Finally, chapter nine! And the story doesn't end here... ;D

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CHAPTER NINE

She was sick of it. Sick of feeling sick. There was nothing she could do, she felt tired, angry and she hated everyone. For weeks this had been going on and Fenqua didn’t have the slightest idea what was growing inside of her. She felt broken, dying, like the world didn’t care about her anymore. Like the Gods didn’t care anymore. She was on the edge of either exploding or drowning in her own misery.

‘Fenqua? I think we need to talk.’ Fulu carefully approached the grumpy doe. ‘It’s about… your mood swings.’
‘Talk? What is there to talk? I’m going to die, so please leave me alone.’
‘Fenqua, you’re not going to die, just listen to me.’
Fenqua just let out a soft growl and turned her head to the young birdlike deer. Yes, young deer. Much younger than herself, she felt so old being like this. She used to run through the forest before the sun rose, but this morning she felt sick and threw up on her own mate.
‘Okay, listen Fen. You know darn right what’s going on. You know there’s something different about your body,’ Fulu swallowed when she saw Fenqua’s face ‘you… really… s-shouldn’t deny it and just accept the fact that…’
‘That what?’
‘That you’re…’
‘That I’m what, Fulu?’ Fenqua’s face was now right in front of the white doe and she gasped. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea at all, she thought. She looked away.
‘Tell me Fulu… what’s wrong with me?’ Suddenly Fenqua’s voice sounded softer, almost sad. Like she was about to hear terrible news from her. Fulu took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes.

‘Fenqua, you’re pregnant.’

A loud and angry bellow followed, together with the flight of a hundred birds.

‘What the hell was that?’ Skokey followed the birds with his eyes. Vessel stood next to him and wrote something in the sand. It was Fenqua’s pictogram.
‘… Oh God, are you serious?’ Skokey looked at Vessel in horror, but he just nodded, writing something else in the sand. ‘I think she found out.’
‘Found what out?’
‘Go look for yourself; it’s about time you find out too.’
Skokey nodded and trotted over to the place he thought the sound was coming from. But after a few meters he slowed down and eventually stopped. He wanted to prepare himself for the news, what was Vessel talking about? Did he have an explanation for the mood swings and cravings Fenqua was having lately? He smiled at the thought she suddenly wanted an apple in the middle of the night. Even though she hated apples, she rather ate the dirt on a squirrel’s tail, she had told him.

Fulu came up to him, her eyes teary and her legs shaky. But she didn’t speak, the only thing he heard was a soft ‘Hi…’
‘Oh my… Fulu, what’s going on? Were there humans in the forest?’
‘No… no… it’s… Fen.’
‘What happened to her? Did she get hurt?’
‘No… she didn’t get hurt…’
‘Then what’s going on? You can tell me, Fulu. You know that.’
‘See for yourself. Just know I’m not coming with you.’

‘Fen? Are you there?’ Skokey had reached the playground but didn’t see Fenqua anywhere. He was ready to leave again when he softly heard someone sobbing. It was one of the rare times he had heard Fenqua cry. She was a stubborn, strong doe, some said she even had a heart of stone. But it was disproven once again. Skokey found her behind a big slab, all curled up and crying diamond tears. He carefully approached her and nuzzled her.

‘I think you’re going to hate me for this…’ she said, looking at him with huge, teary eyes.
‘Why? What happened?’
‘Do you remember that night… in the purple flower patch? When we.. you know.’
Skokey felt his face turning red. ‘Yes, I remember…’
‘I think something unexpected happened that night.’
‘You didn’t…did you?’
She didn’t speak, but nodded carefully like Vessel used to do.
‘So it did happen… You got pregnant!’ Skokey jumped with a big grin on his face. ‘But Fen, that is wonderful! Why are you crying like that? This is the best news ever!’
‘Are you serious?’ She wiped away her tears on his fur. ‘Are you really happy about it?’
‘Ofcourse! I’ve always wanted kids!’
He looked at her, his eyes filled with the joy and love he felt for her. So that’s what this was all about, there was a child growing inside of her. Their own child… that would be born out of the act of love. What possibly could be better?
She saw the way he looked at her and smiled. He wasn’t mad at all for it being early. She had never seen so happy, apart from the day they got together. He was right, something like this wasn’t worth crying about, but needed to be celebrated!

The months seemed to pass like a soft autumn wind, and Fenqua was able to control her mood swings more often, so not everyone had to back ten meters away for her to explode. Her craving for apples was still there, but she didn’t mind, because the fruit was a source of new energy. Still, the extra weight made it tough for her to run multiple times a day and she had to adjust her normal course to her condition. But seeing a young, hyper stag running like the wind sometimes motivated her to take an extra step.
Silvery was growing fast too. The difference between her huge head and her body compensated a little, but she still remaind a small, fragile doe. For the past months she had been sleeping peacefully, but a few weeks before Fenqua would reach her day, she had some nightmares again. That caused her to avoid the pregant doe everytime she saw her, making Fenqua wonder what was going on.

