*** Akhae ***

  I don't know what's up with Armirynth. She came back st month ter than she should've and started talking about how we o meet her daughter on the visit. Almost every day, she brought it up, wearing Ilka and me down until we agreed. Then, she took on all the household chores on top of running her little food shop.

  She tried to take over maintaining Ilka's ons too, but that got her tied up and some boundaries set. But she still worries us. Twins at e aren't easy.

  Now, she's dragging us through this crowded city, saying that she has something to do before we head home. Why did we have to visit Alzi this time? Though it probably is best to watch over her. The city and the roads are more dangerous than the vilge.

  The weirdest part of all this is the errand she has to run is to pray to a random Goddess that has o no impa our lives. We hardly get any trade that goes through the sea, far enough away that the giant waves 't hit us from the sea, and I have no pns oing on a boat any time soon.

  But it'll be rude to not pray to the Goddess after ing into their temple. The Goddess could make a special wave to destroy our vilge over it. So, I follow the silly girl and bow my head.

  "About time you show up here."

  "What is going on? Where am I?" I ask to the white void I find myself in. I 't turn my body or trol it. All I do is speak.

  "Sigh, your wife didn't say a thing to you about this?"

  "No."

  "She must have taken the Fertility Goddess's instrus too literally. It is good to see she is taking the words of the Goddesses seriously, I suppose. Well, you are here to get a css. A poor one, but a css. Nobles ot really deny you if you have a css. You will struggle to plete it, but with some help from Alzi, you may just do it. Yons live a long time when you get a css. So you talk about it with your wives, but don't go spreading it around the vilge. o stir up a lot of things. Nobles don't like when peasants get special treatment. I will say you married into a tricky situation, so be patient with your wife. I don't have much else to say, so goodbye. Oh, I should tell you I am the Goddess of the Sea. Would not mind a few prayers from you here and there. Now, bye."

  The white light fades before I say another word. My eyes opeo the back of a pew I was expeg just a few minutes ago. Then it pops up. The box Ilka talks about. The box of the Goddesses.

  "I I I have it now. Ilka..."

  "Shhh," Armirynth cuts me off. We talk about it at home. Give a prayer of thanks, a's head home. We don't have much daylight left."

  "What do you mean?" Ilka asks, truly fused about what is happening. Did Armirynth get a css the st time? I'm guessing she stopped by a temple, the fertility temple, met that Goddess, and got a css! She didn't think sharing was important.

  "Akhae, give thanks, and we talk about this on the road if we are alone. Please, I don't want to be out at night," worry ing through Armirynth's voice. The st decade of traveling the road must have really scared her. The forest around the capital is probably the safest in the nd. Guards, guilds, raveling, nobles hunting for sport, armies, and schools training the officers all patrol around here, making monsters and bandits something of a rarity. She must've gotten unlucky a few times, running into whatever beast hide from all that.

  "I gave my thanks, dear. We head out. But you o share more iure. You wouldn't have o ask so many times if you had told us everything," I say, standing up. My wives follow, and we head out of the grand temple. Armirynth takes the lead as we don't know the city very well.

  We snake back through the city, passing t building after t building in a rush to the gate.

  "You three are cutting it close. You best hurry bae. Vilges should be closing their gates soon as well," a guard warns as we pass out of the city.

  "We will!" Ilka calls back. "We should fly. We don't have the time to walk. Are you good to fly Armirynth?"

  "Yes, I've been practig a bit, and, uh, I found I do it. Maybe not all the way, but most of it," she says.

  We all move a little to give ourselves space to extend our wings and then unch ourselves up. It'll be too hard to talk, so I'll have to question my wife whe bae. Giving a quick look around, I see the sun will soon start produg the beautiful colors of a su.

  We really are cutting this one close, but the guards will get an ear full if they force a pregnant woman to wait outside, and Ilka is well-liked among the guards, so they'll have to let us in even if we are a little te. Plus, we all fly over the short walls, though the guards get pissy when anyone hops the walls.

  ...

