Episode 3: Return of the Epilogue

At first Stephanie had been thrilled to have Felicia helping her. When Felicia went into maid-mode she was a beast at cleaning. Unlikely Stephanie who did it somewhat voluntarily, Felicia worked with an efficiency that was, well, robotic. Overtime though as things smoothed out it seemed more and more like Stephanie just wasn’t needed.

Sure she still cooked for everyone. But Trinity liked to cook too. Sometimes Isla cooked, or Ciela. Even Kali cooked occasionally. And Eric might be a somewhat progressive man but break out the BBQ and suddenly he was a caveman discovering fire. Her transformation made her want to serve, but more than that, she wanted to feel useful. As time went on she started to feel that was less and less true.

Her salvation came from an unexpected source. It was Felicia who pointed her in a new direction. Felicia acted like a bitch most of the time, but when she decided to care about something it turns out she was actually good at problem solving.

“Stop being an idiot,” Felicia had told her. Ok, she was trying to help, but she was still an asshole, “You want to serve him, just follow him to work. He’ll find something for you to do there. With his reputation, nobody will care about your gag. If you’re that worried, just wear a mask.”

It was true, that’s what she wanted to do. She’d just been afraid to ask, because what if he didn’t want her there. Sarah had offered her a job at the club, but serving randos just didn’t have any appeal to her. Taking Felicia’s advice she’d asked Eric for a job. He’d been surprised for a moment, but he quickly agreed.

Her inability to talk made her a poor choice for a secretary, and her lack of legal knowledge prohibited most other jobs. He still found a use for her though, making use of what she could do. Before Harem hotel she’d been a personal trainer. He set up a gym in the office and made it available to all employees as a perk, and let her run it and help people meet their goals. The gag made things a little bit harder, but Valerie’s company had made the app so good she could pretty much communicate as well as she could before it.

What really made the job special though was the time she spent with Eric. Working out together was how they met, and they really got to reconnect as he started hitting the gym with her. He had to stay healthy to look after his new family after all. He was making gains like never before too. Maybe it was some residual Harem magic, or maybe being rich just made everything easier, but he was definitely in the best shape of his life.

Stephane had even developed a new friendship outside the Harem. Riley was a shy thing but after a few workout sessions she’d started to open up. Before long Stephanie was giving the other woman dating advice and they were watching cheesy rom-coms together. Riley never did ask about the gag. Whether it was from her inherent shyness or just out of respect Stephanie never felt like asking, but she did find it amusing. Their friendship would span decades and include Stephanie standing as maid of honour at Riley’s wedding and the whole time Stephanie’s permanent bondage never came up.

She supposed it just never mattered. She was who she was now, there was no going back. She was a silent servant, but that wasn’t all she was. Her future was hers to decide and she was going to make the most out of it no matter what her limitations were.

Felicia had been working like crazy trying to meet the launch deadline. Now that it was out there she’d shut herself in her room and disconnected herself from reality. She might act high and mighty sometimes, but the truth is she was **** for this to go well. Part of her thought that if this blew up the way she wanted it to, Eric would see how amazing she is and propose on the spot. Of course the rest of her thought that part was stupid and should shut up because no way did she want to marry him.

It seemed like so long ago that she’d first had the idea and proposed it to Valerie. Of course when she’d asked for millions in funding she’d expected Valerie to shoot her down, but it only took about 15 minutes for Felicia to convince her. With her idea fully funded she’d devoted herself 100% to the task. Well, nearly 100%. She still had that fucking transformation to deal with. Well, all those fucking transformations. When she wasn’t being fucked by the one bar recharging prision or wearing that slutty maid costume she was 100% on task.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door, “Go away!” She whispered angrily.

The intruder did not go away, instead the door opened and Eric entered, “Sorry. No can do.” Eric apologised. He looked cute when he was like that, it made her so mad.

“Go away. I don’t want to hear how badly it bombed.”

Eric laughed, “Bombed? Oh man. No, I'm here to drag you to the party. And I do mean it, I will literally drag you out of here. 4 million Felicia, 4 fucking million.”

Felicia sat up, “What?”

“It’s sold 4 million copies already. And climbing. Valerie says all the pre-launch stock is gone and they’re building a waitlist. Come on, you deserve to be at that party more than anyone else.”

Felicia bit her lip, of course this is what she wanted. She wanted her game to be a success. But also part of her hated how much she wanted it. She used to be powerful. Compared to these humans she’d been a God. Now she was just a programmer/maid. Of course she was the best programmer/maid to have ever graced the Earth…but still. Just.

