Chapter 278 – Preparing for the Break

*** Alzi ***

"Please, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I can't even disobey. I can't," I say. But Mistress beats me anyway. Her friends demand it, ask for it, want it. Over and over, saying I was wrong. I wasn't good enough.

I'm not even able to be a whore correctly.

"My lady, you're safe," cuts through. I get pulled away from the Mistress and against a belly filled with my kids. "My Lady, you're safe."

"What happened?" I ask. "She was here. She did it. I- I-"

"You had a vision. A terrible vision, my Lady. The past coming back," Shyla says. "I'm not sure what caused it here."

"I don't like it. I don't want them," I cry. "I don't want it."

"I know, my Lady. I wish I could take them all away. But I'll be here to help you through them. To help break them. Sarania, can you put out the food for me, please?"

"Yes," Sarania says.

"The soup is for Alzi."

"Ok," Sarania says.

"Do you want one of us to feed you, my Lady? You could hold one of your kids that way."

I just nod my head against her womb. My kids should keep me calm, right?

"Here you go, dear," Inanos says, carefully putting a baby in my arms. "Is this Tirlo?"

"Yes," I say.

"She's cute. Was she born yesterday?"

"I think so."

"This really has been rough on you," Inanos says. "I'm sorry. Tomorrow, you'll get to see your Mother in a beautiful dress and meet your twins with her. Mai should be giving birth soon as well, and then Isda, too. Vanya, Elora, and I have kids on the way. There is a lot of happiness in your future. Let us help you fight off the past."

Aren't you part of my past? I see Esiyae stalking me in the shadows. I hear the echoes of my sale.

Yes, lunch, then run to the temple. I need to.

...

It turns into a full lunch, with my babies needing to eat as well. My hands shake as they feed from me.

What if I have a vision while they're in my arms? Shyla told me I pushed her away. What if I throw my kids? What if I hurt them or yell at them? They'll hate me. I'll ruin it. I can't ruin that, not with my babies.

I need to run. I need out.

"I need to go for a walk," I say. Please, let me. Can they stop me?

"Some fresh air would be good for you and the babies," Sarania says. "Would you like me to come with you?"

"Yes."

"Wait, my Lady, let me get better clothing and a coat for you. Most of the heating runes in the city are out of mana right now. You should be prepared for ice and snow. And then there is the wind picking up as well. Do you know how long you'll be gone? Should I ask them to push dinner back?" Shyla says.

"I'll be fine," I say. "It was fine coming here." I shuffle out of my chair, trying to keep myself from shaking. If I do, I know I'll fall over and never leave.

I need to run. To get away from them. My torturers are hiding in the walls, around every corner of this house. I know they're looking to jump me. They'll drag me back to Mistress.

"My Mistress," Sarania says. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," I mumble. Keep it even; don't let them know you're running.

Sarania wraps a single arm around my waist and pulls me along to the door, pushing our children as well. We squeeze through the door and go back down the stairs. We greet the cold air and start down the empty streets again.

Are all the streets empty? Most of the women have to be fighting to find food and warmth. People run from the villages when war breaks out, right? That's what happens in all the stories. What happened to all of them?

"The Temple, my Lady?" Sarania asks after waiting until we've pushed past the block and are out of view of the manor.

"Yes, they scared me," I say. "They were hiding."

"I see," is all she says, turning to the left. "Very well. You gave them a chance, as Love will require. If this is what you need, then this is what we'll do. Together, my Mistress."

"Thank you."

"I am here to serve."

People start to appear as we get farther from the manor. The guards, for the most part, ignore us. I guess they are women from our army and not the normal guards. After I marry my Mother, I should finish my work from before I was taken. They were fighting for me. And I can't let them down, or they'll throw me back to the Mistress.

I can't let her get me.

"Almost there, my Mistress," Sarania says. "Almost there."

We turn the corner, and I see a few temples standing before us. One has a heart etched into it. That must be the one.

Indeed, Sarania directs me right to it, pushing us up the stairs and the doors open for us. Maybe Sarania just pushed them open with mana, or the Priestess opened it. But I don't think so, based on her forced smile and the fact she hasn't said anything to me.

I guess she knows why I am here.

"Ehm," Sarania says, "directions."

