After Humanity

Chapter Twenty

Rachel and Kathryn's day together continues...:-)

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Rachel

The air was warmer than it had been the day before. Rachel did not even need to take her coat as she carried the pot of porridge, following closely behind Kathryn.

"Do you like animals, Rachel?" the older girl asked as they walked.

Rachel nodded and Kathryn smiled in response.

"The new piglets are adorable and so friendly. Magnus takes care to ensure that all of his animals are well handled. In fact, it is some of the other girls' task to see to it. I do love working in the kitchen but it's nice to spend the time outdoors sometimes. My family always kept a few animals on our land and I miss caring for them sometimes. At least I am often given the chore of visiting the pigs to bring them scraps."

"We used to have a pig too," Rachel volunteered but no sooner were the words out of her mouth then the uncomfortable sinking feeling welled in her stomach again. She knew what her father did with the family pig in the fall. Though Kathryn spoke of the animals on Magnus' estate cheerfully enough, she knew that her sibla Master counted her as one of his flock, no different that the other livestock in their ultimate fate.Kathryn seemed not to notice Rachel's discomfort, her smile only widening.

"Magnus only keeps a few swine for himself," she said. "His main business comes from his sheep. There must be over one hundred of them roaming the fields. But the pigs have their own barn.

Rachel looked in the direction Kathryn gestured and saw a small red painted shed with a large pasture around it. Inside the enclosure, an assortment of little piglets played alongside two very large mother sows. The animal's ears pricked at their approach and all quickly crowded the opening to the gate.

"Alright, Bertha," Kathryn laughed as the largest of the sows nearly knocked her over with excitement as she entered the enclosure, holding the gate open long enough for Rachel to slip in behind her.

"Close the gate so we don't have to go around chasing pigs all afternoon," Kathryn warned lightheartedly. "I let one of them slip out once and it took half the day to get him back in the pen." Rachel quickly obeyed.

"Did you get in trouble?" she asked nervously.

"No, of course not," Kathryn chuckled, shaking her head as she bent down to scratch behind the ears of the large pig in front of her. "I think Magnus was amused to watch me and the others chase after the animal all day. Pigs are quite clever you know. But it was an accident after all. Magnus and Alice would never punish such a silly mistake."

Rachel could not help but be surprised. She rarely got into trouble with Mama and Papa, but such an error would have certainly earned her backside a tanning with Papa's belt. They couldn't have afforded to be so careless with such a precious resource. The pig Papa bought each spring to raise had to last them through the entire winter. If it ran away they would have gone hungry.

"I do have to be back in the kitchen soon though," Kathryn added. "I can't imagine Alice would be too pleased if she found I had shirked my chores today to chase after once of these little squealers." She laughed. "Why don't you put the porridge in their trough."

Rachel was quick to comply, already the animals were crowding around her as well, hungrily eyeing the pot she held. The moment she emptied its contents into the long metal trough, all of the pigs came running. Rachel could not help but smile. The little piglets and their mothers looked so happy munching on their treat. Kathryn added the rest of their leftovers to the animal's feast before walking back to the gate and holding it open for Rachel.