"Pace"
Author's Note: This chapter will be a shortie. The rating was changed, probably needlessly, but just to be on the safe side. Enjoy!
"He certainly is a quiet baby..." Gentle Heart observed as she sat with Regal in the lioness's living room. Little Patient Heart (or Pace, as his family called him) was lying on the couch between them, loosely wrapped in a new knitted blanket that had been a baby shower gift from Gentle Heart. He was now a week old, and he was, by far, the most placid baby of the four liger cubs.
"Yeah, he rarely cries." replied Regal, smiling as Pace squirmed a little and worked his arms out of the blanket with an air of triumph. "Stel and I have to set our alarm every few hours during the night to make sure he gets fed. The only time he really gets upset is when I have to brush his mane, and I can hardly blame him for that."
Gentle nodded in agreement, unconsciously rubbing her woolly headfur. She remembered when she was young and needed help brushing it. No matter how careful her guardians were, they couldn't always avoid giving her 'hair' an accidental tug if the brush snagged on a tangle. When she got to the point where she could do it herself, it was much easier. She knew how to locate tangles before a twinge became pain, since it was her own head. It was hard to explain the necessity of it to a baby, but in time he would learn that brushing wasn't just an annoying nuisance his parents inflicted on him from time to time.
"This blanket is really coming in handy." said Regal, not at all uncomfortable with carrying on most of the conversation. Gentle Heart wasn't very chatty, and everyone knew it. Silences sometimes made the green lamb uncomfortable, so she was more than happy to let others talk while she listened.
"I'm glad," she said, "though you've crocheted at least six so far, so I don't see how..."
Regal waved it off. "That was to pass the time while I was pregnant. Soulful's probably getting sick of me hanging around his library."
"I don't think so." Gentle shook her head.
"Besides," Regal continued, "the ones I made aren't as nice as this. I can't knit, so I think knitted things are more interesting."
Gentle Heart gave a rare, saucy grin and said, "Since when are you interested in things domestic? You who held No Heart at bay while wearing a wedding dress?"
The lioness laughed, a short mirthful yip. "I'm the mother of four cubs. Everything about my life is domestic anymore. And I wouldn't have it any other way." She looked fondly at her cub, who suddenly opened his eyes and appeared uneasy and frightened. Regal's smile turned into a concerned frown. "What's the matter, Pace?"
The cub brought his fist to his mouth and sucked on it to comfort himself. He didn't understand what it was that worried him; in fact, he didn't understand much at all. But something didn't feel right. He whimpered softly, gumming his knuckles and reaching for his mother with his free paw.
"He can't be teething yet..." said Regal, picking him up and gently rubbing his back as he lay against her shoulder.
"Maybe he's hungry..." suggested Gentle Heart.
"Maybe." Regal nodded thoughtfully. "Would you mind watching him while I fix his bottle?"
Gentle Heart shook her head and held out her paws to receive him, but as soon as Regal handed him over he felt his unease turn into terror. He didn't know things yet, but he felt things. And what he felt now was stronger than any good feeling he'd ever experienced, and he didn't know how to deal with it.
"Aha...aha...aaaaaaaaaaaah! Waaaaaaaaaaah!" he bawled, squirming and twisting as much as he could, which, given his age, wasn't much at all. It hadn't taken Pace long to warm up to Gentle Heart, so being in her arms couldn't have provoked such a reaction. The lamb wordlessly handed Pace back to Regal, and indicated with a gesture that she would fix the bottle instead.
"Okay Pacie, okay, okay..." crooned Regal, rocking him as he made himself as small as possible. 'This isn't a pain cry...' she thought, 'It can't be colic...'
"She's had another one..." No Heart growled in disbelief, clenching his talon-like hands into fists as he gazed into his cauldron. He got the distinct impression that the cub had been aware that he was watching, and had reacted in a way that was (for such a small cub) violent.
