The sun had set. Jot, the steward, and Rap, the other servant, had already decked two long tables in the big hall for the festive reception with the village elders and went around to lighten the candles when a tired Freya finally entered the hall in the wake of two of the elders.

She was wobbly on her feet and looked like she would topple over on the spot. "Freya coming, please," I guided her away from the hall and up the stairs to our room. As soon as I closed the door, she clung to me, totally spent, physically and probably emotionally as well. I sat down and then rolled on my back so that Freya could lay in the embrace of my belly fur and relax.

Just then Freya finally mindspoke, very weakly: "I am so bad. They need a professional healer, not an apprentice. So many things that I do not know. Mostly, I just held hands or saw that the leg had already healed badly."

"I am sure you did your best." I stroke her blonde hair.

"They deserve better than me."

I sighed. "Yes, they also deserve a countess who knows the local customs, speaks their language and is better connected among the nobility."

Freya kept silent. Thus, I changed topics.

"I will climb the mountain tomorrow to see the snow. But I think you want to recover."

She looked at me. "After you squirrelling out, can you walk at all?"

I shrugged. So far, it looked fine.

Freya yawned again, fell back onto my belly and was deep asleep.

I enjoyed her warmth and stroked her head hair. Until it knocked at my door. "Dear Countess, dinner is ready."

"Yes, changing," I shouted.

I rolled carefully onto my side.

Freya was still asleep, limp and relaxed. I blew into her ear. No reaction. I tickled her until she opened one eye. "Please come and eat."

She yawned.

"Coming," I shouted and raised her to her feet. She stood there, swaying. "Arms up," I ordered, taking off her healer's tunic and putting on the new festive dress she had been given for the race. I had brought my dress as well, but Freya was clearly unable to tie the laces at the back. So I chose the new shirt which had no laces.

Freya was about to fall asleep, even standing up. I nudged her gently towards the door. "Coming, eating!"

She hadn't said a word or used mindspeak since she'd woken up. I was worried. After she almost fell down the first step, I carried her down the stairs to the door leading into the hall. I also felt my aching muscles. But most of all I was worried about Freya.

"Freya, say something. Please, for me."

She looked at me. "So tired."

I smiled happily as she spoke. "You eating now. Please, for me."

She nodded and I let her go. She did not fall over and walked unsteadily but on her own. I walked very slowly beside her so as not to give the impression that I was running away from Freya. As soon as we entered, Rap came and even moved the chair for her.

They had only been waiting for us. As soon as we were at the table, the count stood up and everyone followed. "Dear guests. Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of Countess Kiara of Earth and Litra." And a few more words that I could not follow without mindspeak cues. "... well." Then he raised his glass. I raised mine as well. It was red wine. So did Freya, and the promise of wine was already waking her up a little.

"Cheers!" said the count.

"Cheers!" I said as well, not sure if it was expected or not. I couldn't make a speech right now, so the ultra-short version had to do: "Let's eating! Thank you all."

And that was enough. Everyone sat down again, poor Freya more falling onto the chair than sitting. Then she drained her glass in one gulp. The spirit had lifted her spirits, oh Freya. Though she did not recover to the active talking. But I was happy: At least she was eating.

With the food came my own tiredness. When Freya had finished, I excused myself and took her with me, hoping it was not too rude.

When the door to the hall was closed, we made a quick detour to the outhouse and then straight to my room. Freya snored as soon as she lay down on my big blanket that I had laid out on the floor. I undressed her and then me and lay down next to her, covering us with Freya's blanket.

* * *

Waking up early was not my problem, my eyes opened with the first birdsong.

And I had slept well, cuddling with Freya. But I was aching all over! Keeping up with the faster pace of the horses had been somewhat ok, that fatigue was familiar by now. I blamed it on the squirrelling out which I had not done for ten days. The latter certainly was to blame for that I could barely close my hands, let alone move my claws. Since my legs were not worse than yesterday, apart from the claws, I should be still able to hike up a mountain. As long as I did not have to use my hands or claws.

Since it was the easiest thing to do, I put on the jacket. Then, gritting my teeth, I closed the belt of the saddlebag, which required some strength of hand. I silently pushed the door handle with my aching hands and walked slowly down the stairs. Rap was already up and had prepared some cheese and bread for me. I thanked him and put them in my bag next to a head of cabbage.

The sun was just lighting up the tops of the highest peaks. The valley and the village were still in a gloomy twilight. Thankfully, the village was too small to get lost in, so I was at Old Henry's house in no time. Old Henry was waiting in front of his house with a big basket and seven oversized axes that would make the Canadian national lumberjack team jealous.

"You carry them."

"Good morning." I approached the axes and lifted one. My arms and hands protested. But at least I did not drop it.

"I fast like horse, not carrying like horse."

"Pick one," Old Henry grumbled.

I took the lightest axe, which was still a monstrosity. I wondered who could swing it. And I wondered about the size of the tree it was meant for. The contents of the big basket next to the axes went into the other saddlebag. It was a loaf of bread, two bottles and several sheets of cloth.

