Lilith: Origin of Succubi

Everyone was too stressed out to do much of anything else after Bella's confrontation with her mother. After many long nights during Bella's pregnancy, I think everyone didn't mind a night of cuddling rather than doing anything more strenuous than that. Nelly, Kal'daeryn, Raya, and Sibyl joined us for the night, but Eira had more work at the brothel to deal with, so she went home after the confrontation. Even if I didn't have the bond, I would be able to sense that Bella was anxious about talking more with Corrine, but that anxiety eventually turned to fatigue, and she fell asleep too.

I'm pretty thankful that the baby has already grown past the stage of needing to wake up several times a night to eat or be changed. It was a nice benefit of the baby being so large when she was born. It was amazing that Bella's body had been able to handle birthing such a large baby, but I guess that's one of the benefits of being a shapeshifter. A lot of the physical trauma that would normally be associated with childbirth was practically non-existent for her. She had fully recovered from it in only a few days.

The next morning, we silently agreed to let Bella sleep in a while and took the baby to the living room with us to play. Ashe was already crawling around now, which was amazing for her age, but not entirely unexpected based on her size. Ashe was a very friendly baby and seemed to enjoy all of us doting on her. It was one of the more interesting aspects of a large poly relationship raising a baby together, there was no shortage of mothers happy to help take care of her. Things might be harder if more than one of us wanted to get pregnant at the same time, but right now, there were many hands helping to take care of the baby.

Mimi especially seemed enamored with the baby and was borderline hogging her attention. Ashe didn't seem to mind though, she was happy to laugh and giggle at Mimi's light tickling and cooing. There was a wonder in Mimi's eyes that I hadn't seen before, and it made me happy to see her so excited by something. It was different from the interest she had in her clockwork projects. That put her into a more intense focus, as opposed to this.

Eventually, Bella dragged herself out of bed looking a bit rougher around the edges than usual. The moment she walked into the room, Ashe began to crawl right for her, which brought a smile to Bella's face. When she picked her up, Ashe was already pawing at Bella's breasts, making it clear what she wanted, so Bella got settled on the couch and let Ashe have some breakfast.

"How are you doing, Bella?" I asked.

Bella stroked up and down Ashe's back as she replied, "I feel a bit better after getting that off my chest last night... I still don't know how to feel about seeing her again, though. Am I obligated to bring her back into my life after everything that's happened?"

Morrigan's ears went back. "You're not obligated to do anything... I just think it would benefit you in the long run to get on better terms with her. And maybe Ashe would like to have a grandmother. Our family is strange enough. It might benefit her to have some level of normalcy."

"None of this is normal," Bella said quietly.

There was a tense pause as all of us digested her words.

"Does that bother you?" I felt a bit vulnerable asking.

Bella sighed. "I don't know. It probably shouldn't. I love everything about our life together, but... but it's hard not to think about how different things are since I left the farm."

"Normalcy is overrated," Raya said suddenly. "There's nothing wrong with being happy with your life, no matter how odd or strange others might find it. I grew up an orphan and spent most of my adult life in a brothel. Some people find a story like that sad or depressing, but I am really happy with how things turned out, and I love everyone I got to know at the Ruby Vixen. I don't care that the closest thing to a mother I've ever had was the madame of a brothel. I love Oceane, and no one's opinion will change that for me."

"Raya... I didn't mean—" Bella started.

Raya shook her head and continued. "Our lives are pretty strange, Ashe's life will be pretty strange, probably no matter what we do. But strange doesn't have to mean bad. Strange can also be extraordinary, heroic, romantic. Ashe's life will be better than what's normal, I'll do everything I can to make that happen. For her and for all of us. Even if I'm not directly in Lilith's growing harem, I consider all of you my family. Grousing about giving her a normal life or whatever won't help anyone. Don't make your relationship with Corrine be about the baby. Either make up with her or don't, but don't put any of it on Ashe's shoulders."

Morrigan scratched the back of her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't really mean to bring it up like that. I just thought that kind of relationship could be good for her."

Raya shook her head. "No, I wasn't talking about what you said. Bella said that thing about not being normal because she was already thinking it. Don't get things mixed up, Bella. You feel anxious about having a relationship with your mother again. I get that. I don't even fault you for it, but don't try to use the baby as an excuse to avoid her."

Bella sat there silently cradling Ashe as a slow boil of emotions ran through her. They were hard to read through the bond. They were shifting, conflicted, and they weren't any clearer once Bella finally looked up at us to reply. "I'm sorry... it's hard to keep things separate right now. All of this is hard for me to handle, and I feel overwhelmed. I don't know what I want to do about her, I just want to focus on Ashe right now, but that feels like I'm rejecting her... What if I'm abandoning her like she abandoned me? It's all so confusing..."

I scooted over to Bella on the couch, and she handed the sleeping baby off to Nelly before sliding into my arms. Despite having woken up recently, she seemed exhausted as she limply laid against me. She felt heavy as she rested and recovered for a moment.

"I agree that it might be good for you to get on better terms with her again, but we can take it slow. We can put off another meeting for a while if you think it would help. A lot of women would still be recovering after giving birth so recently. I think it's easy to forget how hard this probably was on you because your body recovered so quickly after all the healing magic," I said.