Actually what she really wanted right now was Eric. She knew she was hot and cold on him, but right now she was definitely feeling hot. She pulled off her shirt, it was uncomfortable anyway, “If you want me to come, you have to make me cum.”

“Ah, well, I can do that. If you are ready to beg.” Eric grinned.

She pulled her panties down and spread her legs, “Make me.”

To his credit he didn’t hesitate. He dove right in, his tongue working magic on her body. She felt herself get so close and yet her orgasm remained so far away. He didn’t stop, he continued to drive her wild. Finally when she couldn’t take it anymore she was able to beg, “Please Master may I cum?”

“No,” He said simply. She was shocked, no? How could he? Then he flipped her over and slapped her ass, “Up in the air. I’m going to fuck you until you beg again, then maybe I’ll let you cum.”

She obeyed, raising her ass up. He slapped her ass again and then plunged into her. His cock felt amazing and he pounded her mercilessly. He used all his magical stamina to fuck her until she was practically delicious with need, “Please. I need to. Please may I cum?” She begged.

“You may.” He said calmly. She felt herself shake as the orgasm washed over her. She might’ve even passed out because suddenly he was lying beside her cuddling her. “If you don’t want to go to the party that’s ok, we can just stay here.”

She rolled over and smiled at him, “No. Thanks. I should go. You are right, this is my victory, but I should be there for Valerie. I know it means a lot to her too.”

She insisted they both shower before heading out. Of course she let him wash her breasts. Not for her sake, but he needed to be reminded what a real woman felt like. Then they made their way to the roof to catch a ride with Susan to the party.

When they arrived they received quite the VIP experience. People she’d never met, or at least couldn’t remember, came up and congratulated her. Someone handed her champagne and before she knew it people were waiting on her to make a speech. Suddenly she felt nervous, but Eric was smiling and somehow that gave her strength.

“Thank you all for coming here and of course a special thanks to Valerie for taking my vision and making it reality. I know this company was never a gaming company until my little project but I’m glad we were all able to make this happy together,” She raised her glass, “Cheers! To the H-Core!”

As everyone raised their glasses she reflected on the program she’d created. VR headsets were in their infancy on Earth but a story from Kali and Mali had made Felicia think about them. Apparently they’d loved playing a VR game made possible through the show’s magic and Felicia had thought, why does it have to be magic at all?

With her ability to connect with machines she found herself uniquely positioned to accelerate mankind’s advancements into the field of virtual reality. Her initial estimate to Valerie had been wrong, it had actually taken 379 million dollars to produce the first working prototype. Still Valerie kept approving more and more money for her. Of course after she’d finally opened the billion dollar case she had lots of cash to float them.

The H-Core was what they called the final version. A virtual reality headset that lets people dive deep into the game. It allowed them to create a fully subversive gaming experience. Kali and Mali had actually been instrumental in driving the first few games. She’d actually spent some time watching isekai style anime with them looking for inspiration. The result was their flagship game New Frontiers which was just different enough from a certain web novel to avoid any lawsuits.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Valerie. Isla was hanging off her as usual and both seemed extremely happy, “Sweetie! We did it!” Valerie cheered, “I told you it would be a hit.”

Felicia nodded, “Yep. Sure is.”

Isla laughed, “What, sad he didn’t propose or something? You know he is doing everything he can to avoid pushing you. If you want him, just go ask. You can propose to him too, you know.”

Felicia had considered that actually, but immediately rejected it. Her proposing would be admitting defeat. She scowled at Isla, “No way. Let him beg me for a change. Why are you ever here? Shouldn’t you be nursing your brood.”

Isla shrugged, “You don’t think we can afford to hire a sitter? I had to be here for Valerie’s big day.”

Felcia sighed, she was always lashing out. Years later and she still couldn’t stop these outbursts, “I’m sorry Isla. Yes of course you should be here,” At least she was getting better at apologising, “Actually I wanted to thank you. I received the painting you made me, I put it up on my wall. It’s beautiful.”

They all lived together in that massive apartment. Well it was originally several units, but Eric had bought them all out and started knocking down walls, adding stairs, making it all one complex. Felicia was one of the few who kept her own room. As a launch present Isla had made her an 8ft tal painting depicting Felicia as the protagonist in New Frontiers. Isla made her look like a real badass.

Isla blushed, “I’m glad you like it,” Isla glanced at a clock on the wall, “Actually since you had mentioned it, I really do want to be getting back to the kids. I know they’re in good hands, but still. I miss them.”

