InkuHime

They did that two weeks ago. When scaling up a mammal for reasons, very strange reasons, they ran into heat issues. So their solutions, an elephant's wrinkly skin increases surface area, and those huge, flappy ears are heat sinks. So give your amazons huge flappy ears and your are golden.

Square Cube Law, basically as you make something bigger its volume increases faster than its surface area. An amazon would have a harder time getting rid of heat because their increased volume generates more while their surface area is not large enough to dissipate it fast enough to prevent overheating and death.. Now, the diaper dimension is magic and you really don't have to worry about it, but if this thing concerns you then you need to give some thought as to how Amazons deal with their body heat. Maybe they sweat a lot and are covered with a mucous layer that is always evaporating and then need to drink the tears of littles to replenish their body fluids. Or their hair is a heat sink and they all have to wear their hair really long and if you can cut off their hair you can defeat them. Or maybe they just pant a lot. If this kind of thing interests you watch Heaven's Design Team where they ask questions like, why can't we just make something bigger.

I'm probably not going to draw anything else, but I think that picture could give you some thoughts of scale. Consider the Amazon's desk and chair. The height of a chair seat is close to the height of your lower leg. Given that the Inbetweener trying to sit in the Amazon's chair will find her feet dangling. The seat of the chair comes up to the middle of her things, about the same level as a desk or table, so you could get a feel for that if you sat on a desktop or tabletop. The little would be looking at a chair seat that came up to just below her breasts so she'd have to work to get up there. As for the desk, desk tops come up roughly to the middle of your thighs (as mentioned above) so the Inbetweener finds the Amazon's desktop probably about top of her chest when she is sitting in the amazon's chair, and when she is standing it is just below her breasts. The little can stand up straight under the Amazon's desk, don't even think of seeing over it and when she mountaineers up into that chair and sits on it, she'll probably have the desk top at eye or chin level. Get her a booster seat. Then look at the Amazon's extended arm. That's about the height of the roof of a sedan. Looking at the inbetweener we can figure that an Amazon's sedan is about as tall as a regular sized 4x4 pickup truck. The bottom of the door of a sedan is about mid, lower leg (give or take) so the Amazon's sedan has a knee hight step up for the inbetweener and mid thigh for the Little (no wonder they always need help up into Amazon's cars). A mean Amazon will have an SUV or pickup truck and a Little will never get in!

For what it's worth..... Relative sizes between characters, whether in stories like Diaper Dimension or shrinking stories is something I've given some thought to. I often get the feeling that sometimes questions of proportions get lost when some characters are made bigger or smaller. Sketched up this picture to, well, illustrate how I tend to think to things, for what is is worth. The Amazon and Little's proportions are strikingly different, with the little not just being shrunk down and having the same proportions as the Amazon. The Amazon on the left is an Olympian 8 heads tall, the Inbetweener, in between is about 5 of 6 heads tall and the Little to the right is 4 to 5 heads tall. One of the benefits is that if you look up in the right corner you see a comparisons of skulls (no characters were hurt in obtaining these skulls) and you can see they are comparable in size. Certainly the 9 foot tall Amazon's head is bigger, but not crazy big. If I don't change the proportions and just shrink the larger body down I end up with a situation where the little's head will be tiny! The other benefit is that you could dress the little in the clothing meant for Amazon Children and it would more or less fit. Where as if I had just shrunk down the Amazon it would be like having a 1 foot tall fashion doll (like a Barbie) and 1 foot tall baby doll and expect that you could freely interchange clothing. Also, with these proportions I could envision a situation where a taller little might put on heels, picking clothing that flatters certain parts of her antonmy and hides others, and pass herself off as an inbetweener.

For Inktober I drew some pictures based on Hermit Crab's Dilemma If you have not read that story you might not want to look at the pictures as they are spoilers. https://www.deviantart.com/inkuhime/art/Armor-858100656 https://www.deviantart.com/inkuhime/art/Hide-859298799 And Emily and Alice working together for a Buddy picture https://www.deviantart.com/inkuhime/art/Buddy-859222571

Hey Moon3ye, thanks, I am glad you liked the story. The idea of Alice punishing Thomas is an amusing one, but Alice would have to tread a fine like lest she end up being called on the carpet for harassment of her employees. I suspect the contract would have some vague terminology about punitive measures to be determined, and then when Thomas screw up, Alice offers him the choice between being fired and failing his placement or accepted a somewhat 'juvenile' punishment. Probably will not end up in the daycare, but he might end up with a well spanked bottom.

Thanks Atomic Blonde, I am glad you liked it.

Baby Sofia, thanks, glad you liked it and appreciated the ending. YourFNF, thanks JohnSmith 13, thanks for removing most of the images. You're still kind of spoiling the story for anyone who might read the comments on the second page before going back to the the actual story. DKN117, sorry to hear that, it's kind of why I am putting all my new work on DA. More control. Craft, thanks, glad you liked it. I would never say never, but at the moment I do not have any thoughts for a continuation of Emily's story, but then again I never had any thoughts for this last story until I did.

Thanks for the comments. As for the different times not being clearly indicated, I considered dating them, or putting things in italics, but in the end I liked the way the uncertainty helped make the twist work. Mind you, the comments are spoiling it, so maybe it did not matter, but I liked the way it worked so I am going to leave it like it is. Ichinesei ni chatarra was a fun manga, and the Iori test taking robot does provide a useful image, not the image I had, but a viable one. Maybe we can get rid of all the manga images but one? They really have nothing to do with my stories and they take up a lot of real estate. Perhaps post them in the image section instead if you think they are worth keeping around.

Another instalment in the chronicles. More like 'Working on the Underground Railway' when it comes to diaper content and little bothering. Hermit Crab’s Dilemma by Inku Hime Ponderously, the colossal arm swung through air above their heads, the manipulator on the end turning through a set of programmed sequences. Then, just short of the cargo containers that were the target entire assembly shuddered with a sound of metal grinding on metal. There was a ringing sound as something snapped and the arm came to a halt. Something sparked and something smoked and the arm fell. It was pulled to a stop, just above the heads of the technicians, by the safety cables. There was gasps of shock and horror was one of the cables snapped and whipped down, just missing a woman who stood on the floor, looking up at the mechanical arm. She did not start, did not even so much as twitch. After a few seconds she turned away from the assembly and looked at a particular pair of technicians. Two men who stood near the computers that controlled the arm. “Miss Carroll…” one of them said nervously. The woman held up her hand. The man closed this mouth. Everyone in the room was starting at the woman now, except for a handful of techs who were putting out the fires. The giant arm no longer seemed like the most dangerous thing in the room. Miss Carroll was the tallest person in the room, even among the giant Amazons she was large. It was not just her height, she was also, well, no one would call her fat. The proverbial steel hand in a velvet glove, where the steel was muscle and the velvet the layer of flab that rounded her limbs and gave one a false impression of softness. That impression never lasted contact with the woman. She walked towards the men, sway of round hips and bottom, her breasts barely constrained by her clothing. Miss Carroll came to stop by the men. She looked down at them. Both men were giants, each over eight feet tall, but Miss Carrol had them beat. “Move gentlemen,” she said, her voice deep and rumbly, an alto that almost dropped into a tenor. The two men moved. She leaned over the computers. The men and woman watching imagined they could hear her bra straps creak. Precise in her typing, she did not fat finger the commands and a moment later information was flashing across multiple screens. “This is interesting,” she said, taking hold of the mouse and selecting chunks of the data. “Because it looks like someone did not follow my notes but tried something else. Reduced insulation, low tensile strength materials and there are two levels of surge protection missing. The last of the fires had been put out, the hum of the generators shut down. The lab was silent but for her voice. Everyone was looking at her. Miss Carroll looked up from the controls, straightened and turned her head to look at the men. Everyone there had the sense she was an adult looking down at a pair of naughty children. The two men looked at each other, then the taller of the two shifted half a step forward. “We thought that we cold realize significant savings,” he said, the tiniest quaver in his voice. “I see,” she said. Two simple words, voice not raised, flat in fact, lacking in any emotion. The man ducked his head as if she were yelling. When he did not say anything she asked, “And how did your cost saving plan go?” As the arm hung above them, the smell of smoke and ozone still in the room, the question was obviously rhetorical. “Please keep in mind that it is my money, and if I chose to waste it on silly things like effective design and safety that is my choice, is it not?” Her voice was still flat, which made the sarcasm all that more biting. This time it was obvious she expected an answer and both men chimed, again, like naughty children, “Yes Miss Carroll.” Miss Carroll looked away from the men, towards the other techs. “Mrs Roberts, Mr Grand, congratulations, you are now in charge of this project.” The two men looked, for the tiniest fraction of a second, that they wanted to object. They did not. “How long will it take you to undue these cost cutting designs and put everything to my specs?” Mrs Roberts and Mr Grand had a quick discussion, Mr Grand holding his smart phone as they looked over the data there. In less than a minute Mrs Roberts said, “Three days Miss Carroll.” “Counting today?” Mrs Roberts looked at Mr Grand. He nodded. “Yes.” “Very well, we will try this once again four days from now.” With that said she walked towards the room’s exit, her low heeled ankle boots thumping against the floor. When she had left everyone in the room visibly relaxed. Mr Grand walked over to the two men who had up until a few minutes ago been in charge. “Sorry about this,” he said. “But she didn’t fire you.” The taller of the two, the one had had put himself forward, shook his head. “She never fucking blinks when she looks at you, have you noticed that? I never know what she is thinking.” Mrs Roberts came over, looked up at the arm and then to the men. “She’s on the spectrum, probably part of why she has her focus. She’s a genius, if she does not want to blink, that’s her business, isn’t it?” The hood of the car was open. A clicking sound came from within, not the rumble the high-school students around it expected. “It’s not going to turn over,” the young man, a sixteen year old, nearly nine feet tall, said from the driver’s seat. “It’s the alternator,” another giant said. “We pulled the alternator and rebuilt it. It works fine,” an inbetweener girl with short hair said. “Maybe we broke it when we put it back in.” “I bet it the fuel line.” “We’re not getting spark, does not matter if there is fuel or not.” They argued. “…alternator….” “…battery…” “…fuel…” “…cracked…” Their teacher, an inbetweener, leaned against his desk, watching as his auto shop students tried to get the engine working. The single little in the room had been standing on one of the work tables, using the extra height to do her best to look into the engine. She jumped down from the table and went to the tool cabinet, looking through it until she found what she was looking for. None of her fellow students were watching her, but the teacher was. She walked to the car, moving among the legs of the taller students. None of them noticed her until she climbed up on the bumper and leaned into the engine. “Are you still here diaper duty?” one of the giants asked. “Shut it Ryan,” the teacher called out. “Sir, it’s not like she can figure it out,” Ryan said. “I said shut it.” The teacher was not as tall as many of his students, but like many inbetweeners who worked among the giants he had cultivated and attitude that often meant more than height. The little used a wrench to remove the battery cables from the poles. Then, with a rasp, she cleaned out the inside the clamps before putting them back. She gave the bolts a twist, the tools almost too big for her. After tugging each cable to make sure they were tight, she called out, “Try it now.” Behind the wheel the giant rolled his eyes and turned the key. The engine turned over and rumbled to life. “Good job Alice,” the teacher said as he pushed away from his desk and walked towards the car. “Shut it down.” A turn of the key silenced the engine. “That’s if for today,” the teacher said, “get out of here, don’t be late for your next class.” “Amazed that you know something about cars other than how to sit in a car seat,” a tall inbetweener named John said to Alice. There were a few laughs. Alice said nothing, just went and grabbed her school bag. “Hold up Alice,” the teacher called. Alice paused. When all the other students were gone he said, “Good work there, you pay attention.” “Thanks,” Alice said, shifting her weight from foot to foot. “Just wondering, you aren’t thinking of going into this line of business, are you?” “Car repair?” “Yeah.” “No, I want to go into engineering.” “Good, that’s good. I mean, not that you wouldn’t be a great mechanic, it’s just that, well…” “My size would make it hard,” she said for him. She almost managed not to sound bitter. “Yeah, well yeah.” He nodded. “You better get going. You don’t want to be late for your next class.” Not when for a little being late resulted in immature punishments for ‘lack of maturity’. Alice left. Louise Carroll was the founder, chief researcher and CEO of Wonderland Solutions. The names were not coincidence. She clomped loudly through the hallways of the building she owned, towering over everyone. Her laser like focus made people get out of her way, as if they were not quite certain she would stop. When the boss could crush you both figuratively and literally people tended to act on the side of caution. She stopped at the elevator and pressed the call button. A short time later the doors opened. The people within looked at her and then got out. She stepped in once they had vacated it. It did not pay to be in the elevator with Miss Carroll if the overload buzzer sounded. The door closed and the elevator rose, from the basement testing labs up to the twenty-third floor. Along the way the doors opened a few times on other floors. The people waiting the elevator took one look in and did not enter. The twenty-third floor was given over the conference rooms and meeting rooms of all sizes. “Good afternoon Miss Carroll.” “Can I make a meeting to talk with you about project 2C?” “You are looking well Miss Carroll.” “How did the demonstration go?” Carroll looked at the man, who was almost as tall as her. “Disappointing,” she said, answering him where she had more or less ignored the others. “How disappointing?” “Let’s just say Frenz and Smith are lucky I only took the project away from them.” “That disappointing? Too bad.” “It should be back on track by the end of the week,” she told him. “My two o'clock here?” “Saw a bunch of uniforms with fruit salad on their shoulders go into conference room F. Benny was with them.” “That would be them. God, I hate dealing with the military.” “Do you trust anyone else to deal with them?” He winked at her. “Not in the slightest.” Something that was almost a smile appeared on her face. “Can I meet with you tomorrow? I’ll have the numbers on the Henderson job.” “Check with my secretary.” “Will do boss, talk to you later.” Louise watched as her CFO walked off. She then stomped her way to Conference room F and pushed the doors opened. Too hard as it turned out for they bounced off the stops with a soft ‘bang’ and everyone in the room looked at her. Two bird colonels, a major, and a pair of young lieutenants who looked like they did not want to be in the room. Benny was seated between the two colonels, showing them something on his tablet. He jumped up when she came in, looked around guiltily. Everyone seemed uncertain as Louise walked to the head of the table and then took a seat. The chair creaked under her weight. “I’m busy,” she said, tone flat, face expressionless. Benny sat. “Right Louise, right.” Benny was a giant, on the small side, but definitely a giant. Shortest person in the room, except for maybe one of the lieutenants. She looked at the people in the room, gaze settling on one of the Colonels. Marine, almost as tall as her, almost as broad, but he was all muscle. “Well Colonel Iro, you’ve once more come to try my patience. Let’s get it over with.” Colonel Iro smiled in a good natured fashion. “Louise, you know that one day we are going to come to an agreement.” “Doubtful,” she said in her expressionless way. “We want you to consult, not build anything, not design anything. We’ll pay you two million to put you on retainer for our project.” “This how you getting your foot in the door?” He shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “What is it?” “Details are confidential, until you sign an NDA,” the Major said. Louise turned her attention to him. She held his gaze until he looked away. “Sorry,” he muttered. “It is a pacification system,” Colonel Iro said. “Non lethal weapons systems, capture and not kill, for troublesome populations.” “Who do you have building it?” “Can’t go into details, until we get the NDA,” Colonel Iro told her, “but I can say we got some big tech players working on this. You’ll be in select company.” She looked around the room, at all the people, her hard stare seemed to be judging them, and finding them all wanting. Louise stood. The springs in the chair relaxed with an audible creak. “Benny.” “Yes Miss Carroll?” he asked, jumping to his feet. “Look over the NDA and then send it down to legal. If I sign we’ll talk again,” she told everyone in the room, and then stomped her way out. She paused in the door, looked back at the people. She might have smiled, or it could have been a sneer. Then she left, closing the doors behind her. Benny sat down. “Well, that went better than I expected.” “I thought for a moment she was going to come across the table at me,” the Major said. “I had drill sergeants back in basic who seemed warmer than that woman,” Colonel Iro said. “Still, I felt it went well. What do you think Benny?” “As long as you don’t have anything stupid in your NDA she will probably sign it. That she’s giving you the opportunity to make your case is promising.” Colonel Iro nodded. “Like the woman said, we get our foot in the door, maybe we convince her to work with us, and you Benny, get to start bidding on military contracts.” “I do like money,” Benny said with a smile. The dorm nanny did not let Alice undress herself. She was not allowed the dubious dignity of that. The nanny took off Alice’s blazer and then skirt of the university little uniform. She then pulled Alice up across her knees. She placed her broad hand across Alice’s bottom, patting the seat of the pullup. “You know why you are being punished,” the Nanny said. “Yes ma’am,” Alice said, lying across the amazon’s knees, bottom up. On her first day at University she and the other littles matriculating had all signed a contract of academic behaviour. It covered how they would be treated, and how they might be punished. It had been degrading, but if a little wanted a higher education they often had to agree to such things. The nanny started to list off all the rules that Alice had broken. Not keeping her dorm room clean, tardy for classes, not eating all her vegetables at the cafeteria. It was that standard bullshit list of rules often tossed at littles when someone decided that it was time to punish them. Not that Alice argued. That would make things worse. She heard some laughter. The nanny had decided to mete out her punishment in the dorm’s common room. So there was an audience. Specifically a few first year engineering students who were of the opinion that Alice Rydel grades were too high. Specifically she was getting higher marks than all of them. The dorm nanny owed her employment to Alice and the other littles who were attending the University. She was not properly thankful to the littles who lived there. Grasping the waistband of Alice’s pullup, the nanny pulled the disposable from Alice’s bottom. Officially the nanny was not to give any little a bare bottom spanking. Alice could complain, but nothing would come of it. More laughter from the audience as her small bottom came on display. “Remember, this is for your own good,” the nanny said, and then brought her open hand down hard on Alice’s bum. A ‘crack’ off flesh on flesh, stinging pain as that big hand encompassed her whole bottom, Alice gasped, tears prickled her eyes. Ever since she had turned thirteen, any time she had been spanked, she had always told herself she would not cry. Every time she was proven wrong. It was not just the stinging, burning pain as her tush was spanked to a bright red. That was mostly it, of course. But it was also the feeling of helpless humiliation. Even before it really started to hurt Alice was sniffing with tears in her eyes. It was so unfair. She was not a baby. She was a big girl, no, an adult. No one else got spanked. She had not even done anything wrong. She had done things right. She had studied and learned and done well on tests. It was not fair. It was not fair. It was not fair. The laughter stung as well. She was sobbing and begging nanny to stop, saying she would be a good girl. Sobbing and tears gave her voice a particularly infantile tone and lisp. It was a feedback loop of humiliation. Nanny did not stop, just told her it was for her own good. The spanking took forever, a constant barrage of unending smacks to her ass. It probably was just two minutes, evenly spaced slaps. Nanny’s hand would also hurt a little, she was not allowed to use a paddle or other implement, thankfully. Alice would think about that later, when the sting had faded, but in the moment, it was just the never ending punishment. Finally it ended, and Nanny rubbed her hand across Alice’s bright red bottom. “Now, are you going to be a good little girl?” “Yes, yes,” Alice sobbed. “Well, let’s hope so little miss, or we’ll be back here for another bottom warming.” Nanny stood, picking up Alice as she did so, holding Alice in her arms, craddling the little against her large bosom. “Now, seeing as you have no more classes today I think a thick nighttime diaper and a nap are in order.” Alice did not want either, but she said nothing. The last thing she wanted at that moment was to make Nanny decide some more spanks were required. Behind her she heard Thomas Fairre say, “I would give that spanking an A+.” Laughter greeted his statement. Alice hated him, hated them all. Promised herself she would get back at them. Was not sure how, but she would. Maybe? Louise Carrol was a presence in Wonderland Solutions. She walked every space on every floor at least once a week. From the physical plant deep within the bowels of the thirty story structure to the roof top. Any employee, from the mailroom sorter to the CFO might find her suddenly in their workspace, watching them. The big woman could move quietly when she chose. However there was one place in the building that she did not often go. The employee daycare centre, where small children and adopted littles were cared for while there parents worked. But that she did not often go there was not the same as not at all. Some people thought it was to make her visits even more of a surprise, to keep the child care and early educator staff on their toes. And others thought she was an emotionless, cold woman who just did not like children. If you asked the children they would tell you it was the later. Perhaps lack of vocabulary might mean they would say, ‘Big, fat, scary woman’. Louise came into the brightly lit daycare, stopping in the foyer beyond the entrance doors and looked around. There were windows that looked into the various rooms in which the children (and littles) slept, played, ate and were otherwise cared for. She watched for a few minutes, somehow managing to go unnoticed. In one room a group of three and four year olds, and some littles, were taught their ABCs and numbers. In another room one and two year olds, and some littles, were playing a game that seemed to involve plushies and brightly coloured cubes. And then the children not yet a year old and some littles, were in their cribs for a naps. Things seemed to be going well enough. “Miss Carroll, what a pleasant surprise.” Louise turned. A woman had come in through the doors, pushing a baby carriage. “Kaitlyn,” Louise said levelly in way of greeting. Her deadpan expression did not reveal if she thought it was a surprise, pleasant or otherwise. “I was hoping we could meet, I would like to discuss the reconstruction project in old town.” Louise did not answer immediately. “You know my feelings on that project,” she finally said. Kaitlyn made what amounted to a throw away gesture. “I know, the bad PR angle, but I’ve been talking with Izzy up in Communications and he thinks we can spin it positively. It is mostly inbetweeners and littles living there now. It could be argued that we are doing them a favour. I was down there just a few days ago and saw how the littles especially need a guiding hand.” The baby carriage rocked slightly as its occupant moved around. Kaitlyn smiled. “Case in point. My sweet Prissy thought she was an adult who could run a bicycle repair shop. It did not take me long to show her the error of her ways.” The little in the carriage was tightly swaddled and a pacifier was held in her mouth by a strap. Her head had been shaved, only a single tuft of red hair left on her the crown of her head. It made her look very much like a newborn. “Prissy is joining all the other tiny ones today. I think she is going to be very happy there, for a very long time.” She smiled down at the once woman in the carriage. Her smile was mixed with maternal warmth, captor cruelty and hit of contempt. Tears ran from Prissy’s eyes. Louise looked on with her usual cold expressions. “Would you like to hold her?” Kaitlyn asked. “No.” “I’m surprised you don’t like children. You have such a maternal figure.” She was calling her boss fat. However Louise expression suggested she either did not understand the insult or did not care. “I like them fine, I just don’t have time.” “Well, maybe one day you will, or you will find just the right little who will melt you heart, like little Prissy did for me.” She used the handle to rock the carriage back and forth on its springs, softly bouncing he little within. The look on the little’s face and the sounds she managed to make behind her pacifier gag suggested her heart had not been melted. “Perhaps,” Louise said, diplomatically. “Talk to my secretary to arrange the meeting. We’ll talk.” With that Louise turned and walked from the daycare. Kaitlyn pushed the carriage through the foyer into the reception area. A woman came out of the nursery. “What that Miss Carroll?” she asked. “Just coming by to scare all the children with her icebox exterior,” Kaitlyn said. “Oh, Mrs Dynes, you can’t talk about her like that.” “To be honest I think I could insult her right to her face and she would not realize what happened. But I am not here to talk about our boss. I want to enrol little Prissy here into the nursery section.” The daycare worker leaned over the carriage and looked at the girl within. “Adorable. She’s to be kept with the precrawlers?” “Yes, the little dear may eventually earn a first birthday, but I do find the newborns to be charming.” “Of course,” the worker said. In the carriage the girl sobbed. “Holy shit!” Thomas Fairre said as he jumped back from the swinging manipulator arm. “Be careful please,” Alice said from where she sat at a lab bench, “still working out some of the fine control.” Alice had an armature around her right arm and hand. Movements she made with that arm the larger manipulator arm matched. “You stupid little, you could have killed me.” Alice said something softly under her breath, but then in a louder voice, “That is why I locked the lab door and put up the danger sign.” “I need the lab,” he said. “I’ve got it booked for the next six hours,” Alice told him. Thomas stared at her, eyes wide. “Well I need it.” Whining in the larger members of the population was not a favourable image on them. “Then you should have booked it.” He took a few steps towards her, “Listen you little, I won’t be…” What he would not be was not made clear for her suddenly jumped back again as the arm apparently went wildly flailing. “What the hell?” “Danger sign, the floors marked with hazard tape,” Alice said as with her left hand she typed some commands into her laptop. He looked down and took one more step back, beyond the black and yellow line of tape. “Shut this down and get out. I need to work on my senior project.” “So do I,” Alice told him, not looking away from her laptop. Thomas looked as if he was about to take a step forward, but the arm swung by and made him rethink his plan. “Get out!” he yelled. “What is all this noise?” Both Alice and Thomas looked towards the sound. One of the lab doors was opened and a giant was looking in. “Professor Jameson,” Thomas said, “I’m sorry, but this little refuses to leave the lab.” He looked between them, then asked, “Do you have the lab booked?” Thomas’ eyes narrowed, his mouth open for a moment. He said, “Well, no, but she’s a little.” Professor Jameson shifted his attention to Alice. “Did you book the lab?” “Three weeks ago.” “Well then, she has use of the lab Tom. You should have booked it.” “But she’s a little!” “Yes, I am aware. But the money she uses to pay her tuition is just as big as your money.” Thomas stared at the professor in open mouthed shock. Then with a curse he turned and left. “You should have bolted the doors from the inside,” Professor Jameson told Alice once Thomas had stormed out. “I assumed the danger sign and the locked door would have been enough.” “I’ll lock it for you.” “No, I got it,” Alice said as she entered a few more commands on the laptop. She then turned and reached out. The manipulator arm stretched out, longer than before, reaching for the door. The eight fingered hand turned the deadbolt and then set the manual bolts. “Remarkable,” the professor said as he watched the arm retract back to its earlier length. “How did you manage to make the hydraulics so small?” “I don’t use them. I use ferromagnetic semisolids.” Professor Jameson stated at her open mouthed. “Surely you’re joking.” Alice shook her head. “It’s something I’ve been working on since my first year. I’ve almost got all the kinks worked out.” “It’s unfortunate.” “Pardon?” Alice asked, frowning. “You won’t be able to go on to further your education, and really, it is not as if you’ll find work as an engineer in any sort of reputable firm.” Alice said nothing, just stared, wide eyed. “Surely you must already know this. It is not as if littles are taken seriously.” “I’ll manage, I’m sure,” Alice told him. He shook his head. “And you’ve made something of an enemy of Thomas.” “I’ll deal with him,” Alice muttered. “I’ve been dealing with him since my first year.” “You should come and live with me,” Professor Jameson said. “What?” “My wife would be delighted to have you.” “I am sure she would,” Alice said cooly. He did not seem to recognize the tone, or dismissed it. “And you would be protected from any of Thomas’ retribution.” “I’ll be fine. But thank you for your concern.” He shook his head. “You littles, you never really understand, but I won’t force you, not while you are a student.” He smiled. Alice felt a little sick to her stomach. “I look forward to seeing your senior project presentation. Good luck. Call me if you need anything.” He left her, returning to the room he had come out of. Alice turned back to her laptop, entering another set of commands. Later that evening when Alice returned to her dorm room she found her bed replaced by a locking crib. The dorm nanny was there, smiling. “Alice dear,” she said, “I’ve heard that you’ve been falling out of your bed.” Alice turned to look at her roommates, other littles. They looked guilty, and would not meet her gaze. They did not speak up for her. “We want you to be safe, so you’ll be sleeping in a crib from now on. Now, I know you littles are want to be naughty, so we’ll be locking you in, but don’t worry, nanny will put you in extra thick nighttime diapers. Isn’t that wonderful?” Alice choked out, “Thank you nanny.” Thanking the woman for what was a bedwetting sentence made her feel sick, but Alice had no choice. One day she would get back at Thomas and the others who had tried to break her. One day. Alice squeaked in surprise as the dorm nanny grabbed her up in her arms and carried her over to the room’s changing table. “Let’s get you ready for bed-bye sweety.” One day. Louise’s office suite took up a quarter of the thirtieth floor. Her assistants had their own offices, there was a private bathroom, a public office, a private office, a kitchenette, and a conference room. It was in that conference room where she held most of her personal meetings. A professor from a prestigious university had requested an opportunity to meet with her to discuss the placement of some Masters program students. He was already there, drinking coffee, when she entered. Placing the cup down her stood. “Miss Carroll, thank you for taking the time for meeting me.” “The pleasure is mine Professor Jameson,” she told him, expression flat. She shook his hand and then sat. “These are some of the students I would ask that you consider. They all are in an honours Masters degree program and would benefit from a summer internship with Wonderland Solutions.” She fanned the folders out with her big hand, looking at the names on each of the folders. “I see,” she said “Your university is known for the quality of its graduates. It is why I was willing to see you.” “Thank you, we pride ourselves on the quality of our education.” She just nodded as she opened one of the folders and glanced at he transcript within. “There was another reason I came here Miss Carroll. I had a question I wanted to ask you.” She looked up from the folders to the professor. Her expression was flat as she asked, “What?” He broke their gaze and looked away as he asked, “Did you adopt Alice Rydel?” Her expression did not shift as she asked, “Who is Alice Rydel?” Professor Jameson looked at her again, trying to hold her gaze, as if he was trying to gauge her truthfulness. Again he looked away first and said, “She was a student, her work shares similarities to your company’s designs.” “This Alice, she’s a little correct? That’s why you asked if I adopted her.” “Yes.” “So you are accusing me of stealing her work?” “No, no,” he said with a shake of his head. “If you had adopted her then her work would in a way belong to you.” Louise said nothing, just pinned him with her stare. He started to sweat and wiped his brow. “It’s just that some people are interested in her work, and she disappeared right after graduating.” “I hope they find her then.” “Yes,” he said nervously. “Well, then, thank you for your time.” “Which ones?” she asked. “Pardon?” “Which of these student would you suggest I consider?” “Well, they are all skilled and bright. If you could take all of them the university would appreciate it. I can’t really say that any are better than the others.” She swept the folders back into a single pile and picked them up as she stood. “Very well. You’ll hear back from me in a month or so.” He stood as well. “Thank you very much Miss Carroll. And if you do hear anything about Alice Rydel there would be some people who would appreciate knowing.” “How long?” “Pardon?” “You said she disappeared after graduating. How long ago was that?” “Three years. About a year before you started Wonderland Solutions. Some people think you might have been in contact with her…” “Three years is a long time. If you find her she might not even be able to count to ten anymore, let alone give you whatever you hope for.” He again could not meet her gaze. “Yes, that’s true.” “Never put your trust in littles Professor. There is no future for them.” “Yes, I’m afraid of that.” “Please excuse me,” she said, and then turned and stomped from the room, holding the folders. “You can see yourself out.” He watched her go and once she had left he said, “What a cool customer she is.” Then he gathered up his things. Louise did not pause as she walked into the office of her chief assistant. She dropped the folders on his desk. “Internship candidates. I don’t see why we cannot take them all, I’ll leave that to you.” He gathered the folders up and flipped through them. “We’ve got enough scut work to keep them busy. If they apply themselves they might actually learn something. When do you want my report Miss Carroll?” “Three weeks.” “I will get right on it,” he told her with a smile. “Good. I’ll be in my private office.” “I will make sure you are not disturbed.” “Good.” She left his office and passed through her public office, the place where she met people when the conference room would not suit. Where she worked with them on the minutiae and the mundane. Everyone knew that her private office was where she did her real work. There were whispers of lovers, or kidnapped littles kept in a hidden nursery. Because she never let anyone in the rumour mill churned along. Louise unlocked the door, entered and locked it behind her, sliding a manual bolt in place. The door was thick, the walls reinforced and soundproofed. The office had no windows. It was obvious she wanted her privacy. She took of her suit jacket, put it on a wooden hanger and then hung it on a coat rack by the door. She walked to her desk, stood in front of it and began to unbutton her blouse. After pulling the tails from her pants waistband she reached up and unclasped her front hooking bra. The garment released her pendulous breast, letting them hang free. Louise straightened, arms dropping to her sides, and she went perfectly still. A vertical seam appeared, running from the base of her neck to her navel. Two horizontal lines opened up, across her collar bones and belly, from hip to hip. The seams opened up, in a disturbing manner, her entire chest and abdomen swung open. Instead of revealing internal organs, the space within her torso was a small cockpit from which Alice Rydel stepped out. She was wearing a sweat stained t-shirt and a wet pull up. Walking to the edge of the desk she lowered herself down to the chair. Kneeling on it, she pulled out a drawer in which her laptop was kept. Reviewing notes and recording of camera feeds throughout he building she clicked her tongue with disappointment. “Unblinking, cold, getting the emotional range and expressions right is going to take forever.” She looked up at her amazon mecha suit. She had never met people in person for the first year she had been using it, always dressed her suit in long coats and hats and scarves to cover its face. Even now most people assumed Louise Carroll was autistic. Alice could accept that for the prototype, but if she was going to produce more she would have to fix it. Fortunately she was getting help. Another email had arrived, more files, improved algorithms for the mech’s facial actuators and the AI behind them. “Looks like you got the blinking error fixed, that will help Louise come across less lizard like,” Alice said as she read through the notes. She did not know who the mysterious programmer was. Probably another little as the price of her help was her own amazon mecha suit, when Alice was able to start building them. No one would notice one corpulent, autistic, genius amazon. They would notice several, so Alice was not making the tech available until she was sure she was safe. Again she looked at her suit and she smiled, thinking about some of the names on the folders that Professor Jameson and brought her. Thomas Fairre and a few others had better read their internship contracts well before the signed them. If they did not they were going to learn a valuable lesson. Well, valuable to Alice. Notes: The idea of a little using an amazon sized mech is something that I've thought about for a while, though my ideas were running super hero type, and I could not really think of a story I wanted to tell like that. Then I came across a 3 panel comic that solidified the idea for me. Here's the link to in on DA https://www.deviantart.com/dlj0e/art/Sybil-s-Mech-837445844 Mature content so you won't be able to see it without an account.