"Fine," the Priestess says. "Don't blame me, demon."

"Then your Goddess should be afraid. Mother isn't a happy woman right now."

"Like she could overpower Love."

"The Goddesses are pathetic, only powerful due to their numbers. A joke, compared to their affinities," Sarania mutters. The Priestess doesn't react, so I'm guessing that message was just for me. Maybe a warning for my kids. Or a feud so old that it doesn't matter. I know they'll be better than the others. I'll find out how to raise them right. Mother will help, and Mai, too. And Ilka and Akhae seemed nice.

"Pick a pew," the Priestess says, waving to the lines of benches.

"Do you wish for this Temple to no longer exist?" Sarania says. "My Mistress will not be performing this in a normal pew. Take us to a room. This will take a few minutes. Or would you rather I take it over? It has been a while since I last let loose, and where better than a temple of 'Love' to relax in?"

"Show them," another Priestess says. "You do us no favors by insulting them like that."

"Very well, High Priestess. This way." She turns quickly, taking long strides to a hallway. My feet struggle to keep up along the cold marble. We've barely turned the corner when the Priestess is already walking into a room.

Inside is just a table and a few chairs. The Priestess gives us a half smile and leaves.

"Just Pray. She'll take you up or remove the marriage, my Mistress," Sarania says. "Those are the only options she has with you."

*** Elora ***

"She left," I say, falling into my chair. "She fucking left. I was giving her what she asked for."

"We failed too much," Shimmer says. "Took too long and let her get hurt too often. The panic attack sealed our fate. Shit luck on that one. If she had stuck around for dinner, we may have had a chance to get her to stay. As it is now, be nice. We have an idea of who will come to the divorce, and it won't be pretty for you. Get on your knees quickly and promise her the world. Her world. Not yours, not ours, not the one we live in. The one she wants. The one she lives in. No, not that one. The one she wants to live in. Her current world will hand her over to Geta here. You have to show that there is a better world for her and that it will manifest through this family."

"What do you mean?" I ask. "Why would Geta get her? Wouldn't that be good?"

"No, but not now, sorry," Shimmer says, biting her lip. What is she hiding? "We have a lot to discuss, I suppose. This may go from bad to terrible for you. See what happens. Just know it isn't pretty for us, either."

"I want to know," Elora says. "I want to know what you mean. Inanos said she smelled death on Alzi. Yet she hasn't killed anyone in a long time, so what else could that death be but her own approaching? Why would Geta get her in death?"

"Geta would just take her for a moment. Don't worry about it, you'll know later. For right now, just think about how you felt when your Mother took away your childhood and dreams. She took everything and wouldn't give you a scrap of it back. Wouldn't even give you a replacement. That is what we seem to have done to Alzi. Don't give her just a scrap to replace the world. Give her a real world that will fill her up. One that will get her to smile."

"I DID! Her Mother is expecting her tomorrow. I even promised her time with that fucking Kitsune bitch who watched it all happen. Who let her go through everything she blames me for. I promised her a peaceful life."

"That was the issue. We haven't proven that she can have a peaceful life. Twice now, she has been taken from us."

"I put up guards for her, and there are the rules. It was my Sister who couldn't let us know about an entire group of nobles who went missing. She should've known. They were missing for several days," I cry.

"Calm down, Elora! Dear, this is going to go poorly for us. I know it will. You know it, and I know it, and we all know it. Love doesn't have a chance to force Alzi to stay. Present us well there, and we will have to prove ourselves quickly after this. I'm not giving up on Alzi, and you are our best bet to get her back. She won't have just us in a marriage. She'll have the Queen and her harem to protect her. She'll have the power to take control over all the women who hurt her so it can never happen again. That is your message. Ok, dear? Got that? No 'woe is me' shit. She doesn't give a damn about you, or me, or this family. Worm in facts about the kids we will provide her with. I'm pregnant, you are pregnant, Aurora is pregnant, Annoris is pregnant, Calli, Inanos, Vanya, Isda, and Shyla, too. Don't ask questions! We are treading on thin ice, and none of us are made to walk on thin ice. Love. Now is the last time we get to prove that we actually love her."

"You have a lot to answer for," I say. "It should be starting soon."