Waiting here seems safer, as counterintuitive as that seems

You take a post by the door and wait.

"What were you thinking?!" The question came from inside the room and you looked up and down the corridor, worried if you were seen by someone that someone would accuse you of eavesdropping. You don't however move away from the door.

The response is too muffled to hear but you get the impression it wasn't an apology based on the reply.

"And you think that justifies this?" The is a frustrated pause before Aurora continues. "Edin I could tolerate, he's been hanging off you for two years everyone is used to seeing him. But Christopher? A walking threat and you expect me to just allow it?"

There is another muffled reply and you feel a strange blush at being called a threat. Then you realise how royalty tends to deal with threats and rub your neck nervously.

"Christopher?" Isabelle sweet voice echos down the corridor when she sees you. She smile and skips over to you. When she is close she puts her hands behind he back and leans forwards slightly. "Is my sister in there with mommy?" She is acting the way she does around other people which make you think you are being watched by someone else.

"They are have a private conversation." You say hoping she isn't going to call your out for eavesdropping.

"Ahhh, Annie dumped me to sneak back here and listen, but since she is busy, you can keep me company." She stands up right and starts to patrol back and froth in front of you.

"I shouldn't leave." You really want to at least try and hope that the fact the Queen was in the door behind you would dissuade Isabelle from probing.

"That's fine, I just have some questions." She spins on her heels and stares into your eyes. "What was Annie talking to you about in her letters?"

"Oh you know stuff." You stay trying to look directly into her eyes the same as with a wild animal.

"Stuff? What sort of stuff, maybe who her suitors were? Who she was friends with? Who she was building relationships with?" Her eyes were boring into you as she asked.

"Not really, just some general details about the capital. A bit about what she and Edin were getting up, a bit about her family." You regret added that last part as her eyes light up.

"Oh what sort of detail? You looked like you knew me when we met. Was my sister telling you about me?" She was clearly not asking what she wanted to ask but was building to it.

"Just that she is fond of you, thinks you're a sweet ball of talented magical energy." You hope that was complementary enough.

"Oh that's so sweet of her." Isabelle returning to her patrolling but with a bit of skip in her step. "Did she tell you about Mary?" You nod. "Mary's boring, she's always away with the army and when she's here she never pays me attention." She looks at you from the corner of her eye. "Did she mention Lizzie?"

She can only mean Elizabeth, Anastasia's twin. "Just in passing to mention she has a twin but nothing else."

"So she didn't tell you why they are fighting?" Isabelle asked walking past you with a grin. "Would you like to know?" She turns then walks back to stand in front of you, arms behind back leaning forward to look up into your eyes. "Aren't you a little curious? Could be important." She added in a sing song voice.

Against your common sense you did kinda want to know. Thankfully you are saved from your curiosity but Anastasia opening the door.

"Sis!" Isabelle squeelled happily and push past you to hug her sister. "You ran off on me, lets get some sweets!" She said letting Anastasia out of her arms but taking her hand. Anastasia turned to look behind her at her mother.

Aurora's aura was perfectly controlled and she was sipping some tea. Anastasia must have made a new pot, you hope tea isn't new here or else you might have wasted a decent amount of money. Aurora waved her free hand and Anastasia turned back. "Sure lets go. Come on Christopher." She said looking at you. You didn't see any obvious indication on how this had ended but since there was no calling for guards you guessed their talk had gone well.

You followed behind the sisters as they walk. The study door closing in you wake with a rather determined thud. You really hope you'll be able to avoid her in future, that was a very unpleasant experience.

You hear a soft high note behind you. Turning you see Clare, the first one calling you over with a nod. She presses her ear to the door you had left behind and winked. You nodded at the two sisters who were walking away. Clare rolled her eyes and just called you over again.

You felt a little conflicted but if a Goddess thinks you should you eavesdrop is it really morally wrong to do so. You carefully start walking backward hoping that the sisters would hold each others focus. Stepping as softly as you can over to the door you come face to face with Clare. She puts a finger to her lips and looks down. You follow her gaze and see her feet are floating above the ground. With a bit of focus you float off the ground. Clare then closes her eyes and presses her ear to the door taking deep slow breathes. You copy the action closing your eyes and pressing to the door.

"They're gone your Highness." An unfamiliar female voice says. You know no one had come through this door after Anastasia, either there was a hidden door or you had missed an entire person. Neither would surprise you, you were more focused on Aurora than the room.