For anyone who liked this story I have written another anime inspired story, this one Isekai instead of Magical Girls. Which I may post here eventually as my DA account was suspended.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to post. Glad that people enjoyed it. Always glad to talk to people about my stories. I don't necessarily agree that a story needs to resolve all conflicts before it ends. I think you can end a story in a state of equilibrium where there is a threat of events that could end that equilibrium, but may not necessarily do so. Christine and Olivia's relationship may not work out... but that is true of any relationship. I'm not a fan of 'Happily Ever After', nothing stays in stasis... unless you kill characters off. As for the Duke of Threes... I am not convinced that he can make the rest of the Nursery Knights a credible threat for Kristine. I may come back to this story, but if I never do, I don't think the ending place I chose was wrong. For now there are other stories I want to write, so I will.

Thank you for reading and I am glad that you enjoyed. For now this story has come to an end, and I don't have any strong ideas for interesting places to take it, but it is always possible I will think up an idea that brings me back to Kristine and her world. As for sanctions being placed on the Duke of Threes... The Magic Realm is kind of a 'Might Makes Right' place and where the ultimate commandment is 'Don't get caught'. The Powers that Be had told the Duke that any further incursions into the Mundane will result is exile. If he can make future incursions without being caught, well, more power to him, I suppose. Once again, my thanks for everyone who took the time to comment.

Kristine appeared on the roof of one of the higher buildings in the city. Olivia, at her side, stumbled a few steps away and then vomited. “Are you okay?” “What the hell was that?” Olivia asked as she spat the vomit out of her mouth. “Teleportation.” “What a horrible way to travel.” Kristine had never noticed. Maybe it was a mortal thing. “Pediatrician Thmiley Checkup,” Kirstine lisped as she looked at Olivia. “What the hell?” “I’m jutht making sure you are all right,” Kristine said as information about Olivia’s condition appeared to Kristine as friendly, informative icons floating around her. Olivia could not see them, Kristine guessed, for she was looking around herself, a confused countenance. Kristine relaxed. While teleporting Olivia might not be the most pleasant experience for her friend, it did not appear to be dangerous. “Okay. Naughty Nurthery Camera Thpy Eyes,” Kristine intoned. Olivia laughed. “You sound so ridiculous.” Kristine frowned, hoped it did not look like a pout. Around her appeared, like monitors, windows in the air, each one looking out at parts of the city. Olivia gasped. “That’s amazing.” “Not tho ridiculous now.” Kristine smiled smugly. “No, you still sound silly.” “Oh thhut up,” Kristine told her, looking around her at the windows in space. She spotted some monsters, and trackers, trolls and redcaps and the beautiful men and woman who looked like the Duke of Threes. She saw Lotts in one window, with Rat and Badger, and in another the Duke of Threes himself. The man turned his head, and for a moment Kristine thought he was looking at her, seeing her. She took a step back from the anger she saw in his eyes. He had come. As Tac hard warned. And as Kristine had known he would. She would like to think it was all going to plan, but in all honesty, she did not feel as if she had a plan. Just some vague ideas. “Who’s the David Bowie Wannabe?” Olivia asked, looking at the window that shows the Duke. Kristine looked again. She supposed Olivia had a point. Thin White Duke. The moniker did fit. “The Duke of Thwees,” Kristine said. “Three what?” “Trouble always comes in Thwees they say.” “So he is the Duke of Trouble?” “For me.” “You have the weirdest friends, present company excepted.” “He’th not my friend,” Kristine told her, a little more anger in her tone than she intended. “I know. Just a joke,” Olivia apologised. Kristine took in a deep breath, nodded. “Thorry.” “What are you going to do about that?” Olivia waved her hand towards a window that displayed the restaurant they had just left. From the front door came the creatures they had seen not long before. “We skipped out on the bill.” “What?” “Just thinking.” “I don’t think they will care.” It looked like ten or twenty people had fled the restaurant. “This could get methy.” “What?” “The fight.” “You are going to fight them?” “I have to.” Olivia stared wide eyes at Kristine. “Why?” she eventually asked. “Cause I guess thith is what Magical Girls do… and that they are here ith mostly my fault.” “Your fault?” “I’ll explain later. Hope you got it all out.” “What?” Kristine stepped forward and took Olivia’s hand. “Your dinner.” And then she teleported away. Two trolls carrying heavy weapons and backed up by a team of redcap grenadiers. They were approaching the building in which the offices of Cotton and Black were housed. Secure the place, take hostages, see if the Magical Girl could be lured in. A tactically sound idea. Until the Magical Girl appeared above one of the trolls and flattened him with her huge mace. Before the second could bring his weapon to bear the Magical Girl called out, “Onesie romper thtraight jacket,” and magically secured the troll in a riot of pink straps and buckles. She turned on the redcaps and smiled. They fled. She chased. While the Duke of Threes’ military might was not to be discounted, and while force was a language he spoke very well, he was no stranger to subtlety and stealth. The team approaching the apartment in which the target lived was dressed in invisibility cloaks, and under that, they wore suits woven of shadow. Four of them, with the elegant looks and builds of the Duke of Three’s people, Aos Si they would have been called once. They scaled the side of the building until they clung to the wall outside of the apartment, peering into the windows and the darkness within the room. As far as the team could tell the apartment was empty. One reached for the latch on the window, as if planning to open it, when four giant teddy bears fell from the sky, colliding with each of them, the big, furry arms wrapping around them and dragging them from the side of the building. When they hit the ground, the bears had them wrapped up in nearly inescapable hugs, and their plush bodies protected the stealth operatives from any serious harm. The Magical Girl stepped out of the shadows and approached them. Her giggle filled all four with dread. “Time for you to go away,” she told them. Barron Lotts watched as another team disappeared. So far five teams had just vanished, and four more had been neutralised. “How is she doing this?” It was a rhetorical question, but Mr Badger said, “She does seem to be quite skilled at this kind of thing.” “Most distressing don’t you think?” Mr Rat offered. “What will be most distressing is if the Duke of Three kills us.” Mr Rat nodded after a moment. “Very good Baron. Provides something of a positive spin on the current situation.” “As it can always get worse.” “Wise.” Barron Lotts looked between them, wondered if they understood the circumstances. He looked back at the scrying gem, reading the details on the teams that remained. “She’s not going after the trackers.” Mr Rat and Mr Badger looked at one another, then back at him. “One might take that to mean she wishes to be found,” Mr Rat said. “Which one might take to suppose she is planning a trap of some sort.” Lotts nodded. “A quick change of strategy is needed.” He reached from the gem. “Naughty naughty no touch,” someone called out. A thick covering of foam appeared over the gem, sealing it away. Lots, Badger and Rat turned towards the sound of the voice. The Magical Girl was perched on a street light, looking down at them. “Hi again,” she said. “I take it you did not learn your lethon last time.” “Son of a whore,” Lotts cursed as he drew his blade. Not that he would fare any better than he had last time. The mundane building was like most mundane buildings to Tahc’s sensibilities. It was boring and dead, built to respect the prosaic demands of physics. Even given that it was a place that dealt with magic did not change that. But it was not the building that interested Tahc but what, or who in this case, might be in it. Something to use against the Magical Girl. As the Duke of Threes demanded. “You’re making a pretty big mistake,” someone said from behind her. Tahc spun, dropping down into a crouch, ready for a fight. Sitting on a nearby fence, in cat form, grooming herself calmly, was Tac. “Calm down sis. Not here to kick your ass, this time.” Tahc did not let her guard down. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you.” “That’s funny, that you think I want your forgiveness.” A soft growl came from Tahc throat. Tac sighed, stretched, her claws deeply marking the top of the steel fence. “I’m here to give you good advice.” “You? Good advice?” Tac smiled her smug, cat smile. “You should abandon the Duke of Threes while you still can.” “You? Suggesting being disloyal? I am surprised,” she answered with sarcasm. “The man is not who he is telling you, and he is playing dangerous games. Games that will get you killed.” “Like you would care.” “I don’t, but mom will bitch at me if you end up violin strings and she finds out I did not attempt to warn you off. I am completely selfish.” Tahc paused. “You are selfish,” she agreed. “But you are also doing your job, trying to help the Magical Girl.” “Ha!” Tac laughed. Tahc took a surprised step back. “I’m done with Kristine.” “What?” “I’ve taught her everything she needs to know to be a Nursery Knight. I’ve taught her far too much in fact. But the point is I am done with her. My duties as her Liaison have ended.” Staring at her sister Tahc knew she was telling the truth. With a nod, Tac told her, “I’m going back to the Magical Realm, and with luck, Gorgeous will be good to her word and let me go back to the floozies and booze. If I am lucky, I will never see Kristine St. James, Nursery Knight and whiney bitch ever again. So this is the last time I will say this, cut your ties and run.” A sincere and serious Tac was not something that Tahc was used to seeing. In fact, she would have said such a thing impossible. And yet there they were. Shaking her head Tahc told her, “My loyalty is not so cheap.” “Mom can’t say I never tried.” Tac sitting on the fence smiled in a way that no cat likely would, at least outside of the Magical Realm and Wonderland. She faded away and as usual got the last word in with a parting, “I hope the Duke’s dick is big.” And then Tac was gone. “I’m not so shallow,” she told the empty space where Tac had been. For several seconds Tahc stood there, thinking about her sister’s warning. She shook her head, dispelling her doubts. Took a deep breath, clearing her mind. “Why wouldn’t the Duke keep things from me? I am a servant after all. I am fine with that.” It sounded persuasive to her. She walked to the building, put her hand on the door. It was locked; however that was not an impediment. A shift of her finger against the handle and the door unlocked, the mundane alarm system was shut off, and the magical one was not powerful enough to spot her. Tahc walked into the lobby, looking around. It had a tired look, with clean but dull black and white tiles on the floor, and a high ceiling of much-patched plaster. No one was around, the security desk near the elevators unattended. She crossed the lobby until she stood in front of the elevators. She looked up at the floor numbers for a moment, then reached out and pressed the call button. The doors slid open immediately. Once in Tahc touched the button for the ninth level. It was a short ride up to a floor that looked just as tired but well cared for as the lobby. She walked along the corridor, came to a stop in front of a door. An unremarkable slab of wood. Tahc opened it, stepped in. There was an empty reception room, doors to offices, it all looked pretty much like any office. She shifted forms to a cat. Leapt onto the section desk and then down into the waiting room. She stopped in front of the door to the bathroom and meowed loudly. The door opened a crack, a woman with dark hair and skin looked out. “Hello,” Tahc said. “Shit, a talking cat.” “My name is Tac,” Tahc lied. “I’m Kristine’s liaison, she sent me to get you to a new, safer place.” Crumpling under her, windows breaking, Kristine almost split the car in two. She had been flung into it by a giant. Not on the class of a War Titan, but the thing was likely twenty feet tall and made up of bone and muscle. She levered herself out of the dent she had made, got back to her feet. The Giant was walking towards her, but at twenty feet with a stride easily half that it covered a great deal of distance. “Okay, if you want to fight.” Kristine held out her hand, and the war mace appeared in it. With the weapon raised above her head, she charged the giant. With a bellow that shattered glass all around the giant lifted its massive club into the air. The club was a powerful weapon, she already knew that from the earlier hit she had taken. The giant swung it down at her, and when it hit the blow broke the road, tossing up sewer pipes, water mains and underground cables. What it did not do was smear Kristine all over that broken material. Having teleported at the last instance she put herself by the giant’s ankle, and as most of its weight came down on that foot as it hit the road, Kristine swung mightily. Her war mace shattered bones, and the giant pitched forward, crying out in pain. And it fell, face leading, towards Kristine, who had just teleported into the perfect position for her next strike. With a grunt of effort that filled the seat of her diaper, she caught the giant a solid smack that snapped its head to the side and sent it flying the opposite direction. Breathing heavily, diaper sagging, Kristine waited to see if the giant would get up again. It did not. “Who ith going to pay to fix all this?” she wondered, looking around at the destruction her and the giant’s fight had wrought. Hopefully, it would be the Duke of Threes. She heard the sound of sirens and wondered what the mundane authorities could do about the fight. It was really something a team of Magical Girls should be handling. She was there. Did the city have any other Magical Girls? She could not recall having heard of any operating in the city. Well, until such people arrived, it was up to her. But first, she needed to change her diaper. The Magical Girl was doing well. The Duke of Threes watched as his forces were taken down, one group at a time. Perhaps he should have gathered them into a single army. But he had not expected Kristine to fight. He had thought small groups could better chase her to ground. But she was not running. Still, while he had not expected it, he had not entirely discounted it. So she would tire herself out on his forces, and then when she finally faced him she would be at a disadvantage. He felt confident in this plan. Thought that he was hidden from her. Kristine surprised him when she attacked. Coming out of the sky, invisible, only a last moment twinge of a well-trained danger sense gave him time to defend himself. His golden sword whispered out of its sheath and came up to block Kristine’s attack. Her mace crashed into his blade. The roof of the building cracked under his feet. He saw her appear above him as her pacifier slipped out of her mouth, seeming to float above him, held up by the opposing force of sword and mace. Then she was gone, and the Duke of Threes swept his sword out behind him, parrying her strike at his back. Before he could counter she teleported again, came at his unguarded side. Even as he moved to block, she winked out and was on his other side. She teleported so quickly it was as if he was fighting two of her, three of her, four of her… The mace slipped around his guard and tagged his right leg, nearly taking out his knee. Spinning with the impact to lessen it, he stole energy from her attack and sent it back at her, his blade slashing across her chest. The armour was better than he would have expected, for his cut failed to cut her dress or her. Still, it was a solid blow, and it sent her stumbling back. He moved to take advantage, but she was gone, teleported away before he could capitalise on the strike. And it let her reset the fight and take away the momentum he had hoped to gain. Another series of blows and again she hit him, and again he countered and hit her. He would not have believed that they seemed to be in a state of stalemate. But he still had forces in play. Once they arrived they would break the impasse they found themselves in. Looking about, waiting to see which direction she would attack from, he called out, “Give me what I came for Kristine, what you took. We can end this peacefully.” She stood on the edge of the building, a waxing moon over her right shoulder. Diaper peeking out from beneath the hem of her dress, which seemed to glitter in the moonlight. He had to admit she was magnificent. A loss that he had not added her to the Nursery Garden’s collection. “That will be a little difficult,” she told him. “Not at all. Give me what you stole.” The Duke of Threes knew that his forces were converging on the place. The first should arrive soon. If she would not give up the True Gold voluntarily, he would make her once she was beaten. She smiled and held up the mace. As it spun in her hands, it glittered in the moonlight in the same manner as her dress had. He frowned. The way the light caught the dress and the mace, he has seen that effect before. His frowned deepened. “Do you underthtand why I can’t?” she asked, grounding the mace, no, a war mace, between her feet. “You little bitch,” he said, taking a few steps towards her, lifting his sword. “Ithn’t it amazing what chaos magic can do?” she asked. The apparent non sequitur gave him pause and halted his step. “What are you talking about?” “Chaos magic created thith thing called Refined True Gold, added it to my clothing, my weaponth, even my pacifier.” “You refined it?” He could not believe it. “Refined what?” she asked in a tone of innocence. “It jutht appeared. No need for anyone to ever wonder where it came from, cauthe it was created whole cloth from chaos.” The Duke of Threes stared at her. She had just explained away True Gold, gave it a reason to have appeared out of nowhere. Gave no one a reason to investigate where it had actually come from. The action protected him, but the Duke of Threes knew that she had done it to protect the other Nursery Knights. He also knew that the only way he was going to get the Refined True Gold and all the power it represented was to take it from Kristine’s corpse. So be it. Power kept concealed broke free of the bonds he had put on it. The air around him snapped with a plasma created by his magic. Even at a distance, he could see Kristine’s eyes, saw how they widened at the display of power. He moved, crossing the space between them in a moment. He struck her just before she teleported. The energy imparted on her remained when she appeared again and was sent crashing into another building a block away. The Duke of Threes sprung after her, a blur as he moved. So fast, Kristine thought, shaking the bits of tempered glass from her hair. She had assumed he was holding back when he had first fought her, but never to such an extent. And he was coming at her. With a flicker, she teleported away just before he came crashing down where she had been. He followed her, somehow only a step away when she reappeared. Her war mace came up and met the sword with a crash. They stood, each pushing at the other. Then the Duke shifted, moving his blade away. Kristine stumbled, almost fell, felt a burning across her back of her thighs as he slashed her. It was a question of skill, Kristine thought, wincing at the pain. He had more of it. She continued her fall, teleporting away. This time she did not try to stay close but put herself on the roof of a building several blocks away. The Duke of Threes was following, but as fast as he was, it would take him at least a few seconds to reach her. Summoning her magic bag, she reached into it, what she wanted right at the top. After pulling out three, cloth dolls, she dismissed the bag. The toys, like much of her gear, had benefitted from the refined True Gold, for Mr Bear stitched up the dolls like he had her dress. Tossing the toys out she chanted, “Tea Time Party Guethts!” As the Duke of Threes approached her, almost seeming to fly, the dolls all grew, each one becoming a perfect copy of Kristine. The Duke, presented with four targets, was at an immediate disadvantage. He made a bad choice, and when his sword struck there was a ‘poofing’ sound, and the doll returned to its previous size. Coming up behind him Kristine brought the war mace down on his back. The Duke was quick, managed to shift, so the weapon caught him a glancing blow. However, a glancing blow with the mace sent him crashing to the ground, a significant dent in his armour. Kristine snatched up the fallen doll. “Fweeze Tag Rules,” she chanted and kissed the toy. Another ‘poof’ and the doll was once more a perfect copy of Kristine. The four of them moved about, around the Duke as he got to his feet. He settled into a defensive stance, his sword stabbing out as each of the attackers if they came close, but at the same time keeping his defence in place. It was only after several passed when Kristine saw another opening. She got another hit on the Duke, her mace partial crushing one his pauldrons, likely hurting his shoulder. But he took out one of her dolls and managed to counter, leaving deep cut along the right side of her face. Before Kristine could enact freeze tag rules again, the Duke grabbed the fallen doll and jammed it into his belt where Kristine would have trouble getting to it. With only two decoys the next set of blows proved more difficult, and Kristine and the Duke each managed the wound each other, giving as good as they got. To Kristine’s benefit, she managed to drive the Duke’s sword down and out of guard long enough to snatch her doll away from him and give it a kiss. Four matching girls stood around the duke, each bloodied and breathing heavily, with diaper drooping low below the hems of skirts. This time Kristine combined invisibility and teleportation, using her three dolls as a distraction. She lost all three of them in a matter of seconds but hit the Duke of Threes hard enough to send his sword spinning out of his hands and then a solid blow against his head. A testament to the Duke’s durability that the strike did not kill him. It knocked him to the rooftop they were fighting on, near the edge. Kristine approached him, war mace lifted above her head, not quite sure what she was going to do. Then she heard a scream. A voice she recognised. Darkness and distance did not matter to her sight. On the roof of a building, perhaps a block away and twenty meters down Tahc held Olivia, holding her dangling over the drop. Then she pushed Olivia off, and Olivia fell and screamed. Kristine did not think. She teleported across the distance, grabbed hold of Olivia. Something hit her, lines of pain across her face and her right eye was full of blood. More blows fell across her as she tried to curl her small body around Olivia as they fell. Tahc had leapt from the roof just after Olivia. Had plummeted along with her, waiting for Kristine to appear. It was insane and brilliant, and her sharp claws left painful wound behind that stole Kristine’s ability to concentrate. Just before they hit she turned to take the force of the fall and managed a quick spell, ‘Bounthy Mattreth Fun Time’. Olivia took some bruises, and Kristine broke some bones, but it could have been worse. Pushing Olivia away Kirstine stumbled to her feet, her war mace suddenly in her hand. When Tahc, who had of course landed safely on her feet, came at her, Kristine hit her, as hard as she could. The woman had hurt Olivia. That was not right. Tahc was folded around the war mace before she was flung off to go crashing into a wall, leaving cracks in the surface as she slid bonelessly down. A war cry echoed through the area, volume enough to break windows. Kristine looked up to see the Duke of Threes descending towards her, white and gold fire all around him. He fell towards her like a comet. She stood on shaky legs, watching. “Mr Bear,” she called out. The Duke flashed down, white and gold fire intercepted by fur that shone like the blonde hair of a fairy tale princess. Mr Bear, thick arms held in front of him, took the full force of the blow, shielding Kristine and Olivia. The power of the attack rolled around them like a bomb had gone off. But Mr Bear stood there, only sliding back a few steps. “You put refined True Gold into a toy golem?” The Duke of Threes said incredulously. “I put motht of the refined True Gold into Mr Bear.” Brown fur gone blonde, and once black eyes shining like gold coins, Mr Bear still looked like a wonderfully soft toy. He did not act like it, and with a sweep of a paw sent the Duke of Threes stumbling away. “This won’t be enough,” the Duke told her, a golden sword in his hand. “Todayth the Day the Teddy Bearth Have Their Picnic!” Mr Bear was enhanced by refined True Gold, so the copies of him were improved as well. Where before they were uncertain copies, now each one was clearer, more dangerous because of it. The bears surrounded them as Mr Bear continued to stand in front of Kristine. The spell had taken a lot out of her, and Kristine had never felt more like a little girl in a wet diaper, desperately wanting to cry. She wanted someone to change her, and pat her on the head, and tell her it would be okay. She wanted that so badly. Somehow she did not show it. Somehow she stood there, still holding her war mace, looking like she was ready to get back to the fight, supported by the Teddy Bears Picnic. The Duke of Threes must have believed it. He did not tell her he would be back, did not threaten her, he just disappeared, returned to the Magic Realm. The war mace fell from her hand, and she fell backwards. Somehow Mr Bear was there to catch her. She nuzzled against golden fur that smelt like summer and sunshine and passed out. Wounds healed, for some who had the benefit of magic they healed very fast. The memories were a little more difficult for some. Many had been hurt in the strange magical attack on the city. In the days that followed a strange Magical Girl was seen, providing healing for the injured and magically repairing the damage to property. There were questions addressed to the Magical Realm. No answers came, beyond that, such a thing would likely not happen again. Olivia was one of those whose physical wounds were dealt with quickly and who lived with troublesome memories for some time after. Moving into the house with Kristine helped a lot. She still did not trust cats. Weeks later Kristine woke in her bed, Olivia gently rubbing the back of her diaper. “Get up sleepy head,” she said. They shared a bed, chastely, except for things like the diaper rubbing which really did it for Kristine, though she did not tell Olivia that. “I’m up,” Kristine mumbled, face in the pillow. Olivia gave her a light slap on the thigh below her diaper and then got out of the bed. “Get Mr Bear to change you,” she said. Olivia might change a wet diaper, but never a dirty one. As her, well, more than a roommate, not quite a lover, went to shower, Kristine called to Mr Bear to change her. The room did not have an actual changing table, and Mr Bear lay out a pad on the floor to change her. Kristine had been strongly tempted to get a changing table, to magic one up or alter something medical, but she had wisely let Olivia make all the furnishing decisions. Not too long after the two were sitting in the kitchen, having breakfast. Mr Bear, among all his other skills, was an excellent cook. And he had not ever once tried to serve ‘baby food’. Kristine, wearing a fresh diaper and a sweatshirt that did not hide it, sat on a booster, tucking into the Eggs Benedict and hash-browns. Olivia, in the skirt of a dark blue suit and a white blouse, was reading through some notes as she ate across from Kristine. “What are you up to today?” Kristine asked. “Depositions on the Hardy class action case.” Kristine forked some hash-browns into her mouth, chewed and swallowed. “That’th the tenants thuing for that building I kind of wrecked?” “You didn’t wreck it, that as all on that crazy Duke.” “I don’t get it. The Magic Realm compenthated everyone, paid for all the damage. Apologised, kind of, even.” “The tenants argue that Hardy Construction cut corners that should have not been cut when a magical threat was predictable.” “Really?” Kristine asked. Olivia took a drink of her orange juice. “Really.” “If the building code changeth that is going to be a nightmare.” “Tell me about it. I am thinking of changing my speciality. There is going to be a lot of money on the table around construction and building updates.” “You’ll be able to keep me in the thtyle I have become accustomed to,” Kristine said with a wink as she stuffed a too big piece of her meal into her mouth. Olivia smiled. “You keep yourself in the style you are accustomed too quite readily.” She looked at her watch and then began to gather up her papers. “I got to run.” Kristine chewed fast, swallowed, almost choked, and got out, “When are you gonna be back?” “Late. Everyone is meeting tonight for drinks and debauchery.” Olivia shoved the papers into a folder and then the folder into her briefcase. “You should come.” “What?” “You got that freaky ID. We’ll sit at the bar knocking back tequilas and freaking out the norms. It will be adorable.” “No thanks. And I’d have to meth with the memories of everyone there or your career would be in danger.” “So?” “Not going to do that to my friendth.” Olivia stood, smiled wickedly. “You think they are your friends? That’s cute. You should hear what they said about you when you disappeared.” Kristine wanted to deny it, but she supposed there was some truth to it. Everyone articling was more or less competition. “Well thtill, I don’t want to do it.” “Fine, spoilsport.” Olivia winked and grabbed her suit jacket on the way out of the kitchen. “See you later Kristine,” she called. “Bye-bye,” Kristine said. She heard the sound of Olivia leaving, the front door opening and closing. Kristine finished her breakfast, then rinsed the dishes (she had a step stool to better reach the sink) and put them in the dishwasher. Not long after she was leaving the house herself, dressed in a cute skirt and blouse, a pair of thick training panties hidden under the pleated, black material. A black cat at the end of the driveway made her pause, but it was just the neighbour’s Bombay. She knew that Tac was gone, apparently abusing her expense account on booze and floozies, according to Gorgeous. But she could never trust a black cat was just a black cat now. A taxi was waiting for her, taking her into the downtown core. Her mornings were often spent into window-shopping, and actual shopping, time at the library, and usually a simple lunch in some nice, but never fancy, restaurant. At least once she would need to change her training panties. Kristine would spend her afternoons in her Magical Girl guise. She helped where she could, kept a low profile. Being a Nursery Knight was still an embarrassment and having to talk to people, in her apparent diapers, always left her deeply flushed. Sometimes during those afternoon patrols, she would meet another Magical Girl. She had met several other Magical Girls since the Duke of Three’s attack. They had come to investigate, their own territories close enough that what happened in the city interested them. Almost every one of them was a jerk. Too pretty teens (at least they looked like teens) who looked down their noses at her and commented that Magical Girls who wore diapers could not be expected to do anything useful. Fortunately, she did not see them much. The one exception was one of the Army Girls: Magical Girl Air Power. She had recognised Kristine’s power and was always respectful. That afternoon Kristine found her near the park, up on the roof of an office tower. “Hello Pauline,” Kristine called, using Air Power’s real name. Pauline was tall, with long legs, and a short skirt to show them off. Her hair was, not surprisingly, jet black, and her uniform was themed like a fighter plane. “Afternoon Kristine. How are you?” “I’m okay. You?” “Yeah, I’m okay.” Kristine stepped up beside her, looking down at the park. It all seemed pretty quiet. “The Duke of Thwees is not coming back.” “You can’t be sure,” Pauline said. Apparently, the city was in the geographic region that Magical Girl Air Power was responsible for. That the Duke of Threes had caused so much trouble there and she had not been there to stop it was something Pauline took personally. “Gorgeous told me that he’th been threatened with exile if he tries again.” Pauline nodded. “Still, he did it once.” It was a conversation they had had before. Kristine changed the subject, telling Pauline about the Magical Realm. She had learned that not many Magical Girls ever travelled to the Magical Realm. Pauline enjoyed hearing about it, and Kristine had seen so many things. “Do you want to go back?” Pauline asked. They sat on the edge of the roof, unnoticed, legs dangling down. Kristine’s diaper had become warm and damp around her bottom. “Go back? I don’t know. Maybe? I mean, I’m in a relationthhip.” “With that mortal woman?” Kristine nodded. “Those relationships never work out.” “What?” Pauline shrugged her shoulders in a pretty manner. “It’s just how it is, magic and mortal, we’re too different. It’s why most Magical Girls end up hooking up with each other.” “Well, maybe Olivia and I will be different.” But they were different, Kristine could not deny that. “I hope you will be.” She smiled. “I’d like to go to the Magical Realm.” “Why don’t you?” “I get the feeling that I would not be welcomed if I was not invited.” “Has anyone ever thaid that?” Kristine asked her, curious. Pauline shook her head. “No, like I said, it is just a feeling.” She stood up. “Thanks for the talk Kristine.” “Thure,” Kristine said, looking up at her. Pauline smiled down. “Call me if you think the Duke of Threes is active here.” Then she stepped off the side of the building and instead of falling flew upwards, fast. She reached subsonic speeds in seconds, and was high above the city before she broke the sound barrier. People on the street were looking up, perhaps wondering if they heard thunder. Kristine stood and teleported away. In the Magical Realm, in the Duchy of the Duke of Threes, an agent of the Eleven inspected the Nursery Garden, to make sure the Nursery Knights were not doing anything they should not. One of Gorgeous’s Liaisons was there as well, to make sure the Magical Girls were being taken care of. The Duke of Threes was unfailingly polite and a proper host. He let nothing of his anger show. And when they were gone, he looked at the Garden and asked himself, not for the first time, how Magical Girls became more powerful. Kristine had spoken of that but had not told him how it happened, just that it was the nature of Chaos Magic. There were details of Magical Girls that were kept secret, and Chaos Magic in itself refused to be properly understood. Tahc might know. But he did not know if she would tell him or could tell him. He would not be surprised if the Liaisons were sworn to secrecy, enforced by a Death Geas. He would ask. The Duke of Threes had been plagued by those thoughts since his retreat from the Mundane Realm. Kristine’s power, the stolen True Gold, and what he could do about it. The girls were watching him, standing near Colleen. They knew things had changed, of course, they did. They just did not know why. And it was not as if he could tell them. Or perhaps he could tell them. At least something that could be made to benefit him. He walked towards them, smiling, and then dropped to one knee in front of Annie, the leader who had no reason to lead. He looked at all of them and then said, “Girls, I wanted to protect you from anything, but I cannot, not as much as I hoped, though you need not worry. You are in no danger for the moment.” The girls looked at him, concerned. “Why?” Annie asked. He reached out and gently brushed her cheek. “It is because of Kristine. She left here, cause she was angry that you were happy, and she took what you worked so hard for.” He had not spoken of Kristine to them, and as far as he knew Colleen had just told them she had left. “Kristine did that?” Betty asked, her small fists tightening. “She did.” “But Kristine, well, maybe she was not happy, but she was not like that,” Fiona said. Vicky nodded. Not a surprise that the Nursery Knight’s thinker and the one best at reading people would question him. But they were innocent children in most ways. “Kristine was not like the rest of you. She did not help you fight the Nightmare King after all.” “But she said her Liaison was late,” Fiona said. “Drunk,” Mandy added. “Do you really believe that?” The girls all looked uncertain. “I am afraid Kristine will try to cause more harm here. I don’t know where she is, or what is doing. And some people are trying to keep me from finding that out. I am worried she might try to hurt you, to hurt Colleen, to hurt me.” Betty stepped forward, soft jaw set in a manner that was both adorable and determined. “We won’t let her. We’ll fight her.” With the words out the other Nursery Knights nodded. Annie said, “Can Colleen train us to be better fighters? So we can be ready for her.” The Duke of Threes smiled. “Of course she can.” Now, all he had to do was find out how Magical Girls became more powerful. There were possibilities here. He just needed to work them out, and how he would benefit from them.

