Out of the Ashes Ch. 24

Chapter 24: A noble guest

(4,6k words, futa, dialogue, feel good chapter, size comparison, wholesomeness, pregnancy, size praise, weight gain, female muscle, mini-giantess)

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"... and then she turned around and froze when the entire room saw her dress ripping top to bottom," Gretchen laughed out loud, half-full wine glass firmly in hand.

"And did it rip entirely? I mean... just wondering ... if you know ... someone saw the king indecent and stuff," Ricky said as his face reddened.

"Let's say that's confidential, I don't want to run into trouble," the redhaired tailor chuckled while winking at Alexia opposite of the table.

"Is that so?" Agatha asked with a constantly widening smirk following Gretchen's gaze.

"You could have left out that part entirely, you know?" Alexia said, donning her new tailor-made royal uniform, which already looked quite tight around her crossed, bulging arms.

"And I could have cut down on pastries and sweets in the first place. Wouldn't have gone through this many dresses that way," Margaret smiled softly, defusing the irritation she sensed coming from her wife.

Alexia lightened up when warming sunrays appeared determined to highlight the queen's beautiful silver eyes even further. Her fingers searched and found the king's left hand and like she often did these days simply gazed into Margaret's eyes for a few seconds without saying a word.

"No, you need the food. You have two hearts to feed now," Alexia said softly.

"Only two? Sometimes I feel like you make me eat like I was about to give birth to triplets," Margaret laughed back and nodded at her immensely swollen middle.

"Nonsense," Alexia said with utmost determination before realising that everyone looked at her with the same knowing, cheeky smirk. "Well, maybe I've overdone it a bit at times. Just a tad."

"Just a tad," Margaret grinned and leaned forward as much as her belly allowed to kiss her wife who she knew was simply overly protective. More so with every day drawing closer to the birth of their daughter.

The entire table gazed back at the heavily pregnant king and had the same admiring fire burning in their eyes like Alexia. They were all looking forward to that special day, almost as much as Margaret was herself, she reckoned.

"How could any afternoon in the gardens get better than this?" Margaret thought and was overjoyed she failed to find any answer to that unspoken question right away.

She only lifted her glass, since Alexia would have stopped her from getting up anyway and simply let the dark grape juice shine in the sunlight for a few moments before speaking.

"On our soon to be born daughter. Our esteemed friends. And ... sadly also on too many ripped dresses," Margaret said.

"May the goddess rest their silk and linen. They did serve the kingdom to the bitter end," Gretchen interjected, making everyone break a smile.

"On that also," the blonde king sighed with rolling eyes. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!" the entire group joined in and blessed their tastebuds with royal winery's finest purple.

Margaret sank happily back into her cushioned seat with her heavy body. All her friends around her, slowly feeling the influence of a few glasses of royal wine, began to laugh and joke once more as they revelled in the magical sight only the balcony in the royal gardens could provide.

Only the king, fully sober, was befallen with silence and let her blue eyes wander over the place where it all began. Their dining table was set up exactly where Alexia and her were once forced to take that desperate jump into the unknown and hope for the best. The harbour town that graced the horizon never looked more charming now that the king had tested the sweet flavour that particular oyster of the sea could offer. Sadly, she might not be able to taste it ever again she thought.

But there was still no reason to feel upset she reminded herself. Life somehow had gotten better since that eventful day. So much better.

Margaret smiled at Pebbles grooming herself with her tongue, bathing in the sun and warmed by the marble beneath her at the same spot where Alexia once had to fight her own sisters. Barely a year ago Margaret was staring at a puddle of blood while Alexia screamed at her to jump and leave everything behind. Now she sat at a table with her human friends and her wife while feeling life literally growing within her and overseeing one of the three new "chief mousers of the palace" dutifully fulfilling its important task -- which consisted mostly of sleeping.

Her feline friend immediately noticed the highking's stare and answered with her own. Gretchen's three cats seemingly took turns when it came to guarding Margaret and more importantly her unborn daughter. She soon noticed how all three cats loved to listen to the soft beats coming from within Margaret's belly and even more often slept on top of it. It looked like now was Pebble's turn, for she didn't take her green eyes off the soon to be mother all afternoon, while her sisters strolled through the palace.