Valerie smiled, “I’ll cum too. I mean, go with you.”

“What? You’re the CEO.” Felicia said.

“Exactly. I can do what I want. Let’s go dear.” Valerie held out her arm and Isla took it, “Tell Eric we’re taking the chopper. I’ll send Susan back for you all.”

Felicia watched them leave. She felt out of place at the party, she hadn’t spent time socialising with these people. She’d been 100% about the work. Luckily she was saved by the bouncing ball of energy that was Kali, “There you are, we’ve been looking all over for you.”

“We?” Felicia asked.

“Mali and me,” Kali answered, “She’s here somewhere. Come on, I want to show you something.” Kali grabbed her hand and pulled her along. She stopped at one of the workstations. It was on the dev screen showing a birds eye view of the virtual world, “Look.” Kali said.

Felicia looked at the screen, “Wait. Is he?” A player had already made it to the first major boss. She’d intended the boss to require a party to defeat, but a player was going solo. Even though the game had only been out for a few hours, he was already level 35. “Wow, that’s impressive.” Felicia admitted, “That’s not one of the testers is it?”

“Sorta…” Kali admitted, “That’s Thomas.”

“What? Master, I mean, Eric’s son? He’s just a kid.”

Kali shrugged, “A kid who may or may not have been practising with the prototypes.”

“Does Trinity know he’s playing? The game is kinda violent.”

“Does Trinity know what?” Felicia turned to see her standing there.

“Umm…well apparently Thomas is playing New Frontiers. I’m not sure it’s appropriate.”

“Oh that? Ya of course I know. Don’t worry, he’s 14 now. You should see some of the stuff kids are into. He’s fine.” Trinity said.

Felicia blinked. Was he really 14? Time really did fly. She’d spent so long focused on the game, it had been her way of dealing with this whole Harem. While everyone else was moving on, she’d been sucked into a virtual world of her own making. Now that it was out there, she felt a little hollow. Sure, she could make another game. Valerie was bound to ask her to make another game. But at that moment it just wasn’t enough anymore.

Ignore everyone else she left and went looking for him. She found Eric standing around talking to a bunch of suits. She ignored them and grabbed Eric’s hand. He turned to face her.

“Oh Felicia, what’s up?” He asked.

Felicia knelt down and looked up at him, “Eric. I know I can seem like I’m all over the place and it doesn’t seem like anything I can fix. I can’t promise I won’t hate you tomorrow, but I can promise I’ll love you the day after. I don’t care anymore about being proud or independent or anything. I want you. I don’t want to be all alone anymore. Please Master, Eric, will you marry me?”

She felt a hot tear run down her cheek but she refused to wipe it away. She maintained eye contact with him. He grinned and pulled her up and kissed her. When he broke away he was still smiling, “Yes. Of course. I love you Felicia.”

Her heart melted and she started crying for real. She finally had everything she ever wanted.

It was Sarah’s 5 year wedding anniversary but even now she had people come up to her to tell her they were there 5 years ago and still remember it. She wondered how long it would remain part of the city’s memory. It had been magical after all. They’d decided to go big. They were able to book Central Park. The whole thing. Then they went and invited the whole city. Literally. They had invitations sent to every person in New York City and had the caterers prepare to feed anyone who came. They didn’t have to worry about paying for it after all, so why not do something amazing at the same time.

For the actual Ceremony Ciela had offered to use her transformation to take Jenny’s swimwear transformation and let her wear a dress but Jenny had refused. Instead she found a designer to make a diamond studded wedding style one piece which really got Sarah’s juices flowing. Sarah herself had originally decided on something more low-key but Jenny convinced her to splurge and she ended up in a gothic wedding with a 30 foot train and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gemstones sewn in. Together they were certainly unconventional but most definitely gorgeous.

Jenny loved a few things almost as much as she loved Sarah. Since they could have anything they wanted for their wedding, they did. First Jenny got the US Air **** to do a flyover with a dozen F22s. Then she arranged the greatest multi-day concert she could think of. The Producers must be cursing ever letting Sarah (and therefore Jenny) get hold of a wish without limits. Because that’s what it was inevitably, as long as Sarah went through their wedding planner, anything was possible.

The actual ceremony started early in the festivities. It was beautiful and they flew in family from all over the world. Eric officiated and they had the whole Harem stand with them as Maids/Matrons of Honour. Sarah had promised herself she wouldn’t cry, but after Jenny started with the waterworks, she broke that promise. While there might’ve been some homophobes in their extended families, they either kept it to themselves or else refused to come. The family that did show up, but especially their parents couldn’t have been happier for them. They managed to surprise almost everyone when Sarah gave her vows in Japanese and Jenny gave hers in Mandarin.

