Journey Home

After a few days of waiting, couriers had come with half of the reparations payment from Navar, with the rest to be delivered in a few weeks.

With the chests in wagons, Mac and the majority of everyone else started to head home, leaving Lord Pegog and a number of troops to man the city.

Instead of using a carriage, Mac had started to enjoy riding, the sturdy Oak being a reliable companion since he had started riding him back in Marsae.

“I really would prefer you rode in a protected carriage, sire,” La Hire said, riding near him. He and the guards formed a box around Mac, Saphoa, and Amiry as they rode in the wagontrain.

“I won't get to ride on Oak then, though,” Mac said, rubbing Oak's mane.

Oak neighed a bit in appreciation.

La Hire sighed, “You'll have plenty of time to ride once we're back at the palace.”

“I probably won't, though...” Mac sighed back.

La Hire didn't have an answer to that, instead just biting his lip.

Amiry giggled, “Sire, maybe don't be too harsh on the Captain. He's been fairly stressed lately.”

Mac winced a bit, “Fine, I'll start riding in a carriage after today.”

La Hire nodded, “Thank you.”

Saphoa, who had easily mastered horse riding, commented, “I wouldn't mind riding in a carriage again. It is nice to have some privacy now and then.”

Mac nodded. This comment was a bit more poignant coming from her, as she had been getting a lot of attention lately. After slaying King Lavon with her spear throw, she had received legendary status among all the non-Arkantan troops. The Arkantan's still revered her as well, but they took such an amazing feat as a matter of course for their Princess.

After a day, the group reached the other side of the mountains, staying at an inn along the road (the innkeeper being ecstatic to have such a large group staying).

Mac, Saphoa, and Amiry were sharing one room. The inn only had one noble suite, although it wasn't particularly large, just a decent-sized bed and a bath.

Saphoa and Amiry both seemed perfectly fine to being sharing the room. Both immediately undressed and went into the tub.

Mac stared at them. “There's not any room for me.”

“Sorry, love, you can squeeze in here” Saphoa explained, scrunching her legs.

Amiry giggled, “Yes come in.”

Mac rolled his eyes. “I think I'll wait.”

Amiry looked to Saphoa, who grabbed Mac from behind. “Love, you should join us.”

Mac sighed, before discarding his clothing and slipping in. It was a tight fit, but he was able to squeeze between them.

Amiry shifted around so her breasts pressed against him. “Do you like being squished between two of your women?”

Mac looked over at Saphoa, who was diligently scrubbing her arms.

“Saphoa...” Amiry said.

Saphoa looked up, “Ah, sorry, I'll give the scrubber once I'm done.”

Amiry sighed, then leaned back against the tub. “I guess I don't excite you anymore...”

Mac looked down, as he wasn't aroused. “It's not that...”

Amiry looked at him a bit dejectedly.

Mac sighed, not wanting her to be down. “Come here...” he pulled Amiry over onto his lap. Amiry wrapped her legs around him, pressing her breasts into his chest.

Mac kissed her, and the two of them started making out. He then started to get aroused, his member poking into her stomach.

Amiry blushed, “Well, I'm glad that worked.”

Mac was about to reply, but Saphoa handed over the scrub brush, “Here, I am done.”

Amiry took it, then Saphoa stepped out, drying herself off. “Um...Saphoa, do you mind if I go first with Mac?”

“No, that is fine, I do not mind,” she said from under the towel, like she had been asked something mundane.

Amiry grabbed Mac's shaft, slipping it into her.

Mac slowly thrusted up into her, while Amiry held onto him. They made out more, Amiry trying to savor her time on top of him, until Mac quickened the pace, eventually finishing into her.

Amiry was red, but smiled at him. “Thanks, I feel better now.”

Mac kissed her again, “Good. Please don't think I'm not interested or anything again.”

Amiry nodded, then slid off him and regained her breath, then started scrubbing.

Mac got up and went over to the waiting Saphoa. She was doing her best seductive pose on the bed, so Mac crawled on top of her and inserted himself. Saphoa moaned softly in pleasure, wrapping her arms around Mac and pulling him towards her. Mac did his best to keep thrusting into her, as Saphoa spasmed under him.

After a couple minutes of sliding in and out, Mac quickened the pace, their bodies rubbing together, until releasing into her in several spurts. Once he finished, they lay their together, catching their breath.

Amiry, who had finished drying, slid behind Mac, holding him from the other side.

Like this, the three of them fell asleep.

The next day, as they were heading out to their carriage, Mac was tackled by a familiar dwarf.

“Come 'ere you big hunk!” Daisy said as she tackled him to the ground, smooching him.

Mac chuckled, hugging Daisy back. “What are you doing here!?”

“I came to bring you home,” she explained as they stood up.

“We were already going home, though. Not that I mind you being here...”

Daisy shook her head, “No, bring you home in record time with that.” She pointed over, and Mac now understood. Sitting there was a carriage with a steam engine, already hissing. “We've been using it for transporting supplies, but if you're only carrying passengers, it goes pretty fast. I can get between Pearie and Stromvurk in under a day, as long as I don't crash.”

“...Do you crash often?”

Daisy shook her head. “I haven't in a couple trips. I'm pretty good at fixing wagons now, though, so even if we do it won't stop us too much.”

Mac tried to push the thought from his head. “Well, I guess we should go.”

La Hire stepped up, “Sire, you can't go without a guard...”

Daisy said, “It can fit six people.”

Mac nodded his head sideways as if to say 'Well?'.

La Hire sighed, “Hold on, I'll find Kylie.”

After a few minutes, Mac, Saphoa, Amiry, La Hire, and Kylie all go into the steam carriage, and Daisy hopped into the driver seat. “Ready?”

Mac nodded, while La Hire braced himself. The women all seemed curious what would happen.

Daisy pushed the brake off, and the steam carriage slowly started chugging forward. Kylie and Amiry seemed a bit scared, clutching onto their respective men, while Saphoa watched out the back, intrigued. “This is like a land version of your steam-boat.”

Daisy laughed, “Haha, yeah. I'm hoping we can get a working boat version soon, too.”

Mac watched the countryside slowly start to slide by.

Amiry, still clutching his arm, asked, “Are you not scared? I almost feel sick.”

He wasn't particularly scared of the speed, as while this was much faster than normal, it wasn't even the same speed as a car from his previous world, let along a high-speed rail. “We had stuff like this in my old world, so this isn't new for me.”

Amiry just clutched him tighter.

The ride was somewhat uneventful, the only noticeable times being when Daisy had to weave around other carriages or wagons on the road.

Eventually, Amiry seemed to have fallen asleep, still on his arm. Saphoa had actually climbed up front with Daisy to watch. And, while La Hire had resisted at first, Kylie had climbed in his lap, and he was gently scratching her head while holding her.

Seeing all this, Mac's desire to take a family vacation in the future was reinforced. Maybe we should just do it soon, instead of waiting, otherwise we might never get to it...

Reunions

Eventually, Mac could see Pearie and the palace in the distance, and they rapidly approached the city. Daisy applied the brake, and the carriage slowed down to a near crawl as they joined the traffic. While they got a few looks, most people just glanced in their direction.

“I'm surprised more people aren't scared of us,” Mac said.

Daisy shook her head, “They were the first few times, but I've driven it out enough that most of the city has seen it by now.”

After meandering through the city, they made it out the other side, then climbed the forest road up to the palace.

They stopped and walked out, and Mac was immediately mobbed by several crying women.

“Mac!” Emma cried, wrapping her whole body around him.

“Nyahaha, you need to share Emma.”

“Emma, you're pregnant, be careful,” Marie softly scolded, rubbing her own stomach at the same time.

After giving each one of them a hug and kiss, they made way. Behind them was Melissandra, and in her arms was Millia.

“Welcome home,” Melissandra said, a few tears on her cheeks.

Mac ran over and carefully hugged her. “Mel...”

Melissandra giggled, “I can wait, say hi to your daughter.”

