Warning: Watch out for moderate profanities and cussing. It's going to happen in the middle of the story. Think twice before proceeding lol. Also, ummm...this oneshot might change your perceptions towards trees XD Well, the world tree isn't your ordinary world tree though.
Three hours have passed since Athanasia was awake--striking midnight. The melodious ringing of the bells in the clock tower echoed throughout the silent, dark night to signal the beginning of a new day. The full moon glistened against the midnight blue sky and the stars twinkled and danced solitudinously. The night skies were clear without any signs of fog or haze to block the breathtaking view.
Meanwhile, Athanasia is gazing at the stars with a solemn expression because she can't fall asleep. Her mind couldn't fully process what has just happened yesterday at Emperor Claude's social gathering. Lucas abducted a baby golden dragon and offered it as a belated birthday present to her yesterday. He caused a ruckus at the palace with the pet dragon, while he was in front of Claude (her father), royal guards, nobles people, and the emperor's audience. She could still recall the look of horror and fear in their eyes and gaping mouths, all except for Emperor Claude.
She is standing outside by her bedroom's veranda and leaning her both arms against the ledge, with one arm resting her chin pressed against the palm of her hand. Slowly, she shifted the unoccupied arm and brought forth her graceful and elegant fingertips to touch her pale pink lips.
sighs
The hot breathe emitted from Lucas's mouth, as he whispered a few words of romantic exchange seered into her ears and made her feel scorching hot. In fact, her entire body is blazing ferociously as the warmth of her inner core spreads to the other areas of the body---her head, neck, trunk, arms, and legs.
Lucas whispered to her, "You are my girl, right? After all, We did kiss that night."
Ah, my body feels like it is scorching hot at of a sudden. I can't fall asleep tonight. I shall try to pass time until dawn and watch the sunrise tomorrow.
No matter how hard she tried, she still can't stop thinking about that hot kiss that she shared with Lucas on her 18th birthday. It was only three light pecks, though it got progressively ardent and intense--one after the other. That third kiss really knocked her out of the ball park, considering that she actually returned Lucas's kiss. Not to mention, the way he gently brushed through her hair as they kissed sent chills down her spine and made her stomach fluttery and jittery. Her mind slowly drifted away out of reality and she no longer became aware of her surroundings. A ruby-eyed wizard with short black hair, draped in loose-fitting, black and burgundy robes, abruptly appeared out of thin air, crouching on the ledge of the veranda and looming closely to Athanasia's face that their lips almost touched.
"Hi princess, " Lucas whispered in a sarcastic tone.
It only took a few seconds before Athanasia snapped out of it and---
Whack! Whack! Whack!
"Calm down, princess. It's just me, " Lucas reassured. He was rubbing his temples that Athanasia smacked.
"You bastard! Why is your face so close to mine? Can you just appear normally?" Athanasia shouted frustratedly.
"...You didn't even respond when I called your name, so I tried to get your attention, " Lucas acquitted.
"But you could have tried other ways. It's so embarrassing. Your face was so close to mine that we almost kissed, " Athanasia complained with a distressful look.
"It's not our first time kissing. Didn't we kissed three times?" Lucas grinned amusingly.
"Arrghh, Lucas. Stop reminding me! I can't stop thinking about it!" Athanasia blurted. At that moment, she realized what she just said and covered her mouth.
Athanasia thought, "Oops, I didn't meant to say that. I hope Lucas doesn't take it the wrong way."
"Oh really, princess. So I was on your mind the entire night. Is that why you weren't able to fall asleep? I am flattered that you think about me, " Lucas boasted.
"That's not i---" Athanasia whined loudly, but she was cut off when Lucas placed a finger against her lips. She froze due to his unexpected touch.
"Shhh, princess. You wouldn't want to wake up the maids or servants, would you? It would be rather troublesome to deal with those pests" Lucas warned in a sultry and deep voice.
Gulps
"Lucas, can you please remove your finger that is pressed against my lips? I get it, " Athanasia commanded. She was blushing and part of her lips felt hot where his finger touched.
He removed his finger and smirked at her. "As you wish, princess, " Lucas said.
"......"
"Hey, Lucas?" Athanasia cautiously asked.
"What is it?" Lucas responded.
"I was wondering what brings you to my room so late? Normally, this is my bedtime hour, " Athanasia inquired.
"I just wanted to sneak a kiss on my sleeping princess, " Lucas nonchalantly added.
Smack! Smack!
"Oww, that hurts when you hit me on the same spot twice, " Lucas said.
"I don't care! You deserved it for being a pervert. Don't even think about sneaking a kiss at night, " Athanasia exclaimed.
"....I was just joking, " Lucas confessed.
"That's not a good joke. Try harder next time, " Athanasia reprimanded.
"......."
"Hey princess, the truth is that I stopped by your room is because I will be gone for about a week, " Lucas confessed. "I will be traveling across dimensions to visit the World Tree and claim more branches and fruits."
"I see, " Athanasia pouted sadly. She was disappointed upon hearing that Lucas will be gone for a long while because she wanted to attend the annual Cherry Blossom Festival with him that would be taking place at Obelia within a week and wasn't sure if he was going to make it back on time.
