*** Alzi, main body ***

Today's dress is lacking all the holes from yesterday. Of course, it has the normal holes in it for my limbs, but it isn't looking to show off all the Goddess's marking my skin. Luck, Power, and Destruction are a lot harder to cover up, with them claiming the top of my breasts, besides Writing's mark on my wrist. I could where gloves if I really cared to cover that one, but that would feel really weird. But it would be really pretentious. Maybe I could do that to piss off some nobles. Dress like Fluvis's Mother and act all chaste.

"Is something funny, your Highness?" Shyla asks. She's on to the final touches of my hair. Large braids that quickly get my hair in some sort of style. Shimmer put me into a deep sleep, and my two bodies were not happy to leave it. Shyla let me sleep in a bit, but it meant she had to hurry to get my clothing on.

"I thought of dressing like some noble that would never dream of getting into another's bed. Gloves and everything. Wondered what kinds of faces everyone would have when I've got a belly clearly showing I've had a number of people in my bed."

"If you had the thought a few minutes earlier, we could test it out," Shyla says. "Sorry, your Highness. I'll have something ready for your next meeting."

"Not the next meeting. I should get a bit bigger for the full effect, I think."

"Just let me know, your Highness. I'm happy to dress you however you wish."

This dress does cover more of my cleavage than normal. It needs to sit higher on me to fit the weird sleeves. They don't cover my shoulders; instead, they're just some extra cloth to show off or something. Shimmer said it was fine for me to use the royal red, so the dress is red. It doesn't hug my legs; the skirt even manages to get below my knees if I'm not twirling, and I don't like twirling.

It's still a sexy dress, but I'm not looking like I'm going to take a woman to bed the second I walk into the brothel.

"Do you have an idea for the suit?" I ask.

"I don't know how different you need it. There are a few things that can replace the tie that won't be as tight. Then we can give you more room in the pants and remove a few layers to give you more room to breath. We can switch the colors, mixing the paints and jacket color. A cape would be nice, but it would cause a problem for your wings, just like hats would be problematic. Not that we can't work it out, I just notice you're a lot happier when your wings are free. I'm assuming it will be true for your horns as well."

"A different tie is nice, and the pants are the main two issues, besides women deciding that means they can just pull out my semen."

"You can always force them to do it the old way or say no. If you wish, your Highness, I or your Shadow can even give out the rejections if you like. There have been a few men who have won that right before. You have clearly won that right. None is worthy to demand sex or a child with you, much less through such a method."

I'm sure my Shadow would put a damper on the mid-dance sex. Having a nearly naked woman hovering around me, watching everything, would turn most people off from me. "True. I am actually in a position to say no."

"Yes, you are, my Highness. Shall we head down? The lunch should be short, then we can have both bodies around your family again."

My second body truly is chaste. If it didn't need to be near my kids, it would be perfect to send out to nobles and confuse them about my nature. Aurora has taken to dressing the body. Nothing crazy, practically just what the maids wear in different colors than the maids' black and white. It has more differences, but the basics are that it is purely functional for me to take care of my kids. No thoughts of sex, healing, or the world outside the nursery. It slept in there, getting up when they cried to feed or watch them. Aurora told me sometimes babies cry just for exercise, and if they aren't accepting a nipple and haven't gone to the bathroom, there may be nothing to do. Just make sure it isn't going on for a long time, cause then we are missing something they are trying to tell us.

It's really hard to just listen to them cry. But I do my best.

I feel all the other desires in the body. My mountain of love for Mommy and Mai, the desire to pin them down and breed them again, the happy feelings I get when looking at Ilka and Akhae, but I just don't have any desire to act on them in the body. I just care about the kids and make sure they are taken care of.

That doesn't mean I didn't give Mommy a long kiss and hug when she joined me in the morning, but that I didn't feel like turning it into more till this body comes back home. It's a tool to help my children and show the basics of my love. Nothing more.

"Let us get this over with," I say. The one issue with my second is that I don't have any desires to act sexually, so my main body gets them all. Mai just joined the nursery as well. Those two are devastating to me. I'll have to include the Shadow when we get in bed so I don't wind up getting them pregnant again.

