NOTE: Rockabye by the Clean Bandit was the inspiration for this chapter.
Childbirth is the most painful, most difficult thing a woman will ever endure... and Maximilian Calypse had to do it in a cold, dark, cramped prison cell.
She didn't know who had taken her prisoner, but she knew that they were exceptionally good at hiding. She had been locked away for a little over three years.
She didn't know she was pregnant and neither did the guards but when her pregnancy was confirmed by one of the captor's mages she was no longer subjected to physical punishment. They may be evil, but they were not so cruel as to harm a woman who was with child.
Maximilian also knew that her husband would rescue her. Yes, it had been an excruciatingly long time since she had seen him but her faith in him never wavered. She had to believe that he would come for her and for their child.
Besides her son, that small flicker of hope was probably the only thing that had kept her sane over the past three years.
Surprisingly, Maxi did not have to fight with her captors to keep her son after he was born. They never tried to take him from her, probably because they had no idea how to handle a newborn. Though Maxi didn't know much more than they did, her maternal instincts had served her well thus far.
It broke her heart that Riftan had missed so many of their son's milestones. Maxi talked to him about his father so much that his first word had been a garbled version of "Dada." For someone so young he was very well spoken and highly aware of his surroundings. He had taken his first steps at just six months old, and he could now walk perfectly on his own. Maxi was beyond proud that her son was so strong, just like his father. And he looked just like him, a mini Riftan with bronze skin and hair black as ebony. The only thing he had gotten from her was her silvery blue eyes.
Her baby was the most beautiful thing in the world, and she would do anything to keep him healthy and safe. Even if it cost Maxi her life, she would do so without hesitation, and not just because she was naturally reckless, now she was driven by a mother's instinct to protect her child no matter what.
And if Riftan didn't come soon she may very well lose her life. Every day, since the day he was born Maxi transferred a little bit of her mana to her son. She knew the rations they received weren't enough for a growing baby, so her mana helped him grow and kept him strong and healthy.
The prison rations had gotten smaller and smaller lately and certainly weren't enough for one person let alone two. Recently she had been giving her entire ration to her son so he could fill his belly. A lack of food and the daily use of her mana wore her out and she found herself lying in bed more and more throughout the day but she somehow managed to always find just enough energy to play with her son.
It was almost noon and she had not yet risen from her small, tattered cot. She felt very weak and prayed and prayed that Riftan would come for them soon. As part of their morning routine Maxi sat her son in her lap and held her hand out to her son. He placed his tiny hand in hers. The two sat very still as a small trail of mana flowed from her palm to his. While she looked drowsy and sickly, he looked lively and more awake after the transfer.
She worried as she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up on little to no food. She was naturally thin, but a lack of food had caused her to not only quickly lose the small amount of extra weight she had gained during her pregnancy, but she figured she now weighed less than she ever had in her life. Please hurry Riftan, she thought as she soon drifted back to sleep.
Her son, like his parents, was very observant and knew that something, though he didn't know what, was wrong with his Mommy. He had never met his father, but he knew from the many stories his mother had shared with him how brave and strong he was. His mother had described his father's appearance to him many times so that when he did come for them, he would recognize Riftan immediately. Like his mother, he had faith and hope that his father would rescue them. He had to hope because it was all he had ever known; his mother had never once lost faith so neither would he. He hoped that wherever his father was that he would hurry because Mommy was getting worse every day.
——
Fate was on their side as that very morning the Remdragon Knights had finally tracked down Lady Maximilian's captors. Riftan single-handedly slaughtered most of the men in the abandoned fortress meaning they would have to look for Maximilian as there was no one left alive to tell them where she was being held. They split up and began earnestly searching for the lady.
——-
A dark haired Remdragon Knight made quick work of the men standing guard at the entrance to the fortress's dungeon as he continued his search for Lady Maximilian. If the men continued to stand guard when they attacked, then there must be someone important down here. He prayed her ladyship was close by and unharmed.
Maxi's son was a light sleeper just like his mother. The sound of a brief scuffle had awoken him from his midday nap. His mother was unwell and hardly stirred as the noise grew louder and louder.
"My lady?! Where are you?" a voice called out.
