King Xavier Fellmore was a man of many accomplishments. He fought in the war against the Dwarves and won back the coal mines. He made a peace treaty with the Centauri and now shared a large stock of land in their kingdom. He even had a seaweed contract with the merfolk that allowed the Culla safe passage on the sea. He had seen a lot of things, a lot of creatures, and a lot of unique things these creatures could do. But he had never in all his years seen what he was looking at right at that moment. The distended belly of his son that was quite clearly not just a little fat around the midsection. It was taut and had a strange pattern that seemed to press out from the inside.
He had seen in some other species where the men could carry the progeny of the species, but they usually had a beastly background that was carried on by the generations. He had never seen a pregnant <i>human</i> male.
Zubrick walked over to his older brother and bent at the waist, looking at the distended mound with a sneer.
“That’s so gross…”
“Zubrick!” Xavier growled.
Diho moved his robe to cover his stomach and turned to the side. He glared at his younger brother as Xavier went over to his wife, patting her hand. He eventually got her to wake up and she sat up from the couch.
“I’m so sorry… I could have sworn I saw something quite taboo…” She looked over at Diho again and seeing his stomach, her hazel eyes widened but then they got sad. “Oh, my dear boy, what has become of you?”
Diho tied his robes back. “Nothing has ‘become’ of me. I’m just pregnant.”
“You say that like every day there’s a pregnant dude walking around.” Zubrick said.
Diho shrugged and Xavier came around the couch.
“Who did this to you?” he asked, his gaze becoming dark. “Did someone force you to accept this? Is this why you were gone for so long?”
“No, I was gone because Atreyu suddenly left. Did you know that he’s actually a dragonshifter?” he asked with a curious look to his parents.
Xavier and the queen looked at each other. “No, we didn’t know…”
“I mean, neither did he. He was found at an orphanage and basically raised as a human with me, so he wouldn’t have known. Apparently every few years the dragons send out a signal that only other dragonkind can hear and it basically brings them back to Heigabar. Since Atreyu had no idea he had dragon blood, he didn’t know what was going on and so he just started following the signal.”
“This is very concerning.” Xavier said, pacing as he put his hand to his chin. “The guardian of the Crown Prince is actually a dragon?”
Diho frowned. “Why are you acting like this suddenly changed Atreyu as a person? He’s still the same guy. He’s still my most trusted companion.”
Zubrick suddenly brightened and he gave a side glance to his brother. “Tell me this wasn’t his doing, right?” Diho didn’t say anything and Zubrick clapped his hands together. “Ha! I knew it!”121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjEXwwCxRV
The queen looked at her son in horror. “Is this true, my son?”
“It… it wasn’t like that…”
“So Atreyu did do this to you?” Xavier asked point blank.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwl7Tbz2PY
Diho looked away. “Yes… This is because of Atreyu.”
“That’s not what I asked you. I’m asking you if Atreyu was the one who did this to you. I don’t think I need to make myself any clearer for you to understand the implication.” Diho hesitated for a moment but finally nodded. Xavier closed his eyes. “I see…”
“But it’s not because I was forced to!” he yelled, trying to clear his friend’s name. “I… I volunteered to help him.”
“Help him ram you?” Zubrick said, confused.
“It wasn’t like that! None of you were there to witness what I saw. He was having an issue and so I helped him with the issue.”
“By allowing this to happen?” Xavier yelled, holding his hand out to Diho’s stomach.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnChBeUM5kJ
“It was not something that was planned for. I’m not sure how or why this happened, but it did. Atreyu needed my help and so I gave it to him.”
Xavier put his hand to his head and sat on the back of the couch, looking completely exhausted. He eventually raised his hand up and waved his sons away so that he could think properly. Diho gave a bow as much as his stomach would allow as Zubrick gave a bow as well.
As they got into the hallway, Zubrick grabbed his brother’s shoulder.
“Don’t think you won’t be punished for this, Brother. Allowing yourself to not only be impregnated, but now we know your guardian is a dragonshifter and he defiled the Crown Prince? Things are going to get messy…” he sang.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDq5tNCgQM
Diho pulled his shoulder from his brother. “You don’t know what happened and why it had to be done. Stop making assumptions and leave me alone.”
