Dragon's Mother

Chapter 15

Ansel let out a soft sigh as he was stirred from his sleep, blinking as their cabin room was lit up by the morning sun. He slid a hand over his large belly, feeling the warmth of the dragon egg radiating through him. Ansel felt so cozy and comfortable, he didn't want to get out of bed! Ansel wanted very much to go back to sleep but it was the very same warm stomach that was disturbing his slumber. He was hungry! "I'll use some of the coins I took from Sir Stephen to buy some food. I need to swap them for copper and silver coins too. Can't be paying with gold coins all the time. I'll get robbed!" Ansel thought as he forced himself to open his eyes, imagining a freshly baked tart. He'd only gotten leftover back in his hometown or one's he found in the garbage. To get one fresh from the oven? He must be in heaven! "Or not!" Ansel choked mentally as his eyes focused on the room around him, the wolf man swimming into view who was sleeping on the stool leaning against the wall. His arms were crossed over his chest with his head bowed, legs stretched out taking up almost half the room, and he was snoring softly. "Guess we're out at sea already," Ansel mumbled with a sigh as he remembered his current predicament, struggling for a moment to sit up.

"You've been asleep for a full day," the wolfman said causing Ansel to jump a little bit, flinching as the wolfman focused it's green eyes on Ansel. "We're pretty far from shore so I wouldn't try anything funny. There won't be any backup so I'm confident I could kill every single person on board," the wolfman said with a wolfish grin, Ansel frowning in response.

"Who would man the ship though?" Ansel almost asked out loud but he held his tongue, rubbing sleep from his eyes as a distraction. "Um... could we get some food? I'm getting pretty hungry," Ansel asked as he brushed a hand over his belly. Fear be damned, he was getting really hungry.

"I'm surprised you have any room in there," the wolfman muttered, grabbing a small sack he tossed to Ansel who resisted the urge to hit him for that little comment. Inside was half a loaf of bread and he was handed a cup of water that had been poured from a pitcher the wolfman must have gotten while Ansel was asleep. "Eat up and stay quiet. We'll reach our destination in few days," the wolfman said as he stretched his arms over his head, his joints stiff from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position but there wasn't anywhere else to sleep. There was only the one bed and Ansel was taking up the whole thing.

"Are we not going to eat with the other passengers?" Ansel asked in confusion but he immediately regretted asking as the answer was obvious.

"Right, and give you a chance to hide away from me? Nice try. Stupid, but can't fault you for trying," the wolfman said with a sneer. Ansel bit into the bread, and grimaced as it was a little stale, to keep himself from snapping at the wolfman for all the insults and barbs being made his way. Then a thought occurred to Ansel though he wasn't too sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Why... um," Ansel mumbled, eyeing the wolfman wearily.

"Spit it out or shut up. I hate mumbling," the wolfman growled in annoyance, Ansel rolling his eyes in response. He couldn't hold in his annoyance anymore. Especially as his hormones made his emotions that much stronger. "Roll your eyes at me like that again and I might just gouge one out," the wolfman snarled, lifting one hand in the air showing off his claws. Ansel avoided all eye contact after that, taking a long sip of his water as he tried to collect himself.

"Why did you... uh... capture me? Follow me on the boat? Um... What exactly do you want with me?" Ansel asked, slowly shrinking further and further under the monstrous glare the wolfman was giving him as the mumbling continued.

"Is it not obvious?" the wolfman asked with a scoff, his eyes dropping down from Ansel's face to his stomach. "I suppose you aren't aware of the bounty on your head."

"Wow. That was fast," Ansel thought looking down at his stomach too in worry. Another thought struck Ansel though as he keenly felt the ship rocking above as the waves carried them across the seas. Ansel took a moment to puke for a moment before voicing his thoughts, sounding rather tired now. "If you're a bounty hunter, why did you have us get on a ship to another kingdom? Didn't the Demon King issue the bounty?" Ansel asked as he nibbled on the bread and sipped at the water while letting his stomach settle. A feat that was nearly impossible on the ship. He was regretting getting on board more and more, even more so with present company.