*** Queen Yumanae ***

"Alzi left?" I ask.

"Just for the night," Irdru says. "She is getting a maid from the kitsunes."

"Just for the night, my ass," I say. We hardly get a night anymore. Why would Alzi get to grab a stupid maid? There are things she could be doing to help the war effort right now, even with the portal down. "What is going on? We are getting routed right now, and the one we are defending is running off!"

"Her Mother is still in the castle along with her kids. Just Geta, Victoria, and the Kitsunes left with Alzi. It is just for a maid, and the Goddess of Space should bring her right back to the portal. Your Royal Highness, get some rest, please. Priestesses say they are ready for the ritual; they just need the supplies and the sacrifices."

"Some good news. Do what's needed to get the supplies. Anything they ask for, give them."

"They need the brothel owners."

"I gave you my instructions."

"I'll get it done."

The nobles won't be mad about a few missing merchants. Not if the ritual works and ends this madness.

I really believed we were culling the forces of Nature every year, not just getting rid of her weak offspring. We'll have to rethink how we handle the forests now.

*** Alzi ***

"Let me be," I say, passing Geta and Victoria. "If they kidnap me, they kidnap me."

"I can watch from a distance. You won't know I'm here," Geta says.

"Fine," I say. I don't want to walk that far anyway. I can just get lost for a while and then pick a random room to sleep in. A couch will do for tonight. Maybe Victoria will pick me up and pull me into her bed.

The halls of the palace are surprisingly simple. There are plenty of paintings for decoration, but they lack the normal jewels and even statues. Kind of peaceful, if I wasn't so mad.

The paintings aren't even of Kitsune Queens. They don't have white tails; instead, pastel colors for their tails. The vibrant colors don't do much to relieve my anger or confusion. They just judge me with their stupid smiling face.

"Wondering my halls?" Kiyomi says. "Take a right and you'll find a garden."

A garden would be better than the paintings.

The problem is that Kiyomi is in the center of the garden, being a better gardener than Irlo and me. Actually pulling out weeds instead of the pretty flowers.

"Something has you angry," Kiyomi says.

"Your daughter," I say.

"Yes, she tends to do that," Kiyomi chuckles. "Rumors say you've visited a few Goddesses, and even my Mother, wondering how to talk to me. No need to be that afraid. I won't pretend I don't love power and control. This garden is mine. Every plant was put in by me when it was just a seed. My hands even dug the pond. You've seen the old Queens, colored to help tell the era apart, but you haven't seen all the gardens. When my time is done, this plot will be painted and moved. Then the next Queen will begin her reign in her garden. Mine will be the most complete of the group. I even had time to build a bench, which you should sit on, you are pregnant."

The garden isn't large, but I don't believe it's all her work. The tree feels ancient. The pond has a waterfall, somehow. The time to cut the grass to the same height can't be possible while fighting in a war. But there is a bench, and I wouldn't mind sitting down for a bit.

"Good," Kiyomi says. "Can we get all the agreements made tonight and just have tomorrow be the announcement. My Mother should've hinted at the woman you'll get for a maid. Her classes are made to be the head maid. So much so that the next Queen won't be happy I'm giving her to you."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I ask.

"About Yuki, no. About making a deal with me, yes," Kiyomi says. "This isn't some noble that just knows what maids due after having a maid handle her things for years, like Aurora. This is someone who has trained to be a maid. Not a tailor or a wife. A maid who will have your schedule, field requests from your many wives, and force you to actually learn. You got the Goddess of Writing to help you with writing and some of your reading, but you can't be asking Sarania to read all your contracts. You're the head of the house and need to be able to do that yourself."

"The Goddess of the Kitsune promised me a house in your realm."

"So you have an agreement with her already for my main problem," Kiyomi says.

"Yes. Am I going to have to deal with all that noble stuff here?"

"Of course. Think you can marry four princesses and miss out on noble things? Think you can be a champion and skip dealing with nobility and royalty? Alzi, I know you're smarter than that. Your kids will need to know it even if you manage to keep everyone from bothering you. Think they'll just sit at home around you forever as well? They'll explore, and they will get picked up by nobility. Don't let them get taken advantage of because you hate the nobles."

"I could kill all the nobles."

"You're getting really fucking close, you know that? This war isn't normal. Plenty of nobles are dying, and they will be looking for whom to marry, and your daughters and sons are the best option for them all. Kill all the nobles of your Queendom and mine, and then what? There are more Queendoms in the lower realms that have nobles. Are you going to kill them all as well? How much blood are you going to shed so that you don't have to deal with nobles? I thought you would be reasonable."

"Fine, I can't kill all the nobles," I say. "I don't want my kids to be snuffed out by rules. They seem to have done wonders at fucking up all the nobles and royals I've met so far."

