I'm glad to see this story is getting follows and favorites because it's a good story and will get better, but if nobody is going to review it, I'm going to take it down.
After a few stops along the way, although mostly to let Violet stretch her legs because she didn't like riding horseback for hours on end, they finally arrived at Westgate. It was around midday, just as Red had predicted, and mostly because Belle was nervous about showing up in a peasant village, she affixed the hood of her cloak on her head to obscure her face.
"Okay, Belle, here we are."
That was from Red when they entered the stables behind her cottage. Because Violet was reaching a point where she just wanted to be on the ground, Red helped her of the horse first and as she regained her footing, Red helped Belle off the horse, too. She took extra care to not jostle Belle's baby bump too much, or to upset Jade, who was camped out in the sling and coming off a grumpy mood.
"How are you?" She put one hand on Belle's elbow and the other in the small of her back, steadying her.
"Better, now that I have solid ground under my feet." Belle arched her back at Red's touch, appreciative and then cast a look at Violet, holding back a laugh as she did. "How about you go catch Violet? She looks really dizzy, and the last thing we need is for her to wander into a power of horse manure, or something as equally disgusting."
Red left Belle and caught Violet, and after a minute, she got her to stand still and watch her as she unloaded all of the cargo from the horses. Once she had everything ready, Red got her to follow beside her, almost the way a puppy followed its mother.
"How's Jade?"
Belle peeked in on her, smiling when she saw that she wasn't fussing anymore and even sucking her thumb.
"Perfectly happy. I think I'll take her out when we get settled."
"Good idea." Red beckoned with her head in the direction of her cabin. "Come this way."
In just a few short moments, Red, Belle, and the children were inside the cabin. The front room alone was filled with furniture in one area, near the roaring fireplace, while in another corner, there was a dining area near a window that looked out in the direction of the woods. Against a far wall was a door that Belle supposed led to the rest of the cabin.
"Where's your family?" Belle asked.
"Granny?" Red called. "Grace? Where are you?"
There was a muted thud somewhere in the back of the dwelling followed by a delighted squeal and the pounding of tiny footsteps across the floor. In the blink of an eye, the door that Belle had been thinking about burst open and a little girl wearing a purple dress came running through and straight for her mother's arms, giggling as Red scooped her up and gave her a hug.
"Mama's back!" little Grace cooed, hugging Red around her neck and kissing her cheek. "I love you!"
Red returned Grace's cheek and was about to introduce her to their new friends when Red's grandmother finally entered the room.
"Red, how many time I have I told you to not come yelling at the top of your l—why, as I live and breathe; it's Princess Belle!"
Red's grandmother, a stout, silver-haired, glasses-wearing older woman in a peasant dress and cloak, was very confused when she saw the princess of Avonlea, of all people, in her home and in the company of her granddaughter and great-granddaughter. She could clearly tell that Belle was carrying a baby in the sling on her front, and that she was pregnant, but she was even more surprised to see that the princess even had a pint-sized version of herself standing beside her.
Since when did Princess Belle have children?
"Please, just call me Belle." the princess told her as she lowered her hood. "I think Red can explain things."
The trader quickly explained the situation as it was, although it was in an abridged way because there were children present. When she finished, Granny just sighed and turned back to Belle.
"You and your children are more than welcome to stay with us for as long as you want, even if it's just for the night before you go to The Enchanted Forest." she told her. "I'm Larissa, but everyone, even the villagers call me Granny, so you may as well."
"Thank you, Granny, and I would appreciate it if nobody in the village or any kinds of passerby knew that we were here."
Though Granny looked stern at first glance, she was actually a very nice person who was full of nothing but love, and she smiled at Belle.
"Of course. I have to go take care of some things, but I'm sure that Red will be more than happy to look after your family."
Red nodded. "I will, Granny. Don't worry about us."
Granny gave the group one last smile and headed to the door, grabbing her cloak from the rack next to the door before exiting the cabin. When she left, she saw that Belle had taken Jade from her sling and was now cradling her in her arms. For no reason in particular, the woman in felt her heart skip a beat when she looked at the princess, but she told herself not to get attached because she'd probably be leaving in the morning.
"Here, Belle." Red forced herself to speak before things got awkward. "Let me take your cloak and help you get settled."
Red hung Belle's cloak up and led her to one of the back rooms, which turned out to be a bedroom. Red's bed was near the head of the room, and it was a large canopy bed piled high with blankets and furs that looked very inviting this time of year. There was also a bedside table, wardrobe, and bookshelf piled high with books and trinkets, too, reminding Belle of the bedroom she'd left behind at the palace. A fireplace was keeping the room warm, and at the other end, by one of the windows, there was a small child-sized bed, obviously meant for Grace.
"Here you go, my friend."
Red helped Belle sit on the bed and even took her boots off putting them away for her.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better now." she took Jade out of the sling and held her, nodding in the direction of the others as Red undid the sling and took it off her. "Look at that, though."
