There were only about two and a half weeks until Vivian was due and she was really feeling it now. Thankfully noh helped take some pressure off of her bad hips when she wore him, but... it also still felt so weird to wear somethiient. Maybe if he was only ever armour it would be find, but the first day while they’d beeling in everyone had wao properly meet O’tmyil’s siblings and so each had taken humanoid form.
noh had chosen a human form, seeming to think that would make Vivian more fortable. Just as O’myinis and O’dypol had. Each had seemed to take rough cues of how they should look from their new charges. From what Vivian had seen of Issiod’rian variation, O’trayj had dohe same with Plynx, being mrey than beige. And so now Vivian couldn’t help but picture noh’s human form, looking vaguely like a C-Pop star her younger sister had a crush on whenever she thought about him.
Then there was the oddness of feeling his thoughts aions at times. It was... intimate in a way she wasn’t used to.
Choosing to move on her own, as she was allowed to do in the rge number of vish rooms that made up the Imperial ‘apartment’, Vivian was gd to find Bokarza alone in the gym. Watg just how much the other woman was curli Vivian feeling vaguely ie. Even with knowing that Bokarza’s alien muscles were denser and strohan a human being’s, so that she could almost certainly lift more than any human ever had... it still left Vivian wishing she had more energy to work out.
“Hello, Vivian! How is my tallest wife?” Bokarza said, lighting up with a smile once she noticed Vivian standing there.
“I... I’m alright,” Vivian replied (she still wasirely used to ‘tallest’ being held as such a strong pliment). “Maybe it’s just hormones with the pregnancy, but... I find this whole ‘mental bond’ to an armour partrange. Do you have advice for adjusting?”
Bokarza nodded, before setting her dumbbell down with a rather loud k. “They are Lanthonean designs. Armour. Ships. Pnners. Even the high end personal gyms. The Lanthoneans love to put personalities in almost everything, and to have bonds with them, since... Well, you know the Mynx girls, right?”
“Uh... yes?” Vivian replied, not uanding the leap.
“Switch bracelets are another Lanthonean iion, though they need finagling for different species. It’s all because about half of Lanthoneans are like the Mynx girls naturally. Well, about half by bodies. More than half by legal citizens,” Bokarza said as she rolled her shoulders to help stretch out her muscles. “At some point they started making AIs to run things, but thought it was best for those AIs to be boo living breathing Lanthoneans... they were probably right, too. They didn’t have a single rogue AI nearly wipe out civilization before they went ielr.”
“Huh--wait, are rogue AIs on?” Vivian asked, suddenly finding herself much more ed about that than the previous versation topic.
“Pretty on. We Kobaroians also avoided them because we hit a certain point in puter designs and decided they were fast enough, we were fine waiting for answers. Turned out we got satisfied just a little before making puters able to run proper AI,” Bokarza replied.
“Is, um... is Earth close to hitting that point?”
The green woman took a moment to think it over, her clubbed tail flig as she thought it over. Then Bokarza shook her head. “Not sure. I’m not really that techie to start with, and I fet how your units vert to our units. I’d ask O’tmyil. She would know.”
W about the future of the human race, Vivian nearly headed off to do that when she remembered the reason she had inally e to find the other woman.
“So, did you have advi how to handle being boo Lanthonean armour?”
“ht. Uh... patience?” Bokarza offered. “For Kobaroians it is almost unheard of to not be singur, so it takes us many months to adapt. Sometimes longer.”
“Ah,” Vivian replied, not certain she liked that news.
There had been many applications from across the Gactioh for a visit from the Empress. It had seemed reasoo Plynx to give Svetna a day to rex after travelling in from the axy as she had, but much more time spent sitting about seemed wasteful.
As such, with the whole imperial family gathered at breakfast on their sed day, Plynx cleared her throat.
“Svetna-wife,” she said, “it has been agreed that you-empress should not visit the Issiod’rian, Lanthonean, or Kobaroian capital worlds first. Each is already represented in your inner circle.”
“That seems reasonable?” Svetna replied, before tinuing her french toast. “Mmm, vanil-y.”
“Therefore, do you-Svetna think you would prefer to visit the Glur, Varzin, or Zafzini homeworld first?” Plynx asked.
