Then they brought out the clothes.
The fabric was soft and light, almost translucent in places.
There was a top that covered her breasts, barely, with thin straps over her shoulders.
A bottom that barely covered the essential bits, but the material was so flimsy she could see her own skin through it.
And between the top and bottom, her stomach was completely bare.
All of it.
On display.
The tiny bump of her pregnancy visible for anyone to see.
Lin Yue stared at herself in the mirror.
-_-
"Are you serious?" The words burst out before she could stop them. "This is what I'm supposed to wear?!"
The maids exchanged glances. "It's traditional dress for expecting mothers, ma'am. It allows the cub to feel the warmth of the sun and the touch of the air. It's very beneficial for development."
Lin Yue looked at herself again.
Her breasts were covered. Her privates were covered, sort of.
But everything else was on display.
"You have flying cars.." she said flatly. "You have genetic modification. You have a whole interstellar civilization. And THIS is what pregnant women wear?!"
[I MEAN, THEY'RE NOT WRONG ABOUT THE SUN AND AIR BENEFITS. IT'S VERY PROGRESSIVE, ACTUALLY.]
-_-
"Progressive my ass. This is one step above a lingerie."
[YOU LOOK GOOD, MAYBE YOU'LL SEE YOUR BABY DADDY AND HE'LL FALL FOR YOU INSTANTLY.]
Lin Yue wanted to strangle the screen.
Unfortunately, the maids couldn't see it, so she just looked like she was glaring at empty air.
"There's really nothing else?"
"Nothing more appropriate for an expecting mother, ma'am. The cub needs exposure to its environment."
Lin Yue took a deep breath.
Then another.
Fine.
Fine.
She was on an alien planet with alien customs and alien fashion. If this was what pregnant women wore here, then this was what she would wear.
She just hoped she didn't run into anyone important.
The maids led her out of the room and into a corridor.
Then another corridor.
Then a third.
The castle was massive.
Every hallway stretched on forever, lined with windows that looked out on gardens and courtyards and buildings she couldn't identify.
The architecture was beautiful, all clean lines and warm stone and touches of gold that caught the light.
Beastfolk passed them occasionally.
Guards in uniforms, servants carrying trays, well-dressed individuals who were probably nobles.
They all glanced at her, at her bare stomach, at the maids flanking her, and quickly looked away.
Lin Yue's face burned with every encounter.
"Is this really necessary?" she muttered.
"The stroll?" one maid asked. "Yes, ma'am. Very necessary. The cub needs to become aware of its surroundings. The sounds, the smells, the movement. It all helps with development."
"Plus," the other maid added, "exercise is good for you. Keeps the body strong."
Lin Yue nodded and kept walking.
They passed through a garden.
Real flowers, blooming in colors she'd never seen before
Fountains that sparkled in the sunlight.
Paths made of smooth stone that felt warm under her bare feet, she'd been given sandals, but they were more decorative than functional.
The cub didn't kick. It was too small for that.
But she felt... something.
A presence.
Like she wasn't alone in her body anymore.
She put a hand on her bare stomach without thinking.
The maids smiled at each other but said nothing.
Lin Yue walked through the garden, one hand resting on her stomach, feeling the tiny life inside her, and wondered what kind of world she had brought it into.
The sun was warm on her bare skin.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
The garden stretched on forever.
Lin Yue walked along the stone paths, past flowers she couldn't name and bushes she couldn't identify, with the sun warm on her bare stomach and the maids trailing a respectful distance behind her.
Every so often they would point out something of interest—a particularly beautiful bloom, a fountain with water that shimmered like liquid silver, a statue of some historical figure she didn't recognize.
She nodded and smiled and pretended to care, but her mind was elsewhere.
The baby
She kept coming back to that.
There was a living thing inside her.
A tiny bean-sized cub that would be the size of a small pear by evening, an apple by tomorrow morning, a melon by tomorrow night. In three days, she would give birth to it.
Three days.
She was going to be a mother in three days.
Her hand hadn't left her stomach since they started walking.
She couldn't help it.
Every few minutes she would press gently, trying to feel something, anything, even though it was too early.
The baby was still too small.
There was nothing to feel yet.
But she felt something anyway.
They rounded a corner and came upon a smaller courtyard.
Less grand than the others they had passed.
More private.
A man stood there.
He was leaning against a pillar, arms crossed, watching her approach with an expression that made her skin crawl immediately.
Wolf ears, like most of the people here, but darker than the others she'd seen.
Black fur tipped with silver. His eyes were pale, almost grey, and they raked over her like she was dirt beneath his boots.
The maids behind her stopped walking.
Their usual calm demeanor shifted.
They looked at each other, then at the ground.
Lin Yue kept walking. What else could she do? He was blocking the path.
"Well, well." His voice was smooth and cold, dripping with amusement. "So this is the famous human."
She stopped a few feet away from him. Met his eyes directly. "I don't think we've met."
"No. We haven't." He pushed off from the pillar and walked around her in a slow circle.
She could feel his gaze on her bare skin, contemptuous and dismissive. "You know, I've read about humans.Primitive species. Backwards planet. Always fighting each other over nothing. They blow up their own cities for fun, I hear."
Lin Yue's jaw tightened, but she kept her expression neutral. "That's an interesting perspective."