Marie sat in her office, pouring over some administrative documents, when a knock came at the door. “Come in,” she replied succinctly.

The cat-human maid Kay entered, curtsying and handing Marie a letter. “It's from Melissandra.”

Marie immediately dropped what she was doing to tear open the letter, closed with the royal seal she had given Melissandra when they left. Melissandra had kept her aware of how their travels had went (including interludes at Emma's family's farm and Loren) but news should be arriving any day now of their arrival at the Cartegna estate. The letter stated:

Marie,

We have arrived at the Cartegna estate. The talks went well and Mac and Eleanor have agreed to become engaged.

'Phew' Marie let out a sigh of relief. Based on the letters she had received, Mac had seemed to warm up to women on his travels, since it seemed like two more had joined them (although Melissandra had left their status with Mac vague). She was surprised to see there was a lot more to the letter, since Melissandra was usually succinct with her messages. It continued:

Additionally, Mac has asked me for my hand in marriage, and I accepted. I must apologize as I misunderstood one of our earlier conversations, and that was actually Mac's intentions all along, but we have worked things out and it is official now. I discussed with Eleanor and we agreed my wedding should occur first, so she can focus on moving while we plan, and hers will follow soon after. I am sorry to spring this on you, but I was hoping to have it in just a couple weeks, although I'm sure you would also prefer it to be as soon as possible as well. I will keep you informed of the progress of our travels.

I included a guest list. Mac only asked for his guards to be allowed to attend.

Melissandra Toulouse

Marie blinked a few times as she couldn't believe her eyes. If he was just going to marry Melissandra anyway, this whole thing was pointless! Marie thought. No, no, if he hadn't gone then this may never have happened...she tried to reassure herself.

Marie swapped to the other paper included with the letter. The guest list was quite short. The first few were unsurprising, including Kay, Tillie (the head maid), Eleanor, and the two other women they were traveling with. While they all would have been able to attend anyway, being one of her honored guests meant they could sit near the bride and groom at the main table, and would have front row seats at the ceremony. It's good she seems to be getting along with them well. That bodes well for the future royal family...

The last one on the list, however, was not someone Marie knew of. It was an address for a family in Pearie. Is it someone she knows from shopping in the capital? Or maybe someone they met after they left?

Marie decided not to worry about it, and handed the letter to Kay, who had been standing silently in case Marie needed her to do something.

Kay took it gingerly, “Is it...?”

Marie nodded, “Yes, it's good news.”

Kay quickly read over the letter, her face lighting up until she had a full grin on her face by the end. “Nyahaha, you did it Mel!” she exclaimed.

“She did, didn't she?” Marie smiled back. “Well, we need to start preparing, things are about to get busy in the palace.”

More Travels

Mac stood in a field next to the Cartegna mansion. Behind him, Melissandra, Emma, Felicia, and Eleanor, were all looking at him expectantly. While they were discussing different topics over lunch, somehow the topic of Mac's magic ability came up. While he had shown Melissandra once at the palace, the other three were all intrigued and asked for a demonstration.

Mac, maybe because he wanted to show off for his fiance's, agreed and said he would try something new.

Ugh, I hope I can actually do this after I talked myself up. I'm pretty sure I can though... he thought, readying himself.

Focusing his mind, he imagined himself shooting a bolt of lighting into the sky. With a loud 'crack!', what he imagined became reality, as a bolt of lightning came out of his palm and shot into the sky.

I did it! I...he thought, before feeling woozy. Dammit! I thought I would...Mac fell over barely catching himself with his hand.

“Mac!” he heard shouted by multiple girls at once, who all rushed over to him.

Eleanor held him up, “That was intense! Are you okay?” before starting to glow faintly.

Eleanor's magic was the ability to cure magic-related exhaustion. While Mac had thought it was quite interesting, it still would cause the user to get exhausted, so it could only be used sparingly.

Of course, that wasn't going to stop Eleanor from using it full blast on her new fiance.

Mac cracked a weak smile, “I'm fine Eleanor, no need to wear yourself out.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, a bead of sweat on her forehead.

“Yes, thank you for worrying though” Mac smiled back at her, wiping the bead off her face.

“Ummmoo, not to ruin your lovey-dovey mood, but I was worried about you too!” Emma interjected.

“Thanks Emma,” Mac responded, smiling at her too.

“Still though, that was awesome! I'm jealous of all you magic users” Emma said, pouting a bit.

Melissandra shrugged, “Are you sure you don't? It might not be much, but we can see if Marie will test you when we get back.”

According to what Marie had told him, generally only nobles could use magic. Besides Eleanor's exhaustion cure, Melissandra was able to create cold and freeze things, and Marie was able to produce fire. And of course Mac's lightning magic.

Emma nodded. “I won't get my hopes up though. I know commoners are usually pretty weak even when they do.” She thought for a moment, “Actually, are we going back now?”

The four of them looked at Mac.

“Wha-what?” he asked, standing up as he regained his strength.

Melissandra grabbed his hand, “I think Marie will need time to plan our...wedding” she blushed as she got out 'wedding'. “We should be able to travel a bit more, if you want.”

“The mountain! Let's go to the mountain!” Emma added, pointing to the same ones she had pointed out back her family's farm.

Mac took the sight of them in. Towering up, they were markedly closer than they had been when he looked out at them from Emma's farm. Well, I kind of did want too... “If everyone is fine with it, I like that idea.”

Emma did a fist pump. “Alright, let's go.”

Eleanor added, “We can get to the dwarf city of Stromvurk from here in a day and a half.”

Mac flashbacked to Marie's lesson on dwarves: “Dwarves usually live in their own cities, which they build inside of mountains. They can live for several hundred years, and generally prefer jobs like mining, smithing, and anything else involving minerals and metals.”

Snapping back to the present (as that was all he could remember offhand), Mac nodded. “I'd like to see the view from the mountain as well. And the dwarf city, too.”

After letting the guards know, they prepared to leave that afternoon, as if they made good time, they could make it to Stromvurk before the end of tomorrow.

Eleanor, in particular, was excited to be traveling with them for the first time. “I'm so glad I get to join all of you! This is so exciting!” she exclaimed, while they were walking out to the carriage to depart. While Eleanor needed to prepare for moving to the capital (and her own wedding), her father had had been insistent that she join Mac and the others for this leg of the journey, insisting he could take care of things for a few days, since they would return to the estate on the way home.

“It feels like we didn't do much adventuring, and it's mostly been Mac picking up women” Melissandra replied. She was no longer wearing her maid uniform, since the guards and everyone else had been informed of their engagement, instead wearing her favorite blouse and skirt combo.

Errk, I can't even deny that Mac thought, wincing at the comment.

“We need to keep an eye on him, don't we!? If he takes any more there won't be room in the carriage!” Emma added.

Melissandra shrugged, “Well, we should probably be okay in Stromvurk...”

“Why is that? It's not like there won't be woman there, right?” Emma asked inquisitively.

“Yes but...” Melissandra paused, “...I'm not sure if dwarf woman would appeal to Mac's taste.”

“Why? It's not like he only likes human girls,” Emma replied, tickling Felicia's bunny ears, which caused her to get put into a headlock and get a hair scruffing in retaliation.

“Yes, but there's a difference between beast-human's like Felicia and dwarves” Melissandra explained.

Eleanor, who was looking at all of them in turn, added, “Mac seems to like woman of all shapes and sizes though. He might find a cute dwarf girl, too.”

They all turned to look at Mac, who was walking slightly in front of them.

Melissandra sighed, “You're right, we best be careful.”

“You know I can hear all of you, right?” Mac protested, although his voice sounding already defeated. While he wasn't upset they were getting along, he didn't like some of what they were implying.

Melissandra replied, “I'm not saying you can't, but you need to get our approval now too.”

“I'll be okay with anyone you choose, Mac. The more cute little sisters, the better,” Eleanor added, imitating Emma's fist pump.

“Alright, alright. I've got enough to worry about with you four anyway.”

Reaching the carriage, Mac got in. As he sat down, he noticed the four of them whisper quietly amongst themselves (well, more accurately, three of them were and Felicia didn't seem too bothered). After a quick discussion, Eleanor got in first and sat next to him, while the other three sat on the other side facing them.

Eleanor grabbed his arm and inserted it between her breasts, holding onto him tightly. Emma seemed to look envious.

“I'm not gonna run away from you...” Mac said, but didn't try to remove his arm.

“The road might get bumpy though, I don't want you to get hurt” Eleanor said, smiling back.

As they rolled along the road, the conversation was fairly lively, everyone being in a good mood from the previous couple days. Emma, in particular, was curious about everything regarding nobility and royalty, not having learned much about it on her farm. Currently, they were talking about (unsurprisingly) the intricacies of Houses and marriage.

“So, when you marry a noble, you leave your house and join theirs?” Emma asked.

Melissandra nodded, “Yes. You would be a part of, and working for, the benefit of the new house you joined. At least theoretically you should be, but it's not unheard of for people to marry into families as spies, although it is quite rare. More often they will try to use a concubine or servant to spy and get information on another house.”

Mac looked confused, “Are you saying Kay was spying on me at the palace?”

Melissandra nodded. “Yes. It makes sense for her family to want info on you...or us. It would be a different story entirely if she were to, say, undermine something we were doing instead.”

Mac nodded in understanding. “I don't think Kay would do something like that.”

Melissandra shook her head, “No, I don't think so either. She's one of the few I trust.”

Emma seemed deep in thought. “Is it normal to have marriage contracts like Eleanor? Do you need to make one too?”

Melissandra nodded, “Yes, Marie will probably draft one up as soon as she receives word. Since I'm the only remaining member of House Toulouse, it'll just be absorbed into the royal family. Although all I have is a small amount of money stashed away and some empty land in the south of the country.”

Mac grimaced, “We don't need to-” before Melissandra stopped him.

“No, it's okay, I know that's not why you're marrying me, but it's better to do so for administrative reasons.”

“Wait, so you'll be joining Mac's house? Do you have a bunch of stuff since you're the King?” Emma continued.

Mac shook his head, “Uh, not really. Marie talked to me about it, but basically all I really have is the palace and staff, the royal guards, and a small amount in the palace coffers. At the time, I didn't really think about it much, but now...I'm kinda worried.”

Eleanor pumped her arm, “Don't worry, you'll have all of House Cartegna too! Although, we don't have a ton of money either, things being what they are.”

I didn't realize just how important it was, but that was part of the reason I even considered Eleanor's offer in the first place. That makes me feel a bit scummy, honestly...

Emma, however, was thinking along the same lines. “Is that why you accepted Eleanor's offer?”

Mac looked down, “I...can't pretend like that wasn't part of it.”

Eleanor leaned over and gave him a reassuring hug, “You don't need to feel bad. Just because it was arranged doesn't mean our marriage can't be a happy one.” She let go, blushing a bit, “Besides, I think I have an idea of how you feel about me.”

Does she mean last night? Mac thought, remembering the...intimate....time they had shared.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to dwell on it too long, as Emma's curiosity wasn't sated yet. “Is it a problem if the royal family doesn't have a lot of money?”

“Yes, it's hard for us to do a whole lot for the country if we can't pay for it. We collect taxes, but we can't just go around asking for extra money, especially when everyone else is struggling too” Mac answered. “I have some ideas, but...I guess we'll see.”

In truth, Mac was really worried about the poor of the country. While they seemed to grow enough food to support them, it was an issue if they couldn't afford it.

Emma seemed deep in thought again.

“Is something wrong?” Mac asked, noticing her spacing out.

Emma blushed and shook her head, “No, it's nothing.”

Mac, while suspecting that was not actually the case, decided to let it go for now.

Since they had left in the afternoon, after just a few hours of traveling, the sun was starting to go down, and they stopped at the first inn they came across. Like their party, most of the other travelers on this road were heading to Stromvurk, including a few dwarves.

No woman though...Mac thought, slightly disappointed. While the dwarves looked as he had expected, after the conversation earlier, he was curious what the woman looked like.

As they sat down in the tavern area, La Hire took the guards to a separate table, now that the carriage squad had grown to 5 members. He was a little disappointed, as he had enjoyed eating and sharing a round with the guards whenever they stopped an an inn. Of course, he wasn't going to tell the others that.

Later, Mac lay in bed, looking at the ceiling as the lantern light filled the room. I feel like this is becoming a common occurrence he thought, stealing occasional glances at the door, expecting someone to suddenly come in. Melissandra, who had taken charge of the room situation, only got two for the five of them. As per normal, Mac was told to go to one on his own. I have two fiances, another girl who probably wants to be one, and...whatever Felicia is, but somehow I still ended up alone.

As Mac thought about it though, he realized this wasn't all bad. He stretched his arms and legs out on the bed, splaying himself out as much as possible. I can stretch out as much as I want!...although I guess I wouldn't mind if...

As if to comfort him, there was a knock at the door, followed by it opening up. Melissandra walked in...followed by Emma, Eleanor, and Felicia bringing up the rear, all in pajamas.

“Uhhh...” Mac didn't know how to react.

Emma answered, “We couldn't decide who should join you tonight, so we decided we all would!”

“Well, I was dragged along,” Felicia clarified.

“Would you rather stay in the other room without us?” Emma asked, giving Felicia a hug.

“....No” Felicia reluctantly answered, before smiling and scruffing Emma's hair.

“Um, do I get a say in this?” Mac asked.

“Are you really going to turn away four beautiful woman like us?” Melissandra asked, half-teasingly.

Mac shook his head, “No, I'm just worried about the logistics. How are we all gonna fit on the bed?”

“We'll just have to squeeze together” Eleanor answered, while looking excited at the prospect.

Melissandra and Eleanor laid down next to him, with Emma and Felicia right behind them. There...wasn't enough room, Emma comically rolling off the bed after losing her balance.

“We'll just have to hold onto each other” Eleanor suggested, again seemingly very excited. Melissandra embraced Mac, pulling herself to him in a familiar scene. Felicia wrapped her arms around her. Eleanor wrapped her arms around Mac and Melissandra, with Emma holding on for dear life, barely getting her arms around Eleanor. Mac was focused on keeping himself composed as he was squashed between Melissandra and Eleanor's breasts.

“Errr, this sorta works, but I don't get to see Mac at all!” Emma sulked.

“I'm sorry Emma! I'm too large!” Eleanor let out, before spinning around and hugging Emma.

Melissandra also let go of Mac and hugged Felicia, “I'm sorry Fe, we can switch later if you want.”

“I didn't say anything” Felicia responded, but smiled and hugged Melissandra back anyway. “Doesn't this leave Mac out now, though?”

Mac, who was thinking the same thing, quickly responded, “It's fine, if you four are getting along, then I'm happy.”

All four of them blushed, before looking at each other.

“I'm content to just sleep like this,” Mac added, closing his eyes. There was no objections, and surrounded by the warmth of his four companions, he quickly fell asleep.

Waking up, Mac took a second to get his bearings. Remembering the events of the prior evening, he was surprised to find himself completely alone. Assuming they must have woken up and left, he quickly took off his pajamas to put his tracksuit back on. As he went to zip it up, he heard a 'snap', with the zipper breaking off halfway up.

Still half-asleep, he stared dumbfounded for a moment, before trying to put the zipper key back on, but he realized a part must have broken off. Staring dejectedly at his half-zipped tracksuit, he put the zipper key in his pocket and finished preparing for the day.

As he joined the others by the carriage, Melissandra, who had seen Mac in his tracksuit the most of anyone, immediately realized there was an issue. “Did your tracksuit tear?”

Mac nodded, “Yeah, I was zipping it up this morning and it broke...”

“Do you need the hole sewn together? I have a lot of experience with that” Felicia offered.

“No, the issue is with the metal part here.” Mac tried to show them how the zipper worked, although he wasn't sure if they fully understood.

Emma understood the usefulness, at least. “That would be really great to have on winter clothing. If it's string tied it doesn't stay closed properly, but with this it seems like it would stay sealed together.”

“Yeah, that was a common use for it in my world.”

Eleanor clapped her hands together, “Once we get to Stromvurk, we can see if one of the dwarf craftsman can fix it.”

Melissandra nodded in agreement, “Yes, we should have it repaired if we can. I was hoping you would wear it in our wedding.”

Mac was taken aback, “You...you want me to wear my tracksuit?”

“Yes, it's your Otherworlder clothes, right?” Melissandra questioned.

“Yeah, but, I was assuming I could wear something nicer for a wedding...”

Melissandra seemed confused, “Hmm...we can talk about it later. For now, we should get going.”

Leaving the inn, the others let (or at least that's what Mac was assuming) Eleanor sit next to him again. The chat was lively again today, this time with Emma interested in their weddings.

“Since they'll be royal weddings, all the nobles will be sent formal invites. For mine, all the palace staff will also receive invites too since I worked there” Melissandra was explaining.

“Don't you and Mac get to invite guests?” Emma asked.

Melissandra nodded, “Of course, we can have special guests we invite,who get front row seats. For me, I invited you three, Marie, our head maid Tillie, and Kay.”

“I'm surprised you aren't making Kay your maid of honor, or...actually, is that a thing here?” Mac asked, realizing a potential issue with his question.

They all looked at him quizzically. “Is that...an Otherworlder custom?” Melissandra asked.

Mac nodded, “Yeah. Each participant has a close friend that stands behind during the ceremony. Usually they will hold the rings too, until it's time to exchange them.”

“Rings?”

“Oh, you don't have that either? I guess I don't remember seeing anybody ever wearing them. During the ceremony, you put a ring on the other person's finger,” he motioned as if slipping one onto his left ring finger, “and it symbolizes your bond. It's also convenient to show other people 'hey, I'm married' without actually saying it.”

Melissandra mused, “I really like that idea. Anything else you can remember?”

Mac went deep into thought, he had only been to a couple weddings and was trying to remember all the details, “Umm, you walk in too some music, there's also a pledge you recite.”

“We do those too.”

“Hmm, I already mentioned the rings...I remember you kiss at the end before leaving.”

“In front of everyone!?” Melissandra asked, surprised at this custom.

“Yeah. I think it's supposed to seal the marriage and show everyone you're a happy couple.” Mac explained, a bit red at the thought.

“Oh that sounds improper for a royal wedding...I really wanna do it” Eleanor insisted.

“I kind of do too,” Melissandra added shyly.

“I've seen commoners do that at their weddings. One of my sisters kissed her husband for a full minute during the ceremony” Emma added.

Is this the same sister that taught her to use her tongue when she kisses? You're supposed to just kiss at the wedding, not make out!

“We'll have to incorporate these when we plan it out,” Melissandra concluded with a smile. “They might even become common in other weddings.”

Ah, that makes sense. If the nobles see the royals doing something, they're liable to follow suit.

Eleanor was holding her cheeks, glowing red, with a giddy smile on her face. “Ohhh, I can't wait. We need to hurry up and get back!” she exclaimed.

Melissandra put her hand on Eleanor's, “I'm excited too, hopefully Marie is able to get everything together on such short notice.”

