Ch. 14

I look around to see Damien by my side. I'm covered in a giant fur blanket, and I have no clothes on. "Um, where are my clothes?"

He laughs. "I'm surprised you'd ask that first." He wipes a tear away and takes a deep breath. "They're right here, don't worry. Any other questions?"

"I have so many Damien, where do I even start?" My thoughts start to race.

What if we start with the pups first?" He lays next to me with my head on his bare chest.

"Arkell and the babies?"

"King Arkell is recovering pretty well. He just started his royal duties again."

I breathe in a heavy sigh of relief. "And the fox pups?"

He smiles. "They are all happy and healthy. I wasn't sure about one of them, but they pulled through."

Tears rolled down my cheeks." Can I see them?"

Damien strokes my hair. "Not yet, Nobu has put you on bed rest. Don't worry, they're safe."

"How are they going to eat? Don't I need to feed them?"

"I asked a female from the Grazing Fields if they can help. So they're gonna have full bellies all the time."

"The Grazing Fields?" I ask, confused.

"The females are from the Cow Clan, but they don't like being called that. It's rude to them, but they help mothers when they are sick or unable to feed their young."

"That's nice, but how are we going to thank her?"

"Arkell said he would take care of it, as long as you focus on recovering. I don't know how you did it, but you slept for two days."

"I was out for that long?" I sit up too quickly, making myself almost pass out.

"Take it easy, you're gonna make yourself worse." He pulls me back to him. "Don't make me tie you down."

My face heats up at the thought "What?"

"You heard me." He smiles and gets up. "I've learned some knots." With that, that leaves me in my thoughts.

I take a minute to process everything. I don't want to think about Damien learning knots too much, the thought makes my face red. I run my fingers through my long hair and lay back against the wall.

The day goes by slowly as I rest. I hate staying still for so long, I need to get up. I slowly stand up and use the wall for support. I fight the nausea and slowly make my way to the main room. I eventually stand in the doorway to the main room. I'm exhausted and out of breath. Everyone stares at me in shock.

"Fae what are you doing out of bed?" Comac comes up to me and picks me up.

"I wanted… my children." I stammer in between breaths.

"You're stubborn, you know that?" Damien crosses his arms.

I nod weakly.

"Here, let's set you up by the window." Comac puts me down and goes to retrieve some bedding. Once he finishes he moves me onto it.

He and Damien sit on either side of me.

"Now, don't move this time, or else." Damien flicks my forehead.

"Or else what?" I smirk.

He chuckles. "You'll have to find out for yourself."

"Excuse me." A soft voice comes from across the room.

I look over and see a young woman sitting by the fire.

She has big brown eyes and long auburn hair. Her skin is like caramel and she has dark brown spots all over, resembling cow markings. "Hi."

"Hello, I'm Fae."

"My name is Miranda, I'm from the Grazing Fields. I'll be here as long as you need my services." She bows her head.

"Thank you." It feels awkward meeting another female, especially one that doesn't hate me.

She stays quiet and watches the fire crackle.

Damien brings me water while Comac brings food.

Arkell comes home as the sun sets in the sky. He lays beside me in Griffin form.

"How's you're day, Arkell?" I ask.

"Rather exhausting." He lays his head on my lap. "For some reason, there isn't as many young this Spring. We were discussing the possible reasons for it when the Hyena King insulted all the females. They mostly insulted the Bear King's only daughter."

"What did he say?" I run my fingers through his feathers.

"'Maybe if females weren't so ugly there wouldn't be an issue.' Honestly, I'm not worried about it right now, it's hard to keep track of the little ones, too many people." He croons as I pet him.

"What if we had a place they could go for the day?"

He sits up. "What do you mean?

"For example, we gather up all the young ones and teach them to take care of their future spouses and households. Males can learn to hunt and gather and instead of keeping the females in their houses, why not teach them to grow their food and take care of hens? If we do that then maybe older females will have more time to mate and have young."

He thinks for a moment. "Who will teach who? The Kings and I are always busy, we couldn't handle that on our schedules."

"I can teach the females. Let's get the sons of the Kings together and help them teach the young males."

Damien coughs.

Arkell nods. "This is a good idea, it could also help us know what our people need. Where could we do this?"

"Use some of the spare rooms in the castle. At least until we can build a place."

"I will speak with them when the sun rises." He nuzzles my neck and croons once more.

"If I may ask, where do I fit into this?" Comac pokes at the fire.

Arkell gives him a hard stare. "I don't think you do."

"Now just wait. He can help me when I start teaching." I stop whatever was about to start.

Arkell sighs. "Alright then."

In the evening everyone settles down with full bellies and smiles.

Miranda goes to feed my Fox pups after eating the hay we got from Arkell.

My girls come back from a bath and sit next to me. "What happened to the gray male?" Lyra puts her head on my shoulder.

"He never followed you guys back from the beach?"

She shakes her head. "Nope, he didn't say anything to us either."

"Hm, that's strange." I still feel his presence, but faintly. I wonder what he's up to?

After a few days, I finally recover from giving birth and losing a lot of blood. I can finally move around on my own and I'm teaching Miranda how to garden and take care of chickens. I told Arkell I wanted to keep her around to feed my pups. I tried to produce my milk but my body wouldn't let me this time around.

I'm holding my pups more so I can bond with them.

Comac has been all over them since they arrived. He's been trying to play with them, even though they can only eat and sleep right now. "You'll have to wait for them to get older." I smile.

"Sorry, the excitement is almost overwhelming."

Nordran runs up to him and bears hug him. "Come on, leave my siblings alone. We are about to go hunt if you want to join us." He smiles.

Nordran and his sister have hit a growth spurt. It's almost like they're going to be teenagers soon, well, if you think about it. Two years for a person is fourteen for a dog. Just means they're growing up faster than I thought. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry.

The Five Kings haven't decided about the idea of school, I wonder if Arkell told them it was my idea.

I walk past Nordran on his way out and fluff his reddish-brown hair. "Stop growing won't you?"

He smiles. "I wish I could Mom. I'll see you at dinner?"

"Of course, be safe."

"We will." He runs out the door.

"Girls! Let's work in the garden!" I grab our water buckets and go to our backyard. Our seeds finally sprouted and I'm teaching the girls to make rows by them so the sprouts won't drown.

Kali catches on quickly and gently pours water into the rows. Lyra on the other hand didn't want to get dirt on her hands.

"Okay, so use your foot." Kali rolls her eyes.

"That's even worse! I'm not getting dirty, I'm going to take a bath." Lyra stomps away from the house.

I sigh. "Oh boy."

"Don't worry about her. She has a few males interested in her. Ever since then, she's been on some high horse." Kali kneels and pulls some weeds.

I feed the chickens quickly and go inside after her.

She's out of the bath and sitting in the main room.

"What's the matter, honey?" I ask and sit beside her.

She sighs." To be honest, I haven't been in the greatest mood. I'm up and down and my stomach has been hurting." Tears stream down her face.

I pull her close and stroke her hair. "If I may ask, have you been bleeding anywhere?" My gut tells me she has started her period.

She looks up at me in shock." How did you know?"

"Is it from between your legs?" I whisper.

She nods.

"It's alright, it's normal."

I take the next few hours to explain the process of her period and some symptoms. I make sure she understands and that we can always help her if she needs it.

She smiles. "Thanks, Mom."