The True Gold all went into her diaper bag. Kristine did not know why she was surprised, but she was. Still, once she had all the True Gold packed away, she dismissed her bag to where-ever it went, and then she and Tac teleported away. A few jumps put her home. Not that the small apartment felt like home anymore. She was not sure if any place would feel like home, not after all she had experienced. Tac jumped off of Kristine’s shoulder. Kristine dismissed her magical self, her Magic Girl uniform fading away, replaced by the clothing she had been wearing long ago. “So,” Tac said, “what are you going to do with all the True Gold?” Kristine said, “I’m thtill thinking about it.” She walked to the bathroom where she stripped off her clothing and diaper and then got into the shower, just standing under the spray until her finger and toes began to wrinkle. After drying off, she pulled out some new clothing, tags still on it, and summoned her diaper bag for a fresh training panty. The skirt's waistband felt a little loose, though she was sure everything had fit well when she had bought it. “Did I get smaller? Younger?” she asked Tac after several seconds of tugging at the waistband, wondering if it was just her imagination. “You became more so what you have become, closer to the Platonic Ideal of a Nursery Knight. So yes, you are smaller, and you look a little younger. You're also stronger too, so that's to the good.” Kristine gave the skirt a quick tug, decided it would stay up, thanks in part to the extra bulk her training panties seemed to have. “Thtronger. How? Why? I don't get it.” “It’s all complicated." "Well, explain, and don't you dare thay you'll use simple words." "I don't need simple words. It's complicated, but the explanation is simple enough. First of all, you were the only Magical Girl of a team in the Mundane Realm. Which meant you had to be as strong as the entire team together. There also needed to be the ability for you to be stronger. And then you touched the primal chaos that all magic comes from, which of course filled you with power and supercharged you. You ate all your vegetables. The point is you are now a lot stronger than before.” Kristine sat down on the couch, feeling stunned for a moment. She unzipped the pouch on the side of her diaper bag and removed the various correspondence and contacts she found within. Details of the house she owned, move-in dates, insurance, everything was taken care of. Focusing on that was easier and let her mind turn over what Tac had told her. She tossed the pages to the side and leaned back on the couch. “What does it mean when a Magical Girl gets stronger?” “More powers, stronger powers, usually a few new magical doodahs.” “Tho I can take out a War Titan and fight a Duke on equal footing.” “Yeah,” Tac told her. “I’d still put money on the Duke if he was serious though. Maybe not a lot, but still money.” “What happenth if I were to dump the True Gold where the Eleven might find it? Will the problem go away.” Tac, perched on the back of the sofa, shook her feline head. “Naive.” Kristine sighed as she reached for her laptop, dismissing her diaper bag as she did so. As the laptop booted up, she asked. “Why ithn’t it a good idea?” “Well, if you want to get all those other Nursery Knights killed it’s a good idea.” Kristine logged in an asked, “Why would that get them killed?” “What do you think the Eleven are going to do if they find a bunch of unaccounted for True Gold?” Kristine sighed. “Try to find out who created it.” “What a smart baby you are.” “Thut up,” Kristine said with no real heat as she opened her mail program. There was the usual junk mail and some emails from some old friends. She hovered her cursor over to them, realised most them had no idea what had happened to her. That amazed her until she really thought of it. As a life-changing event as it had been for her, for the rest of the world, it hardly mattered. There were some emails from Olivia. That surprised her. After their last meeting, she would not have expected to hear back from her. Ever. She climbed across her couch, searched about, found her phone. Some texts, about what she would expect, and there were several from Olivia. She checked the texts and the emails. Some apologies for the way she had acted, a suggestion that they talk. A few more, the later ones suggesting that Olivia was hurt by her silence. “Fuck,” Kristine said as she replied to one of the emails. “What’s up?” Tac asked. Kristine was not of the mind to answer, but then said, “I got thome messages from Olivia.” “That girl from work who ran out on you?” And the girl that Tac had tried to seduce; Perhaps successfully. “Yes. She must have figured I ghothted her.” Kristine wrote a message, kept it pretty simple. Apologised for her silence, said she had been ‘way out of town’ and then asked if it was okay for Olivia to be in touch with her due to the case. She finished off with that she would like to talk, assuming that it was okay, then sent the mail off. Kristine was not sure if she would get a reply, and she was not sure if she wanted one. She feared that both of them would just get hurt if they had any contact. “What you should do,” Tac said, “is give all the True Gold back to the Duke of Threes. He’s your only option, and you can get concessions out of him.” Kristine looked over at Tac. Realised she had been talking about the True Gold’s disposition for about a minute. She was about to ask Tac to explain what she had been saying but decided it was not worth finding out. “I am not giving anything to the Duke of Thwees.” “You see,” Tac said, “that is wrong thinking. Cause when the Duke learns you have his stuff he is going to come and take it away from you. And he will find out cause you left that Lotts guy alive.” “I’ll deal with it when it happenth.” “By dying?” Kristine did not answer. She gave her training panties a discrete squeeze to see if they were still dry. Tac jumped down from the couch. “You don’t have much time to figure out what to do with it. The longer you wait, the worse it is going to be for you.” “I know,” Kristine said. After a night’s sleep and a soaked diaper, Kristine went to visit her new house. The current occupants were not to be moved out for a few more weeks, but Kristine could see that they were already packing things up. She made the current occupants leave with an exclusion field and just walked around the house. Thinking about the simple task of how she would decorate the home kept her mind from more complicated thoughts, like what she was going to do about the Duke of Threes. In the master bedroom, she stood in front of the window, looking down at the large yard. A swing set would look nice down there, with a slide. She turned and looked at the room, wondering again where she would get a crib the right size. She stopped, frozen slightly. Swing set? Crib? What the hell was she thinking? Had her mind been corrupted by the magic or her time in the Nursery Garden? No. She would not have it. Kristine looked at the room. She would get a large, king size bed, with an impressive canopy, and solid railings… Kristine cried softly in anger. To hell with it, she’d get someone to decorate the place for her. Dismissing the exclusion field, Kristine teleported away. She ended up on the roof of a tall building, sitting on the edge, feet dangling over the side. What was she going to do with her life? During the time in the Magical Realm, she had never thought about that. Had stopped thinking about it. Maybe there was some kind of job there? Would Gorgeous have a use for her? Her phone chimed. Producing it out of thin air she looked at the screen. A text from Olivia. ‘Hey. Got your message’ Kristine stared at the text for a few seconds and then, slowly, tapped in, ‘Good to hear from you’. ‘You were out of town?’ Answering without thinking about it too much she typed, ‘In the Magical Realm.’ It was something like a minute before the replay came back. ‘Seriously?’ ‘It’s complicated’ Kristine responded, smiling as she pictured the look on Olivia’s face. ‘I guess so’ the reply came back after several seconds. And then ‘Listen, I would like to talk’. Kristine took a moment to think about what to say and then texted, ‘Sure. When and Where?’ She bit gently at her lower lip and waited. Olivia’s reply came back, ‘Busy today. Maybe tomorrow night?’ Kristine was about to type her answer back, but she could see that Olivia was sending something. She waited and a moment later read, ‘Guess we can’t go to a bar’ For a moment Kristine wondered if Olivia was making fun of her in some manner. She decided that it was a fair enough question. ‘Might be easier to go somewhere else’ ‘Coffee shop? What about that one downtown, Beans…’ Kristine remembered Beans. In fact, she had been having coffee there before the monster had attacked her. Before she became a Magical Girl. Did Olivia know? She typed in, ‘Beans tomorrow night. Sounds good’ ‘See you there around 7?’ ‘Yeah. Around 7’ She stared at her phone for a minute, but Olivia texted nothing new. Turning on the ledge, her diaper a little squishy, she looked off in the distance, towards where she had used to work. To where Olivia worked still. It would be so easy to teleport there. Instead, she sat there just looking out over the city, until, sometime later, a sudden and desperate pressure sent her teleporting off to find a toilet. Barron Lotts chose to go the fastest way he could back to the lands of the Duke of Threes. Travelling so rapidly might attract attention, but he thought that the news he carried required he take such a chance. When he reached the Duchy Lotts thought he would need to arrange a meeting, but he had only arrived when a message came, a summons to meet the Duke near the Nursery Gardens. Had the Duke already found out about his failure? He trembled in fear, but he did not disregard the summons. It did not take long for him to arrive at the meeting place. He was hardly there for a minute or two before the Duke appeared, striding towards him. As he closed, Barron Lotts dropped to his knees, bowed his head low. “I apologise Your Grace.” The Duke was quiet for a moment before he asked, “And what are you apologising for?” His tone was cold, and yet also curious. The Duke had been unaware. Then why the urgent summons? No matter. Head still bowed he said, “The items that I was putting in the mundane,” he did not say what, for he knew that his Duke was trying to maintain deniability, “it was stolen, by that Magical Girl.” No need to say which. The Duke’s anger was like a palpable thing, and Lotts sucked in a breath as it hit him. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, waiting for the pain to fall on him. Would it be slow, or would the Duke of Threes end him quickly? But no blow fell, and the anger, while not fading, no longer was directed at him. “Tell me what happened.” He did. He told the Duke of the tracker, and its death, of the Magical Girl appearing in the twisted space, and how she had so easily defeated him and the other two. The Duke listened and said nothing until Lotts was finished. “I will punish your incompetence later,” the Duke said. The word ‘incompetence’ fell on Lotts like a physical blow. “For now I want you to gather agents who can operate in the Mundane.” “Your Grace?” For the first time, he looked up at the Duke. His gaze was hard, eyes dark. He looked as if he could destroy the land in his anger. But his rage was tightly controlled as he told Lotts, “I am going to the Mundane Realm to retrieve what was stolen.” Kristine sat on the couch, watching TV, surfing channels. Tac lay on the back of the sofa, making comments about the television content. Most of them were actually clever, but Kristine did not want to let Tac know she thought that. Kristine had been thinking about a lot of things, and there were many different questions that she wanted to ask Tac. She settled on, “When a Magical Girl gets more powerful, their outfit and weaponth can change, right?” Tac who had been ranting at the reality show on the television paused and looked at Kristine. “Yeah, so?” Kristine was thinking about things. “And when a Magic Girl firtht gets their power?” “What do you mean?” Kristine turned off the television. “How wath my mace created?” “Primal Chaos Magic, flared up when you accepted the contract and created a suitable weapon.” Suitable? Kristine wanted to give the Chaos Magic a piece of her mind. “And when a Magical Girl becomes more powerful? More Chaos Flare?” “Yeah, lesser, so the changes are more subtle, usually.” “But cauthe I went out into raw Chaos?” “Your changes were less subtle.” “Could a Magic Girl get a thword of True Gold?” Tac looked at her through narrowed eyes. “Maybe. Why are you asking?” “So it ith possible?” “You’re not thinking of using that True Gold are you?” “Could I explain its prethence by saying it appeared, when I became more powerful?” “You could try. If you were stupid.” Kristine nodded. “And what are you going to do? Cover everything you have in True Gold?” “No,” Kristine said. “Good, cause it is a bad idea.” “You thaid that True Gold could be refined easily?” “You’re an idiot, Even thinking that makes you an idiot.” “Eathy or not?” Kristine asked, refusing to rise to Tac's taunting. “Yes. Easy. Even for you.” Kristine nodded. “Then I know what I am going to do with the True Gold.” “You’re going to get us killed.” Kristine said nothing, then shook her head. “I don’t think so.” Kristine checked her training panties for the third time, making sure they still felt dry. She was well dressed, at least as well as a child could dress without looking like they were going to a party or acting as a flower girl at a wedding. She was wearing a white blouse with a black, pleated skirt. She was using a safety pin to take in the waistband of the skirt, which otherwise would have been a bit too loose. Kristine thought she looked okay. Her phone said it was almost 7. She had gotten a text from Olivia about an hour before saying she would be there. She was standing near Beans, a few doors down, in front of the store whose window she had been thrown through not so long ago. They had replaced the window. She hoped their insurance had covered it. Sometimes they would not if the damage was caused by magic. Another example of the complicated nature law took when magic was involved. Would Olivia really be all right in meeting with her? Just having known someone who became a Magical Girl could probably be an issue. Maintaining the relationship was almost sure to lead to a problem. But, if necessary, Kristine could do something about it. He had a feeling for the kind of magic that could keep any such meetings from being noticed. Though was that okay? There was a moral question there, using magic in such a way. Thoughts like that filled her mind. She did not see Olivia until she was crossing the street for the front door of Beans. Kristine walked quickly and intercepted her just on the sidewalk. Olivia looked at her, blinked, probably not recognising her at first. “Kristine,” she said. Kristine wanted to smile an idiot, Olivia saying her name, almost like the old days. She settled for a less crazed smile and nodded. “It is good to see you.” Olivia recovered from her confusion quickly. “Come on,” she said and opened the door to Beans for Kristine. Kristine entered, Olivia behind her. Olivia pointed out a table near the back. “Grab us the seat. I’ll get something drink. Still drinking black coffee or…” “Tea would be okay, house blend, whatever they have.” “Milk? Sugar?” “Just thome lemon,” Kristine told her. She took a seat at the table, her feet not touching the floor. The shop was not very busy, and it did not take long for Olivia to get their orders. As she sat, Olivia placed a large cup full of tea, a slice of lemon on the side, in front of Kristine. “I really want to apologise for that night. I came out of nowhere, and a dropped a lot of shit on you, and that was unfair of me.” Kristine did not answer immediately and covered the uncomfortable pause as she squeezed some lemon into her tea. “It was a weird time all around. I don’t think there is anything to apologise about.” Olivia snorted, tried to cover it by taking a drink of her coffee. “Thomething funny?” “Just that lisp. It’s kind of cute. Sorry.” Kristine sighed, took a drink of her tea and then said, “Not so cute on the other side.” Olivia sobered and nodded. “I suppose not.” Almost a minute passed at they each focused on their beverages. The bell over the door rang as several people came in, talking animatedly, laughing as they walked towards the counter. “I treated you badly, and I’m sorry,” Olivia said. Kristine nodded. “Thank you. It means a lot. I hope we can thtill be friends.” Olivia nodded, took a deep breath. “I am hoping we can be more than friends.” Kristine felt like she had when the War Titan had hit her. Dazed, not sure what had happened for a moment. “Pardon?” Olivia’s cheeks darkened. “It’s just that, well, you see,” she stopped, placed her hands in front of her, took a few deep breaths. “After I left that night, I met this woman. She was beautiful, seemed to know what I was going through.” “You don’t need to thay anything,” Kristine told her, though she wanted to ask if this woman had been dressed in a tuxedo, perhaps with a pair of cat ears. Olivia continued as if Kristine had said nothing. “I ended up sleeping with her, not that we slept.” Olivia gave her that old, mischievous smile. Kristine wanted to tell her to shut up. “It was incredible.” “I really don’t need to know,” Kristine said, hoping that Olivia would listen. Not that she recalled Olivia really listening, “I’ve never experienced anything like that before. The things that that woman did with her tongue, I thought I would not be able to walk normally for a few days after.” “Just thut up,” Kristine said, her mind full of images of Tak and Olivia having sex. She had spoken louder than she had meant to. Several people were looking their way. She was sure she heard someone say, “No smoking, isn’t time they started making places no children.” Kristine blushed and sunk down in her chair, feeling a slight squish in her training panties. Part of her wanted to get up and find out who had spoken, punch them in the mouth. Olivia looked around, smiled, looked to Kristine and said, “Someone is a brat.” “Really,” Kristine said, keep her voice low and even, “just thut up.” “It was terrific sex.” “Fine,” Kristine told her. “I’m happy for you.” Olivia shook her head. “It was great… but also disappointing.” “Dithappointing?” Now that surprised Kristine. From everything she had seen (and she had seen too much) Tac’s partners were anything but disappointed. Olivia reached across the table and put her hand on top of Kristine’s. “Just holding your hand means more. That’s what I figured out. As good as the sex was, it did not mean anything. This, right now, this means something.” “But, but, when you kithed me…” “I’m not talking about kissing you. Just being with you.” A few people sat down close by. Olivia sat back, taking her hand off of Kristine’s. “Let’s go to that steak place you like,” Kristine said. “It’s more private.” She thought private would be better. “It’s more expensive,” Olivia told her. "Way more expensive." “I’ll pay.” Olivia looked at her. “You’ll pay?” “Being a Magical Girl comes with a very generouth benefits package,” Kristine explained. The atmosphere was dead, and it stunk. It was not the sort of air a being like him cared for. The Duke of Threes stood near an airport as huge planes took off almost over his head. Why would anyone even come here, he wondered. “Your Grace, I have brought her,” Lotts said. The Duke of Threes turned, looked towards Lotts and Tahc who had been escorted there by Lotts. Tahc was apparently surprised to see him. “Your Grace, you cannot be here,” she said. She sounded panicked. Lotts frowned. “Who are you to tell me where I can be?” She slunk back, dropped her gaze. “I am sorry Your Grace, but someone of your power in the Mundane Realm, it will be noticed. There might already be Liaisons on the way to activate Magical Girls to fight you.” The Duke of Threes supposed that might be true, but he shook his head. “I will not be here long enough for it to matter even if that were to happen. I need to know what you have found out about the Magical Girl Kristine.” She lifted her head, started openly at him. “Your report,” he said, his voice snapping. “She has an apartment and a home that was recently purchased. She could be at either or neither. Her movement is uncertain because she is a teleporter. She is distant from her family and was recently let go from her job.” “You are telling me very little of use,” he snapped. “I am still investigating Your Grace.” “Do you have any useful information at all?” Tahc stepped back as if struck. “I am afraid that is all I can tell you at the moment.” “Very well. We shall do this messily. Barron Lotts, release the tracking beasts, and tell your forces to move out.” “Forces?” Tahc asked nervously. “We will chase this Magical Girl to the ground and then capture her. As you said, she is a combat teleporter. Our best option is to overwhelm her.” “What did she do?” It was an impertinent question, but the Duke supposed he could understand why it was asked and forgive Tahc for asking. “She has offended me. And for that, there will be no forgiveness.” Tahc nodded. “Of course Your Grace.” Blacks Fine Dining had been an institution in the city for more than a hundred years ago. There had been a time when a woman and child would have been turned away at the door for it had once only allowed gentlemen to dine there. And not that long ago their casual dress would have ensured they would not be seated. Even now the maitre’d had given them a disapproving look and seated them near the back of the restaurant, out of sight. That suited Kristine who wanted a more private conversation. They had not really spoken in the cab over, then their conversation was innocuous until the waiter had taken their orders and left them with the drinks. “So, being with me?” Kristine asked. “What does that mean exactly?” Olivia looked at her, reached across the table and took Kristine’s hand as she had in the coffee shop. “It means we are together, like this. It means innocent touches that make our hearts race.” Kristine supposed her heart was racing. “And what if I want more than an innothent touch?” Kristine did not know why she asked it, but she had. And she wanted to know. Perhaps she was thinking about the Nursery Knights and their toys, and the games they played with each other. Olivia did not let go of her hand, in fact, she gripped it a little tighter and said, “That might be something I can never give you. But, we can be,” Olivia paused, “lovers, of a kind.” “Of a kind?” “Give me a break,” she said with a smile, “this is all new to me. All I know is I want you in my life. And as more than just friends.” Kristine stared at her and thought about having Olivia in her life. A flurry of thoughts filled her head about how complicated it might be. And she was worried about Olivia. “You’re a lawyer, well, you’ll be one. You can’t be athothiated with a Magical Girl. It will taint your cases.” “Bullshit,” Olivia told her. “And even if it might, you could use magic to keep it all hidden, right?” Kristine was about to deny that, but a moment’s of thought told her she could do what Olivia was asking. She said as much. “See.” “It feels immoral. A breach of professional conduct.” “It is not like you’ll be helping me win cases.” It was a good point. The optics of it might be bad, but there was nothing actually wrong with it. They heard the waiter approach, but Olivia did not release her hand. Kristine might have pulled away, but she saw a challenge in Olivia’s eyes. What the hell, she had an ID that would clear up any questions if the waiter called the cops. He looked at them, perhaps trying to figure out what they were up to, then, seemed to decide it was either harmless or not his problem. Kristine supposed her and Olivia holding hand was innocent enough. Still, maybe the waiter should have shown a little more concern. It made her wonder if such scenes were not unknown of in Blacks Fine Dining. He placed their appetisers down in front of them; Olivia a salad and Kristine soup. With their food there Olivia released Kristine’s hand and picked up her cutlery. Kristine picked up her silverware as well. She was reminded of the clumsy forks and spoons she had used in Nursery Garden. These fit comfortably in her hands, and she ate her soup without spilling a drop. She placed her spoon down and said, “I wet the bed… well, I wet my diaperth that I wear when I am in bed.” She supposed she was trying to shock Olivia, maybe scare her away. Olivia put her salad fork down. “I suppose that is because of the Magical Girl thing?” Kristine nodded. “Why?” The full story would take too long, so she simplified it. “Whoever thought up the Nurthery Knights thought it would be cute if they were in diapers.” “And if they were in them they should use them?” Kristine nodded. “Kinky,” Olivia said as she picked up her fork and started on her salad again. Kristine did not say anything for a few seconds. “Kinky?” she finally asked. Olivia nodded, continuing to work on her salad. She paused and said, “I mean when you look at any Magical Girl they all seem as if they are representing someone’s fetish.” “I never really thought of it like that.” “Really? You never wondered why so many of them had short skirts?” “Eathe of movement?” Olivia made a rude noise of derision, smiling. “Okay, I’ll give you that. Not sure if this was because of a fetish.” It would be difficult to explain the details behind the Duke of Threes' need for easily influenced and immature Magical Girls. And it would require her to tell Olivia things that maybe it would be best she did not know. And maybe the diapers had been someone else’s idea who really did have some kind of fetish for it. She took another mouthful of her soup. “I don’t really care if you are wearing diapers,” Olivia told her. “I get why you care, but it does not matter to me. Probably.” “Probably?” “It’s strange. It is all strange. But honestly, I don’t want to let that it is strange to get in my way, get in our way.” Kristine looked across the table at Olivia. Weird. That summed it up. But if Olivia could be part of her life, then she was able to see a future to it. “You’re right. And if we can figure out a way to make thith work, that would be great.” Olivia smiled. They ordered their meals. Kristine excused herself to go and change her training panties. They talked about what to do next. How the two of them might make this thing work. They would have to go slow. “You got a house?” Olivia asked when they talked about where they might live at some future time. Kristine nodded. “Like I said, there is a great benefith package.” “Where ith it?” Olivia asked. Kristine was about to answer when she heard a crashing sound and some angry outbursts that switched to scream of fear. They were in an otherwise empty corner of the restaurant, and to see what was going on in the main room they had to leave their seats and take a few steps towards the door. “What the hell are those?” Olivia asked. Kristine knew. Well, she knew that two of them were red caps, and one had the long, lean look of the Duke of Threes, but was not him. And the creature with them, some weird amalgam of dog and bug, Kristine had never seen before. But somehow she knew it was a tracker. The Duke of Threes reacted faster than she had thought. Kristine transformed into her Magical Girl self, with her short baby dress, and thick diaper peeking out under the hem, her pacifier hanging from the front by a ribbon. “Wow, that is kinky,” Olivia said to Kristine. Kristine grabbed her hand. “They are here for me, so we thould leave.” She teleported away with Olivia in tow.

