{"sf1_id":725819,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Sanctuary","author":"cnbfox","words":2415,"posted_at":"2014-07-04T05:44:00.000Z","tags":["Abuse","Cub","Fox","No-Yiff","blood","young"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/725819-sanctuary","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/725819","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=725819\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"SanctuaryI gripped the handrail and looked\nout toward the horizon; I could hear thunder and see lightning in the\ndistance.  I flicked my tail as the\nimpending storm drew me away from the reminiscing of my past.  I adjust my coat and pulled my collar up.  There was little light on deck, the sun had\nset hours ago and seeing the storm, I decided to head back to my cabin.  I adjusted my hat lowering it to where the\nbrim covered my eyes and kept my head low. \nI did my best to stay in the shadows, to avoid being seen by other\npassengers. There weren't very many on deck, but I did the best I could to stay\naway from glances.  It's funny how when I\nwas younger, I did everything I could to stay in the light, and now here I was\nhiding in the shadows.  Funny how things\nchange...                I\npicked myself up from the ground, tears were streaming down my face and I\nimmediately headed toward the sidewalk. \nI jumped hearing thunder in distance and hurried under a lamp just to\nhave some light seeing how I was terrified of the dark, and especially\nstorms.  It didn't start raining until I\nmade my way to the local tavern, Ray's Cantina. It wasn't like most pubs or\ntaverns, during the day it was a cafe, only in the evenings did it become a\npub, and was very open to the public regardless of age and tonight it was to be\nmy sanctuary.  \"Where do you think you're\ngoing Laddie?\"  A voice behind me made me\njump. \"I-I'm just l-looking f-for s-s-shelter sir.\" I stammered as I turned to\nlook at where the voice was coming from. \nIt was the owner, Ray Valencia, he knelt down to look at me and adjusted\nhis umbrella to where it covered both of us and I stood there looking at him\nnot knowing if I could trust him or if he was a villain.  His fur was a reddish brown with glimpses of\ngrey on his muzzle as his tail wrapped his leg showing off the mixed greyish\nwhite tip.  \"You wouldn't happen to be\nMaster Monroe now would you, Lad?\"  He\nsmiled warmly at me as he asked that question and patted my wet head fur.  I just nodded trying to fight back the tears\nand shame. \"You're safe lad, my cantina is a sanctuary from your troubles,\nlet's go inside and get you warmed up and into some dry clothes.  I saw what happened between your father and\nyou.\"  He put a paw on my back and led me\ninside where it was very bright and only in the corners of the sitting\narea.  Several of the patrons greeted him\nwith warm waves and several cheerful \"hellos\". \nI did my best to stay close to Mr. Valencia.  \"Th-thank you Mr. Valencia,\" I said nervously\ntrying to regain my composure. He let out a hearty laugh.  \"Please call me Ray, I'm not old enough to be\na Mister yet, I'm still in my 30's.\"  He\npatted my head as a beautiful vixen made her way over to us wearing a grey\nskirt and a cream colored corset that was barely covered by a black blouse and\nred shawl that had an upside down Spade embroidered on it.  Her fur was a rusty orange with cream colored\ntint and a creamy white tipped tail with matching tips on her ears \"Hello Ray,\nwho is this little lad?\" She said as she leaned down looking at me. Her accent\nwas Scottish and I was very curious to know more.  \"I-I'm Alexzander Monroe.\"  I bowed to her in respect.  \"A gentleman, I see.\"  She curtsied awkwardly making me realize she\nwasn't sure how to. \"Pleased to meet you, I'm Rosette.\" I stood back up as I\nflicked my tail some trying to get water off of it.  I wanted to shake off the rest of the water,\nbut I knew better than to do that in a public area and did my best to get the\nwater off my fur and clothes the best I could. \n\"Do you mind taking care of him for me Rosette?  He lost his way home and I was trying to give\nhim a place to rest for a little bit.\" \nRay looked at me rubbing my back, knowing the truth.  \"I'll be more than happy to take care of this\nlittle bushy-tailed fox.