Monster Girl Uprising

Minerva stared down at her parents as their twitching subsided, anxiety welling up within her. Her mother, Merida, was the first to rise, having become a rabbitkin woman with ash-grey furred ears that contrasted with her silver hair. “What’s…happened?” She moaned.

Her father Maddox, now a stunning wolfkin woman with ears as black as her hair, stirred next to her. “I feel strange.” She said.

“Mother, Father.” Minerva said nervously, drawing their attention.

“Minnie!” Merida cried out, rushing over and catching Minerva in a hug. “I’m so, so sorry. I don’t know what came over me, I…we’ll talk to your father, I’ll make him understand. I just…”

Minerva hugged her mother back, trying to hold back her tears. “I…”

“I’m sorry too. I feel so –” Minerva couldn’t see her father from where she was standing, but she imagined she had noticed the changes. “What’s happened to us?!”

Minerva disengaged from her mother and wiped away her tears. “We need to talk.” She said firmly. “To keep it brief, you and everyone else had the curse known as Aira’s Fervor. The only cure is to become a monstrous maiden, and you were first on our list of people to cure. I know that might sound far-fetched, but I saw the goddesses with my own eyes, and they confirmed it.”

“I always knew you were meant for something special.” Maddox said proudly, then paused, looking down in shame. “I feel wretched about how I treated you, and I want you to know I’ll do anything to have you back in my life again. I’m so, so, so sorry.”

“I accept your apologies.” Minerva said, relief flooding her as she finally got confirmation that, just as Maia had assured her, her parents were still…her parents, and that it was only a matter of the curse that caused them to reject her.

“Dear…why are you in a maid outfit?” Merida asked hesitantly. “Did you get captured by some noble? Whatever it is, you don’t need to wear that anymore, we’ll take care of whatever it is.”

“I’ll explain later.” Minerva said. “But first…I need to introduce you to Queen Maia.”

Her parents gave her alarmed looks. “Excuse me?! Queen who?!” Maddox exclaimed.

Minerva shook her head. “History is wrong. She is the goddesses’ champion, and the goddesses themselves were the ones to give her the name, to help rectify the false perception history has of the last Maia. And she’s the one who cured you, she’s the only one who can.” Minerva paused for a moment. “And she’s in here with us, if you would turn around.”

Eyes widening, Minerva’s parents spun and looked at Maia, who was standing in the corner of the room. “You were the one who burst in on us!” Maddox exclaimed.

“Yes, that’s me.” Maia said, far more confidently than she probably would have before the lessons Galiena and Minerva had given her. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Alexios and my mentor, Galiena, aside, the rest of our group is waiting outside the gates.” Minerva said. “We still need to let them know we succeeded, too.”

“Would you allow us to park our carriage inside whilst we talk?” Maia asked. “And, perhaps, send someone to escort me out so no one tries to arrest me?”

“Did Minerva not say everyone else is afflicted with Aira’s Fervor?” Merida pointed out. “I imagine they would reject us, much as we rejected her.”

“They, and everyone else in your territories, were cured the moment I cured you two.” Maia said. “That should not be an issue.”

Maddox ran over to the side of the room and rung a bell. “I’ve called the servants.” She said. “I’ll have them escort you out, and we’ll discuss the matter of your carriage when we have the situation here under control.”

Minerva stepped forward. “Father, I can vouch for them.” She said. “They have risked a great deal to save our family, and they were the ones who broke me out of the manor when…you know. They are good, trustworthy people, and the goddesses themselves are the ones backing them. I was there, I saw it.”

“They put you in a maid outfit.” Merida pointed out. “I can’t believe they were completely altruistic.”

“They didn’t, I chose it.” Minerva said quickly. “My mentor, Galiena, required me to train as a maid as compensation for the other training she is giving me. When my training is over, I will no longer need to wear this should I choose not to pursue further work as a maid.”

“What about Eris and your other tutors?” Maddox asked. “Surely they could give you better.”

“No.” Minerva replied. “Galiena is the Bone Tyrant herself. She was sent as an envoy to the future by the monster girls from the past, in preparation for this crisis. And her reputation, at least as far as personality is concerned, is completely overblown. Her skill is real, though, and maid training is a small price to pay to learn from someone of her prestige.”