Svetna blinked, before her eyes darted to O’tmyil. Right. As much as Plynx loved Svetna she was not always the best about reading and researg, and seemed to grow especially lost with gactic matters. Perhaps that was fair, it was a realm of history suddenly thrust in her p with many millennia to build upoionships built on past dealings built on pre-existiions none of which she knew. Clearly Plynx would have te for her to be given daily briefings on various major civilizations.
“The Glur homeworld is part of a double p system known for remarkable tides that wash over all but the tallest mountains. The Varzin capital world is a gssy superheated desert sat in the middle between two stars much brighter than Sol. The Zafzini homeworld is... well, temperate and somewhat boggy. The entire ecosystem is amphibious i-like creatures. It is few people’s first choice, but they are generally ho folk,” O’tmyil expined.
“Hmm... well, the other two sound fancy but a bit dangerous, so the Zafzini homeworld might be a art?” Svetna replied. “I guess I’ll think it over and see how I’m feeling once Vivian is up for travelling?”
Plynx tilted her head, quite fused by the reply. “Vivian-wife does not o travel with us? Augusta-queen and Thisbe-sort would surely be enough.”
“I would want to be there while she’s rec from the birth, though?” Svetna said.
“There’s probably going to be plenty of nurses around... but I wouldn’t mind some help with the baby,” Vivian replied.
“Very well. But that is after the birth? It is still well over a week away, and each of those worlds is within a day or two of Throne World,” Plynx said.
In reply, Svetna initially just stared at her, a hurt look in her eyes that Plynx did not uand. To her surprise, Augusta, Vivian, and Thisbe were all looking at her simirly. What had she missed? Was there some part of human reprodu that required both parents in the final stages of the pregnancy?
There was nothing she’d read that had mentiohat.
“Vivian... vivian could go into bour at any moment,” Svetna said.
“The due date is still two Terran weeks away?” Plynx replied.
“Those due dates have a margin of error on them,” Vivian said, the hurt look in everyone’s eyes softening a little. “I’m probably good for another week, but after that...”
“And a birth is a major thing,” Svetna said. “There’s no way I’m leaving Vivian alone for that.”
It was now Plynx’s turn to stare in fusion, before the expnation hit her. “Earth medie... I have said, earth doctors-butchers know very little on the healthcare. Vivian-wife is uhe care of the imperial doctors on Throne World. She-love will give birth the day that is ve. If he deying is more than possible, to ehat Svetna-wife is here. Or early.”
“It’s also not that bad to miss a birth,” Bokarza added with a shrug. “The kid won’t remember.”
“Vivian will,” Svetna tered, sounding horrified.
“It’s not really a process I want to gh alone,” Vivian said.
“Pardon?” Bokarza said. “What do you mean ‘process’? It’s a birth. They give you a pill, the baby is out a few mier, then they apply some salves to help everything tighten back up. Over and done in thirty miops.”
“You-Bokarza have not seeh media,” Plynx said, shaking her head. “Earthlings-humans still die in childbirth in some pces. I had fotten.”
“D--die? From giving birth?” Bokarza replied, looking as horrified as Plynx had felt when she’d first lear. The horned womauro Vivian, the look still in her eyes. “I did not realise how brave you were to carry a child in your culture.”
“That’s super rare anywhere with det hospitals,” Vivian offered, clearly unfortable with the look akin to hero-worship in Bokarza’s eyes.
“It happen in hospitals?” Bokarza replied instead, eyes then dropping to stare at her empty pte. “I will have to make certain Kobaroian doctors are sent to Earth immediately.”
Plynx took the moment with attention off of her to think matters over and decide to make aodations for human culture. “While the reasons for you-Svetna’s desire to stay with Vivian-wife in the ing weeks may be fusing to us-gactioh-citizens, it is uandable that the request to leave her-Vivian at this time is culturally iive. I shall request media workers inform citizens of the situation oh and you-Svetna’s motivations. In the meantime Augusta-queen and Thisbe-sort along with myself and Bokarza-queen should be enough of a royal tour.”
“The human representation will be very important,” Bokarza said.
“I...” Svetna began, her eyes dartiween Vivian and Plynx.
“Stay. This is an important period in your culture,” Plynx said firmly.
“Th-thank you,” Svetna replied.
Serving her duties to the did not busta to any great degree. It was something she’d grown up with. In fact, it was better than she’d grown up with, her father trainio represent s her family did not have. In some cases they were not even the primary ts, despite her family’s maneuvering.
