Chapter 27

The final chapter, plus epilogue. It is soon discovered that Rapunzel is not the only one pregnant, and Cassandra’s parentage is finally revealed, though not everyone is thrilled with who her father turned out to be.

Rapunzel woke early the next day surprisingly refreshed. Looking at the clock on the wall showed it was only seven in the morning but despite the early hour she was already fully awake. ‘Must be because we all fell asleep so early,’ she thought. ‘Our party did start mid-afternoon, and I think everyone was asleep by ten, so that’s like nine hours worth of sleep already!’

She sat up in bed and stretched, her muscles feeling wonderfully sore after the vigorous workout she gave them the day before. Her movement, while subdued, was still enough to wake Cassandra, who had snuggled up to her during the night. “Good morning, my love,” she whispered as Cassandra sat up with her. “How did you sleep?”

“Like the dead,” Cassandra said with a grin. “I don’t know how you were able to keep going for so long, but I was out cold the instant my head hit the pillow.”

The princess suddenly felt a churning in her stomach that was sadly becoming all too familiar. “Um, hold that thought, Cass. I gotta...” Heedless of waking Eugene, who was still sleeping next to them, Rapunzel practically leapt off the bed and grabbed the nearby chamber pot. She was able to hold back her morning sickness long enough to make it out onto the balcony so her retching would hopefully not disturb the others.

Cassandra joined her as she finished emptying the contents of her stomach, draping a blanket over her still-nude body and handing her a cloth to wipe her face. “You know, Raps, just because we’re in the tallest part of the castle, doesn’t mean that nobody can see us out here. If anyone was looking this way from one of the nearby towers or taller rooftops with a spyglass, they’d have had quite the sight.”

Rapunzel looked up and noticed that Cassandra was no longer naked but was wearing an incredibly soft-looking bathrobe. She cleaned her face and gratefully wrapped the blanket around her, both for modesty and warmth against the morning chill. “Thanks Cass. Though seeing me throwing up might take away from any thrill someone might have gotten from seeing me naked. At least they’d be far enough away not to notice the smell.”

Cassandra sniffed. “No kidding. And talking about smells, I desperately need a shower. I don’t even want to know how much cum I have in my hair. During that last round the boys seemed to make it a contest of who could cover me more.” She then licked her lips and added, “In fact, I can still taste them on...” Suddenly her eyes went wide and she grabbed the chamber pot from Rapunzel before throwing up herself. It was over almost as fast as it started, and she took back the cloth that she had given Rapunzel, wiping her mouth. “I’m sorry, Raps. I don’t know where that came from. But the smell, then the taste. I don’t know why but that combination just made my stomach revolt, you know?”

“Believe me, I know. Hey, maybe you’re pregnant too!” Rapunzel said with a tinkle in her eye.

Cassandra’s own eyes went wide. “Please don’t even kid about that, Raps!” she said, shaking her head in denial.

“Why not? Would it really be so bad if you were?”

Cassandra looked down to Rapunzel’s stomach, still not showing any noticeable sign that a new life was growing in there. She thought for a long moment and then sighed. “No, I suppose not. It’s just, I’ve not really thought about it at all. I don’t know if I’m ready to be a mother. It’s not like I had one growing up, and it turned out the one I did have but couldn’t remember didn’t exactly do a very good job of it.”

Rapunzel gave her friend a comforting smile. “Did you forget who you were talking to, Cass? Believe me, I know the feeling.”

Cassandra suddenly felt a little sheepish, complaining to Rapunzel of all people about how Gothel had treated her. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to downplay what you went through.”

“I know,” Rapunzel said, hugging her. “But don’t worry. If you parent like how you handled me when I first came here, then I know you’ll be a great mom someday. If not to your own little one, then at the very least to mine. Besides, we’ll have each other, and my mom, and a staff full of women who will no doubt be glad to help out whenever we need it.”

“If you say so, Raps.”

“And wouldn’t it be great if we could be pregnant together?”

Cassandra did actually like the sound of that. She was very much in love with the other woman, but the very fact that they were both women meant they could never actually have children together. Being pregnant at the same time, however, and from the same man, was probably the closest they would ever get. Then she thought of something. “I’m not so sure Eugene would be as thrilled with the idea as you,” she said.

