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The war had dragged on for nearly two generations, taking the terrible toll that only war could. Even with peace letting the wounds of the land begin to heal to scars, it would be two more generations before the populace began recovering.Alexandra knew there would never be enough years in her to forget. She remained in the war castle deep in the jagged mountains that had been the only barrier to the war truly devastating the separated lands that had warred for too long. It was a stark, cold, lonely place, but provided a breathtaking view of the mountains like a carnivore's teeth and the swathes of green to either side.It also kept the war-keep of the Luthor kingdom in sight.Oh, neither castle was close enough to be a true threat to the other, but kept the enemies abreast of one another's actions. The ruins of the once magnificent structure spoke to how the war had ended not so long ago. Alex had a terrible habit of staring broodingly out the great hall's windows to that structure made of the mountain's black stone bones.The place where her father had died turning the tide of war.What Jeremiah had started, Alexandra finished. They may have both inherited a war neither wanted nor agreed with, but there were too many lives on the line to back down. And too many lives striking down the mad family of Luthor.As though conjured by that hated name, there was a scuffle of sound and one of the air mount patrol landed on the vast flyway outside of the windows. The griffon was clearly tired, head lowered and great wings only half furled. Alex approved the rider pausing to stroke the beast's head and ensuring the grooms had it in hand before running feet brought the man to the hall. "Highness!" He called out and half slid into a breathless kneel at her feet. "I've news! The last Luthor has been found and is being brought to you."Shocked, Alex leapt to her feet. "Are you certain?""Yes, Highness, I saw her with my own eyes, shackled amidst the patrol and supply caravan not an hour from the gates. She may not look like anyone of that family, but the resemblance to the art left behind is unmistakable.""Good man," she said distractedly, mind and heart racing. There had long been rumors of Lionel's daughter, the bastard child he'd sired on some poor peasant and taken a shine to over any other possible mongrels. The straggling masses left after the war-keep fell had mentioned that she had been very different from the rest of her line, intelligent and crafty in equal measures to her unusual beauty. Yelling for her castle steward, Alex's hard grin had him nervous."Winn, we've a royal visitor approaching. Let's greet her properly, shall we?"----Dry mouthed with dread, Lena watched the famous mountain war castle grow larger as the caravan laboriously climbed to her lofty perch. There was no mercy here in this cold, jagged place and even damaged from the war recently put to rest, the structure was something to behold. Squadrons of griffons circled overhead, their riders craning their necks to see. It made Lena's skin crawl to be under such scrutiny. As her father's illegitimate child, she was never supposed to be in this position of power, trying to prevent any more from dying. Winter was going to be hard enough with few crops having grown in the dying throes of war and stores thin. She'd stayed ahead of the patrols for months, doing her best to redistribute assets across the Luthor lands before she was taken.Time had finally run out with an opportunity she couldn't pass up. The younger princess herself had been seen in the company of an intimidating squadron of resplendent knights. With attitude and much luck, she'd managed to get herself taken alive and in one piece, thrown at the feet of a very startled blonde woman her same age. Kara had listened quietly to Lena's story, her flat expression revealing nothing. Still, she had ordered the prisoner to remain in her company for safekeeping. By the way some of the knights and attendants had glowered darkly at her, Lena was grateful for the protection. But Kara was the easier meeting, for everyone knew that she was the reluctant daughter of war.Not so her older sister.Surgically brutal and tenacious as the native creatures of this inhospitable place, Alexandra had been the one to truly win the war. Even those that hated her were a bit in awe. More than her accolades of war, Lena clung to the hope of the other stories, how Alexandra had ordered her forces to mercy before violence. Without that, the aftermath of war could have gone much worse.There was no gate to the castle, but a steep-walled zigzag of tightly stacked stone barely wide enough for the laden pack animals and the few narrow carts that could manage the mountainous roads. Wooden gates in these isolated places were a testament to waste and ego that did not suit this place. Which is why, of course, Lex had ordered the outrageous, carved monstrosity to be made and placed at the war-keep. A true testament to his ego and insanity.Lena hoped it had been reduced to firewood.Beyond the maze of stone walls lay a courtyard and a silent collection of armored warriors."Come," Kara said quietly and tugged at Lena's arm to separate her from the caravan. No one moved as horse and mule and cart and burly ground griffons lumbered away and the quiet of the mountains fell over the assembly. Lena wanted to speak, to explain, to say anything. But what could she say? The madness of her family had cut deep, so very deep.The small sound of her clearing her throat around the ache of tears there was loud in the quiet. One figure stepped from the assembly. Similar in height to Lena herself, she assumed a woman, but it was impossible to tell beneath the heavy, warm layers of wool and fur demanded of these surroundings. As she drew close, Lena noted the flashing dark eyes catching the thin autumnal light like beacons. She unslung waterskins from her torso, handing off one to Kara and the other to her shackled prisoner."Here, drink."It was not an order, not that Lena was in any position to tell anyone no, but she accepted the fat waterskin to soothe the ache of thirst and hunger in her belly. The murmur of animal pleasure she made was not feigned, for it was more than just water within. It was a good, healthy sweet wort, barely fermented and rich with the goodness of the grain it had been made from. "A better drink for these cold, dry places," Alexandra explained and made no move to halt Lena's greedy drinking. These heights took some getting used to and the small beer was welcome by all newcomers and the experienced alike. It was also the best use of the grain stores so painstakingly brought up from the lowlands to sustain the small population here. The best of it soaked out into the delicious water the mountains and clouds provided and then the spent dregs turned to bread and animal feed and fuel. Sated for the moment, Lena breathed deeply and relished the feeling of weight in her belly. Near starvation was a reality that dogged everyone's steps and it had no regard for rank or station. "You've a safe journey?" the woman asked and Lena looked up to see that her dark eyes rested on Kara."As much as one can in these mountains," was the seeming blasé answer before something beseeching crept into Kara's voice. "She surrendered to us, Alex. Of her own free will."Lena had wondered if this was her. A truly commanding presence was a rare thing and every attention in the courtyard was focused on her even as the others too drank deep of the fine small beer. With a decisive sweep of gloved hands, Alex pushed back her furred hood and tugged away the mask of warm wool that lay over nose and mouth. Lena startled at not just how young she was, but the rugged beauty of her. Delicate and strong-jawed of face, with a finely drawn mouth and a slightly crooked nose below those large, emotive eyes, the Princess Alexandra was striking. The wind tugged at jaw-length locks of brown and red like the rich woods of distant tropical lands. "Your Highness," Lena managed to say quietly around her tense throat. "I ask for mercy and succor."The slow smile held a warmth no one expected, not even Alexandra herself."I think that can be arranged. Come in out of the cold and let's see what the future holds."
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The wide steps coiling amidst the stacked stone of the steeply built castle were worn from use, one of the oldest features of the small outpost that had grown to a compact castle. Lena had barely managed a dozen steps when her knees gave out and she'd have collapsed if not for Kara's quick hands where she followed a stop behind."I've got you," Alex murmured as she ducked under Lena's left arm, the right dragged up by the grip of the shackles. Every warrior tensed at an enemy so close to their leader, but there was no malice to Lena. As Alex tucked the smaller woman into her side, she noted that the sharp lines of that dramatic jaw and cheekbones weren't merely bloodline, but hunger. There wasn't much left to the youngest Luthor.From every crack in the stacked walls and crag of the mountain's bones that poked through the castle, dozens of griffins found a handhold to perch and watch, more circling overhead. After a very stressful but rewarding year, Alexandra was looking forward to the peace and quiet of her first winter of no war waiting 'pon the spring thaw. By the time they finally ascended the sixty-four steps to the great hall, Lena was nearly unresponsive and Alex swept her up into strong arms. In spite of her ragged appearance, Alex had noticed far too well the beauty of this stranger. It was hard to judge her age, hollowed out as she was by hunger and hardship, but Alex would guess close to Kara's years. Still no amount of hardship or filth could detract from those fascinating eyes. They were a hypnotic jade, a mixed artist's palette of green with shades of blue and gray enough to keep the observer guessing.Shouldering her way past the layers of heavy hides that acted as a door, Alex heard Lena take in a deep breath at the relative warmth of the great hall. Not only was the constant wind shut away, but the mountain herself was alive with a damp heat that her human guests took well advantage of. With a quiet word Alex sent a cadet off for a hearty porridge before tucking the prisoner into a small alcove alongside one of the heat vents."Report," she barked at her people to turn their attention away from their guest. War trophy or no, she would not have anyone shirking duty, nor randomly causing harm. There would be time enough to judge later. Shivering away a lifetime of neglect and war, Lena did her best to thaw out against the mysteriously warm stone, exhaustion threatening to pull her under. There were others speaking, but it was a drone of wordless sound to her addled mind. When someone stepped in close, she took so long to react that she was grateful that there wasn't a knife stuck in her ribs. Again.When the cook's boy approached with a bowl, Alex smiled warmly at him and ruffled his hair. "Excellent, thank you, Carter." She had to prod Lena in the shoulder with the sturdy crockery to focus her. "Eat what you can keep down."To some, porridge might seem a rustic fare beneath their station, the sort of thing children might eat. To Lena, it was a feast. Sprouted wheat still tasting faintly of brewing, sweetened with rich honey and boiled whey, and crunchy with nuts, it was delicious. Still, she forced herself to stop after a few bites to stop her stomach from emptying itself. Without a word, Alexandra took the bowl and wolfed down several mouthfuls before handing it to her taller sister, who cleaned it out right to the potter's glaze.Nothing went to waste in this isolated place. Satisfied with the basic report of her people and a written inventory of what had arrived with the caravan, Alex nodded and sent them away. Only Kara and her handful of most trusted companions remained. "Excellent. With these stores in and having sent away most of the garrison, we'll be fine for winter.""Do we have to stay?" Winn whined and the others chuckled."We'll blame prudence on it," Susan told him cheerfully and sent the lad stumbling with a cuff to the shoulder. Her dark eyes were shrewd, curious and wary as she turned her attention to Alex. "What of that one?"A nod of her head drew eyes to the huddled, dark mass of Lena Luthor where she remained where set, completely unmoving."What of her?" Alex shrugged. "The people of her lands claim she had no part of her family's madness and she surrendered willingly to our forces. She'll not be harmed on my watch, and I'll hazard that she'll be safer here in isolation with us 'til another season or two passes."There were various emotions that flashed through the group, but none would argue with their leader without just cause."Rest and warm yourselves and leave Lena to me. And take those things off of her. She hasn't the strength to be a threat to the rabbits right now, much less any of us."The girl jumped and startled like a rabbit when woken and Alex had to wonder what abuses she might have suffered besides hunger. War could make monsters of even good people. She tried to shy away from Susan, but it was useless and the stoic lieutenant unlocked the cold iron from around her wrists before taking her leave."Come. You need tending and sleep."Once again obeying Alexandra's orders, Lena dragged herself to her feet and followed, sensing Kara once more at her back. A wide corridor made of fitted and mortared stone quickly became the walls of a proper cave. In the darkness, sconces of glowmoss cast their ghostly green light against concave mirrors and into the hallway to show the way. It had been a long time since Lena had seen the clumpy living light source in such quantity, and with such a strong light. Thankfully, it was a short walk to a rawhide door as sturdy as any of wood that led to a irregularly-shaped living chamber with heavily worked furniture shapes carved right into the black stone. There was an intricate desk covered in papers and books that filled the far alcove as well as a table and chair shapes that grew out of the almost smooth walls that contrasted with animal hides and additional makeshift furnishings. More astonishing than any of it was the water lantern hanging in the center of the room with a blinding phos gem lighting up the room like daylight. After the cool light of the moss, Lena was left blinking. After a moment, she could see the crystal itself, big as a grown man's femur, milky and striated and glowing like a shard of the sun itself.The sly smile on Alexandra's face was both sweet and irritating. "One of the benefits of station."There were little nests and cups and shelves of stone built into the walls that overflowed with plants, another advantage of the phos gem. Clothing and books and the scattered detritus of a normal life about the chamber was grounding. The very normalcy of it was jarring to Lena"I'll find her some clothes," Kara said quietly and vanished behind a drape of heavy hide that hung in a doorway to the far left of the chamber. There was a match to it at Lena's right, undoubtedly another chamber, and across from the entry door were a flight of finely carved steps leading up to an arched doorway.Humming in acknowledgment at her sister, Alex eyed their guest like the puzzle she was. After a moment she came to some sort of silent decision and she ducked around Lena."Come then, a bath."It took strong warrior's hands on Lena's shoulders to get her moving up those treacherously narrow stairs hugging the curved wall. She'd be lucky to not break her fool neck coming back down. At the top was a near-perfectly smooth egg of a room that bounced around the light of the phos gem against its shiny blackness. A lip separated the bottom third of the chamber into a tub, lined with hard white glaze."The mountain provides us with hot and cold water both," Alex explained and pulled two valve handles to send water spilling into the tub. "I'll keep it a bit warmer for you. When you've had enough, you can pull the plug and refill it at the temperature you like."A rubbery plug on a chain was wedged down into the stone hollow and the rush of water suddenly had Lena desperate to be clean. She couldn't remember the last time the filth of war and time hadn't clung to her. Still, eagerness to strip couldn't bring strength to weak, cold hands. Nor stop the icy blast of fear when a knife appeared in Alexandra's hand.Alex watched the stare of those green eyes at the small blade that winked in the light of the glowmoss grown wild in the bathing alcove."I'll not harm you. Some of those laces will never come loose without the help of steel."There were no words, just a jerky nod, and Lena's gaze never left the blade as Alex sawed through laces and some tattered, tangled edges of once heavy linen and good wool. Now they were only good for garbage and would be recycled into tinder. Lena was thin and scarred and lightly bruised, nearly blue around the edges from cold and circulation gone as poor as her overall condition. There were few curves on her, but the womanly shape of her still lingered despite it all.Alex did her best to keep her eyes decent, grasping the shaking hands to help her charge into the steaming water. Then she shucked off her heavy tunic and rolled up her sleeves before setting the taps at a heavy trickle and reaching for the soap.The sensation of hands rubbing soap into her hair took years away from Lena's mind, left her feeling vulnerable as a child. After some time fiddling at the snarled mass, Alex switched off with Kara, who rubbed a good, clean grease into the tangles and teased at them with a brush. All the while, the water trickled away down an overflow scupper and pipe, remaining warm and reasonably clean.Lena fell into a stupor close enough to sleep, barely aware of being half lifted to her feet and wrapped up snug in towels to be coaxed downstairs to a privy and handed a tiny brush to scrub off her teeth. Then it was more motion, fabric settled about her body and the soft warmth of sheets and heavy furs to keep away the cold, even a pillow that smelled of the kind hands that had cared for her.The fear had not left, but Lena had no strength to fight whatever fate was to be hers in the hands of these strangers. Murmuring weakly for mercy, she allowed sleep to take away her waking worries, swallowed down by weariness and the care that gave her some hope.For really, that was all she had left.
