Chapter 307 – Handling the Others

*** Alzi ***

"What of Talindra?" I ask. I should make sure she hasn't enjoyed herself too much. She almost killed my children in Aurora and taunted me a lot. It sounds like she has had it a bit too easy so far, playing around with my slave like it was her toy.

"She- Um, I don't know?" Yuki says. "They didn't mention her. I guess they kind of forgot about her."

"The others on the boat?"

"Duchess Fluvis has them," Aurora says. "Talindra is yours as a slave. Nobody cares about her enough to even talk about her. She already has the collar on, and you can deal with her later."

"I see. That works out for me. Someone tell Talindra that she can keep torturing Esiyae for now, but she'll be joining the maids once Esiyae pops."

"I'll have Annoris inform her," Shyla says. "Shall we bring in the next one?"

"Please."

The shifty bitch comes stumbling in next. Her body is still suffering from the damage Elora gave her, her arm even keeping her from crawling as she should be. She collapses at my feet, doing her best to keep her arm and ribs safe. I lift her head up with my foot and look into her tired eyes. Elora really did a number on her.

"You look like shit," I say.

"I feel like shit," the bitch says. "I can hardly breathe, and my arm is broken. I would be surprised if I didn't look like shit. Everyone wants to blame me for their problems."

"Is this the method you'll use to make me like you?"

"I did nothing to you. I fought for my Queendom and my wife. I made Esiyae give you clothing and let you get healed. What did I do that is so bad? I took control from Esiyae and followed the rules."

"You made me get pregnant."

"I ended it quickly."

"Is that all that matters?"

"Would you have liked it to continue? I didn't have full control over Esiyae. I did what would let you and Elora get healed and into a bed quickly. I also could've let you walk away without any revenge. I could've made it so that just you got pregnant. Instead, I let you get your revenge. I knew there was more than one kid in the womb. I didn't know the count, but I doubted you just gave your rapist twins. Did I say anything? Did she hurt you for it? No, I shuffled her away. I knew about Elora breaking the rules while we were on the island, and I did nothing. I didn't threaten your life when the Duchess came to save you. No. I did the best I could to get you out of the situation and get healed. If you expected me to roll over and die when the war started, then why shouldn't you and Elora have just done what we asked while you were our prisoners?"

"Elora sure seems to blame you," I say, rolling her head around with my foot. "She didn't do all of this for fun."

"I was just the one she could take out her anger on. I slowed down her progress and nearly killed her. Do you think she would be kind to me? She took out her frustrations, and this is what that looks like. If we won the war and captured you, would we get to beat you and rape you as we please? Is that acceptable to you? Yes, we would've taken your child, and so I'm not here saying you should heal me and tell me you're sorry for the pain you've caused me. I'm not going to demand you set me free. But I will ask you to truly think about what I have done. I knew we weren't going to win the war. I was hoping to take over the Queendom and start to make things right between our Nations. Instead, my stupid wife kept putting me in danger, where I couldn't take the right steps to wrestle control from her."

"Child for a child? I don't care if you planned to do something. If I had to care about everyone's plans and wants, I would never get a damn thing, and I could never be mad at anyone."

"I'm married to the Queen. You'll likely marry the Queen. We can't do child for a child."

"Fine, then you'll be my pet if I'm forced to marry that bitch. You'll have the Queen as your pet, and you'll be mine. You'll walk around with a collar and a leash. If anyone asks who you are, you'll have to tell them you're my pet. That, or I'll just accidentally give you too many kids in the heat of some passionate love making, and you'll burst like little Esiyae."

"I'm a..."

"A little pet. You want me to heal those wounds? Then tell me you'll be a good girl for me. You only have yourself to blame. You shouldn't have married the idiot, or you should've just taken control before the war."

I let her head drop off my foot as we wait for her pride to dissipate. I'm marrying too many women I don't care about. My mana is excited for all the women to warm my bed and carry my kids, and my magma is bubbling up at the thought of taking this woman right here. But Tirlo is in the room and is more than enough to keep me clothed. This bitch was pretty, and I'm sure her kind is part of what gave Tirlo her pale blue color. So would this one give me a kid with an even darker shade? I hope Tirlo has ice breath instead of magma. It would be really cool and should help little Tirlo feel better with her daddy being a rapist, and likely dead.

