Chapter 252 - 3.9 MeadowSong

Xander, Diana, Julius and Rissa landed right at the outskirts of Meadowsong and Xander whispered the password.

"In times of war, we choose who we love and who not to ignore," and they watched in awe as the gate magically opened.

"You must be the Lockheart bunch!" Jen said.

"Ah, young love. It was so many years ago when your mother came here as a human, willing to die just to make a good impression with the elves," Sven said with a smile.

"Wait, are you the same two Chimera they met when they first walked through these gates?" Xander smiled. "You two must have grown up!"

They both laughed.

"Yes, you could say that. Remember, time flows differently here. In Exteria, one day is a week here so many more years have passed than you think. You’ll notice everything is the same except around the castle. King Xavier and Queen Mina are waiting for you." Sven said with a large smile.

"It was so nice to meet you! You are very beautiful by the way, both of you." Rissa bowed politely.

"Aw, thanks! You all look so beautiful and happy. Let’s see... a god, a goddess, a demon and a vampire!" Jen smiled.

"You’re good!" Diana smiled. "Well, don’t be strangers, hopefully we’ll be able to see you again! If one day on Exteria is a week here, hopefully we don’t get any bad news and can stay for awhile!"

The group all dressed casually and noticed all the excitement coming from the houses. It didn’t seem like a nation under war, it seemed like a beautiful city during a time of peace. Elves were out singing, Chimera were out belting off some bravado. The entire scene was nothing like the four ever expected and they were glad they finally got to experience it.

Rather than teleport, they walked through the main city, both of them hand in hand and stopped to talk to some of the people who lived there. Everyone was so nice and once they found out that Xander and Julius were Lockheart children, they were even more interested. No one seemed to care Julius was an adopted demon child of Sora and Brie, which he appreciated very much.

They walked through the markets and Julius and Xander both bought their wives a piece of elven jewelry. Xander picked out a golden necklace with an infinity symbol and Julius picked out a platinum bracelet with a heart on it. He thought it matched Rissa’s tail perfectly.

*****

Sasha and Levi were sitting on their porch with Killian on Sasha’s lap. It was nighttime where they were and they were watching the stars, wondering what was going on in Exteria. They were glad their little one was growing at a normal rate and not some supersonic speed. They enjoyed being parents, even if it was exhausting.

Levi asked to hold his son and Sasha handed him over. His cute little pink eyes looked excitedly at his dada, which made them both smile. His hair was growing pretty quickly, so Sasha extended her nail and gave him a neat little hair cut.

"There, now he looks exactly like you," She smiled.

"I’m not that handsome. He gets his looks from you Sash. Seriously!" Levi chuckled.

"I miss Brie, Sora and the party." She admitted with a frown.

"So do I but we both agreed this is what is best. When the war is over, we can return to Exteria and everything will be exactly like we always dreamed it would be." Levi said confidently while playing peek-a-boo with Killian.

Sasha sighed, smiled and enjoyed the scene around her. This was the life she always wanted but she always imagined it with Brie and whomever she would marry being their next door neighbors. She knew that was Sora pretty quickly and now that they both had families, she was a little bummed they weren’t there with her.

"How do you think they’re doing?" She asked.

"I’m sure they’re doing just fine. How are YOU doing?" Levi asked as Killian was starting to get tired.

"I’m good, just tired. This kid is non-stop!" She laughed.

"Yes he is but it’s worth every second. If I’m being honest, no matter what Hades throws at Sora, the stud will always have an answer. He and Brie are great like that. We could have stayed at the mansion, you know."

"There’s no way they would have ever agreed to that. They know we would just teleport out and help in battle."

"Whose to say we can’t do that now?" Levi chuckled.

"Oh so you’d leave our little one behind?" Sasha teased while rocking him back and forth slowly.

"Never. It looks like he’s almost asleep though and I miss you." Levi winked, giving Sasha a slow kiss. He kissed his sleeping son on the forehead.

"Ok, I’ll get him to bed and then I’ll be there." Sasha smirked.

Levi didn’t have to wait long and Sasha dressed in some sexy lingerie for him.

*******

"Welcome Xander, Diana, Julius and Rissa. It’s our pleasure to formally welcome you to MeadowSong," Xavier said with a smile and a bow.

"Please don’t bow to us!" Xander complained.

Mina laughed. "A little bit more whiny than his father, but definitely the same."

"He does whine a lot," Julius teased.

"Oh come on bro." Xander said while playfully nudging him.

"Sorry, I’m just sick of everyone I meet bowing and treating us like we’re something different. We’re not. Who cares that we are gods, Julius is a King and Rissa is a Queen. You are King and Queen of the elves. We all have responsibilities. Can’t we just be people?" Xander said much more poetically.

"Ah, wise like his Father as well." Xavier smiled. "Yes, I believe we can agree to that. Here, follow me."

They followed the King and Queen of the Elves to the back of the castle and noticed the large armies training. There were at least 50 different groups. Some were strictly chimera, some were strictly elven. Others were a blend of both. They all followed their leadership structure and some were battling makeshift armies made of AI robots while others were doing more basic training.

"Unbelievable! This is amazing!" Diana said while admiring the groups.

"I think so too," Mina smiled. "They’ve been working very hard this entire time. Now what can you tell us about our enemy?"

Xander explained everything he knew from the different eye colors to the different ways each group needed to die. He also added in as much detail as he could about how they had some that were not traceable to the naked eye, but the gods could sense them, so far. He stressed that there could come a point where they would be completely invisible and he worried they would target the innocent people.

Xavier and Mina explained they were waiting until they were absolutely necessary as a large flanking force to push back and thwart a large-scale attack. The foursome agreed with the strategy wholeheartedly and thought it was genius.

"Oh! I can’t believe we forgot this detail!" Rissa exclaimed. "The masked god is Posideion."

"Oh, that certainly makes things interesting for the humans and the uthra!" Xavier exclaimed. "Are they always on the lookout?"

"My dad has Ignis watching over the settlement, we watch over Obsidian Hollow with Jules and Riss, Celeste watches over Haven and my folks watch over Primrose. They are the eyes and ears in case anything happens."

"That’s very good. I’m glad you all have a plan for this!" Mina said excitedly.

Xander explained the blessing he Diana received from Zeus at their wedding and why they looked like adult gods. Xavier and Mina were waiting for this bit as it took them aback at first. They weren’t expecting two sets of adults, just one. They were relieved they were able to receive the blessing of Zeus and were well aware of everything that it entailed.

Diana let Orion out and he quickly took a liking to the Fangs. He flew off into the sky, shooting off magic and showing off a little bit for everyone. It caused the elven army and chimera army to shout and cheer in support.

Xander let Hope out and the two were putting on a show for everyone. Orion was still much smaller than Hope but he was growing pretty quickly. Afterwards, they sat down to a nice dinner and talked about everything that was going on and how they were adjusting to life as rulers. Julius and Rissa explained how difficult it was at first to win the people over, especially with Rissa being a vampire, but once they knew they were Lockhearts, the people came around.

"It’s amazing what that family name does these days." Mina said while taking a drink from her glass of wine.

"Yeah... it really is. It’s the best blessing I could ever ask for," Diana smiled while giving Xander a quick kiss.

"How long do you all plan on staying?" Mina asked politely.

"As long as you’ll have us or until we’re called back!" Julius grinned.