Chapter 2085: A Life by the Hearth (Part Two)

Juni came in with a covered basket of flatbreads on one arm and a small, round, brown-furred toddler on her hip. He was clutching a carved wooden duck in both paws and stroking it gently as though it were a living pet. Old Nan followed behind them, leaning on her cane while her tail swept a slow arc across the floorboards.

After them came Noomi, and Samira, and two small whirlwinds who shot past their mothers’ skirts and made straight for the rug in front of the hearth.

"Saku! Olver! Gently!" Samira called, but it was already too late.

The two boys skidded to a halt at Jocelynn’s knees and stared up at her belly with wide eyes. Saku’s flat tail swept back and forth behind him, and his whiskers quivered. Olver’s ashen-blonde hair stuck up in every direction, and his hazel eyes were bright with curiosity.

"Is it coming out today?" Olver asked, raising his hand like he wanted to touch Jocelynn’s belly, only to stop when he realized he shouldn’t.

"Not today," Jocelynn said with a light laugh. "Soon, though."

"Oh," Olver said, looking disappointed. Then his face brightened as he remembered his hand, still hanging in the air. "Can I touch?"

"You can," Jocelynn said as she took his small hand and laid it on her belly. Already, Olver possessed handsome features that reminded her of his father, and for a moment, Jocelynn had to suppress a twinge of anxiety when she looked into those shining, hazel eyes, but the feeling passed quickly.

For all that she could see traces of Owain in Olver’s face, the boy took strongly after his mother, and Samira had raised him to be a gentle lad who was kind and considerate of others. At times, he and Saku could be a bit rambunctious, but neither boy had a cruel bone in their bodies. Once they’d both had a chance to touch her belly and feel the faint movements of her unborn child, the boys flopped down on the rug to play by the fire.

The women gathered around her like a warm tide. Juni settled her son, little Lako, on the rug with his duck and firm instructions to Saku and Olver to watch over him. Samira pulled out a stoneware jug and poured Jocelynn a cup of pale, fragrant elderflower cordial. Noomi drew a stool up close, and Old Nan lowered herself into the chair across from Jocelynn with a grunt and a thump of her tail.

"Look at you," Old Nan said, peering at her over her long whiskers. "Round as a harvest moon. It won’t be long now," she said confidently.

"I feel round as a harvest moon," Jocelynn admitted as she stroked her belly. "But someone isn’t ready yet. They want to grow up big and strong like their father."

"You should have seen Juni when it was her turn," Noomi said. "If it weren’t for Nereida and that sensitive tail of hers, we would have thought Juni was having twins," Noomi said before Juni swatted her arm.

"I wasn’t that big!" Juni protested with a broad grin on her face and a tail that thumped the floor rapidly. "Lako just took his time about coming. He was half a moon late and we were all fretting that there would be trouble," she said as her tail slowed. "But Lady Heila saw me through, and I know she’ll do the same for you. She’d never let anything happen to you or your little one."

"I feel guilty holding her back this year," Jocelynn said. "The Southern Steppe welcomes her like a saintess when she visits in the spring."

"The Southern Steppe faced the foaling season for hundreds of years before there was a Bloodroot Empire and a Willow Witch to aid them," Old Nan said. "They can make do with her apprentices this year, along with all the medicine you’ve sent south. You’ve done enough, and so has Lady Heila. You can take a holiday and focus on your own family for a time."

"I know," Jocelynn said, setting a hand on her belly. "I just wish this little one would hurry up so life can get back to normal."

"Normal won’t be the same as it was," Samira said as she sipped her own cup of elderflower cordial, savoring the cool sweetness while enjoying the cozy warmth of the fire. "I thought I knew what to expect after helping Noomi watch over Saku, but Saku was so quiet and good. I felt like Olver never stopped crying those first few years, especially when the teething started."

"If I didn’t have Noomi to take turns watching the little ones with me, I’d have gone mad for sure," Samira said, reaching out to give Noomi’s hand an affectionate squeeze.

"We did it together," Noomi said, returning the affectionate squeeze and leaning against Samira to rest her head on the other woman’s shoulder while her tail thumped slowly on the ground. "I had Saku in the cold and the dark of a dungeon, but I had you to bring me light and food, didn’t I?" Noomi said, smiling up at the most unlikely of saviors.

"You helped me bring Saku into the world, I helped you with Olver, and we’ll both be here to help Princess Jocelynn when it’s her turn," Noomi said as she turned back to Jocelynn. "It takes a village to raise little ones well, and thanks to your husband, we have the best village in the empire for raising a family."

"It is the best village," Jocelynn said. "And you’ve all made me feel so welcome here," she said as her throat tightened with emotion and her eyes misted with happy tears.

She wanted to say more, to express how much she appreciated everything that the village had done for her over the past few years, but before she could find the words, the doors opened, and another bright, cheerful voice rang out.

"We aren’t late, are we? Tell me we aren’t late!"

Charlotte swept in with her light-brown curls escaping their pins and her arms full of folded wool blankets. Close behind her came Adala, elegant as ever in a gown of bright saffron, with silver threads woven through her dark braids.

"How can we be late when you had us leave the castle before the mists burned off?" Adala asked. "If we were any earlier, we’d be imposing."

"Impossible," Charlotte said as she brought the armful of blankets over to Jocelynn, setting them on the same side table that held Crimson promise. "I’m sure that Jocelynn is aching to hear the latest gossip from the High Table and all the things that have been going on since she came out here to take her rest," Charlotte said confidently.

"We’ll be talking for hours before Sir Ollie is done cooking supper," Charlotte said as she gave Jocelynn her most radiant smile.

"I’m sure we will," Jocelynn agreed as she reached out to touch the soft, wool blankets. The one on the top had been dyed a rich, jade green while the one beneath it was a brilliant, cerulean blue. "Are these what I think they are?"

"Gifts from Madame Zedya," Adala confirmed with a nod. "The nights are getting too short for visiting when you need to rest early, but she said that she and Sir Lennart will visit once you’ve had a few weeks to recover from welcoming your little one into the world."

The fire crackled and popped in the hearth while children played on the rug and the manor filled with the laughter of close friends taking the time to catch up with each other after weeks or months apart.

It was a happy, joyous moment, but somewhere, in the back of Jocelynn’s mind, a small voice whispered that the joy wouldn’t last because it never did. Not for her, at least, and at the moment, she was running out of time...