Alice's Point of View
The fun parts of being a general ended up being about one percent of the job, Alice found. As for the rest, she was one part traffic cop, one part paper pusher/powerpoint presentation giver, and one part the military governor of Moscow Oblast. That one was new. At least Galiban turned the lights back on.
After Ivan Leonev, the highest ranking Russian Federation official willing to work with them, signed the instrument of surrender, Alice found herself with the unenviable task of seeing to the needs of some ten million people, many of them hungry, confused, and afraid. Thankfully, they'd manage to take Moscow with a minimal loss of life. By the time her forces arrived the Russian army was rapidly crumbling, with defectors and prisoners more of a problem than actual armed opposition.
Her command tablet kept her updated on the food and fuel situation, and from what she understood Galiban was taking care of most of it. Still, there was a massive power vacuum and the Russian "provisional government" they'd organized was afraid to do anything without Alice's explicit approval.
She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Those elections can't come fast enough, she thought.
Things were more chaotic in the east, she'd heard. Russia east of the Urals was going to China, all of it: their price for joining the Damocles satellite missile-defense network. There were even talks about China joining RECA as a full member.
Maybe make the "E" stand for Eurasian?
On their side of the Urals, European Russia would be under occupation until a responsible civilian government could be established and the whole of their nuclear arsenal had been turned over and disposed of. Whether they would end up joining RECA, Alice didn't now. Probably.
The RECA map taking shape in her head was starting to look like a map of the communist world before the Sino-Soviet split, minus Yugoslavia, East Germany, and a few others, a real power bloc.
Queen Reka wasn't in charge officially, but come on. She set the tone. She had the juice. This was her thing.
I should've known Hungary wasn't big enough to hold the Demon Queen.
Her command tablet vibrated and Alice sighed, another minor dispute the Russians were kicking up to her, no doubt.
Or not. "Let's see what Reka wants," she said out loud.
"Ruling is tedious, no?" the Queen asked her after Alice opened the call. Was she so easy to read?
"You got me there, Reka," Alice replied. "How do you do it?"
"Delegation," her mistress said simply. "I have Galiban and Janos Magyar and many others besides. Why, I have you, actually. Do the poor souls we freed from the Demon King love us yet?"
"They're afraid," Alice said honestly. "We crushed their army, shot down their planes, and blasted their missiles right out of orbit. They've never seen power like that. Moreover, Gratin held this country in an iron grip for decades. The young people quite literally don't know anyone else, and the old people remember worse."
The Queen looked thoughtful at that. "I see," she said neutrally. "I'll consider what can be done to ease their concerns. Our Chinese friends have already expressed interest in a great Eurasian infrastructure project, jointly funded of course. We'll have the whole continent running on fusion within a few years. In any case, I'm sending a Polish general to relieve you. Russia will keep for the nonce; you are recalled to Budapest. There is to be a grand parade."
"Grand parade?" she asked dubiously. Alice really wasn't a "spotlight" kind of person.
"Ah, and I am told young Mr. Usyk is up and walking around finally," Reka added to tempt her.
Reka's predilection for projection was her most likable trait. Brad was her favorite thing, so she just assumed dangling Taras in front of her was motivation enough.
"I'll be there!" Alice said happily. So what if Reka was right this time?
Bye, Moscow!
A private plane was waiting for her at the airport. Being one of "Reka's people" had certain benefits, like never having to wait in line or go through security. After a short flight, Alice was back home and sleeping in her own bed for the first time in months.
Rehearsals for the parade had to wait until every country could send their delegation. This left her free to visit Taras in the hospital.
"Did somebody say WacArnolds?" she announced her entrance to his room.
Taras didn't immediately react. "Is that some sort of American greeting?" he asked as he sat up.
"You're no fun," Alice said, sitting down on the foot of his bed. "I brought WacArnolds, obviously. You know what that is, right?"
"Yes, yes," Taras said in understanding. "It is the national food of Burgerland. We have it in Ukraine as well, but it is considered somewhat overpriced for the quality you get."
He reluctantly accepted his burger, fries, and soda, placing them on an empty food tray he still had from breakfast that morning.
Alice took a bite of her own burger. "This is actually better than what you would get in America," she said. "A lot of the chemical additives are banned in Europe, and the ingredients are just plain higher quality."
Taras nodded sagely. "America makes good video games but not much else. Speaking of which, I understand you were playing your own real time strategy game while I was laid up here."
Alice snorted. "Not much strategy required. We pushed their shit in in Ukraine and they didn't have a hell of a lot left to throw at us once we crossed the border. Most of the time they surrendered as soon as they saw us coming. It was a quick hop from Estonia to Saint Petersburg and then I swung south to help encircle Moscow. Oh, and I saw Gratin himself."
Taras' eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Truly? I would have liked to see old Botox's face when he finally realized he was beaten. The arrogant bastard has a lot of blood on his hands, the blood of people I know," he muttered darkly.
