The Little Nereid Part 27 (final)

Record of Ragnarok fanfiction

Poseidon x OC

Word count: 1,700

Dynamene, youngest of the 50 Nereids, has lived most of her adolescence as a servant alongside her sisters at Poseidon’s palace. But with her coming-of-age birthday and other developments, what she initially thought was just admiration of her master blossoms into something stronger and more passionate… and painful. Loving someone like Poseidon is not easy period, let alone as your first love. But Dynamene is young and naïve, and all she wants is a chance to be at the sea god’s side.

Categories and warnings: Romance, angst, unrequited love, coming-of-age, earn-your-happy-ending, slow-burn (ish); sexual content. Graphic violence parts 15 and 16. Smut part 25.

Now completed.

—

It was with wobbly legs that Dynamene made her way out of the palace and down to the water’s edge. She felt as if she’d just left a court trial, confessing her engagement to Poseidon to her parents, and now she felt so weightless she was nearly light-headed. She all but collapsed onto the sand and buried her hands and feet into the warmth. “That didn’t go so bad,” she murmured to herself, giving her shoulders a shake. “That didn’t go so bad at all.” She smiled with relief, watching a group of merpeople play in the distance. Now all that’s left is to tell my siblings… But that can wait until after the Gods’ Council; perhaps when I have Poseidon at my side once more. He can make his case then, too.

“Feeling less worried, now?” Dynamene jumped and whipped around to look behind her. Eione was standing there, hands on hips, grinning knowingly at her.

“I was, until you frightened me half to death,” Dynamene groaned. “Thanks for the heart attack.”

Eione plopped down besides her on the sand. “So little Dynamene is joining the ranks of our married sisters, huh? Where has time gone…” She squinted into the bright sky. “I’m glad Mother and Father didn’t give you much grief.”

“You eavesdropper,” Dynamene sighed, resting her face against her hand. “But I suppose it’s alright to let one of you know before I tell the others. It feels weird, keeping something a secret from you all.”

“Well, perhaps I shouldn’t have listened,” Eione confessed, leaning back on her arms. “But I was already lounging on the roof when Poseidon came by to speak to our parents. They never went inside, so I heard the whole thing.”

“You did?!” Dynamene started.

“It didn’t take very long. He said his piece about how he wanted to marry you, and that he’d keep you safe… And Mother said, ‘what, like last time?’ I thought for sure that’d set him off again. But it didn’t.”

After what had happened in the past, Dynamene found it hard to picture her love maintaining a stoic face against her mother’s barbs. “What happened next?”

“He just stood there, and then Father said it was entirely dependent on what you wanted. Then he left. Very dramatic, as I’m sure you can imagine.”

Dynamene snorted. “Ah, yes. My fiancé and his flair for drama.” But inside, her heart was jumping for joy. It was the sweetest feeling to know that he was making an honest attempt to rebuild bridges with her family. She turned to look at Eione. “…Tell me, do you think I’m foolish for wanting to be with him again?”

“No,” Eione said flatly. “I knew it would happen. And I think, once you tell the others, they’ll say the same thing. If the old wounds had healed, and the feelings had died, you wouldn’t have continued to avoid him two thousand years later.”

Dynamene winced. “It was really that obvious, huh?” She sighed. “I tried so hard to forget him, you know. I was just never successful.”

“So you have to tell me then, what happened that you two reconnected? This is all so sudden. Nothing for two millennia, and then overnight, you two get engaged?” Eione chuckled. “Sure you’re not pulling our leg? Or have you been keeping it under wraps for a while?”

“No!” Dynamene got flustered as she remembered last night’s rather passionate reunion. “Um, we just happened to meet last night when I went to see the old palace, and we started to talk, and… um…”

Eione guffawed, her eyes wide, as she put two and two together. “Wait, what?! Is young Dynamene a maiden no longer?!” She fell back in the sand, laughing. “You spent the night with him, and now you’re engaged?! It was that eye-opening of an experience, was it?!”