Mac looked down at Millia, who seemed to be looking up at him.

“Hi there. Sorry I wasn't here to see you right away.”

Melissandra handed her over, and Mac carefully held her. Wow, it's starting to hit me, I actually have a kid now...

Millia proceeded to start crying after just a moment.

This earned some giggling from the others.

“Please, don't cry...”

Melissandra took her back, and Millia stopped.

“She might not like me...” Mac replied.

Melissandra giggled, “She'll get used to you.”

“Ahem...” he heard from behind her.

Mac winced, “Sorry...”

Amiry shook her head. “I'm not upset you wanted to see your daughter, but I do feel a bit awkward.”

Mac walked over to Amiry. “Some of you have already met her, but this is Amiry. I...some things happened, and I'm taking her as a concubine, for now.”

While Mac was worried the others might be confused, they instead just mobbed Amiry.

“Wow, you're so elegant,” Emma said, looking at her black robes with silver flowers, and her black hair tied back in a bun.

Amiry smiled, “Thank you.”

“Are you pregnant already?” Felicia asked.

Amiry blushed slightly, “I don't believe so.”

While they were talking, Mac looked around, as he had noticed someone was missing. “Where's Eleanor? Is she alright?”

Marie nodded. “Yes, she's just on bed rest.”

Melissandra leaned up and kissed Mac. “I'm going to go see if Milly wants to nap.”

“Milly?” Mac asked.

Melissandra blushed, “Yes, that's her nickname. Just like Mel.”

While the others were talking (mainly slamming Amiry with questions), Marie led Mac to the delivery room. Eleanor wasn't quite due yet, but they were having her rest there.

On the way to the delivery room, Mac asked Marie, “How are you doing?”

Marie smiled, “Tillie says everything is going fine. I should be due in about four months. I...” she trailed off.

Mac waited for her to continue, then asked, “What's wrong?”

Marie blushed, “I was hoping you wouldn't mind if we started trying again right away. Well, as soon as Tillie says it's okay. I always wanted to have three or four kids...”

Mac chuckled, wrapping an arm around Marie and kissing her. “You really think I'm going to say no to that?”

Marie blushed even deeper, leaning her head against Mac as they walked.

Soon, they arrived at the room. Opening it up, he could see Eleanor was asleep in a bed. There was also another Eleanor sitting next to her, that looked up and smiled when the door opened.

“Hello there, you must be Mac,” the other Eleanor said.

Marie turned to him, “Sorry, I meant to tell you but I forgot in the commotion-”

“Celestina?” Mac asked, having put the pieces together in his head.

Celestina nodded, standing up and walking over to hug Mac. “Thank you for looking after my daughter here.”

Mac shook his head, “I think Eleanor looks after me more.”

Celestina giggled.

Eleanor stirred, then opened her eyes.

Mac walked over.

Eleanor's eyes lit up, and she leaned on her elbows. “Mac!”

Mac wrapped his arms around her, and Eleanor cried softly into his shoulder. “Mac...I love you...”

Mac smiled, “I love you too. Are you okay?”

Eleanor nodded. “I'm fine. I'm just tired, and it's hard to move much with how big Elana has gotten.”

Mac pulled up a chair and sat next to her.

Eleanor started, “Did you like the steam carriage ride? I haven't been able to ride in one myself, but I'm hoping nobles will want to buy them.”

Mac chuckled, “Even now you're worried about making money.”

Eleanor pouted, “Of course I am. Just because I'm stuck here doesn't mean I can forego my important tasks as Minister of Finance.”

Mac sat down and listened as Eleanor discussed her ideas for selling. After a while of discussing, she seemed to be nodding off a bit, so she grabbed her hand.

“Sorry, just let me take a little nap, then we can discuss more...”

Mac nodded, giving her a kiss as she drifted into slumber.

After that, all the royal family (minus Eleanor, Rhea, who was still off delivering messages, and Millia) gathered for dinner in the royal dining hall. Mac felt a surge of emotion seeing everyone around him, needing to wipe a tear from his eye before sitting down. His emotion was short-lived, though, as he noticed Marie and Amiry were arguing.

Well, not exactly arguing, as he listened in, but having a disagreement nonetheless.

“I'm just a concubine, I shouldn't be here...” Amiry said.

Marie was blocking her path, a smile on her face. “A concubine is still considered part of the royal family in Ositania.”

Amiry shook her head, “Yes, but I'm not in the same standing as a Queen. I'll eat by myself later, or in my room.”

Marie looked at Mac for support. Mac was about to walk over, when Melissandra put an arm on Amiry's hip, gently pushing her towards the table. “Amiry, I'd like everyone to get to know you.”

Amiry blushed slightly, looking at Marie again, then finally giving up and going to sit down. “Very well.”

Food was brought out, and everyone pelted Amiry with more questions as they ate.

“So how did you end up meeting?” Emma asked.

“Lord Cartegna was searching among the nobles for anyone with long-range offensive magic, and I fit the bill.”

“How long until you decided to seduce him?” Felicia asked with a smirk.

“A fair bit. At first, I just enjoyed talking to him, especially as my nightly drinking buddy. His lips are a bit looser after a couple cups of wine.”

“Nyahaha, so you got him drunk first?” Kay asked.

Amiry blushed, “No, we hadn't drank much that night. I just explained the benefits, and he agreed.”

Marie sighed, “It might complicate things a bit with the nobles houses if you are actually taking concubines now. That's one of our rebuttals out the window.”

Melissandra acted like she was about to say something, but everyone else started laughing and she stopped.

They continued eating, eventually slowly breaking off to go to bed (with a kiss to Mac first) until just Melissandra and Mac were left.

Melissandra smiled at him, “It's my night.”

Mac wrapped his arms around her as they stood up, giving her a kiss.

Melissandra reciprocated, before giggling. “I need more of that.”

Mac went to kiss her again, but Melissandra put a finger to his lips. “Let's go say goodnight to our daughter first.”

They held hands, walking down the hall to find the nursery. A maid was on standby, smiling and bowing to them as they entered. Laying in a crib, Millia had her eyes closed, swaddled in a towel with the crest of Ositania on it.

Melissandra hugged his arm as they looked down at her peaceful face.

Not wanting to wake her, they quietly left after a bit and went to Melissandra's room. Once inside, Mac wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight for a kiss. His hands slowly slid down to her butt, but Melissandra grabbed his arm.

Mac was surprised, “Err...do you not want too?”

Melissandra blushed, “I very much do, but Tillie said it's not safe yet. I need to wait until everything is healed up.”

Mac nodded, “Sorry...”

Melissandra shook her head, “No, I'm sorry, I want to as well...”

Mac chuckled, “You don't need to be sorry about that. You did a good job bringing Millia safely into the world.”

Melissandra smiled, and teared up a bit. “I love you so much Mac.”

“I love you too.”

They both changed into their pajamas, and cuddled together on the bed. Melissandra had a death grip around Mac's midsection, seeming to fall asleep quickly as Mac held her.

Mac pressed his hand to her head, gently brushing her hair. You did good Mel. I'm here for you now.

A Date and Dresses

The next few days, the palace slowly settled into a pattern similar to how it had been before the war. Mac was back on his normal schedule: working in the morning, a date with a girl after lunch, potentially some meetings, dinner, then spending the night with a different girl.

Amiry had been given a room in the same hall with the others, and Melissandra had put her in the schedule just like the others, and the girls had been inviting her to tea and dinner, just like the others. All according to Mac's plan.

At this point, it's more fun just seeing her feel uncomfortable at being included. Mac chuckled to himself as he went to find her. Today's date was with Amiry, hence why he had been thinking about her. As usual, he found her in a common spot on a sunny day (despite the cold), sitting on a bench in the gardens, reading a book.

She snapped the book shut as she saw Mac approaching, slipping it into a pocket of her dress, and retrieving a fan from it. “Here to take your concubine on a date?” she smirked.

