The Witch of hopelessness

~~~~

The beasts stood in absolute silence as they stared, desperately trying to not earn your ire during your rather extreme anger. As far as they knew, your current state had been triggered by the amount of dust and debris in the dorm and sent you into a cleaning frenzy. Those you usually favored did their best to either help you, or get out of your way.

Even Hades stood to the side, silently using his magic to fully clean up anything you may have missed in your cleaning panic. If anything, the elder knew you were participating in what was considered 'Human Nesting', which commonly happened at this stage of pregnancy. He also knew that your stress was not only a result of your pregnancy, but a result of the impending visitors who would decide your fate.

The representatives had arrived on Night Raven College grounds and it had you completely on edge. As far as you were concerned, no one except yourself had the right to make these decisions for you. If you had to, you would hold your own life and that of your little ones over their heads in order to be the final decision maker. Hopefully they would take your comfort and words into consideration for where you would prefer to be.

"Look at these! They're absolutely full of holes and eaten away by moths! That won't do. They need to go!"

With a flick of your wrist, you tore down the curtains and kept going. Your swollen belly pressed up against your clothes, as you had already grown beyond the extra fabric Vil had put into your shirt. It was more than obvious that you were heavily pregnant and several students had also taken notice.

Vil knew because you told him and Rook, but the pair had clearly kept it to themselves and told no one else. Riddle was still in denial, insisting that he could sense you were a virgin in terms of magical presence on your body. Leona had taken to bringing you meat to try and feed you, having been able to sense your hormone fluctuations early on before you were showing. Malleus knew as soon as Lilia did due to the Bat relaying everything he learned back to the Dragon. Idia knew because of Ortho and had been dutiful in watching out for you alongside Hades. Kalim was clueless as ever, but he frequently offered to buy you anything you asked for no matter the cost. Even Azul seemed aware that you were heavy with young as he was extremely careful around you.

All of the staff had been made aware early on by the very Crow that roosted on the dorm roof. Despite how eccentric and odd Crowley was, it did seem like he was at least trying to respect your space and your autonomy. He was always the first to swoop in as soon as you stepped foot outside and he often angrily cawed his frustration when you refused to allow him to preen your hair.

Trein had become a rather apparent fixture in your dorm, frequently taking you on walks around the school and offering his insight any time you asked. The wizened and respectable elder Sphinx was happy to spend time with you and explain things to you that you didn't fully understand. Every day, he was closer to you and had even felt the twins move- with your permission- which resulted in him breaking down into tears. It had become routine for the older male to appear at your dorm and read with you in the afternoons.

Divus spent countless hours grading papers while with you and immediately jumping up to get you anything you were craving or wanted. The Selkie was very keen on keeping you protected and safe even if there was nothing to protect you from. The smallest of shivers always resulted in the Selkie laying his coat over you, letting you snuggle into the fur.

As far as students went when it came to your heavily pregnant belly, Grim and Ortho were keen to feel the kicks and movements. Ortho, whenever you allowed it, stayed glued to your stomach and constantly tried to feel the kicks. His small head pressed into your tummy as he even went as far as to occasionally remove his oxygen mask to snuggle just a little closer. Grim always slept on your distended stomach, purring whenever the twins moved. There were even a few moments where he would start kneading the soft skin on your stomach and purring, careful of his claws on your belly.

Those that knew of your pregnancy- either directly from you or from other close ties- had all shown an interest in touching your belly. They would always ask you first, none really willing to upset you by just brazenly reaching for you. Usually, they would sit in wonder any time you let them touch your stomach, slowly leaning into you and resting their heads against your belly. Even Hades would sit and just feel the twins move around inside of you with a small smile on his face.

It almost seemed like you and your twins were healing some part of the elder that he didn't know needed to be healed.

"I hate to interrupt," the familiar caw of Crowley sounded out among the group, "but the representatives have arrived and are eager to meet dear (Y/n)."

