fandomania | The Adventure continues...

Emergency babies:

Our eggs:

¤

Our hatchlings:

The Story:

“What?” Donal asked confused.

I started to say something, but Nora returned with the mug of ginger tea she made for me.

“Here you go, dearie, drink this up. It should settle your stomach.”

“Thank you, Nora. That was very thoughtful of you.”

As I started to sip the tea, an uneasy silence fell.

Nora looked at me and then at Donal. “Well, I should get back to my supper…” and she went back into the cottage.

Donal watched me drink the tea in silence. When I had finished, he asked, “Did that help? How are you feeling? Do you think you are able to leave the privy for a few moments?”

“It seems to have helped. I am feeling a bit rocky at the moment, but less nauseous. And, yes. This really isn’t the place for this kind of talk.”

Donal picked me up and carried me to a wooden bench by the cottage. It faced the setting sun, but I don’t think Donal noticed.

Donal got down on his knees in front of me. “Patra, I am the biggest, blindest, most irresponsible fool that there is. Instead of taking care of you, I allowed my own needs and desire for you make me forget about protecting you. Can you forgive me?”

“Are you saying, Donal, that you don’t want the baby?”

”No! No, Patra! I am not saying that at all! What I am trying to say in my own bumbling way is that I am concerned for your health, that it may be too soon for you to be pregnant again. I have heard that women who have babies too close together can have a lot of problems during their pregnancy and can die in labor. I don’t want that to happen to you. I never want to be responsible for doing that to you. But if given a choice between you or a baby, I would always pick you. You are my life.”

“I know that I have a lot of children.” I replied. “That was Jaizel’s choice not mine. He was very controlling. He practically ordered me to conceive on his command. He treated me, in that respect, like a broodmare. That is why my children are three years apart in age. Don’t get me wrong. I love and adore each and every child he gave me, even though I hated him. For many years, they were the ones that gave my life meaning and kept me going. But I don’t know what you want me to do. Do you want me to get rid of the baby? Because that is something I just cannot do. For once in my life, I have conceived a child that wasn’t brought into being because I was told to do so. For once in my life, I have conceived a child because of the love and passion I feel for his father, because of the spontaneity of our love, because of the love we share for each other. I am sorry if the baby doesn’t fit your grand scheme of life. I am sorry that I am too fertile for you. If I have complications with this pregnancy, then so be it. I will just have to deal with them, if they occur. This baby may be unplanned, but he will be just as loved as if he was and maybe more so because he wasn’t.”

Donal opened his mouth, as if starting to say something, but then thought better of it. He then looked down as if in thought. When he looked up again, he grabbed my hands and held them together within his. He looked me straight in the eye, very intensely.

“Patra, will you do me the honor of marrying me? Will you be my wife? I cannot offer you anything yet, except myself, my body and my devotion to you. But I promise you that I will love you and cherish you all the days of my life and beyond. I promise that I will do my utmost to make you happy. I promise you that I will work as hard as I can to make sure that you, your children, our children will never want for anything. I love you. I want you and I want our baby. Please tell me that you will marry me?”

I took a minute or two and looked closely at him, and said “Yes, Donal, I will marry you.”

Donal pulled me forward into his embrace and kissed me, giving me one of his kisses that always left me weak in the knees and seemed to last forever.

Donal sighed. “As much as I hate to end this, it is getting dark and I am starving. Will you be alright watching me eat?” he asked.

“I hope so. I think that the ginger tea has helped.” And so we went back into the cottage.

The meal had been cleaned up, but there was a kettle of thick soup simmering over the kitchen fireplace. Donal got two bowls and two spoons out of the cupboard, along with some bread and butter. He then went and ladled soup into both bowls. He brought them back to the table and sat down next to me. “If you can, please try to eat something? You need to keep your strength up for yourself and the baby. But if you can’t, don’t force yourself.” Donal started eating while watching me. I tried a little bread and butter, which managed to stay down. I ate a spoonful of the soup and waited. I managed to eventually get down some more bread and soup, although Donal had to finish most of mine, for me.

When we had finished, Orlando came over to the table and sat down.

“SINCE EVERYONE ELSE HAS GONE TO BED, I THINK THAT THIS MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED.

