Chapter 491 – Speech

Two days stuck in an office with Eterna watching over me. They planned this out too well; I haven't had a single thing to do. I've just been sitting here with my main body. Why do I even have to have my main body sitting in this room, anyway? I don't have any real decisions to make. I just tell them to keep going forward with the plan. At least my other bodies have still gotten to play with my kids or visit my wives.

"Why? Why am I still here?" I ask.

"To make sure you're safe, and just in case things go wrong, and we need to make quick decisions, My Empress," Kou says. "You'll have more of these times during your reign. You can ask Elo about them. She was on a lot of the missions that would force you to take shelter. But she also had a few quarantines while pregnant, like you are right now."

"This is boring, and I have other bodies outside," I say. "If they somehow get to attack me, they can just go after one of those bodies, and I'll be hurt if they are."

"Well, you'll feel the pain, but you won't die, My Empress," Kou says. "Besides, having you in this room is so we don't have to worry about finding you and getting your full attention. Otherwise, we could just have you stay in the house."

"I haven't given them any commands besides telling them all to continue," I say.

"Which is good, My Empress," Kou says. "You have just a few more minutes of this left. The assassins are reporting in, and once again, they have all completed their missions."

"What proof?" I ask. Not that I need to. I've asked this before, and I doubt anything has changed for this last mission. I just hope they don't force me to look over all the proof.

"The heads, like last time, My Empress," Kou says. "Next is the speech you have been preparing to give after this. If you wish to give it, of course. Elo and Elora are capable of giving the message as well if you want them to. The dragons have kept most of their nobles throughout the war and this plot, so it would be best if you at least give them a speech to keep them in check. I doubt they had fewer women thinking about hurting you; it was most likely just buried deep enough that they haven't said anything or acted out yet. Or maybe they really are listening to their Goddess."

Well, it's not like Yumanea had much of a choice in letting her nobles die. Nature had way too many beasts for the nobles not to die. It took hardly any effort to kill them, really. Honestly, if she hadn't done such a good job of getting rid of the nobles during the war, I would have a great reason for her to have an unfortunate accident around the house. "Are they done yet?" I ask.

"Did I lock in one of My Empress's kids instead of the Empress?" Kou asks. "Just one is left, and she's coming in now, holding at least one head. Just a second, and we'll have everything confirmed. There we go, My Empress. All done. You just need to give the speeches now."

They really hid the worst parts of this little operation from me, but that's probably for the best. I need to show up occasionally, and what better way is there to make sure I don't have to show up too often than making them fear any event that I'm going to be at? Ok, maybe that's not the best way to present myself. "I'll do it," I say. "But this means I'll have to show up at court soon, just so I'm not only coming out when people die."

"I'll get it scheduled, My Empress," Kou says. "This way, and Nanoka will take us to the dragon realm first."

I peel myself out of the big chair and follow Kou a few steps out of the office, where Nanoka is waiting. The dark architecture of the Dragon's castle shows up around me, and Shyla's already waiting for us with a dress floating beside her.

"Ready to get dressed? Your Empress?" Shyla asks.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I say. "Did the timing really work out for the court to be held right after they finish up?"

"Oh no, My Empress," Kou says. "You aren't giving your speech to just the court. You'll be on top of the same mountain that Yzzorres kidnapped you from. The speech will reach all your subjects."

"I was hoping you would change your mind, or the timing wouldn't work out. I get why I need to give it to everyone, but I'm a bit nervous. Plus, I need to somehow read what I wrote," I say. This dress is going to take a while to get into.

"Don't worry, you'll do great. I love the speech we put together for the Queendoms, My Empress," Kou says. "Writing is in a good mood with her pregnancy. She has new things to write about, apparently, and she swears she's giving birth to reading. She's promised to bend some rules to help you through it."

We'll see. I can make it through the children's books without help now. That's a pretty sad thing to say as an Empress. Wait, does Sextia not know I can't read? Was I meant to know about the entire plan, but just couldn't read it?

...

"Well, I'm going to look scary," I say. The top of the dress looks like the normal magma that both queendoms love to flaunt, and further down, it looks more like blood. The fringe even has some fabric that floats around to look like dripping blood. "You've gone with an interesting style for this dress."

"We had so many to kill because they didn't understand you, Empress Alzi," Shyla says. "We need everyone to know just what you can do. If giving birth to Goddesses isn't enough to get their brains to work, then violence and blood will do the trick. Your message will be clear, and you look beautiful. I love making your clothing. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity."

"You impress me every time," I say. "Is it time to give the speech?"

"Yes, My Empress," Kou says. "It is too bad that Yzzorres is probably still mad at you. It would be fun to have her fly over in the middle of your speech."

"I don't think having her come by would be a good idea," I say. "She's just as likely to do something to hurt me as she is to help."

