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Victoria was in her chambers when the feline finally knocked on the large oak door, the female adjusting her hair for a moment, straightening the gold and sapphire circlet around her forehead. "Enter" She called, seating herself on the chase beneath her chambers window, and drawing the curtain back slightly to let the sunlight in. She didn't like that she had been kept waiting, and she did her best to hide her displeased scowl.

"Ahhh, Miss Shadi. Please, do come in, sit down. Would you care for some summer wine? I hear it is quite warm outside today." The Keynari spoke with all the kindness she could muster for this woman. This fake mother for her children. She would not let this woman simply waltz in and take her children from her so comfortably. Sitting up a little straighter against the back of the chase, she gestured to the seat beside herself, and the silver pitcher of wine on the table before her.

Shadi looked and felt nervous. From the way people acted around her, and the disdain her husband clearly had for her, Victoria wasn't one she wanted to be alone with often... The woman even had a cold presence about her, making the infant in her arms squirm and whimper softly, rolling against Shadi's plump bosom to hide her darling little face. Shadi tucked the cub against a little tighter against her chest.

"Oh, no thank you Milady. It is not for those nursing, as you would know, and when you have finished with me, I must eat with the children..." She declined politely, moving to sit beside the lovely, red furred woman, suddenly feeling self-conscious about how very... chubby, motherhood had left her, compared to how lovely and willowy this not-vixen beside her was. Considering she'd had a child not several days ago, she could hardly see any traces of the experience on the woman... how much restraint she must have had while she was carrying... Though it made Shadi question just how truly healthy this woman was...

"Sit." The female commanded, her hazel eyes flashing fire as she poured herself a glass of wine, waving her paw at the seat across from her. The lithe and wispy female delicately pulled up her legs onto the chase, lying out across it, her red furred tails splaying out along the side of the couch. The way they twitched made Shadi uneasy, and her feet forced Shadi to shift a little further down the seat to make room.

"Why are you here girl? I know about my husband's and your pasts... Just what did he have planned by asking for you to come here, rather than any of the experienced women in the village?"

"I do not believe that any other nursing women had time to spare." Shadi said carefully, distrusting this woman immediately. The question was very direct, like a blade cutting into the ice. "I however, had the time. Trusting someone with your child's life is frightening, I would imagine... I can't see him having chosen a stranger for the job." The tiny feline said placatingly, hoping to direct Victoria's attention elsewhere.

"And yet Lord Carcer knows every person in his fief by name and occupation. But you... You were the only one he knew as a child, before he left. You two were close, weren't you? The two of you often caused hell for both of your parents by running off and playing together..." She stated as coolly as the ice bucket that chilled her glass pitcher of summer wine. She slowly sipped from her glass, her eyes locked on the felines.

Shadi was a little taken aback by the frankness of her questioning. She felt more like she was being interrogated more than talked to. Her long, large tail curled about her legs, and she tried her best to compose herself. She was almost shaking on the inside, but trying her best to stay calm on the outside. She did not want to appear weak in front of this woman.

"Well girl? I asked you a question, you and my husband were close, why don't you tell me a bit about that... I'm fascinated to hear about my husband's old friends..." She insisted with a casual coolness that did nothing to settle the unease that Shadi felt. The woman seemed intent on nitpicking at every detail she could.

"Forgive me Miss. But I have not seen Milord Carcer for many years before yesterday... I hardly know the male anymore. We were playmates in our childhood; though that is hardly something to base an adult friendship off. We both liked running through the grass, feeding the horses and tormenting our sisters, something all young children like to do. He is simply my master, my liege lord, I know nothing about who he is as a person now... 10 years is a long time." She ended flatly, wanting to squash any reasons for this woman to want to make her time here harder, though she did not doubt that Victoria would do everything in her power to make her stay as unpleasant as she could.

"I am simply here to suckle his daughter and tutor his son... that is as much about the male as I am familiar with now."

"Of course you are dear, of course you are... See that it stays that way... You may go now." She waved a dainty paw, sending the feline away from her sight. She didn't particularly want to be in this commoner's presence any longer than she needed to be. She didn't believe a word of her story. She had seen them in the yard early, sitting and laughing beneath a tree with HER children like they were one big happy family.

"You should get ready for luncheon. It is getting to that time. I will see you down there. This has been an interesting... Conversation." She nodded, rising from her seat, and ushering Shadi towards the exit. Once she was out of her room and the door was shut, the vulpine tilted her glass back, draining the summer wine in a single gulp, her tongue flicking out to brush along her elegant and long muzzle.

She would find some way to get this feline away from her children. Just dismissing her would never sit with her husband... But perhaps she wouldn't have to leave the grounds to be away from her children. There was more than one way to skin a cat.

X---------------------------------------------------------------X

Just outside, Shadi took her own little moment to shake off the awkwardness of their little meeting, the felines tail twitching back and forth randomly as she cooed to Emma, still clutched in her arms. The little infant looked up at her with something akin to accusation in her eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, she's your mother, what do you want?" Shadi snorted to the little lady, snuggling the grumpy looking child as she carried her to her nursery. A quick change and a feed left Emma much happier than she had been, being stuck in her mother's cold bedroom. Shadi could tell she would be a sensitive child, which would be good for a Lady... it would let her be sensitive to the needs of others, not just herself.

"Sleeping again? Oh, what a long, hard day you must have, working all the time, hmm?" She teased the snoozing infant as she brought her back down the stairs, the child having pulled much of Shadi's hair over herself, using it as a blanket of sorts, and bringing the little feline much discomfort... but she couldn't bring herself to free her locks from the child's grasp.

She pressed into the dining room, and was pleased to find it empty but for master Carcer and Hunter, who seemed to be in the middle of a heated discussion. Not wanting to disturb their bonding, she sat down very quietly a few seats away from the two of them. It was clearly the child's delight to be the center of his father's attention, and it made Shadi's heart very happy. She wondered if Emma would ever feel that way about her Lady mother... and somehow, she doubted it highly.

"Please, Sir McGregor could take Ser Parker down in a duel any day of the week, you'll see at the next tournament little Lord, I'd bet you a new sword on it!" Isiat boasted, the male chuckling with his son who was grinning from ear to ear.

"You'd owe me a new sword father. Ser Parker is the best swordsman I've ever seen!" The cub said excitedly, all but bouncing up and down in his seat. His trio of tails flickered back and forth like a pup that had just been promised a new toy to play with on his name day. Isiat shook his head, watching as Shadi and his daughter came in.

"Ah, that may be so, but have you ever seen Sir McGregor fight?" The vulpine smirked, and Hunter frowned for the longest moment.

"Well... No, but Parker could beat him anyway! He could beat anyone!" The cub tried to bolster his own confidence, but his voice had lost the young cocksureness that it had contained a moment ago.

"Mmhhmm, Keep dreaming kiddo... We'll see come tournament day. Miss Shadi, please, it is a long table, do sit closer. I quite like not having to shout, and I would like to see my daughter." He jested playfully, his attention suddenly on Shadi. Clicking a pair of his fingers, one of the servants from the kitchen dashed over, standing rigid beside the lord. "Bring out lunch already. My son is hungry." He lied, looking to Hunter with a wink, who immediately let out a low moan, holding his belly as if it ached terribly.

"Owww.... Daddy, I'm hungry..." He whined, the little whelp doubling over and groaning loudly. The servant looked to the young lord, and then to Isiat, who had a look of utter unimpressed on his muzzle, the fur bristling where his face creased.

"Well? Bring out the meal, the little lord is hungry! Snap to it!" He barked, the servant yelping and scurrying off to the kitchen, loud and quick voices coming from behind the swinging door. Both of them grinned the exact same grin at each other, full of mischief and mayhem that they caused... Clearly, they often played this game at the table...

A few moments later, a large boar on a platter was brought out, both of the Carcer males licking their chops expectantly as the mighty beast was brought out, the smell of the roasted pork and it's rich, vibrant seasonings and herbs filling the large dining hall with a scent that made the mouth water hungrily.

"Ah! Magnificent! My compliments to the chef. Let us tuck in, before it grows cold." Isiat chuckled as he rose, fetching a large meat fork and carving knife from his setting. He cut off a few large slices from the hide of the beast, laying out several for his son, Shadi, and then the largest slice for himself, grinning as he sat back down. Each of them helped themselves to the roasted potatoes and turnips from around the base of the boar to their liking, Hunter mimicking his father and piling a large stack beside his meat.