Grace was following her mother's example, and in a very clumsy, childlike way, was helping Violet out of her own cloak and shoes. When that had been achieved, Violet climbed up onto the bed while Grace put her things where she'd seen Red put Belle's.
"Mama, who is this?" Grace asked Red when she'd accomplished her task and joined everyone on the bed.
"Well, my tiny love," Red pulled her into her lap. "We've got some visitors, at least just for the night."
Grace was immediately curious and paid attention as Red pointed to each of the newcomers in turn.
"We've got Princess Belle and her two little girls, Violet and baby Jade."
Even at age three, Grace knew that she was a peasant and therefore near the bottom of the societal pyramid. She also knew that having a trio of princesses just showing up to her home was very unusual.
"Princesses, mama? Real ones?"
Laughing a little at her offspring's incredulity, Red nodded. "Uh-huh, and they're all people, too. Now please don't forget to breathe."
Grace made a show of exhaling a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding and that drew giggles from Violet. When Grace glanced over at her, though, she became incredibly shy and buried her face in Belle's dress.
"Gracie-girl," Red gave her daughter a kiss on the top of the head to redirect her attention. "I think Violet is being a little shy, so we can talk to her again in a minute, but why don't you say hello to Belle and Jade first?"
Grace nodded and slid off her mother's lap so that she was sitting on her knees in between her mother and her mother's friend; she idolized her mother and wanted to be just like her, so she was happy to learn all she could about the tricks of hospitality and to practice it even more.
"Hello, Belle." Grace rose to her knees and curtsied to the best of her ability. "You're so pretty."
Quite flattered by a compliment from one so small, Belle grinned and returned her kind words. "And so are you."
Grace giggled and took notice of Jade, who was watching her intently. "That's baby Jade?"
"Mhm, and she seems really interested in you." Belle propped her up in the crook of her arm. "Do you want to say hello and give her a kiss?"
Like her mother, Grace loved babies a great deal, so with Red keep her steady so she didn't lose her balance, she leaned forward and ever-so-gently pressed a kiss to the infant's forehead.
"Hello, Jade." Grace beamed when the infant cooed in delight. "You're a pretty baby. Yes, you are."
When Grace pulled back, she stood on her knees in front her mother. "Mama, are Jade and Violet my new sisters?"
Red laughed nervously and shook her head. "Sisters? No. New friends? Yes."
Grace couldn't help it, but she gave a dejected sigh. "I just want sisters..."
Violet, who had been hugging Belle all this time, withdrew from her and gently prodded her middle, wanting to check something out that she had noticed.
Belle bit back a chuckle because her daughter was extremely clever and she wanted to see if she could figure it out by herself.
"Mama," she asked after a few moments. "Is there a baby in there?"
"Two, actually."
Violet let out a delighted squeal and gave her mother's middle a few excited kisses and rubs.
"Hello, babies! Hello!"
Belle was losing her composure because she clearly not expecting that kind of response at all, so Red intervened and spoke to Grace.
"Little One, will you go show Violet where your toys are?"
Grace nodded in understanding. "Yes, mama."
She slid off the bed and beckoned to Violet to follow her. The toddler princess followed suit and when she stood, she took her new friend's hand when she offered it and let her lead her out of the room.
When they were gone, Red looked back at Belle and was taken aback to see her actually crying now. Plucking a whimpering Jade from her mother's arms and holding her in her own, Red also found a clean handkerchief and handed it to Belle, who made quick use of it.
"You must think I'm a mess." Belle told her after a minute or two. "Tinker Bell found me, and I'm still a fat, stupid mess."
"I don't." Red told her calmly. "I don't think you're fat, stupid, or a mess. Actually, I think that you're glowing from your pregnancy and just the right size, and that you're very smart, and that you're very beautiful."
Belle actually laughed a little bit, in spite of the situation and her mood. "You really know how to make a girl feel special."
Holding Jade in one arm, Red reached over and took one of Belle's hands in her own, stroking the pad of her thumb over the tips of her fingers. Belle stopped crying immediately because she felt a spark of some sort between her and her companion at the sensation of the touch alone. The look in Red's eyes told her that she felt it, too, so Belle watched in awe—and with what felt like a little bit of love—as the other woman pressed light kisses on her fingers.
"You are special, Belle, and I can see that terrible things happened to you. I can also see that you need reminding at least every once in awhile that no matter what, you can rise above it."
"Why do you care about me so much?"
"I'm just that kind of person, I suppose. What did happen to you?"
"It's a long story."
Red kissed Belle's fingertips again, and the quiet, almost imperceptible sigh of desire didn't escape her ears.
"I'm a very good listener."
"Do you promise you won't tell? I'd be so ashamed if anyone found out."
"You have my word." Red said seriously. "I will tell no one what happened to you."
Almost with regret, Belle sighed and pulled her hand away from Red's. In a very unceremonious manner, she fell back on the mattress and let out an even more unceremonious kind of sigh.
"Well, it goes like this..."