Mac nodded, grabbing her hand, causing her to blush slightly.

“What will your staff think of you treating your concubine this way?” she said.

Mac knew she couldn't say 'your wives and fiances' because she already knew they were supportive of it. “Well, you're my only concubine, so they don't really have any preconceptions.”

Amiry sighed, then snapped her fan shut. “Very well. It's not like I'm opposed, obviously.” She squeezed his hand and let him lead her along.

They two walked through and out of the palace, then through the gate. Two guards followed behind them a ways as they made their way towards the city.

Amiry looked back at them. “Do we really need guards? Not slighting them, I've seen them in combat, but we can defend ourselves better then they can.”

Mac sighed. “Yes, after the assassination attempt, it was the only way I'm allowed out.”

Amiry nodded. “Very well. I shall endeavor to make them as uncomfortable as possible,” she said, leaning over and kissing his cheek.

“I appreciate it, but that's pretty tame to what the others have done in front of them,” Mac chuckled.

Amiry blinked, then nodded. “Having gotten to know them, I can't say I'm surprised...”

Once they were in town, Mac led her to the normal cafe date spot he used. The cafe now even had a sign up proclaiming it had the favorite tea of several Queens.

They aren't lying, Mac thought as he pushed inside. He went and got some tea as Amiry sat down. He felt like some people were looking at him oddly. Do they recognize me as King? Or maybe they think I look like him, but don't expect me to actually come here? He saw the guards station themselves outside. That's kind of a giveaway.

He came over with the tea, and poured some for Amiry. She sat her fan down and started drinking, raising an eyebrow. “This is quite good.”

Mac nodded. “Yeah, we come here for a reason. The palace has started doing bulk orders from here since we all drink it.”

Amiry and Mac drank in silence, feeling the looks they would occasionally get from the others.

“Don't worry about me, sire, I'm used to getting glared at,” Amiry said, hiding her face again.

Mac shook his head, “I'm fairly sure it's just because of how pretty you are.” He could see some blush poking out over her fan. “Besides, I bet a lot of them can't even tell the difference between a full-elf and half-elf anyway.”

Amiry shook her head, “The black hair is a giveaway.”

Mac sighed, “If you say so.”

Amiry looked at him a moment, then giggled and took another sip.

After they finished, Mac led her to an alley. The guards waited at the entrance to it.

“Where are we going? Is this where you have sex on dates?” Amiry asked.

Mac looked at her, “In a random alley? No...well, maybe I have once. That's not why we're here though,” he said, pushing open a door.

Inside was rows and rows of dresses. Women were running every which way, handing dresses off and hanging them up. Whenever one saw them, they would quickly curtsy, before continuing on their way.

“What is this?” Amiry asked.

“The royal families dress factory. Well, it's not just dresses anymore, but that's still a big part. I'm sure you know about the zipper dresses, right?”

Amiry nodded. “Yes, didn't Daisy invent them?”

“Well, not exactly, she replicated one I brought from my world. Either way, we've been making a ton selling them, and this is the operation. Of course, we've been expanding to include other clothing,” he said, motioning to the tracksuit he was wearing. The one he had been transported in was now in a chest with his phone and other Otherworlder items to keep safe, so he now exclusively wore ones created in this world.

“Sire!” a voice came from down the row. A woman ran up, hugging Mac.

“Bella, it's good to see you,” Mac hugged back.

Amiry smirked, “Is this another woman I haven't met?”

Mac quickly shook his hands, “Oh, no, Bella is happily married.”

“Haha, Mac is a bit young for me...”

“Nonsense, you just had another kid! And you're looking pretty good considering...”

Bella blushed, “Oh, now you sound like Ben,” she said, giving a small slap to his shoulder.

Amiry just watched in silence as they bantered.

“Oh, that's right, I have something to show you,” Bella said, motioning for them to follow her. They went to another room, where several women were sewing. They all nodded at Mac, but kept working. They went to another room past that, where several children were playing and babies were in cribs. “This is Bea.”

Inside was a small baby, a few tufts of hair the same brown color as Bella. She was sleeping, so they didn't bother her.

“I'm glad everything went well.”

Bella blushed, “Thanks again for letting me use the royal midwife.”

Mac nodded, “I think Tillie was glad to have the practice, considering how many more are coming.”

Bella quietly giggled, elbowing him. “You have been busy up there at night. Speaking of which, are you going to introduce me to this new one?”

Mac wrapped an arm around Amiry, causing her to blush slightly. “This is Amiry. She won the war for us, so I'm marrying her as a reward.”

Bella laughed more, “Haha, that's amazing.”

Amiry blushed, this time slightly in annoyance, “Sire, you know that isn't true...”

Mac explained what actually happened as they left to go back to the sewing room.

Bella nodded and smiled. “Well, it's nice to meet you. Normally, I'd give you a flower, but would you like a dress instead?”

Amiry didn't understand the flower comment, but shook her head. “That is okay, I appreciate the offer, but I prefer my sashed dresses.”

Bella nodded, looking Amiry up and down. “That's an interesting style. It complements your hair too. Very elegant.”

Amiry smiled at the compliment. “Thank you. It's a style from across the sea. I saw a few get imported in Brescia, so I bought up any that fit me. Sadly, we stopped getting them a while ago since they aren't popular, so I had to special order them myself, which can be expensive.”

“That's actually part of the reason I brought her. Do you think you could make this style?” Mac asked.

Bella put her hand to her chin, walking around Amiry, occasionally poking at the dress.

Amiry didn't seem to mind, fanning herself as she watched Bella inspect her.

After a couple rounds of examining, Bella nodded. “Yeah, I think we can, if your willing to give us one to replicate. Do you think it will be popular?”

Stolen story; please report.

Mac nodded, “I hope so, if it means more women looking like Amiry.”

Amiry blushed again as Mac and Bella chuckled.

Spirit Queen

Rhea yawned as she walked down to breakfast in the morning. Most of the maids still watched her with a mix of fear and adulation, but she smiled and waved at them regardless. Of course, for some of them, this made their feelings intensify.

Mac had told her not to mind, though, and to just be her normal self, so that's what she was doing.

She was greeted normally by the other girls and Mac when she entered the Royal Dining Hall. They had set up a second and third table, so there was a lot of room now. Rhea was often late, and it looked like several people had already left.

Marie seemed to have been waiting for her, and waved her over. Rhea came over and hugged Marie from behind, her wings fluttering slightly. “Good morning, Marie!”

Marie, who had been chewing on some toast, lightly patted Rhea's arm. “It's good to see you too. I needed to talk with you though.”

Rhea nodded and sat down. She waved at the maid, who jumped slightly before running off to grab some food for her. “What do you wanna know? If it's a boy or girl?”

Marie shook her head, “No, I'm fine with not knowing still. It's about your wedding with Mac.”

Rhea blushed and looked over at Mac, who was in the middle of bringing a fork of eggs to his mouth. He smiled, then kept eating. “What about it? Wait, are we gonna do it now!?” she asked, getting excited.

Marie smiled and nodded. “Not right now, but we're gonna start planning it. We are going to do Gabriella's first, to help smooth over any issues there might be with Provent.”

Rhea nodded excitedly, then acted confused, “Wait, shouldn't I be behind some of the others? Like Charlotte, and you? If we're going in order.”

Marie shook her head, “No. Charlotte's is being planned and held by Lady Sophia, and she has not given a date. Elves tend to move at a slower pace for these things, so it could be quite a while, especially after the war. As for me, mine isn't important.”

Mac shook his head. “That's not true, I-”

Marie blushed and held up her hand, “Yes, I understand, but we talked about this.”

Mac sighed, shaking his head.

Rhea leaned over and whispered, “What's wrong? Are you two fighting?”

Marie blushed, “No, Mac just doesn't agree with me that my wedding is a low priority right now. It's nothing as important as Gabriella's, and it's not even close to yours.”

Rhea raised an eyebrow. “Why is mine more important?”

