TW: Dialogue associating fertility with "womanhood", Dialogue associating infertility as a curse/defect, medical vaginal examination (not graphic as I don't know what the fuck I'm doing).
This is all in the context of a crazy woman who wants her dead mould baby to be reborn via one of her unwilling underlings who are basically in a cult, and does not reflect the opinions of myself.
Chapter 21: She's So Lucky
Dimitrescu went first. She stood at the mouth of Miranda's cave as if on a stage, staring back at her cowering audience with a confident smile over painted lips. One would never be able to tell that she'd spent the walk from the church to the lab with shiny red eyes.
"Let all of our wombs prove to be a suitable place for our Mother's daughter to grow, to live." She spoke with all the bravado of a hero about to go into battle, a brave knight and her meagre army of two terrified mutants and a wooden doll.
"This is our purpose as women. Motherhood is a gift. A sacred obligation." Her smile brightened, but Iris knew her lady all too well. Her shoulders were tense, her perfect teeth gritted, she was fidgeting ever so slightly for her cigarette that had been left at the church, for some poor maid to hunt for later once their Lady realised her grave mistake.
"Ladies." Dimitrescu bid them her goodbye, disappearing into the cave and leaving Iris with the silent puppeteer.
She knew very little about Lady Beneviento. Other than her penchant for dolls and that her family were once a great influence on the village. They were all gone now, leaving Donna in a grand manor deep in the forest, where there were rumours of ghosts, ghouls and Samcă. One of the first rules of the village Iris's grandmother had ever bestowed on her was to never stray too close to the Beneviento grounds, lest she go mad and never return.
It was strange thinking such horrors could be caused by such a nondescript being. She stood about a foot away from Iris, Angie the doll chittering quietly to her mistress, anything to break the tense silence. She'd not spoken again after whispering her fear to the two other women, trailing behind Iris and Dimitrescu as they journeyed through the village.
"Are you excited to have Mother Miranda's baby?" Angie asked, all bright glassy eyes and disturbingly sharp teeth.
Iris had asked Karl before whether Angie was her own person, a creation of Donna's similar to Lycans or the Moroaica, or a vessel for the shy woman to speak through. Even he wasn't sure, apparently the "Beneviento Problem" spanned most of his childhood, with Miranda occasionally drip feeding information whilst experimenting on him. She'd been so convinced that he was Eva's vessel, spent years torturing him.
But then something happened within the Benneviento household, and Donna ended up alone, even more vulnerable than before, Miranda dug her claws in tight just to determine that the poor girl didn't have the mental capacity to ever be Eva's vessel.
Karl had said it was clear from the start, that mental illness ran in the family, Donna being orphaned at a young age after her parents committed suicide. He theorised that Miranda simply held a grudge against the family, and didn't expect frail little Donna to survive implantation, yet alone develop her terrifying powers.
"A little. It would be wonderful to be able to repay Mother Miranda for all she's done for us" Iris felt bile rise in her throat and wondered what Donna's reaction to this drivel was. Maybe she should start wearing a veil.
"You'll get FAT!" Angie screeched, voice echoing amongst the trees of the empty forest, even the birds dared not tweet too loud this close to Miranda's lair.
"Maybe it won't even be me! Maybe it'll be Lady Dimitrescu!" Iris felt silly having this talk, as if they were children, schoolgirls fantasising, not waiting outside some crazed bitches lab to be prodded, poked then forced to bare her undead child. "She'd have a grand old time, caring for Mother Miranda's baby in her castle."
"But then Heisenberg can be the daddy!" Iris blanched. Wanted nothing more than wringing the doll's neck. Surely this had to be it's own being, she couldn't imagine Donna mouthing these childish words under her veil.
"Maybe your lady will bear the child. Then you can play with the baby" Iris tried to hide her smirk as the doll froze, her bulging glassy eyes managed to grow even larger, her cracked face frozen into one of pure terror.
"... maybe" Angie muttered, her reedy voice filled with fear.
She stopped talking after that.
After what felt like mere minutes, Dimitrescu re-emerged from the lab looking like the cat who got the cream.
