Chapter 327 – Getting Started

Nakuma melted into Yuki when it was her turn to get cleaned. I didn't help clean her, though. I had to start washing the pretty tails all around me. I began with Mai's, as her's is the easiest, then Calli's, since she just has one bushy tail instead of nine.

Then I realized just how poorly I timed everything. I should've gotten bathed first, then focused on everyone's tails. I've even had to cheat a bit with my mana to clean off Yuki's tails. Mai and Calli did go sit down on the edge to relax, at least, so I'm not keeping the pregnant women standing. That is, if you don't count me in that group, as I'm only a week or so pregnant when you include all my Skills.

The soft, long fur looks so funny when it's wet. All the volume is gone, and it's lost most of its softness, but it's still so nice to run my hands through it. Twitching about with their own minds, their tails even flick me with water as I work the shampoo into them. Yuki and Nakuma rest in each other's arms as I try to quickly work through their tails. The brushing is the more important part of getting their tails pretty. I'm not sure why, but brushing them by hand just gets them to shine more than when you use mana. Plus, Mai purrs really softly when you brush her tail, and it's so cute. Yuki's too dignified to make any noise, but maybe Calli will do something adorable.

Last is Nakuma, and her tails wiggle around, as she's in Yuki's embrace, not caring at all for the head wife who's trying to clean her pretty tails.

"Nakuma," I say. "You'll need to control at least the one I'm trying to clean, or this won't work."

"Warm," Nakuma says.

"That isn't an answer."

"Nakuma, stop your tails," Yuki commands.

"Anything for you," Nakuma drools.

Well, no need to guess who she loves. I wish I could focus on those I actually love like that, but I think I don't have to feel bad if I leave Yuki to Nakuma most of the time.

But now I have some tails that are calm enough for me to handle, so I get to work, running my fingers through some more soft tails. They still move more than Yuki's, but I'll live. She'll have to learn how to keep them still when I get the brush out, though, if I'm going to get her crazy tails perfect. I get to have some standards for my work now that I'm free.

Just a few more minutes until Calli can dry us off, if my kid lets her. Maybe I can try negotiating with her? I can just try confusing her for long enough to let Calli work her magic. Worst case, we can just do it ourselves.

*** Vanya, still during the meeting ***

"So," I say, feeling for my kids. I still struggle to understand how I woke up to so many kids inside me. Stupid Princess, tricking Alzi into just breeding me like some rabbit. "Does anyone have a good plan? One that won't have Victoria laughing at us."

"The basics are: you and Vanya have to get Alzi to notice and care about your pregnancy. The rest of us just have to prove our value in the war, and then after that, maybe we can throw Elyne in her bed?" Ioelena says. "I don't know. We were counting on Shimmer and Geta to figure Alzi out, and all we have now is a pregnant Princess and a valkyrie who is now Alzi's servant. If we get a break in the war, we should plan a lunch or something with Alzi. Long-term, we just have to work hard to be good parents. Between Isda, Vanya, and Inanos, we'll have plenty of kids to watch grow up. Maybe we should just be happy to sneak back into a marriage with Alzi."

"Great, so I got bred like some common incubator with no love or care so that we can all just be happy to have some kids to raise?" I say. "A damn maid is getting to have a bath with our wife, being pampered, while we barely get looked at! I won't get to help anyone in the upcoming war. I look halfway through already."

"You aren't that big yet," Ioelena says.

"Not that big? What, are you comparing me to Alzi when she had twelve kids, or Esiyae? I'm massive."

"You're just used to having a flat, strong stomach," Syro says. "You'll get truly massive. This is just a sharp transition. Sorry to say it'll get worse, but it'll get worse."

"And I get no love because some fucks couldn't figure out how to make Alzi happy, despite her telling all of us the fucking answer that first damn night! We put her up on the fourth floor for nothing. Failed to bring in a single woman she loves. Put her up in the world's first brothel hospital. And now, the best we can do is promise to fight Goddesses so that she'll even marry us. We could've just made her the headwife immediately and skipped all these issues."

"Glad you fucking listen," Victoria laughs. "Found your fucking problem: you can't fucking listen."

"You haven't given us anything new," I say. "We've been saying this shit ever since Elora wouldn't marry Alzi's Mother."

It always comes back to that. I guess we haven't had this discussion that often. But it feels like we've been stuck here forever. Maybe that's just me not being able to train anymore or something. But Inanos, Ioelena, Elyne, Syro, and I have had this kind of discussion often; the last few just haven't had much hope in them. It really feels like Shimmer, Geta, and Elora blasted a hole in the hull of our ship and tied us to the mast.

Maybe I should just go with the direct route? It seems like getting on their hands and knees worked well for the Princesses. She has to care at least a little for the eight kids that Elora tricked her into filling me with.