As they were discussing, Mac noticed Emma was deep in thought again. Catching that Mac was looking at her, she nervously smiled.

Is the talk of nobility and royal weddings getting to her? She was the one asking, but maybe she feels a bit overwhelmed?

Mac smiled back, startling her, before she blushed and looked away. Now what is she thinking about!?

The day passed in relative calm, and they got closer and closer to the mountain, which now dominated their view. Since they were making good progress, they stopped for a break near a stream to allow the horses to drink.

Eleanor and Melissandra were watching some brightly colored fish zipping about, while Emma was showing off her rock skipping ability. Felicia was hanging back a bit, arms crossed.

Mac walked over to Felicia. “What's wrong? Don't like fish?”

Felicia gave a weak smile, “No, I just...”

As she trailed off, Mac noticed she was clenching her arms, and even shaking slightly.

Mac walked right next to her, “Are you okay? You're...”

“I'm fine. I think...I think it's because I stopped smoking...”

Mac winced, I should have realized this would happen... “Um, I know I asked you not too, but if you really want...”

Felicia shook her head. “No, I needed to stop anyway.”

Mac, not sure what to do, decided to just wrap and arm around her and hold her tightly to him.

Felicia smiled, and seemed to stop shaking. “Thanks,” she replied, before leaning her head on him. “Guess I just need your affection to get over it,” she added with a giggle.

Mac smiled, “Of course! If you...”

He was cut off by a pouting Emma appearing, “Hey, I think it's my turn next.”

Felicia acted like she was going to give Emma another headlock, but instead pushed her into Mac, who caught her in an embrace.

Emma blushed, “Sorry, I just...”

Felicia giggled, “Why are you apologizing now?” before heading over to Melissanda and Eleanor.

Deciding to try and relieve Emma, since he was still worried about her from earlier, he whispered, “I'll hug you whenever you want.”

Emma blushed even more, before burying her head in his chest while wrapping her arms around him, “Dummy...you better.”

After their break concluded, they continued on their way until dusk approached. The traffic on the road picked up, and they could see a huge gate on the side of the mountain.

Emma leaned out the carriage, eyes going wide at the sight in front of her. “Is that how we get into the mountain? It's huge!”

Glad to see Emma perking up, Mac also leaned out the carriage. There was what looked like small village outside the gate, and inside he could see light filtering out. “What is the light coming from?”

Eleanor, who had visited multiple times before, explained, “They have light crystals inside. There's also holes in the mountain to let light in during the day, but they use those when it gets dark.”

“But how can they sleep if they have that thing shining light everywhere?” Emma asked.

“Dwarves don't follow a day and night cycle, they just sleep when they're tired,” Eleanor explained with a shrug.

As if to reinforce her point, there were dwarves bustling everywhere, despite the time of day. In amongst them, Mac was able to finally make out some female dwarves. They were...about what he could have guessed. From the back, you could barely tell the difference from male dwarves. From the front, you could tell the females didn't have beards, and they mostly had large chests. Although, I wonder if they just look large because they're shorter? Mac mused. Most dwarves were only around four feet, and even the tallest probably barely reached five.

As they neared the gate, Mac could make out more and more of the city within. As they finally crossed through the entrance, he was astounded by the view. The inside of the mountain had been hollowed out, with several large crystals the size of buildings stuck in the ceiling, emitting light that radiated everywhere. Being inside, the entire city gave off a din as all the sound being created bounced around everywhere. Especially, he could hear the sound of innumerable forges bellowing, the smoke filtering up towards the ceiling, along with the constant clinking and clanking of hammering on anvils.

La Hire rode over to the carriage. “My lord, what do you want to do? I'm not sure how well we'll be able to sleep with all this light...”

Melissandra answered, “Let's get an inn, and then we can walk around a bit.”

La Hire looked between her and Mac a couple times, then continued, “Okay. Some of the guards wanted to visit the dwarven smith's while we were here, it's not often you get a chance to purchase directly from one.”

Finding an inn that had human sized beds for all of them took a few tries, but they found one that catered to human merchants near a square in the middle of the city. After getting their rooms, they met outside the inn, deciding where to go.

“The merchant district is nearby. My dad used to take me there to buy me jewelry and other trinkets whenever we visited” Eleanor suggested.

Jewerly? Mac thought. After the day's conversation, he realized he needed to buy rings for his upcoming weddings, especially considering how interested Melissandra and Eleanor had been. “Yeah that sounds fun.”

Following Eleanor, they explored around a while, looking through different stalls, with everything from precious gems to pet salamanders (that even breathed fire!). Emma spent a while looking at tiara's, trying some on while Eleanor giggled watching her. Even Felicia, who generally didn't show strong interest in such things, found a stall that sold bracelets with cute charms in the shapes of animals.

“For my siblings,” she said with a cough.

On the edge of the square they were in, Mac walked by a small shop called Daisy's, and noticed several rings on display in the window. May as well give them a go he thought. Pulling Melissandra aside, who was the only one not engrossed in a stall currently, he whispered, “Hey, I'm gonna go in there for a bit.”

“Oh, okay, I can join you.”

“No...I, uh, wanted it to be a surprise” Mac explained, blushing a bit.

Looking at him for a few moments, Melissandra realized what he was getting at. “Okay,” she said, with a knowing smile. “I'll watch over the others for a bit.”

Mac gave her hand a quick squeeze and then went to the shop. Inside, it mostly looked like a proper jewelry shop, with different rings and other types in glass cases. As the door opened, a bell above the door was rung.

“Just a moment,” he heard from a room behind the counter. It sounded like a gruff, female voice. After a few moments, the voice's owner came out. She was a female dwarf, with a younger looking face that had a few soot-marks on it. A sarashi bound her chest, and her midriff was exposed, well-muscled abs showing. She had a bandanna on the top of her head, and long, brown hair in two braids hung down past her waist. She was a bit taller than the average dwarf, although that only meant she was about four and a half feet tall. Seeing her customer, she quickly grabbed a cloth and started wiping her face off, although it only served to smear the soot more.

“Are you Daisy?” Mac asked, as she eventually gave up and threw the cloth back.

“Haha yeah,” she answered, giving a large grin and boisterous laugh. “I know, weird name for a dwarf.”

Mac shook his head, “Nah, I think it's a pretty name.”

“Haha, thanks” she laughed again at his reply. “I'm not giving out discounts for compliments though.”

“That's fine, I wasn't trying to haggle down the prices.”

“Good, good, I don't devalue my work like that,” she replied with a smirk. “Are you interested in something in particular?”

“Yes, I wanted to buy rings for my...fiances” Mac explained, stumbling over the relatively new concept of having fiances.

“Hmmm...do you know their size?” Daisy asked, walking over to a section of the displays with rings.

Errkk....why didn't I think of that? Wait, I might be able to guess, since I've held their hands. “I don't know exactly, but one is probably about the same size as my hand, and the other is just slightly smaller.”

Daisy raised an eyebrow, “I thought maybe I misheard you, but you...have multiple fiances?”

“Ah, yeah, don't worry, they know about each other” Mac explained, not sure if that was the issue.

Daisy paused for a bit, then laughed once again, “Haha, I wasn't judging or anything, I know how it goes sometimes.” Grabbing Mac's hands, she looked them over. Mac was a bit surprised at the forwardness, but realized she was just doing her job.

After a few moments of examining, she let go and pulled out a few rings of varying designs. She held up one, a silver band with etchings on it, and explained, “This one is popular with soon-to-be-married woman. The etching is a charm that is supposed to help them get with child quicker. It's not actually magical though, so I don't know if it actually works.”

Mac shook his head, “I'm not interested, but is that something your supposed to be telling your customers?”

Daisy shrugged, “Just because I don't believe in it doesn't mean my customers don't, and I make what my customers want.”

Hard to argue with that.

Putting that away, she pulled out a bronze-looking ring, with a simple design on it “How about this?”

Mac closed his eyes and imagined it on Melissandra and Eleanor, “Hmmm, I don't hate it, but I think its too simple for my fiance's.”

Daisy nodded, “Gotcha. Let's try...this then.” She pulled out a gold ring with a large green gemstone fitted on it. He imagined it on Melissandra and Eleanor, but it didn't seem quite right. Instead, Emma came to mind, the green stone matching her eyes perfectly.

Noticing his expression, Daisy smiled, “Think this is a good fit for one of them?”

“Yes, well, not one of my fiance's, but...”, he trailed off as he realized what he was saying.

Again, Daisy laughed, “Haha, do you have enough woman to buy out my store?”

“No, it's only...well, there's four of them. They're not all fiances though.”

“Well, I'm not gonna complain about extra sales. You just better make sure you get something for all of them” Daisy smiled with a wink. “I'll set this one aside. Now...how about this one?” she asked, showing him a ring that seemed like it was multiple threads of gold braided together into a ring.

Mac picked up the ring to examine it closely, “Wow, I don't know much about metalworking, but even I can tell this looks hard to do.”

Daisy gave a prideful smile and explained, “Yeah, I'm not as strong as most, but I'm really good with my hands. I'll put my jewelry-craft up against any dwarf's”.

Not as strong? Mac thought, as since she wasn't wearing a shirt, he could see the bulging biceps of her arm that would probably put most of the guards to shame.

“Although I'm surprised to hear you say you don't know much, since you have some intricate metalwork done on your clothing. Is that foreign design?” Daisy said, pointing to the zipper of his tracksuit.

“Ah, uh, I guess it technically is” he explained. Wait...if she can do work this fine, maybe she can fix my zipper!? “Do you wanna get a closer look?”

“May I? I'm quite intrigued now” Daisy added, walking around the counter. She walked right up to him, the part where the zipper broke halfway up, being eye level for her. Looking closely, she grabbed the sides and tried to link it together.

Mac was thrown a bit off at how close she had suddenly gotten with him again, but didn't want to break her concentration.

“How do you get it to fit together? It seems like you only put it halfway up” Daisy asked.

“Ah, yeah, it's actually broken, you're supposed to use this but it broke of this morning” he explained, taking the zipper key and showing her how it was supposed to work. “I was actually hoping to find someone to fix it...”

Daisy took the key and inspected it, then tried it on the zipper, eyes widening as she could see it sort of catching on the zipper, but then not zipping it up. “I'm not sure if I can. Maybe if I could see a working example...”

Mac was a bit disappointed, before remembering that he did have a working example, albeit a smaller one.

“Actually, I do, there's one on my pants as well” he explained, pointing to the zipper on his pants.

Daisy leaned over, and put her face right next to his crotch. Then, grabbing the zipper, she pulled it down and back up several times, all while Mac looked on in shock. She must have no boundaries when it comes to work. Keeping himself composed, Mac just let her examine it, if it meant she could fix his tracksuit.

After a few moments, he heard the bell ring.

“One moment, I'm with another customer” Daisy shouted at the door, not taking her eyes off as she continued slowly pulling the zipper up and down.

Mac turned his head around to see Melissandra, giving him a cold, piercing gaze.

“Mac...” she said, voice as cold as her stare, “I peeked in the window to see how you were doing...why am I finding you in here with a woman's head in your...” she trailed off.

“Hold on, hold on!” Mac exclaimed. “She's helping me out.”

“Yes, I can see that!” Melissandra replied, slowly walking over.

As Melissandra marched over, Mac rapid-fire explained about the intricate work and the zipper, and Melissandra slowly calmed down, until she was more frustrated instead of upset.

“So, really, you let yourself get pulled along by a girl again. Well, I thought it might be something like that” Melissandra deducted, shaking her head.

“Then why did you get so mad!?” Mac exclaimed.

“I can't help myself when it comes to you” Melissandra replied, blushing a bit.

Before Mac could say anything in response, Daisy let out an “Aha!” and finally drew back from Mac. As if only now realizing Melissandra was there, Daisy looked her up and down. “Is this one of those fiance's you mentioned?”

Mac nodded, giving a small smile as he looked at Melissadnra.

“Haha, you got yourself a real cutey there, no wonder you were looking for something for them” Daisy laughed.

Melissandra, no longer upset, gave a slight curtsy, “Thank you for treating my fiance well. I...” she paused, before continuing, “I don't know what normal dwarf standards are, but I think you're cute as well.”

Daisy laughed again, “Haha, tell that to the dwarf men! They're all too busy staring at their forges to look at me. Well, I am too usually, so I guess I shouldn't say anything...” she trailed off, cleaning some room off the counter, before rapping it a couple times.

Mac took off the jacket and laid it down, “So, do you think you can fix the zipper?”

Daisy nodded,“Yeah, I think I figured out how it works. If you come back tomorrow I should have it fixed by then. I'm not sure how long it might take, so I can't give you a cost, but it might be over a few silver...” she added.

Mac shook his head, “Money's no object.”

Eliciting a smile from Daisy, she rubbed her hands together. “A man after a dwarf girl's heart.”

The bell above the door rang, again, with Emma, Eleanor, and Felicia entering, carrying a few bags from their shopping adventure.

Daisy looked at them, surprised at the commotion. “Are these...?”

Mac nodded.

“Haha, you sure have your hands full.”

Catching sight of Daisy, Eleanor's eyes went wide, and she rushed over, knelt down, and looked her over. “Did you get me another cute little sister!?”

Taken aback at the attention she was receiving, Daisy protested, “Come on now, I don't know how I feel being called cute a bunch when all these beauties are around me.”

Eleanor shook her head, “No, you're very cute. I'm sure Mac agrees” she added, looking at Mac expectantly.

Being put on the spot, Mac nodded, although in his opinion she really was. If she took the same care as Mel or Eleanor did, she'd probably pass for a short noblewoman. Well...if you hid her muscles with a dress you could.

Blushing a bit and looking away, Daisy added, “I told you, no discounts for compliments! Well, maybe I can change my policy for y'all...”

Mac shook his head, “No, it's fine, I'll pay whatever the work costs. And I'll buy some of the...merchandise we discussed earlier when I pick it up.”

Daisy nodded, giving another big grin. “Alright. I'll get to work right away then.”

Saying their goodbyes, the five exited the store, Daisy immediately taking the jacket to the back and getting to work.

A Kiss at Dawn and a Bowl of Porridge

After they left Daisy's store, Eleanor gave a deep yawn. “Ah, I think I should return to the inn, all this excitement has worn me out.”

“Yeah, I'm pretty tired too,” Felicia added.

“Awwhh, I wanted to explore more....who knows when we'll ever be back here!?” Emma pouted, looking disappointed.

Melissandra, who was walking behind them next to Mac, whispered to him, “Why don't you take Emma out for a bit longer? She's seemed down a bit earlier.”

“Yeah, I thought so too,” Mac agreed.

Melissandra nodded, “Try and cheer her up if you can. I'll stay with the others.” Giving his hand a squeeze, she walked up to the other three, “I think I want to get some sleep as well.”

“I'm not that tired, I'll walk around a bit more if you want, Emma,” Mac added, coming up behind her.

A big grin coming over her face, Emma replied, “Yeah! Let's see if we can get to the top!”

Emma grabbed Mac's hand, half-dragging him along, as they wound their way around the city. “I saw a way to get up top earlier,” she explained, pointing at something.

In the distance, Mac could see what looked like a simple elevator, slowly going up and out of sight through a hole in the ceiling. Well, I guess it's worth a try. Walking for a while, Mac was starting to breathe heavy, when they finally came upon the elevator. It was pulled by several dwarves using some sort of pulley system.

There was a few dwarves who seemed like they were waiting to get on, so Mac and Emma waited around for the lift to come back down. When it reached the bottom, several dwarves with sacks of sticks or stones got off, and the waiting throng got on. Mac was worried they might be interfering with their work, but no one seemed to mind them also getting on.

With a lurch, the lift slowly started to rise. Emma stood next to the guardrail, watching the city as it slowly dwindled below them. Mac wasn't particularly scared of heights, but he wasn't sure how close he wanted to be to the edge, so he stood a few steps behind her.

Around halfway up, the elevator abruptly stopped, causing it to begin swinging. Emma fell back a couple steps, running in to Mac, who grabbed her from behind. “Might wanna stay back,” he said with a nervous smile.

Giving a nervous smile in return, Emma nodded. “I'll just hold onto you” she added, wrapping her arms around Mac's midsection. After a minute, the lift started to rise again, until they eventually went inside the ceiling of the city. Since they could no longer see the glowstones on the city ceiling, only a few small ones on the edges of the lift lit their journey. In another few minutes, Mac noticed he could see stars above them.

Eventually, they were outside, the lift stopping at the top station, and the guests filtered off. Mac and Emma looked around in awe. There was just enough moonlight to make out a few features in the dark countryside laid out before them. Looking up and down, they were probably about two-thirds the way up the mountain. There were two paths lit by glowstones leading from the lift station, one that wound down the mountain, and one that went further up.

Emma, of course, started to drag Mac along the one that was going further up. While he was starting to feel exhausted, he also didn't want to disappoint Emma, so he continued to trudge himself along, barely keeping hold of her hand.

After another stretch of walking, Emma pointed to a rock just off the path. “I think we can get a good view from there” she explained, climbing up the rock.

Mac begrudgingly followed, although luckily the rock had a flat top he could sit down on, while Emma stood up, staring off into the distance.

“I think the farm is this direction,” Emma said, pointing off at the horizon.

“Can you see it?” Mac asked.

“Not sure, it's hard to tell the farms apart from this high up,” Emma shrugged, before sitting down on Mac's lap.

As they sat in silence in the moonlight, Mac decided she might be in a good enough mood to talk. Loosely wrapping his arms around her, he asked “Have you been alright? The last couple days, you seem down occasionally. Well, compared to your normal self.”

Emma didn't answer right away. Mac couldn't see her face, since she was still on his lap, so he wasn't sure how she took the question. Eventually, she responded, “Are you going to marry me?”

Mac, not expecting a question in return (especially that one), was a bit taken aback. “Didn't we already discuss this at the farm?”

“I think you know how I feel already, though.”

Mac couldn't deny that. While he had wanted her to wait until they were done journeying to make a decision, Emma's opinion of him hadn't seemed to change in the slightest. Of course, Mac had also grown fond of her. She had become an indispensable part of their adventure group. Do I just need to tell her that to cheer her up?

Before he could say anything, Emma continued, “Maybe I asked the wrong question. Do you want to marry me?” she asked, turning herself sideways and looking into Mac's eyes.

What does she mean? Wait, is she just wanting to get engaged now and not wait until we're back? “Yes. I'd be upset if you didn't stay with us” Mac said, making sure (after prior miscommunications on this topic) to be clear and not confuse her, before adding “I think the others would be too for that matter.”

Emma, despite his answer, looked down anxiously. “I don't have anything though. I'm just a farm girl.”

Mac was confused, “Wait, what are you saying after you pursued me so strongly? What's wrong with being a farm girl?”

Emma shook her head, “I'm not like Eleanor or Mel. I don't have anything to add to your royal house. Even Fe has a job to do. What am I going to offer? It's not like there's farming to do inside the palace.”