\"  I smiled weakly\nhearing that, and tried to be cheerful about hearing a compliment.  \"That's Mr. Bushy-tail.\" I responded and\nseveral patrons turned to look as Ray and Rosette began laughing and one nearby\npatron almost spilt his drink hearing my response.  I started smiling more seeing the responses\nof the patrons and as Rosette led me past a table I noticed several foxes\nwearing sashes and two foxes that had armbands with the exact same upside down\nspade embroidered on them and they all wore the same outfit.  \"Take good care of him Rosette.\" One fox\njeered as we walked past.  \"Make sure\nhe's all nice and dry.\" Another one huffed out. \n\"That's enough from the lot of you!\" An older fox walked over wearing a\nsash, an armband, and a bandana all that had the same design as the\nothers.  \"We're going to need his aid one\nday lads, and the best you can do is show respect to him.  \"Rosette, look after him, will you?\" She\nnodded to him. \"I will Mr. Shade; he's not your average fox.\" She smiled and\nlooked down at me. \"What do you mean; by I'm not your average fox?\"  I asked as we made our way to the back of the\ncantina and into a side room that was just on the other side of the wall behind\nthe bar of the main sitting area.  \"Let\nme tell you a story lad.\"  She started to\nremove my shirt and grabbed a nearby towel and proceeded to dry me off. \"Once\nupon a time, there was a king who had three sons. One son married a noble woman\nand gave up his birthright to be king. \nThe other son, went into the military, and become a legendary hero and\nalso gave up his birthright.\"  She sighed\ndeeply and looked deeply into my eyes. \n\"The third son was born a demon. He was cruel and evil.  He married a French noblewoman who had ties\nto the throne of France and did everything he could to obtain the English throne,\nbut his father wouldn't allow it.  He had\na dark heart, and his father knew he would be corrupt and lead England to\nturmoil.\"  I stood there listening as my\nfur was dried off and flicked my tail from side to side intrigued by this\nstory.  \"What happened to the third\nson?\"  I asked wanting to know more\ndetails about him and sat down on a cot where I proceeded to try and take my\nwet shoes off.  \"He disappeared; nobody\nknows what became of him.\" She looked at me as if she was hiding something from\nme.  I let out a small yawn and rubbed\nmy eyes as I heard Big Ben sound in the distance.  \"It is rather late for a young lad like you\nto be up.\" She smiled weakly at me and helped me under the sheets. \"Your\ntrousers aren't that wet are they?\" I shook my head; they were relatively dry\ncompared to my shirt.  \"I think around my\nfeet they might be a little wet.\"  She\nsmirked, well let's get you a night shirt then and dry your clothes by the\nfire.\"  She made me climb out from the\nsheets and I turned my back to her to keep from exposing my delicate areas to\nher and kept my tail straight down behind me for a minute and no sooner had I\nremoved my trousers, she placed a rather large shirt over my head as the bottom\nof it reached down to the floor.  \"Now\noff to bed with ye lad.\"  I climbed back\nunder the sheets and I could the conversations of the patrons through the wall\nas she covered me up.   \"May the sun rise\nupon you with great blessings and may the stars protect you at night.\"  She gave me a small kiss on the forehead and\nwhispered into my ear.  \"Goodnight, my\nprince.\"  I smiled hearing that, the only\nother person to have called me that was my Nanny.  I laid my head down to sleep and said a quiet\nprayer to myself just as Nanny had taught me to pray.  \"Now I\nlay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I die before I wake, I\npray the Lord my Soul to take, Amen.\" \nI fell asleep a few minutes after I\nsaid my prayer and hadn't been asleep for very long, when I awoke to yelling\nfrom the other side of the wall and a loud thud that sounded like a cane\nhitting wood.  \"Where is he?\" It was my\nfather's voice.  \"Let him sleep, John.\nHe's tired and exhausted.\"  Ray's voice\nwas calm in the midst of my father's anger. \nI stood up and quickly grabbed my clothes as Rosette walked into the\nroom to check on me.  \"Shhh, go back to\nbed little one.\"  I was terrified and\nstarted to get dressed. \"But what about my father, he's angry?