Lucas pinches her cheeks and stretches them into a smile.
"Whh-hat are you ddd-oing L-Lucas? LL-eet goo uu-unless yyou wwant mme to hit you aagain," Athanasia protested.
"Bwahahahaha!" Lucas laughed amusingly.
"Why are you laughing at me? Are you teasing me?" Athanasia questioned annoyingly.
" When I told you that I will be gone for a few days, you looked so sad. You look like a miserable chipmunk that got its acorns stolen away, " Lucas chucked. "So you can't live without me, right?" he teased.
Considering that Athanasia is a complete tsundere, she would not dare to confess her true intentions nor her feelings. "No way! I already have my dad, Felix, Hannah, Cess, Lily, and other royal palace servants, " Athanasia objected. She knew she was lying to him because all the people mentioned above are too occupied with their plans.
"Pfft, you expression says otherwise. You are so cute, my dear princess, " Lucas smirked.
"Shut up, Lucas! I am not taking any of your nonsense today. It's already late, " Athanasia blurted.
"Ok then, I guess it's time for me to go. Good-bye, my princess. See you in a few days, " Lucas winked at her and turned away to leave.
Just as Lucas was able to teleport away, Athanasia grabbed Lucas by the hem of his wizard robes, which startled him and caused him to draw back.
"What are you doing, princess? You can't bear to see me leave. Don't worry. I will make up for it when I get back, " Lucas teased.
"That's not it, Lucas. Can you take me with you? I always wanted to go see the World Tree because its branches saved my dad, " Athanasia confessed.
Athanasia thought to herself, "There's no point of attending the Cherry Blossom Festival on my own anyways. It won't be as fun and memorable. Daddy is too busy, Felix and Lily are seeing each other, and Hannah and Cess are on their vacation back home to visit their families at their estates. I would rather go inter-dimensional traveling with him to see the World Tree."
"Princess, are you out of your mind? It's an arduous and long journey. I had to fight through blood, sweat, and tears to forcibly take its branches and fruits. That son-of-a bitch is so stingy and needs to be fought every single time because it won't hand me the branches and fruits, " Lucas informed her with a piqued expression.
"Pretty please, Lucas--the most greatest magician of all?" Athanasia begged.
Lucas lightly smiled and thought to himself, "Heh, she looks like her pet, Nox. Pfft, How adorable."
"Hmm, ok. I will think about it. Just give me a cheek kiss right here, " Lucas demanded. He raised his arm and pointed to his left cheek with his left index finger.
Athanasia gave him an irritated look, but took a deep sigh before she tipped toe and leaned forward to give him that kiss.
Chu!
"There, happy now?" Athanasia inquired. Her mood just got spoiled because Lucas was being such a prick.
"Yep, that was pretty hot, " Lucas praised, while rubbing his chin.
"Ehh?? Hot?" Athanasia questioned.
"Never mind, Princess. Let's go now. Before we depart, I need to create a clone of you. Let's go change our clothes. It's our date after all, " Lucas blurted shamelessly.
"What the hec---" Athanasia replied. Her speech was cut off when Lucas suddenly snapped his fingers and changed her clothing in a blink of an eye.
Snap!
A carbon copy of "Athanasia" instantaneously appeared by her side--breathing and alive---with her jeweled cerulean eyes, platinum blonde hair , and light blue nightgown with lace and ruffles.
Snap!
When Athanasia looked down at her outfit, she found herself donning an intricate and luxurious white, lacy Dupioni ballgown with matching long white french lace gloves . She was gaping at what she was wearing. The bottom portion of the white ballroom gown was full and voluminous , adorned with white floral lace designs and ruffles, mothers of pearls, fresh pink roses, and tear dropped crystals. The bodice of the gown was strapped one-sided diagonally from her left underarm to her right shoulder, thus completely exposing her left shoulder. Her neck was adorned with layers of long pearl necklaces with pink roses. It was adorned with intricate crystals that bedazzled and glistened under the soft moonlight shining upon them. Her unkempted, wavy platinum blonde hair turned into an up-do bun with loose wavy strands on the sides of her hair, crystal butterfly hair ornaments, embellished with matching mother of pearls and pink roses. White diamond butterfly-shaped teardrop earrings dangled from her earlobes and shone brightly. On the top of her hair, was a heart-shaped diamond tiara sewn to a white tulle-layered, french bridal lace veil with diamond accents and ruffles, draping downward and partially covering her beautiful face. Her shoes were lacy white strapless heels with green vines and pink roses encircling her ankles and extending to her calves. Her rosy pink cheeks, jeweled blue eyes, pale skin, doll-like golden lashes, heart shaped face and small, yet plump, pale pink lips made her truly a sight to behold.
Lucas smirked and admired his masterpiece. "Beautiful, " he complimented. He took a loose strand of her hair, fiddled it with his fingertips, and then kissed it.
At that sudden move, Athanasia blushed and asked, "Why did you dress me up extravagantly in a white gown with a veil? I look like a bride."