I'll have to figure out how to handle that when so many of my children's parents are going to be unloved or slaves. I'll have to make sure they all know they are loved and special to me.

"I'll be your pet," the bitch finally says, kissing my foot.

"Good," I say, slicing her broken arm off. That thing is so destroyed, it really is easiest just to cut it off and start fresh. Yuki helps everyone by silencing the bitch's screams for us, and I work two strands of mana to heal her ribs and arm. My little pet does her best to control her body, but I have a lot of things to fix with the neglected wounds. "Thank you, Yuki. I guess I got a little too used to their screams during the war."

"Your Highness, your patients normally had something to bite down on and weren't sprawled out on the floor," Shyla says. "But, yes, you probably got used to women being in pain around you."

"Oh, yes, I didn't think about that. Well, it's just my pet. She'll live. Won't you, little girl?" Her silent screams are all she responds with, but her arm is nearly complete again, and her ribs just have a few chips left to fix, and she'll be good to crawl out of here. "There you go."

"Thank you," my pet says, her body shaking.

"Leave. I want to finish this and get to spend some time with my kids."

She doesn't respond, just working to get her feet under her before she stumbles out. The next bitch comes in quickly behind her.

"You're pregnant," I say.

"Yes," the woman says. "That wasn't my plan. You just went for it, and I'm here now."

"Is this what you normally look like?" I ask. She looks like a small, tan wood elf. Messy brown hair just reaches her shoulders, and her belly is just showing as she holds the rags tight against her body. Someone is hoping that little mistake of mine will keep her alive.

"I don't know. It has been too long since I've been in my normal look. I don't remember how I used to look. This is just the form that I don't need to think about."

"Think that kid is going to save you?"

"I didn't hurt you. I helped you get free in a way, right? I didn't make any of the decisions. I just did what they asked of me. I swear I didn't know that they were going to rape you or that you would get me pregnant. I'm just a weak woman who has one good skill. I had nothing. Please. I'm sorry for the pain I've caused. I don't like the outcomes. I'm sorry."

"I don't believe you. You knew what was going to happen."

"No, I thought Esiyae just wanted revenge on Elora. I was tasked with becoming Elora's maid, not yours or anything. I swear I didn't mean to get pregnant. I was just supposed to know how easy it was to get to you. I didn't know you would have such a strong desire. I promise I had no intent of carrying your child. And they didn't hurt you much after they took you. They freed you and- and- and the war ended. I- I'm sorry. I didn't want it. I didn't want any of this. Please."

"Please, what? What do you want now?"

"I don't know. I don't know. I was just a useful tool, and now, what's going on? I'm a prisoner, which makes sense. I was a spy. But I don't know. I just told people things about what was going on. I didn't know what was happening. They never told me anything important. I was a disposable thing. I wanted out, but I didn't know what to do. I just wanted to rest and not worry about getting caught. I'm sorry."

That doesn't help. Why did I do this? It was easier when they didn't say a damn thing to me. I could just toss her away. Victoria said something about rest, too, right? Should I pair them up, then?

"Does Victoria have a maid?" I ask.

"I don't think so?" Aurora says. "Lady Victoria could have a second maid, anyway. We don't have to give this one the same benefits, so it shouldn't matter if she doubles up."

"There you go," I say. "Be a good maid. I heard she wants to rest, so do that. If I find out you lied, I'll tie you up and have Elora take your head or something."

"Thank you," the changeling says. "I'll do my best."

"Good, now go be a maid or something," I say. "I want to be with my kids. Just do understand that Victoria is likely going to use you to avoid getting pregnant herself. She may make the mistake of thinking the first one is easy, but from there on out, she will find a way for you to get pregnant instead of her."

"I understand, and that's fine. I should have something to make this unpleasant for me. Thank you for the mercy."

"I guess you don't have much choice, do you?"