Year 1340 “Push! Come on, darling, come on! You’re nearly there, just nearly!” Soft words of encouragement seemed to be lost within each earth-shattering shriek of the servant girl currently attempting to deliver a (please, oh, please let it be) healthy baby boy into the careful and impeccably disinfected hands of Kiku Matsumoto, who was having an exceedingly difficult time of being heard over the song only a woman suffering through childbirth with not a drop of anesthesia could sing, and at such high volumes! The entire (and admittedly lavish) room filled to the brim with such unholy sounds, it was a wonder that no one came rushing in with accusations of murder! Well, Kiku supposed, the entire place was humming with the approval of murder, was it not? The notion truly did shock the young servant, though murder was not something her kin had necessarily disapproved of. Of course, this was the lifestyle of the great Matsumoto Clan, of nearly all Succubi and Incubi. When Kiku was called upon to aid in the delivery of a young domestic’s child, it was with trepidation that the girl had to proceed. Word of the clan had certainly not escaped her ears, but it was until now that she actually realized that they were somewhat tangible. Not fiction, as the mortals used to think it, but they had always seemed so…otherworldly. As if they never existed at all, and the clan was a story made up to keep little children from staying out after the sun went to bed. But there was very little time to reflect on where she was and how she got there, as the baby’s head came into full view, and the woman’s screams only increased. Kiku had decided that the girl, if she were not a servant, would have made a very lovely soprano. “Oh, almost there! They head is out! Push, love! Push push push! Oh, my…” The vessal relaxed as the newborn arrived, save and sound, into Kiku’s arms, wailing and wailing as if his lungs would never give out. After thoroughly cleaning both mother and baby, the Succubus had made the newborn’s needs completely clear to the silenced and slightly pale servants settled in the back of the room and bid the new mother adieu, exiting the bedroom. What Kiku did not realize was that she would not be returning home that evening. In fact, she would be easily persuaded by the King and Queen to stay the night. Oh, she shouldn’t. She couldn’t possibly! But, well, she was tired. She could use a shower, and the rooms here were equipped with much larger beds, far larger than her simple cot awaiting her far more than spent form. Why not? The King and Queen were merely being kind, and rewarding her for the job she had done. And she would reward them in blood.