Margaret only had to fiddle with her reaching fingers and Pebbles rushed to the king's aid. Her bell jolted around her neck with such ferocity one could think she was about to duel a literal dragon and save the entire kingdom with one swing of her furry paw. Yet all she did was snuggle up into the blonde's huge hand and licked every of her fingers with the frantic devotion Margaret simply had to admire.

Like their owner, they were a more than welcome addition to the palace. Sure, Margaret was lying if she admitted she ever saw any rodents within the palace's walls before and therefore couldn't make any convincing argument for appointing any chief mouser, let alone three. But the ceremony alone, where all three received their cute little bells with the engraved insignia of the royal family justified their appointment. Margaret smiled every single time when she thought of the little ceremony she held for them -- one of her favourites as king thus far.

The pregnant highking simply smiled and mindlessly looked into the reddening faces of her friends and then beyond the balcony facing the wonderful sea. Her usually watchful ears and eyes slowly sank into the soothing calmness of the waves with nothing but her friend's laughter to remind her she was not slowly drifting away into a beautiful, calm sunset.

"What are you thinking?" Alexia whispered as she leaned in.

Margaret grinned knowingly and was not surprised that her wife picked up on her distant stare. While Pebbles already looked like all her senses were sharpened in order to watch over Margaret, she could certainly learn a trick or two from Lexi. She was seemingly relentless in her pursuit to fulfil all her wife's wishes even before she was able to word them.

"Not much, Lexi," Margaret said and offered the one hand not occupied by a royal chief mouser. "For once I am not thinking about anything. At last, I learned to do that... here."

"At last," Alexia repeated and kissed her wife's delicate hand. "It will be our home after all."

"Home is not where you live. Home is where you can be with the people you love," Margaret said and smiled. "That means I am at home."

Alexia's soft gaze only grew more alluring as a spark of rising emotion ignited in her almost dampening eyes.

"I love you, Maggie," she said and leaned in for a kiss before her weakness would be seen.

"I love you too, Lexi."

King and queen kissed on top of the balcony accompanied by their friends who listened keenly to one of the seemingly world-shaking adventures Gretchen took part in ever since she moved in. One could only imagine what she was up to whenever she was in the company of women with the same ... fiery passion ... for fashion and beauty. Particularly Helena seemed to be a favourite of Gretchen's and that within a few days even -- whatever that hinted at. Margaret's curiosity was getting almost the best of her as she silently dissected the tailor's anecdote about how she collaborated with some of the palace's stuff and how she was constantly looking for new models to try out her clothes.

Suddenly sabatons erupted from behind the king's back, and immediately reminded Margaret of the day when Cassandra fought Lexi. Margaret would have been jumpy wouldn't she have recognised the temperate pace and knew who calmly approached her.

"Greetings, my king and queen," Lyssa said and bowed in her full steel attire.

"Greetings to your visitors as well."

"Greetings, Lyssa," Margaret replied and agonizingly slowly turned around to face the commander of her royal guard. "I hope you only came to join us on such a beautiful afternoon."

"Sadly, she is not," Alexia said and rose from the seat next to her king. "There is something that needs my immediate attention. She only came to remind me of that fact."

"Nothing serious I hope," Margaret said, still in her comfortable seated position, looking up to Alexia towering above her and their guests.

"Nothing serious. Quite the opposite in fact. It shouldn't take long," Alexia said and gazed upon the plethora of delicatesses lingered all over their dining table. "Don't eat everything while I am gone."

"We won't," Margaret grinned and knew Alexia meant everyone but her.

Lyssa bowed once more and while only her eyes were visible under her black helmet, Margaret could tell she smiled back.

The blonde king's gaze followed her wife back into the palace and it was one of pure admiration. Lyssa, standing maybe 2 inches taller than Lexi and clad in armour from top to bottom, no longer looked that much more imposing than her new queen. Alexia barely wasted a minute ever since she was back on her feet, while Margaret only felt more useless by the day.