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The softness and warmth were so foreign, Lena thought herself still dreaming. Truthfully, it was swelteringly hot. Uncomfortably so.She didn't know what to expect when she opened her eyes, but an enormous sickle of a blade inches from her eyes was not it. Fear blasted through her even as she realized what it was… and was not at reassured. For the talon belonged the biggest griffin Lena had ever seen. Really, the biggest griffin she could have imagined. It was dark, almost black with the faint light of the phos gem behind a curtain casting the darkness to a deep bronzy shade. One wing, bigger than the bed itself, was draped about her and explained the sweltering heat.The small noise Lena made was enough to bring up that great head up, the enormous eyes blinking. She --for no male could possibly be this large-- cocked her head and ducked close with a beak large enough snap the terrified human clean in half and chirruped a deep, questioning sound.Even as inexperienced as she was with the griffins, Lena knew that a curious animal probably didn't mean any harm. If the huge beast had wanted to hurt her, there had been plenty of opportunity. Besides, how dangerous could she be with a jaunty white stripe in her feathers from the corner of her left eye that ran halfway down her neck that was echoed on her beak in carefully applied lacquer? Not to mention that bright yellow star beside it.Abruptly the griffin's head snapped over to where the phos gem's light grew suddenly bright as someone threw back the curtain."Now, now, don't terrorize our guest. Miss Luthor, my bravest and most loyal of companions, Champion Star-Foot, of the Celestial line, last daughter of the famous Blunt-The-Knives, and the finest of her line. Or Astra for short." There was something teasing in the way Alexandra bowed to the big griffin who made the most sarcastic noise Lena had ever heard and thrust her head out to nibble at Alex's shirt. To Lena's astonishment, a huge shadow filled the doorway and a second griffin every bit as large as Astra shoved herself halfway into the room.Somehow the second griffin looked appalled, her ruff of feathers bristling up and eyes narrowing. Alex looked affectionately exasperated and reached out to smooth her hand over those ruffled feathers, utterly ignoring the massive beak that snapped close enough to her sleeve to shake it."Green-Eyes, you are second only in size and there's no doing a thing about it. This is Kara's partner, Alura. These two were extraordinary from the start, birthed with their shells shared and their yolk sacs joined. The breeder teams had never seen anything like it and had no idea what would come of the huge eggs. Their elderly mother died passing them, but they have become her best legacy."The way those talons scraped against stone set Lena's teeth on edge, but the griff was very careful to keep her weaponry from the bed. With a great whoosh of sound the encircling wing folded away and Lena shivered in the sudden draft. It was only then she realized that she ached all over from more sleep then she'd had in ages, her belly grumbling and her bladder whining. That set Alex into motion."Ach, sorry there. Get a griff rider talking about them and we'll never shut up. You've need of the toilet and food I'll hazard," Alex said easily and turned to grab a heavy wool tunic to toss onto the bed. "Kara found some old houseboots she outgrew that will need a bit of repair but will see you to the kitchens at the very least."With Alexandra's bossy hands and a surprisingly tender axe head of a beak prodding at her, Lena found herself sitting at the edge of the bed. Before she could do more than shiver a bit, the warm tunic was tossed around her shoulders and Alex knelt to tug on thick, warm slippers that ran halfway up to Lena's knee."Alright then. There's no freeloading in this castle, but you'll have allowances made for your weak condition. Today, you'll be left with the cook to do with as she sees fit."Standing, Alexandra offered both hands, gently clenching Lena's in hers to draw the smaller woman to her feet."You'll be safe enough there. Come."Lena had no idea what to make of the other woman. She was nice enough, her care of a hated stranger remarkable, but there was an offhandedness to it that kept Lena wary. And there was no mistaking the coiled violence just under Alexandra's surface; a legacy of the war she had inherited from her father years ago.A bit woozily, Lena managed a few dignified steps before effectively collapsing onto Alura's face. Before she could slip from the curve of beak, Alex had her, Astra's big body crowding them both."Stand down!"The barked order froze both griffins and they obediently sank to the ground, gazes alert on Alex. A shooing motion had Alura backing out so that Alex could carry Lena to the privy and leave her briefly to do her business. Even that simple task had her shaking with exhaustion as though years of running on little more than adrenaline and stubbornness were suddenly catching up to her. By some miracle Lena found the strength to stand and mostly set her clothes to rights before stepping out and collapsing into Alex."You've more potent needs than I thought, Lady," Alex mused as she once more effortlessly hoisted Lena into her arms and ascended the short flight of steps to the pair of worried griffins. "My healer training is getting rusty. I'll have to work on that. Mount."For a moment Lena was confused until she noticed that Astra had once again crouched, this time dropping her folded left wing to the floor. With a bounce and a shrug from her handlers, Lena found herself sprawled out atop smooth feathers."Good girl," Alex praised tenderly and Lena wondered what it would be like to have someone care for her like that. "You take care of her like she's your own. To Cat with you now."Touching foreheads reinforced the words and Alex was satisfied that her charge was in the best hands. It was a mild surprise when Alura followed her twin however. Then again, when did anyone but Kara truly understand that one?Single-file, the twins padded down the main hall, nearly filling it with their bulks. Really, they shouldn't be about indoors at all, but they liked to push their royal privilege and Alex was terrible about indulging them. Kara was even worse. Doubtlessly they'd get an earful from Cat about invading her kitchen spaces, but Lena would be taken care of.Lena. The last Luthor was wreaking havoc even while too weak to walk on her own. Already the numbers that had gone down-mountain in protest were going to leave the castle woefully understaffed for the coming winter.Rhea was the hardest blow, for not having a fully trained doctor in this isolated place was a real danger. Though at least she'd taken that idiot man-child son of hers with her. Her loyal assistant at least had chosen duty and between Nia and Alex, they would have to be enough in the event of injury or illness.Worry gnawed at her, exhausted her mind and soul. Was Winn right? Should they have just abandoned the high mountain castle to whatever fate was to befall it? But what of the livestock? The crafts and stores? What of the possibility of violence once more exploding over the land?Certainly there were other places to hole up and guard… but Alex so badly wanted to leave this place in her own time, to try and heal even a little bit in this sanctuary. Heartened that her decision to stay wasn't utter foolishness, she mused that they could get by with the thirty-two left. At least the deserter cowards had agreed to take every spare griffin with them as well. Two wings of eleven would have to be enough.With fewer mouths to feed, they'd need to slaughter and preserve more of the livestock. Sparingly of course, as the weanlings of all breeds had no guarantee of reaching maturity. Behind the throne-like dais and wooden chair where she liked to brood, Alex had a workspace for things of household importance she shared with Winn and Cat. It was crowded but neat, Cat made damn sure of that. All thoughts of the waif in her charge slipped away as Alex lost herself in her duties. Work schedules needed tweaking and chores needed doing. Darkness had already swallowed up the lowlands before her growling stomach drove her out of the cold air and indoors to tend to herself."Something smells good," she commented and nosed about the storage crockery in search of a snack. There were some fat, fluffy cookies in one that she grabbed a few of, jumping when a wooden spoon unerringly smacked her hand hard enough to really sting."You get one, Highness, and don't bother with the calf eyes. One. I've already had to run that sister of yours off twice now!"There was no arguing with Cat and Alex pouted and shoved one cookie in her mouth to chew noisily. It was chewy with one of the high protein, hard wheat flours, broken up with roasted walnuts and dried fruit diced small, and almost too sweet with honey. The faint funk at the back of the tongue was definitely a rich marrow and the combination made for a rich enough snack to nearly be a meal in itself!"For your pretty charge there. She's an affinity for goat's milk with the cream skimmed off. I've some mild, soft cheese and a light sweet bread Carter loves that might suit her as well. But watch her intake. Many a starved orphan of war will overindulge and neither we, nor her poor body, have the resources to spare."While she talked, Cat pulled more things from the racks and racks of lidded crockery mortared into great vents in the walls. Most were cooled by mountain air to slow spoilage, a few warmed with the deep, hot breath of the mountain. A small covered dish contained a pale, gooey cheese and was set out with a pair of rolls and a small cup of carefully doled out milk. There was never enough milk, and it all went to cooking, butter, cheese and the occasional child. A cup of the raw product was a gift."Keep her company for a small meal, Alex, and I'll ensure you have something hardier in a bit."There was real concern in Cat's normally acerbic tone and Alex hesitated before nodding. After all, Lena was her responsibility, not the cook's. With careful hands, she carried the wicker tray to where Lena lay asleep against Astra's side. She looked so young and fragile, huddled against the griffin, hands tucked into thick feathers. Someone had found her one of the wool sacks full of crushed shells to sit in and keep her body from the cool stone all around them.The tangle of sticks resting beside the squishy seat had Alex raising an eyebrow at Astra, who pointedly ignored her."Your featherbrain there kept slinking off and filching from the wood piles. She best not be nesting in my kitchen, Alex!"Smirking where Cat couldn't see the expression, Alex settled the snack to a small table with a plate already on it. Like most of the furniture in the castle, it had been artistically cobbled together of whatever could be tooled. In this case, leather and several strong, straight bones topped with a thin sheet of shale lashed down tight. It took some doing to learn to not rely on wood for common objects, but every scrap went to the cook fires. Better a tastier meal than a fancy table or chair!"You'll have to put those back," Alex teased her griffin lightly, her voice waking Lena with a start. For a moment, those green eyes were wild before she became fully cognizant of the here and now. "Evening. Join me for a bit of a meal?"The mild question was the gentlest of orders and Lena was now familiar with the appealing cookies, a shaking hand reaching out to grab one and bring it close to be nibbled at. When several of the garrison stomped through to fill their bowls with stew and rolls, Lena shrank into Astra as though trying to disappear. It was a reminder of their reduced numbers… and why.The soldier part of Alex understood, but the rest of her was appalled that the hatred for this --so far as they knew-- innocent woman was enough to send them away from their duty and fellows.Not for the first time, Alex questioned her need to stay.While Cat might be sharp-tongued and acerbic, she was an astute observer and there was no missing the way Alex watched her soldiery stomp in… and stomp back out again. They barely looked at their liege and certainly didn't actively acknowledge her. Out in the great hall, the murmur of voices over the evening meal was low, even for their painfully reduced numbers. There was no mistaking how torn Alex was, wanting to be out there with the others but feeling trapped by her duty.Sighing heavily, Cat dished up a proper meal and drink to set out on a small table she could carry over and join the younger women. Right on cue, Carter arrived in a flurry of energy, cheeks pink from the cold outside. "The animals are bedded down for the night, Mama, Alex.""Good lad," Alex complimented him as he lit up at the sight of his favorite bowl."Mama, can I sit with the others?""Yes."Bowl and cup in hand, the boy left and his small seat was taken up by his constant shadow. Alex grinned at him and gently asked after his newest batch of goat kids coming to age. With childlike enthusiasm, he rambled on about every seemingly insignificant detail about the livestock, Cat and Alex habitually listening with half an ear. Both were good at storing the pertinent details and discarding what they didn't need. Of everyone in the castle, they were Querl's favorite ears for just that reason. When he seemed to briefly run out of steam, dark eyes unfocusing, Cat pushed his bowl closer. "Eat now, son."The scars violent over his forehead and brows spoke to his bouts of slowness and brilliance."War doesn't take just life," Alex said quietly at Lena's curious look. "But it always takes something. Some more than others.""Why is a griffin in here?" Querl asked suddenly, his puzzlement acute. "They aren't allowed."Rules were important to him, often the only way he could define the world around him through a mind damaged by a blow that should have killed him. Alex hastened to reassure him. "Astra is only here to nursemaid our newest member, Lena. Did you get a chance to meet Lena today?"Lena had been introduced to the odd young man but it was as hazy as the rest of her day. Both of them looked a bit helpless and unsure, so Alex maintained her deliberate gentleness, her attention mostly focused on the lad. "Lena was an enemy, but since we are all working for peace now, I hope that we can all be friends."The clouds that had begun to gather on Querl's face at 'enemy' began to clear at 'friend'. "And Astra is caring for her.""Yes.""So she is allowed in the kitchen.""For now, yes," Cat added, voice as soothing as any doting caretaker but her sharp look at Alex and Astra conveying a very different message. "Until Lena regains her strength and can join us in our chores."Satisfied that his world made sense once more, Querl smiled and dug into his meal with gusto. Alex thought nothing of holding the small glass of milk to help Lena so that shaking hands did not spill. Assisting the wounded and recovering was second nature to a child of war and healing. With a little cheese smeared on bread, Lena was occupied with nibbling and Alex could focus on her own meal.A companionable quiet fell over the trio in contrast to the noise from the next room. But eventually Cat broke it with a deliberately calm tone. "How many do we have left?"Setting down her spoon, Alex rubbed her forehead where a pulse of tense pain throbbed. "Thirty two hale and hearty."Cat swore viciously under her breath and that angry loyalty warmed Alex more than she would admit."I sent down all but two wings with them.""That would explain James' sulking then." For long moments Cat looked years older than her early forties, worn down by a life that had worn all of them down. "So few…"But Cat had never been one to dwell and shook off her despair, that green-blue gaze sharp as glass once more."He seemed interested in your charge here. Don't glare, Highness, I'll not let anyone disrupt her healing. Besides, Carter is immeasurably pleased at the prospect of his own assistant. Once she has strength enough to pick up some of his least stressful duties, he can put in some time with James and the griffins. He's old enough now."Despite how clearly Cat was torn over the prospect of her boy taking on more grownup tasks, Alex kept her mouth shut on the subject and merely nodded in agreement. She was far more concerned with her own household around the attractive stranger in their midst. As thought cued by Alex's thoughts, Lena made a small, distressed noise and dropped the last bit of bread and cheese. Clearly fighting nausea, she went paler than even her moonlit complexion and swallowed convulsively a few times before sagging into Astra. Retrieving the scrap of food, Alex flicked it upward for her griffin to snatch out of the air."Bet you're hungry, eh, big girl? You're not used to being a nursemaid and so indolent. We'll get her settled in for some good sleep and get you fed and exercised soon enough."Finishing up her dinner, Alex excused herself to scrub her dishes and set them out to dry before returning to her charge. Lena half awoke but startled less, already recognizing the hands on her body, the murmur of reassurance and the solidness of the animal who carried her away. But there was an unexpected destination for her in the form of a chamber clearly the domain of the healing arts."You're a healer?" Lena asked quietly as Alex gathered a few things."Among many things, yes. I'll need access to your torso for a brief examination."With a hiss of a small slate door mounted in the wall, warm, damp air flooded into the room and Lena soaked it up. With a mostly dispassionate eye, Alex took closer stock of her charge than the bath had allowed, wincing at several scars every bit as vicious as what some soldiers bore."Just a day of food and warmth has improved your coloring and I take that as a good sign of your overall health."Lena only nodded at the encouraging news, barely reacting when Alex peeled back an eyelid to peer closely. "By the pale color of your inner eyelids, you've certainly got some manner of gut parasite. Luckily for you, if it hasn't killed you in this weakened state, it probably won't. After a few more days of getting your strength up, we'll cook up a draught to clean you out. But it won't be pleasant, I promise you that, but it should work."The look of distaste was darkly amusing and Alex smirked. "Have you moon bled any time recently?""Not in as long as I can remember," Lena murmured uncaringly, "but I have no desire to pass on what legacy I carry of my father's, so that is of minimal concern to me." There was a lot to unpack there, but Alex did not pursue it, content with a simple, "fair."With a strange glass bowl held between her ear and Lena's back, she was able to make out the beat of her heart, encouraged by the stubborn strength of the cadence."You're a tough one," she quietly admired at the exhausted and half-asleep Lena. "And you've had enough of a day I see. Off to bed for you."Astra had patiently waited by the door and carried her small load back to the royal sister's rooms so that Lena could be wearily sent off to scrub her teeth and fall back into her borrowed bed. Some part of her mind registered the kind hands pulling away the warm tunic and slippers, tucking her into the sheets and furs. Then, with a cool breeze and a scratch of sound, she was left alone to sleep.