Hades turned to look at the Crow, almost tempted to tell the bird he could try and convince you to leave. Despite his internal musings, it seemed almost cruel to you and him if he decided to throw the Crow at you and watch you respond angrily. He would rather you stay calm and have to break the news to you himself. Goodness only knows how you would respond to the Crow who so rarely minded your personal space.

"They will know she is heavy with young. You realize that, yes?"

"Well, I haven't exactly told them anything about her other than she is Human. I was just hoping that she wouldn't mention it. It isn't like they know what Humans are like, right?"

Hades frowned at this, glancing back to you as you once again ripped down a section of moth-eaten curtains. You certainly didn't seem to be in the mood for entertaining guests, but he doubted you would be particularly happy at the end of it all. Maybe he would have to bribe you with a full renovation of the dorm to get you to agree to meeting the representatives.

It was not going to be easy.

"Little One," the elder flinched when you turned to look at him, "the representatives have arrived and are asking for you."

Your eyes narrowed as your lip curled in disgust, displeased at the idea of being paraded around like a prized pet. Besides, you were already angry with the idea that these beasts could possibly try to remove you from where you were comfortable. This place may not be your home, but you would be damned before anyone had the right to force you to relocate.

"And if I don't go?"

"They will come here instead."

"And mess up my hard work by tracking in mud and who knows what else?? Absolutely not! Out of the question!"

Your displeased walk was more of a waddle as you marched over to the tall elder, scowling fiercely at nothing. For being the smallest one in the room- and the most delicate, given your condition- you stood the tallest even as the others cowered. It was the elder Shinigami that you had waddled up to, one hand on your back and the other on your stomach. Despite how tall he was, you barely had to crane your neck as he folded in on himself, lowering to crouch before you.

"I don't give a damn what they want or where they want to take me, my ass is planted here! I've already scrubbed, I'm actively making this trash heap a home, I'm not leaving. You," your finger jabbed at the elder's chest, "have only one job as far as I am concerned. That one and only job is to make sure they don't try to strong-arm or bully me into leaving. Got it?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good! Now, it is a long walk that I don't really feel like walking, so who is going to help me get there?"

~•§•~

There was an anxious hum among the representatives and those who had been appointed to confirm the presence of this Human. A fair number were truly dubious that this wasn't some kind of publicity stunt by the eccentric Crow. The others were wondering what the proper husbandry would be when it comes to caring for an extinct creature such as this new Human. Countless laws dictated the way Humans were supposed to be treated, so which laws do they follow?

As the visitors continued to murmur and hum in consort, the doors opening brought a wave of hushed silence. All eyes locked on the door while their awaited visitor was gently brought in.

From an outside perspective, what looked to be a smaller hairless Sasquatch was carried out atop the back of a lovely silver colored Cervitaur. Upon cursory glance, the creature was effeminate in shape and had rather swollen mammary glands to pair with their distended stomach. Their hair- which seemed mostly centered atop their head- was a lovely arrangement of (h/c) locks that had been clipped back out of their face.

To the trained eye of the royal scientists present, this was certainly no Sasquatch and they were actively gravid. A true, bona fide Human in Twisted Wonderland. After 500 years, Humanity- in the form of a single pregnant individual- had returned. The simple realization of your state sent the visitors into a flurry of questions, all of them buzzing in excitement.

"Headmage Dire Crowley, you did not inform us of their current state! This is unprecedented!"

"A Human actively carrying a litter of pups? What a treat!"

"To think, we could be studying such a rare creature."

"What do you think the amniotic fluid in them is compromised of? Could we get a sample?"

Among the chirping, whinnying, and barks of excitement, one individual with an elongated rat-face scowled. One Human was troublesome to begin with, but one who was pregnant? He could lose all credibility and his social standing the moment any of his theories were called into question. There was no doubt in Rattigan's mind, he needed to get rid of this Human and quickly.