They were about 4 and 5. I figure they grew slowly after that, and sort of stopped around 8 or 9 physically. Mentally emotionally it is a bit of a mixed bag. Mature in some respects, not in others. The Duke took advantage of naivety and immaturity, his own personality and their innocence to make sure they would do as he wished.

A thinking angry person the Duke of Threes is. You don't attack useful people cause you are pissed off at unrelated people. As an antagonist he does not need to be 'cartoon evil' in order for one to dislike him. Or so I think.

While a ruler’s strength was critical to any domain within the Magic Realm, there were other supports on which a territory depended. Soft power and hard power. The Duke of Threes cultivated both and made it a point to know the status of all the departments, diplomats, spies and soldiers in his land. Amidst his busy schedule three days after Kristine had left, he was a touring the elite air cavalry unit that defended his mountain borders. The tour had been scheduled for the previous day, but Kristine’s actions had forced cancellations and shuffling of appointments. He walked along the orderly lines of wyverns and their riders. The wyverns had scales in various shades of blue, clean and bright. The riders, most of them tall and slim, like the Duke himself, and were dressed in blue-grey armour, that matched the colour of their mounts in the right light. As the Duke of Threes walked their lines, he wondered could Kristine defeat such a force. His thoughts about the Magical Girl these days had been about her strength. The soldiers looked strong. He was confident were any of his neighbours to try to cross his borders the Brigade of elite air cavalry sound stop them, or at least slow them long enough for his mountain rangers to move on the scene. As he walked along the next line of wyverns and their riders a messenger approached. He dropped to his knees in front of the Duke and the Brigade’s Master Rider. “My apologies Your Grace.” “Speak,” the Duke ordered. “An envoy from the Eleven awaits your pleasure and convenience at the castle.” A cold feeling ran through his gut. However, his expression did not change, as if this news meant nothing to him. ‘Awaits your pleasure and convenience’. As if he might put off an envoy from the Eleven until it was convenient. It was a laughable fiction that only a fool might believe. “Master Rider, I am needed at the castle and therefore must cut short my inspection.” “Of course Your Grace.” The Master Rider was female, with sharp, symmetrical features and almond-shaped eyes. She smiled professionally. “You did us an honour with your presence.” The Duke nodded, and then, knowing the value of maintaining morale, he told her, “Provide me with your fastest riders to see me back to my castle and provide a suitable honour guard.” “It will be my pleasure, Your Grace.” It was a matter of only a few commands, and the air cavalry moved quickly and skillfully. Soon a group of ten riders and their mounts were lined up along the mountain ridge. The Duke of Threes climbed upon the Master Rider’s very own wyvern. The Master Rider spoke a few words to the beast, then stepped away. “Fly fast,” the Master Rider called. The wyverns rose nearly as one, wings pumping them into the air, and then they leaned forward and flew down the rocky mountain slope, picking up terrific speed. They were fast. It did not take long to reach his castle and the wyverns circled in towards the flat roof. As they approached the Duke saw people moving out onto the roof. Likely the Envoy come to meet him. A great honour one might think. The Duke was not so confident. He leapt from the back of the wyvern as it touched down. “Your speed was truly amazing. Please give the Master Rider my compliments,” he called up to the captain who had commanded the flight. “Yes, Your Grace,” the Captain called out. The Duke took a moment to check his clothing. He was outfitted in dress armour, gold and white, a fur-lined cloak hanging from his shoulders. It was suitable for meeting with an Envoy of the Eleven. So he walked forward, bold and confident, wondering why the Eleven would send an Envoy. Could it have something to do with Kristine? When he saw Gorgeous standing among the Envoy’s entourage, he knew it must be related to the escaped Magical Girl, but he could not understand what. He bowed politely to the Envoy. “You do me a great honour in visiting me,” he said. The Envoy was a stick thin man, with features that perhaps had once been fine, but now looked hollow and haggard. As he moved and spoke, it seemed as if he was beset by nervous ticks, for his movement and speech were full of strange shifts. In truth, the man was less an Envoy and more a vessel for the Eleven. Where an envoy went, the Eleven might see and speak. And each of the Eleven tried to assert dominance in the use of the Envoy, the strange ticks the result of those shifts in dominance. For a moment the Envoy’s smile was that of the Fourth, and then a change to that of the Sixth. A narrowing of the eyes that seemed that of the Seventh. “You do us an honour with your loyal and steadfast service Duke of Threes,” the Envoy told him. Had the Envoy stressed the word ‘loyal’? “I live to serve,” the Duke of Threes said. “Yes,” the Envoy said, and the expression was that of the One. Curse it all, why was the Envoy here? What were the Eleven interested in? He did not have long to wait to find out. “It has come to our attention that you have a group of Magical Girls in your lands.” The Duke of Threes had never made it a secret, though he had never made a point of publicising it. “I do.” The Envoy gave an aborted nod, his lips twitched strangely. His expression shifted as he said, “It has been made known to us that such girls might be able to create True Gold.” The Duke answered, after a moment, “I suppose such a thing is possible.” Another pause. “I would never tell them to do such a thing.” Close to the Envoy stood a truth seeker. He said nothing, though he would not speak unless a lie were told. The Duke of Threes would have to be very careful in what he said. “Be that as it may, we wish to see these Magical Girls,” the Envoy told him. “Of course. Give me a moment to arrange for transport.” While no one could have expected an Envoy to appear, the Duke of Three’s staff were not to be found wanting. His airship was brought up, and the air cavalry with their wyverns would serve as an excellent honour guard. Busying himself with arranging things meant he did not have to speak to the Envoy. It meant he could think. Why had Kristine left? He had assumed she had grown tired of the Nursery Garden, too mature for it. Refusing to accept it as her new life. What if there had been something else? He did not stare, but he watched Gorgeous. She seemed confident. Perhaps even pleased. What had she told the Eleven? He had suspicions. He would know soon enough he supposed. The airship took them to the Nursery Garden in short order. He had sent a messenger ahead to make sure the girls were ready. He led the way through the gates of the Nursery Garden. Colleen had the girls standing in a row. A small group of nannies were a few steps back, heads lowered in respect. The Envoy and his entourage entered. Gorgeous was looking closely at the girls. “They look well,” she said. “I don’t care for how they look, just what they might do,” the Envoy told her, then walked to stand in front of the Nursery Knights. The girls all curtseyed, sweetly, with diapered bottoms sticking out from the hems of two short dressed. In unison, they said, “Welcome Envoy of the Eleven.” It was well and skillfully done. He saw Colleen’s hand in that. The Envoy acknowledged their welcome. “We offer our thanks to the Magical Girls who keep the peace in the Mundane Realm, and we welcome you officially to our Magical one.” The girls seemed pleased at the welcome. Perhaps put off guard. He hoped they said nothing foolish. The Envoy looked at them and then asked, with the abruptness of the Ninth, “Have you created True Gold?” The Nursery Knights did not say anything. As a group, they seemed confused. Then Annie said, “I don’t know what True Gold is.” The Truth Seeker remained silent. The Duke was pleased with how much Colleen had hidden from the Nursery Knights. He was worried that the Envoy might explain what True Gold was, or provide a sample, but with a tick like twitch, the Envoy said, “No matter. It is your skill at magic that we wish to learn about. Please, put up a shield, as strong as you can.” Annie looked towards the Duke, but Colleen said, “Do as the Envoy asks.” So Annie created a shield. A Scintillating barrier of hexagonal light. “Thank you,” the Envoy said and then looked at Betty. “Can you explain the Law of Unequal Energy Return?” Betty sucked on her lower lip for a moment, then said, “A spell can be created with a magical reactor within it so that it produces more power than you put into it.” “Yes,” the Envoy said. There were more demonstrations requested, more questions asked. It went on for several minutes before the Envoy said. “Thank you. This has been most useful. The Magical Girls may go.” The Duke of Threes nodded at Colleen. “Come along girls,” Colleen said. The nannies moved forward to help Colleen with the girls. Once the Nursery Knights were gone the Envoy asked the Duke to show him around the Nursery Garden. The Duke did. He did not try to hide the magical circle, though he did not go to it immediately. When they arrived at the circle, the Envoy said, “A powerful spell focus for such a place.” “This was not always a garden given over to the care of the Magical Girls.” He did not say that the circle had always been there as that would have been a lie. The Envoy’s people examined the area, likely looking for traces of True Gold. They would not find any. Eventually, the day nearly over, the Envoy had seen all he wanted. “Thank you for your time Duke of Threes.” They stood outside the gates of the Nursery Garden. “It was my pleasure to serve,” the Duke answered. “In my opinion, these Magical Girls could create True Gold.” Keeping his expression calm the Duke nodded. “I understand.” “As a result, we shall now ensure they are monitored.” The Duke wanted to curse loudly, but he only nodded and said, “I understand.” Never again would the Nursery Knights create True Gold. He wanted to scream in anger, but he kept a calm facade. “Might I ask something?” Gorgeous, who had been quiet, spoke up. The Envoy looked at her and nodded. “Might I ask the Duke of Threes for permission to send Liaisons to check in on the Nursery Knights and their well being?” “That seems fair to ask,” The Envoy said before the Duke of Threes could say anything. “The Duke of Threes had been very kind in taking care of the Nursery Knights in such a manner. I have little doubt we will always find the Nursery Knights happy here.” “No doubt,” the Envoy answered. “Of course,” the Duke said. Maintaining the Nursery Garden was an expense, but one he had borne for the True Gold the Nursery Knights created. Now that they could not be allowed to create anymore it was a drain with no return. And he was going to have to maintain it, so the girls remained happy. He looked at Gorgeous. She had a deadpan expression. Damn the woman. He saw the Envoy and his entourage off, promising he would make the observers welcome. And when he was gone the Duke wanted to rail in anger. Colleen had approached. “I am sorry. What will you…” He turned and caught her around the throat. “There are no questions to ask here,” he told her in a low growl. Colleen’s eyebrows lifted. “As far as anyone knows how things will go here was how they always went. Therefore there is no need for any questions, is there?” She shook her head. He released her. “Good.” Leaving her, he walked towards the wyvern that awaited him. When he reached the beast, he pulled himself up on its back. He looked back at the Nursery Garden and then cursed softly. As the wyvern took the air, he promised vengeance to all that had stood in his way. He whispered curses under his breath. Perhaps he could not have the Nursery Knights make more True Gold, but he still had all that they had made. He would need to use it carefully, but he would use it. Those that had dared to stand against him would regret it before they died. Kristine did not know how much she had missed it until she stepped out the gate, back into the Mundane world. The constant magical forces that required her to remain a Magical Girl were gone. This was where she belonged, and she wanted to change back to her mundane form as soon as possible. Training pants were preferable to diapers. But she had work to do and was stuck being her Magical Girl self. Baron Lotts had come through the gate from the Magical Realm not long before. Now she just had to track him. “Nurthery Camera, Teddy Bear Eyes,” she chanted. There were places he might go where there were no toys, and if he did she would have to try something else, but for the moment between her plushy watchers and teleportation she was keeping up. He had met up with Mr Badger, and Mr Rat and the three of them together were moving quickly by magical means. “So,” Tac asked, “What are you going to do when you find out where they are stashing the gold.” “I think I am going to beat them up.” “Any reason?” “Lotts ith a degenerate jerk and the other two tried to kidnap me.” “Both good reasons I will admit.” They stood atop of a building, Kristine watching through the glass eyes of a plush kitten in the back of a parked car. Somewhere else, Lotts, Badger and Rat were patrolling an area, walking the streets of a city. Probably making sure they were not being followed or watched. “I think they are clothe to the hiding plathe,” Kristine said. “Yeah? Good. Hey Kristine, do you remember what I told you about trackers?” Kristine had her eyes closed. “I recall thome of what you said.” “Do you recall me saying that a lesser tracker would find you if you stayed in the Mundane Realm?” Kristine opened her eyes, exasperated. She had a ghostly after-image of what the toy kitten saw. “What point are you trying to make?” “Incoming at seven o'clock low.” Tac lifted her paw to point. “What?” Kristine looked in the direction that Tac indicated. Something was bounding up the side of the building, glass cracking like spiderwebs where its feet hit. It looked feline, but all wrong, as if there were far too many vertebrae in its spine, and if all its four limbs bent in too many ways. They were separated by hundreds of feet, but Kristine was sure that the tracker’s gaze met hers. “What do I do?” Kristine said, taking a few steps back. “Well,” Tac said, jumping off of Kristine’s shoulder, “if I were you I would kill it, just in case it is one of those trackers that wants to kill you, eat you or fuck you?” Kristine blinked. “Fuck?” “Trackers can be pretty primal in their desires. Heads up.” Kristine turned and lashed out with her mace just in time to stop the tracker from landing atop her. But it twisted away from the strike, its body moving in a manner that made Kristine feel vaguely nauseous. It landed on the edge of the roof, perched perfectly. Its growl was low and subsonic and made Kristine’s teeth hurt. Spinning her mace around Kristine readied herself for its next attack. “I’m gonna fuck you up,” she told it. Even in the Mundane Realm, there were places where space twisted and folded. Perhaps by magic, or perhaps by the strange laws of physics that governed the world. Places where one might find a shortcut sometimes. Places where people disappeared. It was in such locations that things could be hidden and it was unlikely that they would ever be discovered. Barron Lotts walked the periphery of such a place, in the middle of one of the great Mundane cities. Great as the people of this realm considered such things. Near the ripple in reality, where one might slip into the twisted space, he found Mr Rat waiting. “See anything.” “Nothing that would be of interest. It is like it always is, you see.” “And Mr Badger?” “Seems to be lagging behind, though slow and steady do eventually net results.” Mr Rat used his pointed chin to gesture. Lotts looked in the direction indicated. Mr Badger was approaching them, several blocks away. Lotts watched, impatiently, as Mr Badger ambled towards them. When he got closer, the big man said, “It is clear, nothing to worry about. However, I received some news that delayed me.” “News?” “It seems the tracker we brought here has found its prey.” Lotts did not say anything as he considered the statement. “The tracker that we sent after the Nursery Knight.” “Quite so,” Mr Badger said. “And the only one,” Mr Rat added. “But the girl is in the Magical Realm.” “As much as I wish to agree with you, I do not believe that is so.” “Trackers being what they are,” Mr Rat added. Why would the Duke let the girl go? Perhaps she had escaped? He was hard pressed to envision a scenario in which the Nursery Knight might escape the Duke, however. “We will look into this later after we finish our task here.” “As you say.” “We, of course, do our best to satisfy,” Mr Rat told him. Lotts shifted his pack up higher on his shoulder and then, after a quick scan of the area, stepped through the ripple. He had to press against it, fight his way through. Then the pressure was gone, and he found himself in a city block, forgotten by the city. Form the looks of the buildings he supposed that space had twisted on itself and hidden this place fifty or sixty years prior. It was deserted, quiet. He could still see the city that surrounded this carbuncle in space, but it did not look quite right. Over time the people who had lived and worked here had probably forgotten the place, unable to get back to it. It slipped from their knowing. It was a useful place to store things which must remain hidden. “Come on,” he said, striding across the street, passed an old corner store, an apartment building, a dress shop. The structures here were surprisingly intact for being so long abandoned. It stunk of magic of some sort. He wondered if some troublemaker from the Magical Realm had created it. Perhaps as a trap for Magical Girls from long ago. His pondering was mostly academic, but he was concerned that one-day people might return to the place. To that end, he watched for signs of others having come there, signs that the area might be about to untwist and once more be part of the city. On this day he saw nothing of the sort. “Creepy how their eyes seem to be following us,” Mr Rat said. “You are letting your imagination get the better of you,” Mr Badger told him. Lotts looked, wondering what they were talking about. On the other side of the road was a toy story that Lotts had seen many times. In the dusty window, he saw dolls and other toys, arranged in a display. He could understand Mr Rat’s sentiments. Toys were always creepy. “Never mind that,” Lotts said as he started up the steps of the bank. The tall wooden doors were locked, but he had a key. They were also trapped with magics, but he knew how to disarm them. He opened the doors and entered. It was an old building, even when this part of the city had still lived. It was pointlessly spacious, with ceilings that soared high overhead. The three of them crossed the tiled floor, towards the rear officer and the vault where Lotts would hide the True Gold. Mr Badger suddenly paused. “Well, that’s odd.” “What?” Lotts asked. “The tracker went dark.” “What?” “He means its dead,” Mr Rat supplied. “Dead? How?” “Well, usually when such a creature dies it means that which it was pursuing killed it.” Lotts frowned. “Killed it? A Nursery Knight killed a tracker? Was it a particularly weak one.” “Now then sir, we know you are not insulting our work and just asking a question,” Mr Rat said. “We have occupational pride after all.” “Very keen on doing things right.” “Then how could a Nursery Knight kill it?” “She might have had help,” Mr Badger said. “She might be stronger than the others. We already noted she was not as lacking in maturity.” “Damn. This is complicated. We’ll look into it after we secure the items.” “As you say, sir.” Lotts turned just in time to be hit in the face by something heavy and solid, which sent him crashing into the wall, tangled up in the boneless mass of whatever had crashed into him. “Well, it seems we know what became of the Tracker,” Mr Rat said. “And the girl it was tracking.” Lotts pushed the beast off himself, got unsteadily to his feet. The girl in question, Kristine, was standing on the long teller counter, holding her mace, the cat on her shoulder. “That your’s,” she told him, lifting the mace to point at the dead tracker. There were many questions in Lotts mind. How she had killed it? Why she was here? How she had found him? But questions could wait. “Get her,” he called out. However, Mr Rat and Mr Badger were already in the process of ‘getting her’ as they ran towards her. Mr Rat reached her first, jumping up on the counter to attempt to grab her. A strike from the mace knocked him off the counter and sent him crashing to the floor. A bag appeared at the girl’s feet, and she pulled something from it before the bag disappeared again. Lotts drew his sword from a magical sheath hidden under his jacket. The falchion was made of dark red steel the glowed in the dim light of the bank. As Mr Badger closed on the girl, she threw something, not at him, but high into the air above him. A small toy. And then the toy grew quite a bit, and when it came down, to land on poor Mr Badger, it was bigger than a polar bear, and from the sound that Mr Badger made, likely heavier than one as well. The bear stood up, picked Mr Badger from the floor, and then hurled him at Mr Rat, who had just stood up. The Nursery Knight stepped down from the counter, held out her mace to meet Lotts. He hoped the Duke would not mind if he damaged her because he planned to do just that. However, she moved that huge mace adroitly and knocked his sword up high before stepping in and driving her foot down on his instep before kicking him in the shin. He swore and brought the sword down in a double-handed chop that had split the skull of mighty beasts. She turned it with the shaft of her mace as if it had been nothing but a playful tap. He shifted back, just avoiding a jab that might be shattered his kneecap. Taking quick steps back he opened some distance between her and him. Nearby he saw the bear smacking Mr Rat and Mr Badger about as if they were nothing. He had to end his fast. The girl might die, but Lotts could not hold back. Around his feet lightning sparked, and when he charged forward, he was moving fast enough to crack the air. And a moment before his sword would have hit she disappeared. He spun, knowing there was only one place she could have gone, but something hit him hard across the back of the head, and he fell to the ground, blacking out. When Lotts became conscious, he was secured in some adult-sized baby chair, straps across his chest and arms, holding him secure. He looked about, saw he was still in the bank, saw Mr Rat and Mr Badger similarly secured not far off. “Damn it,” he cursed, struggling against the bonds. He pushed against them, as hard as he could. They held. He kept trying, hurling his full strength against the restraints. Lotts started screaming in anger, feeling trapped, knowing he could die if left here. Then a strap snapped. Lotts managed to get free, breathing heavy. Looking at the chair, he could see that the strap that had broken had been partially cut. Checking the chairs that held the still senseless Mr Badger and Mr Rat he could see similarly weakened straps. As if someone had wanted them to escape, eventually. Catching his breath, he grabbed his sword and cut the straps around the other two. Lotts then looked around. He could not find his pack. “No, no, no,” he cried out and ran towards the back of the bank, where the vault was. He fell to his knees as soon as he saw it. The door was smashed in. Slowly he got to his feet and stumbled to the vault and looked in. All the True Gold he had hidden there was gone. “The Duke of Threes will kill us all,” he said softly.