"Good Lad... It'll make you grow into a strong knight." He beamed proudly, before looking to Shadi. "Hunter seems to be enjoying having you as his guardian... Everyone else we've sent to him in past he made it his job to make them miserable..." Isiat laughed while he cut into his meal, popping a square of the succulent meat into his muzzle, and savoring the well cooked meal.

"So, how do you find the grounds Miss Shadi? Settling in alright I hope?" He smiled after swallowing, the vulpine starting up some pleasant table conversation. He certainly had a charming appeal to his voice when she could tell he was happy.

"You- you have a beautiful home my lord... not a thing out of place, and I am very comfortable, thank you Sire..."

The little feline blushed prettily, looking down into her lap, where a few rapidly thrashing red tails were flailing about over their caregivers arms, a curious whine coming from the owner of said tails, the sound of her father's voice bringing the sleepy Emma to full attention. Clearly, her father had spent much time with her over the past few days, trying to get his wife to care for the babe...

"And I have enjoyed becoming the friend of such a handsome young lord..." She said with a little laugh, bouncing the suddenly energetic infant in her arms to calm her down, sending Hunter a wink from across the table. "He has been no trouble...in fact, Master Carcer, your son is... well, he is vastly intelligent..." She said, turning her gaze to Isiat... and feeling herself grow warm again.

"I think- if it pleases my lord... your son is young, but I believe he is ready to assist you in the tasks about the estate... He is a bit of a trouble maker..." she said, smiling at him once again. "But so were you at his age, until you were given responsibilities... I really believe that he would surprise you, if given the chance... He has impressed me, even for my first day here. He is very responsible when he knows it is needed of him." She left out the boy's rude awakening of her that morning- what his father didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

That little comment surprised Isiat, the vulpine cocking his head curiously. He had always suspected the boy was a sharp one, but he had never seen any evidence to prove his theory. His son was like him in that sense though. He didn't show others what he didn't want them to see. "Oh? Is this true boy? Do you seek to help your father managing the estate? You'll need to learn your letters and words, and learn them well before I'll agree to that... There are plenty of books on the topic in your library, so I will make you an agreement. Write me a page on the history of this Manor, and I will see to it that you can be put to work helping manage the taxes of the village if you would like, as well as the number of guards and Knights we employ... With Ser Parker to help, of course." He made a quick gesture with his paw as he cut himself another bite of the boar, as if dismissing it casually, a smile tugging on the corner of his lips.

"R-Realy?!?" Hunter stammered, the pup's tails flickering out wildly, like ropes snapping under tension, all but standing up on his seat.

"I do not see why not? If Shadi vouches for you, and keeps a close eye on you-"

"He shall do no such thing until he is older." A sharp, high voice cut in, and Isiat all but slammed down his cutlery, turning to face his wife, who had only just made her way into the hall, and apparently just at the right moment for her to object. Clearly seeing an argument about to unfold afore her. Shadi very quietly rose from her seat, her head down respectfully as the child, startled by its mother's angry voice, let out a frightened, sad wail, her little fists shaking in the blanket Shadi had her wrapped in.

"Come..." The little feline told Hunter, motioning for him to follow her out of the dining room, sighing as she once again had to abandon her meal. She snapped her fingers behind her until she felt the boy's paw in her own, and gently lead him away from his angry parents. She could already tell this would be ugly.

X---------------------------------------------------------------X

Isiat waited respectfully until Shadi and the children were out of the room, before he stood, walked over to his wife, and struck her to the floor with a single swipe of his paw. "Be grateful I choose to remove my mail from my paws before I eat. You have no say in this matter, he is MY son. You have paid not a moment of attention to him since his name day. All you do is spend coin and look in your mirrors with your vanity for company. It seems to me like you come to this hall simply to be struck and sent away. What is it with you woman? Do you enjoy my strikes? Do you enjoy not having a part in your children's lives?" The vulpine barked loudly.

"My children should have been taken back to my family to be raised!" She spat, picking herself up off the stone floor. Apparently she had tired of pretending like she was some fragile, innocent female whose husband bullied her without reason. She knew her husband was beyond guilt when it came to his pups. "You shove his nose in books when he should be training more with his sword; I see how soft reading your 'Land and property' books have made you! Trying to smart your way into making coin rather than taking it from your fiefdom in taxes like you should! I get sick when I hear people talking about you always lowering the damned taxes; this is why we live in a manor, not a castle! My family has a castle-" Isiat cut her off with another blow from his paw.

"Clearly you enjoy being hit." Isiat spat, walking away from his wife. "See Miss Victoria back to her quarters. Bring the meal out to the rear sun room instead." Isiat growled, before storming from the room, his cloak flailing above his rapidly moving tails as he slammed the door behind him. His armored boots echoed down the hall as he distanced himself from the woman who gave him more strife than she ever did 'joy'. Birthing his children seemed to be the only positive attribute she had that stayed his blade instead of his fist.

It didn't take him long to find Shadi and the children, and he bowed apologetically to her. He could tell at a glance that the conflict disturbed her deeply. It had not been something he had wanted her to witness though, but his wife seemed to be acting more hostile than normal, as if she wanted Shadi to see him strike her. Unfortunately for Victoria, he would not show weakness before his guards, his family, or his guests, and if that meant striking her for her disobedience and disrespect to her Lord, then so be it. Just because it need be done, however, did not make it pleasant business for any of them.

"I am sorry you had to hear that. My wife forgets her place. Luncheon will be served in the rear sunning room instead." He sighed quietly, watching as Shadi comforted his son. "It will be alright son... You'll do whatever I say you can do. Promise." He grinned, kneeling down by his son's side.

Shadi had her tail wrapped firmly about both of the children, the infant whimpering softly in her arms, barely having stopped her screaming, and Hunter with both his arms wrapped around her middle, pressing himself against her, drawing comfort from her like he was freezing. The fur on her body raised when Isiat approached her, flinching as the Lord leaned down beside them. Her large ears had picked up far more of the 'conversation' between him and his wife than she was sure he would have liked... Memories of her father kept her on edge as he apologized and comforted his son.

"Y-yes Milord... I think I should take Emma and- and put her down for a nap... She is overdue for one..." Her anxious gaze went to Hunter, as if she did not really want to leave the boy with Isiat to go and finish their lunch, fear making her skin prickle uncomfortably... and she had to remind herself that Hunter was not her son, and she did not have any say what so ever in what happened to him- as Isiat had so keenly demonstrated...

"As you would will, the children are in your care... Still, lunch will be served in the rear sunning room, and I would be honored if you would be there. Hunter, if you would wish to rest a while before your afternoon lessons, then you may for today. It has been a... Long day so far." Isiat sighed softly, the little boy in front of him nodding his agreement.

"I... I would like that father." The cub spoke quietly, wiping his eyes with the back of his dark furred paws. Isiat simply smiled and reached his paws around the youngster, pulling him in close and embracing him in a tight hug.

Shadi frowned, and nodded her head. "As you wish, Master Carcer... Emma can take her nap after we... finish our luncheon... then we can all rest..." She sighed, clutching her little ward to her body, earning a contented coo from little Emma.

X---------------------------------------------------------------X

"Try it again, and this time, go slower, it isn't a race, little lord..." Shadi patiently took the quill from Hunter's paw, and showed him how to connect the letters once more, joining them slowly and carefully, so he could see how it was done. "You are moving from your wrist- you should try moving from your elbow instead, unless you are writing very small, which you are not. Legal documents are always done in rather large script." The little feline went on, leaning over her charge.

The next day had brought more sunshine for the nurse maid and her two wards, and the afternoon had been spent tucked away under the shade of the Manor's looming body, so the children could feel the last remaining warmth of summer before the chilly winds of autumn would be upon them.

Her dress was once again providing a soft place for the children to curl up on, both pressed firmly against her, Emma in her lap, and Hunter under her arm, carefully tracing over the strokes she had made. "You are getting much smoother with your numbers already, look at that!" She praised him, before Emma yanked on her hair with a squeal, making her wince. Well, not everything could be sunshine and roses...

And up in the manor itself, Lady Victoria had brooded and steamed for two days. Her eye had swollen and was black from her husband's discipline, and she had refused to leave her room, even for Isiat to try and comfort her. The one time he had tried to force his way in to see her, she had screamed and raged and thrown things at him until he had left again.

