"There is to be a celebration," James said rather suddenly.
"Celebration? For what?"
"The birth of our son."
"Daughter."
"Whatever it is. All in our kingdoms shall celebrate," he said, reaching out to rub my roundness.
"Yes, celebrations would be lovely." I lay back on the bed, my hands resting on the only place they could, feeling a small life inside. "Oh! James feel!"
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes, yes. Just put your hands here."
He cupped the small life in his hands and waited. A smile crossed his face as I felt our child kick out to him.
"The baby!"
"Yes, it moves about now!"
He placed his head, gently, on my stomach and smiled as the baby pushed against his cheeks. "It feels so strong!"
"Of course. That is a prince or a princess. The little one will be so very strong."
We lay there as the baby continued to move and wriggle within. She never seemed to stop, moving from side to side and up and down. I closed my eyes, hoping for sleep to come upon me quickly as it seemed as of late I could never get quite enough sleep. Or prawns. I loved sleeping and eating prawns.
"I cannot believe that I'm going to be a father!"
"Yes well, I hope it's sooner rather than later," I muttered turning to my side in an attempt to get some relief from the child growing within.
"What is wrong, my love?"
I patted his hand and kissed his cheek as he lay near me. "Nothing, sweet. I am simply uncomfortable and quite large."
His smile spread from ear to ear. "Large with a nice, strong baby. Our baby."
"Yes, yes. I just wish they wouldn't cause me such distress all the time."
His brows furrowed as he released the grip on my protruding stomach and stroked my cheek. "You are coming upon full term shortly. Then you will be able to find comfort again."
"I want to name her Elizabeth."
"Elizabeth?"
I nodded rubbing where her tiny foot pushed against the barrier of my womb.
"It's perfect."
"I hope so." My eyes slid close as they did so often anymore.
I awoke sometime later to a mighty crash from within my chambers. I sat up as quickly as I could, which really wasn't all that fast at all. Sitting on the edge of the bed, my chest heaved as the child pushed up as hard as she could laboring my breath.
I scanned the room for the source of the crash and noticed the drapes billowing in the now open window. I gave myself a shove off the bed and waddled my way toward the blustering wind. Attempting to stoop down and pick up the overturned standing candelabra. I got about halfway down before I realized I would never be able to stand back up.
"Oh never mind!"
Grasping the window, a flash of shimmering scale skittered past the window.
"Draco?" I called out.
"Evelyn..." a bloodied claw gripped the stone in front of me.
Gasping, I reached out for him. "What happened?"
"It's not mine."
Relief flooded my body. "Oh thank goodness! Who is it?"
"I do need to eat."
I looked at him quizzically before it dawned on me. "Oh. I see."
"It was but a deer. No fretting, my lady."
I nodded. "Of course."
"How is the child?"
"Growing. A lot faster than I thought she would."
"You are coming upon your lying in?"
"It should be within the month."
He nodded his massive head before nosing my stomach with his cold, scaly nose. "The child will be in danger once she's born."
"I understand."
"More danger than you ever were."
"I know, Draco. The child is in danger even now while protected in my belly."
"The Guild will be after her."
"Yes. I'm sure they will be."
"Not to kill her."
"No?" I looked up at him.
"No. She would be an incredible asset to them alive."
I pursed my lips and stared past him at the moon waning in the sky. Streaks of pink, blue, and purple crept across the blackness.
"I won't let them take her. She's mine."
"She's a special child, Evelyn."
"I know, Draco. She's a princess."
"She's not just a princess, she's the daughter of a dragon rider. Her mother and father both have the dragon's heart."
"So? You said a dragon rider is only born every few centuries or so."
"Yes, but there has never been a child born to parents whose hearts are of a dragon."
"What does that mean?"
He shrugged his mighty shoulders. "I don't know. This is quite unprecedented. I'm not sure what to expect, Evelyn."
"Will she even be human?"
He let out a mighty laugh, shaking the very floor I stood on. James stirred only slightly in the bed across the room.
"Yes, she will be human, but she will have extraordinary powers."
"She'll be born to humans though."
"With a dragon heart."
"What should I expect?"
"Anything, I suppose."
"That doesn't help much, Draco."
I placed my hand upon my stomach as the child woke and proceeded with her daily tumbles.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine. She just loves to move, a lot."
"I'm sure she does."
I'm afraid, Draco."
"Things will be fine."
"You don't know that. You can't even be sure she'll be alright when she's born. She has an entire group off awful people who want to take her away from me."
"We'll protect her. She will be safe."
I nodded and closed the window as he let himself fall from the side of the castle. His massive wings unfurled, catching the wind as it blew about the building. My eyes remained trained on the shimmering scales until they vanished beyond the trees.