“It is not that cut-and-dry!” Dynamene protested, her face bright pink. “We reconnected emotionally! We had a very honest conversation with each other about how we feel, and the future.”

“Oh, I bet you did,” Eione gasped, pushing a curl out of her face. “Ah, bless your heart. And his. I’m impressed. Well, I’m glad you two found happiness with each other.” She started to laugh once more.

Dynamene gave up her fight against the embarrassed smile that was spreading across her face. “Happy, indeed,” she giggled, turning her face away.

“So we’ll be getting a niece or nephew sometime, then?” Eione teased, poking her leg. “Hopefully after the wedding, and not before?”

“What, a baby? This soon?!” It was Dynamene’s turn to laugh. “I don’t think so! We’ll have all of eternity to start a family. I’d rather focus on the two of us for now.” She playfully tossed a pinch of sand at her sister. “Anyway, I know it’ll take time for Mother and Father to completely accept him, but I know it’ll come eventually. As long as they can be civil, I’ll be happy.”

“They’ll come around. Poseidon’s done some terrible things, but at some point, with the passage of time, even he can change. He may be a god, but he is still a man.” Eione leaned over to poke at the glimmering necklace on her sister’s neck. “I’m guessing these jewels are from him, then?”

“Yes.” Dynamene straightened up proudly. “He’d actually kept the bracelet he originally gifted me all this time… Unexpectedly romantic, don’t you think?” She held out her hand to show off the way the bracelet caught the brilliant sunbeams. “I suppose I should take them off, though, until I’m ready to tell everyone else. They’ll give it away.”

“Aye,” Eione agreed. “The moment they see your bracelets, they’ll know. But how long will you keep from telling them?”

“Only until the Council has ended. With humanity’s fate hanging in the balance at the moment, it’d be heartless to gush over our engagement. It can wait another day or two.” She reluctantly slid the bracelets off her wrists and tucked them into her peplos.

“Here.” Eione helped her undo the tania and necklace. “There we are. Back to unengaged Dynamene.”

“That’s the idea,” Dynamene teased, holding a finger to her lips. “Why don’t we go back inside and see if they’ve started lunch? All this excitement is making me hungry.”

“A woman after my own heart,” Eione sighed. She threw her arm around her sister’s shoulders. “I hope you’ll be staying with us, then, until the Council is over?”

“Of course!” They got to their feet and began the short trek back to the palace. “It really is nice to be home again with all of you. It’s just like old times.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Eione agreed, brushing sand off of Dynamene’s arm.

—

The afternoon’s hopeful atmosphere was quickly extinguished by the following evening. All fifty of the Nereids were gathered in the palace’s largest parlor to watch the Gods’ Council unfold. A large holoscreen projected on one wall stood in stark contrast to the room’s organic stone walls and antique furniture. Dynamene took a seat next to Ianeira and tried not to let her nerves show too much. It was in vain, though, as Ianeira took one look at her and immediately knew what she was trying to hide. “It’s going to be okay, Dynamene,” she said, patting her sister’s hand. “No matter what the gods decide, we’ll be fine.”

“It’s all such gloomy business, though,” Dynamene frowned. “In just a few minutes, humanity may be doomed to extinction. And we’re such young spirits; we’ve never known a time when Midgard didn’t have humans.”

“Maybe the gods will have a change of heart,” Ianeira comforted her, although her eyes weren’t convincing. “As far-fetched as that may seem.”

Dynamene stared ahead at the blank holoscreen and bit her lip. Poseidon more likely than not wouldn’t vote, and his vote was just one out of thousands either way. A single vote was vastly unlikely to change the tide, but… I really wish you would vote against their destruction. Her hands curled into her peplos, and she wished she was wearing her comforting bracelets.