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Lena's third day in the mountain castle was as uneventful as the second, a blur of tiny meals and catnaps, of members of the garrison moving through, of Astra's warm bulk wrapped around her in a protective promise. However the stick-gathering thing needed a bit of puzzling out, the mystery of it too interesting to ignore. It wasn't until Querl noted they were all similar in size and length that Lena figured it out. "You're not nesting, you've been looking for a crutch," Lena marveled. "Oh, you darling thing. Thank you." The soft praise clearly affected the griffin, who fluffed up her ruff in a gesture of pleasure. She stayed fluffed up as Lena looked over the collection, nudging a few so that Astra could pull them out in a great racket of noise and mess until the perfect crooked, forked stick was found."With a little fiddling, this will be perfect."Immensely pleased with herself, Astra clucked over her frail charge for a bit, before delicately moving away to her woody haul. Her spectacular glare when Querl took the chosen stick in hand shouldn't have been as hilarious as Lena found it, but she giggled faintly anyway. When had she last laughed?Oblivious to both their reactions, Querl examined the piece of wood closely and nodded before beaming at Lena with one of his big, open smiles. "It's well suited to your size, but it needs a little modifying."Leaving the stick, he bounded away and Astra made a spectacularly exasperated noise before leaving with most of her collection. By the time she came back for the last of it, Querl was busy with a set of whittling tools while Lena watched in sleepy fascination.Lena also met Nia, the Healer's sweet-faced and somewhat nervous assistant, now replacement, who hardly seemed old enough for the job. Still, she asked concise questions and poked and prodded with clinically gentle hands. When she asked for a sample of the most vital of fluids, Lena flinched at the memory of blades that hurt. Nia merely produced a tiny shard of volcanic glass that hardly seemed more dangerous than a paper cut. When Lena nodded, the frightfully sharp thing was barely a sting and Nia collected the bead of blood to shove it beneath a masterfully crafted magnifying lens and mutter over it for some time. When Querl worked a pulley and chain to lower the kitchen's phos gem for a closer light, the pair of them grinned shyly at one another. Even in the midst of war and its aftermath, there were still smiles and even the blush of young love.Nia's presence was a distraction and shield from the garrison and staff tromping through. Naturally curious, Lena found herself taking stock of those she had not met, and wasn't sure that she wanted to by their sometimes black glowers. There was a faint memory of Alex mentioning there being only thirty-two in the small castle clinging to its shelf on the near-sheer rock face. It seemed a frightfully small number for such bitterly cold isolation, but what did Lena know? Her hazy recollections of being reluctant royalty were fully of ostentatious excess, not the reality of these lean, mean veterans. More interesting was the fact that they were far and away mostly women. Then Lena realized that it made perfect sense as this mountain fortress was specifically meant for griffin troops. Riders had to be a balance of lightweight and strong to assist their winged brethren in battle. If she remembered correctly, most of the griffins themselves should be female as well, as they were often much larger than the males. Astra and Alura were certainly proof of that!There were only two notably large men, the flirtatious fellow with the brown skin and a sour-faced mountain of muscle who stomped over and slammed a basket of fabric down with such ferocity and speed she barely had time to react. What an odd lot these people were! No one else had even reacted to him, nor to Lena's curiously reaching for the basket it took her a moment to realize was woven of feather quills and some sturdy grasses. When Astra caught her struggling with the object, she hooked her beak over it and dragged it close. For which Lena gratefully reached up to stroke her cheek for. There were a whole range of comfortable, warm things to wear there, including proper wool boots with sturdy leather soles. To Lena's astonishment, at the bottom of the collection her horrid clothing upon arrival was not only clean and soft, but reasonably well repaired.Nothing went to waste indeed.In just three nights, Lena had grown used to Astra's protective warmth and dreaded Alex taking her bed back. Where had the princess even been sleeping? The fourth day passed in much the same way, though Alex showed briefly to look Lena over and steal away a half-eager and half-reluctant Astra for some exercise. It was the first time Lena had found herself with moments alone and her corner of the kitchen felt dreadfully lonely. She felt the pangs of being attention-starved for most of her life, how even the casual attentions of these people filled her like a dry vessel.To her surprise, Kara came to sit with her, those haunted blue eyes curious. "How are you faring?"The question was quiet and intense, much like Kara herself. Lena impressed herself by finding a small smile. "I'm glad I found you and that you brought me here. This… peace is something I never would have thought could be mine."Not just the words but the conviction of them took Kara aback. "Huh. I suppose you have a point there. As captivity goes, this is a fairly peaceful one. No wonder Alex so badly wanted to stay."A full smile turned the pale woman's beauty incandescent as a sunbeam and Lena found herself helplessly smiling back. That simple shared act clicked something between them, a warmth that hadn't been there before."Would you like some company at dinner?" Kara asked by there was no chance for an answer as Alex and Nia bustled in."Perhaps not this night, Kara. Our guest has a procedure she is not going to like. Would you see Astra off to her aerie? She's not going to want to be around for this."Wincing, Kara wished Lena well and coaxed away a clearly nervous griffin nursemaid, leaving Lena wondering what exactly she getting into. "Come then," Alex calmly and swept the smaller woman up in her strong arms. "You've doctoring to suffer through."So, unfortunately for Lena, on the heels of the pleasant encounter with Kara came Alex's promised draught. It was a vile-looking swamp mixed into a small cup of honey thinned just enough to be drinkable. Nia's look of deep sympathy as she handed over did not bode well."Just knock it back, quick like," Alex advised and Lena took a deep breath and did so. There were certainly some foul tastes, and her stomach rolled irritably, but as the minutes kicked by, she got to thinking that being stripped naked and set in the healer's big tub had to be overkill. Then her entire body felt like it went insane, wracked with cramping, violent rejection of everything in her that wasn't supposed to be there.It was awful and every bit as violent as the mountain storm outside, wringing her out and leaving her weak as a kitten all over again. The initial reaction wore off, leaving her gasping and crying, Alex's gentle hands once more washing away the filth of a different sort of war. Calm slowly settled and Lena felt... hollowed out, but somehow cleaner than she'd been before. And when only hours after being ready to scream with the agony of her innards, Cat appeared with a savory cup of bone broth, the unexpected rumble of hunger shocked her. Few things had ever tasted as good at that good, hearty broth.Even more astonishing was, after sleeping for well over half a day, Lena woke feeling more rested than she had in years. Collecting her crutch and shakily donning some of the warm coverings the cranky man, Mick, had left her, she managed to slip over Astra's wing joint to cling awkwardly. Not just that, but when Carter and Querl arrived to keep her company while they worked at a chore, she asked if she might not help.Carter hesitated as he set down the floppy basket he carried, but Querl just grinned and set down both of his. "This is my favorite task," he enthused and scooped out an enormous armload of fluff that seemed far too heavy for its cloud-like mass. Then Lena startled when she realized the poof of snowy white hair was a rabbit! Even with the wiggling nose and yellowed feet, one could hardly tell there was an animal in the cloud of fur. Querl set it down and gave it a pat before pulling a brush from his pocket, spiny with wire bristles."If you brush, we'll pull the loose pelt. Keep all the fur though."The earnestness of his instructions was endearing. Carter set out a deep basket on the large table they'd commandeered and it was on with the task. The rabbit's fur was as soft as it was cloudy and Lena ran her trembling hands through the mass before painstakingly combing out the loose fiber, grateful to the animal's calm indifference to the whole thing. It was a poorly done job, but Querl cheerfully praised her efforts and swapped out for a seemingly identical rabbit for her to work. The boys were far more vigorous, seeming almost rough with the rabbits, but none of the animals seemed to care. "The wool gets too thick and itchy," Carter explained as he worked from tail to nose with a narrow-toothed comb, dropping great handfuls of the silky stuff into the central basket. "In cold months, we brush and comb. In late spring, we shave 'em right to the skin. Goats too. Sheep if we have any, but Mom says they eat more than their wool is worth. Still, they make for different eating."The way Astra stared at the rabbits, she had her own opinions on good eating!Lena managed to help brush a full four rabbits before she was exhausted. Still, she had added handfuls of weaveable fiber to the pot and that was more than she had managed since surrendering herself to her fate.It was also a signal to Cat to find her some small tasks to do. Lena folded a pile of kitchen towels worn soft and fuzzy with use, spooned bits of butter onto pans of rolls and used the weight of her hands to hold down loosely looped yarn while Querl balled it with notable speed. At the end of each task was food, simple and small and easily eaten. If Lena still didn't feel so wretched, she might object to being treated like a child. But everyone had to work and any tiny tasks she took from Cat's boys freed them up for other things.And the first week passed.
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"Are you ever going to go back to your bed?"Snorting awake, Alex was instantly alert from a lifetime of war. She'd been dreaming again, the horrific memories layered over more peaceful affairs of good growing things and life-heavy water all the colors of jade."And deprive Astra of coddling her new pet? Perish the thought," she sassed Susan, who waited below with crossed arms and a sardonic smirk. Rubbing both hands over her face, Alex tried to shake off her weariness, wondering how many hours of sleep she had managed this time.Not enough to be sure. Doing her best to hide how tired she was, Alex shifted her weight and slid from her lofty perch in a hammock amidst the rafters in her favorite room in the castle. There was a peace to the library that even war couldn't touch.Susan watched her liege distractedly pull her clothing to rights and run fingers through her hair. It took long moments for her to refocus on her company, a fact Susan didn't miss. She knew Alex well, her habits and quick mind and physical drive. Right now, she was running low on both. "I didn't want to crowd Kara too much," Alex blurted out and looked consternated. Sometimes it was easy to forget she was still so young, but that expression drove it home. Susan knew that there was a time and place to push the royal and this was definitely not it.So concern was set aside for business with Susan's quick nod, but she knew she'd be keeping a closer eye out on the princess. "You wanted to know when the storm broke. We'd best not go down-mountain too far, but we can make an attempt in the sub-alpine meadows. There's bound to be some herds still fattening up there, now that the ruts are over.""Excellent."Alex's excitement over the prospect of a good hunt was overshadowed by the slightly confused way she looked around the library and her clutter of personal effects."Seems a bit early in the season to be this strung tight and scatterbrained, Alex."The comment was mild, even casually delivered, but Alex sharp look was quick and her hands grew still in pulling on her coat. It took some effort, but her reply was the same tone, admittedly with a bit more sharp steel behind it."Someone has to juggle it all, and there's not enough of us nor hours in the day to get everything done. The more I can stay atop it now, the less stress we'll have come the truly hard days."There was no lie to any of it, but still, Susan worried. ----As days crept by, Lena's little corner of the kitchen had grown so busy that Cat made her boys and Kara clean out a side room built for large-scale baking to turn into a workspace. With their small numbers, the space stood empty anyway. It had shelves and a pleasant fireplace where Cat let them make a busy little fire of dried animal dung. The young adults suspected half the cook's agreement to the fuel expense was the hilarity of watching the very spoiled Astra sleeping near the fire.That a small, but enthusiastically bright phos gem in its watery prison appeared on the ceiling chain just added to the assumption.As Lena clearly began to feel better, Astra's coddling had changed. Like the sticks, every time she left Lena, the big griffin returned with a gift. The apple was a nice treat, barely bruised after being held in that great beak with surprisingly delicacy, but Lena was not such a fan of the half-eaten haunch of some half-frozen critter. When Cat deemed it in decent enough shape, it was tossed into the stewpot that simmered at the edge of the fire, night and day. There was a random hairbrush and a big sack that stank of the laundry, and even someone's boot. Kara took charge of returning that, clearly amused by the griffin's antics.Though she was looking forward to a chance to look at the small, battered little book of love poetry.Today was a new day and there was a hint of bright sunlight pouring down the steps that led up to the great hall. So far, Lena hadn't felt the need nor strength to make the ascent and figured encouraging Astra to further mischief would only get them in trouble with her keepers. In fact, she had not deviated from the only three places she knew in the castle; the kitchens, the healer's rooms and the princess' quarters. Everything else was a mystery, and why bother to learn? She was only there as a hopefully valuable prisoner.Astra seemed almost too alert to Lena's moods, her head shooting up where she'd been dozing by the fire. Turning her great bulk --and only knocking one shelf this time-- she stepped over to rub her head over her small friend and nibble at her hair and collar. Lena was nearly used to the knocking about by now, accepting the care despite how it made her wince sometimes.Affection dispensed, Astra scampered away on what was probably another of her unfathomable scavenger hunts. "What do you think she'll bring now?" she asked mischievously and the boys just chuckled. The answer came quick enough, excitement in Astra's running paws and several squawks of annoyance from others in the castle. Fluffed up and with wings out just enough to send the boys scrambling to steady both their work and the swinging phos lantern, Astra dropped her mouthful at Lena's feet. To the woman's amusement and pleased surprise, the huge griffin dropped to her belly, tail whipping about, and palmed the object in her scaly hands. It was a large chunk of stuffed hide that had been clearly roughed up by beak and claws, fur mostly worn away.When Lena realized it was a toy, her laughter shook her frail frame."Ooof! It's heavy." A shove with her foot merely made the ugly thing flop over pathetically and Lena shrugged. "I'm sorry, darling, I simply don't have the strength to play."Clearly disappointed, Astra remained in her playful crouch for a moment, lashing tail nearly in the fire. Then she brightened and grabbed the toy to march out yet again.They whiled away the morning with Querl explaining the thermal vents in the walls, many of them natural, sealed behind sturdy tile and mortar. With one of those at her back close enough to lean against should she get a chill, the happy little fire, regular meals and near-constant company, Lena was as happy as she had ever been. Even the reality that it was all temporary couldn't completely ruin the simple joy of just existing like this.Kara had woken Lena in the early morning with a task that required hard work, finesse and brains. An excellent combination of the skills of the little team of four so often in Lena's work and recovery space. Mick met them there, already grumbling over a pile of gears and flywheels in various states of disrepair."I need this quick. Keeping you masses clean is no laughing matter. And it has to be precise, so now slacking off," he barked and stomped off, leaving Kara smiling a little weakly. "Mick's really not that bad. Honestly he's not.""Yes I am!" was shouted from nearby and Lena had to giggle over how Kara jumped and flushed at being heard. Most of the mechanical bits and pieces were wood, heavy with years of water and a crust of minerals, and a few of a pale, soapy stone. Many of them were smaller, but several large enough to require some wrestling and one that Kara had to make a separate trip for, balancing the huge thing on one strong shoulder.Kara and Querl did the hardest work with heavy tools and harsh wire brushes. The smaller pieces were left to Carter and Lena helped with small brushes and sandpaper. Of course, Lena still tired easily, but compared to her arrival, her improved condition was a joy. She was even able to help with some repair work, Kara fiddling with bits of wood, wire and iron with steady hands."I don't like the laundry," Carter sulked with all the dramatics of a child. "It's scary and Mick always jumps out at me like an ogre."With effort, Kara swallowed down her amusement and kept her tone neutral. "Yes, but he does that to everyone." At Carter's askance look, she grabbed him to be monstered at and squeal with laughter at the tickling. They'd had a healthy snack when they arrived, but were more than ready for the enormous breakfast Cat brought in on a wheeled tray. There was no need for separate plates, as Kara and the boys inhaled most of the mound of scrambled eggs and handed Lena the plate to finish off as they polished off most of the rest. "This sausage is amazing. I can't remember the last time I had fresh herbs in anything. Do they get flown up here?"The other three looked at Lena quizzically, Carter finally saying out loud. "No, we grow 'em. You've seen Mom's little planters up by the light.""Well certainly. But that's hardly enough to flavor a batch of sausage for a whole castle."They were completely puzzled, then Kara clicked in on it. "Lena? Have you seen any of the castle?""Of course not. Astra was told to take me to the kitchen and Alex has always taken me to the Healer's rooms. I've hardly had the strength or inclination to wander."The sudden fear in her eyes put a damper on the jovial morning and Kara pasted on a cheery smile only a bit strained around the edges."Well, we'll have to take you on a little tour then."Before Kara could continue her thought, Alex strode in, dressed in thick winter gear. Her mood was upbeat and smile wide as she grabbed the last rasher of bacon to Carter's horror. "That will have to wait. We've finally a break in the weather. Come on, Kara, time to hunt!""But I…" Kara hedged softly and gestured at the jumble of gears and wheels. Alex's eye-rolling condescension was as obvious as the hard hands on her hips."You can play in Mick's toolbox later, we've more serious needs to attend to!"The happy mood in the room ruined, Lena traded a worried look with Querl as a now sad-eyed Kara simply rose and followed her sister without another word."She doesn't like being a rider so much," Querl observed in that blunt, innocent way of his. "She'd rather be doing something like this. Or better, passing the knowledge on to someone else. Kara is very smart and clever.""You're a stalwart friend," Lena praised him and gave his arm a pat, not entirely certain who she was actually comforting.