“I knew that when I accepted you though” he rebutted, grabbing her shoulders to comfort her. “It's not like everyone has to have an assigned job.”

“I want to though. I want to help you and the others. But I don't know what I can do.”

Mac finally understood. She doesn't want to feel like she was a burden or not contributing somehow.

“Besides, I don't know how I'm supposed to fit in. I don't know how to be a noblewoman” Emma continued.

“Honestly, I like the way you are now. I'm not saying I don't like the others, of course, but...you act more like a girl from my world, and it's...comforting, sometimes.”

Emma gave a weak smile, “That's nice, but that isn't the same for everyone else in this world. I can't embarrass you in front of the country.”

Mac didn't like the way this conversation was going. Emma was too important to him now to let her be depressed like this. Grabbing her hands in his, he looked her in the eyes and said “Even if there isn't anything now, I bet there will be in the future. No, actually, I'm sure there will be! I mean, we're running a whole country, right?”

Emma perked up a little, “Do...do you really think so?”

Mac nodded, “And you don't need to worry about how to act. Marie gave me etiquette lessons until I was at least passable, there's no way she wouldn't be able to instruct you on how to act like a proper noblewoman.”

Emma closed her eyes, “You're sure? Even someone like me?”

“Yup. Though you need to promise to act like regular Emma in private.”

Emma giggled, “Well, if you say so...”

Mac let go of her hands and pulled in her close for an embrace, “Please don't get down like this in the future, just talk to me if you're worried. You're just as important to me as my other fiance's, I don't want you thinking otherwise.”

Emma looked a bit taken aback, “What do you mean, 'others'? I thought you wanted me to wait until the trip was over to decide? Although you already know what my answer will be...”

“Well I did originally. But earlier you asked me 'Do you want to marry me' and I replied 'Yes', so aren't we engaged now? Honestly I didn't feel like waiting anymore anyway,” Mac explained, giving a sheepish smile.

Emma stared for a few moments, before starting to giggle. “That isn't how I imagined I would get engaged, I was hoping it would be a bit more romantic...”

She trailed off, as at that moment the sun started to peak out over the horizon, basking the countryside below them in light.

As they looked down at the world below them, Mac answered “I don't know, this seems pretty romantic to me,” before giving her a passionate kiss.

As he let go, Emma wrapped his neck with her arms and pulled him back down for another kiss, this time sticking her tongue in and pressing her body against Mac's.

They went at it for a while, until they were too tired to continue, and laid down on the rock, holding hands. Mac confirmed, “You do want to be engaged, right? I don't want you feeling tricked.”

Emma smiled, “Of course! I won't let you back out now!”

Mac smiled, “I don't want to either. I'm pretty relieved, actually, I wanted to treat you like the other's without it being awkward.”

This elicited a giggle from Emma, “The others were treating me like I was already one anyway. If it's okay though, I don't want to get married right away. I want to make sure I'm fully ready to be a noblewoman first,” she said, giving a fist pump.

Mac nodded, “Of course, it's not like I'm going anywhere. Plus, I have others I need to worry about already...”

Emma laughed. “We should probably get back, I'm pretty tired after all that.”

“Yeah, hopefully it's easier going down,” Mac concurred.

Making their way back down the mountain, they rode the lift again, and, after getting a bit lost, they eventually made their way back to the inn the others were at. As they entered the room set aside for Mac, he asked, “Are the others going to get mad if you sleep with me?”he asked.

Emma gave a big yawn in response, “It's fine. I'm too tired to do anything with you anyway.” Before stripping off her overalls, revealing her white t-shirt and panties underneath. She then deftly reached under her shirt and took her bra off with one hand, throwing it on top of her overalls.

Mac, sitting on the bed and watching this sight unfold before him, asked “You're not gonna put on pajamas?”

“No, this is what I normally sleep in anyway. Besides, we're engaged now right? It's not like I mind you seeing me me in my underwear” she finished, pushing him down on the bed and jumping on top of him. Giving him a quick kiss, she laid her head down on his chest.

Feeling her barely clothed body pressing against his, Mac forced himself not to get too excited, and wrapped his arms around her. Emma was a bit startled, but then gave him another quick kiss and closed her eyes again.

Mac, feeling the comforting weight on top of him, quickly fell asleep as well.

Waking up, Mac felt incredibly groggy. He wasn't sure what time of day it was, and only dim lantern light lit the room. Remembering the previous night, he realized Emma was no longer on top of him, and pulled himself up by his elbows.

“Oh, you finally awake, sleepyhead?” came a voice right next to him.

Recognizing the voice, he turned his head to see Felicia, wearing a pink dress and casually laying on the bed next to him.

“Oh...uh, hey Felicia” Mac responded, wiping his eyes.

Felicia smirked, “Were you hoping to wake up and see someone else? One of your beautiful three fiance's perhaps?”

Mac, still waking up, shook his head, “No. I mean, you look pretty, too. I like that dress.”

Felicia giggled, “I'm glad you like it, I guess it was worth buying then.”

Mac sat up, trying to shake off the rest of the tiredness in his brain. “What time is it?”

Felicia shrugged, “Hard to tell when you're under a mountain, but I think its a bit past midday. You only slept 4 or 5 hours, Emma said you weren't back until after sun-up.”

Mac, remembering the previous night's events, blushed a bit.

“Hey, are you thinking about a different girl then the one you're with? That's a big no no” Felicia asked, going into her seductive voice, and throwing her arms around him from behind, smashing her breasts into his back.

“Err, sorry, I was just remembering everything that happened” he explained shyly.

Felicia giggled again. “I'm just messing with you. I'd be thinking about it as well if I got proposed to in such a romantic fashion.”

Mac, remembering the circumstances of how they got engaged, was a bit confused. Did Emma embellish the story a bit? She even said it wasn't very romantic...

“The other's are off doing fiance things, and said I could have you to myself until they return” she explained, nuzzling her nose against his cheek.

“Are you trying to get me excited right when I wake up!?” Mac asked.

“Well, I haven't gotten any alone time with you in a while, and it's hard for me to ask over the others, so I'm just making the most of what I get” she explained with a sigh.

She seems so aloof most of the time, I didn't realize she felt that strongly about me...well, us.

Mac turned around and planted a kiss on Felicia's lips. She was taken aback at first, but then smiled, “Seems like you woke up” before pushing him down on the bed and kissing him passionately in return.

After a bit of making out, Felicia rolled off of him, breathing heavily. “I can tell...you do that a lot...with Emma...you're getting...pretty good...” She smiled, before catching her breath and adding, “Your fiance's will get jealous if you treat me just the same as them, though.”

Mac, not sure if she was trying to bait something out of him by mentioning the others so much, decided to ask, “Are you...wanting to be a fiance too?”

Felicia let out a 'poof' before laughing. “Are you just saying that because you're getting engaged to everyone else?”

Mac thought about the question. Is that the case? “I'm not denying that isn't partly true, but...it's obvious we're becoming interested in each other, right?”

Felicia shrugged, “Well, yes...but I don't think a King is allowed to marry a prostitute.”

Huh, really? That seems too specific. “I don't think there's anything against it.”

Felicia stared for a few seconds, but then shook her head, “Well, that doesn't mean we have too...”

“Well, I was thinking about that,” he sat up, looking at her. “You said back when we first hired you that you were only going to have...sex with me from now on, right?”

Felicia nodded.

“And that we'd have children and start a family since that's part of the job, right?”

Felicia nodded again.

“And that you were fine with us having feelings for each other since I want that before sex, right? And I'm pretty sure we do now.”

Felicia nodded once again.

“How does that differ from being married at that point!?”

Felicia was silent, looking down at the bed, biting her lip. “You sound like the others...”

Mac shrugged, “I think they want you to be part of the family. Do you not want too?”

Felicia's shoulders slumped, as she got quiet and continued looking down.

After a couple moments, she responded, “I'm happy for them, but I just don't know what I want” she added, shaking her head and looking at him nervously, seeming not at all like normal Felicia.

Mac shrugged, “That's okay. I'm good with whatever you do want, as long as you're happy.”

“I don't understand though, why are you so accepting of someone like me?”

Mac shook his head, “Don't say 'someone like me', I don't care if you were a prostitute or whatever in the past, all that matters is the present. Even if you just got caught up with all of us because I made some weird spur of the moment decisions, everyone enjoys having you around. Everyone wants you around.”

Felicia smiled, the nervousness fading away a bit, “Well, I guess I have to believe you, since it seems like you're trying so hard to keep me” she said, now running her fingers through his hair. “Can I...think about it?”

Mac raised an eyebrow. “Think about...getting married?”

Felicia nodded.

“Of course. Actually, I appreciate that you want to think about it instead of just jumping into it right after meeting,” Mac added.

“Haha, of course” she laughed, then pushed him back down. “There is something I don't need to think about though,” she added, before going in for another kiss.

Mac was disappointed it only lasted a few moments, before Felicia got off and stood up.

“We better go down before I do something that would make the others mad. You're probably hungry anyway” she explained.

As if on cue, Mac's stomach grumbled a bit, causing him to smile in embarrassment.

“Haha, come on!” she exclaimed, grabbing his arm and pulling him with her.

She seems happy, so I guess it's fine as it is for now.

While they were in the tavern, Mac gulping down some porridge, the three fiance's came back, giggling amongst themselves. Noticing Felicia, who was sitting right up against Mac, Emma wrapped her arms around both of them, causing Mac to choke on his food.

“Oho, I see you two are getting along well...” she said with a sly smile.

“Did we ever not?” Felicia replied with a smirk.

Then looking at each other, they giggled and looked at Mac, who was just now regaining his breath. “Wha-what?”

“Nothing dear” Emma replied, before giving him a peck on the cheek, and then running off upstairs.

“Wait, wait...” Eleanor pointed, before rushing over and also giving him a peck on the cheek and following after Emma.

Melissandra rolled her eyes, before also coming over and pecking him on the cheek and going upstairs.

Mac, confused, looked at Felicia, who shrugged.

Turning back to his porridge, he felt another peck on his opposite cheek. Looking at the giver, Felicia, she giggled. “I'm gonna go talk to them” she added, getting up and going upstairs.

“Okay, I'm gonna wash up after I finish eating, so take your time.”

Responding with just a smile, she continued upstairs, as Mac ate the last of his porridge before heading up himself.

After washing up, Mac changed into one of his normal outfits, and went to see if the other's would accompany him back to Daisy's. After looking at the different rings, and considering the options, he realized it might just be better to have them help choose. Or at least make sure they liked them beforehand instead of springing it on them at the wedding.

Coming up to the door, he heard some excited chatting going on. As he knocked, all the chatter stopped. After a few moments, the door opened just a crack, with Felicia peaking her eye out. “You can't come in right now” she stated.

“That's...fine. I just wanted to see if you could all accompany me back to Daisy's.”

“Yes!” he heard ring out from several voices in the room.

Felicia rolled her eyes, before slipping out the door to join him. “You heard them...”

“Are they...” Mac started.

“They were just trying on some clothes they bought.” Felicia asked.

“Ohhhh, okay,” Mac nodded, remembering the bags they had brought back yesterday and today.

After a few moments of silence, Felicia started, “Say....”

Mac raised an eyebrow.

“I thought about it.” Felicia added.

Mac blinked a few times before remembering their conversation earlier. “You mean....about marriage?”

Felicia nodded, “Yeah. I want too.”

Mac was taken aback. “Already!? It's been like thirty minutes” he asked, incredulous at the turnaround time.

“Well....when we were sitting downstairs, and I was watching you eat, I was thinking 'Do I want to spend the rest of my life with this man?' and when I thought about it...it sounded nice. And then when the other girls walked in, and I thought of not getting to see them anymore...it sounded terrible.”

“Wait, so was it me that convinced you or the other girls!?” Mac asked, still incredulous.

“Well, it's a package deal, right? They'll be part of my family too.”

Mac sighed, “Yeah, I understand. Well, it would be a problem for me too if you didn't get along.”

“Sooo...” Felicia asked, going into her seductive voice, and drawing herself close to Mac, pushing her breasts against him.

“You don't need to seduce me, of course I'll marry you” he responded, leaning over and reinforcing his words with a kiss.

“Phewwww...” they heard faintly from the other side of the door.

“Ummm....” Mac replied, turning the handle and slowly opening the door, to reveal Melissandra, Emma, and Eleanor on the other side. Melissandra was blushing heavily.

“Sorry...I was just really worried” Melissandra explained.

Felicia rushed over and hugged Melissandra. “It's okay, I'm glad you gave me the push I needed.”

Melissandra hugged her back. “Still, what did you do to finally convince her, Mac?”

Mac thought about it for a moment, “I...ate some porridge?”

Felicia giggled, and the other three looked between them, confused.

Making their way to Daisy's, Mac led, while the other four walked behind, talking amongst themselves. All of them seemed in a good mood, which put Mac in a good mood. Hopefully it can stay like this...

After finding their way back, they entered Daisy's shop, the familiar bell ringing to signal their arrival. “One moment,” they heard from the backroom. Daisy came out, looking exactly as she had yesterday, except with more soot stains on her face. “Oh, you're back!” she exclaimed excitedly, before going back into the backroom.

After a few moments, she came back out, holding Mac's tracksuit top in her hands.

Mac excitedly took it from her, putting it on, the zipper working perfectly. “Amazing! Thank you so much!”

“Hehe,” Daisy said, face upturned, proud of her work. “Instead of just fixing it, I actually made a new part myself and hooked it on. I wanted to try making the whole contraption too, so...” she grabbed Melissandra's hand and led her to the backroom. Melissandra looked at Mac, who shrugged, and then let Daisy drag her back.

After a couple minutes, Daisy returned, followed by Melissandra, who was wearing a blue dress. Mac smiled, “You look nice in that.”

Daisy interjected, “I know you wanna flirt with your fiance, but here's the important part” she said, turning Melissandra around. On the back was a long zipper that went the length of the dress.

“You made that on your own?” Mac asked in awe.

Daisy nodded, “Yeah, it took a couple tries, but I eventually got it to work. I don't know what the type of material that jacket of yours is made of, so I figured I'd make a dress for you fiance here.”

“That's amazing. How much is it?” Mac asked.

“No no, it's fine, I think I upset your fiance a bit yesterday, so think of it as apology,” she explained sheepishly.

“Oh, oh, can you make me one too? That's so cool!” Emma ran up asking.

As Daisy was inspecting Emma, Eleanor pulled Mac aside.

In an unusually serious tone (for her), Eleanor stated “Mac, this is an issue.”

Mac was silent for a moment, before asking, “The zipper?”

Eleanor nodded, “It would be fine if she just fixed it, but the fact she was able to replicate it means she could sell it now. This 'zipper'...it's Otherworlder technology, right? We can't just allow anyone to have it.”

Mac was a bit taken aback, “But, it's not like its super valuable technology...”

Eleanor shook her head, “It is though. This jacket and that dress are the only two of their kind in our whole world. Since it's 'Otherworlder fashion', we could market it to the nobles and sell it. Maybe even to commoners too if it isn't too expensive to produce.”

Mac, connecting the dots, realized what she was getting at, “So, what do you think we should do?”

“Let's hire her!” Eleanor whispered excitedly. “You can take her as a retainer to work for the royal family. Other's might be able to replicate it eventually, but we would have a head start on zipper production.”

“Eleanor you're a genius!”

Dropping the serious demeanor and going back to normal Eleanor, she smiled, “I'm just helping my hubby out. That's my job, right?”

Giving Eleanor an appreciation kiss, causing her to blush, Mac then walked over to where the others were talking.

“Daisy, would you like to work for me?” he asked.

Daisy, who was measuring Emma, asked “Do you need something else fixed?”

“No, I mean, I want to hire you and take you on as a retainer.”

Stopping her measuring, Daisy turned to look at him, with a serious expression on her face. “You realize I'm a dwarf craftsman, right? I ain't cheap.”

He turned to look at Eleanor, who walked up next to him, “Normal royal craftsman retainer salaries would be ten gold a month. For someone like Daisy, I think fifteen gold would probably be good. Of course, all your expenses would be paid for as well.”

Daisy stared dumbfounded, overloaded with info. “Fifteen gold...wait, did you say royal? What are you on about?”

Melissandra ran to the back, then quickly came back with a seal and an unsent letter. She pressed the seal on the letter, then held it up to Daisy.

Daisy's eyes widened as she recognized the seal. “You're...and that means y'all...” she trailed off, before suddenly rubbing her hands together and grinning. “Well I'll be. I didn't expect the royal family of Ositania to stumble into my shop.”

Mac nodded, “Yeah, we're on a bit of an...adventure, I guess.”

Daisy nodded, “Alright, I'll do it.”

Mac, who had been thinking of ways to try and persuade her, was taken by surprise. “That was easy, I thought it might take more to convince you.”

Daisy shook her head, “There's two things dwarfs like: gold, and having their work praised. And if I'm working for the King of the country, it's hard to get more praised than that, right?”

Eleanor walked up and hugged Daisy, rubbing her cheek on hers, not concerned if she got any soot on herself. “Yay, I wanted another little sister!”

Patting Eleanor on the back awkwardly, Daisy replied, “Well, I think I'm probably older than you since I'm fourty-eight.”

“Dwarves live for hundreds of years though, if you convert that to human years, you're probably younger than me” Eleanor retorted, shaking her head.

“Errr...I'm not sure it works that way, but I guess it's fine” Daisy relented, blushing a bit.

Since the other three wanted a dress like Melissandra's, Daisy continued taking their measurements. Mac took this time to look over the rings again. Melissandra, since she already had her dress, was hovering behind him.

“I could probably use your help picking them out,” he asked, shyly looking at her.

Melissandra smiled, beaming back at him, “Of course!” As she closely inspected them alongside him, she asked “Is there a certain style common in your world?”

“Yeah, sometimes they vary, but the most common is a diamond inset” Mac explained.

“Hmm...why not just do that then? I wouldn't mind.”

“Well...I was hoping to get a different one for each of you...”

Melissandra nodded in understanding, “That makes sense. Did you pick one for any of us yesterday?”

“Yeah,” he said, picking up a gold ring with a green gemstone atop it. “I was thinking of this one for Emma.”

Melissandra's eyes lit up, “Wow. I think she would like this.” Then, as if realizing something, “Wait...you picked this out yesterday while we were here? Before....”

Mac nodded, blushing and looking away.

“Oh, you silly...” she teased, giving him a peck on the cheek. “Well, why don't you get us all one similar to that.”

Mac closed his eyes in thought, then looked at the rings again, grabbing a silver one with a blue gemstone. “Yup, this is it.”

“Oh, my...” Melissandra responded, looking at the ring, then holding out her hand, so Mac slid it onto her finger.

Melissandra held it up to her face, looking at it closely, only for the ring to slip off.

Luckily, Mac was able to catch it before it hit the ground.

