Chapter 433 – Quintella Brings Her Kid Over

*** Alzi, second body ***

The bedtime process is always funny. A team of maids is streaming through the nursery, getting all the babies ready, so I can just go down the line and give them a little kiss as their daddy or mommy. Then comes the bedtime story. I'm sure most of the kids are asleep by the time I start reading, but this is more for me to practice for when they're old enough to stay awake for most of the day. At least that is what Aurora said, and I'll believe her for this. Akhae is doing the best at reading, out of the women I actually love, but the rest are farther along than I was ever going to get without some help. So I think Aurora knows what she is doing when it comes to teaching, even if I hate it.

"Sorry," Quintella says, walking into the nursery with a little bundle of cloth. "I'm sorry, Alzi, for not making it earlier. Our kid seems to struggle with light, so it's scary to come by with her. We can talk more in the morning. She is normally awake during the night, so we'll find a different room after the story."

"Kid? You had your kid?" I ask.

"Our kid, yes, it is strange seeing you with gold wings," Quintella says. "Sorry, the wars had us scrambling too much. You would think we would have the kid thing all figured out when we've been trying for so long, but I think that made it worse. She's here now, and we have it settled better for our future kids so that it won't take this long in the future for you to see them. She is afraid of the light, so traveling is going to be hard for a while, but we'll make it work. But read your story. I'm sorry for the interruption. The sun problem is one we aren't willing to risk right now."

"Of course," I say. "Don't risk it. We can work it out. There's no need to scare the baby."

"Wait, is it ok if I read the story so you can hold her?" Quintella asks. "You'll need to sleep, so take this time to be with her."

"Uh, sure," I say. Aurora does sometimes take over for me now that she's working again. I should get a schedule going so that I'm not always stumbling through a kid's book, which has been embarrassing enough for me.

I accept the bundle easily and peek at the pale baby, which is a bit freaky to see. If our baby weren't moving, I would almost think she was dead.

"Hello, kids," Quintella says. "I'll be reading the story tonight. I'm happy to meet you all and bring you another sister."

She clears her throat and starts one of the many books the Temple of Writing has sent me.

*** Alzi, main body, night ***

"Hey, Alzi, dear," Geta says. "Can we have a moment? Please."

"Fine," I say. She just had to catch me before I could make it back to my room.

"Alzi, I'm sorry for yelling at you before," Geta says. "I know you probably don't want to talk about this with me, but I think I'm the one who understands you the most. My very being is meant to serve Death. My skin crawls when I think about the fact that I'm creating life inside me right now. I understand having desires you can't control sometimes. It took me a long time to figure out how to handle it. A very long time. You're doing well with how much pressure you're under. If there is anything I can help with, please, tell me. I owe you that after everything."

"Thank you," I say.

"It's better to talk about it," Geta says. "I know you're probably not ready for that tonight, and not with me, but try to find someone to talk to. Fertility's Priestesses or even Hearth's would be a good option if you are scared of talking to me or your wives. Kou should also be a good option as the head maid.""She's right here," I say.

"That doesn't mean she can hear what we're saying," Geta says. "She could be reading my lips, I suppose. But she won't pry. Not until she sees that something is wrong."

"I'll think about it," I say. How often have people had conversations right next to me? Yuki must be able to do that, or even change what I hear in a conversation. Have Mai and her had completely different conversations without me even knowing it?

"Don't worry that much," Geta says. "Most women can't do what I'm doing and wouldn't dare to risk it. If you are worried, I do have another form that is quite scary, so we can get Yuki to talk if you want to know. She's the only other who could risk something like this for so long."

"Another time," I say. "I need the potions made."

"Just let me know when."

"Thank you."

*** Alzi, second body ***

Every time a noble reads, it makes me sad. They can do it so easily and even give the different characters different voices and inflections. But I struggle to even have the words come out smoothly. Still, I'm getting better. Remember that, Alzi.

"Get some rest, Alzi," Quintella says. "Like most babies, she loves to sleep and wake up randomly. I'll make sure you're the one to handle her when the timing lines up right."

"Thank you," I say. "Thank you for coming by."

"I'm sorry it took so long," Quintella says. "Tomorrow, another kid of yours will be coming by. Elora and Esmeralda helped convince her to come in. I think she was a bit embarrassed to do so. She is a baron, so she's probably scared to meet a Queen and talk about having her kid. But adding on the support of the Haye family should make it even easier to get more kids to you. Letters from the Haye family, Esmeralda, and a Princess is a lot to ignore when it's something as simple as letting a powerful dragon see her kids. And then, like I said, Esmeralda wants to talk about our futures together. Goodnight. I'll help watch the kids tonight. You must be exhausted from everything. Let the old vampire have the night watch while she's here."

"My bed is just in the corner," I say.

"Then go, and if you feel me giving you a massage, don't worry about it unless I'm doing a bad job."

"I wouldn't mind that," I say. Two kids so quickly. Did Elora really keep a promise? Will she get more to show up?

"Sleep, Alzi. The kids will be here tomorrow," Ilka says. "You'll need to be rested for that kid. I'm sure Irlo and your other daughter will have you running all over the castle grounds tomorrow."

That wouldn't be too bad. I can use that as an excuse to scout for somewhere to do the ritual. I should wait until after the ritual to go see Royal. She seems to be the talking kind of Goddess, and too many Goddesses know about the ritual already. I can't add more to that. "Ok, ok," I say.