No Heart hadn't had any contact with the Care Bear Family since that day four months ago, when they drove him out of their kingdom with those accursed Stares of theirs. He hadn't bothered to look in on the lioness's little family, hadn't even thought about her, except to remember with grim satisfaction how she had looked when he taunted her about the day he killed her parents. That had been petty-yet-sweet revenge, to see her pale and weaken, and to see her clutch her head as she called on a human deity in her agony. No Heart had been defeated that day, defeated and driven away, but he had that memory with which to comfort himself. And that had been satisfying indeed.
So, No Heart had spent the past four months or so doing what he enjoyed; sending his Shadows down to Earth to cause humans (particularly human children, since they were more impressionable than adults) to do wicked things, and in general just keeping the Care Bears hopping. But he never made any personal appearances. He spent much of his free time tutoring Shrieky in the arts of dark magic, and he found this to be more enjoyable than he had expected. Shrieky was a few months shy of fourteen, and she was proving to be an apt pupil. Her voice, rather than growing less piercing, retained its high-pitched tone; her vocal cords had strengthened to the point where the Care Bear Family had taken to carrying earplugs with them wherever they went.
But now, as he looked into his cauldron for the first time in four months, he found that yet another liger cub had been born.
'Perhaps,' No Heart thought, 'I have been too complacent. If the male cubs are anything like the females, they will be a force to be reckoned with when they come of age. The older male is nearly an adult himself, but I've not yet seen him exhibit any particular prowess. Bah...he is a clownish lout. What do I have to fear from him? Ah...but this cub...He sensed me watching him. Perhaps...'
"Hmmm..." No Heart's hand disappeared into his cowl as he rubbed his chin, and he mused to himself, "Perhaps he is the one I should capture and study...The oldest female is too strong-willed, and has been from the time she was a cub. The second female might be pliable, but she is too slippery; all previous attempts to take her have resulted in nothing but failure. And her power is worthless, except to protect herself, which is why I've not been able to get my hands on her!" he gritted his teeth. "The elder brother would do nothing but annoy me, and it is too late to tame him...but this cub..."
No Heart's lips peeled back from his unseen yellow teeth, and he gave vent to a low, ominous chuckle as he watched the cub writhe and howl. "If I can turn him against the Care Bears...I was unsuccessful with his sister. I underestimated her. I will not make that mistake again!"
He turned away from his cauldron and walked out of the room to prepare.
His eyes were squeezed so tightly shut that, had he been paying attention, he would have seen purple star bursts on the insides of his eyelids. Then, as suddenly as Pace's crying had begun, it stopped. Only the tears and the occasional hiccup remained as evidence that it had happened at all. He sensed that whatever had been a threat to him had receded, and he was nowhere near old enough to think that it was only temporary. He sighed, limbs going slack, and felt his mother sigh with relief.
"I've never seen anything like that from him, never." said Regal quietly, taking the bottle from Gentle Heart and offering it to her son. He turned his head sleepily away from it, and yawned. Regal put down the bottle, and sat down on the couch. "I guess something scared him, but I don't know what it could have been."
Gentle Heart looked down. "Maybe it was me...a stranger, and all..."
"No, you're not a stranger. He knows you." the lioness reassured her. "Maybe it was a bad dream. Connie got what my mom called 'night terrors' a few times, and nothing we did could make her feel safe until she calmed down on her own." She shivered; she didn't like to think about it, and she hadn't meant to mention her human mother. Ever since No Heart had said those terrible things to her, she hadn't been able to think about her parents without remembering that last day with them, when he had taken them away from her.
"I...better be going." said Gentle Heart, glancing at her watch. "I'll be needed down on Earth...unless you want me to stay."
Regal Heart shook her head and forced a smile. "I think we'll be all right. Connie and Hope should be back soon. Their shift's almost over. Then it'll be my turn."
"Where are Stellar and Chance?" asked Gentle.
"Stellar's showing him the ropes. Soon he'll be driving a Cloudmobile." said Regal, mentally adding, 'And he'd better drive responsibly...'