"My darling sister Donna, it is your time now, go on!" The giantess gently shoved the cloaked woman when she didn't immediately move, Angie crawling in her arms like an animal desperate to escape.
"Good Luck!" Dimitrescu called towards her as she disappeared into the shadowy depths of the cave, smirking proudly.
"That was fast. What was the procedure like my Lady?" Dimitrescu laughed giddily at her.
"Why there was unfortunately no procedure at all, Mother Miranda had discovered some old documents pertaining to my health as a human, a genetic one that would be far too dangerous for me to carry a babe, lest I pass on my… curse, to the child. I am truly heartbroken that I will never be able to assist in Eva's return to our world. I shall pray the moment I get home to the Black God, for forgiveness of my defectiveness"
For someone so forlorn about her "defectiveness", Iris has never seen her Lady smile so brightly.
"How sad." Her voice was clipped, jealousy seeping through her teeth, "Well maybe Lady Beneviento will prove fruitful."
"Yes, it's extremely important that you two are able to bear a child. Oh how exciting this will be. My girls will be absolutely delighted, why I think I will increase their sewing and embroidery lessons at once, gifts for when our Eva arrives."
The woman was insane, how could she act so giddy, so excitable over this horror? A horror she had wept over mere hours ago. Purely because she was no longer affected?
Her Lady, the giant bitch, clocked Iris's grimace before she could hide it behind yet another simpering smile.
"That's not the face of someone dedicated to the Black God. To Mother Miranda. Surely you wouldn't be ungrateful enough to not want to bear our Mother's child?"
Iris wished Heisenberg was here, so he could rip her a new one without consequence. Instead, whilst screaming abuse in her head, the overgrown parasitic bitch who for all of her songs and tales of loving maidens is a curse on the women of this village and should be put down like the rabid dog she is-
"Not at all my lady. I am merely surprised at your reaction. Why, you seem positively elated. I am sure that is not at all related to you not being able to bear children. Mother Miranda would surely be heartbroken to hear that you were happy about the fact that Eva's chances of returning to her arms have dwindled because of your condition." Iris looked down sadly, eyes dropped, hands gripped together as if in a prayer. "I would certainly be devastated."
"Despair comes out in different ways my dear maid." Dimitrescu spat through gritted teeth and a false smile. The word maid sounded like the dirtiest, most grotesque word imaginable. Iris was glad that she had struck a nerve.
"I must be going. My daughters will be dying to hear the news. Good Luck."
The Giantess swung around and sauntered off before Iris could snarl out her own overly polite goodbye. Leaving her in the dark silence to stew.
She could not have this baby.
She would not.
There was no way in hell that Miranda would be able to force her. To force Heisenberg to go through with this.
Pregnancy wasn't all that common anyways, not in this village. Iris didn't know if people merely chose to not copulate or if incidence of miscarriage was high, but children were a rarity in the village, even during the years Miranda disappeared.
She planned away in the dark, wondering if Duke would be able to smuggle her contraception, if there was a black market somewhere for condoms, or if she could repurpose one of the storage rooms into a bedroom to avoid all temptation of sex.
All of this of course would be for nothing if Miranda chose to have someone other than Karl father it. But who else would be "good enough". Certainly not Moreau.
She'd kill herself before letting that happen.
"It has to be you."
Iris screeched and shot up, hand over heart. Donna, who'd been go for what seemed like hours, had managed to sneak up on her spot, sitting on a damp log not too far away from the cave, materialising out of the shadows like a ghost.
"Lady Beneviento, you gave me a fright!" Iris wheezed, not fully taking in the woman's low murmur.
"It's YOU!" Angie cried, snuggled into her Lady's dress, the bottom of her veil clutched in her spindly hand, "YOU!"
"W-why me?" Iris blanched, "Don't tell me you have a condition too."
The veiled figure huffed lightly, a gloved hand emerging and lightly grazing her stomach, "I… I used to have a terrible time menstruating. It was always so painful. I'd cry, vomit, even pass out. I was told I was merely sensitive. Dramatic." The veiled head dropped low, Angie's tiny hand gripping the veil tighter, "Things got better after my gift, but it still hurts. So much. Mother says I have a sickness of the pelvis. That that is what causes the pain. She doesn't think I can do it."
