Elaine of Antwerd

Bravery

Evening was setting in as Sterling and Elaine approached the farm. Immediately, Elaine knew something was wrong. The chickens, still in their shack, were making an incredible racket, and the goats were more active than they ever were this time of day. They trotted restlessly and bickered. Juliet, her round stomach now outlined in indents, stood in the middle of the pen, and William stood at her side, holding onto the rope around her neck. Juliet was making pained cries and moving unhappily.

William looked up. "Perfect timing! Sterling, go check the chickens, I think there's a hole in the shack. Elaine, come help."

Sterling sprinted for the chickens and Elaine hopped over the fence into the pen. "What do I do?"

"The first kid will be coming out soon. As soon as it does, clean it as best you can. And keep the other goats away." William gestured to the half-barrel, lined with towels. "You'll need to pull the sack away from the kid's face with your hands and clear the nostrils first so it can breathe. Careful about the eyes. If it starts shaking its head a lot, let me know."

Juliet's bleating got louder, and Elaine noticed nasty discharge coming from the back end. A ripple moved across the stomach, and more discharge came, tinged bright red. William frowned, but said nothing.

After ten tense minutes, the ripples came back, and a bubble of fluid poked out of the hole. William stooped to take a look and nodded in relief. Juliet continued bleating, and her stomach kept clenching, until abruptly, the bubble stretched and the head and front hooves of a tiny goat emerged inside. William rubbed Juliet's back. Elaine started to reach for the kid, but William stopped her. "Let it finish."

After a few more pushes, the kid hit the ground head-first, covered in blood and fluid. Elaine reached out to pick it up, glancing at William to see if it was okay. Scooping up the kid in a towel, Elaine set to wiping clean the face and nose while William rubbed Juliet's stomach reassuringly. He released the rope and Juliet plopped down right where she was, breathing deeply. Once the kid's face was clean, William presented it to Juliet, who gave it a couple of half-hearted licks and then turned away. Frowning, William returned the kid to Elaine. "Dry it off. Something's wrong with Juliet.

Some hours later, the second kid came. William had a fire ready to stand by and provide light. This kid was harder and took longer, and there was more blood. When it eventually came, it wasn't moving or breathing, and it was only sparsely covered in fur. William told Elaine to take the kid out of the pen. "There's nothing we can do for it now."

The first kid, on close examination, turned out to be quite healthy. It was quickly taken in by another nanny goat who was too old to kid, but it had to be bottle fed regularly from that point forward. The second kid was dead before it left Juliet, and despite William's efforts through the night, Juliet herself didn't live to see the sun rise. It was her first time kidding.

In the morning, Sterling came out to the pen. A patch of sticky red mud formed a rough oval in the center. The goats walked over it without a second thought. Juliet and her second kid lay in a sickening pile just beside the goat shed, limbs and hooves and bloody fur. William sat on the fence, watching the goats, hollow-eyed and red up to his elbows. Tiredness shadowed his cheeks and temples. Without saying a word, Sterling walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, laying his head on the soft, brown hair for a few seconds before gently pulling him off the fence to wash up and get some sleep.

Elaine minded the chickens while Sterling fed and checked on the goats, earning himself a few bruises in the process. Sterling also butchered Juliet and her stillborn, salting the meat to preserve it. William helped the kid once he woke up again, deciding to name her "Juliet" after her mother.
"No sense wasting a good name," he said to Elaine, checking little Juliet's ears. "Let's just hope it's not a cursed name. Juliet was the name I gave my favorite goat when I was young, and that didn't end so well, either."