“If you say so.” Maddox sighed. “Very well, I’ll let your carriage in. Should you cause any trouble, however, we will throw you out.”

“If you can.” Alexis said, walking into the room with Galiena in tow. “Even alone, Maia or Galiena could hold the garrison off by themselves for quite some time. Duke Invia, Duchess Invia, it is a pleasure to see you in your right minds again. I am Alexis, formerly Alexios, and I can personally vouch for the integrity of these people. They will cause no trouble.”

“Have the dungeons held?” Maia asked.

“Yes.” Galiena said. “I am impressed by the quality of the work; it is a far cry from the less than stellar security employed elsewhere in this estate. We will have to reinforce the locks, at the very least.”

An unfamiliar servant, some sort of monster girl Minerva couldn’t differentiate from a human, arrived. “You too, Your Grace?” She asked. Then, seeing the faces of the people in the room, introduced herself. “I’m Pierre. Or…was; I find myself considering a new name, but that is neither here nor there. You have need of me?”

“Escort this woman outside.” Maddox instructed, motioning at Maia. “She is the one responsible for this, and Minerva has requested that she and her people be allowed to bring their carriage into the walls until we sort ourselves out.”

“You have decided to give the young mistress her position back, then?” Pierre asked.

“Yes. Her disowning was prompted by a curse, and our transformations have freed us from it.” Maddox said. “We are issuing formal apologies and reinstating her. When you have finished seeing this young lady out, please inform the other staff, and have them gather so we may address them.”

“At once. Follow me, miss.” Pierre left with Maia, and Minerva’s parents turned their attention to Galiena.

“So, you’re Galiena, I assume?” Merida asked.

“That would be me, yes.” Galiena said. “I take it Minerva has told you about me?”

“Don’t dismiss her because she’s a maid.” Alexis warned. “She’s the Bone Tyrant, and her skill in combat, politics, magic, and most everything else far eclipses mine.”

“A maid is not a disgraceful position where I am from.” Galiena said. “I was a duchess myself in the old monster girl empire, and your daughter holds immense talent for the role. Even if she does not decide to stay a maid, she will at least be able to train them when I am through with her, and that is all I need.”

“Monster girl maid work differs from human maid work due to our unique physiologies.” Minerva said quickly. “There are many more efficient ways to go about things that are possible because we’re not human, and both finding the right personnel and teaching them to work in ways that are efficient are skills that aren’t immediately transferrable from old servant work.”

“Speaking of, while I am staying here, I would like to oversee educating the staff on the usage of their new abilities.” Galiena said. “I understand that I am an unknown factor, so simply put me in contact with your lead servant and I can prove my prowess to them.”

“We can discuss that later, Galiena.” Alexis said. “We don’t even know if they’re going to let us us stay here.”

Maddox gave Alexis an odd look. “Surely you’re not going to go with these people if we don’t.” She said.

Alexis gave her a level look. “Minerva and I fully intend to support these women until the end.” She said. “After what we have experienced, we can’t stand to sit idle when we could be helping.”

Minerva’s parents turned to look at her, and she nodded. “We aren’t at full liberty to talk about everything we went through while meeting the goddesses, but even the thought of resuming my old life while they’re still out there fighting is revolting. I would sooner renounce my title and status and live as a commoner for the rest of my days.”

“Was it truly that bad?” Merida asked softly.

“Worse.” Alexis confirmed. “We can’t tell you all the details, but what we saw was so fundamentally evil and depraved that we wouldn’t be able to live with ourselves were we to pretend we weren’t there.”

“It’s difficult to overstate the severity of this.” Minerva added. “Whatever you’ve seen while under the curse, whatever you imagined after Alexis said worse, it’s an order of magnitude worse than that. If there is real, pure evil in the world…then that was it.”

There was a period of silence, and then Galiena coughed. “Forgive my rudeness, but I believe my presence is keeping you from discussing freely. If you would like, I could stand outside the room or return to the dungeons, whatever would better facilitate your conversation.”

Maddox shot a glance at Alexis, who gave a nod. “Very well. You may stand outside the room.” Maddox replied.