"Did you find it?" Aurora asked.

"She hid it under her bed." The unknown woman answered.

Aurora sighed. "Still a child." She complained.

"In her defense it is hardly the sort of item you would want to leave in a vault any decent thief could get into. And she couldn't really give to anyone else for safe keeping."

"I just thought I taught her better." Aurora answered sounding tired. You can hear some ruffled movements. "That's it, he gives up his title?" They had your **** Contract, the contract you had nullified when you had first seen it.

"As far as I can understand yes."

"How does it work?" Aurora asked,

"I don't know." The woman answered. That meant whoever that is doesn't know about the latcher spell you destroyed. That also means they don't know how **** Contracts work.

"Is it real?"

"As far as I can tell yes." Ok so they didn't know about **** Contracts, which begs the question how did Anastasia know about it enough to try and use it on you and Edin two years ago.

"You know what I'm asking."

There was a longer pause. "I don't know if it is an original or a recreation but either way neither I nor my daughter could find how out how Anastasia got her hands on it. If she bought it off someone both she and the seller were better at covering their tracks are than I am at uncovering. Or she made it herself." That last sentence hung in the air with a weight you didn't understand beyond the fact it was oppressive. She also brought up something obvious, **** Contracts weren't everywhere, if Anastasia had bought it why is it the only one out there when anyone who can make them could make a fortune.

"Can it hold him?"

"If you want an answer I'd have to give this to an expert. And once an expert see it."

"**** Contracts will be everywhere again. How could she be so stupid?" Aurora sounded angry. That was also a good point, if Anastasia had learned how to make a **** Contract whatever had taught her was still out there so where were all the **** Contracts?

"Considering who, or what, signed in I'm not sure stupid is the correct term." The unknown woman sounds either proud of amused.

"Yes, him. Could it be done?"

"My daughter thinks she caught him off-guard but didn't know if that was because he was overconfident or testing her. But either way he can be taken off-guard. With enough people even a God can be taken out." You feel a bemused presence in front of you at that last bit but the woman was very clearly referring to Blue as her daughter. At least you hoped it was Blue the only other person that could refer to is ... Asune you guess and you really hope that isn't the case.

"Speaking of your daughter?" Aurora didn't say anything else but you felt some tension in the room.

"She is weighing her option. She found the contract for me but she isn't a fool. Anastasia has a living breathing weapon at her side that appears to be loyal. The only reason she brought me the contract is because she doesn't know if that loyalty is born of love or just the contract itself. If there ever comes a time when he prove his is loyal to Anastasia regardless of the contract she'll support Anastasia and cut me off." There a loud note of pride in Blue's mother's voice as she say that.

"You sound proud of potential betrayal." Aurora clearly heard it too.

"If you recall I did the exact same thing for you Rory."

"Yes but now it is against me." Aurora said getting a chuckle from the other woman.

"And that is why I gave that to you. The only test of loyalty that would really matter is if Anastasia destroyed it. If she doesn't have it ..." the rest of the statement isn't finished but you get the gist, and kinda agree. Honestly since you nullified the **** Contract the test of loyalty isn't solely on Anastasia. If she told you the contract was missing and you told it is was just a piece of paper then loyalty test passed. Actually if you just told her you nullified it unprompted it test passed.

"I'll put it somewhere safe." Aurora said pulling your focus back to the room.

"Onto the more pressing issue." You felt a breeze on you face and opened your eyes to see Clare blowing lightly on your face. She grinned at you and winked the nodded her head in the direction the sister had gone.

You got the hint and with feet still floating you backed away from the door. When you were at a safe distance you put your feet back onto the ground and hurried to the end of the corridor. You looked back at Clare and she pointed to the left. You mouthed at thank you and hurried to the left.

You walked past door not sure where to look. Isabelle had wanted sweets so kitchen or dinning room would be logical. And if you had known the palace you might have been able to find them easily. As it was you just had walk past door listening for one of the sisters voices.

"You're too young." Anastasia's voice rang out from ahead. You are glad she is talkative or this might have been harder.

Hurrying toward the voice reach an open door. Looking inside you see a lounge room with a balcony. The room was floored with animal pelts the walls had skulls of several large predators mounted along with fangs and claws from others. You even saw a scaled hide on one wall that was large enough to maybe actually belong to a dragon, well a dead one, or a really at least a really chilly one. The interior had several lounges but the two Princess were sitting on the balcony, two lounges both two seaters with a table between them looking out of the back of the palace onto a very carefully manicured garden.

