The Forbidden Dragon Baby

by Selene Griffin

“My shining knight,” she swooned in jest, though followed it up with some sincerity. “I love you, Santiago DeLeon.”

  “I love you too, Gabriella Santos,” he said with a wink, using her maiden name like when they were young teenagers, brand new in love. It made her want to giggle like a schoolgirl.

  They finished their breakfast together and relaxed for a while longer before Santiago had to straighten his tie and buckle down for the day. Gabriella guessed those numbers he had been fretting over earlier were a bit more of an ordeal that he had let on, so she chose to spend the day in her paint studio with instructions for Lucia to keep the boys away from Santiago’s office unless he called for them. Her husband would have plenty on his mind today; the least she could do was avoid adding to it more than she already had… even if it was good news.

  Chapter Two

  Santiago made his way back up to his office, though his mind was nowhere near able to get any work done at the moment, even if he had wanted to. Gabriella had dropped one hell of a bomb on him and it was going to take him a little while to really process it. He’d pulled back on his shock when they were at breakfast because he hadn’t wanted to upset or worry her…but Santiago was experiencing a bit of serious shock over this information. Mateo had just barely passed his first birthday a few months ago and now they were expecting again!

  He did the math in his head and figured they would wind up with three summer babies out of the lot. Interesting. Sitting there, he wondered a laundry list of thoughts. Would their fourth child be another boy, or their first girl? Would they be just as healthy as the other three children? Would it be a hard pregnancy for Gabriella, or would it be easy like the first three (though Rafael had given her terrible indigestion the entire time)?

  His thoughts lead him to the fact that for the fourth time, they would have to keep Gabriella’s condition a secret from everyone. He hated it, but his parents had drilled it into his head when he and Gabriella had gotten married, that if they were ever to have children they would keep the pregnancy under wraps until the newborn was a few months old.

  Of course, he had fought them on this at first. He couldn’t understand why they would have to keep something so happy hidden away from everyone. The explanation his father gave made sense, though now Santiago was fairly certain the fear his father had put into him over it was a bit exaggerated.

  His father had explained that, at least as far back as anyone could recall, the tradition of secret pregnancies amongst Dragon kind had begun as a practice to ensure an heir was actually born. Apparently, back in the old countries, mothers pregnant with the progeny of Dragons were often killed before they could even give birth. To avoid this, Dragon husbands began hiding their pregnant wives until after the child had been born. The added few months afterwards were to give the mother and child time to recuperate from nearly 9 months of captivity.

  Over hundreds of years, the act transformed from a safety precaution to a cultural tradition amongst Dragon kind. Now, his father had told him, the process was meant to give honor to the unborn child by allowing it to grow unburdened by the expectations of others. Pure poppycock in Santiago’s eyes, but he had agreed to his father’s wishes and all three of their children had been given secret pregnancies. Santiago was simply grateful that his wife seemed, if not happy, at least content to suffer through such a thing for his culture.

  Just as with their first three children, only a select few people would know about the pregnancy. He and Gabriella, of course, but also Lucia and eventually their butler and all-around assistant, Manuel. Of course, for their first three children, Santiago’s distant family in Romania had been let in one the secret and had sent over a midwife to assist them. Because they were family from his father’s side…they understood the sort of discretion that was expected in a dragon pregnancy.

  This time around, however, it seemed they would be keeping everything in-house. Honestly, he wasn’t too bothered by Gabriella’s choice to forgo the assistance from a midwife. She was right, the last woman who had helped with Mateo had been a bit rough-and-tumble with the entire ordeal. He only hoped there would be no issues through the pregnancy, but he couldn’t allow himself to think about things like that.

  His train of thought changed track and he began to worry over how they would handle so many young children all at the same time. Granted, they had the fantastic help of Lucia and Manuel…but there was a distinct possibility that they would have a fourth boy and Dragon child. That would mean they would have both Mateo as well as their newborn dealing with getting a hold on their shifting abilities.

  When Rafael, their oldest, had been born he had shown his true nature very early on. Within less than two weeks he had made his first full shift and after that it had been a fairly regular thing up until he was nearly three years old. Ignacio, however, had taken nearly a month and a half to show his shifting abilities and then by the time he was two he had gotten control over them. It had been astonishing to Santiago, watching his progeny learn to control the more bestial side of their nature. He learned that his son’s control over their Dragon side was strongly tied to their control over their motor skills. It was as if Santiago had been learning all about what it meant to be a Dragon from simply watching his sons grow into themselves. Watching Mateo, and now this fourth child, grow and navigate their nature would undoubtedly be just as captivating.

  He mused over how it had been a few years now since the last time Rafael shifted…and nearly a year and a half for Ignacio. Now that they had gained more control over themselves, he highly doubted they would see many shifting moments before they were teenagers. Though, if his teen years were anything to go off of, his sons would become more than a handful sooner rather than later.

  With a heavy sigh, a weary smile, and an overall look of shell-shock, he sat there at his desk and ran both hands through his short hair. He would need to get himself over this initial phase of shock and start getting down to brass tacks. He had three young children and a fourth on the way, a pregnant wife to care for and keep safe… and a business to keep going at full steam ahead. He shook his head and got down to it.

