Fantastic

Several hours later the wedding is just starting and you're dead on your feet. 'A small, quiet wedding' they said. You've welcomed dozens upon dozens of guests. The main hall, the largest open area in your mansion, is stuffed. And it's not just the people and politicking that's sapping your strength - in addition you can feel your magic being drawn on at a distance as Patrick begins to execute the plan you set in motion days ago.

Worst of all, you've been without any of your catgirls. All of them took the idea that the groom should not see the bride before the wedding quite seriously, so they've sequestered themselves along with Lessia. You may have brought all the tailors and seamstresses here but despite that you have no clue what your fiancees' wedding gowns look like. Less than a day without them nearby, to hold, to cuddle, just to smile at you. It's almost painful after all the months of unconditional love you've received from these girls. You're certain now, more than ever, that you could never go back to the way you were before.

Sitting in the hall, among the many nobles, mages and a few members of the church, is Cerralla. You disguised her with magic - yet one more strain on your reserves - and she's been mingling and listening, posing as a distant relative of yours. Her brothers, sister and her father are all here, sitting in the prime spots, of course.

When the orchestra begins playing and the doors at the top of the stairs open it's a great relief. Lessia comes out first, the image of the classic bride. She's dressed in shimmering white and masked by a veil. You can just make out her face as she slowly walks down the stairs - your wife to be is petrified. Luckily what comes next takes some attention off her, as her bridesmaids follow her into the hall and march down the stairs.

The first three through the door are Bethany, Doe and Renee. They are all dressed in white as well, the bright fabric contrasting beautifully with their shiny black fur. Bethany's dress is high collared, long sleeved and floor length, almost more conservative than what Lessia is wearing. The sisters, on the other hand have gone with nearly matching gowns that end at mid-calf. Their arms may be covered but both cut their bridesmaid's dresses lower so they could give you a view of their lovely breasts. Bethany looks as terrified as Lessia, but she turns and moves down the stairs behind her lover. The sisters move behind her, forming a triangle of black furred, white wrapped catgirls.

Some in the crowd gasp. There are whispers. Both you and Lessia knew what a shock it would be that a princess would have no daughters of nobility as her bridesmaids. Certainly there were a flurry of offers in the weeks since the announcement. But Lessia has never felt at home with them and decided to make her support for the catgirls explicit.

Just as the shock from the first three catgirl bridesmaids dies down a fresh batch of whispering begins as the next two come into view. Alice and Yvonne, both dressed in bright red gowns picked to contrast with their golden fur. Alice's gown is pretty conservative overall, though someone - you're betting Sandra - convinced her to go for a keyhole style arrangement, providing a window to show off her big B cups. Her dress has a collar and short sleeves. Yvonne may have covered up her hefty C cups completely, but her triplet stuffed belly is decorated with sparkling silver threads and her gown - if you can even call it that - is slit up both sides almost to the hips. Probably for better mobility in case someone decides to attack the wedding. In sync and side by side the pair turn down the stairs, following the bride.

You can imagine the whispers passing through the guests now - Wearing red to a wedding? Scandalous. Keyhole gowns and slit skirts? Think of the children! Letting such a pregnant woman act as a bridesmaid? What message does that send?!?

Then the final two bridesmaids make an appearance and the king has to clear his throat to silence the room. You have to fight to keep a straight face as Helena and Sandra come into view. Helena is dressed in a black gown with long sleeves and a high collar, practically a mirror to what Bethany is wearing. Her pregnancy does alter the outline quite a bit, but you'd say it's for the better. Sandra is also in black, though she's pushed the limits. Her belly is concealed by such thin silk that you can make out the fur, the bellybutton and every detail beneath the gown. The gown stops not at the floor, nor at mid-calf or at her knees, but at mid-thigh. At the top her gown ends just above her bosom, seemingly held up with magic. No straps, no collar, no sleeves and her shoulders exposed to the air. You don't know how she managed to convince Lessia to let her wear that. This pair also turns and follows the procession, the crowd staying silent only because the king cleared his throat in such a menacing way.

At the end of the hall, at the base of the stairs, the bride stands in the center. Her seven bridesmaids spread out, with those in white behind her, those in red flanking and those in black flanking those in red. Yvonne and Helena take one side and Sandra the other, their pregnancies balancing out the line. You have to admit, it's a fantastic arrangement. Even with the scandal you bet that some young noblewomen will take to the idea of an array of color in their bridesmaids' clothes.

The king stands with obvious effort and walks to the back of the room to take his daughter's hand and lead her to the altar. The bridesmaids follow and the arrangement is recreated at the other end of the hall, a semi-circle of eager catgirls surrounding Lessia, her father and the priest. As king Caravis walks back to his place you and prince Davris rise. As you had no one else, he offered to act as your best man for the wedding. You walk down the aisle, trying not to let the thumping of your heart distract you.

