Base camp was utter chaos. Trapped in the room for four months, As if they were trying to make the distraught Santiago Genovés [1] proud, the people descended into paranoia, violence, and murder.

As I walked the fetid and rotting base camp, I first saw the vengeful ghosts. Some of the murdered had risen as revenants, a type of undead that thrived on vengeance but were killed again by the knights. Now they were just lost souls, unable to cross into the afterlife (no such thing because of the System). Talking to them, I learned they had supplies for eight months but the knights didn't want to share. They decided to do terrible things to those whom they fancied and then terrible things to everyone else, ending up with murder, undeath, and more murder.

Then the knights fought for the food, reaching a stalemate where they grabbed what they could, moved to the corners of the room, and kept watch over the other camps to stop them from stealing their food. Uncontrolled, they ate more than they needed, causing their bodies to expel the excess nutrients the natural way, enriching the hideous bouquet of death and disregard floating in the air. Also, it meant they ran out of food, even though they had double what they needed with a full expedition and they killed more than half the people. Without spellcasters, their water supply didn't endure, forcing them to use the Bear Grylls hydration strategy. [2]

Barricades of metal cots lined the corners, and a mountain of rotting bodies and debris blocked the line of sight between opposite corners.

The only sensible thing to do here was to put these starving murderers out of their misery. So I went around, putting {Death Contracts} on them and collecting some Exp to use on quests. They didn't give enough to level up even with all the multipliers.

With nobody else alive in the room, I vacuumed everything into the item box, cleaned, and repaired the room with a {House Magic} spell. I couldn't let them see the carnage, I thought as I brought the girls back from the Sanctuary.

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The [Queen-in-Exile] and [Princess] (their titles were hidden) looked around the massive and empty room with wonder.

"Where is everyone?" Mona asked.

"Why does this room smells of flowers?" Madge wondered.

"It seems they fought and killed each other. See the wall over there? Those are weapon scratches. They jammed the doors too," I explained.

They looked around and Mona even tried to see if the floor had any dust. "This is as clean as the palace," she remarked.

"I cleaned it before I brought you out."

"What do we do now?"

"We go outside and never talk about this expedition to anyone else again. Put on your enchanted jewelry, armor, and the obfuscation veils underneath the helmets. I'm going to display the same level as you two, seventy-four."

I beamed a proud grin. They could be counted among the elite of my church now. During our training, I gave them many quests to round up their Exp, transfer what I earned to them, and give them some Perks to better suit their fighting style. I'd splurged on the Matriarch's Divinity stores, but I didn't have many uses for them and was still in the blue.

The girls lacked experience fighting people and I would have to solve it sooner rather than later. I knew they would have trouble fighting and killing sentient beings, but now I admired the fruit of our work. Of my secrets, only the Fate spell tying Lorna's soul to mine was kept from them. We talked about everything else, my past lives, including Earth. The disbelief surrounding a society without magic was very cliché and commonplace during such conversations to be worthy of note.

I was about to blast the damn doors to oblivion and waltz out of the Labyrinth when Mona held me back. When I met her eyes, they screamed fear and doubt.

"Can we spend one more night here in this room?"

I nodded slowly, gauging her reaction, "Yes, but why?"

She glanced back at her sister, who replied with a reassuring nod and a slight push on her back.

"I wish to talk to you. Just the two of us." I couldn't hold a sigh, "Just talk, dear sibling," she stressed the last word.

"Of course. Let me set some bedrooms in here, with actual furniture. Then we talk.

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Madge retired for the night, ducking in the giant bed I put on a corner behind some overlayed Force barriers and illusions to make it look like a normal bedroom. Mona followed me to a comfortable couch in the "living room". She sat crossing her legs underneath her so she could be sideways.

"Here we are. What troubles you?" I asked.

Her breathing was irregular and her heart pounded loudly. "First, can you assume your true form?"

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I nodded. I let my tails, unicorn horn, and feathered wings out. Mona stared at me in disbelief. I shrugged. She stammered.

"No, I mean, not your true-true form, but the one you showed back when you told me we were siblings."

A chuckle escaped my throat before I could rein it in. I shifted to what I should have looked like if I hadn't undergone hormone therapy and fleshcrafting.

"There," her eyes gleamed against the magical lights. "Welcome back, my twin sister."

"Thank you," I replied, making sure my voice was a slightly deeper pitch than hers. She could make the same voice if she wanted as it was within her normal range. I just felt the need to be a little different from her. I gave her time to collect her thoughts.

"This is crazy," she mumbled and shook her head. I nodded. "I understand why you had to keep it from me, but I feel discarded. Unwanted."

I gently grasped her wrist and rubbed my thumb against her skin. "Never. Our mother worried about you all the time. The guilt she kept from everyone else frayed her mind. And I always stood there by your side."

"I never understood why the Prince wanted to spend time with commoners like us, why you insisted we were there for your tutoring sessions. At first, I thought it was because we were the only children in the Palace, but I died a little with each glare of a tutor telling me I didn't belong." I scowled. She tittered, "Please don't go murdering them."

"I'm sorry. Nenandil nagged me for years to tell you the truth but I worried you wouldn't have the maturity to fully grasp what it meant."

"And do we have that now?"

"Most probably," I snickered. She grunted and raised her arms. "You're a third-tier (unique) Class. Your Mind and Willpower scores are over a hundred. You can handle it."

"So I'm not dumb anymore, is that what you're saying?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, daring me to agree.

"You were never dumb. And that's the truth."

