"So I have narrowed our course of action into three options that meet your requirements. First, we have the temporary transformation into a female body with assistance from a transformation coach since you mentioned that you have issues with shifting your form for even short periods of time. Secondly, there is the option of the permanent implantation of a female reproduction system into yours which I can tell based off of what you told me at the beginning of this meeting you do not want to permanently alter your body which leaves us with the last viable option that we can safely perform is what we call a Fathers womb," The ancient looking fertility doctor said in a voice that sounded like he was talking through a vat of syrup. Despite his powder white hair and map of wrinkles that shaped his light brown face, he was the best doctor in the land. With him being so qualified I made sure to keep my ears open so I could absorb the information that he was giving us. He was only a little under five feet tall making him one of the few people I come across that I was able to tower over.
"What exactly is that I do apologize for us not being so prepared in the slightest," Bernardo asked his question while taking notes. It was true that we had not done our due diligence beforehand. The day started as normal as any other until it was interrupted by a call from my father in law telling us that he managed to get us an appointment with the esteemed Doctor Lopez.
I could almost feel the excitement he had with the prospect of becoming a grandfather for the first time. He was the kind of father I wished that I had growing up. I highly doubted he was perfect but at least he seemed to be trying. That was something I couldn't say about the majority of my family and I was becoming okay with that.
"Well, we typically start with purging his body of any and all impurities residing in his organs and throughout the flow of blood so that his body is cleansed like a blank slate for the child to develop in. Next, we take a sample of his semen and turn it into anywhere from couple hundred eggs to several thousand. We use the partner who is carrying the child sperm as an egg because we find that it keeps the chances of rejection down to approximately sixteen percent. Then we add the second father's sperm into a petri dish as is and they fertilize the egg sample which we call zygotes, we rapidly turn them into embryos and then we take the healthies one which we can sex for you if you so, please. After that, we decide which one you want and then we place it inside of you through phasing the artificial womb into your abdomen and we intertwine your "essence" to the baby and it grows into a child ready to be released in about three months' time," He replied to my husband's questions which I was sure a very general overview of the whole process. I noticed how confident he was with every word that he uttered. There was no stammering and he didn't take a moment to gather his thoughts. All of this information was second nature to him which imbued me with confidence in both him and his ability to perform the process successfully.
I also knew that the human body was still not something that could be called an exact science so I began thinking of all the things that he couldn't control and began chanting that it was not his fault at all.
"Okay that sounds very complicated, how will the baby growing impact my daily life. How much stress will this put on my mind and my body" I asked him?
"Well even for a royal the strain will be a lot so I urge Prince Bernardo to learn some mana sharing skills in order to help you from time to time. I can't give you a definitive answer because it impacts everyone in different ways. I've had some patients that were business as usual and some sadly we had to terminate the pregnancy for their safety. Luckily you are also an enhancer which means your body is used to suffusing mana into others" he said with his language migrating into Spanish but held a tone of reassurance as if he saw into the future and could see a successful pregnancy on the horizon.
"So when can we set the date," I asked already deciding that both he and the spell we were to use. As I repositioned myself in the soft blush pink chair I looked over at Bernardo who was smiling kindly at me. He was ready to be a dad. I held some reservations as we were still learning one another but I was sure that both of us would be able to work out any issues that might arise.
"We can take the samples today and then we can impregnate you as soon as two weeks. We like to watch the embryos early development to make sure there aren't any issues before we place them inside of you and we can hold them for years if you two decide to take some more time with this very exciting but important decision. Either way, I am happy that I will be the one bringing in the new heir of Panama," Dr. Lopez replied with a wide and proud smile.
"Well let's get started," Bernardo said standing up. I felt myself blush as we were led from the clean pastel colored room and were assured into a private suite where we produced the samples. After a few contracts were signed we were escorted out by out two guards.
"So we're going to be dads," I said feeling like I had just gone through a whirlpool and was spit out as a whole new person. Which in a way was true since from now on I had another person to worry about. A child who was going to be more important to me than the people I governed over, Bernardo who I was growing to love, my responsibilities to the north, and even myself. I would have another heart walking around this dangerous world.
