The royal moon witch

Chapter 18 - Hidden in the hay

* Elvira P.O.V. *

Before I could blink, both males stood next to me and we headed to where the sound came from. Lucky for us, we heard another meow before we could have lost the direction. At the end of the hallway, we saw several large piles of hay.

“Since when does hay meow?” Sam asked as a joke but Valentino punched his arm.

“Ouch hey!” he said and I rolled my eyes. I walked towards the hay and moved it aside slowly. Valentino came to my aid but in his eagerness he took a large pile of hay which fell back for at least half of it. “Easy going there prince eager… We do not know why she is hiding here” I said in a rather calm voice and he looked at me.

“That is why I want to find out quick” he said. He looked at me and I looked back at him. “You won’t find out quick if you scare her. She will run and find a different hiding spot oh prince smart one” I said sarcastically. He sighed and stepped back holding his hands up for a moment. That was fine by me too.

I went on with the search for Mittens and slowly discovered her. She had built a nest in the hay and when she saw me breaking it, she didn’t look happy. I could only think of one or two reasons why she would want a comfortable place to lay in and hide but I want gonna jump to conclusions just yet.

“There there.. I’m sorry for breaking your beautiful nest” I said in a soft voice. I tried soothing her as much as possible so she wouldn’t run.

“I’m not alone.. I have your friends here too” I said and even though it sound silly, I moved a bit away so she could see Valentino and Sam. She mowed softly and I slowly reached out to her with one hand. Mittens moved her head up and smelled my hand and then laid her head back on the hay. She seemed to be okay with me being here.

"What is wrong with her?" Valentino asked. I could hear the worry in his voice. I was still working on gaining a bit more trust from Mittens when she mowed again.

"She is in pain.. isn't she?" Valentino said. I could start to feel his worry in the air, it made it a bit hard to concentrate.

"I can understand your worry Valentino but this is not helping" I said softly and looked at him. He sighed and held his hands up again.

"I'm sorry that I'm worried" he said and sat down in the hay. He really seemed to feel defeated by the the fact that he couldn't help. It made me wonder why he was feeling this but I had to focus on Mittens first.

I slowly caressed Mittens head softly and she seemed to accept it. I smiled and softly hummed a melody. This I did to keep her calm and while I did this, I moved my hand down to her front paws. She looked up a bit but laid her head back down allowing me to touch her.

"Good girl, you're doing great.. Now let's see what is going on" I said and continued my humming while I slowly moved my hand down her body.

"No broken paws, nothing bad with her shoulders" I said and I heard a relieved sigh from my left where Valentino sat in the hay. I moved my hand to her belly. It was hard and I frowned slightly.

"Are there more cats around the stables? Males I mean" I asked and looked first at Valentino and then at Sam.

"I did hear Garrett say that he had seen Mittens with a friend around but he didn't know where that one came from" Sam said and I smiled a little.

"Well then I am pretty sure that there is nothing wrong with Mittens. Unless she was sterilized" I said. Valentino looked at me and Sam started to chuckle.

"Such a bad kitty for a royal cat" Sam said while laughing and I saw how ge looked at Valentino.

"Maybe she takes after you more than you think, you know what they say: pet and owner are often made of the same wood" he added and Valentino grunted a bit. I couldn't help but laugh at this and looked at Valentino.

"So she is pregnant? But why is she mowing so much and building a nest?" Valentino asked and I smiled at him. Was he that clueless or did he just not think of what was going on right now?

"She is in labor right now but for all I can see now she us doing great on her own and we can best give her some space" I explained and he nodded. He slowly got up and looked at Mittens.

"If I find a grey hair after today I'm blaming you silly kitty" he said with a light smile on his lips. Mittens meowed softly back and I laughed softly. We then all walked away slowly so Mittens could do her thing.

"Are there things I can do for her?" Valentino asked and Iwas surprised that he was looking at me instead of at Sam.

"For now no, you could go to a pet store for special food for her if she even eats cat food and isn't too used to eating mice" I said. He nodded while grabbing his phone from his pocket and he started to type down what I said.

"Further you could ask the employee there about a birthing box. Normally it's used for the cat to give birth in but it also can be used for after. She can put the kittens in there for safety and they can't fall out or climb out when they are older." I went on and he seemed to type down every word I said.

"Is there more?" He asked, looking at me again.

"Yes, call the vet and tell them what is happening so they know that if there are complications, we will need them either here or that we will come to them" I said and Valentino wrote it down again. My curiosity about his bond with Mittens got bigger and bigger, he was so different now that he knew what was going on. It was almost cute.

Valentino looked at me and I smiled at him.

"There is only one thing left and that is give me your number so I can keep you posted. I was assigned to help in the stables today so I can do my chores and keep a eye on her." I said and at first he frowned a little but as he heard me out he seemed to understand that I wanted his number so I could keep him updated.

"Alright. Give me your phone then" he said and I handed him my old and simple phone. He looked at it as if he saw something for the first time but didn't say anything. He put his number in my phone and have it to me.

"You need to fill in a name for the contact yourself" He said and I grinned.

"I'm definitely gonna put you under Prince Grumpiness" I said with a teasing smile. He seemed to not mind my joke but of course I wasn't sure.

I heard Sam laugh from what I said and smiled a bit.

"I'm going to remember that one" Sam responded and I chuckled. I saw Valentino look at us and shake his head but there was a smile visible. I walked back to the saddle room.

"I'm going back to work, I'll check on her in half a hour" I said and Valentino nodded.

"If there is more for me to handle, text me please.. and keep me updated" he said and I put a thumb up. He walked away and Sam looked at me.