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Jittery with excitement over the prospect of being out of the castle, free in the open air, frigid in its embrace, Alex strode towards the barn and aeries. Behind the keep a deep, narrow canyon curved away from the courtyard like a hooked thumb. Over a great many lifetimes, myriad caves had been expanded or dug out of the rock for rider and griffin alike. Or course, the royal aeries were the finest and largest of these, stepping out onto the roof of the barn below, the heavy stone making an excellent flyway."Astra! Come! The sky beckons!" Alex called and fitted her mouth to blast a high-pitched whistle that echoed around the narrow canyon. Already, most of her wing was suited up, half of them in the air. Feeling a niggle of annoyance, after all it wasn't as if she'd spent more than a few minutes here and there with her partner since Lena had arrived, Alex stepped into the aerie, even as she knew it was empty. The low sand wallow looked icy and undisturbed and Alex wondered when the last time Astra had used it. Normally she was so fastidious!Climbing the stone ramp, she barely spared a glance for the heated stone hollow that Astra rarely used anyway. She much preferred her shelf by the bed, no matter that it was really too small for her. At the top of the steep climb, Alex came to her own room, startled at finding it to feel almost strange after so many days.Lena's clothes were piled neatly beside the bed and Alex found herself plucking a long, dark hair from the pillow. If that damn griffin was off on some wild goose chase to continue flirting with the girl, she was in for a world of cold, grueling, grunt work to get her mind back on duty.Alex clenched her fist around the stray hair and tried to ignore that she herself had put her loyal companion on the task. To shirk duty so completely was unforgiveable!With a full head of steam, Alex stormed into the main chamber where Kara had already clearly collected her gear and left. Trotting through the near-identical bedchamber and down the ramps of Alura's aerie, she was just in time to watch the second-largest griffin in the land push off with those powerful, cat-like hindquarters, huge wings unfurling to swoop out after the rest of the hunting wing. Alone and dejected, Alex walked out to the edge of the ledge and watched Alura bank effortlessly towards their homeland, which suddenly felt worlds away. Alex had still been a stripling cadet when a strange, gawky girl and a miracle conjoined egg had fallen into her life. Father had put her in charge of them all, the girls awkward with one another as they slaved after the strange egg day and night. The experts had dismissed the massive anomaly as unviable and unsaveable, but Alex knew there was more to it than mere strangeness. She and Kara bonded over months of struggling to turn the thing in its warmed pit, hot sand baking their hands red. They bonded over the dancing joy of veins growing along the inside of the shells, of the dark lumps within growing and growing until it seemed the shells would burst. The breeders and grooms marveled at the unexpected growth, but the girls would only allow them the most cursory involvement with the king and queen backing them all the way.At last came the day when the shells split, the girls encouraging with all their hearts, peeping back at the determined chicks within. One's call led to the other replying and soon enough they'd pecked through the calcium prison holding them, kicking and flailing their way free. Like any griffin hatchling, they were gawky, fuzzy things, cloudy blue-gray eyes too large for their skulls, muscles too weak for their weight and too many limbs to coordinate. They were also enormous, the biggest hatchlings anyone had ever seen, with half-feathered wings that dragged longer than their tails!Nothing but mindless hunger, crying desperately for sustenance at the first living thing they saw, they bonded to the awed girls would be theirs for life. It didn't have to be that way, riders bonded to older hatchlings and adult griffins all the time, but there was a special bond the beasts held to those they imprinted upon, particularly those with no griffin parents. And griffs were always notorious about not accepting orphan eggs.Alex naturally corralled the more aggressive of the two --she still bore the scars where those claws had proven her leathers inadequate-- and fed that greedy maw until the hatchling fell asleep, heavy against her. The streak had then been merely a small, bright star of white against the near-black of her head, back and half-grown tail, leading to her name. Kara had stared in wonderment as the twin lolled against her in adoring abandonment, her tail tip curled loosely with her twin's.That was the start of a family sub-unit that was Alex's best strength and by the time the awkward hatchlings were growing into those outrageous wings, Jeremiah and Eliza officially welcomed Kara into the family with quiet solemnity and then a joyous party.Even on the darkest of days, Alex never questioned the loyalty of her sister and the twin griffins that were the best parts of them. So Astra's vanishing felt like a personal blow.So caught up in her memories and miseries, Alex jumped when another griffin appeared and back-winged down to the ledge nearby. She knew this one well, a cousin to her own, their shared grandmother clear in the patterns of brown and black, but without the twin's coppery sheen. Susan slid from her shoulder and walked over, the tilt of her head curious."No Astra," Alex said with an easiness she absolutely didn't feel."Then we should look around for her, eh?"Appreciative of Susan for not cracking any obvious jokes about where could a griffin that size even hide, they did a quick search of the few places where Astra would fit, Alex avoiding the kitchens and sending Susan down. A last check in the aerie confirmed that Astra was indeed gone. Bitterly upset, Alex stood at the edge of the ledge and stared out over the courtyard and the sliver of the lowlands visible at the mouth of the canyon. Piper remained where she'd been left, quietly grooming and chortling to herself as griffins did. Susan casually stroked her beak and eyeridges as she walked by. When she spoke to Alex, her voice was every bit as relaxed, some part of the agitated royal recognizing the placating gesture and trying not to be further irritated."Your charge was concerned, as will your sister be, but Cat has one in hand and Lucy will have the other. No feelings will be hurt.""I don't have time to accommodate everyone's feelings," burst from Alex and the way she sneered that word made her flinch internally even as hot anger boiled up. "There's a mountain winter to contend with and an endless list of tasks that needs doing every day and not enough hale hands to get it done, and now my ostensibly well-trained and loyal griffin has flown off in the grips of some childish crush!""Do you regret being merciful to her?"The quiet question froze Alex in her tracks where she'd shoved past Susan, intent on taking some of her rage out on the helpless prisoner in the kitchens. Instantly her fists unclenched and the haze in her brain that felt too much like battle-rage cooled. Even if her attack had only been words, she had very nearly done an unforgiveable thing. And while war had forced Alex's hand in doing many a monstrous thing, to have nearly crossed that line of her own free will shook her."How will she ever survive with so much anger and hate directed at her?"Had Susan not been straining to listen, and moved close enough that her body heat told Alex she wasn't alone, she might have missed the strained whisper."With help and kindness, both of which you and yours have in abundance. When was the last time you slept? And not your hammock cat naps."The humorless huff was answer enough and Susan dared put her hands on Alex's shoulders and give her an affectionate little shake."Your bed is empty and your head is full. Go reverse that order in your own furs, yes? Piper and I will watch for Astra."And for once, Alex merely shut up, nodded, and wearily made her way back to her room. She felt so very small and alone as she sank to the edge of the bed and cradled her head in her hands.Did her mother feel like this? Hollowed out by the war still large in everyone's minds? Is that why she had become such a stranger that Alex was starting to feel fear?To exhausted to even stand, she managed to strip boots and coat before flopping back into the bed she hadn't allowed herself to miss. Groaning with the effort she managed to get snuggled into the soft linens and fine furs and felt a bit of peace settle over her. No, she didn't regret sparing Lena Luthor. The war had to end for real, and enacting revenge would only scar more, take more lives, leave ever more damage on a shattered population. No, Lena deserved mercy unless proven otherwise and Alex stood by her decision even as she acknowledged the trouble it had made and would continue to make.Comforted by her reestablished convictions and the scent of Lena trapped deep in the bedding all around her, Alex slept.
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While concerned for griffin and princess both, Lena still managed to curl up in her stuffed wool sack and doze away the time between small tasks. With half the keep's riders out, there were only the minimum tasks being done today. Guards had to be rotated about, everyone had to eat and immediate messes had to be cleaned up, but that was about the extent of the day. So the heavy racket of someone clattering about woke Lena with a start to look around wildly. Somehow she was still faintly surprised by Astra awkwardly prancing in… with a buck well more than half her size dangling from her mouth. It was a prime specimen too, rack forked like an old tree, the tips clattering against the stone as the body was dropped, nearly catching Lena on the leg. Astra sat back on her haunches, fluffed up with cold and utterly pleased with herself. Both were gory messes, Astra bloody from beak to talons, the elk disemboweled and the chest cavity caved in emptily. "Shard and talon!" Cat yelled close by and Astra actually flinched. "What in the name of every hallowed ancestor happened here?"She was a movement at the edge of the archway and Astra crouched down over the carcass and shrieked loudly."Astra!" Cat gasped in shocked outrage and perhaps not some small fear. In response, there was another clatter of sound and Lena was at last treated to the sight of another of the castle's griffins as she rushed to Cat's defense. In an instant, the violence in close quarters was real, Lena crying out in fear as Astra's tail whipped right past her head. Oh, the feathers might have left little more than scuffs, but the thick, cat-like length that extended well past those feathers might cave her skull in. Aching from the impact, Lena threw herself to the floor and rolled under the table made of stone and bone that seemed all too inadequate to the massive griffin in the throes of her instincts. Astra was drawn up to her full height, ears touching the roof, screaming challenge at a smaller animal similar in coloring, crouched and screaming back, ready to pounce. Susan threw herself between them, pretty much atop Piper's head, and her bellow could be heard even over their noise."Stand down!"Shadows wavered crazily as the phos gem swung on its chain, adding a surreal element to the tableau. For a breathless moment, Astra looked mutinous, but Susan did not waver."Stand down," she repeated in a voice as solid as stone and Astra slowly began to sink from her attack stretch.In the crazy light, Lena curled into a small ball and whimpered at violence and abuse and death once again close, too close."Lena," Susan said quietly but firmly. "I need you to come to me."Lena couldn't move, to sore and scared to do more than huddle."Astra, do as Susan says. Stand down," Alex's voice broke in, gentle but as unshakable as granite. "You're scaring Lena."Still barefoot and tousle-haired from her heavy nap, Alex was an unbreakable shield, a commanding hand extending well within the big griff's striking range. But the violence was over, Astra submitting to the humans, bowing her head and pushing against Alex's hand. She took a peek under the table to find Lena staring at her with wide eyes and mourned that her frail charge… was suddenly afraid of her. No, griffins were not intelligent in the same manner as their humans, but they were plenty smart, and intuitive to the two-legs they had lived with side by side for longer than either could remember.Head hanging, Astra chirruped pitifully, but there would be no easy forgiveness for her wrongdoings this day, no matter how well-intentioned. Nodding, Alex gave her a single, gentle stroke over her head, but there was no softness to her. "Go with Susan to the spit turner, Astra," she ordered gently, but firmly. "Piper, guard."Still ruffled, the smaller griffin nonetheless let a dejected Astra squeeze past before sitting in the doorway, her back to the room.Sighing heavily, Alex rubbed her hands over her face almost hard enough to hurt, trying to shake off the buzz of alarm that had woken her from a dead sleep and set her to a dead run while her mind was still clearing. Cat appeared again, her expression stormy as the closing skies around them. But a weary hand stopped her sharp tongue. Alex really did look frazzled."Could you get Kara found as soon as she lands? And have my oldest house boots retrieved? Only if you've room to spare Querl, he can help butcher this beast. If not, I'll be on that duty."Visibly calming herself, Cat nodded and her voice was carefully even. "Certainly. I'll have him mop up and come help. Let me see what I have to help with this mountain of meat. And you'll need something better than that belt knife."Grumbling as much in concentration as irritation, she swept out and Alex knelt beside the table. "Lena," she coaxed softly. "It's over. Please come out so I can see if you're okay."Lena wanted to disobey, shaken from her fall and the behavior of the big griffin that had been her constant companion for so long now. Still, Alex had once again saved her and that broke through the panic. It felt almost like she could sense the softening and Alex spoke again."I'm going to move the table aside, okay? It's just me here. Well, I'm going to move this damn thing's head, then the table. What a brute! I have to admire her gusto, because this is a magnificent buck she's brought you."It was the easy patter that soothed Lena more than the coaxing and she only blinked as the table was lifted away. There was a smile from Alex, something sweet and sad in the expression."There you are. Come now, you'll be more comfortable on your cushion. Did you hit you head or spine?"Shaking her head, Lena reached up to drape her arms over broad shoulders and cling. Rather than just dump her back into the squishy seat, Alex sat and tucked her cold feet up, settling Lena's light weight against the curl of her body."She didn't mean any harm. She adores you and was just too overeager. I was so mad earlier when she ran off earlier, because Astra is never like that."Cat bustled in, weighed down with a stack of baskets and slamming down a handful of knives that ran the gamut from 'paring' to 'short sword'. "Your Astra is broody, Alexandra. She's proven that enough with her weak little chick here. Perhaps it's time to let her settle down as well."Alex was taken aback, but realized that Cat was spot on. She really had been too caught up in other things than her immediate responsibilities to have missed how Astra had been acting. And the needs of the still-frail woman who huddled into her strong body and sighed with something that might be… contentment?Confusion and want made Alex's heart beat hard.The smell of wild animal and blood was strong in the air, but Lena couldn't bring herself to care. She stayed snuggled against Alex and breathed in the warm, soft smell of her instead. The bed had smelled like this for days, soothing her and making her feel safe.It wasn't Kara that had finally arrived, but two small women Lena had yet to meet properly. Both had eyed her with various levels of leering interest and icy disdain, choosing to ignore her as they joined Alex. The rumor mill had been murmuring in circles about a griffin's affections mimicking her rider's. The way the two young women dovetailed together made Lucy and Sara share a long look before the former cleared her throat sharply. Alex startled where she had been looking fondly over her charge and Lena froze, hunted-rabbit still, and watched them with equal parts fear and stubborn valor. Sighing explosively, Lucy gave her smirking companion a dark glare and sighed, "Shut it, Sara. You win."Pleased with herself, Sara grabbed the short sword of a knife and walked the length of the elk, whistling with respect. Lucy found a middling-sized blade and heaved up one of the elk's gangly legs, struggling with the weight. "And here I thought James was exaggerating the size of this thing!""Like he exaggerates everything?" Sara sassed and Lucy pointed the knife at her more playful than threatening. And that was that, the two setting to work on dismantling the massive carcass. Once Lena had relaxed again for not being the focus of unwanted attention, Alex gave her a pat and slipped away to help. They'd stripped most of the largest edible bits and were taking apart the bony parts when Lena reluctantly cleared her throat for attention. "Alex? Might I have some of the more tender pieces cooked up? Not for me, for Astra. At least to share with her." Lena seemed to wonder if she'd overstepped then, her voice going soft and questioning. "If I could be allowed to share with her?"She looked so hopeful that even if Alex still felt inclined to temper, she'd have turned it aside. There was no sane reason to punish either. "Of course. She'll like that.""Softy," Sara teased quietly and Lucy only chuckled at Alex's sour look.The most tender bits had mostly survived Astra's mauling and Cat took them away to return with a crock of lovely brown bits. Lena was enraptured with the two new griffins that had joined Piper in eyeing the carcass with intense interest. There was a big golden beast who soaked up the firelight like cloth and a runty beast perfectly proportioned and midnight black from beak to tail. Only the whites of her eyes and the gleam of them gave her away in the shadows. All three squawked and shuffled about as Mick arrived to shoo at them as though they were a flock of pigeons. "Whatcha got," he grunted and actually seemed impressed by the roll of skin Lucy needed both feet to kick closer to him. Not to mention the huge head and antlers. "Huh. Guess bird boy wasn't makin' it up. 'Bout time I got a real challenge."Once again the trio of griffins fluttered and complained at Mick's utter disregard of giving them any space at all. Kara appeared at the same time, ducking under Ava's half-open wing and distractedly giving her a reassuring pat. "Oh. You're nearly done. I'll get a few backs to help carry this down to the ice caves. Your boots, Alex."The very flatness of the little speech and the way Kara turned and walked away had rider and griff alike giving Alex an askance look… or five. Sighing, Alex was torn between going after her clearly upset sister or finishing up her gory task. Right now the wrath of Cat if she tracked mess through the castle won out and she would take her cold feet as punishment for being curt with Kara earlier. Sensing the shift in mood, Lena gathered herself and struggled to her feet with a good grip on her crutch. "I think I'll retire until dinner.""You'll be all right?"The concern of Alex's question made Lena smile. "Calm has returned and I'm much stronger than I was a couple of weeks ago. I think I can actually make the walk now."She picked her way around the mess with the shuffling, delicate steps of an old woman, but she was steady and her back straight. The trio of griffs sniffed at her and let her touch their beaks one by one, Sawyer bold enough to nose her almost playfully. Alex watched the whole process intently, her eyes lingering on the archway long moments after Lena had vanished."If I believed in the old magics," Lucy teased quietly. "I'd suspect that one of being an enchantress or some kin."Alex flushed and returned to her task, flicking pieces at the griffs with perfect aim to eliminate the urge to possibly snap at one another.