After the ceremony ended, Jenny had arranged to sing a duet with Sir Paul McCartney. The audience who’d only come for the concert were probably a little confused why he’d agreed to sing with some random woman who wasn’t particularly talented, but Jenny never cared what others thought. McCartney probably didn’t mind himself in the end, since Jenny’s request to the wedding planner had been to sing with Paul McCartney but he sings like he’s still in his 20s, it was definitely his best performance in years.

Sarah took requests from the rest of the Harem so they ended up with an assortment of rock pop and everything else. Of course Mali wanted BTS, but also requested BLACKPINK. Felicia asked Sarah to get Daft Punk back together and on stage, which surprised everyone that she even had a preference, but was easily accomplished by the wedding planner. Sarah was less surprised to find Trinity and Ciela begging for Taylor Swift, not her cup of tea but she could stomach her for a little bit. Beatriz wanted Tupac but apparently raising the dead was the one thing the planner couldn’t accomplish, so she settled for Kendrick Lamar. Alexandra tried to be funny and requested the Wiggles so Sarah blacklisted her from further requests.

In the end Sarah had to request that her wedding span 4 full days to fit in all the musical acts. Since they didn’t charge any money for ‘guests’ and tried to provide food for everyone who came, not to mention the cost of the flyover, it ended up easily topping the list of the most expensive weddings of all time. Since Sarah didn’t have to pay a cent, she was perfectly happy to hold that record. Their wedding planner was even happier, whatever magic the producers had worked out gave her a commission based fee. Theirs was the last wedding she ever did, after the wedding she thanked for picking her and retired to the Bahamas.

As for Sarah’s club, she had made sure to advertise during the concert. Since they didn’t allow any other advertisements, it kind of stuck out. Now they have so many members they are no longer open to the public, although members are allowed to bring guests. Every once in a while they have a public day to drum up excitement and keep their membership waitlist full.

Sarah had expected to do some sort of trip for their anniversary but Jenny surprised her with something else. She had Eric order her to sleep and when she woke up she was locked in a straightjacket and impaled on a one bar prison. More exciting than that she was in the middle of her club.

“Hello my pet, I hope you slept well,” Jenny said to her. Sarah tried to reply but nothing came out, “Yes I had Eric take away your voice. You see you spend so much time running this place, being in charge, I wanted to give you a change for our anniversary. Let you truly give in to my control. Remember I can keep you bound forever and you’ll be ok, but I’m going to give you one out. If you nod your head right now I will free you immediately. We can do something more traditional instead. But if you don’t nod in the next 30 seconds I’m going to keep you like this, well, you’ll just have to wait and find out how long. But there'll be no safe word, no way for you to tell me you’ve had enough. You’ll just have to trust me. So? What’ll it be?”

Sarah had already made up her mind as soon as Jenny started talking. She kept her head still. Jenny grinned and said nothing. Instead she pulled a small remote out from her bikini top and pressed a button. The dildo she was impaled on started to vibrate slowly. Then she walked over to a table and grabbed a gag and returned and strapped it in. Jenny glanced over at the wall clock, “Well the club won’t be open for a few hours. I have things to do, don't I? See you around doll.” Sarah could only watch as Jenny walked away, flicking off the lights as she felt.

Sarah was left all alone in the dark with nothing but her thoughts and the persistent buzzing between her legs. She smiled into the gag, what a wonderful present.

Kali was on top of the world. Since she was one of the primary testers of New Frontiers and had been using the H-Core long before it was public she had a huge leg up on other streamers trying to cash in on the sudden popularity of VR games. Her YouTube channel had millions of followers and she was even getting recognized just going for walks around town.

She was still very much in love with Beatriz, but she and Eric had fallen in love too. She knew it was her transformation at play, but that didn’t matter. He was hot, but he was also kind, loving, a good father and an amazing husband. After some long talks with Beatriz they’d decided neither of them would marry Eric. Even with the rule rewrites Alexandra had made it didn’t feel right for them to get married twice.

That didn’t stop them from shacking up with him though. In fact they’d both decided to stop taking birth control at the same time. Isla was wise to their plan and helped by rolling her dice and viola, they were both pregnant at the same time.