Daisy, who had just finished measuring Eleanor (with the help of Felicia, since she couldn't reach Eleanor's shoulders) chuckled, “Sorry, dwarf woman have larger fingers than human woman, so a lot of them will need to be downsized before you can wear 'em.”

“Ohhh, did you pick one out for me?” Emma asked, hugging him from behind.

“Yeah, here you go,” he said, giving her the ring with the green gemstone.

Getting stars in her eyes, Emma picked it up. “Wow, it's so beautiful!”

“He said he thought of you when he first saw it,” Melissandra explained with a smile.

“Awww you....” Emma said, smiling and playfully punching Mac in the back.

Now that he had a theme for the rings, he was able to quickly pick one out for Felicia and Eleanor as well.

For Eleanor, he found one with a yellow-gold gemstone. “Wait...isn't this the same color as my curse eye?” she asked, confused.

“Yeah, I told you I thought it was pretty right?” Mac said with a smile.

“Oh Mac...!” Eleanor replied before picking him up and smashing their lips together.

For Felicia, he picked out one with a jet-black gemstone. “Not that I don't like it, but I'm surprised. The other's all matched their eyes, right?”

Mac shrugged, “It's not like I was purposely doing that. I just went with the color I imagined first when I thought of each of you.”

Felicia looked at the ring in her hand, then smirked, “Oh, I get it...you really like that outfit on me.”

Mac, after taking a few seconds to realize what she meant, blushed, “Oh...yeah that might be it.”

After the rings were picked out and set aside, Daisy worked out the logistics of moving with Melissandra. “Do you need help packing up? I can send some of the soldiers to help.”

Daisy nodded, “We'll probably need a wagon just for my things...”

As they were discussing, Emma came over and whispered in Mac's ear, “Hey, are you interested in Daisy too?”

Mac, knowing what she was getting at, shook his head.

“Why not? I think she'd be pretty cute if she cleaned up a bit...” Emma said, as if persuading him.

“I don't disagree, but I've learned my lesson about being too nice to cute girls,” he said, looking at her and pulling at her cheeks teasingly.

“Hey....what happened to that romantic speech you gave me on the mountain?” she said, pouting and holding her stinging cheeks.

“I meant every word of it, but that doesn't change how we met,” he said, ruffling her hair. “Besides, she doesn't seem interested in me like that. Or at least, she's not aggressively pursuing me like the rest of the woman in my life. It's honestly kind of refreshing.”

Emma looked thoughtful. “I guess I can see that from your point of view.”

Mac was stunned, “Really?”

“Hey, what do you take me for?” she responded, playfully punching him again. “What if she was interested in you though?”

Mac thought about it, “Well, I guess I would take it into consideration. Why would she be interested in me though?”

“What are you saying to your own fiance!?” Emma responded, playfully punching him even faster now.

Shielding himself from the flurry of fists, Mac explained “No, I mean, she's a dwarf, would she even be interested in a human man?”

Emma stopped punching. “Oh, that's a good point” she replied, looking at Daisy thoughtfully.

The others seemed to be wrapping up their conversation.

“Okay. We'll come and load everything in the wagon in the morning. Are you sure your shop will be fine?” Melissandra confirmed.

Daisy nodded, “Yeah, I'll just leave a note on the front window that we're closed.”

“I think that's everything then.”

Eleanor who had been listening silently, hugged Daisy again. “We're definitely not leaving without you!”

Daisy, looking confused, “Was I supposed to think you would?”

Late Night Talks

After saying their goodbyes and heading back to their inn, the four fiance's went to get dinner while Mac went to talk to La Hire.

“Captain!” Mac said, seeing him across the yard, talking to some of the other guards.

When he saw Mac approaching, he dismissed the other guards, and gave him a salute.

“My lord?” he said.

Mac, deciding not to chide him for calling him 'my lord' in public again, started explaining. “We need to procure another wagon. Once you do, have some of the guards go to this location in the morning and help load the wagon for them,” he explained, handing him a piece of paper.

La Hire winced. “Are you...taking another woman with us?”

Mac raised an eyebrow, “Yes...she's a dwarf woman.”

La Hire raised both his eyebrows. “A...dwarf woman? Are you...quite sure?”

Mac nodded, not sure what the issue was.

“Well, I will have the men ready procure another wagon. Are we leaving Stromvurk tomorrow then?”

“Yes, I'll speak with the others, but I think we'll start heading back to the palace after we drop Eleanor off.”

La Hire, brightening up at the thought of going home, nodded. “Of course, sire! We'll protect you as always!”

Mac scratched his cheek in a bit of embarrassment at the proud proclamation, “Well, make sure you protect my fiance's too.”

After dinner, Mac made his way back to his room. It hadn't actually been that long since he left it, but he was tired nonetheless. Glad to have it back, he got into his tracksuit and slipped into bed.

Mac, thinking about the the trip so far, couldn't help but smile. Things have turned out pretty well, haven't they?

All his fiance's seemed happy, he (with Eleanor's help) may have found a way to help them make some money, and they'd be heading back soon. Compared to when he left, he felt much more comfortable with his position in this world now.

He did want to explore more, but...the needs of the Kingdom came first.

While he was pondering all this, a knock came at the door. Before he could say anything, Melissandra slipped in, wearing a negligee similar to Felicia's, but dark blue to match her hair.

Mac, sitting up to look at her, was stunned. After a moment, he realized he should say something, “You look pretty stunning in that.”

Melissandra blushed, “Thanks. We all liked Felicia's, so we decided to get our own, so you can look forward to that.”

“Oh, are they coming later?”

“No, it's just me tonight. Is that fine?”

Mac nodded, “Of course, I like having one-on-one time with you.” He also remembered the last time they had all come in together...

Melissandra smiled. “Me too. I wanted to talk with you alone, and the others said it should be my turn anyway.” She sat down next to him on the bed.

Mac immediately hugged her and gave her a kiss. After a few seconds, Melissandra pushed him away, blushing. “I told you I wanted to talk! Although I appreciate your affection for me is as strong as ever...”

Mac blushed, “Sorry, I'll control myself.”

Melissandra gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks. Now, first...do you trust me?”

Mac was confused, “Of course. It'd be bad if I didn't trust my future wife.”

Melissandra shook her head, “No, I mean, do you really trust me? Say I did something that you thought made no sense, or you thought might be detrimental to the royal family or country. Would you still trust me?”

Mac, seeing she was serious, thought about how to answer. “Well, I would probably try to talk to you about...whatever it is.”

“Okay, but say you couldn't for whatever reason.”

“I guess I would try to reason out what you were doing. If I really thought it would be bad, I would stop you, otherwise I would probably just trust your judgment.”

Melissandra nodded, “That's a good answer. Of course, I might make wrong decisions, but I just want you know understand that I will always be working for the betterment of the royal house and Ositania.”

Mac nodded back, she wants to make sure we're on the same page.

Melissandra continued, “Next...I am thinking, if you are okay with it, that I should be in charge of our House. Obviously, I can perform any other duties you want me to, but the other fiance's seem to trust me to run everything.”

Mac smiled, “I think that's an excellent idea. I'm pretty sure you were doing that before we were officially engaged anyway...”

Melissandra blushed, “Well, I wanted to show my usefulness to you...”

“Well, you succeeded. Maybe a bit too well based on how many fiance's I have now...”

Melissandra giggled, “Well, when I was just going to be a concubine I needed allies inside the palace. But if I'm running things, then I need to make sure you're getting along with your fiances. And that they get along with each other...”

“Thanks, I appreciate all the help,” he said, with a hug.

“Next...” Melissandra blushed again, “...when do you want to start trying for children?”

Mac closed his eyes. I guess I have to make a decision now, huh... While the topic had come up a few times, it hadn't been directly brought up to him for a while, since it had mainly been Marie talking about it. And he had just kinda...put off thinking about it. “Well, we promised we would have sex once we got back, right? And I don't see a reason not too.”

Melissandra blushed even deeper, “I know, but I could always take contraceptive medicine.”

Imagining him and Melissandra, with a baby in her arms...he decided he liked the idea. “I'm not sure how good a father I'll be, and I don't know anything about raising a kid, but if it's with you, I think I could do it.”

Taken aback at his words, Melissandra teared up a bit, and hugged Mac even more tightly. “I feel the same,” she replied, before giggling, “and don't worry, noblewoman are taught the basics of childcare.”

“That's good, feel like my world should have taught me as well...”

After embracing for a bit, Melissandra suggested, “Let's sleep now, we have a long day of traveling tomorrow.”

As they cuddled together under the covers, Mac was reminded of how incredibly lucky he was.

In the morning, Mac was woken up by Melissandra on top of him, kissing him passionately.

Mac, instinctively reciprocating, grabbed Melissandra and held her close.

After a few moments, Melissandra pushed herself off. “Hopefully that was a pleasant way to wake up?”

Mac nodded, “A bit surprising, but a nice one.”

Melissandra quickly slipped out, and Mac changed and went to meet the others downstairs, where La Hire was waiting with the carriage. “The rest of the guards are already at the dwarf woman's place.”

Quickly traveling over to Daisy's, they were greeted by the sight of excited guards, who were happily loading up a new wagon with boxes from inside the shop.

“Hey! Your guardsmen are all real friendly, especially when I promised to make them swords as thanks for the help.”

Mac smiled, “Yeah, I can imagine so, getting one from a dwarf.”

“Oh, right, after I finished packing I made you all your dresses you wanted” Daisy said to the girls. Mac noticed she had even more soot on her than their previous two meetings.

Eyes lighting up, they all followed Daisy into the shop. A few minutes later, they came back out, dresses on, complete with zippers in the back. Maybe it's because I'm not from this world, but isn't it just a regular dress but with a zipper now?

Of course, his fiance's all seemed to thoroughly enjoy them, so he wasn't going to put them out like that. “You all look wonderful,” he said with a smile.

Getting varying responses in return, they all turned and thanked Daisy again.

At this point, the guards had finished loading the wagon, and they turned to get back in the carriage. Daisy, looking at them, asked, “Um...where am I sitting?”

Melissandra replied, “You're riding with us in the carriage.”

Daisy got uncharacteristically shy, “Are you sure? Isn't that just for y'all?”

Melissandra shook her head, “You're one of the King's retainers now, so there's no reason you can't, too.”

Mac nodded in affirmation. Glad Mel is so good at picking up on these things.

“Well, if you insist...” Daisy smiled, before following them in.

As they began making their way out of Stromvurk, Emma was peppering Daisy with questions, although luckily she seemed to be more than happy to indulge Emma's curiosity.

“Is your shop going to be okay? I know you left a note, but I'd be worried about it just sitting there...” she asked.

“Yeah, I sent a letter to Mum about what happened. She'll come by occasionally and tend to it. I'll probably have them just sell it if things work out here” Daisy explained.

Eleanor smiled at her, “I'm sure they will. You do great work.”

Daisy smiled back, “Thanks, but you never know. The customer isn't always going to be happy with the work you do.”

I can appreciate her pragmatism, although it'll be an issue if things don't work out, Mac thought.

Emma continued with her questions, “Have you lived in Stromvurk all your life?”

Daisy shook her head, “No, I was born in a small village in the north of the country. My parents still live there, actually. When I was of age, I made my way to Stromvurk to ply my craft. My jewelry-work was a hit with traveling merchants, and dwarfs for that matter, so I eventually saved up enough for my own store. I'd been working there for a while, until I met y'all.”

Emma nodded, “That sounds like me, except I'm still in the leaving phase.”

Daisy chuckled, before looking at all of them, “Well, could I know a bit more about y'all? Since we'll be spending a lot of time together in the future.”

Emma responded first, giving her trademark fist pump. “I'm Emma. Nineteen. I was a farm girl until recently. Now I'm one of Mac's fiances.”

Daisy nodded, “I probably ate some of your food. Dwarf's aren't much for farming, so we always have it shipped in.”

Eleanor went next, “I'm Eleanor of House Cartegna, I'm also one of Mac's fiances. I apologize if my eyes bother you.”

Daisy raised an eyebrow, “Why would they? Just because they're different colors?”

“Yes...actually, do dwarves not have any legend about curse eyes?”

Daisy shook her head, “Not ringing any bells. Seems silly to me.”

Eleanor reached over and hugged Daisy, “I knew I liked you for a reason.”

Waiting until Eleanor was done, Felicia went next. “I'm Felicia. I used to be a prostitute, now I'm one of Mac's fiances as well.”

Daisy looked at her, a bit taken aback, before looking at Mac, who nodded and smiled. “I'm assuming there's a story there...?”

Felicia continued, “Yes, Mac visited me in a brothel one night, and he was so enthralled by me he hired me to be one of his maids, so he could have me around the palace. After that, I seduced him until he eventually took me as one of his fiances, too.”

Mac grabbed his forehead, “Hold on, hold on, that's technically true but you're leaving out some important in-between parts...”

Daisy, seeing his reaction, laughed, “Haha, well, I can tell things will always be lively around y'all.”

Melissandra went next, “You already know, but I'm Melissandra. I was one of Mac's maids at the palace. Some...things happened, and we eventually got engaged.”

Daisy shook her head, “I understand you're the king, but are you just some sort of magnet for pretty girls?”

Emma rebutted, “Hey, look who's talking!”

Daisy smiled nervously, “Haha, I appreciate it, but I don't really think I'm that cute. Dwarf men never really looked at me” she explained.

Emma shook her head and crossed her arms, “Dwarf men obviously have no taste then.”

Eleanor, who mirrored Emma's actions, added “I agree, they must be too busy with their work.”

“Well, sometimes the woman have to try pretty hard to pry the men away from their forges...” Daisy sighed.

“That's so weird. It's real easy to get Mac's attention” Emma added, which garnered a chuckle from everyone besides him in the cabin.

Mac, deciding to try and play it off, replied “It's hard not to be when you're all so aggressive.”

At this, he received some blushing from his fiance's, which caused Daisy to laugh some more.

Eventually, it started to grow dark, and they stopped at the next inn they came across. In a good mood, Mac told the guards to take it easy again and bought them all a couple rounds. Daisy quickly gained the approval of all the guardsmen, as she repeatedly downed mugs like it was nothing. I guess the trope of dwarves handling their drink well is true.

After dinner, Daisy, who had been given her own room, had gone up before everyone else, stating “I didn't sleep a ton the last couple days, what with working on those zippers, so I'm gonna turn in early.”

Later his fiance's went up as well, and, after sharing a drink with the guards, Mac went up to his room as well, washing himself off before climbing into bed. Since it was now an everyday occurrence, he decided to try and guess who was going to join him.

Hmm...maybe Felicia? Or possibly Eleanor, since we'll be leaving her at the Cartegna estate...

However, Mac waited a while, and nobody came. He thought it might have been an hour. Well, maybe they just want to spend some girl's time together, I'm not gonna be upset about that...

Imagining his fiance's happily chatting together, Mac closed his eyes, only for a knock to come at the door.

Sitting up, Mac looked a the door, but nobody came in. Did...I imagine it? Did I secretly want one of them to come that badly? After a few moments, there was another knock at the door. “Come in,” Mac replied. Usually, his fiance's just knocked and entered without a reply, so maybe it was one of the guards.

However, Mac did not recognize the person who came in. A woman with long brown hair past her waist, a large chest that her brown robe didn't hide at all, and a freckled face. After a few moments, her height (and spectacular arm muscles) gave it away, and Mac realized who it was.

“Daisy?”

Daisy laughed nervously, “Ahaha, yeah, it's me.”

Mac, taking a moment to think about the situation, asked, “Did the other girls send you here?”

Daisy nodded, “They came to my room and forced me to wash up, and put some makeup on me, saying you'd find me cute. I didn't want too at first, but they were real insistent, so I eventually just let 'em. Emma sent me over as a 'test'.”

“Are they testing me, or you?” Mac asked

Daisy shrugged, “I dunno. Maybe both?”

Mac sighed, “I'm sorry, you don't need to listen to them.”

Daisy looked at the ground, a bit embarrassed “It's okay, I think they were just trying to be nice. I told them you wouldn't find me cute.”

Mac shook his head “No, I think you're plenty cute like that, I'm just saying you don't have to go along with whatever they tell you.”

Daisy froze, not expecting the compliment. “Are you...serious? You find a dwarf like me cute?”

“Yeah, well...maybe cute isn't the right word. You have a interesting mix of ruggedness and femininity that's quite attractive.”

Daisy blushed, “You can't be serious...”

“I am. Plus, I was surprised by...” Mac trailed off, embarrassed to say it directly.

Daisy looked at her breasts, then grabbed them and chuckled, “Haha, you mean these girls? The sarashi does a good job of covering them so they don't get in the way. Emma pouted a bit when they took it off to wash me.”

Mac nodded, “Yeah, if you're making Emma jealous you definitely have some womanly charms.”

Daisy laughed, “Haha, alright, y'all win” she conceded, walking over and jumping in Mac's lap.

Maybe because of how muscular she was, but she felt heavier than he expected. Obviously, Mac didn't say this, instead just wrapping his arms around her.

Daisy blushed, “You're...really forward.”

Mac shrugged, “I think my fiance's have degraded my reasoning when it comes to girls. I use to not be so forward, but at this point, any pretty girl they send me gets treated the same.”

“I'm not sure if I should feel good or bad about that...”

“You can always leave if you're uncomfortable, I'm not gonna think less of you.”

Daisy shook her head, “Nah, with all those compliments you gave me, I'm feeling pretty good.” She turned perpendicular on his lap, and held his hand. “How does it feel?”

Mac, thinking about what to say, decided on “It feels rough. I can imagine all the hard work you put in every day.”

Daisy blushed, “Shucks, you know just what to say.” She looked up at him, “Could we, kiss maybe? I've never had one before, so you'd be my first.”

Mac looked at her surprised, “Are you sure? It wouldn't be my first.”

Daisy chuckled, “Well, I already knew that, what with Emma talking about how much you've smooched. Besides, you deserve it, bein' the first guy to compliment me so much.”

Seeing she was serious, Mac leaned over and planted a kiss on her. Unlike her hands, her lips were as soft as any other girl he'd kissed.

Daisy looked at him, not saying anything.

“How was it?” Mac asked.

“I feel kinda fluttery now. Can we...”

Mac leaned over and kissed her again.

“Yeah, that's pretty nice,” she nodded.

“Do you...still want more?” Mac asked.

“Well, maybe later...I was actually hoping you could massage my shoulders a bit. I never usually have anyone to do it for me, so I was hoping...” she trailed off.

Taken aback at the request, Mac responded, “Uh, yeah, of course, I can definitely do that.”

Turning again to put her back to him, Daisy slid down the shoulders of her dress to expose her shoulders, which also exposed the top of her breasts in the process.

Due to her size, Mac had an extremely clear view. Daisy didn't seem to be doing it on purpose, so Mac made a point to not stare, and instead grabbed her shoulders and started rubbing.

“You can go a bit stronger than that, try and grab into the muscle” Daisy explained.

Mac, who wasn't sure the correct way to do it, grabbed harder and dug his fingers into her shoulders.

