Chapter 21
Lucas
Lucas had faced down enemies, trade disputes, and a winter famine that lasted three relentless months, but nothing prepared him for the squeal that erupted in the courtyard when the girls shouted, “Surprise!”
He turned around, already suspicious after Sia had dragged him outside with no explanation.
They stood in a proud little semicircle with grins that stretched far and wide while at their feet wobbled the tiniest goat Lucas had ever seen.
It blinked up at him with bright amber eyes and let out a high, hopeful bleat.
“We thought,” Luna began solemnly, “that since you loved feeding the goats…”
“…and you said they’re remarkably intelligent livestock,” Celeste added.
“…and you smile at them,” Sia supplied helpfully with exaggerated innocence.
“…that you needed one of your own.” Stella shouted.
Lucas stared at the creature. It stared back. It was scarcely larger than a puppy and its coat was white with copper markings along its sides and ears. One ear flopped while the other stood straight up. Its legs trembled as if unsure whether gravity could be trusted.
“I did not love feeding goats,” Lucas said carefully as the goat bleated and the girls beamed.
Sia folded her arms and watched him with a look that he found dangerously amused. “Your Majesty,” she said sweetly, “it’s rude to reject a gift.”
Lucas crouched, because a king could not loom menacingly over something that small. The goat wobbled forward at once and pressed its tiny forehead into his knee with what was probably its first headbutt. His composure nearly crumbled.
“Well,” he muttered and cleared his throat. “It appears… spirited.”
“That’s perfect, Papa! We’ll name her Spirit,” Celeste declared. “Because she’s small but fierce.”
The other girls voiced their approval. “Yayy, Spirit.”
As if on cue, the tiny goat attempted to climb his boot. Lucas reached down with the intention only to steady her. She pushed against him with surprising determination.
That was the moment it happened. The bond. It was immediate and absolute. Spirit’s entire being seemed to align around him. She let out a satisfied little bleat and leaned against his palm as if she had always belonged there.
Behind him, Sia made a strangled sound. He didn’t look at her, he didn’t need to.
“Oh,” she breathed. “She’s accepted you.”
“Accepted me? I’m the king around here.” His words sent the girls into giggles.
Lucas stood slowly, and Spirit wobbled after him. He took a step.
She followed.
He took another. She followed.
“Papa, you have a shadow!”
“She loves you, Papa.”
The girls’ happiness made his heart swell. He stopped to say something, but Spirit bumped into the back of his heel.
Bleat. The tiny creature was scolding him.
The sound echoed around them as they all erupted in laughter. Sia laughed the hardest and had to grab a stone railing to stay upright. He rolled his eyes. She was entirely unhelpful.
“Your Majesty,” she managed between gasps, “your shadow makes noise.”
Lucas straightened his shoulders. “I will not be mocked by livestock.”
Bleat.
Spirit circled his boots and settled squarely against his ankle. He stared down at her.
She stared up at him.
His jaw tightened. “She will reside in the castle barn,” he announced, as though issuing a royal decree rather than surrendering to a creature with a floppy ear. He refrained from telling them that they made an excellent choice. Spirit was adorable.
Stella pulled on his pant leg. “Papa, should we have three goats like us three? Spirit might get lonely.”
“I think one goat for now will be enough, baby. Spirit will have you girls to keep her company.”
“Can we walk her like a dog?” Luna asked. “We can get a leash.”
Lucas met Sia’s eyes as he shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”
The girls cheered and Sia wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. “Oh, this will be delightful.”
Lucas walked with them as they took the baby to the barn, but he soon learned that it was not going to be delightful.
The first escape occurred within the hour. Lucas was reviewing a grain shipment proposal in his office when a distant bleat echoed down the corridor.
He froze. His advisors blinked.
“That can’t be…” he began.
The door burst open and Spirit bounded inside with all the enthusiasm of a creature who had never once considered the concept of restricted access. She skidded across polished tile with her hooves clacking and launched herself directly at Lucas’s chair.
“Your Majesty,” one advisor whispered faintly.
