Phoenix groaned as she sat on the bench in the castle garden. She was in her seventh month, her breasts and belly absolutely bloated at this point, and was also at the point where she couldn't move much. The Manakete girl felt antsy to give birth, having a very distinct feeling that she was almost there. She was so looking forward to becoming a mother to her and Iniabi's daughters, as well as when she could walk again. Amber looked over at her and smiled, gripping the greenette's hand tightly. Phoenix had been talking to her mother-in-law in the castle garden, when Phoenix had felt a strong kick to her belly, and had forced herself to sit back and relax as best as she could. The older woman's health had deteriorated a lot since her younger days. Her formerly all-black hair was now completely white, her skin was wrinkled and loose from her bones, her eyes were hollow, and she was much more frailer now in her older years, to where she couldn't ever leave the palace or see Berserker Island again unless if she was helped there because of how weak she was. But despite that, Amber's green eyes still shone brightly with fierce determination, and she was still a loyal wife and best friend to Morgan. The two also loved their grandchildren dearly and were both looking quite forward to meeting her newest granddaughters after they'd hatch, even though Amber didn't fully support Iniabi having multiple wives apart from Cynthia.
"Mother, it hurts! It really hurts!" Phoenix whined, tears in her eyes.
Amber squeezed her hand supportively.
"The eggs will arrive when it's the right time, Phoenix." Amber said reassuringly.
"B-But I feel so painful that I feel like I'm going to split open. My legs are so sore and I'm so numb all the time." Phoenix said irritably.
"I understand how you feel, Phoenix. I was the same when I bore your husband, Soner, and Bello. These pains will pass, don't worry. Just take a deep breath and calm down." Amber ordered calmly.
Phoenix released a shaky breath, hiccuping as she attempted to calm down.
"I'm sorry! I've just been so cranky a-and upset. I just want my girls out of me." Phoenix said.
"Complaining about it won't speed up the process, Phoenix." Amber said.
"I know. I just..." Phoenix started to say.
She stopped as she noticed a rather noticeable shift inside her. Amber raised an eyebrow.
"Phoenix?" Amber asked.
Phoenix shook her head.
"I don't know... I feel the eggs... moving." Phoenix replied.
She attempted to get to her feet, but just as the Manakete girl stood up, water exploded from underneath her, staining her trousers and boots, and going all over the grass underneath her. Phoenix gasped in pain and her legs collapsed under her, making her fall roughly back onto the bench. Amber was already on her feet and bringing over a towel as one of her many daughters-in-law stared out in shock and pain, unable to do anything.
"W-What's going on? I feel... so much... pain." Phoenix asked, sweating and wincing in pain.
Amber started patting Phoenix's trousers and legs with the towel.
"Your water just broke. You're going into labor." Amber replied calmly.
She put a hand on Phoenix's back and started helping her onto her feet.
"Come on, up you go. We need to get you to Aunt Lissa." Amber said calmly.
Phoenix grunted as she felt a contraction go through her muscles. She didn't know how her mother-in-law could be so calm in this situation. Probably from having to help her multiple daughter-in-laws, as well as having to do the same herself three different times.
After finding Lissa, Phoenix was brought into the medical unit of the castle to wait out the birth of her three daughters. She and Iniabi both knew they were having daughters because they had managed to determine the gender after a check-up. Lissa was now elderly and well advanced in years. She wasn't energetic like she used to be decades earlier and her beautiful looks had faded with time, as well as the fact that she had gone deaf in one ear from an infection she had gotten from a terrible illness, but she was still the same kind and loveable woman, and was both a fun-loving grandmother to Ophelia, her little brothers, and her little sisters, and a warm grandaunt not only to Iniabi's children, but also Lucina's children and grandchildren over in Roseanne. While Phoenix's labor should have been relatively quick with how she was only laying eggs, it was instead proving to be pretty lengthy, much longer than Idoun's had been when she laid Iona and Adrian's cluster of eggs, as well as Caeldori when she laid her and Adrian's own children's eggs. Phoenix laid back, her mint gown covered in sweat as the pain drained the energy out of her. Fears were at the front of her mind. Phoenix became stressed over the pain and was secretly terrified that something would go wrong, that her daughters would have birth problems, or worse, that their eggs would all come out cracked or smashed and they'd have miscarried. Phoenix felt like she was about to have a heart attack, but the intensity toned down when Elise, who was helping her mother-in-law help deliver her newest third cousins-in-law, gave her a calming elixir. It didn't do much for the pain, but it helped quiet the Manakete's thoughts.
While the other wives had instructed to be notified after Phoenix laid her eggs and were off around the palace, Iniabi sat on the bed facing Phoenix. The nurses had tried shooing him out, but Phoenix had become absolutely livid when they tried to separate her from her husband when she really needed him. She had even crushed both the arm and bones of a nurse that had tried grabbing her gently to merely calm her down, using a dark spell to shatter the bones in her arms. The nurse was screaming in pain when she was wheeled out to recover, terrifying the other women into obeying her. Iniabi dipped a cloth in ice water and ran it along Phoenix's forehead. Lissa mixed a tonic on the other side of the room, one to help give her the strength to get through the pain. When she was done, she instructed Elise to help Phoenix drink it. Phoenix grabbed Iniabi's forearm as the water cooled her skin and squeezed.
"Breathe, my love. You're doing well." Iniabi ordered softly.