The few times she, Lexi and Sybilla worked out together were so brutal, that she almost wished her daughter would blossom faster within her, so she could drop out from those sessions earlier. Yet she persisted for as long as her doctor allowed her to. Eventually she had to step aside and while she found herself less mobile and less in shape than during that period, she wouldn't miss one second of it, even if she was reduced to just watching her sister and her wife pushing each other even further and stronger.

"She is taking to royalty like a duck to water, isn't she?" Agatha asked.

Margaret's face lightened up and didn't stray away from Lexi's broad back until she and Lyssa vanished into the gardens that led to the main complex.

"More than that. I have no idea where she gets her energy from," the highking said softly and turned around to face her friends once more. "She took care of everything, and I mean everything, once I was no longer able to fulfil my duties like I should. And still, she somehow manages to find time for me and my family. She is beyond amazing."

"She truly is," Agatha agreed with that motherly, proud smile of hers whenever she talked about her new queen and former colleague.

"On Lexi," Ricky almost blurted out and rose jerkily from his seat, while pushing his wine glass into the air with such eagerness that a few drops poured down onto the lushly loaded table underneath.

"Watch out! Don't spill such a fine drop!" Gretchen chuckled.

"I am with Gretchen. You really should be more careful, Ricky. You don't want to get drunk just yet, right?" Agatha said in a tone that made Margaret frown.

"Oh... yeah... I am sorry. I might stick to Maggie's grape juice for a bit then," the boy said with wide eyes which travelled nervously between the chef and the king.

Margaret perked an eyebrow and silently observed her friends´ bizarre reaction when Ricky slowly and a bit clumsily put the wine down and poured in a bit of the king's carafe. Both Agatha and Gretchen, while still smiling, almost looked like they silently chastised him for enjoying his wine -- which made little to no sense to Margaret.

If anything, Ricky had a right to enjoy himself a bit now that he was for once off the short leash of his new girlfriend for a bit. Wouldn't it have been for Margaret's pregnancy and Alexia putting all her efforts into somehow matching kingmother's muscles they would have joined him within a heartbeat. But instead, Agatha looked adamantly at the boy as he reluctantly sank back down onto his designated seat, Gretchen at least didn't seem to burn with same cold fury.

"You know, this bottle was meant to be drunken and not just looked at. Only because I can't enjoy it, doesn't mean you all have to do the same," Margaret cautiously interjected when silence loomed over her three guests.

Agatha, still eying Ricky without mercy even after he broke their silent stare, faced Margaret and immediately put on the same warm smile the former waitress always remembered. The smile of a grandmother. A grandmother who just happened to finish lecturing one of her grandchildren but holds no grudge against the other.

"He had enough to drink, Maggie. He's drinking like a sailor when we are guests of the royal family," Agatha said.

"You are talking to your friend, Agatha. Not your king. If he wants to drink, let him drink. He has my blessing," Margaret insisted.

"I... it's okay, really... Maggie," Ricky said softly and faked a grin. "She is right. I don't need to get drunk in the middle of the day."

Margaret rolled her eyes, not knowing what this unnecessary drama was about and took a sip from her juice until Gretchen, also sporting slightly reddened cheeks, diffused the situation.

"Even with or without wine, our aspiring sailor here put forward a toast," the redhead said and lifted her glass towards the sky. "On Lexi."

"On Lexi," Agatha joined in immediately.

Ricky hesitated a little and searched for Agatha's silent approval before he raised his glass as well.

"On Lexi."

Margaret, also hesitant on switching topics this rapidly looked around and eventually gave in.

"On the best wife one could have prayed for."

An hour passed until Margaret started noticing that Alexia still had not returned. Sure, she took care of any envoys and managed as much she could around the entire palace, but it didn't sound like she had some proper business to attend to. That wasn't the only thought that was slowly creeping into the king's mind though. Ricky and Gretchen, who both faced the gardens and therefore any arrivals seemingly held out for Alexia as well. Why else would they keep staring along the paved path leading into the gardens whenever they felt like Margaret wouldn't notice?

"She is taking longer than expected," Margaret said while closely overseeing her friend's reaction. "I hope you don't mind. Things can turn quite hectic rather quick here."

"Nah... it's fine," Ricky said almost absently and caught a quick glimpse of the main hall before he pretended to be savouring the lobster.