“Why not?”

“Because if we’re both pregnant, it’ll mean he’ll have to deal with two moody women when we’re both bloated and grumpy and have weird cravings. Not to mention that neither of us would be available for sex.”

Rapunzel smiled. “Oh no! Whatever will he do?” she asked sarcastically.

When the two of them returned to the room, they found that everyone else was now up and moving, some more gingerly than others. “Good morning, everyone!” the princess said in greeting. “How are you all feeling? Judging by the smiles I see, can I assume no one regrets participating in our little orgy?”

Kiera raised her hand. “I regret not stretching more before we started,” she said. “I feel so sore down there that I don’t think I’ll want to have sex for a week, maybe two!”

Everyone else chuckled then Catalina spoke up. “Well that’s what you get when you basically skewer yourself on a guy as big as Lance without any prep.”

“What about you?” Kiera asked in reply, noting her sister’s lack of discomfort. “You rode him too.”

“Yeah, after we spent like fifteen minutes getting me used to his size. And even with all that, I’m still sore too. Just not as much as you.”

“Plus werewolf healing,” Kiera said, with just a hint of bitterness.

“Plus werewolf healing,” Catalina admitted.

“So other than some sore muscles, how is everyone doing?” Eugene asked. “No trauma from seeing a significant other with someone else? No relationships affected negatively? I know most of us had already been dabbling in what I guess you could call polygamy, but Lance and Adira, this is all pretty new to you, right? How are you feeling about all this?”

The couple in question was sitting in a love chair, one arm wrapped around the other’s waist. “Well, I can honestly say that my balls have never been drained to such an extent,” Lance said. “And it will probably be a little weird back at home, now that I have, um, carnal knowledge of my own daughters.”

“Adopted daughters,” Kiera pointed out. “And we promise not to make it too weird. Daddy.” The suggestive way she said that final word made Lance blush hard enough that it was noticeable even with his dark skin.

“But do we have any regrets? No, we don’t,” Adira said.

“Varian? Faith?” Rapunzel asked, looking for their input as well.

Varian blushed when the attention in the room was suddenly directed at him. “About last night? No, none. If I had one regret it would only be if this never happened again.” Faith nodded her head and there were many more nods and murmurs of agreement around the room.

“Then I guess the only question left is when and how often we should do this,” Rapunzel said. “As fun as it sounds, I think daily or even weekly would be a bit much.”

“Just a bit,” Cassandra said, sarcastically.

“But monthly? Bi-montly? Semi-annual? Annual?”

“I don’t think we really have to hammer down specifics for something like this, Blondie,” Eugene said. “Putting too much thought into it kind of spoils the adventure. Why not just let others know when you’re hungry for a repeat, and any who are willing and able can join in?”

“Why don’t we have another trip to Tirapai, but this time anything goes?” Catalina suggested.

Everyone liked those suggestions and decided to simply play it by ear. Cassandra reminded them of the rather unkempt state of both themselves and the room, so they all headed down to the bathing room to rid themselves of the various body fluids covering their skin. Nobody even hinted that they should bathe separately, and during the process of getting clean the men couldn’t help but get aroused at the sight of the women as the water cascaded down their bodies. The girls noticed and smiled appreciatively. They were all too sore to actually have sex, but that didn’t stop Rapunzel, Catalina, and Aidra from bringing their respective man to climax with their mouths while the others watched.

Once they returned to the room, freshly bathed though still dressed in only their bathrobes, they began to clean up the room and restore it to its original state. Before they could get very far, however, Willow burst through the doors, not bothering to even knock.

“Time to rise and shine, everyone!” she called as she entered. “I know you all had a party yesterday but that’s no excuse to lie in bed all morning!” Then she noticed that everyone was already awake. “Oh! You’re up. I figured you’d all still be...” She slowly stopped speaking as she noticed the various pillows, mattresses, and bedsheets, as well as how everyone was in bathrobes. Then the smell hit her. “Oh. My. God! You had THAT kind of party!” Everybody’s face went red at Willow’s declaration, and the fact that not a single one of them denied it only cemented her belief that she was correct.

“Aunt Willow-” Rapunzel began, only to be cut off.