"Ready?"

"I needing rope. Or a belt."

Old Henry nodded and got a rough rope from some plants and tied with it the axe to the top of the saddlebag. The axe was as heavy as Freya.

Without further words, he set off straight across the meadows to the edge of the forest. Old Henry climbed up and I jumped over a fence before the first trees. We followed a barely visible track through the forest. It was a steep climb for a while. Old Henry had a steady pace, which at first seemed slow. But soon I was grateful for not having to go faster and started panting. I wagged my tail like mad to cool myself down. Old Henry kept up his pace, not even turning to see how I was doing.

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Our first stop was at a small brook. We both drank there and had a little rest. The mountains on the other side shone in the full morning sun and even parts of the valley were glowed through the trees.

The faint track followed the brook. The walls on either side became steeper and soon narrowed into a gorge. The path still ran parallel to the stream, just a few steps above the roaring water. A very narrow path, only as wide as my paw. And winding too. More than once I scratched my hide on rocks at a sharp left turn. My breath was heavy and I had no time to look around, I had to concentrate on the next steps.

Ouch. This time the stone was sharp enough to draw blood. I cursed and carefully navigated the rest of the tight bend. And then I paused for a moment to look down at the raging torrent roaring violently through the rocks far below. After the next bend, we reached a climbing section.

Old Henry continued at almost the same pace.

I let him go ahead. Even more so as he was kicking loose gravel down the slope. And then he was at the top. My turn. My hands were screaming and it felt like I was digging my claws into my own skin instead of trying to hook them into the cracks of the rock. Tears streamed down my face. But damned be the Countess of Litra who cannot climb a mountain in her domain. After a few minutes the pain numbed. The aching had given up to complain. A small part of me worried about tomorrow. But my attention was on the soft rocks of this section.

After an eternity, I reached the ledge that was bathed in the first sunlight on this side of the valley. Without a word, he checked my scratch. Then he sat down and let me rest. I ate eagerly, the whole bread and half the cheese. It was a shame, because it was a special cheese, with leaves in it. It tasted great, but I was too hungry to enjoy it.

"Lass, half to go. You'd good."

I was not sure if that was a compliment or a question. Frankly, Old Henry's command of Kren and especially his active vocabulary seemed to rival mine.

"Yesterday too much tree climbing."

"Ye to claws." And he rose. But the next section was less demanding. After a few steps through a thorny thicket, we came to a recent avalanche. The trees had been flattened and it was a gentle slope with only small stones. Near the top he stopped and pointed downwards. One could see most of the Litra valley, the small houses of the main village and two small hamlets on either side of the river. I could even see the ridge and some of the hills behind which we had crossed on our way from Krenburg.

And he continued with his pace. The trees became smaller and smaller. Soon they were barely taller than me. Moss and other plants were taking over. We had reached the tree line. A shrill whistle made me turn around.

"Mountain dograbbits. You won't see 'em." Then he pointed to a random rock and put two fingers in his mouth. He whistled like the dograbbits. And then I saw them, running from the big rock to the side and vanishing near a smaller rock. He grinned at me.

"Can you teaching?"

He showed me, but I blew and spat without producing a single sound.

The ground of the alpine grasslands above the tree line was very soft, almost like a mattress. Even Old Henry took long steps because he sank into the grass at each step. And then we came to a moor that looked exactly like the alpine grasslands before but was perfectly flat

"See lass, flat s' danger."

So we had to walk around it.

Not much later, the slopes became steeper again and the plants became sparser. Soon there were only patches of vegetation between the rocks. Painful on the paws, I had to be careful for all four of them where to step.

Finally, the first snowfield. It was old spring snow, wet and large crystals. My hands still ached, so I made a ball with my forepaws and threw it at a random rock (since I was sure I would lose any snowball fight with Old Henry). He stood aside and let me have my snowball fun.

"Lass, yo even walk on two," was his only comment.

Then we crossed the snowfield and the cold melting snow kept creeping up. But it was only a small field, and soon we were on the other side, with another steep rock section. We did a big circle around the summit to climb it on its less ragged and almost snow-free south side. I had still to climb on all sixes. And then we were at the summit.

It was breathtaking. Half shouting, half growling, I leapt into the air with joy. Old Henry stepped back. "Sorry, I fine now. So great seeing, so far."

We were higher than any other mountain bordering the Litra Valley to the southwest. It was a clear day, just a few tiny clouds.

The air was very clear. I could even make out the last ridge where the hills ended to the west. That must be where the plain began and where Krenburg was.

The tiny Litra Valley, running south-west from here, was just a line from this height.

The view to the north and east was even more impressive. A glacier flowed through the adjacent valley and the next two rows of peaks were even higher than ours. They were all snow-capped, except where they had vertical rock cliffs. I had never seen anything like it.