"Well, then, to the cliff," Nanoka says.

"No need to put it off," I say. "You all seem to have planned this out well."

"I would have us walk, My Empress," Kou says. "But the pregnancies are getting further along for a few here. It's easier to just teleport us there. Your dress and beautiful light will grab the attention of the crowd just as well as a flight would."

"Then we're all ready," I say.

We pop up on the massive cliff. A crowd is already waiting down below for me to give a speech. It feels like they're closer than they were for the coronation.

"Here you go, My Empress," Kou says. "We're right here to support you. Just hold this rune, and they'll hear you clearly. Nanoka is already making it so that they won't see you reading off the paper."

"Thanks," I say, taking the rock and paper from her.

"Hello, my People. This is my first public address as your Empress, and it comes after an unfortunate event. One that threatened this realm and my people. I had to take swift and serious action. This is meant to make room for the next generation. To make sure the leaders of our realm are people worth following, and won't lead us into devastating wars, or go against the Goddess that watches over our realm.

"Our enemies were taken out quickly, quietly, and completely. My wonderful wife, Zarzi, has already blessed our wonderful realm with their future replacements. Hers is the first of many broods I plan to have during my reign. Our Goddess wishes for many kids, and I am happy to have many kids.

"But it won't be just Zarzi providing more children for the future. Elo, the acting Queen, while I take up the mantle of Empress over several realms, will also be providing broods for our realm. On top of that, as the Champion of Fertility, I am working on having Fertility loosen the restraints on men for everyone, so that more may experience the wonders of being a mother. So that all may work hard to help bring the next generation to greater heights than we've ever seen.

"I hope you can already see the effects of my reign. The ones abusing their power to hurt others are gone, and the ones who make this realm work, the ones providing the food on our tables, the ones that so many think are expendable, are being shown that they are valued. You are all important for this realm to succeed. A single Queen can do nothing without a realm behind her. That is my goal. To lead us forward, and to do that, some must be left behind. Forgotten.

"I sincerely hope that all who need to die have now died. I wish to kill no more of my kin. There has been enough bloodshed, but if more think they know better about how to rule, then I will prove they are powerless.

"Earlier, I talked about the different broods I have fathered in my short time as Queen. One is already born, and another is on the way. But there is also a third one, a smaller one, yet it is one of great importance. The great watcher over the realm is pregnant. True Dragons will once again roam freely, no longer on the verge of extinction. This is the power I am able to give you all. Our greatest fighters will once again fly in the sky and make the mountains their home.

"And, I think some have forgotten that I have, as my children, Goddesses. One is the Goddess of Destruction. Another is the Goddess of Luck. If you think you will be luckier than I, then you will find that I can bring destruction down upon you. But I hope to have even more Goddesses. I have Lactation with me, and Contract and Revenge are already in the divine realm, and there are a few more on the way. The power I represent is absolute. Even the Goddesses struggle to hold me back anymore.

"Three Goddesses have died through a plan of mine. Justice, along with her perverted justice, is no longer found in any realm. Nature and her destructive ways for gaining power are gone. And Sex... She may not have had a large impact on the world, but I think she had more influence than anyone could see. They're gone. Dead and trapped with the Goddess of Death. Do not test me. I don't want to bring anyone to Death's door early. I want to let us prosper. But I will do what is needed to bring about the best for the realm.

"The killings that were carried out were more than just a show of power. They were also a display of mercy. Had I let their traitorous intentions continue to fester, the true dragons would be the ones to come out and put them in their place. The violence would be ancient. Something not seen for millennia. I promise to bring us forward. To give all a better future. But I can't force you to accept it, and if you try to deny others that future, then I hope I put you down instead of the true dragons. There is no need to be with me, but you absolutely can not be against me. You can say no, but it must be respectful, and you must have a good reason for your view, as I will always bring reasons for what I say we should do.

"I want to end this with hope. I believe I have ripped out the bad roots. It'll take a watchful eye to make sure we continue to move in the right direction, and I already have those around. I plan to build us better from the ground up. To improve everyone's lives. If we work together, with the blessing of our Goddess, we will improve. We will become what we always could. We are worth much more than war, and I know we have the people to achieve it. It will take hard work, but I plan to let you all taste the fruit of that hard labor.

"Thank you all for your support, and I will continue to prove my sincerity to you all. Let our nation fly high in the sky so that all may see how brilliant our scales shine in the sun."

I hand the rock and paper over to Kou and stand, waving, at the edge of the cliff. If I'm going to talk about pregnancies so much, I should show off my own. I do have a Goddess in there.

At least some of the crowd seem like they're cheering, the ones not dressed quite as well. Nobles really are a prickly bunch. I guess it was a decent speech. Now we just have to see if the lower Queendom feels the same.