"I bet that you are full of questions now" he said. I grinned slightly because he was right. I picked the first briddle and sat down on a small stool after I had grabbed the two oils and the cloths. I started with the oil on which can stood a '1' and looked at Sam.

"Well I am indeed wondering why Mittens got him so stressed and worried" I said and Sam leaned against the wall.

"It's rather a simple answer.. Mittens is his cat" Sam said. I looked at him and tilted my head to one side.

"Then why is she the stable cat?" I asked. Sam smiled a little and looked at the time.

"I'm sorry Vira, I have to get going or else the date I planned is not ready when Riella is" he said and I sighed. I could understand him but wished he would have more time.

"It's alright, I understand. Have fun together" I said and he smiled.

"Oh I will have fun, you will hear about it later" Sam said and I laughed. He headed out of the saddle room but before he left he looked at me.

"Ask Valentino about Mittens, he might warm up to you even more than he is already doing" he said and I raised a eyebrow.

"I'll see if I get the chance" I said and Sam walked away. I worked further on the briddles and after I had done four of them I went to wash my hands and while drying them I walked back to where we had found Mittens.

She was laying in the hay and had made a new nest but this time she was not fully hiding herself. I sat down on the hay in front of her and she purred softly. I smiled and softly stroked her head. I couldn't tell what stage she was in precisely. I felt my phone buzz and I fished it from my pocket. It was Valentino with a text message.

Is there a update already? I would like to be there when the kittens are born. Greetings Valentino

I smiled a bit and send a message back.

I am sitting next to her right now and she is just resting a bit with contractions coming and going. I think it will take a few more hours before the first kitten comes. How far are you with the things I told you to do?

I looked back at Mittens when I had hit the send button and stroked her head a little more. She seemed to enjoy the touch and purred a bit more. I smiled and then felt my phone buzz again.

I just picked up the food and labor box and I have called the vet, she offered to come by to see how far along she is and I said that was alright. She should be coming by in about half an hour.

I nodded to what I read and smiled. It was a good idea to let the vet determine how far she was since that was something I have no knowledge over.

That Is a good idea, I might know a bit of delivering animals but not much about the stages of a cats labor. I'll see you and the vet when you go check on her

I didn't get a response on that but I didn't mind. I looked at Mittens and then checked the surroundings. It felt good to be in the stables and I was very happy to do something I was good at. After a while of sitting in the hay I got up again.

"I'll be back later okay miss Mittens?" I said to the beige with light brown cat and she gave a soft meow. I then walked away and walked back to the saddle room.

I decided to take a detour and walked past the horses. Some were curious and came to take a look at the stranger walking by while others just continued what they were doing. When I reached the four separated stables, I saw two horses that looked at me. I decided to walk towards them and held out my hand to one of the horses. It was a creme horse with white main and sweet brown eyes.

"Hello there..." I said and checked the name plate.

"Dolce, what a beautiful name you have" I complimented her. She breathed against my hand and I giggled.

"That tickles" I said and petted her over her forehead. She had a white mark over her nose and she suddenly pushed her head more against me. I laughed and petted her more on her neck.

"You really are a sweetheart" I said and she whinnied softly and I smiled.

"I need to go now, there are some saddles to oil and a cat in labor" I said and Dolce snorted and kicked once against the door.

"Easy easy sweetheart" I said and petted her neck a bit more.

"I'll come by when I'm done okay?" I asked. I waited a little moment and then walked away, back to the saddle room.

After I got back at the saddle room, time seemed to fly by. I had just started with Dolce her saddle when Valentino came to pick me up for the check up on Mittens with the vet. The vet was a women from I guessed around mid thirties. She checked Mittens and estimated that she was now for about twelve hours in labor. That meant she was still in the first stage the vet said. Since it was her first litter, this stage could take up to thirty-six hours. She advised us to move Mittens inside the palace so we could keep a good eye on her.

"We would need to find a good spot for her. She can't stay in my room" Valentino said and for a moment I didn't understand why.

"That is logically since your allergic, is there a other room?" The vet asked and Valentino nodded. He was allergic for cats? That is a hard pill to swallow.

"We can try to put her in my room.. I'll look after her and can even keep a log about what she is going through" I said. The vet nodded in agreement and Valentino smiled thankfully.

With the help of the vet, Valentino and I moved Mittens into the labor box and we slowly brought her to the palace.

"My room is at the maids quarter" I said and with my head I nodded towards the door we could use. We walked with the three of us to my room, the vet was holding the doors and once we were there I told het to move the plant and we placed the labor box in the corner next to my bed.

"This will do for now, I'll give you my card so you can text me the log whenever you can" the vet said and handed me a business card. I took it from her and nodded.

"I also have written down the stages and what to expect for you on this paper, and also what complications can happen and what to do then" she said and handed me the sheet of paper. I took them and nodded.

"Thank you, this will be a great help" I said and turned to Valentino.

"Though I won't be able to continue my work at the stables for today" I said and looked at Valentino.

"Until the kittens are born, Mittens is your main priority" He said. He clearly didn't like the idea of not being able to look after Mittens. I nodded and looked at Mittens in the box. I was happy that she seemed to accept the change of scenery.

"I'll keep you both updated and once I can see that the kittens will be coming soon, I'll call you immediately" I said facing Valentino. To see how much he loved the cat even if he was allergic for her, made my opinion on him being heartless change a bit. I was actually happy to have witnessed such a moment from him. Maybe becoming friends was less hard now that I found something he loved, something else than killing my kind.