Author's Note: I hope you like my story! Feel free to voice your opinion, ask any questions and point out any mistakes I make.
Saber's POV
We all land in the clearing after flying for a few hours, in need of rest. The sun is starting to set, and Wolf hops off of my back, with a sleeping Nia in his arms. I immediately shift into my human form and take Nia from Wolf.
"Thanks for carrying her." I say, staring down at her perfect face.
"No problem." Wolf replies, then walks over to Ivy, who is also in her human form. I think Wolf likes Ivy, but Nia is such a better judge for that sort of stuff. I'll ask her when she wakes up.
Exhausted and yawning, everyone stumbles into the cabin, where Alaric and Meredith immediately walk to me to check on Nia.
"We could smell her blood, place her on the dining room table, we will check her over and patch up as many wounds as we can." Meredith demands. I nod and walk to the dining room, carefully placing Nia on the table. I then look to Alaric
"Mostly everyone has gashes, can you help me look them over?" I ask. He nods and follows me to the living room. We go to everyone, stitching and bandaging wounds, giving pain medication, and ordering them to sleep. The boys camp out in the living room with the girls all sleeping in the guest bedroom upstairs.
I stay in the dining room with Nia as she sleeps the night away. She barely made any noise while Meredith was cleaning her wounds and stitching most of them up. A massive bandage is wrapped around her ribs, Meredith said a few were broken, and even more were bruised. A brace is on her left knee, holding her leg straight so her knee can heal. She also has a sling on her right arm for her shoulder. It hurts to see all of this on her body, that she needs this much healing.
There is barely any skin not covered by stitches or bruises, and tears flow from my eyes as I look at my connection mate's abused body. I hold her hands in mine, rubbing circles against the back of her hands with my thumbs as I patiently wait for her to wake up.
Nia's POV
I groan and wake up in a room I don't recognize immediately. I then realize I'm in the cabin dining room on the table, and Saber is sitting in a chair sleeping, clutching my hands with his own over my stomach.
Releasing one of his hands, I calmly stroke the back of his head. I study my body to see that I look like a mummy, since my whole body is covered in bandages, and underneath, holding my cuts closed, are a lot of stitches. There's a brace on my knee to keep it straight, probably while it mends, and a sling on my arm.
Well, this is great.
"Nia!" Aunt Meredith squeals as she sees that I'm awake.
"Aunt Meredith, please shhhh! Saber is sleeping!" I whisper. She replies quietly
"Oh. Well do you need anything?"
"Can I have something to eat? Oh and some water please." I ask. She nods and goes into the kitchen, coming out with a tall, cold glass of water and a sandwich a few minutes later. I mouth thanks, still stroking the back of Saber's head soothingly.
Grunting, I try to sit up, remembering Uncle Alaric and Aunt Meredith drilling into me the rule "Never eat or drink while lying down." I chuckle, remembering them glaring at me while telling me the rule multiple times throughout my childhood.
Sadly, my movement immediately wakes up Saber, and he helps me sit up. Tears threaten to spill over as he stares at me.
"I'm so glad you're home." He whispers, tightly holding my hands.
"Can I have a hug?" I ask, lifting my left arm. Saber gently picks me up and places me on the floor, then embraces me. He plants a soft kiss on my lips, and puts me back on the table. I sigh and drink the water left for me, quickly following it with my sandwich. When I am done, Saber had me lie back down on the table, moving as little as possible. It's so boring!
A few minutes later, the guys walk in sleepily rubbing their eyes. Inferno walks past me, mumbles
"Sup." and goes into the kitchen. Wolf simply grunts then nods, Lightning waves and Jake smiles, exclaiming
"Yay, Nia you're awake! I'm so glad that we were able to rescue you, Saber was so miserable. Barely ate or slept. Ivy was a bit better, but still not very good. I'm kind of surprised the girls aren't up yet, but they are all heavy sleepers, and sleep in all the time. If we wake them, they usually get very angry." I laugh at Jake's bubbly attitude, even though I'm presuming it's early in the morning.
"Shut up Jake it's too early for your endless blabbering." Lightning complains from the kitchen, sounding very cranky.
"Sorry that I like mornings." Jake rolls his eyes.
"Whatever." Lightning replies, walking back into the dining room with a cup of coffee. "I need caffeine." He sighs, shuffling into the living room. I giggle and ask Saber
"I get that I have to constantly lie down, but can I at least go to my room? This table is so uncomfortable." He sighs, and picks me up
"Fine, I'll move you to your room. But I am not leaving your side."
"Can I at least go to the bathroom by myself?" I say. Saber glares at me
"Of course you can! You know what I meant!" I giggle, but immediately regret it as sharp pain runs through my stomach. I take in a sharp breath of pain, which just hurts more. Whimpering, tears come to my eyes as the pain increases with every breath.
Saber looks down at me and he whimpers as well, holding me to his warm, muscular chest. I snuggle into him, trying to lessen the pain. I feel some of my pain go away, and I remember Marie saying that connection mates can sometimes affect each other's emotions slightly. I smile up at Saber in thanks as he gently lies me down on my bed.
"I want to go home, at least for a bit. I want to stay there at least until I am healed, if that's okay." I suggest to Saber as his arms wrap gently around my torso, just above my ribs. His hands rest on the middle of my chest. I lie back on his chest, and he rests his chin on top of my head as I place my hands on top of his.
"You mean back to Pardus?"
