Mama Fox

<Cleodora>

Was that too much?

Walking down to the village, Cleodora found herself lost in thought.

The way her wife had looked at her, the way she had sounded….

The tears she shed.

They were different this time, not the hot, angry kind from last night, but tears that felt profoundly sad. That, combined with her trembling voice, avoidant eyes, and flat ears, were all signs of her distress. It had taken two slow, quiet hours before she was calm enough to finally deliver her usual, cutting rebukes.

Cleodora shook her head, trying to scour the memory away.

…It didn’t feel good.

But it was necessary.

How else were they supposed to bring about their future?

‘Just… just this week’

This period was very important. It was the point in time where her wife would be at her most fertile. Cleodora needed to make sure everything went well, and that included a lot of things. On top of being very intimate with each other, she also needed to make sure her wife didn’t leave the house. Physical activity that extended beyond their aforementioned intimate interactions threatened the ultimate goal of getting her pregnant. The medicine for boosting fertility worked best when one was in a relaxed state.

‘I may need some more…’

The gift shared by her impish sister-in-law was already running low.

Cleodora hadn’t prepared it well, resulting in a lot of waste.

“Miss Hero, Miss Hero!”

A cheery, chatty voice pulled Cleodora out of her thoughts.

She smiled.

Running up the hill was the short-haired dynamo girl she met yesterday, accompanied by her two friends. The arrogant little boy and the shy, gentle girl.

“I see you are quite excited!” (C)

The dynamo girl, apparently having no misgivings, leapt into Cleodora’s arms.

Catching her, Cleodora gives her a light toss in the air while laughing.

“Isn’t it a bit early for you to be out?” (C)

“Nope! Not at all!”

The girl gave a bright smile while turning back to usher her friends with a look.

The arrogant little boy and the shy, gentle girl approached with haste.

“My time is limited. It’s best we visit now.”

“I-I thought it best to go early… I want to see her.”

Placing the dynamo girl down, Cleodora studied the kids with a hesitant look.

…Going right now would be quite the problem.

“My wife isn’t feeling the best today.” (C)

Bending down to meet their eyes, she watched as the excitement held within them vanished almost instantly.

She gave a quick cough.

“B-But! I did promise you could visit her today, didn’t I?” (C)

All three gave slight nods, though with a hint of subtle dejection present.

“…Then, how about we do something for her, instead?” (C)

The dynamo girl’s eyes sparkled, the arrogant boy raised a brow, and the shy girl shifted nervously in place.

“Oooh, what is it!?”

“That sounds interesting...”

“I-I’ll try my best!”

They took the bait.

“Alrighty! If you’re that curious, follow me!” (C)

It was off to the carpenter!

The moment Cleodora stepped in the workshop, the smell of sawdust overtook her nose.

“Ah! Miss Hero!”

A silver-haired, bearded man called out to her.

“You’ve come at the perfect time! I have your order nearly complete.”

The man who was hunched over a table stood up and grinned.

“Come quick!”

Without checking to see if she was following, he dashed deeper into the messy workshop. Pausing for a second, Cleodora sighed before gesturing the kids to follow after her. They shuffled in together, being mindful of the various projects haphazardly laid around.

‘He hasn’t changed one bit, huh?’

It was unfortunate, as it was predictable. This eccentric craftsman was someone she had run into by total chance. On her first journey to this village while she was searching for a suitable place to call home, the man had just so happened to be wandering around the current location of their house. Examining trees while exclaiming out loud every so often.

Truly strange.

But, as strange as it was, the passion with which he talked about his craft made Cleodora gamble on his skill.

Entering the backroom, a storage room was revealed. It was filled with various wooden creations, but standing centre was something hidden under a white cloth. A quick scan of the thing in question revealed itself to be multiple items packed underneath.

The man turned and faced Cleodora, excitement dancing in his eyes.

Then paused.

“Ah, guests?”

He was now noticing?

She waved him off.

It wasn’t a big secret that needed to be kept.

“It’s alright!” (C)

“Very well then!”

The man pulled off the cloth in a showy gesture.

“My finest work, I must say.”

Revealed before them were three finely crafted cribs.

Each was vastly different in design: one was regal and magnificent, another felt chaotic and overflowing with unexpected details, and the third was simply soft and gentle. Yet, despite their wildly varied themes, all three shared a distinct, essential characteristic.

Beauty.

Soft, childish exclamations were made as she examined the pieces.

“You made all three?” (C)

“Yes! I couldn’t bring myself not to… I hope the Princess likes at least one of them.”

Maybe not now, but someday for sure.

…There was a reason why Cleodora didn’t want her venturing into the storage room that contained some of the raw materials to build this. The moment she would see the expense and hard-to-find materials, there was no way she would drop the matter.

“She will love them.” (C)

Cleodora’s hand reached out and touched the empty spaces on the headrests.

The engravings were missing.

“I was about to come and consult you for the finishing touches.”

The man pulled out a piece of paper with various inscriptions.

“Miss Hero! How can we help?”

Like an opportunistic hunter, the dynamo girl spoke up.

Her gaze fixed hard on the sheet of paper.

Cleodora chuckled before turning to them.

She brought them here for a purpose.

“You see those empty spots!” (C)

She motioned to the cribs.

“Well, they need to filled, don’t they?” (C)

Went and gave each a pat on the head.

“That will be your jobs!” (C)

Taking the paper from the man, Cleodora showed off the numerous inscriptions available.

“Pick out any of these and make them fit!” (C)

The girl jumped up, grabbed the paper, and ran off with a greedy smile.

It was only shortly before the other kids bolted after her.

“And remember, it must be worthy of royalty!” (C)

As Cleodora watched the kids collapse on the ground fighting, a hand lightly tapped her shoulder.

“Miss Hero… those kids are—”

“It’s fine! Don’t worry about it!” (C)

The man sighed as the struggle on the floor continued and threatened to knock something loose.

Cleodora placed a hand on his shoulder while subtly watching to make sure no accidents happened.

They wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long.

And she was right.

“Flames?” (C)

Staring at the choice of the dynamo girl, Cleodora couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

“Yes! My dad always says that fire is the essence of life, the essence of happiness! And that is key to a good life! I hope your kids will be happy forever!!”

“Aren’t you sweet!” (C)

Cleodora ruffled the hair of the girl.

“Ahem!”

The arrogant boy stole the paper from the dynamo girl’s hand.

He pointed to an ornately decorated book.

“Knowledge is power. I wish your kids to be powerful and intelligent.”

A smug grin shone on his face.

“Oh, how cleveeer.” (C)

Cleodora gave a firm pat on the back.

“H-Hey!”

The paper was then unceremoniously ripped out of the boy’s hand while he stood with his eyes closed, gloating.

“Um… I-I think this one would look pretty.”

The shy girl pointed to a single, multi-layered rose.

“How pretty!” (C)

Picking the paper from the girl, Cleodora walked over and handed it to the carpenter.

He stared at it for a moment.

“I’ll be done in a week.”

“Perfect!” (C)

Cleodora stepped outside with the children, the sun warm on her shoulders.

Their laughter trailed behind her as they returned to the village square, proudly declaring they were helping the Princess.

She smiled faintly as she watched them go.

Then looked toward the hill.

Cleodora should get back up there and continue building their family… Yet every time she looked there, the memories of how her wife had been flashed.

She let out a soft exhale.

For today, tomorrow morning and maybe the afternoon later, she would let her wife rest.

Build strength and let the medicine circulate throughout her system.

After she was well rested and ready, they would get right back to where they left off.

They would get right back to creating the dream future.