When they arrived at the gates of the snake tribe, Salmus was waiting for them. As they approached, they saw that behind him were a lot of villagers. All three got off when they were near the gates.
Nana looked around and wondered why there were so many people to welcome them. She saw different people of all ages behind Salmus and everyone had something in their hand.
She noticed that most held onto small barrels.
When they stood in front of Salmus, the villagers began to cheer and called Kaida's name.
Salmus shook his head and said
"the moment they heard you were coming, they were so busy preparing to receive you at the gates. You would almost think that you are the ruler of the snake tribe "
Salmus looked back and pretended that his heart was broken. The villagers saw that and they said
"no our king is great and we love him, but we have not forgotten the good deeds of the dragon princess. "
Kaida smiled at Salmus and walked towards the villagers
"I am pleased to see you all in good condition. Let us make the best of it in the next two days "
As they walked towards the royal couple's house, Kaida was given various things by the villagers. She received flowers, jewelery but most off it was alcohol!
"Our dragon princess we know how much you love a good drink, take this to quench your thirst"
Nana looked surprised at the whole situation and did not know what she was seeing. It was visible that all the villagers had a lot of respect for Kaida and welcomed her with open arms. Then why do the people in the north think so bad about her?
Kaida looked around
"where is Mamushi?"
"She is with the kids at the orphanage"
Kaida started to shine and changed direction
"your king since we have arrived earlier there is still enough time to visit the orphanage right"
......
Mamushi sat on a chair in the middle of a large room. The room had light colors and large windows. A few children sat in front of her and listened carefully to the story she was telling. She just wanted to go further when she noticed that the orphanage was a bit noisy.
A 14-year-old girl came rushing into the room
"Your Queen the Dragon Princess is here!"
The children sitting on the floor jumped in joy and hurried out of the room. Mamushi watched them shaking her head and stood up slowly. She picked up the child who was crawling and walked to the garden of the orphanage.
From the balcony she watched Kaida greet all the children and give them presents. She suddenly looked closely at Kaida and began to grin. She hurried down the stairs and ran toward Kaida.
"How nice it seems that the gods ..."
Before she could talk further, Kaida put her hands on Mamushi's mouth and signaled that she should be quiet. Everyone looked questioningly at them and wanted to know what was going on. Mamushi laughed and said
"it is not meant for children's ears"
Kaida hugged her and said in her ear
"when we are alone I tell you everything, now is not the right place"
Mamushi nodded and helped Kaida hand out the presents. When they were done with that, all the children wanted to know what her wedding had been like.
Kaida told in scents and colors about her journey to the north and how her wedding had been. She also told what it felt like to be married to the Crown Prince of the Fox Tribe. Even though she made it look more fun than it sometimes was.
Nana looked at everything in suprise and had so many questions. She didn't even notice that Salmus had come to stand beside her until he started talking
"You certainly did not expect this, right ?"
Nana looked up surprised and gave an honest answer
"no, that's right everyone in the north calls her a weakling because she didn't show her face during the war. Every crown prince or crown princess was present during the war in the north except for her "
Salmus put his hand on Nana's shoulders
"and why do you think that was? Who do you think was the one that liberated the East from the hands of the rebels? Every child here lost their parents because we fought in the north and had left our tribe with to little manpower. Had she not contradicted her uncle's word and came a day later we now would have been visiting their tombstones"
....
Kaida sat at a richly filled table in the dining room. Nana was on her right and Jaya was on her left. Opposite them were Salmus and Mamushi sitting next to them were a few official of the snake tribe.
In the middle stood a servant with a scroll in his hand. He unfolded the scroll and started reading
As a wedding gift, the foxes tribe is prepared to give 1 million gold bars to the wedding couple. 5000 meters of colored silk of the best quality. 3000 diamonds and as a sign of a union between the two tribes, two coats of fox fur
Salmus clapped his hands
"the foxes tribe is generous, would it be because the queen's sister is getting married? "
Mamushi slapped Salmus on the back of his head and shook her head.