Kristine has considered running as soon as she found out what was happening in the Nursery Garden. However, doing so right after the Nursery Knights had created the True Gold would be a pretty clear sign that she had found something out. She would need to provide another reason for her eventual departure. Not that she thought she would leave without incident no matter what they might believe. However, if they thought she knew about the True Gold, then they would probably never let her go. Or they would kill her if she tried. She did not tell Tac anything, just that they would talk about it later. Tac seemed to be in no rush to leave, seeing as the Duke was plying her with floozies and booze. Kristine went about the following day the same as the ones before. She made sure she did nothing to give her knowledge away, even asking the others girls if they could tell her what they had done that previous night. The next day she started laying the groundwork for leaving. “I’ve had it,” she screamed, stomping down the stairs. “That bathroom is dithgusting,” she looked up at the ogre. “Dithgusting do you hear me!?” The ogre nanny took a few steps back, Kristine was sure it presented a comical appearance. “Well, it’s just that no one else uses it…” “That’s no reathon to let it fall into such a state,” Kristine said and stomped her foot, her anger actually getting the better of her. She did not want to look like a little girl having a tantrum. Crossing her arms over her chest, she demanded, “What will you do about it?” The ogre looked at the door and the narrow stairs beyond, perhaps wondering if she could squeeze up there. “We should talk to Colleen.” “Then let’th go and talk to her,” Kristine snapped. “Can you keep it down out there,” Tac called from one of the bushes, “I’m in the middle of someone here.” “Oh thhut up,” Kristine yelled. Colleen listened to Kristine’s demand for the toilet to be cleaned and put to rights. “You could always just use the potty chairs in the the nursery, or your diaper,” Colleen told her, a condescending tone to her voice. “Or I could jutht leave,” Kristine countered, keeping her voice low, so the other Nursery Knights did not hear. Colleen’s eyebrows lifted high. Kristine did not know of the woman had eyes under her blindfold or not, but if she did, they were probably opened wide in surprise. “Now Kristine, there is no need to think about leaving over something as little as this.” “Tho you’ll clean the toilet?” “I will see what I can do.” “Good. And I’m tired of those thtupid spoons and forks with the large handles and the baby bottles. Give me normal cutlery and a cup.” Colleen frowned, probably not used to being dictated to. “We will see.” “We better damn well.” The day after Kristine had made her ultimatum she found the stairway, in the past dark and grimy, now clean and well lit. Had they actually done what she asked? If so they had given in very quickly. Were Colleen and the Duke worried she would really leave? Or did the two know that she had learned about the True Gold and were playing her? Because of her concerns, she actually laughed when she opened the door at the top of the stairs, though nothing was actually funny. The room was clean and bright, with a window. There was a duck-shaped potty chair and a well-stocked changing table where there had once been a toilet. She could not help but smile. “I can’t say they did not clean it.” Then, because she had to go, she ripped her diaper off and took a seat on the potty chair. After a moment she put her hands on the handles on either side of the duck’s head. I must look ridiculous, she thought but did not take her hands away. It just felt right. But it was a damn sight more comfortable than the toilet had been. It also turned out she did not have to worry about disposal for once she was finished she found the potty’s bowl empty and perfectly clean. The wonders of magic, she thought. I wonder if I could get one, she thought, then shook her head. It was not really like she wanted one. Taking advantage of the space, she summoned Mr Bear to help her on with her new diaper. He, of course, picked her up and placed her on the changing table, but she was willing to accept it from him. Mr Bear worked for her and not the Duke, was the way she thought about it. It was the best fitting diaper she had worn in many days. He patted her on the head, and then on her diapered crotch before taking her from the table and placing her on the floor. She wondered if he might pat her harder were she to ask? Shaking her head once more to deny unwelcome thoughts she dispelled him with a, “Thank you, Mr Bear.” While the potty seat and changing table were not all that bad, she made a point to complain about it loudly. It was all part of her plan to justify her leaving. Tac was calling it ‘Operation Little Diaper Bitch’, but Kristine could not expect much better from Tac. Three days after she had seen the Nursery Knights in the stone circle Kristine announced she had had enough and was leaving. Colleen and the Nursery Knights were off for private studies, better learning how to create True Gold Kristine supposed. The ogre nanny, who had been the primary target of Kristine’s complaints and demands, gave a long-suffering sigh and then with a growl said, “You are not going anywhere.” She reached out to grab Kristine. Kristine wondered what the other Nursery Knights might have done. Perhaps they had never pissed off a nanny enough to end up in such a situation. Kristine simply avoided the attempt, stepping away, then jumping back. “We’re leaving Tac.” Tac jumped up onto her shoulder. “About time.” “What do you have to complain about?” Kristine asked, sidestepping another attempt by the ogre to grab her. “I’ve had to spend a lot of time close to you, and the ogre bitches threatened to tear my legs off. I have not got a good nights sleep since.” “Oh boo hoo,” Kristine told her, then, growing tired of dodging the ogre, she kicked the nanny’s legs out from under her and then, summoning her mace, tapped her on the side of her head. “Thtay down please.” Wide-eyed, the ogre nodded. Kristine turned away from her and started walking towards the exit. “Why not just teleport away?” “I kind of want to thee what they are going to do.” “That’s stupid.” Kristine did not disagree, but she did not teleport out. She had a feeling the confrontation would happen no matter what, and getting it over with sooner was better. She could see the gate of the Nursery Garden ahead of her. “Where do you think you are going Kristine?” Kristine turned. Behind her stood Colleen. “I’m leaving.” “You can’t.” Colleen almost sounded calm, but there was an undercurrent of panic Kristine detected. "You will be a threat out there. You might kill someone." The guilt card, Kristine thought, but she did not believe it. “I can. That wath the agreement, I could leave whenever I wanted to. Well I want to leave.” “Young lady, come here this minute.” Colleen pointed to the ground in front of her. There was a small part of Kristine that wanted to obey. Just a small part. “Give it up Colleen.” Kristine turned away from her and began walking to the gate. “Incoming,” Tac said into her ear. Kristine spun, lashing out with her mace. Colleen ducked under it, came up her fists raised. Kristine used the butt end of her mace to jab Colleen in the gut. The woman stumbled back, almost fell. She bared her teeth, brow furrowing. “You’ll regret that Kristine.” She straightened, and a whip appeared in her hand. “I’ve never had to use this even once, and I have kind of always wanted the opportunity.” “That is a nice whip,” Tac said. “Do you have the matching riding crop?” “Not a good time Tac.” Colleen flicked her wrist. Kristine shifted to the side, the end of the whip cracking close to her face, the snap like a knife in her ear. “Ow, that’s unpleathant.” Tac jumped off Kristine’s shoulder. “That almost hit me cow.” Kristine did not know if Tac was talking to her or Colleen. Colleen popped the whip’s end close to Kristine’s feet, forcing her to jump around. The cracking hurt her ears, and she supposed there was some kind of magic in there. Gritting her teeth, Kristine stepped in and grabbed the end of the whip out of the air. It hurt like the worse thing she could think of. No, it hurt more than that. It hurt so much she soiled and soaked her diaper. And it was not just the pain. As soon as the whip cut into her palm, her mind was filled with doubts about what she was doing. Guilt for not listening to Colleen. A pathological desire to please her. “Fuck, thith thing could really do a number on thomeone.” Kristine then hauled on the whip and pulled Colleen right into a jab with her mace. The end of the weapon hit Colleen right in the gut, folding her up. She hit the ground, gasping for air and coughing blood. “That’s gonna leave a mark,” Tac said, jumping up on Kristine’s shoulder. “She’s gonna be pissing blood for a week if you ask me.” “Maybe the Duke will like that,” Kristine said as she tossed the whip away and then licked the bloody wound on her hand, licking away the injury as well as the blood. Turning away from the curled up Colleen she continued towards the gate. “Oh Kristine, you really are a challenge.” She had almost reached the gate. She stopped. “Why are you stopping idiot?” Tac asked. She turned. The Duke of Threes was kneeling by Colleen, gently cradling her head and shoulders. “You did not really mean it when you thaid I could leave anytime.” “No, I did not. I had hoped you would realise you belong here.” He lay Colleen down, doing something that seemed to ease her pain. Then he straightened. “And you do belong her here Kristine. Look at you, you silly little girl, standing there in your messy diaper. Come over here and let me dandle you on my knee, we’ll push that mess up all around you.” Kristine came. Damn, she came so hard that her knees shook. The Duke of Threes walked towards her, all white and gold, smiling. “It was not by chance that you were to become a Nursery Knight. You were always destined to be a diaper loving little girl, looking for a daddy to take care of you.” Kristine shook her head but wondered if it was true. Had all her studying and work just been to deny a desire she could never admit? “You might be right,” Kristine said, and her mace dropped until the head rested in the ground. “Maybe I do want a daddy or a mommy.” “Of course you do. Now, do you want your spanking before or after you apologise to Colleen?” He sounded so confident. So smug. Kristine wondered if he would spank her over her messy diaper. She squirmed. Then Kristine sighed and laughed. “Is something funny little girl?” The Duke of Threes demanded. Kristine lifted her mace, so it was pointed at the Duke. She met his gaze. “Maybe I do want a daddy or a mommy, but I can do tho much better than you.” “Really?” Tac asked. “Cause he is like rich and powerful.” “Thut up Tac. I am going to mess up his pretty face.” “Like you mess up your diapers?” Kristine grabbed Tac off her shoulder and tossed the cat away. “Keep him busy enough so I can escape,” Tac yelled as she flew through the air. "I'm too important to die." The Duke reached out, and suddenly he was holding a long, golden sword. It was a sword that looked as if a sunbeam had been caught and forged. It seemed like it could cut a thought in half. She looked at her mace, which was a giant, plastic rattle. “How ith thith even close to fair,” she asked. “You do not want to do this Kristine. I am going to have to hurt you very badly.” Kristine lifted her shoulders. “Thometimes you can settle and Thometimes you got to take the cathe to court.” “What does that mean?” He advanced, cutting figure eights in front of him. Kristine thought she saw the blade cutting the air. Kristine hurled her mace at the Duke. The attack took him by surprise, or maybe it was too fast for him to do anything. The mace crashed into his chest and sent him flying. Kristine held out her hand, and the mace flew back into it. “That wath my opening argument.” The Duke sprung to his feet. His lips were pressed into a thin line and when he moved he lacked some of that effortless grace he had shown before. He snarled, no longer looking beautiful, but terrifying. Kristine was struck by the thought that perfect beauty was very close to perfect hideousness. Moving with the speed of a nightmare he closed on her cutting at her with an overhand strike. Kristine lifted her mace to meet his sword. Their weapons rang out like church bells. They traded blows, strike and counter. She knocked him back a few steps, he cut her across the shoulder. For perhaps twenty seconds they fought, neither able to connect decisively with the other. “You can’t be this strong,” The Duke of Threes said, seeking out a hole in Kristine’s defence. “Yet here we are.” She hit his sword hard enough to give her an opening. She almost caught him on the side of his head, but he lifted his arm and took the blow across it. It sent him flying. his arm bent at an unnatural angle. Well, Kristine assumed it was unnatural. Who was to say in the magical realm? However, from the way he reacted, she suspected his arm did not normally bend back on itself like that. He came to his feet, sword in his good hand, staring across the distance that had opened up between them. Something in his demeanour changed. “If you keep this up I will have to kill you,” he told her. Kristine did not doubt that. She had an idea they were closely matched. “Then kill me,” Kristine said, calling his bluff. Well, she hoped it was a bluff. “You need me. You need to be safe.” “You are taking care of the Nursery Knights, which is good. They seem to like you. I don’t need what you offer.” “You do.” He sounded so sincere, his words so sweet. She wanted to believe him. “You said you were going to kill me. Let’s get on with this,” Kristine took a step towards him. He stood, lowered the point of his sword to the ground. “I will not hurt you. You may leave, as I promised.” It was flagrant and unabashed spin control. As a lawyer, she would have never suggested a client try it. He was acting as if he had not been trying to cripple her less than a minute before. His last attempt to keep active the opportunity that Kristine represented. She had to respect him. The balls on the man. “Thank you for your hothpitality,” Kristine said. “Thay goodbye to the girls for me.” She stepped back through the gate, never taking her eyes off the man. Tac jumped up onto her shoulder. She teleported away. She and Tac appeared in the conference room of Gorgeous’ safe house. If felt as if it had been a hundred years since she had been there. Kristine dismissed her mace and sat in one of the chairs. Her diaper squelched messily under her bottom. Tac was a woman and took a seat across from her. “Well, what did you get out of all that, other than a case of diaper rash.” “The Duke of Thwees is using the Nursery Knights,” Kristine said, then shook her head. “I need to tell Gorgeous, and we should talk about thith in complete privacy.” Tac leaned forward. “Sounds juicy. Tell me.” Kristine shook her head. “No. I’ll talk to Gorgeous and tell you at the same time.” Tac shifted back. “Fine. And you better change your diapers. You stink way worse than usual.” Kristine was about to deny that accusation but paused. There was a rather unpleasant scent in the room, and it was not the smell of dirty diapers she had become inured to during her time in the Nursery Garden. “That’th not me.” “Well, it sure is not me.” Kristine frowned. She got up and left the conference room, looked around. “Smells getting worse,” Tac said. “You sure it isn’t you?” “Thut up,” Kristine said as she started down the stairs to the main floor. “Oh my god,” Kristine said when she saw what was there. “I’m gonna be thick.” She vomited up her breakfast of milk and mush. “Gross,” Tac said. They fled the warehouse, and some blocks away Kristine leaned against a wall of some anonymous building, breathing in deep from her nose and spitting out the vomit that was stuck in her teeth. She summoned her magic bag and pulled a sippy cup out of it. She drank and spat out water to clear her mouth. “Well, I can honestly say your diapers don’t seem to smell so bad now,” Tac old her. “My god, those Redcapth.” She drank and spat again. “Cathar Red was thupposed to recover them.” “I guess between you kicking his ass and then destroying his War Titan he kind of forgot about it.” “Gorgeous, Gwenth, you, why didn’t you do thomething?” “They were busy, and have you met me? Why the hell would I care?” “I killed them all,” Kristine said. “I mean, I had killed a few in the fight, but that wath a fight, this…” “You didn’t kill them. You just left them to die.” “I failed to provide the necethities of life. That’s a white twash crime.” “Listen, Kristine, I know you feel bad,” Tac said as she knelt down to look Kristine in the eyes. “But your whining is annoying me, so stop it. We will just pretend this never happened and put the blame on Gorgeous if this has any negative ramifications, which I doubt it will because no one likes Redcaps, not even other Redcaps. So let’s go.” “You are a fucking bitch Tac,” Kristine said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Tac smiled and scratched Kristine across the face. “You better believe it, little girl.” The Duke of Threes arm still hurt, though it was mostly healed. He sat in his office with Colleen and Tahc standing in front of him. “What in all of Magic’s Name was that? How could a Nursery Knight stand against me like that? She should have been sobbing the moment I drew a weapon. I’ve made armies drop to their knees, and yet some pathetic Magical Girl stood against me. Explain that.” “I am sorry your Grace, I cannot,” Colleen said. Had she still eyes she would have been crying. “I saw that she was strong, but never would have thought that strong. I failed you.” The Duke of Threes felt that was true, but if Colleen killed herself in a fit of guilt and remorse that would not do him any good. “Do not blame yourself, dear Colleen,” he said. He stood and came around his desk, placing a gentle hand on Colleen’s face. “Somehow Gorgeous and the Liaisons tricked us, they are the ones my disapproval is directed at.” Colleen grabbed his hand and kept it pressed against her face. “Thank you, Your Grace.” He gently took his hand away and then looked at Tahc. “You should have known something.” “Me?” Tahc looked shocked, and then added, “I am sorry Your Grace, but…” “But what? You are a specialist. You used to be a Liaison. You should have recognised that Kristine was something different.” “She is a Magical Girl, from a low priority team. There is nothing more to her Your Grace.” “They why did she slap Colleen down as if she were nothing? Why did she fight me on near equal terms? Is there any Magical Girl from the Mundane Realm who should have that much power?” He had been advancing on Tahc as he had asked his questions and she had backed up until her back hit the office door. He grabbed her by her shoulders, winced slightly as the pain in his arm, and then pressed her back hard until she let out a soft mewling sound. “Who could have that much power?” Tahc twisted in his grip, and the said, “Maybe one of the Army Girls.” “The Army Girls? Are you saying that Kristine is one of them?” “No,” Tach pushed herself back as if trying to pass through the door. “She was a Nursery Knight, I am sure of that.” “Then how did a Nursery Knight become so powerful.” “I don’t know,” she cried. “Useless,” The Duke of Threes said as he released her and turned back to his desk. When he took his seat, he looked at the two women. Colleen was still holding her hand to her face as if trying to trap the feeling of his hand, and Tahc was still against the door, trembling. “Colleen, make sure the girls are not concerned by Kristine’s disappearance. I do not want their scheduled disrupted.” “Yes, Your Grace.” She took her hand from her face and dropped into a low curtsey. “And you,” he shifted his attention to Tahc. “Find out where Kristine is and find out what she is and then find out if she has a weakness that I can use against her.” “Yes, Your Grace,” Tahc said, managing a bow. “Now go.” Tahc fled from the room. Colleen lingered. He softened his expression and told her, “Go, Colleen, rest up and take care of the girls, I will need you.” She curtseyed again and then left. At least she was happy. The Duke of Threes turned his chair and looked out the window, out over his realm. “I will not be denied,” he said softly. In a meeting room of the Office of Magic in the Mundane, Gorgeous assured Kristine that they could speak in complete privacy. Kristine looked about the room and then said, “Bwanket Fort of Privacy.” The walls, ceiling and floor were suddenly covered in blankets. They were bright, pastel colours, with juvenile patterns on some. Tac let out a snort and walked towards the sideboard on which were several bottles of alcohol. “Want something to drink Gorgeous.” “I’m working,” Gorgeous said pointedly. “Water is wet, I don’t get the point. Kristine, no baby bottles but do you want something in a big girl glass?” “Go to hell Tac, and whatever ith strong.” “What did you find out?” Gorgeous asked. Kristine sat down in the chair. She had a fresh diaper on, and it rustled cleanly under her. “The Duke of Threes ith having the Nursery Knights make True Gold.” There was a crash. Kristine looked over at Tac and saw she had dropped one of the alcohol bottles. She looked back at Gorgeous who was staring open-mouthed. “Tac, what did she just say?” Gorgeous asked. “That the Duke is making True Gold.” “I don’t suppose we both just had matching strokes?” “We’re not that lucky.” “You didn’t mithhear me. I didn’t mithspeak. The Duke of Threes is having the Nursery Knights thummon, or whatever it is you do, True Gold.” “Create, you create it,” Gorgeous told her. “And if you create it, you get killed horribly when then Eleven find out, which they always do, and that is why no one does it. Ever.” “The Duke of Threes ith.” “Well, that makes this easy.” Tac placed a tumbler filled to the brim with an amber liquid, took a seat next to Kristine, holding two more tumblers. Kristine wanted to ask how she had managed three full glasses, but Tac continued. “We let the Eleven know, and then they kill the Duke of Threes and everyone else, and we wash our hands of this. Kristine goes back to the Mundane Realm, and I get my expense account and go to drink myself to death. Gorgeous, I guess you go back to shoving sticks up your ass, or whatever it is you do.” “Other than the stick part I think I actually agree with you Tac. Fuck, the end times are upon us.” “It’th not going to work like that.” Kristine took the tumbler in both hands and took a drink from it. It burned down her throat, with a sharp aftertaste that made her lick her lips. Tac and Gorgeous looked at her. “It is just like with Derrypiz. He probably never actually told Colleen to have the Nursery Knights make True Gold.” “You are probably right. He might actually be able to survive this.” “So the Eleven kill Colleen and the Nursery Knights and probably Kristine, and I go and drink myself to death, and the Duke of Threes gets revenge on Gorgeous. This still works.” Kristine could not even find it in her to tell Tac to shut up or fuck off. She swallowed a mouthful of the alcohol. “What ith the big deal with True Gold?” “It’s a magically pure substance that is exceedingly difficult to create. Almost no one can actually do it. Those that can are scrutinised, always. Using a team of Magical Girls is a brilliant way to get around it.” “Why do the Eleven even care?” Tac finished her drinks and got up. “True Gold can be used as a reagent in any number of powerful spells, and it can be enchanted into weapons that can shake kingdoms. That is why the Eleven keep such a close eye on it. They are greedy of their power and react strongly to anything that might be a threat to it.” “But what really keeps them up late is the thought that anyone is going to refine it down to its base.” Tac put two bottles on the table and proceeded to refill her glasses and top of Kristine’s drink. “Cause as hard as it is to create it, refining it is piss easy.
 “Refine?” “Its a pure magical substance, but it can be made even more so, by burning away the excess, leaving only perfection behind. It reduces it by a tenth, which is another reason the Eleven watch it so closely. If ever True Gold disappears than someone is up to something,” Gorgeous said. Tac took two big gulps from each of her glasses and the said, “Remember those smugglers you took out, with the armour?” Kristine nodded and took a drink. “That was low-end stuff, stop maybe a big rifle bullet. You make a suit of armour out of refined True Gold, and you could sit on a nuke when it blew up, and you would not even feel it. You make a sword out of it, and you could cut the sun out of the sky.” “Fuck,” Kristine said softly. “Indeed,” Gorgeous said. “Why is the Duke doing this?” “Power grab,” Tac said. “Yes, that would be the way of it.” “Power grab?” Kirstine asked, then finished her drink and held the empty glass out towards Tac. “You’ve heard us talk about the Eleven,” Gorgeous said. “May their names be praised, and they leave me the hell alone.” Tac filled Kristine’s glass. “They are in charge, right?” “They are more than that. They are the Magical Realm, in some ways. Each has power that is difficult to comprehend. If they wanted to, they could just snuff it all out and recreate it.” "Gives you nightmares if you think too much about it,” Tac said, taking a drink. Gorgeous continued. “But one thing to keep in mind was that there was not always Eleven. There was once One.” “What happened?” “For the longest time, according to history, there would be battles, in which the One would either be victorious or would be defeated, and a new One would raise up. Or both would be so weakened another power might raise up and throw both down. But eventually a challenger suggested to the One that they might share power, and the One became the Two.” “And eventually three, four, five until you reached eleven,” Kristine said. “A little more complicated than that, but yes, that is what happened.” “So the Duke wants to become one of the Eleven, or perhaps the twelfth?” “Yes.” “Or he might ally with others of the Eleven to reduce the number, so he becomes one of the ten, or the nine, or the eight.” Tac leaned back in her chair. “He can do that?” “With sufficient True Gold, refined or not, he has a chance.” “Better refined. Want another belt?” Tac waved the half-empty bottle. “Yes please.” “I suppose I will make my report. They will kill the Nursery Knights. They’ll have to.” Gorgeous sighed loudly. “I’ll make sure they know you were not involved.” Kristine thought about kind Mandy, and scrappy Betty, sad Annie, brilliant Fiona, and Vicky’s smile. She thought about them dead. “No,” Kristine said. “No?” Gorgeous asked. “We’re not going to sacrifice the Nursery Knights.” “But….” “We are not going to sacrifice the Nursery Knights.” “You better listen to her Gorgeous. You know she can kick your ass.” “We can’t let the Duke of Threes do this Kristine. Fights between the powers of the Magic Realm, the cause unimaginable suffering that sometimes even bleeds out into the Mundane Realm.” “I’m not saying we don’t keep the Duke from attempting this. But we will protect the Nursery Knights.” Kristine gulped back the rest of her drink and shook her head when Tak offered her a refill. “How do you plan to do that?” Gorgeous asked, sounding doubtful. Kristine smiled. “The Duke is sending all the True Gold into my world.” “That is a good place to hide it.” “So there is no evidence to what the Nursery Knights have been doing.” “For someone who wears a diaper you are pretty clever,” Tac said. “I don’t understand,” Gorgeous said. “The Duke of Threes has a servant called Lotts, can you find out if he has left the Magical Realm yet?” Gorgeous nodded. “As soon as we know he has left, you need to tell whoever needs to know that there are a group of Magical Girls in the Duke of Threes’ care who might be able to create True Gold.” “Which means they will be closely watched from now on,” Tac said and lifted her glass as if a salute. “And as long as they don’t find any True Gold…” “Kristine nodded.” “But he will still have the True Gold, perhaps enough to make an attempt at crashing the Eleven.” Kristine smiled. “I will take care of that.”

