Chapter Thirty-Six
Leo opened the door for Morana. She gazed out on a large bedroom with several beds in it. The stone decor was the same, but there were carpets on the ground and tapestries that hid much of the ugliness. The work of women unable to let things remain as they were was evident.
Homemakers.
"So this is the girl," purred a girl made entirely of ice. Her flesh reflected Morana's pale form. "Isn't that the goth girl that picked on you, Leo?"
"Christ, Crystal, she never picked on me," said Leo. "We just... didn't get along that well."
"I was a fool not to see the dark majesty of Leo," Morana said. "But now I see his power. His..." Her words trailed off as she stared at a girl made of clay. "Is that the barista from Morning Drip?"
"I am," Terra said. "Did you ever come in?"
"I would never go into such a pedestrian place as a coffee shop like the mindless masses," Morana said, sniffing her nose.
This is one of the women that Leo picked? I can see his older sister, for that is kinky, but that smiling and perky prep who is full of empty platitudes?
"Wow," Terra said, looking Morana up and down. "Rebellious phase?"
"Now you sound like my parents," Morana said, rolling her eyes. "Especially my step-mother. It is not rebelling to throw away the conformity of the masses to be my own thinker."
"By dressing like all the other non-conformists," said a girl made all of chrome.
"Hagane?" Morana asked, staring at the Japanese girl. "Not a bad choice, Leo." Her eyes slid to the crimson-skinned and busty girl with this wild streak about her. Horns peeked out of her black hair. "You're the porn star."
"Nina Naughty," she said. "I'd try not to sneer so much at some of us."
"The Dark Lord needs to have the best women serve him."
"Dark Lord?" Crystal asked. "You're going to give Leo an even bigger ego than he has."
"He's the Dark Lord Big Bro!" Garnet squealed. "It's such a super cool nickname. And I'm Dark Succubus Naughty Garnet now!"
Crystal rolled her eyes at the pretension. Garnet deflated and turned to Leo. He rubbed a fond hand over her head. "You can call me what you like, and you're my dark and naughty succubus."
Her wings lifted.
"Well, dear, it's a pleasure to have you," purred a mature woman with leafy-green hair and golden-brown skin. "I'm Leo's mother, Zoe Baldwin."
Morana arched an eyebrow. "Kinky. A MILF. And is that another MILF? And is she an angel? Really."
"What is wrong with me being an angel, young lady?" demanded the MILF. She even had a halo over her head.
"I bet you were a homemaker, right? The perfect Stepford wife." Morana stiffened and moved like a robot. Then, in a mechanical voice, said, "I am built to bake apple pie."
The angel arched an eyebrow.
"Wow," said the silver-skinned woman with golden hair that crackled with electricity. "I've met some primadonnas in my day, but you're, Morana, wow. You're an arrogant, little bitch."
Anger surged through Morana. She glared at the woman then recognized her. "Lana Fulmine? Leo, you brought
Lana Fulmine
into this world? That no-talent actress who only succeeded because she spread her legs on the casting couch and starred in such dribble as Jane Dangerous!"
"I was Leo's
first
choice," hissed Lana Fulmine. "What are you? His tenth?"
"Morana," Leo growled. "That's enough. I like who I like. Jane Dangerous was smoking hot, and so is Lana. Those are my favorite movies. I don't give a shit if they're lowbrow or not."
Morana spun to face him. She stared at him in shock. "You deserve better than some of your women. Terra, Maya, that angel, and Lana Fulmine. You could have had interesting women in your harem. Not vapid sluts and brainwashed housewives."
"Brainwashed?" The angel advanced. "You think that because I was a housewife, I was brainwashed? What, I was too stupid to not realize I could have had a career or something? That I didn't know what I wanted? A mother? A wife? That I wanted to raise my own family."
"It's just society hasβ" Morana started.
"Society?" The angel shook her head. "Conformity? You're just a girl who doesn't like the fact that she was one of three billion other women. No different from them. You think that you can spout all that nonsense, think everyone who doesn't act like you is too dumb to see your pedantic truth? I know a spoiled brat when I see one. A girl who was never disciplined. Never challenged. Who had her whole life scheduled and controlled by her parents. Who thinks listening to depressing music, dressing in all black, and whining about how everyone else is robots or idiots makes her deep and thoughtful. You're as shallow as a muddy puddle, Morana. And now that you
are
special. One of the twelve women Leo
can
pull into this worldβtwelve out of billionsβyou try to attack the rest of us because we're not as self-obsessed and trite as you. It's nauseating."
Morana gaped at her. No one had ever talked to her this way. She struggled to gather herself. To launch a retort at this angry angel. She could shriek, rupture the woman's eardrums. Make her brain explode. She was a banshee. Given powers by the dark lord.
"Leo chooses us because he's a horny, nineteen-year-old boy," the angel said. "All of us are girls and women he's masturbated to. Lusted for. He had the chance to bring us here, give us power, and experience our love, and he took it. He made us special. Gave us all a chance to be more than we were in the other world. But that doesn't mean what we were in that other world didn't have importance just because you can't see past your own rebellious nonsense.
"My name is Bella Lucina. The other me, the one that is still in our world, is a happy wife and mother. She's more than content with what she has. Me, I'm that part of her that always wondered what if I hadn't walked this path. If I didn't decide to choose to have a family over having fun. Over enjoying young, hot men. Same with Terra. With Lana Fulmine. Same with
you. People are not the caricatures that you pretend they are.
We're so much more, but it's easy to just judge them and write them off. You don't have to have your vapid, little worldview challenged, do you?"
Morana's cheeks burned. Everyone was staring at me. This was so humiliating. "You don't know anything about me."
"You don't know anything about yourself," said Mrs. Lucina. "But you will. You're going to learn here. You're going to discover facets of your personality you didn't know you had. Abilities to love, to hate, to endure pain and suffering. You're going to find out that you have strengths, Morana. That you have worth.
"You're Leo's. He chose you, Morana. Out of all the women in his life, all the hot actresses and slutty porn stars that he could have chosen, he picked you. He added you to his harem. He welcomed you into his family. This is going to be your new home. You're going to love it if you can stop acting like a spoiled brat. But until then..."