Gretchen and Agatha only grinned nervously and pretended to poke into their meals, which they both seemingly refused to eat entirely.

"I thought you would like lobster and prawn. Sure, it's not like you are used to cook it yourself, but I can ask the chef to bring us something else," Margaret said and was about to lift her arm so her guards in the distance could see her.

"NO!" Agatha almost exploded when she saw Margaret's fingers rise from the table. "I mean... that won't be necessary. The dish is great, really, Maggie. Truly amazing."

Now Margaret was quite worried. There was this invisible tension taking hold of the table ever since Lexi left and it seemed to get worse by the second. Her guests slowly but steadily paid less attention to their conversation and looked ... distracted. Distracted from the stunning scenery, the masterful food and even the company of one of their friends.

"I don't know what's going on, but if there is something we should talk about I want you to tell me," Margaret said to Agatha.

"There is nothing to worry about, Maggie. I promise you it is nothing related to you," the elderly chef said.

Margaret was in no mood for such cat and mouse games. Not when she was mere days away from giving birth. Her entire day consisted of resting and making sure she would be in the perfect condition when the big moment finally came.

Everything about her bloated body ached, every pound she gained, muscle and fat, slowed her down further and the constant battle with her rampaging hormones only got worse during her pregnancy. She had no fight in herself left to question her friends about a topic they clearly tried to keep for themselves... or at the very least away from Margaret.

"If you say so," the tired king sighed. "I just hoped we could come together for a bit and forget about everything else going on... looks like I failed in doing that."

Agatha grabbed her hand, gently but firmly and shook her head.

"You failed at nothing. Everything is alright, I promise you. You don't have to worry. It will all make sense in a bit," she said cryptically.

"What will make sense? I don't understand."

"We got a surprise for you," Ricky said and received piercing looks from both Gretchen and Agatha.

"One more word and we are going to have a serious problem," Gretchen threatened this time before Agatha could.

"A surprise?" Margaret asked and then smiled before relaxing her sore body.

"Good. I pretend I didn't hear that then. Truth be told I was fearing you had much worse in mind," the king said in relief.

"Like what?" Gretchen asked.

"I don't know. But my own family once tried to kidnap me right here. I guess I felt just a sense of de-ja-vu," Margaret giggled and pointed at the balcony. "I doubt I could make this jump nowadays, not in this state."

"Hold on! You two jumped from here into the ocean?!" Ricky gasped with widening eyes. "That's like a hundred feet?!"

"I would have said more like 80, but yeah. This is where it all began. I thought it was a fitting place for our little reunion."

"You have chosen wisely," Agatha said with a knowing smirk that hinted at a deeper meaning.

Another 30 minutes passed and Margaret played along. She didn't question the clear attempts to draw her attention away from this mysterious surprise. Margaret did not mind. Now that the secrecy was gone, she knew she had nothing to fear any longer. Nothing would ruin that day for her Margaret decided and knowing her friends they would never take away from it, but only add to it.

Eventually the blonde saw Ricky almost jump off his chair when distant footsteps travelled across the paved tiles. Not one of iron, but still one with remarkable weight ... until Margaret realised that those were more than a single pair of footsteps.

"You really have to work on your poker face, Ricky," Margaret said and did not turn around.

"You tell us," Gretchen sighed and shook her head.

"It's alright, Ricky," Margaret said to the genuinely embarrassed looking man at the table. "I will play along. Nobody will know."

"Thank you, Maggie," Ricky said with adorably reddening cheeks.

The pregnant king casually dug her pearl spoon into the ornamented bowl of caviar and made it look like it took her undivided attention to spread the fish eggs on her piece of smoked salmon. Her ears were on full alert and followed the visitors until they must have stood right behind her and swallowed a smile with her food. She would identify one of those steps amongst a million, but she was not so sure about the second.

"I am back, Maggie," Alexia said to her left and rested her gentle hand on her wife's shoulder.

"At last! I almost sent the guards looking for you," Margaret lied and looked up to her hulking queen. "What took you so long?"

"I did."

Margaret's veins almost froze and her heart pumped twice its usual pace. She recognised that voice, clearly, she did, but however familiar he was he simply did not belong to this place.