"But Annie at the party –" Isabelle complained.

"That, that wasn't. I told you not to bring up the party again." Anastasia said sounding very embarrassed.

You clear your throat making the sister turn to face you. "Sorry I got a bit lost."

"You could have just follow Annie's butt." Isabelle said grinning at her sister. "Or would it be better if I called for Edin?"

"It's fine Christopher. The pitcher is over there." She waved at a table away from the two of them with a pitcher of water on it.

"There's wine –" Isabelle started.

"The water is fine." Anastasia cut her off.

You walked over to the pitcher and recalled the comments about your loyalty. At the current rate you didn't see Blue have to betray her mother any time soon. You poured water into the two glasses when Anastasia held out a third. You filled it wondering who else was coming and put the pitch back down on it table. You looked for your seat and saw Anastasia patting the space beside her.

You sat and she gave you the glass you had just filled and smiled sweetly at you. "Thank for with me Christopher. I think my mother likes you." She had a faint blush on her cheeks as she said it. Isabelle rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.

Since you interrupted their conversation you decided to restart it, less chance of them asking about your absence that way. "So about the Church." Why must you say the first thing that pops into you head.

Anastasia's aura bristles but she calms down. "The law of the kingdom is that anyone can pursue and worship any of the approved religions. The Church of Nurture is –"

"An excuse for an orgy." Isabelle mutters with a note of jealously that you decided didn't exist.

"Approved." Anastasia said ignoring her sister. "But I would have preferred you not get involved in one." She sighed, "I'm sorry I tried to stop you from going, I didn't think you were a believer."

You opened your mouth to respond then have to shut it. You'd just met the Goddess of said religion, role-playing or not you weren't sure what your position vis-à-vis believer is right now. "Thanks, I'm not sure myself." You say with an awkward chuckle.

"Are you going to be attending any more?" Anastasia asked.

"I'm not sure." You say.

"Maybe we should go next time." Isabelle said a grin getting a strong 'No' from Anastasia. Isabelle pouted and started eating some of the sweets.

You and Anastasia sat on the lounge together quietly. You sipped your water and, shockingly it was sweetened. "Why is everything sweet?" You ask not really looking for a response.

"It tastes better." Isabelle said around a mouthful of evidence in support of her argument.

"Ithia just started trading with us and Kista is the main product." Anastasia said with a shrug. You guess that translated to the another nation was now producing sugar and was making bank on. Here's hoping colonialism isn't as major a sport in this world as it was in your last one.

You drank more water and went back to silence when you felt a hand on yours. You looked down to see Anastasia graze your palm with her finger. It was a silent request for a hand holding and you didn't see a reason to not fulfill it. Spreading your fingers Anastasia intertwined them with her own pressing your palms together. She let out a content sigh.

Isabelle looked at you from the corner of her eye and you felt a sudden threat to your life. Didn't make you let Anastasia hand go however.

The lunch slash afternoon tea went past with only a few exchanges about the view. When it ended Isabelle stood gave you a dirt look at stealing Anastasia attention then wondered off. Now alone Anastasia shifted to press her side against you and lifted your combine hands into her lap.

You sat together for a bit longer before she stirred. "Remember the carriage ride on the first day?"

You remember her sleeping with her head resting on your lap. "Yeah."

"I was really happy you came with me." You looked at her and but she didn't look away from the garden. "Mom's, I'm ..." She either couldn't find the words or didn't know what to say so she didn't say anything.

"Me too." You say honestly. Being here was fucking stressful as hell but you couldn't lie about enjoying your time here.

Anastasia sighed and lifted your hand in front of the two of you. She let go and stood up. "Let's go back to the academy. Or should I take you back to the Church?"

"Academy." You say, going back the Church means pretty clearly you'll be pick the Mother slash the second Clare, why did both Goddesses have to some sort of brother complex, or would it be brother father complex for the second one? Regardless you aren't sure which one you're picking you need time to think.

You stand up and follow Anastasia out of the palace and into her carriage. When she door closes she turns and rests her head on your lap. You reach down and comb your fingers through her hair. She coos happily initially but makes no more noises for the duration.