“PATRA, I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT YOU SAID A WHILE AGO, ABOUT HOW JAIZEL HAD DEFEATED MY OLD MENTOR, TIVOR, WITHOUT JAIZEL HAVING ANY MAGIC. I THINK THAT JAIZEL MUST HAVE HAD THOSE STONES BACK THEN. THAT IS WHY TIVOR COULDN’T DEFEAT HIM. ALL THIS TIME, I THOUGHT IT WAS BECAUSE TIVOR WAS SENILE. BUT TIVOR LOST BECAUSE HIS MAGIC WOULDN’T WORK. JAIZEL MUST HAVE HAD THE STONES WAY BACK THEN.

“I HAVE BEEN WONDERING WHERE THOSE STONES CAME FROM AND HOW THEY CAME INTO HIS POSSESSION. I AM NOT 100% SURE, BUT I THINK THAT THE GEORGISTS HAVE THE STONES ALSO. THAT IS WHY THEY COULD SO EASILY DEFEAT FREEDONIA. BUT HOW AND WHEN THEY GOT THEM IS NOT YET KNOWN. PATRA, DO YOU THINK THAT JAIZEL COULD HAVE OR WOULD HAVE COLLABORATED WITH THEM?”

I thought about it for a while and then replied, “Jaizel had a lot of ambitions. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did that. On the other hand, he seemed genuinely taken off guard by the invasion. He wouldn’t let me anywhere near his offices or wherever he had meetings, so I never overheard anything important. He would have beaten me terribly if I had disobeyed him like that, so I never tried. I am sorry I cannot give you a better answer.”

“THAT IS OKAY. IT ISN’T IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW. THE KEY THING IS THOSE STONES.”

Donal asked, “How do you know that the Georgists have the stones?”

“BECAUSE I WAS IN FREEDONIA THIS MORNING AND THE GEORGISTS SET A TRAP FOR ME USING THOSE STONES. I DIDN’T ACTUALLY SEE THE STONES, BUT THE EFFECT THEY HAD ON ME WAS EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE EFFECT I EXPERIENCED THIS MORNING, WHEN YOU FOUND THE STONES.”

“You were in Freedonia this morning?” I asked, astonished. “Why? Freedonia is a dangerous place for dragons now!”

“YES, LITTLE ONE, I WAS AND IT IS. THAT IS WHY I WAS DELAYED IN GETTING TO YOU AFTER YOU CALLED FOR ME. AFTER I LEFT THE HOUSE OF THE PERSON THAT I WAS VISITING, I DISCOVERED MYSELF SURROUNDED BY A SMALL GROUP OF GEORGISTS AND UNABLE TO USE MY MAGIC. WHAT THEY HADN’T CALCULATED ON WAS THE WRATH OF A MAGI DRAGON. I STILL HAD MY TEETH AND CLAWS. IT TOOK ME LONGER THAN I WANTED IT TO, BUT I DID MANAGE TO DEFEAT THEM AND LEAVE FREEDONIA ALIVE.”

“But why did you go to Freedonia? What was so important that you risked your life for?” I queried.

“FINDING ANSWERS TO THE RIDDLES ABOUT YOU AND LOYSA.”

“What? Why? I never asked you to do something so dangerous!” I exclaimed.

“NO, LITTLE ONE, YOU DIDN’T. BUT I DO LOVE A CHALLENGE AND FINDING ANSWERS TO RIDDLES. AND I DID IT TO KNOW WHY THINGS HAPPENED AS THEY HAVE.”

“Did you find all the answers?”

“NO, NOT ALL OF THEM. BUT ENOUGH TO ACHIEVE UNDERSTANDING AND MAKE SOME EDUCATED GUESSES.

“DO YOU REMEMBER THOSE NIGHTMARES YOU HAD FOUR MONTHS AGO, JUST BEFORE WE FOUND LOYSA? THE SECOND NIGHTMARE WAS ABOUT YOUR BIRTH. I CAUGHT A FRAGMENT OF IT JUST BEFORE YOU WOKE UP. I SAW THE FACE OF THE DOCTOR WHO DELIVERED YOU. USING A LOCATOR SPELL, I SEARCHED FOR THAT MAN AND FOUND HIM STILL ALIVE IN FREEDONIA. I WENT TO TALK TO HIM ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY. AFTER A BIT OF PERSUASION, HE TOLD ME THE TRUTH.”

“Which is?”

“THAT LOYSA IS YOUR IDENTICAL TWIN SISTER.”