At first she didn’t say anything to her viewers, but eventually it became impossible to hide. She kept insisting she must be carrying twins but really she was just so tiny that the baby seemed impossibly big. Beatriz handled the pregnancy like a Queen. That is to say she took the whole time off, just relaxing and pampering herself. Kali wasn’t interested in that and kept up her streaming schedule. Not that she had much choice, but it’s what she wanted.

In fact she was live streaming the moment her water broke. Before she could even react her door burst open and Beatriz was there, “Honey, my water just broke.” Beatriz yelled.

Kali finally recovered and signed off. Isla was home looking after the other kids, well the ones who weren't in school, and she was already on the phone with Eric, “He’ll meet you at the hospital.'' Isla told them.

Felicia suddenly ran up carrying a big bag, “I’ve got your stuff. Let’s hurry. Don’t want these bastards to be born in the car.” Kali rolled her eyes and Felicia defended herself, “What? You two chose not to marry him. So they are bastards right?”

Isla put down the phone and came over, “Say that one more time and I’ll turn you into a goat. Now hurry up. The car’s already out front waiting.”

Kali still remembered her old life. It was maybe a little fuzzy, but it was there. She still remembered what it was like to be a man. What it felt like to be kicked in the balls. So she was finally able to answer the question, what hurts more, childbirth or getting sacked?

Like there was ever any doubt. Fucking childbirth. Still as she held her baby girl in her arms she swore she’d have done it a million times to experience seeing her for the first time again. As she smiled down at her baby Eric held her hand. A nurse came over, “Have you picked out a name?” She asked.

Eric nodded, “Go ahead Kali, you say it.”

Kali smiled, “Yea. We’re going to call her Marcia.”

Isla was thrilled to have more babies to look after. Of course she loved all the other children and did her best every day to care for them, something about holding these tiny babies made her want more. Kali and Beatriz were both sleeping, exhausted from their labour. Eric was sitting beside her on the couch, marvelling at his newest children, “So Eric…” Isla began.

Eric laughed, “No. I’m not ready for any more right now.”

“I wasn’t….fuck ok I was. Are you sure? You don’t want more of this?” Isla asked, holding up the baby.

“Maybe someday, but we aren’t getting any younger, you know.”

Isla nodded, “I know. It’s probably just hormones. Breastfeeding babies just hits me differently then...well…when Valerie drinks from me.”

“How is Valerie? She’s not going crazy yet? I don't really want to fly out right after the kids are born, but I can.”

“No, she’s ok for now. I talked to her while you were all in the delivery room. She’s actually wrapping things up early. She’s got them on the hook, she’s said. I think she’s flying back Wednesday. She’s excited to meet her new nieces. Oh and she told me to tell you she’s reserving your cock when she gets back. She said she wants you to pick her up at the airport and fuck her silly.”

“Good. I missed her too. We can pick her up together if you aren’t busy with the kids.” Eric smiled.

“I’m sure Kali and Beatriz can watch their own kids for a little bit,” Isla said. She smiled down at the beautiful babies in her arms, “Eric…are you happy?”

Eric looked stunned that she’d ask that, “Huh? Yes of course I’m happy. Why would you ask? Are you happy?”

Isla nodded, “I am. I’m really happy. I was just thinking about how much I fucked with everyone…did things really work out or am I just dreaming?”

“You aren’t dreaming, Isla. This is real. Whatever you want to think, despite you, because of you, it doesn’t matter. We did it. We’re all happier now than we were before the show. If that’s the measure, then it was definitely a success.”

“I don’t think that’s what I was going for…I mean, I just wanted to show that I could do it too, you know? Making the Master happy, sure that’s important. Everyone else? That’s all Ciela’s doing, not mine.”

Eric shook his head, “Don’t take away our agency Isla. We all did it. Together. We’re happy because we all want to be happy. Because we support each other. We’ve all enabled each other to find what we love and hold it close.

Maybe you never imagined yourself in the role of broodmare, but you can’t deny how happy it makes you. And your art, I know you aren’t filling up the walls of the Lourve right now, but fuck, you’re amazing. You still love painting and it not only makes you happy, it makes people who see it, who buy it, it makes them happy too.``

Isla gave a weak smile, “Maybe.”

“No maybe,” Isla looked up to see Felicia standing in the doorway, “Quit the sob story Isla. You sucked as a host, but as a mother, wife and friend? Well, fuck. I’m no good at being nice…what I’m trying to say is, I’m happy your my friend,” Felicia sighed, “Now don’t tell anyone I said that or you're dead. Eric take as long as you need to but Trinity sent me. She says, and I quote, ‘Tell him his wives are so lonely Yaz is starting to consider going lez.’ Anyway I don’t want to interrupt and Trinity has programmed me to desperately want to eat her out, so ya, bye.” Felicia stormed off back to the bedroom.