Daisy's eyes went wide. “Wow, that feels great, keep going like that...” she said, occasionally giving satisfied shivers as they went. After a few minutes, Daisy rolled her shoulders, “Wow, you're great at that. Do you do that for your fiance's too?”

Mac, remembering a night with Eleanor where he had massaged a different part of her, tried not to blush. “Yeah...Eleanor enjoys them too.”

Daisy laughed, “Yeah, I imagine she would like shoulder massages too with those boulders she has on her.”

I'll have to remember that...

Daisy yawned, pulling her dress back up. “I feel pretty relaxed after that. I think I could sleep for days.”

Mac pulled up the covers, “Are you gonna sleep here?”

“Yeah, I may as well, I don't feel like going all the way back.” Daisy explained, yawning, and sidling up next to Mac. “Your fiance's said I should if things went well, too.” Daisy laid down next to him, putting her arms around him, smashing her breasts into his chest. Mac could feel his ribs groaning. “Errr, I appreciate how strong you are, but I can't sleep if you hold me that tightly.”

Daisy blushed in embarrassment. “I'm sorry...I just got into it...”

“No, it's okay. How about you turn around and I hold you?”

Nodding, Daisy rolled around.

Mac wrapped her arms under her breasts, and pulled her next to him.

Daisy was silent for a few moments, then said “Yeah, this is pretty nice. I can see why you're fiance's were making such a big deal about it.”

After, they had a few moments of silence, until it was broken by Daisy.

“Did you...hire me just be another of your fiance's?”

Mac shook his head, then remembering she couldn't see in this position, responded, “No, I really just wanted to hire you to work in the palace.”

Daisy nodded, “Okay. I'm not interested in getting married at my age, but I won't complain if you wanna give me some attention every now and then...”

I guess forty-eight isn't an age for a dwarf to settle down yet? “Well, I think my fiance's like you, so that's fine. And even if they didn't, it's their fault in the first place.”

Daisy chuckled again, “That's true.”

After a few minutes, he could feel her breath on his arms, indicating she had fallen asleep.

Mac sighed, it's not like I don't like Daisy or anything, but these situations are getting a bit ridiculous...

In the morning, Mac woke up, arms pinned down by the dwarf in between them. Remembering the previous night, he carefully slipped his way out of the bed, although Daisy didn't seem to even twitch as he moved about.

Slipping out the door, Mac walked over to the room where his fiance's were at. Knocking, he heard some movement from within. The door opened, “Dai-” Emma said, before stopping when she saw Mac.

“Can I come in?” Mac asked, still half asleep.

Emma gulped, before opening the door. The other three were in there, sitting in their pajamas on the two beds.

Mac walked in and sat down, looking at each of them as he rubbed his eyes.

Melissandra broke the silence, “Did things go badly with Daisy?”

“No, I think it went fine, but...why are my fiance's sending other woman to me at night!?”

Emma responded, “You seemed interested in her, didn't you?”

“Isn't four fiance's enough?

Eleanor shook her head, “I wouldn't mind her as a little sister too, she looked so precious last night...”

Melissandra added, “I tried to talk them out of it, but they were really into it, and Daisy did seem to change her mind after we dolled her up...”

Felicia simply shrugged.

“Well, she said she's not interested in getting married anyway” Mac explained.

After a few moments of silence, Emma put her hands together in the air and bowed down, “I'm really sorry, I really just thought you would like her” she explained looking worried.

Mac sighed, “I'm not upset. I just wish you would include me in these discussions first. To be honest I'm happy with just you all, but if you really think there's a reason we should add someone else to the family, let's talk about it first, okay?”

Emma nodded her head.

Mac walked over and gave her a hug to reassure her. He motioned to the others, who were looking at them, and they all joined together in a big group hug.

Packing up together, they quickly got down to the carriage and set off. Thankfully, when Daisy joined them she seemed in a good mood after last night.

“Haha, I slept like a log after that massage you gave me,” Daisy laughed.

Eleanor blushed, while the other three looked at Mac.

“Her shoulders...” he said, holding up his hands.

As the day wound on, they got back to the Cartegna estate around mid-day. They had planned on leaving again as soon as they had dropped off Eleanor and her things, as they still had a fair amount of daylight left, and Eleanor needed to start preparing to leave the estate and join them in the palace. To help lessen the burden on the palace (and in particular Marie) she was also preparing her own wedding as well.

“Can I...speak with you for a moment?” she asked Mac, pulling him over away from the others.

Once they were out of earshot, she looked down at the ground, “I'm...sorry.”

Mac shook his head, “You don't need to be sorry, we all need to prepare for our new life together.”

Eleanor shook her head back, “No, I...I am sorry for doubting you. Every time I think of not being near you...I worry that you will change your mind. I don't want to think it, but I just can't escape these feelings...”

Mac pulled Eleanor close, smashing his lips against hers and holding her tightly. After a few moments, he pulled back, reassuring her “You don't need to feel bad. I would feel the same in your position. I'll prove it to you as many times as you want.”

Crying, Eleanor pulled Mac back in for another kiss, smashing her breasts against him and pulling him as tightly as she could, lifting him off the ground slightly. After running out of breath, she let him back down.

“I'll get everything done in a week. No, five days! That's all I can bare to be apart from you!” she said, psyching herself up.

“I know you can do it!” Mac replied, giving her one last kiss. “Hopefully that can tide you over for now.”

Eleanor blushed heavily, “You better be ready for me...”

Knowing what she was implying, Mac was worried, but also slightly excited, and nodded.

As she left into the building, Mac returned to the carriage. His other three fiance's were waiting for him, giving reassuring smiles. “It's okay, we'll see her again soon” Melissandra reassured him.

“I know, I'm more worried about her,” Mac explained, with a frown.

“We just need to make sure everything's ready for her return!” Emma jumped in.

Felicia nodded in encouragement as well.

“Thanks” Mac said, giving a smile. I shouldn't let them see me so down.

From there, the rest of the day's journey was quiet and uneventful, Eleanor's absence putting a damper on the mood.

After stopping at an inn and eating dinner, Felicia grabbed Mac “It's my turn tonight” she told him with a smile.

Well, at least they're not making me guess anymore.

As they got into bed, Felicia wrapped her arms around him from behind, laying her chest against his back, and tickling his chin.

“Can we talk a bit deary?” she asked in her seductive voice.

“Of course,” Mac answered, raising an eyebrow at 'deary'.

“How many children do you want to have?”

Straight to it, eh? Mac was taken aback at the out of nowhere question, “Uhhh...I'm not sure.”

“I was thinking a dozen...” Felicia whispered in his ear.

Mac's eyes widened. “Well, if you all are okay with that...”

Felicia shook her head, “No, I meant just you and me.”

Mac's eyes somehow managed to widen even further, “You...you really wanna have that many?”

Felicia smiled, “You know us rabbit-human's can have children easier than other races right? And that our pregnancies are a month quicker?”

Mac nodded.

“So, we can easily have that many, if you want” she added, with a seductive smile.

Mac gulped, “Let's just take it one at a time, alright?”

Felicia giggled, “Okay, okay. I feel like I'll be able to convince you though. Oh, but I don't wanna get pregnant right away, I still want to help nurse like we originally planned.”

“Are you sure? We could always hire an actual nurse instead now, so you wouldn't need too.”

Felicia shook her head, “No, I talked with the others, and we think it's a good idea. I'm best focusing on family anyway, and they all trust me.”

Mac smiled, “Okay, I'll support you too then.”

Felicia went back to her seductive voice, “Are you sure? I didn't think you'd want to wait that long to have sex with me.”

Mac shrugged, “You can always use contraceptive medicine, right?”

Felicia giggled, “Well, I was hoping to never have too again, but I guess if you want me that badly...”

She pulled Mac's head back and gave him an upside-down kiss.

“That's all you get for now” she said, laying down on the bed.

“Are you sure?” Mac asked, laying next to her.

“Well, you could always take more if you want” she added, back in her seductive voice.

Mac went back in for another kiss.

After some exhaustive making out, they fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next day, they continued traveling back, until they reached Loren in the evening. As they were approaching, Emma suggested, “Let's stay at my parents again! I should probably tell them the good news now anyway.”

Melissandra nodded, “It's probably fine to tell them, if you're okay with it Mac.”

“Yeah, we need to invite them anyway,” he added, grinning at Emma.

“That's true,” Emma agreed. “I'm worried about their reaction to you being the King though...”

“Oh, yeah I guess that might be a little surprising...” Mac nodded.

As they rolled through Loren and out the other side, dusk was approaching. Making the familiar way back to Emma's family farm, her two brothers were playing Rocks in front of the house.

Emma stuck her head out and waved at them.

“Ma! Emma's back!” one of them shouted.

Emilia, Emma's mom, came rushing out of the house, soup ladle in hand.

Jumping out of the carriage, Emma went running over and hugged her mom, comically swinging around her neck. “Ma, I did it! We're getting married!”

Emilia's face lit up, squeezing Emma tight to her. “I'm so glad!”

From the stable, Ernest, her dad, stuck his head out, “Emma? Is that you?”

“Pa!” Emma shouted, rushing over to her dad next.

As the others exited the carriage, Emilia smiled at them.

“Oh Mel dear, you look lovely in that. If you're no longer wearing your uniform, did you get upgraded from maid status?”

Melissandra blushed and smiled, “Yes, I'm also one of Mac's fiance's,” she said with a smile.

Felicia also walked out, “I'm Felicia. Also one of Mac's fiance's.”

“Oh my,” Emilia said, slapping Mac lightly on the back. “You charmer, you.”

Daisy exited the carriage last, “I'm Daisy. I guess I need to clarify I'm not one of his fiance's, haha” she added with a chuckle.

Emilia smiled at her, “I've never met a dwarf before. Do they all look like you? You're way cuter than I imagined,” she complimented, stroking Daisy's hair.

Daisy looked embarrassed, “Yeah, so I've been told.”

“What!?” they heard a shout in the distance, before seeing Ernest fall to his knees, lightheaded.

“Oh my,” Emilia said, “What did he tell her?”

“Err, probably that...” Melissandra explained.

Afterwards, they sat down with all of them together, and went over the whole situation, apologizing for having lied the first time they met.

Ernest shook his head, “No, no, I completely understand why. But I sure was surprised when Emma told me...”

Emilia nodded, “Me too, though I didn't almost faint like my husband” she added, pinching his arm.

“Yes, yes, I'm sorry dear,” he replied, rubbing his arm.

Emilia grabbed her cheeks, “Still though, I can't believe my Emma is going to be a Queen.”

“I have a lot of work to do though,” Emma said, looking determined. “I need to be a Queen Mac can be proud of.”

“You can do anything you put your mind to” Ernest said.

“Of course, I've never seen my Emma back down from a challenge,” Emilia said, giving a fist pump.

Now I know where she gets it from.

Since they hadn't been expecting company, everyone helped pitch in to make dinner. The guards especially were glad to be eating some of Emilia's home cooking again. With all their help, they finished a big vegetable stew for everyone.

After dinner, Emilia prepared the same room he had last time they were there. After a while, Emma slipped in (as expected) dressed again in only a t-shirt and her panties.

“I can tell you're comfortable around me” Mac said, smirking at her outfit.

“It's not like I don't want you to see me” she smiled back, jumping on top of him and immediately making out with him. After a few minutes, she got off, kneeling on the bed next to him.

“I'm surprised you didn't want more...” Mac asked, slightly disappointed.

“I do, but...we need to talk” Emma explained, more serious than Mac had could ever remember seeing her.

I guess everyone needed to talk with me. “Okay,” Mac nodded, wrapping his arm around her.

“I thought about it a lot, and... I don't want to have kids right away” she said, looking up at him.

Mac nodded, “Okay, that's fine with me. We can wait until we're ready. And we always have contraceptive medicine.”

Emma shook her head, “No, I mean...I don't want to...have sex yet.”

At this, Mac was fairly surprised. Emma, who had been aggressively kissing him every chance she got, didn't seem to want to go farther?

“You...don't want too?” What do you mean right away?”

“I...want to wait until I can call myself a proper queen. Once I know I won't embarrass myself, then we can get married, and...” she trailed off, blushing.

Mac thought about what she was saying. “Is this because...Melissandra and I are waiting until we're married?”

“Partly...but I also just want to challenge myself to learn as quickly as possible. It's definitely not because I don't want to” she added, kissing him again to reinforce her point.

Mac gave her a hug. “Of course, I fully support your decision, even if it pains me a bit...”

Emma smiled, “You have your other fiance's anyway.”

Mac shook his head, “Even so, it's not like I wasn't looking forward to...you know...doing it with you too” he said, blushing a bit.

Emma also blushed heavily. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Eleanor let slip to me you gave her a...special massage at her house. Since it might be a bit before we do it, do you want to give me one too? To hold us over? Mine aren't as big, but-”

Mac cut her off, by pushing her down and locking her lips in his. As he shoved his tongue into her mouth, he slowly grabbed her breasts and squeezed. With Emma's size, he was able to fit her whole breast in his hand. Unlike the time with Eleanor, Emma was not wearing a bra, so he could easily feel her nipples, which rubbed the inside of his palms.

Emma let out stifled moans that were muffled by their tongues intertwining. After continuing for a couple minutes, Emma turned her head away, gasping “Stop, stop!”

Mac let go of her, rolling off, “Sorry, I thought you were enjoying it.”

Emma, in between breaths, “I was! Too much! I just wanted to rip your clothes off!”

“Oh,” Mac replied, looking embarrassed.

As she calmed down, breathing steadying, Emma turned to face him. “That was good motivation to learn as quickly as possible.”

Mac smiled, “Good. I probably won't be able to control myself next time.”

Emma blushed, “We better just go to sleep now” she added, cuddling herself close.

In the morning, they were woken up by the smell of cooking wafting up from the kitchen. After they dressed and made their way down, Emilia smiled at them, “Did you get some good sleep?” as she spooned some eggs on plates for them.

“Errr, yes.” I guess she doesn't mind since we're engaged?

After breakfast, they said their goodbyes.

“You really don't know when it's going to be?” Emilia asked, looking a bit sad.

Emma nodded, holding her mother's hands, “I need to make sure I'm ready first! I promise everyone will get invites once it's decided.”

She and her mom exchanged a hug, and then she joined the rest in the carriage. Waving bye to her family as they rolled away, Emma looked a bit pensive.

Melissandra put her hand on Emma's shoulder, “Don't worry, everything will be worth it once you're done.”

Emma leaned over and hugged her, “Thanks Mel, I'll just practice by acting like you!”

Melissandra smiled and patted her on the head. “I'm honored.”

As they continued traveling, the conversation turned to the palace, since they should be arriving the next day.

“Wait, we all get our own rooms? It's that big?” Emma asked, amazed.

“Well, it is big, but that's not why. We get our own rooms because we are future wives. The staff don't, I used to sleep in a special quarters with all the other maids” Melissandra explained.

“What about my siblings?” Felicia asked.

Melissandra shook her head, “No, the private palace we stay at is only for direct family members. And the maids, of course. Marie probably set them up with some rooms in the front part of the palace.”

Felicia nodded. “Well, that sure beats the place we were staying at in Loren.”

“What about me?” Daisy asked.

“We actually have our own quarters specifically next to the forge that's unoccupied, so you can have that. Assuming you want it,” Melissandra added.

“Of course, nothing like rolling out of bed in the morning and the smelter is still hot from the previous night” Daisy explained with a reminiscing smile.

“Hopefully I can get along with everyone,” Emma continued, looking a bit worried.

“Well, I think Marie will be happy to see Mac with some so many fiances” Melissandra giggled.

“Was she really that worried about it? Hard to believe with how it turned out,” Felicia smirked.

Mac nodded, “Yes, it came up a lot before we left. The first day I was there they were parading all the girls in front of me...” he trailed off, shaking his head at the memory.

“Isn't that how you met Elly though?” Emma asked.

Melissandra nodded, “Yes, Eleanor must have at least left an impression on you.”

Mac squirmed, “Well, she did...but I still wish we could have met under different circumstances.”

“You wouldn't have met us either, though” Felicia added. “I'd still be in the brothel otherwise...” she trailed off, looking away with her eyes glazed over.

“Ah...yeah I guess it worked out,” Mac quickly added.

Melissandra grabbed Felicia's hands. “Right? You don't need to worry about that anymore.”

Mac smiled, “Yeah, you left an impression on me too, when I saw you up in that window” he added, which got a smile in return.

Emma jumped in, “What about me? Were you overcome with lust when you first saw me?”

Mac, thinking back, “Well, it was actually your voice I noticed first, since you were shouting at everyone.”

Emma punched him repeatedly, “What do you mean my voice!? You didn't notice how I looked at all!?”

“Well I did notice how tan you were. Actually, it seems like your tan's been lightening up a bit.”

“Nooooo, I was trying to get it to go away since I didn't think noblewoman had tan's, but now you're telling me that's your favorite part?” Emma said, sulking.

Melissandra comforted her, “It's okay, we have a gardens in the palace, you can tan there if you want. It's not like there's anything saying noblewoman can't be tan.”

As they discussed how a noblewoman should look, Mac thought Melissandra's keeping everyone in good spirits, I better make sure I do my part too.

The five of them had fallen asleep in the carriage, when the carriage abruptly stopped, causing all of them to be knocked and thrown around everywhere.

After getting up and attempting to shake off the starts he was seeing, Mac looked at the others, who all seemed okay, if a bit shaken. Except Daisy, who didn't seemed to have woken up at all.

Now aware of his surroundings, he realized there was a lot of shouting going on outside. Opening the door, he asked “Did we break a wheel ag-” but stopped as he saw what was going on outside.

The guards were currently fighting. Given their rough attire and haphazard armor, Mac assumed they were bandits. As he looked on, he heard several 'thunk' sounds around him, as an arrow appeared in the carriage next to him.

“Mac!” he heard Melissandra shouting, pulling him back into the carriage and onto the floor, before crawling over him.

Mac, horrified, told her, “What are you doing? Get behind me...”

“No, you're too important!” Melissandra shouted in his ear, holding onto him tightly.

Emma and Felicia also held onto both of them, although he wasn't sure if they were trying to protect him, or just scared. Daisy was still asleep.

After a couple minutes, the fighting sounds outside stopped. The door opened, although Mac couldn't see who it was due to his predicament. “Si....re?”

After a moment, the others unlatched themselves from the pile, and Mac was able to see Captain La Hire in the doorway.

“Are they gone?” Mac asked, seeing La Hire look concerned.

He nodded, “Yes, we drove them away rather easily.”

Mac could see a couple bodies laying behind him. Grimacing a bit, Mac asked “Did we...”

La Hire shook his head, “No, it'd be a sad day if we lost any guards to bandits like these. Just a few cuts and bruises.”

Phew, Mac thought. He'd feel bad if any of the guards he'd be been traveling with had died defending him. Even if that is their job.

Emma asked “Why did they run away so easily?”

