The Dragon King’s Baby

Addie set the glass of ice tea on the bedside table and squirmed until she was lying flat on her back. She lifted the hem of her tee shirt and relaxed as her mother gently slathered on the salve. It smelled of lavender and peppermint, an almost unpleasant smell, but not too terrible.

“How are you feeling?”

“There is magic in that potion, I swear,” Addie said as the soothing salve eased the pain in her belly. “I could barely move yesterday, and the wound looked so angry. I couldn’t even walk to the bathroom, but today, I’ve walked all over the suite!”

“Good! You’ll be good as new in no time,” Claire commented as she stoppered the bottle and put it back in her pocket. She kept it with her at all times; the potion was sacred to her friend, who didn’t want the secret contents revealed. She looked down at her granddaughter. “How long has she been asleep?”

“Only a little bit. I was about to take a small nap myself,” Addie told her.

“Good idea. A new mother should always sleep when the infant sleeps. Otherwise she never will,” Claire laughed quietly.

“I just can’t stop looking at her, Mom,” Addie murmured quietly, smiling down at the bassinet. “She’s so freaking perfect I could just squeeze her!”

Claire laughed again, causing Kalea to stir restlessly in her bassinet. Claire covered her mouth with her hand to stop the noise. “Oops.”

Addie waved a hand. “She’s a surprisingly hard sleeper. Seathan dropped a book yesterday and she didn’t even flinch.”

“Ah, you’ll appreciate that,” Claire said. She rose to leave. “I put a bottle in the bassinet for her when she wakes. Take a nap.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Addie said, pulling the blanket up.

Claire leaned over and kissed her daughter’s forehead. “I want to give Kalea a kiss, but I won’t. I’ll probably be back in thirty minutes so I can feed her. Have to get in my granny time before I have to go home.”

“Granny? That’s what you want to be called?” Addie asked, her voice revealing her surprise at the name.

“What’s wrong with Granny?”

“Nothing. You just don’t look like a Granny. Maybe a Nana?”

“I like Granny,” Claire replied stubbornly.

Addie giggled and put her hands up defensively. “Your choice.”

“Yes, it is,” Claire replied, a smile gentling the words. “Go to sleep.”

*****

Seathan held the phone to his ear, his eyes staring out the large window of his office as he listened intently to Helene’s concerns.

“Eckhart has killed his son-in-law and refuses to allow his daughter and granddaughter to leave the dungeon in which he’s place them. Seathan, I tell you, the man has lost his grip on reality,” Helene huffed. Seathan imagined she was pacing, so great was her agitation.

Seathan sighed deeply. “What was his reason for killing the son-in-law?”

“He accused the poor boy of treason, claiming he was a spy for you.”

“But he was a were. Why would he spy for me?” Seathan asked.

“Exactly my point, Seathan. It was a lie to give Eckhart the legal avenue to have the boy executed. And the man’s family is in an uproar, demanding I find justice for their boy,” Helene told him. “And I don’t blame them for their desire for justice.”

“Do you have any idea of his purpose?” Seathan had a good idea what Eckhart’s final plan was, but he wanted to see if Helene felt the same way.

“Seathan, I honestly don’t know, but if I were a betting woman, and I am, I would say he’s planning to start a war with you and George. If that boy really had been a spy for you, that proves that you’re being sneaky and underhanded.”

“I will not go to war because that wizard has lost his mind. He’s imagining things that aren’t there,” Seathan seethed, banging his fist on the table in front of him. “What do you propose we do?”

“Through the death of one of my citizens, Eckhart has rendered our alliance null and void. I’ll be contacting him tomorrow morning to let him know my kingdom will no longer be allied with his,” Helene answered, then sighed. “That’ll go over well,” she joked rather sadly.

“It may push him over the edge,” Seathan acknowledged. “You’ll have the support of my kingdom, should things get ugly.”

“I will not go to war with that idiot,” Helene swore. “We’ll have to find another way.”

Seathan was quiet for a moment. “Helene, let me have a couple of days to think this over. In two days, let’s hold a conference call with George. It’s time the three of us dealt with Eckhart.”

“All right, Seathan. Send me an email, let me know what time,” Helene said. “And now that business is concluded, how is that beautiful baby girl of yours?”

*****

Eckhart paced his throne room, growling at anyone who came near him. He had already turned three of his advisors into animals out of anger when they disagreed with him, one a duck, one a weasel, and the third a snake. After his chief of staff had returned them to their proper form, she had told the three of them to leave the room and give the king his space. Crashes and loud booms were heard throughout the afternoon, and word spread: Queen Helene had ended the alliance because of the execution of the were.

After silence had reigned for over an hour, the three wizards who functioned as King Eckhart’s advisors were ordered to return. The chief of staff, a lovely witch with golden hair, sat by his side, unperturbed by Eckhart’s behavior. She had watched him destroy everything in the throne room and had cleaned up before calling the others in.

“King Eckhart has developed a plan for this outrage Queen Helene has committed against him,” the witch began as the advisors took their seats across from the king. She remained standing to his right and just behind him.

“Your Highness, we are eager to hear your plan,” one of them said.

Eckhart cleared his throat for emphasis and smiled a smile that put fear into the hearts of all three men. “We are going to kidnap the dragon shifter/human creature and dispose of it. It’s an abomination.”

No one spoke. One of the advisors looked at the witch, who nodded her head, indicating her agreement with this plan. The three exchanged looks of horror; to argue with the king could mean another spell against them. Defending yourself against the king was considered treason, a law Eckhart had created the first year of his rule. Although all three of them thought the plan was positively horrendous, none of them spoke against it.

Eckhart smiled at what he assumed was their agreement. “Only the five of us will know about this plan. Gert will execute the plan.”

One of the wizards looked up at her, astonished. “You’re going to kidnap and kill the child?”

Gert raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you have a problem with this plan?”

The wizard looked at Eckhart, who glared at him. “Not at all. I just didn’t know you did field work of this sort.”

“I do whatever the king requires of me,” Gert replied, staring into the wizard’s eyes until he looked away.