"I apologize, you know Salmus likes jokes. We cannot, of course be left behind "
She gave a servant a scroll. He unfolded it and started reading:
As a wedding gift, the snake tribe is willing to give 1 million gold bars to the wedding couple. 5000 meters of the softest white wool. 3000 crystal stones and as a sign of union between the tow tribes, two combat uniforms made of snakeskin
Kaida laughed
"I see that not only the foxes tribe is generous with their wedding gifts. Im glad to hear that we did not choose the same gifts. It is time to relax, in two days we will visit my father "
Salmus and Mamushi raised their glasses and the rest of the people in the dining room followed. After everyone had taken a sip, it was time to eat.
Because Kaida did not want people to become suspicious because she was not drinking, Mamushi had made sure that there was berry juice in her barrel.
When Mamushi finally had the chance, she hurried to Kaida and sat down at their table. Kaida looked at her and saw that glitter in her eyes.
It was clear that she could no longer wait and wanted to know everything. Kaida didn't want Nana to know yet, so she suggested taking a walk in the garden.
When Kaida and Mamushi were in the garden, Kaida told her everything. Mamushi looked with wide eyes at Kaida and then at her belly.
"You say that since your marriage you only had twice your monthly bleeding. That means that you have been pregnant for almost five months. However your body doesnt show it. Yes you are visibly fuller, especially at your hips and you shine but for the rest you don't see it "
Kaida pulled her to the side and looked around to see if they were really alone. She opened the ropes of her dress and showed her belly.
"Appearances deceive Mamu, it is that Jaya knows how to dress me, but it is becoming more and more visible. Huli himself made a comment "
Mamushi looked surprised at her belly and put her hand on it. With her belly clearly visible, it was clear to see that Kaida was pregnant. Yet Mamushi was still worried about the size of her belly.
If she expected a triplets, didn't her belly have to be bigger? She put the thoughts away and thought every pregnancy is different, it is not necessary to worry us unnecessarily.
"You are truly blessed, I am the envoy of the snake tribe so i will be traveling south with u all. I suggest discussing this with your aunt as soon as possible. Well now quickly close your dress before my nephews catch cold "
They were prepared to go in until Mamushi pulled her back
"Red, what remark did he make?"
Kaida turned red and said
"it was something when he saw me naked"
Laughing, they walked inside and kept chatting all night. Nana herself made an effort to get involved in the conversation and together the four ladies talked about anything and everything
.....
The two days they spent in the fox tribe passed like a flash. Before they knew it it was time to leave again.
Because Kaida was known in the west and already knew the way to her birth tribe, Jaya had left earlier.
Jaya would visit Rana and discuss her findings about the condition of Kaida with her. They would then travel together to the tribe of the king of the dragon tribe. There Rana would also examine kaida and then they would look for a possible solution.
Mamushi noticed that Kaida looked pale and tired. She walked to Kaida and asked
"Is everything okay?"
Kaida looked up blurry and nodded
"yes, just a little nauseous, I have been vomiting all morning. Nothing helps"
Mamushi thought and then walked away, after a while she came back and gave Kaida a lemon. Kaida looked at her
"what should I do with this?"
"During my pregnancy, something acidic helped against nausea. I didn't try lemon myself but I couldn't find anything else "
Kaida looked at the sliced lemon with a raised eyebrow. Her stomach was so empty that the lemon itself looked tasty.
She was so hungry but couldn't eat anything, everything came out. She looked at the lemon and despite the fact that she never really liked lemons, she thought it was worth a try.
She doubtfully took a bite and started chewing on it. Was it because she was hungry or because she was pregnant, but why was that lemon so tasty? Before she knew it, she had eaten the whole lemon. And she no longer felt sick.
"Thank you Mamu! I feel much better, don't forget to bring enough lemons for our journey "
Mamushi stood up and laughed "I'm going to pack them now so we can leave immediately"