Capitolo Terzo: Conquista (2)

When Giorno was born, I was one of the happiest men in this world.

I found joy in his arrival, in his birth, I held him, clutching the newborn tenderly, actually worrying about my strength- was I holding him too tightly? Could I end up hurting him if I even slipped hold of my current power? The fright was pleasantly deigned by my paternal instincts, which were matched by Hannah as she cooed at the bundle of delight that came in our life. It’s been a few years since that, and I could remember the first achievements to be proud as a parent. I was there when he first spoke, his first world, much to my and Hannah’s chagrin, being Jojo as the child had been playing with his little cousin at the time. I was there when he first walked, feeling pride as the boy stumbled a few times, but whined the loudest as soon as anyone went on to pick him up. He wanted to do it himself, and he managed it after a few mistakes. He looked so happy, his grin just sending jolts to the bond I had with the rest of the family. It wouldn’t be a lie to say that Giorno was my joy in life, and when he was caught- when someone decided to kidnap him… I finally realized how determined I was to put family over duty. Did I mind it? Absolutely no.

Governor Shuvalov was a bit upset with the change of tone around him, perceiving the less than formal attitude I held towards a man of his role due to the circumstance, but understanding that my upset was justified by this circumstance. Someone had kidnapped my kid, and they were going to pay dearly for this. Hannah and I were quick to track down what had happened through the clues we had, with the Governor himself and two guards aiding us in this search. After all, we weren’t familiar with the local area, and when he realized what had happened and ‘where’ it had unfolded, Shuvalov seemed to be even more interested than before to solve this situation. Luckily enough, he didn’t play any of the ‘mysterious reasons’ route, preferring to keep true to the circumstance and explain something he was told, a secret he was mustered to not tell about if not within proper reasons. There was a legend in Warsaw, a legend that might explain the absurd development itself: Many centuries ago Warsaw was known to have a protector, a mermaid that was once kidnapped by a rich merchant for the sake of keeping her to himself. The local fishermen, once against this creature due to her attitude in freeing fishes, had long accepted her presence, understanding her behavior due to her connection to the sea-faring fauna. They freed her, and due to this matter, the mermaid became a protector of those living in what nowadays is called the ‘Old Town’ of Warsaw.

From what the Governor could say within what he remembered on the matter, the legend had been long considered a myth to ‘terrorize invaders’, but it was during one of the oldest uprisings, a few decades ago, that most of the Russian leadership in Poland saw how this was a lie. There was indeed a mermaid, not the same one that protected the Polish people back then from the merchant’s retaliation, but a descendant that intervened and stopped the repression happening within the major city. Her voice stunned many, pausing the violence and ultimately ending it. There are just a few accounts being known, with most of those having been censored for the sake of not spreading the news, with those remaining expressing the same words: it was beautiful, men, Russian and Poles, stopping to listen quietly at the singing, and even the battle-hardened veterans were brought to tears by that melody.

Peace was ‘established’, just briefly, but it confirmed a new status quo within the occupation force. Especially when the Mermaid at the time made it clear that if things got too extreme within the city, then they would retaliate with a large military force. Despite the notion that this wouldn’t still stop the might of the Russian Army if properly mobilized, it did present the doubt of ‘where’ the opposing force would strike from. If an army of sea-faring soldiers could actually move around rivers and the Baltic Sea, then what were the chances they weren’t already in the Don? What about the Volga? And if we have to go to the very extreme, what about the chances of them being already in the Amur river in the furthest section of Siberia?

The mere odds were enough to quell any aggressive planning and policy against Warsaw, but didn’t stop people from revolting and being stopped for Nation-wide policies. It was a very interesting story considering that it tied to Warsaw’s unique city banner, but I really paid little to no attention for a few reasons. Specifically the notion that my son might have been kidnapped by a mermaid and that this could translate in fighting underwater. Which wasn’t an ideal situation since I could breathe underwater through a hamon bubble but not move fast enough to match up any opponent that had the advantage in there. My mind was picking up any possible ideas I could use to counter that, and soon we were finally at ‘destination’. Because yes, there seemed to be a place where the locals would seek to talk with the ‘Queen’ of that faction or something of the kind and we had reached it. A cave that was large and had half its floor cracked to allow an underwater passage to somewhere else. No one knew where it led precisely, but right now the purpose of being there wasn’t to invade anyone. Yet.

