Eternal Dominion Book 23: Strife, page 9
“Why? He has already shown us as much with his actions.”
“Have you two been taking lessons from Luna and Selene on how to make me do and say what you want?”
“No, but it is easy to learn from just watching them,” replied Daisy with a smile.
“Fair, and yes, I won’t deny that love is very much what I would say that I am feeling for you two, but I need to ask you both something before I will know for sure that my feelings are pure.”
“I will take your love, pure or not,” replied Violet. “Just as long as it is true.”
“Let me just ask it.”
“No, we won’t let you avoid accepting our gift,” replied Daisy. “That is what you’re hung up on?”
“Xeal, we love you and we want to be your wives and that means supporting you in every way that we can,” added Violet with a stern expression that Xeal had never seen her don before. “You either love and accept what we give you freely, or not at all!”
“Am I that obvious?”
“Yes, but Eira still told us what your hang-up has been of late,” replied Daisy. “Really, all of your wives have started treating us as if we are already one of them the last few weeks.”
“It has been wonderful and it removed the last doubts that we had remaining about if we could truly become a part of them,” added Violet. “We even know about the whole Levina situation and well, let’s just say that we sympathize with her and Bula, but we are focused on securing our own victory right now.”
“Oh, is that what me asking you both to be my wives and telling you that I love both of you is?”
“After what you made us go through, yes!” replied Daisy. “We have been pursuing you for six years at this point.”
“Fine, Daisy, Violet, I love you both and I would like you to become my wives someday soon. Will you accept me as I am and forgive me for taking so long to ask?”
Daisy and Violet looked at each other for a long moment as Xeal could tell that they were talking with their eyes before responding. However, after expecting them to instantly respond, this had him feeling slightly uneasy as both turned their gaze back to him and smiled. The next thing Xeal knew he could feel a surge of power as they spoke together as their voices echoed unnaturally.
“We accept this man as our mate and upon consummating this pact none may challenge his claim to our heart, body and mind.”
As they finished speaking and Xeal felt the surge of power disperse, both of them smiled as Violet spoke.
“As far as anyone in our tribe is concerned, you just married us and once you consummate it our essences will be connected.”
“Don’t you think that you two skipped over a few things?”
“Not in the slightest,” replied Daisy. “If anything, you should just thank us that we are willing to wait until after you let your other wives know before consummating things.”
“We don’t want anything more than what Eira had and perhaps a trip to see our mothers and father after we have consummated things,” added Violet.
“Sorry, but your dad will learn before I consummate anything as the last thing I need is for him to-”
“Xeal, he is expecting it,” interrupted Daisy. “If anything, he would just call you a coward for seeking him out before joining with us at this point.”
“Once again, we are already married in our tribe’s eyes,” added Violet.
“Don’t I get a say in any of this?”
“You did, when you asked us to marry you,” quipped Daisy. “Unless you didn’t mean that?”
“That’s not fair-”
“Neither was you making us participate in those marriage interviews,” cut in Violet. “Now, let’s hurry back to Nium so we can let everyone know.”
Xeal just sighed as he pulled both of them close to him as he put his arms around them in a hug as his head slipped in between them. After holding them like that for a second, he turned to Violet and gave her a kiss on the lips, followed by doing the same to Daisy. As he let them go, Xeal spoke before they could stop him.
“I do. There, now I have accepted this, though I would have rather had some time to come up with some vows to both of you.”
Daisy and Violet just giggled as they each grasped one of his arms and they made their way back to Nium after thanking Empress Sakurai Jingū, who asked that Maki come for a visit next time as she bid them farewell. What followed could best be described as a whirlwind as Xeal found himself being congratulated by his wives, who all got a good laugh out of the situation. Thankfully it was clear that Daisy and Violet had cleared their plan with them ahead of time, though apparently it had been just one of the possibilities. Had he said that he was going to ask their father before asking them to marry him, he would have avoided the whole situation and a normal wedding would have likely followed. Xeal had some complicated feelings about that one. Especially as he lay next to Daisy and Violet, who had already allowed sleep to take them after deepening the bond they now shared far more than he had expected when he had woken up that morning. In the end, Xeal just let his consciousness fade as he enjoyed the feeling of their tails on his bare skin and resolved himself to face Chief Taro’s anger at marrying his daughters when he next logged on.
(*****)
Morning December 6 to Evening December 24, 2268 & ED Year 8 Days 64-119.
As Alex sat down in the conference room after enjoying a quick breakfast, he just sighed as he thought of what he was about to do. He and his wives would be appearing on the Sunday morning version of the morning news, and they had gone ahead and made it a special edition that would last a full 30 minutes of the hour-long show. The rest of the show would be them covering a few headlines and setting the audience up for the interview and after they would follow the interview with a bit of commentary of their own. As Alex thought over what he wanted to say, Sam, Nicole, Ava, Mia and Kate all came in with the six little ones, as Alex got handed Nadia who quickly started to play with his face. Rather than try and stop her, he just cuddled up to her and smiled at her as she returned the gesture, as she enjoyed a few moments with daddy before it was time to start.
