Monster Girl Islands

by Logan Jacobs

  If I lost this woman, I didn’t know what I would do.

  “There’s no need for all that worry,” she said when she saw our faces, “I am feeling better, and the baby is moving around like crazy. All is well.”

  Before either Mira or I could say anything, Nixie ran past us and bounced up onto the bed with Talise. She sniffed the healer’s face and tummy, made the adorable chuffing noise, and curled up protectively around the baby bump.

  “Oh!” Talise shrieked, and her eyes bulged out of her head as she looked from the dragon to us. “Who are you? Who is this? What’s going on?”

  “I, well, I bonded with her,” Mira said with a broad grin. “George led us to the water early this morning, and now I have a dragon!”

  “Oh, Mira,” Talise cried, “I am so happy for you. She is precious!”

  “Talise, meet Nixie,” Mira said as she took a seat on the bed next to the healer.

  The little pink dragon licked Talise’s face at the introduction, and this made the healer giggle with delight. It lightened the load on my heart to see her laugh like that and to be in good spirits. Still, I knew it was going to be difficult to leave her when I was so worried about her.

  “Stay with the healer,” my dragon encouraged, “I know everyone will understand.”

  Mira looked over her shoulder at me and smiled to let me know she’d also heard George and understood.

  “We will tell the queen,” the warrior said. “I know my sister will fully support you staying here with Talise.”

  “You don’t have to, Ben,” Talise murmured softly, and a smile crept across her face, “but, if you can, I would love your company.”

  I looked at Mira and the two dragons for reassurance. There was so much to do, and I felt like I should be at the celebration.

  “Mira, Nixie, and I can handle it all for the rest of the day and night,” George offered as he nudged my hand. “Stay here. It is where you are needed most.”

  “Thank you,” I said with a smile. “All of you.”

  I reached down and patted and hugged George gratefully. He returned my affection with a loud dragon hum that vibrated the whole room and snuggled to me before he walked out.

  Mira hugged Talise and called to Nixie to follow, and they both stopped and gave me hugs before leaving us.

  “What a day,” I sighed as I stripped off my shoes and shirt and climbed into the bed next to Talise. “I think we deserve a nap.”

  Talise giggled as I pulled her close to me, and then we both dozed off for a while.

  We were awoken by Careen delivering us our dinner and checking on Talise. She let me listen to the baby’s heartbeat again, and it was as strong as ever. Then the pixie healer bid us goodnight after the examination.

  Talise and I ate our meal, and then I entertained her with stories from my childhood. I also took some time to talk and sing to the baby and laughed as it kicked in response. I could tell Talise was getting exhausted, so I helped her change into a fresh sleeping gown and then rubbed her feet and shoulders while I told her random fairytales from my world. She fell asleep soundly against me as I finished the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and it wasn’t long before I drifted off next to her.

  Over the next week, we worked to bolster defenses across the island in preparation for the upcoming attack. We made more arrows for bows, made sure the spikes in the traps we had dug were still upright and secure, and managed to build another archer platform along the border wall. Mira, the dragons, and I also did quite a bit of hunting when we could. We managed to kill two more boars, though neither were as big as the first one I had killed, countless birds, and had collected enough eggs to keep the queen happy for a long time.

  Back at the palace, we secured the window shutters and made sure all the door braces were intact and ready to go. We also took the time to set up birthing beds and anything else that would be needed for the delivery of the babies inside the safe room.

  “Does anything else need to go into the safe room?” I asked Careen as we carried fresh water into the room in two large pots.

  “I think everything we could need is in here, and more,” the pixie healer teased with a smile.

  She’d laughed out loud at the amount of supplies I had insisted go into the safe room just in case the queen and the two healers had to stay in the room for a long time. I couldn’t help it, though. These were all women I loved, and two of them were on the verge of giving birth to my children. I had to do all I could to make sure they were going to be okay.

  Before I could come up with a response to her teasing, I heard rapid footsteps running toward where we were standing. Their urgency was enough to draw my attention away from witty banter with the adorable healer and search out who they belonged to. Careen sensed my concern and followed me out into the main hall where we found Hali running around.

  “Hali,” I called to get her attention, “what’s going on?”

  “Oh, thank the goddess,” she said breathlessly as she spun to face us. “It’s Talise, come quick.”