‘I’m worried about Silvery, Vessel. She keeps avoiding me these days.’
The tanned stag shrugged and elegantly wrote something in the earth. He was slowly devoloping a beautiful hoofwriting. At least, that’s what Fenqua thought. It simply said: ‘I don’t know, maybe it’s just puberty.’
‘Haven’t you visited any of her dreams lately?’
‘No, for a long time she has been dreaming very peacefully, so I just let her my herself to enjoy those dreams while they last.’
‘But that’s what I’m afraid of… that she started to have nightmares again.’
‘I shouldn’t worry too much about Silvery. Ofcourse she has trouble growing up, being such an outcast, but I’m sure she’ll be fine. You’ve got other things to worry about.’
Fenqua sighed and nodded. He was probably right, adolescence had been a hard time for her too. Especially during Skokey’s disappearance. Not to mention it could’ve been his ending. She decided to follow Vessel’s advice and concentrate on the little fawn she was carrying. It could happen any day now. Her bright blue eyes looked at the sky, where the sun was slowly setting. It was time to go home, but first she would take a little stroll.
The forest started to cool down, but Fenqua enjoyed this time of the day, when everything was quiet and peaceful. Usually playing fawns where now taking a small nap before dinner and parents were taking a little rest themselves too. Fenqua watched a mother taking a drink at the pond, while she was keeping an eye on her little girl. The fawn was probably only a month old and Fenqua realized she would be in the same position soon. She smiled and continued her stroll to the little hill, with on top the Twin Gods. She kneeled in front of the statue and, once again, thanked the Gods for blessing her with a beautiful child. When she looked up, a deer seemed to stand in front of her. It was a young, healthy doe with deep, blue eyes and a warm smile on beneath her Orca mask. She seemed to be surrounded by light.

‘It’s nice to finally meet you again, my bright eyes.’

Fenqua was caught off guard. ‘M-mother…’

‘Don’t be scared my dear, I’m just watching over you. I’m so glad to see you happy. Oh, how I long to still be alive and be able to nuzzle you.’ Fenqua thought she could see a small tear in the corner of her eye. She swallowed her grief. ‘Then why did you leave, mother?’
‘Oh Fen, I knew you would ask me this someday. I had no choice, you see. The Twin Gods chose me and your father to protect the Forest.’
‘But how could they bless you with a fawn, knowing the two of you wouldn’t make it…’
‘But that’s exactly the reason why they did it. We weren’t supposed to fall in love with each other, because we were both blessed with a gift. And to make sure that gift wouldn’t disappear from the face of the earth with us, they blessed us with you. You’re special Fenqua, but that also comes with a sacrifice. And you will know it when the time comes.’

And before Fenqua could answer, the vision of her mother disappeared again. What was she talking about? For some reason it did make sense, but did it also mean Fenqua’s fate was the same has her parent’s fate? Was she destined to leave her mate and fawn alone to guard their Forest against the humans? Was she destined to die?
Suddenly something odd struck her and made her fall down to the ground. Her stomach seemed to ache like hell, but she knew what was really going on. She tried to stand up, but couldn’t find the strength. The pain was too much for her, she couldn’t even bellow for help. A random deer passed by and she tried to draw his attention. After a while he turned to her and she saw it was the fast running, hyperactive stag she wanted to race against.

‘Hey you over there, are you okay?’ he asked. It seemed like he was afraid of being too close to the statue.
Fenqua growled. ‘Do I look okay to you? Hurry up and get some help, I think I’m giving birth!’
‘Giving birth… oh my!’ As fast as he could he disappeared between the trees, running in the direction of the pond, where most deer were grazing. While still panicking, he stopped in front of an elder doe. He bounced up and down in front of her while stuttering the news. A few other deers listened carefully and started whispering to each other right away. The elder doe, that was named Frola, called her daughter.