La Hire raised an eyebrow, but responded, “I don't think they actually wanted to fight. They were probably hoping to scare us off so they could have the wagon and carriage to plunder.”

Mac shuddered at the thought. Deciding not to dwell on it, he nodded and told La Hire to let the guards know his thanks.

La Hire saluted and closed the door.

As they sat their in silence awkwardly, Mac decided to break the tension. “So, uh, that was kinda scary.”

Emma chimed in, “Yeah, I've heard about caravans being attacked all the time, but I never thought it would actually happen to me.”

Felicia nodded in agreement.

Melissandra was biting her lip, looking anxious.

“Are you okay, Mel?” Mac asked.

Melissandra looked away. “I'm...you need to be more careful!”

Mac winced at the scolding. “I know, I'm sorry...”

Melissandra turned back towards him and grabbed him, shouting “We didn't even do it yet!”

This caused Emma to blush and and Felicia to chuckle. Daisy was still asleep.

They then heard an 'all clear' shout, and the carriage started trudging along again. Melissandra came back to her senses, letting go of Mac and looking down, pretending to be calm, although her face was still blushed.

Mac held her hand, which seemed to comfort her a bit as they continued.

Eventually dusk came, and they stopped at an inn, the same one they had stopped at the first night of their journey. Mac got the same room as last time, with Melissandra again joining him for the night.

Still feeling awkward from the afternoon, they both quickly changed into their pajamas.

Mac sat on the bed and looked away. He felt someone crawl onto the bed behind him.

“Please be careful,” Melissandra asked, sounding like she was nervous and repeating her request from this afternoon.

Mac nodded, “I know. We need to do something about the bandits.”

Melissandra nodded back, “We'll have to plan. Err, after our wedding, of course,” she added, blushing.

Mac smiled back and, exhausted from the day's events, they held hands as they faced each other and fell asleep.

Back at the Palace

The next morning, everyone was quick to pack up and get on the road. Maybe because they knew they'd finally be arriving to the palace that day, but everyone was eager to get going.

After a half day of travel and leisurely conversation (everyone doing their best to avoid talking about the bandit attack), they eventually could see the capital in the distance, and the palace perched slightly above it.

“Wow...” was all Emma could say, looking at the sight in front of her. As they looked on, Mac thought of the few people in the capital he knew. “Mel, did you invite Bella and Ben's family?”

“Yes, I did” she giggled, “I'm sure they got a big surprise when they received their invitation.”

“They did help us perfect our married couple act.”

“Well, it won't be an act anymore soon...”

Entering the capital, Mac immediately was struck by the amount going on inside of it. While it had been busy before, now it seemed like it was almost packed to the brim. Guards were stationed every so often to keep lanes open in the streets for wagons and carriages, otherwise they would have been stuck in throngs of people.

“What is going on? I don't remember it being this packed when we left,” Mac exclaimed.

“What do you mean? It's because of us! Word about our wedding has already gone out. Well, mine and Eleanor's, actually. I'm sure Marie is waiting until she could talk to you both before announcing anything” she added looking at Emma and Felicia.

“I'm actually a bit relieved this is on the extreme end, I don't know if I could survive if this was the norm,” Daisy said.

“It wasn't this bad, but Stromvurk was pretty busy too, wasn't it?” Emma asked.

“Yeah, but Stromvurk is mostly dwarves, not humans that are so tall you can't see where you're going...” Daisy explained, looking nauseous at all the people.

“You're welcome to stay in the palace as much as you want” Melissandra reassured her.

“Noooo, I'll need to come out here for supplies occasionally, so I may as well get used to it...”

Slowly making their way through the crowd, after a while they eventually got to the other end of the city, and exited towards the palace.

“It feels weird, but I'm almost nostalgic coming back, even though its only been a couple weeks” Mac mused.

“Yes, I feel a bit weird knowing I won't be going back to the maid quarters...” Melissandra trailed off.

“Isn't that good though?” Emma turning her head sideways.

“Well, yes, but I lived there for six years. I'm sure you'll miss your farm, right?”

Emma squinted her eyes, “Well, maybe. I'll miss my family, at least.”

Rolling up the main gate, La Hire took off his helmet and saluted the guards, who had been expecting their arrival. Saluting back, they quickly sent word to open the gate, and the carriage entered into the front yard of the palace.

As the carriage stopped and Mac exited, three people were waiting for their arrival. First was Marie, a serious look on her face and standing with her arms crossed. Wait, she should be happy, right? Everything worked out, right? And we even picked up Daisy as a bonus!

Next to her was Kay, Melissandra's cat-human maid friend, who was smiling ear to ear as he walked up with Melissandra next to him.

Beside Kay was someone Mac wasn't familiar with, a rabbit-human maid with an expectant look on her face. As he got closer, he thought she looked similar to Felicia. Just as this thought entered his brain, the rabbit-human maid shouted, “Sister!” and ran past him.

“Fiona!” Felicia called, running up and hugging the other rabbit-human.

Fiona, who was tearing up a bit, “I'm glad you made it okay.”

“Of course I did. What about you? Why are you wearing a maid outfit?”

Fiona straightened herself out. “Since you were going to be working in the palace, I wanted to help us earn our keep. Marie said there was an opening in the maid team, so I asked If I could join.”

Felicia shook her head, “You didn't need to do that. Besides, I'm not really going to be working in the palace anymore.”

Fiona looked confused, “What do you mean? I thought...”

Felicia pulled Mac next to her and put her arm around him, with the other flashing a victory symbol “We're getting married instead!”

Fiona looked between her and Mac, who nodded in confirmation.

“Oh, sister!” she said, crying again and putting her arms around Felicia and Mac, who hugged her back.

Marie spoke up, “Fiona has been picking things up quickly. She could be your maid-in-waiting if you'd like.”

Over to the side, “Mel! You did it!” Kay said, hugging Melissandra tightly.

Melissandra smiled, “I did,” and hugged Kay back.

Kay, catching sight of someone behind Melissandra, asked, “Oho, who's this cutie?”

Emma walked up, “I'm Emma. I'm guessing you're Kay, right? Mel talked about you a lot, it's nice to meet you.”

“Nyahaha, likewise” Kay responded, with a small curtsy.

“Emma is one of the other fiances” Melissandra explained, staring right at Kay.

“Nyah! Really!?” Kay nearly shouted, looking at Emma, staring at her chest.

Emma, realizing what Kay was getting at, put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest. “I won him over with just this” she proclaimed proudly.

Kay stared at her in awe.

Melissandra put her hand on Kay's shoulder, “I know. Some of our old guesses about Mac were... a bit wrong.”

Daisy was standing behind all them silently, looking on.

“Don't worry. I am very excited to see you, Miss Daisy.”

Startled Daisy turned around to see Marie staring at her closely, adjusting her glasses.

“Err, nice to meet you. You're Marie?”

Marie nodded, smiling. “I've heard all about you too. I'm excited for all the...money...we'll be bringing in” she finished, clasping her hands together.

At the talk of money, Daisy's initial shyness was replaced with a smile, “I like ya already.”

After they talked and laughed for a bit, they all went inside to see their rooms. They had been set up as soon as news of their engagement's arrived, after Mac's room was Melissandra's, then Eleanor's, then Emma's, followed by Felicia's.

Emma was stunned, “This is insane! My room feels like the size of a floor in the farmhouse.”

“Mac's is even larger” Melissandra asserted.

Felicia looked at hers thoughtfully, “Will this be large enough for a nursery?

“No, I was thinking we'd prepare a separate room to use as a nursery,” Melissandra answered.

“Yeah, that's for the best. I wouldn't want my alone time with Mac to be interrupted” Felicia answered.

After their rooms, they went and visited the gardens.

“Wow, it's like you have your own farm field. You could get lost in here” Emma said, astounded again at the size.

“You could secretly meet up with a lover here, if you wanted,” Felicia said, smiling.

“Nyahaha, someone you know already did just that,” Kay laughed, looking at Melissandra.

“I won't deny it...” she responded, causing all of them to giggle.

Emma, however, looked a bit sad, “I feel like I missed out on that part of the relationship.”

“Who's fault is that!?” Mac asked incredulously, remembering the night Emma snuck into his room right after they met.

Emma responded by sticking her tongue at him.

Next, they visited the bath.

“This really screams 'royalty' right here,” Felicia said.

Mac nodded, “Yeah, I thought it was overkill when I first arrived. Actually, I still do.”

Emma walked up and looked in the tub, “You could fit like twenty people in here. We could all bathe together!”

Mac noticed Melissandra and Felicia's ears perk up. Actually, he was pretty sure he saw Kay's perk up too.

After touring around some more, they eventually went to the royal dining room to eat.

“It feels nice not eating by myself in here,” Mac said, as Kay and Fiona brought food out to them, before sitting along the wall.

“Um...are they not gonna join us?” Emma asked.

Melissandra shook her head, “No, this is reserved for only the royal family to eat in. We're fine, since we're engaged to Mac, but otherwise it would be an issue.”

Felicia smirked, “You wanna marry my sister too? I don't mind. I'm sure the catgirl maid wouldn't find joining either.”

Melissandra acted like she was going to say something, but Mac interjected, shaking his head, “Don't even joke about that, I don't think I can handle more than one Felicia.”

“She doesn't really act like me at all, though, but I wouldn't play matchmaker anyway. That's Mel's job” she teased, smirking at Melissandra.

Melissandra, who blushed a bit, “I just did what I thought was best.”

Emma rubbed her cheek against Melissandra's, “You did great!”

“Thanks,” Melissandra replied, smiling at her. “I'm surprised Marie isn't here, she probably wants to get to know both of you.”

“She seemed like she was pretty excited to talk to Daisy,” Mac responded, shrugging.

In a building on the palace grounds, Marie was showing Daisy around.

“I get to live here? This is bigger than my shop and house combined in Stromvurk!” Daisy asked.

Marie nodded, “You're working for the royal family now, you get the best.”

Continuing behind her living area, Marie showed her the open-air forge she would be working at. Daisy's eyes lit up. “This is huge! I can get so much done here. I won't even be able to work everything by myself at once.”

“We can always hire help if you need it.” Marie leaned in close, “I think Eleanor already informed you of her plan, right?”

Daisy smiled, “That she did. I'll get started right away.”

“Are you sure? You don't want to eat first or anything?” Marie asked, surprised.

“Can you just have food sent down to me? I usually just eat while I work.”

Marie smiled, “Of course.”

After dinner, Mac returned to his room. The girls had wanted to try out the royal bath, so he took one in the smaller, private one in his room.

As he sat there soaking in the hot water, Mac considered his immediate future. His first wedding would be to Melissandra in a week, and Eleanor's would be the week after. A few weeks ago, I was going to class, and now I have four fiances. Four!

Shaking his head, No, I only even have them is because I have to be King. I can't just take the good and not the bad.

His journey had been fruitful, and not just because of his engagements. He had managed to learn a fair amount of how Ositania was doing on the ground level. While things didn't seem to be falling apart, they...weren't great. Increased bandit activity, peasants being price gouged on food, and people having to sell their bodies to help support their families.

Looking at his problems, the thing he needed the most was...money. Money could hire more guards to hunt down bandits. Money could help feed the poor. Money would stop the need for people to sell themselves.

While the royal coffers would receive a small amount from his marriage to Melissandra, and a modest amount from marrying Eleanor, it wasn't near enough to enact any sort of change. If he wanted to do something to help, he would need get a large amount of money from somewhere.

While they did receive taxes from the nobles and local lords, it usually only amounted to enough to keep everything running, not actually start anything new.

Eleanor seemed to have thought of a moneymaking scheme involving Daisy, but he wasn't going to count on that being their only extra source of income.

As he finished his bath, he mulled it over. Well, I've got four others I can talk it over with. Five actually since Marie can help too, he assured himself as he got into bed.

His fiance's had told him he would be sleeping by himself until the wedding. He wasn't sure if they were doing it voluntarily, or Melissandra had asked them too, but Mac was fine with it. Though, now that he was lying in bed by himself, he felt a bit lonely. I use to sleep by myself every night, and now...well, it's for the best.

As he lay on the bed, his body and mind suddenly felt incredibly heavy. Well, I didn't get a lot of sleep on the trip...no thanks to certain companions... he thought, as his mind drifted away.

Tethering

Mac woke up, hearing a voice in the distance. Well, he thought he heard a voice. It sounded like someone was shouting, but muffled as if underwater, so he couldn't make out what they were actually saying. As he looked around, he realized he was no longer in his bed, but lying in a forest.

Wait, are we still on our trip? Where are the others at? Mac was confused, but decided to follow the voice he was hearing. Maybe they can help me out.

As he walked, he could hear the voice getting louder and louder. Actually, it sounds like they need help. Eventually, he came to a clearing in the forest, the muffled voice sounding like it was right next to him. In the clearing was a pool of water. Wait...is someone drowning!?

Mac quickly rushed over to the pool. As he looked down into it, he could only see himself reflected back. As he knelt down, the muffled voice seemed as if it was screaming in his head. He reached his arm into the pool, trying to grab whoever was there...and got pulled headfirst into the water.

With a start, Mac sat up in his bed, drenched in sweat. Taking count of his surroundings, he realized he was in his bedroom in the palace. Oh...that must have been a dream. It felt oddly real though.

Mac usually had trouble remembering his dreams beyond vague details, but he was able to recount this entire dream, vividly remembering the pool in the forest clearing he had seen...and been pulled into.

Shaking his head, Mac changed out of his sweaty outfit and left for breakfast.

When he made it to the royal dining room, his three (present) fiance's were already there eating.

“This is really good, the cook could give Ma some competition” Emma said, stuffing her face with a roll.

Felicia nodded, “Yeah, this reminds me of my mother as well.”

“Tillie is an excellent cook. She'll be in charge of the food for our weddings as well” Melissandra explained.

“Really? Ma usually cooks for our families weddings...” Emma explained.

“I'm sure she can work with Tillie. Remember, there will be hundreds of guests,” Melissandra reminded her.

Emma went red, “That many people will come to mine too?”

Felicia slapped her shoulder, “Of course they want to come see you! The tanned Queen! You'll be a legend.”

“Err, I really should let my tan fade... but Mac said...” she trailed off, looking at Mac eating some toast.

“It's up to you Emma, I'm pretty sure you'll still be cute either way” Mac said nonchalantly, before continuing eating.

Emma seemed really conflicted.

Melissandra turned to Mac, “Did you sleep well? You seem a bit...out of it this morning.”

Of course Mel is going to notice...

“Yeah...I had just had a...uh...weird dream...” he said, and then recounted everything from waking up in the forest until getting pulled into the pool in the clearing.

The three fiance's looked at him, concerned.

“That doesn't sound good,” Melissandra said, frowning.

“Is it trying to tell you something? Like stay away from water!” Emma suggested.

“But...it sounded like someone else in the water needed help,” Mac explained.

“They might have been luring you in, knowing you'd try and help them,” Felicia suggested. “Why else would they pull you in?”

As they pondered the dream's possible meanings, the door opened, Marie coming in.

“Sire. I'm glad to see you spending time with your fiance's,” Marie said, a smile reinforcing her words. “Please meet me in the council chamber once you're done so we can discuss the coming days.”

Mac nodded, “Of course...” he said, before turning to the others.

“Go ahead,” Melissandra stated, “We have work to do anyway” she added with a smile.

Mac followed Marie to the council chambers. As they sat down, Mac remembered some of the previous conversation's they'd had here, including looking over marriage offers, and even the first conversation they had when he was first summoned.

“First off, my congratulations on your engagements. I was hoping things would turn out well, but...I didn't expect this” Marie said, giving an awkward grin. “You took my words a bit...too seriously regarding finding someone to have children with.”

“Yeah...” Mac replied, nervously smiling back. “I'm not sure what I got myself into.”

“I don't think there's any need to worry. Those three seem to get along great, though I can't say for Eleanor.”

“Eleanor might be more excited about those three than marrying me” Mac replied, remembering how excited she seemed to be about her future sisters.

“I...doubt that's true,” Marie said with a slight smirk betraying her normally composed demeanor. “But I get what you mean. Just make sure you keep it that way.”

“Believe me, I'll do everything I can.”

Marie nodded, “Good. Also, I was quite glad with your hiring of Daisy. How did you scout her?”

Mac explained his search for weddings rings, which had led to seeing her handiwork, and eventually her creating the zippers.

Marie nodded, “That was most fortuitous.”

“Yeah, it was mostly Eleanor's idea. She seemed like she was putting together a plan.”

Marie smiled, “Yes, she informed me. We...well, we're still working everything out. I think it will be a success. Next, I want to talk about your work. Now that we have a scheduled day for your first wedding, it will be an issue if I don't hand over some of the decision-making to you...”

“No, I understand, I know I can't put it off. What do I all need to do for now?”

Marie nodded, “Thank you. I'll have an office set up for you near the royal dining room, and will have any paperwork you need to complete sent to you. Well for now, most of it will just need read and signed, although you can make changes if you want.”

Of course, paperwork...

“Also, you'll be occasionally called into meetings where your input is needed. Usually, you won't need to say much and just confirm whatever decision is made, unless you want to speak up.”

“Yeah, I'll probably just leave it to the experts...”

Marie nodded again, “A wise choice. Now, regarding this upcoming week...”

As Marie explained his schedule for the rest of the week until the wedding, Mac repeatedly nodded, until she had finished.

“Well, you should rest until tomorrow, I'm not sure how you're feeling after your trip.”

Mac shook his head, “I'm fine, I can start working today.”

“I appreciate that, but I won't actually have anything prepared until tomorrow, and I'll be speaking with your fiance's for the rest of the day” Marie said, a knowing smirk on her face.

Uh, I hope they'll be alright...

-Later that morning-

Marie tried to have a warming smile on her face as Emma sat down across the table from her. “It's nice to meet you Emma,” she said, giving a small head nod.

Emma nodded back, “You as well” she replied nervously, tensing and sitting straight up.

“So, I know a bit from what Melissandra told me, but can you tell me how you and Mac came to be engaged?”

Emma looked at her, “You mean, like, everything?”

Marie smiled, “Sure, I'd like to know all about you since we'll be working together a lot in the future.”

Emma nodded again, before launching into the story. From him initially coming up to her in Loren, to helping her and her family harvest crops, invading his bedroom at night (although she left out some of the saucier details), Mac making a promise to her, traveling with the others, and eventually the romantic engagement on the mountain above Stromvurk.

By the end of the story, Marie was in awe. Giving a smile to Emma as she finished, “That's a pretty amazing story. I'm impressed you won him over so well.”

Emma blushed, “Yeah, I can barely believe it myself.”

I feel like he had to have some interest in you to approach you like that though...

Marie continued, “Have you and Mac talked about your post-wedding plans? I know we have a couple before yours, but it isn't too early to start planning.”

Emma nodded, “Yes, Mac said we could find a job for me, but...I want to wait a bit before getting married and having children. I want to be a proper noblewoman first.”

