Side Story:
Quentin — Quentin Agutter (Age: Twenty-Nine, Single) Becomes a Mother
“C-CAPTAIN QUENTIN, wh-what’s going on with your stomach?!”
I’d risen from my chair and reached for the bookshelf when my vice-captain, Gideon, cried out in shock. He’d been in my office for a while but hadn’t noticed my stomach until now. I understood his surprise, but he didn’t need to shout like that. With a sharp look, I admonished him. “Be quiet! You’re going to wake my baby!”
“Y-y-your baby?” He gaped at me for some reason, staring at my stomach.
I puffed up my chest. This pride swelling inside me must have been what every pregnant mother felt. “That’s right. I’ll be prioritizing my motherly duties for the time being. I want my child to have the perfect environment for a safe birth, so no more shouting, you hear?! Don’t shake me, don’t make me run, and keep your voice down as much as possible.”
“Y-y-yes, sir…”
Though confused, Gideon was obedient enough to comply, so I nodded and returned to what I was doing. I picked out a book from the shelf and returned to my desk, caressing the griffon-egg-sized bulge on my stomach as I did.
My recently obtained familiar—Gizara, the lord of the griffons—laid her eggs late last night. Knowing the time was at hand, I’d spent most of my recent nights sleeping at the familiar stables. Gizara had been particularly restless last night, and I knew it was time. Nervously, I looked after her as she laid not one but two eggs, each big enough to fit in both my arms. I will probably never forget the joy of witnessing new life enter this world under a sky full of sparkling stars.
“Well done, Gizara! You are the greatest mother this world has ever known!” Tears overwhelmed my eyes.
Gizara silently scrutinized the two eggs she had laid. Then she kicked one far away and slowly lowered herself on top of the other.
“Gizara? I don’t care how tough these eggshells may be, you shouldn’t be kicking your eggs! What if they broke?! Now get up. You can warm both of these eggs at the same time, can’t you?”
I frantically picked up the egg she’d kicked away, gently returning it to her. She turned her head away, however, refusing to let me put the egg under her.
“Gizara, what’s the matter? Don’t you want to warm this egg?” Such behavior was so unlike her.
With some annoyance, she replied, “Griffons typically only lay one egg and only ever raise one child. On the rare occasion when we lay two eggs, we will pick the larger one to warm.”
“What?! Then what’ll happen to the smaller one?!”
“What happens to it is of no concern to me. I have already chosen my egg.”
I was stunned. Were all wild griffons this ruthless?
“…I see. Then you wouldn’t mind if I took this egg as my own, right? I’ll keep this egg warm myself until it hatches! Starting today, I’m this egg’s mother!”
Her tone turned icy. “…You’re only wasting your time.”
“Not if I can help it!” And just like that, I swore to become a fine griffon mother.
Thus, I kept the egg tucked underneath my knight uniform and carefully carried it around. In an ideal world, I would stay home all day to focus on keeping the egg warm, but unfortunately, I had my work to attend to.
Gizara’s egg was about as big as a person’s head, so the bulge around my stomach was quite conspicuous. Passersby gave me hard stares as I navigated the castle, but I ignored them, knowing it would only be a matter of time before they got used to the sight. Most people left me alone, but occasionally, someone would approach, always exclaiming annoyingly as they did.
“Quentin, what’s with your stomach?! Just how much have you been eating?! Come with me to the training grounds! I’ll help you slim that stomach down again!”
It was always a captain who called out to me. This time it was Zackary.
“This isn’t fat; it’s my child! I’m going to be a mother soon, so don’t bother me! And stop shouting or you’ll scare the child!” I kept my complaints as quiet as I could, for the baby’s sake.
Zackary goggled at me. “…What are you even saying? I’m used to your nonsense, but I think I’m going to have to start questioning your sanity now.”
It seemed my perfectly concise and clear explanation was still too difficult for him. I’d thought him more sensible than this, but I supposed I’d given him too much credit. I tried simplifying yet further. “I’ll be delivering my own child soon. This is my first time, so I don’t know when it will come out. I want to do everything I can to keep my child safe, so don’t make me move vigorously or do anything extreme. I absolutely cannot go to the training grounds right now.”
After a long pause, Zackary said, “I…see. My bad. I’ll keep my distance from you from now on. Good luck on your childbirth.”
Finally, my words penetrated his thick head. For some reason, however, he turned quite mild-mannered. He backed away a step, then briskly hurried away.
I encountered Clarissa and Desmond afterward, and the two of them both reacted in similarly noisy and bothersome ways. As a preventive measure, I sheltered myself in my office. That’s where Gideon reacted to my stomach bulge, which brings us to the present…
I sighed. “Ugh. It’d be nice if they had a knight uniform that was a bit baggier. Though I’m sure even then my stomach would feel a little tight. This is what all mothers have to go through, huh?”
Being pregnant must be rough. Having an entire baby take up a space where there usually was nothing was a burden unlike any other.
I was musing over all this and patting my egg over my clothes when a knock came at the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened slowly, and in peered Fia with the Black Dragon King perched on her shoulder.
“Black Dragon King! Miss Fia! What brings you two here?” I hurriedly stood to greet them. Fia took one look at me and gawked.
“Wow! Gizara was telling the truth; you really are trying to hatch that egg yourself!”
“That I am! Apparently griffons only raise one egg themselves, so I took it upon myself to become this egg’s mother!” I said.
Fia smiled. “What a great idea! Birds imprint on the first person they see, so maybe bird-type monsters like griffons do the same. If you keep the egg right up against your skin like you’re doing, then you’ll probably be the first thing they see!”
I gave Fia the same explanation I’d given Zackary, Gideon, Clarissa, and Desmond, but none of them were nearly as supportive as her. Certainly, none of them had offered advice as she had. Yet another reminder of how wonderful she was.
✦ ✦ ✦
From her shoulder, the Black Dragon King nodded and said, “I don’t know who the egg’s father is, but there’s a chance the egg might take the best traits from both of its parents and become a griffon even greater than Gizara. In such a case, it could probably eat Quentin by the time it’s a fledgling. Imprinting will be a necessary measure to prevent that.”
Gizara’s aura was many times greater than my own. I stood no chance in that fight. If a griffon even greater than Gizara hatched from this egg, it could annihilate me in seconds. The Black Dragon King’s advice was wise.
“I’ll be sure to make my own face the first thing this child of mine sees!” I declared.
The Black Dragon King smirked. “You really are a rather weird knight. Most wouldn’t risk their life to hatch an egg.”
“Huh?!” Fia said. “Quentin, are you really that determined to make that egg hatch?! It’d be real awful if the chick you hatched and raised yourself wound up eating you! But you’re willing to be its mother anyway?! Wow!”
“Though rare, there are cases of even human mothers losing their lives during childbirth. Becoming a mother is a grave undertaking!” I patted my bulging stomach as I spoke.
Fia nodded, admiration shining in her eyes. From the corner of the room, Gideon scowled as though to say, “What the heck am I listening to?” but I couldn’t care less whether he understood or not.
Fia, eyes positively sparkling, said, “You’re amazing, Captain Quentin! I know no other unmarried man who understands a mother’s struggles so well! I’m sure you’ll become a wonderful mother!”
Her kind words left me overwhelmed with emotion. “Thank you, Miss Fia! I swear I’ll live up to your expectations and become a fine mother!”
For once, it felt like she and I were on the same page.
From her shoulder, the Black Dragon King chuckled and said, “I’m sure you’ll be an overly doting mother.”
The future looked bright. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before I would see the face of my griffon child…