Now it was Marie's turn to sigh, “Rhea, did you forget you're a spirit? There's never been, from what I could find in our Records, a wedding between a spirit and a human, let along a King. This is really a big deal. We have to pull out all the stops.”

Rhea blushed, “No, you don't need too...”

Marie shook her head. “No, we do. You don't seem to understand the importance of this, so let me explain. Every interaction we have with other countries in the future will be couched with the understanding we have a spirit as a Queen. It gives us a big, glaring advantage in negotiations. And how likely is a country to invade us again, assuming they may incur the wrath of the spirits?”

Rhea nodded slowly. “I understand. There's not much I can do to them, though. I've already stretched the rules with how much help I've given to Mac as is.”

Marie nodded. “I know, it's the implication of what you could do. Eventually the advantage might fade, which is why you should be careful in how you act for now.”

Rhea nodded, then flew over the table and hugged Mac, “I'll help as much as I can.”

The maid who had gone to get her breakfast returned right then, stopping and looking nervously at this display.

“Oh, thanks!” Rhea said, flying over and grabbing the plate, before flying next to Marie.

Marie sighed, “Maybe we should give you etiquette lessons too...”

Another Heir

A few days later, Mac was in his office, going through a mountain of papers. While the damage to Ositania hadn't been substantial, they still needed to help with supplies to Stromvurk and the surrounding area, sending food to Provent, and setting up supply chains entirely to Valien.

Lord Pegog had been successful freeing the slaves, but this had caused a new problem. All the freed slaves were migrating from Valien into other areas of Ositania, many heading to Stromvurk and Loren.

It would be nice if we get get some to help resettle Toulouse, but we still need to take care of them before then.

His writing was interrupted by the door opening. Fawna came in, dressed in her maid outfit instead of a dress. Mac could assume why.

“Fawna...I don't mind, but...”

Fawna pouted a bit. “But I'm not pregnant yet! I want to be like everyone else.”

Mac sighed. He couldn't really deny she was right. Besides her, most of his partners were pregnant, except for Charlotte, Amiry, and Daisy (unsurprising given their races had lower fertility rates), Saphoa (also unsurprising since they had just started 'trying' recently), Melissandra (who they hadn't restarted yet), and Rhea (who he was unsure how 'fertile' spirits even were). “You don't need to rush into it just to fit in...”

Fawna blushed, “That's not it! I just...after seeing how cute Millia is, I want us to have one too!”

Mac nodded in agreement, “They would be cute...”

Fawna smiled, “Exactly! So I wore my maid outfit to get you in the mood.”

Mac decided there was no point in arguing. He stood up and pulled Fawna onto the couch. Fawna straddled around him, pulling down her panties and rubbing against Mac's crotch. Mac pulled the sides of her maid outfit down, and saw Fawna wasn't wearing a bra. He started licking her breasts, causing Fawna to moan.

“Just stick it in...” she cooed.

Mac unzipped his pants, and slid his member into her. He then started thrusting hard, causing her breasts to bounce in front of him as she lurched up with every thrust.

After just a few minutes, Mac felt himself coming, and released into her as she spasmed in his arms.

They then sat there connected, catching their breath.

“Mac...” she kissed him, “...I love you so much. Don't leave me anymore.”

Mac gave a wry smile, “I don't particularly want too, but I can't promise that.”

Fawna blushed, “Sorry, I know...”

Suddenly the door shot open, Marie coming. “Mac, Eleanor is-” she stopped, seeing them.

Fawna and Mac both blushed, quickly getting dressed.

“Sorry...” Mac said.

Marie shook her head, “I'm not upset about you trying to create more heirs, but your second one is being born, so we should go.”

The three of them wound through the private palace until the reached the delivery room. Inside, Eleanor was screaming in pain.

“Elly!” Mac cried as he came in

Eleanor held out her arms. “Mac, hold me...”

Mac ran over, wrapping his arms around her as they hugged each other. Melissandra pushed a chair behind him, and he sat down as Eleanor clung to him, crying out in pain.

“Don't worry girl, you're doing good,” Tillie shouted.

Celestina was on Eleanor's other side, trying to reassure her. “Don't worry...” she patted her head.

This went on for half an hour, until suddenly Eleanor's clenching subsided, and crying filled the room. Tillie and the maids quickly wiped off Elena, before handing her over to Eleanor.

Eleanor broke into a teary smile, holding Elena to her.

Mac looked at the little human in her arms. She...looked like a little baby Eleanor. Maybe she'll gain some of my features, but she looks like a carbon copy of her! Not like that's a bad thing. He did notice, though, that both her eyes were the golden color of Celestina's

Celestina was almost as excited as Eleanor. “She's so cute!”

Eleanor handed her over to Mac. She stopped crying, instead looking up at Mac as if surveying him.

“Hey there Elena,” he whispered, putting a finger to her soft cheek.

Elena grabbed onto his finger, not wanting to let go, continuing to look at him.

Melissandra giggled, “I think she likes you more than Millia does.”

Mac nodded.

Elena's eyes were darting around every which way.

Tillie sighed behind him. “That's good, she seems like she'll be an inquisitive one.” She took Elena back, going to do normal post-birth checks to make sure she was fine.

Eleanor seemed like she was going to fall asleep.

“You can rest now Elly,” Mac smiled at her, holding her hand.

Eleanor nodded, before laying back, “Just a short nap.”

Mac stayed with Eleanor for the rest of the day, until night had fallen and Elena was asleep in a crib next to her. Tillie patted his shoulder, “Sire, you should get some sleep, too.”

Mac nodded, standing up and heading to Kay's room.

Kay was already asleep on her side, resting her pregnant belly, however she woke up when Mac closed the door. She sleepily sat up, then walked over to Mac. “Let's take a bath.”

Mac chuckled, “Why the request?”

“I didn't wash all day, and it's hard to scrub my back. And I don't like asking the maids to do it.”

Mac nodded, and they went over to the tub. After undressing, she slid into the tub, carefully holding her belly as she sat down.

“How do you like Kenneth and Kassandra?” Kay asked.

Mac took a moment, then realized what she was asking. “I like them,” before kneeling down and grabbing the scrubber.

“Nyahaha, you're easy to please.”

Mac rebutted, “No, I just like them.”

Kay turned her head around, blushing. “Kiss me.”

“So demanding today...” Mac teased, leaning over and kissing her before going back to scrubbing.

Kay seemed satisfied as Mac finished. “Do you want me to scrub the front too?”

Kay blushed, “I want you too, but my breasts are tender right now.”

Mac nodded, then got into the tub across from her. They both soaked for a while as they relaxed.

After a few minutes, Kay broke the silence, “I'm sorry...”

Mac was took a moment to register what she had said. “For what?”

Kay looked down, “I didn't know about the invasion.”

Mac shook his head, “You can't know everything.”

Kay shook her head, “I should, though.”

Mac chuckled, “I'd be impressed.”

Kay thought for a moment about his response, then shook her head, “I'm serious though. A lot of people died.”

Mac sighed, scooting over and wrapping his arms around her. “It's not your fault. It's Navar's and King Lavon's fault.”

“But-”

Mac put a finger to her lips. “You do the best you can. I'm sure you do things behind the scenes that I don't even know about.”

“Nyahaha, is it that obvious?”

Mac nodded, “Sometimes things work out a bit too well, don't they? Just because one thing didn't go our way, doesn't mean you did a bad job. We just need to learn from this.”

Kay nodded, “I know. I'm already expanding to try and get permanent contacts in neighboring countries. Well, Navar might be hard right now, but...”

Mac hugged her. “Don't worry about that right now.”

Kay smiled, hugging him back.

A week later, Mac was in the nursery, watching three of his wives. Melissandra and Eleanor were sitting next to each other, both feeding Millia and Elena, as they had seemed to get hungry around the same time. Felicia was sitting nearby, also in a rocker, knitting some baby clothes.