Isla looked at Eric, “That actually made me feel better. Was that really Felicia? Maybe Trinity reprogrammed her to have empathy.”

Eric laughed, “You’d be surprised. Since we got married she’s like a whole new person. Ok, well, maybe not that far. But you can tell she’s trying. She wants to be happy too, it’s just a bit harder for her. She doesn’t believe she has the Tsundere transformation so it’s hard for her to understand why she goes hot and cold so often. Still, even when she’s cold she’s getting nicer. I should go, but I won’t leave you if you need me.”

“No, you go. I feel better now, and Mali will be back any minute now. Thanks Eric. I love you.”

Eric leaned forward and kissed her, “I love you too,” He knelt down and kissed both babies, “And I love you both too. Goodnight everyone.” Eric went off to join his wives and Isla stayed on the couch holding life's most precious gift.

“So Alexandra you’re finally hanging up your dancing shoes?” Alexandra was sitting on a comfortable couch being interviewed for an upcoming edition of People by one of their writers, Meredith Cruz.

“Well in one manner. This Saturday will be my final performance at the New York Ballet, but I don’t imagine I’ll ever really stop dancing, even if it’s not for an audience anymore.” Alexandra smiled as she remembered all her wonderful performances.

“So what’s next for you? You were nominated for a Tony after your performance in The Matrix: The Musical, are you considering going back to Broadway?”

Alexandra laughed, “No, certainly not. Honestly I think we can all agree that wasn’t my finest performance. I really only took that role as a favour to a friend and though I might’ve been nominated, I definitely didn’t deserve to win. With a good singing coach I managed to get through the performances, but I’m no Idina Menzel. It was fun while it lasted, but if I go back to Boardway I’ll be in the audience.

Next steps? Honestly I’ve been working so hard that it will be nice to just take a break, spend some time with my husband. Long term though I plan on opening a studio to teach kids how to dance.”

Meredith paused to write something. She was recording, but also taking notes at the same time. Finally she looked up at Alexandra, “Tell me more about your relationship with your husband. Was it difficult with the two of you so busy? I’ve been hearing rumours about a potential bid for office.”

“Sure it was hard, but really he’s amazing. As hard as he’s worked all these years he still comes to most of my performances. Sometimes he seems superhuman the way he makes time for me and all the other commitments in his life. As for the rumours you’ve heard, well you’ll have to wait to hear it from him.”

“That’s not denying it, but fine, I won’t push. How many years has it been now? You were his 3rd wife, correct?”

Alexandra nodded. She’d hoped to be second, but she got so busy with her dancing that Yaz snuck in before her. Still, at least she beat Felicia. She wouldn’t have forgiven herself if she’d let that happen, “Nearly 15 years now. 15 amazing years. Of course we’ve been together much longer than that.”

“But no kids? Any reason for that?”

Alexandra raised an eyebrow, a little miffed by the question. She never considered it polite to ask when a woman was having kids, or why she hadn’t had them. Still, she might as well answer, “No. There may have been a time when I thought about having kids, but really I just never wanted kids more than I wanted to keep dancing. Besides, my husband has enough children already and I get to be a fun aunt to all of them.”

“How many children does he have now?” Meredith asked, of course already knowing the answer.

“He’s got 11 children now actually, and I don’t imagine he’ll be having any more.” In the end most of the Harem had ended up having kids with him. Stephanie couldn’t obviously, and Sarah never wanted to, especially when Jenny wanted to be the one to carry their child. Mali always said sex slaves have to be available all the time and can’t be mothers, and Eric would never have ordered her to get pregnant. Valerie was always too busy just like Alexandra, besides Isla had enough kids that Valerie acted as a second mom so that she never felt the need. Felicia had toyed with the idea, but in the end she was worried that she wouldn’t be a good mom. Alexandra had tried to reassure her but since she couldn’t be convinced that she had the Tsundere transformation she kept thinking she’d turn cold on her kids too. Still, she seemed happy enough helping to raise everyone else’s kids.

“Alright Alexandra I just have one more thing I want to ask you. I know you’ve given lots of interviews in the past about this, but one more time, why the nudity? Now that you’re retiring are you going to start wearing clothes?”

