol standing there. He can pay the man.
.
The day passed by quickly, and all of us enjoyed ourselves. It was a day without worry and just free time. Even Mereoleona seemed to enjoy herself and didn't ask once to have Sol or me teach her.
"So, shall we go back home?" Sol asks after we enjoyed some sweets and the afternoon sun.
"What do you two think? Had enough of the Royal Capital?" I ask Mereoleona and Fuegoleon.
"I would like to go back now, mother," Fuego says. I can see that he has had enough. However, Mereoleona is looking in another direction with a frown. Before I can ask her what she's looking at, she suddenly stands up and runs forward. I turn my head and see her rushing towards two men who are standing above some people and shouting. I stand up and follow her while Sol takes Fuego's hand and follows us as well.
"... know who I am? I am Ledior Vaude, heir to House Vaude. We are a noble House of the Clover Kingdom. Do you think this is enough? Look at these shoes and tell me if you think they are dirty!"
The young man, who can't be older than 13, is shouting at a man and a woman who are on the ground with fear in their eyes. The man is positioned in front of his wife, protecting her from the wrath of the young, entitled noble. I look at the shoe of the young noble and see some food on it. I suppose that one of the two either dropped some of the food they were selling, since this is a food stand, or it was, judging from the damage done. Or the little prick, as Sol uses to say, did it himself and now blames the two commoners.
"Y-y-yes s-sir ... th-they are d-dirty. I will clean them, I swear. J-just p-pl-please ... don't h-hurt my wife."
I see the tears run down the man's face as he pleads for his wife's life. I can feel my blood boil at the sight of it, and I am just about to unleash my anger when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look back and see Sol give me 'the look'. He does this often, and it usually means that I should either calm down or just wait a moment. I turn to both my children and see the anger in Mereoleona's face and the disapproval in Fuego's. I understand what Sol wants. He wants to see how they will react to the situation.
"Oh? I suppose I can leave your commoner wife out of this, but you have to do something for me."
"Anything... what is it?"
"Clean my shoes."
I see the man's face brighten as that is a rather simple request. Judging from the brat's demeanour, that is not all though. Before the man can grab the cloth to clean the shoes, the little brat stops him.
"What are you doing? I want you to clean my shoes ... with your tongue."
"Urgh ..."
I hear Sol groan and mutter something about a young master or something.
"W-with ... my tongue ..."
"What is that a problem? I suppose your wife might be willing to-"
"NO! I-I'll do it."
"No, William please," the wife wimpers but is shushed by him. I am just about to interfere, when I see my daughter walk forward.
"HEY!"
"Huh?"
"What do you think you're doing, you ugly pig? You can't just treat someone like that!" she shouts at the top of her lungs.
The young noble looks at Mereoleona and sees her expensive clothes suiting her station as a fellow noble.
"Who are you? Stay out of this. The commoners have to be taught a lesson every once in a while. And you," he says, pulling the man up by his collar, "clean my shoes no-"
*BOOM*
A tiny fist smashes into the young Vaude kid and sends him flying to the ground. I'm surprised, but a grin makes its way to my face. I smile, seeing my daughter beat up the little shit. Looking at Sol, I can tell that he's just as proud of Mereoleona as I am, and even Fuegoleon, who is a kind and just soul, is satisfied.
"Don't go around acting all mighty if you're so weak. YOU HEAR ME?!" my little lioness shouts.
"Why you!! How dare you hit me?!! I'll show you..."
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Yes, it happened. I'm terrible at writing romance, which makes the rather violent and passionate Noraleona a good fit. I tried to make Mereoleona and Fuegoleon as close to canon as possible for their characters. Tell me if I got something wrong.