"You are mine, though. My one and only future bride and my empress, " Lucas confessed smoothly. He bent down on one knee, grasped one of her hands with his palm, and brought it towards his lips to kiss the back of her ring finger to seal his eternal promise of love and vow to marry her, since she didn't have a wedding ring yet.
The moment he kissed her hand, she slapped his hand away, jumped back, and blushed profusely at his bold action.
"Don't get so carried awa- " Athanasia shouted before abruptly cutting off her speech due to getting stunned by Lucas's swift transformation.
Snap!
Lucas's regular magician robes turned from loose wizard gowns to a more fitted attire with a formal checkered black and red royal coat with golden lion embellishments, pockets, chains, and buttons draped over his shoulders, loosely buttoned white collared shirt with matching golden lion cufflinks that exposed part of his elegant neck and defined collarbone and hugged perfectly around his well-built torso, black leather shoes, leather black belt on his waist, and well-fitted black trousers that emphasized his elongated legs. His black glossy hair was short and unkempt, yet he managed to pull it off effortlessly. His black lashes added stark contrast against his clear ruby red eyes and made him even more attractive. Not to mention, his beauty mark added a seductive charm to his already alluring physical facial features. He wore a metallic steel black dragon with jeweled crimson eyes as a cuff earring wrapped around the auricle of his left ear, which made him look dashing and cool---befitting for a groom.
"Well, a bride can't just dress like that if her groom isn't by her side, right?" Lucas teased. He winked at her with a mischievous smile.
"Ugh, whatever. Let's just go, " Athanasia mumbled. Lucas once again smirked at her.
He waved his hand over the Athanasia doll and verbally ordered her to go to bed. She walked back to the bedroom, and tucked herself in the bed prior to closing her eyes.
Then Lucas spread out his arms for Athanasia, who then jumped into his arms and wrapped her hands around his neck. They were dressed with flair and elegance as a bride and groom, now ready to head to the bloodthirsty war zone in their battle armor of everlasting love to wage a war against the almighty World Tree with their lives at stake. He carried her bridal style and then both teleported away from the veranda.
Poof!
>>>>>>Time skip to World Tree Dimension
In an mystical dimension located on the edge of the world, there is a small floating island drenched and soaked in a thick, misty clouds of kaleidoscopic mana. In the center of the region, there lies a World Tree by itself, standing one hundred feet tall with its woody trunk, branches, dew-covered leaves, and rainbow-fused magical apples.
It was a serene and tranquil place that was voided of any forms of life, with the exception of the World Tree. For millions of years, the tree has stood tall and proud and hid its existence from onlookers . The origins of the tree remain to be unknown, even to this present time and day. All that is known is that a single source containing an infinite amount of energy condensed within space just rapidly expanded and grew at an unknown point in time, until the World Tree just emerged into existence one day.
The World Tree is an immortal entity that is unable to speak, yet it is able to converse telepathically to visitors or intruders--given that they possess mana to transfer energy to telecommunicate through multiple layers of waves and energy from sender to receiver, and vice versa. It possesses its own consciousness and personality, just like any other human being would. Generally speaking, the World Tree has a calm and collected demeanor that prefers to stay on its own lane and maintain peace within its own borders. For millions of years, the World Tree led a rather peaceful existence, until it met a certain powerful ruby-eyed, black-haired wizard that kept pestering it for its impeccable branches and fruits about a few hundred years ago. No matter how hard the World Tree tried to fight off the wizard and defend its remnants, the battle would always result in its own loss. Hence, the one and only sole mortal enemy of the World Tree is none other than Lucas ---the great wizard of the black tower.
It has only been three days since Athanasia and Lucas departed from the bedroom's veranda to travel across dimensions. Normally, it would have taken one week to make it to the World Tree because the location of the Tree itself moves around from one destination to the next every three days, as means of a survival technique to ward off intruders from stealing its branches and fruits. Since Lucas is, by far, the most powerful wizard to ever exist across all dimensions, only it is he who is capable of tracing the routes and finding the shortest road possible to the World Tree.
On the third day, Athanasia and Lucas knew that there are getting closer to reach the world tree. When Lucas spotted a shroud of light, he knew that the World Tree was just a few feet away. He raised his arm and extended his hand to set forth a surge of mana to hit the target.
BOOOMM!!!!!!
A colossal wave of fiery explosion scattered across the infinite dimensions and caused a ripple in the time-space continuum.
Out of nowhere, two people, dressed in flamboyant bridal clothing, emerged from a dimension door and landed at the base of the World Tree.
Slowly, Lucas approached the World Tree, while interlinking arms with Athanasia.
"Long time no see there, little buddy, " Lucas greeted it with a cheeky and snarky smile.
The leaves and branches of the World Tree susurrated when it recognized the voice of its foe-the one and only Lucas, the greatest and most powerful wizard of the Black Tower.
"Piss off, you useless piece of shit, " the World tree insulted Lucas telepathically.
"Aww, that's not so nice. We have known each other for so long. I know you miss me too, " Lucas murmured. He puckered his lips forward and blew air kisses at it with his unoccupied hand.
