I smiled as I felt my little brothers feet kick at me through my mother's belly.

"I felt him!" I squealed with delight.

"I am sure you did!" She laughed and patted me on the head. Her other hand rubbed her swollen stomach.

"We need to get started on dinner small one." She pushed herself up from her chair. "Perhaps you'd like to help me?"

"Oh, yes, yes, yes!" I jumped up and down. "Please Mama!"

"Alright." She made her way across our one room home to the area that was defined as the kitchen. "Could you fetch me that large black pot over there?" She pointed to the biggest pot we owned.

My little legs carried me across the dirt floor as I hurried to help as best I could. I drug the cast iron pot across the room back to her.

"Excellent." She smiled and lifted it on to the hook that would later swivel to hold it over the fire. "Now, I need you to get five potatoes; remember, count them. I need five."

I pulled the twine off the burlap bag that held our potatoes and counted out five, it took me three tries. "Here Mama!" I called, trying to carry them all at once, spilling them all over the floor.

"Oh, little one." She smiled and hurried over to help me pick them up. As she bent down to pick up the second lost potato she cried out in pain and fell to her knees.

"Mama!" I cried and hurried to her side.

"Go get your father." She told me, her teeth clenched. Her brow had begun to sweat and I could tell she was in pain.

"I'll get him Mama! I'll get him fast!" I stood and hurried out the front door. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. It was about half a mile from our house to the field where my father was, but my fear for my mother pushed me the whole way.

"Papa!" I yelled as soon as I could see him. "Papa!"

He stood and once he saw my face dropped the scythe he had been harvesting wheat with. "What is wrong little one?" He called and ran to meet me.

"It's Mama." I gasped for air. "Something is wrong, she is hurt."

"Viola." He breathed my mother's name as he looked towards our house. "I am going to have to run to the house. You stay here and catch your breath, head back home when you are able to, okay?" He asked me, his hand on my shoulder.

"Yes, Papa." I continued to gasp for air.

"She will be okay little one." He kissed me on the forehead and took off running towards our house.

I sat on a log and waited for the pain in my chest to subside. Once I was sure I could head home without making myself sick I began to walk back. I was kicking a small rock along the path when I saw the smoke that was beginning to pour out of our house. I felt my very being gripped with fear and I froze. Our house wasn't just on fire, there were monsters inside. I was sure I had seen one move across the open doorway.

I heard my mother scream and it jarred me from my frozen position. I pushed myself forward, fear still knotting my stomach. "Mama!" I screamed and ran headlong into the open front door. The black smoke burned my eyes and caught in my throat making me choke. "Mama! Papa!" I called into the fire. I got down on my hands and knees, crawling through the house. It wasn't long before I found my father's boots. "Papa!" I called, shaking them, but he wouldn't move. I pulled on his boot harder and it shifted towards me. Pulling more I found that all I had managed to take hold of was the bottom half of one of his legs. I screamed.

I scooted back across the floor as far away from those boots as I could. I found myself pressed up against one of the outer walls of our home. I closed my eyes and covered my ears. The sounds of the house burning down were too much. It wasn't long before I was being hoisted into the air; startled, I opened my eyes. The beast that stood before me was massive. I couldn't even scream. The smoke that had filled my lungs wouldn't allow me too. The creature growled at me and held me to its chest, carrying me out of the house.

My mind filled with thoughts of being eaten in the forest and I panicked. With all the strength I had left I bit down on the arm of the creature that was carrying me. It let out a roar of pain as blood flooded my mouth. It released me and I fell to the ground. The blood in my mouth tasted bitter and I couldn't help but swallow some. My mind was blurring and I did everything I could to push myself up from the ground and run into the woods. I could hear the creature tearing after me, but I kept pushing forward.

My arms and legs were getting heavy and I knew I wasn't moving fast enough, so I let myself fall. I curled up in a ball. 'Help!' I thought. 'Someone please help me.'

"Tala." I heard a voice calling me. "I am here. Do not fear child, I am yours now and you are mine. I will protect you."

I couldn't even open my eyes. 'Thank you.' I thought in my head before I lost consciousnes.

I sat up in our bed with a jerking motion. I was covered in sweat and my breathing was rapid.

"Tala?" Vilkas sat up next to me. "What is it Lass?"

"Nothing." I shook my head, continuing to breathe heavily. "Just a dream full of bad memories."

"You should rest." He ran his hand over my swollen stomach. "You both should."

I smiled at my husband. "Yes."

This is another one of the short one-shots in the Seal Upon Your Heart series! Please be sure to read all the others too! Until The Daybreak, Monster and Eat You Alive.