Iris didn't have the heart to be as angry with Donna as she was with Dimitrescu. There was no veiled gloating here, the Lord even seemed sad.
"I was scared. Like you, and Alcina. But…" The woman's words faded away, Iris felt herself leaning forward desperate to hear 6the mysterious Lord's words with bated breath, "I like taking care of my dolls. I would have liked to care for a little baby. It would have been… nice."
Heisenberg was right, mental illness definitely plagued the Beneviento's because how on Earth could she want this.
"I'm so sorry" Iris muttered, keeping her voice quiet also, as if the raised volume would cause Donna to run off like a skittish animal. She was sure, from the cracks in her voice, the unsureness in her pacing, that this was the longest the woman had spoken in a long time.
"I need to go. I think… good luck." The veiled woman floated away, merging with the shadows also as quickly as she'd appeared. Iris wondered if that was a secret gift of hers that Karl was yet to know about.
Alone once again, Iris felt herself begin to sweat.
The longer Miranda had to wait for her, the worse it would be.
Smooth dress, tidy hair, eyes down, hands clasped.
She entered the cave.
The lab door was already open, warm light flooding through. Miranda was bustling about the room with a scowl etched onto her face. Her eyes manic as she scribbled notes onto various papers, shoving tools to one side and scrubbing down utensils that to Iris, looked like utensils for torture.
"Remove your shoes and undergarments. Quickly." Miranda snapped, not bothering to look at Iris at all. Iris compiled quickly and silently. Miranda had received two disappointments in a row. Something she imagined was a rare occurrence, especially in her own domain.
The woman grabbed at a clipboard roughly, rounding the table and settling herself into an office chair. It gave Iris a distant memory of being in a doctors office as a child, sat up on a high table whilst the doctor asked her mother questions. She remembered getting a sticker for being brave.
"Right. Answer me quickly and precisely, I've had enough time wasted today."
Iris nodded silently, spluttering a "Yes Mother Miranda" when the woman's head snapped up in irritation.
"Do you have a regular menstruation period? Every month?"
"Yes. Although I did not have my menstrations for most of my time at Castle Dimitrescu" Miranda scowled into her clipboard, writing everything down furiously.
"Do you experience what you would consider excessive bleeding and or pain?"
"I don't think so" Miranda huffed at her uncertainty, spurring Iris onto explain herself before she was smited in her spot. "I have cramps, but am able to function and complete my work."
"Do you have pain during sexual intercourse?"
"No."
The woman paused, "Do you have intercourse often? With my son?"
Iris wanted the ground to swallow her up, not sure which answer would provide the most fury. Would she be angry? Upset that they had relations without her knowing? Was she against intercourse outside of marriage, it was an old fashioned idea in the village, but Miranda was an odd one.
"Yes."
"Good." Miranda underlined something on her board, "That will be helpful for later."
"Does he make you orgasm?"
Iris spluttered again, her face burned under Miranda's icy gaze, wielding her pen as it was a weapon.
"Yes Mother Miranda."
"Good. It's reported that the chance of impregnation increases when the female orgasms during intercourse. Tell him to keep it up." Iris wanted to die.
"Are you aware of a family history of the following: Asthma, Diabetes, Obesity, Cancer?"
Iris didn't even remember her family's names, nor what they looked like, other than her grandmother. She answered no hesitantly, Miranda seemingly accepting it.
"Any history of mental health issues?"
"No Mother Miranda."
Miranda's eyes flicked up from her clipboard, pinning Iris with a dagger-like gaze. Whatever she was searching for in Iris's eyes, it was good enough for her to end the interrogation, dropping the clipboard on top of a pile of papers, then pointing at a metal bed, akin to the operating table back at the factory.
"Lie on the bed." Miranda's voice was tense, clinical, as she snapped on a pair of gloves, swinging her chair over to the table and motioning Iris to shift downwards towards her, adjusting a bright light towards her… nether region.