Regal saw Gentle Heart out, and put Pace in his cradle before sitting down and resting her chin on her fist. She wanted her children safe at home, almost wished that they didn't have to help the people of Earth at their own risk, and loathed herself for it. 'Maybe I have postpartum depression...' she thought to herself before dropping the notion. This had started well before Pace had even been conceived...In fact, it had started well before she even joined the Care Bear Family, and it was only when she was alone (she might as well have been alone, since her only company was a slumbering baby) that she allowed herself to feel any kind of grief.
And No Heart's taunting hadn't helped. Regal hadn't meant to mention her mother to Gentle Heart, but she had, and that had gotten the ball rolling. She didn't fight it. She sat, and let her mind drift. She remembered.
She would never forget that day, or the things he said to her. Parts of that day were a blur, but the parts she wished most to forget were in the foreground, as always. They had managed a stalemate with No Heart, neither side winning, both sides tiring. One by one, the Care Bear Family had ceased their Stares and Calls, and No Heart stood before them, panting and fuming. His latest kidnapping attempt had not involved one of the cubs, but had centered around Soulful Heart Fox. Fortunately for the fox but unfortunately for No Heart, most of the Care Bear Family had been in the Kingdom of Caring at the time, and even Brave Heart had jumped to prevent the sorcerer's success.
Regal rather liked seeing No Heart at the wrong end of a Stare, and she recalled a promise she had made to herself and to her long-dead parents. No Heart would not hurt anyone else. Ever. And she simply wouldn't let him take anyone else from her, be it her husband, her cubs, or one of her friends. While the others stood panting in a protective semi-circle around Soulful Heart, Regal alone found the breath to address No Heart. "You are trespassing. You won't take him, or anyone else. Get out."
Staccato, derisive laughter. No Heart was laughing at her. "And will you make me leave, Lioness? And just how will you do that, might I ask? Will you roar at me and hiss, like you did when you foolishly tried to defend your parents? You're weak and pathetic, and you're useless. Nothing but having the others here makes you so brave and outspoken, child." he jeered, fervently enjoying the look of dawning horror in her eyes, "Poor, pitiful thing...if it weren't for you, your parents would still be breathing air today."
Regal gasped sharply, and began to tremble all over. She had thought the same thing, but only on a subconscious level. To hear it spoken aloud...
Stellar Heart bared his teeth in an expression of barely controlled rage. "How...DARE you say that to her!"
Brave Heart gave a loud roar, and bellowed, "You'll pay for that, No Heart!"
No Heart ignored them. His attention was on Regal now, and he intended to inflict as much pain upon her as possible before he was forced out. "Your rash actions that day brought about their deaths, Lioness. Your very presence among them was nearly enough to doom them, but I might have let them go and merely taken you, had you not been so stupid as to anger me. Did your...mother..." the sneer was audible, "sing to you at night? Do you still remember the words of her favorite lullaby?"
"Stop it..." she whispered in a haunted, childlike voice. He had essentially regressed her, and her mind was no longer on the task at hand. He had transported her back to that awful time.
"And what about your father? Did he read a bedtime story every night? How did you repay him?" No Heart demanded with mock-severity, thoroughly enjoying the way she seemed to shrink before him even as her husband rightly took offense.
"STOP IT!" hollered Stellar, his voice wholly unrecognizable from his usual, soft-spoken baritone. He was livid, and as soon as his strength returned...
Soulful glared at No Heart with such raw, pure hatred that Gentle Heart flinched and looked away from him.
No Heart continued, hardly noticing as the Family began to recover their strength. "I'll wager you resented them for keeping you a secret from the world and not letting you have any human friends. You fought with them at times, didn't you? You said things no daughter...no good daughter...should say. Am I right?"
Regal shook her head as if to deny, but she knew it was true. At times, she had resented her confinement, even if it was only for her own protection. She had been ungrateful, and she had helped No Heart kill them...
"By the time I was through with them, there wasn't enough of them left to fill a Dixie Cup!" he spat.
Something inside Regal snapped, and her paws, which had been trembling at her sides, flew to her head. She pressed hard on her temples, as if to squash those hateful words from her thoughts. Drawing a hitching breath, she screamed, "Oh GOD!"
