After sending Tab and Diana to return to the hunting glade burrow to inform those keeping watch over the pack squirrels of the events, Bog and Marianne guide Lizzie through the Dark Forest and into the Light Field. It's a quick trip since the dry creek is very close to the border and Lizzie purrs once they cross onto the still-warm sand.
"There goes the cricket problem," Bog chuckles as Lizzie runs toward the rotting tree and starts eating crickets.
"Lizzie is going to be a kingdom hero if she gets rid of all those crickets," Marianne remarks. "There's been talk of rebuilding the village that was here but the effort to get rid of those pests was daunting."
"This would be a great market location for wares to and from the Dark Forest," he comments.
"It would. Come on, we better alert Headman Aver about Lizzie's presence and warn his village to keep their pet crickets from leaving the village grounds," she mentions. "Then we can get back to our hunting."
Marianne snorts as Lizzie barely acknowledges her warning to stay in the creek bed, a waved tail is all she gets from the eating reptile. Flying beside Bog towards the closest elf village, she worries her hands slightly as the night's strange events replay in her head.
She really needs to stop letting her rage put her in dangerous situations. She's pregnant now and the infant's safety needs to go first. Not to mention, she promised Bog to be more careful and she broke that promise when she attacked Lizzie.
Anything could have gone wrong.
"What are you worrying about?" Bog questions.
"I'm sorry, Bog," Marianne murmurs.
"Sorry? What for?" he asks.
"That was stupid of me to attack Lizzie like that. It's just when she tried to bite Tab, I got so angry that she had nearly eaten him and...," she starts.
"Marianne," Bog interrupts, reaching over to close her wings and carry her. "You're a true ruling royal. If it didn't enrage you when something threatens your people then you wouldn't be fit to rule a kingdom. While it terrifies me when you're forced to attack such opponents, I'm proud of you."
"So, you're not mad that I attacked Lizzie?" Marianne questions.
"No. You did the right thing," he assures. "I was too far away and Tab was too tired to keep running. If you hadn't of attacked when you did, she might have caught him and then we would have had to kill her in retaliation to protect both of our kingdoms."
"And you're not disappointed that we might not have a kill to present at moon-down?" she asks.
"Why would I be disappointed?" Bog questions.
"I know how important the Mid-Spring Wild Hunt is," Marianne reminds. "I feel really bad for letting you down. After all, it was my suggestion to give our mouse to Lizzie."
"And you have the nerve to call me a worrywart," he chides gently, landing on an open daisy. "You can never let me down."
"But the hunt," she protests.
"Is not important," Bog states firmly. "I wanted to participate in the mateship hunt with you, not because I wanted to test your ability as a mate, but because I wanted you to experience what our courtship would have been under different circumstances, to give you what we missed. Besides, even if we were only courting, I wouldn't care if we had a failed hunt, I'd still want to mate you because I love you, Marianne."
"I love you too, Bog. I just don't want to humiliate you in front of the other goblins," Marianne murmurs.
"Humiliate me? Wherever did you get an idea like that?" he asks.
"After I returned home and had the stew Nex prepared, I went looking for you and overheard you talking to Yemma," she admits.
"How much did you hear?" Bog questions sharply.
"Just that she didn't think it was a good idea to take me on the mateship hunt," Marianne answers before quickly explaining as her husband stiffens. "But I can understand her worries. After all, we've never hunted together before, so we don't know how the other hunts. I didn't stop to think that we might have had trouble hunting together and with this being such an important hunt, it's no wonder that Yemma was worried about the consequences of failing."
"That's not what she was worried about," he mutters, sighing at her hum. "For starters, I want to clarify that the consequences don't apply to you and me because we're already mated. No one will look down on us for failing a hunt."
"If the other goblins won't look down on you for failing the hunt then why did Yemma say that they will?" she asks.
"Because she suggested that I reinstate a law the Topaz King created, that Firth had outlawed the very day he became king," Bog growls. "Topaz is the king that started the Wild Hunt into the Light Field. He created a law that allowed strong males to take more than one female as a mate at a time, for the survival of the stronger bloodlines or so they claimed as their reason. In truth, it was to keep males that were possible threats to Topaz's ruling bloodline from being able to produce young or at least pureblood young."
"That explains Griselda's remark about the greedy royals hoarding female goblins to themselves as being the reason goblins started stealing females from the Light Field," Marianne comments. "But why would Yemma suggest such a thing?"
Marianne prods Bog's chest at his reluctance to continue. It wasn't often that something came up that he didn't want to talk about but she has a way to bring it out if he takes too long to speak. He knows it too.
"Alright," he sighs. "I want you to stay calm. I don't agree with her and even if I was a true pureblood, I still wouldn't agree. Her suggestion about that law was that I should take a goblin mate and father another bloodline because she believes that the added fairy blood will make our infants too weak to complete the trials. She actually told me that fairies and halfling-bloods will never be as good as a true goblin. I nearly attacked her but Adder had shown up."
Furrowing her brows, Marianne tries to place what Bog is telling her with the other female. It just doesn't seem to fit. Yemma may have been reserved but she was always friendly whenever they worked together in the nursery during the winter.
She has been more withdrawn lately, though. Not even accompanying Lyla when she brings her children to the castle to visit, even though Yemma's sons come with their aunt and cousins.
"Don't let it bother you," Bog murmurs, pulling her closer and rubbing her stomach. "It doesn't matter what she or anyone else says. I have the greatest mate ever and our infant will be the strongest king the Dark Forest has ever had."
"Humor me. Was she trying to suggest herself as the candidate for your goblin mate?" Marianne questions.
"She didn't say anything like that and it's doubtful that she would. I once tried to court her but she rejected me," he admits at her prodding. "She's older than me by only three seasons but her coming of age was the spring before mine. I thought we were something more and I asked her to wait until I could court her the next spring but she agreed to Styx's courting that Beltane instead."
"I feel like there's more," she mutters.
"There is...," Bog starts.
They both turn their attention toward the nearby elf village as lights flash erratically and smoke starts rising from the festival grounds. She doesn't remember the elves ever using a light and smoke show in a Spring Festival celebration before. Sunny would have told Dawn if they were planning something like that and Dawn would have told her before she left to go help Sunny after their royal obligations were done.
Screams ring out as the lights go out with a bang and the groan echoing against her body is her sentiments exactly.
"Oh for spirit's sake!" Marianne groans. "Now what?"