Page 107 of Simon

Simon didn’t appear to be too upset over it once he found out that they didn’t know he was missing. The promise that Simon would meet them one day gave him excitement for a reunion later.

How would that dynamic work out?

I had mixed feelings about it. I would support Simon through his feelings. Bringing his family here in the Wood when it was time for him to meet his birth parents.

Sable couldn’t give us much more information other than his mother’s name was Meadow. He smiled at that, loving how his parents’ names matched so perfectly: Field and Meadow.

Other questions we wanted to know, more like I wanted to know, were like why the orcs were left in Bergarian while others were taken back to Poseidon’s palace. That wasn’t Sable’s area of expertise, and wasn’t her information to give. Neither were the ogres that had terrorized the Wood. We may never know, and that was just how things were.

Gods told you what they willed, what they deemed appropriate and the lesser beings had no say.

As for the fauns, Sable told us as much as we needed to know for now. In the future, the fauns would return, and Simon would be the overseer or king. Though fauns never really saw Simon’s father as a king, he was a leader, but in today’s terms, he was one.

Simon shuffled his hooves and looked everywhere but at Sable when she told us how important it was that we established ourselves in the Wood and understood the plants, the wildlife, the streams and everything within it.

Simon would be the protector, showing the fauns the way of the land, how to live in this new territory, since it was so different from what it was on Earth.

Simon stared off into the distance, his jaw tight. Sable finally handed him the notebook that she had been clutching so tightly since the beginning of our meeting. She seemed reluctant to let it go.

Simon took it and flipped it back and forth.

“You’ll help him. I know you will,” she whispered to me. “Again, sorry about messing up earlier. And just remember, take your time. It will be a long while before the fauns come back. Many, many years.” She scratched her head and mumbled a few more things under her breath; words of confidence, ‘sorry’ and ‘call if you need anything’ were muffled, and then shepoofedinto a large billow of pink sparkly smoke.

It didn’t affect Simon when Sable made a mess of the forest floor. His mind was elsewhere as he stared at the clean stream flowing through. I grabbed the notebook that hung at Simon’s side, and he let it go willingly.

When I opened the book that Sable had been reading, it held tons of hand-drawn pictures, diagrams, and history of the fauns. What I found interesting was that everything was written in Latin.

Thank the gods Father taught me how to read Latin.

When Simon looked down at it, he scoffed. “I can’t even read. I don’t think I was old enough yet when I was taken.” He frowned and looked away. “How can I help my herd if I can’t read?”

I rubbed my hand down his back and pulled at his waist. “First of all, I don’t think fauns did much reading. I saw them taking care of each other, living, playing, running, playing music in your memories.” I rubbed my face against his neck. “Your father led with his heart, and you will do the same.” Simon sighed and wrapped his arms around me. “If you want, though, I will teach you everything I know. But I’m teaching you English because we don’t need to accidentally conjure some sort of magic with this Latin."

Simon’s eyes went large. “No, don’t want to do that.” He bit his lip, his shoulders deflating. “I don’t know how we will ever be ready for them. How am I to know all the Wood?”

I gave him a small smile. “Patience, my good little faun. I think it will go by quicker than you think. We have the orcs to help.You’ve got me,” I winked, “and this book.” I held it up. “I bet we can find substitutes for favorite foods and get some tools made. It will be great.”

Simon didn’t look 100 percent convinced.

I would make it work though, so help me, I’ll figure out how to summon that god out of our damn stream to make my mate happy.

The next several days, Simon processed all the information thrown at him. It was my turn to console him. Well, I don’t know if console was the word for it because all he wanted to do was continue the honeymoon phase. Which meant more touching and, well, rutting.

After spending time in our nest, I would read to him from the notebook. We would look together at the pictures of what his herd‘s homes looked like in the past. A lot of it was instructions for chairs, wood carvings of toys and making tools. The bungalows in the trees that I liked to call bungalows, were actually called thatchets.

I enjoyed reading out loud, and Simon was already learning the words quickly as I read the words in English, instead of the way it was read in Latin.

I was so proud of him as he asked questions, wanting to learn more. I even grabbed my notebooks which were given to us by the Wood. Even the original one when I first began my journey into the wood. Then the extra notebook, the one that Simon had gifted me with the picture of his—sausage.

Once Simon was able to write his name correctly, he signed his name on that one approvingly. He even wanted to hang it up on the wall of our thatchet!.

I told him no, because once we had company in our home, I didn’t need everyone looking at what was mine.

Luckily, Simon already understood a lot of the Wood. He’d also lived in the trees with Calliope before living in a cave. He had adjustments he wanted to make to the thatchet and drew plans of a rudimentary elevator, so I wouldn’t have to climb.

Which, I could climb perfectly now, but he still saw me as a fragile human.

I finished brushing Simon’s long hair while he continued to draw his plans for this elaborate elevator, along with swinging bridges from tree to tree. I separated the hair and began braiding. “Everything is going to be fine,” I whispered and grabbed the leather tie as I finished. I rubbed my cheek against his, letting my scent cover him.

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