4. Razor - The Twelve-Year-Old

4.

All the wolves who were of age to fight gathered in front of Ragnar's palace.

 "The humans have betrayed us. They have killed some of us. They want a war and we would give them that. Spare no one, we are barraging the palace first."

"Yes, Alpha!" The wolves chorused.

"Let us show them that our kindness was a privilege. They have silver, but we have our inner beast. Unleash your wolf on whoever crosses your path"

"Yes, Alpha!" They chorused.

Ragnar went back into the house to find his wife. He saw her picking an arrow from its case. "What are you doing?"

"Fighting with you." She said, without looking at him, and continued to store more arrows in the quiver around her waist.

"Nonsense!" Ragnar spat, going to her and removing all of the arrows with her. "Did you forget? Today is the birth date. You would not fight in this condition"

"I cannot just watch. I have to protect the palace while you're gone. I have to protect the other women who have stayed back…"

"It's not your place to do that. I have assigned guards to stay with the women and children. But you, my wife, must be under my watch" he said.

Philipa swallowed but then her voice broke again. "It is unfolding just as it was in my dream" she sobbed. Ragnar studied his wife very intensely as she continued speaking. "You were not with me…" She broke down in tears. "I have to protect myself also, Ragnar"

He hugged Philipa from the side comforting her. "I'll come for you, Philipa," he said. "Go to the safe grove, stay there in silence. I will come for you. Trust me."

Philipa looked into her husband's eyes. Trust. That was the footing of their relationship. She trusted him like he created her. He was a man of his word. If he said he would come for her, he would. 

"I'll be waiting for you." She told him and he nodded, kissing her on the forehead. She continued "I looked for Razor everywhere, but I couldn't find him." 

"That boy…" Ragnar spat, looking around. "He should be fighting along with me. Where did he run to?"

"No, Ragnar. He is just twelve. Let him come with me."

Ragnar sighed, but then listened to his wife. "Find him and get to the safe grove as soon as you can. The humans would raid the palace if we raid theirs"

Ragnar went back outside to the army of wolves awaiting him. They had only arrows and their wolf self, but the humans had silver arrows and swords. Ragnar was confident that if silver didn't touch the wolves, they would win the fight. Yet, he was also skeptical. Godric had mentioned that humans had been scheming this for a long time. What if their weapons outnumbered the wolves?

 How could he be so slack as not to notice their insincerity?

As the men left the palace, Philipa dashed into an empty room. "Razor" she called, checking the corners of the room to see if Razor was playing his usual tricks. "I put him to sleep myself yesterday" she muttered, leaving the room.

"Razor!" Her voice went higher, filling the palace. "Have you seen Razor?" She asked a guard who nodded negatively. "Where could that boy be?"

She had to take him with her to the safe grove. He was just twelve, he needed to be protected too. And he was her son -her foster son. He had come into her life at such a sudden moment but it had been one of Philipa's best days.

"Luna."

Philipa turned to see Razor standing in the corridor of the balcony, walking towards her. She frowned, letting him know how upset she was because he ran off at a tense moment. Moreover, it was midnight, where could he have run off to? "What would I do with you, boy?" She clicked her tongue as she walked to him and dusted off the grass on his body.

"Luna. I will take you to the safe grove." He said.

"We had better leave on time then," Philipa said grabbing his hands. As they took a few important things, the two walked into the forest in search of the grove. It was a wolf thing to always build a place for safety in the woods.

They walked and walked, in silence. Philipa was worried because Razor was hardly silent. Yet, she was thankful, because they needed all the silence they could have to hide from the humans. 

Finally, they got to the safe grove, a small hut covered with grass that could hardly be noticed in the forest. They entered into it and Razor guided Philipa to sit. She was panting from walking a long distance in her condition. 

When she had sat, the boy looked at her for a long time. "Luna, don't make a sound. Stay here till the war is over" he said boldly.

Philipa nodded. "I will. You should also not make a sound" she chuckled. "I'll protect you, Razor."

"No, Luna. I will protect you." He said.

She smiled. "You think you're a big wolf? I am still your Luna."

Razor buried his head down for a while. "Mother..." He called, raising his head to look at Philipa. Her eyes widened at his statement, he had never called her that, and it...it felt good to be called Mother.

"Razor..." She cupped his cheeks in her palm. She noticed how his eyes watered and how he stared deeply at her. "What is wrong, dear? Is something troubling you?"

"I am sorry." His voice broke and tears streamed down from his eyes. "I am sorry, Mother." He sobbed.

Philipa held him very close to herself. "Tell me, what is wrong?" Her voice broke too, unable to see her child vulnerable. 

"Stay safe. You and your child. Please stay safe" he said. He proceeded to kiss Philipa on her forehead. "I have to go, Mother," he said.

She gripped him by the hand, her eyes shooting up. "Go where?"

"To..to..." He stuttered and didn't find a word to say. Philipa studied him very intently. This was not the Razor she knew. "Bye mother" he pulled his hand from her grip and ran out of the safe grove.

"Razor!" Philipa screamed, but as she tried to stand up, her abdomen cramped and she groaned in pain.