Chapter 355 – A Terrible Day

*** Alzi, main body ***

"Alzi," Ryze starts. "How did you marry Shimmer the first time?"

"Elora commanded me to marry her, and Shimmer was part of that," I say. Maids bring in the food, the standard lunch basically, but with more meat, and I get to think about the second-worst day of my life.

"Don't hurt Alzi to get at me," Shimmer says. "Her past is shit, and I'm partly to blame for that. Everyone knows that. I have a damn collar and leash around my neck in a pathetic attempt to make up for my wrongdoings. Don't hurt her. Just tell me I'm a failure directly. Don't drag Alzi into it. I messed up, not her. Yes, my mistakes hurt you all, and there isn't anything I can do to fix it. I know that. My mate is the only one who can fix it, and I can't even ask her to help me with it. Everyone is mad, and I have nothing that can fix it."

"Your mate?" I ask. Focus on the conversation, Alzi.

"You. 'Wife' is too good for me. I'm just your mate, trying to earn your forgiveness. That's all I have. I can't fix things for my sisters; I can't fix any of my mistakes. I can just work to earn my mate's forgiveness. Your forgiveness."

"What did you do?" I ask, starting with the soup this time.

"I failed to protect you. Twice," Shimmer says. "Royals can't have children because of that. My sister had to pay a price to get pregnant. That is why your and Esiyae's children were so important to the Edeozia Queendom. They may not have had the resources to let them have more kids."

"You said I could fix that? Are you trying to hint that I should get them pregnant?"

"No. I'm just saying everything. I would prefer for this lunch to be over, and then you can return to those who haven't failed you. It's just you and Fertility who can fix the royals and nobles in the world. You aren't even the permanent solution, and Fertility doesn't care about me. The only question is who hates me more, you or the Goddess Fertility. There is nothing I can do but work on improving our relationship. If you're willing to give me yet another chance."

Should I? They thought that a decade would be a good amount of time for me, so I can give them a decade. "Maybe someday," I say. "Fertility will think about fixing it after the war, I think. That little thing causes too many problems for me."

"Little thing. I guess it would be 'little' for you," another sister says.

"Yes, my problem is too many kids with too many women. It makes it hard to care about you all struggling to get more kids from me."

"Are you ok, your Highness?" Shyla asks. "You're shaking a bit."

"It still hurts."

"I'm sorry," Ryze says. "Take lunch with you and return home. I'm sorry for what I said. I shouldn't have used you to get at Shimmer. I've ruined this meeting already, so go be with the ones you love instead."

"We shall," Shyla says. Sarania pulls out my chair and pulls me up into a hug. It's too late for me to stop my tears.

Just a little thing.

"I know, my Mistress. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Why does it have to hurt?"

"Because it was wrong to do that to you, and it hasn't been fixed, my Mistress. Let's go home."

I give her a small nod, and we walk away. Sarania leads me through the halls and into a carriage, and I catch a glimpse of Shimmer running out of the castle before we start to move. But I don't give my wives much thought. No, I just get to struggle to deal with all the kids I've lost and all the abuse they had to bring up. Sea's fix only keeps me from being crippled on a normal day, it seems. I'm still just held together with some string.

"Your Highness, would it be better to rest your head in my lap?" Shyla offers.

I hardly register her question, and Sarania has more control over my body than I do right now, so I just let her decide what needs to happen in response. I have to look at the floor so the shadows don't engulf me. Do my kids want me? Some should be almost eight years old by now. Would they even care about their whore of a mother or father? Are they ashamed of me?

Fluvis's children are too young to know what I am. They don't understand.

*** Fertility ***

Should I cross the threshold? I came out here... But she hated me.

"Mother, just come in. I'm not going to rape you."

"Why would you think that?"

"What else would you be standing over there for? You want to talk, so come talk."

"Very well. If you..."

"The demoness is running around. I'm not going to be able to hold you for anything of value. I'm pregnant and you're pregnant, and I'm not about to perform a ritual for Sex. If you want to speak, then come over here. I'm not coming to you; you have a reason to rape me for a ritual."

"I didn't rape you."

"Mother, you chained me to a stone and fucked me. Leaving me a way out hardly makes that any better. Do something now, or fuck off."

She came to mess with me. She can't be mad that I did it better.

"Fine," I say. I take that step and get moved to a small cottage. Kind of like Hearth's house, but I can see Power's grand temple behind the cottage. Hearth doesn't have a temple. I don't know why I had to have one.

"Are you coming in?" Power asks. She's leaning against the doorway, her robe letting her belly out so I can see just what I did to her.

"Yes, how are you?"