Maybe I should keep Esiyae around for the same purpose. They can take turns saving my lovers from having never-ending pregnancies.

No, I'll let her teach our kids how to hate. She has to go.

A phoenix directs us through the halls to meet up with Shimmer, who has her collar and leash back on, then to some parlor or something. I'm sure it has a better name than parlor, but I don't know it. And who cares? They just like to be fancy to be fancy.

Inside are just three of Shimmer's sisters. I haven't asked how many she has, and I'll let the Queen decide how many to show me. The real number doesn't really matter. But there are fewer out today than we had yesterday in the throne room.

"Welcome," a pregnant sister says. "Sorry for there being so few of us. The dragons have started their assault, and our other sisters are needed to help keep them at bay. But, congratulations, Alzi and Shimmer, on the child. We are all excited to welcome the new life into the world. We're all busy and needing to get somewhere, so lunch will be served immediately. I hope we will have a time where we can truly celebrate you, Alzi."

I'm about to hear some unflattering stories about Shimmer. Maybe I should take the Queen up on marrying some of her other daughters just to see what they have to say about Elora. I could just make them friends to get the stories.

"Thank you, Ryze," Shimmer says. "Yes, we have many things to celebrate. I need to return the favor for your own pregnancy."

"Yes, you do owe us a lot. Getting to this stage was harder than it should've been."

Ok, so maybe this will just be awkward.

I let the sisters stare at each other and go sit down, putting the silly napkin on my lap and waiting for the food to come. Shimmer and her sisters follow. Shimmer gets to my right, and Ryze manages to get to my left.

*** Isda ***

"How about now?" my maid asks.

"You've already called."

"Of course! You are bleeding, my lady. In what world would I not have called for help! Yes, we are at war, but these are kids. Eight of them and Kelly are around. How could I not call her? You're delirious. I feel that I wronged you by not calling early, talking to people who aren't here. But every time I tried calling, you stopped me. I'm thinking what little rational brain power you have left finally saw what is needed not to stop me this time around! You have to take everything for this. I'm not having Alzi bloat me up for your stupidity. I know this is going to require more than Kelly has to offer for this to work out."

"I'm fine," I say. I don't know what makes me say it, but I do. There's no way my body is fine. Just a few hours ago, it felt like someone was sawing me in half, and nothing. No feeling at all. Like, I don't have a body, despite me clearly having a massive belly. Yet I said I could do this.

I said I could give birth without feeling if I'm even contracting. I don't know if I'm pushing, if I should be pushing. Who knows, maybe I can't push anymore.

How far gone am I for that to happen?

"What the fuck is wrong with you people?!" Kelly says, storming in. "Is this all you know how to do? Hurt Alzi and everything she loves? Goddess damn it all! How much more blood were you about to let her lose? It's a damn swimming pool. I don't have the mana to deal with this! The only hope is that Alzi gets here in time to save you all!"

Kelly doesn't hesitate to join me in the pool of blood. Her hand is poking and prodding my body till she finally sticks her head between my legs.

"You fucked up," is all Kelly says. I don't know if she's doing anything other than looking. But I'm sure she has a direct sight of some problem.

"I know."

"Do you all know that you fucked up? Do you know it as you're doing it? How long does it take to figure it out, and why do you keep doing it? Eight kids and you think a short woman like you isn't going to have complications? You should be giving birth prematurely, but it seems some Goddess wanted you to give birth quickly and completely. Your kids are fully formed and don't have the room to get to the exit."

"Yes."

"Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Glad you can confirm everything. What am I supposed to do with this? I cut you open, and you die. Is that something you also know? If you had told me about this, say an hour ago, I could have handled it. But right now I don't understand why you're awake."

"I'm an angel."

"Does that make you immortal? Otherwise, that doesn't answer the question."

"My Goddess wishes me to be awake."

Sorry Alzi. Sex has another cruel joke to play on you. I'll lock myself up with Fertility after this. No, I won't.

"Syro!" Kelly shouts.