“Why wasn’t I invited?!” Willow almost shouted. “How could you guys have an orgy and not include me? You know I would have happily had sex with anyone in this room!” Both Lance and Varian perked up noticeably at that statement, earning each of them a playful slap from a nearby girl.

A look and a nod from Rapunzel to Faith had the handmaiden shut the door to prevent this conversation from being overheard by anyone in the hallway. “Aunt Willow,” Rapunzel tried again, “please don’t be upset. It’s not that we didn’t think you’d want to be included.”

“Then why not?”

“Remember what you told me? You said that you wanted to, and I quote, ‘focus on your mom and dad’, for the time being at least.”

“Shoot! You’re right, I did say that.” Being reminded of what she had said, Willow went from upset to disappointed, more at herself than at the situation. “I’m sorry, Rapunzel. I shouldn’t be mad at you when you were just looking out for me.”

“Hold on,” Lance said, joining the conversation. “When you say ‘focus on your mom and dad’...?” He let the question hang in the air.

Rapunzel, realising that she accidentally let the cat out of the bag, looked to her aunt, who nodded her permission. “There’s actually one more, uh, throuple in the castle. Well, one more that I know of, at least.”

“You and the king and queen?” Lance asked Willow.

“Yes. We’re all sleeping together,” she admitted.

“But aren’t you and the queen ... sisters?”

Three voices answered in unison. “So?” Willow, Catalina, and Kiera all said at the same time.

Eugene gave a little chuckle and gently patted his friends back. “After everything we did yesterday you aren’t going to honestly say you have something against sisters sleeping together, are you?”

Lance gave a brief look towards his two adopted daughters, remembering the wonderful feeling of being inside each of them. He shook his head defensively. “No, no. It’s just ... unexpected. That’s all.”

“That’s okay,” Willow said, smiling. “We know how unconventional our relationship is, which is why we’ve been rather secretive of it. And we’d like to keep it like that, please.” Everyone in the room nodded their agreement. “But speaking of what you all did yesterday, what exactly did you get up to?” she eagerly asked, her eyes sparkling with interest. “Give me all the naughty details!”

As they tidied up the room Rapunzel shared with Willow pretty much everything that took place during the previous day’s events. The other girls would chime in on occasion to add their side of things, and Willow grew increasingly aroused as the story progressed. When Rapunzel got to the part where she had all three boys at once, her aunt audibly moaned.

“Oh fuck!” the older woman swore, barely managing to not play with herself as she listened. “Any chance I can get some of that right now?” she asked, only somewhat in jest, as she looked hungrily at the men. All three of them blushed.

“I’m afraid not, Willow,” Eugene answered. “We’re still rather spent from yesterday and you’d only be disappointed if we tried now.”

She nodded and looked back at her niece. “Then next time, you are inviting me and I’m getting the same! Promise me!”

Rapunzel grinned at Willow’s enthusiasm. “Okay, Aunt Willow. We promise that the next time we have an orgy, you’ll be there.”

“And if I can convince your parents to come?” Willow asked.

This time it was Rapunzel who blushed. “Well ... I mean ... my mother was pretty strict on the whole ‘no touching’ thing on the island. I don’t think they’d want to...”

“But IF they wanted to?” Willow asked again. “There’s no rule saying you have to have sex with other people if you come, right? Just that you’re willing to let others see you having sex.”

Rapunzel imagined for a moment her and her mother having a somewhat normal conversation while each of them was naked and riding their respective husband. The thought of watching her parents have sex and, surprisingly more so, her parents watching her have sex was extremely naughty, and actually arousing. “I think they’d first have to be okay with the fact that I have sex with more than just Eugene and Cassandra. But I ... I guess if they really wanted to be there, then I ... wouldn’t say no.”

Life kind of went back to normal around the castle, for a few days anyway. Nobody outside of those involved, save for Willow, seemed to have any idea of the hedonism that had taken place in Rapunzel’s room. Or if they did, they kept it to themselves. Those who were involved, however, couldn’t help but give a knowing smile to or even covertly flirt with one another every so often, regardless of others being around or not. They were subtle enough that nobody but them noticed, but their actions made it clear that even after they had some time to reflect, that each of them was more than willing to participate if and when the opportunity came again.