"Pardon my interruption, but I feel it would be best to allow a closer examination of this new Human. After all, how can we even call them Human without confirmation? I propose-"

"Your request is denied."

"What?"

Rattigan stared at the elder Shinigami that persisted in myth. Shinigami were well known, but the elder Shinigami who sired all current Shinigami in Twisted Wonderland? He was an enigma and a very real threat to expose all Ratigan was trying to conceal. One defenseless Human was easy to dispose of, and those wretched creatures in their womb would die with them, keeping his legacy safe. But a Human defended by an elder Shinigami? Impossible to defeat.

"I was simply suggesting-"

"To have us trust none of you will harm her when she is completely alone with any one of you? You may know nothing about Humanity, but I do. Forcing a heavily pregnant Human to undergo intense medical exams and be completely defenseless around a group of unknown individuals is far too great a stressor and could result in a loss of this precious Human or even the young still growing within. Your request has been denied."

Rattigan desperately searched for some excuse to get you alone so he could remove you and your young from the equation. The longer you lived, the more likely his entire legacy and position were called into question. You needed to be killed or he would never rebuild his reputation. He didn't kill his own King just to have some useless brood-mother destroy his life's work. He needed to permanently remove you to save his own hide.

"All I will tolerate is questions- asked in clear view of this gathering- and respect for Little (Y/n) agreeing to this meeting despite how fragile their current condition is."

This caused a hum of voices to break out, all eager to have their nagging questions answered. During the excited chatter, a sudden and sickeningly loud thunk silenced the group. It was the unmistakable sound of a crossbow firing and that alone set the beasts on edge. Where had it come from? More importantly, where did it go?

Sunken deep into sensitive flesh, bleeding a dark red, was the offending crossbow bolt. You let out a wheezing hiss of pain as you held your arm, the bolt embedded deeply into the flesh there as you let out a pained cry from the sudden agony running through you. Silver had sensed the impending danger and moved just fast enough that the bolt missed your heart. The Cervitaur in question let out a distressed snort and even stared out at the group to try and discern who had the gall to injure you.

He didn't have to do anything.

The ancient elder saw where the bolt originated and felt nothing but unbridled rage burning in his veins. It was one thing to try and get a moment alone with you from pure scientific curiosity, but to attack you so brazenly? Had Silver not moved, the crossbow bolt would have killed you.

Hades wasn't the only one who was furious.

Overhead a rolling boom of thunder shook the very school. Neither Malleus, nor his Great-grandmother would tolerate a member of their Hoard being so brazenly attacked. Due to the overlapping of Malleus and Maleficent's hoards, anyone who harmed a Hoard member was as good as dead.

While the Dragons very quickly tore into the Rat man who openly attacked you, Hades was instantly by your side. As delicately as he could, he set to maneuvering you so he could assess your wound. He didn't want to risk exacerbating your wound by removing you from the back of the Cervitaur, so he simply assessed you where you were. He could deal with the fallout of this meeting later.

While the elder gently shushed you and used a numbing cream to soothe you, your mount stood enraptured with the scene before him. Silver stayed deathly still, his eyes drinking in the sight of the Dragons- one his Liege, the other his Liege's ancestor- tearing that Huoshu to pieces. He had long sworn to be your knight when he prostrated himself and begged you to grant him the honor of protecting you. That was two months back. Now he stood ready for anyone to try and harm you again, the worry that he wasn't fast enough to keep you safe weighing on his heart.

You were just busy holding you stomach with your one good arm, trying to keep your rapidly beating heart from getting any worse. The pain wasn't even at the front of your mind- though it was far more painful than one could even imagine- because all that your mind was focused on was trying to keep yourself calm. They weren't ready to be born yet, and you weren't ready to face the fact that they could be prematurely or even fail to survive if you went into labor this early. Not even your world had a great prognosis for infants born after only 20 weeks gestation.

"You need to take this potion, Little One, your pain is too great."