"I don't think he even knows what happened," Alice replied. "Gratin was talking to himself like a crazy person when they dragged him out of the Kremlin. I don't speak Russian but I remember one word: 'anklosaksi', beats me what that means."
For the first time since she'd met him, Alice witnessed Taras really lose control of himself. Laughing like a madman, he kept repeating, "anklosaksi, anklosaksi!"
"You planning to let me in on the joke?" she asked, nonplussed.
Struggling to get ahold of himself, Taras choked out the words, "ha, anklo, hehe, saksi, hoho." He burst into another fit of giggles.
Alice just stared, waiting for the laughter to die down.
"Anglo-Saxon," Taras forced out finally. "The Anglo-Saxons are the boogeymen of Russian conspiracy theorists. As the Jew is to the Nazi, the Anglo-Saxons are to them. Everything is blamed on the schemes of the 'anklosaksi'. Everything from the fall of the Czar to the fall of the Soviet Union, the poverty of the nineties, the corruption of the oligarchs, it is all somehow the fault of the Anglo-Saxons who control world finance, among other things. You mean to tell me, this hard-nosed political realist, this cunning dictator, believes he'd been had by the anklosaksi?"
"I don't know, Taras," she said, smiling in spite of herself. The mirth in his voice was contagious. "He just looked like a broken old man to me. What about you? How have you been? What was it like to, you know, get nuked?"
His smile dimmed a bit. "The bomb didn't go off right on top of me, or I wouldn't be here," he explained. "I received an unhealthy dose of radiation and had some burns on my arms. It looked bad."
Alice reached out and placed her hand over his. "It must've been so scary."
"Yes," Taras said quietly, not pulling his hand away from hers. "I thought I was dead for sure. They rushed me here, and this was the strangest thing, Queen Reka came personally, and spent some time chanting over me like she was a shaman or something. I didn't know she was superstitious."
Magic, Alice knew at once. "And then?" She squeezed his hand gently.
"It was touch and go for awhile. The Queen kept visiting. About a month later they had pills for me to take, and I slept for a long time. The burns are mostly healed now, but you can see some faint scaring." He pulled his sleeve up so she could look.
Reka did this for me, Alice realized. She went out of her way to keep Taras alive just for me. She started tearing up.
"I'm fine," Taras comforted her. "There's no need to cry. The miracle cure worked. I feel great, better than I ever have in some ways, like my whole body has been rejuvenated."
"It's not that," Alice said, dabbing her eyes with a WacArnolds napkin. "You know, Reka told me they are giving me some kind of medal at the parade. But after that, I'm completely free."
She let the implication hang.
Taras swallowed audibly, his WacArnolds meal cold and forgotten. "Would you like...to go on a date?" he asked timidly. "I know we never discussed..."
"Yes," she cut him off. "I'd love to go on a date with you."
He smiled goofily at her. Alice smiled back.
***
Brad's Point of View
"Just smile and wave, my love."
The collar of the Navy officer uniform he wore was stiff and itched a bit. Do we even have a Navy? he wondered. Maybe RECA would have a Navy some day. Croatia was right there, and the Ukrainians were swearing eternal friendship. Rijeka, Odessa, Sevastopol, there were plenty of options for a joint naval base.
"So many flags," he remarked to his wife. The streets of Budapest were lined with flags, and not just Hungarian ones. Ukraine was prominent, as was China, but he spotted Poland, Slovakia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, the very core of RECA. All were here, their soldiers marching proudly in front of the Queen.
Reka herself was radiant in victory, wearing a gorgeous but tasteful light blue dress paired with a burgundy coat to fend off the late October chill. Brad could feel a thousand cameras fixed on them and tried not to look too out of place next to his painfully beautiful wife.
"You're doing fine," she assured him, somehow managing to maintain her perfect smile while talking out of the corner of her mouth. "The world loves you as I love you."
That was easy for her to say. Reka was born for this. Brad was...just a guy. How'd I even end up in this situation?
Instantly sensing his inner turmoil, his wife leaned against him slightly as if to say, "you belong next to me."
Taking strength from that little gesture, he refocused on the parade. "Oh, I see the Vanguards have uniforms now."
"Julie said it made them look less frightening, and Galiban agreed," Reka said. "I probably wouldn't bother in actual war but having them wear clothes is charming in a way. Ah, here comes dear Alice. You remember what to do?"
Brad nodded. "I hold out the box with the medal and then you give it to her."
"Just so, my love," she said affectionately, and, quick as a flash, his wife wrapped herself in royal dignity. The music stopped. The microphone in the Queen's box turned on. "General Glass, step forward!" she commanded.
Alice, a woman Brad could call friend at this point, broke formation with her robotic troops, approached the Queen, and kneeled. Her light blonde hair took on an almost silver hue in the sunlight.