"Yes, rules and lessons are the reason all of us are mean to you. Don't be ridiculous, Alzi. Power is what messed them all up. Esiyae wanted to feel powerful, but Elora got all that strength and never found what to do with it. Nakuma had the power to hurt Yuki in her love. Elora had power over Shimmer, so she had to sneak around to get what she wanted. Nature and Justice want power. Rules and the lessons are our sad attempt to fix the problems. You'll have plenty of kids, and you'll find out they aren't all as nice as you and your Mother. Even the ones you have with your Mother. Plenty probably will be, but not all. Sometimes a kid comes out rotten with a lot of power. You have to figure out how to deal with them. The other kids, you'll do fine with. You'll set an example for how to handle power with love, and they'll follow. Their kids will follow, and then who knows what will happen with the future generations. Lessons never transfer perfectly."

"Sounds like more than power is the problem."

"Fine, what do you want, Alzi? Power is the problem. Without power, you can't do anything to others. Yes, relationships helped fucked them all up, but the power is what made them a problem. Sure, teach the kids the wrong lessons and they'll never have a chance like Esiyae, but teach them no lessons and they'll learn the wrong ones on their own. You can fight your maid over how much time they spend on any lesson. But they need to learn, or they will use their power to hurt others, or give their power over to someone who will use them as a tool to hurt others. They need to grow up. You didn't. You can hate me for saying it, but you want to be a daughter. A kid forever. A decade of abuse was what you got for never growing up and learning about the world. That isn't your Mother's fault. The village failed you and her by not providing her help. The Mayor was uncomfortable with you being someone more important than her. The Queen failed to come and help you. Your Mother did her best. I am not saying she failed you, or you failed. But now you are the one raising kids. You have to do your best as well. You can't let your kids grow up as you did."

"Your daughter."

Kiyomi puts her little shovel away and dusts off the dirt from her robe as she gets up. "Yes. My daughter is one type of woman who can turn your daughters against you. If you are talking about Tanatsu. Yuki is too stupid to do that. She was so stupid and afraid that she didn't help you. She's on the list of women who didn't help you. Not the list of women who abused you. You wouldn't be confused about a woman who abused you. That's your problem. Yuki didn't do anything. Suppose she hurt you, then you would know what to do with her. If she saved you, well, I wouldn't have the problem I have right now."

"She didn't do anything."

"Right. She didn't do anything. She loved you and failed to raise her hand to protect you. She wasn't the right daughter to go out and find a man. It was meant to be the time that she finally completed something on her own. The rules are simple. I have to let her go unless she needs help getting them into our realm. She never said anything, so I never did anything till she asked Nakuma to get you out."

"How did that work?"

"You're here, ready to help me with the exact problem Yuki was meant to solve. Not exactly Yuki's first successful mission, but it worked if a bit painful."

"How am I ready to solve the problem? Are you about to spread your legs for me?" I ask. "You seem quite certain about what I'm going to do."

"A goddess made a deal with you. In what world does a Goddess not get what she wants?"

"Nature," I say.

"She never had you in her grasp. My patron Goddess did. So what is the deal you two came to?"

"I don't have to tell you that. Just that, yes, I agreed to help you with your population problem, and I get the maid and your continued help against Nature and Justice. But you said I would be helping right now. Did you not?"

"I did not. I said you were here, ready to help. Do you want me to spread my legs? Do you wish to breed me? My women won't be leaving the war. You'll leave tomorrow morning with the maid, and I'll tell my people that you will fill the role of the man."

"The man?! You don't have any men?"

"We have men. But you'll be the one whom the Goddess promised. I had a husband, and the next Queen already has a man. You won't need to fuck her or anything. You'll be the husband to everyone who doesn't have a man. You can walk into their house and get them pregnant. Join them for dinner whenever, and raise your kids as a family. They have no power over you, but you have power over them in terms of family. There is an expectation that you will be sleeping with some of my people every year. Normally, monthly, but with how fertile you are yearly, is enough for me."

"Strip. Get in the pond and spread your legs." Yuki hates her Mother. I'm sure of it. Nakuma has to be playing with Yuki right now. Then I should have someone to play with, and who better than Yuki's Mother? Yuki would be so mad if I got her Mother pregnant while she was getting raped by Nakuma.

"No. Alzi, you don't want to do that. You don't want to get me pregnant. You're angry at Yuki as you should be. She didn't behave as a princess should. She should've taken charge and got you out. Don't do something that you'll regret. I've had my kids, you don't like me, and I'm not particularly happy with you. My reason is stupid, I'm smart enough to know that, but feelings are feelings."

"No. If you want Yuki ever to get pregnant, then do as I say."

"Alzi. When this war is over and you feel the same way, you can come to me and make the request. I'll step into the pond and let you get me pregnant with a reasonable number of kids. Two or three."

"No. I want to get you pregnant. I want Yuki to know that her Mother is pregnant, while all she gets is Nakuma's attention. That's the deal. Do that and I'll get two women a month pregnant with one or two kids."

"Alzi. Honey. Think this through. Do you really want to do this?"

"Strip."

"Promise me you'll listen to your maid. You'll listen to her suggestions for lessons. You'll pay better attention to your kids than I did, so that they won't get hurt ike Yuki. Promise me that, and fine. I'll let you get me pregnant. Triplets and no higher. A single kid would be best. Well, no kid would be best."

"Fine," I say. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel_fіre.net

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Kiyomi mumbles as she starts to strip. Her tails mostly disappear behind her. I guess that will make it easier. I don't need this to take long. "Debasing my own garden for kids."