Diho walked away as Zubrick smirked at his brother from behind.
As Diho made his way to his room, he felt a pain go through his stomach again and leaned on the wall. He felt his stomach stretching and he gritted his teeth to keep a yell from escaping. Once the pulling sensation was finished, he slid down the wall in exhaustion, looking down at his stomach again. It was pressed tightly against his inner robes, making him uncomfortable, and he quickly loosened the tie so that he didn’t feel like he was suffocating. As he sat there, he felt like he needed to vomit but he swallowed down the feeling, wondering how in the world his was going to get up off of the floor. He sighed and braced himself against the wall to try and shimmy himself up when he saw a hand in front of him. He looked up and saw a young servant boy holding out his hand as a bunch of other servants trailed away behind him.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Wxyiz2dFt
“Do you need help, my lord?” he asked softly, his blue eyes kind.
Diho was grateful for the boy and gripped his hand. “Thank you.”
With a bit of a struggle (the boy had to have been only in his teens and Diho was quite heavy) they collectively got Diho off of the ground and into a standing position. The boy helped Diho steady himself as he got used to this new weight and Diho patted his shoulder.
“Thank you for your help.”
“Of course, your highness. You looked like you were in a bit of a predicament.”
Due to all the moving about, the nausea from before came back and he didn’t have the strength to fight it. He vomited promptly onto the floor but when they both looked, it wasn’t food that was present, but blood. They both stared at the red on the floor and Diho swallowed to soothe his scratchy throat. He put a hand on the boy.
“What’s your name?”
“Finley, sir. My lord-“
“You will speak of this to no one, do you understand?” He said, glaring at the young servant. “I will tell Dr. Ironshine myself. As your prince, I’m ordering you to keep this to yourself.”
“Of course, your highness.” Finley said, giving a small bow. “Will you need help getting to your room?”
“No, but send for someone to draw a bath and turn down the bed. I’m very tired…”
“Yes, sir.”
Finley ran off and Diho made his way to his room. He waited for the servants to arrive to get things ready for him as he thought about what he was going to do. No one was there when everything happened, so no one knew what exactly had happened. Only he and Atreyu knew and so far, no matter what was said, Atreyu was the one getting blamed for everything. There had to be a way to clear his friend’s name…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOiXNmq1I06
“Atreyu?” He looked over as Diho stood in the doorway of the stables. “where
“Where are you going? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“I have to go.” He said, going back to saddling up the horse.
“Go where?”
“I don’t know.”
Diho watched his guardian for a moment and then went over to his own horse, starting to get the saddle ready. Atreyu looked over and narrowed his golden eyes at his prince.
“My prince, what are you doing?”
“Wherever you go, I go too.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s the opposite.”
“Right ways, opposite, it doesn’t matter. You’ve been quite tense this past week and now you’re trying to run away. This must be a great matter for you to even think about leaving without telling me.” Diho said, lifting a black eyebrow.
Atreyu sighed. “I just didn’t want to bother you with such a trivial matter.”
Diho crossed his arms over the side of the stable and looked at his guard.
“Atreyu, you can always come to me with anything, trivial or great. I know that I’m the prince, but you’re my closest friend and companion. I know that I can rely and trust on you, so please feel the same about me. Just because my station is higher than yours doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFuKXikOXC
Atreyu smiled. “Of course, my prince.”
“So what is it that’s making you leave?”
“I don’t exactly know what it is… I just… feel like something is calling me and pulling me towards the East. I’ve never felt this before and the feeling is quite strong, almost an ache. I just wanted to follow it and see where it led me and then come back. Nothing major.”
“Okay, then let’s go.”
“Your Highness, you don’t have to come with me.”
“Of course I do. I’m bored.” Diho said with a smirk.
Atreyu already knew that trying to convince Diho to leave was a moot point; he was just doing his duty as the prince’s guardian to try and keep him out of harm’s way. If the prince was too stubborn to listen, then it just meant he had to continue his duty on the road and keep Diho safe from other things.
