Chapter 12

Faba

Faba was making breakfast when Lukas came into their hut with the newspaper. "Hey there, Faba," he said, slamming the door behind him. "What's for breakfast?"

She shot him a look. "What's always for breakfast?"

"Yeah, I know." He chuckled. "Grits, what a delight!"

Faba sighed. "At least I break the stereotype for being a good cook. What's in the paper there?"

"Nothing on the release of Aiistia and the others."

"That's nice, now what is in the paper?" Faba laid out two bowls and two spoons and started serving the grits.

Lukas sat down, not looking forward to what he was about to say. "You know the Scrow and the Arjikis? Two Vinkun tribes around these parts? Well, they're now at war."

"With each other?"

"Yeah." Lukas gulped down some grits before continuing. "Says here that your rise to power freaked them out for a little bit, but now they're over it. The Arjikis beat the Scrow a couple years ago, like twenty, and now the Scrow want revenge."

A horrible thought occurred to Faba. "Fiyero …"

"What now?"

"Um, nothing." Faba was flustered. "It's just … one of my old school friends, Fiyero Tigulaar, he's the Prince of the Arjikis. Is there anything in there about him?"

Lukas scanned through the article once more. "Not that I can see. Isn't he in the EC with that blonde chick, Glinda?"

"One would hope …" Suddenly, Faba's stomach staged a protest against the arrival of grits into its midst. She stopped eating. It was impossible to ignore.

"Um, Faba?" Lukas was concerned. "Pardon the pun, but you look a little …"

"Green?" She chuckled nervously. "I'm alright, Luk, I just have to …" Without warning, Faba bolted out of her chair and rushed outside to the outhouse that she had built herself. She barely had time to get in there, close the door, pull her hair back, and lean over before she lost her breakfast. Ugh. She hated being sick. But she wasn't sick, and she knew it. She was late now by two weeks. "Impossible," Faba muttered to herself. A Bear and a human …

After the botched riot, Faba had found Lukas hiding out in one of the few Animal bars in the Emerald City. He told her that Aiistia had ordered everyone to take care of themselves, and Lukas had done just that. The two then thought it best to go back to the Vinkus in the hopes that Aiistia would send word. Using Lukas' strength and Faba's magic, they had built a hut for themselves. The Animals that they rescued repaid them with furniture, and pretty soon, they had a cozy home. That was when they started to get intimate. Intercourse for Faba and Lukas was not very conventional, but it still brought penetration for Faba and pleasure for both of them. And now look where it had gotten her.

No! She couldn't be a mother! The job of Wicked Witch didn't exactly offer maternity leave or benefits. Her child would be Public Enemy Number Two from birth, and he or she would be hunted as well. To think of the Gale Force going after a tiny infant … or a Cub. Sweet Oz, that was another thing! This kid was a hybrid, Faba realized. Half human, half Bear. Lurline knows what he or she would look like. It's going to be a freak of nature, Faba thought bitterly, sitting on the outhouse floor. Just like its mother. What was she going to do?!

"Faba?" Lukas called from outside. "Are you alright in there?"

It took a moment for Faba's mouth to start cooperating again. "I-I'm f-fine," she said, struggling to stand up. "Just a l-little sick, is all." She stumbled outside.

Lukas gasped. "Baby, you look awful! Here, let's get you to bed." He lifted her up into his strong arms. "I'll go get Doctor Kellu." Doctor Kellu was a Jaguar whom they had saved from a circus. To express his gratitution, he had agreed to be their practitioner free of charge.

Faba groaned in protest. "No, Lu, I'm fine!"

"'I'm fine, Lukas!'" he mocked as they entered their bedroom. "'My stomach is bursting into flames, but I'm fine!' Not buying it, darling." He set her down on their bed. "There. Get under the covers and keep warm. I'll go see if the good doc is available." He kissed Faba's cheek, and then left the room before she could argue with him any further.

Doctor Kellu couldn't see her! He was a doctor; he would immediately know! Lukas, she knew, would then become overwrought with paternal desire and would refuse to let the child go. She was contemplating the thought of getting the Grimmerie when Lukas returned … with Doctor Kellu. "So, Faba," the doctor began. "Lukas tells me you have a stomachache."

"I'm fine," Faba said icily. "But if you must examine me, I insist on a private examination. Lukas, that means you have to leave."

To her surprise, Lukas put his paws up in mock defeat. "Alright, alright! I'll go tend our garden! I know when I'm not wanted!"

"Love you!" she called after him.

"So, Faba," Doctor Kellu began again, immediately making her smile melt. "What do you think caused this stomachache? Have you been eating right? Did you go flying this morning?"

Faba shook her head, afraid that speaking would make him find out sooner.

He took her temperature. "No fever," he said pensively. "Faba, may I ask a personal question?"

Normally, she would have had a perfect sarcastic retort about him being a doctor, but in her current state, all she could say was, "Sure."

"When did you last menstruate?" Her stomach started doing summersaults, this time not related to morning sickness.

"I-I'm two weeks late," she admitted.

Doctor Kellu remained calm. "Ah. So you know. Does Lukas know?"

"No. Doctor Kellu, can you get rid of it?"

"Faba, it's a child. It's not so easily 'gotten rid of.'" He shifted nervously as Faba looked at him intensely. "I don't do abortions, I'm afraid. I'm not morally opposed to then; I just don't do them. The only doctors that do probably wouldn't be keen to give one to the Wicked Witch of the West."

She looked down at her knees. "I know."

"How do you wish to proceed?"

"I don't know!" Faba said desperately. "Lukas will want to have the kid, but I can't bring a child like that into this world! Neither I nor Oz could give it anything!"

"It would be a high risk pregnancy," Doctor Kellu admitted. "Inter-species mating almost never goes well. There is a good chance of complications at birth, genetic disorders …"

"Being slaughtered by the Gale Force."

He smiled sadly. "That too."

"Doctor Kellu, tell Lukas I just have a stomach virus," Faba said, sitting up. "As long as I'm pregnant, I'll visit you often, but I don't intend to be pregnant for long."

"What do you mean?" he asked nervously.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Like you said, I'm the Wicked Witch of the West. I'll find a way."

That night, after Lukas was asleep, Faba peeled through the Grimmerie hopelessly, in search of a spell. If I want to tame a dragon or create a thunderstorm, I've got the goods right here. But to end a pregnancy … Suddenly, something caught her eye. "To Expedite Birth." She eagerly read over the spell and saw that it was doable. Perfect! She could end this whole thing tomorrow! But then, she saw a footnote. "Unborn child must be at least three months of age for charm to work."