The priest gives his sermon, long and dry. He chooses not to say anything regarding the catgirl bridesmaids - the king's stare is something to behold. Finally, you get to the important bit. Little Laila comes racing up the aisle, far too excited for a stately walk. She holds up the little basket with the rings and, with those magic words, you and Lessia are wed. There's a great cheer from the crowd, though you have a hard time noticing anything but Lessia's lips as she wraps her arms around you and kisses like her life depends on it.

...the reception...

For hours after the wedding you have to bide your time and talk to people. From a purely practical point of view this is necessary so that Patrick has time to finish up the long list of tasks on his plate. The longer the guests are here, the better your alibi. From a social standpoint the long reception is almost required to give Lessia time to un-ruffle some feathers - the bridesmaids are always the second piece of any conversation, a quick followup to 'Congratulations'.

Your fellow mages give you complements too. Some honest, some backhanded, depending on their attitude toward a mage marrying someone who won't live as long as they will. You have your own thoughts on that, but at the moment you just accept it all because you don't give a damn about their opinions. Marrying Lessia - and your other fiancees - is the right choice, no matter what the world thinks.

Part way through you also get to overhear Sandra's excuse for her minuscule gown. "Oh, I would have loved something less revealing," she says to one nearby noblewoman, "and that was the plan. But," she holds her belly, "I'm so hot now. All the time. We even thought of using some ice to keep me cool, but Lessia didn't want anyone else and she finally told me to make my gown as thin and small as possible." Figures - your conniving kitten found a way to wear the obscenely revealing bridesmaid's gown she desired and praise Lessia as a wonderful person while doing it.

Some nobles are none too happy that some catgirls were guests at the wedding or that they got to line the balconies and watch. You ignore the comments you're overhearing, allowing your catgirls to mingle and make their own impressions. By the end of the reception you note at least a few nobles who will probably be asking if they can help take care of one or two of these penniless yet lovely creatures.

...later that night...

Most of the guests have left. Only the royal family and a few guests who've become enthralled by one or another of your catgirls remain. This is the perfect time, so you lead Lessia, Davris, Yandelle and the disguised Cerralla to a private room overlooking the main hall.

"Sorry for the wait," you say, as the three siblings embrace and Cerralla tearfully congratulates her younger sister on her marriage.

"Not a problem, not at all," says Cerralla as she goes for another hug. "All grown up and married off before me. I'm pretty jealous of you sis."

"I hope you find a man who's just as good as John," says Lessia. "He's out there somewhere, waiting for you."

"Now it's time for me to show you that surprise I alluded to," you say, opening a side door and letting in a pair of catgirls. "Meet Talia and Yulia." The catgirls bow to the prince and princesses. "They are twin sisters and that is key for what I have in mind." You shouldn't have to say it - both girls have the same fine white fur and piercing blue eyes, the same slender build. Both stand 5'6" tall and each has a pair of small B cup breasts as well as a long, thin tail. They've also worn the same dresses for tonight's reception and you've equipped them with the same rather special collars.

You hold out a pair of ornate amulets and ask "which of you would like to try this out first?"

Your expectation was that Davris would, but it's Cerralla who reacts first, takes the amulet and say "Very well" with more excitement than regalness in her voice. You have her take a seat and explain the trigger words she needs to think to activate the amulet.

A moment later Cerralla goes limp in her seat. Yulia gasps and looks around. "Oh, wait. No, no, how? What was that?"

"Princess Cerralla," you say, bowing toward Yulia, "that is some powerful magic at play."

"It is her!" Davris says as Cerralla nervously rubs her neck.

"Yes it is me..." she says, thinking. "I suppose it would be easier for me to go to clandestine meetings like this."

"Actually it's far more useful than that. Allow me to explain..." You hold up the amulet. "This was invented by one of my predecessors. A mad genius. The amulet allows the wearer to take control of the body of the person wearing the collar. The problem was the two people could never move more than about twenty feet apart. I've made some adjustments to the design, aided by the fact that twins have quite a special relationship. The twins and collars stabilize the effect and with the two collars now linked, the effect can work at almost any distance."

Davris stares at the amulet. "I... wait, any distance? So if Cerralla and I each had one of the twins nearby we could talk at any time?"

"Exactly. And what an advantage when organizing how battles should go or in making sure some particular noble is at a certain spot at a certain time."

"Yes... but what about these girls?" asks Cerralla through Yulia's mouth. You tell her how to reverse the effect and Cerralla quickly shifts back to her own body.

"About that - Talia, Yulia, what do you two think of the prince and princess possessing you?"

Talia gives them a big smile and hugs her recovering sister close. "I don't mind at all. John explained how important it is for you two to be able to talk and the two of us - we're only alive thanks to John's care. We, and all catgirls, owe this country so very much. It would be an honor for us to go with you and do this for you."