“Look, it’s starting!” One of the sisters announced, and the room fell silent with nervous anticipation. The holoscreen flashed a silver light, and the vast interior of the magnificent Council of Valhalla’s Parliament faded into view. Gods of every pantheon, far too many to count, had taken their seats and were waiting for the meeting to officially begin. A wizened old man made his way jerkily to a throne with a dragon curled around it in the center of the room, below the impatient eyes of the gods all around. The chairman of the council, he hardly looked like someone powerful enough to command such an important meeting of deities.

“That’s Zeus?” One of the sisters exclaimed. “He looks even frailer than usual.”

“Shush,” Ianeira hissed.

Having taken his seat, Zeus began his opening remarks. Dynamene tried to stay focused, but her heart was pounding dizzily in her ears. Would this really be the end to humanity? Would there really be no more trips to human villages, no more dodging sea vessels?

Ianeira reached over and took Dynamene’s hand, and she chanced a glance at her elder sister. Ianeira’s expression was remarkably stony, but Dynamene could see the tension in her taut jaw and narrowed eyes. Dynamene squeezed back, trying to offer some semblance of reassurance. She thought of Poseidon; wondered what he was thinking about at that moment. Will you really not vote this time around, even with things this dire? Even the thought of him voting against humanity was more palatable than him just sitting back carelessly and doing nothing. Won’t you at least take a stance for what you believe in, even if it’s at odds with mine?

“It’ll all work out,” Ianeira murmured. “You’ll see.”

Dynamene nodded assent. “…It will.” She rose her hand to gently nudge the bracelets hidden within her peplos. I believe it will.

And so all the many Nereids sat, together and united as they had been for millennia, as the council began.

—

9 and a half months later…

Thank you.

Record of Ragnarok fanfiction

Poseidon x Daughter!OC

Word count: 2,880

Warnings: None

As a naïve ten-year-old deity, there’s a lot young Aethusa doesn’t understand. She doesn’t understand why her father, the mighty Poseidon, never seems to have time for her (or even like her). She doesn’t understand why the innate powers she should have inherited haven’t surfaced yet. She doesn’t understand why her classmate, Eumulus, is such a pain in the ass. And she doesn’t understand why she’s not allowed to spear the palace koi.

But she’s determined to find the answers to at least three of these questions, even if it kills her.

—

Mom always told me that the day I was born, all the blue ocean was sparkling with joyful waves, and that the sea life, from the tiniest plankton to the largest whale, danced in jolly ribbons and schools to celebrate my arrival. They were all happy because my father, the great sea god, was happy. He was so happy that I was born.

I don’t see how that could be the case, though, because he doesn’t even talk to me.

I try not to think about it too much, because it usually makes me sad, but it’s hard not to. Everyone expects me to be like him, and my whole life revolves around the fact that I’m his daughter. But he doesn’t even act like he’s my dad. Not the kind of dad my friends seem to have, anyway. They live with their dads, spar with their dads, and hug their dads. But me and Mom live on Valhalla, and Father hardly ever visits.

“I don’t want to go to school,” I complained. Mom was pulling my hair too hard as she struggled to brush the knots out. “I want to practice with my spear alone some more!”

“I told you before that you may do as you wish after your school day is finished.” Mom poured a little oil onto my waves to ease the knots out. “Now sit still. The more you pull, the more painful this will be.”

“It’s painful because you pull too hard!”

“You’re supposed to brush your hair every night before bed so it doesn’t tangle like this in your sleep. Will you remember to do it now?”

“Yes,” I grumbled. I kicked my legs impatiently. “So I can play the rest of the day after my lessons?”

“Yes.” Mom began to carefully pull the brush once more. The oil had succeeded in detangling my hair. “But be mindful that your father will be visiting this afternoon.”

I stopped kicking my legs. “He will?” Dad only visits once a month. Me and Mom live on a palace on Mount Olympus, one that Dad technically owns, but he spends most of his time on Midgard. Mom says he always has a lot of work to do, repairing the damage humans have done to the oceans.

“Yes. So don’t cause too much trouble, all right?” She set down the brush and squished my cheeks affectionately.

I stared hard at my reflection in the mirror as I thought about Father. “Mom, why don’t I look like Father?”

