*** Alzi ***
"Please, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I can't even disobey. I can't," I say. But Mistress beats anyway. Her friends demand it, ask for it, want it. Over and over, saying I was wrong. I wasn't good enough.
I'm not even able to be a whore correctly.
"My lady, you're safe," cuts through. I get pulled away from the Mistress and into a belly filled with my kids. "My Lady, you're safe."
"What happened?" I ask. "She was here. She did it. I. I."
"You had a vision. A terrible vision, my Lady. The past coming back," Shyla says. "I'm not sure what caused it here."
"I don't like it. I don't want them," I cry. "I don't want it."
"I know, my Lady. I wish I could take them all away. But I'll be here to help you through them. To help break them. Sarania, can you put out the food for , please?"
"Yes," Sarania says.
"The soup is for Alzi."
"Ok," Sarania says.
"Do you want one of us to feed you, my Lady? You could hold one of your kids that way?"
I just nod my head against her womb. My kids should keep calm, right?
"Here you go, dear," Inanos says, carefully putting a baby in my arms. "Is this Tirlo?"
"Yes," I say.
"She's cute. Was she born yesterday?"
"I think so."
"It really has been rough on you," Inanos says. "I'm sorry. Tomorrow, you get to see your Mother in a beautiful dress and et your twins with them. Mai should be giving birth soon as well, and then Isda as well. , Vanya, and Elora have kids on the way. There is a lot of happiness in your future. Let us help you fight off the past."
Aren't you part of my past? I see Esiyae stalking in the shadows. I hear the echoes of my sale.
Yes, lunch, then running to the temple. I need to.
...
It turned into a full lunch with my baby's needing to eat as well. My hands shake as they feed from .
What if I have a vision with them in my arms? Shyla told I pushed her away. What if I throw my kids? What if I hurt them or yell at them? They'll hate . I'll ruin it. I can't ruin that, not with my babies.
I need to run. I need out.
"I need to go for a walk," I say. Please let . Can they stop ?
"So fresh air would be good for you and the babies," Sarania says. "Would you like to co with you?"
"Yes."
"Wait, my Lady, let get better clothing for you and a coat. Most of the heating runes are out of mana in the city now. You should be prepared for ice and snow. And then there is wind picking up as well. Do you know how long you'll be gone? Should I ask them to push dinner back?" Shyla says.
"I'll be fine," I say. "It was fine coming here." I shuffle out of my chair, trying to keep from shaking. If I do, I know I'll fall over and never leave.
I need to run. To get away from them. My tortures hiding in the wall, around the corners of this house. I know they are looking to jump . They'll drag back to Mistress.
"My Mistress," Sarania says. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," I mumble. Keep it even; don't let them know you're running.
Sarania wraps a single arm around my waist and pulls along to the door, pushing our children as well. We squeeze through the door and back down the stairs. We greet the cold air and start down the empty streets again.
Are all the streets empty? Most of the won have to be fighting to find food and warmth. People run from the villages when war breaks out, right? That is what happens with all the stories. What happened to all of them?
"Temple, my Lady?" Sarania asks, waiting till we push past the block and out of view of the manor.
"Yes, they scared ," I say. "They were hiding."
"I see," is all she says, turning to the left. "Very well. You gave them a chance, as Love will require. If this is what you need, then this is what we do. Together, my Mistress."
"Thank you."
"I am here to serve."
People start to appear as we get farther from the manor. Guards, for the most part, ignore us. I guess they are won from our army and not the normal guards. After I marry my Mother, I should finish my work from before I was taken. They were fighting for . I can't let them down, or they'll throw to the Mistress.
I can't let her get .
"Almost there, my Mistress," Sarania says. "Almost there."
We turn the corner, and I see a few temples standing before us. One has a heart etched into it. That must be the one.
Indeed, Sarania directs right to it, pushing us up the stairs and the doors open for us. Maybe Sarania just pushed them open with mana, or the Priestess opened it. I don't think so based on her forced smile and the fact she hasn't said anything to .
I guess she knows why I am here.
"Ehm," Sarania says, "directions."