"Bloated, as you can see. But excited. You've set the bar so low that I don't have to worry about being a better Mother than you."

"I was locked up."

"I don't care. You didn't care to find me afterwards. Our first real contact was you raping a child into me."

"You didn't come for a good reason."

"Why do you think I'm inviting you in? This will be your second with Alzi, right?" Power asks, moving inside.

"Yes."

"Having a lot of fun with your champion. What do you want?"

"Can you help Alzi more? You have her marked," I ask. Inside, the cottage is soft. It seems everything is a cushion. Everything is soft.

"I'll cut Sex off. But that is all."

"Alzi's mind. It needs help, and she has a mind mage near her."

"You wish for me to change her?" Power asks.

"She has no Goddess that truly controls her class. There's no reason you can't take that control, and you should have more control over your own system. We all appreciate that you didn't force your control over the system, but you don't need to constrain yourself so much."

"I want more children. I don't care if you or Alzi is the father. I don't care if I have to be chained to that altar. I want daughters that I can raise."

"Just help Alzi and come to me whenever you wish to get pregnant."

"Then I'll control Syro's classes and Skills. You'll have to take the blame if they go against her wishes."

"It'll get her closer to Alzi, so she'll be fine with it. But yes, I will take the blame and you the glory."

"Can I feel my sister?" Power asks.

"If I get to feel my daughter."

*** Alzi ***

The second we enter the temple, I'm teleported, skipping praying and the divine realm completely.

'Sorry, but Sex is fucking with you again. I was about to pull you out of your meeting. I know you're distraught, but your babies need you.'

"Alzi?" Kelly asks. "Is that really you?"

"Yes," I mumble. "My babies?"

"Hurry," Kelly says. "I don't have much mana left, and we need to do this before I pass out. I'm sorry for being so weak."

Sarania is still supporting me, and my sight is still blurry from the tears, but you can't really mistake Isda and the pool of blood around her. "What is going on?"

"Isda went into labor, but the kids aren't in position. She didn't say anything, so I got here too late to do anything with my mana besides keep the kids and her alive. I need you to cut the babies out."

"Cut? I'm sorry I- I can't see or think right now. I'm..."

"I didn't ask. I told you to cut them out. Now, Sarania, bring her here. You're going to do this, Alzi. I'm too tired to direct your mana. Cut from the belly button down to whatever you want, and then cut in to her womb. Pull the kids out, and then decide if you care to keep the idiot alive."

"Please help her, your highness," Isda's maid says. "I'll lock her away in Fertility's temple. You won't see her until she's free of Sex. Just help my lady live. She meant no harm. Please. We're at your mercy."

"My Mistress. Don't let your kids die," Sarania says, wiping the tears from my eyes. "You'll feel better when you're holding your newborns. This is your dream. Helping your children. Come on. I'll help Kelly stay awake and direct you."

Isda really is sleeping in a pool of her own blood. How much has Kelly regenerated for her? Blood oozes out of the mattress when Sarania sets me down on it.

"Focus, Alzi. Focus on the babies. That is all there is before you. Babies," Sarania whispers.

"Here, Alzi. Cut here," Kelly says. Her body is wavering, but she keeps her finger on Isda steady. "Through the muscle and the uterus. Cut down to here. Then just pull them out. I can't keep the kids alive much longer."

"Yyyees," I stutter. The feeling of blood disappears, making it a lot easier to focus on the womb. I start the cut, probably a bit high, but it goes down through the muscle and fat and then the uterus. The cut continues down a few inches until it reaches Kelly's finger again.

"Pull them out."

Yet more blood comes out of the cut, and Isda is looking very pale right now, but somehow, she's still breathing. Just don't freak out, Alzi. Save your kids. I start to fill Isda's body with my mana. I'll take the maid's head if Isda isn't sent to Fertility or Space's temple after this.

I get the first kid and slowly pull her out. The cut gives them more room than they normally get to come out of the womb, so it isn't difficult. I just have to keep my sanity with all the blood involved. Isda's maid takes the first kid from me, and I get to work on the rest. Slowly, I free my daughters as a haunting song echoes in the back of my mind.

How many times was I like this? My blood pooled up while I was toyed with.

Why. Why did they have to do that?

"You're doing well, your Highness," Shyla says. I don't know when she got here. Maybe she always was, and I blocked her out. I don't know. But she takes the last kid from me. All that is left is saving my little wife.

"Stitch her together and heal her," are Kelly's last words before she faints. Someone catches her with mana, and I get to work undoing my cut. Isda's body is still pale, accepting the endless amount of mana I'm sending it like she's a bucket with a hole in it.