"We know you need your rest, and we don't want to tire you out," said Lawrence. "So, we'll be going now."
Lawrence offered Baron a small package... "These are from the children. They asked me to give them to you." Each of the children had drawn him a card. So Baron sat down to take a better look. "To my favourite Uncle....I hope you feel better soon! with love, from Paige" "...and this one is from David." "And this one, with all the balloons, is from Ringo. I didn't realize he even knew about balloons?" "It's a long story. I'll tell you all about it later." "And this last one is from sweet little Nami, who's drawn me a bouquet of colourful flowers." With the last of the cards read, Monica got up, as she and Lawrence prepared to leave. "We know you need your rest, and we don't want to tire you out," said Lawrence. "So, we'll be going now." "But we had to come and see how you were doing. I'm so glad that your are finally home, and that you are going to be okay." "I'm glad you came by. And please thank the children for me. Tell them that I love all their cards." Lawrence and Monica's children had always had a special place in Baron's heart, and he was touched by their cards. "They really love you. And just look at these pictures Paige and David have drawn of you. " That evening when they went to bed, they looked at the cards again. "You are so good with those children," "...and they really love you." "You are going to be a wonderful father."
The next day, Baron wasn't up to doing much yet... Then some visitors arrived... "I hope we aren't imposing, but we wanted to come and see how Baron was doing." "It's so good to see you, old friend." "You certainly had us all worried there for a while." Monica embraced him... "It's so good to see you!" "I'm so glad that you are back home." Lawrence took his friend aside..."So, how are you feeling?" "Not too bad. I still get headaches, and I don't have the strength in my arm yet. But I'm a lot better than I was." Monica wanted to talk to Naomi. "And how are you doing?" "I'm doing okay." "I'm thrilled that he's home, but sometimes it's still hard to believe it..." "We were all so worried for so long."
It was getting late, and time for bed.... They had been apart for so long... ..each longing to hold the other in their arms again. It almost seemed too good to be true. "I love you, and missed you so much." "Me too..." They went to bed, but neither really wanted to go to sleep... "I can hardly believe you are back." "I'm almost afraid to go to sleep." "In case when I wake up it's all been a dream, and you aren't really here." "It's funny. I was thinking the same thing." "I love you so much..." And they talked for a while.... ...and eventually they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.
Miho had been waiting inside, and embraced her son the moment he came in... "I'm so happy to se you, and that you are finally home." "We have all been so worried about you." Naomi turned to Rex... "I want to thank you for staying with Baron, and bringing him back home to us." Then, feeling overwhelmed to have Baron back home, she hugged him again... "Yes, we are all so very thankful." added Miho. "I'm just glad Baron is going to be okay." replied Rex, "But I'll be leaving now. I haven't seen Bianca in weeks, and I can't wait to get home myself." "Good luck, old friend, and take it easy." Baron needed to rest after his long trip home, so he and Naomi just sat and relaxed in each other's company. He asked her what she had been up to while he was away, and she was only too eager to show him the baby clothes she had made.. "It's so small...." Miho would come in every now and then... ...as if she needed to reassure herself that Baron was really home. "It won't be too long now, before your baby arrives," she commented. "And I'm so glad you are back," added Naomi, "and that we will be going through this together when the time comes."
Rex and Baron had been making good time on their way home.... They would travel by day, stop for the night at a village Inn, then continue on the next day. It had taken them ten days... ...and they were almost home. It wouldn't be much longer now. They finally reached Miho's castle, and rode into the stables... "It's good to finally be home." "Yes, it is." "There were times that I really didn't think I'd see this place again." Knowing that Baron was finally on his way home, and could be arriving any day now, Naomi had been anxiously watching out the window... "He's here!" Their wait was finally over... Naomi grabbed her shawl and ran out to meet them... Her beloved Baron was finally home. Rex helped Baron down off his horse... ..into Naomi's arms... He was a bit unsteady on his feet. "My Love...It's so good to finally be home."
After all the gifts had been opened, it was time to enjoy some refreshments... And they had a chance to visit with each other..
