Chapter 471 – For Nothing

What does Victoria know? What's even happening right now? I have a fucking true phoenix on my armrest! Why does nobody fucking care about what I say?!

"No," I say. "Shut the fuck up! Bring the bitch in. I'm going to handle the things I need to handle. I'm the Empress. The Queen. I have the crown. We aren't going to be taking advantage of our people anymore. She's going to be the example of what can happen if you take advantage of someone. If someone comes to you for help, you help them and take a fair payment, or you do nothing. What she did to me was not a fair payment. The cost of the potion my Mother needed was far less than what I earned for her. She knows that, but she decided to do more. She broke the promise not to sell me off to others. She's part of what caused the war, and she helped stop it. She's paid that part back, but she still has so much more to pay. Now, she has to pay back the Queendom for taking advantage of the people who make this Queendom work. It takes more than just the people in this room. Never forget that. Bring in the bitch. Or do I need to prove my power? Elora did say that most of the ceremony is on the road to getting the crown. I suppose that is where you all learn that you shouldn't test the Queen. I'm happy to provide the proof right now. If anyone wants to volunteer or needs that proof, just say something. I can't believe you all care about a brothel owner. Was I that much fun to play with? Is that it?"

At least the guards are listening to me in this castle. The doors open in the back, and the guards drag in Ashryn. The nobles are quiet, trying to figure out what to do. Maybe they'll take too long to figure it out, and I can handle Ashryn completely while they're all stunned into silence. But I can't get too hopeful.

"Empress Alzi," a noble says. "May we know which law Ashryn has broken?"

I guess they did know what to do next; they just needed someone brave enough to say something.

"Fuckers," Victoria says. "Ashryn, fucking tell the bitches here the deal you made with Alzi. Make it fucking clear, and hurry the fuck up."

Did Victoria really come out for this? There has to be something that got her out here. Stacy would never get Victoria into normal heels without a good reason for the change. But what is making Victoria care about this so much? Or does she really just care about the Queendom? No. Something is special about this. I doubt she's here just to curse at all the nobles without anyone saying anything about it, even if that sounds fun.

"I would make sure her Mother lives, and she would be my slave for ten years," Ashryn says.

"NO!" I say. "That wasn't the full deal!"

"Don't use your damn weaselly fucking words here," Victoria says. "Say the full fucking contract, in the right damn way. Damn fucker, trying to save your damn skin. Well, it's too fucking late for that shit. Explain, in full fucking detail, the whole damn contract. Shit, why don't we fucking skip right to the damn source? The Goddess of Contracts should be able to fucking tell us what the damn contract is."

"We have heard what the contract is," the noble says. "A life for a life. That sounds fair."

"Fucking bitch, don't try to save your favorite slaver's life," Victoria says. "Fuck, I got dressed for this shit. The damn Empress is the ruler, not your dumb ass. If she fucking wants more information, then she'll get it. We're being fucking nice enough to talk to satisfy your fucking wish for a broken law. Damn bitch. Just let us fucking work."

'Space, can Contract come down for a bit?'

'That isn't a great idea right now,' Space says. 'But, I can make it work. Do you promise to only have her explain the contract, give you some hugs and kisses, and then come right back up? She never agreed to the deal to stay up in the divine realm, but you've seen how we work. Give us a sliver, and some will take it all. Most don't want to go to the lower realms, but if just a few go down, the world will be in a lot of trouble.'

'I promise. I'll just visit Contract later today.'

'Ok, she's excited to see you, but try to make it quick.'

Contract is getting so big, already bigger than a toddler now. She still fits in my lap, with some struggle due to my belly, but a Goddess makes it work.

"How are you doing?" I ask, giving Contract a nice big hug.

"I'm doing well, Daddy!" Contract says.

The nobles had better not say that Contract is lying for her parent. I may just have to kill them all. It wouldn't be the worst thing for the Queendom. The noble who's been complaining does seem a bit scared, and most of the nobles are trying to disappear into their chairs. If the true phoenix, old Queen, Elora, and Victoria aren't enough to get them in line, a Goddess in my lap should do the trick. I'll bring Destruction and Luck with me next time for a bit. I'm sure Destruction would have some fun with the nobles. "That's good to hear," I say. "It's good to hear that you're doing well. Now, the nobles have a question about my deal with Ashryn. We're hoping to confirm the full and correct wording, and Victoria had the wonderful idea of having the Goddess of Contracts share the contract with the group. Could you do that?"

"Yes!" Contract says. "The deal was that Ashryn would save your Mother, and you would be her slave for ten years. Ashryn would not sell you to another without your permission for the duration of your slavery."

"Thank you, baby," I say. "I'm sorry you have to leave so quickly. I'll make sure to stop by later today. I love you."

"Love you, Daddy!" Contract says just before Space takes her away.