If the World tree possessed its own pair of hands, it would have raised both of its arms, clenched its fists , and protruded its middle fingers directed at Lucas. Instead, it swayed its finger-like, woody projections towards Lucas.
"Nonsensical brat, how dare a foolish plebeian like you cross my territory? Do you wish to seek an imminent and painful death?" the Tree threatened lividly.
"Bullshit, we have already fought for hundreds of years. Why don't you just give up and just hand over your branches and fruits? I always emerge as the sole victor of our battles. If you give them to me, I promise not to hurt you, " Lucas vowed.
The World Tree knew better and that Lucas was one to not be trusted when it came to making promises. After all, that con artist did cheat the World Tree out of its fruits and branches by taking more than he mentioned in their verbal contract. In the past, the World Tree was very agitated that Lucas kept bothering it so many times for its fruits and branches. The World Tree just wanted to stop fighting and call a truce with Lucas, so it naively made a verbal contract with him with terms stating the following: The World will give only one fruit and branch to Lucas. In return, Lucas will never bother the World Tree ever again.
But that bitch broke the contract and exploited the World Tree of its structural parts by forcibly stealing all the branches and fruits with him. Hence, there is no room for the World Tree to forgive Lucas from the innermost depths of its woody trunk.
"Grrrr, this motherfucker! Never have I met such a dweeb and useless twit like you! I will get rid of you once and for all. You are the source of my aching headache in the past hundred years. Go eat my shit, you good-for-nothing thief!" the World Tree bellowed indignantly.
The World Tree was getting ready to propel a icy blast of condensed and high-energy mana directed at Lucas. On the other hand, Lucas was setting up his defensive shield of mana to protect himself and Athanasia from the offensive attack.
Athanasia flailed her arms flaccidly in the air and shouted, "Wait, World Tree!"
Lucas furrowed his brows at the unexpected interruption and asked, "Princess, why are you even trying to communicate with it? The World Tree won't listen to anyone."
The tree stopped short at its tracks and asked, "Who is this?"
"World Tree, I am Princess Athanasia. I would like to offer a proposal, " Athanasia requested.
"Oh, what proposal do you suggest, princess?" the World Tree questioned.
"We would just like to have a share of your branches of fruits and leave peacefully. We promise that we will both leave and not bother you again, " Athanasia assured.
The World Tree remained silent for a long time, contemplating on the princess's offer. Although the World Tree itself does not have eyes, it is able to detect auras. It noticed that the wizard's accomplice possessed a rare, yet beautiful rainbow-colored aura like its own that transcends beyond the beauty of earthly realms. For the first time in its existence, the World Tree fell in love ---nevertheless, a terrestrial being. Yet, the World Tree didn't care if she was just a mere mortal because the World Tree is a romanticist who truly believes that love does not have any boundaries and transcends beyond dimensions, time, space, and species. Despite of its pure beliefs and ideologies of love, it may be the case that the World Tree has mistaken its own feelings towards princess and what it felt was not, by means, pure love (like how a child falls in love with the taste of candy for the first time), but fervent, blood thirsty lust, since the World Tree trickled sap out of its outer woody trunk---thus, reaching its peak orgasmal state in the presence of the princess and her breath-taking and beautiful divine rainbow-colored aura. If the World Tree dared to make noises of arousal, it would have rhythmically grunted and growled with its branches and leaves in pleasure and delight. But the World Tree preserved its silence to appear modest in front of the princess because despite being a horny tree, it still possesses exquisite and refine manners to suppress its own carnal desires, unlike a certain boorish, ill-mannered, ruby-eyed, black haired wizard.
Unexpectedly, the tree willingly offered its fruits and branches to its "first love". The fruits and branches fell down in front of Athanasia, which surprised her.
Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop!
One by one, the magical apples and small fragments of branches fell into the ground without landing on Athanasia and harming her.
"See, Lucas? You should how to ask the World Tree nicely for its fruits and branches. You act like such a jerk and bully. Of course, you would get rejected all the time!" Athanasia reprimanded him.
"Princess, this is preposterous. I have asked the World Tree politely in the past, but it would never give me a single part of itself. I only had to resort to fighting because it acts too stubborn, " Lucas blurted.
Obviously, Lucas knew that he was the culprit of the World Tree's immense demise and suffering , yet at the same time, he also felt that the World Tree was just being a cheapskate for offering one fruit and branch when it had plenty to spare.
"Then why did the World Tree just offer a bunch of its branches and fruits?" Athy questioned confusingly, while tilting her head to the side.
Lucas rubbed his chin for a bit, glanced at the moistened outer trunk of the World Tree, and then smirked when a sudden thought appeared in his mind.
"Hmm, perhaps the World Tree likes you, " he continued. Lucas stood silently and quietly observed the tree.
"Am I right, World Tree?" Lucas inquired.
For a few minutes, the World Tree just stood silent and motionless. Then the branches and leaves bobbled up and down, as if it were nodding.
