The Dragon King’s Baby

Chapter 7

An hour later, Addie walked to the doctor’s room with Jeanne and Poppy at her side. Vada could see she needed some space and time with her friends, so she had excused herself with the promise that she would tell no one until Addie had told Seathan and they were ready to announce it.

Addie’s fear was palpable as she lay on the table during the examination, her friends by her sides. “Doctor, I don’t understand. I couldn’t be more than two weeks along, maybe three.”

The doctor nodded as he finished the exam. “Everything looks great, Princess.” He walked over and washed his hands as Addie sat up and adjusted the gown she had on for modesty. The doctor leaned against the counter and looked at her. “Do you know anything about the gestation period of a dragon shifter?”

“No. I’m human,” Addie said. “I studied the cultures of the other kingdoms while in college, but I was never interested in anatomy of humans, let alone other species.”

The doctor chuckled. “Understandable. Well, the gestation period for a dragon shifter is only two months.”

Addie gasped. “Are you kidding me? I’ll barely have been pregnant before this baby comes shooting out of me!”

“It’s fine, Princess, don’t worry,” the doctor soothed, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke. “I do have to be honest with you, though. I’ve never heard of a human having a dragon shifter, so the pregnancy may be a little longer than two months.”

“But you don’t know for sure?” Addie asked, panic in her eyes. Jeanne took her hand to calm her, and Poppy perched on the bed behind her to rub her shoulders. “What’s going to come out of there? A baby, a dragon, or an egg?”

Again the doctor chuckled. “You’ll give birth to a baby, not a dragon or an egg. Except for the length of time, dragon shifter pregnancies and births are similar to a human’s, a were’s, or a witch’s.”

Addie breathed a sarcastic sigh of relief. “Well, that’s something at least.”

The doctor removed himself from his leaning position and dug through a drawer. He pulled out a handful of pamphlets and handed them to Addie. “These will answer a lot of your questions. I’ll want to see you every few day for now, and then as you get closer to giving birth, we’ll see each other every day.”

Addie nodded. “If I have questions or start freaking out about something, I can come find you, right?”

“Of course, Princess. I’ll be here whenever you need me.”

“Anytime? Two in the morning?”

The doctor smiled at her. “Of course.” He turned to leave so she could get dressed but stopped and looked back at her. “A word of advice. Talk to the Queen Vada or perhaps Romy. Both have had successful pregnancies, Romy’s only last year.”

Addie’s brow furrowed. She knew she could speak to both her mother-in-law as well as her sister-in-law, but they were both dragon shifters who had given birth to dragon shifters. She was a human giving birth to a dragon shifter; this pregnancy was an anomaly, a first in the history of the world, as far as she knew.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Jeanne answered for her. He left the room, and she turned to Addie. “Okay, I know you’re freaking out inside right now, but it’s too early to freak out. Let’s get you dressed and upstairs.”

Addie stood and shrugged out of the paper gown. Poppy began handing her her clothes as she spoke. “How can Vada or Romy know anything about this pregnancy? I’m the first human to give birth to a dragon shifter.”

“But you’re not the first human to give birth to a shifter,” Jeanne reminded her. “I know a woman who gave birth to a werebear’s child. The child was healthy and beautiful.”

“Could it shift?”

“He could, but it was later in life than a normal werebear, and he stood upright more often than he walked on all fours like a bear. Other than that, there was no difference.”

Addie felt a little relief at this knowledge, but not much. Dragon shifters could fly; what if her child could shift but had no wings? Or what if he or she did have wings but they didn’t work? What if . . .

She shook her head. No more of that, she told herself. She had to brace herself to tell Seathan. She began to plan a special dinner for him in her head as she and her friends left the doctor’s rooms.

“I need to see Vada. I want to have a special dinner made for Seathan and me so we can celebrate tonight,” Addie said in a hushed tone.

“Addie, if you don’t feel like celebrating, you don’t have to,” Poppy told her. She flew in front of her and continued backwards as Addie walked. “Maybe just tell him instead of pretending.”

Addie nodded. “You know, I’m not unhappy about this. I mean, it was bound to happen. A baby is so exciting!” There was a but in her voice.

“But?” Jeanne prompted as they got on the elevator.

“But,” Addie said with a sad smile, “I’m terrified. There are so many what ifs in my head right now that I’m surprised the top hasn’t blown off.”

“I think Vada will be able to answer some of those what ifs. And, I’ll call my friend who had the werebear baby. She can answer a few more questions you might have,” Jeanne told her.

“That would be great,” Addie said as the elevator doors opened onto Vada’s floor. “Off to see the mother-in-law. See you later.”

*****

That evening, Poppy and Jeanne helped her set up a beautiful dinner on the balcony of the rooms she shared with Seathan. With the help of his mother, who knew his favorite foods, she had organized a five-course meal with the cooks. Vada had chosen specific servants, who could be trusted should they overhear the happy news, to serve them throughout the evening. For dessert, Addie had asked for a blank cake to be brought up to her, a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, Seathan’s favorite, as well as a decorating kit. With the green frosting, not blue or pink for obvious reasons, she wrote DADDY in huge letters and would serve it to him herself.

After her friends left, Addie dressed for the evening in a purple dress that fit tightly on her curves. Seathan’s scales, when he was in dragon form, were purple, and Vada had commented that he might get so excited he shifted. Addie had smiled; she wanted him to be excited about their baby, even if she was a bit of a wreck emotionally.

Vada had answered many of her questions and had promised to find a human doctor to stay with them until after the birth if that would make Addie feel better. She had nodded emphatically. She’d also asked if Vada could find a doctor who had delivered a cross-species baby, to which she agreed whole-heartedly. Vada’s comfort, knowledge, and promises had eased some of Addie’s worries, although she knew she would worry endlessly until the baby was born.

Her what ifs had grown from a handful to a hundred, or so it seemed. Poppy had suggested writing down the questions as they came to her so she could ask the doctor, Vada, or Romy, who would be at the castle in a few days. Addie had a pen and paper handy at all times and had already filled an entire page with questions. When she read them, though, she rolled her eyes at herself and crossed off some of the sillier ones, such as What if the baby is in dragon form and decides to eat its way out of my stomach? It was one thing to ask sensible questions; it was something else entirely to ask questions that were positively stupid.