And so she had sat, alone, in silence and with only what little light shone in from the window, where she watched her children with that whore woman, whom had lost her only bastard child and had instead stolen her legitimate offspring away. When she watched them, she felt nothing but anger, clenching her paws into fists until the skin underneath was white from pressure. The russet furred female snarled, raising her paw up to encompass the little female in the yard below, before she closed her digits around her, and crushed her from view behind her fist.

She would get rid of that commoner wench from her manor before the season was out... She swore it... Her fur would blend in perfectly with all the falling leaves, and by the time winter came around, any leads would be as cold as the weather... She fingered the little vial she has stolen from the medicae's. All it would take was a few drops, and then, maybe she could get rid of her husband as well, and solve the good majority of her problems in one swift blow...

X---------------------------------------------------------------X

Isiat ducked the savage blow from Sir McGregor, following up with a low counter that sent his sword clanging loudly off the knights heavy shield. Again, and again, and again. The red fox recoiled; backpedaling as Isiat gave him no room to move, battering his sword down like a ram against the iron sheet. He finally countered with a harsh shove forward that almost sent Isiat sprawling, before the pair recomposed themselves, and re-engaged.

They met in a brilliantly executed volley of parries, slashes and thrusts that left both of the heavy clad Knights panting after the sound of ringing steel had long ceased. Both men were left leaning against their blades, regaining their breath in ragged heaves. Isiat moved first, slowly raising his sword to begin another round of their sparring.

Raising a silver gauntlet, the Irish fox shouted beneath his helmet as he wrenched it up above his head, tossing it aside. "Yield, I yield mah' liege! If I go another roun' withou' water, I'm gonna' collapse." The orange cape of his house fluttered to the dirt as he tossed it off, too hot to wear both the cape and the heavy silver plate mail that protected him from the savage sword blows Isiat had been making against him since mid-morning.

Isiat, for his part, tossed his helmet to one of the young squires watching, the vulpine's features drenched with perspiration and a thin rivulet of his teal blood staining above his left eye from where he had taken a shield to the face. His head was still ringing, the full face helm not at all to the vulpine's liking. They were too enclosing, to restricting... He hated the claustrophobic feeling he got wearing the damned thing. He'd fought it for years to try and not scream whenever the armorers had tried to fit him with a new helm.

He sighed, waving over one of the cup bearers watching them spar, and immediately drenching his face with one cup of water, before fetching another and drinking it in long, thirsty gulps. He started on a third cup before he spoke.

"I would... Wish to check on my children... Where are they?" He asked the lad, lazily sheathing the elaborate hand-and-a-half sword, its eagle pommel still glinting in the afternoon light. He would need it sent to the smith before the day was done though; the fine silver of the folded steel was in sore need of sharpening again.

"They are in the back yard. Miss Shadi has them for studies." The servant responded quickly, Isiat nodding his appreciation before he turned to walk off. The armor he wore felt even heavier than when he had put it on this morning, and felt like it would pull him down to the ground at any moment.

"Bring fresh water for them." He called over his shoulder, panting softly. "The tournament is to be held soon, and I would have my family in good spirits to watch their father win this year."

X---------------------------------------------------------------X

"Hunter, stop growling at the paper- it won't make your script any smoother." Shadi scolded him, giving his shoulders a gentle brush of her tail over his shoulders. "Your using too much ink-" She'd lost his focus completely, the boy's gaze ripping from his papers up into the yard, where his father was approaching them, shining from head to toe in his glistening armor, though it looked more scratched and dented than it had been when she had first arrived...

Blushing a vivid red and looking away, Shadi averted her eyes from the image of Master Carcer... He'd always been a handsome pup, and now he'd grown into a very handsome man, looking very much the noble knight in his armor. What a sight he was, this male, so very much above her, in appearance and status... No wonder he had chosen his wife, they complimented each other, both slender and beautiful...

Emma suddenly cried out, reacting to the sound of her father's chuckle, something that always got her excited, a flurry of a pair of twisting tails making it difficult to hold onto the little Vixen. Several days of being fed well had plumped the little girl out nicely, and it showed Shadi how close they'd come to having a very sick child on their paws, or worse...

"Master Carcer..." Shadi bowed her head, her hair slipping over her shoulders to spill out over Emma, who quickly helped herself to a pawfull of it, suddenly distracted once again. An infant's attention span was as long as their arms.

"Well good afternoon! How're my favorite three people?" The vulpine quipped warmly as he padded over, opening his arms up and crouching down so that Hunter could embrace him, the youngsters paws scrabbling for purchase on the sleek and shining armor. "Heheh, Sir McGregor and I were just getting in some practice before the big tournament soon, in honor of Emma's name day. Knights from all across the kingdom will be here to compete, and you two..." He paused, before looking at his youngest accusingly, the little russet furred pup trying to curl herself into Shadi's hair. "And you as well little miss, all need to all be on your best. I'll have the maids find you a suitable dress Shadi; you will be sitting at the Lords table with Lady Victoria, the children, and myself so that you can keep a close eye on them."

"Aye Milord, I don't think they'll be any trouble..." She giggled lightly, winking at Hunter, then wincing as her hair was yanked viciously, Emma pouting up at her, as if she'd been forgotten. "Unless of course, any of the knights has long, pretty hair..." She grumbled, running her paw over her tormented scalp.

"Or any of the ladies, for that matter." He grinned, before reaching a paw out to push his daughter's hand down, her little fingers curling around one of his digits firmly, the male's eyes going wide with joy, a smile crossing his face. "Well hey there little girl... You missed your daddy, huh?" He cooed, as Hunter's voice chimed in.

"I think she like's Shadi better." The little Lord teased, grinning from ear to ear, just like his father did.

"Hey, Miss Shadi also feeds her, cleans her, and is with her from dawn till sunset." He smirked, as he stood up again, the male groaning under the weight of the armor. Oh, sitting down had not been his greatest idea, and he quickly realized he wouldn't be getting up with any sort of ease. "And besides, she's got her great..." He paused, making motions to his chest as he blushed and stammered. "Uh.... Tracks of land."

"But dad... Miss Shadi's father owns the land..." Hunter pointed out. Dammit, that kid was too smart for his own good.

"Quiet you, or I shall find somewhere else for you to sit aside from the Lord's table on the tournament day." Isiat quickly silenced the boy, ruffling his son's hair with a chuckle. He stretched out his spine leisurely, turning himself around to gaze up at the manor, his eyes flicking up to the window of his bedchambers-

A chill ran down his spine as he spotted his wife, glaring down at the four of them on the grass. As soon as she realized he'd been watching her, she quickly turned away with a snarl, jerking the curtains shut in her wake. Isiat frowned, feeling knots in his stomach as he wondered how long she had been glaring down at her own children and their nanny before he'd seen her...

The look on her face had chilled him more than he would have liked, and as soon as he couldn't feel her icy gaze down on them, he took a long breath.

"I had best tend to my wife, if you will excuse me Shadi, children... Keep him at his writing. He's doing well." The vulpine nodded back at the papers, giving his son's head a last rough with his paw. He left them then, Hunter beaming at his praise, reminding the Keynari to do it more... and Shadi, looking after him with a sad smile on her face, as she so wore these days. Perhaps it was adult hood, or perhaps it was her situation here... either way, he would have to think on it later, when he had calmed his wife down...

X---------------------------------------------------------------X

Hunter and Shadi kept at his studies until night began to fall, and hunger brought them all inside, Emma's shrill cry reminding Shadi that she was not as patient as the feline was when it came to her meals. She dined alone with her wards for the first time since she had taken the job, but she found herself not minding that fact so much...

Hunter was so intelligent that she often times forgot how young he was when she was talking to him... until of course, he started talking about something that got him excited, like sword fighting or the upcoming tournament... Then, it was all too easy to see his age, no one but a child could have such energy or excitement bound inside them.

Emma was yet a suckling babe, but she was very likely going to be Shadi's best friend over the next several years, so it was normal that Shadi should love her instantly; how could you not love a child you were giving life, even if she was not of your own body?

She loved these children, and she felt that they were getting very close to her as well.

As the hour grew late, Shadi thought it was best she prepare the little lordling and his baby sister for bed and tuck them in. Hunter didn't fight her- he'd had a long, fulfilling day, and Shadi had told that true knights always knew when to retire. She pulled the blankets over his chest up to his chin, and gave his forehead a fond lick, purring out to him softly.

"Sweet dreams, little lord..." She smiled, and shut the door softly behind her as he left his room.

