NOVEL SIMPLE Special Chapter – Mother’s Day
Sometime during the six month period before the March
It was a breezy and cool morning as the sun beamed down on the Halkare Empire as clouds passed it by, sitting inside a private cafe in Olertin City was Ophelia who was dressed in her usual commoner attire, while across from her, instead of her beloved was instead Percy. For today was Mother's Day and the dual monarchs decided to individually with their respective parents for the day before meeting at night in the palace for one giant dinner. So while Amelia went off to the orphanage to Sister Mary and Mother Felice, Ophelia was able to pull the workaholic Percy from her office with a surprising amount of resistance from the kitsune head maid who wished to skip the dinner on the account of feeling 'too old' for such a thing.
Inside the cafe that Ophelia had rented out for the entire time they were there, the two of them sat face to face and were enjoying some fine refreshments served by the cafe staff.
"Haaa....this is a lovely blend" Percy remarked as she put down the cup on her saucer, a smile gracing her face
"I knew you would like it, and you tried to stop us from coming here" Ophelia replied as she looked at her adoptive mother, a smirk on her face
"Yes yes, I am sorry for wanting to do work on this day...it's just that, I find myself at my best when I work"
"You don't have to tell me Mom...I knew you were always like this, even back when I was a child"
"Oof, Mom. Haven't heard that in ages" Percy let out a rueful smile
"Well of course, today is a special day. Time hasn't really given us enough for us to be together considering how busy we were back then"
"True...sigh, so, what is on the schedule for today?" Percy asked as she accepted the situation and leaned forward, a smile on her face as she locked eyes with her adoptive daughter
"Well...."
After leaving the cafe and thanking them for their service, the two walked around Olertin City for a while. Chatting with one another in the casual mother and daughter type of speaking, with both of them talking about past events and shared moments with one another, reminiscing on peaceful times when they were once nobles on another continent. The empress who was always seen to be the serious visionary who was always working had reverted back to the cheerful and imaginative young girl who walked alongside the woman who had raised her and humored her back when it was just the two of them, sharing laughter and joking with one another.
They wandered the city for about an hour or two, buying food from cafes and eating it while they walked, chatting with citizens who had walked over to them to give their thanks to the empress herself, and even played a bit of a prank on the city garrison when Ophelia covered her face in a sash then stole the halberd of an unfortunate Black Guard at his post in front of the gate, with them running away and prompting several other guards on duty to try and catch them. But the Black Guards stopped when Ophelia revealed her identity to them, showed them her face and then handed back the halberd to them, after making them run almost halfway across the city, with said Black Guards immediately telling their empress that it was all in good fun before quickly making their way back to the Raven's Rock despite the many verbal threats made during the chase such as "When we catch you, you will regret being born!".
Now, the two of them were standing on a hill overlooking the city, both of them with swords in hand. Percy was Ophelia's first teacher when it came to using a sword, and the two of them would duel from time to time for practice. Percy had fully recovered from her previous injuries and she was now back to her full strength as a lower-tier S-Rank, and while Ophelia was SSS-Rank, she had limited her power to her Mom's level, to keep things fair and square for both of them as Ophelia had not dueled her in quite some time.
"Soo, standard rules? First one to land a blow wins?" Percy asked as she flourished her saber
"Of course, although it will be non-fatal as per the usual" Ophelia answered as she drew out her personal sword, a bastard sword by the name of [Judgement Maker] from her item box
The two of them quickly stared one another down as they held their weapons up, both of them waiting for the other to make their move first.
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Percy was caught off guard when her daughter lunged forward, with her right arm swinging her sword down in full force. The kitsune was able to block it moments before it landed upon her, the ringing sound of metal clashing against metal resonating throughout the area. Percy was struggling to keep the blade back as she used her free arm to help keep her blade up and still blocking the bastard sword trying to come down on her.
"You cheeky bastard, you're not going to take it easy on your Mom huh?" She stated with a small smile
"Of course, knowing you, I have to spare near to no quarter if I am to come out on top!" The raven-haired daughter replied with a smile on her own, exerting more pressure on her own sword
"Speaking from experience ey?"