Galiena gave a curtsey, then left the room and closed the door behind her. Once she was safely out of the room, Maddox looked between Minerva and Alexis. “Give it to me straight. Is the situation truly as dire as you made it out to be, or were you playing it up while others were in the room?”

“We have not exaggerated in the slightest.” Minerva confirmed. “As we said before, should you choose not to help us, Alexis and I will depart with them. It would be a shame to part again so soon after our reunion, but, as you always say, sometimes personal feelings have to be set aside for the good of the people.

“And these women are good people.” Minerva continued. “They took me in when they thought I was a random ruffian who assaulted their carriage. Most of them are unfamiliar with politics, and you can trust that they mean what they say.”

“Galiena is the exception here, of course.” Alexis added. “She’s an old soldier and politician. She keeps her cards close to her chest, and has…opinions.”

“What kinds of opinions?” Merida asked, frowning.

“She believes monster girls like us to be objectively superior to humans.” Minerva explained. “And, in fairness to her, there is a measure of truth to that; after all, we are capable of assuming a human form at any time, and even in our human forms we’re still a bit stronger and more durable than regular humans. In a purely physical sense, there aren’t downsides. And as Father can attest to, there are no problems mentally speaking, either.

“The main downside is that being cured puts you irrevocably at odds with the cursed. They will stop at nothing to eradicate us, and…well, regardless of what you end up deciding to do with our group in particular, it would be best to prepare for war.”

Minerva wasn’t worried that her parents would view this as being dragged into a war against their will; war had already been declared when they were affected by an enchantment. Still, she couldn’t shake the worry that they wouldn’t lend Minerva and her companions any aid, either.

There was a moment of silence. “And this…Maia, is she at all qualified to lead?” Maddox asked.

“On this scale, at this exact moment…no.” Alexis admitted. “However, the blessings of the goddesses do not work if she is not in charge. And, thought she currently lacks the skill needed to lead a nation, she has perhaps the sharpest mind I have ever seen, and an eye for tactics that rivals some of our nation’s greatest generals. Not to mention her significant strength in individual combat. I believe that, given the opportunity to grow, she could be one of the finest leaders of the modern age.”

“She comes from a village that lived way too close to the Deepwood.” Minerva added. “You remember those Deepwood monsters Eris is so proud of? We’re ninety-nine percent sure Maia was the one that killed them. Alone. As a regular human with only a spear.”

Minerva’s parents stared at her doubtfully. “That seems far-fetched.” Merida said skeptically.

“We thought the same.” Alexis replied, smiling wryly. “But she certainly has the skill to back it up. And…well, the more I hear from her, the more I realize that we never truly had an idea of how dangerous the Deepwood is. Those monsters are considered to be on the weaker side of things there, not even worth making a fuss about.

“And I don’t believe she’s exaggerating. We had the misfortune of having a couple of the strong ones thrust in our way. I was commanding a different part of the battle, so I was only able to see their corpses, but, even if we had time to prepare, I think my squad would have had casualties if we tried to kill one.”

“They have dedicated panic bunkers in the village, the country doesn’t even tax them often because it was too dangerous for the tax collectors, and everyone in their village is trained in combat to some extent.” Minerva emphasized. “The tools they use are made of Deepwood monster materials so they can actually hurt Deepwood monsters, and I think most of their villagers would be at least as good as a regular foot soldier in a fight. They live in an environment completely divorced from what we consider to be normal.”

“But, back to what I was saying,” Alexis continued, “it is my personal opinion that they represent our best chance at returning society to some semblance of how it was before. And I hope you agree with me when I say that the way society is under the curse is detestable.”

Merida turned to Maddox. “Well, dear?” She asked.

Maddox closed her eyes, thought for a moment, then nodded. “We’ll give them a chance.” She said. “I don’t want to separate from Minerva again, not after what happened before. And Alexis is right; the society Aira’s Fervor builds is flawed on a fundamental level. If it wasn’t, then we would never have turned Minerva away, no matter what had happened to her, much less what we did. And if we are to be at war anyway, then these women seem our best shot at victory.”

A wave of profound relief washed over Minerva, and she collapsed into one of the chairs.

