Dragon's Mother

Chapter 10

Ansel woke with a start as the entire world shook, Ansel sitting straight up or as much as he could with his protruding stomach. It took him a moment to take in his surroundings and realize that he was back in the carriage which was currently being pulled down the road by two stallions. Peeking out the curtains, he could see the knights on their horses riding on either side of the carriage. Sir Chester saw him first giving Ansel a little wave, Sir Rodrick ignoring him completely. On the other side, Sir Hendrick and Sir Stephen were too caught up in a heated debate to notice the young man at all.

"Princess Magnolia was way hotter than Princess Rosetta. Do you like Rosetta better just because she's a brunette?" Sir Stephen was saying, Sir Hendrick letting out a loud groan while letting his head fall back.

"Princess Magnolia couldn't navigate her way out of an out house. Princess Rosetta is not only way smarter than Princess Magnolia but she's been helping her father enhance their agriculture and finances since she was eight. She would be a much better match for our prince than some blonde headed bimbo," Sir Hendrick snapped and the two knights continued to bicker until Sir Chester suggested they take a break on the side of the road. "Fine but we're only taking a ten minute break. We need to keep moving," Sir Hendrick said seriously, looking behind them as they pulled over on the side of the road, even going a few yards into the forest away from the main in case of the Demon King's forces caught up to them.

"Um, why am I in the carriage?" Ansel asked as Sir Chester helped him out of said carriage while Sir Stephen handed out their food portions to the others.

"We need to get back to our kingdom as fast as we can and you're not exactly in the best state to move quickly," Sir Hendrick pointed out with a chuckle, gently poking Ansel's belly before handing Ansel some jerky and bread. Ansel blushed a little, making sure his shirt was covering his belly, when he noticed that he had been dressed into fresh clean clothes including a long white shirt that fit around his belly showing off it's large circumference.

"Why didn't you guys wake me up? I could have helped you guys pack everything," Ansel said, thanking them for the new clothes.

"Um..." Sir Chester responded with, glancing at the others causing Ansel to look from one knight to the other.

"What is it?" Ansel asked, confused, when Sir Stephen fixed him with a very serious stare while Sir Chester and Sir Rodwell found a small clearing for them to sit down and to let the horses groom the fields.

"Ansel. You've been asleep for three whole weeks," he said, Ansel's eyes widening to the size of saucers, until Sir Hendrick jabbed Sir Stephen in the ribs with a disapproving look.

"You've only been asleep for a couple hours but we literally couldn't wake you up. You were in a pretty deep sleep and it was impossible to stir you," Sir Hendrick said which was still quite alarming to Ansel.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a burden," Ansel rushed out as Sir Chester helped him sit on an old stump, feeling ashamed, when Sir Hendrick ruffled his hair encouraging him to eat.

"You're not a burden. You were exhausted from this whole adventure and you're also carrying a baby in you. Albeit, a dragon baby, but a baby all the same which is no easy task," Sir Hendrick pointed out as they ate their food, Ansel surprised when they gave him a second helping. He was still very hungry but he knew they didn't have a lot of food. "Eat. I've seen normal pregnant women eat and I'm sure a dragon's appetite is a lot bigger," Sir Henrick said seriously, Ansel noticing Sir Rodwell eyeing him carefully as if he was fearful of becoming Ansel's next meal if they didn't feed him enough.

"Still, we don't have a lot of food. I don't need this," Ansel said, trying to hand the food back, but Sir Chester pushed it back toward his chest with a warm smile.