‘This means I can’t make love to you anymore, can I?’ Prince Kelton thought to Mȧthair.

‘Not for several months when the height of my estrus returns,’ Mȧthair replied.

“So much for my plans to keep you in bed for a month,” he muttered softly.

‘Hear that, Ponderosa?’ Mȧthair sniggered. ‘My mate thinks he can keep me in bed for a month, when one night with me wore him out.’

Prince Kelton turned to see Ponderosa holding a closed fist against her mouth as she tried not to laugh.

“In my defense, being turned into a Weredin, without warning, took a lot out of me.”

‘My sore bum says otherwise,’ Mȧthair teased, as Ponderosa nodded.

Prince Kelton flushed a deep red. “Could you not say such things in front of the help,” he said, covering his face with his hands.

‘Say what, in front of the help?’ Ponderosa wondered.

“Not a word,” he commanded Mȧthair.

She mewed innocently then rubbed her head against his leg as she purred.

“If I may ask you to leave, Ponderosa? I’d like to have a little chat with my mate.”

Ponderosa nodded then took Nathaniel out of the room.

“You are being very cheeky today,” he said, taking her head in his hands. “What has gotten into you?”

‘You have,’ she said, panting in his face.

Prince Kelton chuckled then kissed her on the head. Then he lowered his head to hers with a moan as he felt his body weaken and threaten to pass out.

‘Time to lay down again, Kelton,’ she replied.

“Okay,” he whimpered.

He took in a few deeper breaths before his head cleared enough for him to feel safe to stand up. Mȧthair walked beside him as they entered the bedroom again. Prince Kelton climbed into bed and Mȧthair jumped up to lay beside him. He petted her a couple times before he sunk into the nothingness of sleep.

He stirred to find himself in bed alone and Gailan building up the fire in the hearth.

“Mȧthair?” he asked.

“She’s in Ponderosa’s room,” Gailan replied.

“Thank you, Gailan.”

He nodded. “Is there anything I can get you, My Lord?”

“No.”

Gailan bowed respectfully then left the room.

Prince Kelton slowly climbed out of bed and made his way to Ponderosa’s room. He knocked. The door handled jingled a little before the door opened a crack and Mȧthair stuck her head out. She woofed once then retreated back inside. Prince Kelton pushed the door open just in time to see Mȧthair

return to the bed where Nathaniel was starting to fuss and Ponderosa seemed to be in a deep sleep. He stepped in and closed the door before he approached the bed. He petted Mȧthair’s head and ears as he asked.

“Is she doing okay?”

‘Yes,’ Mȧthair replied. ‘Just tired from caring for Nathaniel and combatting her worry about being discovered.’

“Discovered?”

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‘She saw one of the servants leave the castle while we were otherwise engaged.’

‘Are the two of you in danger?’ he asked in thought.

‘Kenaz has not shown me anything, so I don’t believe so.’

“It would be good to find out all the same,” he said softly.

Mȧthair nodded.

“I’ll ask Gailan to find out what he can.”

She nodded.

“I love you, Mȧthair.”

‘I love you, also, Kelton,’ she replied, turning to look at him.

He rubbed their noses together then stepped out to speak with Gailan.

Prince Kelton found his serving man helping Dawson in the kitchen.

“Feeling a bit more peckish, Prince Kelton?” Dawson asked. “Pipsqueak here says you haven’t been eating much.”

“Not entirely, Dawson,” Prince Kelton replied, “but if you have some bread and cider, I might be able to stomach that.”

“Coming right up.”

While Dawson was busy, Prince Kelton sat close to Gailan.

“I need you to look into something for me,” he said.

Gailan cocked his head to the side a little in confusion. “Alright.”

“Ponderosa saw one of the servants leave last night. I need you to confirm that such is the case, and see if any messenger birds are missing in addition to the horse they took, as discreetly as possible.”

“Why would a servant running off be important?” he asked, not seeing the problem.

“There are too many ears for me to explain right now,” Prince Kelton replied, a little frustrated. “Just do it. Please.”

“You have my word.”

“Thank you, Gailan.”

Dawson brought the bread and cider over, and Prince Kelton took his time picking it apart as he ate it. Gailan soon finished what he was helping Dawson with before he excused himself. Prince Kelton watched Dawson work while he finished up the last few bites of bread. He noticed that the man kept rubbing his right wrist from time to time.

“Is your wrist bothering you, Dawson?” he asked.

“Just an old war injury, My Lord,” he said, brushing it off. “Likes to act up when storms come in.”

“Does the size of the storm affect how much it hurts?”

“Yes’n no, My Lord. Sometimes I know when it’s gonna be a blizzard, other times it feel like the storm is gonna bury us only to give us nothing more than a few flakes.”

“We’ll keep an eye out then,” he said. “I don’t want us to run out of food before roads are clear enough to get back, should this storm bring in more than anticipated.”

“Understood, My Lord. Can I interest you in some chicken or fruit?”

Prince Kelton shook his head. “Thank you, Dawson. I should get back to Nathaniel.”

“You are most welcome, My Prince. My condolences about Princess Iredys.”

Prince Kelton nodded then left the kitchen to return to Ponderosa’s room.

When he entered, he found Ponderosa leaned against the bed’s headboard, with Nathaniel latched onto one of her breasts, and Mȧthair lounging on the bed beside her. Ponderosa’s eyes were a little red and tear tracks could be seen on her cheeks.

“Is something the matter, Ponderosa?” he asked softly.

‘Just tired, My Lord,’ she replied.

“Mȧthair and I can take Nathaniel for a while so you can get more sleep.”

Her lips rose in a trembling smile. ‘If you are willing, I’d like that.’

“Absolutely.” Prince Kelton then reached over and started to pet Mȧthair. “Seems like I wasn’t the only tired one.”

‘The visions overwhelmed her while you were out,’ Ponderosa said. “So she’ll be asleep for a while yet.’

“She didn’t have any fits on our trip here,” he said, confused.

‘That she did not, but when the visions overwhelm her or not is always random.’

Prince Kelton nodded. “...Dawson, our cook, says that there is a storm coming. He doesn’t know how big it’s going to be yet, but we may need to ration the food.”

‘That will not be a problem for me,’ Ponderosa assured him. ‘Since you got the carriage instead of just another horse, I was able to bring all of my ground meal with me. Dawson will not need to worry about making any soups or mashes for me.’

“If we do need to ration, I will let him know.”

Ponderosa nodded just as the windows started to rattle. Prince Kelton got up off the bed and walked over to the window.

“Looks like our storm just showed up,” he said.

‘Not quite,’ Mȧthair yawned.

“Mȧthair?” Prince Kelton asked, coming back to the bed to check on her.

‘Tired,’ she replied, when he touched her head. ‘Love you.’

“I love you, too.” He kissed her furry cheek then let her sleep.

Nathaniel’s whimper reached his ear, but he felt Mȧthair’s magic keep his face turned towards her for a moment longer. When he felt her magic disperse, he looked over and saw Ponderosa rubbing his back to get any bubbles he might have out of his stomach. Prince Kelton waited until Ponderosa had bundled him up again before he took him. He petted Mȧthair’s head a few times before he said.

“I’ll be next door so you can rest,” he told Ponderosa.

She nodded. ‘Thank you for watching over him for a while.’

“Thank you for all the care you have given him for us.”

Ponderosa nodded again, then climbed under the blankets as Prince Kelton took Nathaniel back to his own chambers.