I am glad that people are still reading and enjoying this. Thought that it might be less interesting as it is more of an 'Adventure Story' with diaper content than a more traditional 'diaper story'. As for True Gold, all that has been said about it is that True Gold is valuable, tightly controlled (to the point that messing with it gets you, your family and friends out the three generations killed) and that it is the Magical Realm equivalent of weaponized plutonium. The next part of the story will probably provide and info dump on True Gold.

Kristine woke a little later that she usually did, to a wet diaper and an orgasm of the likes she had not had in some days. She was breathing heavily, staring up at the nursery ceiling. Above her, laying on the rail of the crib, Tac cracked up one eye to look down at her, then closed her eyes and raised bonelessly to stand on the railing where she stretched. She opened her eyes and looked down at Kristine. The cat’s expression suggested to Kristine that the cat knew exactly what had happened. Kristine had her breathing under control a short time before her nanny lowered the side of the crib. “Do you want to go to the toilet or would you like me to change you,” the nanny asked with her terrifying smile. Kristine had become used to it. “I’ll go to the toilet,” Kristine said, though her diaper was soaked. She would hope she pooped when she got there. “You can stay here Tac,” Kristine said as she got out of the crib. Her wet diaper drooped dramatically when she slipped down from the mattress. Leaving Tac behind might give them some more information. “No,” the ogre nanny said. “No?” Tac, sitting on the crib rail was looking on with curiosity. “Your Liaison will stay close to you. That is her job after all.” Well played, Kristine thought. She said, “Let’th go Tac.” Tac jumped onto her shoulder. Later, on the way back to the Toilet Kristine met another cat. She would not have identified the new cat but for Tac’s low growl of, “Tahc.” Tac jumped down from Kristine’s shoulder, between there and the ground she became a woman. Tahc also changed, becoming a woman, smaller than Tac, and not quite as pretty. “What the hell do you want bitch,” Tac asked with false graciousness. “I’ve come to kick your ass out of here,” Tahc said. Kristine stepped forward, mace appearing in her hand. The ogre nanny took a few steps back. “You have a problem with Tac, you have one with me,” Kristine told the newcomer. “Hear that Tahc, Kristine will throw a tantrum, might even spit-up on you.” “You probably will have leth of a problem with me now,” Kristine said. “Don’t be such a fickle baby,” Tac told her. “You are thuch a bitch,” Kristine said in a low voice, then louder, “Tac stays with me.” “She’s no good. Just send her away.” “Tell the Duke of Threes that Tac is thtaying as long as I do.” “You are making a mistake,” Tahc warned, and then turned back into a cat and bounded away into the underbrush. “You better run,” Tac called out after her. “Do you think this ith going to be a problem, for you?” Kristine asked. “Oh, what the hell could they do?” Tac asked as she turned into a cat and returned to her perch. The Duke of Threes listened to Tahc's report several hours later, in a quiet corner of his castle. “I don’t see this as being a problem,” he told Tahc. Tahc was quiet for a few seconds, then said, carefully, “Are you certain Your Grace?” He turned his gaze on her, and Tahc wondered if she had made a mistake questioning him. However, he answered in a calm tone. “I knew that Gorgeous would want more information. That your sister is the best avenue she has of obtaining that information tells me how weak her position is.” “Your Grace?” “Did you yourself not tell me that Tac is lazy?” “I did,” Tahc said, wondering where he was going. “Easily distracted?” Tahc nodded. “She gives into her appetites easily?” “Yes, Your Grace.” “Well then, she is easily dealt with. Focus your attention on threats from outside, be confident that I can deal with any issues relating to Kristine and Tac.” Tahc nodded. “Of course Your Grace.” She wondered what he was going to do, and wanted to tell him not to underestimate Tac, for all her flaws. But the Duke of Threes was not a man who cared to be challenged often. And as he was more often right, she supposed he had earned that. She bowed low, then took the shape of a cat and jumped away. A busy day done with, Kristine got into her crib for another night’s sleep. “Are you accomplishing anything other than playing baby games?” Tac asked her from the rail. “I’m working on it,” Kristine said softly. “Really? Was that before or after you played tea party?” “It’th hard to say ‘no’ to Vicky,” Kristine explained. “Oh cry me a river. I’m never going to get the smell of piss and shit out of my nose if I spend much more time here with all you diaper babies.” Kristine sighed. Then, voice soft, she said, “Jump down from the crib, very quietly. Let’s thee if you can do a bit of recon.” “Got ya,” Tac said as she hopped down from the crib rail to the floor. She was nearly invisible and silent as she went. However, Tac had probably not padded more than a few steps when one or the nannies stepped into the nursery. Tac froze, a hint of a shadow on the floor. The nanny walked to stand above her. In a soft tone that Kristine barely heard the nanny said, “While we cannot toss you out, nothing stops me from pulling your legs off if I find you wandering.” A shadowy blur and Tac leapt between the crib bars and put Kristine between her and the ogre. The Ogre turned and left the nursery. “We can call that experiment a failure,” Kristine said softly. Tac shifted along Kristine’s back and then peaked over her shoulder, her head close to Kristine’s. “Did you know that would happen?” “Of courthe not, but even if I did, I still would have had you try.” “You’re a bitch Kristine.” Kristine hid a smile. Tac yawned as she sat upon a fence close to the building that housed Kristine's toilet. The ogre nanny was close by, but Tac supposed as long as she stayed close enough to Kristine, she was safe. She hated ogres. All strength and no sex appeal. What a waste of her precious time. Gorgeous should have just washed her hands of all this, but no, she was taking it personally. So some creepy duke liked playing with dolls. What was it to them? “Hey kitty,” someone said. Tac looked. An extremely sexy woman holding a bottle of catnip whisky and wearing, barely, a sexy maid uniform beckoned. In a moment Tac was down from the fence, in her woman form, standing next to the maid. She looked at the bottle of whisky. “Is that for me?” The pretty maid giggled and nodded. Tac reached out, placed a clawed fingertip against the woman’s collarbone, then drew it gently down across the swell of her breast. “And are you for me too.” “Oh yes,” she said and pouted. Smiling, Tac took the woman’s elbow and led her into the bushes. “For what I am about to receive I thank you cat god. Amen and Meow.” Kristine came down the stairs and out of the building. She paused and pulled up her skirt to adjust her diaper, enjoyed standing in the sun and fresh air. Gross as it was, she was getting used to that filthy toilet, which depressed her to no end. Looking around she could not see Tac. She jogged over to the nanny, waddling in the process. “Where ith Tac?” She was worried that the ogre had done something to the Liaison. The ogre looked towards a set of bushes on the other side of the building from them. “I saw her disappear there.” Kristine walked towards the bushes, a little worried that something might have been done to Tac. And as she got closer, she heard moans and cries, but she did not take them for pain. Kristine knew those sounds. And while it was more than a little voyeuristic, she continued forward and peaked around the bushes. She saw Tac and an almost naked young woman having sex. Tac had a bottle of whisky in one hand and the woman in her other, playing her like an instrument. Kristine was angry at Tac’s actions and more than a little jealous. Which was why she continued to watch, squirming a little and pushing at the front of her diaper. She should look away. She did not. She should say something. She did not. She very nearly screamed with someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her closer, pushing something between her thighs to press against her diapered crotch. “Hush,” Annie said, her strong arms wrapped around Kristine, her thigh pushed up between Kristine’s. Her face was close to Kristine’s as she looked at Tac and her partner. “Do you want to play some games like that?” she asked softly. Of course, Kirstine did, and she had to keep herself from bearing down on Annie’s thigh. But she kept a semblance of control and said, “No.” Annie released her immediately and said, “Okay,” as if she might have been asking Kristine to play a game instead of offering sexual congress. “Come on,” Annie said, taking Kristine’s hand. “You’ll miss art if you wait much longer.” With a smile, she pulled Kristine along. Kristine was a little worried about Tac until she remembered the pleased expression on the liaison’s face. Let her fend for herself. As Annie led her down a path, the ogre nanny following a discrete distance away, Kristine asked, blushing, “Do you play like that with the other girlth?” “Yes, all the time,” Annie answered. “Or with the toys.” “Toys?” “Like the rocking horses.” Kristine recalled watching Betty on one of those horses the other day. She had seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit. “Doeth the Duke ever play with you like that?” Kristine asked. “Don’t be stupid,” Annie said, “Of course not. No one can play with us but us. That is what the Duke said. No one is ever going hurt us. He is going to protect us forever.” “Until thomeone stronger comes along,” Kristine said. “Nuh uh,” Annie said. “The Duke is going to get really strong, we’re…” she suddenly stopped talking. “What?” Kristine asked. “Do you know Colleen has sex with the Duke?” Annie asked. She was obviously changing the topic, but Kristine was interested in spite of herself. “Does he?” Annie nodded and giggled, looking back at Kristine. “And Colleen wears these stupid training pants like a little baby cause she thinks the Duke likes that.” Annie making fun of Colleen for wearing training pants was the ultimate example of the pot calling the kettle black, but she did not say that. “Doesn’t the Duke like it?” Kristine would have put money on it. Annie shook her head. “The Duke likes power,” she said, sounding surprisingly mature. Before Kristine could ask more Annie led her out into the park where the other Nursery Knights had set up to paint. While Betty and Vicky seemed content to finger paint the other girls were working with charcoal and paint. Kristine let herself be directed to sit behind a canvas and accepted instruction from her nanny. Tac showed up a few hours later, looking quite pleased with herself, as pleased as a cat could look… which was pretty darned pleased. Kristine did her best to ignore Tac for the rest of the day. As Kristine lay back in her crib, and the lights were turned off, Tac asked softly, “So who pissed in your cornflakes?” Tac asked. “Was it Betty? She looks like a cornflake pisser.” “You're useless,” Kristine told Tac. “So I don’t thee much point in talking to you.” “Me? Useless? I think you are projecting.” “I saw you with that woman.” “Did you? Pretty hot right? Did you see that part where I stuck…” “I don’t care what you did,” Kristine hissed. “Jutht if you are not going to help why are you even here?” “Oh Kristine, you are stupid.” “Pardon.” “And I am insulted,” Tac purred, her voice only for Kristine. “What?” “Do you think that one woman with one bottle of whisky could distract me?” “But…” “Of course I had sex with her. Who wouldn’t? But the Duke of Threes is stingy, cheap. I hate people like that.” “How ith this the Duke of Three’s fault?” Kristine asked, not happy that she sounded as if she was defending him. “Cause if he wanted to distract me he should have sent about ten floozies and a bar worth of booze. I mean really…” “Then what…” “I was working. I had that little minx telling me everything she knew while in the throes of passion. She might not even remember what she said.” Kristine did not say anything for a few seconds. She then asked, “What did she tell you?” “Not much,” Tac sighed. “This place is locked down and secure, and even the people who work for the Duke don’t know much. Probably only the Duke and that Colleen woman knows exactly what is going on here.” “I see,” Kristine said, and then, though she hated it, she added, “sorry.” “Of course you are,” Tac said. Kristine settled back into her bed, considering all she had learned, or maybe more to the point all she had not yet learned. She might have slept a little bit, she was not sure, but she realised there was activity around her. Kristine looked up through the bars. Around her the another Nursery Knights were being helped from their cribs, led from the room. Kristine was getting up on her knees, about to call out, to ask what was happening, but Colleen stepped close, her blindfolded gaze on her. “Go back to sleep Kristine,” she said. “You’re a guest, you can stay here.” Or more to the point she could not go. She suspected it would be fruitless to argue, so all she said was, “Okay,” and laid back down. Soon the Nursery Knights were gone, and the room was more quiet than usual. “That was weird,” Tac said. “Very weird,” Kristine agreed. “What do you think they are up to?” “I want to know.” Kristine looked out into the darkroom. She felt alone, but she knew that a nanny or two was out beyond the room. As soon as she or Tac left the crib, they would know. A thought occurred to her, and the pulled her pacifier from thin air and put it between her lips for a moment. A few seconds later she heard the sound of one of the nannies, running. Kristine pulled the pacifier from her mouth. The nanny stopped in the doorway of the room, looking in. Kristine pretended to be asleep. On the railing, Tac said, “Meow bitch.” The nanny stepped away. “That wath interesting,” Kristine said. “Agreed. But what are you going to do with it?” “I may have a plan,” Kristine told Tac. The days passed, never exactly the same. Kristine thought it would be hard to become bored if one lived in the Nursery Garden. Obviously the point. She went along with the activities and asked the other girls what they did when she was not around. They never answered, but it would seem suspicious if she just stopped asking questions. Once or twice she looked at the rocking horses and the odd protrusions on the saddles, protrusions whose purpose was obvious now that she knew. Part of her really wanted to hop on and ‘ride em cowboy’ but she resisted. Tac was continuing her investigation, which meant she was drinking and having sex with the women that the Duke sent her way. According to Tac she tired them out and was getting new ones each day. And getting more information from them. And as the days went on Kristine found herself tempted by the life of the Nursery Knights. It would be so much easier to let nanny change her, even if only once or twice a day. Save a trip to the gross toilet. And easier to let herself be sat in a highchair and fed rather than messing around with the cutlery not sized for her. Of course, that was what they wanted her to think. There were some areas where she was not able to avoid behaving like a toddler. She slept in a crib after all. And she spent a lot of time sitting on nanny’s lap, letting the ogre read to her. Whatever the language used in the books it was not one that Kristine could read. So when she wanted to know what was in the book she needed to ask her nanny to read to her. As the books were on magical theory, using silly stories as metaphor, she needed to read them or have them read to her in this case. She tried not to enjoy being gently bounced on nanny’s knee as she was being read to. Though as it seemed she looked forward to such reading times more and more Kristine knew she was failing. It was some days later, as Kristine was reviewing one of the books (looking at the pictures) when she heard the excited voices of the other Nursery knights and Annie’s, slightly louder than the others, “The Duke is here!” Kristine put the book aside and got to her feet, her diaper crinkling and sagging slightly letting her know it was a little wet. Colleen came into the room, clapping her hands. “All right girls, line up.” The Nursery Knights giggled as they got into a sort of line arrangement. Kristine did not join them, but she moved closer. Tac in cat form came bounding in and jumped up onto Kristine’s shoulder. “You smell like whisky and sex,” Kristine said softly, wishing that did not make her feel horny. “Thank you,” Tac replied. “Bitch cat.” Then the Duke came in, smiling as he saw the Nursery Knights. “Hello girls,” he said. They all called out their own hellos, and the Duke knelt down and spoke to Mandy. “You are looking very pretty today,” he told her. Mandy blushed a deep red and squeaked out a ‘thank you.’ The Duke laughed and patted her on the head. He took something from his coat pocket and clipped it to Mandy’s hair. It was a flower with short strings of smaller blooms. The colour went perfectly with Mandy’s hair. “Thank you,” Mandy gushed and hugged the Duke. He laughed, picked her up, swung her around and placed her down in front of Colleen before moving on to kneel in front of Betty. “Have you mastered that throw you were telling me of?” he asked her, and gently cuffed her on the chin. Betty’s blush was not a deep as Mandy's, but it was still there. She nodded. “I can throw even the biggest of the ogre nannies, and I don’t even hafta use much power.” “Excellent,” the Duke told her, “I’ll ask my master of arms to come by and teach you something new.” Betty jumped up and down in excitement. “Thank you!” The Duke shifted his attention to Annie. Annie looked as if she was trying to behave more maturely, possibly as befit a leader, but she was failing, almost shaking with excitement; probably wetting herself there and then. The Duke smiled and gently brushed her short black hair aside and kissed her on her forehead. “You get to relax now Annie.” Annie looked liked she might cry, some mixture of happy and sad. Next, the Duke spoke with Fiona. “How is your Go game going?” “Excellent,” she said, all smiles. “I need a challenger though.” She looked up at him and batted her eyes in a manner that was possibly supposed to be coquettish but failed to be. “I’ll see if my Strategist came come and play you.” Fiona nodded but looked disappointed. Kristine could guess she had wanted the Duke to play with her. Moving on to Vicky he merely let her hug him, saying, “I love you, Duke.” They all loved him, Kristine thought. He knew how to give them each what they wanted. It was admirable and scary at the same time. Then he came to speak to Kristine. There was a distance between them, unlike with the other Nursery Knights. But Kristine was not one of his little girls, not one of his loyal servants. Smiling he asked her, “How are you, Kristine?” “I am fine Duke of Thwees,” Kristine said, being formally polite. Like meeting a judge. Of course, she never met a judge while in a dress with a hem short enough that it showed her droopy diaper. “I am glad to hear that. I hope you soon realise this is the place where you should be.” Kristine only nodded. The Duke turned away from her and said his farewells to each of the girls, a small personal touch for each as he did so. Kristine knew she was feeling jealous. The damn man had so much charisma, and Kristine could easily envision herself in that ‘toddler receiving line’ getting her own personal greeting from him. Maybe he would pat the back of her diaper and ask if she made a present for him. Her face grew hot, and her tummy twitched. She hoped no one noticed. Of course, Tac did. “Does Kristine want her Duke Da Da?” the cat whispered in her ear. “If I thought he wath real, that he wath just a man trying to make up for what hith harmless talk did, then I might like to thtay here.” And if it was true, if she could have trusted the Duke to be what he appeared, then she might have surrendered herself to the Nursery Garden. But she did not trust him. “Well,” Tac asked, “if not this nursery, which one?” Kristine chose not to answer. Kristine was alone with Tac and one of the ogre nannies. The rest of the Nursery Knights were off somewhere, and Kristine was not welcome. “I think they’ll be dithappearing in the night again, tonight, or the next.” “Got an idea on how to find out where they are going?” Tac asked. “Maybe,” Kristine told her. “Have you been finding out anything?” “All the little bits and pieces I already told you.” Kristine nodded. The pillow talk that Tac collected was an incomplete puzzle.” “The Duke does have an agent operating in the Mundane World.” “Oh?” “A man with blue skin. Sound familiar?” “Yeth.” “Lotts, Baron of the Hounds. Yesterday’s girl has it bad for him. Told me that I was the only one better than him at bringing her off.” “Isn’t that the thort of thing hookers say when they are being paid?” “Bitch.” Kristine smiled. “The point is that Lotts is gone a lot and my little barker…” “Barker?” “She makes cute barking sounds when she comes.” “I thhould not have asked.” “Hah.” “She thinkth he ith in the Mundane World?” “She does.” “Why would the Duke care? All the Nurthery Knights are here.” “Even you.” “Even me.” Kristine sighed. “Maybe he’s got another group. Magical Infant Girls or something?” “I hope not. If I am going to thee what the Nursery Knights are doing, I will need your help.” “What?” “You’re a shapeshifter.” “Werekitty. Two forms. Not a true shifter.” “But the magical pothibility exists, like dormant DNA that could be activated.” “I don’t like the sound of this,” Tac said. Kristine smiled. “Good.” The room was dark and quiet, with empty cribs, except for one. Had any of the nannies entered at that moment, and crossed the room to look into Kristine’s crib they would have found two Kristine’s, sitting close together among the blankets and toys that Kristine had set up to offer them a little concealment. “Ugh, how can you stand being such a flatty,” Tac said, running her hands down her chest. As she looked like Kristine at that moment, Kristine wanted to tell her to stop that. “You’ll jutht have to live with it for the next hour or two,” Kristine told her. They were speaking softly, and Kristine had cast a privacy spell, just in case. Tac frowned. Kristine thought it made her look like she was pouting adorably. Of course, Tac was doing it with her face, so Kristine took little joy in it. Did she really look like that? She had to assume she did as the magic she used was supposed to make Tac, a shapeshifter, a perfect match. She had learned a lot of magic in her time in the Nursery Garden. More so than her caretakers knew. Kristine looked at Tac, from to top of her somehow cute messed up bed head, to the tip of her currently bare cute toes. ‘Dear god I am disgustingly cute.’ “Take a picture why don’t you?” Tac said. “Jutht making sure you’ll pass. You should probably wet your diaper for a tad more authenticity.” “Fuck off,” Tac told her. Kristine smiled and then summoned her magic bag. She took Mr Bear out from among the diapers and powders and then dismissed the bag. Holding Mr Bear in her hands, she worked her magic. The plushie shifted and changed, brown fur going black and sleek, shape changing from bear to cat: A perfect imitation of Tac’s cat form. “My fur is prettier than that,” Tac said. Kristine did not argue. She placed Mr Bear as cat Tac up on the railing. Mr Bear, usually inanimate at that size, helped her out by shifting into a Tac sleeping pose and twitched his ears every now and then. Kristine moved closer to Tac, until they were almost nose to nose. “Are you going to kiss me?” Tac asked. “I’d have to be somewhat narcithithtic wouldn’t I?” “I can’t keep track of all your issues.” “Just be quiet. This ith the tricky part.” The surveillance magic in the Nursery Garden was excellent. It knew where Kristine, and everyone else, was to the square centimetre. And even if one could somehow hide from it, it would know when that person disappeared. Unless an intruder could sneak in completely undetected, there was no way to hide in the Nursery Garden. And Kristine would put money on the fact that sneaking into the Garden would be harder than hiding once in. She took a breath and put her pacifier into her mouth, controlling the magic on it, so it did not immediately hide her. Then she created the complicated magical casting that would make Tac appear to be her to the magical surveillance and Mr Bear appear to be Tac, while she faded out. It would have been impossible except for the fact that Mr Bear at toy size seemed to be below the Surveillance Magic’s detection threshold or something like that. The magic did not detect him until he started appearing as Tac. She faded at the same rate Tac became her, and Mr Bear became Tac. It was an impossibly complicated bit of Magic, and Kristine was not entirely confident it would work. She full expected the Nanny to come into the room to see what was happening. But she did not. And then Kristine was completely hidden from the Nursery Garden and its staff, while Tac and Mr Bear filled in the hole left behind. “Be back thoon,” Kristine whispered around her pacifier, then she teleported away. She had picked her target. The fanciful and fantastic spire over the main building, which looked like it had been built out of spiderwebs and spun sugar. She had been a little worried that it might collapse under her weight, but the structure was as solid as if built of concrete and rebar. The Nursery Knights had left about ten minutes before. Kristine might have worried that she would not be able to spot them, but in many ways, the girls were overgrown preschoolers. And getting preschoolers to do anything tended to be less a science and more of an art, and like many an art was not always precise or on time. Hanging off the spire, Kristine spotted the Nursery Knights, in their brightly coloured magical girl uniforms, in the park that had the instrument gazebo in it. The folded space of the Garden presented her with a sense of vertigo as things appeared either too close to too far. If she had to fly or walk she was certain to get lost, but she did not have to deal with such inefficient methods of travel. She teleported across the distance, into the boughs of a tree on the edge of the park clearing. She watched colleen leading the girls towards another of the many paths. She was worried that the other girls might know she was close, that the connection between them due to their shared magic might allow them to pierce her magical concealment. That they did not created complicated feelings in Kristine’s chest. Perhaps she was never really meant to be a Nursery Knight. Perhaps she would always be outside of the group. As the Nursery Knights disappeared into the shadowy darkness of another path, Kristine teleported into the tree branches almost directly above their group. And so she followed, always worried that some sound, a creak of a branch, a crinkle of a diaper, might give her away. Nothing did. The path that Colleen led the girls on took them into parts of the Garden that Kristine had never seen before. She had to stay close to them as she could not teleport blind. Her diaper grew wet and heavy, sagging a little bit before Kristine noticed. She hoped that smell, like sight and sound, were concealed. It took them about half an hour to reach their destination. It was a vast clearing, with sequoia-like trees that soared overhead, their canopies weaved together so tight it was almost like they were in a cave. In the centre of the clearing stood a set to marble like stones, so white they glowed in the darkness beneath the trees. It was similar to Stonehenge, the standing stones in a circle, paired with a with a marble cross stone that lay on top of them. Kristine waited for the Nursery Knights to enter the stones, then she teleported close, just outside of the circles, where she could look in. At Colleen’s direction, the girls took up positions around an altar-like arrangement of stones. As Colleen stepped back, the girls began to sing. It was a beautiful song, with strange words that Kristine did not know, but somehow recognised as being powerful, and dangerous. She had heard snatches of that song, always cut off when she came close. The Nursery Knights practising but never letting her hear. Their voices wove together, resonating with each other as if they were all blood sisters. Something was missing, Kristine could hear it, something that the song needed. And she realised it was her voice. The Nursery Knights were incomplete without her. Whatever they were attempting, it was missing a critical component. A group of six Magical Girls, easily pliable because of their immaturity, that was what the Duke of Threes had wanted. The Nursery Knights had not been created by accident. As they sang they performed a complicated spell casting, creating a magical effect that Kristine almost understood. They sang together for perhaps an hour, voices never faltering, diapers probably getting wet or messy without them even knowing. Kristine did not doubt that all their attention was focused on the magic. Well practised, the Nursery Knights ended their song and magic. They stepped back from the altar. Annie laughed and ran forward, climbing up on the stones. “There is more than last time,” she called out gleefully. Fiona had followed and leaned over, her shoulder almost touching Annie’s. Kristine could not hear what she said, but Colleen called out loud enough, “When Kristine joins you there will be so much more. That is why you need to persuade her to join you girls.” “We will,” Vicky said, her voice ringing with confidence. Kristine shivered slightly. Colleen left the stone circle, walked to another pathway. There was a small flag there, Kristine had not noticed it before. Colleen took the flag down, then returned to the circle to gather up the girls. It would take them at least half an hour to get back to the nursery. Kristine had some time to investigate. Once she was sure they were gone Kristine entered the stone circle. The stones at the centre of the ring were a pile at least twice Kristine’s height. She climbed up them as Annie and Fiona had. At the top of the pile was a large bowl, set within the stones. The bowl was probably five feet across, and just as deep, and in the bottom glittered several globes of golden metal, each the size of her first. Kristine could only surmise that the Nursery Knight's spell had created that gold. Not gold, Kristine suddenly realised. True Gold. The weaponised plutonium of this world. Just counterfeiting the coins could get one killed. What sort of punishment for creating it? No one sane would try it. No one crazy could achieve it. But innocent little girls, just trying to make their daddy figure happy… Kristine bit down on the bulb of her pacifier. Damn him, she thought. She had probably been staring down into the bowl for several minutes when she heard someone approaching. She spun, worried she had been found out. Walking towards her was the blue-skinned man called Lotts, the Baron and Huntsman. Kristine got ready for a fight but the way he walked, unconcerned and unhurried, she knew he did not know she was there. Lotts was not there for her, but for the True Gold. Kristine moved aside, watched him climb into the bowl and retrieve the True Gold. He put each globe into a cylinder of black metal, and then the cylinders went into a box of dark wood. He lifted the box to his shoulder, staggering slightly as if surprised by the weight. Kristine remembered Annie saying they had created more that time. As Kristine considered that Lotts walked off, the box balanced on his back. And as she watched him step from the circle, she knew where he was going. To the Mundane World. Where better to hide the True Gold but in a place where no one would ever look for it. She had a lot to think of, and a lot to do. With only a thought she teleported back to the nursery and her crib.

