Hello everyone. I apologise for the length between updates. This fic has been giving me a headache. I know what I want to write but for some reason it just won't.
I wondered whether to wait to update this chapter but I decided it was long enough to hopefully keep you interested and you wouldn't have wait for me to write the next bit which could take a while, or not, depending on how it goes.
Thank you for sticking with this and I hope you enjoy this chapter which is a bit fluffy really. :)
Chapter 7
Aramis was sitting on a bale of hay in the barn while he struggled to hold a wriggling lamb in place to feed him. He had always known that returning home would be difficult but he had never imagined that his secret would have been outed in such a public way. He wondered whether his brother would ever forgive him for keeping the truth from his parents but he had always wondered why Pierre had kept the lie for so long.
The lamb gleefully guzzled the milk he was being given and Aramis couldn't help but smile. Aramis was soon accosted by the other two lambs in the barn. One was female and the other male. Their energy helped his mood lift slightly.
'Aramis?' the call startled him slightly. 'Aramis?' Queen Anne's voice was clearer now.
Aramis moved over to the barn door and quickly slid it open to see Anne smiling back at him. She was wearing the dress his mother had given her and her hair was flowing around her shoulders. She looked beautiful, even when soaking wet. Aramis quickly pulled Anne into the barn and she let out a shriek of surprise. He quickly shut the door before the lambs could be victorious in their efforts to escape.
'Oh my!' Anne exclaimed as the lambs ran right into her and Aramis, as they made their bids for freedom.
'Sorry,' Aramis chuckled. 'First chance they get they'll be out of the door.'
Anne looked down at her feet where the lambs had pushed past her and were now scrambling at the door. She had seen lambs from a distance but she had never imagined herself being trodden on. Their hooves were rather heavy with an edge.
'Get back!' Aramis called as the lambs once again turned their attention him. 'Go on!' the amusement was clear in his voice.
The lambs scuttled towards the bottles of milk and Aramis guided Anne over to the hay bales. Anne sat down watching the lambs in wonder. She watched as Aramis started feeding one with a bottle of milk and the other lambs tried to push to get some too.
'Here,' Aramis handed a bottle to Anne. The female lamb darted to Anne startling the Queen. 'Ouch,' she said as the lamb collided with her. Aramis was unable to hide his smirk but gently guided Anne and the lamb so the lamb could start feeding. He then continued to feed the other two who were clamouring at the marksman.
'They are rather aggressive,' Anne said quietly as she fed her lamb.
'Food,' was Aramis' only explanation.
They sat in silence as the lambs finished their meals. Although the milk was gone the lambs kept pushing for more leaving Anne feeling uncertain.
'No more, clear off,' Aramis waved them away and moved the lamb from in front Anne. 'Go on, there's no more!'
Anne watched as the lambs finally took the hint and bounded off into the barn making Aramis chuckle and shake his head.
'Why are they in the barn?' Anne asked. She was curious as to why these lambs weren't with their mothers.
'Two of them were the third of triplets and the other one his mother rejected him,' Aramis explained. Anne looked surprised at his comment and Aramis had to remind himself that this was all foreign to Anne. She had likely never been on a farm in her life until yesterday.
'The third lamb of triplets is often rejected by the mother and sometimes mothers reject their offspring and no-one really knows why,' he explained.
'Why would the third be rejected?' Anne asked. She couldn't think of any reason why a mother would leave her child. Aramis thought for a moment as he tried to explain.
'It's a survival thing,' he started as he tried to help her understand. 'Ewes only have two teats so can only feed two lambs at a time. Often the weakest, or the runt, is left to die.'
'But that's terrible!' Anne exclaimed. She couldn't imagine such a thing as surely a mother would love all of her children.
Aramis smiled at Anne's shock. He was used to how things are in nature while for Anne she had rarely seen the grim side.
'You have three children,' Aramis started to explain, 'but you can only feed two at a time, and as you've seen, they don't share very well. So do you try to feed all three, knowing that they may not be getting all the food they need and may possibly die, or do you feed two giving them a much better chance to live?'
Anne sat in silence for a moment. The idea that a mother could reject her children was so alien to her, yet with Aramis' explanation it started to make sense. It was heart-breaking.
'I see but...why couldn't another ewe take the lamb? One that only had one lamb.' Anne asked and turned to Aramis who looked like he had already know what she was going to say.
'Ewes are generally unwilling to raise other lambs, most likely because it could endanger their own,' Aramis explained. 'It can be done but it isn't very effective in most cases.'
Anne looked at him quizzically.
'You can only do it with ewes that have lost their lamb and usually when they only had one to start with,' Aramis continued. 'It involves tricking the ewe into thinking that her lamb isn't dead.' Anne was doing her best to keep up. 'You can lay the dead lamb over the one you want the mother to adopt which makes the new lamb smell like the old one or in most cases...you skin the dead lamb and place the skin over the new lamb. The scents mingle so the ewe starts to believe that the living lamb is hers. It's often not very successful.'
