"Rise and shine," Nimue sang out, and Saffron groaned, throwing a pillow over her head as her foster sister threw open the curtains. The daytime moon was just starting to peer over the horizon, and despite the tang of autumn in the air, it promised to be a glorious day. Saffron, however, was Not in the Mood, and a spate of very rude language followed on the heels of Nimue's cheerful greeting.
"Can't you leave a hungover girl in peace?" the weary sun elf groaned once her swearing had wound down. "I was up half the night being grilled mercilessly by Mother, and if it weren't for the very late hour by the time she was done, I'd still be in her study getting read the riot act."
Nimue pulled off her nightie and Saffron's eyes went wide. Bruises in all the hideous colours of the rainbow decorated the forest elf's back, along with nasty cuts that looked like they'd scar. Saffron immediately felt ashamed for her bout of bitching. "I had no idea," she said, sitting up and whacking her head on the underside of the bunk she shared with Nimue. More rude language followed, and Nimue was howling with laughter by the time her foster sister was done.
"How many years have you shared that bunk with me?" she teased, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes as she pulled her nightie back on. "And don't feel bad," she added. "I already knew I was going to get the world's biggest bollocking, and I told myself I'd take my lumps and like them. Ivy damn near killed me, but I wasn't going to let her have the satisfaction of knowing the pain she was inflicting on me." She sighed, her good mood gone as she sat cross-legged on the floor. "She's promised to give me more of the same unless I tell her 'the truth' of what I supposedly did to make Winter choose you instead of me."93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5sbzbk4uii
"Well, tough on her," Saffron said angrily, getting out of bed and joining her foster sister on the floor. "It's not your fault Winter ended up bonding with me a month ago, and you decided to capitalise on that last night. It worked in spades, the council will get their precious children, and you're off the hook, at least for now."
Nimue sighed as she rested her head on Saffron's shoulder. "Why was she so hard on you last night?" she asked.
"Oh, it was more worry than anything," Saffron said. "She wanted me to be absolutely sure I wanted to do this. Her anger wasn't at me, but it was for me, and you'd better believe me when I played my role of good little bootlicker to the hilt." She smirked. "I think the prospect of a half-sun elf, half-night elf grandchild did the trick for her in the end. Well, apart from the geas, that is, but Mother being Mother, she'll find a way around it in some way. Even if our firstborn is a night elf, she's going to want to have a sun elf grandchild as well."93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IZKiIeiLF
"That's all we need," Nimue groaned. "Not to cast aspersions on the idea, but Ivy will fix on that idea like a starving dog on a bone. Nothing can beat the geas placed on my brother, but Ivy will find a way around it in some fashion, you mark my words."
"Consider them marked," Saffron said, getting to her feet and helping her foster sister up. "Let's go have a bath and see if we can't nut something out between us. Winter is ready to rain hell on anyone who gets between us, and Mother is half-scared of what he might do if she crosses him. She's backed off for the moment, but Chika is still breathing fire, and so is Marigold, last I heard. She's as thrilled with the idea of sun/night elf grandchildren, but all eyes are still on you, and they won't let the matter rest."
"Well, they can try," Nimue said firmly. "If they still want me to carry out their experiment in some way, they're going to need to think fast on their feet. I won't have my sisters dragged into this mess, and if anyone tries, I'll tear their throats out with my teeth if I have to."
Saffron's heart ached for her foster sister, but she knew, as did Nimue, that Chika was going to seek revenge for her thwarted plans concerning her eldest great-great-granddaughter. Still there was, for the moment, nothing they could do until the feline woman made her next move. Saffron could only pray that Chika was as scared of her great-great-grandson as Marigold and Ivy were, but she had a nasty feeling that fear would be turned to an even more nefarious purpose.
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