Gryffi's Fairy Tales: A Mother's Love

***A Mother's Love*** is the second chapter in the Library book *Gryffi's Fairy Tales*. It is based on the Halloween quest *An Egg-cellent Ostlean Halloween Adventure*, telling the story from Boo's perspective.

## Story

October 31st. The night was still, and yet there was something distinctly acrid looming in the air as Boo tended to her young. The usual sense of peace that settled over her as she watched over her eggs was no where to be found and the Boogie Boo couldn't figure out what exactly was amiss. An evil presence was lurking in the shadows, but no amount of searching for the source turned up any results.
Unsettled, Boo carefully rearranged her babies in their burlap sack, making sure that they were warm and most importantly, safe and sound. She convinced herself that the bad feeling in her gut was nothing more than nerves, and so she wrapped herself around her children, content to simply watch over them.
It wasn't until she felt magic forcing her to sleep and the faint sound of laughter in the background that she knew for sure that something was terribly wrong.

~~~

The mama Boogie Boo awoke, groggy and slightly disorientated. Despite feeling as though she might pass out again, she immediately dragged herself to her legs and checked her surroundings, the safety of her children being at the top of her mind. She was still in the alleyway where she'd created her nest, and when her eyes landed on the pile of burlap, a flash of relief shot through her.

That relief was short-lived however, because when she shuffled over she discovered nothing more than a cold and empty sack. The feeling of pure unadulterated grief that rippled through her was worse than any pain she'd ever felt before. It shocked her to the core, gripping her spirit and refusing to let go. She felt as though a piece of her had has just been ripped away from her soul.
A certain maternal instinct told her that her babies were still alive, but that didn't make the empty feeling in the bottom of her baggy stomach feel any better. She knew one thing for sure though, and it was that simply sitting there wallowing in misery wouldn't do her any good in the rescue of her children.

~~~

Knowing that she couldn't accomplish anything by herself, she resorted to the one thing she knew best: mischief. With a little trickery, she attracted the attention of a human who gave off a general welcoming aura. The person was clearly unsure of her at first, but after a little awkward communication, she eventually managed to explain her predicament. Trusting the human's instincts, she followed it around the town, along the ocean, and through the woods until they eventually found themselves face-to-face with the mansion that held her children inside. She could feel their presence nearby, almost as though they were calling to her, asking for help. It was then that something intense swept over Boo. A combination of rage, anger that her children had been stolen from her, and some other maternal instinct hardwired into her DNA made it so that she needed to see her babies.

Disregarding an alarmed yelp from the human behind her, she barged through the gates and slammed against the front door of the old house. Despite the fact that the mansion was huge, full of many corridors and rooms, the pull of her offspring told her exactly where to go.
She found herself in a room where a man was standing, looming over a pile of eggs that she instantly recognized. Upon hearing her enter, the evil human turned around and shouted something, but that was not where Boo's attention was. She couldn't pull her gaze away from her babies, seemingly unhurt but still beyond her grasp. Without hesitation she started towards them, trying to put as little distance between herself as the eggs as possible, but was stopped when a powerful wave of magic slammed into her.

Boo went flying, crashing into a few things in the room and landing on the ground in an injured heap of burlap. Her mind went foggy and she heard the other human--the one she was starting to think of as a friend--enter the room. There was some shouting before suddenly the human was at her side, checking her injuries while also defending against the evil man's attacks. Then her friend was forced put their full attention on the Warlock as magic was being viciously thrown back and forth. While she was watching this take place, a strange feeling of resolve settled somewhere within Boo. Somewhere in her soul, she knew that she wouldn't be seeing her children grow to adulthood--but she knew this human would take care of them. Her little babies would have a loving guardian in their life, even if that guardian wouldn't be her. They would be safe. And with that thought in mind, she threw herself at the Warlock.

## Links

* Gryffi's Fairy Tales
* A Mother's Love