No Heart was hit by a sudden volley of Stares and Calls, and only Brave Heart and Stellar Heart found that they had the breath to yell.
"You're gonna wish you never said those things to my sister!"
"Get out of our home! Get out! Now!"
The only one who had been unable to help was Soulful Heart; he was too furious, and he simply couldn't summon up any good feelings to help him Call. Not that anyone noticed. Regal didn't notice anything. She simply stood there with her paws to her head, and didn't move.
No Heart couldn't withstand the force of their attack, and he quickly withdrew to his castle.
The Family had then relaxed somewhat, and the first thing Regal was aware of since her outburst was Stellar's face looming in front of her. She felt a gentle tug on her wrists, and she let him pull her paws down. And she was numb. She let him hug her, and assured him that she was fine, but at the time her wound was too deep for her to feel real pain yet. That came later...
Regal Heart sighed, and looked over at her baby. The cub was watching her expectantly, and when he saw that he had her attention he smiled a toothless smile. Regal smiled back, and cupped the crown of his little head in her paw. "Hey, li'l man. Feel better?"
Pace merely kicked a little as if testing his leg muscles, and continued to smile. Regal felt her sadness slip away like a discarded shawl. No Heart's comments, whether there was any truth in them or not, had been designed to hurt her. The verbal attack was childish and low, and he was ruthless and determined to win by any means. His comments and judgments weren't what was important. This, her family, this was what was important. Yes, she had allowed No Heart's words to hurt her deeply and take her out of the last fight; and yes, she wasn't infallible and she made mistakes. But she would never let him get to her like that again. There was too much at stake.
Regal heard the front door open, and she looked up in time to see Connie and Hope enter the house perfectly in step with each other, as if they were participating in a three-legged race (which was an event they had won three years in a row during Care-a-Lot's Birthday, so that the Family had decided to retire the category). Whether it was something that was practiced or consciously done was anyone's guess, but the twins weren't telling.
"Have a good day, girls?" asked Regal.
"It was okay," Hope grinned as her sister pouted, "except for Connie's little encounter with her 'Mini-Me'..."
"Oh? Do tell." Regal smiled.
Connie sighed, and sat down on the couch. "There was a little girl down on Earth who was even more stubborn than me, if you can believe it..."
Regal raised her eyebrows, and Hope elbowed Connie and said, "Oh no she wasn't, she was just about on a par with you, and you're the reigning queen!"
"Hopie, why don't you go chew on some tinfoil?" Connie suggested, smiling sweetly.
Regal shook her head with a resigned chuckle, and sighed. "What am I gonna do with you two?"
"Guess you're just stuck with us." they both said, cracking up. The way they sometimes acted in synch, and their physical similarities sometimes made it hard to tell that they weren't identical twins. On the other hand, they were as different as night and day.
"So," said Connie, "anyway, I had to help this girl named Jessie learn that she wasn't the center of the universe, and yadda yadda yadda...You know the 'Caring Drill', caring and sharing, tip-toe through the tulips, lah-dee-dah and fiddle-dee-dee..." she finished with a bad 'Scarlett O'Hara' accent, and Regal couldn't help but laugh.
"What's for dinner?" asked Hope.
Regal pointed to Connie, and said, "I thought we might have ham..."
Hope managed to eke out, "Treat Heart would never forgive us..." before the three of them dissolved into helpless giggles. Pace, sensing their amusement, first smiled then gave a trilling baby laugh.
Regal finally said, "There's still a lot of Shrimp Creole left over from last night, and there's cheesecake for dessert."
"Hm, you read my mind..." said Connie, heading for the kitchen.
About half an hour later, Hope was heating their dinner on the stove while Connie changed Pace and gave him his bottle. Regal, relishing the chance to be out and about once more, headed down to Earth. None of them even suspected that No Heart was preparing to go to their house and abduct the youngest Care Bear Cousin. Pace, his belly full and his mind at ease, slept soundly in his cradle.
To Be Continued...