"Yeah. Maybe Ivy would want to come with us, to learn more about her heritage and her powers, and to see some of Gato Reino. I've been practically everywhere around the kingdom, she should get the chance." Saber purrs at the memories of us visiting all of the cities and towns in the Cat Kingdom with our families.
Those were good times, simpler times, before I started having the dream. But, I don't regret where I am now. I love being with Saber as a couple even more than how I loved being with him as a friend. I also am happy that I finally know the truth, and I have a sister. I'm also so happy that Saber is my connection mate, and I know about it. I wouldn't have it any other way.
"That's a good idea, should I ask her, or do you want to?" Saber asks. I sigh and close my eyes in contentment.
"We can do it later, for now I'm too comfortable, and I'm not letting you move." Saber chuckles, and I feel it through my back.
"Okay kitten, I won't move."
"Did you just call me kitten?"
"Yes."
"Okay then. Nice nickname, I suppose."
"Do you not like kitten? What about princess?"
"I think I prefer kitten."
"Good, I think I prefer calling Ivy princess."
"WHAT?!?!?" I shout, tensing my body.
"Not that way, kitten, retract your claws." Saber laughs, explaining "Once, in the 4 days you were gone, Ivy was really irritating me and I called her princess in a snarky tone and it got her really annoyed, so of course I plan on doing it in the future, unless it annoys you." He runs his fingers through my hair, calming me down.
"Fine." I mutter. "Why do you want to annoy her anyway?"
"She's annoying, snotty towards me, thinks she knows best when it comes to you, and wants to protect you from me, which is an idiotic notion because I would never hurt you. Also, seriously? I know she's your twin, but you just met! You know barely anything about each other, yet she is always so cocky when it comes to you and thinks she knows the best way to take care of you." Saber exclaims, very annoyed. I reply softly
"I'm sorry. I think she's just jealous of our relationship. You know me better than anyone, and she wants that for us, as do I. She wants to be close to me, but she can't really hang out with me because I'm with you." Saber sighs
"I know, it's just irritating. And I just want to spend time with you, life is short, and I don't want to waste a single minute of it. But, I will give you two some girl time. Maybe the guys and I can finally get Wolf to admit he likes Ivy."
"Oooooooh, what's been going on?"
"Nothing, I've just seen Wolf look at Ivy very sweetly, and he spends a lot of time with or near her." I giggle. I definitely need to see if Ivy likes him.
"Saber! How dare you bring Nia up here! She should be downstairs resting where she's close to food and water, she's still weak! She can't get up and down those stairs!" Ivy shouts, barging into my room. I groan and cover my face with my hands, not wanting to deal with this right now.
"Nia! Why are you on Saber's chest? You should be lying on a flat surface healing, not snuggling up to him!" Ivy yells, sneering at him.
"Ivy calm down, I had Saber carry me up the stairs to here because I was tired of the uncomfortable dining room table, and I am perfectly fine on Saber's chest. It is very comfortable, and I feel very relaxed, meaning I will heal better in a relaxed position. If I need anything, I am sure Saber will help me move and will get it for me if I ask him. So please, calm down." I calmly explain with Ivy glaring at Saber as he clutches my hands in his.
"But Nia, I really think it's best if you are downstairs." Ivy insists. I growl lightly
"Ivy, you may be my sister and not like Saber for some reason, but he is my connection mate and my love, and he makes me feel better. So even if I was to move downstairs, I would still be with Saber. Also, aren't the girls sleeping upstairs while we stay here?"
I can feel Saber's happiness and his smile through our bond, and he sweetly brings up our clutched hands for him to kiss mine. Ivy glares at Saber, snorts and storms out, knowing she lost and failed in getting me away from Saber.
"Ivy wait!" I yell, wanting to ask her about coming home with us. She runs back into my room, looking hopeful. "I wanted to ask if you wanted to come back to the village that I grew up in with me. I'm planning to stay there with our aunt and uncle until I heal, and of course Saber will be going back to his house. But while I heal, maybe Aunt Meredith and Uncle Alaric can take you around the Kingdom, like they did for me when I was little."
"That'd be nice." Ivy smiles. "Could Wolf come with me, if he wants to of course. I'd want a friend with me to experience all of this with, and I know even though you want to, you can't walk around with us because you have to heal."
"Of course! That should be fine." I smile back, winking at Saber through our connection. He chuckles lightly in response.
"Yay! I'll go ask him now!" Ivy squeals, and runs out of the room to find Wolf.
Ivy's POV
"Wolf, where are you?" I shout.
"Living room!" He hollers back. I run downstairs and frantically tap his shoulder many times in my hyper state. He turns around and grasps my hand, stopping me from tapping him.
"Wolf do you want to go to Nia's village with us? Nia wants to stay there at least until she's healed and my aunt and uncle might take me around the kingdom and I want a friend to come with me so will you?" I ask very quickly. Wolf chuckles and releases my hands, then replies
"Sure, sounds fun."
"Yay!" I exclaim, and run to find Aunt Meredith and Uncle Alaric.
"Aunt Meredith, Uncle Alaric, guess what!" I say.
"What?" Alaric asks, chuckling.
"Nia asked me if I could go with her to your village and I really want to and she was thinking you guys could show me the kingdom and Wolf wants to come with me is that okay?" I ask rapidly. They both laugh lightly, and say yes, making me squeal with joy.
I'm so glad I have found my family.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Author's Note:
Hi guys! I did another long chapter, but this one isn't very important to the story. I think it's very cute though, and I wanted to do it.
Question:
Do you think Ivy and Wolf should be a couple?
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *ahem* I'm calm.