//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: First Day as a Family (edited) // Story: Man in a Diamond Dogs World // by monkey king //------------------------------// As Fenriss and Kiba slept soundly a loud, sudden knocking could be heard coming from the bedroom’s doors. Fenriss jumped at this unexpected noise causing young Kiba to cry from being suddenly awoken. Fenriss looked down at Kiba, carefully picked him up and started to rock him back and forth. She then smiled sweetly and said,“ Oh mommy is sorry for scaring you little one, please stop crying.”  Kiba sniffled a couple of times, before finally smiling and reaching up towards Fenriss to show that he was okay now. She chuckled at this and began to nuzzle the side of his face while saying,” Oh you just look so adorable my little Gem!” Fenriss then stood up from her bed, while still holding Kiba, and made her way over to the doors and opened it.  Once the doors had been opened, Fenriss was greeted by a smiling Lassie. Lassie gave Fenriss a small curtsey while saying,” Good Morning Your Majesty I have come like you asked of me.” Fenriss chuckled and said,” Please rise, miss Lassie, no need to be so formal.” Lassie gave a quick nod and stood up tall. She then asked,” So how are you and your new pup doing this morning Your Majesty?” Fenriss smirked and said,” Well, we were just suddenly woken up from a peaceful sleep, but aside from that, we are just peachy.” Lassie started to laugh nervously as she rubbed the back of her head and said,” I am sorry but I was just oh so excited to get to spend some time with little Kiba.” She  reached out her right paw and started to lightly tickle Kiba, causing him to burst in a fit of giggles. Fenriss smiled warmly at the sight, and once Lassie stopped tickling Kiba, a loud growl could be heard coming from his stomach. Fenriss, and Lassie chuckled and Fenriss suggested,” Why don’t we go to the kitchen and find something for this little one to eat?” Lassie gave a nod in agreement, and the two made their way to the kitchen. Once they reached the kitchen Fenriss asked,” So what would my little pup like to eat.” She looked at a couple of apples that some scouts had gotten from the apple farm outside the Everfree Forest. Fenriss looked at Lassie and asked,” Miss Lassie, do you mind taking those apples and mashing them up for Kiba to eat.” Lassie smiled as she said,” I would be delighted to do so Your Majesty.” Lassie then grabbed the apples, a big metal bowl, and a tool to mash up the apples. After she finished mashing up the apples, she poured it into a bowl and handed it to Fenriss along with a small spoon for her to use to feed Kiba. Fenriss smiled as she took the bowl and said,” Thank you, miss Lassie. feel free to grab yourself something to eat while I feed Kiba.” Lassie gave her a nod and went to find something to eat. Meanwhile, Fenriss picked up the spoon with the applesauce on it and slowly brought it up to Kiba’s mouth. She smiled and said,” Okay Kiba time for food, open wide.” Kiba smiled up at Fenriss and happily ate the food. Fenriss smiled down at him and said,” Well, I will take that as you liking it.” Once the bowl was empty Fenriss looked down at the now messy Kiba and with a chuckle said,” Oh my, you sure are one messy pup my little Gem.” Just then, the doors to the kitchen opened and in walked Commander Howler. Fenriss looked at Commander Howler and asked,” Commander Howler, what seems to be the trouble?” Commander Howler sighed and said,” Nobles ask for words with Majesty.”  Fenriss sighed and asked herself,” Oh what do those fools want now?” She  looked at Lassie and asked,” Miss Lassie would you please go and give little Kiba here a bath?” Lassie gave Fenriss a nod as she took Kiba from her arms and the two left the kitchen. Once the, two left, Fenriss stood up and said,” Alright Commander Howler, let us go and deal with those Nobles.” With that, the two went into the throne room. Once inside, Fenriss saw the three most vocal nobles in all of the kingdom. Two of them were male and the third was female, the two males looked like Bulldogs and the female looked like a Siberian Husky. Fenriss looked at the three as she walked over to her throne made of assorted gems and asked,” Lady Aniu, Counts Barley and Dozer, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”     Lady Aniu walked up closer to the throne and said,” Well we all noticed the creature that you had yesterday, and just wanted to know