After another ten minutes of this, they all got the five-minute warning as they could see a live stream of the show with text displayed rather than speech. It was also then that Sam’s, Kate’s and Alex’s moms arrived and took up a position just off camera in case the kids decided to misbehave during the interview. Alex had thought even having them on screen was a bad idea, but once more he had been overruled due to the optics of it once again. So it was that as they went live following the introduction by the hosts, Alex had just finished getting Nadia to look at the right spot.
“Welcome on, Alex and the rest of the Bell family,” opened the male host, Brennen. “I must say that you all are looking great this morning, especially for it being so early where you are at.”
“Yes, well thankfully this is a normal time for all of us to be awake,” responded Alex a bit woodenly.
“Yes well, thank you for joining us,” responded the female host, Shannon. “So tell us, what has changed in the lives of the Bells since you were last seen in the capital testifying to Congress.”
“Well, Kate here is around 16 weeks pregnant, so soon we will be officially outnumbered by our kids…”
Things continued like this for the first ten minutes as the hosts alternated asking questions and took time to get a few comments out of all those present. Then Shannon shifted topics towards the toy drive as she addressed Alex once more.
“Now, Alex, we need to talk about this toy drive that Free Art Expo is sponsoring and your spokeswoman, a Ms. Alcinne, has been very vocal on other programs this past week. So, just what made you decide that this was a cause you want to get behind?”
“Well, Shannon, I could give you the tried-and-true answers that I am sure those at home are expecting, but instead I will just say that it simply made sense to do so.”
“I am sorry, but could you please elaborate a bit more?”
“Certainly. As you know, until recently I was just a broke 18-year-old who had scraped enough credits together so he could play Eternal Dominion at launch. Since then, life has been a bit of a whirlwind and to say that I have had time to do much more than constantly building my company would be a lie. One which my wives could attest to as they constantly find themselves helping me do so and well, I may have neglected to remember that most people don’t see all of that. Then with the plural marriage legislation and hearing, we became the center of a rather sensitive topic. Add that all together and well, the image that many have of me isn’t that positive. So, what better way to address that than creating an opportunity like this one to speak to many of the people out there.”
“So, you’re saying that it is purely for good PR?” asked Brennen.
“No, were I only after good PR, there are a number of other options that wouldn’t have involved dressing up as a Christmas elf and getting a network of distribution channels established in such a short time. Rather, I would say that was one of the driving forces as to why we looked into the options before us at this time. The reason that we went with the toy drive was because we saw an opportunity to reach a few groups that are normally overlooked for such things. Kids like I was myself, or like Ava and Mia, who have a stable home, or just don’t quite fit the normal definition of needy kids. It is why we are partnering with schools and every kid can sign up to receive a single gift. Though we still need to reach our goals before that can be assured, but if all goes well, we will be delivering a present to over 2,000,000 kids worldwide. To accomplish this, we are working directly with manufacturers, which is why we are asking for credits rather than physical toys from those who wish to participate, but don’t wish to purchase any in-game gear.”
“Okay and what do you say to those who are calling this a scam and that you’re just buying up all the leftover toys that kids don’t really want at a discount?” asked Shannon.
“I will take this one,” cut in Kate. “While I am sure Alex knows the answer, I am much more involved in the logistics of the toy drive and we aren’t buying any toy that would have been on shelves by Christmas. Rather, we are paying to have the factories work an extra day to produce the toys that will be delivered by us. FAE is a worldwide company with members everywhere, and it will be their job to receive the toys, after they have all been wrapped and labeled with an address to deliver them. It is also why we can only service areas where we have enough members to do all the work needed. While I am on that topic, that is actually another reason why we went with a toy drive, as often times those in the VR communities can feel isolated here in reality. As such, handing out toys is a perfect way for them to interact with others in a positive manner and hopefully bring as much joy to them as to the kids who will be getting their free toy.”
As Kate finished speaking, Brennen was quick to ask the next question as if he was afraid that Kate would take up the rest of the time if allowed to continue speaking.
“If I may ask, why is it that you are seeking donations from others on top of donating a portion of all sales, when you could easily just fund all of this through your personal finances, or Free Art Expo’s finances?”
“Brennen, we aren’t buying a one-credit toy and handing them out to 2,000,000 kids,” replied Kate almost immediately. “We are financing the logistics of the endeavor, which is in the tens of millions of credits and relying on others to give us something to transport. Were we to simply wish to write a check and be done with it, we would have sponsored an existing charity that already has everything in place to carry out their mission. Instead, we are being bold and hoping that it will prove successful and possibly become something that we can repeat, as hopefully it can be made more efficient and self-sustaining.”