As Captain of the Guard, Eugene had to have frequent meetings with the king which, while a bit awkward the first couple of times after they had learned Rapunzel was pregnant, was becoming something of a routine. Their most recent meeting was being held outdoors, while King Frederic enjoyed touring the gardens around the castle. Eugene himself was still getting used to the fact that he was going to be a dad when Rapunzel and Cassandra approached the two of them wearing new outfits.

Unlike her normal flowing dresses, Rapunzel’s outfit consisted of a short sleeved shirt and pants, both made of a very soft looking fabric. There were words embroidered in the centre of the shirt but Eugene couldn’t make out what it said from this distance. Cassandra, meanwhile, was wearing a robe of all things and was clearly reluctant to be seen, as she blushed and looked away when she saw Eugene looking in her direction.

“Well, Daddy, what do you think?” Rapunzel aske once the two of them were standing in front of the men.

“Um, what’s this?” Frederic asked.

Rapunzel beamed. “Maternity clothes! You know I won’t be able to fit into my normal dresses once my belly gets big.”

“And what does that say on your shirt?” Eugene asked.

“Mom has this saying, ‘Plus est en vous,’ which means ‘There is more in you.’ Seeing as how I literally have another person growing inside me, I felt that this was a rather apt saying to use,” Rapunzel explained.

“But that’s not what the shirt says.” Eugene pointed out. “It says, ‘Plus est en nous.’ ‘There is more in us’.” He put heavy emphasis on the last word, highlighting the difference.

Rapunzel’s smile grew even larger, if that were possible. She turned to her lady-in-waiting and shook her head in amusement. “Come on Cass. Ditch the robe already and show them what you’re wearing.”

Cassandra’s blush deepened, but she did as her princess commanded. She unfastened the robe and opened it wide so the two men could see what she was wearing underneath; a similar, but not quite identical, shirt and pants, with the same words embroidered across the chest.

Eugene looked at Cassandra, who avoided his gaze, then over to Rapunzel, who was giddy with joy, then back to Cassandra as he began to make the connection. “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” he asked in disbelief.

Cassandra closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then looked at Eugene. “Congratulations, Eugene. You’re ... going to be a dad. Again.”

Eugene was shocked. Even though he came inside of Cassandra at a frequency that would make any other man jealous, and that he had just recently impregnated Rapunzel, the thought of Cassandra getting knocked up had rarely entered his mind, if ever. As the initial shock wore off he couldn’t help it as a grin began to spread on his face. Cassandra’s own face seemed to shift from embarrassed to joyful as she saw that his reaction was a positive one. Just before Eugene could run over and kiss his other lover, they were reminded they weren’t alone.

“Son,” came Frederic’s stern voice. Lately, when he’d used the term to address Eugene, it was one of endearment. It didn’t feel like it this time, and Eugene froze before slowly turning to face the king.

“Yes, Dad?” he asked, meekly.

“I know that you three are in a somewhat ... unconventional relationship. But would you care to explain how both my daughter and her friend ended up pregnant at the same time?”

It was an obviously rhetorical question, but Eugene could feel himself getting hot under the collar as his father-in-law glared down at him. “Well, you see, Sir, when a man loves two women and they love him...” Eugene began to trail off as he noticed the queen and her sister now approaching. And had to do a double-take when he saw what they were wearing. “Um, you know what? I think it’d be better if your wife answered that one,” he said, nodding towards the approaching women.

The king turned to see the two women approaching and his jaw nearly hit the floor. Both were wearing the same clothing as Rapunzel and Cassandra! They came alongside the younger women and presented themselves, smiling at the two stunned men.

“A-Arianna?” Frederic managed to say.

“Yes, my love?”

“Are ... are you ... and Willow...?”

“You still got it, you old goat!” his sister-in-law said, nearly laughing at his reaction.

The king looked back and forth between his two lovers, completely at a loss for words. Naturally, the worry that Eugene had from before was completely gone now, replaced by a feeling of utter amusement. Unable to resist, he said, “Well, it would seem there’s no need for an explanation. Congratulations to you too, Your Majesty!” The king was still too stunned by the revelation to take note of the fact that he was being teased.

