The Witcher and the Seawolf

Chapter 36

Cirilla

"Okay, okay." Cirilla looked up to the sky and thought of a story to tell Farah. The little girl sat in her lap, playing with a toy of a little wolf while Derora steered the carriage and Yennefer read a book. Morria was asleep, which did slightly worry the Princess, since she's never seen a baby sleep so much. But the elf babe had a set of lungs on her, so sleeping was more preferable than her wailing. "Okay, I got one."

Cirilla cleared her throat and looked down at her daughter. "Before our fathers, fathers came from the west and landed on the continent, there was a group of elves that lived with wolves. Large war hounds that were loyal to their masters. Adonis, the strongest pup of the elder bitch was handpicked by the chief to be the royal hound of his son. Understanding his destiny, Adonis grew prideful. Adonis would steal food from his kin and warn them, in the way of dogs, that the chief would punish them if they tried to tell the chief."

"He's a bad doggie." Farah said with an adorable scowl.

"Yes, he is." Cirilla noticed Yennefer look up from the book and listen to the story. Even Derora turned her head slightly so she could listen. "Years passed, and when the time came for the choosing ceremony, and time for Adonis to become the loyal hound to the chief's son. Adonis's pride swelled even further, but the people of the village went to the chief and whispered of Adonis's wrong doings. Of course, the chief ignored them, but he did start to watch the hound closer. Do you know what he saw?"

"Adonie being bad?"

"Uh huh." Cirilla nodded. "He saw everything the people whispered to him come to pass. His thievery and his pridefulness, his threats to his kin and the way he strutted around like he was the chief himself. So, when the day of the ceremony came, Adonis sat proudly, waiting to be called upon. But his name was not called." Farah gasped and she smiled brightly, happy at the outcome of this story. "Instead, the chief called upon Adonis's younger brother. The runt of the litter."

"Runt?" Farah seemed confused.

"The smallest and weakest of the brood." Cirilla explained further. "But even though this young hound was smaller and weaker, he was loyal and reliable. Out of rage and wounded pride, Adonis lunged forward and bit the hand of the chief. The chief and his son struck at Adonis and casted him out. Adonis's kin lunged at him, and the people of the tribe threw stones at Adonis. Adonis had nowhere to go, so he was forced to leave the tribe and never return. Do you know the moral of the story?" Farah looked confused and Cirilla giggled softly at her face. "The lesson you learned from the story."

Farah hummed and narrowed her eyes as if she was deep in thought. Cirilla was amazed at how smart Farah was. She hasn't really spent too much time around children, babies in particular, but she was sure children at Farah's age couldn't hold full conversations or understand more complex things. Cirilla chalked it up to who Farah's grandmother was, being a grandchild of a goddess must have some perks.

"If Adonie wasn't so mean to his brother's and sissies then he would have been picked, right?" Cirilla nodded.

"But why was he so mean?" Cirilla asked.

"He thought he was going to be chosen." Farah answered.

"Right. He assumed that he had power and he abused it. He hurt his kin and the people because he thought they were weaker than him, even though he was chosen to protect those very people. Understand?" Farah nodded and nuzzled herself into Cirilla's belly. Cirilla hadn't told Farah that she was going to be a big sister, but the little girl seemed to gravitate towards Cirilla's belly. When she laid down for naps, she would rest her head on her belly. She would hum to her belly, which she never did before. And sometimes she would even pet it like a cat. Farah essentially knew what was going on without the exact details.