Marie was confused, “Once you marry Mac you will be a noblewoman.”

Emma shook her head, “No, a proper one. I'm just a farm girl right now, I don't know how to act.”

Oh...she doesn't want to to just technically be one, but act like one too.

“I was actually hoping you might be able to teach me. Mel and Mac said there was no one better for whipping someone into a proper noble.”

Marie smiled, “Well, I got Mac into halfway-decent shape. If you're willing to learn, I think we can get you ready pretty quickly. We won't even need to push your wedding off more than a month, I bet.”

Emma beamed, “Thank you! I look forward to working with you!” she said, bowing.

“Well, here's your first lesson, you can't bow to someone below you in rank...” Marie said, shaking her head.

After Marie finished with Emma, she invited Felicia down. Out of all Mac's fiances, Marie was most curious about the rabbit-human girl in front of her. Or at least, her story was definitely the most...intriguing.

“It's nice to meet you, Felicia” Marie nodded.

“You too” Felicia simply replied.

“So, how did you and Mac come to be engaged?” Marie asked.

“Well, he and Mel came and visited me in the brothel I was working at, saying he wanted to talk. It was a bit weird, but I guess they liked me since they bought me out from the Madame and hired me to be their wet nurse. Although I guess we ended up both wanting more, and eventually got engaged, after some encouragement from the others.”

Marie nodded. What an odd story. Mac had to have been infatuated with her from the outset, right? But it's odd Melissandra pushed so hard for it as well... “Are you happy with how things turned out?”

Felicia nodded, “Of course...although I keep feeling like everything worked out a bit too well for me. I mean, I was a prostitute up until a couple weeks ago. Not that I'm gonna be ungrateful for everything working out well for me and my family, for once.”

Marie winced at that. Another family affected by the war. “I...don't want to offend, but I think it would be best if we kept your past a secret as best as possible. It's not like there's any rule against a former prostitute being a Queen, but some of the nobles might not take too kindly too it.”

Felicia nodded, “Don't worry about it. It is what is. I don't care if other's talked bad about me, but I wouldn't want the others to get hurt because of it. And besides, I was planning on just staying in the palace and helping with the children anyways.”

Marie nodded, “Excellent. And yes, as long as you and Mac are happy, that is what matters. Speaking of which... have you and Mac talked about children?”

Felicia nodded, “Yes, I'm trying to convince him to have twelve.”

Marie did a double-take, “Is he...well, what did he say?”

“He didn't say no, but he also seemed hesitant. I think he'll come around when he sees how cute they'll be” Felicia added with a smirk.

Marie smiled back, “Well, I'm...glad you are at least planning on having some.”

Felicia nodded, “Raising kids is what I'm best at, and the others seem to trust me, so I think it should work out.”

“I agree, it'll be nice having someone like you looking after our countries heirs.”

Felicia 's smiled slipped a bit, “When you put it like that, I guess that's pretty important...”

After she had finished her discussion with Felicia, Melissandra came to her office. “Well, we already know each other, so we can skip the pleasantries,” Marie explained, smiling beaming over the table at Melissandra.

Melissandra smiled back, “Of course.”

“Okay. First, I'm assuming you've already discussed your post-wedding plans?”

Melissandra smiled, “Yes, we'll be trying right after the wedding.”

“Good, good. Not to put too much pressure on you, but you know I'm counting on you to produce an heir.”

Melissandra shook her head, “There won't be any issue with me...but I don't think there will be any issue with the other fiance's either.”

Marie chuckled a bit, “Well, I certainly hope that's the case. Anything else?”

“I've discussed with Mac and the others, and I'll be managing our household. Obviously, I can help out elsewhere if needed and perform any Queenly duties that are required, too. Mac has told me he trusts me implicitly, so I think closely helping him is best.”

Marie nodded, “Yes, I think the only reason we already got this far was due to your efforts.”

Melissandra blushed a bit, “I just did what I thought was best.”

“Okay, I won't have to worry about that, then. The only other thing I wanted to ask you was...” she paused a bit before continuing, “...has Mac talked about returning at all?”

Melissandra shook her head.

Marie let out a 'phew', relaxing her shoulders and slumping down in her chair.

“I...think we should bring it up with him, though” Melissandra asserted.

Marie raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? It would be a terrible waste if we did all this and he left now.”

Melissandra shook her head again. “I think he cares about me-...about us, too much to leave now. I think we should just be upfront about it, and not spring it on him later.”

Marie closed her eyes, silently thinking. Melissandra has gotten everything to work out so far, I may as well entrust this to her too. “Alright, I will leave it to you then. I'll go wait at the Stone.”

Melissandra nodded, before leaving the room.

Mac had spent the day alone, mostly in his room. Since he hadn't seen it in a while (and had almost forgotten about it) he had pulled out his bag he had from his own world that had been transported with him. He only had a few things inside: a couple pens, some notebooks, a few of his university textbooks, and a charger for his phone. Said phone was currently in his hand, he had turned it on and saw his old wallpaper showing, a character from one of his favorite shows.

Still no service...but I knew that wouldn't change.

As the evening wore on, he began looking through his texts, he realized he had never responded to the last one from his mother, an offer to come over for dinner that weekend, with an unasked for invite of his girlfriend, if he had found one.

If I came over now, what would Mom say... he imagined himself walking into the house with Melissandra in tow, a delighted expression coming over his Mom's face. Only for Emma, Felicia, and Eleanor to also come in. In his imagination, instead of getting upset, his mother just got more excited, hugging each of them in turn.

I guess that might be wishful thinking though...

His alternate scenario visions were interrupted by a knock at the door. Since his fiance's weren't sleeping with him at night (before he and Melissandra's wedding), he wasn't sure who it was. “Come in” he said, sitting up on his bed.

Melissandra came in, quickly closing the door after her.

Mac was surprised, “Mel? I thought...not that I 'm unhappy to see you, of course.”

Melissandra shook her head as she sat down next to him. “No, I'm not staying here tonight, I...just had something important to discuss.”

Melissandra looked at the ground, trying to think of the best way to bring the topic up. She needed to convince Mac not to leave. Well, she didn't think Mac wanted to leave their world anymore, but if he hadn't tethered himself yet, it wasn't a sure thing.

Of course, she didn't want to try and trick or guilt Mac either. They were going to spend their entire lives together (if things worked out) and she didn't want a relationship built on deceit. She decided instead that laying out her feelings was the best course of action.

She grabbed Mac's hands and looked into his eyes. “Mac...I love you.”

Mac was taken aback by the sudden confession. Oh...closing his eyes, Mac realized he had made a mistake. His conversations with Melissandra had often been more focused on the status of their relationship as opposed to the content of their relationship. Actually, it had been like that with all the women around him. Not that he didn't like all them to some degree, because he did, but all this relationships with his four fiance's were, on both sides, different mixes of ambition, usefulness, political necessity, and physical attraction. There was feelings there too, but they tended to get muddled in with everything else instead of being clearly defined.

Melissandra was wanting to define their's now. Melissandra, who had first pursued Mac for her own ambition, was saying she loved him. Mac hadn't told her himself, so she was doing it first, with the clear implication that a response was needed.

Of course, even with just the bare minimum pondering, the answer was obvious.

“Mel, I love you too!” he said, wrapping his arms around her.

Melissandra smiled, tearing up as she hugged Mac back. “Thank you!”

Mac wiped her tears away, chuckling. “I don't think 'thank you' is the correct response there.”

Melissandra shook her head, “I mean it though, usually marriages for nobles are just for political convenience, and you hope you might eventually come to love the person you're with. Or at least that you don't end up hating them. To be able to honestly feel that way before we're even married...” she finished by giving him a quick smooch on the lips.

“Were you worried about that? I'm sorry, I should have said something sooner...”

“No, I think we both knew already. But it is nice to say it out loud,” she added with a smile.

“I agree” Mac added, giving her a kiss this time.

As he drew back, Melissandra asked, “Could you...confirm your love....our love?”

Mac looked at her for a moment, before blushing, “You mean, you don't wanna wait?...The others might get mad though...”

Melissandra blushed, realizing what he was getting at. “No! I mean, yes, they would get mad...No, I was hoping to get your commitment a different way.”

Mac looked at her confused. “Well, our weddings in a few days, so I'm assuming there's something else?”

Melissandra nodded, “Yes, I...don't want you to leave. No, please don't leave. I-...we, would all miss you terribly.”

Mac still looked confused, “Why...would I leave? I mean, I might want to travel around occasionally, or might have to because-”.

Melissandra interrupted him, “No, I mean stay in our world. I don't want you to return to your own.”

Mac blinked a few times, before chuckling to himself, causing Melissandra to look confused.

“I had completely forgotten I could even return,” he explained. “There's no way I could leave you all now.”

“Are you...sure? You don't miss anyone from your world?” Melissandra asked, struggling to believe his reaction.

“I guess I miss my Mom a tad, but she'd kill me anyway if I left my fiance right before our wedding,” Mac explained.

Melissandra looked down at the ground, barely believing how easy it had been. “Can you come with me then?”

Melissandra had grabbed Mac's hand, holding it as she led him through the palace. A few maids curtsied to them as they walked along in silence, eventually leaving the inner palace and heading into the dungeon area.

As they made a turn, he saw Marie in the distance, standing next to a door with a huge padlock.

As they approached, Marie nodded at them, “I'm glad you were successful.”

Melissandra shook her head, “I didn't need to convince him.”

Mac nodded, “Yeah, I'm not gonna leave at this point.”

Marie smiled, “I'm sure your fiance's will be glad to hear that. I am too, for that matter.” She pulled out a key and unlocked the massive padlock, before pushing open the door.

Immediately, a bright green light shown through the opening. As he walked in, he could see the source: a large stone with etchings that were strobing with green light.

“This is the Tether Stone, directly below the throne room. Arguably the most important artifact in Ositania. The empire's mages used this to summon you” Marie explained.

“Is that why it's glowing green?” Mac asked.

Marie nodded, pulling out the familiar journal, “According to our Otherworlder Records, it is like this for a year or so after the summoning. If you place your hand on the stone, it will stop, and tie you to this world.”

Mac appeared deep in thought for a few moments, before asking “What happens if I don't?”

“After the year is up, you are pulled back to your previous world,” Marie explained.

“Has...anyone ever been pulled back?” Mac asked.

Marie nodded, “According to the Records, the majority of summoned Kings have stayed, but a few have opted to return to their world instead.”

“How do you know they actually made it back, though?”

Marie paused, contemplating the question. Then, realizing what he was getting at, her face drained of color.

Melissandra who also realized what Mac was getting at, asked “You mean, it's possible they weren't sent back?”

Mac turned to look at her and nodded, “I mean, it's possible they were, but it's not like anyone could have known. Maybe they get sent to a completely different, third world. Or maybe just erased from existence entirely.”

Melissandra reflexively wrapped her arms around Mac.

“Don't worry, I don't want to get zapped away either” he said, holding her.

“I can't believe... no one ever thought...” Marie said, fumbling over her words.

This was the first time he had seen Marie at such a complete loss.

“It's okay, I mean, I was going to stay with everyone anyway. But, if we're being honest, that's probably the safest option, too.”

Marie nodded.

Mac, readying himself, approached the stone. “Alright, let's do this” he said, partially to psyche himself up.

Putting his hand against it, the green lights got brighter and brighter. Mac's body felt like it was alternating between light as a feather and heavy as a boulder, changing with each strobe of the light. Eventually, he heard a humming that got louder and louder. In conjunction with the bright lights, it was clogging up his mind, until suddenly everything went dark.

Uh....where am I? Mac thought, trying to open his eyes. His eyelids felt incredibly sticky, not wanting to open, but he could make out light through them.

Why am I getting deja vu from this?

Eventually, he managed to force his eyelids open and look around. He was in his room again, sun pouring in the windows, as he lay in his bed. Emma was snoozing in a chair next to the bed, holding one of his hands in both of hers.

Smiling at his napping fiance, he shifted himself to get a better look at her.

The rustling caused Emma to wake up. Realizing what was going on, Emma jumped over and wrapped her arms around him, “Mac! We were so worried!”

“What happened? I just remember touching the stone, then....”

“Marie said you fell over afterwards.”

“Urgh, did I hit my head again?” reflexively grabbing his forehead.

Emma shook her head, “No, Mel said she caught you from falling, but you were knocked out cold.”

“Is she okay?” Mac asked.

Emma smiled, “Yeah, she was with you until she fell asleep, so Felicia took her back to her bed and I watched over you.”

“Well, you fell asleep too...” Mac teased.

“Hey! You were asleep for a day and a half!”

“What!?” Mac said, trying to stand up off the bed, but his legs failing him.

Emma pushed him back down onto the bed. “Just stay put. I'll get you some food, okay?” she added, before giving him a kiss and grabbing a tray from the table. Sitting back down, she grabbed a cracker and attempted to put it directly in his mouth.

Deciding not to fight it, Mac let her and chewed on the cracker. His mouth was incredibly dry.

“Can I have some water?”

Grabbing the glass of water on the tray, she carefully poured some into his mouth. “This makes me feel like we're a couple, nursing you back to health,” she giggled.

After wiping away the water that dribbled on his lip, Mac responded, “I mean, we are a couple, right?” he asked, raising his eyebrow at her.

Emma giggled in response. “Yeah, but it's nice to do stuff like this sometimes, though.”

After feeding him a few more crackers, Emma went to go get the others. After a couple minutes, Melissandra rushed into the room, followed by Felicia, Emma, and lastly, Marie.

“Mac!” Melissandra rushed over and hugged him.

“Thanks for catching me, it would've been worse if I hit my head again.”

“Sire...I'm so sorry...there was nothing in the Records about that...” Maria rambled, bowing and apologizing profusely.

“It's okay. I mean, even if we had known, I still needed to do it. It at least worked, right?”

“Yes! Right when you collapsed, all the lights on the stone went out, so the tethering should have been a success....”

“That's good at least, I don't want to worry you all. Well, anymore that I have already.”

Marie continued, “There was...an issue though. After the lights went out, a large crack formed in the stone.”

“Um...I'm assuming that's bad?”

Marie shrugged, “I don't know. I'm hoping we don't have to use it again anytime soon, though.”

After Mac was feeling good enough to walk, he and the three fiance's went and got dinner.

“Oh, I almost forgot, we received word from Eleanor, she should be arriving the day after tomorrow” Melissandra said.

“Great, sounds like she kept her promise of five days then” Mac said, smiling.

Melissandra nodded, “Don't forget, our wedding is only in four now. Also, there's a lot of work that piled up while you were out.”

“Urgh...” Mac let out, causing Emma to giggle.

“Hey, don't you have your lessons to do, too?” Mac asked.

Emma shook her head, “No, Marie is busy preparing for the wedding, so I'm just helping Mel out.”

“I know I have work to do...but should I be helping as well?”

“We have it covered,” Melissandra replied. “It's...mostly stuff you're not allowed to see anyways. Well, not yet” she added with a smile.

“Yeah, you better look forward to it. Mel is gonna look really amazing” Felicia added.

“I'm pretty jealous, honestly. There's no way I'll look that good...” Emma bemoaned.

Melissandra shook her head, “Nonsense. I think your fiance will disagree.”

Emma looked at Mac for a moment, before blushing and looking away, “Probably....”

After dinner, the others ushered Mac back to bed, telling him to get some more rest. Staying true to his words of not worrying them, he acquiesced and went to sleep.

The next day, after again having breakfast with his fiance's, Mac went to the room that had been made into his office. Inside were several desks set up, with one large one in the back with stacks of papers on it.

Pulling up a chair and sitting down, Mac sighed, and grabbed the first stack of papers. This one was mostly expense approvals for Melissandra and his upcoming wedding. Marie had written most of the report already, and it was just up to Mac to sign off on it. Resisting the temptation to just quickly sign everything, he made sure to read each one and signed off. Of course, it wasn't like he was going to deny any of them, especially since it was his own wedding.

After getting through that pile, the next one contained salary approvals for the palace staff, including Daisy. I should probably check in on her at some point he thought, wondering if their dwarf companion was just cooping herself up in her new forge. Mac got through this pile fairly quickly, since the palace staff wasn't too large (yet).

The next pile Mac didn't need to sign, as they were just memo's related to his marriages. On the first was all of Melissandra's assets that were being added to the royal coffers. A few hundred gold, and the land of House Toulouse in the southeast of the country. According to what he had heard, the land was completely devastated from the last war, with it's only current inhabitants being bandits. Well, maybe we can do something with it at some point. I'm sure Mel would appreciate if we could at least make it habitable again.

The next was Eleanor's (or really, House Cartegna's) contribution, which was several thousand gold and the vast estates of Cartegna. Eleanor would technically still be running it, but it would now be part of the royal demesne.

There was one for Emma and one for Felicia as well, but as expected, they didn't have anything.

Of course, I knew that going in...

Looking out the window, Mac realized he had been at it for a while, based on how high the sun had gotten. As if on cue, a knock came at the door, and a maid entered. “Sire, would you like to come take lunch?”

“I can just eat here,” Mac said.

The maid curtsied, and left, before returning a few minutes later with some crackers and jam.

Mac continued working, getting through the rest of the reports, which were a mixture of memos related to different going-on's in the kingdom, and reports related to shipments, procurement's, income, and the like. He wasn't entirely sure what everything was, but he understood enough to know it was probably important.

After he finished, Mac left his room, and went over to the dining hall for dinner. His fiance's didn't join him, so he assumed they were still busy.

After dinner, he walked down to the forge to see Daisy. As he got closer, he could hear the hammer of metal on an anvil. Seeing Mac approaching, Daisy put down her hammer.

“Well if it isn't Mister King himself. How's the wedding prep going?” Daisy asked, giving him a big grin.

“Pretty well, I think. I actually wanted to see how you were doing, I don't think I've seen you since we got back.”

Smiling, Daisy beckoned him over to a shed behind her forge. Opening the door, she led Mac inside. There inside, were piles and piles of zippers.

Mac's eyes went wide. “Um, that's a lot.”

Daisy chuckled, “Well, if Eleanor's plan works out, we'll need way more than this.”

“So we're just gonna sell zippers?” Mac asked, a bit confused.

“Well, I wouldn't mind, but I think she wants to sell clothing with the zipper already in. It's a bit tricky to sew on, if you don't understand how it works,” Daisy explained.

Mac nodded, “That makes sense.” Although I don't understand the first thing about sewing or making clothes.

“Are you getting along okay?” Mac asked, noticing she was back to her soot-stained self. “Don't work yourself too hard, alright?

Daisy laughed, “Haha, thanks for worrying about me, but I'll be fine. Your fiance's have said hi a couple times, and I've mostly kept busy with these. It would be nice if I could get some help though...” she asked, looking at him expectantly.

“Um, what do you need me to do?”

Daisy laughed again, “Haha, no offense but I need someone a bit stronger than you. If I had someone to tend the forge and use the billows, I could focus on smelting and hammering, and I'd get twice as much work done.”