Bella nodded into my chest before curling in further. I wrapped my arms around her and held her against me. Despite how quiet and limp she was lying against me, I could still feel her emotions whirling through the bond as she tried to process things.

"I don't think I should put it off too long. That's not fair to her and I'll just keep running away until I face it. Maybe it would be best to give it a try. Nothing serious, just spending some time in the park together with Ashe," Bella said quietly.

I nodded and kissed the top of her head. "That would be a good start. Maybe not today, though. I think that we haven't been giving you enough time to rest."

"Okay, but I want someone to stay home with me. I feel lonely at home all by myself when everyone leaves..." Bella whispered.

I looked up and Mimi gave me a little wave. Looking back down, I kissed Bella on the top of the head again. "Mimi will stay with you today. The two of you can rest together in bed with the baby while the rest of us get back to work. I'll talk with Corrine and set something up later. Maybe something small like spending some time in the park with the baby."

"I think I'd like that," Bella replied.

We sat together for a while before Bella finally got up and let Mimi lead her back to bed with the baby. Mimi was probably a good choice to spend time with Bella and Ashe since she didn't usually sleep at all. She didn't mind lying in one spot for a long time, so she would make a good person to watch over the two of them while Bella rested and continued to recover.

I spent some time getting ready to leave. I needed to tackle the paperwork that I know has been building up while I've taken my short leave. When I left the house for the day, I saw Corrine walking over, looking anxious. She looked like she hadn't slept much either after what happened last night. I waved her over to a nearby bench, where the two of us sat down.

"Is this bad news?" Corrine asked.

"Well... not really. Bella is pretty tired and emotionally drained from everything. She's still recovering from her birth, even if her body is physically in good shape. She needs a bit more time before she's ready to spend time with you, but she promised that she would go to the park with you and the baby. She's back in bed today resting with Mimi," I explained.

Corrine looked down at her sleeve and started messing with the hem nervously. "That's better than being told not to come back after what she said last night."

I nodded. "This is a little hard for her, and the timing isn't very good. She didn't feel safe around you while she was still pregnant, and she's struggling with her emotions right now after just having her baby. She said she didn't want to keep you waiting too long, though. She feels bad about making you wait longer, but she's just not ready for it yet."

Taking a deep breath, Corrine leaned back against the bench. "I wish I were one of the people who could be there for her. After everything, it might not look like it, but I loved my son before her change, and I love her just as much now that she's my daughter instead. I don't care how different she is, I'll always love her. I want her to know that."

"Not everyone would accept their daughter after a change like that. It's something I appreciate about how you've acted through all of this. I know adjusting to changes like this isn't easy for everyone, so I'm glad you're making an effort."

Corrine let out a weary sigh. "It's the least I can do. She seems happier this way, more sure of herself. I might have been hesitant to agree that it was the best choice for her ahead of time, but seeing her after her transformation makes me sure it was the right choice for her... That you were the right choice for her. I don't feel as though I fully understand the dynamic of how your family operates with so many... wives, but it's clear to me that she's happy with you and your other lovers. I just want her to be happy after everything she's gone through, and I can see that your relationship works, even if it's a bit strange to me."

"For the record, I do think that Bella would be happier to have you in her life. Morrigan and I are both pushing for her to give you a chance, but don't make me regret it. Bella is sensitive, and right now, more than a little vulnerable. I really want to believe that things will go well once Bella's ready, but I'm also a little scared that you'll hurt her again," I admitted.

"I can't do anything more than give you my assurances and do my best to prove that I mean what I say. I want to be in Bella's life again. I don't feel as though I fully deserve it, but I want it anyway. I lost my family the day that my sister helped me run away. Now that I'm stronger, I want to have my child back again. I miss her, and I want to be part of her life. I'm willing to wait longer if it means having a better chance of being family again. I just want to be there for her now that I'm able to... unlike when I was nothing but a victim."

"I'm sure we'll get there. Bella is a strong woman, she's just tired. Having the baby has been a bit mentally taxing for her, but she'll recover," I said.

"How is the baby doing? I saw her when I came over last night, but I didn't get to have a good look at her."

I smiled. "Ashe is doing well. Already crawling after less than a week. She came out a lot more developed than I expected, and she seems to be growing quickly."

"Was the birth difficult for Bella?" Corrine asked.

I shrugged. "It's a bit hard to say. I haven't witnessed any other births, so I don't have much to compare it to, but with her healing and the help of our skilled midwife, she recovered quickly. That's one of the things that I think has made this situation more difficult. We've been treating her as if she were good as new, because her body is just as healthy as before, but she's still recovering from it."

Corrine nodded. "I'll give her the time that she needs then. I'm happy that I at least got to see her in person, so I know she's healthy and safe. You know where to find me when she's finally ready to spend some time with me. I'm satisfied for now."

"I'm sure we'll keep in touch," I said, standing up.

As much as I've enjoyed the last few days I've been able to spend with my family, I needed to get back to work. There were a lot of things to be settled in the city as we get ready for the upcoming winter, and now that Bella has finally given birth, we need to figure out what we're going to do about visiting Goldenhearth's Baroness.