\" \"Don't worry\nabout him; Ray will talk some sense into him, just be patient.\" She hurried\nover to me and pulled me close as I started to whimper in fear.  We both turned toward the wall as loud crack\ncould be heard followed by a loud cry of pain. \n\"Know your place dog! I'm not spooked by numbers!\" My father's voice was\nfull of anger and rage. I perked my ears and could hear him walking toward the\nhallway to where we were.  \"Ms. Rosette,\nplease help me get dressed.\"  She nodded\nand assisted me in getting my clothes back and tied my shoes up for me. \"May\nthe light shine on you in the morning lad.\" \nShe kissed my forehead just as the door open and my father stood in the\ndoorway with his cane in hand and I almost froze seeing a few spots of blood on\nthe handle of it where his paw was gripping it and his tail was flailing\nwildly.  \"F-father w-what happened?\"  I stuttered out. \"Get your tail home NOW!\" He\nshouted at me and with two quick steps he grabbed me by the scruff of the neck\nand roughly pulled me away from Rosette and carried me out of the room.  \"Father, please you're hurting me!\"  Tears were streaming down my face,\nfrom pain and fear.  We made our way back\nto the main room and several of the foxes were huddled around the one with the\nbandana as he had a paw over his eye where blood was pouring from a wound. \"You'll\npay for this John!\" My father just turned and looked at him, and smiled evilly\nat him as his started to tap his tail against the floor.  The storm outside had become stronger and the\nrain was hitting the windows like pebbles. Lightning cracked and thunder boomed\nas my stood there and laughed sadistically. \nI tried to curl up into a ball as my father held me by the scruff of my\nneck.  \"I am no mere fox, I am Daemon\nIncarnate, I am the epitome of Devil's delight, and I am the Devil himself!\" My\nfather proceeded to laugh hysterically as his eyes became bright with\nfire.  I had no idea what I was\nwitnessing, I was scared out of my wits, and I felt a puddle form and I covered\nmy eyes in shame as I wet myself out of fear. It wasn't until we returned home\nand I found myself on the floor of the nursery in complete darkness and the\nstorm hadn't improved. It proceeded to hail and downstairs there was a fire\nthat was becoming even stronger and far more dangerous than anything I could\nhave ever witness. I whimpered in fear and shame and pain as I felt a soft paw\non my back and saw a small flame burning behind me coming from a candle. \"It's\nokay little one, you're safe now.\" I turned and ran towards the voice. It was\nNanny, my nursemaid, the family cook, and maid. \nShe was older than my parents and often despised the way I was treated\nby them. Her fur was a scarlet red with grey tips on her ears and tail.  I wrapped my arms around a leg and brushed my\nhead against it trying to feel safe again. \nShe was in her nightgown at the moment and wore a robe. I finally felt safe again\n\"Sanctuary,\" I muttered as I started to cry.\" She put the candle down and\nimmediately helped me get out of my wet clothes.  I had my eyes closed and covered as she gave\nme bath and placed me in my night clothes and held me close as she started to\nrock me. \"No more tears my prince. You're safe now.\" She smiled to me and began\nto sing a lullaby. \"Far too long tears\nhave shed, far too long hearts have ached, far too long children cry. The\ngolden fox will sooth us all. He'll make things right, and put fears away. The\ngolden fox will rule one day.\" I fell asleep holding tightly to Nanny as\nshe continued to rock me and sing. \"The\nGolden Fox, with a heart of gold, will sooth us all. He'll make things right,\nand put fears away. No more tears, for the Golden Fox sooths the aching heart,\nhe helps children sleep at night.\" I opened my eyes for just a brief second\nas Nanny placed me into my bed and to this day I have trouble understand what\nshe said to me that night as she kissed my forehead.  I know she said \"My Prince\" but she also said\nsomething after that I have trouble remembering what. It had something to do\nwith the \"Golden Fox\", but I couldn't tell what though. I drifted off to sleep\nand thought of the blessings of Ms. Rosette. The morning came, and when I awoke\nI hoped her blessings would protect me from what was to come..."}