"Spread your legs." Iris went beet red but continued to comply, the woman's stern face striking fear down her spine. She couldn't have been in a more vulnerable position if she tried, and honestly couldn't think of anything worse than dying with her vagina out for the world to see.
"Now before I bother wasting my equipment, do you have any reason to believe that you possess some ailment or disorder that will prohibit you from bearing a child?" Miranda snapped, glaring at what lay under Iris's pulled up skirt, "As apparently, they seem to be all the rage in this godforsaken place."
The shock of Miranda cursing the very village she had single-handedly ruined left Iris silent for a moment, before sputtering out a "No Mother" when the woman's eyes narrowed in irritation.
"You better be correct with that statement" She grumbled, brandishing an L-shaped metal device coated in a translucent goo.
"This will be cold. Don't squeal like Donna." Miranda snapped, the near impossible thought of Donna making any sudden noise at all distracting Iris from the horrible intrusion of the unnatural thing. The thing was shoved in deep then started stretching Iris wide, she gritted her teeth to avoid a pained groan escaping.
She really really didn't want Miranda to get mad when she had this horrid thing inside of her.
"Appearance seems normal, just a quick swap and I'll be done" Iris felt something drag across her insides, the feeling making her queasy, then the horrible pain resided as the metal thing was reduced and removed.
Iris stared up at the ceiling, trying to control her breathing, make herself as quiet as possible in hopes that somehow a miracle would happen and Miranda would forget she was there.
"I'll just be assessing your sample on a microscope, if they look ok I'll take some blood and send you on your way."
Not knowing what any of that meant, Iris simply nodded as Miranda fussed with the tube, spreading the fluid inside onto a piece of glass, then dipping it into a variety of brightly coloured containers then sticking the glass under some box like contraption with goggles sticking out from the top. Whatever it was, she was staring at it intently.
"What is that?"
"A Microscope. I'm assessing the morphology of your cells."
"Morphology?"
"Look." Miranda stepped back, waiting for Iris to heave herself off the bed and waddle sorely over to her. "Just look into the eye piece, and turn this dial here, back or forth to gain focus"
Iris did as she was told, seeing nothing but a blurry white screen until suddenly a bunch of blobs appeared, some pink, some a purplish blue.
"These are my cells."
"Correct. What I conducted was a papanicolaou test, to see if your cervix is healthy."
"And it is?"
"Yes" Miranda smiled for the first time, the lighting of the room casting shadows on the dark shadows under her eyes, "Obviously more testing will be needed but this is a fine start."
She motioned Iris to sit up, quickly getting to work with shoving a tight cuff onto her arm, that squeezed her tighter and tighter until a beep called, Miranda jotting down the number. Then she was stabbed with a needle, blood spilling out into a glass vial and a plaster being slapped onto the wound. Her height and weight were taken, and finally, finally, with a small, clinical smile, Miranda instructed her to get dressed again.
"Everything seems in order. As basic as these tests allow. There is nothing to make me believe that you will not be a suitable vessel for my Eva."
"Thank you Mother Miranda."
With a grotesque smirk, the woman crowded Iris, grabbing at her arms and bringing her closer. Her eyes were glazed, her hands clammy. Iris felt herself retreating inside her body, hiding from the terrifying woman.
"All you need to do now, is to fornicate as much as possible. I will have your blood tests back in a few days, then will host another meeting. I want you pregnant as fast as possible. Then we will carry out the ritual."
"Yes Mother Miranda." Her body spoke.
"This is a gift you know. The highest reward for one of my followers, to bring my child back to life. You will be rewarded greatly."
"Thank you Mother Miranda."
"You're dismissed."
Robotically, Iris exited the warm glow of the laboratory, stumbling through the cave back into nature, it was darker now, and raining, the cold drips on her forehead bringing herself back to reality.
It was her, only her, that would be the vessel.
Over her dead body.
Author's Note: "That's not accurate" - I know, I grabbed my info off google as I've never had a pap smear/vaginal exam ever due to being a massive fucking baby (they're important though, don't be like me and arrange one with your GP)