Baby Talk

Y’all’s too young to remember , but …believe, “nothing” you read , and  “half” of what ya see !  Member dat  ? ? ?  words ta live , by , jus sayn… I just watched that , all dat ,  poor guy needs is a , lead pill !  Right in the gourde ! Of the 30:06  verity ! 

Chapter 37 Lucas trudged along the dirt path, letting his heavy rubber boots press into the muddy earth.  Slosh. Slosh. Slosh.  The bright pink of his rain boots grew increasingly brown as he stomped.  “Lucille! Mommy said no splashies!” Charlotte called out. Though the rain had stopped - finally, after three days of heavy showers - she still carried her designer umbrella above her head. She didn’t want a drop to fall on her.  “‘Kay, Mommy.” Lucas answered back. He didn’t even think, letting his reply come like muscle memory. And it showed in his tone - he didn’t muster up an ounce of enthusiasm. He continued trudging along, just less overtly.  “Thank heavens that downpour has stopped.” Charlotte sighed, welcoming the breaks of blue among the clouds and the sounds of birds chirping. “Having the children inside for three whole days cannot be good for them.” Hazel nodded, standing at attention next to Charlotte on their walk across the castle grounds. She thought to herself they were probably seeing the beginnings of the end of summer - Avalir’s cold and rainy season would soon begin to creep in. She made a mental note that she would soon have to begin incorporating sleeves and warm tights into the Princess’s daily attire - not to mention diaper covers. Lucille’s diaper was wet as they spoke, and for once not because she’d peed in it - the Little had tripped into a puddle not long after venturing out on the walk.  Hazel looked at Lucille idly wandering and felt warmth and melancholy. She had gotten very good at reading the Princess’s emotions, and what she had initially thought would be a brief tantrum after their little… unpleasant experience three days prior quickly proved to be a sustained reduction in mood. For three days of the rainstorm, Lucille had been quiet, sullen, and at times combative. Hazel was particularly to hear that the Princess had stuck her tongue out at her spelling teacher, Miss Han, in a moment of frustration after forgetting how to spell “truck” properly.  It concerned her. She certainly felt responsible, knowing that the whole thing had been brought on by her choices when disciplining him for planning yet another escape attempt. Though she was still quite sure it was the right thing to do, it pained her to see Lucille upset. Not just with her, but with everything. She was determined to get back the smiling, playful baby girl she had seen on stage at the ballet recital. It was simply proving… a little more challenging than expected. But surely she had to come around eventually… “Oh dear. She’s getting awfully close to that puddle again…” Charlotte pointed out. “I think the Princess has had enough fresh air for now, don’t you, Hazel?” Hazel nodded. “Yes, your Highness. It’s about time for her nap anyway. I’ll bring her inside.” Hazel approached Lucas, and he stopped in his tracks. He lifted his arms expectantly and was promptly scooped into Nana’s arms.  “Did you have fun going splish-splash, honey?” She bounced him up and down a little. He gave no reply, and Hazel felt the awkward silence. She slid a finger down his rain boots to feel if any water had gotten in.  “Good thing you were wearing your little booties, huh? Feet are all dry! Though can’t say the same for this little booty…” she patted the back of his soggy diaper for emphasis. Lucas didn’t crack a smile - to be honest, she wasn’t sure why she thought he might. Her go-to sense of humour was distinctly mommy coded, and that wasn’t going to land with this Little even on a good day.  The rest of the trip upstairs was taken in silence. Hazel could feel the tension looming heavy over the changing table as she strapped Lucas onto it and began removing his diaper. Now that both of them were stuck in close quarters for the next few minutes, she felt she had no choice but to try and break the silence.  “Sweetie… you haven’t been yourself lately. Do you wanna talk about it?” Lucas said nothing.  “I know things have been difficult… you’re probably feeling upset with me. I just hope you know that Nana loves you, really. All anyone wants is to see you happy. And you can talk about anything with me…” Lucas sighed and turned his head, unable to meet her gaze. She frowned and continued with her task. There were a few more moments of silence before it was broken again - this time by Lucas.  “I’m… not mad at you.” Hazel stopped her wiping and looked at him. “Hm?” “I said I’m not mad at you.” Lucas spoke with a heavy sigh, his frustration at the admission bubbling through. “Or, I am… and I’m not. I’m mad at a lot of stuff. At everything, I guess.” “Oh, honey…” her heart ached for the Little. “Go on. You can tell me how you’re feeling.” “I’ve said it all before… none of this is fair. Everyone treats me like I’m some dumb baby, and when I fight back I get punished. When I give up and play along, everyone acts like I’m acting weird. I don’t have any say in anything.” Lucas’ eyes began to well up in tears. Though his bottom half was naked, Hazel felt the moment called for the remainder of the change to be delayed. She unclipped him from the table and pulled him to her chest in a gentle hug.  “There there, sweetie… it’s okay. Shh…” She bounced him gently, and he sniffled to hold back the emotions that had been threatening to release for days. Though nothing he said was untrue, he wasn’t even sure what it was he was feeling anymore. He wasn’t mad at Hazel - and he didn’t know why. She was clearly just as on board with the whole baby thing as any of them - she was the one taking charge of it, in fact. So why couldn’t he bring himself to be upset with her for thwarting his plans? Why did he keep wanting to give her the benefit of the doubt, to be on good terms with her, to feel her warmth and have her respect and attention? He hardly knew which thoughts were his and which were the result of all of the crazy things that happened to him anymore. His voice, his words, his appearance - he was unrecognisable from a few months ago, but little by little, it was becoming normal. When he pictured himself in his head, he didn’t picture the burnout working a dead-end job in a tiny apartment… whether he liked it or not, he was picturing a helpless Princess, locked in a tower like some kind of fairy tale - but instead of lock and key, his prison was padding and powder.  