Emma on the other hand, needed a bath, and really? So did Shadi.

"Amerill!" Shadi hunted down her friend, hugging her hard when the Otter woman could put down her broom. "Could you show me where the little Miss and I might bathe? She wants to look pretty for her daddy, don't you darling?" Emma gurgled and made spit bubbles, which was kind of like saying yes.

"This way, milady... this room was intended for your stay, and the bath in here is so lovely!" The otter woman chimed in almost delightedly, leading the feline and the infant in her arms down to the first floor. She pressed open one of the many doors lining the many hallways that seemed to criss-cross the manor in back and forth motions. It would have been all too easy for Shadi to get lost on her own.

The bathroom attached to the grand bedroom was a large and elaborate terracotta and marble tiled room, with small sealable vents in the ceiling that served to turn the bath into a sauna, smooth benches ringing the length of the walls. Fresh towels had been hung on a small wooden rail by the door, and Amerill had brought a night gown for Lady Stryker to change in to.

Within just a few minutes, the otter woman had made several servants haul in some hot water, salts and oils, filling the room with exotic scents. They poured it all into the steaming water- resting in the most wonderful bathing tub she had ever seen.

"How did they do this, a bath in the floor? How queer..." Shadi purred, her tail twitching excitedly. She was not used to such luxuries... Even her father's manor had only contained a simple bathing chamber... Nothing quite so elaborate and grand as this. Isiat's family clearly flaunted their wealth quite openly, as if they wanted others to know of it.

"Something Master Carcer had installed when he and his Lady wife moved in, this was their original master bedroom. Please, enjoy your bath miss, call me when you would like me to take the sweet cub, and you can finish washing alone." The otter woman dipped her head and kissed the baby's cheek, stepping away from Shadi after helping her out of her gown.

Shadi slid into the water, alone with her little charge at last. She hummed softly to Emma as she held the little red cub to her body, cradling her against her own body. Shadi soaped up the little girls fur and scrubbed her clean, the child not too fussed about the situation, having fallen asleep as the suds were rinsed from her fur. Shadi reclined in the warm water for a long while after the baby fell asleep, just enjoying having her against her skin... The little feline tried to coax her awake to eat once more before bed... but Emma wasn't budging. Sweet thing she was... Shadi so wished she was allowed to love her...

X---------------------------------------------------------------X

Isiat meanwhile, had returned to his wife's chambers for the afternoon, and had not left, even for dinner. There had been a long conversation between the spouses that had made their appetites lack, but one that no less needed to be had. Many tears and hugs and apologies were made, and talk of how Victoria knew he was longing over Shadi. His rebuttals that he was simply happy for the children had done little to improve the mood... It was a lengthy process, but it had finally moved from tears to hugs and apologies, from hugs to holding each other, and from there as the night had settled in...

Isiat looked at his wife across the bed, the Vixen's tails flagged behind her, presenting a very scantly covered behind to her mate, growling between her teeth. "Would my Lord like to treat in his Lady?" She teased him in a sing song voice, wriggling her rear at him. Isiat growled, ready to pounce a moment before his wife immediately rolled over, and pulled the blanket's back up around herself, giving him an obscene two fingered gesture.

"This is for all of the times you have struck me, or spent time with that damned Wet-Nurse instead of your wife. Until you get rid of her, you are not getting a damned thing out of me!" She snarled, before kicking out at the blankets, catching Isiat in his exposed belly, making the vulpine yelp and fall backwards from the bed.

"Dammit woman, you will rue this day! Not even you can get away with this you frigid bitch! No wonder your father was in such a hurry to get rid of you!" Isiat snarled in turn, pulling on a pair of his trousers and swearing some more at his wife, before she threw something fragile and heavy at him, a loud shatter and crash making Isiat duck and stumble, pants halfway up his legs, towards the doorway. He fell and landed on the floor as Victoria threw something else heavy sounding near him, and he scrambled for the door handle, and all but threw himself into the corridor, slamming it heavily behind himself. "Mark my words woman! You and your thrice damned family are all the devils puppets!"

Growling and fuming to himself, he finished dressing in the hallway, before he stormed off in the general direction of the spiral stairway that led to the cellar. He needed a drink, something strong. Right now, he was frustrated more than ever with his wife. She played him. The entire time, she had just played him like a harp until she had him right where she wanted him to, before she simply denied him and forced him from his own room. He seriously contemplated having the guards drag her from his chambers like a common whore being evicted, but then no doubt he would hear no end of it from her later.

He drank quite heavily. Very modest, compared to how he felt. Two bottles were gone before he thought to stand up and try to find a third bottle of the sweet Germanic wine. Stumbling back up to the first floor with his newest bottle, he entered one of the guest chambers, grinning smugly to himself. Aside from his own bedroom, it had the most spacious bed, and since Shadi had elected to sleep in the room with his children, it would be free. Though upon entering to lit candles and lanterns, as well as steam coming from under the wash room door, Isiat quickly dropped to a crouch, trying to be as quiet as a drunken Keynari could manage to be.

The bathroom was closed fortunately for him, and the solid wood made even his poor attempt at intoxicated stealth seem admirable. The door had a small looking hole set in its middle at head height, and the vulpine strained to look through it, but much to his dismay, could see very little inside. Part of his mind told himself that he ought not to be looking, that it wasn't proper for a man of his standing. But just as quickly as that thought came, it left, chased away by a drunk, angry and horny slur of encouragement from whatever dark, perverted recess of his mind the liquor had opened up.

Acting entirely against his better judgment and character, he slowly twisted the handle of the door, pushing it open just a crack. The loose pair of trousers he wore suddenly became very tight around his hips as he looked over Shadi as he hadn't seen her since they were young, and she certainly hadn't looked like she did now... Even the few times they had shyly done the childish 'I'll show you mine...' thing behind the stables... Though since then, she had grown damned gorgeous... She had always been gorgeous. Even in her youth she had caught his eye...

---

X---------------------------------------------------------------X

She had been a beautiful young lady, and the first time he saw her, he recalled his father kneeling down beside him and whispering in his ear, as he had before each cart carrying the next noble family had pulled up before their manor. "Now don't you be doing anything to upset the young lady, her father is still the Lord of these parts, so be on your best behavior." He could remember his father's warm breath against his ears as he had delivered his warning. The pup had given a firm nod of acknowledgement and stepped forward by his father to greet them.

_ _

_ _

"Hi!" He had smiled at Shadi, before his father had rapped his cane against Isiat's back, reminding him of his formalities. He had bowed quickly after that, introducing himself to the beautiful young feline before him. "I am Isiat, son of Lynal of the noble house Carcer." He had chimed politely. Shadi, for her part, had given him a low curtsey, eyeing him off nervously.

_ _

_ _

"My name is Shadi Stryker. My father is Lord Urial Stryker." She spoke to him sweetly, and her voice reminded him of the songbirds that perched in the yard while he trained. They were sweet, little things that would perch on the wall and look down on him, chirping back and forth to each other.

_ _

_ _

_ It was almost irony working against him the very next day when he and the other lord's sons were sparing in the yard, that all their young ladies had gathered atop the small grandstand to watch, whispering back and forth like the songbirds did in the springtime. He could tell Shadi's eyes followed him more than any of the other young teenagers fighting, sparing more glances than he should have just to look up and catch her looking back at him._

_ _

_ _

He found himself in the dirt more than once after their eyes had met, seeming to freeze him in place as he lost himself to those beautiful, mismatched eyes... A swift smack to the head usually snapped him out of it, and he lost almost each battle of the day like that. Though Shadi still watched him almost curiously, with the way her eyes darted over his thin leather armor, and how she smiled each time he pulled himself from the dirt. She whispered back and forth with the young lady next to her after each time though, he noticed, and they both shot him shy glances before going back to their gossiping. Women were good at that.

_ _

_ _

"They lure you in with a glance, and hook you with a smile." His father had once warned him, just after his tenth name day. For all the good it did him, Isiat ignored his father's advice, and had approached Shadi after his latest loss, a grin on his muzzle, despite the darkness welling up around one of his eyes from their almost non-stop dueling since morning. Even under the watchful eye of Ser Parker, they all came away with injuries of varying degrees.

_ _

_ _

"Did you enjoy the little show? Every last one of them was trying to catch one of the girl's eyes... I was simply hoping to catch yours." He grinned, beaming his fathers' same charming smile, and displaying the same cocksureness as well... Shadi blushed redly, and the girls around her giggled before scattering like a flock of doves, each off to congratulate their own boy of choice, though more than one flocked around the young Ser Julian Turen, who had won all of his battles.