“Alex, you stated that you were partnering with schools and allowing any kid who signed up to receive a toy delivered to their home by Christmas Day. Why did you go with universality over a more targeted approach? Was it simply because you wanted kids like a younger you to be included?”
“No, it was about universality. Shannon, if you were to find out that all of your staff who were under a certain income were able to show up an hour early for a free meal, what would you say?”
“That it is a kind gesture and I hope they are enjoying it.”
“If you were under that income threshold, would you show up?”
“I would think so.”
“I would argue that you would be in the minority, as no one likes to broadcast that they are struggling financially. While most children don’t even know about such complicated matters, they do understand poor and rich and if only poor kids received a toy, a portion of those would find themselves the target of bullies.”
“Is that something you saw yourself when growing up?” asked Brennen.
“Alex hasn’t,” cut in Ava.
“But we sure did,” added Mia.
“Being poor sucks.”
“Pretending to not be is so much better.”
“But that is hard to do.”
“And when you’re found out, it just makes it worse.”
As Mia delivered that line, Nova started to cry and like a chain reaction Aidan, Evan and Nadia all joined in. With this the three grandmas hurried over as they quickly grabbed all four crying babies and a minute later Alex spoke.
“Sorry about that, though that is why we had our moms standing by. Back to the question. As Ava and Mia said, I don’t have a story to share on that particular one, but I do remember feeling left out when other kids talked about getting the newest big-ticket item. Be that a car in high school, or all the trading cards that they could ever want. I would not say that I wanted for anything in particular when I was growing up, but as I said earlier, I had to pull together everything I could to afford my first VR helmet. What most would call a toy and that turned out to be the best investment that I could have ever made.”
“Alright…”
As Shannon asked the next question, the interview shifted back to lighter topics as the exhibition matches that Alex and other FAE leaders were selling raffles for got mentioned briefly, but that was it. No, as the interview ended, Alex just sat back as he was happy it was over, as he just hoped that he hadn’t said anything too off base as there was no fixing it now. While Alex had thought it would have been best to do the live interview last, Kate had insisted that it was best just to get it out of the way. That way the other interviewers who had to abide by the content agreements couldn’t tip off the live crew to ask certain questions. Though with that said, Alex got very little of a break the rest of that day as he sat for three more interviews.
Each of these were focused on different things, while touching several of the same things as well. This really made Alex feel like he was back at the congressional hearings as he answered one question after another. The first one was heavily focused on the family life of Alex, and how he made time for his wives and kids with all the other things calling for his attention. The second one was about what it took to become the top player in ED and it seemed that if given the opportunity to, the interviewer would happily write Alex’s life story. Finally, the last one was all about the toy drive and Kate was present for that one as she supplied many of the answers that were asked. In total Alex had spent over nine hours in the interviews and by the time it had ended he was just glad to have it behind him.
With that out of the way, Alex was able to almost focus exclusively on the lead-up to Christmas in reality, as he got time in with his wives and children while looking at presents for each other. Though the most significant event was when they had learned that Kate was expecting a baby boy on the 11th. The smile on her face as she told Alex that she was going to name their son after him had been a bit much. Alex also didn’t know what he thought about having a kid with his name, though when Kate teased that had it been a girl, she would have just named her Alexandra, had felt even weirder.
Alex had also been happy that the majority response to all the interviews had been positive as while there were still those who found ways to twist his words, most people were ignoring them. That was another great part of doing things during the holiday season, as most people were too busy to dive deeply into any story. As such, all it took was to make sure to spin something in your favor and spread it far and wide before others could, to win in the court of public opinion. So it was that Alex was happy to see that they had exceeded their fundraising goals by 10% as he went to sleep on Christmas Eve, knowing that all toys were delivered, or set to be in the morning. Meanwhile, he had another task that demanded his attention in ED and like the toy drive, he would be happy once it was behind him.
When Xeal finally made it back online on day 64, he woke up to find himself alone. Sighing, he went about getting ready as he stretched and made his way to the dining room of his capital mansion, where he found Daisy and Violet waiting for him as they sipped at some tea. On noticing him, both perked up as they smiled and greeted him cheerily.
“Good morning, husband,” stated Daisy.
“We missed you yesterday, but we understand that scheduling just worked out that way,” added Violet, adding a bit of a pout to the end of her statement.
“The feeling is mutual. I know that I would have certainly much rather have been here than dealing with all of that. After all, right now should be our honeymoon.”
“Right. Well, before we can enjoy that, we better let Dad know,” grumbled Daisy. “Unless you are willing to have us being with child how he finds out.”
“Not happening,” replied Xeal. “So, tell me, just what am I walking into today?”
“Our moms will likely laugh, as our father pretends to be mad for a while before congratulating us,” answered Violet.
“Great, oh and we are walking into the actual village for this one.”
“Xeal, it might be better if we do that after meeting with our father,” commented Daisy.
“No, I am going to send a messenger ahead and tell Chief Taro to expect us and to have Chiharu join us as well.”