Phoenix didn't feel like she was doing well, but she took his word for it as she exhaled. The whole procedure was painful and agonizing. She heard stories from Amber and her rival wives that pregnancy was excruciatingly painful, but this was just ridiculous. They weren't kidding. Phoenix took a deep breath and grunted as she felt more pain ripple through her body. Lissa came over and checked on her, frowning.
"You still have a long wat to go, Phoenix. If you keep progressing this way, you'll labor through the night and the eggs will all be out by the morning." Lissa announced.
Phoenix gave a growl.
"The sun just went down! Damn it!" Phoenix hissed.
Lissa put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"We'll keep giving you elixirs to help you through. Hopefully, things will change during the night. If you need anything, or you feel a stark change, please let me, Elise, or one of the nurses know. We'll kep checking on you regularly." Lissa said softly.
"Thank you, Aunt Lissa." Phoenix said tiredly.
Just then, Elise walked up to her with a cup containing the pain tonic in hand. She held it up to Phoenix's lips.
"Mother instructed me to give you this. It's a pain tonic. It'll help keep your strength up. I'm sorry, Phoenix. You're in for the long haul." Elise explained softly.
Phoenix drank the tonic and scrunched her brows at a new wave of pain. Iniabi brushed her green hair away from her face and ran the cloth over her forehead again. She shook her head and clutched his free hand. Iniabi frowned and put the cloth back in the bin.
"I'm going to step out to wash up. When I come back, I'll massage your back and hips. Do you think that would help?" Iniabi asked.
Phoenix nodded and smiled through her pain. Iniabi smiled, reached over, and kissed her lips.
"I'll be right back." Iniabi whispered.
He rose and stepped out. Lissa took his place on the bed. She took Phoenix's hand and brushed her fingers through her matted light green hair.
"You're breathing normally. Good. You may not think so, but you're handling it well." Lissa said softly with a smile.
Phoenix just stared at the ceiling.
The night passed and the sun rose without much change. Phoenix started to stress at the duration of the pain, and as time went on, her ability to cope with it started to wear thin. She was scared, but at the same time determined to get through the pain without breaking down. At noon, Elise gave her another strength tonic as Lissa pulled out a blanket and placed it under Phoenix's body, right where her eggs would drop out.
"This is the strongest me or Mother can give you. You'll need it." Elise said.
Lissa walked over and rubbed Phoenix's shoulder affectionately.
"Get ready, Phoenix. It's time for the eggs to be laid. You're almost to the end, sweetheart. You'll make it through." Lissa said.
Elise walked over and knelt down in front of Phoenix, as she was acting as the midwife. Lissa looked over at Iniabi, who had a thin layer of sweat, and nodded with a determined look on her face. Iniabi nodded and gripped Phoenix's right hand tightly, while Lissa did the same with her left.
"Alright, Phoenix... push!" Lissa shouted.
Phoenix yelled in absolute agony, screeching inhumanely at the top of her lungs as she pushed, trying to get her eggs out of her body. Lissa gasped slightly as her bony hands were crushed somewhat by the sheer force of Phoenix's grip as the Manakete girl gave birth, but managed to keep her grip. Phoenix exerted all her energy as Elise sat at the foot of the bed, waiting to catch her eggs. Iniabi had gone through different labors multiple times with the other wives, as well as helping Caeldori give birth to her and Adrian's son and daughters, but even he was stressed, the stress clear as his hands were basically crushed with popped veins, courtesy of how much force Phoenix was applying to them. He was slick with sweat, partially from both himself and Phoenix herself, but nonetheless, he sat behind his wife and supported her weakening state. Finally, after what felt like hours, Phoenix felt a foreign feeling in her groin before Elise noticed the very tip of an egg poke out of her vagina.
"You're doing just fine, Phoenix! I can see the head of the first egg now. You're doing wonderfully. Just hold on a little further." Elise called out supportively, smiling brightly.
Phoenix pushed in agony some more. The green haired Manakete girl could feel the egg, large and circly, going through her core's depths. Eventually, the egg popped out of her womb completely, dropping out of her vagina. Elise gasped as she managed to catch it in her gloved hands. The egg was a dirty white color and wasn't tough, but was rather made of an unusual leathery material, like all other Manakete eggs. It was also pretty heavy, more so than a normal baby, and was coated in a thick layer of slime from when it was still inside Phoenix. She reached down and placed it down on the blanket to wait, moving it gently to the side to make room for it's siblings. Phoenix sighed in relief temporary as the first egg popped out of her body, but then screamed in agony as the second and third eggs followed suit. Finally, the third and final egg popped out onto the blanket, and for what felt like an eternity to Phoenix, she could finally rest. She moaned as she collapsed into her bed, panting and sweating heavily. Her body had finally deflated back to it's original weight, but she was still a little hefty from lazing around all the time. Lissa reached down and grabbed the first two eggs, while Elise grabbed the third, and both women brought them out of the room. They cleansed off the eggs from the slime that remained on them and then gave the eggs little tags with numbers, to order which egg came first so they wouldn't get mixed up. When they were finished, the mother and daughter-in-law brought the eggs back into the room and approached the bed. The two women placed the eggs on Phoenix's chest.
"Three little dragons. Congratulations, Iniabi, Phoenix." Elise whispered happily.
Phoenix felt tears run down her face as she held her eggs in her bosom. Her shoulder dampened and she saw Iniabi crying happily out of the corner of her eye. They shared tears of shock, awe, and relief together as they watched the eggs. Lissa sniffled beside them and wiped her eyes, while Elise smiled happily for the new family.