The World Tree knew that it was a huge disadvantage in terms of battle prowess compared to Lucas and would probably lose if he fought Lucas head-to-head , yet it thought, "That bastard stole my branches and fruits in the past hundred years. In bestial vengeance, I shall forcibly steal what is most precious to him. I am willing to get myself tortured by that scoundrel a thousand times--no, wait! one million times in order to gain the princess's favor and love. My love for the princess and desire for revenge runs deep beyond my roots."
The World Tree decided to making a riveting offer that would be difficult for her to turn down, "Princess, how about this? If you leave that asshole and become my bride, I will offer you all my branches and fruits forever. I promise that I will allow you to roam freely to see your family and friends anytime you wish, but don't ever hang out with that jerk."
"Ehh????" Athanasia was shocked senseless by the inconceivable offer that the World Tree proposed.
"Pfftt, you leecherous tree. You can't have her! Not even in a million years because she is mine forever, " Lucas declared.
Lucas smirked at the tree, then pulled the side of Athanasia's waist closer towards his body. He cocked his head sideways and kissed her smack on the lips, while embracing her tightly in his arms.
"What are you doin-, mmphf", Athanasia asked before getting her speech cut off by Lucas's kissing her out of the blue.
Athanasia tried to resist his kisses at first and protested, but she couldn't because his tempestuous kisses felt soft like cotton candy and tasted of hot cocoa. She eventually succumbed to her own lustful desires and returned back his kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer to her visage. Then their kisses progressively deeper when Lucas inserted his tongue into her lips and gently sucked on insides of her oral mucous membranes, exploring every nook and cranny of her mouth, back and fro. Their tongues intertwined and collided with each other for a few minutes in a darting and swirling motion, until Athanasia couldn't take it anymore and pushed Lucas away with all her remaining strength.
pants, pants
Both parties still had saliva dripping out of their mouths and sweat droplets gushing from their foreheads and cheeks from that hot and steamy kiss they both shared a few seconds ago.
Lucas continued with a smug expression, "She's my bride, so you can't have her, you hentai tree."
"How dare that sick motherfucker defile my first love in front of me!" the World Tree thought.
To add further salt to the wound, Lucas scoffed tantalizingly, "World Tree, you just saw that right? She's mine only. You can go shove back your libido back up in your arse. Don't think you can fool me! I caught you in the act of ejaculating your revolting sap at my princess, you lustful perennial." He clenched one of his fists and stuck out his middle finger at it to prove his point.
The World tree swayed its leafs in an agitated, synchronous, and repeated motion, as if it was getting ready for something big to occur.
Rustles, rustles
Suddenly, an monstrous surge of rippled mana waves pulsated and emerged from the trunk of the tree, inducing an immense amount of pressure that no human can withstand. It shook the foundations of the floating island, causing Athanasia to stumble over and almost losing her balance, but Lucas caught her by the waist. Fortunately, Lucas was prepared for this attack and nullified it with his own magical barrier.
"Heh, nice try. With that pint-sized amount of mana, you can't crush me. You will just have to eat this, you horny, lewd, bastard, son-of- a-tree!" Lucas retorted.
Lucas raised his hands and channeled an enormous stream of mana drawn from his surroundings, until a burst of dark, shadowy flames in the semblance of black lightening, materialized from the palms of his previously unoccupied hands.
The World Tree could only shutter and cower its own leaves and branches in fear, since it anticipated what is yet to come next.
Then Lucas darted forward at the tree with full-speed, jumped off the ground, and launched an aerial attack, as he landed on one of the World Tree's branches and shoved his mana deeply into its trunk.
CRRAACCKLES!!!!
The battle continued on for roughly sixteen hours and shook the entire continents of Obelia and Arlanta, triggering natural disasters: earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions, hurricanes, tornadoes, snow storms.
Meanwhile, in Obelia and Arlanta, the citizens of both empires were reporting a series of unnatural events, which unknown to them, were triggered by the epic battle between the World Tree and Lucas.
The World Tree wailed in agony and suffered a severe blow, as it absorbed the dark flames of Lucas's attack. It mustered all of its strength and healed its jagged wounds with its own sap by drawing rainbow-colored mana from its external environment. The World Tree was too stubborn to give up without putting on a fight. It attempted to use its other branches to knock Lucas off its perch, but instead, it got bitten by Lucas.
"CHHHOMMMMPPP!!!!!" Lucas bit as hard as he could on the branch to remove it off from the World Tree.
"WWWWWOOOOOOOO!!!!!" The World Tree wailed.
Athanasia could not do anything, but gape her mouth wide open as she watched the one-sided battle between Lucas and the World Tree, with Lucas emerging as a victor by tenfold when the misty air shielding them dissipated.
Once the battle ended, all that was left of the World Tree was a piece of pitiful stump emerging out of the ground. Its trunk granulated into fine brown dust scattered everywhere. The leaves have long vaporized from Lucas's brutal assault and wide-scale dark shadow flame mana attack.