Felicia was due within a few weeks, and her belly was getting quite large. She was still able to move around okay, but Mac had started to get worried about her.

“You just like watching them eat?” Felicia teased him.

“I just want to be around them, I guess.”

Felicia smiled, then went back to knitting.

Melissandra made a little grunt. “Sheesh, Millia, that hurts...” she said, trying to joke it off.

Felicia looked over, “Do you want me to hold her for a bit?”

Mac, curious, asked, “Are you already able to wetnurse them before birth?”

Felicia giggled, explaining, “I do have milk already, but it's the wrong kind.”

Mac nodded, “I never knew that.”

Melissandra giggled, “Well, you don't necessarily need too. I'm happy you're curious about everything though.”

Felicia nodded, “I can start wetnursing a couple weeks after Freesia is born.”

Mac smiled, “So you decided on that name?”

Felicia blushed slightly, “I figured I needed to decide soon.”

Eleanor got excited, “Maybe Mac can only have female children. Is that part of being an Otherworlder!?”

Melissandra shook her head, “But we already know Emma is having a son...”

After talking for a bit, Elena seemed tired after eating and went straight to sleep. Millia, however, seemed wide awake, looking around.

Mac sat over the side of the crib, gently rubbing his finger on her tummy. Millia seemed to enjoy it, or at least reacted by waving her arms around.

Melissandra smiled at the sight. “I wonder if we should bring her some flowers to look at? She might like that.”

Mac raised an eyebrow. “I'm not against it, but will she know what they are?”

“They're flowers...” Melissandra said, as if confused.

“Yeah, but, babies don't know what things are yet. I don't think they even have object permanence until a few months after they're born.”

“Object...what?” Melissandra asked, more confused.

“It's like, when they can remember things. I wish I had taken a dedicated class on childcare. I think we had them for expecting parents in my world. I wasn't expecting to be a parent so soon...”

Melissandra giggled, hugging him from behind. “Well, we'll figure it out together,” she said, and kissed his cheek.

Crossing Countries

Lucia followed her mother as they wound through the Navarran Royal Palace. Navar's capital, Esquara, had technically been untouched by the most recent war, but you'd be mistaken for thinking it had been with the going's-on's recently. The streets were filled with refugees from the annexed land, or people looking for their loved ones who hadn't returned from the war, which had officially concluded a month ago.

Her father, Manuel, had been running things in the capital in her uncle's absence. When her uncle had been slain, her father had quickly worked to get the support of the nobles to be the new de facto ruler of Navar. This included some bribes, favors, and also having King Lavon's eldest son (and one of her cousins) assassinated.

“You know what's going on, right?” her mother asked.

“Yes, mother,” Lucia replied. She did indeed. Felipe had sent her a letter, and even without that, word had spread amongst her contacts in the palace and beyond. She reflexively read through in her mind the letter from Felipe in her pocket, as she had memorized it's contents.

Lucia,

I'm sure you have heard the news already. If you are indeed sent to King Mac as a hostage, please do not worry. I believe he is a decent man, and will not treat you poorly.

Felipe

Lucia held back from sighing behind her mother. That is well and good brother, but will he really be so nice to someone from the country that just attacked him?

They soon arrived at the royal study, which her father was already occupying despite not being coronated yet. As they entered, he gave her a grin, “Lucia, my dear. You ready to help your country?”

Lucia held her emotions in check, forcing herself to smile, “Of course, father. Whatever Navar needs of me.”

Her father's face hardened. “Yes, Navar does need you, too. You're going to be a hostage, but they might give you a long leash. From the reports, King Mac is soft around women, and that's why he wanted a diplomatic hostage. We need you to seduce him and wreak any havoc you can from the inside. Undermine their operations, spread discord. Even kill him, if you can.”

Lucia stopped herself from shaking, and nodded. The message from her father was clear, this was basically a suicide mission. Gain their trust, do as much damage as possible, then run, or get executed for being an assassin.

“Here,” her mother said, handing her a paper. Opening it up, there was a cipher inside. “You'll need to keep us abreast of what's going on inside the palace.”

Her father nodded, “It might take a few years, but we need to find a time to reclaim Valien.”

Lucia bowed, “I'll do everything I can, Father.”

Her father nodded and smiled again, “Good. You're leaving today.”

Her mother went to leave, and Lucia followed after. They walked back to her room, where some servants were already moving a packed chest out. They followed after them, until they were in the front palace grounds.

They stopped next to her personal carriage, and Lucia could see her mother was concerned. Unlike her father, who had generally only ever seen her as a future political tool, her mother had always been kind, if hard, on her. She leaned over, whispering, “Don't get yourself killed. And if he gets you pregnant...” she slipped something into her pocket, “...take this. It will kill the unborn child. If you need more, ask for the recipe in a letter.” She then hugged her.

Lucia tried not to cry, not knowing whether she'd ever see her mother again.

The carriage trip was uneventful. There was a lot of traffic on the road, as refugees from the annexed region were still migrating to Esquara. It seems the Ositanians had let anyone who felt like leaving do so. Except for their slaves, which had either been liberated, or confiscated, depending on who told the story.

Her personal carriage came complete with a bed, so she didn't plan on leaving it for the three days it would take get to the Ositanian border, only stopping for eating or restroom breaks. She alternated between watching the countryside go by, and memorizing the cipher her mother had given her.

However, after two and a half days, the carriage stopped suddenly. She heard some shouting, and decided to open the window and look out.

Ahead, her guards were arguing with some...people. Ah...I was remembering the travel time by the old borders. There was two tall blue men with spears running a checkpoint. Felipe mentioned the Ositanian army had large blue warriors from the sea. They're a bit...scary. Then, one of them started walking towards her, followed by her guards.

“Hello, are you Lady Lucia?” the man asked.

Lucia, trying not to feel intimidated, nodded.

The man cracked a huge smile. “I am Lord Pegog. King Mac ordered me to ensure your safe travel within Ositanian's borders.”

“Princess, we intend to-”

Lucia shook her head. “It's fine, I doubt the Ositanians will do anything to hurt me.”

Lord Pegog nodded, “Of course. We are still clearing out the bandits from around Valien, so we didn't want to take any chances you would have a subpar guard.”

The Navarran Royal Guards ground their teeth, although no one was brave enough to say anything in the presence of Lord Pegog.

The Ositanians took over the carriage, and she saw they were riding (or walking, in the case of the blue men) in formation around her, until they reached the mountain pass that had been the former connecting point between Navar and Ositania.

The carriage stopped in the pass, until there was a knock at the door. When she opened, Lord Pegog was there. “My Lady, do you need anything?”

“Could you send a sla-, could you send a servant to come wash me?” she said, catching herself.

Lord Pegog nodded.

After a few minutes, a catkin maid came in with some hot water, and filled her tub.

Lucia undressed and got in the tub, waiting for the maid to come wash her.

“Oooh, you're so pretty!”

Lucia was taken aback as the maid grabbed her arm, running her hands over it. “It's like Gabriella's skin, except a bit darker.”

Lucia wasn't used to her servants talking, and didn't know what to say. After a moment, though, she decided to ask, “Gabriella? The Provental Queen?”

The maid nodded, “Yes. I've bathed with her a few times.”

With? Surely she means she scrubbed her as well. Maybe I can gain some information. “Did you spend a lot of time with her? I'm surprised she didn't have a Provent maid.”

“Well, we didn't have any Provent maids at the time, so she just used ours.”

That makes sense, Ositania wouldn't want anymore than necessary. I wasn't allowed to bring any of my slaves, either. “Do you think she'll be good for Provent?”

“Of course! She's good at being serious when she needs too.”

'Serious?' Well, that's a good start on info, at least. “So you're one of the Ositanian Royal Maids, then?”

“Yup! Mac figured you'd need one since you weren't allowed to bring your own, and it was easy for me to tag along.”

Hmm, so the maid knows I wasn't able to bring one. Do they normally let their maids in on the details like that?