  It's a nice flight; we don't ofte an excuse to spread our wings. Speeding through the forest over the path, surprising the few travelers that set up camp along the route. Armirynth doio keep up with us despite her pregnancy. She is only a few months along and doesn't have the strange speed Alzi does. Ilka does loops around us, her maing her move faster. Though it sounds like we'll all be able to do that soon. Once Armirynth gives birth.

  The trip back probably takes about half the time flying pared to the long walk. We desd when we see the walls in the distand have just a short, few-minute walk to reach them.

  "Armirynth you like to cut it close. What are you three out for?" the bitchy guard asks.

  "We live here; let us in," Ik calls out.

  "Whatever," she says back as the gate opens to let us in. We tinue our journey home in silenot daring to let anyohat two of the elderly just got a css. There was enough of a stir when Armirynth came out as pregnant; getting a css as well may have us hunted down.

  The sed the door sms behind me, I cry out, "I've got a css. Armirynth, you have ooo, don't you?"

  "Yes, I got mine from the Fertility Goddess. She said not to say anything about it and that the Sea Goddess would give you a css. I just needed you to e to the temple. Sorry for not saying anything. She told me not to talk about it."

  "Wait, what are you two talking about. You're both years past getting affinities and csses."

  "Like she just said, dear. The Goddess of the Sea gave me an affinity. Water and a rather strange css, 'Thirst Quencher.' It sounds mildly sexual, but it lets me use mana and skills, so I 't pin. Little Miss Twins with a boy has had a css for what a month? Longer?"

  "Just a month. I have caretaker csses. Best for taking care of kids, but the house ts a bit while I'm still making the kids to take care of."

  "You both see the box now?"

  "Yes," we both respond.

  "You don't have enough mana to start learning to circute it, but I'll o teach you both how to. Armirynth, you should be close to having the mana. We o find out how to level your css, Akhae. Damn, how are we going to hide yrowth?"

  "We won't. Soon, Alzi will be taken away again, and Yuki will e to pick us up. In just a few months, we won't ge much. My pregnancy is hiding my growth, and Akhae just wear loose clothing. Once we move, we won't o hide it."

  "What do you mean? You said Alzi will be free in about a year," I say.

  "Sves always be sold. The sale may rehe old time limit null. The bitch of a Mistress did that. Yuki has a pn to still marry Alzi and we will be joining her. I promised you two kids, and I'll uphold that promise."

  "The Goddess said it was a 'tricky' situation."

  "Yes, Yuki says a princess was the oo buy her. We'll o find a way to force the prio marry a lot of people. Four of us are going to have very weak csses. Now, Ikhae and Mai aren't too bad, but Akhae and I are g in power. Yuki has found a few girls she'll work with to earn the right to petition the Queen for the marriage. We'll help at the house they buy. We'll provide support, raise the few kids Alzi gave us, and do what we to earition."

  "Armirynth did..."

  "No, I didn't know about this when I married you two. I would've brought this up if I had known. Please, I need my baby back," she cries out, "I failed her. She had everything and threw it away because of me. I 't let her go."

  Ilka s her up in a hug. I just stand still. I missed the first ce to help her keep her kid; I 't say no to the sed ce.

  "We'll help. We should've, or I should've, beehe first time, honey. I'll do what I this time around. Just let us know about these things. We 't help if we don't know about it," I say

  "Yes, yes, I've told you all I know. Well, Alzi is the champion of the Fertility Goddess."

  "How does a champion of a Goddess end up as a sex sve?" I think out loud. Earning me a stern look from Ilka. "Sorry, I'm just surprised a champion have that bad of luck. I thought the Goddess would watch over them more ahem safe or at least get them out of the situation."

  "You're fine. I have the same question. I'm too worried to talk to the priestess. The Goddess said to follow Yuki's pn, so she must have some trouble, I guess?"

  "Yes, well, I don't know what they put in that food, but I'm not hungry, so should we get some sleep? I haven't traveled that mu a day in years," I offer up, heading to the bedroom.

  "That would be nice," Ilka says, leading the sniffling Armirynth.