“So basically you need some strong, muscular guy?”

Daisy nodded, “Or girl, if they're like me,” she said with a flex. “Normally I'd have an apprentice to do it for me, but I'm not old enough to have gotten one yet.”

“Alright, I'll see what I can do.”

Daisy smiled, “Well, there is one thing you could do” she said, sitting on the stool next to her anvil chopping her shoulders.

Understanding what she meant, Mac stood behind her and started giving her a shoulder massage.

“Ah, this is it...” Daisy cooed as Mac was digging into her shoulders.

After a while of massaging, Daisy stood up. “Thanks for that, I can go for a while longer now,” she explained, moving her shoulders in a circle.

Mac smiled, “I'm glad I can help. Let me know whenever you need one.”

Daisy grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down, giving him a rough, tongue-filled kiss. “Haha, there's your reward for the massage.”

Mac was taken aback at first, but then smiled. I guess that's fine.

After that, he bid Daisy farewell, and he heard the hammering resume as he walked away.

On the way up to his room, Mac ran into Marie.

“Sire!” Marie said, stopping him and walking over.

“Err...is something wrong?” he asked.

“No! Quite the opposite, actually. I...” she stopped, looking at Mac's face as she stood next to him. “Why is your face dirty?”

Mac rubbed his cheeks, and realized he had soot on them, presumably from when Daisy had kissed him.

“Err, I was helping Daisy out, must have gotten a bit on me.”

Marie raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but continued, “Anyways, I wanted to express my appreciation for getting through all the paperwork. That was actually meant to be for the next couple days, but you already got through it all,” she explained, giving a slight bow.

Mac, feeling a bit embarrassed, put up his hands. “It's okay. I mean, it took a while but it wasn't super bad. Felt like just doing some college homework.”

Marie raised an eyebrow at the comment but didn't say anything. “This works out anyway, Eleanor should be arriving in the morning, so why don't you spend the afternoon with her?”

Mac nodded, “Yeah, that sounds fun. I'll ask the others.”

The next morning, Mac told his fiance's about his plans, to which they all nodded.

“You're all fine with it?” Mac asked.

“You don't need to ask permission every time you do something with one of us, especially something that minor” Melissandra responded, giving a shrug. “We'd let you know if you were treating us unfairly.”

The others nodded in agreement.

Mac scratched his head, “Well....alright.”

Emma added, “Besides, Eleanor will probably want some alone time with you anyways,” to which the others nodded in agreement again.

Later in the morning, the four of them, joined by Marie and Kay, waited outside as a carriage rolled in through the gates. As the carriage stopped, the door was flung open before the guard could open it, Eleanor jumping out. Scanning the assembled crowd, she locked on to Mac and started running over.

Mac, happy to see her again as well, walked forward and held out his arms.

Eleanor instead went through his arms and grabbed his head, going in for a passionate kiss.

Marie's eyes widened in shock, and Kay gave a little “Nyahaha” giggle watching them. The other fiance's all smiled, knowing Eleanor (and that they would probably do the same). Additionally, every guard in the yard gave a loud cheer.

Carefully pulling Eleanor back, Mac smiled. “I'm glad you made it. You even kept your promise!”

“I did!” Eleanor excitedly replied, this time hugging him tightly and swinging him around.

Behind her, Mac saw a train of wagons filtering in through. “Did you bring your whole mansion with you?” Mac said teasingly.

Eleanor looked thoughtful, “Not quite. But I had a lot of old dresses I don't fit anymore. I was going to give some to the others if they want them. The others...well, you'll see” she added with a smile.

At that point, Eleanor caught sight of Kay standing with the others. “Oh my, is this...another little sister!?” Eleanor said, rushing over and hugging Kay tightly.

Kay let out a muffled “Nyeoooow!” as her face was enveloped in Eleanor's breasts.

A voice came from behind Mac, “Nyahahaha, that's already my little sister!”

Eleanor's maid Kelly, and Kay's actual older sister, walked up, giving a curtsy to Mac as she passed.

Eleanor let go, “I thought she looked familiar. You must be Kay then?”

Kay, after straightening her outfit, gave Eleanor a curtsy, “Yes, that's me.”

Eleanor turned to the others, “It's good to see you all doing well” she added giving each of the fiance's a hug in turn.

“You as well,” Melissandra said.

“I missed you so much Elly!” Emma said.

“Our little squad felt like it was missing a piece,” Felicia added.

When she got to Marie, Eleanor paused for a second, then gave her a hug as well. “It's good to see you again Marie.”

Taken aback for a moment, Marie slowly hugged Eleanor back, then gave a small smile, “You too, Eleanor.”

After that, they took Eleanor over to the private palace, showing her to her room while the wagons were unloaded.

“Hmm, it's about the same size as my old one, it should do nicely. Although I wish it were closer to Mac's...” she lamented.

The bath, however, she was excited by. “This is amazing! We have a private bath at the mansion, but it wasn't near this large. We could all bathe together...” she added thoughtfully, which garnered nods of approval from the others.

After the tour, the other fiance's pushed Mac and Eleanor out, sequestering themselves in Melissandra's room again.

“I was hoping we could spend the afternoon together,” Mac told her.

Face lighting up, Eleanor grabbed his hand held onto it tightly. “Since we haven't been able to yet, let's go on a date! Just us!”

Mac nodded. “Do you want to go into town? There's a nice cafe there we could eat lunch at.”

Giving him a beaming smile, Eleanor nodded.

Walking through the palace, they went through the gate, eliciting a salute as they walked by the guards.

Strolling down the path to Pearie, Eleanor kept looking at him, before looking ahead to where they were walking.

“Ermm...is everything alright?” Mac asked.

“Sorry, I just...I'm so happy” Eleanor said, blushing again.

Mac smiled, “Well, you better get used to it, since we'll be together a bunch from now on.”

Eleanor got a serious expression on her face and nodded. “That's right. I can't be all giggly all the time.”

“It's okay, I like your giggling side,” Mac explained.

Eleanor, on cue, giggled again. “Good, I can't be serious for too long anyways.”

Walking into the city, they got stares (well, Eleanor got stares) but the guards didn't say anything. Once inside, Mac wandered over to the cafe, Eleanor in tow.

After getting them some tea, Mac went to the table Eleanor was sitting at. She had chosen one in the middle of the cafe, and was getting quite a few stares. She really sticks out. Even ignoring the eyes, she's tall, has golden-blonde hair, and...well, her breasts...

Eleanor's breasts were the largest he had seen since coming to this world. Mac had trained himself to not stare, but he understood why everyone else would. The women were probably envious, and the men were probably in awe.

Of course, Mac wasn't going to point any of the staring out, his goal was simply for Eleanor to enjoy herself.

Sipping on their tea, Eleanor smiled and looked at Mac as she had earlier.

“So, did you get everything for our wedding prepared?” Mac asked, assuming this would be a topic she enjoyed talking about.

However, instead, her eyes turned down, face downcast. “Yes...but it's not turning out well.”

Mac was taken aback, “Why is that? Is there some issue in preparing?”

Eleanor shook her head, “No, the preparations are fine. Actually, they were easy, since hardly anyone is coming.”

“Really? But, everyone should already be in town for Melissandra's wedding...”

Eleanor simply pointed at her eyes.

Ah...Mac shook his head. “I just don't get it...”

Eleanor shook her head, “I know you like them Mac, but not everyone is like you. They all grew up being told the eyes were a curse upon my family. It makes sense the nobles would all turn down wedding invites, even formal ones.”

“Well, I'd still marry you even if no one showed up. And I doubt that would happen, since at least the other girls would attend.”

This seemed to perk Eleanor up a bit. Mac, after some pondering, thought of another idea to help cheer her up.

After they finished their tea, he grabbed Eleanor's hands and pulled her back outside. Walking around for a few minutes, he found the person he was looking for.

As they approached Bella's flower stall, Mac waved high. Bella took a few seconds, but then her eyes grew wide as they approached.

“Mac!...Errr, should I still be calling you that?...” she trailed off.

Mac laughed, “Haha, it's fine. You received our invite right?”

Bella nodded, “Yes, nearly had a heart attack. We had the King and Queen eating in our home! Speaking of...” Bella stopped, looking Eleanor up and down.

“This is another of my fiance's, Eleanor” Mac explained.

“Oh, I heard about you from Mel. It's nice to meet you” Eleanor said, giving a small nod.

“Likewise. I didn't realize you had two fiance's!” Bella exclaimed, looking back at Mac.

“Err...” Mac said, with Eleanor giggling.

“What, do you have more stashed away up there in the palace?”

Mac nodded, “Actually I have four...”

Bella looked at him a moment, before laughing loudly. “Haha, you crazy bastard! You better be careful.”

“Well, so far they all get along” Mac assured her.

Eleanor nodded.

“Well, I'll take your word for it...anyways, are you here to finally collect on your flowers? I think I still owe you about a hundred.”

“Yes, actually, I was going to get one for Eleanor here.”

Bella looked at the ones she had arrayed on her stand, and grabbed a blue one, handing it to Mac.

He got on his tiptoes, wrapping the flower in her hair.

“How do I look?” Eleanor said, posing.

Bella gave a 'hmmm' and handed Mac a yellow flower. “Here put this in the other side.”

Mac did as told.

“There, now it matches your eyes,” Bella explained, “coordinating the flowers makes 'em really stand out.”

Eleanor looked as if she was about to cry.

“Oh, sorry, should I not have-” Bella started before being cut off by Eleanor leaning over the stall and hugging her.

Bella patted Eleanor on the back. “Well, you sure pick friendly gals, I'll give you that.”

Mac smiled, “I do. Well, some of them might have picked me. I'll have to bring the others too at some point.”

“I'll meet them at the wedding, right?” she asked, as Eleanor finally released her hug.

“Oh, that's true, you'll be sitting right next to them, actually.”

Bella's eyes went wide, “Are you sure? We're just commoners...”

Eleanor shook her head, “Technically the other two are commoners right now too. Plus, no one would dare say anything to a personally invited guest of the bride.”

Mac nodded in reinforcement.

“Well, if you say so...”

After talking a bit more, they bid farewell to Bella and started to return.

“I want to spend all day with you, but I need to talk to Marie before it gets too late,” Eleanor said, looking a bit sad.

Mac wrapped his arm around her waist. “It's okay, I'm glad we got to spend some time together now, at least.”

Eleanor giggled, “Hehe, that tickles...”

Later that day, Eleanor walked into Marie's office.

“It's good to have you, Eleanor. It feels like everything is really in motion now that you've arrived,” Marie said as Eleanor sat down across from. Noticing the flowers in her hair, she added, “I think Mac is happy to have you here as well.”

Eleanor smiled, “I'm happy to be here too. It was hard being away from Mac for so long...”

Marie laughed, “It was only five days, right?”

“He might have forgotten about me with only his other cute fiance's around him!”

“Well, from what I saw, he obviously missed you too...” Marie replied with a smirk, remembering the two passionately kissing in the front yard when Eleanor arrived earlier.

Eleanor blushed and held her cheeks. “Well, I guess that's true...”

“I think I can take that display to mean there should be no issue with children?” Marie asked.

Eleanor shook her head, “We haven't talked about it, but there shouldn't be any issue. I've already confirmed I can make Mac aroused.”

Marie raised her eyebrows at the bluntness. “Well, that's...good to hear. Now, as for your work...”

Eleanor, going into serious mode, nodded, “Yes, I'll be helping Mac with finances, plus I'll still be running the Cartegna estate, and anything else Mac needs me too.”

Marie nodded, “Honestly, I was pretty glad when he chose you, if he had married someone who didn't know how to administer, I'd be neck deep in work forever...”

Eleanor giggled, “I'm glad I can help. Well, we'll help. I'll make sure Mac does his fair share too.”

“He at least had no problems with the work I gave him yesterday” Marie added.

Eleanor nodded, “That's good, although I'm not surprised, Mac seems intelligent.”

Marie nodded. “Now, as for your plan....I've talked with Daisy already, and she's been hard at work. I think everything should go accordingly.”

Eleanor gave a mischievous grin, “Excellent, we need to get Mac's reign off to a good start.”

• Bonus stories -

A Bit of Encouragement

At night on the way to Stromvurk, before all going to Mac's room together, his four traveling companions were getting dressed into their pajamas while chatting.

“Do you really want me to go to?” Felicia asked.

Melissandra nodded, “Yes, we should all go.”

Eleanor also nodded, “It will have more impact that way!”

Emma added, “You don't want to go?”

Felicia sighed, “It's just...I'm not his fiance like you two.”

Melissandra, having finished slipping her pajamas on, crossed her arms under her breasts, closing her eyes and tilting her head as if pondering how to say something. “Look... I was kind of pushing you two into this anyway, but...I really want you two to be fiance's as well. Mac seems averse to taking concubines, so marriage is the best way to get you into the family.”

Emma ran over and hugged Melissandra, “I want to join, too! I'll definitely make sure we get hitched once we get back!”

Melissandra smiled, hugging Emma back, “With that attitude I'm sure you will.”

Felicia, however, crossed her arms, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Are you really sure? I'm fine just being the nurse, even having kids is enough...”

Melissandra shook her head, “Are you really happy with that?”

Felicia blushed a bit, looking away.

An awkward pause filled the room. Eleanor, not liking the mood, clapped her hands and headed to leave. “Let's go! Mac will be so surprised!”

The others all snapped back, smiling at each other and following Eleanor out the door.

A Bit More Encouragement

At Stromvurk, a yawning Emma had just regaled the other three girls with Mac's romantic proposal to her on the mountaintop.

“Wow, nice job Em,” Felicia said, punching her shoulder.

“That's amazing, for mine, he just came out and said it,” Eleanor replied, looking a bit jealous.

Melissandra was blushing a bit, “I wouldn't trade my moments with him for anything...but that sure is wonderful. It's like something out of a book.”

Emma smiled, rubbing her eyes, “Now it's your turn Fe.”

Felicia looked taken aback as the other three looked at her. “What? You still on about me getting engaged, too?”

Melissandra nodded, crossing her arms. “Yes, I already told you. I won't rest until your one of our sisters as well.”

She's a bit more direct about it now. Felicia blushed and looked down, “I'm just a prostitute though...”

Emma, shook her head vigorously, “So? I'm just a farmer, and he accepted me.”

“Yeah, but...”

Eleanor simply shook her head and hugged Felicia from behind.

“Why don't you see what Mac thinks? As much as I...we, want it” she added, gesturing to the other two, “it comes down to what you and Mac want.”

Felicia, after thinking for a moment, nodded. “Okay.”

Dolling up a Dwarf

Daisy has been about to lay down when her room had been invaded. The King's fiance, Emma, had burst in, wanting to talk, followed by the other three fiance's in turn.

“Mac will love you. We just need to wash you up a bit,” Emma said, taking a washcloth to her face.

Eleanor, wiping her arms, nodded in agreement. “You'd make a lovely sister as well.”

Melissa, standing behind him, had on a nervous smile. “I...we...do you want to have a...relationship with Mac?”

“It's up to you, I have no right to say anything,” Felicia added, though was grinning at her.

Before she could respond to all this, Emma grabbed her sarashi and unwrapped it, “Take this off. You can probably borrow...” she started, but trailed off as Daisy's breasts bounced out, causing all four of them to be surprised.

Melissandra seemed surprised. Felicia smirked. Eleanor blushed. And Emma started to pout.

“I thought...” Emma started.

“Haha, yeah, the sarashi does a pretty good job keeping them bundled up,” Daisy laughed.

As they continued washing her, (Emma with a reduced motivation), Felicia grabbed a bra of hers and put it on her, while Melissandra took off her baggy forge pants and then slipped a brown dress of Emma's over her.

“Well, if we're doing this, you look pretty good like that,” Emma said, holding her chin and nodding.

“I...uh...what am I doing?” Daisy asked, looking down at herself, confused. Eleanor had unbraided her hair and was now brushing it out.

Emma, who seemed to have recovered a bit, jutted in, “We're sending you to Mac! If he likes you, you can be a fiance too!”

Daisy held up her hands to protest, “Now hold on, he ain't gonna be attracted to little old Daisy here. I'm a dwarf, so...”

Felicia shook her head, “He doesn't just like humans, obviously,” she said, pointing to her ears and tail.

Daisy chuckled, “Haha, I don't think you're a good example there...”

Eleanor wrapped her arms around her, “But you'd be such a cute sister!”

Daisy looked up at her, “Don't you just think every girl shorter than you would be, though?”

Eleanor let go and looked down, “Sorry, I just like...”

Daisy hastily apologized, “No, no, I didn't mean it like that. I just don't think he'll find me cute like you do...”

Melissandra shrugged, “I don't know about that. He said you were back at your shop, and he isn't one to lie.”

Emma nodded in agreement, “Yeah, I think he'll really like you! Look at yourself!” she added, pointing to the mirror.

Daisy looked in the mirror. Barely, recognizing herself, she blushed a bit. “Ah, screw it! I'll go, haha,” she laughed. “No complaints if I get kicked out though.”

As she left, Felicia smirked, “I doubt that will happen...”

Momentarily Alone

After spending so much time with Mac and his fiance's, Eleanor felt lonely, sitting in her study as she prepared invitations to be sent out. Not like they will get accepted.

Sighing, she stamped the Cartegna seal on the letter and added it the growing stack.

“Are you okay, my lady?” a voice from behind her asked.

Eleanor turned and smiled, “Thanks Kelly, I'm fine. Just missing Mac a bit.”

Kelly giggled, “Nyahaha, I'm sure, I saw the way you two kissing when he left...”

Eleanor blushed a bit, “That wasn't the half of it...” she said, motioning Kelly over.

Kelly came over and sat down, “Ohhhh, you want to tell me about it?”

La Hire's Love at First Sight

As he led the carriage through the gate, La Hire sighed, tension leaving his body. By all measure's the King's trip had been a success, but he was glad it was finally over. He hadn't enjoyed pretending to be hired guards, and the King (and his fiance's) tended to wander around without taking guards, which worried him to no end. Not to mention getting attacked by bandits.

As he jumped off his horse, he looked at the welcoming party. Unsurprisingly, Marie had come down to welcome them, as well as the catgirl maid, who was a friend of one of the King's fiance's.

When he saw the third member of the welcoming party, La Hire gulped. There stood a rabbit-human girl in a maid outfit, her face looking expectantly at the carriage, waiting for the participant's to emerge. La Hire completely lost track of his surroundings, staring at the girl as if he had just discovered the moon shining in the sky for the first time.

After a few moments, the girl ran over to the carriage, hugging the King's rabbit-human fiance. They must be sisters... he realized.

Snapping back to reality, he was confused at his own infatuation with the girl. She's beautiful...I can't take my eyes off her... he thought, before shaking his head. No, I can't get distracted like that.

Walking his horse to the stable, he occasionally glanced over his shoulder back at the girl. I guess I could talk to her if I get a chance...