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It takes several weeks for a crew of shifters from the Oberon pack, working with Doug, to clear the rocks from the main route between the den and Sparrowpit. Once that is done, we find we have the help of some skilled workers from Andell, and we begin the long task of making it into a home.
Cottages are repaired, and plots are turned over—we even manage to get a few crops in. Trees are cut back where they have encroached on farmland, and some of the more mature trees are felled to facilitate repairs.
All the while, we hope and worry, in equal measure, for the missing members of our community.
And then, on a warm, early summer’s day, many weeks later, we are surprised by the return of Jim, Dirk, and the two other shifters who left in search of Fern and her mates.
However, Fern and Tavion, and their other mates are not with them.
The return of these Oberon shifters brings happy tears and a few sad ones, too.
“We rescued Fern and were at least able to reunite her with Dawson, River, Judson and Jay. But Tavion, Casper, and her human mates were being held in the cells of Bleakness. Fern and the others made known to us their wish that we return, knowing we have our own responsibilities to our mates, just as they have to theirs. It was hard, to be sure, leaving them to their path. But I also sensed the Goddess in Fern and in what she said to us that day. She is no ordinary healer, and is greatly blessed by the Goddess’ power. I have no doubt they yet endure and shall one day return.”
In the days that follow, there is a lightness to my step. My belly shows the evidence of the growing life, much to Doug’s delight, and I feel grateful for all that I have.
Our home is simple and wooden, but it is all ours. A large kitchen with a broad oak table with a long bench on either side. They are all a little wonky, but it adds to the charm. An oil lantern hangs from a hook for use in the evening, and I have a few hand-me-down pots and pans and bowls, one presently full of my first crop of runner beans. We do not go hungry, for many of the lesser shifters are skilled hunters, and whatever we have is shared by all.
There are two further rooms and a decent sized plot at the back that I have planted with vegetables from seeds donated by Andell.
When I uncovered an old jasmine vine on the wall that encloses the garden out the back, I knew this was destined to be our forever home.
I feel so blessed.
How quickly we have found a community here, and how often I glance out my little cottage window at the village green, seeing neighbors busy with the many jobs that need to be done. And how content I am.
There was a time, long ago, when I prayed for such a life. It seemed impossible back then. I had recently left the outpost at Delwood and joined General Tulwin, and still dreamed of a handsome prince who would rescue me.
Then my orc prince, Doug, came along and gave me a reality to replace those dreams.
In all our times and our travels, both the good ones and the bad, I held on to a hope that I might find a place and a little village somewhere where we would be accepted and where I wouldn’t fear for the babe in my belly, however they might turn out.
As I glance up from the sink where I am washing the beans before I top and tail them, I hear a familiar bellow.
I smile, seeing the playful version of Doug through the open shutters. He is in beast form. Two young children are riding on his back, and another skips along at his side, whooping. To them, he’s not a monster. He is a hero who protects the village.
He comes to a stop at the edge of the village green. The smaller boy, who was running at his side, jumps up to throw his arms around Doug’s tusk to use it to swing from.
I chuckle as Doug makes his playful baying sound and obligingly sways his head to aid the game. The infectious sounds of the children's giggles fills the air.
He is fearsome and a killer. He is a beast, but he is so gentle with the children, and they adore him just as I do.
And so it is that I find myself a free woman, living with the unexpected bounty of love, in a distinct corner of Hydornia, within the lands of a shifter pack.
Home.
My hand moves to rest on my belly. There is still some months ahead. I cannot wait to meet them, and I know that they shall not find any prejudice here. We are people who have come from many places, some near and some far, but all of us have known conflict and sorrow and seek only to live and thrive in peace.
The repairs have begun on a cottage big enough to take Fern and her eight mates. In our hearts, we believe they will one day return, and Tavion, who is naturally a leader, will take on that role here.
Perhaps it is presumptuous for us to anticipate that happy outcome, but no one is willing to imagine it any other way.
My neighbor, Sally, emerges from her house opposite. Wiping her hands off on her apron, she scolds her young lad, the boy who is presently swinging from Doug’s tusk.
The lad drops off, shifts to a wolf pup, and darts off to his mother’s side. The other two clamber down from Doug’s back and likewise shift to pups before scampering off to their own games.
Sally smiles as she waves to Doug before ushering her pup inside.
Doug turns his head my way. His strange beastly head is covered in white shaggy fur. He’s better suited to winter with such a thick, luxurious coat, I muse, thinking about how it feels under my fingers.