They packed their satchels with food and water, blankets and other essential things for a journey they were unsure of how long it would be. Diho suggested they pack heavy, in case it took longer than normal. Soon, they left Culla and headed eastward, only the feeling in Atreyu’s chest being a guide.
A few weeks later, they came upon the border of the human lands and Heigabar, the land of the dragonkind. Diho looked at Atreyu, who looked fearful.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktGvX497RA
“Atreyu?”
“The… it… I’m to go in there.”
Diho looked at the foggy veil that separated the two species and breathed in.
“If that is where you should go, then that’s where we will go.”
Atreyu looked at him in horror. “My prince, humans are forbidden to go into Heigabar.”
“Aren’t you human?” he asked with a small turn of his head.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Qresyuwut
Atreyu looked down at his hand. “I don’t even know anymore. I was raised in an orphanage and then raised by your family…” He looked back at his friend. “What if I’m not human? What if all this means that I’m… that I’m of dragonkind?”121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1B38I6xXi
“Then it means you’re of dragonkind. Nothing more and nothing less.”
“Your Highness, we are not on good terms with Heigabar. If I’m of dragonkind then that means that I’m an enemy of Culla.”
“Are you not my guard?” Atreyu looked at Diho as he gave him a hard look. “Well?”
“Yes…”
“Then that is what you are. I don’t care if you ended up being a tall dwarf, you’re still just Atreyu Thorn to me. You are the one I chose to serve at my side in every aspect of my life and I will hold you to that until you take your last breath. Do you understand?”
Atreyu nodded. “Yes, milord.”
“Good. Now, if your feeling tells you to go to Heigabar, we will go to Heigabar. Lead the way.”
Atreyu nodded, kicking his horse to go forward, Diho following after him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Diho gasped as he pulled himself out from under the water in the bath. He leaned forward, breathing heavily. He sighed and wiped his face with his hands, thinking about the journey. Diho didn’t know what exactly happened when they entered the fog of the boundary to Heigabar except that when he woke up, he was in a prison and Atreyu was nowhere to be found. Diho leaned over and pulled his knees up to him, spreading them out due to his stomach, and leaned on them for a moment, contemplating. He looked over at the mirror that took up the entire wall, finding scratches on his back. He turned a little to see them more clearly, finding not only scratches but also deep gashes. He made a face and turned back to washing himself. He leaned back in the tub, his stomach’s arch breaking the surface just a tad. He poked his stomach, a hardness meeting him.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGBf395FPY
“You’re lucky.” He told it. “If it wasn’t Atreyu, I wouldn’t be harboring you. You’re the least I could do to pay him back for everything he’s done for me over the years. He’s dealt with my bullshit, assassination attempts, war… I’m sure your existence isn’t even half of the repayment he needs, but I could finally help him… I could…” He felt tears sting his eyes and he put his hands over his face. “After everything he has done for me, I just wanted to do something for him. I wanted to be there for him if he was ever in trouble but… now it’s all backfired. Atreyu, please don’t die… I’m sorry I just… I’m not good enough… I’m not strong enough…”121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF164T5Qf03
Diho sobbed for a few minutes, worrying and fretting over what had been done. Finally, he was too tired to do much and he called for some servants to wash him down. He stared listlessly at the wall as they maneuvered and scrubbed him, making him smell like the prince he was, and then they leaned him back so they would wash his hair. After getting him clean, it took two of them to lift him from the bathtub and help him to his room. They dried him off with the towels and he waited for his pajamas.
“My lord?” Diho looked at the servant next to him. They looked agitated. “My lord, we are having an issue with your pajamas.”
“Why?”
“They’re um… too small due to your uh… stomach.”
“Okay? Find some bigger ones.”
“Right away, sir.”
Diho frowned and almost wanted to just crawl into the bed without anything on. He had his underwear on, so what was the big deal? He looked at his stomach and shrugged, crawling into bed without anything else. By the time the servant got back with something that may have fit him, the prince was already asleep in his bed and the servant dare not disturb him. They turned out the lights and let Diho be. 121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNdMZeJPyN
