In his towel, Orias sprinted through the halls of the castle. His heart beating fast with excitement and his dick soft for once. No perversion. Pure scientific curiosity.
His destination was the dungeon. The female prisoner was still there. She was a woman so she must have a womb.
“Wait! Ori I can’t run as fast as you!” His sister shouted behind him.
Stopping, he turned around and waited for her to catch up. The two of them were still dripping wet from the bath, the droplets of water leaving a trail behind them.
Their mother walked out of her room, her brow raised.
“Ori, Isa. At least put clothes on before you solve the kingdom’s problems,” Teresa said, her gaze moving between them.
Orias smiled. Genuine happiness this time. He ran to his mother and hugged her. She smelled of lavender, the same as his sister. Wrapping his arms around her thin waist, he buried his face in her large breasts.
“Sorry mother, but I need to see a real life womb to make sure my blessing works. Nothing sexual about it I promise.” He mumbled into her bosom.
His mother tried to push his head away and looked at her daughter for answers.
Isabella shrugged. “He’s telling the truth. He has gone completely mad from the lack of a proper meal. I think we need to make him a stew and have him eat it. Maybe that’ll bring him back to his senses.”
The prince lifted his head from the soft pillows. His mother had a look of concern. He couldn’t blame her, his words sounded insane even to him.
“I’m serious. I finally understand how to use my blessing. If I could just see a womb and shapeshift it into myself I can make a baby.” He explained.
Teresa sighed and patted his cheek. Her son was a genius, and she was proud of him. But sometimes his ideas were... unique.
“And if it works? You’ll have a child, Ori. That child will need things. What are you building, exactly?” She asked, her tone gentle.
He thought about it for a moment. Children were burden and resource intensive in this shitty world. But the more he thought about it, the more the answer became clear.
“The child will have the power of gods and smite my brothers and their entire fucking kingdoms,” he shouted, his eyes sparkling.
His mother and sister had their mouth open.
What? It was obviously a joke. He couldn’t make a god... right? Maybe a demi-god. Hopefully.
“Anyways, mom do you want to see a womb too?” He asked, looking at her stomach.
She covered her belly, feeling a bit shy at the thought. The twins were her only children and she wasn’t planning on having more.
“No, I’m satisfied with the one I already have. But you can go ahead and do your god-making.” She looked at him for a moment—the tattoo, his face, back to the tattoo—then turned toward the kitchen. “I’ll have lunch ready. Try not to use the good towels.”
Kissing his mom's cheek, Orias and his sister made their way to the dungeon.
The steps were slippery from their wet feet. They held onto the wall for support. Reaching the door, Orias opened it and walked inside.
The woman from earlier was still in the chair, her head low. Sela was sitting on a stool next to her, whittling a piece of wood with her knife.
“Hey, Chief. Can I see the prisoner’s womb?” He asked, casually.
Sela looked up and raised a brow. Then she glanced at his towel, his dick barely covered.
“Prince, are you drunk again?” She asked, sighing. Her knife moved with precision, shaving off thin pieces of wood.
Orias shook his head. “Nope, but I need to see it. It’s for the sake of the entire province.”
Sela stopped her carving and looked at Isabella who gave her a thumbs up. The woman stood up and walked to the prince, she put a hand on his shoulder and leaned in close.
“Are you sure about this? You aren’t planning on raping her are you?” She whispered, her orange eyes intense.
“What? No. I would never rape a woman. I just need to cut her open and see the womb. Then I will shapeshift it into myself and make a baby that will save us all,” he explained, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
The salamander was silent, her mind processing his words. She looked back at the prisoner and then at the prince before handing him the knife.
“Have fun. I’ll go do something normal like recruiting troops to fight in a war we can’t possibly win.” She said, her tone dry.
Orias took the knife and heard Sela’s footstep grow distant as she left the dungeon and the metal door slammed shut.
Bella sat on the stool and opened her notepad, her pencil ready to draw.
The prince walked to the prisoner and touched her cheek, lifting her face. She was pretty, or at least she would be if she wasn’t all bloody and beaten. Her lips were red and her eyes were closed.
Pulling the towel off his waist, he used it to wipe the blood off her skin.
He took a deep breath and placed the knife on her stomach, right below her navel.
“Wait brother... Are you actually going to cut her open?” Isabella asked.
His mouth went dry. Right. He was going to cut open a woman—a first for both lives. He shook his head.
“Better than dying because I have a useless blessing,” he muttered.
Pressing the knife down, he cut through her skin. The woman’s eyes opened and she looked at him with fear. She tried to scream, but he had gagged her.
“No guilting me. You should’ve thought about your actions before you killed that merchant.” He said, his hand steady.
Blood poured from the wound, staining his hands red. Her muffled screams filled the dungeon as he cut deeper, reaching her abdominal muscles.
Bella watched with a neutral expression. She would follow her brother no matter what path he took. If that meant cutting up a prisoner, so be it.
“Okay if I remember my biology class correctly... the womb should be here,” Orias mumbled, his knife moving.
A fleshy organ appeared from the cut. It was pink and looked like a deflated balloon. Pulling it out gently, he held it in his hand.
“Alright sis, I pass the torch to you.” He turned to his sister, a smile on his face despite the blood covering his body.
Isabella swallowed and nodded. She looked at the organ and then at the notepad. The pencil moved fast, sketching the shape of the womb.
The prisoner was still breathing, but her eyes were losing focus.
Orias felt a bit bad for her, so he decided to end her suffering quickly. He stabbed her in the heart.
After that they spent an hour making sure the sketch was perfect. Then the prince washed the blood off his body and focused on the drawing.
He lit another candle, making the room brighter. Walking from the table to the wall and back, he studied the drawing. His sister had done a great job.
The womb was beautiful. He never thought he would say that about an organ, but here he was.
Pressing his hand on his stomach, he concentrated. His shapeshifting magic activated and his skin began to glow. A warmth spread through his body.
His womb tattoo started to glow brighter and brighter. A pain shot through his lower abdomen and he fell to his knees, groaning.
“Ori! Are you okay?” Bella asked, putting down the notepad and rushing to his side.
He looked at her and smiled.
“Cramp? Yeah I’m fine. I think it’s working.”
Another wave of pain hit him and he doubled over, clutching his stomach. The organ inside him was forming, the pain from the shapeshifting process was intense.
“It shouldn’t hurt like this...” Isabella mumbled, her hand on his back.
Orias gritted his teeth. After a few more seconds, the pain subsided and he let out a breath. His body was slick with sweat, his hair stuck to his forehead.
The tattoo turned white and he felt a sixth sense in his mind.
“Brother... what happened?” His sister asked.
He chuckled and wiped his face with his arm. “I think I just made a womb.”
Glancing at his sister, his breath hitched. The sight of her sent a shiver down his spine that went straight to his new womb. It was like something clicked in his mind.
She had a greyish aura around her.
Before he could say anything, the door opened and Sela walked in. She looked at the prince on the ground and the dead prisoner with a hole in her stomach.
“Uh... what happened here?” She asked, her gaze moving between the three of them.
Orias laughed, his voice hoarse. “Fuck me, Chief. Why are you red?”
The red aura around Sela was intense, almost blinding. In the corner of his vision he could see Isabella’s grey aura.
The Chief looked down at herself and then at Bella. “Is he talking about my hair? It has always been this color.”
His vision started to fade as he lost consciousness, his mind still trying to process what the auras meant. Red. Grey. Fire and shapeshifter?
Mix?