1[Third Person's PoV]
As they were all standing up, they suddenly gained two surprising visitors.
"CELESTE, STOP TELEPORTING EVERYWHERE!"
What followed were loud, maniacal baby giggles, filled with mischief.
"Hehehe!"
Hearing the voice from above, they looked up to find Aurora holding Celeste while flying. The bluish-purple aura around Celeste then vanished, causing them to start falling.
"Ahhhh! Catch us, Cid!" Aurora yelled, grabbing onto Celeste protectively and turning her back towards the ground.
Cid had a look of amusement as he held out his arms. Aurora soon landed in his arms while holding Celeste.
Celeste raised her arms in the air and cheered while giggling. Cid chuckled, shook his head, and looked towards Aurora. "How did this even happen?"
Aurora sighed. "Celeste started teleporting all over the room and wouldn't sit still. So, in case she teleported somewhere dangerous, I jumped and grabbed her. But when I grabbed her, she teleported both of us here."
Celeste looked proud as she puffed up her chest.
"Have you not been listening to Mommy?" Cid said, beginning to chastise her.
Seeing that Cid was mad at her, Celeste lowered her head.
Cid then put Aurora down and took Celeste in his arms. "You have to stop worrying Mommy and listen to her when she tells you no, alright?"
With pouted lips, Celeste nodded. Cid smiled and started patting her head.
Aurora looked around. "Where is this place?"
"The Shadow Realm, a different dimension that exists in my shadow. It appears Celeste's abilities are becoming stronger as time goes on; she was able to enter my dimension on her own," Cid praised.
Celeste went back to puffing her chest with pride upon hearing Cid's compliment.
Epsilon then looked towards Celeste before picking her up from Cid's arms. "You mentioned Monarchs having titles before. What are yours?" Epsilon asked curiously.
Cid saw all of them turn to him, their eyes burning with curiosity.
"You guys really want to know, huh?" Cid asked.
The girls all nodded, except for Celeste and Aurora, who looked at Cid in confusion. Cid reached into the air and pulled out a scroll from nowhere. As he undid the scroll, it fell to the ground, continuing to expand with no sign of stopping.
The girls looked at the scroll with wide eyes and mouths agape.
Cid cleared his throat while lifting up the scroll as if prepared to read it. "You girls ready? Buckle up, this may take a while."
Cid chuckled, threw the scroll to the side, and turned into particles of light, revealing it was only an illusion. "I'm just kidding."
Celeste covered her mouth as she giggled cutely.
Bellion then appeared next to Cid. "My lord, I think it would be better if I announced your titles to them."
"Go ahead, Bellion," Cid nodded.
Bellion smirked before loudly pronouncing: "My lord is Monarch of Shadows, The Emperor of Death, The King of Black, The Greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light, The Owner of The Seven Deadly Sins, The Husband of Many, The Sovereign of Mana, The Manifestation of Willpower, The One without Limit…"
As Bellion started announcing Cid's titles, all of his shadow soldiers began appearing and surrounding the area. They went on one knee, put a fist to the ground, and bowed their heads.
Bellion then quickly followed he walked towards everyone that was kneeling down and knelt down with them as well as they all faced Cid,
"OUR LORD IS THE EMINENCE OF A TRUE MONARCH OF THE SHADOWS!"
Alpha and the others had looks of worship, while Aurora looked deeply impressed. Celeste's eyes shone like stars upon hearing all of her father's titles and seeing everyone show him great respect.
'He's the coolest… I'm so glad he's my daddy.'
…
In the real world…
Rose was twisting and turning in her bed, tears in her eyes as she muttered in her sleep, "I'm sorry… forgive me, Father…"
In her dreams, she held a sword deeply embedded in her father's chest, blood staining her hands and flowing from his mouth.
"I won't forgive you," he said in a raspy voice, holding out his bloodied hands. "I won't forgive you, Rose!"
He wrapped his hands around her throat, looked her in the eyes, and screamed in her face, "I WON'T EVER FORGIVE YOU!!"
"I'm sorry!" she yelled as she woke up, realizing her own hands were wrapped around her throat.
She sat up in bed, catching her breath, and buried her face in her hands as she muttered, "That same dream again… It happens again and again."
Suddenly, she heard the sound of knocking on the door, followed by Sherry's voice from the other side.
"Rose? Are you okay? I heard screaming."
"I'm okay… just a dream…"
"...Okay… Well, I came to inform you that we have a mission set up. Please get ready quickly."
"Alright, I'll be there in a few," Rose answered as she walked towards the mirror and let out a sigh as she examined her body.
She lifted her neck, exposing the red markings she had created. She ran her fingers over them before using magic to heal them.
"That's the third night in a row I've woken up with self-inflicted wounds. One of these days, I'm going to wake up dead by my own hands…"
"..."
"Can I wake up dead? Is that a thing?" Rose pondered before shaking her head, She summoned black slime and applied it to her whole body, creating the Shadow Garden's main outfit.
'This slime is really amazing. As expected of Cid, he's really a genius,' Rose praised as she examined herself. Nodding, she walked out of the room.
She found Alexia leaning against a wall with Sherry standing next to her, waiting.
"Are you really okay?" Sherry asked with a hint of worry in her gaze.
Rose smiled and nodded. "I'm okay, really. Like I said, it's only nightmares. Sorry for worrying you guys."
They both nodded and began to follow Sherry.
