AN: Standard disclaimer applies...i own nothing. Not even the fairy tale that they tell in this story
Also- this story takes place in between Parts I and II of On the Edge, sometime before Lucia is born.
"Mama! Story! Story!" Felix called clapping his hands with a happy smile. Valeria smiled tiredly at her son. The day had been long and unusually hot for this time of year.
"A story, huh?" Gawain said coming into the nursery. He was absently eating the last of the bread, but smiled at Valeria and Felix. Valeria smiled back.
Gawain and the other knights had been back at the fort for over a month. She was so happy to have him home, but the longer he stayed, it felt like any day he would have to go back out. She shuddered and as though reading her thoughts, Gawain bent down and kissed her head.
"Eww! You'll get crumbs in my hair!" She complained with a laugh. Gawain grinned, but anything that he might've said was interrupted by Felix; Felix throwing one of his wooden figurines at his parents to be precise.
"Story! Now!" Felix demanded. Both Gawain and Valeria shared a smile and looked down at the animal that Felix had thrown. It was a little red hen. Remembering a story that Vanora had shared with her to help her remember how to make bread, Valeria went to the shelf and quickly got down the other animals that Gawain had made while she had been pregnant.
"Alright, one story and then you have to go to sleep." Valeria said. Felix looked up at his parents with a guileless look on his face. Gawain chuckled as he looked between the two of them. Felix loved stories and Valeria loved telling stories; it was highly unlikely that they would just have one story tonight or any other night. Valeria gave Gawain a serious look, knowing exactly what he was thinking.
"Red hen! Red hen!" Felix cried out impatiently.
"Once upon a time, a little red hen lived in a small cottage. One day, when the little red hen was out walk ing with her friends, the goose, the cat, and the pig, she found a few grains of wheat. 'Who will help me plant this wheat?' asked the little red hen." Valeria began. Felix grinned and laid down as his parents sat by the side of his bed.
"'Not I,' said the goose, 'I'd rather swim in the pond.'" Gawain said punctuating each sentence with a honk like a goose. "'Not I,' said the cat, 'I'd rather sleep on the hay.'" He continued, taking the carved cat figure and making it walk across Felix's bed. Felix clapped his hands happily causing Gawain and Valeria to share a smile. "'Not I,' said the pig, 'I'd rather lie in the mud.'" And much to Felix's delight Gawain made a squelching noise that really did resemble a pig lying down in the mud. Clearing her throat from laughter, Valeria continued the story.
"'Then I'll do it myself,' said the little red hen. And she did. Time went by and the wheat grew, but so did the weeds. 'Who will help me pull the weeds?' asked the little red hen." Valeria continued and Felix looked expectantly at his father for his favorite part of the story.
"'Not I,' said the goose, 'I'd rather swim in the pond.' 'Not I,' said the cat, 'I'd rather sleep on the hay.' 'Not I,' said the pig, 'I'd rather lie in the mud.'" Gawain repeated making all the same noises as before and reveling in the laughs of his son.
The story went on for a bit as the red hen harvested the wheat, ground it into flour, and baked it into bread. Valeria continued with the part of the red hen and narrator and Gawain kept Felix giggling with his rendition of the lazy goose, cat, and pig. Finally, they reached the end of the story.
"…At last, the bread was baked and the goose, the cat and the pig smelled the fresh baked bread that the little red hen had made."
"'I will help you eat that bread!' the goose quacked out. 'Me too!' the cat meowed. 'Save some for me!' the pig oinked." Gawain took the carvings and moved them around where Felix was laying, making the animals jump up and down in excitement for the bread.
"'Oh, no you won't!" said the little red hen. 'I found the wheat, I planted it, I weeded it, and when it was time to harvest it, I did that too. I took it to the mill to be ground into flour and at last, I baked it into bread. Now, I'm going to eat it!' And she did." Valeria finished up with a smile. Gawain chuckled as Felix struggled against sleep.
"Nother." Felix requested with a bit of a yawn and a pout in his voice. Gawain chucked Felix under the chin before standing up to put the toys back on the shelf.
"I don't know little man. I think that you look ready to go to bed."
"More story." Felix said before yawning wide. He looked at his parents expectantly.
"Maybe just one more." Valeria said with a bit of a smile. Gawain snorted and moved to sit on the chair and watch as Valeria re-tucked Felix into bed and sat beside him, smoothing down their son's wayward blonde curls.
"Once upon a time…" Valeria began again and Gawain watched and listened with a fond smile on his face. He only wished that he never had to leave them.
AN: Please review! It helps me get these up faster with reviews :)