Alexandra fought the urge to roll her eyes, “No, I won’t be wearing clothes ever. Early in my career I did wear some costumes to satisfy certain directors, but once the company realised my nudity wasn’t a problem they let me dance the way I am. I am a nudist, it isn’t a hobby or way of getting attention, it’s just baked into my DNA,” Or part of a magical compulsion, but that was harder to explain, “I’ll always be naked. Same with my heels. I literally don’t think I could walk without them. This is just who I am.”

Meredith smiled, “Thank you Alexandra. That’s all I need from you. I’ll send you an advanced copy of the article before we go to print.”

Alexandra stood up and shook her hand, “Thank you, my pleasure.” She left the room and was surprised to see Eric standing there waiting for her, “Eric? What are you doing here?”

Eric kissed her and smiled, “I thought I’d pick you up, how did it go?”

“Fine, except she asked me why we don’t have kids together.”

He shook his head, “Ya. Told ya she would. Nevermind that. Look Trinity wants to throw you a surprise retirement party, but I thought you might want something more low-key. How does dinner at your dad’s sound?”

“Really? That’s perfect.” Eric knew her so well, he was totally right. Another day perhaps, but right now a nice home cooked meal with her dad sounded much better than a big surprise party. She loved Trinity, but that woman always went a little over the top.

She held his hand as he led her downstairs to the car. Eric might be wealthy now but he wasn’t flashy with his money…for the most part. For whatever reason he couldn't resist buying this Ferrari. For a man with 11 kids and 13 women in his Harem it seemed strange to buy a two seater sports car, let alone why anyone in New York City needs nearly 1000 HP under the hood. Still, it made him happy, so it made her happy. It would make her dad happy too, he’d forbidden her from landing the copter anywhere near his new house but he seemed to have as much love and reverence for the Ferrari as Eric did.

“So Eric, you know how I was thinking about opening a dance school?” Alexandra asked.

“Ya. You wanted to offer free tuition for lower income kids right?”

“How would you feel if I took a break, like, didn’t start it right away. Just do nothing for a while.” Alexandra said.

Eric laughed, “Of course I’d be fine with that. I’ve always wanted you to do whatever you want. You can start a studio whenever you want to, or not at all. We’ve got the money already, just follow your own passion.”

Alexandra nodded, “Right. Then…” She didn’t know why she felt nervous. She knew exactly what he’d say already. She just didn’t want to be a liability to him, “Ok. What if I came with you? On the campaign trail?”

“Alexandra, why ask it like that? You know I’d love for you to come with me,” Eric paused for a second, “Oh, are you worried about polling? Look I know that consultant said we’d lose voters in the South if we emphasised my Harem and particularly you and Beatriz being nudists, but I don’t care about that. If I need to hide who I am to win, then I don’t want to win. Besides, he doesn’t know about my reputation perk. I’m pretty sure people won’t care at all in the end. I want you there, at my side 100% of the way.”

Alexandra smiled, “Ok. Then I’m in. 100%.” She put her hand on his thigh and squeezed. She knew he meant what he said, he always did. That’s one thing she loved about him, she could always rely on his word. As they continued the drive she reflected on her life since joining this Harem. It had gone a totally different direction from where she imagined she’d be but it was better in every single way. Who knows, maybe soon she’d be America’s first ever 3rd Lady.

Yaz looked at herself in the mirror again. She was here again. 62. Today was her 2nd 62nd birthday. As she looked in the mirror she felt old all of a sudden. A 62 year old shouldn’t be showing her belly all the time, or have so much cleavage on display. Still, she had to admit she did look pretty hot. The fire with Eric was certainly burning as bright as ever, she’d given herself a slight bust increase rather than dull her IQ tonight.

There was a knock on the door, “Mom, are you almost ready?”

“Yes dear, come in.” Yaz called back. The door opened and her daughter Raya entered.

“Wow Mom, you’re looking hot.” Raya said with a grin.

Yaz never knew when she was joking, “Don’t tease your mother.”

“I’m not. I’m serious. I can’t believe you’re 62. Gosh I can’t believe I’m almost 30. Blech. Come on, we’re going to be late. Dad’s going to kill me if I don’t get you there on time. .”

“Don’t be so dramatic. We’ve got plenty of time. Speaking of your father, did you hear if he got the feed working?”

“Ya he’s all set. He’ll be watching. You know he wishes he could be here.” Raya said sadly.

Yaz nodded, she knew Eric wouldn’t be able to make it. He’d always supported her even as he became busier and busier. She understood why he couldn’t attend in person, even if it still hurt a little.