When you arrive at the academy you wait for Anastasia outside the carriage. She smiles at you but says she has to check on her estates renovations. If it is suitable she'll send for you so you can have dinner.

You consider telling her that the **** Contract has been taken but well Blue's mother is right her reaction to it is kinda important, if you tell her you taint that reaction. So instead you smile and tell her you'll be in your probably be in your quarters. She starts to walk off and you look at the carriage. You walk to the rear door and knock three times. It opens and Anastasia bodyguard looks at you with an approving nod before she leaves and joins Anastasia. Well at least you're getting along with the muscle.

You hurry to your room and reach your floor. You need to think right now and can't afford being grabbed by any other distrac–

"Christopher!" The excited voice from Vatarie cuts into your thought.

You look up and silently say, 'work with me here.' It occurs only after the fact that that might have actually worked. You looked at Vatarie who was still approaching so it didn't work in this case, at least not yet.

"Vatarie." You say with a smile, pushing your worries to the back of your mind to focus on her.

Her approach doesn't slow and she grabs you in a hug. "I miss you, I want a day together." She said nuzzling into your shoulder then lets go and backs off. She takes a shaky breath through her nose then says, "Or a night." She grabs your hand and grins at you, pulling you towards her room.

"I can't." You say. "I have some things I need to think about."

Vatarie's beaming smile shrinks a little, "Asune?"

"No," You have so many things you need to think about. "I just need some time alone." You don't to offer her some time tomorrow since you don't know what you'll be doing tomorrow but she gives you a kicked puppy look. "Tomorrow. We'll go into the city together for a date."

"Date?" Vatarie looks shocked. She was offering you sex yet a date shocked her, wait why did a date shock her. "Sure I'll see you at dinner I know the perfect restaurant." If she had a tail it would be wagging fast enough to get her airborne. She lets you go and runs into her room in her excitement. Maybe a date in this world isn't the same as you old one. You decide to just accept it and run to your room slamming your door closed behind you. Recalling Blue's mothers words you check the room with you perception before turning around. It's empty so time to think. You sit on your bed and feel fresh sheets, they must have cleaned them or changed them. Oh you feel bad for whoever had that job, though it had looked very clean this morning as if a Goddess had cleaned it so save embarrassment.

You rubbed the bridge of your nose and closed your eyes to prepare for some serious thinking.

Which Goddess are you going with? If you want to go with one. Becoming ones champion does mean you have to defeat the others champion, that might not involve **** but it might, and you don't really want to fight. Not becoming their champion might mean you get left alone or it might mean their actual champions come for you for your support. It's what you would do, gather the sixteen none champion potentials to your side so you have a much stronger ****.

Lets just go with the Goddesses themselves.

Clare the First. She was honest with you and she is right that does make the first honest person in this life. She also seems like a good match for you personality wise. She's snarky and a bit weird but lets be honest so are you. She also directly helped you at the palace.

Clare the Second. She is role-playing a Goddess in this world so with her you'll get the support of the Church of Nurture which could be really helpful. She knew your mother and role-play or not seemed to really care for you. She also wouldn't be the Mother she'd be your ... daughter? Which brings you to the other side of this.

These Goddesses are kinky as fuck and both have a real interest in ****. The First wanted you to make her a futa and seemed very enthusiastic about your future sexcapades. The Second, well she opened with wanting you to impregnate her with ... herself and be your daughter slash fuck-buddy slash life partner soul mate kinda thing. Does mean you haven't really met Clare the Second herself? Maybe Clare the First's advice that her sister is a lot more sexually repressed might be more accurate that first appearances indicate.

As for the cons. Well the whole having to defeat the other's champion is a big issue but that is true for both. Off the top of your head you can't think of any cons for the First, she was honest at least she claims she was honest. The Second, well the role-playing, who knows how that could go, could work out well, could drive you nuts, also she did kinda manipulate you with the whole maternal emotional overload.

Well you guess that meant you were leaning towards the First but even thinking that you feel sad. The Second's love bombing felt real, it felt like she did love you and this would be a pretty clear rejection. You guess that kinda means a con for the First, she doesn't seem super invested in you but the Second might be a tad vengeful if you rejected her.

You fall back onto the bed and open your eyes. Why can't picking a Goddess be an easy decision and why think about this now. The Second had given you until tomorrow and the First had given you til, well now actually. You needed to come to a decision.