This is the second work I'm doing from the POV of Fleetfoot! I love Fleetfoot so much, I'd have to say that Fleetfoot is my favorite character after Abraxos (who is just basically an oversized puppy) in the Throne of Glass series.
I was being carried in a basket, across the castle, with a red bow tied around my neck, barking loudly. I remembered who was carrying me, he was the prince- Dorian. He was talking with the fair-haired female the other day, about me. I made out something about not killing a pup, and that some dog was going to live. The basket stopped moving, Dorian shushed me, and I smelled the female- and food!
Yelling and loud talking- but there was humour in Dorian's and the lady's voice. Celaena, it was her name. Celaena and Dorian were arguing about- about food! Yes, it was about food. The sweet smelling food was in a bag, and it got knocked over. I poked my snout out of the basket and inched towards the food. It smelled good.
"What is that," Celaena asked flatly.
"A Yulemas present for you."
The basket opened and light flooded in. I shrunk towards the back of the basket.
"Oh, puppy," she crooned. Celaena petted me and I trembled. That felt nice. She glared at Dorian. "What did you do, you buffoon?" she hissed.
Dorian threw his hands in the air. "It's a gift! I almost lost my arm—and more important parts—trying to put that bow on, and then she howled all the way up here!" It's true, I had fought back as he struggled to put on that bow.
Celaena looked at me. I licked her fingers. Mmmm, sweet. Wait a minute- were her teeth RED?
What am I going to do with her? You couldn't find an owner, so you decided to give her to me?"
"No!" he said. "Well, yes. But—she didn't seem so frightened when you were around, and I remembered how my hounds followed you when we traveled from Endovier. Perhaps she'll trust you enough to become adapted to humans. Some people have those kinds of gifts." She raised an eyebrow as he paced. "It's a lousy present, I know. I should have gotten you something better."
I peered up at Celaena. Uh oh. Were they going to hit me? I was suddenly scared. My tail swished. Celaena smiled. Yep. Definitely red teeth. Oh, good. She was happy. Happy is good.
"She's yours," Dorian said, "if you want her."
"What shall I do with her if I'm sent back to Endovier?"
"I'll worry about that."
She stroked my velvet soft ears, then scratched my chin. That felt even better! I wagged my tail in earnest.
"So you don't want her?" he muttered.
"Of course I want her," Celaena said. "But I want her trained. I don't want her urinating on everything and chewing on furniture and shoes and books. And I want her to sit when I tell her to and lay down and roll over and whatever it is that dogs do. And I want her to run—run with the other dogs when they're practicing. I want her to put those long legs to use."
Dorian crossed his arms as she scooped me up. I kept licking the sweet stuff of her fingers. "That's a long list of demands. Perhaps I should have bought you jewelry after all."
"When I'm training," she kissed my head, and I nestled my nose into her neck. "I want her in the kennels, training as well. When I return in the afternoon, she may be brought to me. I'll keep her in the night." She picked me up and looked me in the eyes. I kicked my legs in the air. "If you ruin any of my shoes," she said to me, "I'll turn you into a pair of slippers. Understood?"
I stared at her, my wrinkled brow lifting. Celaena smiled and put me down on the floor. I sniffed about, looking for food. There- under the bed? No, not food, but some other smell. I continued exploring, unable to reach the bag of sweets on the table.
Celaena and Dorian talked some more and then he left.
She stroked my soft fur and sat down by me on the floor. I climbed into her lap and licked her face.
"We're going to be good friends, you and I," she murmured as she scratched my chin.
I barked in agreement and happily settled down to sleep.
I loved writing this so much! Fleetfoot is ADORABLE! Thank you for reading this work, even if it was a lot shorter than the others! I think I'll be doing one more Fleetfoot fic!
- Ruchi D