"There is the contract," I say. "Does anyone want to contest that?"

"No, Empress Alzi," the noble says.

"Fucking right," Victoria says. "That's fucking better. Now, Ashryn, can you fucking explain why I would fucking give a shit about the contract and the exact fucking wording? Or do you need me to fucking explain this stupid shit?"

"I fulfilled my end," Ashryn says. "I made sure Alzi's Mother was safe."

"Fuck no," Victoria says. "You didn't fucking uphold your damn side of the deal. You fucking forgot about the damn wording that we just had a Goddess come down and fucking explain. Do you really fucking think you can worm your damn way out of this? Are you really going to fucking make me say it, or will you accept whatever fucking punishment Alzi is going to give you?"

"Say what?" I ask. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"Fuck," Victoria says. "Fine, I'll fucking say it, damn bitch. Ashryn, did you fucking save Alzi's Mother? Did you do a fucking thing to help her? Or did Alzi do all the fucking work to keep her Mother alive?"

What are they talking about? I did almost nothing for Mommy. I just kept her alive for a day so that I could get to the city and find someone who could actually save her from the poison. What is going on? "Explain! What is going on?!"

"I checked on Empress Alzi's Mother and made sure she was healthy," Ashryn says.

"Fucking hell! Just fucking tell us! What the fuck are you doing, bitch? Just fucking tell us exactly what the fuck you did," Victoria says. "Fucking details. Tell us what the fuck you did to fulfill the damn contract."

"That is what I did," Ashryn says.

"Then fucking say that!" Victoria says. "Fuck. You're really going to make me fucking say it. You didn't do shit to fulfill your side of the fucking contract. Alzi's Mother was going to live without you doing shit. So, you did shit-all. You didn't fucking do shit about anything. You paid fucking nothing and got Alzi as a fucking slave for ten years, and then you fucking sold her off! You didn't fulfill a single fucking part of your damn deal. You should've just taken your damn punishment, you bitch. One fucking word, and I'll strangle them."

"I shouldn't have been a slave?" I ask, my voice feeling empty in the big hall, like I'm a little mouse hiding in the walls.

"No," Eterna says. "It sounds like you shouldn't have been a slave. Do you want me to cook them all alive? The Queens would often threaten that. I've never paid enough attention to know if they actually did it, but I'm happy to help if you need me to."

"Ashryn, you'll be my slave for ten years or something. Whatever I want," I say. I'm not a mouse. Don't let them turn you into a mouse, Alzi! Make them hear you. "You'll work in your old brothel, fucking pregnant with my kids. You'll live in hell for me. You'll entertain the parties; I'll bring you out for some fun with my wives; you'll feel the cold steel on your neck; and you'll understand that there is no real escape."

The nobles hear me. I can see that easily. But Ashryn needs more, "Everything I went through, you'll go through. Massive pregnancies without your owner caring about you. I will take the kids away the moment they leave your womb. You'll get used to being naked. You'll forget what it feels like to wear clothing. You'll be a whore and nothing more. At the end of your time, I'll consider selling you off. I haven't talked with other nations of this realm before, but I'm sure one of them could use a well-trained whore for their throne room or something. Or maybe I'll just let you keep rotting away in the brothel. Or maybe I'll feel charitable and throw you out on the street with absolutely nothing. You'll have no real hope for a future. That much, I can promise you."

But why do I have to do this? "Why?" I ask. No, I'm back to being a mouse. Be a dragon, Alzi. "Why couldn't you just be nice?! I would have paid you back for your travels! I could've done some massages for a week or something to pay you back for the time you spent! Why did I waste so much of my life?!"

"So I don't get to kill them," Eterna says. "Well, then, I think you should go back to the nest. No, you can go see your kid with Fertility. Elora, can you handle the rest of this? I think there is still some more work to do here. I've never paid that much attention to everything, but I feel like more than sentencing a single woman happened."

"Yes, I can handle everything," Elora says. "I'm sorry, Alzi. Go get some rest."

All for fucking nothing! Nothing. I saved Mommy. I saved my Mommy, all by myself. I was a fucking healer right from the damn start! I-

"Shit, come here, Alzi," Victoria says. "Fuck, I knew these shits would fuck this up. Fuck, Eterna, if you want, you can kill a few of these bitches."

"Please don't," Yumanea says. "I've made sure that the ones who hurt Alzi are dead already. There's no need to hide that anymore. The only one left in the room who has hurt Alzi is me, and Ashryn."

I- There- What is my life? What is the purpose?

"Up you fucking go," Victoria says. "It's off to Syro and Fertility for you. NANOKA! You are fucking around, right? Shit, should've fucking had her come by or just had you handle the fucker before everything. Damn nobles, fucking making everything fucking hard."

"I'm here, where to?" Nanoka says.

"Fertility, to see some damn kids or something," Victoria says.

I hate them all.