On the way to visit Dr. Mitchell, Silas had to stop by the restroom at least three times, making it seem like it was taking longer than usual to get to the room. By the time he got there, he was huffing and puffing as if he had run a race. He gathered his strength and stood up, knocking on the door that had an etching of the Tree of Knowledge from alchemical lore. As Silas waited, he put his hand on his stomach, which was feeling quite uncomfortable. It seemed like the small pooch was a little more prominent and definitely harder than just him gaining a bit of beer fat. The thought made Silas want to throw up but he kept his composure and knocked again on the door.

"Hold your god damn horses you impatient bastard." Someone snarled from the inside of the room, making Silas jump from the unexpected curtness.

A few seconds more and the door opened, revealing a very tall man with long dark gray hair and piercing (and unsettling) sapphire blue eyes who stared down at Silas in annoyance.

"Can I help you?" he said, his voice showing even more annoyance.

"You're... the doctor right?" Silas asked, confused by his demeanor.

Since he had never had to see the doctor, he honestly didn't know what he looked like. The doctor pursed his lips and pointed to the front of the door with a stiff finger.

"Does it not fucking say DOCTOR MITCHELL on the front of the door?"

Silas looked. "Actually... it kind of doesn't."

The doctor leaned out of the door and looked at the front. He scanned it for a minute and then turned to the wall, looking at the side. He pointed to a plaque.

"There."

"Well it doesn't say you're a doctor on there either. It says AZIZE MITCHELL, MD."

The man narrowed his eyes at Silas. "You came here to try and get me to cure stupidity for you, didn't you?"

"No."

"MD means doctor, stupid."

"I'm sorry. Usually I'm a lot smarter than this but I had a horrible night last night, so I'm a bit sleep deprived."

"Whatever. Do you have your form?"

Silas nodded, reaching into his back pocket for the form the High Knight had printed off for him. Azize took it and looked it over.

"Knight Silas von Lagon?"

"Yes, that's me."

"I've never seen you before."

"I've never had to come."

"Hmm... Well, I guess come in."

Silas made a face but followed Azize into the room and found it actually did look like a small doctor's office. There were two rooms with exam tables and a bigger area for the doctor to work in.

"Sit on the exam table and I'll get your vitals. High Knight la'Kefroumpoi states that you have had bouts of sickness, fatigue, migraines, and acute insomnia. When did all this start?"

"Today."

Azize looked at him. "Today?"

"Yes."

He put his hand on his hip. "You mean to tell me that this is just to start up of symptoms? You haven't even seen where this thing is going to go?"

"No... Are you a real doctor?"

Azize narrowed his eyes at him. "Don't make me show you how real I am... What I mean is that these things are the beginnings of many things that range from the minute to the extreme. It's best to suffer these small inconveniences for a small while before getting a doctor's opinion."

"Isn't that literally the opposite of what you're supposed to do?"

Azize slammed the clipboard against the wall under some frames.

"Do you see these? These are my degrees in medicine, herbalism, alchemy, and my doctoral degree. It took me fifteen years to earn them. I don't see the word 'doctor' in your name. I see the word 'knight'. You train for battle, I train to fix your stupid ass up when you get hurt. So if you would like to show me the degrees you have in medicine, I suggest you stop undermining what I say. Got it?"

"Fine."

Azize breathed in and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Now... Since you've come to me with such minor symptoms-"

"Wait." Azize glared at him. "He didn't write one down."

"For heaven's sake..."

"I have this too."

Silas stood up and lifted his shirt, pulling down his pants a little. Now that he was exposing himself to the doctor, he could tell that he was not seeing things and his stomach was developing a paunch. Azize looked at his stomach and made a face.

"What is this?"

"Beats me."

Azize reached out and gingerly touched the slightly rounded section and pulled back quickly like he'd been burnt.

"That is not normal!" he yelled.

Silas made a face. "Yo, give a guy some warning before you start throwing that type of sentence around! What do you mean it's not normal?"

"I'm going to need to do some tests on you right away... What were you doing before you had your symptoms and this thing started?" he asked, walking over to the stool by the cabinets.

Silas let his clothing go back into place.

"Well, I'm in Squad 12 so I was doing my duty there and came across a dragoness while I was eradicating nests. We fought, but I killed her."

Azize stopped working. He turned to Silas with wide eyes.

"Did you say that you fought with a dragoness as you were destroying nests?"

"Yes. It happens."

"Was the dragoness brooding?"

"According to the weird kid that came along, that's what he said. Gave me some bullshit story..."

Azize calmly put the materials he had taken down back into the cabinet and closed the door. He walked over to the door to the room and locked it. Silas made a face at that as Azize turned around, his face serious.

"You fought a brooding dragoness and killed her children in the nest?"

"Yes. That's what Nest Destroyers do."

"Oh, Knight von Lagon, there's nothing I can do for you."

"Pardon me?"

"You're pregnant."

Silas just stared at Azize.

"Just like that?"

"I don't need equipment or tests to tell you that. My job as a doctor for different types of races is to look into the ancient lore of these races. There is much truth in myth, Knight von Lagon, and although it doesn't happen often, that particular myth is true. I've seen it once before."

"You... have?"

"Yes... I'm sorry, Knight von Lagon, but you're harboring a dragon egg."

Silas looked down and made a face.

"But that's impossible! The logic doesn't even make sense! How can mixing dragoness blood with me create a dragon egg?"

"It has nothing to do with the actual occurrence but with the act. It's a curse passed down from the Great Dragoness from long ago. When men began to fight against the dragons, they soon realized they needed to get to the source of the problem: dragonlings. So they started attacking nests and killing innocent dragonlings. The Great Dragoness was so distraught by the cries of the dragonesses that she bestowed upon them a curse that they could pass on to humans through a potion made by a great alchemist. The conditions have to be right though; the curse would only happen if her blood mixed inside of the perpetrators body and if the dragoness was brooding. If she is out of her brood month, the curse does not work."

Azize unlocked the door and motioned for Silas to follow him. He did quickly as Azize led him to the back of the room. It was bigger than he thought it was and when he turned the corner, the doctor was ascending a small spiral staircase. Silas waited for him to come back down and they walked over to a table. Azize pushed some nonsense out of the way and practically threw a book down on the table.

"This is the Elven Book of Dragons written by an ancient Elven scholar. This book gives a firsthand account of a group of soldiers who were the first to endure the Curse of the Dragon's Blood."

"But this is all folklore!"

"Does this look like fucking folklore to you?!" Azize growled, snatching Silas' shirt and raising it up. "It's happening whether you believe it or not. My diagnosis is this: you are pregnant with a dragon egg. My treatment is this: there is none; at least nothing that I can do. My suggestion is this: read this book; it will give you answers as well as suggestions on what you can do. I have nothing to help you with this curse, Knight von Lagon."

"Is there a way you can help with the symptoms at least? The vomiting, the fatigue... the peeing?"

"I'll see what I have. In the mean time, seriously read this book and you're going to have to request leave of absence from your High Knight."

"Why?"

"By the end of the week you won't be able to do your duties as a knight. By the end of next week... well, I can't really say." He began writing on a piece of paper. "Give this to your High Knight. If he doesn't know already, he will now. Congratulations, Knight von Lagon, you're an idiot, pregnant, and in for a world I cannot help you with."

Silas took the note gingerly and swallowed hard. He stuck it in the book and walked out of the doctor's office in a daze. I'm still dreaming... I have to be... This can't be real...