Daughter

"What, do you think I wouldn't be loyal to you?" Tinka joked, though she also seemed slightly offended at Minos's implication.

"Of course not! It's just… Well… I'm shocked." Minos said, as he stepped closer to his young daughter, still not sure if he was dreaming or not.

"This is your father, don't be shy." Tinka gently nudged her daughter, eventually forcing her to finally give Minos a second look.

"What's her name?" Minos asked as he stared into his beautiful daughter's little gem-like eyes, the same emerald green color as her mothers.

"Actually, I haven't decided yet, I was waiting for you." Tinka replied.

"That wasn't necessary, how could anything you choose be any less than perfect?" Minos smiled, causing Tinka to giggle.

"How could I name her without her father's consent? But I was thinking of naming her Rinka, what do you think?" Tinka asked.

"I think it's beautiful." Minos smiled, as he rubbed his daughter's head, causing her to let out a giggle, no longer afraid of Minos.

"Great! Then from now on, our beautiful daughter will be named Rinka!" Tinka laughed joyously, both Ronkus and Meninka smiling as they watched the scene, their hearts filled with joy as their little family was finally complete.

"Can I hold her?" Minos asked, Tinka naturally obliged.

Taking his daughter from Tinka's hands, she fought at first, but as Minos laid her against his chest and she felt his powerful heart beat, she quickly calmed down.

"My daughter, she's so beautiful, just like her mother." Minos smiled, gently rocking Rinka back and forth in his arms.

"And she's as clever as her dad. Don't think she can't speak, she's just shy." Tinka smiled.

"Is that so? Then can you say dada." Minos asked.

"Hmm." Rinka hummed, not answering.

"How about mama?"

"Mama!" Rinka giggled, much to Minos's amusement.

"She'll get there eventually." Ronkus laughed, trying to spare his son-in-law's feelings.

"I know, no rush, we have all the time in the world." Minos smiled.

"Don't you have to leave again?" Tinka asked, though her heart feared the answer.

"How could I abandon you and my daughter? This time I plan on staying for good." Minos smiled, immediately discarding any plans he originally had.

"Seriously! But won't it affect your cultivation?" Tinka questioned, still keeping Minos's best interests in mind.

"Don't worry, the truth is, I think I already have the solution to the tribe's curse, so I'm going to have to spend a few years here tinkering away until I can figure things out." Minos explained.

"Seriously!?" Ronkus asked fiercely, his mood immediately changing the second Minos brought up the curse.

As the Patriarch, no matter how silly he may appear at times, he was always deeply concerned about the tribe's well-being, and the curse was always his biggest heartache.

"No promises, but hope definitely exists." Minos answered.

"Good, good, good! If you need anything, just tell me!" Ronkus pounded his chest fiercely, his heart pounding as thought of being the one to finally help free the tribe.

"Actually I do need a few things." Minos replied, before listing off a couple demands.

With Minos's words, Ronkus didn't even bother saying goodbye, quickly running out to prepare everything for Minos. Meanwhile, Meninka just apologized for her husband's behavior before joining him, leaving just Minos, Tinka, and Rinka.

"So we're finally going to be a family, for real?" Tinka couldn't help but ask again.

"I would never lie to you." Minos said, as he pulled Tinka in, giving her a strong kiss, much to the discomfort of Rinka who found herself smooshed in between the two.

"Dada bad!" Rinka shouted.

Rinka's sudden words shocked Minos and Tinka, the two looking at each other for a second before bursting into laughter.

"That's right, dada bad. In fact, dada's a monster, the tickle monster!" Minos growled, before tossing Rinka onto the bed, tickling her fiercely.

"Ahahaha, stop, stop!" Rinka laughed.

Watching this all, Tinka couldn't help but have a content smile on her face, suddenly thinking that maybe the curse wasn't such a bad thing…

…

The next morning, Minos woke up, surrounded by two girls instead of just one, his heart having never felt such a level of peace.

After gently getting out of bed, he was about to tiptoe out of the room, but his steps woke up Tinka, who had always been a light sleeper.

"Where are you going?" She asked, as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"Was just planning to head and get started on some work. By the way, now that you're awake, there actually is something important I need to talk to you about…" Minos said solemnly.

"What's with the tone? Did something bad happen on your journey?" Tinka asked.

"Let's not talk here." Minos said, taking Tinka's hand into his own and guiding her out of the house.

After walking across the beach for a couple minutes, far away from the tribe, Minos finally came to a halt. His mouth opening, but no sound coming out, the words having been caught in his throat.

"What are you so worried about? No matter what you have to tell me, I'll always love you, so just be honest with me." Tinka said, as she gently rubbed Minos's back.

With Tinka's words of encouragement, Minos finally found the courage he needed, divulging the truth about what happened between him and Lilia.

"She did what! What a monster, I'll kill her!" Tinka shouted, about to run off, only stopping because Minos grabbed her.

"There's nothing we can do, it's best to just forget…" Minos said with a sigh as he looked off into the distant seas.

Seeing Minos's melancholy mood, Tinka knew now wasn't the time for grand words. Her husband just needed a shoulder to rest on, so she would be that shoulder, always reminding him that he would always have a home with her.

"Do you forgive me?" Minos suddenly asked, his voice lacking the confidence it usually had.

"What's there to forgive? You did nothing wrong, so don't let it weigh heavy on you." Tinka smiled as she looked towards Minos.

Seeing his head low, Tinka grabbed his chin, forcefully lifting his head so that he was staring directly at her.

"The Minos I married was a fighter, one courageous and brilliant! Don't let some nasty woman take my husband away, and go be that same courageous brilliant self! The one who will save my tribe and undo this wicked curse!" Tinka shouted, causing a smile to uncontrollably form on Minos's face.

"You always know what to say, don't you?" Minos said, finally looking up at her.

"What can I say? I learned from a very special person." Tinka smiled, the two staring at each for a second before the spark of passion consumed them.

Time passed by in a blink, and it was only when Minos heard the gentle cries of Rinka from the distance did he finally separate from Tinka.

"What happened?" Tinka asked, naturally not capable of hearing the noise.

"It's Rinka, I think she's awake. We should probably head back." Minos said.

Pulling Tinka up from the sand, the two wiped off quickly before running back home, heading inside to find Rinka thrashing around on the bed.

"Mama!" Rinka shouted, before jumping into Tinka's arms.

"There there, mama's here, no need to cry." Tinka said, as she hummed a lullaby to calm Rinka down.

"You're a great mom, aren't you?" Minos laughed.

"Well I had my mother's help, and she's the best teacher." Tinka replied.

"Talking about teachers, I know Rinka is young, but she seems mature enough, so why not let me educate her?" Minos suggested.

"Are you sure?" Tinka replied, still feeling her daughter wasn't quite ready yet.

"It's never too early to start learning, so why waste the time?"

"Well… Alright!" Tinka answered after thinking for a moment.

"Good, then starting from now, everyday after breakfast, I'll spend an hour tutoring Rinka." Minos said, much to Rinka's curiosity.

She understood some of the words he was saying, but when strung all together, she had no idea, but little did she know her worst fears were about to come true.

After a quick breakfast, Minos kept true to his promise, pulling Rinka aside as he prepared some sheets of paper.

As the basis of all learning, language was the most crucial in Minos's eyes, so before anything else, it was important for Rinka to learn to read, write, and speak properly.

He planned on teaching Rinka both the Shadiven language, and the Alephora Continent language, and maybe even the Lukalu peoples language if he had the time.

With his study plan prepared, he got right to work teaching, using his Omniscient Eyes to perfectly nurture Rinka's weaknesses while spending less time on her strengths.