“What do you mean?” She laughed as she corked the oil bottle and put it away. “You have his grumpy face when you’re mad. And your eyes are ocean-blue, just like his.”

“But I have freckles. And my hair isn’t golden.” I made a grumpy face at the glass, wondering if she was telling the truth. I’ve never seen him really grumpy, just annoyed. That’s just fine, though, because I’ve heard my father’s anger is terrifying.

“Why do you ask this so suddenly?” Mom put a hand on my shoulder. “You’re more like him than you realize, I promise. I’m sorry that my genes edged his out as far as your looks, though. I hope you can forgive me.” She nudged me to my feet. “Now go get your scrolls.”

If I’m so much like him, then why doesn’t he ever pay attention to me? I pouted, but I turned my head before Mom could see. I didn’t want her to worry. But before I could leave my bedroom, one of the maids stopped in the doorway.
“Pardon me, my lady. Lord Poseidon has arrived earlier than expected.”

Father is already here?! I felt myself lighten up, even though I knew he wasn’t really here to see me. He usually comes to talk to Mom about boring adult things. If he does talk to me, it’s to ask me about how I was doing with my schooling. But I’ve been practicing a lot with my spear lately, and I wanted to tell him how much better I’d gotten. “Father’s here?!” I grabbed my spear from its rack and bolted out of the room, down the marble halls, towards the courtyard.
“Don’t run so fast, Aethusa!” Mom called, but I ignored her warning. Even if he didn’t really want to talk to me, I was still really excited to show off what I’d learned.

My sandals slapped loudly against the sun-warmed marble, and I skidded to a breathless halt at the palace entrance.

Father was walking at a calm pace through the gates. The guards were bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle, their eyes only daring to follow him once he’d walked past. Somehow, he looked even taller than I remembered, but everything else about him was the same. Like every other deity, Father didn’t change. The passing of time didn’t affect him at all. He seemed to glow under the bright sunlight. My eyes squinted as they adjusted to the brightness.

“Father,” I stammered as he came closer. “Um, welcome.” I was technically supposed to curtsy, even though he was my father, but I never did. None of my friends curtsied for their parents, so it always seemed weird for me to do it. Plus, I wasn’t wearing a dress. But Father never said anything, so he didn’t seem to care.

“Aethusa.” He stopped before me. I tilted my head back so I could see his face. I was always in awe of how tall and strong he looked, especially up close. Would I ever grow up to be like that? “Where is your mother?”

“She’s coming.” I fidgeted with my spear awkwardly. Now that he was in front of me, it felt like all of my courage and excitement had gone away. Father was too intimidating. His own trident was so much larger and sharper than my own weapon. My recent victories with my spear seemed so small in comparison to his legendary feats. The idea of bragging about catching a few fish became embarrassing. “Hey, um, I’ve…” I held up my spear a little bit. “I’ve been practicing a lot lately.”

He stared down at me with no expression. “Have you?”

“Yeah!” Just hearing his simple question encouraged me to go on. “I can’t catch a lot of fish, yet, but I can catch a few! I even caught a squid! I’m going to keep practicing so I can get better!”

His eyes flickered to the side for a moment before returning to me. “…I hear you’ve been ‘practicing’ with the koi in the palace ponds.”

I froze up immediately. How did he know that? It was true that I sometimes tried to spear the koi when I didn’t feel like going all the way to the beach, but they always got away. I’d never actually hurt them. It was harmless, wasn’t it? “Um… yeah, I have. But how did you find out?” My curiosity got the better of me, and I couldn’t resist asking.

“The koi told me when I passed by.” His gaze narrowed, and I frowned, staring down at my toes. “Don’t do it again.”

“Yes, Father,” I mumbled. My shoulders drooped. I hadn’t even thought about how the koi felt about being used as targets. I can’t talk to fish yet, so sometimes I forget that they’re just as smart as us.

Then I felt Father’s large hand gently rest atop my head, and my eyes grew wide. When I looked up again, he didn’t look angry. “The palace koi aren’t our enemies. Practice on something else.”