"No! No, what if it- what if it hurts them? What if it forces me to give birth early? I can't... I won't!"

"Okay," the elder did what he could to soothe you and calm you, "it's okay. You don't have to take it, but we need to move you. You are too exposed here and it is clearly far too dangerous for you."

You allowed Hades to gently steady you as he and Silver worked to get you out of that room. All thoughts of the representatives or the rat-man being ripped to pieces gone from your mind as you did your best to focus on staying calm. Thankfully that numbing cream did quite a bit to keep you calm, but your emotions were running dangerously high.

You could feel the way your rapid heartbeat practically echoed in your stomach, both infants moving restlessly in response to your distress. The more you focused on it, the more that sinking feeling in your heart stressed you. Despite all you were trying to do and focus on, you couldn't get yourself to calm down. Should you become more distressed, you worried it would push you into labor early.

You couldn't let that happen.

"Knock me out."

"Little One, what-?"

"I said knock me out! If I get more upset... If I can't calm down... I don't want them to be born too early! They won't survive! Please! Please just knock me out!"

The Shinigami felt his own stress heighten at the sound of your begging, worried what would happen if you continued to spiral. He had seen what happened to infants born too early, and had been the one to tell his precious Humans what happened to their young who failed to thrive. It would destroy him to lose these two precious souls and have to face you after you both tried so hard to help them thrive.

"If you wish."

The elder was well versed in Humans and how to safely render one unconscious. Lack of oxygen would harm your little ones, and too much stress on you could force you to give birth early anyway. It required a gentle touch and he had lived long enough to know exactly how to gently render a Human harmless to themselves and others. His large hands easily found that pressure point that would aid him, feeling you go limp in his arms as he carefully lifted you from the Cervitaur.

Silver was worried, but had to trust that the Shinigami knew what he was doing. Of course, Silver would immediately report back to his father and his Liege with everything he knew once you were confirmed to be safe. For now, he had to stay by your side so he could prove that he held you in just as high regard as he held Malleus.

"Young Silver, I have a task for you."

~•§•~

As the storm settled down with the Dragons, the various representatives huddled together on the far side of the room. It was not normal for any of the Dragons to even be present at one of these enclaves, let alone act against a representative of an outside country. However, they all had witnessed the blatant attack on you- an effectively extinct creature that was actively pregnant with young- and that was unforgivable. Even by the Queendom of Roses' law, the Huoshu would have been slaughtered publicly for his actions.

It was more than disturbing for those representatives to see the Huoshu ripped apart by the Dragons. Consuming other sapient species was rare and often frowned upon, especially in current day times, but the circumstances called for drastic behavior. Dragons were seen as primal creatures, along with most Fae, so it was more acceptable for a Dragon to consume someone as opposed to other species.

No one was going to fight the Dragons, at least.

As the pair returned to their smaller forms, Silver came trotting through the double doors to speak with his Liege. He had been given a task that was vital to the care of his precious Human, and was keen to complete it.

"Lord Malleus, Lord Hades has moved (Y/n) to her dorm to ensure the twins are unharmed by her distress. She is currently unconscious and he is treating her. He has requested your presence to ensure her rest is easy, as your Magic can let others sleep much easier than that of a Shinigami."

Maleficent stared at Silver for a moment, feeling as if she had seen him before somewhere long ago, but the thought quickly left her mind. One of her Hoard- her Great-Grandson's most treasured member and crown jewel- was wounded. That took priority above all else.

"Take us to them."

Silver didn't need to be told twice as the group departed from the congregation, leaving Crowley to try and bring order to the chaos. Truly, Crowley felt pleased that the offending beast had been effectively ripped to pieces by a pair of furious Dragons. Thankfully he was adept at bringing chaos into order.

He would have to check in on you as soon as those troublesome representatives were off of College grounds. Hopefully Lord Hades wouldn't take you away from him the way his last Human had been taken. He was trying so hard to be a good steward!