_ _

_ _

Before anyone was any the wiser though, Isiat and Shadi had slipped away to tour the grounds, Isiat guiding her lightly by the paw, as a gentleman should. They had spent the rest of the day together like that, viewing the garden's Isiat's mother had kept (Though he did not speak of her, and every time Shadi broached the subject, he shied from it), the many decorative fountains and squares, and all in all circling the entire manor's grounds three times before sunset.

_ _

_ _

He could still recall every little detail about her from when they had shared their first sweet, innocent little peck. The sunset making her dark hair glow like embers. Her eyes flitting back and forth like birds darting between trees, the color of the earth and of emerald. And the smile, the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, following her soft, tan furred cheeks, and the dark brown teardrops leading from the inner corner of her eyes... She was true beauty. Stunning to behold, and breathtaking to gaze upon... Isiat wished he could draw so he could capture her in that likeness...

_ _

_ _

They had been as any two young first lovers were, spending their time together after that wherever they could, playing, talking, and just being a constant partner to each other... But their joys and childish games could only last so long, and when the crusades were called, and Isiat promised to Victoria Turen in a bid by his father to secure the lord's help with the crusade, their contact had abruptly came to a halt. Lord Stryker had bickered with Lynal about it at length, but had finally been turned down, after lord Turen also promised to help make Isiat more than mighty when he arrived home from the crusades. It was rumored he had men who whispered things into the ears of those who spoke with kings...

_ _

_ _

And wanting only what was best in the long run for the security of his family, Lord Carcer had agreed, and the two children had been all but lost to each other.

_ _

_ _

He had seen her in the crowds as he had left with his father, waving him off with her sad little face, knowing that even when he returned, she would never be his. The ring on his paw that his father had all but put there himself promised that much, as did the teary eyed keynari vixen who watched him leave, the Carcer's troops on the end of a longer trail of her father's men, Lord Turen...

_ _

_ _

She had not been present when he had returned, though he suspected her father's paw was involved in that... Instead, waiting for him was his firstborn son, now grown half a man, and his wife, with her ever deadly smile. He felt far older walking into his own home than he ever had riding into battle in the holy lands... Perhaps it was for the best though... He had his own issues to deal with now, and more pressing matters than a fleeting childhood fantasy.

_ _

_ _

Though his new duties to his fiefdom, his wife and his son did not stop him from enquiring about her from time to time, and what little he found out was that she was due to be wed... It had all but broken him anew, and he had spent a day in the solitude of some fortified wine and his chambers, before he had the nerve to ask her husband to be to appear before him.

Ulric Rousell, as he came to know him, turned out to be a good knight, and a good man. After a day discussing matters with him, Isiat was contemplating killing him far less... He would be good to Shadi, he knew that much, and with a family of his own, it was the most he could ask for. Isiat had been far blunter about his feeling than he had intended, but Ulric had taken it with more grace than Isiat had, and assured him that he would take good care of his wife to be... Isiat had sent him away with his blessing, and his thanks... Asking him to say anything to Shadi in his stead would have been going too far, and he knew it.

_ _

_ _

Several weeks later, Isiat had heard say that the youngest Stryker girl was with child, and that her husband had been sent to the crusades as punishment. He had done all he could to try and contact Ulric while he had been in the holy lands, but by the time the last of his letters had reached the middle east, one fateful letter had already returned to him, from one of his little birds in the holy lands. A pair of signet rings bearing the house Rousell sigil had been tucked in between the sheets of folded paper.

_ _

_ _

Ulric had fallen to Saracen raiders alongside his father, who had left in Lord Turen's stead at the pope's command. None of their men had been heard from in a week upon the writing of the letter, and when Isiat's scout had gone to their last reported location, he had seen crows circling from quite some distance away...

_ _

_ _

Isiat had been forced to bring the news to Shadi himself, since no other he knew would, but such were the times... When thousands were leaving each day to embark upon the holy crusade and the path to heaven, keeping track of so many became impossible. Once you were gone, there were no guarantees that anyone would bother to track down and tell your family, lest you were some highborn noble's son... And While Ulric had been a lesser noble's boy, his lord father had fallen at his side. Nobody would be delivering the news if he didn't.

_ _

_ _

He had set out almost as soon as he had received the letter, much to his once again pregnant wife's protests. He had ignored her angry shouts as he had ridden from the manor, with a handful of knights forming his personal guard. He had dispatched a raven with Fredrik Rousell's ring and a letter giving his condolences to the remaining two brothers. The other ring he held tightly in his paw as he rode.

_ _

_ _

Urial Stryker had met them at the door, and barred Isiat entry until he had grabbed for his blade, planning full well on pushing the old lion aside if he had to. Though Shadi by that time had been drawn to the commotion, and appeared by her father's side. When Isiat brushed past her father and presented her with her fiancé's ring however, her expression went from one of curiosity to devastation, and he had held her while she wept, beating her little fists against his breastplate.

_ _

_ _

Since then though, before he summoned her to be his daughter's nursemaid, they had not spoken to each other. Not for many long months indeed, though it seemed all was silent between them. There were no words to exchange... Not after all that had happened to her.

Though now that all had occurred, fate had drawn them back together... It had to be some kind of sign, it had to be. There was too much coincidence in everything for it not to be. The timing couldn't have been off by even a week either way with his return, her child being taken from her, his wife giving birth... It was all too convenient not to be fate...

_ _

He could only just see the back of her shoulders as she squirmed about softly in the water, her fur clinging to her figure, and showing off her curves above the waterline beautifully. Her body had filled out, and while she was still short, she was curvy and voluptuous where she used to be small and frail, her breasts were large and heavy and soft looking with nipples that were red from his daughter's suckling, and her hips had broadened out into true mother's hips. She was curvy and smooth and plump in all the right places...

Isiat could feel himself drooling already, licking his chops hungrily... At that moment, any thought of his vows to his wife or the consequences went out the door, as he gazed in on the young female... Though he would need to wait until his daughter was in bed to try anything... He pulled the bottle of wine to his lips, taking a long swig. Fortunately, patience was something he was good at. Footsteps coming down the hallways however snapped his attention away, and he made good to slip in behind the bed's blinds and out of sight.

X---------------------------------------------------------------X

Shadi had nearly fallen asleep herself, the warm child in her arms, until a soft knock brought her back to reality, the little feline looking up from where she'd been sleepily nuzzling the infants hair. "Sorry Ama- it was warm..." She giggled softly as the older woman came to crouch by the water basin, holding out her arms for Shadi to deposit the child into, wrapping a towel around Emma as the child was safely placed into her waiting paws.

"Don't you worry dear, I'll have her put right to bed, squeaky clean... uhm, how are you, dear?" The kind otter woman asked her, the sleeping infant nestled into her arms. She gently scuffed her with the blanket she was swaddled in, trying to dry her without waking the young vixen.

"What do you mean?" Shadi looked up to her, her odd, bicolored eyes flashing in the soft candle light that illuminated the wash room.

"Just... how are you, with dealing with all this?" Amerill said softly, carefully drying the babe with the towel, dabbing at her hair. "I know you must miss your daughter... nursing another woman's child is no easy feat when your own was carried away... I still have nightmares about it- and I am positive you do..."

"I... I don't really want to talk about it..." Shadi brought her paws up and around her heavy breasts, feeling a sudden chill in the air, despite the heated water. "It's... hard, yes... I love his children- but at the same time, I'm not allowed too... and really, after they took Kara, all I want to do is love something, really..." She shuddered, her own daughters face popping into her mind against Shadi's wishes.

"It's kind of its own torture, especially considering Lady Victoria hasn't wanted to hold her own daughter in the four bloody days I've been here..." The little feline rubbed her tired eyes as Amerill nodded.

"Aye... I don't know how they expect you to spend your every waking moment with this sweet little girl and not mother and love her... but you'll make due... life is hard, it always has been, but you're young and strong, and more than anything, these children need you... Master Carcer needs you. Without someone to help make his children ready for the world, how is he to handle his estate? If his wife won't do the job, you'll just have to do it yourself. You can't help from getting attached- but you'll just have to pretend..." Amerill sighed, and turned to move from the bathroom, pulling closed the sauna vents on her way to help the feline relax.