  Careen and I both took off toward the room Talise had been staying in since the last attack. My heart was pounding in my chest, and although I ran faster than I ever had in my life, I felt like it took forever for me to get to the room. When we finally got there, Mira and Nerissa were already inside the room, and Talise was lying on the bed, propped up on pillows, with a scrunched up look of pain on her face.

  “What’s going on?” I asked as I made my way over to Talise.

  “The baby is coming,” Nerissa said in a voice much calmer than I could imagine.

  “Is that okay?” I fearfully asked. “Is it too early? You haven’t even had your baby yet.”

  “At this point,” the queen said, “there is no stopping it, but I do think it will all be alright.”

  I just nodded my head in acknowledgement, since I was afraid if I opened my mouth, the bile churning in my stomach would spew out all over the place. I started shaking all over and would have been pacing the floor if there was enough room, but it was kind of packed in there, which couldn’t really be what Talise wanted.

  “Ben,” Nerissa said as she took my hand, “look at me and take a few deep breaths. Let’s see if we can calm you down.”

  I did what she requested and focused on her aquamarine eyes while I took deep breaths in through my nose and blew them slowly out of my mouth. I repeated this several times until my heart steadied and my hands no longer shook.

  “Better?” Nerissa smiled.

  “Much,” I sighed, “thank you.”

  “Ben, come sit here,” Mira indicated the spot next to Talise on the bed, “I will take the dragons out in the hall, but we won’t be far away if you need us.”

  I gave her a hug and patted both of the dragons as they made their way out of the door.

  “I will be right outside, dear one,” George told me as he walked out of the door.

  I hated to see him go and could really use his comfort, but he had gotten so damn big, there really was no room to navigate with him around.

  I sat down next to Talise and wiped her sweaty brow with the cool cloth from the basin set up next to the bed. She was between contractions and had her eyes closed in an attempt to rest. At my touch, she opened her eyes and offered me a small smile. This woman was tough as nails, and I was determined to be just as strong.

  “Ready for this?” she asked with a grin.

  “Absolutely,” I answered more stoically than I felt.

  “We didn’t even discuss names yet,” the healer said with a pout.

  “There will be time for that later,” I laughed. “Let’s just get the baby here first.”

  At that moment, another contraction hit hard, and Talise grabbed my hand when the pain hit. This tiny healer woman may not look like much, but when she gripped my hand through that contraction, I swore I heard and felt my bones grinding under the pressure. She was so much stronger than she looked, but at least the pain took my mind off the fear.

 
; After three more contractions that were very close to one another, Careen lifted the thin sheet covering Talise’s lower half and checked her progress. Her eyes got huge, and a smile spread across her face.

  “Talise, I can see the baby’s head,” she announced. “It is time to push.”

  Talise let out a short laugh that was a mix of fear and joy, and tears sprang to her eyes. She looked up at me for strength and reassurance, and I was fucking well going to give it to her.

  “This is it, beautiful,” I smiled. “Time to meet our baby.”

  The queen gave both me and Talise a hug and a kiss and went to get Mira to come in and help. Nerissa couldn’t hold either of Talise’s legs while being so pregnant herself, so she sat on a chair in the doorway with Nixie in her lap and George’s head resting on her shoulder. It was such an adorable sight to see, all three of them with big eyes full of excitement, but I couldn’t take the time to appreciate it.

  The next contraction hit really hard, and Mira and I held Talise’s legs steady so she could push against us. We kept this up over the next few contractions and before long, the silence was broken by a small little cry from the other end of the bed.

  “She’s perfect!” Careen cooed as she placed our daughter on Talise’s stomach.

  She really was perfect. She had a head full of raven hair just like her mother’s, and her skin was still pink from the birth, but I could tell it was going to be slightly darker than Talise’s alabaster skin. This beautiful baby had amethyst colored scales, and her eyes were just a few shades darker and made me think of winter pansies. She had perfect little hands and webbed feet, chubby cheeks and legs, and I was immediately in love with her.

  “Ben,” Careen said in a gentle voice, “why don’t you take her over and wash her up while I finish with Talise?”

  I thought I would be more nervous about holding my own child for the first time, but as I gently scooped up this precious bundle, there was nothing awkward or scary about it. It just felt right.