Eight. Fucking eight kids at once.

"Oh, Vanya," Ioelena says. "I'm sorry. I should've pushed for us to have a chance with her. But none of us could've guessed that they would fail so badly at building a relationship with Alzi."

"I'm pregnant, the headwife and husband hate me, and I'm going to be useless in the war. Why? I was nice. I wanted to marry her Mother. I asked for it. What did I do wrong? I like her. I thought I was kind. Why is there a maid who gets treated better? I don't need her to bathe me, but why can't I get invited to join her in bed? I wanted to be comforted by my husband! I'm scared."

Inanos is the first to hug me. Another who got bred by Alzi. It feels nice having her nearby, and I have to admit she looks bigger than me, but only due to her small frame. I'll be beating her soon; size can only make up for so much when I'm carrying twice as many as she is.

"I know," Inanos says. "We know she cares about the kids. She risked so much to save the one that Elora carries. We'll be safe."

"But I want more," I whisper. I'm stupid to want it. The special ones already ruined it all for the rest of us.

"We just have to work for it," Inanos says. "She told me to make up for our mistakes. We can do it."

"She hates us."

"Yes."

So comforting. Especially with Victoria watching us. I hope Alzi bloats her up and we get to see how she loves this feeling.

*** Alzi ***

We just put on some simple robes and slippers to make it back to my room. Nakuma needed much more mana to get clean, and a lot less mana to get dry. But her tails are pretty when they wag behind her, so I can't be too mad about it. I wonder how she would react if I got her pregnant enough to be bed-bound. She may look for ways to kill me if I don't make Yuki bed-bound beside her, so I may have to wait a while to test that out. But it could be fun.

My unborn child inside Calli let her use her mana enough to get us all dry. Not that it really needed to be Calli, but it felt right to do it that way. It did seem like Calli's mana shimmered a bit, but that could just be my lights playing some tricks on me.

"Strip!" I command once we're all inside my room. "Time to get these tails perfect. Mai, on your side, Yuki and Nakuma, on your bellies, and everyone, keep your tails relaxed. And Calli, sit on the bed and put your tail on my lap."

"Yes, Your Highness," Calli squeaks, shuffling to the bed. Mai shakes her head a bit but gets into bed. Nakuma practically throws Yuki into the bed. Luckily, there's plenty of space, so she doesn't hit anyone.

"Be careful, Nakuma. There are pregnant women around," I say, joining them in my bed. There are so many soft things in my bed now!

Now, I do cheat a bit with these tails. The best results will come from giving them a bit of life mana without any intention in it. Not that I could ever give my mana an intention before, or limit how much mana is around them. But now, I should be able to figure out the right amount of life mana to get the perfect shine.

Calli gives out a little squeak when I first run the brush through her tail, but she settles in quickly. Her tail is on the shorter end, so even with the bush, it won't take long to get it all tamed and perfect. Each stroke of the brush has a purpose behind it, meant to work out the little knots and encourage the pretty little hairs to grow strong. To make them accept the life mana, I'm bunching them up and using it on them.

The motion quickly lulls the dogkin to sleep, her head resting on my shoulder, where I can tease her fluffy ears, blowing at them and getting the maid to giggle softly in her sleep.

I need to learn a song to hum during this. I'm sure to have a few kids with some tails, and that would be so fun! I could brush their little tails while I hum a song to put them to sleep, and then I could take their Mother or father to bed and put them to sleep the same way. Maybe I could even work on giving the kid a sister in the morning.

I get the happiest thoughts while handling soft fur, and Calli is a great addition to my collection.

"All done," I whisper, giving Calli a little kiss on the top of her head. I carefully get her legs up onto the bed and get her set up on her side with a pillow for her to hug. "Mai."

"Yes, dear," Mai says, shifting over to the side of the bed. Her tail is a little too long to fit in my lap. Fine, it's way too big to fit in my lap, but I'll make it work. I always do.

Quickly, I get her tail ready and see her pouting face. "You're so cute when you do that," I say.

"It's embarrassing."

"We're all married here, or a maid."

"You're lucky I like you."

"Yes, I am," I say. Mia's short hair is a different experience to brush. It doesn't have the same chances of getting tangled or split, but it still feels great to run a brush through it, and I swear it helps the fur take in the life mana. The mana isn't there to move it or anything; it just reinvigorates the hair. I think. I wonder if there is someone who has studied that? Maybe Nanoka would know? She has a lot of tails, and they look really pretty. I'm sure she knows all the tricks to keeping them healthy.

"Fuuuuuuck," Yuki groans out behind me. I don't know if that ruins the mood or pushes it forward. But it is strange; she's never done that before.