“Um, okay.” He pulled his hand away and continued to walk down the path towards the palace, where Mom was waiting for him. I reached up and touched my hair where he’d patted it down. It was warm from his touch.

“Aethusa, come now. You’re going to be late,” Mom called out with a warning in her voice. I sighed and dashed after Father.

—

My lessons on special things like etiquette are taught at home, but I also go to school with other kids a few days a week. Father wanted me to be taught by a tutor at home, but Mom said it was better if I went to school with the other children. She said it was important for me to learn to get along with people and make friends, especially since I would grow up to be an important deity. The school I attend is underwater on Midgard, in Atlantis. Every morning that I have to go to school, I get my things and teleport to Midgard using one of the special rune gates that the adults in the palace use to go back and forth as they want. Right now, I can only use it when I’m going to and from school.

I have friends at school, and the teacher, Triton, is really smart. He treats me like every other kid, and he’s really excited when he talks about history. I always pay attention and try to get the best grades in the class, because I want to make Father proud, but sometimes I fail. Triton understands, though, and he cheers me up. He tells me it’s alright to fail sometimes, as long as I always give it my best.

Not everyone else in the class is so understanding.

“It’s not fair when you bring your spear from home to practice!” My least favorite classmate was starting to complain about my spear again. I’m pretty sure Eumulus would’ve stomped his foot if he had one, but like the other merpeople he only has a tail, so he just makes an angry face instead. “I bet you bring it just to show off. But no one cares about your stupid silver spear!”

“Shut up, Eumulus!” I wrapped my hands tight around the spear, even though I knew no one was going to take it away. “Triton says it’s alright for me to use it for spearing practice, so it’s none of your business! It doesn’t do anything special, it just looks different!” My spear is really important to me. I got it on my eighth birthday from Uncle Hades, but he told me in secret that my Father had helped design it too. It looks a lot like his trident, so whenever I use it, I think about him.

“You’re lying! It’s a weapon made by the gods, so it has to be special! Why can’t you just use one of the spears the school has?!” Eumulus could tell that he was making me mad, and he smirked.

Eumulus is the son of King Elasippus, the ruler of Atlantis, so I guess that makes him a prince, but all he acts like is a jerk. Sometimes I’d like to call him something even worse, but I got in trouble the last time when Triton overheard me.

“That’s enough, Eumulus,” Triton warned him. “We’ve talked about this before. All students are allowed to use a spear from home, and Aethusa’s is a normal weapon. Now take your seat and be quiet. I’m going to go over the rules.”

We sat down and made faces at each other once Triton had turned around. Eumulus is probably just mad that his dad won’t let him bring a fancy spear from home, even though they’re royalty.

Triton explained to us that today’s practice would be spear-throwing, and he demonstrated the best way to aim for the targets. After that, we split into groups to take turns at the targets. Eumulus wasn’t in my group, thankfully, but he was in the group next to us, which was almost as bad.

“For the daughter of Poseidon, you sure are a bad aim,” he taunted me as I tried to focus. “Last time you didn’t even hit half the targets.”

“Knock it off, Eumulus,” my friend Clymene snapped at him. “She’s trying to concentrate!”

“It won’t make a difference,” Eumulus laughed. His insults were making my blood boil again, and I missed the target in my anger. “See?”

I’d had enough. I retrieved my spear and got up close to his face. “I’ll spear you up close, and then my throwing aim won’t matter!”

“You won’t spear me! You’re a coward.” Eumulus looked scared at my threat, but his words were still nasty. “You’re so weak for the kid of an Olympian. Your aim sucks, and you can’t even control water or talk to fish. You don’t even look like you’re Poseidon’s daughter. Your mother’s probably a whor-”

I leapt at him, tearing at his hair. “Shut up! Shut up!” My angry tears bubbled around my eyes in the water. “Poseidon is my dad! You’re just jealous that your dad is a lame mortal king!” Eumulus cried out and tried to shove me off as I yanked on his hair. But I was stronger than him, and I was able to get a few scratches on his face before Triton darted over and pulled me away.