The young knight passed in front of her cell and froze at what he saw. Lady Maxi looked terribly ill as she stirred from her slumber while leaning her back against the cold stone behind her. The lady's health was of great concern but that's not what had stopped him in his tracks. A child, a miniature carbon copy of the Lord Calypse, sat upright upon the lady's lap and stared at the young knight.
"Gabel? Is it really you?" Maxi asked weakly, unsure if she was dreaming or perhaps hallucinating due to a lack of nutrients.
Gabel quickly snapped out of his shocked daze and used the keys he'd grabbed on his way into the dungeon to open the cell door.
The small child crawled out of his mother's lap, climbed down off the cot, and approached the young man entering the prison cell. He could tell based on his mother's reaction to this man that he could trust him.
Without hesitation he asked the knight, "Mommy is very sick. Can you help me find my Daddy? He will help her get better."
———-
Riftan was growing more and more worried as the seconds turned to minutes and the minutes turned to hours as they continued searching for Maxi without success.
"Commander!" he heard Gabel call from a distance, "Come quick!"
He and the other knights began heading towards the sound of Gabel's voice but soon stopped in their tracks.
Standing next to the young Remdragon knight was a child who looked shockingly like a very small version of Riftan. The boy's face lit up when he saw the man, he knew was his father, even though he had never seen him.
"Daddy!" the boy cried happily. The boy ran as fast as his tiny legs would carry him straight towards the Commander.
For a moment Riftan was stunned. He was paralyzed by a maelstrom of emotions, joy, regret, and anger surged within him. He shook it off as best he could and bent down to greet the small boy, slowly running towards him. He carefully scooped the child up into his arms. He was a little nervous having never held a child before, but some paternal instinct deep within him guided him as he moved his hands to provide the child with support in his embrace.
The child did in fact look just like him, but his eyes are what caught Riftan's attention. They were pale silvery blue just like his wife's. Their son had Maxi's eyes. He carefully embraced the child in his arms. Riftan's heart melted as the boy clung tightly to him and buried his face in his father's shoulder.
The other knights were too stunned to speak, even Hebaron who usually had some sly remarks to tease Riftan, remained silent.
After hugging his father for a while, the boy leaned back in his embrace and eagerly looked up at him.
"I knew you would find us! I never doubted you, not even for a second," he beamed. "Mommy never doubted you either."
Riftan thought his heart would burst right then and there at the unwavering the faith his son had in him. His face broke into a warm smile as he looked down at the precious child in his arms. He gently ran his fingers through his son's black hair. It was so soft, like touching a cloud. He rested his hand on the child's head and looked into his eyes. Riftan's face grew more serious before he spoke.
"Where is your Mommy?"
The boy frowned and his face grew serious like his father's before he answered solemnly, "Mommy is in our cell."
The child's voice raised an octave as he pleaded with worry, "She's sick! So sick she couldn't get out of bed today! Please Daddy, you have to save her!"
Seeing his son so distraught with worry over his mother's health broke Riftan's heart with a pain like he had never felt before. The pain of a father whose child was distressed.
"I will, son." His voice was gentler than he ever thought possible. "I promise."
————-
The knights hurried quickly to the dungeon and made their way to the lady's cell.
Riftan, with his son still in his arms, was the first to reach her. She had fallen asleep again and he was worried that she had not stirred at the sound of them entering the dungeon considering he knew she was a light sleeper.
"Mommy! MOMMY! Wake up! Daddy's here to rescue us!"
She stretched stiffly and wiped the sleep out of her eyes. Maxi slowly opened her eyes, as her slumber was brought to an end by her child's outburst.
A short gasp escaped from her lips at the sight before her. Her husband was kneeling beside her cot with their son in his arms. Even in her exhausted state she found the energy to smile brightly at them. She had never seen a more beautiful sight.
"I've dreamed of this moment so many times, I can't believe you're really here."
"It's true Maxi, I'm here."
"It's true Mommy!" the child exclaimed happily. "You were right, Daddy saved us. Now we can go home, and you can get all better!"
Her eyes sparkled at the joy in her son's voice. She had never seen him so happy. Having only known the four walls of this cell until now he had no source of joy in his life besides the tales, she had told him about his father's expeditions.