"Heh, that's what you get for trying to take what is mine, you little shithead! You're are looking good down here without your fruits, leaves, branches, and trunk. Be grateful I didn't completely obliterate your roots and left you as a stump. How does it feel to be stripped of almost everything? Should have just handed everything over and took the easy way out unscathed when I asked nicely. Also, a scumbag like you is not worthy of the princess. Find your own bride, loser, " Lucas ridiculed. He dragged down his one of his lower eyelids with his index finger and stuck his tongue out at the World Tree.
Then Lucas splat on the tree stump and barbarously stomped on it with his feet before turning his back and walking away. Then he picked up all the remaining fruits and broken fragments of its branches on the ground and shoved his spoils of war into his deep, magical microUSB pockets with infinite storage space within his royal coat.
"WWWWOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" The World Tree cried again.
"Princess, we should hurry and leave this pathetic twig to weep on its own. It will take us another three days to travel back to the palace, " Lucas mumbled, while scowling at the World Tree.
"Wait, Luc-" Athanasia protested before getting whisked away by Lucas.
Lucas scooped up his princess quickly in his arms and teleported away from the World Tree.
Poof!
After Lucas disappeared and stole the princess away from the World Tree along with its beloved branches and fruits, the World Tree howled and wailed. Yet, no one was within proximity to hear of its ghastly screeching and cries. The World Tree was once again---stripped and bared of its fruits and branches---just like it was a few hundred years ago, but the aftermath of this epic battle was much more of a greater loss because the World Tree dared to try steal the princess away from Lucas.
>>>>>>Time skip to Athanasia's Bedroom
Three days have passed, since Athanasia and Lucas departed from the World Tree. In the meantime, Lucas and Athanasia are leaping across space and time, dimension to dimension to get back to the palace. A flood of blazing, magical electrical current swept them back into a direct road back to Obelia.
At last, Athanasia and Lucas are finally back in the bedroom. It is already approaching late evening in Obelia by the time they got back. It was almost time to go to bed.
The fake Athanasia doll was caught in the middle of changing her daytime tea party gown into her night gown when Athanasia and Lucas reappeared. Apparantly, the fake doll attended some sort of tea party with some girls that Athanasia met at her debutante party. it was truly a miracle that no one noticed that they had a tea party with a clone, but that wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for Lucas's impeccable talent in creating Athanasia clones. Unbeknownst to Athanasia, Lucas practices making them as a hobby when she isn't around to replenish his boredom. On top of that, he keeps hundreds of life-sized Athanasia dolls stowed away in a secret cellar underground sealed behind iron-caste doors with multi-layered complex ancient rune circles and protection at the Black Tower that no one can access other than him. The other wizards had no idea what was behind those iron-steeled doors and tried opening them multiple times. However, they theorized that there were hidden magical treasures valuable to their magical research left behind by the legendary 1st generation Black Wizard of the Tower himself, but couldn't solve the conundrum no matter how hard they tried. The runes were far too complex to fathom for a normal wizard. Lucas's lackeys tried asking him for help to crack the code, but he just scoffed at them and called them "incompetent fools" before flipping his wizard cloak dramatically at their faces and strutting away like a high-fashion runway model. He obviously didn't have any intentions to show those research-obsessed imbeciles his precious Athanasia doll collection. No one actually knows what Lucas does with his dolls because that is his hidden secret.
Athanasia was beyond petrified when she saw her own doppelganger in a semi- translucent white chiffon lace corselet with matching white thigh-high garter stockings, exposing her voluminous bosom, milky and pearly thighs, and curvatures of her exquisite and feminine chassis. Honestly, her clone resembled a femme fatale in that type of lewd outfit. She can't even recall herself wearing those type of undergarments because she would never wear something so vulgar. Why would her clone even choose to wear that? She looked to her left, where Lucas was standing and was about to ask Lucas to make it disappear. But she caught him voyeuristically ogling at her barely-clothed counterpart.
Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack!
"Don't look at her, you scopophilic bastard!" Athanasia snapped.
"Owww!!" Lucas complained. "But its not your body though. It's just your doppelganger, " Lucas defended himself with a shitty excuse.
"It's still a look-a-like, you perverted beast! I should have accepted the World Tree's offer to become its bride, while visiting my dad, Felix, Lily, Cess, Hannah, Ijekiel, Jennette, and the others any time I want, except for you, " Athanasia angrily shouted.
"......"
"...Do you really mean that, princess? Will you leave me alone in this cruel world with no family or friends? I have no one to care for me, except for you, " Lucas faked cried and sobbed while wiping away his "teary" eyes.
"............"
"Arrghhh!!! Stop it with your fake acting! I can see through those alligator tears. Just make that doppelganger disappear and change our clothes. I can't stand wearing this bridal gown any longer! If you do that, I might forgive you!" Athanasia declared in an exasperated tone.
"As you wish, princess, " Lucas replied. His expression changed rapidly from a sad to smug expression within milliseconds. He bowed at the princess and then waved his hand over the doppelganger, who then vanished into thin air.
Snap!
With a snap of his fingers, both Lucas and Athanasia were once again in their original clothes that they wore about six nights ago when they departed from the bedroom.
"Princess, are you happy now?" Lucas asked.
"........"