"I'll see you in the morn', do try and get some rest..." With a swish of her long, thick rudder tail, the woman was gone and Shadi was alone for the first time since she'd come to the manor...

Quietly, she looked down into the water, gently moving her fingers about the steam, her mind full of worries... And shut her eyes tightly, letting out a soft, distressed huff of air, her shoulders shaking but just for a moment... Yes, she had to keep going... for the children's sakes...

X---------------------------------------------------------------X

Isiat watched as the maid left, the male grinning quietly to himself as he slipped out from his hiding place. The steam was rapidly obstructing what he could actually see through the just cracked doorway, and he knew that eventually, that bathroom would be full of a thick, fog like steam, as it always did. He dared not get closer though, lest he alert her to his presence. It was why the walls were all tiled, as was the floor around the tub. Like a sauna of the Roman age's, the room would hold in the moisture and water of the steam, and would trap it against the ceiling, slowly descending as it gathered until the room was full of it.

He raised the bottle of summer wine to his lips, taking a long swig as he watched Shadi relax down into the bath with a contented sigh, the male wondering just how easy it would be to sneak up on her as she was...

---

X---------------------------------------------------------------X

Shadi laid there for a few minutes, fighting tears and her own raging emotions. After a while, tiredness won out on her, and made her shoulders relax, the little female slipping into the water farther, until the tips of her swollen breasts were only half covered by the hot water. The little feline brought her paws up and cupped the tender mounds, rubbing them gently. Motherhood wasn't often kind to a woman's body... Shadi had never been so sore in her life, honestly, and she hoped she had a while yet before Emma started cutting teeth...

A quiet moan softly escaped her lips, delicate fingers massaging into the soft flesh of her body, making her body heat up from the inside, though she was careful not to touch the swollen tips; they had been ravaged enough over the past several weeks...

The heat of the water was starting to get to her, so she hauled herself up onto the edge of the bathing pool, so that only her legs were still in the water. She gasped silently as she laid her head onto the comparatively cool stone, her back and shoulders twitching pleasantly at the cold contact. Carefully, she spread her hair out around her, so it was not being tugged any more... her scalp was also another sad victim of abuse by Emma.

She still didn't feel any cooler on the inside though...

X---------------------------------------------------------------X

Isiat licked his lips hungrily as he eyed Shadi off as she pulled herself from the bath, laying herself back against the warm, smooth stone, her legs parted with her feet dangling in the water. From his vantage point, Isiat could see her entire body laid out before him. The vulpine twitched within his trousers as he reached one paw down, stroking the flesh through the fabric slowly, as the little feline's moans echoed through the cracked bathroom door. He watched her body arching slowly as she played with herself, the male groaning quietly as he squeezed around the base of his knot, his eyes locked firmly on her naked figure. Gods how he wanted to just walk in there and have his way with her... But married as he was, she would never go for it...

Shadi looked around guiltily for just a moment, listening, making sure... before her paw slinked up the inside of her leg, making her tail twitch erratically. It had been too long since she'd had enjoyed a touch of... this nature... Even with her previous mate, she'd honestly only ever been with him once before he'd left for the war...

Her paws found her slickened, feminine flesh, and ran her digits over the heated flesh. The little feline kicked her legs, moaning out softly as she bit into her lip, delicious waves of pleasure running up her delicate little spine. Just what she needed after a long day...

The little feline cried out as her fingers suddenly delved within the pink, soft flesh of her body, the muscles in her stomach contracting as her body was invaded, her lips parting in a soft, moist pant.

Isiat growled as he pawed at himself, the male growling as a wet patch of pre-seed stained the front of his trousers, before he carefully took a grip on the bathroom door, pressing his ear up closer to the gap so he could better hear her silky, luxurious moans.

She slowly worked herself up into a frantic, heart pounding rhythm with her fingers, delving into her body one minute before sliding over the hard knot of nerves at the very top of her wet little slit. Her hips wreathed and bucked under her paw's work, her head thrashing about against the silken pillow of her hair. One of her paws went up to cup her sensitive, swollen breasts again, making her cry out with her pleasure, her voice hot with her hormones.

Unable to stand it any longer, Isiat pushed open the doorway and slunk into the mist, the barefooted vulpine making barely a sound as he carefully closed the door again behind himself. His heart was pounding as he tried to not distract the feline from her entertainment. Her moans ringed through the air like silk as she molested her breast, the little feline arching as her digits caressed along those moist, silky folds between her legs. Isiat felt himself throb again, and he dropped his trousers around his feet, falling to his paws and knees as he stalked towards the pleasure stricken feline. His shirt was flung away in the same way of his pants.

Slowly, and with carefully placed steps of his paws, the vulpine snuck in and around, until he was right beside her. Even if she might not go for it, surely he at least had to try? He had come too far not to by this point. There would be no turning back after this... Leaning his muzzle down closer to the source of the alluring scent that had filled the bathroom, he quickly pushed her fingers aside with his snout, his tongue daring out and tasted her sex for the first time, a deep rumble passing his lips.

Shadi groaned deep in her throat, her body arching up. For a moment, she thought she'd slid back a few inches into the warm water, and the warmth of it was just barely lapping at her sex. A truly spectacular feeling, very nearly like a-

With a startled jerk, Shadi looked down her body at the sound of a very deep, very possessive growl.

"Master Carcer!" Shadi squealed, scrambling backwards as quickly as her legs would carry her, her heart pounding so hard against her ribcage it was almost painful. She looked about in fright, her eyes darting back and forth for an exit as terror coursed through her. How long had he been there? Hurriedly, she tried to cover her modesty with her paws, but to little effect against the male, who stalked towards her on all fours.

Giving a low, throaty growl, Isiat grinned, licking his lips like a charming devil. "Sweeter than any summer wine, Miss Shadi, might I say... It's just you and me in here. Everyone else is asleep..." He smiled as he padded towards her slowly on all fours, his muzzle coming level with the felines own, noses mere millimeters from touching. He pressed the smaller woman down under him, feeling her soft, wet body against his own, and he could feel his cock responding to it, the length throbbing almost urgently.

He wanted to hold her under him, but he was not going to force her into it. The look on her face was white hot fear, so the vulpine back peddled, not wanting to put the sweet little feline off. "I regret that we never did anything more that looking and light touching when we were mere teenagers. I wished to correct that... If the lady would allow? You looked like you could use a paw..." He rumbled, as one of his hands delicately traced along her thighs and the curve of her hips, the male's eyes drinking in the sight of the woman he had desired since he was a child.

Shadi squealed again, lifting her paws up to try and cover her body, utterly humiliated. He'd seen that? She wasn't even in her prime anymore- motherhood had stolen away her youthful, slender body she'd once had... Her body was bordering on disgusting. The fact that he had seen her nude form was quite possibly the most embarrassing thing she'd ever experienced in her life- not to mention he had seen her pawing at herself like some common whore! Perhaps that what he thought she was?

"Oh! Please Sire, I am so, so terrible sorry- ashamed of myself! I should never have done such things in your home, I'm so very sorry you- you saw any of this..." Her tail, the end of which had still been floating in the water, came to try and wrap around herself, her eyes squeezed shut tight in her humiliation.

The vulpine frowned, unhappy at how she tried to hide herself, like she had something to be ashamed of. "Please Shadi, do not be ashamed... What I saw is nothing we did not show each other as children, do you remember? Behind the stables?" Isiat chuckled, as he used his own tails to cover his own decency, the male managing a smile from ear to ear, backing off just a touch more, trying to make her more comfortable... He wasn't leaving this room without having 'sampled' her, and in order to get that, he had to calm himself down, and ease her into it...

"Don't be shy... You never were before, sweet kitten. Motherhood has graced your body beautifully, soft as a woman should be..." He gave a soft trill of his tongue, the male's words coming out slightly slurred as his eyes roamed over the feline's figures, even as he allowed her to sit up a bit, the male sitting back on his haunches in front of her. "God, that I would have been married to you instead of that frigid bitch in my bedroom..." He groaned, his eyes all but eating up her plump figure.

Shadi blinked, smelling the scent of the wine he'd taken in more clearly on him now. The Keynari was pissed as a newt... "Then you would not have the two absolutely beautiful children you have been blessed with, Milord." She said, sounding much more calm now, a paw over her still pounding heart, carefully covering herself with her tail as she leaned forward a little, not feeling so intimidated by him now that she realized he was under the influence, as it were... Male's she found, were a bit easier to persuade when they'd had a touch of wine or ale.