As Lucia was thinking, the maid finished scrubbing her. Lucia quickly stood up, and the maid wrapped her in a towel.

“Do you need help dressing?” the maid asked as she dried Lucia's hair.

Is it normal in Ositania not to have your servants dress you? Or maybe only with specific clothing? Maybe I'll take a risk to get on her good graces. “No, I should be fine. I would appreciate it if you could grab it for me, though, its in the right chest.”

She felt the maid let go of the towel. Feeling awkward just having it draped over her, Lucia slid it off and held it, then stepped out of the tub. She dried her feet on the rug next to her, as the maid came over with a pajama dress. Grabbing the towel and giving her the dress, the maid folded it up.

“Do you need anything else?”

Lucia struggled a bit, but eventually got the pajamas over her head. “No, thank you for the help. You're an excellent maid.”

The maid giggled, “Thank you.”

Since she's chatty, maybe I can get away with this question. “Is that why you were chosen? Mac wanted to make a good impression?”

The maid giggled again, “No, my fiance was just coming along, so I went with him.”

Lucia smiled, “Oh, that's wonderful. Who is your fiance?”

“Captain La Hire.”

Wait, Captain...they sent the Captain of the Guards fiance to help me!? Before Lucia could think of something to say, the maid smiled, “I'm Kylie, by the way. Just ask for me if you need anything!” and left.

Lucia sighed, then fell over on her bed. Let's plan for next time.

The next day they went up and through the mountain pass. There was a pervasive pungent smell to the area, and Lucia closed the windows of the carriage, thought it didn't completely block it out. She knew why, but tried not to think of it, instead using the cipher to write a practice letter. It was a fairly simple one compared to some she'd learned in the past. Depending on which family member she mentioned first, the cipher would start there, and would be every fourth, fifth, or sixth letter (depending on if she mentioned her mother, her father, or Felipe).

After a while, she could feel the carriage had gone over the crest and they were heading back downhill. She opened her window and stuck her head out, and could see the vast plains of Ositania rolling out before her. She was a bit in awe as the green-ness of it. Navar had some green too, but it was mixed in with lots of brown, and nowhere near as lush as this.

She continued watching for a while, until she was unable to see as much as they got further downhill. Since she was tired from the cipher practice, she decided to take a nap.

She was jarred awake as the carriage stopped. Blinking open her eyes, she could see it was dusk, so she got out of bed. Probably shouldn't have napped that long. As she was about to go to the door to ask for dinner, a knock suddenly came. “Come in.” Kylie sure is quick.

Instead of Kylie, however, it was a maid with blue skin, who came in and sat down a bowl of soup, before giving a bow.

One of the sea warriors? But she seems like a normal enough maid...besides the skin.

“Kylie was right, you're very pretty. I'm Mazzy, another of the royal maids. I am technically the personal maid of Princess Saphoa, but I came along with La Hire and Kylie for this trip.”

Interesting. “Are you also a fiance of Captain La Hire?”

Mazzy shook her head, “No. Well, not yet. I'm still evaluating him.”

“Evaluating?” Lucia responded without thinking.

Mazzy nodded, “Yes. My lady Saphoa is settling down in Pearie, so I will as well. La Hire seems like a good choice, and I already know his other fiances, but for now I'm having fun teasing him.”

Lucia blinked, not sure if she was supposed to laugh at this explanation.

“I would recommend eating the stew warm, princess.”

Lucia blushed slightly then went over and ate, while Mazzy walked back out the door. She was hungry and scarfed it down quickly, or at least as quickly as a noblewoman could with proper etiquette. As she was finishing, Mazzy returned with hot water to fill her tub.

Unlike Kylie, Mazzy seemed to be more along the lines of a normal maid while washing her. No talking, no extraneous skin brushing, and the wash was over quickly.

Once she was in her pajamas, Mazzy asked, “Anything else you need tonight?”

Lucia shook her head, so Mazzy left. I wanted to try and get more info, but something tells me she wouldn't be as forthcoming. And I also don't know enough about these sea people, so best not to offend...

In the morning, Lucia waited for the carriage to start, but for whatever reason, it was not going. After a while, their was a knock. “Come in.”

Both Kylie and Mazzy entered. “My lady, we're transferring carriages,” they said, and went over to grab her chests.

Lucia took a moment to respond, then started to get angry. “What do you mean!? There's nothing wrong with my current carriage!”

Kylie giggled, “It's nice, but it's too slow. Mac wants you to get to Pearie today everything on schedule.”

Lucia was confused. “So, you have a carriage that will get me to Pearie in one day?”

“Yup!” was all Kylie replied.

Lucia seemed like she didn't have a choice in the matter, and begrudgingly followed them out of the carriage. She was met by a tall, handsome man in shining armor, with the crest of Ositania on it. He had long, golden hair, and on his arm was a Captain insignia.

“My lady, please follow me.” He led her a short distance to a new carriage. It looked rather normal, but was making a loud sound, and steam was coming out of the back, as if someone was making a giant pot of tea. There was no horses yet attached, and in the drivers bench was a dwarf woman, who for some reason gave her a friendly wave.

Mazzy and Kylie loaded up her chests, then waited.

“Please, get in.”

Lucia held back a sigh, then entered. It was a small carriage with just two benches, so she sat down on one.

The other was soon filled up by La Hire and the two maids, who flanked either side of him. La Hire blushed as the breasts of the two maids dug into his arm (not because they were purposefully doing so, but just because of the size of the carriage). “Sorry it isn't larger, but they try to keep the weight down so they can carry more.”

Lucia wanted to protest riding with maids, but decided against it. Instead, she asked, “Couldn't you just add more horses?”

Before La Hire could respond, the carriage suddenly started forward. Then kept starting. It was going faster and faster, as if the horses were in a full-on sprint. She grabbed her seat, then saw their were handles on the sides of the wagon, and grabbed onto one.

Kylie smiled, “I'm glad they added those, it can be a bit uncomfortable getting jostled around. She herself was holding onto La Hire's arm, leaning into him. Mazzy seemed unbothered, holding her hands in her lap, and acting as if she was going to nap.

Lucia scooted over and looked out the small window, and saw that the countryside was flying by. This is insane! “How many horses are pulling this?” she asked, exasperated. “I didn't even see any when we got in.”

“Oh, there's no horses, it's one of the King's Otherworlder tools. Well, technically Charlotte invented it, but she got some help from him...”

La Hire cleared his throat. “I don't know if talking about that is a good idea...”

Kylie giggled, “Why? It's not like we can hide it when she's already riding in it.”

La Hire, “I guess that's true. King Mac's decision-making is confusing, as always.”

Otherworlder.... Lucia knew that the King of Ositania was an Otherworlder. She herself was descended from Otherworlders, if quite a few generations back.

Mazzy gave her a piece of bread. “Here, I find the trip to be easier to manage when I'm focusing on chewing food.”

Lucia decided to take the suggestion, grabbing the bread and chomping down. This does help, a bit...

Eventually, Lucia got used to the fast-moving carriage, even dozing off a bit occasionally, though would get jolted awake whenever they took a particularly sharp turn or went over a rock. They only stopped a couple times, where she heard some noise from outside, of clanging metal and more steam, but after a minute they would restart their journey.

Eventually at dusk, she could see in the distance a city as large as Esquara. Behind it, she saw a palace on the side of a mountain. As the road was getting busy, she closed the window.

A bit longer, and they slowly came to a stop. The others got out, and Lucia sighed while she had the chance. Taking a deep breath, she walked out...to a mostly empty courtyard. Did they forget I was coming!? They even went through the trouble of rushing me here!

She was not alone, however, in being confused at the lack of welcome. “What's going on?” Kylie said.

La Hire shrugged.

Suddenly a woman came out through the entrance. She was a bit taller than her, at least a decade older, with glasses, red hair, and a slightly protruding belly. And she was panting a bit. “I'm sorry, Princess Lucia. Queen Felicia went into labor a few minutes ago.