Anne gulped slightly. She had never had a need consider such things. Farming sounded more brutal than she thought.
'That's why we raise them in the barn,' Aramis tried to lift the mood. 'Keeps them warm and we can feed them.'
At that moment the lambs darted over to the Queen and musketeer as if they knew they were being talked about. Anne smiled at the lambs' antics and started to stroke the nearest one. 'It's wiry,' she said in amazement.
'Yes,' Aramis agreed as he was accosted by the other two. 'It is the treatment that make the wool soft when used in clothes. As it needs to protect the animals from the weather it is much wirier to the touch.'
The lambs suddenly decided to attack Aramis with gusto knocking him of the hay bale he was sat on and onto the floor with his legs in the air. Anne could not stifle the laugh at seeing her musketeer in such a position.
'Hey, after I fed you as well!' Aramis managed to squeal through his own laughter and the happy bleating of the lambs.
Aramis scrambled to his feet with difficulty as the lambs surrounded him. He stood stock still for a moment before chasing one of the lambs who bleating as it tried to escape Aramis. Aramis then changed direction and Anne couldn't help but smile at the whole situation. Aramis was playing with the lambs as you might do with children.
Anne felt a twinge of guilt as she remembered she had been away from her son for a while. The longest she ever had been. She knew he was safe and well looked after but she missed him. What must poor Aramis feel?
Aramis slumped back down on the hay bale panting slightly.
'They enjoyed that,' Anne said with a smile. Aramis just laughed.
Aramis sat up slowly. 'I'm sorry you've been dragged into my family problems,' he said quietly.
'I like your family,' Anne said earnestly. 'They are very...,' Aramis waited for Anne to say something, 'fun and warm.'
'Crazy you mean,' Aramis retorted earning a slap on the arm for his troubles. 'Hey!'
'Your family are lovely. Truly,' Anne said with a smile. 'I love your grandmother.'
'Urrghhh,' Aramis groaned as he placed his head in his hands. 'I'm pretty sure you'll know everything about me as a child by the time we leave.'
'I look forward to it,' Anne chuckled making Aramis roll his eyes.
The lambs were now curled up on the floor starting to doze when the door to the barn opened to reveal a drenched Athos. The lambs were on their feet in seconds and charged towards Athos who managed to close the door before any of them could escape. Aramis and Anne laughed at Athos who was staring down at the lambs that were now attacking him.
'You know the 'Athos glare' won't work on the lambs,' Aramis called out while laughing.
Athos quirked an eyebrow and had a wry smile on his lips. 'I don't have any food. Shoo!' he said to the lambs as he showed them his bare hands. 'Go on! Clear off!' he said waving his arms away from his body while doing his best not to smile. Aramis was laughing heartily at his fellow musketeer and Anne was smiling.
The lambs soon got the message and decided that Athos was no fun and curled up again to sleep.
'They are joyful aren't they?' Anne said to Athos who shrugged and sighed as he continued to drip.
'Your Majesty, may I escort you back to the house?' Athos asked pointedly. Anne looked into Athos' eyes and realised there was a reason he had asked her to leave, and it wasn't because he was afraid of Anne and Aramis being caught together. After all with the lambs in the barn it was innocent enough and she had made no secret of where she was going.
'I can do that,' Aramis said as he stood but Athos shook his head as Anne took Athos' hand to stand. 'What?'
The door to the barn opened and Pierre stood in the doorway. Aramis visibly bristled and Anne wanted to reach for him but knew she couldn't. Athos had seen it too and purposefully stood in front of Aramis.
'Listen to him,' Athos said as Aramis' eyes narrowed. An unspoken conversation was going on right in front of her but Anne had no idea what was being said. In the end Aramis looked away and gave a small nod meaning that he had understood Athos.
'Shall we?' Athos offered his arm to Anne who took it and gave a nod to Aramis before she left the barn with Athos.
'Dammit,' Athos swore as the driving rain soaked them both in an instant, not that Athos wasn't already soaked through.
Anne giggled slightly at Athos' outburst. 'Will they be ok?' she asked Athos as they headed for the house.
'Hopefully,' Athos answered before elaborating, 'I told Aramis listen to his brother. I was talking to Pierre earlier and they need to end this feud now.'
'What if one of them gets hurt?' Anne asked as the porch came into view.
'I warned Aramis to control himself-'
'So that's what you said when you had that silent conversation,' Anne looked to Athos who smirked slightly.
'Yes, and I told him to think because he can sometimes react on impulse,' Athos replied as he helped Anne onto the porch which was wet and slippery. 'They'll be fine.'
Anne looked back to the barn as she slipped of her muddy boots. Pierre and René were now alone.
A/N: As always I will try to get the next chapter done when I can and I thank you for your patience. xx