Spirit attempted to climb his leg. Lucas rose with as much dignity as possible while disentangling a goat from his royal robes. He tried to maintain a stern expression even as he melted in the cuteness of the situation.
Spirit darted and leapt onto the long council table. Documents scattered as she bleated triumphantly and trotted straight through a meticulously arranged stack of reports.
Sia burst into the room. “I thought I heard a…” She stopped as she caught sight of the chaos and pressed her lips together. It didn’t work.
Her shoulders began to shake. Lucas walked up to her and shot her a look which obviously pushed her over the edge and Sia lost the battle.
“Oh, she’s fearless,” Sia said as she burst into laughter again. She moved and scooped up Spirit mid-prance. “Just like her owner.”
“I do not own a goat.” Lucas was well aware of the astonishment in his advisors' expressions. Spirit nuzzled his hand.
“Of course you don’t,” she said lightly, her sarcasm barely veiled.
The second incident was worse. A visiting dignitary from a neighboring kingdom had arrived to negotiate a timber agreement. The man was tall, severe, and not inclined toward humor.
Sia had just brought in refreshments and Lucas had nearly secured the deal when the doors burst open and a single, unmistakable bleat echoed through the room.
“Oh, no.” Lucas closed his eyes. “I am so sorry.”
The dignitary turned and Spirit trotted in as if she had been formally announced. She made a beeline for Lucas but unfortunately, the dignitary stood directly in her path.
She headbutted him, but at her size, it wasn’t violent, but it was undeniably dramatic when he tried to twist away. The dignitary windmilled and tripped. He sat down rather abruptly on the polished floor.
Silence fell until Spirit bleated cheerfully.
Sia moved first. She hurried forward to grab the goat while she offered apologies with practiced grace. Her expression was a perfect blend of concern and barely concealed amusement.
Lucas extended a hand to help the man up. “You have been,” he said gravely, “greeted.”
The dignitary stared at the goat and there was a pause. Then, to Lucas’s astonishment, the man began to laugh. It was a rusty sound, as though unused for years.
“I have negotiated with kings who release war hounds,” the dignitary said, brushing off his sleeves. “But never one who deploys goats.”
Lucas inclined his head. “We favor more… unconventional diplomacy.”
Sia’s laugh bubbled up again, softer this time. “We are negotiating trade agreements and livestock management simultaneously.”
“She’s a cute little thing, I’ll say that.”
The agreement was signed and Sia caught Lucas’s eye across the table, her expression triumphant. He allowed himself the smallest smile.
Once the meeting was over, they went to meet with the barn manager and began to plan how to have the barn reinforced. Despite the best efforts, they failed to prevent three more minor escapes.
But each time, they worked side by side, strategizing, improvising, stifling laughter in corridors, and calming startled officials. And each time Spirit found her way back to Lucas.
Always back to him.
Late that evening, when the castle had finally quieted and Spirit lay curled in fresh straw while apparently only temporarily contained, Lucas lingered in the barn. He sat down beside her when he thought he was alone.
She lifted her head and gave a sleepy bleat before she climbed into his lap.
“You are a menace,” he told her softly as he stroked her fur.
She pressed her tiny nose into his palm. He smiled and kissed the top of her head.
“You adore her,” Sia commented softly from the door. She startled him, but he should have known that if there was a special moment anywhere near the castle, she was around.
“I’ll deny this ever happened.” Spirit shifted deeper into his arms as she prepared to go to sleep.
Lucas glanced up at Sia, straw dust catching in the lamplight between them.
“She is,” he admitted, “unexpected.”
Sia’s smile softened in a way that made his chest feel unsteady. “The best things usually are.”
Spirit snored faintly when he settled her back into the straw. He would reinforce the barn but he would also likely endure further diplomatic embarrassment.
Lucas glanced at Sia’s face. Happiness glowed from her and he wanted to see that always. Guilt pricked his heart that he still hadn’t revealed his true self to her yet, but baby steps were warranted. He never wanted to do anything to disrupt her love.
But as Spirit bleated softly in her sleep and Sia laid her head on his shoulder as they watched, Lucas accepted that some disruptions were worth every bit of chaos.
Even if they bleated.