"Sire... you do not want to do this." She said gently, placing a careful paw upon his shoulder, realizing he too, was nude, making her turn even redder, being exposed to this male's beautiful body... "You- you love your wife, and I know you value your vows... and your family. You would not possibly put that aside for a night for a go at someone like me... not when you have someone who looks like her in your bedroom, as you so eloquently said." Shadi chuckled lightly, relaxing in spite of herself... Oh yes, she did remember being children with him, stripping naked to go swimming, cornering him behind the stables and asking him what a penis looked like... He had been more than happy to show her- in exchange for a look at her... They had been very naughty children.

This was far different... it had less to do with curiosity and much more to do with the fact he had grown into a delicious looking, strong male... As much as she was pushing him to go back to his bedroom, there would always be a part of her that wanted this male... even though a small part of her still feared his hard paw, the one he used on his wife...

"Aye, I'd have a dozen children by now... You and I could have spent days locked away in our chambers... Instead, I have that frigid bitch, who bears no love for me or her offspring, nor I to her. But those kids.... Aye, they're Carcer's, good and true..." He chuckled, before he looked her dead in the eye, all traces of his drunkenness suddenly gone from his eyes when he looked at her. "Piss on my vows and piss on her... I wouldn't be surprised if she's been getting it from her little errand boy... She hasn't had me in close to ten months, and that was only because I insisted I needed another heir..." The vulpine muttered, sitting back on his haunches, still looking at the feline's beautifully mismatched eyes.

"I would have given the world for my parents to reconsider, and if father could see the right cunt he married his son too, I think he would too... For you, I would have given up this place, this life... I could have been naught but a simple farm hand and so long as I had you... I would have been happy..." He looked over his shoulder sullenly, towards the door, as if what was on the other side made him uneasy. She supposed if she were married to someone who had no love for her, she would feel much the same distaste.

"You were all I ever wanted, but all I couldn't have... But now, right now... It's just you and me..." He said, his voice far softer now. He pressed himself against her once more, using his larger body to press her against the heated tile. "Nothing to stop us, no rules, no people... Just you, me... Some wine, and a bath..." He murmured warmly as he pressed himself back in towards Shadi. There was a short pause between both of them, before he leaned in, and placed a delicate kiss upon her cheek, like a proper gentleman ought to. "This night I would have you as my Queen, and me as your King... What do you say Shadi? One wonderful night? For what may have been?"

Shadi frowned, her muzzle open as if to say something... but it wouldn't come out... His voice, the scent of him, the heat in this room... She wanted to, well and truly, and if that made her a bad person... she didn't care to be a good one... and yet, she had done this before, hadn't she? Given herself to a man she loved, and had it all come out so very wrong on the other end...

"Isiat... I am not a whore." Her voice was raspy with emotion, indecision on her face. "I may have disgraced my family- but I have not fallen so far as to give myself to a man who can promise me nothing... Ulrick would have married me, if he'd come back from the Holy Lands... and even then, it back fired on me... I won't sire another unwanted bastard." Her voice choked, and she looked up at the male with watery eyes, looking at him for the entire world like she just wanted to be wrapped up in his arms...

The look was not missed on Isiat, who leaned forward, his paws wrapping tightly around the little Amasii's shoulders and pulling her damp fur up against his 'had been dry' chest, the male cradling her against himself in his arms. "I never thought for a moment that you were a whore... I can only promise you my protection, and my undying affection... That has always belonged to you... There hasn't been a moment when I didn't wish it was you instead of that bitch I have in my chambers... I wanted to write you while I was in the crusades, but it would not have been proper... " He murmured softly into her large ears, his lips placing a delicate line of kisses along the soft furred rim slowly, lovingly trailing them down towards her throat.

"I would have given everything just to be with you. Please... Just one night... Just this night... Be mine, as I would have been yours..." He rumbled, his lips trailing down her muzzle slowly, gathering the moisture in her fur from the steam, before the flesh of his lips met hers, the male pressing in on her softly, not forcing her, but asking the kiss of her.

The little female gasped as his lips made her skin tingle wonderfully, heat flaring up unforgotten between her legs, and deep within her belly. She let him more or less loom over her, the male all but crawling atop her as he pressed his lips to her own, a warm, gentle touch, a question, a request, not a demand... His lips were hot and moist, and tasted dark, dangerous... and everything in the world that was forbidden and exciting.

She shouldn't... she knew she shouldn't... He was drunk- and in the morning, if she did this, he would break her heart, when the wine lost its hold on him and he realized what he had done... and realized he was not willing to jeopardize his lovely, trophy wife for a little, fat wench like Shadi, her existence limited to feeding his children and preparing them for the world...

"Isiat..." She shouldn't, she knew she shouldn't- She sealed her lips to his own, her body melting under his gentle kiss and her tail falling away, and all traces of her previous insecurities gone from her. A gentle tilt of her hips, and she felt his tapered tip press up against her heated sex, slick and warm at her body's entrance.

"Yes... I would be yours."

Isiat groaned quietly... He knew this was a bad idea; in fact, this was a very bad idea. It was a very bad idea that could easily get both of them in a lot of trouble with the church, Shadi more so than himself. This was a very bad idea, and he would remember thinking that it was such, before utterly ignoring his own advice as his hips sank down to meet hers, the male sliding wetly into the small female's body that gripped him like a tight fitting glove, his sheath pressing up against her womanly treasure as he hilted her in a single, smooth stroke. His lips pressed to her own deeply in a kiss that he moaned loudly into, down on the tile floor, wrapped up in each other, and now, forsaking all vows he had taken for his wife. Bollocks to her.

He groaned loudly as he thrust firmly into Shadi's body, the naughtiness and forbidden, carnal act in which the pair were locked in only seeming to drive Isiat on further as he mated the female beneath him. The long tapered vulpine girth disappeared into the feline's hidden slit like a spear into flesh, Isiat panting and groaning out blissfully. Perhaps it was the wine talking, but perhaps not, as the male opened his mouth between their hot, passionate kisses. "God I love you Shadi... I always... Ngghh... Always have... My Kitten..."

Shadi's heart fluttered weakly against her ribcage as the male ravaged her with his body and his muzzle, her short, shapely legs raising and locking around the Keynari's waist, whining softly as he spoke words of love into his frantic kisses, the male reeking of summer wine, tasted of it, too... Even as he buried himself in her, pleasuring them both with his thick, canine sex, thicker than anything she'd ever felt before... she wished she hadn't let him do it... He was drunk... God, her heart was going to be broken, again...

Still, the little feline's body responded to his beautifully, arching into him when he delved into her and using her well developed, feline muscles to make sure his sex dragged along her walls in a nearly excruciating way, tightening herself around him each and every time he went to pull out of her warm, tight body, making the male grit his teeth against the building pleasure.

Her hips rocked against him, the female frantic to forget the anxiety pumping through her system, to enjoy what her sins had bought her... She was going to pay the price for these next few moments- she may as well enjoy them to what extent she could.

Isiat yipped out sharply as his knot pressed up against the female's slick sex... He knew this would be his last chance to pull out, they could both just walk away from this, forget about it like it was simply a dream. He knew that is what he should have done, but that wasn't what happened, nor was it what he wanted anyway. The male growled, driven by instinct as his teeth gently gripped the female's neck, the male shoving himself forward with all of the strength he could muster, until a lewd 'pop' echoed throughout the bathing chamber, and he was tied to her.

He couldn't have helped it if he wanted to, the male jackhammering what little of his length was not inside of her back and forth, until his tip mashed against the feline's cervix as his peak began to build, the male groaning and panting heavily as he buried his bone in the cat. His head tilted back and he howled out his claim as the first pulse of his seed spattered inside the feline's belly, painting her insides an off, naughty white, his swollen knot ensuring not a drop escaped her body as he groaned and writhed above her, his cock pulsing in time with his heartbeat as he filled her with his potent seed. And not a once through all of it, did Isiat think it was a bad idea.

The little feline gasped as a hot flood splashed over her insides, the male claiming her as his own with several long jets of his cum. Her arms circled him, Shadi cradling Isiat to her chest as her paws softly caressed his shoulders and arched spine, murmuring softly to him her devotion and affection for him as he pumped her full of his life giving seed. She wasn't too worried about baring him a child- while feeding Emma, she wouldn't be susceptible to pregnancy, not until Isiat's daughter was weaned...