"Fine," the Priestess says. "Don't bla , demon."
"Then your Goddess should be afraid. Mother isn't a happy woman right now."
"Like she could overpower Love."
"The Goddesses are pathetic, only powerful due to their numbers. A joke to their affinities," Sarania mutters. The Priestess doesn't react, so I'm guessing that ssage was just for . Maybe a warning for my kids. Or a feud so old that it doesn't matter. I know they'll be better than the others. I'll find out how to raise them right. Mother will help and Mai. Ilka and Akhae seed nice.
"Pick a pew," the Priestess says, waving to the lines of benches.
"Do you wish for this Temple to no longer exist?" Sarania says. "My Mistress will not be performing this in a normal pew. Take us to a room. This will take a few minutes. Or would you rather I take it over? It has been a while since I last let loose, and what better than a temple of 'Love' to relax in."
"Show them," another Priestess says. "You do us no favors insulting them like that."
"Very well, High Priestess. This way." She turns quickly, taking long strides to a hallway. My feet struggle to keep up along the cold marble. We barely turn the corner when the Priestess is walking into a room.
Inside is just a table and a few chairs. The Priestess gives us a half smile and leaves.
"Just Pray. She'll take you up or remove the marriage, my Mistress," Sarania says. "Those are the only options she has for you."
*** Elora ***
"She left," I say, falling into my chair. "She fucking left. I was giving her what she asked for."
"We failed too much," Shimr says. "Took too long and let her get hurt too often. The panic attack sealed our fate. Shit luck on that one. If she stuck around for dinner, we may have had a chance to get her to stay. As it is now, be nice. We have an idea of who will co to the divorce, and it won't be pretty for you. Get on your knees quickly and promise her the world. Her world, not yours, not ours, not the one we live in. The one she wants. The one she lives in. No, not that one. The one she wants to live in. Her current world will hand her over to Geta here. You have to show that there is a better world for her, and that is manifest through this family."
"What do you an?" I ask. "Why would Geta get her? Wouldn't that be good?"
"No, but not now, sorry," Shimr says, biting her lips. What is she hiding? "We have a lot to discuss, I suppose. This may go from bad to terrible for you. See what happens. Just know it isn't pretty for us either."
"I want to know," Elora says. "I want to know what you an. Inanos said she slled death on Alzi. Yet she hasn't killed anyone in a long ti, so what else could the death be but her own approaching. Why would Geta get her in death?"
"Geta would just take her for a mont. Don't worry about it, you'll know later. Right now. Just think about how you felt when your Mother took away your childhood and dreams. She took everything and wouldn't give you a scrap of it back. Wouldn't even give you a replacent. That is what we seem to have done to Alzi. Don't give her a scrap to replace the world. Give her a real world that will fill her up. One that will get her to smile."
"I DID! Her Mother is expecting her tomorrow. I even promised her ti with that fucking Kitsune bitch that watched it all happen. That let her go through everything she blas for. I promised her a peaceful life."
"That was the issue. We haven't proven that she can have a peaceful life. Twice she has been taken from us."
"I put up guards for her and the rules. It was my Sister who couldn't let us know about an entire group of nobles who were missing. She should've known. It was several days they were missing," I cry.
"Calm down, Elora! Dear, this is going to go poorly for us. I know it will. You know, and I know, and we all know it. Love doesn't have a chance to force Alzi to stay. Present us well there, and we will have to prove ourselves after this quickly. I'm not giving up on Alzi, and you are our best bet to get her back. She won't have just us in a marriage. She'll have the Queen and her harem to protect her. She'll have the power to take control over all the won who hurt her so it can never happen again. That is your ssage, ok dear? Got that. No, woe is shit. She doesn't give a damn about you or or this family. Worm in facts about the kids we will provide. I'm pregnant, you are pregnant, Aurora is pregnant, Annoris is pregnant, Calli, Inanos, Vanya, Isda, and Shyla. Don't ask questions! We are treading on thin ice, and none of us are made to walk on thin ice. Love. Now is the last ti we get to prove we actually love her."
"You have a lot to answer for," I say. "It should be starting soon."
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