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For all her bravery, Lena was exhausted by the time she reached Alex's bed, dropping the bowl and then herself to the welcome haven. She lay there until her body calmed and her breath was once more easy. Then she sat up, feeling as though Astra was close by. Well, she had a bit more in her for a small exploration. If nothing came of it, she'd leave the bowl on the sleeping ledge beside the bed. It would get eaten eventually. She hadn't gone to look yet, but Lena was curious where the constant draft came from. It clearly had to do with how the griffin got into the room and the large tapestry hanging close by. There was no time like the present and she grabbed the warmest wool blanket from the bed to wrap around herself and the bowl. When she touched the tapestry, she was pleased to realize that it was a curtain instead. Slipping through the floor to ceiling slit up the center, she had to work her way through several layers of hides. On the other side was a chamber of more worked stone where sunlight and a ramp led her eyes and feet downward to where she could see Astra curled up in a ball of feathers and stillness.Unfortunately, the ramp proved her undoing and with a gasp of pain, she found herself bounced down onto her rump. That brought Astra's head up and she was clearly startled to see her little friend grinning at her. Scrambling to her feet, the griffin rushed to Lena, quick to wrap her neck and wings around her."I forgive you, silly thing. And look, I brought a gift to share from the bounty you brought."Astra wouldn't settle until Lena painstakingly shuffled down the ramp with a handful of sturdy feathers as anchor. When she curled up and flirtatiously ruffled up her neck feathers, Lena wasn't going to ignore the offer of warmth in the chilly aerie. Her gasp was a pleasant one this time at the heat of the sand in the wallow and snuggled into Astra's chest and her stolen blanket. "Did you think I was Alex, sulky thing?" Lena teased and Astra wouldn't look at her for a moment, having to be coaxed with a meaty treat. "You are charming and silly, the both of you. Cat says you're broody. Is that true? Are you wanting a family of your own? A handsome suitor warrior to entice and protect you?" Realizing she just might be projecting onto her feathered friend, Lena blushed and set the bowl where Astra could clean it out as she saw fit."Well, you hardly need protecting. And it would take a magnificent mate to impress you, surely."With a bit of fresh meat heavy in her belly and a busy afternoon having taxed her still-recovering resources, Lena found herself unable to resist the pull of the comfy nest. She tugged the blanket over her head and snuggled deep into the feathers and warmth that signified safety, just as Alex did. No burst of temper was going to eliminate that. Wrapping head and wing around her small charge, Astra too felt peace, closing her eyes to succumb to the healing powers of sleep. ----After half the castle had tromped through the filthy baking annex to cart the meat and bones away to be iced or given to doubtlessly delighted griffins, Alex washed up as best she could and at last struggled into her boots. A visit to James informed her that he had scrubbed down and sent Astra home some time ago. Just as there was no overriding Cat in matters of hearth and home, there was no overruling James when the health of the griffins was in question. Alex discussed with him the changes in Astra's behavior and he agreed that removing the alterations to her feed so that natural urges would reawaken fully was well within her age and health status.Then another, just as important a task, had to be done.It took some wandering about to find Kara, alone in one of the coldest chambers, an open cave facing the wind that whipped around the mountaintop and brought icy temperatures to the space nearly every day of the year. From great chains and hooks, she was hanging slabs of the day's kills for future use, hoodless and with her jacket fully undone with her hard work."You needn't do this alone," was all Alex could think to say, wincing at how Kara stiffened before going back to what she was doing. "Others can--""Is there something you need, Your Highness?" There was no mistaking the strain of hurt sarcasm on the title as Kara whirled on her. "Since all you seem to give a damn about lately is barking orders and being an ass to everyone."Startled at the vehemence, Alex only blinked, further shocked at Kara's glare."Really, Alex? You're going to stand there and play stupid? If you want your damn griffin and bed back, send Lena away already. She's expecting every day to be chucked into the snow anyway!"Stung, Alex scrambled to defend herself. "This isn't about--""Then what is it about? Because you weren't this rude and dismissive to me in the midst of war. And I'm not sure you're not going to snap one day and turn on that helpless prisoner who surrendered willingly!" Deflating like a burst bubble, Kara looked small and young and so very sad. "I just wanted to get to know life without war, without terror and death. Wanted to get to know…"Those beseeching blue eyes hardened, blinking away tears and only the scarred soldier was left."Never mind. I'll find myself something less of peasant work to do with myself. Good day."The sneer stung, giving Kara a moment's head start. Then Alex shook off her paralysis and rushed after her sister, shocked to be shaken off roughly. "Kara wait!" "Dammit Alex, what do you want?" Kara raged at her, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I--""I'm sorry, Kara."That silenced her, the sisters staring at one another."I'm sorry," Alex said again, her voice strained with emotion. "I've been an ass and I love you and I don't want you hurting. I'm sorry."It felt good to say the words, to fight past her own aversion to be seen as anything but tough and in charge. Kara saw the change, saw the gawky teen who had awkwardly helped Kara herself find a new life after her old one had been so brutally torn away. Alex didn't blink away the tears in her eyes and gratefully returned the little huff of a laugh and the crushing hug Kara yanked her into."Dramatic," Kara whispered as she clung suffocating tight and soaked up the crushing grip around her in turn."I know, I know. I'll try harder to let go of all that came before.""Or try less hard, eh?"Perhaps Kara had something at that.With solemn promises to find some time together, the sisters returned to their quarters with lighter hearts to clean up and check on the rest of their household. Less messy than Alex, Kara shooed her off to the bath."I'll scrub up in the privy a bit. You should definitely check up on Astra and Lena. I'll take care of everyone else.""You're sure?" Alex fretted even as she began peeling off her layers in desperation to be clean. "Now that you're the kind, genial sister I love again, yes," Kara sassed and Alex was relieved at the return of the easy tease of it all. "Come to dinner if you've the energy. If not, I'll drop something by.""You're the best, sister of mine."Kara was pleased with the praise and the sisters separated with far lighter hearts. Hot water and soap made away with the wearying afternoon of butchering and some of the jangled nerves of a stressful day. Wrapped in towels, Alex went to her room, finding it undisturbed from her earlier nap. Suspecting where her companions were, Alex dressed quickly in warm indoor clothes silk-soft with years of use and headed out into the aerie. Sure enough, Astra was wrapped snugly around a lumpy blanket Alex would bet her canine teeth contained a lovely prisoner who had won hearts all over the castle. Though she could have done with less of Lucy and Sara's filthy innuendo, the brats.Stormy blue eyes watched Alex pad quietly down the ramp and kneel beside the warm, sandy hollow in the stone. "I'm sorry," she said quietly and placed a tender hand on Astra's head. "I hadn't noticed how your behavior was changing and my own temper. Forgive me, old friend."Clucking lowly, Astra shifted her head to rub and nuzzle until Alex had to laugh."Wait, wait. Let me retrieve your charge to the bed before you get frisky now."Murmuring and squinting, Lena only half reacted to Alex's touch, snuggling into being lifted and carried. Halfway up the ramp and wondering if she was going to trip over the blanket, Alex paused to look back where Astra watched her humans intently."Well come on, you."The griff needed no more invitation and scrambled after them.Back in the warmth of the bedroom, Lena shivered reflexively and Alex gave her a squeeze as she once again sat on the bed."You've put on a few pounds. Good. I look forward to the day picking you up will be a strain."Pleasantly embarrassed at the attention, Lena was still reluctant to let go as Alex twisted to lay her in the bed."Now, where are you sore?""I'm not." The wry look spoke volumes and Lena relented with a childish grumble. "Fine."Alex had doctored an endless procession of wounded bodies most of her life. The irony of her dual nature of healer and destroyer had never escaped her. There were nothing about the body that fazed her any longer. Still, tugging the drawstring of Lena's pants loose had her heart talking in completely inappropriate ways. She ran callused hands over the hill and dale of skeleton, pleased that there was a bit more flesh softening the harsh punishment of hunger and illness. There was definitely some discoloration at that hip, but Lena only hissed lightly at a firm press to the spot."Good. Your battering seems a trivial thing. I'll check in with you later to double-check."Tugging the soft pants back into place, she was halfway to tying a neat bow in the laces when Lena's voice made her pause."Are you staying?""I napped."Sleepy and vulnerable, Lena murmured, "please stay. You make me feel safe."Remembering her rage earlier, no matter how brief, made Alex flinch. Some of that was reflected in the one great blue eye where Astra lay with her head resting on crossed forearms. Really, there was no other choice and Alex sighed, more affectionate than put out."Roll over then, you."The smile was small and smug, but unmistakable. What Lena hadn't expected was the shock of pleasure in Alex slipping not just into the bed, but molding her strong body to the full length of her companion's. She rested her arm over Lena's smaller frame and didn't fight having her hand captured to be cuddled.For all that she never expected attachment to this admittedly attractive stranger, the attachment was truth. Exactly what that might entail, and how deep it might run was a conversation Alex was in no place to have quite yet and pointedly ignored the inner exasperation that felt remarkably like Susan.
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Their nap might have ended on an awkward note had Lena not woken with a groan and hiss that had Alex instantly awake and fussing over her bruises. Kara then dropped in with a tray of food to keep them company while they ate.Despite the bruises and her still-shaky energy levels, Lena wanted to be more a part of the life of the castle. As much as Alex might want to hold her back a bit, Lena was right and the sisters tried her out at a few easy tasks to expand what she had already helped with.That was how she found herself somewhat bemusedly becoming a cheese apprentice. Boyishly eager Winn was nervous with her shadowing him at Cat's insistence, but that lasted all of an hour at best. Once he realized that Lena's quiet was merely her absorbing what he was saying, he became as animated as a little boy at harvest festival. Lena soaked up every word, watched and learned as Winn rambled on about smell and texture and temperature. The cheeses were aged in caves of pleasantly middling temperatures and humidity, with a few side alcoves carefully exposed to chilly drafts from the outside to keep them cool and dry. The cheeses ran the gamut of fresh made small batches of stretchy goodness, or little wheels that were soft and almost runny with rinds of fuzzy mold, or round bricks of dense hard cheeses that required long periods of quiet maturation. Those wheels were the most fascinating, hard and naturally waxy, the makers marks burned into their sides with hot irons.Winn proclaimed her better than any apprentice on the third day and earned her rusty laugh. In celebration he pulled down one of those aged wheels and hobbled to the kitchen under its weight. For an excitable fellow, he knew how to wield a flock of small knives to carefully split the big thing as a mason would a stone. Dense and grainy and nutty, the narrow wedge Winn broke off for her was one of the more delicious things Lena had ever eaten. That the royal sisters and Susan tromped through during the process and Lena offered each a piece, but dropping it on Alex's tongue made her warm the way the other two didn't? Well, she tried not to look at that too closely.Things were changing between them, no matter than neither broached the subject. But evening checkups on the state of Lena's person became their bodies sleeping intertwined in the bed and mornings both easy and wordlessly awkward.Those nights made each fear ever sleeping without the other close, but still, neither could find the words for what was blossoming between them.With the splitting of the great cheese wheel, Alex became almost jovial, scooping Lena up to be carried to the mysterious stairs that led upward to where the noise of life filtered down to the kitchen level. "Come, apprentice of curd and salt! We must share your bounty! You've got that, Carter, m'boy?"The seven-year-old looked a bit overwhelmed with a wedge of cheese nearly as big as his whole torso, but set his jaw and waddled up the steps. Lena held onto the familiar breadth of Alex's shoulders and looked up the shiny stone steps that fell away as they climbed. At the top, Alex paused to catch her breath and Lena could see that there was a large hall just beyond the archway that defined the stairway, hall, and passageway. An enormous phos gem blazed in a glass boat half as big as Astra herself in the ceiling, illuminating the great hall. It was a beautiful space, ringed with arches all around that led to other parts of the castle. Great fireplaces warmed the hall on three sides and hints of daylight flickered beyond the layers of hanging hides that kept away the worst of the cold.While Lena knew every face in the place after more than the better part of three weeks, to see so many of them relaxed and social was new. The way the joviality trailed to silence could have cut deep, had there not been better distractions. On ledges and rugs and even a couple of shelves cut into the walls… lay griffins.And they were so much more than Lena had expected.Now certainly she had seen griffins, who hadn't? But never in such profusion, or close up, or in such numbers. And that wasn't even getting into the colors! Oh, the colors. Thus far she had met only neutral shades of gray and gold and brown in striking combinations. There was so much more though, two big blues, and an equally resplendent verdant green specimen and several beasts splendid in reds ranging from the blush on an apple to all the shades of blood. One was even a sunshine yellow with her points darkening to an orangey goldenrod."Oh," Lena breathed out in childlike wonder. "They're all so beautiful.""You've seen griffins before," Alex teased her gently and walked to where many of her own wing laid out in proximity to one another."Not like this. Oh, I remember you. Your name is Piper. A pleasure to meet you. And you're Ava, and you're Sawyer. Your riders probably don't even realize how much they talk about you." As they had done in the kitchens, the trio crowded in carefully to sniff, not objecting when the stranger touched them. It was entirely uncharacteristic and Lena was utterly delighted with the attention. "They're so big and terrifying, I never thought they'd be so sweet and kind."The comment could have been directed at Alex herself and she felt the weight of them far heavier than the woman in her arms.Lena laughed softly, the sound almost a giggle, as the yellow griff nosed up alongside Sawyer. She was only a bit larger than the petite black and they were clearly very familiar with one another. Like a well-behaved but excitable dog, the yellow sat, nearly vibrating with eagerness."Forgive Eve," Alex said with amusement as she carefully set Lena on her feet. "We don't meet many strangers.""I had no idea they could all be so colorful. It's wonderful."When Lena reached out, Eve rubbed up readily but also obeyed Alex gently turning her beak aside in reminder to be careful. Astra padded in, Lena's bag-chair dangling from her mouth and she flicked her ears at all the attention her little friend was getting. But when the bag was arranged beside Alex's chair and cradled in Astra's forelimbs, Lena was grateful to shuffle over and curl up. The central table was a fascinating piece of art, a flattened plateau of mottled back and white granite. It was very low, ringed with many versions of Lena's cushion-chair and she understood how hers had come to her so readily. Generations of people had worn at the edges with tools and touches, flattening the stone, wearing it smooth.Around the table, the riders were as colorful a lot as their griffins. Tall and short, slender and muscular, dark and light. There was even one fellow with a shock of the most beautiful curly hair that stood only waist high to the bulk of the others and a woman with hair so brassy it looked like flame.As much as Lena wanted to remain interacting with the fascinating griffins, dinner smelled amazing and appetite was a sensation she still relished. To her surprise, the big cheese wedge on the plate closest to her floor pillow. "I can't eat all of that," she said half teasingly to Carter where he was clearly waiting for something."Course not. The big wheels are meant for sharing. S'why Winn sent the wedge up with you. To share."Carter's serious eagerness made sense to Lena then. This was a gift to be shared and every eye in the place was interested.It was a peace offering.Instantly self-conscious, Lena tried to duck out, an edge of desperation in her tone as she smiled shakily at Carter. "You don't want to?"The boy scoffed with the sort of scorn only a small boy could manage and set one of the wedge-shaped knives beside the treat. "Cheese is boring. I'm gonna do James' job one day! Though the griffs don't like me as much as they like you." With big, liquid