Beastmen Love-Chapter 42: Priest Guards

After 4 more days, there was an uproar at the village with the arrival of Claud’s guards. Lee and Cyprian go check what it is and calm everyone down.

"I’ve sent a messenger to ask an old friend some beastmen to help us finish building everything. All of them are our guests, and I already prepared a place to stay." Lee speaks to Shung.

All guards are covering their beast marks with clothes or bandages if it’s located somewhere more exposed, to try not let anyone see they’re powerful and realize they’re related to the Higher Priest.

Shung is more relieved to know they’re there peacefully because they can sense they’re powerful. Now he knows his tribe will be even safer.

Lee calls the guards to accompany him and Cyprian.

As they walk, one beastmen with very short black hair and dark skin comes in front of the others.

He is wide and very muscular, and has some scars around his body.

"We must see Lady Astri first." He speaks.

They’re brought to the cabin and when some of them step on some plants and flowers, they hear a shout from their backs.

"HEY!! LOOK WHERE YOU’RE STEPPING ON!!"

It was Astri. She was throwing up behind a tree. Cyprian pushes some of them back saying they were stepping on her garden.

They quickly kneeled and lowered their heads together to her and apologized all at once, taking her by surprise.

"OK.. I was just saying. Don’t need all that. But thank you." She speaks.

"These are the guards sent by our friend." Lee says.

"Oh.. Welcome." She says. They’re still bowing." You can stand up now.."

They stand up.

"It’s an honor to meet you, lady Astri. We brought you some gifts from .. your friend." The black man leading the other speaks.

"Really?"

They show a big wooden box, they put inside the cabin for her to open it.

She sees many beautiful clothes, tapestry, fabrics and bed sheets.

"What beautiful clothes." Astri says.

Then she sees something under the fabrics, and she gasps, startling the others. She pulls a book, then two more. And loads of paper for her drawings.

She hugs the papers and books happily. She had already used almost all of her sketchbooks and she was worried she wouldn’t be able to draw anymore.

"You’re the best, Claud!! Thank you!!" She says happily in her mind.

"I’m happy that you liked it. I’ve sent you something else too." He says to her in mind.

She moves more clothes and then she sees something that reminds her of a guitar.

"Oh my..." She says impressed.

"I saw in your memories you had something similar to this."

"A lute? Do you know how to use it?" Lee asks Astri.

She fingers it, trying it’s sounds. She tunes it with the sounds she remembers, then starts to play a song to test it.

Her mates are looking impressed at her. They didn’t know she knew how to use something like that and make such beautiful sounds.

She stops playing, smiling to the lute.

"Thank you.. This is amazing and one of the few good memories of the past that I have." She says.

"What do you mean?" Wayde asks.

"Let’s say I had to do many things when I was a slave. But learning this to entertain others was good in the end."

They didn’t ask further, but it’s always something they get angry to remember. In the other world slavery was a crime, but having to work so hard to just have a life is almost the same as slavery in her mind.

Lee, Cyprian and Wayde go back to the castle building taking the guards with them. Zin and Astri find places to put all the gifts, Astri takes a nice soft fabric to make new pillows for everyone.

At night, after dinner, Astri and her mates are in bed.

"Astri?" Lee asks.

"Hum?"

"Can you tell us how you got slaved?"

By their silence, Astri could notice it was everyone’s wish to know.

"I was found when I was six months old by a guard of a city. He was a bear, an old bear. He took me to a place that takes children that lost their parents, an orphanage, because he felt he couldn’t raise me alone. He was old and also had to work a lot, he didn’t have a female either. I can say he is the father image I have. When I was growing up he would often visit me, he taught me many things like playing the lute. But the orphanage people weren’t nice. If I ever said I was hungry they would beat me up. They started to make me work for food and also to not let them hurt the younger children. Fred, the bear, didn’t know they were doing that until one day when I was around 13 or 14 years old he arrived just when I was being beaten. He asked me why I never told him, and I answered that it wouldn’t make any difference since he wouldn’t take me away from there. And there was the only place I could see him. He taught me to defend myself, to be strong when things are in bad situations. But when he died when I was 16 I decided to only stay for the other children. But when I was 18 I decided to run away, there wasn’t anything there holding me anymore. So I lived by myself since then until Claud found me, and Wayde found me too." She tells.