"Hmmph! You are still a cruel and sadistic bastard. I originally came with you to visit the tree, get some fruits and branches, and leave peacefully, but you had to quarrel with the tree and battle against it. The World Tree already gave me a lot of its fruits and branches that I could have shared with you, but you just had to ruin everything and tear the tree limb-to-limb until it was left with nothing, but a piece of stump. Poor, World Tree! I pity it so much. You should just left its trunk and leaves intact, but no---you had to destroy every single part of it, " Athanasia tearfully mentioned with a solemn and melancholy expression.
"Awwww, I am sorry for making the princess sad, " Lucas apologized. "How should I make it up to you?"
Athanasia sighed exasperatedly before continuing, "...I just want to go to sleep now. I am worn out from watching you bully the World Tree for sixteen hours. " She walked over to the bed and maneuvered her body to a lateral sleeping position facing away from Lucas.
Lucas approached the bed where the princess was sleeping and crouched down to watch her sleep.
Athanasia felt an intense pair of eyes staring at her back, so she turned around and caught Lucas staring at her.
"Hey Lucas, you should go back now, " Athanasia stated. "It's getting late, so you should sleep too."
"......"
"Hey princess, were you actually serious when you told me that you reconsidered the World Tree's offer?" Lucas asked curiously.
"Of course not! I only said that in the spur of the moment because I was so pissed off by you! I will always stay by your side because I love you, " Athanasia confessed. She realized what she just said sounded like a confession. She covered her mouth with both her hands with the palms of her hands and turned away from him, with her face and ears blushing.
Lucas caught his princess blushing and chuckled at her.
"You are so adorable, my princess," Lucas complimented.
Suddenly, Athanasia felt another presence next to her bed. She was about to beat the fuck out of Lucas for invading her personal space with her clenched fists when she felt a hand wrapped around the side of her shoulders and his head lingering over to the side of her exposed ear. Her pulse and heart-rate were beating rapidly because Lucas was so close to her. She could still recall that hot and passionate kiss that she shared with Lucas and her face turned fire-engine red.
Thump, thump, thump!
The next words that she heard from Lucas as he whispered in her ear sent even more chills down her spine and butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
"I love you, my princess, " Lucas confessed. His breath felt hot against her nape of the neck and ears, as he slowly pulled his head away from her. She felt a sudden spike of increase in her body temperature and gulped.
"............"
After a long moment of silence, Athanasia decided to turn around and face Lucas. She caught his sleeping face that was within close proximity to her, only a few inches away.
She slowly and gently traced with her fingertips, the curvature of his beautiful and delicate, yet masculine facial features--his eyes, his beauty mark, his lashes, his nose, his lips, his cheeks, his jawline.
sighs
Athanasia thought Lucas was deep asleep, since he was snoring and his eyes were closed. She continued saying, "Idiot Lucas, don't you dare look at another woman other than me. I won't forgive you if you look at my doppelganger like that. You only have to look at me only."
When Athanasia finished her sentence, Lucas opened his eyes and caught her by the wrist. He smiled mischievously.
"You-- you....Did you hear what I just said?" Athanasia blushed.
"Yep, all of it my princess. I didn't think you would be so jealous of a doppelganger. How amusing, " Lucas chuckled.
Athanasia felt her angry fuming and reached out for her pillows to give him the beating he deserved. Then she flexed her knee, drew it back , and swung forward to strike him in the groin with all her might.
Whack! Whack! Pow! Kick!
"Owww!!!" Lucas whined.
"Here, take more of this, you eavesdropping, dirty swine! Athanasia tried shoving a pillow down his throat and toppled him over in her bed. Now, Athanasia was in an awkward position because she was laying on top of him and straddling him at his hip level with her legs slightly parted in-between.
Lucas took advantage of this moment, so he pulled her down by her wrist with his arm and pushed on her rear with his other arm, so she was leaning against his chest with her hands pushing against it.
"Ooff!! What the fuck, Lucas?" Athanasia bellowed.
Lucas took her hand and moved it to the side of his left chest.
thump! thump! thump!
Athanasia thought, "What in the world is he doing? Why did he move my hand to the left side of his chest? Wait, his heart beating so fast, " She blushed when she realized that the bounding pulse that she was feeling was Lucas's heart.
"Princess, did you know that my heart only beats for you? The wizard of the black tower may have freezed his own heart with black magic in the past, but you are the only one that can make it melt and break his infinite cycle of loneliness , " Lucas confessed.
thump, thump, thump!
Athanasia felt her heart rate accelerating and synchronizing with Lucas's own heartbeat, except the next words he said really got on her nerves.
"Even though you are a tad uglier than the doppelganger, I still lik-"
Whack! Whack! Whack!
"-like you way better, " Lucas continued his sentence. He doubled over in pain and held on to the sore, aching area where Athanasia just kicked. He flinched due to the excruciating pain inflicted by his beloved princess.
"Hey princess, I didn't even finish speaking yet. You cut me off, " Lucas complained with a grimacing face and curled his body inwards involuntarily. "Also, you are hitting me too much. Can you be more gentle with me, princess?" He pouted his lips in a futile attempt to seduce Athanasia with his cuteness.