It didn’t take long for word to get out that not only was the princess expecting, but so were her mother, aunt, and lady-in-waiting, and of course the rumours spread like wildfire. Some suggested that Eugene had cucked the king and impregnated his wife and sister-in-law behind his back. Others implied that the king himself had a secret harem of all the women in the castle, minus the married ones, of course. However, most people rightfully guessed which of the men had gotten each woman pregnant, with the most popular theory being that Frederic and Eugene had, with their wives’ approval, taken Willow and Cassandra as concubines. While most of Corona’s citizens didn’t openly approve of the royalty having multiple lovers, none disapproved either, and many, both men and women, secretly admitted their envy.

Considering the timing of things, Willow felt the need to clarify to Rapunzel and Eugene that she had had her period after their time together, so the child was definitely Fredreic’s. “Though I wouldn’t have minded if it turned out to be you,” she said to Eugene playfully.

The news of the royal pregnancies was still all anyone was talking about when Edmund, king of the Dark Kingdom and Eugene’s father, finally arrived. Nobody actually noticed his arrival until he was walking up to the main doors of the castle, and he was promptly escorted into the main dining hall where the royal family was just finishing their lunch.

“Dad! You’re here!” Eugene said in surprise as the man entered. He got up and gave his father a hug, then asked, “What took you so long? We were expecting you to get here like a month ago. You didn’t run into trouble along the way, did you?”

“Well Son, I, uh, decided to take the scenic route,” Edmund said, then to himself but still loud enough for Eugene to hear he added, “I can’t tell them that I spent an entire week heading in the exact opposite direction. They’ll think I’m a fool who can’t tell up from left or right from down.”

Eugene was already used to his eccentric father unintentionally speaking his thoughts out loud and politely ignored them. “Regardless, we’re glad you’ve finally arrived, safe and sound,” he said.

Rapunzel came over and joined them, hugging her father-in-law in greeting. “Welcome, King Edmund. Would you like to sit down and have a bite to eat? I’m sure you could use a nice hot meal after such a long journey.”

Edmund returned the hug and said, “Why yes, thank you, Princess. Having a change from berries, mushrooms, and the occasional rodent would be greatly appreciated. I’m afraid I didn’t pack enough and had to forage for food for the last week or two.”

After Edmund’s needs were seen to, Eugene and Rapunzel brought him to a nearby sitting room where they could relax and hopefully have their much awaited conversation. Cassandra was with them, of course, both as Rapunzel’s lady-in-waiting and as the subject of their inquiry. Edmund sat in a nice comfy chair, while Eugene and Rapunzel sat on the couch facing him, with Cassandra standing at the ready.

“Before we get to why we asked you to come,” Eugene began. “We have some news for you.”

“You’re going to be a grandfather,” Rapunzel said. “Twice over.”

Edmund looked at his son and daughter-in-law in surprise. “A grandfather? You’re expecting?”

Rapunzel nodded.

Edmund smiled for joy. “Congratulations you two!” he said and gave each of them a huge hug before returning to his seat. “But what do you mean, twice over? Is it twins?”

“Um, not exactly,” Rapunzel said, a little more shyly. “I guess you haven’t heard the rumours floating around the kingdom?”

Edmund shook his head. He tended to ignore others when he was focused on something, so he hadn’t paid any attention to people’s conversations as he made his way to the castle.

Eugene caught Cassandra’s eye and tapped the empty space on the couch beside him. Cassandra took the hint and sat down, snuggling up to him the same way Rapunzel was on his other side. “No, not twins,” he said, wrapping his arms around both women.

It took nearly a minute for Edmund to understand what they were saying, then his eyes went wide. “Oh! So you’re both...” he said, looking at the two women. “And Eugene is...”

“Yes,” Rapunzel confirmed. “Cassandra and I are both pregnant and Eugene is the father. And before you ask, yes, we are more than okay with it. We all love each other very much.”

“I see,” Edmund said, a smile appearing briefly on his face before it returned to his normal stoic face. To himself he said, “Like father, like son.”

“What was that?” Cassandra asked.

“Oh, I, uh, said that out loud, did I?”

The others nodded.

“What I mean is, I too, once had relations with both a woman with brown hair and a woman with black hair. Though I wasn’t so lucky as to be with both at the same time, mind you.”

