Quills: the Rise of the Northern Matriarch-Chapter 58: Fear

"Mother?" Liem asked, to see if she was alright. Allurai stood like she was frozen.

"Another false contraction?" Nora called out sympathetically to her Mother-in-law. Nora's eyes widened as she saw the front of Allurai's dress start to dampen. Allurai grunted in pain.

"No. I think she has got sick of me calling her names," Allurai responded. Liem hopped up off the couch to support her until her spouses were able to reach her. Allurai's face winced with pain and Nora looked at her scared face.

"I was wondering if it was going to happen today?" Dorien cheered her on. Allurai groaned in pain from a contraction. The pain filled Nora with anxiety.

"Is it time?" Nora said in disbelief. She was not very far ahead of her. She then remembered that female pregnancies were prone to coming earlier on this version of Earth because of Morrits Syndrome. Nora paled, she looked at her spouses for reassurance.

"Let's get her upstairs." Reye said, ushering his spousal group towards the bank of elevators.

"Congratulations Mother!" Nora shouted encouragingly after her. Dorien waved to everyone, giving them a happy goodbye. The group had an excited look about them as they departed. It frightened her. This child was two cycles early. Leilanna was early as well.

"I know you are worried, but she will be better soon. If there is a problem, they will be able to sort it out in the clinic." Kadir said tenderly. His eyes widened as he heard Allurai.

"Ughh." groaned Allurai.

"Why has it not kicked in yet?" Dorien complained with a frown.

"It is an older model. Can they not upgrade it?" Reye said.

"Ahhh." Allurai groaned. "Ahhhh, Damn!" Allurai screamed.

Nora looked in the direction of the scream and winced when she heard Allurai groan in pain from the elevator. Kadir stroked her upper back, calming her. He worried about the immense pain that she might feel from contractions. He hated to see her scared.

"Do not worry. The Interface will start once the contractions get a little more intense. Her labor was quick to progress. It will soon completely numb it. It does not numb pain at first because you need to know if you are injured in order to seek treatment." Kadir explained. "Then we use oil traditionally to numb the pain, and it turns birth into a beautiful experience. You will be able to focus on them at the moment," Kadir explained. He rhythmically rubbed her back. He had been studying all the material he could find on the process excitedly since the last image confirmed their viability and health.

"Do not worry, she will be able to recuperate fast and will probably be back to herself in no more than seven days." Cerez said. Nora had expected pain. She remembered the wound on her leg hurting before in the woods. But after her implant, not even her painful menstruation cycle bothered her. It was very convenient, but it bothered her. She felt violated that a piece of equipment that, with the wrong programming, could kill her was inserted into her spinal cord and body without her consent. She shot them a nervous look and then smiled.

"I am so relieved. It at least does that. I am usually not so bad with pain. But now, thankfully, that is a thing of the past," Nora said, trying to act confident in front of the rest of the family. She knew that they would not kill her. Her fate might be one of breeding exploitation if the government knew. Nora and her daughters were safe. For now, the only people that any Matriarch could hurt would be Liem, Kadir, Cerez and any son she had. It terrified her. Although there were consequences for killing an Alphem, they were not severe. Killing a son for something as little as political or corporate sabotage had happened before. A Matriarch could pay her way out of trouble by compensation. She felt awful for her nephew who had slept through the ordeal. Even being born as an Allari would still make his life a hard one. He was innocent. She wished for change for him.

"I am still a little nervous for her," Nora said, laying her head on Kadir's shoulder. They all knew why she was nervous. Because she realized the implications of the technology that resided in all of them. Technology and health care were far beyond the reach of her world and so was the power given to the upper classes. Changing things was going to be a multi-generational endeavor in her opinion. She could not imagine killing a person if they protested the treatment of their class. From her conversations with her spouses, she knew that lower class members, like the separate race of men, lived precarious lives. If they showed any signs of rebellion or unbecoming behavior, it could mean their deaths. She found out later that the men that had assaulted her were both dead. Their children were dead at the hands of their own fathers. Some of the men that had followed her apparently were dead and that this was done without a conscience.

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"Mother will be fine." Leilanna said. Nora forced a smile on her face. She did not know how Allurai felt. Was she numb to it? Nora had the same capacity to kill now that she was a Matriarch of a clan. She did not know if she had it in her to kill anyone. Especially since she could just incapacitate anyone before they hurt her. Leilanna could probably, if they let her have her way. But that has been changed through psychology as well. If she could change, others could too. There was definitely worse out there.

The more Nora learned, the more she was convinced that they could find a way to preserve more lives and accomplish more than what they set out to. Technology can always be replaced by what is perceived as better or desirable. Social change could be influenced psychologically. It could also occur on trends. Nora came from a planet of master manipulators. Her sisters were influencers. It did not take much work. She would have to be a social influencer. She was definitely prettier now, she was exotic and people were very curious about her. She could use this for good on this planet. She would have to flesh out a plan and find a way to explain it. She would also have to live with herself afterward. Nora then forced her attention back to the work on her Interface, finishing all her administrative work on her agricultural projects quickly. Kadir was really too good at soothing.

'Was he practicing on her? Well, let him carry me back then.' Nora thought as she closed her interface.

She yawned and rested her eyes. Before she knew it she had fallen asleep. Kadir smiled and snorted when she began to snore adorably. Leilanna left the room with her spouses after they had returned from their session with Janel. Cerez was staring at the window intently and had tensed up. He cleared his throat and sent a communication silently to Kadir and Liem to take Nora and leave the room. She woke up when Kadir had lifted her up to carry her to bed. She was used to this now and rested her head against his chest.

"I was so tired that I fell asleep in the main hall after all that," Nora joked, not noticing the burst of activity in the room behind her. Liem was behind them. She noticed Cerez was missing from their group and chewed on her lip. They rarely separated to spend time apart. She felt like something was off. They were being more honest with each other now. She would hear the answer when everything was settled if it was not a private matter.