The next part of 'A Too Late Magical Girl' Kristine’s diaper was soaked when she woke up the next day. She declined an offer of a change and instead asked to be taken to the toilet. With a kind smile, the ogre led her to the washroom. Kristine used the toilet and then put on a new diaper. By the time she got back to the nursery, the other girls were having their breakfast. “Is there thome place I can wash up?” Kristine asked the ogre. That ogre nanny had large tusks, her defining feature, and it made her sound like she had a mouth full of marbles when she spoke. “Would you like me to give you a bath?” she asked. Kristine shook her head. “A shower…” “Of course.” The shower was sized for ogres, but Kristine could just reach the taps. After washing off, she had Mr Bear help her on with a new diaper. The ogre was waiting outside of the shower room. She smiled her tusky smile and took Kristine for breakfast. She sat by herself, drinking from a bottle and feeding herself as best she could with the too large utensils that made her clumsy. The other Nursery Knights had already been at ‘play time’ when Kristine was led into the playroom. Mandy was seated at a piano-like instrument that was sized for the ogres, her feet dangling in the air as she played. Betty and Fiona were playing with plastic, locking blocks, building complicated structures that looked like a city. Annie and Vicky were involved in some board game, and Kristine almost discounted them, interested in what Betty and Fiona were doing, until she noted the game they were playing was chess. She stepped closer, expecting to see that they were not really playing the game but just moving the pieces. And in fact, Vicky made a sound like a horse neighing and a ‘clip clop’ of one running as she moved her knight, but the move was valid. Annie countered with her pawn, then looked up at Kristine. “Do you want to play?” Before Kristine could answer Vicky said, “She can play the loser in five turns.” “She can play the loser in four turns.” “Girls,” the ogre at Kristine's side said in her gargling marbles voice. “Sorry,” they said in unison. “You can play the winner if you want,” Annie said. Kristine watched as in four moves like Annie predicted, Annie put Vicky in check. “Who do you want to play now?” Annie asked. Kristine knew how chess was played, but the two girls played on a level that was beyond her. “I’ll play Vicky,” Kristine said. Not that it turned out Vicky was an easy opponent. Both Vicky and Annie giggled whenever Kristine made a move. In short order, Vicky had her in checkmate. “You play like a baby,” Vicky said. “Vicky,” the ogre said as if she had to protect Kristine’s feelings. “Sorry,” Vicky said. “You’ll get better if you practice,” Annie said and reached out to pat Kristine’s hand. Kristine looked around at the other Nursery Knights. These girls used their diapers like toddlers, ate in highchairs, drooled around pacifiers, and yet they were not stupid. Humiliatingly immature yes, but far from stupid. That made no sense to her. She did not have much time to think about it before the Nursery Knights’ next activity. She followed after them as they were ‘herded’ by the nannies and Colleen to another building and a room that looked like a nursery school classroom. There the girls were taught magical theory, though if Kristine had not been a Magical Girl who understood magic, it would have come across as nonsensical lessons with juvenile rhymes and games. But it was magical theory. What the hell was the Duke of Threes doing? Colleen sketched out a map on the board, indicating the nature of magic, with the complicated mathematical formula on the sides. Then she told a story about a ‘silly little bunny’ and the bunny's adventures in the forest. It was all metaphor for the theory, but the Nursery Knights giggled and called out at the appropriate times as the story progressed. Once Colleen had it all sketched out she asked, “Now, how should our little bunny get home lest she gets a spanking from her mommy?” The Nursery Knights giggled, with perhaps a little nervousness, but Kristine supposed she might be projecting. “She should ask Mr Crow to fly her home,” Betty said. “And do you think that would work?” At the rear of the class, Kristine could only see the back of Betty’s head but wondered if the girl was frowning. “Come to the front of the class and show your work.” Betty stood, and with a slight, ‘thick diaper’ waddle walked up to the board and began to write out childish numbers, several backwards. Mr Crow represented wind magic, and Kristine could see fairly quickly that it was not the best way to make this journey. Betty seemed to be getting the same idea for her chalk stopped, and she said, “I’m sorry Miss Colleen.” “That's okay Betty,” and Colleen patted her on the head. Kristine cringed slightly, but the crestfallen Betty seemed happy to be treated so and skipped back to her seat. The Nursery Knights discussed the question among themselves before finally coming to the consensus that the bunny should tunnel home. It was not actually tunnelling, but more akin to Kristine’s teleportation ability; punching holes between ‘here’ and ‘there’ bypassing the intervening space via magic. Annie was asked to come up and show the work. As they all watched Annie write the equations, Kristine noticed the yellow diaper cover Annie wore suddenly puff out, and then droop down. She had messed herself while writing on the board. And no one seemed to care. Kristine squirmed in her seat, hardly paying attention to the equations, her mind focusing on the mess what would be in Annie’s diaper. After being told her work was correct and receiving a pat on her head Annie waddled back to her chair, and seemingly unaware of the mess, sat down in her seat. She made a small sound of surprise and Kristine guessed she was feeling the mess squish beneath her. Kristine could not help but moan as she came, her pussy fluttering and warmth spreading out through her stomach. “Kristine,” Colleen said. Kristine took a deep breath, wondering if she could control herself, wondering it Colleen was about to call her out. However, all Colleen said was, “What path do you think the little bunny should take home so as not to get a spanking?” What the hell? Bunnies? Spankings? Her head was full of pleasure fog, and it took her a few seconds to remember that this was a class. She noted all the Nursery Knights had turned around and were looking at her. “You don’t have to be afraid,” Betty said with an encouraging smile. “We won’t laugh at you.” Would not laugh at her for getting the answer wrong? For cumming? If she were to mess her own diaper like Annie had? She took a deep breath, looked at the board and the equations on it. They were complicated, like physics, but like all her magic, Kristine could visualise what they meant. “The bunny thould jump in the river and let it take her home.” “The river?” Fiona sounded surprised. “But the bunny would drown Kristine,” Mandy told her as if Kristine was somewhat stupid for not seeing that. “Little bunny might not drown,” Vicky said, coming to Kristine’s defence as if Kristine needed someone to defend her. It is not me always messing my diapers, Kristine thought somewhat angrily. “But the bunny would be exhausted from trying to swim and would be too tired to get home after leaving the river,” Mandy told both Vicky and Kristine. “No,” Kristine said, and got up from her seat. Her daytime diapers were not as thick as those that the others wore, so she hardly waddled at all. At the front of the class, she picked up the chalk and began to show her work. It reminded her a little of attending university, and she had liked university. The intellectual challenge of it all. Though 'intellectual challenge' seemed at odds with the nursery school like settings and the students' dress. But the magical theory was challenging. “Little bunny would need to cweate a shell, like this, and that would protect it from drowning, and if we do this,” she altered her equations a little, “little bunny could syphon off magic from the river and end up on the bank all refreshed and ready to run the last part home.” She stepped back from the board and looked at her work. “Excellent Kristine,” Colleen said and patted Kristine on the head. Kristine looked up at her, beaming with pride until she recalled that being patted on the head like that was not something she should be proud of, nor did she want this woman’s approval. “I guess,” Kristine said, putting the chalk down. “I knew you were smart, even if you lost at chess,” Vicky said. A backhanded compliment Kristine was sure. She walked back to her seat, suddenly worried she might have messed her diaper while up at the chalkboard, concentrating on the numbers. But no, she had not, and when she took her seat, all she felt was damp padding and not a squishy, warm mess. She told herself she was not disappointed. The class ended not long after. While the other girls had their diapers changed Kristine asked to be escorted to the toilet. Yes, it would be easier just to use her diaper to its fullest, but she was worried what would happen once she went down that road. Better the inconvenience and the disgusting toilet than another option, she told herself. When she finally got back, the Nursery Knights had moved onto the next activity of the day. The day before she had seen the girls at a choral music lesson. This time it was musical instruments. Fiona and Betty each sat at their own piano, an ogre nanny perched beside them, coaching them. Vicky had a flute and was working with Colleen. Mandy was playing the violin by herself while nearby Annie was seated on an ogre’s lap as she worked the bow of a cello too large for her. “Is there a musical instrument you would like to learn?” the ogre who Kristine suspected was to be her nanny asked. Kristine had always wanted to learn to play an instrument but had never had the time. She shook her head. “Not right now.” “That’s fine,” the ogre said. Kristine was almost positive there was an unsaid, ‘there will be plenty of time.’ At first glance, the activities of the girls were perfectly suitable for the ridiculous overgrown toddlers: Silly and babyish. However, once Kristine really looked at them she saw depth in all of them. Art projects that were based on magical theory. Games of ‘lets pretend’ that actually taught tactics. Magical Tag games which were all flash and bang as the girls performed impossible stunts. Whatever was happening here, there was more to it than a group of Magical Girls being protected. And Kristine knew something was happening when she was not around. Some part of the lesson that stopped when she appeared. She was a guest, and there were things guests did not take part in. It was annoying, and it made her mad, but she saw no way around it. Everyone seemed to be in on the 'guest protocol'. Even the other Nursery Knights were pretty cagey about it. As her first full day there ended, and Kristine climbed into her crib, no, the crib, not her crib, she was still uncertain about all of this. And she was worried the longer she stayed, the less likely she would leave. She told herself that nothing would happen like that as she lay down, ignoring the click as one of the ogre nannies pulled up the crib side and locked it. She would just need to work it all out, find out exactly what was happening. Then she could leave. The lights went out, and everything became grey in the shadows. “Kristine.” A soft whisper. Kristine looked up. Vicky was kneeling in her crib, in the dim light from beyond the room she looked so much like a small child. “Kristine,” Vicky whispered again. “What ith it?” Kristine whispered back. “I’m glad you are here. We were always a little sad that we did not have all of the Nursery Knights.” Kristine said nothing for a few seconds, then asked, “Was it hard to fight the Nightmare King?” Vicky did not answer right away. “Uh uh, not at first,” she said, shaking her head. “Our Plushies helped us.” She wondered what she meant by 'not at first', but instead asked, “Which Plushie did you have?” Kristine asked. “Mr Puppy.” “Mine ith Mr Bear.” “Cute,” Vicky said. “Do you call for your Pluthies to help you now?” “Nuh uh.” “Why?” “Cause I don’t think they like us anymore.” “They don’t like you?” “That’s what Colleen says.” What did Colleen tell them? “I bet you they thtill like you,” Kristine said. She actually did not know if the Plush servants really thought. She did not know if Mr Bear had an opinion about her or anything. “Do you think?” “Yeth,” Kristine said. “I’ll ask the Duke next time he comes,” Vicky said. Kristine wanted to tell her not to. To not ask the Duke his opinion about anything. She did not though. It was like some crazy, magical Stockholm Syndrome. The Nursery Knights respected the Duke, loved him, in some odd way she was still trying to figure out. So speaking against him would achieve nothing. “You could always call Mr Puppy and athk him,” Kristine said. “Goodnight Kristine,” Vicky said. In the shadow, Kristine saw her lie down in her crib. “Goodnight Vicky,” Kristine whispered. She rolled onto her back, her nighttime diaper crinkling under her. Was there a reason the Duke did not want the Nursery Knight’s calling the plushie servants? Would there be any value in trying to convince the other girls to call their plushies? Should she make a point of calling Mr Bear? She fell asleep considering strategies. Her second full day at the garden went much like her first. The Nursery Knights went through their simple-seeming but actually complicated games and classes and past times. She was getting a feel for the girls. Mandy must have been the group's healer, her magic had a gentle feeling, and she was patient with Kristine when she explained things. Kristine was a little insulted by that, seeing as Mandy was often in a diaper, which drooped between her legs, as she treated Kristine as the immature one. Betty had the sense of a fighter about her, full of excitement and energy, enjoying roughhousing and physical activities. She laughed a lot when running around and when she talked to Kristine she expressed exasperation when she had to explain things. Kristine did not mind as it meant Betty expected her to know these things. Annie came across as the leader, though with Colleen and the nannies dictating much of their life there was little for a leader to do. Kristine thought she looked a little lost, that she was watching, waiting for when she was needed. Both sad and hopeful. Fiona was a thinker, the one who looked at problems and came up with solutions. She often was a little farther ahead than the rest of the Nursery Knights, but the girls seemed to accept that and her plans without asking questions. Vicky was the charismatic member, who smiled her way around problems and who could call you an idiot and you would take it kindly. She was touchy-feely, free with her expressions of affection. Kristine did not think she knew the girls well, however, not after so short of a time. Her third full day offered a change in the way things had gone. When Kristine returned to the main building, having used the far-off toilet, she found all the Nursery Knights missing. “Where are all the other girl’th?” she asked, walking towards the table where her breakfast awaited her. “Oh, no need to worry,” the nanny told her. “They’ll be back soon.” It was not an answer, and it was not supposed to be. So there were secrets that they were keeping from her. Not a surprise. When the Nursery Knights returned Kristine tried asking Mandy where they had been, but Mandy simply smiled and said, “It’s not important.” Kristine spent the day wondering if they had been sent off for some kind of training to reinforce their infantile behaviour. She supposed that was something they would not want her to know. At least not until they had their hooks into her. On the fourth day, Kristine got a surprise in the form of a black cat who sat on the fence near the washroom. “What’s up stupid,” Tac said. “Tac, what are you doing here?” Kristine asked. “What do you think I’m doing here. You’re my responsibility, and Gorgeous nearly put one of her unattractive shoes up my ass as a reminder.” “Am I thupposed to feel sorry for you?” “Who is this?” the ogre nanny demanded, walking over to where Kristine spoke with Tac. “Back off bitch,” Tac said. “I’m her liaison, and that means where she goes I go.” “Eventually,” Kristine said softly. Tac either did not hear her or chose to ignore her. “You want to separate a Magical Girl and her official Liaison? Go right ahead. My idiot boss would love a reason to look into this cluster fuck you have going on here.” The nanny took a step back. Having an ogre showing fear of a cat was comical, but Kristine did not laugh. “I wasn’t… I won’t… I need to let Colleen know.” She turned and nearly ran off. “Ogres. Never met one I wanted to fuck,” Tac said, jumping from the fence onto Kristine’s shoulder. “You smell like piss. More so than usual.” “Wow, and for a moment there I almotht thought I missed you.” “Of course you missed me. I’m great.” “Hath the word ‘great’ been redefined?” Tac scratched her across her face. “Fuck, ow. What the hell?” “Sorry, paw slipped.” “What the hell are you doing here?” Kristine asked, lightly dabbing at her face. Her fingers came away with a little blood on them. “Figuring things out. Don’t suppose you got off your diapered ass and solved this shit so I can go back to drinking and fucking?” “No, I haven’t figured it out.” “Too much to hope for,” Tac said with a sigh. “I haven’t been thitting around,” Kristine snapped. She started walking off in the direction the ogre had run. “Of course you haven’t been shitting around, I assume you’ve been using your diapers.” “Oh, sure, make fun of my lithp.” “I did.” “athhole.” Tac laughed. “There ith something strange happening here. These girlth are really skilled.” “In what, soaking their diapers?” That was, in fact, true, but Kristine said, “Lots of thingth. Magic, music, fighting, strategy…” “Are you sure it’s not just that you are so pathetic they seem good to you?” “I am going to kick you.” “Try it,” Tac said, patting the scratches on Kristine’s face with a sheathed claw paw. She then licked her paw pads, probably tasting some of Kristine’s blood. Kristine fumed for a few moments before saying, “I know a bunch of Magical Girlth who you are not a liaison for. How about I thuggest to them that they play with the little kitty.” “I will kill you in your sleep,” Tac warned. Kristine believed she might, but she doubled down and said, “Maybe they will play dweth up with you. Make you a cute little kitty doll.” “I will end you,” Tac warned. “Just keep it in mind. They are up to thomething.” “Well, let’s hope so, or we are wasting my time here.” Kristine did not ask about her time know what Tac would say. “What about Umon?” “He swears up and down that it was all the Duke’s doing, but the Duke played his word games well. Derrypiz is useless to us.” “Damn,” Kristine said. “Damn indeed. So Gorgeous wants me to figure out a way to nail the Duke of Threes, or at least figure what he is really attempting. She’s pissed.” “She’th not the only one,” Kristine said. Kristine was still trying to follow the path, but it was more confusing that she recalled. She was starting to think she was lost when she came around a corner and nearly ran into Colleen. The blindfolded woman looked down at Kristine, and at Tac. “Who is this?” she demanded. “This ith Tac,” Kristine said. “Name’s Tac bitch,” Tac said at the same time. Colleen’s nostrils flared. “Outsiders are not allowed here without the Duke of Three’s permission,” Colleen said. “I’m not an outsider, I’m Kristine’s liaison, and where she goes I go, so suck it up.” Colleen frowned. “I do not think Kristine needs a liaison anymore. She has shown herself quite skilled.” “Quite skilled?" Tac sounded incredulous. "She can’t even keep her pants dry.” It was Kristine’s turn to frown, but she said nothing. “No,” Tac continued. “I am of the opinion that Kristine still needs me. Of course, if you disagree you can talk to my boss. Her name is Gorgeous, and she’s got a real positive opinion of the Duke of Threes.” Tac’s tone was sarcastic. “So I’m sure you’ll get far.” Colleen looked angry, but she said, “We shall see, but you will respect the rules here and go nowhere you are told not to.” “I’ll go anywhere Kristine does bandage.” Colleen, lips pressed into a tight line, turned on her heel. “Come along Kristine.” “It’s good to see you piss everyone off equally,” Kristine told Tac. “It is all part of my charm.” “Charm? Is that what you call it?” “You’ll understand when you grow up.” Kristine pouted but said nothing. Colleen led the way through the garden, the way unfamiliar to Kristine. When she commented on it, Tac said, “Dimensional folding. The space within the walls is pretty vast.” “How do I not get lost?”
 “Teleport where you want to go, idiot.” It was a simple enough answer, and Kristine felt a little stupid for not thinking of it herself. They came out of the hedge maze into a park with a gazebo in the centre. Kristine had never seen it before. “Hey, a kitty,” Fiona said, the first to notice Tac. At her statement the other Nursery Knights looked up from what they were doing, looking at Tac who sat upon Kristine’s shoulder. “Congratulations Kristine,” Tac said, “you are no longer the most ridiculously pathetic magical girl I have ever seen.” Kristine did not know what to say to that. It was obviously cruel, but at the same time, it was good not to be the most pathetic. “Girls,” Colleen called out. The Nursery Knights who had been starting towards Kristine, all stopped. “That is Kristine’s Liaison. Not a pet and she is not welcome here, though she has to stay.” “What a bitch,” Tac said in Kristine’s ear. “Why is a Liaison here?” Annie asked. She sounded angry, but Kristine thought that could not be right. Colleen looked at the Nursery Knight and said, “She claims Kristine still needs her.” “That’s stupid,” Annie said, then to Kristine. “You don’t need her. Send her away.” Kristine was a little surprised at the demanding tone that Annie used. However she shook off the surprise and said. “No.” Annie frowned. “Liaisons are bad.” “Tac is, but the others seem okay. At least competent.” “I’m gonna scratch you so bad,” Tac said into her ear. Annie looked upset. “But… You… It’s…” She threw up her hands and stalked back towards the Gazebo. “She’s dull,” Tac commented before she jumped off Kristine’s shoulder and up into the lower branches of a tree. Kristine looked up at Tac, then back towards the garden. Mandy had come up to Kristine and placed a hand on Kristine’s face. “You got a cut here.” She felt a warm tingling sensation where Mandy touched her. It had not really hurt, but the feeling of discomfort faded and disappeared. Mandy smiled. “All better.” “Thank you,” Kristine said. Before Mandy could turn and walk away, Kristine asked, “Why ith Annie tho upset about Liaisons?” “Oh,” Mandy said, her tone reluctant. “The Liaisons betrayed us.” “Betrayed you?” Mandy nodded. “They said we had beaten the Nightmare King and they would leave and we would be okay. But it was not okay, and the Nightmare King was not beaten and he came back and would have hurt us all.” She took a deep breath. “That was when the Duke saved us.” Before Kristine could ask about that Colleen was calling for them, and Mandy ran off to join the others. Kristine followed, looking back towards where Tac perched in a tree. Betrayed? In the Gazebo she saw the Nursery Knights were gathering around in a circle on the floor, a large number of cards placed face down in front of them. She was curious at how the Nursery Knights could have been betrayed, but the game, which was a magical memory matching game, caught her attention and she decided she would ask Tac about it later. For now, she was focused on the game. Tac was to sleep with Kristine in her crib. “I think I’ll stay up here,” Tac said from where she perched upon the railing. “Who knows what has been on that mattress.” Cat shaped Tac said with a tone of disgust. “There ith nothing on the mattress, and even if there were the sheets are changed daily. Now get down here so we can talk.” Tac sighed and jumped down from the rail onto the mattress. The lights had just been turned out and the other Nursery Knights were likely already asleep. Kristine leaned in close to Tac and asked, “Did the other Liaisonth betray the Nursery Knights?” Tac stared at Kristine, her eyes seeming to glow in the dim light of the room. “So there are stupid questions. I always suspected the saying that there were none was wrong.” “Jutht answer the question.” “Of course they didn’t. Liaisons have their Magical Girls best interests in mind, even if the magical girl in question is an idiot like you.” “The Nursery Knightth think that the Liaisons did betray them. That the Nightmare King was not defeated and he attacked them after the Liaisons said it was safe.” “You know you are listening to girls who crap themselves as they drool.” “They don’t drool, well, not a lot, and I think they believe it. I athked all of them during the day and their stories held together pretty well.” “Well, they are wrong. The Nightmare King is dead, the Nursery Knights ended him. If anyone attacked them, it was not the Nightmare King.” “Then it was pwobably the Duke of Threes.” “That is what I would bet on.” Kristine nodded and laid her head down on the pillow. “I just have more questions.” Tac jumped back up onto the crib railing. “Figure it out fast, sooner I get out of this place the better.”

Glad to hear that that you are enjoying the story.

Various people have differing opinions on fanfic, which is what 'inspired by' stories are. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If you can ask someone if they are okay with you writing fanfic, that is always good. When you get into taking an author's story and changing things around and posting it, I'd say don't. But that's my opinion, so YMMV. As for how different... let's say you took Oliver Twist and then rewrote it, maybe from Nancy's perspective or something. If you could then do a find/replace on every character name and place name that came from Oliver Twist and at that point no one would be able to realize it was based on Oliver Twist... then you got something significantly different that I would say you don't need to worry about asking permission of Dickens. EDIT: On the other hand taking Oliver Twist and rewriting it as a modern tale with diaper content cleaves closer to fanfic. Sequels, I mean, if the original author wanted a sequel, they would have probably wrote one. Maybe they are in the process of writing one and an 'unauthorized' sequel makes them give up on it. Again, does not hurt to ask for permission if you can get it. As for 'they have not been heard from for 20 years and can I repost their story and maybe fix up their grammar' well, the first question I would ask is if their story is still available. If it is then do you really need to repost it? Why not just provide a link? And I would ask myself 'am I posting this because I think it is great and I want people to see it, or am I posting it to maybe steal a bit of the author's fire cause even if I put 'Originally Written by....' my name is still going to be on the first post'. My two cents.