"You just killed the mood, Lucas. Don't ever tell a girl that she is uglier than her doppelganger, " Athanasia criticized.
Lucas chuckled amusingly at his princess at her statement and fumbled over to rise his upper torso from the bed with the support of his arms.
"Aww, you are so cute, my dear princess. So jealous of yourself, " Lucas cooed. He then proceeded to get off the bed as quickly as possible and teleported himself away to where the window located next to the veranda.
"Hey Lucas, why are you suddenly so far? Are you a sissy that you are too scared to get beaten up by a girl?" Athanasia yelled.
"Nope, I just have to get back to the tower now. I need to inform my lackeys that I need a day off , so I can happily date my princess tomorrow and they can do my portion of black tower duties for me," Lucas said happily.
"Don't go around making promises, Lucas. Who says I am going on a date with you tomorrow?" Athanasia queried.
Lucas chuckled, " Did you forget, princess? There's going to be a Cherry Blossom Festival tomorrow at 4pm. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom this spring, so I thought you would enjoying watching them. I am going to treat you out to all the festival food."
When Athanasia heard that Lucas was going to treat her tomorrow and attend the festival that she has always intended to ask him, she dropped all of her anger for him abruptly and shouted, "you better start making a shit ton of gold coins. I am going to drain you of all your manufactured gold coins until you have no mana left!" She huffed and puffed with a proud expression on her face, as if she emerged as the true victor of the conversation.
Athanasia thought, "Heh, he's going to regret it so much. I am going to waste all his money on purpose."
"As you wish, princess. You can use me as much as you want. I am all yours to expend. My body, heart, and soul belongs to you, so play me like a boy toy as much as you want until I can no longer be used anymore, " Lucas replied unabashedly.
"What the fuck, Lucas? You--" Athanasia blurted. She was blushing immensely from that brash and reckless confession.
Poof!
Before she got to say anymore, Lucas already vanished.
"What a self-conceited, arrogant jerk!" Athanasia yelled loudly.
Since Athanasia was left all alone in her room, she had no way to express her frustration other than to kick up her blankets and thrash and jerk her arms and legs violently, while pounding her fluffy pillows against her king-sized mattress until her pillows became so tattered and feathers seeped out of them from the slits. After a while, she felt very tired and plopped herself on her bed. Once she calmed down, she contemplated about what Lucas mentioned earlier.
"There's going to be a Cherry Blossom Festival tomorrow at 4pm. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom this spring, so I thought you would enjoying watching them. I am going to treat you out to all the festival food."
Athanasia blushed again when she thought about Lucas and buried her face into her pillow.
She thought, "How troublesome. Because of him, I need to get new pillows now. Even now, I can't stop thinking about him!! Uggh!! Why is life so complicated?" She ran the fingers of her hands along her scalp and tousled her wavy, platinum blonde hair out of exasperation.
".............."
She paused for a moment in her actions and reflected, "In my entire eighteen years of life, no one has ever made my heart beat so fast--only him. He's the first and last man I will ever love."
Athanasia slowly felt her consciousness slipping away into the darkness, as her sleepiness took over her bodily systems. Eventually, she drifted off to a deep slumber.
Her last thoughts before darkness shrouded her mind were "I look forward to spending time with Lucas at the Cherry Blossom Festival tomorrow. I want to sit on a bench under the shade and eat festival food, while leaning against his shoulders and watch the cherry blossoms with him as the sun sets down. "
-------------------The End--------------------------
A/N: This oneshot just happened because of that one side story of "Lucas of Parallel World travels to another dimension" by Spoon and Plutus. Thought it would be interesting to do a rewrite on the dimension chapter with Athy's cameo appearance. I failed to write oneshots in my first two attempts with my story concepts lol, but finally managed on this one. I decided to make Lucas change their outfits to wedding attire because I thought it would be kind of fun to see the World Tree fight for Lucas's bride lmao. I need to practice writing kissing scenes because I still feel a bit awkward writing and describing them them, but I am sure I will get plenty of practice with my other fanfic in the future ^^; There's only three characters here, so I have an easier time focusing on them lol. When I get distracted by more character appearances, I start writing about them too XD I have been shipping both the World Tree x Lucas and Lucas X Athy a lot recently, so I figured it would be interesting to combine them into World Tree x Lucas x Athy to create a love triangle, haha ^^; World Tree (Male?) is sort of a gender-bender version of the Giving Tree (Female) with contrasting personalities haha. The poor tree not only lost to Lucas, but also lost all its branches, trunk, fruits, and beloved princess lololol. Pretty tragic ending for the tree, but not all hope is lost because it will probably take another few hundred years to grow back, though the cycle rinses and repeats. No matter what alternate dimension, masochistic tree-san will always be bullied by the only and only sadistic wizard of the black tower, Lucas-sama :D It is only he who is capable to bullying the one and only World Tree, no one else <3 <3 That's pretty much the moral of this one-shot lol.; Hope it was an enjoyable read \(^w^)/