"You would know it better than I"
Ophelia then quickly pulled back and blocked several retaliatory slashes fired off by Percy, with each slash being met by the bastard sword in kind, with sparks flying as the weapons clashed repeatedly. Ophelia was on the defensive as she repeatedly blocked the much faster attacks fired off by her Mom, with her doing flips and ducking under attacks just to keep herself safe, even dodging a tail attack from her mother that nearly got her or even a few close thrusts and slashes from her Mom's saber that were mere inches away from cutting her clothes and hair.
'If anything, she seems to have adapted quickly to my style of fighting. I am so proud' Percy thought as she failed to land hit after hit, a smile on her face despite the struggle
It went on and on like this for about fifteen minutes as Percy repeatedly tried to break her daughter's defenses but failed. As Ophelia ducked under a horizontal slash, she quickly replied by twisting her body in a counterclockwise motion as she went back up, allowing her to fire off a downward slash with her left arm, striking the saber once again. Percy buckled as she held up the saber horizontally to use her free hand to reinforce it, but her eyes went wide as she saw Ophelia's right fist quickly come at her, and without any free hand to stop it less her saber faltered and she is cut, Percy groaned as her daughter's fist made contact with her left cheek and sent her stumbling back. But before she could do anything else, Ophelia then shoulder bashed her, leaving her open and vulnerable to a backhand horizontal slash of her own that nicked Percy's right hand and forced her to drop her saber.
"Ha...Ha...looks like I win, Mom" Ophelia stated with ragged breathing as she held her sword up
"Hahahaa....looks like you do...well done Ophelia...well done" Percy remarked as she flashed a proud smile for her daughter
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Later that night, inside the Raven's Rock, sitting in a massive table filled with food was the dual monarchs, their parents, and the kids from the orphanage. While Ophelia was with Percy the whole day, Amelia was busy having fun and spending time with her parents and her siblings in the orphanage, playing with one another in kid games or just sitting around and listening to Sister Mary and Mother Felice ramble on and on about their former professions as soldiers of the Church back in the old days, from daring rescue missions to rescue kids and kidnapped civilians from slavers or fighting a doomsday cult who plotted to kill the emperor and the pope. It was a very enjoyable experience for both and now it was time for the massive feast prepared by the dual monarchs and the chefs of the palace.
"Sooo, how was your day Ophie?" Amelia asked with a smile as she leaned on her
"It was lovely darling, how was yours with our Mothers-in-law" Ophelia shot back with a smile down at her beloved
"It was lovely too, playing with the other kids from the orphanage, chatting with my parents and sharing meals with each other was a very pleasant and heartwarming experience" The blonde empress replied as she embraced her wife from the side, both fo them sharing a small cuddel before the sounds of the children "Oooo"-ing at them caused the two to chuckle as they returned to their original posture
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After a few moments, Ophelia stood up and raised a glass and her spoon, clinking the two together to get everyone's attention for the announcement she was about to make, successfully turning all eyes on her
"I would like to begin tonight's dinner with a small speech. One that is to all of the mothers here in this room tonight" She began with a small nervous smile
"First, I would like to thank you all for your hard work. I have heard that raising children is not only a rewarding experience that fills one's soul, but is also one that requires a lot of willpower and is almost a test on one's will and resolve. You people are the ones who helped raise us, and shape us into the people we are today, we leaned on you in times of weakness for your comfort and we listened to you in times of loss and in need of guidance, I know I am speaking for all of us in that I would like to say, I love you and I am grateful that you are the one who loves me the most in the world, even if you sometimes fail to show it...thank you all for ensuring our success, and thank you...for sticking by us when no one else did....thank you" Ophelia finished as she could feel herself tearing up, seeing that everyone else was also in the same state, making her smile as she felt a few tears drop from her purple eyes
"To all of you Mothers and Moms....thank you for everything" Amelia added as she stood up as well and raised her glass, seeing Percy, Mother Felice and Sister Mary doing the same, the three of them having tears run down their faces as well
"We love you"
"We love you too"
After that exchange of words, the feast began and the night was filled with fun and laughter as it continued on till the early morning, filling everyone with happiness and content by the end of the event.
A/N: Happy Mother's Day everyone. I hope you have safe day with your family.