  *

  For the first few months, life seemed to go on as if Gabriella were not pregnant at all. Minus a few dietary changes, of course. Even as the winter months rolled around, and the holidays came, only the four adults in the house knew of the baby to come.

  The timing of the pregnancy couldn’t have worked out better, as far as keeping things hidden from the world around them. With the holiday season so full of food and festivity, it was easy to explain away the slowly noticeably weight gain around Gabriella’s mid-section.

  The children, most importantly Rafael, were kept easily distracted by their holiday gifts and all of the lovely meals Lucia prepared for them each night. However, the charade wouldn’t hold for too much longer and they all knew it.

  The New Year came and went and soon Gabriella began to look more like a pregnant woman than one who had eaten a bit much during the holidays. She could tell by the curious look in her eldest son’s eye that he was starting to wonder why his Momma was changing so much on the outside. He was a smart boy for 8½ and they knew he would be figuring things out for himself sooner rather than later.

  For the moment, the family continued on as if nothing in life were going to change. The two older boys received their lessons from Manuel and their mother, homeschooled just as their father and his father before him. Yet another cultural tradition of Dragonkind that had originated from a need for safety. The children of Dragon-shifters were precious and oh-so fragile. To keep them safe from harm, they were often kept away from society as a whole for as long as possible. There were drawbacks, of course…but that was often why Dragon families had more than a single child. Companionship was vastly important, and Santiago had been adamant they have multiple children for that very reason if none other.

  By the end of March, however, Gabriella began to feel the fatigue that comes with bringing a
new life into the world and spent much of her time resting. She did her best to spend as much time with her three boys as she could, but her absence was noticed by the older two…mostly Rafael. The countdown was officially on to see how long until Rafael straight out asked about his mother’s condition. He was a smart boy; he was sure to figure it out for himself if left to it.

  Chapter Three

  Surprisingly, Rafael said little to nothing about his mother’s condition until spring had arrived. It came without warning, perhaps because his silence about the matter had lulled all of the adults into a false sense of security, and it came one average spring afternoon as Lucia was preparing a bit of lunch for all three of the boys.

  “When do we get to know why Momma’s belly is getting so big and she seems so sick all the time?” he asked, in his sweet and innocent little voice.

  “What did you say, Rafael?” Lucia asked, stunned and standing stone-still on the other side of the little kitchen table from him.

  “I said, when do we get to know why Momma’s belly is so big and she is sick all the time?” he repeated himself as he reached for the glass of milk Lucia had just poured for him.

  Lucia stood there for a moment, not quite sure how to answer the boy in a way that would satisfy him without giving away the truth of the matter. She cleared her throat, moving to help little Ignacio up into his seat before she plucked baby Mateo from where he sat playing on the floor and got him into his high-chair.

  “I think your Momma may have eaten a few too many sweets during the holidays, little one,” Lucia finally answered. “You know how much your belly aches when you have too much, yes?”

  “Yeah…” he said and then took a drink of his milk.

  It seemed that was that, as the rest of their conversation turned to what the boys were going to play after lunch and how their lessons were going. Lucia was thankful, but the worry still nagged at the back of her mind as she helped the boys finish up, cleaned them and sent them off to play.

  Shortly after, as she was cleaning the kitchen and prepping for dinner later on, she decided it would be best to let the boys’ father know about the questions Rafael had asked her. Yes, she was sure that she had quelled the boy’s questions for now…but she knew Santiago would wish to be made aware of it. Shaking her head, she made her way upstairs towards her employer’s office and gave a gentle knock against the door.

  “Senor DeLeon?” she asked, waiting outside of the closed door for the sound of his voice.

  “Yes, Lucia? Come in,” he called to her.

  When she came into the room she found him where he always seemed to be, which was right behind his desk with paperwork strewn about in front of him. He looked up, offered her a kind smile, and took off his glasses.

  “What is it, Lucia?” he asked. “Are the boys and Gabriella alright?”

  “Yes, sir. Everyone is fine,” she started, “though I am here about Rafael.”

  “Oh?” he asked with a quirk of one eyebrow. “What of him? What has he done?”

  “Nothing, sir. He is a fine and well-behaved boy,” she said with a slight smile, as it was true. “Though he did ask me a question I felt you should know about.”

  “A question?” Santiago’s tone held a bit of concern as he sat forward in his chair.

  “Yes, sir.” She nodded in confirmation of what she had said. “He asked about Senora DeLeon’s belly…and why she seemed to be sick lately.”

  “I see…” he mused, trying to hide his smile. “And what did you tell him?”

  “Oh, I explained that perhaps his Momma had eaten too many sweets during the holidays,” Lucia explained, her hands gesturing about as she spoke, as was a habit of hers. “I reminded him that his own tummy feels big and hurts when he eats too much…he seemed to believe me.”

  Santiago sat there a moment, his own hands folding together atop the desk in front of him, thinking over what Lucia had just told him. He could tell by the look on Lucia’s face that his silence was starting to worry her, so he sat back with a smile and nodded a bit.

  “Thank you, Lucia,” he said. “I appreciate it. You may go now.”