David and Ringo had been quietly watching, and waiting, for when they could give their gifts. They hadn't put them on the pile with all the others, but wanted to give them personally. Meanwhile, Nami and Emily kept handing out the gifts. Naomi and Saphira received so many wonderful things. Finally they came to Paige's gift with the dragon pull toy she had made. "I can't believe that you actually made this. It's wonderful!" Then Saphira opened Nami's gift. It was another pull toy. "And you made this yourself too?" "You two girls are so talented!" "The children are going to love these!" Then Ringo came forward... ...with two big, colourful gifts... "I made something too. Something for both your babies.." Both gifts contained a selection of colourful wooden blocks... "Thank you Ringo." "Our baby is going to love building towers with your blocks." "My children will as well." "Thank you!" Then David brought in his hobby horse... Saphira gasped in surprise. It was magnificent. "Wow! I always wanted one of those when I was little." "The children are going to love it!" "And you actually made this yourself?" "Yes...mostly. My Dad did help me a little." "Well, it's wonderful! Thank you so much!"
Nami and Emily kept the gifts coming, ..and as they were being opened, some of the gifts were being passed around so the other ladies could admire them. "These bibs are adorable." "This blanket is really beautiful. I'd love to get the pattern for this." Naomi opened her next gift to find a beautifully embroidered sheet and pillowcase... It was from Miho. "I embroidered those for Baron's cradle when he was a baby, and have saved them, hoping that one day they would be used again when Baron had a child of his own. " "That is so beautiful!" The other ladies were a little surprised - and impressed. They'd never realized that Miho had such a sentimental side. "Thank you. I will cherish these." "I can't wait to show Baron." "He will be so touched that you saved these."" Emily was eager to move on to the next gift... It was for Saphira, and contained four identical stuffed bunnies. One for each of her expected children. Meanwhile, the ladies were enjoying looking at some of the other gifts. Then Naomi opened another gift from Miho... Inside were two old toys.... "Those were Baron's favourite toys when he was a baby." "These are so precious!" "I can't believe you saved them..." "...and that they are still in such good shape."
With Rex and Baron on their way home, everyone could finally breathe a sigh of relief and start to relax. it had been a very tense few weeks, and it was time to celebrate. Monica had been wanting to throw a baby shower for Naomi, but with all the worries over Baron's injuries, it hadn't seemed appropriate, up until now. And with Winston and Saphira about to become parents as well, Monica decided to throw a joint baby shower for both Naomi and Saphira. She had invited Saphira's Elf friends; Willie, Phairby, Daisy, Emily and Agnes... ...and all Naomi's friends at court... The two guests of honour were seated together at the head of the room... Nami and Emily, had been put in charge of handing out the gifts. ...while everyone else watched in anticipation. The first gift went to Naomi. It was from Monica. "What a beautiful blanket!" "Thank you so much!" "You're very welcome. These drafty castles can get rather cold, so I thought I'd make a blanket for your baby." Meanwhile, Emily was busy choosing the next gift to hand out... "This one is for you. It's from Naomi." It was a fire extinguisher. "Thank you! This will certainly come in handy!" "You're welcome. I thought it might be useful whenever your little ones have a little accident.." Emily chose another gift for Saphira... "It's from your friend, Agnes." "A set of bibs! How thoughtful!" "These are adorable!" "It's so your little ones won't need a bath after every meal. I know how much dragons hate water." The next gift was for Naomi, from Grace.... "Another beautiful blanket!" "Thank you!" "You're welcome. I figure that you can never have too many blankets." The next gift was for Saphira, from Willie... It was a set of four little scarves... "Thank you Willie!" "These will keep their necks nice and warm, so they don't catch a cold when it's chilly out." "I'm glad you like them. I knit them while I was watching your eggs,"
It had been snowing hard all morning before the men left the infirmary, but Baron was eager to get going. "You feeling good enough to be doing this?" "Definitely. I can't wait to get home." "Well, you haven't been back in the saddle since the attack, so we'll take it easy, and I'll just walk the horses for a bit, so we can see if you are really ready for the long ride home." Baron was feeling frustrated... ...but realized Rex was probably right, and he should take it slow for a while. After Rex determined that Baron was good to go, he mounted his horse and they travelled on for a few hours. It started to snow heavily. Yet they continued on. "Maybe we should stop at the next village if this storm gets any worse." Baron reluctantly agreed. "That's probably a good idea." But before they reached the next village, the snow stopped, so they decided to go on. There was still enough daylight left that they'd be able to make it across the high mountain pass that lay ahead, and then they'd stop for the night on the other side. So Rex got down to lead the horses across the treacherous pass..
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AuthorMartha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes. Archives
November 2024
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