eyes imploring, he begged her, "can you show me how you do it? Please?"Completely taken aback by the whole little speech, Lena helplessly looked around at the way the griffins did indeed seem fascinated with her, and she'd bet it wasn't related to the cheese. For the first time, the interest was… disconcerting. Forcing her attention back on the boy, she found a weak smile. "If I had any idea what they see in me, Carter, I would indeed teach you. It is a little strange, now that you've pointed it out.""S'ok. You're strange, but I like you."From the mouth of babes.With good food and gentle care, Lena had gained enough strength to push the barely-sharp knife through the hard cheese, breaking off crumbly bits, the largest of which she offered to Carter. "Thank you for the help, Carter," she praised him and he took the treat and scampered happily away. That was signal enough for Susan and Kara to jump up, playfully elbowing each other to rush to Lena, plates extended with big smiles.Well, there were certainly worse ways to buy favors than with a good treat. So Lena shrugged off her nervousness as best she could and concentrated on doling out the goodies. Within a dozen of the riders approaching, Lena ran out of ways to break off pieces of the wedge. It was Sara that came to her rescue, smiling a calm, winning grin."If I might help?""Please."A pair of daggers appeared from… somewhere and Sara used them to split the hard rind that had been the outside of the wheel. From those cracks, the grainy texture fissured apart easily and she picked up her plate just as the others had done."Thank you," Lena said with real warmth and happily offered a larger piece. Sara smirked smugly at the rest of her fellows and took a big bite.In ones and twos, each member of the household came to Lena, even those that could barely keep in check how much they clearly did not trust her. Even the very small man approached with a walk somehow both aggressive and nonchalant. Lena's attitude didn't alter at all, she simply broke off another chunk and handed it over. Used to being patronized for his stature, Rocket was forever ready to go antagonistic and her non-reaction brought down his attitude a bit. Besides, only an idiot aggravated the keeper of the old grainy cheeses everyone loved!"How'd you get Winn to cough up one of his big wheels this early in the season? Normally it's one of the few things he's a hardass about."There was grudging curiosity behind the roughness of Rocket's voice and Lena smiled thinly. "I worked in the cheese caves with him today. It feels good to contribute. I appreciate the methodical steps and precision of the process to turn out something so marvelous as this."Smile warming, Lena chewed a bit more of the cheese and Rocket just shook his head. "No wonder he gave ya the cheese, since you seem ta be a fellow curd nerd. Still, thanks."Where they had wandered off to pay attention to the lazing griffs, Alex and Sara watched Rocket sarcastically salute Lena in an almost friendly manner with his chunk of the treat. With the riders and most of the staff having gotten their treats, several of the griffins scooted closer to sniff over the new person, wary of Astra's vigilance. Like her human partner, she ruled over them all and with a far harder attitude than Alex ever needed!"They're like a bunch of giant, beaked kittens around her," Sara observed idly, curious to Alex's reaction. She was bored and curious how long her young leader could ignore her obvious attraction to their former enemy."And the griffins aren't much better," Alex sassed right back, earning a bark of laughter from Sara. There was truth to the statement, as there was hardly a rider in the castle not curious about the pretty stranger time had proven to not be dangerous. Though there was no mistaking a few dark holdouts, interestingly all from Melinda's wing. In lieu of words, Sara smacked Alex's shoulder before striding away. Hooking a foot around her own seat, Sara gave it a shove over to Lena's and flopped down. Immediately, Ava left off hanging out at Astra's side to sprawl out on the floor and drop her great head in Sara's lap. Like her coat of feathers, she had tawny gold eyes that looked beseechingly at her rider. She was not denied, gentle hands stroking feathers and the ring of bare skin around drooping eyes. Her little grumbles of pleasure were sweet, the adoration plain.Lena did not truly understand these people and their close bonds with these giant, intelligent predators. Ava was nearly the size of the twins! Still, she was curious about all of them and did her best to keep her body language open even as she did not speak."She's my third," Sara commented and there was a wealth of pain and adoration in her quiet voice. "First my Laurel and then Nyssa died protecting me in battle and are both greatly missed. This one found me, wounded and alone. As was she. Both of us left for dead, but managed to survive together. She's amazing and the smartest griff here, but don't tell the others that. I wouldn't want anyone to feel inadequate."Ava grumbled and rolled onto her back to rub her beak against Sara's face. Unflustered by the squashing, Sara only chuckled and hugged her hard before the quiet petting resumed. "Will you miss war?" Lena heard herself ask and blinked at the audacity. "I mean--""No, no apologies. I know what you meant. There's only a few here in this building that remember our lands before war, and even then, it wasn't really peace. War is the explosion at the end of a long buildup of tension. Will I miss it? In a way, yes."Even as it was what Lena had suspected, she was still surprised at the frankness."War defines a soldier, gives them clear purpose. The rebuilding in a great many ways, will be far harder."There was a bittersweet edge to Sara's smile as she turned her torso more towards Lena and offered her open right hand."I think I'm ready to be your ally now. A pleasure, Lena."Completely taken aback by the gesture, Lena held back for a long moment. Even in her days as her father's favorite pet, few had done something so mundane as offer a friendly hand. She barely knew how to react, hesitantly wrapping her own hands around Sara's. "Thank you, um, Sara. I too am well ready for the pleasures and hardships of rebuilding. It's past time.""I wholeheartedly agree!" More animated now, Sara released her clasp with a little squeeze and then clapped her hands together. "Now! I propose a toast and you look strong enough now for a proper beer. Just a little one, so that Doctor Alex doesn't fret."The teasing tone made Lena smile, that traitorous chuckle-giggle tickling her throat.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
After Kara and Susan had rightly pointed out Alex's acting like a stressed idiot, she had a series of meetings starting with Cat and Melinda, the head of the second wing. It was both aggravating and a relief that the three of them were able to iron out the worst of the issues Alex had been trying too hard to take on alone. The weight of her inherited position of power too often sat awkwardly on her shoulders.While there was still plenty to do, almost crushingly so some days, distributing the weight of it more carefully made it bearable. It was a relief, a true taste of the promised better days after war. Even while continuing to run drills and standing regular watches on the tower, slowly, they all were coming to believe it more and more.Still, the undercurrents of stress did not fade.While most of it was simply a lifetime of vigilance and trauma, dealt with in all the ways of soldiers everywhere, part of it was Lena. And while there were several riders that were unhappy with her presence --Hela with a sneering obviousness that was off-putting-- it was the knowledge that powers beyond these strong stone walls had an agenda as well.But Lena had more allies then she knew. And they worried. ----With the return of healthy appetite, Lena felt strength at last truly start to return to her body, thrilled at once again seeing good flesh grow on her bones. True recovery would take months and months, and she might never be at peak health ever again, but compared to the wasted thing she had been, she would happily accept this new chance at a future. Just as amazing as that was, Lena also continued to join the rest of the population in the great hall in the evenings with everyone relaxing over food, conversation and horsing about. Befriending Sara was some sort of invisible catalyst to the others and they began to come around to Lena's presence. Mostly.Sara and Susan stuck the closest, the blonde woman a bastion of calm like Susan's, but gregarious and flirty. The attention was… nice. Still, she flirted with everyone and her attentions were a crowd favorite, and while Lena appreciated being included, nothing made her heart race like the older princess did.Some little perverse corner of her brain mused at how she never could have aimed so high as the royal family in a time of peace. No marriage broker could have sold the idea of a Luthor bastard to the Danvers house, no matter how influential and old her weighty name.At the melancholy of those sorts of thoughts were better than some rattling around her head.Watching and listening, Lena started learning more about the castle as a life form, as it were. Such as Winn's admitting that his title of castle warder was mostly just words, for it was Cat that really ran the place and everyone knew it. But he was born to nobility and she was a commoner. Somehow, that the idiotic social rules were in place was perversely comforting to Lena. Not that anyone in the castle held a whit for stuffy social niceties. Everyone did every task here, be it shoveling shit or artistic endeavors as colorful as the population itself.Lena spent time with the gregarious Eve and her enigmatic rider, M'gann, whom she found wise and composed. She was a quiet woman with beautiful dark skin and the saddest eyes Lena had ever seen. The sort of eyes that made you want to know the story behind them, yet fear ever hearing it. They could hardly be more opposite, however Eve could invariably draw a bit of smile from M'gann and the rider lent her mount a bit of seriousness when needed. It was a good thing Eve and the other griffins liked Lena and were willing to help her out, because Astra grew ever more distracted. With the cessation of the herbs that kept the breeding urge at bay, instinct had taken over. In a matter of days she'd seemed to grow bigger and glossier… and hungrier. While Lena was no shrinking violet about the realities of where her food came from, hearing the riders admire how Astra had flown down and dismantled a pair of sheep in the large courtyard had been a bit much. Luckily, she had been able to escape to her annex beside the kitchen. To her surprise, the griffin twins were curled up in a pile there beside the fireplace. Their distinctive blue eyes blinked open and watched her approach, voices chirruping soft and low. It was the calmest Astra had been in what felt like forever and Lena was delighted."Hello lovelies. I see you've claimed the best seat in the house again."A nuzzle from Alura bowled the still-frail human onto their scaly forearms to be nestled between their warm necks. "Yes, of course I'll cuddle, thank you for asking," Lena teased dryly and startled at a chuckle nearby. It was Alex, of course, half blending into the shadows with her silent tread and penchant for dark neutrals and blacks. "Ah, here's where the party has moved to. Is there room for one more?"Flopping down across Astra's forelimbs put Alex's head and shoulders in Lena's lap. Not used to being the half of the cuddle with the superior position, as it were, Lena found herself stroking those fading-ember strands. Embarrassed at her boldness, she moved her hands away, but Alex grumbled and pressed more solidly into her torso and thighs. Well, if she insisted…"I haven't seen blue-eyed griffins since I was a child," Lena mused as she once more played gently with Alex's hair. "There's a northern strain of them up where the ice never fully melts and they bear eye-stripes like Astra's. It's interesting that she only has a single one. It makes you dashing, my darling protector."Astra leaned into the caress over the tiny feathers that radiated away from the sleepy blue beside its jaunty stripe."While my memories are distorted through the lens of a child's mind, they too were large, like these beauties.""Hmm, is that where your line came from originally, I wonder?" Alex mused as she dug scratching fingers into neck feathers and Astra nearly purred. "So, the warrior and the enchantress.""You've so many nicknames for them," Lena teased fondly and shifted her attention to Kara's companion, subtly leaning in for caresses. "I do! Then again, you've never seen Alura tease the boys, have you? She's been a coy flirt from the day she hatched, that one, and managed to somehow get herself pregnant twice, despite the herbs. She's an embarrassment to Kara, but does produce magnificent pups! I can't wait to see yours, my darling Footy."The pure adoration and mischief that made Alex so gleeful deepened Lena's smile and the deep feelings she held for this wild spark. Still with that teasing tone, she asked, "Footy?"Delightfully, Alex pinked around the ears and cheeks, burying her face in a hard hug around Astra's head. "Um. Yes, that. A silly childhood nickname, one I haven't used in years.""Oh, I remember. From her long, formal name. What was it again?""Champion Star-Foot, of the Celestial line, last daughter of the famous Blunt-The-Knives.""Footy," Lena scoffed gently and rubbed her head against Astra's. "I promise to keep the name a secret."Quiet fell over them, soft and intimate. That seemed to happen a lot as time went on, and neither was certain what to do with it. While Alex was no stranger to loving women, this felt utterly different. Lena still grappled with separating what she was from the kindness shown to her in the safety of captivity. When Alex felt like she was going to do something foolish like roll over and arch up to find out what that smiling mouth tasted like… she squirmed away and leapt to her feet. "I should, um, yes, get back to my chores. Good day, Lena."Flustered, Alex fled and once more Lena was consumed by relief and disappointment. Cat had slowly been working Lena towards more challenging tasks. There had been a bit of petulant temper a few days ago, Lena chaffing at her baby tasks. It had been a stupid decision to push herself too hard and Cat had no sympathy for foolishness and Lena had still been expected to complete her baby tasks even as inadequate muscles cried in agony. Lesson learned.Today she felt pretty good and had spent some time carding piles of the delicate wool of the goats and rabbits, before going to chopping leathery dried fruit into small pieces. The griffins wandered out at some point, but Lena didn't mind. She was stronger now and didn't need the constant tending, even as she missed the company. Not that it lasted long, a yellow face peering around the corner, chirping curiously. Echoing the noise as best she could earned Lena an affectionate rush from a clearly delighted Eve. Amusingly, Sawyer was trailing after her, the both of them rubbing up like cats before settling around her feet and chair. They seemed hardly large enough to carry a rider, not even half the size of the larger griffins. At least they fit the space better.Lena had nearly finished her chopping, most of the fruit soaking in a light syrup in preparation for whatever Cat's plans for them were when she was further distracted by a delivery from Mick. "Up, up, Gimpy," he ordered brusquely after slamming down another basket on her worktable, careful to not disturb her things. "You don't look like death anymore, so let's get you in proper clothes."The bristly mound of fur in the basket was just that, but also so much more. After gently shooing a pouting Eve and Sawyer from their snoozing, she got to her feet with the help of the crutch she was working towards no longer needing.When Mick shook out the hide, Lena realized what it was. "Oh! It's the elk," she admired the oversized jacket with its high collar and overlapping front panels that had been crafted from Astra's gift."Yeah, whole skin is naturally almost waterproof and keeps out all but the worst wind and cold. You'll need it fascinated with those damn turkeys as ya are."Despite his rough attitude, Mick held the jacket open with patient hands while Lena shrugged into it. The hide was heavy and dragged at her skinny frame, but was far more supple than she would have guessed. It was also lined in sturdy, soft linen over a layer of what could only be the woolen fluff of goat and rabbit. Almost instantly it was like standing in front of a warm fire, wrapped all around her."It's been oiled up and the kid highness will show you how to maintain that. Rest of the gear is in the basket."Lena paused where she'd been fiddling at the sleeves, long enough to hang to her knuckles. There was a pair of baggy pants in the same hide, as well as a hood and gloves. There were more wool clothes as well, and some linen layers and even flimsy shorts and shirts meant to be worn against the skin. But at the bottom of the basket was the best shock in the form of a pair of knee-high boots. Heavy, clunky things made of a stiff, scaly leather with a ridged sole that looked both natural and somehow manufactured."Crocodile," Mick grunted and waved her to sit again so that he could kneel and slip the elk hide pants over her feet. "Big scaly bastards down south, big as griffs and with hides tougher than armor. The protruding bits are from their backs and reinforced with bone, so the soles are strong. But don't stomp around in them indoors or you'll break them and your damn neck. They're for riding and snow."While Lena was not exactly happy to be manhandled like a small child, she let Mick stand her up and have her shrug out of the jacket. Suspenders held up the very high waist and the thick hide pressed into her flesh when she was shooed at to sit again. Not even bothering to take off her house boots, Mick slipped the crocodile hide over them and laced them snug before offering a hand to help her stand. They were huge and clunky and felt like she could walk through fire in them. Grinning in delight, Lena gave his hand a squeeze."Thank you, Mick."