Eugene cocked an eyebrow, curious. “Oh? And who might these women have been?”

Edmund stood and began to pace. Bringing up the past was difficult and moving helped steady his emotions. “The brunette was your mother, obviously. God I miss her. But after she died, there was one other, briefly.” He stopped, then gave Cassandra a serious look. “You know, you kind of remind me of her. Black curly hair, grey highlights, green eyes, sharp nose.”

For a moment, it was as if all the air was sucked out of the room. A feeling of utter dread suddenly hit Cassandra. “Who!?” she shouted, jumping up off the couch. “Who was she!? What was her name!? When were you together?”

Edmund was stunned by the sudden outburst. “I ... I ... She told me her name was Lilith.”

“And are you sure that was her real name?” Cassandra demanded.

“Um, no,” he admitted. “And I have reason to believe she was lying to me.”

Rapunzel got off the couch and placed a comforting hand on Cassandra’s shoulder. Cassandra looked at her, eyes wide in panic. “No ... it’s not possible...” she said as she shook her head.

“We have to know,” Rapunzel said gently. She turned to Edmund. “It would seem that our reason for asking you here might actually be tangled up with this tale,” she said, bringing out a painting of Gothel she had made earlier. “Is this the woman?”

Edmund took the painting and looked at it. “Why yes! This is her, to a tee. How were you able to make a portrait of her before I told you what she looked like?”

Cassandra was starting to hyperventilate. “No ... no ... it can’t be true...” she said as she looked at Rapunzel and then down at Eugene.

“Dad?” Eugene said quietly, his eyes locked onto Cassandra’s. “This is really important. When were you with this woman?”

Edmund looked at the others, confused as to why Cassandra was having such a strong reaction. “Well, as you know, after your mother had died and I ordered the evacuation of our lands, I stayed behind to guard the Moonstone Opal in order to make sure it wouldn’t cause further harm. I was grieving. And lonely. And then I came across this beautiful creature bathing in a nearby pond. I didn’t mean to watch but I was instantly captivated, and when she saw me watching she didn’t cover up but instead put herself on display. To make a long story short, we were in bed together before the day was done.

“It was the first time I was with a woman after I lost both your mother and my arm, but I must have done something right, as she stuck around for more. We, um, made love a lot over the course of a week, but then she betrayed my trust.”

“How?” Eugene asked.

“After she made it clear she wanted to stay, I made her swear to never enter the room with the opal, stressing at how dangerous it was, and that any who tried to so much as touch it ended up dead, or...” He spared a glance toward the stump that was his ruined arm. “But a few days later I found her there. She was naked for some reason, draping her body over the cage that surrounded the stone. She didn’t seem to make any attempt to touch it, but was just ... basking in its glow. How anyone could actually enjoy being so close to something so destructive, I have no idea. But she had broken her word and so I knew I couldn’t trust her. I told her to leave and never come back, under pain of death. She simply smiled at me, picked up her clothes, and left. It was then that I decided that nobody would ever have the chance to get that close to the stone ever again.”

“But when, Dad? When did this happen?” Eugene asked. “It happened after my mom died, yes, but are we talking weeks? Months? Years?”

Edmund let out a sigh. “Please don’t think ill of me, Son. I loved your mother more than life itself. But ... it was weeks, maybe a month after I sent you away.”

“No,” Cassandra said, a little louder than the muttering she had been doing.

Rapunzel took Cassandra’s hand in hers and gave it a comforting squeeze. “The timing fits,” she said, though it pained her to say it, seeing the distress on Cassandra’s face.

Edmund still had no idea why Cassandra was behaving like this. “I’m sorry, but this all happened a long time ago. Why are you so upset?”

“YOU’RE NOT MY FATHER!!!” Cassandra screamed then stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her and leaving behind two very concerned lovers and one very confused man.

Rapunzel and Eugene briefly shared a pained look, then Eugene stood. “I’ve got this,” he said.

“Are you sure?” Rapunzel asked. “It might be better if I...”

Eugene shook his head. “No. Considering what we just learned, I think that whatever needs to be said would be better coming from me.” He then turned to his father. “Dad? Rapunzel can get you caught up to speed, but as you can see, we’ve got a bit of a crisis to deal with.”