"I’m sorry you went through something horrible like that." Cyprian says.

It made me who I am today. I would be one more selfish and idiot female." She speaks.

"Do you remember where this place is?" Zin asks.

"No. I don’t know how to come back." It’s not a lie indeed." And I don’t want to."

She misses many things from the other world, but she doesn’t want to go back. Only there she had found happiness, and people she feels that really cares for her.

"Thank you for sharing this." Lee says.

"It wasn’t a secret, but I like to think about the present and future. I’m glad I’m not like anyone else, that I don’t think the same always. Changes only happen when we decide to be different. I’m the happiest now because I have you, and I’m happy I can make you happy too."

"You said once that happiness isn’t somewhere, but with who." Wayde speaks.

"Exactly. As long as I’m with you, I’ll be happy."

She stands up and takes the lute, and they watch her.

"I have climbed highest mountains

I have run through the fields

Only to be with you

Only to be with you

I have run

I have crawled

I have scaled these city walls

These city walls

Only to be with you

But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for" She sings as she plays.

They’re amazed with her beautiful voice.

They already noticed she liked to sing because she often plays with her voice or hums and sings in a low tune while she’s working, but they never saw her actually singing entirely.

Astri likes U2, but she adapts the song for the lute and for the place they are.

"I believe in the kingdom come

Then all the colors will bleed into one

Bleed into one

But yes I’m still running

You broke the bonds

And you loosed the chains

Carried the cross

Of my shame

Oh my shame

You know I believe it

And now I have found what I was looking for

And now I have found what I was looking for"

She finishes the song and then looks at them. They were focused on her, with tender eyes but also full of love.

"Did you like it?" She asks.

"Of course!" They answer.

"Your voice is beautiful." Zin says.

"Thank you. But I was singing for you, guys. The song was for you."

They get impressed. So they are what she was looking for.

Zin snatches her with his snake tail, making the others fall on their way to her, but soon they are all hugging her like a ball of people.

"I love you so much." They say.

"I love you too."

They end up falling asleep like that, it wasn’t very comfortable for her, but at the same time, it feels good having all of them around.

In the morning, they wake up and finally give her space to move and lay down more comfortably, so she keeps sleeping while they go make breakfast.

"I’m worried. She’s throwing up almost everything she eats. I’ll try making soup." Zin speaks.

"It’s a good idea. Let’s add noodles so she gets more nourished too." Wayde speaks taking the rock roots.

"I’ll make juice." Cyprian says.

"I’ll go hunt for more meat and take more fruits." Lee speaks and flies away.

As usual, they work well together to keep her well being. They noticed she was taking a long time to wake up, she was sleeping soundly so they let her sleep and rest her pregnant body.

Cyprian, Lee and Wayde go to keep working on their castle.

"Zin." Zin hears. It’s the Higher Priest.

"Yes?"

"Is Astri sleeping?"

"Yes."

"Is she all right?"

"I think she’s tired. She has been throwing up everything she eats."

"It’s normal on the first days. Try adding more smell herb in her food, it will help."

If there’s someone who knows about medicine it is the Higher Priest, so Zin nods.

"Later I’ll try to talk to her again. Thank you for being a good mate for her."

Zin smiles.

"Thank you for taking care of her too."

Lee, Wayde and Cyprian are back at the castle. The guards are already there waiting for them.

"Ron and Saul will be guarding Lady Astri while we are here. Ron is a guepard and can call us through distance, and he also runs fast to take her anywhere. Saul is a gorilla like me. My name is Keane." The black male leader says.

Ron and Saul leave for the cabin and the others start working on building the castle.

The days are passing and after around 10 days Astri doesn’t feel much nausea anymore.