The view made me feel like a goddess in her temple. The air was so clear, it was like god-me could grab the hills and push them up or push them down. But I was obviously a lower goddess because the mighty ones would reside in the sharp peaks on the north side.

* * *

Coming down was hard. Apart from bidding farewell to the great view from the top, braking heavy Kiara on loose gravel was harder than climbing. Not to mention sliding into the occasional sharper rocks. Soon all my paws were bleeding and I was leaving red pawprints in the last snowfield.

"Lass, lie down!"

I showed him my paws instead since I could turn them upside down. Three deep cuts on the left forepaw, and four on the right. And two on each hind paw. So we rested. I ate the rest of the cheese and cabbage and drank all the water. I even ate some snow. When my paws had stopped bleeding, we walked through the alpine moss fields. The soft ground was just what my paws needed to not start bleeding again. Old Henry had chosen a different way down; out of pity for my paws or from the start, he did not say.

We walked for much longer through the soft moss, almost to the north flank of the mountain, finally entering the woods at a much lower altitude. After a while, we came to a small log cabin. A girl was sitting in the sun on a bench on the other side of the hut, overlooking an alpine meadow with a young calf and five cows, three of them very pregnant. She jumped up on her bare feet. "Henry!" she called, then stopped when registering me.

"S' ok. S' the new countess."

"Hello, I am Countess Kiara of Earth and Litra."

The girl was still staring at me.

"Are ok?"

"You are" She was clearly not sure how to process me.

"No animal. The new countess of Litra. My name is Kiara. You are?"

"I am Ann."

I took her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Only now had her brain fully processed everything. She fell to her knees. "Sorry, countess, I..."

I smiled embarrassed. "Standing, I strange countess."

She nodded.

"Your hand touching?" Without waiting for her answer, I put her hand on my fur and let her feel it.

"You're much softer than a cow," she said and whistled. At her command, the cows approached. Ann almost dragged me to the fence. "See, 's cow's fur is more scratchy."

It was the first time I had ever petted a cow and I had to agree. My fur was nicer.

Old Henry came over to us. "Here," and gave me three little pink pebbles.

The cows wanted the pebbles immediately. Henry laughed. "Give them."

When I opened my hand, the cows licked them and my fingers. Their rough tounges tickled like hell. A nice way to relax my aching hands.

"S' salt." Then he walked to the cabin and put down his small bag. I followed and took off the saddlebag. The contents of the second bag were clearly for Ann.

"Rest yer paws," said old Henry, pointing to the bench. But I was fine lying on the soft grass in front of it. Ann stroked my belly fur. No complaints from me.

Henry went into the woods. Soon I heard his axe cutting trees.

Ann babbled a lot, now that it had been established that I did not feed on little girls. She did not care whether I could follow her speech or not.

I tried the grass. It tasted very different from anything I had tried before. In fact, it tasted like the leaves in the cheese.

I basked in the sun, rested my paws as advised and even purred when Ann hit the right spots.

* * *

"Lass"

I had dozed off. "Sorry, yes?"

"Come."

I got up, stiff and aching again after this short break. Ann followed too. Old Henry went into the woods where he had felled three trees. He tied a rope to one of them and had a thick piece of leather for me to wear around my human waist to pull the logs to the hut. It was easier than I had feared. Old Henry had removed most of the thicker branches and the soft forest floor offered little resistance. Soon all three logs were at the cabin where Old Henry was breaking them into firewood.

I would have helped, even with my aching hands. But the axe I was carrying was ridiculously oversized. And I had never chopped wood with an axe before.

When Old Henry let me try it with his axe. I found out how difficult it was. I had to aim at the right spot. Especially hard when the wood here had so many knotholes that made it hard to split.

Old Henry saw that I was no help. "How about milking?"

Sorry, I shook my head again. "Lass, s' a real lady, eh?"

I shrugged. That remained to be seen.

Ann was enthusiastic about showing me how to milk cows. We went to the cows. I held them and she milked them.

It was mid-afternoon, the cows had been milked and Ann had put our goods in the cabin. I had three of her cheeses in the saddlebag and a lot of salted meat from a calf that had died at birth. The wood was arranged in nice chunks along one wall of the cabin.

Ann and Old Henry sat on the bench. We all drank fresh cow warm milk and ate another cheese that Ann had made.

Old Henry looked critically at the sky. "Not good, Bette, hurry, lass."

I looked at the two innocent clouds.

They had become a little fluffier but did not look very threatening. But I trusted Old Henry and we waved Ann goodbye.

The way down was mostly through meadows, soft on my paws. And not too strenuous, this heavy countess could easily brake on the gentle slopes without her forelegs cramping from the effort. And looking back a few meadows lower, I saw a dark, angry-looking cloud looming over the peak to the north. It rumbled from far away.

But it was not far from the village and soon we were at Old Henry's house. "Thank you, Henry, I fun climbinged and snow seeing thank you."

"Lass did well," he grunted, relieving me of the meat and cheese and disappearing inside. It rumbled again.

"Goodbye," I called to his back.