A short time later it was time. They’d made it with lots of time to spare of course. She walked up to accept her prize and she smiled, knowing her whole family was watching, “Thank you. Thank you very much,” She said graciously, “It is a great honour to accept this award, even if I feel like a fraud compared to those who came before me.” Yaz paused, surprised at just how nervous she felt. She’d spent her whole life speaking in public, it had become second nature to her. This wasn’t the first award she’d won, although it might be the biggest. She took a breath and continued, “In another life I was selfish. I used my mind to further my own goals for my own benefit with little regard for others. This time I swore I’d be better. Since starting the Foundation I’ve tried my best to be someone that I could be proud of. Peace. That’s what this award represents. Have I brought peace to this world? Sometimes it is easy to get lost in the news, all the negative headlines. It can be difficult to see how humanity is still making progress. When we started our initiative only about half of women in low income countries were literate, but today that number is more than 90%…”

Years later when she told people about winning the Nobel Peace Prize she’d tell them how special it was and how much it meant to her, because that’s what they wanted to hear. The truth is Yaz didn’t think much of it. She never felt like she deserved it. She never struggled for peace. She never suffered oppression. She was no freedom fighter, no activist. She could have named a hundred others she felt were more deserving than her. She only accepted it in the first place because Eric and Raya had teamed up to convince her.

All she had done is luck into wealth and not hoard it. At least that’s how she saw it. She was good at spending Eric and Valerie’s money. Not a particularly useful skill. True, she spent that money well, building schools, buying books, trying to find ways to help. After Eric had become President she’d used his connections to further her cause, but again she felt like she couldn’t take credit. When she reflected on his life she couldn’t say that she was a saint, she couldn’t even really say she was a good person. All she knew for sure is that she was at least a better person than Yazmin had ever been.

Even if she was just a glorified trophy wife who directed money to charity, she was also a devoted wife. A loving mother. A godmother twice over. An aunt to so many wonderful children. A good friend to so many women. Most importantly she’d discovered happiness that Yazmin never knew existed.

Eric went over his speech a final time, running though with his speechwriter. When Harem Hotel ended he never imagined this would be in his future. Hell he didn’t even think this was possible. As a Canadian he’d never dreamed of being Prime Minister, let alone President of the United States. Still, times change, and it seems all of reality can too when Isla’s around. Isla never told him how many times she had to roll her dice, or what punishment she’d faced, but eventually she’d changed the past so he’d been born in Seattle instead of Victoria.

His law firm had been growing and became recognized for excellence not just in New York, but around the world. He might have stayed there forever but after the disastrous presidencies of Swift and Camacho the country seemed broken. Trinity kept telling him that he could do a better job than those buffoons, and eventually he started to believe her.

His years in law and Valerie’s experience in the business world gave him all the connections and fundraising opportunities he needed. His reputation was impeccable in every circle he travelled, even those against polygamy could never hold it against him. He’d joined the Primary race as an outsider and narrowly defeated his rival for the nomination.

He’d surprised everyone, himself included, when he’d won. Surprised himself even more when he won his second term in a landslide not seen since Reagan. He hadn’t done anything revolutionary. Or perhaps he had. Somehow he managed to find a way to get Democrats and Republicans to agree. It helped that through a little magical manipulation both groups thought of him as an upstanding guy. They might all hate each other, but he managed to bridge that divide. He didn’t know if it would last once he was out of office. Maybe they’d go back to the days of Camacho and refuse to even talk to each other. Or maybe his influence would stick around and they’d continue to compromise and work together.

In any case he wouldn’t be sticking around. He’d promised his family he was retiring from everything. He was still young, at least in his mind. Time to relax and enjoy life with his family. Thomas had made him a grandfather after all, no way he was going to miss out on that.

“Master President, they’re ready for you.” Eric looked up to see Trinity standing there. That was her little joke she said when they were alone.

“Thanks Trinity. I’m ready.” Eric kissed her and then held her hand as they walked out together. Just before he left the room he spotted something shiny in the corner. He let go of her to go pick it up, “You’re lamp, how long has it been since I made a wish? A year?”

Trinity giggled, “Ya, um, 13 months. You wished for me to freeze time for everyone except us so you could fuck me in public. You know, with your reputation you didn’t need the wish.” Eric grinned and rubbed the lamp.Trinity disappeared and reappeared in front of him, “Yes Master? Your wish is my command.”

Eric smiled at her, “I know I didn’t need the wish, but even if the fallout is temporary they’d still be fallout. You know after so many years together you’d think I’d run out of wishes, but the truth is I could never get enough of you. I love you Trinity, I wish…”