  He gestured towards the door and picked up his glasses once more. She nodded, though she looked a bit confused, and left his office with a gentle click of his door. Santiago proceeded to sit there for a long moment, thinking over what Lucia had told him and how he wanted to handle that information.

  Of course, he could simply leave things as they were, and let Rafael believe his mother was just ill from eating too much. As much as it would be the easy route for Santiago now, the more he thought about it the more he realized it would not be a long-holding solution. Rafael was a smart boy and he would put all of the pieces together with or without the truth from the adults around him.

  In the end, Santiago made the choice to be honest with his eldest son and heir to his name and world. It would be an opportunity to show his eldest son that he trusted him, and to give Rafael the chance to prove himself to his father. He was growing old enough now and he would need to understand what would be expected of him as he became a man. This would be a good introduction into that for Rafael. At nearly 9 years old, he was growing fast.

  Santiago called for Manuel to come to his office. Manuel Pereda had been with the DeLeon family since as long as Santiago could remember. Manuel was the son of their previous Butler, Josue, and had more or less been raised to take over for his father when he passed. Their families had become intertwined shortly after Santiago’s father first arrived here in Mexico and thus he and Manuel had practically grown up together. Only two years younger than himself, Santiago had always found Manuel to be his closest confidant outside of his wife.

  When Manuel arrived, he was dressed as he always was, in a simple yet tailored butlers’ suit in a dark charcoal gray. Many often thought he and Santiago were brothers, considering their similar strong features… but Manuel had far softer eyes than his employer. Not to mention, Manuel was a good deal shorter than Santiago.

  “You called, sir?” Manuel said, always formal despite how often Santiago told him it was unnecessary from him.

  “Yes, Manuel. Could you fetch Rafael for me?” Santiago asked, still seated behind his desk. “I would like to talk with him about something rather important.”

  “Of course, sir. I will bring him up the moment I find him,” Manuel said with a nod before leaving the office.

  It took Manuel all of 10 minutes to find Rafael. With the weather warming now that spring had officially arrived, both of the older boys seemed to spend as much of their time as they could out in the gardens. Not such a bad thing, really, as children benefited from playing outdoors. When he found them, Rafael was teaching little Ignacio how to build the best mud house they could build with what they found in nature. The two boys had involved sticks, rocks and moss in their little architectural adventure and the result was rather impressive. But alas, the fun had to end as Manuel approached them.

  “Rafael, sorry to interrupt your play time, but your father would like to speak with you,” Manuel said, crouching down beside where the boys played in the dirt. “Though I think we might need to get you cleaned up a bit first, if that is alright with you, of course, little sir.”

  “Did I do something wrong?” Rafael asked, his amber eyes going wide. He had gotten stuck on the bit about his father wanting to speak with him.

  “Not at all,” Manuel assured him with a smile. “Though your father did say it was important, whatever he wished to talk with you about. Come along now — you too, Ignacio.”

  Manuel stood and held out his hand to Ignacio. The toddler gave a strong pouty face but he took Manuel’s hand and went along without much other protest. Manuel noticed the boy’s upset face, gave a gentle squeeze to the boy’s hand and shook his head.

  “Don’t worry, Ignacio,” Manuel said with a smile. “I will make sure your mud house stays just the way it is.”

  “It’s a Fairy house,” po
uted little Ignacio.

  “A Fairy house?” asked Manuel.

  “Yes!” interrupted Rafael with a smile. “Lucia told us that the Fairies come back in the springtime and if we want some of them to live in our gardens, we should make them a few houses! So Ignacio and I decided to build as many as we can!”

  “Ah, I see,” said Manuel, thoroughly amused. “Well you have done a fantastic job. Perhaps if you ask nicely, Lucia will give you a few tools to make your building easier. I am sure she has a bit of string or some extra bits of wood lying about. Come, let’s get you cleaned up and ask her, hm?”

  He took the boys into the kitchen and got them both cleaned up and free of mud. Rafael was sent up to his father’s office while Ignacio was kept occupied with a snack in the kitchen and the promise of some string for his Fairy houses.

  Rafael was a bit nervous at first, but then he remembered Manuel had said it was important, whatever his father wanted to talk about, and he relaxed some. Rafael started to feel a little excited as he made his way towards his father’s office, wondering what sort of important things his father wanted to talk to him about. It made him feel grown up instead of like such a little kid.

  He knocked on his father’s office door when he got to it, holding his breath until he heard his father telling him to come in. He turned the knob and pushed open the heavy door with a little grunt, stepping inside and letting the door fall shut just behind him. He just stood there, looking towards his father sitting behind that huge desk of his.

  “You…you wanted to see me, Poppa?” Rafael asked in a slightly squeaky and unsure little voice.

  “I did, Rafael. Come and sit down,” Santiago said, gesturing to the big chair on the other side of his desk.

  He watched as his nervous first-born son walked across the room and climbed up into the chair. Rafael was a bit small for an 8-year-old, but Santiago was sure he would hit a growth spurt sooner rather than later and would grow to be just as tall as his father. He smiled at his son, trying to dispel some of his nervousness before speaking.