Isabella held the delicate piece of shimring lavender fabric between her fingers like it was a precious jewel. Her heart raced with excitent as she approached the machine. This glorious, stone-bodied miracle. Her new baby.
"Let's see what you can do," she whispered, smirking.
She placed the tiny material piece into the opening of the duplication chamber. The runes inside the chamber lit up instantly, glowing a soft pale blue. It humd, warm and gentle, like the heart of a creature waking from sleep.
Osiris stood a few steps behind her, arms crossed, brows furrowed as if trying to understand this strange sorcery. His expression said, I am ready to run if this explodes.
Too bad for him. She wasn't letting him run anywhere.
She pressed the start activation sigil.
The machine whirred.
The runes glowed brighter.
The chamber pulsed once.
And then—
A long sheet of lavender fabric slid out the other side.
Perfect. Smooth. Untouched. Identical to the original. Not a single flaw.
Isabella froze.
The machine humd again.
Another sheet slid out.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
It did not stop.
Her eyes widened.
Her mouth fell open.
Her hands flew to her face.
"Oh my goddess," she breathed. "It works. It actually works."
She let out a scream of joy so loud the vines trembled. She began bouncing up and down on the soft cotton-like ground. Her hair swayed wildly. Her smile was blinding. She twirled around in a full circle, laughing breathlessly.
Glimora squeaked happily and spun too, her fluffy body wobbling like a dancing dumpling.
The machine continued producing fabric steadily, piling it in a perfect stack beside her.
Isabella clapped her hands. "Look at it. Look at it. Look at my baby. I made this. I made this. I did that."
Her happiness was so contagious even the glowing fibers in the clearing brightened.
She twirled like a child who had found her dream co true. She giggled. She jumped. She covered her face and laughed into her palms. She even made tiny excited squeals that bounced between the stone walls.
In that mont, she forgot about Osiris.
Completely.
Utterly.
Absorbed in the pure bliss of creation.
But Osiris did not forget her.
Not even for a heartbeat.
He stared at her like a man seeing beauty for the first ti. The way her eyes shone with excitent. The way her laughter filled the air and wrapped around him. Her cheeks flushed with joy. The tiny dimples that appeared when she smiled. The glow of the fabrics reflected in her hair.
His heart thumped once.
Hard.
The sensation startled him. Beastn weren't supposed to get dizzy. But he felt sothing in his chest tighten, then loosen, then tighten again.
He inhaled.
Deep.
He didn't even realize he was staring until Isabella suddenly stopped laughing and turned sharply, her head snapping toward him like a predator sensing a gaze.
Osiris flinched and whipped his head away so fast his neck cracked.
"I was not looking," he said imdiately.
She narrowed her eyes. "Suspicious."
"I did nothing."
She squinted harder.
He adjusted his stance nervously.
"Are you planning sothing stupid," she asked.
"No."
"Are you sure."
"Yes."
"You look suspicious."
"You also look suspicious."
"That does not make sense."
"Nothing you say makes sense."
She placed a hand on her hip. "Do you want to slap you."
He looked away silently.
Exactly.
She ignored him with satisfaction and returned her focus to Glimora.
"Co here, baby," she crooned, bending down.
Glimora instantly bounced into her arms with a tiny chirp. Isabella lifted her up with her usual dramatic flair and twirled again, hugging her close.
"I am so happy. Look at this. Look at all this fabric. It is perfect. It is so perfect. I could cry."
Glimora squeaked lovingly and nuzzled her cheek.
Isabella giggled and spun one more ti. But halfway through the spin, she paused, putting a hand on her lower back. She breathed out slowly. Pregnancy fatigue slid over her shoulders.
Her belly was not big yet.
Just a small curve.
Barely noticeable under her clothes.
But she felt it.
The heaviness.
The tug of her body changing.
The new warmth.
The gentle stretching.
She gently lowered Glimora to the ground.
"My love," she said softly, tapping Glimora's nose, "you are getting bigger. Mama may not be able to carry you anymore."
Glimora's ears drooped dramatically.
Isabella laughed and scooped her tiny face into her hands. "I am joking. No matter how big you get, you will always be Mama's baby."
She pressed a loving kiss onto the top of Glimora's head.
Glimora lted into a puddle of happiness.
Osiris watched from the side, his arms crossed, pretending he was not jealous of a tiny beast who was currently getting Isabella's affection.
He cleared his throat loudly.
Isabella ignored him imdiately.
She went back to the machine and pressed the stop sigil. The runes dimd. The hum ceased. The long flow of fabric quieted. The final sheet slid out and joined the massive pile.
She surveyed her treasure.
Lavender stacks.
Shimring blues.
Petal soft pinks.
Gold streaked greens.
Translucent whites.
Velvety blacks.
Her future flashed before her eyes.
Clothes.
Shoes.
Accessories.
Jewelry bags.
Trade routes.
Village prosperity.
Fashion empire.
Her mother would have scread with joy.
She placed a hand over her belly.
"My babies," she whispered, "your mother will build you a kingdom."
Osiris raised a brow. "Why are you talking to your stomach."
She glared at him. "Shut. Up."
He lifted both hands. "Fine."
She looked back at the piles of fabric stacked around her like treasure chests overflowing with gold.
She could not leave this clearing without taking pieces of every single material. Every vine. Every thread. Every glowing fiber. Every magical textile.
She needed it all.
Every last piece.
She turned slowly toward Osiris, hands behind her back, smiling in a way that made his beast instincts flinch.
He stood stiffly. "Why are you smiling like that."
"No reason."
"That is a lie."
"Maybe."
His eyes narrowed. "What are you planning."
"Oh nothing."
"Isabella."
"Yes."
"You are scaring ."
"Good."
He stepped back a little. "Stop smiling like that."
She took one step forward.
He took one step back.
Glimora snickered.
Isabella's smile widened.
She clasped her hands in front of her chest sweetly. "Osiris."
He swallowed. "What."
"I have a task for you."
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