Kylie started getting excited. “Amazing! Let's-”

Marie smiled and grabbed her shoulder. “Please get our guest to her room before you go to the delivery room.”

Kylie nodded.

Mazzy and La Hire had already been offloading chests, along with a couple guards that had come up.

Well, at least the King will be a bit preoccupied.

Yet Another Heir

Mac was currently holding onto Felicia's hand as she laid in bed.

“Keep going, you're doing great,” Tillie said below her.

Felicia, for her part, seemed to be keeping calm. She was sweating, and looked to be in a bit of pain, but she seemed content just to clench onto Mac and Fiona's (who was on the other side of her) hands.

After just twenty minutes, the sound of crying filled the room. Freesia was quickly washed off and given to Felicia. Her smile was soft as she looked down at her daughter, before looking at Mac and kissing him, handing her over.

Freesia seemed uninterested in what was going on around her, mostly just staring at nothing.

“Is she okay?” Mac asked.

Tillie smiled and nodded. “As far as I can tell. Coming out can be hard on the babies too, so maybe she's just tired.”

Felicia giggled, taking her baby back and rocking her around slightly.

Tillie eventually took the baby back, and she and the maids (who were starting to become apprentice mid-wifes at the rate the royal family was going) checked to make sure everything looked fine. After getting a good bill of health, she was handed over to the parents again.

Freesia now seemed more awake, switching between looking at her father and mother.

Mac gently rubbed her little bunny ears. “They're so cute!”

Felicia giggled, leaning into Mac with a smile on her face.

Fiona turned to La Hire. “See how cute our baby will be?”

La Hire cracked a rare smile. “Yes, I'm looking forward to it.”

Finn, who had been standing in the corner for most of the delivery, came up. “Um...can I hold her?”

Felicia smiled and handed her over. She yawned heavily, leaning back into Mac. “I'm a bit sleepy...”

Mac kissed her cheek. “Sleep then, you worked hard today.”

“Yeah, but she might need to feed.”

Tillie waved her hands. “I'll wake you up if she needs to.”

Felicia nodded, laying back on the pillow and quickly conking out.

Mac sat there and watched her, along with the carefully passed around Freesia, when Marie came over.

“Mac...” she whispered. “Can we talk outside?”

Mac nodded. Back to business.

Outside, Marie turned to him, “Princess Lucia is here. Are we still putting your plan into action?”

Mac nodded. He and Marie (along with some input from Melissandra and Kay) had formulated a plan in advance. Unlike Gabriella, they were planning on trying to have Princess Lucia become a Queen and bring her to their side from the outset. They weren't going to force anything, or rush it, but they all agreed it made sense long term. “If we can convince her to amicably marry, our relations with Navar should cool off.”

Marie smirked, “Maybe King Manuel will abdicate in favor of her.”

Mac sighed, “If he's anything like King Lavon, I don't think that likely.”

Nighttime Visit

Princess Lucia sat at her table, drinking some tea. It was quite good, a honey chamomile flavor. The view over the moonlit forest was a pretty one, picturesque over the serene night. She had left the door to the veranda open, despite it still being chilly. It was a nice change from the always-hot Navar.

She sat her tea down, and quietly slipped over to the door, putting her ear up to it. It doesn't sound like anyone is out there. She slowly opened the door, peering each way down the hall. They just left me alone? No guard? Maybe they aren't thinking I'll escape, or maybe don't care if I roam the palace.

She suddenly heard a knock. She was confused for a moment since she could see both sides of the door, then realized the knock was behind her.

“Hey! I came to say hi.”

Lucia almost jumped out of her pajamas, turning around to see a purple girl with wings behind her. She was wearing a white dress, and was faintly glowing. As her heart was racing, she remembered the report from multiple sources she had of a spirit revealing themselves at the peace negotiations. “Are you the spirit?”

The purple girl giggled. “Hehe, I'm a spirit. Calling me the spirit is a bit mean to the other ones, especially since we had another in the palace recently...”

Another?

“Anyway...” she flew up a bit, and glowed more intensely. “I! Am the Great Spirit of the forest, Arborhea! Planter of trees, friend of Queens, and fiance of King Mac!”

Lucia blinked a bit, both at the light and at the proclamation.

“You can just call me Rhea, though. It's nice to meet you,” she said, hovering down and nodding at her.

Lucia hesitated as to how to respond, then deciding doing a full bow would be in order.

Rhea giggled again, “You don't need to do that. We're equals anyway.”

Lucia raised an eyebrow, “Equals? I'm not the equal of a spirit...”

Rhea shook her head, “We're both engaged to Mac, right? So we're sisters!” she said, hugging Lucia.

Lucia didn't know how to react again, so just stood there as Rhea stepped back. “Um...I don't believe any such agreements were made. Right now, I am merely here as a diplomatic hostage, as per the peace negotiation.”

Rhea then blushed, “Oh...sorry...I just thought...”

What!? The spirit is blushing!? What even is this!?

Rhea kept going, “I guess I should have realized, since you're in the normal part of the palace...”

Lucia's mind was racing. Is this spirit an idiot? Wait, maybe I can get some info from her, since she seems talkative and close to Mac...

Suddenly Rhea started pouting. “Hey, I'm not an idiot! I mean, I get matters of you Children confused sometimes, but that's because you all make things so complicated!”

Lucia's eyes went wide. What!? I didn't say that out loud, right?

Rhea shook her head, sighing. “I'll just tell you now, I can hear your thoughts if you're thinking about me.” She then looked past Lucia. “Well, someone else is coming, so I'm gonna leave. If you wanna talk again, just think to me.”

Before Lucia could respond, Rhea flew out the open window. A few moments after, there was a knock at the door.

Lucia looked between the door and the window. She then shook her head and tried to compose herself, before opening the door. Outside was, who she was assuming based on descriptions, King Mac. Her heart sank.

Mac gave her a smile. “Hello, sorry I couldn't greet you when you arrived.”

Lucia shook her head, backing out of the way so he could come in. “It's okay. Is the child in good health?”

Mac nodded, then stepped in. “Thankfully.”

Lucia bit her lip, clenching her pajamas and looking away.

Mac kept going. “I just wanted to see if there's anything I can do to help or make your stay here better.”

Lucia released her grip a bit, not expecting this. Are they trying to win me over? “Um...the tea is good. If I could have some every night, it would be appreciated.”

Mac smiled and nodded. “Of course. Is there anything else?”

Lucia wasn't sure what to ask for, worried about pushing her luck.

Mac took her silence as not being able to think of anything on the spot. “Well, if you think of anything, have one of the maids get Marie and she'll sort it out.”

Lucia nodded. She hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Am I confined to my room?”

Mac was silent for a moment, then responded, “Just so it's clear, if you want to wander the palace or grounds during the day, that's fine. If you want to go into town to purchase something, a guard will accompany you, but otherwise you're free to roam.”

Lucia was a bit surprised at the long leash she was being given, worried it might be a trap. She decided to test the leash a bit, asking “Really? You're not worried I might try to slip away?”

Mac chuckled, “No, I don't think Navar is in a position to not honor the peace agreement. And I'm assuming you have no intention of doing so either.”

Lucia nodded. His words weren't a threat, just a matter of fact statement. They both knew Navar was in no position to war with Ositania again so soon. “I appreciate the leniency given to me,” she said, then gave an angle-perfect curtsy.

Mac nodded. “Anything else?”

Lucia shivered a bit, then went over to her bed, facing away from him, and started to draw down the straps of her pajamas.

Mac, watching Lucia, was hit with an intense shot of deja-vu. He quickly held up his hands and shook them, “Woah, woah, what are you doing?”

Lucia turned around and blushed, “What do you mean?”

“We....don't need to do that.” We knew it would be a honeypot, and obviously we have our plan, but I didn't think she'd get to trying to seduce me this quickly!

Lucia blushed more, pulling her pajama straps back up. “Sorry...”