Consider this a Halloween treat. I also created a Deviant Art Page, InkuHime, with some new art on it. Here is the next part of the story The Duke of Threes’ office was designed to project power. In the Mundane World, Kristine had seen a few offices like that, College Deans, CEOs, one or two judges. Everything about the offices seemed to be saying, ‘I am powerful and dangerous.’ Then there was the Duke himself. Almost beautiful, tall and slim, dangerous and powerful. As she stood in front of his desk, guard behind her, Kristine looked at this man who had upturned her life, at least twice. She wanted to be angry, well, she was angry, of course. She wanted to show that anger, to rail against him, to perhaps even pull out her mace and lay about the office. She enjoyed the fantasy for the moment, but buried it immediately and damped down her anger. As a lawyer, she might be passionate, but never overemotional. The dangerous man was observing her as she was observing him. Kristine wanted to pull down at the hem of her ridiculously short dress’ skirt, to make sure it covered her diaper. She wanted to, but she did not. He spoke first, and Kristine could not be certain if that meant he won or she did. “You invaded my castle, abducted a guest and attacked my subjects.” Trespassing, maybe breaking and entering, kidnapping, not abduction, and assault with a deadly weapon, perhaps manslaughter. It sounded pretty bad. Kristine wondered if Gorgeous had the Magical World equivalent of a warrant? Well, she was not in court, she had not been sworn in, and she was not going to argue her actions. “I’m here to see the other Nursery Knighth,” she said, almost getting it out lisp free. He might have looked surprised for a moment. Because of what she asked? Because she had not reacted to his accusations? Or maybe he was not surprised at all. “If you had accompanied my agents who came for you in the Mundane World you would have already met them.” His tone was Patronizing. Kristine tried not to react, but she felt her fist clenched tight as she answered, “They did not make their intent clear.” He nodded after a moment. “Well, you are here now, and I can understand your confusion and I am willing to forgive you your actions.” “I am not theeking your forgiveness. I am here to see the Nurthery Knights.” Behind her, the guards shifted about, perhaps nervous. The Duke did not react, at all. A good poker face that showed nothing, Kristine thought, but the very fact he was maintaining such a deadpan look told Kristine she had surprised him. It was an advantage if she could find a way to use it. The blank countenance was gone, and the Duke of Threes smiled. “Well, you are of course Welcome to meet with the Nursery Knights, you are one, after all, they are like your sisters.” And you are supposed to be our daddy? She did not voice that question. “While you are in my land you will be confined to the Garden I have prepared for people from the Mundane Realm.” There was no room for refusal in that statement. It was either accept it or leave. “Of courthe,” Kristine replied. “Very well.” The Duke stood. Even before her transformation, the Duke would have towered over her, at least by two heads. He moved with a smoothness that Kristine associated with great cats or high-performance sports cars. It was inhuman. “Please,” he said in a manner that made it clear it was not a word he often uttered, “come with me.” The guards were nervous and uncertain as they parted, letting the Duke pass. Kristine followed after him, having to run to keep up. Behind them, the guards formed up and followed. “I will be going down to the Garden,” the Duke told the clerks in the outer office, not slowing to acknowledge them as they all jumped to their feet. Kristine had been escorted under armed guard to the office, and then the guards had taken her through what Kristine assumed were servant corridors. The way that the Duke led her was through grand hallways, filled with artwork and light. As they passed people, they would turn and bow their heads to the Duke, calling him, ‘Your Grace.’ Following as she was, Kristine was the focus for those peoples’ attention. In her rustling diapers, with the slight waddle, she knew she looked ridiculous. Especially in the Duke's wake as he was anything but ridiculous. He did not moderate his pace for her but instead stopped so she could catch up. It made her feel ridiculous, and like a little girl. She assumed he was doing it on purpose but could not discount it was simply an unconscious action by someone who was a master at manipulating people. When she caught up to him the sixth time, he did not continue, but stood, a window at his back. “You know Kristine, I don’t want you to think of me as an enemy.” She looked up at him. “I’m not thure how I could not.” He looked down at her. “I could not know that Derrypiz would take my musings and do something with them.” Entirely true, but he would have believed, would have hoped. If she had him on the stand proving his guilt would be a matter of two or three questions demanding 'yes' or 'no' answers. She imagined saying to the judge, ‘Permission to treat the Duke as a hostile witness’. She also imagined doing so while in a thick diaper, so the fantasy was ruined. Kristine nodded and said nothing. “But while I am not at fault, I am responsible, don’t you think?” Kristine did not answer right away, considering the Duke's statement. “I think you are right.” “That is why I have brought the Nursery Knights here Kristine. They are incapable of taking care of themselves, and would be trapped in a world that would not understand them.” “Motht Magical Girlth are living in a world that would not understand them.” “And are they happy?” Telling, Kristine thought, remembering the night she had met Tac. Magical Parfait on the TV. Kristine remembered calling her a joke. She did not want to answer, but silence would be taken as agreement. “I can’t say.” He nodded as if she said exactly what he wanted to hear. “I brought the Nursery Knights here so they could be happy, taken care of, and not looked at as if they were freaks.” Freak. A strong word. But not an unfair way to describe the oversized toddlers that the Nursery Knights were created to be. “Mr Bear could take care of me,” Kristine said. “Mr Bear?” “My Plushie animal,” Kristine said and regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. The Duke smiled. “Yes, the toy golems. I think you would find out soon enough that the golems are more suited to fighting than taking care of special little girls like the Nursery Knights.” Special. There was another strong word. But she did not believe what the Duke was saying. Mr Bear had changed her, cleaned her, mended her clothing, treated her wounds, and held her. As annoying as Mr Bear’s presence was, Kristine was quite confident in the plushie’s child care skills. Maybe the other Knight’s toy golems were not as good at it, but Kristine doubted it. The Duke was full of shit. An unfortunate train of thought though, as it made her aware that her diaper was probably a little messy. The Duke turned and started walking. Kristine had to run once more to keep up. “I want you to keep in mind that I am looking out for your interests and the interests of the Other Nursery Knights, Kristine. And keep in mind that the magic that has transformed you will continue to do so. You are going to need someone to take care of you.” He looked over his shoulder and smiled. Kristine ignored the smile, for her attention was on his eyes and the strange hunger within them. What did he want? What was the reason for that hunger? “You’ll excuthe me if I would rather it not be you.” “I think you’ll change your mind.” He looked away from her. He sounded confident. Kristine wanted to kick him in the back. They reached a steep stairway. He offered her his hand. She did not bat it away, though she wanted to, but ignored it and started up the stairs. The high stairs were difficult for her smaller legs, and she knew the Duke, who followed her, was possibly looking up her short skirt at her diapered bottom. Thankfully the stairway was not too long, and she stepped out onto a flat rooftop. A strange chariot sat upon the roof, a set of empty traces laid out in front of it. The duke stepped around her and walked over to the chariot. He stepped up on the deck of the carriage. “Come along,” he said. After a moment Kristine walked over and stepped up into the chariot beside him. Taking up the reins the Duke of Threes made a flicking motion. Three winged tigers formed in the traces and leapt into the sky. Kristine grabbed the railing and just managed not to scream. Smiling the Duke of Threes directed the team out of the city. Kristine looked over the sides of the chariot, at the city that rose up on either side of a valley. “Quite the sight is it not?” Denying it would be churlish. Kristine nodded. “It’th beautiful.” “Everything in my land is beautiful Kristine. You would be happy here, I promise.” “But I could not leave the garden you made.” “I might make an exception.” “Don’t bother. I don’t plan on thtaying.” He did not answer immediately. “You should at least give it a chance.” She did not answer that. No point in arguing it. “What does the Mundane World offer you?” The question surprised Kristine. And no answer came to her immediately. What did it offer her? She could live comfortable enough, make herself useful through magic, but what else? “I have not decided yet,” she answered. He smiled as if he had suspected such an answer. It made her angry, but she said nothing, ignoring him as they flew down the mountainside. The stretches of wild forest and bare rock of the mountain were broken by the appearance of buildings and tended gardens, all surrounded by a wall. The Duke of Threes directed the chariot towards the ground, touching down near an open gate. He stepped down from the chariot, offered her his hand. She could not decide how to not take the hand without seeming childish, so she let him help her down. “This way Kristine,” he said, indicating the open gate.” It was on Kristine’s tongue to ask that he call her Miss St. James but she held back, knowing her lisp would make that demand ridiculous. Beyond the gate were manicured grounds and elegant buildings in pastel colours. It was like something out of a dream, which Kristine supposed was the point. Then she saw the ogre. Alarm faded as soon as she saw the giant wore a long dress, like some 19th-century maid. A female ogre? Or was that creature no different than the ones that she had fought in the station not that long ago? Perhaps they took off their armour and put on dresses? Her attention was drawn away from the ogre, who was walking away, to a woman who stood awaiting the Duke. She wore a dark blue dress, with a blue band around her eyes. She looked pretty, with long, black hair and delicate features. She dipped into a low curtsey. “Your Grace.” “Colleen, this is Kristine. She is the sixth Nursery Knight.” Perhaps she was surprised, it was hard to tell with her eyes covered. “It is as you said, Your Grace.” Kristine frowned when the woman said that. As if her actions count be predicted. “She is here as a guest,” The Duke said. “A guest?” “An honoured guest, but a guest none the less. Keep that in mind.” “Of course your Grace.” Kristine was certain more was being said than she was aware of. She guessed it was the equivalent of ‘keep her on the outside of things’. The outside of what was, of course, the question. Kristine did not know if it was a question she wanted to ask. She shifted from foot to foot for a moment under Colleen’s gaze. She made herself stop. Her diaper felt damp, heavy. She hoped she had not messed it very much. “Where are the girls?” the Duke asked. “They are in the rose garden, resting up.” “Then let us go and introduce Kristine to the Nursery Knights.” The Duke sounded quite happy. Kristine was not sure what she felt. “This way,” Colleen said and set off deeper into the garden. For a blindfolded woman, she seemed confident in her steps, leading Kristine and the Duke past buildings, through a small hedge maze, and out into a spacious glade surrounded by roses, with a tall oak in the centre of the clearing. There were several of the ogre nannies there, tall and broad-shouldered in their blue dresses. The Nursery Knights were seated on small cushions, though one in the lap of an ogre, being bottle fed, and another on her back, having a diaper changed. A messy diaper. Kristine recalled squatting on a roof, in a messy diaper, bringing herself to orgasm. Of course, it was not her, but the magic. She hoped. Still, a small thrill ran through her as she imagined herself on her back, an ogre holding her legs up as her messy bottom was cleaned. It is just the magic, she told herself again, looking away, fixing her attention on the other Nursery Knights. They were dressed similarly to how she was. Dresses, with hems high enough that their diapers were visible. In different colours than her blue. The Nursery Knights noted the Duke of Threes first. Four of them sprung to their feet and rushed at him. The one having her diaper changed had to be held down by the ogre as a new diaper was taped on. The twelve foot tall, muscle-bound nanny looked as if she was being challenged. Good to see the other Nursery Knights were strong, Kristine thought. Probably explained the choice of a nanny. Soon the Duke was surrounded by a group of girls, all crowding around him and begging for attention. They all looked a little younger than Kristine currently looked. If you put them in regular clothing and had them walking along a street back in her world, she would probably put a guess of seven or eight, maybe nine to the ages. The Duke appeared a gentle, doting uncle type of person, patting them on their heads and having kind words for them all. And the Nursery Knights obviously adored him. Not just the Knights. The nanny ogres looked on respectfully, and Colleen gazed on the Duke with naked love and lust, so much so Kristine grew slightly uncomfortable being in the presence of that raw emotion. “Now girls, quiet down for a moment. I have a guest I want you to meet.” Kristine was reminded of the scene from the Sound of Music when the von Trapp family lined up in an orderly manner to meet their new governess. The Duke started off by introducing the other Nursery Knights, all of whom who were now regarding Kristine with open curiosity. Mandy, with long brown hair held back from her face by a green Alice band the same colour as her dress. Betty, with a pixie cut of fine blonde hair that was like a halo around her elfin face. She was dressed in bright red. Annie, the tallest (though still a bit shorter than Kristine) with black hair cut tomboy short and wearing bright yellow as her primary colour. Fiona, who had been having her diaper changed, with light brown skin and black hair in pigtails, was dressed in a dark blue that was almost purple. Vicky, auburn hair, long and braided, dressed in a pale pink that was almost white. Once they had all been introduced the Duke of Threes presented Kristine to them. “Girls, this is Kristine, she was supposed to be a Nursery Knight and fight the Nightmare King with you. She only recently became a Magical Girl, like you, and she has come looking for you.” “Why didn’t ya help us fight the Nightmare King,” Annie demanded. “Becauthe my Liaison wath late,” Kristine told Annie. “Late?” “Drunk apparently.” That actually got some giggles from the girls. “We didn’t need your help anyways,” Vicky said, standing up straight. Kristine could not help but notice the way Vicky’s diaper sagged. She wondered how the girl could look so proud standing there in a sodden diaper. “Why did you come looking for us?” Betty asked. Betty had only the slightest of lisps, and that pissed Kristine off a little. The answer was that she had needed to find out who one lived as a Magical Girl like a Nursery Knight, but seeing how the girls lived, in this nursery garden, she did not want to voice that. “I wanted to make thure you were alright,” she told them. “Of course we’re alright,” Mandy said. The other Nursery Knights all nodded and agreed. Betty had bent at the knees a little, almost squatting, and Kristine realised she was filling the back of her diaper. In front of them all. While professing that she was all right. Chronologically she had to be in her mid-twenties, and there she was, messing her diaper without thought. Kristine felt a shiver that she hoped was fear when she pictured herself in Betty’s place. “Now girls,” the Duke said, “Kristine is here as a guest, and I want you to be on your best with guest behaviour with her.” “Yes Duke,” the girls chorused. Kristine knew there was more to that statement, but she did not know what it was. “I will leave you in the company of your fellow Magic Girls and the staff,” the Duke of Threes told Kristine. The other Nursery Knights sounded their disappointment that he was leaving. “You are of course welcome to leave the garden whenever you want Kristine, but you will leave my lands when you do so. Understood?” Kristine nodded. “Understood.” He nodded, and then said, “On your best, guest behaviour girls.” Then he left. Everyone was silent for a few seconds before questions started. “Where were you?” “What did you do?” “How long have you been a Magical Girl?” “Why do you have a lisp?” “Do you like tag?” “Do you like dolls?” And more questions. Then Colleen stopped them with, “Girls, be quiet for a moment.” They did as told. “Kristine just got here and needs a little time to get used to the garden. Now I want you to all run off and play in the orchard and give Kristine some time to herself. There will be plenty of times for questions and games later.” “Yes Colleen,” the girls chorused out almost as one. They were led away with a series of 'bye byes'. Their nannies directed them from the glade, leaving Kristine with Colleen and another of the ogres. “Is there anything you need? Something to eat or drink or a rest?” Colleen asked her. “I would like a toilet,” Kristine said, aware of the pressure in her bottom. She half expected the woman to say something like ‘you are wearing your toilet’ or ‘just use your diaper like a good little baby’, but all Colleen said was, “Please show her to the bathroom.” She actually made a strange sound before saying that. Kristine assumed the odd noise was the ogre’s name. “Of course, come this way,” the ogre said. Her voice was deep and flat, the big teeth in her mouth giving her an odd inflection of speech. The ogre led Kristine through the maze, back out towards the gates. The nanny opened the doors in one of the buildings, pointing to a passage and stairway far too narrow for her broad shoulders, and said, “It is at the top of the stairs.” The narrow stairway smelt of stale air and piss, the stairs were thick with dust, the walls looked grimy. It was dark, hard to see, no windows. It was like something out a slasher flick. At the top of those stairs was a small door. It opened into a windowless closet that turned out to be a bathroom lit by a dim, flickering mage light. It looked like Kristine assumed a toilet on a construction site might look, and smell. She was not certain she wanted to put her naked bottom on the seat. If there were more room, she might summon Mr Bear to clean the bathroom, though, in all honesty, she felt it would be cruel to make Mr Bear clean such a mess. In the end, she removed her very wet and slightly messy diaper and sat down on the seat. Gross, she thought. There was, to her amazement, toilet paper. A roll of it, the paper looked old. It was a little brittle and not the softest thing with which she had ever wiped herself. That done she went through the complicated process of putting on a new diaper. Difficult in the small bathroom. As she walked down the stairs, carrying her wrapped up, used diaper, feeling as if there were a layer of grime on her, the ill-fitting diaper loose around her hips, Kristine wondered if it would not be simpler just to mess her diaper freely and change it. She supposed it was the point of such an unpleasant toilet. Had the other Nursery Knights tried using it when they had first got there, before giving it up and just using their diapers? She stepped out of the building, feeling better to be in the bright sun and fresh air. It made her feel as if that coating of grunge evaporated. “Let me take that for you,” the ogre said, holding out her hand. It took Kristine a moment to realise she was talking about the diaper. She knew she was blushing as she held out the used diaper for the ogre. As the ogre disposed of it, Kristine took a moment to pull up her skirt a little and refasten her diaper. She had not taped herself up as well as Mr Bear might, but it no longer felt as if the diaper was going to slide down her narrow hips to her knees. The ogre came back, smiled with those large, pointed teeth, and asked, “Would you like to see where the girls live?” “Thank you, yeth,” Kristine said, curious. There were several buildings there, some redundant, all dedicated to the Nursery Knights. They were all bright and clean, and if there was a faint scent of messy diapers, Kristine did not really notice it over scents of baby powder and soap. The Largest building was an airy, two-story structure, all pastel colours. On the second floor, a room that took up nearly half the building was where the Nursery Knight’s slept. There were six cribs, each almost the size of a queen sized bed, with high railings of polished woods. Gauzy drapes hung around each crib, and within them were a small collection of toys and blankets. One crib stood empty, the curtains tied back, the mattress bare of sheets. “This is your crib,” the ogre said. “Thurely there must be a bed or thomething I can sleep in?” The ogre shook her head. “No, I am sorry. The Nursery Knights must be in their cribs, for safety, when they sleep. It is a rule.” Kristine could leave, the Duke had said as much, but she would have to leave his lands. So if she wished to stay, to find out what was going on, she was going to have to live by the rules here. “I underthtand,” Kristine told her. “Would you like a nap?” Kristine shook her head, wanting to put off sleeping in that crib for as long as possible. The Ogre smiled again. “Let me put some sheets on the mattress for later then.” Kristine did not seem to have a choice but watch as the ogre made up the crib. She put a rubber sheet on the mattress first, smiling at Kristine as she did it, then what looked like flannel sheets in light blue and yellow. She finished it off by putting a few toys in. “You can have your favourite toys in your crib, once you have picked some.” Kristine tried to smile even though she felt as if her stomach was turning over. The ogre continued to tour, pointing out the room where the Nursery Knights took most of their meals, with large highchairs waiting. She pointed out a few potties, perfect sized for Kristine, near the changing tables. None of the Nursery Knights used them, the ogre informed her, but she was welcome to. Kristine wondered if it would be better to continue to use that dirty toilet or if she would prefer the humiliation of using a swan-shaped potty that sat out in the open. Finally, she was brought to the orchard. There she found the Nursery Knights laid out on blankets, napping. One of the ogres was changing Fiona’s diaper, holding the girl's legs up as she wiped her messy bottom. Fiona looked as she might be asleep. Kristine again flashed on an image of herself in Fiona’s position. “They will be napping for a while,” the ogre told Kristine. “Would you like a nap as well?” It looked peaceful, under those trees, among the brightly clothed nursery knights who slept peacefully. “No, I’m fine,” she said. There was a bench nearby, too big for her, but she climbed onto it and sat, her legs dangling. How soon after the Nightmare King had been defeated did the Duke of Threes bring the Nursery Knights to his lands? He probably waited until the liaisons had moved on to their next job. And he would have gotten away with it had it not been for Tac’s laziness. Kristine almost laughed as she thought that, and she did smile. As she sat there, she got a feeling that someone was watching her. She looked around. Colleen appeared to be staring at her, and Kristine felt she could feel that pointed gaze even through the blindfold around the woman's eyes. Kristine jumped down from the bench and walked to where Colleen stood. “How long have they been here?” She looked around that the Nursery Knights. Colleen did not reply immediately, her gaze seeming to take Kristine in, from her feet to her head. “Close to eighteen years.” Kristine almost swore, but she felt as if such language had no place there. “That’s a long time.” Colleen shook her head. “It is not, not really.” Kristine was about to ask Colleen how long she had been there, but the question died on her tongue. She did not want to know the answer. Instead, she asked, “What about their families?” “Their families,” Colleen paused, “they have forgotten about them. And they have all been well compensated.” “Forgotten but compensated?” The lawyer in Kristine wanted to understand that. You did not compensate people who did not know they needed to be compensated. “It is to make sure things are fair and right. The families might not remember, but the Duke of Threes does.” Like he was some kind of Saint, but Kristine doubted it. Something about the man seemed off. “What if the Nursery Knights want to leave?” “Why would they? The girls are happy here.” She sounded so certain, so confident. Perhaps she was right. “Maybe I’ll convince them to leave.” Colleen smiled in a patronising way. “You can try.” Her tone was insulting, and Kristine nearly ground her teeth at it and the unvoiced ‘baby girl’ that she believed was implied. “You should realise that the Duke of Threes only wants what is best for you. Right now you have a mind full of big girl ideas, but those will fade.” Kristine bristled at the term ‘big girl’ being applied to her adult life. “And when they fade you’ll need to be taken care of. You are a Magical Girl, and you could really hurt someone when your way of thinking gets simpler. Do you really think you are safe in the Mundane World?” “Of course I am thafe.” “Safe for other people to be around?” What a stupid question, Kristine thought, but after a moment she thought about the fight on the mountain and the man on the train. What sort of damage might she do in the Mundane World if her emotional maturity were to regress even a little? What might happen if she got mad? “I see you understand,” Colleen said, apparently taking Kristine’s silence as agreement. “I am not a danger to anyone,” Kristine said. Colleen gave her a doubtful look. “What if you are and you just do not realise it yet?” Again Kristine was at a loss for words. “Be very certain before you leave here Kristine. Think about what might happen if you are overestimating your maturity.” Colleen walked off to speak to one of the ogre nurses, giving Kristine no opportunity for a rebuttal. The question bothered her. What if she was dangerous? It preyed on her mind, and she was so focused on that she did not notice the other Nursery Knights waking from their naps. It was only when Annie grabbed Kristine's hands did she realise. “We’re going for our music lessons,” Annie said with a smile. “Come on.” Kristine let Annie lead her along a garden path, just behind the rest of the waddling girls, until they reached a small amphitheatre near the wall. There Colleen had the girls take their places on the stage. Kristine took a seat close, watching. All five the girls were examining her, in between taking instruction from Colleen. Then, her instructions delivered, she had them sing. It was beautiful, their voices, high and pure, weaving around each other with a resonance one usually only heard with siblings. They sang in a strange language that Kristine did not recognise, but it pulled at her. Looking at the smiling, singing girls she wished, for a moment, she might be part of that group. After a time, perhaps half an hour the Nursery Knights paused. Then Annie opened her mouth as if she was going to start again, but her gaze shifted towards Kristine and she suddenly shut her mouth and an audible ‘click’ of teeth coming together. The Nursery Knights looked a little, well, nervous. Colleen clapped her hands. “Good enough girls.” The Music lesson ended, and Kristine was certain something was being hidden from her. After the music lesson, there was dance, which seemed equal part performance and martial art. Dance led into active running about and roughhousing, with the girls climbing trees and dashing around an area near the gates. Then Colleen read the girls a story, an adventure that Kristine found herself interested in spite of herself. Bettie took a seat close to Kristine and whispered that they always heard the best stories. Kristine watched as the girls calmed down after all the physical activity while listening to the story. Apparently, there was a method to that, as when Colleen closed the book she was reading from she announced it was time for dinner. Calmer and obviously hungry the Nursery Knights went obediently to their home and the dining room. There each of the Nursery Knights was picked up by one of the ogre nannies and placed in a highchair. Kristine was worried that she would be treated the same and was not quite certain to do if she was, but instead, a place was set for her at a table. The food looked like something an elementary student might be served, but the baby bottle set next to the plate and bowl was another matter entirely. The utensils were strange, seeming far too large. Then she saw while the handles were scaled for the ogres the fork tines and spoon bowls were sized for people her size. The handles were clumsy in her hands, and it was something of a pain to use them. It would be easier to eat with her hands, or even easier still to let one of the ogres feed her. She did her best to make do with the utensils but ended up a messy eater in spite of herself. "Would you like a bib?" Colleen asked, watching as Kristine dabbed another spill from the front of her dress. "No, thank you," Kristine said in a tight tone. Deciding not to play along with things any longer she grabbed the bottle and tried to twist the top off. However, it turned out the bottle was all one piece, and her action caused the entire thing to shatter, spilling milk all over the place. She sat there, with some broken shards of a plastic-like material in her hands, milk all over her and the table in front of her, stunned for a moment. If the Colleen or the ogre nannies had snapped at her, had been angry at her, that would have been for the best. If they had called her stupid and told her just to drink from the bottle, she could have easily dealt with that. However, when one of the nannies was at her side, keeling, cleaning up the mess and asking if she was okay, all Kristine could feel was guilty. Guilt was not easy to deal with. Guilt made her feel like crap, and she desperately wanted to do something so she would not feel like crap. She tried telling herself that it was all a setup, and it probably was, but looking at the ogre kneeling there, cleaning things up, it was hard to think that way. So when the mess was all cleaned up and a bib placed around her neck, she did not object. When a fresh bottle was put on her table, Kristine picked it up and drank from it, sucking on the nipple. It pissed her off. The meal was exhausting, and she supposed if she remained there long enough then she might simply let the nannies take over feeding her. It looked easier for everyone involved. She hoped that she would not be there that long. Various activities had kept her busy after dinner, and when Kristine climbed into the crib, she was exhausted. “Damn,” she said softly, “this mattress is so soft.” She did not object when one of the nannies pulled the side of the crib up, locking the door into place. She almost drifted off to sleep. From the sound of things, the rest of the Nursery Knights were already asleep. Kristine stood and carefully climbed out of the crib, her thick nighttime diaper making her feel clumsy. Gently she lowered herself to the floor, feet touching down silently. She was no more than two steps from the crib when one of the ogre nannies was suddenly close. “Did you fall out of your crib?” she asked in a soft tone. As that would have been even possible, Kristine thought, but she said, “I need to use the bathroom.” “Come on then.” Kristine did have to use the bathroom, though it was not an immediate thing. Not quite yet. She had hoped to look around, but apparently, she was being watched. By the time they got to the washroom Kristine actually had to use it and climbed the narrow, dirty stairs quickly. Once she was finished and back down with the nanny, she decided that she would get some rest, but starting tomorrow, she would do her best to find out what was happening here.