Vuko huffed as several more maids and nurses left her side to attend to other matters. "As you can see, it's a bit short staffed here in the confinement room. I will be in need of another nurse."
"Confinement room?" So many things outside of the verge were so strange and new to Isallia.
The kitsune rolled her eyes. "Leave it to Roland to send me the most daft of creatures to serve me. Confinement is the period just before a woman has a child. She is shut off from the rest of the world, kept in a dark room, and attended by only her closest nurses, maids, and midwives. Here, is where the king keeps us during confinement. Now, as I said before, you will be serving me, and only me."
"And do what exactly?"
"Ugh, must I teach you everything? You do what I tell you, when I tell you. And when the time does come, you will serve my children."
Isallia took another glance at the voluptuous kitsune. It was hard to tell if she was having twins or if she was just large. "Children?"
"Yes, my future child, and my daughter, Kimiko. She is probably around causing a ruckus in the palace, no doubt, such a willful child."
It now occurred to Isallia that the king probably had had several children through these concubines. In fact, it wouldn't surprise her at all to find several of them wandering about the castle, and she wouldn't have known in the slightest.
"Do you understand?"
Isallia nodded. "Yes, mistress. How may I serve you?"
At least this way, she might get some freedoms about the castle: a perfect opportunity to find a way to escape.
"Are elves always this stupid? Go to the kitchens and bring me my midday meal, of course. And tell those wenches in the kitchens that they had better not have burnt the lamb again."
Isallia let out a small squeak and left the room quickly, not even the slightest bit sure where the kitchens might be.
"Don't be so hard on her," Mitera, the satyr woman on the next bed over said, doing her best to roll over, given her girth, to face Vuko.
The kitsune waved her off. "You can't go easy on the help. Makes them soft."
Mitera only sighed, rubbing her bump as several strong kicks disturbed her. Satyr children were incredibly active, and often restless. It made it even less enjoyable considering that they had hooves and sometimes the start of their horns. "Poor thing," she said.
"And the bleeding heart starts again," Vuko grumbled.
"Oh, don't act like you didn't see it. You made her your nurse for your child after all. You can see it too. She's more than capable for the job."
The kitsune rolled her eyes as some of the attendants went back to rubbing her feet. She purred. "Well, why not use her where she's most useful?"
The satyr continued to muse. "You know what that means though, don't you? Breasts all swollen like that? She's had a child before, fairly recently actually."
"So what? Lots of our nurses have had children before. How else did they get the job?"
Mitera shook her head. "You don't understand at all. Elves don't just bring their families to the city. That poor woman was taken from her home, her child, and ended up here. She's not just a servant; she's a prisoner! Roland...Roland wouldn't..."
Vuko fell back onto her pillows, crossing her arms over her belly, which made her look very squished when she pouted. "Look, it's not our job to question him and his decisions. He knows what he wants, and he takes it."
"I suppose... Still, I feel bad for her."
She gave a shrill laugh. "What do you care? Last I knew, you're people hated elves."
Mitera sighed and tried to roll back over. "I don't know why I bother talking to you."
Meanwhile, Isallia was still in search of the kitchens. The castle was incredibly big, and there were rooms everywhere. There were also many twists and turns in the halls, and several times, the elf became unable to backtrack her way to where she was before. If she had any hope of ever escaping, this wasn't helping.
She gave a frustrated sigh as she turned down the wrong hall for the fourth time. "Lost?" a voice said.
Isallia turned around to see one of the other serving girls. In some ways she was surprised to see just how round and plump this girl was, but then again, it made sense. The king saw to it that everyone stayed pretty well-fed in this place. Odd, and slightly disconcerting.
"Um, yes. I'm looking for the kitchens. Lady Vuko..."
The girl shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Of course it's Lady Vuko. She always wants something. Demanding thing, isn't she, even more so now that she's expecting. Acts like she's carrying the future prince or princess or something. Hmpf, she knows Roland isn't going to let Kimiko rule."
The plump girl said this all rather fast, and Isallia had a hard time following everything. "The kitchens?" she reminded her.
"Yes, yes, I'll take you there. Come with me. My, my, you're an elf aren't you? Oh, how fascinating. Do you really hear from a mile away? Do your people really live in huts made of animal skins? My, but you are a bony little thing. Aren't you hungry?"
As if in response, Isallia's stomach began to growl. The hunters had practically starved her while she was in their captivity, only giving her enough to get by. For several days now, she had learned to ignore the hunger pangs. "It's fine, really," Isallia lied. "I...really must get to the kitchens to get Lady Vuko her..."
"Don't you worry about that. We'll get you set up for her in a moment. Enormous thing could stand to wait for a meal. Come now, let's get you something to eat."
Isallia wanted to resist. She didn't want to know what Vuko's wrath might be like. Yet, she was quite hungry.
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