Mac shook his head. “You don't need to apologize, either.”

“I was hoping I'd be to your liking,” Lucia said, sitting down, seeming a bit sad.

Is she actually upset, or just acting? “You're very pretty, but I don't have sex that quickly with women I just met.”

Lucia raised an eyebrow at the direct statement. “Really? That's...” she trailed off as she saw Mac hanging his head and sighing.

“I'm never going to outgrow that rumor...”

Lucia was confused. So the rumor isn't true? Or does he know seducing him is part of my plan? Oh well, best not to push it right now. “Sorry, then, sire...”

Mac smiled at that. “It's nothing. And you can just call me Mac.”

Lucia nodded.

There was a few moments of silence, before Mac started towards the door. “If that's all, I best be going.”

Lucia watched as he left out the door. Once it was closed, she let out a sigh, then fell back onto the bed. This might be tougher than I thought.

Side Stories

Becoming a Concubine

Melissandra sat in her room, drinking some afternoon tea. She was feeling well enough to work, and she had gotten back to working on plans for Toulouse that had been set aside when Millia was born. Right now, she was just reading over some drafts, as she was expecting a visitor soon.

After a while, a knock came. “Come in,” Melissandra replied.

The door opened, and Amiry came in. She did a deep bow, “Queen Melissandra.”

Melissandra giggled, “Amiry, we've talked normally before, you don't need to be so formal.”

Amiry snapped out a fan, despite the cold weather, and held it up. “This invite seemed rather formal, though. I assumed it was more business than pleasure.”

“A bit of both,” Melissandra nodded back. She cleared her papers she had been working on, and poured some tea for Amiry in the empty cup across form her.

Amiry came over and sat down, folding the fan back up and setting it on the table. “Mmmh, this is excellent tea.”

Melissandra smiled brightly. “Yes, I quite like it.”

They were both silent for a couple minutes, before Amiry asked, “So, are you going to try and convince me to marry Mac as well?”

Melissandra raised an eyebrow. “No. That is one of the topics I wanted to talk about, though.”

Now Amiry raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

Melissandra sat her tea down. “I'm curious how you convinced Mac to take you as a concubine instead of a queen. Several of us tried, but he insisted on marrying us instead.”

Amiry smiled, “I believe he made good decisions, though.”

Melissandra blushed slightly, “Yes, but that's besides the point. How did you convince him to only take you as a concubine?” she repeated.

Amiry took another sip, then grabbed her fan again. “I just told him no.”

Melissandra blinked. “No?”

Amiry nodded. “Correct. He insisted, but I insisted back. I only wanted to be a concubine, nothing more.”

Melissandra nodded slowly.

“Based on our conversation, I'm led to believe Mac has so many Queen's because the women didn't put up a fight after he insisted they become Queens?”

Melissandra blushed slightly again. “I...believe that might be the case.”

Amiry smiled, leaning in. “I don't particularly blame you. If I was your age, and in your position, I would have done the same. But I am not, and so I did not. I want nothing more than to bear a few of Mac's children, sit in my room reading books, and smash Ositania's enemies if I am called to again. Well, Mac's enemies, and when I am called to again.”

Melissandra crossed her arms, deep in thought. I can't force her to help the family more if she doesn't want to, but it seems like such a waste...she seems intelligent, I feel like a use could be found...

Amiry smirked, “You look like you have something to say. Do you have an issue with my low ambitions?”

“No! Well....actually...I guess I do,” Melissandra replied.

Amiry chuckled slightly. “I appreciate your honesty, at least. Mac did add the conditions that I would have to marry him if I changed my mind about it. A bit silly of a condition, I guess trusting me to honor my own feelings. Even if I did change my mind, I could just be stubborn about it.”

Melissandra nodded. “Yes, that sounds like Mac.”

Evaluation Period

During a break in work between lunch and the afternoon, Mazzy pulled Fiona, Kelly, and Kylie away. The three of them assumed they knew what she was going to ask, but let her go about it anyway. Once they were in a corner of the pantry, Mazzy bowed. “I would like to join your family. If there-”

“Of course,” Fiona said with a soft, rare smile.

Kelly gave a thumbs up, “Sure.”

Kylie giggled, “I knew this was coming.”

Mazzy blinked, not expecting this response. Joining an existing family in Arkanta would often warrant negotiation. “You accept me that easily?”

They all nodded.

“Since you told us a while ago you were evaluating him, we kinda figured this would happen,” Kelly explained.

Kylie nodded, “Obviously you would say yes, La Hire is a great man!”

“Make sure he knows you already have our blessing,” Fiona explained.

Mazzy, despite taking a while on this evaluation, immediately went down to the practice field where the royal guard was training in the afternoon now that she had made up her mind and talked with the others. Despite the temperature, they were only wearing loose shirts, and many were sweaty from swinging their practice swords around. She quickly found La Hire, whose long golden hair glistened as it swung around.

She walked straight up to him, causing a bit of a scene as she walked through people swinging swords.

La Hire saw her approaching, “Mazzy, be careful, we're-” he stopped as Mazzy grabbed his wrist and proceeded to drag him a bit away, behind their armory. Seeing the serious look on Mazzy's face, La Hire got slightly worried. “What's wrong? Did something happen with Fiona or Ke-”

He was stopped as Mazzy pulled him down and kissed him.

La Hire blushed slightly. “Mazzy....”

Mazzy's normally stoic face broke a bit, and she blushed slightly. “I'm sorry, I've been wanting to do that for a while.”

La Hire quickly regained his composure. Assuming he knew what this was about, he grabbed her hands. “Mazzy, it might be a while, but will you marry me?”

Mazzy teared up a bit, but smiled and nodded. “Of course. I'm so glad you're accepting of someone like me.”

La Hire was taken aback a bit. “What do you mean? I thought you were evaluating me for this purpose, right?”

Mazzy blushed, looking away. “Yes, but I am not a tall and strong warrior like Princess Saphoa, nor a cool beauty like Queen Haliya. Most men would want someone like that, right?”

La Hire blushed slightly. “To be honest, women like you are more my type.”

Mazzy blushed harder, than jumped up and wrapped her arms around him.

“I'm all sweaty, you shouldn't hug me,” La Hire replied, patting her back.

Mazzy smiled, “We're going to start trying for children immediately, so I wouldn't worry about being sweaty with each other.”

La Hire gulped, now experiencing a different kind of sweat.

Saying Goodbye

Eleanor was sitting in her room, rocking in a chair back and forth with a sleeping Elana in her arms. She didn't mind keeping her daughter in the nursery, especially since it allowed her to get more work done in her own room, but she did like to have some alone time with her daughter now and then.

Suddenly the door opened, and she could tell from the faint glow that Celestina had entered.

“Eleanor, is everything well?” Celestina whispered.

Eleanor nodded. “Yes, Elana is sleeping.”

Celestina giggled, “What about the mother, though?”

Eleanor blushed, “Yes, I am fine too.”

Celestina smiled. She glided over to the balcony, looking up at the moon. “I need to be going.”

Eleanor felt a twinge of sadness, but nodded, knowing this would have to come eventually. “I...I'm so glad I got to meet you.”

Celestina glided over and smiled. Eleanor went to get up, but Celestina held up her hand. She leaned over and kissed Eleanor's forehead, then kissed Elana's. “I'm so glad I got to meet more of my daughters.”

Eleanor blushed, a few tears coming. “Will I even get to see you again?”

Celestina hesitated, then smiled. “I...think I will be coming down from the moon a tad more often. Rhea seems to be having so much fun, and...I get lonely sometimes up there by myself.”

Eleanor nodded. “You're welcome here any time.”

Celestina giggled. “Thanks. And besides, I will need to come visit the next time you have children too, right?” she added, before flying through the balcony.

Eleanor watched as she flew away out of sight. Suddenly she realized Elana was up, and had started crying. She rocked Elana again, cuddling her to her cheek. “I know, I'll miss her too.”