Lost but Loved

Chapter Sixteen: Princess Jane

Lucy, Lucas, the other man, Thanos and Damon had talked some more before Lucas's guard had called them away. Lucas and the guard would stay until Thanos had written a letter back for the Lady Lucy. After the late night meal, Lucy snuck away under the bright starry night to her uncle's house. She knocked quietly before slipping in in her full armor. Taking her helmet off and walking into the kitchen, she found Damon and Thanos around the table talking quietly and intensly about something. Thanos heard Lucy walk in and lifted his head to greet her.

"Hello, Lucy! Come, join us!" Lucy went into the next room, pulled a chair back to the table and sat next to her uncle with Damon across from her. Thanos handed her a strip of meat and she looked questionly at it. It was different from the beef that they usually ate. "It's bacon! Your favorite, Luce." Her eyes lit up as she gobbled it down like a wild dog eating his prey after a hard winter. The fatty meat melted on her tongue and she grinned at her uncle. She knew the foreign meat was delicious, she had it once for a holiday, but bacon was expensive to get if you weren't a hog farmer.

"How'd you get it, Uncle?"

"Well, a friend of mine butchered an extra hog this year because it was too willy. He gave me and a few other families the extra meat. Tastes really good, doesn't it?"

Lucy nodded as she accepted another strip from Damon. "It's delicious! A royal dog would kill for this kind of meat!"

"Also would a wolf," Thanos replied as he ate a small hunk of bread. A thin, piercing howl went up and made Lucy jump and grab her sword. Damon laughed at her but said nothing. Soon there was the loud stratching of an animal at the door. Thanos got up, as did Damon, and Lucy followed cautiously with her sword drawn. Thanos opened the door before Lucy could scream and a large furry body collided into her, knocking the sword from her hands so that it clattered on the floor where she landed only a few inches away. A large pink tongue fiercely licked her and she started to giggle as she realized it was a familiar looking wolf.

"Maelgwn! It's been too long! Oh, how I've dreadfully missed you!" She hugged him around the neck while Thanos and Damon chuckled.

"He's missed you dearly too, Lucy," Damon pointed out. He smiled at her shyly and turned his head away. That gave Lucy the sense that he wasn't just talking about the wolf. Lucy cupped Maelgwn's face and smiled brightly.

Shaking her head, she told him, "I can't believe you found Uncle! You truely are amazing!" She hugged him some more and finally got up. "How did he find you? Tell me the story! Tell me the story!" she excitedly exclaimed. Her face was as bright as the sun and Damon felt his heart flip. It had been too long since he last saw her. For some reason, she looked even prettier and fiercer in her armor.

"Let's sit down. Lucy, why don't you take off that armor and rejoin us once you've changed." Lucy opened her mouth to protest, but Thanos shooed her into her room. She closed the door loudly, expressing her anger and peeled out of the armor. She found a ratty old dress of hers and put it on. It was comfortable, if a little itchy, wool, dyed a dark blue. It was a birthday present one year from Petunia. Lucy pinned up her hair in a braid, steadied herself and walked out. She noticed that Damon was sitting on the couch and Maelgwn had curled up on her chair, so she decided to sit next to the prince. As she sat down, Damon beamed up at her while Thanos frowned a bit.

"Okay, so here's the story. It was the day Damon traveled here and I had put him through some hard work." He grinned at Lucy. "He had gotten kicked several times milking the cows." Lucy started giggling and Damon shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, we were sitting in the main room, next to the fire when we heard a wolf howl. It came up close to the house and started stratching at the door like he did tonight. We had our weapons out, ready to defend. I opened the door, and the little stinker slipped in and came running to the chairs. Damon recognized him as your wolf and so we've kept him here. He's quite the companion. I can see why you wanted him, Luce."