"I think Madge should've been the [Princess] and me, the commoner."

"Nonsense. You're the spitting image of our mother when she was our age."

"Pot, kettle," she poked her tongue out. "At least you can look like a man. Sorry, by what Madge told me, you can do everything a man can. Hey, did you two talk about babies yet?"

"We did. Madge agreed to wait until we are in a more secure position. I have a Perk to block conception."

"Good. I want nephews. Lots of them. But Won't people figure out I'm the [Emperor]'s daughter?"

I shrugged, "Probably? I want to see anyone raise that accusation in public or try to blackmail us. I'm going to make them vanish."

The idea of mass murder bothered her. I thought it was good. It should.

"Do you think the prophecy is true?"

I shook my head, "No, but it doesn't matter. Prophecies are troublesome. Even when they are fake, people's beliefs may make them come true. Look at this Princess-murdering Empire. They killed so many of our sisters and aunts that one day a girl would slip past their guard and then they would want to kill her so the prophecy doesn't come true, and boom. She fights back and historians will say, 'the prophecy has come true'. It's madness."

"Which one of us is that girl?"

"It doesn't matter. Don't worry about the stupid ramblings of a crazy woman on her deathbed. Look, it's me. I'll definitely destroy this Empire, then create a new one. But that won't happen now."

She took some time to think about it. Then she broached the real reason for this talk. "Can you make me a man too? You said you could use fleshcrafting."

I studied her expression, her reactions. The question was a probing one, not a request. "I can. I shouldn't. Do you want to be a man?" She looked away, regretting the question. "Are you just curious? I need to understand, Mona. You can trust me. Do you dislike being a woman?"

She hid her face in her hands and screamed. I let her have her time. When she finally said something, it was, "wouldn't it make things easier?"

"That's not an answer. All your problems will go away if you die but you don't want to die, do you? It's the same thing. Don't cast away who you are just because it might make things easier."

Red-faced, she nodded. "No. I don't want to be a man. I think. But now you got me thinking, could you..."

I had the engraved ritual slabs.

"One day, I'll let you live as a man for a week. But I'm sure you'll want to have some fun with some ladies, so we need to arrange that beforehand. If you still feel like it, then we can try."

She shook her head and looked away from me. "I'm so stupid."

"No, you're not. Don't belittle yourself. You are among the hundred most powerful people in the Empire right now. You just need to look past your own demeaning thoughts and exercise your full potential. But no. I'm so happy you opened up to me. Thank you, Mona. You're not dumb, my precious little sister."

She made a wry chuckle, "Why am I the little sister if I was born first?"

"Because I'm thousands of years old."

"Fair point. Now, wait here. Madge wants to talk to you."

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Like a tag team, Mona went to the bedroom as Madge came out in her nightgown. "Girl talk?" She asked as she saw I was still in my female form.

"Something like that. Mona wanted to talk to her twin sister, not Percival, it seemed."

"You should change your clothes too when you do that again. But now I need to talk to my dear [King]."

I shifted back. "What is the matter, my [Queen]?"

She sat next to me and hugged my neck. "Promise me I'll be the only woman you'll ever love."

"Romantically?"

She bopped my nose. "Outside our family."

"Absolutely. I'll never even look at another woman."

"Good, here it goes," she conjured a bit more courage to speak. "It's about what's going to happen when we return home. We need to keep our marriage a secret."

"I'm sorry."

"I already knew it would happen. Sometimes I wish we could leave this Empire behind, but we can't, can we? I don't need to rub in the face of the world that I grabbed a [Prince] to myself. I'm with you because I want you, not your social status."

"There's more, right?"

"Yes, and this is the hard part. I know you said several times you don't want to, but I know we need to have you bed other women. I talked to Mona, and she agrees. You should start with the maids at the Palace who waited years for such an opportunity. Then all the noble ladies that will try to gain your favor. If we want to accomplish our goals, we need political support. It pains me to admit you'll have to lay with other women."

I felt trapped. I couldn't leave the Empire because Rhiannon wouldn't come with me. I couldn't rampage, commit parricide again because it would hurt my mother. Her mental health improved with my latest achievements, but she would re-enter society now and I didn't feel like rocking her little world too much.

Leveling up her, Marion, and Amina was one of my priorities. I collected thousands of souls and bodies of high-level monsters and the murderous knights of the base camp exactly for that. I expected that with improved mental and spiritual Attributes, Rhiannon would gain much-needed mental resilience.

Her mind could be mended with magic but I couldn't force Mind magic upon her. Maybe I should insist a little more now that we were back.

Fighting the Empire right now would cause tens of thousands of deaths. I needed to take the long approach and eliminate the problematic people one by one. Undermine my father's supporters so when I went for him, nobody would intervene.

"Husband?" Madge called.

"Sorry, I was thinking. I don't like it but I agree to consider this path. After we return home, we'll know more and then we can commit to it or not. I hope we don't."

Madge gave me a sad kiss. "Me too, my love. I didn't suggest this lightly."

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[1] Spanish-Mexican scientist that ran the unfortunate "Peace Raft" (or sex raft as media and public imagination publicized it. Very little actual sex happened on it and it was basically a free 100-day cruise.) experiment back in the 1970s. He wanted to confirm his hypothesis if confined people would descend into violence and murder but his interference was the only thing that disturbed the long-lasting friendship the participants forged during the crossing of the Atlantic from Africa to Mexico.

[2] British survival "reality" (not really reality) TV host, is famous for drinking his own piss to hydrate himself.