The Offering

Chapter Twenty One - Daella

"There you are Daella," Aeris smiles with a bow as he stands in the hall outside our lesson class.

The other girls stop and stare.

"Your Highness." I curtsy.

"All ready for our afternoon adventure?" He asks holding out his hand.

I nod smiling nervously, I take his hand while trying not to think about what the other girls all watching.

"We could have just met at the kennels." I say quietly once we are far enough away.

"Nonsense, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't escort you there myself?"

He walks quickly, my arm tucked into his elbow and I keep my head down.

"One of the bitches just had a litter of puppies, would you like to see them?" He asks once we are near the kennels and the sound of barking grows louder.

"Yes." I smile honestly.

The kennels are larger than I expected, different breeds of dogs are separated in pens, Aeris reaches out to pet some as we walk past them until we reach one of the stalls and he opens the door to let me in.

A large grey dog is lying on her side while six tiny grey puppies wander around the pen. The mother lifts her head as we walk in, I hesitate as Aeris walks in and squats down beside the mother petting her head.

"This is Moira, it's her first litter, and she has done extremely well, yes you have" He says, talking to the dog and holding her head.

I kneel down next to one of the puppies sniffing at the ground and pet its silky grey coat. Aeris moves to sit near me scooping up two of the puppies and setting them on his lap.

Mine rolls over showing me its round belly and I rub it gently.

"Do they have names?" I ask as the puppies black nose sniffs at my fingers.

"Not yet, why, do you have any suggestions?" he asks, two of the other puppies coming to sniff him, whimpering at him to be picked up.

He scoops them up so he has four puppies, their tails wagging happily, I cant help but smile at the image.

"No suggestions, they love you though." I say lifting my puppy up and setting it on my lap, it rolls over again, tiny legs in the air as it waits to be pet.

"I visit them every day so they know me well enough." He replies. "I'm sure you can think of some appropriate names."

"Well this one should be called belly rubs because it loves them so much." I tease.

Aeris laughs. "See, you're a natural. What about this one?" He asks setting another one on my lap. Belly rubs whines as it has to make room.

The puppy sits, tongue out as it looks up at me, tail wagging excitedly. I pet its head, its ears floppy and soft as it leans into my hand.

"I'm not sure, how can you tell them apart, they look identical." I reply, the last puppy wandering over to us, sniffing at my dress. I lift it up, setting it on my dress and begin petting its back as it lays down.

"Well you only think that because you have only met them once, but visit them enough and you can spot little differences. Besides the fact that there are four males and two females. Like that one." He says pointing at the one lying on its belly. "He's extremely greedy when it comes to feeding, that's why he's the largest, and the slowest. Or Belly Rubs, who does actually love belly rubs, but he also has a patch of white on the inside of his left ear."

I check his ear and find the tiny white patch.

"Didn't you promise to tell me how you got locked in a kennel?" I ask.