Esmeralda must be hiding in the manor somewhere, making sure I don't wake up. I normally get some feeling of the kids waking up during the night, but not this night. I didn't even feel Quintella giving me a massage, I just woke up feeling a lot looser than normal. My stupid shadow is playing teddy bear. I'm guessing the vampires talked to Mai while I was sleeping. I wonder if her kid has any vampire-type things going on. She doesn't seem afraid of the light. She even seems to love bathing in it with her mother.

"The babies want breakfast," Mai says, poking my cheek. "Sorry for slipping out. But I think you could use the extra sleep or a reset for this body. I wonder if it works like that or if it has some storage place and comes out the same."

"My third body changed when it was remade," I say. "And I do think the extra sleep was a good idea. Even if I hate it."

"Then, maybe you should destroy this body when your main one comes back here so it can get a full reset," Mai suggests. "Are you ok with talking to Esmeralda while feeding?"

"Yes," I say. "If she is fine with it."

"She suggested it, so I'm going to say yes," Mai says. "Come on. I've got a good first pair for you."

"It's the same pair every time," I say. Everyone is a bit scared to feed the Goddesses. They do it if I'm not around or already feeding, but they prefer if I do it. I can't blame them for worrying about offending the little Goddesses. I wouldn't want to risk something with Luck or Destruction, either. But they're good kids and won't get mad like Nature and Justice do.

"Maybe I wanted to switch it up today? Maybe I'm getting bold," Mai says, dragging me to the usual corner of the room.

"You have your own kid to worry about."

"Fine, it's the same first pair as normal," Mai says. "But you'll have fewer kids than usual. You have to spend time with the new kids."

"I would feed them all if I could do that," I say. "It feels weird that you're waking this body up. I finally got used to waking up a certain cat."

"Kids, dear," Mai says. "Esmeralda is on her way. We had to make a room to keep Quintella's kid in. I'm sorry for that."

"No, she has to be safe. My kids will need different things," I say. "These two are going to be off milk soon, and I'm sure they are just going to hate that. Aren't you?" Fluvis' kids are getting close as well. The Goddesses are just growing too fast.

"Hello, Queen Alzi," Esmeralda says. "Congratulations on everything. Kids, the wars, and your titles. I'm happy to see you in such a good place now. And thank you for the blessings. You did more than we expected, and we are blessed to have met you."

"Thank you," I say. "It feels a bit weird with the change."

"Of course," Esmeralda says. "About our deal..."

"Do you want to get pregnant?" I ask. "Or do you have another wife?"

"Do you like the terms of the deal?" Esmeralda asks, a bit surprised. It wasn't my worst deal, I think. Even if they asked for all their wives to get pregnant, it would just take me a day, and they wouldn't dare to ask for more kids for at least a few years, if not longer. They gave me great peace of mind while I couldn't see Mai.

"I don't care," I say. "But I would like a promise about raising the kids."

"I was thinking of something a bit more fair," Esmeralda says. "Raising the kids together is, of course, going to happen now. We'll need to work out the logistics, but we can talk to your maid about that when she comes back. For now, Quintella will be staying with you. As for more kids, I want them dearly. But I think it should be more mutual. We'll make it so my wives are nicer to you than Lorelei was for her breeding. I don't want to marry you, though. I'm happy being the family of Vampires, and I don't wish to change that. But kids? There are several members of my original family that I think of like that because I grew weak and saw them as my kids in some strange way. I saw them grow up from afar and decided they were kids in my eyes. But I can't be demanding things from the Queen. I'm strong, and I could even have a Duchy if I went for it, but I'm not strong enough to demand that you bend to my will on anything. Besides, we made that deal when you were a slave. It's only fair that we remake the deal now that you're free, and the Goddess of Contracts is around."

"Just write me a letter saying that someone from your family is ready to welcome a kid when I'm ready, and I'll come by and get them pregnant at some point," I say. "That would work well for me. You can have Lorelei help them warm up if they have the same issues with men. I really don't mind. You helped Mai.""That hardly pays for a lifetime, especially one as long as ours, of breeding."

"What do you want, going forward?" I ask. This is such a strange problem. How do I promise them a chance for kids? It seems weird, but I guess I did that with others. A promise, for a chance of me liking some members of their family.

"How about if a wife wants to get pregnant, they can come to live with you for a bit and see if something sparks between you? It's the best I can do," Esmeralda says. "I don't see any other way to make it fair to you and still have a good chance for kids. If you want something else, please tell me.""That is what I've promised others before," I say. "It's probably the only way to make this work for now. I don't want to be bought or paid off, so this will have to do."

"Thank you," Esmeralda says. "I'll let you have some peace with your kids."

"Thank you for bringing your kid over," I say. "If Lorelei needs help with the birth..."

"We would love to have your help," Esmeralda says. "I was stupid and was the only one helping Quintella. It was not my best moment. I don't seem to do well when kids mix with stress. It makes me scared to get pregnant myself."

"Then be careful," I say. "My main body is coming back today, and you're looking quite breedable."

"Queen Alzi," Esmeralda says. "You shouldn't tease the old like that. You'll give us a heart attack."

"Just be careful if you find yourself bent over."