  “Hey there, sweet thing,” I murmured in a choked voice as I gazed down at my daughter. “I’m your dad. You probably heard me singing to you these last few weeks. It is so very nice to finally meet you.”

  The baby squirmed and grunted in my hands, and I swore my heart was going to burst with love as her adorable face scrunched up.

  I walked over to the table where a basin of warm water had been prepared to bathe the baby. It was softly scented with lavender and chamomile. I used the cloth to wash all the remnants of birth off the baby’s body and out of her hair, which took a while considering how much hair she had.

  She looked at me and cooed the whole time I was washing her, and I was seriously just waiting for my heart to give out. After I got her all clean, I fashioned one of the cloth diapers on her and then swaddled her in one of the soft blankets that had been stacked on the table.

  I turned to find Mira, Nerissa, and the dragons all staring at me from the doorway. I smiled and walked over to them carrying my daughter. Then I held her out so they could all see the precious baby, and I was greeted with tears and smiles. Both of the dragons took their time in sniffing her thoroughly, and then they both started to hum.

  “She has your nose, but the rest is all Talise,” Mira whispered fondly as she gently touched the baby’s cheek.

  I looked at Nerissa, and tears were just pouring out of her eyes as she ran her fingers through the baby’s hair. She couldn’t say anything, but I knew she was beyond happy.

  “We are all done over here,” Careen called from her position by the bed.

  She had managed to finish the delivery and clean up both the bedding and Talise, which included getting her into a fresh sleeping gown and pulling her hair back into a loose braid.

  I carried our daughter over to her mother and gently placed her in Talise’s arms. She had silent tears rolling down her face as she put the baby to her breast where she latched on like an expert and started to eat her very first meal.

  “We will leave and let all of you rest,” Careen said once she saw the baby was going to eat without a problem. She gave both me and Talise a hug and then gathered up the bundle of dirty linens from the delivery and made her way to the door.

  Nerissa, Mira, and Nixie all came over to say goodbye before they left. The dragon gave the baby one more good sniff, licked Talise on the face, and jumped off the bed. Nerissa hugged us all, still crying, and waddled away with her arms wrapped around her own baby bump.

  “I will bring you both some food soon,” Mira said before leaving.

  “If Hali has some of that boar and potatoes and greens, and anything other than soup, I would be very grateful to have a lot of it,” Talise informed her with a tired smile.

  I laughed at the woman’s appetite coming back with a vengeance. I was so glad to hear she was ready to eat more than she had been able to during her entire pregnancy. The way our daughter was eating, Talise was going to need all the sustenance she could get.

  I climbed into the bed on the far side of Talise, wrapped one arm around her, and stroked our daughter’s head with my other hand. She was still nursing, but had slowed down and seemed to be ready to fall asleep soon.

  George put his upper body on the foot of the bed and rested his head on my lap so he could look at the baby and protect all three of us.

  “Marella,” Talise said softly, and I turned to look at her with a smile.

  “Marella?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she said, “it was my grandmother’s name. She was also the grandmother of King Zale. He and I were cousins. I would like to name her Marella, after the strongest woman I have ever known.”

  “Then her name is Marella,” I agreed softly, and my heart couldn’t be more full.

  Soon, Mira delivered trays full of food for us, and I moved the baby to the bassinet I’d built and set beside Talise’s side of the bed. Marelle slept soundly with her full belly and didn’t stir one bit when I took her from her mother’s arms. Then I helped Talise get to the table to eat and to the water closet to relieve herself, before we both climbed into bed for the night.

  As the healer and mother of my first child fell asleep in my arms, I stared up at the ceiling and let my mind wander. Naturally, my thoughts turned to the invaders who were days away from our shores.

  These raiders had tried several times to get the jump on us, and they had failed every time. Now, I had three mates, a daughter, and potentially more children on the way.

  So, I was going to decimate these bastards and send them all screaming down to the bottom of the ocean.

  I was the Dragon King, and no one fucked with my family.

  End of Book 1

  End Notes

  Thanks for reading Monster Girl Islands! I’ll start working on a book 2 when this book gets 100 reviews, so please leave me a nice review here.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Logan Jacobs

 

 

 
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