‘Raku, I want you to go to Fenqua right now. You’re still young and a better runner than I am. Meanwhile, I’m going to warn Skokey. Is that okay?’
‘But… I don’t know how to..’
‘You don’t have to do anything, trust me. A mother knows from nature how to do the job. You just have to support her and keep an eye on her. If you see Fulu along the way, bring her with you.’
‘O-okay.’
The young doe stood still for a moment until she caught Fenqua’s scent and made her way to the Twin God’s statue. Frola ran as fast as her legs would take her and found Skokey at the bridge. He was staring peacefully into the water. ‘Skokey..’ she said, smiling in a motherly way, when he noticed her. ‘Come…’

When Fenqua opened her eyes, Raku was standing right next to her with a worried look on her face. Fulu was along her side together with Zilant, who seemed a little uncomfortable at the situation. From a distance, other deer were curiously watching her, some of them she recognized.
‘Fen, are you okay?’ Fulu asked.
‘Yeah… I’m fine..’ But instead she felt weak and couldn’t stop panting. It was as if she had run a circle around the entire forest, without taking a break. ‘Where’s Skokey?’
‘He’ll be here any minute, don’t worry about it, he’ll make it.’
‘He better does, or I’ll nail his head to the ground with my hoof..’
After a few minutes, Fenqua screamed in pain and the other deer came closer to watch her. Frola and Skokey still hadn’t arrived and Raku started to panic, thinking everyone was expecting her to do the job.

‘Raku…’ Fenqua softly spoke.
‘Y-yes?’
‘Don’t worry, I know how to do this. It may look awful, but you’ve gotta work to receive happiness. I’ve learned that a long time ago and I’m currently learning it..- Argh.. again’
Fenqua screamed a few more times and after a while a wet, newborn fawn was lying next to her, softly crying. Everyone around her started to bellow and dance, but then Fenqua gave another scream. The crowd stopped moving as they saw the fresh mother giving birth to a second fawn. At the same time, the crowd moved away to let Skokey pass. His face almost broke in half with a smile.
Fenqua smiled at the sight of seeing him. She wasn’t mad at him being late, it didn’t matter anymore. He came over to expect a fawn lying next to her, but instead found two of them. He looked at Fenqua but she just smiled. ‘Twins Skokey…’ she said softly.
‘Twins…’ he repeated, while the tears were running down his face. He saw Fenqua was crying as well and he lay next to her, proudly looking at the two little wonders trying to reach their mother’s nipples.

‘I’m so proud…’ Skokey said, still crying
‘I am too…’ Fenqua answered. ‘I don’t want this moment to end.’
She noticed something in the corner of her eye, her parents were leaning against each other, looking at her. She gave the couple a smile and could see the tears in their eyes. After a while they disappeared again, but the grass was still sparkling from the diamonds they had cried.

When the day came to a close, the new parents and their little twins returned to the Playground to rest for the night. Fenqua thought it would be a good way to test their little legs, because a fawn had to be able to walk right away after he was born. After a few succesful steps the tiny ones became tired and Skokey carried them both on his back. Sleep overcame the parents when they curled up around their kids, but their ears were wide open.

***

‘FENQUA! WAKE UP!’

Fenqua shot up at hearing Silvery’s voice and looked at her. Skokey, still a bit sleepy woke up next to her. The fawns hadn’t heard a thing.
‘Silvery… calm down, what’s going on?’
‘There’s no time to calm down! I.. I had another nightmare… The humans… they.. they are coming tonight!’
‘What? Are you sure?’
‘They… they.. are going to destroy the forest!’
‘How?!’
‘By setting it on fire… But first they’ll take some of the deer with them… they want to examinate us..’
‘But why destroy the Forest? What have we done to make them so angry?’
Silvery started crying. ‘T-they aren’t m-mad… t-they want to b-b-build homes for t-t-themselves in the p-protected area…’
‘Are they going to live here?!’
‘Y-Yes…’
‘There’s only one place they deserve to live… and that is hell!’
Fenqua stood up and looked at Skokey. This was her sign, she had to go. She had to leave her family and fight against the threat that would overcome the forest.

‘I have to go, Skokey. I have to protect the forest.’
‘What? Are you insane? You can’t protect the forest by yourself! And what about the fawns?’
‘If you want the fawns to have a future… you have to let me go. Just this once.’
‘No. I refuse. I don’t believe you’re capable of this. I’m sorry to say this Fenqua, I want you to stay. This is madness, let me go instead.’
‘You don’t understand, I was destined to do this. The Twin Gods have chosen me. And even though that sounds big and all, it just means I have to sacrifice myself in order to save my offspring and the rest in the forest. I’m sure the Skull Soldiers will be there to help me if I explain the situation.’
‘Orphrite’s army? Is it that big?’
‘Haven’t you heard?’
‘Sorry, I was a bit sleepy…’
‘They’re going to burn down the forest and everyone in it. I have the feeling they’ll take some fawns with them to examinate, but everyone else is doomed.’
‘What? No! Are you sure Silvery isn’t wrong?’
‘My visions are never wrong, Skokey.’ He could see Silvery was more focused than ever, she was serious about this. So was Fenqua.

‘I’m sorry Skokey…’ Fenqua said with tears in her eyes before she took off.