Chapter 348 – Goddess of the Sea

"Please, let me out. I don't want her kids. I want my Mommy. Please, Mistress. Please."

"My Mistress," Sarania says, shaking me under a mess of bodies. "My Mistress. Please, wake up."

"I'm carrying Mommy's child, right?"

"Yes. Yes, you're carrying the child of the woman you love. Would it help if Fluvis left? We still have some hours left before morning," Sarania asks, wiping the sweat and tears from my face. "Or we could move them so you can hold me more, or I could hold you to sleep. I should've forced Osanna to come."

"No, I need to have these moments. I need to work through it. I'm not having her stay attached to me for the rest of my life. I would like to hold you."

"Yes, my Mistress."

Slowly, Sarania moves my new wives around until she can worm her way into my arms. She wraps me up in her hug, and I test sleeping again.

...

The second attempt is better, I suppose. I was just alone in the brothel's bath. I don't know why or what it meant, but at least I wasn't remembering being tortured.

Wipe those away, Alzi.

Mistress cared so little about me before she found out that I was extremely fertile. Those parties- Bad, Alzi. Bad.

"My Mistress, shall we go get some breakfast?" Sarania asks.

"I don't know."

"Come, we'll go see your children and feed them. The maids are saying that some are crying out in hunger," Sarania says. Fluvis and her wives, my wives, are crawling out of bed, leaving me with just Sarania in my arms.

"We'll see you downstairs," Fluvis says. "I think you and my sister should go to the Temple of the Sea. I have to choose and get the temporary Duchess approved soon. It'll become official if, or when, Elora is crowned Queen. I hope the Goddess of the Sea can help you both. She helped Fertility all those years ago."

"Ok," I say, not that I move or anything. I do need to go help my kids.

"Should I call Shyla in to start putting today's outfit together while we hug for a little bit?" Sarania asks. I don't have to think about the option for long, Shyla just comes in and starts laying out dresses for me, checking if any catch my eye.

"Can I just go with a robe until we need to leave?" I ask.

"Yes," Shyla says. "It would also make it easier to feed the kids. We'll go with that, and is there a color you want for today?"

"Green is fine. I don't care about the style."

"Very well, your Highness. I hope you enjoy your breakfast. I just came from the nursery, and I would say they miss their Mommy already. You've got some loving daughters."

"I do," I say. My daughters are nice, already doing what they can to help their siblings, even if that scares their Mommy.

...

Sixteen kids is really a lot of kids. Even with Fluvis, Estrella, and Lottie having a kid on each breast, I still have my choice of kids to feed. And after my choice, the maids have to fill in for the rest. It takes eight women, at least. Fluvis says it would strain even the lower houses just to feed the kids, even with Mana helping the house produce milk. My endless supply is not what the normal Skill provides.

I'll need to add that to the services I provide at my clinic, if I ever get to create it. I need to ask the royal healer about that. Her day should be similar to mine, just with less forced sex.

"Alzi," Salis whispers, sneaking up behind me somehow. "May I try feeding a child?"

"Oh, um, sure," I say. "I need to use a Skill."

"Ok."

It's a little mean to force the kid to switch breasts, but I let them snuggle closer to me to make up for it. Now nine women are feeding my babies.

I'm guessing Sarania wasn't successful at keeping my wives asleep after my episode last night. They aren't talking as much as normal, or maybe they just aren't morning people.

"The- the kid is cute," Salis says, her voice practically disappearing at the end. "Kids."

"Thanks," I say.

"Could I do it?" Salis asks.

What a broad question.

"Yes," Fluvis says. "I'm not sure what you are talking about, but yes, you could do it. If I can do it, you can, too. There isn't much that is impossible with Alzi in the mix, especially when it comes to kids. Lottie is happy to go into detail if you wish."

Lottie probably isn't the best choice to go into details. Zarzi could give a much clearer picture of what I can do. Or Esiyae, but who wants to talk to her?

Fluvis does seem to like her sister, not even getting mad that Salis hasn't properly responded to her statement to clarify what she was asking. I wonder how I would've done with a sister. I think we would love each other. As sisters, I should say, but maybe a bit more, too. Or perhaps she would hate how I just messed around or was 'special.'

Of course, only Mommy would say I was special; everyone else just said I was strange.

Would they all kneel if I came back walking like a Queen? I doubt we'll ever know. The only thing I can walk like is a whore.

"How, how do you p-p-play with the babies?" Salis asks next.

Well, I guess the last question didn't need clarifying, then; she was asking if she could do anything with the kids. "Carefully," I say. "You don't want to hurt them, but you have to push them just a bit. Aim to help them get stronger and learn about the world. To prepare them to make better decisions than their Mommy did."

"You made no mistakes, my Mistress," Sarania says. "You saved your Mother. We'll make sure they never have to make such a hard decision in their lives. But your decision wasn't something that could be fixed, or trained, or anything. You had too much stress to make a good, clear decision. That was not your mistake, but a disgusting thing that was done to you by the brothel owner and your Aunt. That was not your decision, but an action forced by a third party. It was an action that showed care, love, and sacrifice, things we want your children to love and appreciate. And as their parents and guardians, we'll make sure that no one can take advantage of those traits until they are strong enough to defend themselves."