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The gift wasn't a moment too soon, as movement heralded the arrival of company revealed to be Sara and Kara wreathed in warm grins. Lena fought to ignore the rush of disappointment that the shock of bobbed hair wasn't Alex, but Lucy."There you are, lump!" she laughingly complained and Sawyer squirmed onto her back to make flirty noises for belly rubs."Mick, you cranky old bastard," Sara teased as she dawdled over to see what was going on. "How did you know? Lena, would you like to watch us exercise the griffs?"Right on cue, Alex arrived, shaking her head fondly. When her gaze fell on Lena, she immediately warmed, that slow smile making Lena's insides twist pleasantly."A miracle worker as always, Mick," she said distractedly and came over to smooth her hands over Lena's hips and belly. The sweet, coy look on her face set Lena's heart to beating even faster. "Well, look at you, looking like a proper rider. Would you like to go outside to test your new suit?"A new frisson of excitement lit Lena up and Alex played coy."As your doctor, I hesitate because of the cold, but Mick's craftsmanship will keep you warm enough for a brief excursion.""You'll take proper care of me," Lena flirted back and relished the slight flush on Alex's cheeks. Only another of Mick's snorts reminded them they weren't alone and his knowing look spoke volumes. "Do you think Cat will feed me to the griffins for ditching my task?"Alex looked at the small amount of fruit left unchopped and grinned. "Tell you what, let me steal you away for a bit, and I'll help you myself."That was cue enough for a grinning Kara, who turned her back to the room and gave a full-body shimmy to shake the short ropes dangling from the lumpy object hanging from her shoulders. Lena realized it was another of the toys that Astra had brought her in hopes of a game. Her laughter rose a notch as Sawyer and Eve scrabbled sharp claws against the stone in instant pursuit of the toy, nearly bowling the diminutive Lucy right into the fireplace. Mick scoffed derisively, but Lena hadn't missed how he shifted his body between her and excited griffs, even taking a blunt hit from a tail. Before Eve could escape, Alex flashed a quick hand signal that brought her up short, no matter how she looked longingly after her feathered partner.Cackling a wild laugh, Kara was away, her boots clattering up the steps and Sawyer hot on her heels."You've a job, little yellow," Alex reminded Eve, who immediately turned back and sat very prettily at Lena's side to look up at her adoringly. "But you deserve some fun too."Rooting through the basket, Sara came up with the rest of the riding gear and Alex gestured for Eve to crouch. "Give me your hands, Lena."Puzzled but curious, Lena did as Alex ordered and squeaked in surprise when Even nosed between her legs from behind. "Hey!""Sit," Alex ordered with a chuckle and a moment later, Lena found herself settled on Eve's back, knees hooked over her wing joints. "There we go. Domesticated griffs are stronger in the forelegs to support a rider. She's not going to be carrying anyone Mick's bulk outside of an emergency, but you're easy."To the sound of Mick's scoff, they were off. It was a completely different experience to ride Eve as small as she was. Parts of her dug in uncomfortably and the movement of her was more immediate than Astra's larger stature. Eve placed her feet far more carefully, keeping their combined weight balanced, her stride rocking Lena gently atop her. With Alex's hand looped with negligent affection around Eve's neck, she was close enough that her walking brushed against Lena's new boot."I'm still a bit shocked you've gone through with this," Sara said as the group trekked deeper into the mountain tunnels. Alex only laughed happily as the party moved along in the glow-moss dimness. "Truthfully, I can hardly wait! For all the hassle this will be, I'm actually really excited to see what my great beauty of a feathered partner will throw in a chick. A good thing the Marvel wing stayed, eh? With Ollie our only male and nestbound with mate and egg, he's no help. And while there's a couple fine boys in Maria's crowd, my money's on Cap."While Alex rambled on enthusiastically, Sara prodded Lena to slip into a warm sweater and the heavy jacket. As the tunnel was growing distinctively colder, compliance was willingly given."Of course it is," Lucy mocked where she was bringing up the rear of the party. "You just like him for his admittedly stunning blue coloring. Just to annoy you, I've a pair of silvers says it's Thunderer that can beat him!""You're on!" Alex sneered as the growing light in the tunnel grew brighter in conjunction with the noise of griffins and water. A hazy surface beyond the entrance of the tunnel turned out to be the opposite wall of a great, wet cave which Lena gawked at.The cave was stories tall with a narrow entrance like a massive crack in the stone skin of the mountain. Through it poured watery sunlight and a deep chill that made Lena shiver and hunker down in the heavy clothes that had seemed too hot and heavy moments ago. Around the cave were smaller openings, several of them with familiar giffs lazing about or grooming, but it was the floor that was truly amazing. Beneath a thin haze of steam lay a pool of water. Great piles of boulders and natural outcroppings around and in it had been mostly left natural, scarred with hundreds and hundreds of claws.But the awe over the amazing space was forgotten with the shrill cry of what turned out to be Astra, falling out of the darker reaches of the cave, to whip open those great wings and bank into a graceful, claw-scraping landing into a warlike crouch. Hot on her tail were a quartet of colorful griffs that could only be the males.Astra was clearly more impressed with the two big males, disdainful of the smaller, flashier pair. There were some females that would like the gaudiness of those peacocks, but not her!Quill was already limping, blood running down his left hind leg and the spray of fine feathers sticking to Astra's beak matched his mostly rust-red plumage. That one had never been smart about taking no for an answer, and would invariably sniff after every tail that crossed his path. Honestly, it was a miracle the idiot had any feathers left at all. Rocket, the insufferable ass, thought it was hilarious and was no help at all in corralling his partner. However, no one was going to deny that they were one of the deadlier pairs in the skies.Ironbeak was wisely hanging back for once, knowing that his flashy red and gold would not impress this female, but unable to completely stay away from the action. No, this contest of winning the largest and most dominant of the castle griffins would fall to the two big males. Wings half up, feathers fluffed, heads down and eyes intent, they did their best to look big and impressive to Astra, sidling ever closer. Head up and eyes bright, she chattered and watched them closely, daring them to win her.Thunderer was the larger, a striking crimson red with a thick black collar of feathers that matched his skin, beak and claws. His creamy underparts softened the look somewhat and set off copper-coin eyes. His rival was sleeker, only marginally smaller, and one of the two striking blues of the keep. He had a streak of golden brown down head and neck, the blue of him pale and smoky on the ventral, darkening over his topside and feathertips. The blazing red eyes popped against the cool colors."She definitely favors the blue," Lena observed and blushed at Alex's smug smirk at Lucy, who rolled her eyes. "Can't say I blame her. He's handsome."As though in response to the statement, Astra launched herself from the floor, the males hot on her tail. When she came to roost on one of the highest aeries near the cave entrance, Thunderer made the mistake of getting to close and took a taloned foot to the chest. While he scrabbled for a grip on the stone, Astra was gone, screaming delightedly as she caught a rising breeze at the entrance and was whipped aloft, Cap right behind her. Clearly annoyed, Thunderer was the last out, Ironbeak giving chase more out of instinct than any real chance. Quill waded into the pool, sulking and grumbling as the steamy water soaked the blood out of his feathers.Other riders were gathering now, pulling on warm clothing and following narrow footpaths towards the sunshine."Oy, Barry! Your sulky rooster not interested in the game?" Alex teased and Barry scoffed and grinned widely."Are you kidding? Felicity would tear his wings off! Not that he isn't watching intently, mind you."It was hard to see at first, what with his inky black tinged iridescent green, but Ollie was indeed at the mouth of the oversized aerie he shared with the rest of his family unit. His head bobbed and wove as he followed along with the aerial acrobatics but he maintained his vigil over mate and egg.Eve followed Alex while Lena pulled on hood and gloves against the invading cold. The cave became a short canyon with more aeries carved into the vertical walls. Despite the hard bite of cold, Lena relished the slivers of open sky she could see, breathed the sharp air and coughed with it. Pulling the oversized collars of sweater and jacket up soothed her lungs as she watched the midair taunting. Astra was surprisingly fast for an animal so large, and could turn on a wingtip. Still, it wasn't as if she didn't want to be caught, her mate just had to earn the privilege. The riders were a cluster now, Lena spotting glimpses of the fringe of Alex's hair in the mess, her arms over shoulders, head back, smile wide. After a punishing flight, Astra allowed herself to be caught, brown and black and blue spiraling downward, talons locked. Lena felt her heart in her throat with fear for her friend until they split what seemed only lengths from the ground to swoop away to the cheering of their human family. Like one body, they jumped and danced and yelled with an exuberance that Lena couldn't look away from. One would think they were mind-melded to the griffins, they were so excited from the flight.And Lena was torn. In those moments, she felt utterly alien to them, alone and utterly clueless to the bond they shared. She had no camaraderie of war, no fellows who she had survived with and mattered so much too. And she never would. No matter what future she might find, she would never shed the shackles of being the mad Luthor's bastard heir.Especially not the beauty of a true heir and conquering hero who deserved better.Then, like a terrible omen, there was a opening in the tight little crowd. Alex, wrapped in the arms of a woman Lena had yet to actually meet yet, Maria, if she remembered. Tall, well-built with striking blue eyes that stood out against fair skin and black hair, and the perfect posture that impressed royals. She was the sort of warrior Alex deserved, not a broken bastard heir of a fallen enemy who would only bring hardship to her.Feeling weaker than she had since on the run those weeks ago, Lena turned her face to the thin sunshine, eyes closed to soak it up."You're lucky, Astra," Lena whispered for only her own ears. "Your desire is a simple thing that will not haunt you past being mated. I envy you that."By the time Alex looked around, Lena was long gone.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Yawning and stretching, Alex slipped from Maria's bed and shivered back into her clothes. A long bath and setting someone into checking on wherever Astra and Cap were holed up and she could get on with another day. She felt good today, what with the next generation of the Celestial line hopefully in the works and a bit of her own tensions bled off in the most pleasant of manners. Jaunty and cheerful, she quieted at the rooms she shared with Kara and stuck her head through the heavy hides that kept warmth sequestered in her bedroom.Where the bed was unexpectedly empty.The uncomfortable twist in her gut was not something Alex expected… exactly. She'd grown used to Lena's presence, the quiet gravity of her, and was concerned for her well-being. That was it.That there was a bit of urgency to her immediate search was something she refused to look at too closely.Luckily, Alex was successful in the second place she looked as she really hadn't been expecting to find Lena in Astra's nest without the griffin there anyway. The baking annex off the kitchen was crowded and dim, the phos gem shrouded and the fire low. At Alex's scratch of sound, Ava and Eve instantly raised their heads where they curled around a bundle of blankets and seat-sacks. At the table, Sara snorted awake, alert as the griffins in an instant, Querl not responding at all where he was sprawled out on the floor in sleeping furs, his head close to Lena's."They were up late, talking," Sara said quietly and there was something cool in her tone Alex couldn't quite identify. The moment was gone as Lena stirred and made a vulnerable sound that had Alex squeezing in between Querl and Eve."Good morning."There was no response, Lena merely looking at her, expression unreadable. In the flickers of fire, her striking eyes looked flat and almost yellow. It was Querl waking and looking at her with something almost wounded in his face that made Alex want to squirm."Why the long faces? A good, promising mating flight and a bit of the best sort of recreation. It's a fine day!"The attempt at humor fell flat and Alex's forced cheer deflated. Clearing her throat, she tried for seriousness, touching Lena's cheek and not missing the way she flinched away."You should have gone to the bed, you'll set your recovery back.""I had no desire to be alone."The flat statement stung and Alex winced faintly and once more made a poor showing of trying to lighten the situation."Well, such a fine flight deserved a proper celebration and Maria was willing enough. Nothing to fret over."Lena felt like she'd been slapped. The words themselves were bad enough, knowing exactly what Alex meant. But far worse was how she said it, with that tone grownups would use on an older child who still believed that the Winter Witch left gifts for solstice. "It's simply how we bond as sisters and brothers at arms," Alex found herself trying to explain. "The stress of training and combat can eat a soldier's mind and spirit up from inside. Anything to take that edge off is a good thing, and what better way than the sharing of bodies with a trusted comrade?" The way Lena stared at her, wounded and disbelieving, made her a bit defensive. "And why do you care anyway?That was the final crack in Lena's self-control and her wounded confusion burst from her a shout that echoed the tears pooling in her eyes."Because I wanted it to be me!"Horrified, she slapped both hands over her mouth, and they stared at one another with wide eyes. Not believing what she had just heard, Alex could only gawk and poor Lena looked like she wanted to bolt… or cry.And then it was too late for talking as an utterly unexpected sound shook the castle's bones. It was a long, low, almost mournful bellow, not quite animalist, and everyone but Lena was instantly scrambling. Still, both Alex and Eve hesitated, caught by the way Lena stared at them, suddenly very small and alone."That's the horn call for an invading force," she explained helplessly. "I-- I have to go."What else could Lena do but nod and watch Alex leap onto Eve's back to set the small griff scrambling for the great hall. Body memory had Alex slipping from Eve's shoulders the moment they were in the great room, racing for the piles of thick, supple furs and racks of spears that still lay in war-readiness. Others were arriving in various states of wakefulness and dress, all of them moving with the same well-trained reflexes as Alex herself. In moments she was covered in furs and armed, shouldering past the hanging layers of hides that kept away the winter chill from the inner chamber. Blinding sunlight greeted her on the other side, the morning blazing into the outer hall though the huge windows.In ones and twos, every fighting member of the mountain castle burst into the cold and ranged out along the platform before the hall's windows and positioning themselves out along the two layers of perimeter walls. They could see the approaching strangers, moving specks against the bright sky and snow. So long as they didn't go high for an aerial attack, the castle would remain on standby. The waiting and uncertainty were always hard on a soldier's nerves and Alex jumped when Sara moved to stand beside her. Sara never did anything without a reason, no matter how chaotic that reason might seem, and Alex did her best to brace herself."Do you really not see how she's more to you than a pet project?" Sara's disbelief was a quiet, bruised thing for her friends. "Can't you even entertain the thought that you might love her?"And there it was, the truth as blunt as unsheathed steel searching for blood. And still, Alex had no answer, everything in turmoil. "I don't love," she sneered, too overwhelmed by the situation to see it clearly. After a deep breath, she was calm again, at least on the surface. "I can't love. My hand is for sale to wherever it's most valuable to the kingdom. With the war over, that will take precedence. My peace and my freedom are done the moment I leave this mountain."Choking on conflicting emotions, Alex walked away, scrubbing the back of her furry mitten over watering eyes. Her life had never been her own, didn't anyone understand that? She couldn't just love whomever she chose! The sudden irony of the parallel to Lena's being a prisoner but yet not a prisoner made her feel colder than the crisp mountain air.The approaching quartet of mounted griffins were coming in on a relatively level flight path, barring being jostled about by strong updrafts from the lands below. They had come from the Danvers side of the mountains and Alex's dread grew as they grew closer.She knew the colors of the royal guard.And the peacock leading their diamond formation was someone of rank, that much was obvious. Alex kept her eyes on him, already disliking him for how the handsome griffin struggling beneath the weight of a large rider and the flash of ostentatious armor.The main flyway was not conducive to group landings and for good reason. The axe head shape was nearly the full width of the great hall's face, flanked by stairs, and tapered out to a rough point a griffin-length past the outside wall. It was flanked on either side by ballista(1) atop the inner wall. Unlike the walls, the axe-shaped landing platform was a natural feature built up to be useful to the inhabitants. Alex remembered her grandfather complaining