Chapter 406 – Maid Checkup

*** Head Guard ***

"Alright, women," I say. It's kind of predictable how this ended up, with the past Queen's fates. "None will stop us from returning. Our only goal is to bring the bodies home safely and then make sure everyone recognizes the new Queen. It was her house that killed the true Queen. The glory is hers."

"The glory is hers!" the remaining guards shout.

None should stop the new Queen. She has the backing of our patron Goddess, but you never know with dragons. There is the old Aunt back in the castle as well. If Queen Alzi handles her quickly, then all should be fine.

*** Kou ***

One by one, we step through the threshold of the Goddess of Space and disappear. I should've pushed to be at the front. Just a few more women to go. Right after Elora, it'll be my turn. Geta should've gone first for safety. My Queen may think she's weak right now, but a ritual and the start of a pregnancy won't hold back a Valkyrie. I should've had her come along this morning. It would've simplified that fight so much, but Nanoka wouldn't be pregnant now. But safety for My Queen comes first. I have to be more careful. Even if I feel I could've let my Queen get to the true dragon, it was too much to risk.

We moved too quickly.

I practically step into the new street when I pass through the threshold of the temple. A Priestess shows me to a cave near the wailing woman. I'm guessing the wailing woman is what had us all rushing to get here. What could she possibly be doing to be in so much pain? Probably giving birth, knowing my Queen.

The cave blocks out the sounds of the woman, so I don't have to do any of that work. The women are going to have nightmares about that sound, even with the short time we heard it for. Any longer, and I don't think anyone would've been getting any sleep tonight.

The rest must be getting directed to a different room. It seems I'm to watch over Grandma for a bit while my Queen helps bring her children into the world. Or eggs, if the rumors are to be believed.

The beds aren't made of rock, something that I was worried about. I know the dragonkin have weird habits. I know one of the past Queens had a habit of falling asleep in rivers, another slept hanging from the ceiling, and then those... Those have to be fake stories. There isn't anywhere to hang from the ceiling in here. But I can snoop around and see if those stories are real later. For now, I tuck Nanoka in carefully and sit on the side of the bed.

I'm in the bed of a royal that isn't my mother. Even then, I rarely got to join her in bed. She wanted us all to become strong and independent so quickly. And then I had the smallest stain on my tail. She still loved me, but there had to be a difference between royals and the rest.

Being with my Queen is better than being with my sisters, even if I have to wear this metal belt just so I can continue handling my work. A belt feels a lot better than listening to those bitches bragging about themselves all day."What?" Nanoka groans.

"You're awake, Lady Nanoka," I say. "Are you thirsty or hungry? You've been through a lot and have much more to go through in the future."

"Why?" Nanoka says, her eyes half open.

"Because your wife, my Queen, saved you," I say. "Or do you mean, why would you be thirsty? That would be because you lost a lot of blood, almost died, and then we traveled a lot. I would be surprised if you didn't want some water and something simple to eat. My Queen went easy on you, but the dragon Queen did not."

"Why was I saved?" Nanoka says, her eyes opening for real now.

"You know why," I say. "If you really wished to die, you should've had a chastity cage on. They are not too uncomfortable, actually. I only took a few days to get used to it. I have a few I could've shared with you, but it's a little late for that now. My Queen clearly put more than one kid into you."

"You better be joking with me, kid," Nanoka says. "I'm too old to have kids. My blood stopped a century ago."

"Yes, I am, Grandma," I say. "I'm serving the Champion of Sex and Fertility. The joke would be trying to say My Queen didn't heal you by giving you at least half a dozen kids. Grandma, you know I'm not joking. My Queen wishes for you to live. If you didn't want to live, you should have kept yourself from getting pregnant. Our Goddess told me her wishes, but I could never fulfill them. Not with my duty. Yuki could never complete it with her stupidity, and Nakuma is too in love to even try. I'm just a maid. Eventually, I hope to be a concubine, but I won't get past that. At least not anytime soon. You, on the other hand, with the right push, could meet the goal of the Goddess. You've taken your first steps, proving you're willing to die to help my Queen, and now you're carrying a bunch of her kids. Your second love life is just beginning, Grandma. I'm sure you met with our Goddess while you were on the border."

"I was that close? Why couldn't Alzi just let an old furball die?" Nanoka says. "Now she's got this fossil confused."

"Yes, my Queen mentioned a Skill that makes her wives take longer to die," I say. "And I heard Death was even helping to keep women alive longer. Those two combined gave my Queen plenty of time to put you back together, with the help of a few kids."

"Of course, she has something like that. Do you know how many kids she gave me?" Nanoka asks, her hand doing something this family of My Queen loves to do: a soft pat, and then rubbing over her womb. The old thing is no longer barren.Should I tell her that her blood would've started up again after my Queen healed her from Lensa's fight? No, she felt the change. She just didn't believe it until now.