Unfortunately, travelling with Thisbe, Bokarza, and Plynx while Svetna remained behind on Throne World was not the oute she had hoped for. It was not to say that she disliked time spent with Thisbe, the vampirian was a sourany fasating tales from her long life (if ‘life’ was the correct term), but the others... well, Bokarza had yet to return any of Augusta’s feelings and Plynx simply irked her. The other woman was such a natural at accepting her position as a princess, having apparently faone of the needs for personal sacrifice Augusta had had to make. She cimed to have never been barred from friendships with servants for being from the ‘wrong’ css. Had never been told by her father how much more useful a son would have bee stantly struggliween hatred for her father for demanding the impossible of her and disdain for herself at failing him and the family legacies she had ied.
It was all weighing on her as she retreated to her private room oer-system shuttle. Staring at the alien painting on the wall she wondered what she had doo deserve being reminded of her shortings so thhly.
“Is everything alright, your majesty?” O’dypol asked, shifting to his human form to sit on the bed.
His human form was retively handsome. The sort of gentle fad eyes that Svetna had shown before, though with far less sado them than she had shown, now that Augusta looked ba things holy. Perhaps it was a matter of alien gender norms differing from human ones.
Whatever the case it made him the sort of man that left her with utterly fused emotions bubbling within her. Hadn’t she worked out she was a lesbian?
“Envy,” she said, sitting down at the small table in the room. “I am wracked with envy.”
It was a far smaller room than the imperial suite had been on the ship from Earth, but it was a much smaller ship. More like a sleeper train than a cruise ship. She vaguely remembered Plynx saying something about it being a sleeker and faster vehicle, useful iter mapped segments of jump spaear the heart of the gaxy.
“That much I could gather,” O’dypol replied, and she the a sort of patient kindness from their neural bond that only worsened her fused feelings about him.
It left her w if it could be a good time to make a mistake. There wasn’t anything else to do on the small spaceship, other than gossip in the dining hall or watch alien television. And something about eg to a male presence felt very the moment.
“I...” O’dypol began, before swallowing. “If I am reading the new feelings from you correctly, I feel I must inform you that, unlike my sister, I am quite thhly asexual.”
“Ahh...” Augusta said, letting out a sigh. “Well, then I shall just have to be left struggling with my thoughts aions as we spend two days travelling to meet a tree.”
That drew a blink from O’dypol. “Not just any tree. The a al forest of Qwa. One of the oldest se beings in the gaxy, known freat wisdom.”
“I shall have to prepare for cryptic clues to the true nature of happiness, then,” Augusta muttered, before shaking her head. It didn’t sound like her idea of an enjoyable destination. “Let’s go see Thisbe has figured out how the games work oertai soles.”
After almost two days cramped on a Lanthonean sized star runner, Bokarza was gd to get out and stretch her legs on the space port above Qwa’s World. The four of them waved to the crowds assembled to get their first in person views of humans, clearly very excited to be one of the first worlds visited by the new imperial family. Svetna having stayed behind to tour Throne World had led to a slight shuffling, the previous pnned options too important to n her, but it meant they were getting to go a little more off the beaten path. Which was kind of nice. Plus, Bokarza was always thrilled to visit Qwa. Her people had a strong spiritual respect for pnts the way the ivorous majority held a spiritual respect for animals. Trees were extra special, as one could harvest them for a lifetime.
After brushing elbows with local dignitaries for a while, she led the two earthlings towards the space elevator down to the p. It was important to maintain the purity of the atmosphere of Qwa’s world, so it was aor only world.
“Is Plynx going to catch up with us ter?” Thisbe asked, realising that she was not with them.
“The Issiod’rian royal family are sidered embers of their Churoraq,” Bokarza replied. “As Qwa is sidered the head of airely different religion there are some who might pin about her feet despoiling their soil.”
“Oh,” Thisbe replied.
Meanwhile Augusta seemed as withdrawn as she’d been the whole trip. Wasn’t visiting a whole new world exg for her? It was a brand new cept for ahling. Thisbe certainly seemed excited, watg out the space elevator window as they desded towards the purple and blue p below.
Well, maybe actually walking in amongst Qwa’s many trunks and speaking to them would help her.
