You Are Not Ape

Chapter 5

Cornelia finished feeding the baby, and handed her tenderly back to Mary. The Ape girl sat tensely, but the baby made soft cooing noises and wriggled closer to her chest.

Cornelia put an arm about the now orphaned Ape girl, and began to softly groom her light fur. Mary knew her favorite Aunt was trying to sooth her, but she just could not relax much, not even in Cornelia's loving presence.

What was probably going wrong now! It seemed that ever since her Father had betrayed Caesar, betrayed them all, that everything was going wrong at once.

\Our home is burned! Ash is dead! Papa's dead! He started a war with the humans who want us all dead! Nothing will ever be right again!

Mary began to cry quietly. Cornelia tried to take the girl in her arms, but when Mary resisted, the Ape Queen did not force the matter.

\A moment later, Caesar re-entered the room, three humans following close behind him.

"Ellie?" Mary asked, raising a tear-stained face to gaze at the human woman who had saved Cornelia's life.

Mary did not protest as Ellie came nearer. The human woman reached out one hand and gently touched the soft spot on the baby's head.

"Oh, she's so precious," Ellie cooed. "I ... I didn't believe it when Caesar told me. How old is she?"

"A couple of days," Mary said bleakly.

"May I please examine her?" Ellie asked.

Mary frowned.

"I just wanted to see if she needs medicine or anything, I promise. I won't even take her out of your sight," Ellie said.

Mary handed the infant over to her, and watched intently as the human examined the child from head to toe.

"She's very healthy," Ellie praised, smiling fondly at Mary. "You've had her since she was born?"

Mary nodded.

"Well, you've done a great job. As far as I can tell she's just fine."

Everyone in the room seem to relax a little bit at that announcement.

"Mary is one of our best when it comes to caring for the Young-lings," Cornelia pronounced, causing the Ape girl's muzzle to go very pink with embarrassment.

A short time later, Caesar drew Cornelia out of the room.

"How is she?" he asked. "Mary, I mean."

"She's terrified, Caesar," Cornelia told her husband honestly.

Caesar bowed his head. For one moment, a few tears welled up in his eyes. Koba had been his most trusted and strongest warrior. And dear little Mary was like the daughter he and Cornelia had never produced. She and Blue Eyes often acted like brother and sister with their harmless squabbling.

Koba had never taken a Mate, though more than a few females had offered once he was known to be caring for Mary. But Koba must have known their offer was only to get to the child and not because they wanted him. So, Mary had no official Mother, though Cornelia and her closest attendants always did their best for her.

And now, he had had to take her Father away from her, too.

"Scared ... of me?" he asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

Cornelia's hesitation was all the answer he needed.

"Caesar, I think Mary believes what you said to Koba you mean for her, too," she told her husband as gently as she could.

Caesar straightened up suddenly then, looking honestly stunned.

"She does not—" he began.

But Cornelia nodded sadly.

Caesar started to push past her back towards the room where Mary and the baby and the others waited. But, Cornelia reached out and gripped her husband's arm, holding him back with a gentle but firm grip.

"Please Caesar ... not yet," the Queen pleaded. "She's frightened and grieving and angry. You are, too, my husband. I know you grieve for what had to happen with Koba even if you can't admit that to anyone else. Please, don't do anything that will force you or her in to something you both will regret."

"I don't want her to hate me, Cornelia," Caesar growled in anguished frustration.

'I know. So, please don't force her hand, not right now. Not when everything is so ... so raw for all of us."

"Mary will be cared for. Rocket and his wife practically want to take her in right now. And, Maurice will have her in his home if she will go with him. Even the human, Ellie, seems to be attached to her. We, all of us, will care for her, as much as she'll let us. And you will do it to, Caesar. You will just have to ... do it from a distance for a while."

Caesar did not like that. But what he hated most was that Cornelia was right.

Cornelia forced a smile.

"You'll just have to let Maurice hug her for now, like I know you want to do, yourself."

Caesar huffed out a bitter sounding laugh.

"Maurice has the arms for it more than me," he admitted.

Cornelia hooted her own soft laughter, and placed her head against her husband's chest. He held her to him for a moment, then reluctantly drew away.

"I've sent out scouts to find the safest place for you and our women and young," Caesar told his wife. "If she will go, make sure Mary's with you."

"What about the human baby?" Cornelia asked. "You won't take her away from Mary, will you, Caesar?"

"No, not yet ... not unless I have to," Caesar said sadly.

Cornelia nodded, and went back in the room.

a/n:

thanks to all my readers who are hanging in there with me. And, welcome to all my new readers as well. Keep p the reviews and/or PM's coming, folks. It's great motivation.