The boy reached out his hand and both his mother and father reached for it. Their son's tiny hand was sandwiched between two palms that were much larger than his own. For the first time ever at that moment they were a whole family, the three of them united at last. The couple and small child sat like that for a long time, basking in the blissful joy of being together.
Eventually, Ruth broke the peaceful silence, unable to contain his curiosity any longer, "You've provided him with your mana haven't you, my lady? That's why he is remarkably healthy for a child who was forced to grow up in such a horrid environment. You haven't been eating well, if at all. That's why you are so sick."
"I had to," she spoke just above a whisper. Her next words were nearly incoherent as her emotions, especially the fear of what could have been, overwhelmed her, "He wouldn't have survived if I hadn't..."
The rest of her words were lost to a fit of heart wrenching sobs. Riftan wrapped his arm around his wife's weak frame and pulled her into his chest. He held her tightly as she trembled and wailed at the pain and suffering, she and her child had endured. Riftan buried his face in her hair and clenched his eyes shut as his emotions boiled within him. His body shook as he was equally filled with sorrow at what his sweet wife had suffered through alone as well as rage having not made her captors' deaths longer and more painful.
She shook violently, trembling against him as waves of sobs racked through her body. Her son hated seeing his mother cry so he hugged her as best he could with his small arms. He leaned his head on her shoulder and cried with her. The other knights who loved their lady dearly were equally heartbroken at what she had suffered through. Yulysion, who absolutely adored her ladyship, was openly crying and sniveling, not even trying to hide his sorrow.
It suddenly occurred to Riftan that she had not used a name when referring to their son. Perhaps telling him their child's name would help lift her spirits if only for a moment.
"What is his name?" he asked quietly.
Maxi, upon hearing his question, did her best to calm down. Her sobs dissipated and she occasionally hiccupped as she tried to take deep breaths. Once she was calm enough to talk, she spoke while continuing to lean heavily against Riftan's chest for support and comfort.
"You'll have to name him." Maxi said so softly that he almost didn't hear her.
"W-what?" Riftan replied.
"He's two years old. You missed so much already," her voice nearly broke again with deep sorrow. "The very least I could do was allow you to name your first-born son."
Heavy tears began to roll down his cheeks. He didn't give a damn if his men saw him cry. They were tears of absolute sorrow mixed with unbridled joy as he realized he had missed many of his son's milestones, but Maxi had somehow managed to save him one of the most important moments in a father's life, the honor of naming his child, his precious son.
Riftan thought for a moment, staring down at the beautiful child in his arms. His child. Their child.
"Andrew," Riftan said. "It means strong and brave. He survived the first two years of his life in this wretched place which required a great deal of strength."
"Andrew," Maxi said with a bright smile. "I love it. Our brave, strong little boy."
Riftan asked Elliot to carry his son while he carried Maxi out of the dungeon. Hebaron protested that he should have been asked to carry the heir of Anatol but a sharp look from the lord and lady quickly silenced him.
"I can walk!" the child protested.
Sounds like someone I know, Riftan thought as he gave Maxi a slightly amused look.
She raised an eyebrow at her husband and gave him a tiny smirk as if to say, no, I didn't teach him that.
Riftan chuckled to himself as he reluctantly released his son to Elliot's care. He knew Andrew was in safe hands with Sir Elliot.
Riftan carefully lifted Maxi into his arms. His heart ached at how light she was. Her small frame had always been light as a feather to him, but he could tell by her weight alone that she hadn't gotten enough to eat as of late.
She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes basking in the safe feeling she always felt when he held her close. After months and months of strain and worry, her tense muscles slowly began to relax, and she soon found herself on the brink of consciousness as the knights began to file out of the cell.
Before she drifted off to sleep in her husband's arms, she heard Riftan speak. She could hear his smile as he spoke with a tender joy that could only come from the love of a father, "Thank you Maximilian, for the best gift you have ever given me. Thank you for keeping him safe. I will do everything in my power to be the best father I can be for him. Lord knows neither you nor I had good fathers. Our son will be loved by us, by the knights, the servants, and the people of Anatol. I promise he will never want for anything. Thank you for my son, our son. Our beautiful Andrew."
NOTE: Would Riftan probably have found them sooner? Absolutely but I wanted Andrew to be old enough to have a verbal interaction with his father upon meeting him, hence the long captivity. Have a great day.