Chapter 130

We might have had too many good days that a bad day was due its arrival.

And we may not have noticed it if it was not because Sunset had been neighing very loudly. 

Lucas, who had been sleeping with me, shot out of the bed and almost tore the door open. He had been the one taking care of the horse daily, so it was understandable that he cared more about Sunset.

I nervously heard the others clamor around outside and then silence. Felix hurried into my room and locked the door.

After arguing about the matter of them being too overprotective, Joseph and Ethan took turns in sleeping with me. One week later, in which I worked tirelessly sewing the clothes Mr. Dodds asked for, Lucas finally got comfortable enough to do lay with me.

Only for that to happen.

"They've gone to see what's wrong with Sunset. It may only be a snake." Felix comforted me. It worked as my racing heart started setting down. I patted the spot beside me and he readily sat. I leaned my head on his shoulder while we waited.

Minutes ticked by and neither of the others returned.

My anxiety returned with a vengeance, but I tried to stay calm as that would be bad in my state. I took deep breaths and clung to Felix who could only rub my back and whisper nonsense to calm me down.

Ethan showed up after what felt like hours.

Though, I do think he was away for close to one hour.

He sported a grim face before reporting the situation. "Most of the chickens and rabbits have been stolen. When we arrived, the people were trying to pull Sunset but he resisted. Joseph tried to chase them, but they ran away with horses."

I felt my world spin and air leave my lungs as if punched out.

My ears also ran, making me unable to hear what Ethan was saying after he grabbed my face and worriedly looked at me. "… be alright. No one was hurt, which is more important than some chickens and rabbits…" 

The ringing stopped and clearly heard what he said. I closed my eyes and leaned on his hands. "You're right…" I tiredly replied.

"Go back to sleep. We'll take care of everything." Ethan coaxed, rubbing his rough thumbs over my cheeks. I hummed, acquiescing to his request. He softly pecked my lips and let me go.

I was laid down on the bed and tucked by them. The shock of the events flushed out of my body, leaving only fatigue, and making me fall asleep almost immediately.

The following day, the sun was already high in the sky. I groggily opened my eyes and enjoyed the soft breeze blowing in. One of my Husbands must have opened it to not let me suffer from the heat of summer that could be felt from mid-morning.

Although I was still tired, I got up because I did not like the silence outside the house.

Once changed, I walked out and found no one. Ethan must have most likely left for his job, but it was still strange not to see the others. 

I quickly washed my face and mouth and headed to the plot. Joseph had already planted the rice stalks, so he had gone back to taking care of the plot that was doing wonderfully.

Luckily, in the plot, I found Felix and Joseph. However, there were no signs of Lucas.

"Morning, Belle!" Felix called out, waving his hand at me from his position.

I waved back. "Good morning." I replied when the teen had walked up to me.

"Have you eaten? I made some scrambled eggs… Some of the eggs were broken from what happened, so I had no choice but to cook them." He sheepishly commented.

I turned to the area where the animals were kept. It was cleaned, so any proof of last night were erased. Two hens were nonchalantly foraging around, as if they did not care that their companions were taken away.

Then, in the rabbit pen, five small rabbits and a big one hopped from one place to another.

"Mrs. Rabbit is still there." Felix softly said. That kind of lifted my spirits from seeing the once full pens were almost empty.

"Is Sunset alright?" I tightly asked, trying not to cry. Months of hard work gone like that.

"… They tried to take him by force… But, the others arrived on time." Felix winced. That meant Sunset was hurt when he resisted. I swallowed and nodded.

"Where is Lucas?" I asked instead.

"He went to notify the Chief about the robbery. We were actually not the only ones… It seems it was a group of outsiders." He recounted. "After that, he went to the mountains to find more chickens and rabbits."

"What we need to get is a guardian dog." Joseph, who had approached while I was talking with Felix, huffed annoyed. "If there's no dog to take care of the place, what's so good about having more animals?" He frowned, looking at the few animals in the pens.

I had to agree with Joseph in that. However, I knew there was a 'but' somewhere…

"At the villages in the borders, it's hard to find dogs as they all run away during the winter…" Felix pointed out. Ah, there it was. If it got too cold, even I would run away. "It's kind of strange that no dog has been seen." He frowned. Joseph nodded. 

"Yeah, most return at the end of spring, so you could see many dogs stuck together around that time." He grinned, trying to dispel the gloomy air that permeated the conversation. I rolled my eyes at him. In turn, he grabbed my waist and pulled me for a kiss. "Go eat something, it's late."

I bit my lip and stole another kiss from him, then one from Felix before heading back to the house. I found the scrambled eggs Felix told me about and readily ate them with some pancakes. I had no big appetite, but it was enough to sustain me until lunch.

I washed the dishes and pans and then continued sewing. I had already done the pants for the men, and had started sewing the skirts for the three women that worked at the restaurant. The plan was to finish those and then start with the shirts that were the most complex ones.

I had even thought of making a distinction on the shirts for the waiters who attended the upper floors. It had to be something nice to induce the other waiters to work hard and get a position there. 

Or, I would create some nasty rivalry between the waiters.

 That was why the distinction had to be removable. If the second scenario happened, then it could be removed for the uniform to look the same as the others.

Otherwise, Mr. Dodds would kill me for making trouble.

When I finished the third skirt, it was already mid-afternoon. I was going to stop sewing for the day.

Or more like, I could not sew anymore.

When tragedy strikes, it is never alone.

Lucas did not return that day.