As his climax came down, Shadi tilted her head and gently licked her lord's cheek and ear with soft, grooming strokes, comforting the male as he shuddered above her. Shadi wanted to remember this as a good thing, despite the fact she'd been basically ravaged by a drunk, married vulpine... Isiat had been the man she dreamed about since girl-hood, though she did not think it would happen, not like this...

The drunken male pulled himself to the side- giving an apologetic yip as he made her squeal with pain, the knot he'd embedded in her threatening to tear her delicate insides as he tried to separate them too early. He had honestly forgotten how tiny she was- normally, he could slip out of his wife with ease and a bit of strength. Shadi was quite a bit smaller, built like a feline, so her body would not release him so easily.

Instead, Isiat wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest, laying the tied pair on their sides. Their chest pressed together, and the tiny feline wrapped up in the strength of his arms, he could breathe again, panting as he tucked her head under his chin. He felt a groggy twinge of guilt when he felt her squirm against him slightly; he hadn't finished his lovely little partner, and he should have... He knew the alcohol had affected his performance, and he wished he hadn't drank so much. The only way he could have made this any better, would have been to bring Shadi to completion as well.

He groaned softly as he felt her body still gripping him like a vice, each slight movement causing her to tighten up around him. He did he best to just remain still and hold her, to try and comfort her in that way, but her silence seemed to cut him like a blade, as if she had accepted his advances simply because he was her lord now, more than because she had wanted too... He wished sorely he could have given her more pleasure, but perhaps he could make that much up to her in the afterglow. His nerves still felt like they were tingling from head to toe.

"You know... I have wanted to have this with you since I first met you... Since that first day we spent together. Do you remember? You look even more beautiful now than you did then..." He complimented her, letting his paw trace slowly along the side of her delicate, soft figure, fingers combing through her fur. Her soft breathing against his chest gave him a sense of security, and his paw slowly slid down her chest until he was cupping her soft, smooth breasts in his palms. "And you were amazing even then... You have always been the fairest lady I've known..."

Shadi blushed a vivid red at the tip of her delicate pink nose, the small feline tucking her muzzle into the fur of his chest. "I- I thank you, Lord Carcer, for the compliment, and... and everything else, but... but you should be saying those things about your Lady wife, and- and the other thing, as well..." She stammered, refusing to meet his eyes, even when he tilted her chin up with his free paw.

"Hey, look at me..." Isiat murmured quietly, his paw stroking across her cheek like a tender lover would. When her eyes finally did meet his, he smiled, though he didn't see the same loving look in her eyes as was in his... Leaning in, he placed a soft kiss on the tip of her nose, not once looking away from her. "I meant every word I said. I would say the same of my wife, were she deserving of such praise..." He smiled down at her, his thumb moving in slow, elaborate circles of her nipples.

He grinned when his feline lover gasped lightly, her nipples hardening at his paws touch. He gave her cheek a soft nuzzle with his snout, encouraging her to speak. There was little he could say to her, unless he had something of her feelings to go on.

"Sire... That- what we did... I am so sorry." She sighed, her large, furred ears flattening against her hair.

"No." He said, quite flatly, the vulpine blinking at her as tiredness rolled over him, the wine getting to him in a bad way. "No... this, none of this, was your fault, my lady... I apologize for sneaking up on you, and pushing you to do this... you are better than a one night tryst, I am the dog in this situation... but I would be a liar on top of a bastard if I said I would take any of it back. Not a second." He said, almost reverently as he gently tweaked her nipple between his fingertips, keeping the damp feline warm with his body.

"...Your honor is safe with me, my lady, no one will know of this, it will be our secret..." He promised her with a tired sigh, his heart sinking as she looked down, the feline looking miserable. This was not how he had wanted this to go, not at all... but them, how else could it have gone?

"I have no honor, sire... My honor left when I brought my daughter life. I wasn't sorry for that either..." Shadi surprised him, placing her small, warm paw against his cheek, and he drew comfort from the contact. She smiled at him, looking down their bodies at where they were joined.

"Perhaps we should... untangle ourselves, and speak of this tomorrow, when the wine has left your system." She spoke softly, pressing her nose against his. He could feel it, through her fear to say it... She loved him too, she was just to scared to say it. As a Lord, Isiat could say and do as he pleased... but Shadi did not have such ease in her life.

He nodded and lifted her slowly from his hips by taking her thighs into his paws, gently rolling his hips back, and groaning as he felt his vulpine cock being pulled by her tightness- then a sudden gush of heat over his legs as he 'popped' free of her body, his seed spilling out of her as she was released.

She cried out softly, her paws gripping his shoulders, holding onto the male. He let her cling to him, the drowsy vulpine pulling them up slowly, until he was on his knees, then wobbling onto his legs, the remnants of the sex and wine making his head spin as he held them both up.

"I... I would help you dress, Shadi, but I fear my co-ordination is not going to permit it..." He rubbed his eyes as she stepped from his embrace, the nude feline looking over her shoulder at him with understanding as she sought out his coat and trousers.

Thank God for her. Shadi spoke softly to him while she guided him from the bathroom, leading him into the guest bed that had been reserved for her. It wasn't a long walk, but it felt like it to the intoxicated vulpine. She tucked him into the bed like a child, and he knew he was going to feel humiliated come morning, but he was drunk enough not to care at the moment.

"Lay with me... please?" He slurred, his eyes struggling to stay open as he looked at the feline's hazy outline against the candlelight. "You were so warm- I want to wake to you..."

"No sire, that... that would be bad for both of us. Your son would be devastated..." She sighed softly as she pulled her dress over her head, her wet fur making it tug and pull as she did. "And your wife would... yes, that would not be a good idea." She walked over to the bed, grabbing the blankets and pulling them up, right to his chin, so much like a child, but he didn't mind... Sleep was already washing over him.

Her voice still rang in his head though. "Come morning, this will have been a dream, and nothing should come of it..." His paw lashed out and grabbed her wrist, making her gasp as he looked at her sharply, with the last bit of sense he had in his body, the part that screamed at him not to let this end how it was.

"I doubt that very much, kitten... I doubt it..." His paw slipped away and his head rolled to the side, leaving the feline looking at him with her fur raised, her eyes wide. "S- Sire?" She stammered, grabbing for the candle stick.

He was out hard, a soft snore rising from his muzzle.

She made a hasty exit, her blood rushing in her large ears as she all but ran for Emma's nursery. She shut the door quietly behind herself, cold seeping in to her body. Slowly, she let herself slide to the stone floor of her room, resting her back against the door.

Why did she let him do that to her? She had found an escape here- and she had just jeopardized everything because she couldn't keep her legs closed! Her father had been completely right, and Shadi felt like a damned whore...

She lowered her head against her knees, burying her muzzle in her arms. She was going to be here a while, and she did not want to wake the baby.

X---------------------------------------------------------X

A pitiful wailing jerked Shadi back into the world of the living, the small feline looking up from her place in front of the door. The room was dark, a slight blue cast from the moon and stars outside her window. She felt like death itself, but Emma didn't know that, how could she? With a tired sigh, Shadi stood, and chanced a quick look at the vanity table mirror as she yanked her gown over her now dry fur, throwing the wrinkled garment onto the rocking chair.

She looked rough, very rough. Her fur stuck up everywhere because of how she let it dry, and her hair was likewise a horrible mess- she'd have to yank a brush through it to free it from the knots left by the water, and the way she had slept. Quickly, Shadi yanked on her sleeping robe and padded over to the crib, where her young charge was obviously wet, and very hungry.

"Hey, hey, shhhh..." Shadi cooed to the thrashing infant, who's cries only grew louder- more insistent. Perhaps she'd had a bad dream? Shadi cradled her against the warmth of her body, purring out a soft tune out for the little girl, who snuffled her tears up, looking at Shadi with wide, mournful eyes.

"Emma, Emma..." Shadi sang softly to the child, bouncing her softly as she took her to her changing table, quickly freshening up the little lady of the manor, before settling into Shadi's unused bed. The little red furred infant was far quieter while she was at Shadi's breast, and she gave a little sigh of relief. Hungry little ladies often weren't very good little ladies, now were they?

She nuzzled Emma's hair with her snout, her heart swelling as the scent of a freshly laundered baby hit her nose, nearly making Shadi want to cry. God, she loved this little girl, so very much...

She sang softly, laying herself back down in bed. Normally, she wouldn't let her children sleep in her bed, but she figured they could both use the comfort... she still had a few hours' sleep she could get yet...