Your Little Body's Slowly Breaking Down

[Suellyn]

It was over. The hogwife allowed her body to relax on the bed. But something was wrong. All was quiet. There should be a cry, a shout of joy. Suellyn weakly forced her eyes open.

?Is it a lad or a maid??

She received no answer as the room around her swam into focus. There was only a stifled sob as Mother passed the motionless bundle to Baez and rushed out.

?No! No. It's not . . .? 

?She's beautiful, Su, jus' like her Mamma.? Her husband smiled sadly. ?She was jus' too small. T'was too early.?

Suellyn cried, shaking her head, ?It's my fault. I wasn' strong enough.?

?No. I don' want thou t' ever think that.? Baez gently laid the stillborn Dibbun into the cradle he had so lovingly carved with his own paws. Then he hurried over to sit beside his wife and stroke her headspikes. ?These things 'appen. We're both still young and when thou're ready we'll try again. But only if thou wish it.?

The hogwife gazed into her husband's eyes. All of her hopes and dreams were held within those depths. All except for the broken dream that lay in the cradle. ?Can I hold 'er??



Suellyn had woken earlier to Revel's prodding but she wasn't sure what it was that had drawn her from her dreams this time. Waking itself seemed to be getting more difficult. She'd been told once about creatures who got lost in snowstorms and fell asleep never to wake up. Maybe it was the same in the desert.

The hedgehog couldn't let that happen. She sat up and blinked at her surroundings. Dizziness made her want to lie down again, even breathing seemed harder than it had before, but she didn't give in to the blackness.

She wondered where the stoatmaid could have gone and then for the first time noticed the scared dormouse who had been newly shackled beside her.

?Hello, my name's Suellyn.?

The dormouse took in the hedgehog's emaciated appearance and nodded. ?Bellona," she offered before going back to scanning the pit, constantly on the alert.

Su didn't much care if the other female was interested in talking. She was going to keep this conversation alive and herself with it. ?That stoatmaid, Revel, poor thing, she's all alone with no mate to care for her. 'Least I had my Baez when I was caryin' my liddle'un.?

She didn't pay any mind to the odd look Bellona gave her. ?D'you have a family, Miz Bell? A husband? Dibbuns??

?I had a husband, m'am.?

Had? Was that a note of sadness that the hogwife detected in the other female's voice?

?My Baez was taken by slavers, three seasons back. I miss 'im somethin' awful.? Suellyn waited a moment for a response but when she didn't receive one from the distracted dormouse she continued. ?I suppose your 'usband was a warrior like yourself??

Su had recognized the fighting spirit in her fellow prisoner right away. Though she wasn't sure whether it was comforting or disheartening to have such a worthy creature shackled next to her.

Bellona gave a snort of laughter. ?Freyr was no fighter.? Then she turned a mite wistful. ?Bein' with him . . . It was a nice change from the war.?

?I can see how that would be . . .?

?It's not the time to chat about those things. We need to get out of these chains.?

The interruption startled the hogwife and she realized that she had slipped back down into a prone position. Suellyn levered herself up against the side of the pit.

?Are you well, Sue?? Birch asked her from further down the line. ?You look like you could use a drink or somethin'.?

The hedgehog raised a weak paw. ?I'm jus' fine, jus' tired is all. That trek across the desert took a lot outta me. By the spikes, it did.?

Still, shackled paws made quick work of filling a bowl of water from the trickling oasis overflow and passed it down the line to the hogwife.

?Thankee,? Suellyn touched her headspikes politely before taking the bowl and raising it to her lips. She  took only a small sip and then passed the bowl on to Bellona.

The dormouse received the bowl reluctantly, looking as if she'd rather Su wasn't quite so generous.

?Wot'd I tell you, wench! You stay away from me!?

Everybeast on the slave line looked up as a male stoat led a female of the same species towards the rest of them and away from his own hut.

The hogwife, especially, watched them. She was slipping again, sliding away into oblivion, but she still noticed that there was something about the way this male treated Revel. There was something that belied his rough words.

?You've found him then, Mis Rev.? Suellyn coughed. Her vision was blurring now, but she smiled.



Nivard was looking this way and that, down the slave line, trying to find a place to stow his captive. He wouldn't make the mistake of merely tying her up with rope again. No, he was going to make sure that this one didn't get away.

The stoat paid heed to the feeble call among the rest of the silent slaves and his gaze quickly found the hogwife.

?'Ere this one's already 'alf dead.? He dragged  Revel over to the spot. Then something seemed to spark in his memory. Nivard looked back and forth between the stoatess and the other female. ?It's the 'og wot insulted me in front o' everybeast. Well, isn' this a stroke o'luck.?

Before anybeast could make a move or a sound of protest, the stoat drew back his sword and ran the hogwife through.

?Oi, Medjool, stop pawin' at that robin an' git over 'ere. Gotta unchain one an' add this'un to the line.?

The monitor left the unconscious bird and slunk over. ?Whatcha gonna do with the body?? he asked hungrily.



Suellyn barely felt the sword thrust. With it, the last of the slave pit and desert world faded away and something else loomed large in her vision: gates. They were more lovely and welcoming than she could have ever imagined and they were open for her to enter. Her eyes filled with tears, yes, happy tears. She was no longer completely parched. She reached up a paw to wipe at them and found her cheeks to be plump and round.

But she could still hear voices from that other place. The lizard's goin' to eat me. Well if it 'ad to be some beast I wish it could have at least been Revel. Those kits 'aven' 'ad meat in a few days.

She was distracted from her annoyance, however, by another voice. There, beyond the gates, the smallest, most beautiful hogmaid Su had ever seen was calling out to her.

?Mamma! Oh, Mamma, you're finally here!?