//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: The Younger Years (edited) // Story: Man in a Diamond Dogs World // by monkey king //------------------------------// One day, Fenriss, Kiba and Lassie were in the royal gardens enjoying the day. Kiba and Lassie had been playing a game of tag, while Fenriss was sitting under the tree in the center of the garden. As she sat there watching the two play, Fenriss took notice of how much her little pup had grown. It had been about four years now since Fenriss had adopted young Kiba, and for the most part, their time together has been peaceful and joyous. Fenriss loved having Kiba in her life and especially loved having him as her pup. She had also grown to  appreciate having Lassie around very much, whenever she had to take care of some royal business, or just needed help with Kiba. One of the only things Fenriss hated about having a pup, was watching them grow up bit by bit. At times she wished that Kiba would stay her tiny little pup forever and never get older. However, time never stops, no matter how much she wished it would. In those four years, she had watched as Kiba had grown from a tiny little bundle of joy, into a cute little boy with energy to spare. But, as far as Fenriss was concerned, Kiba’s looks had by far changed the most.  Kiba now stood about three feet four inches in height and had managed to grow a full, bushy head of chestnut hair. Fenriss loved this because it matched nicely with his chestnut-colored eyes and milky white skin. As she was thinking, she could feel a light tug on her right arm, which immediately pulled her off her train of thought. Fenriss looked towards her arm to see what was pulling on it and was not surprised when she saw that it was Kiba. She smiled warmly at him and asked,” Yes Kiba, is there something that you need?” Kiba pointed towards where Lassie and he had been playing and asked,” Mommy want to play?”     Fenriss chuckled at Kiba as she stood up in front of him and asked,” Do you really want me to play with you my little Gem?”  Kiba smiled up at Fenriss and said,” Mommy always sit alone while Lassie play with me.” He then started to give her his best puppy dog look, in an attempt to get Fenriss to agree to his request.  Fenriss let out a small chuckle and said,” Now my little Gem, you know that I can not say no to you when you give me that look.” She then leaned down to his level and said,” You go find somewhere to hide while I count to fifteen, okay, my Gem?” Kiba smiled, and happily ran into the garden, as Fenriss slowly started to count. Once she was done she called out,” Ready or not my little Gem, here I come!”She then slowly made her way into the garden. As she looked she asked,” Oh where are you, my little Gem?” As she said this, she could hear a muffled giggling coming from behind a nearby rose bush.  Fenriss smirked as she said,” Oh well, it looks like he is not around.” She made it sound like she was walking away when she was actually sneaking around the bush. Once she was within grabbing distance she quickly reached out and grasped Kiba while saying,” Got you, my little Gem!” KIba smiled as she held onto him, and he tried to escape from her grasp. This made Fenriss laugh and say,” Oh, you are going to have to try a lot harder than that to get away from me Kiba.” She then lowered her muzzle to his forehead and kissed it tenderly. This made Kiba shake his head while laughing and saying,” Mommy stop, that tickles!” Fenriss looked down at him and started to smirk wickedly and asked,” Oh, so you wouldn't like me doing this?” She lunged forward and started to tickle both his sides. This caused Kiba to burst out into a fit of laughter. This lasted a few minutes until she finally decided that he had had enough and let him go. Once Kiba was able to catch his breath from all the laughing, Fenriss smiled and asked,” So what shall we do now, my little Gem?” Kiba thought for a minute of what he wanted to do, when out of the blue, his stomach started to rumble. He smiled and exclaimed,” Food, mommy!” Fenriss snickered at his demand. She stood up and stretched her arms out because they had become somewhat stiff. Once her body was loosened up, she reached down and picked Kiba up and, setting on her hip. Fenriss looked down at Kba and said,” Why don't we go get miss Lassie, then we will go and get you some food.” Kiba smiled up at her and gave a quick nod okay, before snuggling into Fenriss' side. Fenriss snickered again at how adorable her pup was. After a few minutes, Fenriss had found Lassie sitting on a lapis bench near the entrance of the garden, reading. Fenriss walked over to her and asked,” Care to join me and my little Gem for a bite to eat?” Lassie looked up from her book and, with a smile, said,” It would be my honor, Your Majesty.” She closed her book as she stood up from the bench, and the trio began to make their way to the kitchen. However, as they walked, an angry voice called out behind them saying,” YOUR MAJESTY, I NEED A WORD WITH YOU!” Fenriss and Lassie turned around to see to whom the voice belonged, and to Fenriss' dismay, it was one of the more “vocal” nobles she had to deal with. The noble’s name was Countess Duchess and this poodle always had something to say about any decision Fenriss made about anything. She was one of the few members of her Kingdom, who had objected to Fenriss' adoption of Kiba.  