The Winds of the Past [Rune Factory 4]

Chapter 55

“What do you mean, you’ve never used birth control?” I exclaimed, stunned. We’d decided only yesterday that we wanted to start a family, but it appeared we’d already hit our first snag. “You mean to say, that in the year or so we’ve been together, as well as the year and a half that you were with Dylas before me… you never once used any form of contraceptive?”

“No, never. I’m sorry, I guess I just never thought of such a thing even existing. I guess that’s something else that I must have forgotten about, thanks to my amnesia.”

I scowled at her. “You fall back on that excuse far too often, Avani. It’s one thing to say you can’t remember details of your childhood or something—that’s normal for amnesia. But it’s another thing altogether to blame it for your tendency to not think things through!” I spoke far more harshly than was my intent in my agitation at the implications of her revelation.

With a hurt look, she turned away. “I said I was sorry. What more do you want from me? Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but I don’t understand why you’re being so… so mean about it!” Then she stormed out of the house, leaving me slack-jawed in surprise.

I thought about what I’d said to warrant such an accusation, and as I mentally replayed my part of the conversation, I realized that I had perhaps been less than sympathetic. Especially the comment about her amnesia—I cringed as my words echoed accusingly in my head. I followed after her, but by then she’d vanished from sight. No doubt she’d gone off to work off her vexation out in the wilds somewhere. I sighed and rubbed my forehead, then glanced up at the sky, noting dark clouds gathering on the horizon. They were still a long ways away, though, so I wasn’t too concerned. I trudged up the steps from the garden and headed down the street to Porcoline’s.

Dylas was on duty when I walked in, and he looked up in surprise. “Where’s Avani?” he asked curiously, peering to see if she was straggling along behind me.

I shrugged and asked for a cup of coffee, and he gave me a sharp look as he poured it and passed it to me. “What’s going on? You two are virtually inseparable. So where is she?”

“We… had a disagreement. Hey… did you know she never used birth control? Not once in all the time she was with either of us. Did… did she ever have a pregnancy scare or anything, that you know of?” I asked, sipping the steaming beverage.

He raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the counter. “Really? No, I didn’t know that. And as far as I know, nothing like that ever came up. She never mentioned anything to me, anyway. Why? Don’t tell me you were arguing about that, of all things?”

I frowned into my cup, pausing before responding. “Don’t you see? She spent over two years sexually active with one or both of us, never using any contraceptives, and she hasn’t once had even a hint of getting pregnant. We decided that we want to start a family, but apparently we’ve already been doing everything possible to have children… with no results. So what if… what if we just can’t? We former Guardians, I mean. What if being bound with a monster like that for so long somehow rendered us infertile? I mean, it obviously had some lasting physical effects. Maybe there are others that are less obvious.”

Dylas looked surprised as he thought about it, then he just shrugged. “Well, I suppose that would be unfortunate if you really wanted kids that badly. But I still don’t see what the big deal is. I mean, what’ve you got to gripe about, really? You got the girl—so what if you can’t have kids with her, too? Isn’t just having her enough? Don’t be so… so greedy. I’d take a lifetime with Avani—with or without kids—any day. But she picked you, not me. So where is she, anyway?”