mightily the effort made to chip a hole through it so that people could move along the sheltered spaces behind the double walls.Walking out to stand between the manned ballista, Alex very much felt the weight of those who had gone before her like ghosts pressing on her soul. It was a power move, forcing the visitors to land in too-tight a formation, the rear of the formation scrabbling at the narrow end of the axe head. While Alex felt the natural thrill of fear being so close to a predator as large as a griffin, there was no reaction in her slender frame. Still, she was grateful to recognize the whoosh of Astra's great wings and the heat of that bellowed screech at her back.The visiting griffins understandably flinched back at that.Swathed in flying gear, Alex had no idea who the riders were until the peacock dismounted and pulled back mask and goggles."Morgan," she said with about as much warmth as the mountain air and his oily smile was just as cold."Your Highness."Alex knew in her gut why he was there, but the words struck hard anyway."Word has reached the capital of your valuable prisoner, whom I've been tasked with retrieving."And there it was, the bald-faced truth of what Alex had to face.Morgan's expression went poisonously delighted at the rustle of reaction at Alex's back and sure enough, Lena appeared at her side. Like some rustic goddess of old she stood straight and proud, clad in the magnificent stag pelt gifted to her from griffin and human alike.Morgan forgotten for the moment, Alex turned and desperately searched for words she simply didn't have for something she simply didn't fully understand."No, you don't have to…" Alex's voice trailed off helplessly and Lena's tiny smile was pure pain."Yes, I do. I cannot presume anything, Alexandra. My life hangs by a thread every moment of every day. Even here, where I found peace and something almost like belonging, when it comes down to the sword's edge, I am a prisoner, a pawn, something to be locked up and paraded around for the mistake of my bastard lineage."Lena already looked broken, resigned to her bones, offering empty hands as subserviently as a beaten dog. Sneering, Morgan reached out to grab the offered wrists, his touch cold and cruel. And Alex saw red.In that moment, she knew how this would go so badly for Lena amidst a populace that had won, but were still hot-blooded for revenge. They would want her torment and humiliation. At best."No," Alex said quietly in a voice like the mountain itself and everything went very, very quiet."Excuse me?" Morgan's condescending disbelief irritated Alex and she stepped in to grab his wrist. Hard. In a tone of calm, icy promise, she stared into the peacock's arrogant face. "No. You will not be taking this woman anywhere. And if you don't unhand her, I'll remove it."She squeezed hard enough to make the man grunt, eyes going wide and his grip failing where he held Lena."What are you--"Voice raising over Lena's weak questioning, Alex shoved herself between them, leaning into Morgan hard enough to unbalance him to the stones with a grunt, his slackening grip pulling Lena into Alex's back. "I will not hand her over to your manipulations and hate!" Volume lowering, she lost none of her intensity. "I am making a stand, here, now. No more innocent blood. Now obey your future liege or I will throw you and your guardsmen into the snow for the mountain to have."There was a tense, murderous moment where the whole assembly had hands on swords and bloodshed hung in the air. But like all vermin, Morgan knew when to cut his losses and wait for another chance.When he looked away, Alex forced calm to her posture, those electric dark eyes flicking over the four men from the lowlands."Go to the great hall. Food and bedding will be provided for you and your mounts. Upon tomorrow's first light, you will leave, weather willing. Do not leave that room or I will consider it a hostile act. Do I make myself clear?"All four men gave her an affirming, "yes, Your Highness," even if Morgan's was a tense mutter. (1)= A ballista is effectively a giant crossbow mounted like a canon that shoots spears instead of arrows.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Alex, I…" whatever baffled, weak thing was going to fall from Lena's mouth fell flat as Alex haughtily turned her back on the invaders and gently herded her charge back to a bristling Astra. She was still clearly ready to take on all comers, but calmed somewhat when both women placed gentle hands on the curve of her great beak."Peace, my brave one," Alex murmured. "We've other things to attend to than these. Come."Eve and Cap vied for space behind Astra, both of them fluffed up with agitation. The little yellow was soothed at Lena's weight on her back and Cap with a caress around one red eye. Sara stood with them and Alex paused there. "Would you gather everyone? I believe there is a long discussion in order."In a flurry of near-silent movement, the tasks were being attended to. However, there was some unfinished business to attend to that happened the moment everyone was inside and the strangers had been shown into the inner hall. Sara's hard punch came out of nowhere, spinning Alex around and sending her sprawling to the stones. Astra fluffed and growled, but did not interfere. So long as there was no steel, she would let the two-legs work out their differences in their own way. Only Lena, unfamiliar with the ways of these warriors, jumped and gasped while the others simply went about their business, Okoye and Lucy randomly pausing to idly stand witness to the fireworks."That was for being a horse's ass, Highness," Sara sneered hard on the title and planted her fists on her hips. "I should have done it the moment you became an insensitive idiot, but I was too shocked to react. That nice girl won't do it, so consider me her proxy. She'll forgive you, I can see it, but then again, a hard life has left her standards bog low. Which is what you were before the horn gave you an out."Stunned and hurting, Alex rolled into a sitting position, but made no move to stand. She was well within her rights for a return volley, and Sara half hoped she would, so that she could kick the pup's ass all over the room. But there was no such response. Looking down at the miserable huddle of her liege, Sara gentled with an aggrieved sigh. "Still, you stood up for what's right. I'll give you that, pup. Now get up and own your mistakes."There weren't many Alex would submit to a hard hand for. Fewer still that her warriors would stand aside and merely watch the beating. But Sara was one of the few, her respect earned and undeniable.For a moment, Alex didn't move, pain and humiliation and temper and fierce regret warring inside of her. But Sara was right, as she usually was.Slapping her hand into the helping hand Sara offered, Alex was on her feet in a moment, but could barely look at Lena who stood leaning against Astra, Eve pressed into her hip."I'm so--"The punch to her chest was harder than Alex expected, but it wasn't the physical blow that made her cringe, it was the devastation and anger in Lena's face. In that moment, she was every bit her misbegotten royal heritage. Still, Lena did not speak, waiting for Alex to find words to bridge the gap between them."I'm so sorry. I let myself not see how I was hurting you."As apologies went, it was… not a horrible one. Still, Lena was hurt and her voice was a whip-crack in the quiet. "And what do you care?"Alex had already damaged the future she had no control over by standing up to the obsequious toadie who would run and eagerly tattle to her already angry queen mother. She accepted that and let the choice to take the reins of her own destiny in hand truly settle into her bones.What was a small humiliation to prove her seriousness? With only a moment's hesitation, she dropped to one knee, holding Lena's hands loosely in her own."I do care. More than I shoul-- No. No, that's my mother talking." Shaking off her stressful rambling, Alex earnestly strove for focus. "Please. I don't want revenge and stewing resentments. I want to walk by your side and rebuild."Lena looked overwhelmed in the best and worst ways, Sara and Okoye actually smacking a hand over their faces while Lucy merely rolled her eyes, and Alex scrambled for better words. "I'm not doing this right. Lena, you fascinate me and make me want to be better, to be more than I am, to be…"She was falling apart in the hugeness of this, brown eyes wide and vulnerable. Impossibly, Lena found herself reassured, drawn in, pulling away one hand to run it over the short, reddish hair. "Honestly," she said quietly, a tremulous smile perking Alex up. "Are things always so dramatic with you?"The ripple of amusement in the witnessing trio was a strangely gentle thing and Alex's smile was self-effacing. Barely noticed, Sara slipped away with a smug smile, shooing out the others who had lingered to ensure the violence didn't boil out of control. They always looked out for their own."Yes. I wish I could deny it, but they really are." The stab at humor was weak, but heartfelt. Breathing deep, Alex stood and looked intently where her left hand cradled Lena's right, both of them scarred and strong. "My life has never been my own, and I panicked over my own feelings and hurt yours. But no more. I really do want to rebuild at your side, Lena. I want to be your partner in all things. Your equal." Taking a deep breath, she let it out shakily as Lena leaned in to rest their foreheads together and Alex's voice dropped to a whisper. "I forfeit who I was before you and vow to become someone new, someone better." A little wet huff of humor was echoed just as softly. "Though, I say we keep that vow from Morgan til the morning, yes?"The reminder of the danger the pompous ass represented garnered an immediate reaction, Lena's hand tightening around Alex's, her other hand scrabbling at a sleeve. "I'm fearful, Alex. He is a danger I know too well. How will we ever escape. The weather is so unpredictable, and we're barely in a waning half moon and--"A hard, full-body hug 'whuff'ed the breath from her and she breathed fast and shallow against Alex's ear."No one will harm you without going through me first."The absolute certainty in that statement made something shift in Lena's soul. Like a keystone set into an arch, it made the feeling unshakable. For the first time in her life she felt utterly… protected. Before this moment, Alex had not made her attentions personal, had not fully invested in what they could be to one another. And Lena would have never expected to be here, with this chance in her grasp. No, there was no guarantees, but for the first time since a powerful stranger that was her father took her from all that she knew and nearly smothered her in power and danger, she felt a hard, hot burn of pure hope.Alex didn't expect the hot, open-mouthed kiss, Lena's fingers hard in her hair, but she fell into it willingly. The helpless kittenish noise was utterly unbecoming of the royal heir, but she couldn't find it in her to give a damn in that moment. For years she had never taken physical pleasure as anything more than casual bonding and a good time.But then, she had never felt as though she had met an equal before. Not like this.Mouths brushing and breath as one, Lena clung hard to silky hair and let a lifetime of stress settle into the calm of promises made to her in words and touch. Her words were shaky, but strong. "You are an inspiration, you hard-headed fool. Yes, I accept your offer of rebuilding and of partnership. You are more than I could have ever wished for."With perfect timing, the pair of griffins nosed up to their humans, shoving them about, and earning soft laughs."And you come with amazing benefits. Ooof, gently, Astra. I think you're not quite done with your handsome suitor and are being a bit rough."Warbling throatily, Astra merely chewed lightly at a lock of dark hair and waited for her humans to conclude their clearly important business and return to the flock."I should have asked before molesting you," Lena husked and was reassured by Alex's dopey smile."Forgiven. Wow. After a kiss like that, I'm all the more sorry confessing my feelings took me so long.""I didn't feel as though I had any right to feeling for you. I wouldn't have known how to even broach the subject with you.""We'll figure it out together." Nervousness crept around Alex's edges and she clung close. "Stand with me? I admit that I'm terrified at what I must do.""Anywhere you lead, Alex.""Not lead. We go side by side."Delighted, Lena kissed her a last time and took the offered hand so that they could indeed walk together, side by side and hand in hand. They still had a great deal of work to do, but they could manage it together.In the great hall, the entire population of the small mountain castle had gathered near the hanging animal hides that kept back the cold. The visitors were on the opposite side of the hall by the largest hearth, their griffins happy with haunches of beastie to chew on to refuel after a grueling flight. The two wings of fighting griffins were a wall of feathers between them, Astra and Cap once more flirting in the open space between. Even if the soldiers from down-mountain had any intention of eavesdropping, to get near a frisky pair that large would be idiocy. Silently thanking her feathered partner for her distraction, Alex paused at the edge of the crowd, clinging to Lena's hand and wallowing in the changes between them that she had finally acknowledged. They had focused on her immediately, but no one spoke, merely noted the changed dynamics between the young women."I'm leaving," Alex said quietly and if at all possible, the assembly grew even quieter. "This place has been my home, and I will miss it dearly, but I will not have it be my tomb. It's past time for me to be my own person, my own sort of ruler. My father only wanted peace, and he dreamed of rebuilding all that had been destroyed. And not just on our side of the mountains. We have to be one people now, and that means helping a neighbor in need, even if we were just at sword point with them."A deep breath seemed to make her grow taller, straighter, and the group remained quiet as it was clear she had more to say."I will not ask any of you to come along." When telltale sputters started up, Kara foremost of them, Alex snapped up an imperious hand. "Where you fall is up to you and what you want from your future. I have taken the hardest path because I believe it to be right. You must make your own choice; for your own reasons."For a moment her head hung low like the weight of the world was around her neck and Lena squeezed her hand. It was a welcome reminder and garnered a soft smile, both of them drawing themselves up, straight and strong."I have taken the choice of staying or going from you, and for that I am sorry. However, staying here was, at its heart, an act of desperation. The war is over and we must treat it as such. Return home or begin again with me, the choice is yours, but no one can remain here. Tonight we lock down as best we can and leave before first light."Kara couldn't stand it anymore and jumped up to muscle into her sister's personal space. "I would follow you, no matter your madness," she said gravely, blue eyes as earnest as the sea. "But what you're doing is the right thing and you'll not be rid of me."Lena didn't mind at all losing Alex's grip on her hand so that the sisters could hug one another roughly. Particularly when Kara startled her with a slightly gentler embrace and whispered solemnly into her dark hair."Welcome, sister."On the heels of the younger princess, each member of garrison and household stood before their liege and made their decision to stay or to go. Most of them chose exile, for which Alex tried not to let her regret shine through being grateful for them any more than she wanted to show any condemnation for those that would go.But the most surprising interaction came in M'gann. With a sad, serene smile, she stood before the budding couple, who instantly gave her their full attention."Highnesses," the title made everything in Lena want to balk, but she too had to embrace an uncertain future. "I have promises to keep in the lands of my birth. I will go. But I have a boon to ask of you.""Anything M'gann," Alex said fervently."Lena?"Startled, Lena stepped a bit closer. "Me?""Yes. You've a kind, firm heart and hand. Will you keep Eve? She adores you and would not be happy away from her family."The young rulers blinked, utterly at a loss for words, and M'gann's smile warmed."She'll be confused, but some good, hard work and your weight on her back will make her a part of you. Will you?""Oh," Lena had to pause to swallow hard around tears. "Oh M'gann, nothing would honor me more. Thank you."Kneeling, M'gann wrapped her arms around the neck of the sunny griffin who had seen her through the end of the war. "Take care of them for me, Eve. Good girl."And with promises made and a quick, hard hug for Lena, the deal was set, M'gann nodding and stepping aside with her head held high.Overwhelmed and grateful, Lena didn't fight half falling on her feathered partner to hug her close. Chirruping and cooing, Eve happily accepted the attention and rubbed her beaked face over Lena's the first chance she got."She'll be a good match for you," Alex said while petting Eve's withers. "And Astra finds her company unthreatening and calming. Which is good as I have intent on keeping you close." Making a face, Alex sighed at herself. "Which sounds more arrogant and possessive than I intended."Lena stood to kiss her again, delighted to be able to do so. "I don't mind. Belonging is all I ever wanted and arrogance suits you, my liege."The blush was adorable on her.Loyalties sorted and meals consumed, the staff was ready to go into overdrive. Alex assigned Sara and Susan to watch the strangers, promising to rotate them out after an hour or so. Then she addressed her small band of people, voice steady and eyes bright."Gather what you can carry and deep storage whatever you cannot. Hopefully, we'll be able to return for some of it in spring. We'll have to walk, which is… less than ideal, but I won't leave the stock to freeze to death. Leave the meat stores, we'll eat on the hoof. Gather every blanket and hide to wrap goat and lamb alike, nose to tail. We'll be all right if we stick together. Come, we've a busy day and a sleepless night ahead of us."And hand in hand with the love she nearly lost, they led towards their future.