I.VII. Future Plans

"I'm not kidding! I saw a Unicorn!" Rebecca claimed the next morning but William just scoffed.

"Rebecca, I saw the horses that were outside last night. There was only one in the area and it was that beautiful mare that you love so much"

"No, there was a Unicorn too! And he was a stallion!"

"Well I only heard one horse all night and it was the mare. I even ended up getting up to check." William insisted and Rebecca felt a little deflated. She wished he believed her about the Unicorn. She almost didn't believe it, but she knew that she had seen a Unicorn.

And quite frankly, it had put her in a fabulous mood. Also, the fact that she and William had only a little bit more money to collect before he could bribe his old friends...Well she was excited. She and William had no idea what came next, after they managed the bribe but at the moment, that didn't matter. It was a beautiful morning and the fish were biting!

She  had become quite good at fishing in the time she had been an Outlaw. She was catching fairly decent sized fish now, much better than the tiny ones she had started off catching. It seemed like yesterday that she had been catching the minnows and now she was catching salmon. It was a great improvement and she was proud of how far she had come.

William walked by her, she figured to go on his way to hunt down what he could sell today but he stopped, putting his hands on his hips and letting out a loud sigh. She lowered her pole, knowing he probably had to say something.

"I know you want another child, but I do not think now is the time for it" His words shocked her quite frankly. She had mentioned something about wanting another child. Her sister had just given birth to a girl, a Princess, Rita. She wanted a son of her own. She loved Claire dearly but she wanted a boy and she knew that he did too.

"I do only have so much time for bearing children, William" She reminded him.

"You are nowhere near the end of your time. Please wait, at least until we are steadier for another child. It may be some time, but I promise I will give you a second child. Just not yet. Just not now" His words stirred her and she could tell how honest he was. She realized how right he was at the moment, though she was lax to admit it.

She kissed him softly upon his lips and he smiled against her's.

"I'm going to fish" He told her as she pulled away. "Take care of Claire, okay?"

"Always" She replied and she turned to begin taking down the tent herself.

Alone with his thoughts and his pole, William was able to gnaw on his worried by himself. Rebecca was right, she only had so much time to bear another child and what if she wanted another besides? What if she gave birth to twins? He didn't know if they could handle three children and one baby suckling on her had been hard on her - how would two serve? He was worried about it and he thought of refusing her a second child.

But he had promised her now. He did not want to break his promise to her. That was important. He just didn't know how they could support another child as Outlaws. He knew the future was looking bright but he had trouble looking on the bright side sometimes and sometimes, he knew it was better to look at the shadows rather than blinding yourself with the sun.

He sighed. He did not want to disappoint Rebecca and he did not want to stress her past what she could take. She was a strong woman, but their lifestyle was not the best at the moment. The constant movement, the lack of real food. It wasn't easy on the body and certainly not on a nursing mother. He decided that no matter what he would wait for their situation to improve before he let her have another child, no matter what.

---

Rebecca was roasting an onion to eat for dinner. There were others on the small camping lot, but she paid no mind to them. Claire played with her bear not far away, having already eaten before the others arrived. She had blackberry smeared all over her face and it had taken Rebecca quite a while to clean the littler girl up. She could be a fighter when she wanted to.

Rebecca was just glad she stayed close when others were near. Claire didn't seem to like strangers and that was a good trait for her to have. At least then, Rebecca didn't have to worry as much about someone trying to snatch her when she wasn't paying any mind. Of course, she never took her eyes off the girl for long, no matter what she was doing.

The crescent moon was beginning to rise over the hills and she knew that night had fallen well enough that no one would notice her slipping into town to meet William at their agreed upon spot for the night. There was lots to do tonight, seeing as soon the gardens would be closed due to the cold. Even now, the air was getting a nasty nip in it. She worried for Claire. What if she got sick?

She grabbed her daughter and tried to ignore the two strange women reading in front of the fire. Why did they come all the way out here to only read? They were so odd. What if their husbands were guards or something and they knew her? She was glad that she was leaving and she would hopefully never see these women again.

She entered the graveyard where William was waiting for her. She was leaving Claire with him so she could move faster through the gardens. It wouldn't take too awful long, but she was trying to make sure they had plenty of food. It seemed that Claire loved to eat almost as much as she loved to sleep so they would need as much food as they could get.

With Claire safely with her father, Rebecca walked over to the garden, hoping that not too many people had harvested it in the last few days. She needed at least a couple apples. Claire loved apples. She loved fruit of any kind, joyfully squishing berries all over her face and licking them off her fingers when she could. Apples she actually just ate, but that was only because she couldn't really make a mess with them.

And of course, she grabbed some onions because quite frankly, they tasted the best when roast.