“That’s enough!” Triton scolded. He brushed both of us off and made sure we weren’t seriously hurt. “There will be absolutely no fighting in this class! Eumulus, go sit down at your desk. That was very cruel of you to say.” Once Eumulus had sulked away, he looked down at me. “Aethusa, what he said was unkind. I understand you’re upset. However, you can’t strike people for things they say, even when they upset you. I’ll have to speak to your parents, and Eumulus’, about what happened.” He sounded disappointed.

I rubbed my eyes, wanting my tears to stop. It was embarrassing to cry like that in front of the class, and now my parents were going to be told I’d attacked someone in class. What would they think? “I know. I’m sorry, Master Triton,” I mumbled. I blinked hard to clear my vision.

“Now, take a deep breath. Pick up your spear, and try again.” He gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

I sniffled and tried to calm myself down as I rejoined my group at the target. But despite the reassurances of Triton and my friends, I couldn’t forget Eumulus’ stinging words. He’d landed a blow on my deepest fear. Maybe the reason why I didn’t look like Father or have his powers was because… I wasn’t really his daughter after all.

—

My shoulders were slumped as I walked down the palace halls after school towards my room. Mom wouldn’t keep that a secret from me, though, would she? She’d never lie about Father being my father! And wouldn’t Father himself know, either way? Maybe I’m actually an orphan they took in, and that’s why Father never has time for me. He doesn’t want to take care of a kid that isn’t his. As much as I wanted to believe that Mom would never keep the truth from me, I also knew there were secrets that adults kept from kids. Just like every other child, I’d been told plenty of times that there were certain things I wasn’t ready to know about until I was older. Maybe this was one of those things.

I stood in the doorway of my bedroom, hugging my spear. Maybe something’s wrong with me. Maybe I am Father’s daughter, but there’s something keeping me from having the same abilities. As a nymph, Mom has a lot of the same powers as Father, just on a smaller scale. Just like him, she can talk to fish and move the water. All of her family members - my grandparents, aunts, and uncle - can too. Perhaps I was just born weak, doomed to never have the same cool powers as other water deities.

I stared down at my reflection on the spearhead’s smooth surface. Seeing my own sad face just made me feel worse, but then I had an idea. Maybe I just haven’t proved that I’m worthy yet. I probably haven’t been practicing as hard as I should be. Trying to spear fish in a pond was pretty pathetic. If I gave myself a good push, would that awaken my powers? But where could I find such an opportunity?

I could still feel the faint hum of power that came from the rune gate. I stepped back from the doorway and stared down the hall, mulling over my idea. I could still go through the gate to Midgard right now. I had a window of time every day that I was able to use the gate, ideally for school. I could go to the ocean outside of Atlantis and really put my skills to the test. Then I would know for sure if Poseidon was really my father, and if I was truly born a weakling or just unpracticed.

I ran back into my room and grabbed my satchel from its shelf. I scooped a few items that might prove useful inside and slipped it across my body before bolting back out towards the gate. If I hurried, no one would see me. Sure enough, the hallway was empty of any servants, and my quick escape to the gate went unnoticed.

I’ll prove myself, and then Eumulus will have no choice but to shut up once and for all. I gritted my teeth as I stepped onto the rune gate’s platform. The tingling purple energy the rune emitted felt even stronger than usual against my frazzled senses. “Midgard,” I commanded, in the same voice I heard my parents use.

And with that, I felt myself being swept back to the oceans of the mortal plane.

—

Author’s notes: Woohoo, Poseidon has a daughter! Or a maybe daughter? Naw, she is his kid. She’s just a silly ten year old who doesn’t know any better. lol

Her parents probably haven’t given her The Talk yet, so she doesn’t know how they could be sooo sure Poseidon is her dad. If she was older, he’d probably just tell her with a straight face, “I know because I was there when you were conceived.”