Chapter 390 – The Maid Knows

*** Alzi ***

Sleep came slowly last night. Yuki looked so peaceful and happy after I tortured her and impregnated her. She even fell asleep with a stupid smile while I stayed awake. Just a small one. She couldn't completely forget about the pain, I guess.

I should've just forced myself to sleep. I've done that so often over the years, but why should I have to do that? I should be able to fall asleep peacefully; I used to do that every night. I'm holding someone I say I love, so how is that not enough to fall asleep with a smile?

Yes, I know why that isn't enough. Using my first test of controlling my magma on Yuki and prepping her to be bedridden for a month isn't enough to wash that away. She just looked so happy that I tortured her and got her pregnant. Why can't I just be satisfied? Why did I have to put myself to sleep?

Even now, she looks so comfortable being my body pillow, helping to take some of the weight of my growing belly. I don't get her tails, Nakuma claimed those at some point, but the rest of her is mine to hug and use, and she seems to love it.

"Alzi?" Yuki whispers. "Alzi, I love you."

"I don't get why," I say.

"I got interested in you when I found out you had a penis," Yuki says. "After that. You were kind to me. You didn't know I was a Princess; you just treated me well. I was comfortable spending time with you. I wanted to be with you, talk with you, and I was at peace thinking about you."

"Did you want to keep it that way?"

"No. Well, I wanted you to be nice to me, and I wanted to enjoy being with you. But I didn't care if you knew I was a Princess. I wanted you to know eventually. You were going to know it eventually, once I worked out how to get you out of the Queendom. I was just too stupid to solve that."

I guess that is the real end to her excuses. She was happy that I didn't treat her like a Princess, and I can't exactly blame her for wanting to stay away from Nakuma. "We need to get moving," I say. "I need to get back and be a healer."

"Mother should already be awake," Yuki says.

"Nakuma," I say. "Get up. We're leaving. We have too much work to do to just sit here and share Yuki between us."

"Five more minutes," Nakuma says.

"Now. I want to see my kids with both bodies. You'll have Yuki this afternoon."

"Fine," Nakuma says. She isn't exactly fast at getting out of bed, but she moves. I'm not exactly moving quickly either, but I have an excuse, kind of. The ritual is making this one of my easiest pregnancies, but the belly still gets in the way.

Shyla gave me a dress for the meeting with Queen Kiyomi. A simple red dress, likely to try to have me represent the Yumanae Queendom. It's rather loose so that I can put it on myself. Shyla really does think of everything when it comes to clothing. I do have to wrap my tits or they'd be bouncing all over the place, but once I finish doing that, I just have to throw the dress over my head and I'm ready.

Nakuma and Yuki just put on white dresses. From the talk last night, it doesn't seem like this will be too formal, just a promise to get some women pregnant every once in a while, and the maid comes with me.

Which feels a bit like slavery.

I'll have to ask the maid if she really wants to work for me.

But for now, we're dressed and ready to accept this strange trade. Though I probably should've asked to meet the maid before making this deal. "Ready to go?" I ask. I just need to be careful not to force the maid to get pregnant or have sex. That should be enough to keep her from getting mad about working for me. And then some massages. I haven't done those yet. Mommy deserves one. Mai is always fun. And doing that with Victoria again would be fun.

"Yes," Yuki says, no longer looking like Nakuma and I tortured her. "We get to enjoy the great honor of dealing with my Mother."

Nakuma takes one last sniff of Yuki's tail, and we walk out. Victoria and Geta are already waiting for us just outside the door. Yuki takes the lead next to Victoria. Victoria's maid stands a few steps behind me to the right, while Nakuma is right next to me, and behind Yuki. Geta takes up the rear as we move through the palace.

The paintings haven't changed from last night. Surprising, I know. I was hoping for some darker colors to accompany me. I do get to stare at Victoria's ass and Yuki's tails, so the view isn't all bad. I wonder if I could convince Victoria to wear heels. Three or four inches shouldn't be too bad for her.

"Why are the halls so empty?" I ask. Queen Yumanae had some maids wandering around her halls when I visited, so it feels weird not to see a single one here.

"Everyone is out fighting," Yuki says. "Or supporting them."

"You all need kids that badly?" I ask.

"I guess," Yuki says. "This is the first time I've been home in a long time."

I should keep the promise of a pregnant woman every month for a while, at least. The women who haven't done anything to me are risking a lot for me, giving up a lot for me. Not necessarily the Queen, but the people are.

Yuki pushes through a normal door, and we find the Queen sitting on a simple throne. A few women are kneeling on mats in the room, and a kitsune in a maid-like uniform is standing beside the Queen. She has ten tails, each with a thin black strip running down the middle.

"Welcome," Kiyomi says. "I'm happy we were able to do most of the negotiations before this meeting, as we all have plenty to do. Kou, please introduce yourself."