"If you ever feel like you need to talk to someone, just know we will always be by your side. We are a team now, after all," Alexia said, looking at Rose with a serious expression.
Rose nodded. "Thank you."
*************************************
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[Third Person's PoV]
A Bit Earlier…
Cid, alongside the others, appeared in the snowy field where Gettan was once executed.
"I wouldn't worry about Bellion being mad or upset with you guys. He knows you all have things to do and can't leave Shadow Garden by itself for too long," Cid said as he held onto Celeste.
"We just don't want Bellion to take it out on us during our next training session," Beta muttered with a lifeless look.
"I wouldn't worry, like I just said. Bellion understands to take it a bit easier now," Cid explained.
They all nodded, but before they went on to do their duties, Cid turned towards Alpha. "We have a new member who goes by the name of Yukime. She was the one who helped me with the counterfeit bills and is the daughter of one of my shadow soldiers. Be sure to share some of the money with her since some is rightfully hers. And be sure to make her acquainted with how Shadow Garden operates. I have some plans for her."
"It shall be done, Master," Alpha bowed before disappearing into her shadow. The others bowed as well and followed her lead, disappearing into their shadows.
Now, only Celeste, Aurora, and Cid were left in the snowy terrain. Cid handed Celeste to her mother as he said, "Here, hold her for a bit. I want to show you something."
Aurora was a bit confused but was glad to be holding Celeste in her arms once more. As she held Celeste, Aurora looked towards Cid with curiosity, wondering what he wanted to show her.
"Let's start off by saying this… we started off in the wrong order… I think it might have been in the wrongest order possible… We fought, we met, we got busy, if you know what I mean," he said, looking at Celeste, who was looking at him in confusion.
"And then had our little bundle of joy right here," Cid said as he patted her head.
Aurora giggled, "I guess we did not meet in the most conventional of ways…"
Cid nodded in agreement. "So although our situation is a little out of order, let's set things in the right direction…"
Cid reached into his pockets and pulled out a small box.
Celeste's eyes nearly popped out of her head as her mouth widened in shock, looking between Cid and Aurora. She covered her little mouth with her baby hands to avoid screaming and ruining the moment.
When Cid opened the box, inside was a ring with a bright red jewel in the center of it.
Aurora stared at the ring, her face slowly morphing into a frown. "Cid… You do know what that is, don't you?"
Cid didn't look bothered by Aurora's frown and just smiled proudly. "And with it, I'm asking you to be my wife with our daughter as a witness."
Aurora stared at Cid before shifting Celeste to her hip. She grabbed the box, looked at the ring, and then back at Cid. "So let me get this straight… You are asking me to be your wife… with the crystallization of my resentment?" She asked, her face growing colder as she looked at the red crystal.
Celeste, who was by her mother's hip, looked up at her in confusion. This wasn't the expression she was expecting; she anticipated an overdramatic celebration with cheers and happy cries. When Celeste looked towards Cid, she saw him puff his chest with pride.
"Yes, yes I am. Wanna know why?" Cid asked with a smirk.
"Why?"
Cid walked towards Aurora. He held her face and said, "Because that resentment is a part of you. No matter how much you dislike it, don't want to know of it, or simply want to discard it, it's still a part of who you are…"
Cid took the box from her, removed the ring, and held her now-empty hand. "And I think every single part of you is absolutely beautiful…"
Aurora's cold expression cracked a bit as her eyes widened, watching Cid slide the ring onto her ring finger. He brought her hand towards his lips and said, "I'm using your crystallized resentment as a symbol for our love to show you that I love Every. Single. Part. Of you…"
Cid kissed the ring on her finger. "Even if that part is something you hate… It's still absolutely beautiful in my eyes."
Aurora was surprised by his reasoning, her eyes rapidly blinking as tears began to slide down her face.
Cid once again held her face before bringing her in and kissing her lips.
Celeste, still by her mother's hip, quickly covered her eyes. She shifted her fingers a bit and peeked through the cracks while blushing slightly. 'They should get a room. Don't they know their daughter is watching…'
As they broke their kiss, Aurora and Cid had their heads pressed against each other. "So what do you say? Want to spend all eternity with me?"
Aurora blushed as she nodded her head. "I didn't know you could be so romantic," she muttered as Cid wiped her tears.
Cid just smirked and shrugged. "There isn't a lot you don't know about me… just like there isn't a lot I don't know about you. And I think that's wonderful since that means we would be spending our life getting to know each other."
"Does that mean we are husband and wife now?"
Cid held her hand as their heads remained pressed against each other. "With the power vested in me as The Shadow Monarch, I hereby pronounce us husband and wife."
Aurora giggled, while Celeste started clapping her hands loudly.
When they turned towards Celeste, they saw the largest smile on her face as she clapped her hands before throwing her fist up in celebration.
This caused both of them to chuckle as they looked at her in amusement. Aurora brought her close and kissed her cheek. "Thank you, Celeste. Your celebration is very much appreciated on this joyous occasion."
"Speaking of celebration…" Cid reached into his shadow and pulled out a picnic basket. "Shall we have a family picnic? Just the three of us?"
Aurora covered her mouth with the back of her hand as she laughed slightly. "Sure, a family dinner sounds absolutely fantastic."
As Cid held the picnic basket, he held out his hand towards Aurora. She smiled as she put her free hand in his.
Their fingers interlocked as they began to walk across the snowy ground, their footsteps leaving a mark on the white snow, with the moon shining down on them ever so beautifully.
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