"No, Lady Nanoka," I say. "You'll have to ask later."

"Then I need some sleep," Nanoka says.

"Then get it. I'll wake you when my Queen is getting ready for bed. You're going to join her. She could use the fluff right now, and you need all the help you can get to complete the mission."

"Damn loyalist," Nanoka curses. "Don't push things. Serve your Queen, not the Goddess."

"Aren't we all?" I say. "You can't blame me for following what our Goddess wants. She has no desire to hurt my charge, so why should I not be loyal to such a Goddess? You should listen to her. The women my Queen loves are all really happy. I'm sure you could be one of them."

"Shut up and go check on your Queen. How did Alzi get that title so fast?" Nanoka asks.

"The dragon Queens are dead," I say. "My Queen is the only one now who can be Queen. You'd best submit to the newest Queen. Even Lensa is thinking about limiting her rudeness to my Queen. Although I doubt much will come from that thought, I like to hope. Do you think they can't see that little glow she's got going on these days? Get Elora to like you as well. She's had a Goddess as a child, and we both know my Queen won't let it stop at just one. Maybe you can have one as well?"

"Get out of here," Nanoka says, turning away from me. "Let this bag of bones rest. You're putting dangerous thoughts into my head and out into the world. Do you think I could survive a Goddess ripping her way out of me?""You're a bag of bones and babies now," I tease. I should go help my Queen. If my Queen is getting tortured by screams, I should be as well. I can at least try to protect her from them.

"Get out!" Nanoka says.

"I'm going, I'm going," I say. "Start coming up with names. You'll need them."

It isn't hard to find my Queen, just follow the screams and you'll end up next to her. I just wish they were screams of pleasure. Zarzi really got one of the worst deals out of all those that have crossed my Queen. The brothel owners got years of enjoyment out of their dealings and just suffered some moments of excruciating pain. That's nothing compared to what Zarzi must be going through now.

Well, burning to death over a few hours is pretty painful. And then there are all the cuts they had for a day. Zarzi is probably about even with the rest of the punishments my Queen has handed out.

Both of my Queen's bodies are helping the very pregnant woman push out eggs. I probably should've been here from the start, but Nanoka needed some prodding. I'm sure my Queen will appreciate me helping to move that along. Nanoka is still a beauty.

"My Queen," I say between screams. "I'm here to help."

"Check the eggs," My Queen says. "Get the count and make sure they are all fine."

"Yes, My Queen," I say. The woman has just pushed an egg out, so I just have to follow the dragon between her legs to see where they are storing all the eggs. Of course, the trench around the edge of the room is the obvious place to put them, but I don't need to look stupid before my Queen's first broodmother. She's likely to soon be the most important woman in the harem after my Queen and her Mother.

Slowly, I start my count. I run a bit of mana over each egg to check for any cracks. I don't know how much it helps that the babies are eggs instead of live births. These seem to be of a similar size to a normal fetus, but lacking the strange shape of the head and shoulders might make them easier to push out. Plenty of magic must be going on inside the broodmother's womb for this to work out. They must be easier to push out, at least.

I should call her Zarzi until I learn if she really wants to be called broodmother. My training didn't go over enough about the dragons, so I'll need to pray to the Goddess of Dragons to learn more about being a maid to one. Hopefully, my Queen doesn't expect me to have broods myself. This is not for me.

I inch along the trench, making sure to check every egg. I will not be the reason why one doesn't hatch a living child."Sixty-nine, My Queen," I say. "Including the one that was just put in."

"Thanks," my Queen says. "Please help double-check them as they come out. I'm trying to check them, but we're all tired. We can't risk them."

"Of course," I say. I take a seat next to one of Zarzi's wives. How funny it is that these two lucked into such an important position. Normally, when you'd see Zarzi and her wives around, you'd know that nothing important was happening. For so long, they were just the ones that came out when it would be too rude not to visit, but the dragons didn't want to actually come out. I'm glad that has turned around for them. Zarzi always did her best when she showed up, but everyone just knew she was a joke.

I felt some strange responses to my mana with some of those eggs, signs that Zarzi is now the mother of some royals. This family is a lot of fun. Princesses who failed their duty, and one who failed it successfully. That really is Zarzi's way of doing things.

I wonder if Zarzi is going to get the special combination. Just a month, probably less, with my Queen's Skills, and the eggs will start to hatch.

But then, how long will it be until Zarzi gets her second brood? I can see this girl thinking she wants to do this again for some reason.

I'll have to schedule plenty of sessions between my Queen and Zarzi if she does trick herself into wanting another brood.