"Quite the speech," Tsunis says. "I will agree it was brave and decisive, but forced is a bit much. That was something that could be trained and taught. But it is stupid to blame someone who didn't have the resources to have had that training. No, your kids have the chance to know how to navigate such a situation correctly. You did not have that chance through no fault of your Mother or yourself."

I'm sure Fluvis's stare spurred those last sentences. It looks like the Duchess has some sway over her Mother, or maybe Fluvis just really hates her Mother, and that was the old woman's real thoughts. The woman is already dressed to meet the Queen and hasn't spared her daughters a single look or a good morning. She's just looking at me or the tattoos on my chest.

"I'm guessing you're going to try to fix the broken daughter today."

"I'll be seeing if there is something I can do for both of us," I say. No need to pretend now.

"The broken are going to be leading the Queendom. Just perfect. Good luck, I do hope for a miracle, even if you don't believe me. I know she can be so much more than she is. I would like to get that daughter back," Tsunis says, finally looking at one of her daughters.

"Glad to hear it," I say.

Then came the game of guessing who caused the awkward silence. Was it the depressed dragon, the strange sister, just the early morning, or the asshole Mother? It did get better after feeding the kids, though, since we could play with them instead of needing to talk with the adults. Kids are a lot easier to talk to when they love everything you say and do. Just give them a lock of hair, and they'll be happy for an hour.

But eventually, nap time claims them all, and I have to deal with my thoughts again. Is Osanna really doing that much for me?

"We, we ss-should g-gooo now. Before the- the babbies wake up," Salis says, giving us a way forward at least.

"That works," I say. Sea should be kind, right? She made a Champion just to save me. So, she won't hurt me, right?

"It'll be alright," Sarania says. "We're bringing Geta with us this time. She'll get you out without any problems."

"Ok."

First, I have to get into the dress that Shyla chose. She went with another sundress style, with just a bit more support to show off my tits and their tattoos, and it comes in at the waist just a pinch more than normal, so everyone knows just how wide my hips are. A strangely sexy style, I would say. It doesn't scream whore, but it sure does suggest it, especially with my belly.

The carriage ride was peaceful. Shyla decided to practice styling my hair while I held Sarania in my lap. I did, however, find out that Salis doesn't have a maid for some reason. Or her maid doesn't follow her like the rest seem to do. I hope her Mother didn't take her maid away or something.

Inside the temple, it's packed. I think this is the first time I've seen a temple so crowded, but a Priestess was waiting for us, happy to direct us to a private room to pray in. I let Salis close her eyes first, letting her find out if Sea is in a bad mood before daring to talk to the Goddess myself.

"I'm sorry for War," Sea says, not wasting any time in taking me to her realm. She's brought us to a beach, the coastline continuing as far as I can see in both directions. The Goddess is perfect as always, naked and tanning on a blanket. A small bump shows that Fertility got to her as well. "Yes, it took way too long for me to get pregnant, but I managed it. However, it's hard to blame Fertility. Even after being freed, the Goddesses took advantage of her. It took us creating this realm for her to find peace, and she took it, never wanting to be disturbed ever again, until you came along. I tried, and I pulled her back from insanity, but time is the only thing that will let you be ok again. I plan on marking Salis. And I would like to mark you as well. It won't do much for you, as I need to put more into Salis to help her like I did with Fertility. But I think this will be worth it for you. Just tonight, and I know this is asking a lot, but I'm not asking you to get me pregnant; I'll let Fertility handle that. Tonight, I need you to sleep with Salis. There's no need for sex or baby-making. Just skin contact. I know that normally leads to sex for you, but I ask that you trust me on this. I think I earned that when I sent you help. I tried to destroy the boats completely, but it would have risked too much to go that far."

"Will Salis sleep with me willingly?" I ask.

"Yes, I asked her first, and she said she is willing. Or thought it. Her thoughts are a lot clearer than her words. She doesn't love you, but she likes you enough to carry your child. But I made no promises. I told her that wasn't what I was asking and to not pressure you into it, but she's a beautiful woman. She has women she loves already, she's just too scared to ask them. So don't worry, your harem isn't going to grow even more with this request. Just maybe your family."

"Will this let her become the Duchess?"

"Yes. My mark, combined with this, will put her together enough that she can lead again. Time will do the rest, as it will with you. So, will you do it? Champion of Fertility."

"Yes."

"Great! Now, come, you have one of Fertility's in you, and I want to feel it. Feel the sun on your skin with me. We have some time before you must leave. I know you dragons like to lounge around, and I don't think there is a better place for that than here, smelling the salty air on a clear day."

"I can think of some better places."

"Well, give mine a chance for me, and if you could lie to Fertility and say you loved it, I would be very grateful."

"I'll think about it."

"Haha, I'll take what I can get. Of course, if you ponder lying to her, she'll know it's a lie. But thank you for the consideration."