"I, Reka of House Regis, Sovereign Queen of Hungary," she spoke formally, "on behalf of a grateful nation, do present Alice Glass, General of our Unmanned Forces, this token. For courage in battle, for resourcefulness in the face of a cunning and ruthless foe, for victory in the war against the tyrant Gratin, I do hereby award you the Order of Saint Stephen."
That was Brad's cue. He brought the box forward and Reka took the medal and pinned it on Alice's left breast. "Arise, Hero of Hungary!" the Queen intoned sonorously.
The people cheered like they'd never have to be afraid again and Alice looked ten feet tall.
What a badass, he thought.
That night, Reka was less talkative than usual.
"What's wrong, honey?" he asked.
There was a wicked gleam in her eyes.
Oh.
"Nothing's wrong, my love," she purred. "That awful Gratin and all his 'war criminals' are to be tried in Lviv by three judges: one Hungarian, one Ukrainian, and one Chinese. We're safe now."
Why did she sound so turned on when she said that?
"Why do you think?" his wife asked.
Could she really read his thoughts now?
"Just general impressions, feelings, but I know you, Brad. My husbands wishes are not opaque to me."
She slipped behind him. He could feel her hot breath on his neck. "Tonight's the night," Reka whispered heatedly into his ear.
A flash of realization shot through him like lightning. "You don't mean..."
"Yes," her voice was raspy with need. "This night, when you spill your seed inside me we shall conceive an heir for true!"
The words made Brad shiver. "How?"
"Magic," she said simply.
The shadow his wife cast as she hugged him from behind elongated and the arms that embraced him turned red. He felt his demon wife rest her chin on the top of his head. Brad melted into her body.
"It's easier like this," Reka explained. "Magic is mutability while matter is stability. With but a thought my womb is ready. An egg waits for one of your sweet swimmers to come close and give her a little kiss."
The imagery made Brad so excited he was almost hyperventilating.
She kissed his hair. "My husband is so eager."
Stripping off his clothing with surprising gentleness, Reka picked him up and lowered him onto their bed.
Brad admired her form as his wife crawled on top of him. Reka was powerfully built with lean muscle, heavy breasts, child-bearing hips that flared out from visible abs , and her eyes, green in her human form, were red and penetrating. Those red eyes, crinkling with affection, made him feel both protected and possessed utterly. He wanted to give everything he was to her. It was her right.
"Yes," she said breathily. "I know you want me like this."
"Isn't it your true form?" Brad asked curiously. "I love the real Reka the most, whatever she looks like."
Before he could blink her face was an inch from his. Her toothy smiled showed off her succubus fangs. "They're both the real me, my love, but I appreciate the sentiment."
A kiss smothered his reply, her long forked tongue invading and exploring his mouth. Reka's wings flapped once and Brad enjoyed a pleasant rush of air on his flushed face before his cock was plunged into her hellfire hot pussy.
His wife's vagina was like a living thing, gripping him insistently, tugging and teasing his dick from the base to the head. Gently they rocked together for a time, her powerful thighs holding him in place securely.
Brad's breathing was ragged when Reka released his mouth. There was no urgency in their coupling, not yet.
She looked down at him mischievously. "I know a new trick."
He answered by roaming his hands all over her body, drinking in every detail by touch alone. A fine sheen of sweat coated them both and the smell of her drove him wild. "Do anything you want to me," Brad said submissively.
"I knew you'd say that," Reka replied proudly.
Her wings flapped again, but this time they left the bed briefly before slamming back down. The sensation was like being picked up by the cock, floating for a moment, and falling back together, drawing him deeper than he had ever been.
Up and down it continued like an erotic roller coaster ride.
Whoosh! Thump! Whoosh! Thump! Whoosh! Thump!
The bed groaned in protest but they were both past caring. Every time they plunged into the mattress her pussy tightened around him, making Brad gasp in ecstasy.
Sensing the end, Reka cupped his cheeks with her powerful, clawed hands. "Look at me, my love!" she commanded. "Look me in the eyes when you spill your seed in my depths and impregnate me with our firstborn!"
Obediently wrenching his eyes open, Brad was overcome with emotion. "Reka, I love you so much! I'll love you forever!"
"And I love you, Brad! Let me give you the family you always wanted. Do it. Do it!" she pleaded.
Brad's body, as if waiting for permission, chose that moment to come undone. Cock pulsing, seed spurting, his nervous system an electric detonation, Brad pumped his essence into his wife's impossibly hot core.
Reka, for her part, pressed their foreheads together, eyes wide and locked with his, an unbreakable connection at the level of their very souls. She dug her wings under him and crushed their bodies together, desperate to maximize skin to skin contact.
Eternity passed between them in that moment. The bed collapsed and every light bulb in the room shattered at once. Wild energy lashed out in every direction, with blue and violet bolts of light firing randomly and leaving charred streaks on the walls in strange spiral patterns.
When it was over there was a pink flash and Reka was human again, her sweaty, tired body clinging to her husband and panting in exhaustion.
"It's a girl," she said softly.