She had said that, such as an abomination had no place in their kingdom, and that she should just throw it out. Oh, she was lucky that Kiba was asleep in Fenriss' arms, because if he wasn't it was very well possible that she was going to kill the annoying poodle where she stood. Fenriss let out an annoyed groan and asked,” What is it now, Duchess? As you can see, I am rather busy at the moment.”  Duchess glared at Fenriss and said,” I am here because I have a problem with that recent tax increase you enacted the other day!” Lassie rolled her eyes and, in a hushed tone, said,” Oh, what a surprise.” This caused Duchess to give Lassie a death glare.  Duchess then turned her attention back to Fenriss and said,” As I was saying, I have a problem with your new tax plan!” Fenriss rolled her eyes and said,” Duchess it is only ten bits more, and we need the funds.” She had no idea why it was always such a big deal when she messed with the tax laws. Duchess growled and said,” That is not my problem, my problem is that you only did it to us nobles! How is it fair that we are taxed more, while the lower class isn’t!”  Fenriss sighed and said,” The reason I did it, was because you and the nobles can afford it, and not risk financial jeopardy. And besides, I hear your jewelry business doing well, so I fail to see why you have such a problem with the tax increase.” Duchess slammed her foot into the ground and said,” That is not the point, the point is that, as a noble, I should not be expected to pay more money than those beneath me!” She then pointed at Lassie and said,” MUTTS LIKE HER ARE ARE LESSER. IF ANYONE DESERVES A TAX INCREASE IT IS THEM!!” Fenriss had grown fed up with Duchess’s attitude and was about to say something, when she suddenly felt Kiba’s fists tighten around her fur. It would seem that Kiba didn’t take too kindly to Duchess calling his nanny her lesser. Kiba wiggled out of his mothers grasp, walked over to Duchess and kicked her as hard as he could in the leg. This caused her to kneel and grab her now hurt leg angrily shouting,” You little monster, how dare you kick me!” Kiba growled and screamed,” You no be mean to Lassie and you no call her your lesser, you big meanie!” He then kicked her in the same leg and the same spot that he had done before. Duchess grabbed her leg tighter and said,” Why you little!” She raised one of her paws like she was going to slap him, but before she had the chance her paw was stopped and held in place. Duchess looked up with hate-filled eyes at whoever dared grab her arm, but when she saw who it was her hate turned to fear. It was a very angry Fenriss. Very few people have ever seen Fenriss when she is angry, and even fewer have ever been able to tell the tale. Fenriss growled at Duchess and said,” I would highly advise against raising your paw to my pup, Countess Duchess.” She then pulled Duchess feet, before throwing her arm to the side and said,” Now, I believe you have overstayed your welcome.” Duchess had been frightened to her core and quietly made her way away from the group and towards the exit.  Fenriss sighed in relief once Duchess was gone and turned to face Kiba. She crouched down and asked,” Okay young man, care to tell me why you thought it was a good idea to hit Duchess?” Kiba lowered his head and said,” Sorry mommy, but she was being mean and that made me mad.” Fenriss sighed and said,” I understand that, but that was still not the right thing to do.” She put her paws on his cheeks and said,” You have a very kind heart, but you need to keep your anger in check. Can you do that for me please?” Kiba looked Fenriss in the eyes and said,” Yes mommy.” This made Fenriss smile sweetly and kiss the top of his head to show her love. Fenriss then picked Kiba up and sat him next to her and asked,”  Thank you. Now, why don’t we go get that lunch we talked about earlier?” This made Kiba smile as he quickly nodded to show that he liked the idea. Fenriss chuckled at Kiba’s antics and said,” I’ll take that as a yes.” The three of them then started to make their way to the kitchen.