There was a strange bell set just by the edge of the floor, and the Governor asked one of his guards to do ‘the thing’. The man just walked up to it and carefully struck the bell twice. The noise that came from it wasn’t unpleasant. But loud and went on for an extensive amount of time. Hannah flinched, her enhanced hearing probably picking up that this wasn’t just a mere bell, but something that emitted as much noise as it did a small hint of ‘energy’ of sorts. We were waiting for a while, but then our patience was met with the arrival of an unusual creature, a humanoid being with blue skin, dark-green hair and red eyes. We knew that this situation could be a bit more complicated than expected. This ‘guy’, I wasn’t sure at the time if these ‘merfolks’ had the same appearance as humans to tell which one was male and which was female, was wearing some armor on his body. The chestplate and gauntlets looked fairly thin, same for his boots and pants, but enough to cause quite the unease as this individual face bore the look of someone that was annoyed and yet ‘giving it a try’ about this situation. Despite the fins, gills and the long dolphin-like tail protruding from his backbone, the aquatic creature stood on the ground with what looked to be ‘rudimentary legs’, their feet lacking toes and other appendages to make his standing even more stable like us humans. Those looked to be more close to hooves… and yet lacked the same frame under the soles. ‘He’ spoke Polish, and Hannah and I had enough knowledge of the language to understand what was going on.

“What is the meaning of this? We have not agreed to any meeting.”

“My good guest’s wife, Lady Joestar, has reported to me, with guards confirming it, that one of your brethren kidnapped their son.”

He raised a confused look, but I saw a brief flash of dread appear in his face before actually sputtering in outrage.

“A-Absolutely foolish. No one of my ilk would ever do something like this and-”

He blinked just a moment, then he tensed up as he felt an arm rest around his shoulder. That’s where he realized I had relocated from standing beside my wife, to actually give him the joy of having me so close, personal and irritated. Funny thing is that I had learned how to vocalize ｢The World｣ through my thought rather than vocally. I found the ‘block’ and managed to bypass it, but only within specific circumstances. The vocal requirement was tied to focus and willpower, the capacity to manifest the Stand by habit as normally those ‘activated’ their powers within a special inner switch within their user’s mind and soul. So yes, I could use it in specific situations, even combat ones, but if the battle was intense, I would still have to call up my Stand’s name to use its abilities.

The first instinct, just like any good soldier trained to this kind of surprise, was pulling his sword out of the sheath he had on his right hip, but found the handle missing. Broken and torn out as it lay on the ground. He was confused- shocked even as he tried to reason what had just happened. But before he could, I was already bringing my lips close to his left ear.

“I know how to burn things underwater. A magnificent blaze of destruction,” I muttered slowly, his posture further tensing. But instead of dread, now it was full fear. “I’ll tell you this once. Bring me to your Queen, we will just talk about this like normal adults, or I will erase whatever exists in your little community. Do you understand me, warrior?”

Sure enough, he did and soon we were going through a very wet and yet non-deadly trip into their underground kingdom. Turns out that they lived in a place that allowed normal people to breathe within without having to worry about drowning. The Governor was stunned by the recent events, and yet he was the most surprised when I managed to create safe breathing bubbles for himself and his guards through their breath. Hannah knew how to do this herself and was focused on a single thing.

Get our son out of trouble as soon as possible.

------d-d-d-d--------

Giorno was uneasy.

To his credit, the child hadn’t been utterly terrified as he woke up in this place as many peers would have been. No, he was scared because this room was… unfamiliar. Mother wasn’t around, everything around him felt colder as if it was winter with the temperatures going lower than just a few hours ago and… is this the room of a lady? A quick glance around confirmed this last bit, finding dolls akin to girly interests as she saw many well-dressed ‘ladies’ with fins and gills. That’s where he remembered what happened- how he got carried into this place and- why were his clothes dry? The boy knew for a fact he had been underwater for a while and that would have left him drenched in water, but at the moment he was dry and clean, smelling like… normal. Before he could genuinely ask more about it, the only door of that room opened, a familiar head peeking from outdoors and towards him. Same blue skin, hair and red eyes. Same excited look, but this time it was deflated to allow some embarrassment in. There was silence as the two stared at each other.

What was she doing here? It was clear this could have been her room but… what was she trying to do? His panic limited the amount of questions entering his mind, with a main focus on why that creature, so mesmerizing and cute, actually took him away from his mother after saying something odd to him. In a moment, she stepped inside and her few steps didn’t go beyond two. Tiny, her frame was close to his, but she was slightly smaller- shorter. She wore no clothes, but that would be tantamount of revealing her full self. A blush adorned the boy’s face as he found himself staring… but not finding anything that would be telling of her ‘nudity’ as mother would admonish him to avert his eyes away from. Was this child even a girl due to that? Nothing within her frame would suggest if she was either a boy or a girl beyond her other feminine traits such as her long hair and eyelashes. Could it be that this creature just didn’t have reason to be clothed because it was neither? The question eroded Giorno’s early reluctance to stare as he picked up other details that first were amiss. The way her shoulders sagged suggested self-embarrassment and soon that very voice carried out a very familiar word that he once heard her mom tell him what it meant.

