Two weeks before Lotus struggled to not gag against his repugnant odor, his gravelly warts, plump boils and crackled skin felt like sandpaper against hers. The discomfort and unpleasantness only lasted for a few minutes. After the bedding Lotus was greeted by the older breeders, their sentimental pride overflowing as they all embraced her. "Your baby will be so perfect. Fit for a war boy", Eels, one of the eldest breeders grinned ear to ear, her wrinkled small eyes swelling with tenderness. Lotus couldn't rejoice in their fulfillment, she only felt dread.
In the first month Lotus didn't bleed during the full moon. She hesitantly hugged her stomach, holding it as if she could shield it from it's impending fate. From her small cave she overlooked the Citadel, watching as it slept, as it breathed. It wasn't a cold night but Lotus felt a slight chill crawl up her spine. She looked below to see some of the war boys huddled together in slumber, they resembled a nest of cattle. White painted skin and deformed bodies meshed together. "This will not become of my child", she whimpered softly to herself.
In the second month the wives took note of the protrusion beneath her white cloth, to the eyes of others it would have been unseen. But his treasures were too familiar with this territory, they could practically smell the tool of creation for Immortan Joe's precious warboys. His favorite treasure, The Splendid of Angharad gave Lotus a quick flick of sympathy, resting her hand on her inflated stomach, Lotus mimicked her and walked to the milking station.
During the third month her breasts had ballooned with milk and was siphoned all day and night. She ached, was nearly sucked dry, utterly exhausted. Priests came to bless the mothers milk before Immortan Joe had his daily feed. He walked past her as she was hooked up to the milking station, it was only when he began to drink the mother's milk, his eyes scanned over the room. A full house of breeders being sucked dry.
At the end of the fourth month she was visited by Immortan Joe and his healers. Eels stroked her face until her woke from her rest. The healers fussed and fumbled over her, using their primitive medical tools to check on the baby. Immortan Joe watched Lotus with apprehension, he stood over them, raspily breathing through his oxygen tank, covered in war gear in an attempt to hide the monstrosities of warts and boils. His appearance in itself is intimidating. But Lotus knew what was beneath that armour, the sickly deformities were a true representation of the monster he is. One healer spoke "It seems your war boy will be in perfect health". And with that they all left her completely alone in her chamber.
On the fifth month Immortan Joe only turned the aqua cola on for less than a minute. The Citadel went mad. While Lotus restlessly paced in her chambers, a group of his enraged subjects busted through her doors and stalked straight to her. Lotus bellowed a terrified scream and protectively held her inflated stomach. She tensed, waiting for the attack. Instead she heard the animal like hollers of war boys as they ran down the halls. The savage villagers stopped dead in their tracks. Without warning the war boys flooded into her chambers and began ruthlessly beating the intruders. They laughed and sang as blood stained their painted white skin. They all looked exactly alike, stark white, bald, with boils and warts littered across their bodies. One war boy approached Lotus "We must protect our brother" and he pressed his calloused hand on her stomach. Lotus felt herself getting nauseous. As explosive and abrupt as they came in, they went out, leaving a pool of massacred bodies at her feet.
When the sixth month arrived she didn't leave her chambers once, the horrid smell of decaying bodies filled the air. The intruders bodies still hadn't been moved. After seeing what the war boys were capable of, how animalistic, how primitive they were, Lotus held her swollen stomach and cried herself to sleep every night.
In the seventh month Immortan Joe had a celebration as another one of his wives were pregnant. Dag was decorated in treasures to almost reflect her status as a piece of treasure to Immortan Joe. She shined gold and chrome, paraded around the city with the other wives surrounding her. The breeders and Lotus stood at the edge of the Citadels center, watching the parade from afar. While the celebration buzzed around them, Lotus began to pray for her child, sweeping her hands over her stomach, smiling down at at it. In a small way, it was like a celebration of her own, the parade she never had.
At the beginning of the eight month Imperator Furiosa snuck into her chambers. Although Lotus was not a wife, Furiosa offered her salvation, as well as her child. Lotus looked at her with wide trusting eyes. Furiosa was draped in her Lieutenant attire, but beneath the uniform peaked old, ripped, crumpled white cloth. The white cloth of a breeder. The white cloth of a wife. That cloth could tell an entire story on it's own, stories that the mouth couldn't tell. As Lotus looked Furiosa in the eyes, she could see the determination, the hope. "Your child will not be a war lord. Come with us". The hope in her eyes was almost enough. But Lotus know what's out there in the Wasteland. She's been through it. Immortan Joe would burn this ruin of a world to the ground before he lets his treasures get away. "I must stay"
It was the ninth month. Lotus was wailing with agony. With the wives gone and the breeders being milked, only a few healers could help Lotus give birth. But it was a difficult one. Lotus writhed in pain, praying to whatever God there was to help her. It felt as if the blood in her veins was boiling, her muscles contracting and joints feeling tight as they scraped against each other. Lotus didn't know how long it was taking, she could barely hear the soothing lullabies the healers sang, she only felt the suffering and heard the cried emitting from her lips. "Don't worry, Lotus. Immortan Joe will be back from the Fury Road to meet his new war boy". Lotus cried even harder. With a jolt of stabbing pain the ceiling of her chambers disappeared and like the night sky, everything went black.
Lotus woke to Imperator Furiosa standing above her, holding a small baby in her hands. All the wives but Angharad stood with Furiosa. Dag spoke "Joe is gone, Furiosa will look after us now. Your son will not be a war boy", she held Lotus's hand. Toast laid a hand on Lotus's now empty stomach "We are not things". Lotus looked down to see a large gash on her lower stomach and she suddenly realized why she felt so light. The wives and Furiosa all gave Lotus a look of sentiment, all holding her as she was being pulled into whatever further awaited her.
She was not a war boy. Not a war lord. She was not going to the gates of Valhalla. But before the room throbbed with utter and complete darkness for the last time, she muttered "Witness me".