"Yes, we are," Bernardo said as he pulled me into a firm kiss then released me. The ten guards around us walked in sync making sure that nobody got to close or did anything aggressive.
"Your highnesses if I may say so myself you two look really happy," Alejandro said as his eyes scanned the growing crowd of paparazzi on the adjacent street. We had allowed the city to keep moving as usual since we had made the journey last minute and it was in the middle of the newly enacted four day work week.
"We need to begin setting up one of the rooms as a nursery," I told Bernardo who hummed in response to me.
"I'm thinking we should go with all white and lots of light. I want them to be engulfed in sunlight anytime they are in their room," I said looking around as I felt like the mood had changed. Bernardo looked around with his nose flared as if he was sniffing out a threat. The guards had fingers hovering over the triggers of their guns. Mileta had taken a single step closer to me and Alejandro did the same for Bernardo.
"What's going on," I asked them and began sending the astral energy inside of me into my eyes allowing me to see everything. I even pushed some into my ears but recoiled as the sensation immediately became too much for me to handle. I still had to work on that spell and I would probably have to do that after the pregnancy.
"Baby boy, duck down," Bernardo told me while trying to be both soft and authoritative. I didn't allow myself to become transfixed on the juxtaposition of being both warm and commanding.
Ducking down I saw the issue for myself a man to my back left who had a hoody pulled up to cover his face. It was a bleached stained rag that had burn holes in several places and tears where the burns hadn't touched. In his hands, there was a light that glowed in a peculiar muddy green color. I caused concern to grown in me as I went through the catacombs of my mind to remember why that light seemed so familiar.
"He's forming a curse," Bernardo said as the air began to squeak around us. I could feel fear rolling from the base of my spine throughout my body. We needed to get away from him as well as getting the people around us.
"No mas Reyes," he yelled in a Spanish so thick that I barely caught onto what he was saying. I was sure he was using a dialect of Spanish I didn't hear more. He began running towards us hands outstretched as his hands at our guards.
"Mileta now," Alejandro shouted and I saw her twist towards the danger and push out against the air as if she was moving an insurmountable about of mass. As she did this I noticed how everything seemed to slow down.
"You're slowing the speed of movement," I said in surprise.
Alejandro didn't seem to be surprised at all as I saw him gather air and dust in the air before he blew out a breath that pushed the wind away. In horror, I watched as the man head was separated from the rest of his body and hit the ground. The light in his hand sputtered out and the body dropped. Just as quickly as the danger happened it was gone. We didn't have any time to think as we were rushed to our vehicle from the town center and was speeding away.
"Who the hell was that," I said as I released my power.
"We knew that there could be sympathizers so I'm assuming that's who he was or we might have encountered a sleeper agent. I... We need to find out who else could be here who shouldn't," Bernardo answered while he pulled me over to him.
"I don't want anyone putting you in danger especially when you have our kid inside of you," He added while kissing the crown of my head. His muscles acted as a firm pillow as I began to work on releasing the anxiety inside of me.
"I think we should wait until we have everything under control before we start the baby process," I said as I began to think of how much worse things could have gone if I was just pregnant.
"Looks like I have a lot of work to do then. Baby I can't wait to have a real family with you. I want to see how our kid looks and how they act and I won't let a few misguided fools postpone those experiences for either of us," he said. It was funny to see him so giddy about something. With how happy he was I was surprised he hadn't impregnated someone yet.
"I believe you, I want us all to be as safe as possible. I know we don't live in a utopia and that there will always be something around the corner that wishes to do us harm, but I want that something to be so weak that it poses no real danger to this land. Am I making sense," I asked him as my hand rubbed his washboard like abs.
"I understand exactly what you are saying and I promise you that when I'm done with this gang nobody else will ever want to try and pull this shit again," he said with a determination so clear that I feared for the people who would have to face his deserved wrath.