"So I, um, would also be able to possess Talia?" asks Davris.

"Yes. Obviously it would have been better if I could have found a pair of twins with one male and one female, but so far we've seen no catboys at all, never mind one who's a twin. Also, the twins will have to meet up once every year or so to reinforce the effect. You two would not need to come, the amulets aren't involved in that bit."

"It's a hell of a thing," says Davris. He looks at Talia and asks "Are you sure?"

"Very sure. Why don't you put that amulet around your neck and take me for a spin?" she asks, doing a quick pirouette in place.

Davris takes a seat, thinks the right trigger words and falls into a trance. Talia stands up a little straighter and looks around. She looks down at her chest, then up at Cerralla, then back at her tail. "This is going to take a lot of getting used to," says Davris through Talia's lips.

"Talia and Yulia aren't completely subsumed when you take control," you explain. "It will take some practice, but you can get a feeling for how they see things, how they would like to react. Especially if you attempt to do something they would not want or something they would like quite a lot. According to what I read you will eventually be able to sense them without taking over, giving you the chance to ask through the link if it's a good time. You can even give some limited control back to them while you're in charge."

"Huh, I think I get that feeling," says Davris. "Just to test..." Talia's hand reaches for one of Yulia's breasts. She gives her sister a good grope before letting go. A look of worry and confusion crosses Talia's face. "Um..." says Davris, looking at his two sisters.

Yulia bursts out laughing. "Oh, Talia you naughty girl. She said she was going to do exactly that if she ended up with the prince in her body."

"Are all catgirls like this?" asks Cerralla. She's gone from angry at her brother to confused.

"They're all special in their own ways," says Lessia. "But most of them aren't nearly as hung up by s... s... that kind of stuff."

"My choice in twins is pretty limited because not that many pairs have made it this far," you explain. "Both Talia and Yulia are eager to help."

Davris shifts back to his own body and looks around. "It's a weird feeling, but it's not tiring or anything."

"Sorry for the little trick, I'm a mischievous kitten," says Talia as she sits down next to Davris.

Not that anyone else knows, but you selected Talia and Yulia quite carefully. You're pretty sure that Cerralla and Davris have feelings for each other - feelings they can't act on or talk about, feelings they might even have learned to repress. Talia and Yulia have some feelings for each other as well. You didn't even add those, they were naughty twin sisters by the time you bought them. A pretty penny for those two, that's for sure. Sexy twins who are happy to go down on each other? A hot commodity in any **** market.

But when you thought of the collars and these two in combination... it was so beautiful. They will be able to do all you said, but those feelings - Yulia's for Talia and Talia's for Yulia will leak through the bonds. Every use of the amulet will have Cerralla and Davris feeling more and more fondness for each other and for the catgirls too. Seeing each other less as siblings and more as lovers. By the time the civil war is over you're sure you know who Cerralla will want as her consort.

"One last thing - a matter of appearances. Whichever girl goes with Cerralla will be seen as a close servant, chambermaid, something like that. But the catgirl who goes with Davris will probably be seen as something else unless you give her a specific job. Also, all of this might be easier to hide if you take additional catgirls with you. I've got a few stronger women like Yvonne who would do a fine job as bodyguards once trained. I'm afraid most of the girls don't have useful skills, there just hasn't been time to train them."

"Still," says Cerralla, "it's an amazing advantage. I don't think I could excuse a whole bevvy of chambermaids while I'm on the move, but a few loyal bodyguards would be welcome, even if I need to train them.""Yes, and you're right", says Davris, "no matter what I might train my girls as people will assume they're a furry harem. I suppose if they could see them training as soldiers that might be enough, but..."

"I mispoke - more accurately, they had useful skills but have forgotten them. If you expose them to different types of work they might show great aptitude, as if their mind or limbs remember the steps to the dance. Given their origins I would wager skill with bows or simple but fast moving weapons is quite likely. For example, most of the catgirls master reading almost as soon as a book is placed in their hands. For someone who was a master of the bow or a fine cartographer I would expect the same."

"It might be better to go with expectations" says Talia. "On the bright side, no chance of bastards cause we can't make babies without magical help."

"Well hang on," says Davris, "Yulia and I would only have to pretend. You said you wanted to help, that doesn't mean you have to sleep with me for your country."

"If you want to do that then you should trade amulets," says Yulia. "I could pretend, but Talia is way better at being naughty or pretending to be naughty."

"I think things are fine the way they are," says Cerralla, clutching at the amulet that links her to Yulia. "It will be more believable if a girl like Yulia is traveling with Davris. Someone who tries hard to look like she's not warming his bed. Even if everyone thinks that's what she's doing."

"And you're alright traveling with my naughty sister?" asks Yulia.

"Yes, nobody will think she's warming my bed." She looks over at Talia and says, "I'll get you trained up in something useful".

"As you wish, mistress," says Talia, bowing low.