what it was and what you will be doing with it?” Fenriss sighed and said,” Okay, I will be honest, I have no idea what he is and I don’t care. Now as for my plans for him, I have taken him in as my pup and will raise him as if he was my own.” She glared at the three and asked,” Do any of you have a problem with this?” Lady Aniu shook her head and said,” Oh no quite the opposite. I am so happy to hear that you have a cute pup of your own now.” Fenriss smiled at this for she had, in all honesty, feared her subjects would reject her taking in and raising Kiba. Fenriss then looked at the pair of Counts and asked,” What say you two, do you have any objections to me taking in the pup?” Count Barley and Dozer looked at each other and then at Fenriss and asked,” We just want make sure it not problem for kingdom later.” Fenriss smiled at this and said,” I can assure you that he is not and never will be a threat to the kingdom.” Fenriss then stood up and said,” Now if you will excuse me, I wish to return to my pup, good day to you three.” Fenriss walked past the nobles and exited the throne room where Commander Howler was standing guard. Fenriss smiled and said,” Commander Howler, I am retiring for the day, please do not disturb me unless it is of the utmost importance.” Commander Howler saluted Fenriss while saying,” Yes Majesty.” Fenriss gave Commander Howler a quick nod and went to go find Kiba and Lassie. After looking around her castle, she found the pair in the royal garden. This garden was special to Fenriss because it was the first vegetation to grow like this underground. The reason for this was the massive yellow gem sticking out of the roof known as Solarite. The Solarite acted like an artificial sun which worked well for growing small plants, but not big crops, which is why they got all their fruits and vegetables from the surface. Fenriss walked over to the two and, with a smile, said,” Well it sure seems like you two are having fun.” This caused Kiba and Lassie to turn and face the smiling Fenriss. As soon as Kiba saw Fenriss, he started laughing and reached out to her, as a way of saying he wanted her to hold him. Fenriss chuckle, picked Kiba up and nuzzled the side of his face while saying,” Oh aren’t you just the sweetest thing my little Gem.” Once she stopped nuzzling Kiba, she looked over at Lassie and asked,” Was he any trouble for you?” Lassie just shook her head and said,” Oh no, he was the best pup anyone could ask for.” This made Fenriss smile once more and began to nuzzle Kiba again. After she stopped nuzzling Kiba, she decided that the three should just relax in the garden for a while. So there they stayed for hours until finally, Kiba fell into a deep sleep. Fenriss looked at the sleeping Kiba and with a truly happy smile said,” Looks like someone is sleepy, why don’t we get you into bed for a nap.” She then stood up and gently walked to her room. Once inside her room, she laid Kiba down on the comfy bed and said,” Sweet dreams my little gem.” Fenriss then leaned down and kissed his forehead, causing Kiba to smile warmly in his sleep. Fenriss chuckled at the sight of her pup smiling. She then stood tall turning to face Lassie and in a low tone said,” Miss Lassie, thank you again for watching Kiba, it truly means the world to me.” Lassie chuckled and said,” Think nothing of it Your Majesty it was my pleasure.” She then frowned a small bit and asked,” Your Majesty if you do not mind telling me, when do you plan on telling the kingdom of little Kiba?” Fenriss frowned and said,” If I am to be honest, I don’t know.” She looked at the sleeping Kiba and said,” I am just so scared of how my subjects will react to him.” Lassie smiled and said,” Your Majesty, I am sure everyone in the kingdom will be overjoyed to hear that you have a pup, be they Diamond Dog or otherwise.” Fenriss smiled at her words and said,” You are right miss Lassie.” She looked at Lassie and said,” In fact, I will reveal him to the kingdom tomorrow.” She then asked,” Miss Lassie, can you please go inform the kingdom that there will be a special announcement tomorrow?” Lassie gave a quick bow while saying,” At once my Queen.” With that Lassie quickly left the room, leaving Fenriss and the sleeping Kiba alone.  Fenriss looked down at Kiba once again and said,” Oh my little Gem I know that my subjects will love you almost as much as I love you.” She kissed his forehead once again, before laying down next to him and falling asleep as well.