In the meantime Bokarza dragged them both off to grab some food on their ride down. The food was well known for being very fresh and unprocessed, the clergy of Qwa big on keeping things as natural as possible. Even the space station and elevator were made of wood, harvested sustainably from tis beyond Qwa’s own forest.
To her disappoi it only seemed to sort of work, Augusta’s gourmet heart demanding she ent on the food quality, if nothing else.
The whole p seemed oddly quaint to Augusta. It reminded her a bit of those supposedly enviroal retreats in Switzernd or Maysia where other well to do people insisted they were unplugging aing reected with nature while sitting in air ditioned rooms with room servid 18 hole golf courses at hand. Oh, but everything was made from wood and visibly recycled material, so never mind that they’d flown there on their private jet, it was ‘eco’.
Perhaps, by the standards of the gaxy, this world really was rugged, but it rang fake and hollow to her.
Sitting in the back of a sor powered helicopter-like vehicle, she did have to admit the purple leaves of the p were iing. There were apparently more options than chlorophyll out there. But she was still generally in a bad mood as they reached a clearing and the ‘copter desded betweerees.
They were tall. That was her first impression. The gap between the forest floor and the opy was rger than she’d realised. Sunlight also barely reached the ground one was more than a few metres from the clearing. That was somewhat impressive. Though she wondered how natural it could be.
Upon nding the vaguely e priest who had been guiding the ‘copter stepped out and hurried around to open the doors for each of them. All of it was done silently, as one arently not allowed to speak so that they could better hear Qwa. The orientations had said that they spoke on the wind, tuned so that each person would hear only the message meant for them.
Not beiain what to expect, Augusta began to follow Bokarza on a walk through the woods. The whole forest arently a single anism, this Qwa being. She’d heard vaguely of simir forests oh, where oree spread by its roots, though her it looked as much spread by the branches with how the opy was interwoven.
“A friend of Bokarza Kreck... Kreck-Fujikawa’s is a friend of mihe wind whispered somehow (in excellent French), causing Augusta to jump.
Looking at the others she saw a gentle smile on Bokarza’s tusked mouth while Thisbe seemed surprised as she walked with her parasol. Not as shocked as Augusta, but surprised all the same.
‘How do I reply without speaking?’ Augusta woo herself.
“We listen very well, good sir,” the wind replied.
Blinking, Augusta took a moment to process what had been said, only to then feel her cheeks go flush. Was it an error of transtion, this Qwa not uanding the gendering of the linguistic hierarchy of earth tongues? Or had this forest chosen to poke at her inadequacies?
“Ah. We have listeoo well. Sometimes we hear things that not even our visitors know... and sometimes they are not ready for that,” the forest replied.
‘Are... are you attempting to say I am a man? Because I tell you that I have quite enjoyed myself ina’s embrace many times, with none of the shame she spoke of having before her own transformation,’ Augusta tered defensively, perhaps from fear, perhaps from refusing to admit a tree could know her better than she knew herself.
Even a seree that had apparently existed for millions of years.
“Many times, but... every time?”
The question made her wince, but... but those had been times when her guilt of as warring with her upbringing had been in py.
Hadn’t they?
“We do not think you are always mase. We see genuine love of being a woman in your heart as well... but we are also both, the bance of our trunks shifting with the seasons and the climate. These matters shift and flow.”
That was... that wasn’t nonsense. She remembered it having been something discussed from the little time she’d spent around Svetna’s trans friends. Wasn’t Geordi... well, they varied from female to indifferent, if she remembered correctly, but... it seemed too easy. All her struggles with the bance of the sexes? To prove she was good enough despite her feelings of failure? Wanting to prove a daughter could be as good as a son to herself as much as to her father...
It all came down to just being both?
“Sometimes the correct path is the easy ohe wind replied with such simple certainty and wisdom.
It was simply too much for someone raised with as much Catholic guilt as Augusta. So she fainted.
AnnouSorry for the slight dey, I got distracted by doing bureaucracy stuff... worried about the upiion, so I wao get all my paperwork in order. Anyhow, should be back to the regur schedule soon.
As always, there's two extra chapters on patreon, a few bonus stories set betwee book and this one, as well as access to the two other stories I'm writing right now (a sci fi story with an odd way to cra egg and something of a dark isekai to a world locked in an ice age).