"Hello, Princess Alzi," the standing Kitsune says. "I'm Kou, and I have been offered to be your maid."

"Hello," I say. "Um. Do you want to be my maid?"

"Don't worry, this should be a much better position than with one of my sisters," Kou says. "Don't worry. I'm happy to join you. It's boring, having a maid class without a house to serve."

"That's good," I say. "Thank you. Queen Kiyomi, once this war is over, I will help your people become mothers, just as I have with Yuki. If you could pick someone from the army to reward at the end of the war, I would be happy to help them with that."

"Thank you," Kiyomi says. "That is a complete agreement. I don't think we need the Goddess of Contracts to have full control over it. This will be a growing relationship. One that I hope we will both come to enjoy."

Contract is already overseeing it with my promise to their patron Goddess. Does Kiyomi know about that? Probably not, I'm sure she would've done more to get me under her thumb if she knew her Goddess was trying to make me a Goddess. Or maybe she would be more generous, or perhaps this is as generous as she is capable of, and she does know about the agreement.

Was that Kitsune's real gift? Making the Queen have to be nice so she doesn't insult a future Goddess?

The few old kitsunes kneel and softly clap as Kou joins our group.

"Yuki," Kiyomi says. "Our Goddess has decided to count this as fulfilling your mission. But I'm sure you understand you have a new mission. I'm happy you've started on it. Don't fail your people again."

"Yes, Mother," Yuki says, bowing her head.

"Nakuma, I expect you to help Yuki."

"Yes, Your Royal Highness," Nakuma says.

"Then you are all dismissed," Kiyomi says. "Everyone, we have too much to do to sit here and gossip. I wish you all good luck on your missions. I believe the next few days will determine if we've made the right choices or not."

Nakuma's tails shoot out and wrap around our group, including Kou as well, and then we appear before Space's temple. Not even her Champion can teleport us directly inside, or maybe Nakuma really likes walking into the building.

"Fucking shit," Victoria says. "We didn't have to fucking walk yesterday! What a damn waste of time for all of us. Fuck, I thought you all had some dumbass rule, but you just fucking teleported us right in front of the damn Queen. Fucking hell."

"Our land is beautiful," Nakuma says. "It's a joy to see it. I'm just fulfilling the Queen's wishes of moving quickly. Alzi has women to heal, and I have women to teleport to her while holding a pregnant kitsune."

"Ehm," Kou says. "Yes. I've been told the general times of all of Alzi's current responsibilities, along with the fact that my Princess has two bodies. Which makes creating a schedule a lot harder, but still manageable. One issue is that we are about to go through the temple doors. Victoria, you're strong enough to open them without mana. Could you, please? We're wasting time and mana generation out here. I have to get a better idea of Alzi's children. Also, her lovers, concubines, slaves, and contracted wives. So much to do while helping Alzi make it to her appointments."

"Shit, does that black stripe represent the stick up your ass?" Victoria says. But she still opens the door, and Kou walks right in with her tails held high.

"No. It shows how close I was to being a full member of the royal family. I know you can be just as strict with your time. I just speak in a way that won't have parents covering their children's ears. Something I will be working with you on. I will not have any children of my Princess speaking like you. Now, Alzi, you are married to the Goddess of Space, and I believe she is close to giving birth. You should check on her before we return to the lower realm."

"Really?" I ask. Of course, I say that to a woman giving birth in a very soft bed. One of Space's angels is holding her hand.

"No, I am in labor," Space says. "Could you?"

"Yes," I say. I'm not the perfect midwife, but she's a Goddess. What could possibly go wrong?

"Don't give me that shit!" Space says. "This is still painful. Something I've never felt before. Some support from my wife would be nice."

"Sorry," I say, scrambling onto the bed. "It's just that some women were about to die during their labor. I doubt you can die from this."

"Fuck, it feels like it's about to split me in half!"

"You're talking in full sentences! And you haven't even dilated fully yet," I say. "You haven't gotten to the true pain yet."

"Alzi, what's with that bedside manner?! Fighting with your patients... This is painful."

"It is, but not truly, yet," I say. "We have a bit before the baby starts to split you open. Now, stop shouting and take some deep breaths. We have some time to work through how this will go."

...

Space's labor isn't as easy as Fertility's was, but it still makes me jealous. Barely any blood, and it happens so quickly. Just a few minutes, and I'm holding a new Goddess, and Space doesn't look like she's ever been pregnant in her life.

"Sky," Space says. "You should let her mark you. Dragons like the sky."

The newborn Goddess is already able to point, passing several of her older sisters, and her little finger goes straight to my wing.

"Daddy is still a canvas," I chuckle. I pass Sky over to Space and turn around so they can reach my wings. I feel her poke them and find myself back in the makeshift healing station. Blood is already pouring out around me.

"Next time, I'm going to fuck you, Space," I whisper. "Petra! Where to?"