“Przepraszam.”

Sorry?

Giorno blinked at that do

She smiled at the silent gesture and then aimed a finger to her chest. “Olesia.”

A weak smile, but one that Giorno returned with a shy one as he realized what she was telling him. “Giorno.”

The girl, Olesia, hummed, her pensive look suggesting she was thinking of something. Then, she raised her finger, this time to aim it at Giorno.

“Giorrrr-no!”

His smile widened, that reaction had him deeply amused. He returned the action by copying it, this time his finger aiming at her.

“Oleee-sia.”

A giggle, any tension cracked as Giorno forgot just for a moment what had happened. As a child that never had much of a chance to have fun with many kids his age, this was definitely the oddest experience. And incredibly interesting due to how that interaction was going. It didn’t take long for something to change within that static scene as Olesia asked a simple question that Giorno could also understand.

“Bawić się?”

Play?

He grinned, especially when the girl picked up what looked to be a strange ball filled up with water. It wasn’t too light, and the material keeping the water inside felt resistant and solid. Not too sturdy, and definitely good to play throwing balls with each other. What ensued was an entertaining playing session. Games were simple and familiar. After they were done with the ball, they were playing tag, before then doing some hide n’ seek- the area they were doing all of that was devoid of life, as if abandoned, and yet Giorno had long learned how to discern if a place was unused or just temporarily lacking occupants. There was no dust settling anywhere, so it had to have been cleaned recently. His mom told him about this when it came to why some houses looked cleaner than others despite in these cases lacking many people inside.

It was all nice and well until their playing session was interrupted by a pair of guards that came forth bearing armor and lances. Giorno tensed up, while Olesia merely looked upset as they were interrupting the game. There was a brief exchange between the little girl and the two adults, but from the way her tone turned, it was clear that things weren’t going to turn out bad. Or so Giorno hoped for it to be the case. He didn’t exactly feel much reassurance when the little ‘mermaid’ suddenly hugged his arm, but he felt less nervous as she pressed her cheek on his shoulder, nuzzling comfortably as she led him where the guards were taking him to. Unease started to slowly rise up as he wasn’t sure what was going to happen next and… yet he couldn't help but let out an amazed ‘whoa’ as they arrived at their destination.

A large throne room appeared before them and Giorno’s gaze was enraptured by that majestic size and might, but his attention barely lasted long before the room as he noticed a familiar woman, his mother, coming towards him. Olesia tensed up and the guards looked a bit uncertain but allowed the concerned parent through as she scooped the two off the ground. The little blond felt slightly embarrassed but utterly delighted that his mother was there, saving him and… hugging Olesia quite close.

“Ładny...” He heard her whisper softly, quite happy.

Pretty…

What ensued was a confusing mess of relief and joy at having found him, but also a strange explanation on what was going on as he could see his father currently talking with a beautiful woman sitting in the main throne. The lady looked like Olesia, except she was an adult and had to wear a sleeveless chestplate and a skirt differently from her… daughter? Was that Olesia’s mother? Giorno’s mother confirmed it was the case and even the little mermaid confirmed that. The truth was that Olesia had initially wanted to take him as her ‘prince’ since she didn’t want to ‘wait until she was old enough’. When the queen realized what happened, she had instantly lectured her child on the situation’s gravity and planned to return the boy at once… only for that plan to not happen due to two very concerned parents reaching her realm before she could do anything about it.

What ensued was a very tense and yet very appeasing dialogue from one side to the other, the former from Giorno’s father and the latter from the girl’s mother, Maria. After what felt like an eternity, they were finally left to go, but not before the ‘Governor’ was done speaking with the queen about ‘diplomatic matters’. Giorno didn’t listen much to it, but it was about forming a conciliatory policy within the country or something of the kind. Eventually it was time for them to really go, but the boy had one last thing to do. Olesia looked sad, but her mood soared as soon as the boy pulled her in a hug and kissed her cheek. He had seen that being done a lot in Italy and he knew that it was an affectionate way to address a good friend.

“See you later, Olesia.”

She shivered, but smiled widely as he was leaving, waving at him and saying something he didn’t pick up, while his mother giggled and his father hummed in amusement, having heard what she had said but decided to not tell him. What was it? Something odd? Something to tease him?

Huff, adults are silly!

Still, that’s a new bizarre friend to add to the count. And a nice one at that.