“Minnie!” Merida exclaimed. “Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine.” Minerva replied weakly. “Just…relieved. I feel like a long nightmare is over and everything is back how it should be.” She paused, glancing at her former father. “Or…mostly how it should be. As close as we’re going to get. I was just so worried that you’d still reject me, or that you wouldn’t help and we’d have to separate again or…”

Minerva reached up to wipe her teary eyes, trying her best to hold her emotions in. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I’m just exhausted from everything that’s happened and I’m not controlling my emotions the best. Give me a few minutes, I’ll be fine. In the meantime, we should probably talk about the…less pleasant stuff.”

“Oh, Minnie.” Merida said, kneeling down next to Minerva and holding her hand gently. “We can take all the time you need. Whether we were influenced or not, we treated you terribly, and it’s understandable that you’ve been deeply hurt. You don’t need to hide it around us.”

“No, I’m fine.” Minerva insisted, perhaps a little too strongly. “This is important.”

“Fine…but let Alexis tell us, okay? You take the time to rest.”

“Okay.” Minerva said quietly.

Merida gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, then turned to Alexis. “What did she mean less pleasant stuff?”

“The unfortunate fact of the matter is that the whole mass-cure of vassals that happens when someone in-charge is cured only works if Maia is the one who is in-charge.” Alexis explained. “And this has quite a few consequences. For one, it means you would have to acknowledge her as your sovereign, not just in name, but in actuality.”

“She doesn’t want it, she’s not trying to make a power grab!” Minerva added quickly. “But it’s how it has to be. The goddesses said so.”

“It’s okay, sweetie.” Maddox said, taking a seat next to Minerva and grabbing her other hand. “Alexis will get to all that, I’m sure.”

“She’s right, though.” Alexis said. “Maia would much prefer not to be in the position she’s in, but we have no choice.”

Maddox paused for a moment. “And you’re absolutely sure it was the goddesses you saw and not some trickery?”

“Absolutely.” Alexis replied. “I understand that our vagueness is making the story less trustworthy, but I am as sure that we saw the goddesses as I am the sun will rise tomorrow. You would be too, if you were there. However, what we saw…the knowledge is dangerous.

“And I know you’ll wonder how that is, because I wondered the same thing before, but I need you to trust me on this. If us not telling you is an absolute dealbreaker, then we have been given permission to give you some more detail, but, as a friend, I would ask that you not pry further, for all of our sakes.”

“I…will trust you, for now.” Maddox said slowly. “But you mentioned there were other ramifications to this Maia needing to be in charge?”

“Yes. Though she is one of our greatest combatants, she is also our weakness. If she dies, everything is over. We will be hunted down and exterminated, every last one of us. And, as Maia is still unfamiliar with politics, she is especially vulnerable to conspiracies and discord from within. Until she becomes politically savvy, which I imagine will be much quicker than normal, it will fall to people like us to protect her.”

“I think I understand.” Maddox said. “Will we retain our status in this new empire?”

“We’ve already discussed it, and so long as you act in good faith, then yes.” Alexis said.

“I have no complaints, then. Is there anything else you need to tell us now, or shall we delay this conversation until she returns?”

“Nothing pressing, but I have been wondering…do you plan to change your name at all?”

Maddox paused for a moment. “I think I will just go with Maddison.” She said.

There was a moment of silence, then Merida spoke. “Do you think we should take Galiena up on her offer of training the servants in using their new biology?”

“Absolutely.” Alexis replied. “She is, without a doubt, the finest maid I have ever seen, and the quality of the help will increase dramatically if you let her train them.”

“And… is she really the Bone Tyrant?” Maddison asked.

“Yes. Much like with Queen Maia the First, almost everything history has said about her is a lie. That being said, her skill is the real deal…”

Minerva closed her eyes for a moment, and, the next thing she knew, she was being gently shaken awake by her mother. “This is no place to sleep, Minnie.” Merida said gently. “Why don’t you head back to your room? We haven’t touched it since you left.”

“Hm? That…okay.” Minerva replied sleepily. “Thanks.”

“Alexis, would you escort her?” Merida asked.

“Gladly.” Alexis said, grabbing Minerva’s hand and gently pulling her to her feet. “It’s been a long day.”

“Yeah.” Minerva muttered, letting Alexis guide her back into the halls. And, sleepy as she was, the familiar scenery going by finally made everything feel normal again. She was home.