His Offspring

The source of voice, realising he was looking for her, quickly ducked behind a pillar, though she still peeked out, curious about the swordplay she had just witnessed. She hiccupped and covered her mouth.

Reynand searched for the source of the sound. A faint thud of tiny footsteps echoed through the corridor, tickling his ears.

The faint hiccup led Reynand to the pillar. He saw no one, but the torchlight cast a silhouette on the wall. By the shape alone, he knew exactly who it belonged to, and he smiled.

"That's not a good way to peek at a man, young lady," he called out.

The clink of his sword against its scabbard followed his steps as he approached her hiding spot.

"I am no peek." Agatha blurted out like she instinctively knew he was talking to her. Then she realised she needed to keep hiding and closed her mouth again with her tiny hands.

"Then why are you hiding yourself like that?" Reynand let out a soft chuckle, the question reminding him of Elara.

Agatha backed away stealthily as if trying to escape. But when she turned around, Reynand had already appeared in front of her, startling her.

"Aahh." She yelled in shock, then promptly closed her mouth again, hoping no one would hear her loud voice.

"Oops, too bad, I caught you." Reynand smirked as he looked down at Agatha.

"Nooo…!" Agatha backed away once more, hiding behind the pillar again, her breath coming in gasps.

"So you wanna play hide and seek, young lady?" Reynand asked as he stepped forward toward the pillar. 

But this time, instead of approaching Agatha, he positioned himself on the opposite side of the pillar, watching her from his own hiding spot.

Agatha pressed her lips tightly together, determined not to answer Reynand's question. She peered out again, but didn't see his figure—she extended her head further, blinking in confusion as she searched for him.

"You looking for me?" Reynand suddenly appeared before her, towering over her.

Agatha's eyes widened, her mouth slightly parted in shock at the sight of Reynand's tall, sturdy figure standing before her. 

She intended to run and hide again, but in her haste, she didn't notice the short set of steps just behind her. 

The moment her foot missed the edge, she gasped, realising too late that she was stumbling backward.

"Arrgghh….!" Agatha screamed as her body went slack and tipped backwards.

She shut her eyes, her heart pounding furiously as the ground seemed to pull at her, robbing her of balance.

But then, she felt the back of her head and her spine cradled, causing her body to sway gently. 

Blinking her eyes open, she found Reynand's face—his brows furrowed—looming before her.

Reynand, feeling as though his heart might leap from his chest, immediately swept Agatha into his arms and scooped her up to help her stand. He knelt before her and gazed into her curious eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his tone laced with worry.

Agatha simply nodded, blinking slowly. She studied Reynand, her eyes alighting in admiration on the sword strapped to his waist. 

Her tiny fingers nervously fidgeted the ribbon on the front of her nightclothes before her right hand reached out to stroke the hilt of his sword.

Reynand's gaze followed the path of her small hand and he smiled softly.

"Wanna to touch it?"

Agatha nodded, her eyes sparkling and a wide smile blossoming on her cherubic lips.

Reynand unhooked the sword from his waist and grasped it with his left hand. Without removing it from its scabbard, he held the sword upright in front of Agatha as if he were a knight reciting his oath before his master.

Agatha's smile widened even further, and her eyes remained fixed on the sword that nearly as tall as she was. She ran her fingers along the rough surface and felt the undulating textures of the scabbard, giggling in delight.

"This… this can kill monstel?" she asked.

Reynand, amused by her slightly lispy pronunciation, replied, "Not only monsters. This sword can kill anything." He pointed to the scattered wooden mannequins on the ground.

"Swod is cool. I wanna have it when I big."

"For killing monsters?"

"Hm…" Agatha nodded excitedly. "So mothel no cway evelynight again."

Reynand furrowed his brow. "Your mother crying?"

"Hm… She cway when pway to the moon."

Reynand tried to make sense of her words. "She cry when pray? Why is she crying?"

"Uhm… because uh… monstel fight kill my fahdel."

"She told you that?"

Agatha shook her head, "I peek and listen."

Reynand let out a soft chuckle, "So, you have a bad habit of peeking at other people then?"

Agatha looked taken aback as she opened her mouth in surprise, only to clench it shut again with her tiny hands—a gesture that made Reynand's heart pound, as though she had already stolen his soft spot.

The cold night wind blew, causing the torch flames hanging on the castle wall to flicker. Reynand noticed Agatha's shoulder-length hair fluttering, and he worried that the little girl might catch a chill. Then he stood up, followed by Agatha's gaze as she looked up. She put her tiny hands down slowly.

"Ah! I fowget!" she yelped suddenly. "Uhm… awe you my fahdel?"

Reynand smiled as he hooked his sword back onto his belt and walked down the corridor. He turned his head slightly and found Agatha trailing after him.

"I am sure your mother told you, you will meet him tomorrow."

"No…no tomowwow… I hate wait... told me now!" she pouted as she crossed her arms over her stomach.

The sound of halting footsteps made Agatha stop in her tracks too. Reynand turned and bent his head to face Agatha more closely.

"Hmm… let's see." Reynand observed Agatha intently.

The little girl had shoulder-length, blue-greyish hair reminiscent of Elara's. 

The bangs hanging over her forehead enhanced the charm of her oval face, which bore a striking resemblance to Elara's. 

Her small yet pointed nose further reminded Reynand of Elara. At first glance, this little girl immediately brought Elara to mind. 

Yet there was one thing that made him smile in relief when he looked into her sparkling eyes—her gleaming blue eyes assured him that she was indeed his offspring.

"You really look like your mother. But, we have the same eye colour. So—"

"So YES OL NO? You my fahdel ol no?" Agatha cut in, bouncing impatiently.

Her blurts made Reynand chuckle, reminding him of his own impatience. There was no doubt she had his blood in her veins.

"Did your mother tell you about your father?"

"Uh… Mothel tell me he look scaly"

"Am I not?"

Agatha blinked as if pondering hard while looking at Reynand's face.

"You look pwetty," She said it with a big smile that made her eyes curving into soft crescents.