Selfless Love

Bad Language

NOTE: A few years have passed. Andrew is now 5 years old.

One sunny afternoon, Andrew, was practicing with his little training sword. He was trying to imitate the moves made by the Remdragon Knights with little success. He was well spoken and always polite, but he also had his father's short temper. He grew frustrated as he struggled to grasp a particularly difficult maneuver and he cursed. 

The knights grew quiet at the boy's sudden outburst. Riftan raised an eyebrow at his son who quickly looked down avoiding his father's gaze. 

"Andrew Maximus Calypse," Riftan said calmly, "You've been spending too much time with Sir Hebaron."

Andrews's head shot up. He loved training time with Uncle Herb. He worried his father might banish him from spending time with his second favorite Remdragon Knight, the first of course being his dad. Besides, his father had it all wrong. 

"I..." the boy began but Riftan wasn't finished.

"From now on you will be training with Sir Uslin..."

"But Dad Uncle Herb didn't teach me..."

"...and I will find someone else to cover your horseback riding lessons..." 

"Dad, I learned it from Mom!"

A collective gasp could be heard from the men standing in the training grounds. They had heard the lady swear when she argued with Riftan during the Second War expedition but hadn't heard her lose her temper as of late, and certainly not in front of her son. 

"This is a tale I'm dying to hear," Sir Nirta chuckled thinking she'd sworn after burning her hand on a pot of hot tea or some other tale related to Maximilian's clumsiness. "What happened kid?"

"It happened while we were still in the dungeons," he began. The knights flinched remembering the awful condition they had found the lady in when they rescued her. "I was crying, upset that mom had to give up her food just so I could eat. I could tell she was hungry, but she insisted that I eat. I didn't quite understand what was happening, but I knew she was getting weaker and sicker and there was nothing I could do to help her. She sat with me next to the bars of our cell and tried to calm me down, but nothing helped. I was so upset and no matter what she did she couldn't console me. I guess one of the guards got annoyed because he came over to our cell and yelled at me to be quiet, but I didn't listen." 

He paused, trying to remember what happened next. It was a vivid memory but parts of it were fuzzy because he was so young when it had happened. 

"I think mom got up to get me another blanket or something. When she moved away the guard shoved his hand through the bars and hit me as he yelled at me to shut it."

Riftan may have looked calm on the outside but on the inside, he was livid. Even though his son now stood before him perfectly happy and healthy, the thought of anyone harming Andrew made him see red. Anyone who dared to hurt his wife, or his son would meet a painful bloody end, courtesy of his sword. 

"What happened next?" Yulysion asked quietly. 

A wide smug grin stretched across the young boy's face. "The guard raised his hand to strike me again but all of the sudden this bright light hit his chest and he flew halfway down the hall! I turned to see where the light came from, and I saw Mom standing with her palms outstretched towards the bars. I had never seen her so furious. She had used small amounts of her mana to help me grow strong, but I had never seen her use it as a weapon before. She looked deadly but at the same time beautiful in a way. Her mana flowed through and around her making the dark room glow brightly. She looked like an angel... an enraged angel armed with hellfire. She was so pissed I thought she might start to breathe fire at any moment. She marched up to the bars of our cell and started screaming at the guard. If the bars hadn't been there, I think she would have strangled him with her bare hands. She yelled every foul word she could think of and on that day, I learned every curse word under the sun."

The yard was quiet for a while as the men pondered the young boy's story. 

"Well damn." Gabel said, breaking the silence. "Hell hath no fury like a protective mother." 

"Especially one armed with dangerous magic," Garrow added. 

"Remind me to never get on our lady's bad side," Yulysion said nervously. 

Andrew looked at his father who hadn't spoken since he started to tell his tale. Riftan was torn; on the one hand he was still furious that harm had befallen his child but now he felt fiercely proud of his wife for kicking that guard's ass to protect their son. He had no doubt she looked every bit as beautiful as his son described as she used everything, she had to ensure that the guard thought twice before coming near them again. He took a deep breath trying to relax before addressing his son. 

Andrew saw the unspoken question in his father's eyes and answered before Riftan could speak. 

"Mom didn't get punished for hurting the guard. I guess he was too embarrassed to report that he got his ass, oops, I mean his butt whooped by a woman. Mom hadn't used that much mana in a while, and it wore her out. She slept more often in the days following the incident but eventually she regained her strength which wasn't much considering we weren't given much to eat. A few months later you arrived, and we've never been healthier or happier."

Riftan walked over to his son, knelt down and pulled the boy into his arms. The boy hugged his father earnestly in return. 

"Thank you for keeping your promise to make mom feel better and for getting us out of the dungeons." 

Riftan's heart broke as his son thanked him for his safety, something no child should ever have to thank their parents for. 

He kept Andrew in his arms but leaned back so he could look at his son face-to-face. He placed both hands on either side of the boy's face ensuring he had the child's undivided attention. 

"You never have to thank me for keeping you safe," Riftan said. "As your father it is my job to shield you and your mother from any harm. I am proud of you for doing what you thought was right to help your mother get better but know that we will always put your health first, son, even at our own expense. I swear to you I will never let something like that happen again. All you need to do now is focus on enjoying being a kid because before you know it, you'll be an adult and sometimes being a grown up is not as fun as it sounds." 

Riftan thought for a moment and realized he and Maxi were probably living vicariously through their son. Neither he nor Maxi got to enjoy their childhoods, both marred with violence and loneliness. He was determined his son would enjoy being a kid and though he let him train he didn't want him to grow up too fast, though that seemed to be happening right before his eyes whether he liked it or not. 
"So... does this mean I can still train with Uncle Herb?!"

Riftan had to fight off an eye roll in front of his son at the ridiculous title Sir Nirta had given himself. He looked up at the sky as if he were taking his time to ponder the boy's question when he really just wanted to make his son squirm a little with anticipation. 

Riftan let out a long sigh before he looked down at the boy. Andrew stared up at him with a hopeful twinkle in his eyes that Riftan hoped would never dim. 

"I suppose you can continue your lessons with Sir Heb- "

Before he could finish Andrew lunges forward and threw his arms around his father's neck hugging him and thanking him. It was moments like these that Riftan would never take for granted. Riftan hugged his son in return before releasing the boy who was eager to get back to practicing his swordsmanship. 
He smiled proudly as the boy swung his little sword. He was getting better each day, but Riftan prayed his son would never have to use it. He would vanquish every monster on the continent if it kept his son out of danger. He would go to the ends of the earth to keep Andrew safe, and he knew Maxi would do the same. 

He smiled as he recalled Andrew's tale of how ferociously his wife had defended and protected their son.

Thank you Maximilian, Riftan thought to himself, for doing everything you could to keep our boy safe. I know you would give your life for him, if necessary, as would I. I pray that day never comes. I couldn't be prouder or more grateful to have such a fierce, devoted, kind woman be the mother of my child. He can be a handful and I sometimes feel like I have no idea what I am doing, or I am scared out of my mind that I will do something wrong but with you by my side I know he is going to be okay. You have made me the happiest man in the world. Now that you are with child again, I cannot wait to see how the love of our family will multiply even more in the years to come.