He buried his face in Hazel’s bosom and felt his tears gently seep into the fabric.  “I’m sorry, Nana… I just want things to be easier. I wish I knew what to do.” “There’s only one thing you have to do, Lucille: be the best “you” you can be, whatever that might look like. I can’t pretend to know what you’re going through, but I know what it’s like to feel like you have to be a certain way, even if it doesn’t feel right… but I’ve spent a lot of time with you, and I know you can do it. Nana knows you can be happy here. We just need to be honest with each other.” Lucas wasn’t entirely sure that her words were registering with him, but the fact that she was saying at all it was somehow soothing. Twisted as it was, he could feel things resetting to a kind of… normalcy. If this could even be called “normal”.  “I’m sorry for upsetting you. Even Bigs have a lot of growing up and learning to do sometimes… why don’t we get you down for a nap, and when you wake up, you and Juliette can watch a movie. I’ll make sure you get to pick. How does that sound?” Lucas nodded, the barest hint of a smile poking through at the corners of his mouth. He knew the selection of movies wouldn’t be anything to write home about, but it was something. Hazel kissed him sweetly on the forehead and finished diapering Lucas before putting him down for a nap, which he happily took.  — Hazel heaved a heavy sigh the moment she got downstairs. Her shoulders dropped and she winced from the tension she suddenly became aware of. She would never have shown these subtle but clear signs of strain had she known that Charlotte was around to see them.  “Oh dear, are you alright, Hazel?” “Oh! Y-your Highness… I’m fine. Really.” “You don’t look it…” Charlotte came closer, taking Hazel’s cheek gently in her hand to more closely see her face. “You’ve dark circles under your eyes, dear. You look positively drained.” “Not at all! All in a day’s work, you know.” She beamed a smile.  “Not just a day,” Charlotte replied, “you’ve been working non stop lately, and even more so with the rain and Luci’s tantrums and such. It’s a lot of work for anyone. When’s the last time you took a vacation?” That word sent a shiver down Hazel’s spine. Vacation? She wasn’t even sure she’d ever taken one. Even on more casual days, there was still something to be done. The whole idea seemed silly.  “Oh, really, Queen Charlotte, I’m quite alright…” “Nonsense. The well-being of the Royal staff isn’t just a moral imperative, Hazel, but a practical one. I can’t exactly have an untested maid attending to my daughter, can I?” “I… I’m-” Hazel suddenly grew unsure of what to say.  “Not that I doubt your abilities! The opposite, in fact - you’re too good at your job for your own good. If you won’t take a vacation now, then at least take a day off. A real one.” “A day off…” “I’ll tell you what, why not this Friday? That’s the day we’re taking Luci for her photoshoot at CrinkleCare. Angie can accompany me for it. I insist you take the day off.” The photoshoot. Hazel was not the type to take time off work on a normal day, but the photoshoot was sure to be a tricky one to navigate - there was a lot that could go wrong, not least because of Lucille’s fragile emotions and Angie’s tendency to get flustered. “I just think that-” “Hush now, Hazel. I’ll hear no more of it! Nobody in this castle deserves a day off more than you. My little tyke upstairs makes sure of that.” Hazel could see the Queen was not going to budge. She sighed again, and nodded her head.  “Wonderful. Plan something nice for yourself - Angie and I will have things covered.” Charlotte smiled at Hazel and took her leave.  Hazel thought about what she would do - honestly, her biggest hobby was taking care of Lucille, to the point that her first idea was to reorganise all of the files pertaining to Lucille’s medical care and routine schedules.  Charlotte was sure to ask how Hazel had spent her day, so best to avoid anything work-related.  There was just little else she had much of a desire to do, at least none that she had given much thought recently. She used to be into crochet, maybe she could pick that up? Get back to that book she’d been neglecting for way too long? Go for a run? She probably didn’t need to, since she was on her feet all day every day regardless. As she thought on it, she hummed aloud in thought. Why was Friday sticking out in her head? It wasn’t just the photoshoot, there was something else. Something that was happening that day that, until she was ordered to take a break, she was happy to not have to attend. What was it? Then it hit her.  Hazel’s family was in town on Friday. Naturally, they’d asked her to meet up for lunch… now she had no excuse not to.  So much for a relaxing day off...  — Lucas and Juliette sat on the floor, the large screen illuminated before them and displaying the evening’s movie: something called “Dino Buddies”. Charlotte and Alexander sat behind them on the couch, the Queen mostly enamoured with her daughters and the King doing a good job of hiding how tedious he found the movie. Unable to read the title, Lucas had chosen it purely on the smiling cartoon dinosaurs on the movie’s icon. Thankfully, Juliette was entirely on board with watching a movie about dinosaurs.   “Wooooah!” Juliette stared wide eyed at the screen, bouncing up and down on her butt in uncontrollable excitement. “This is like the most coolest movie EVER!” Lucas stared as well, sitting quietly next to his sister, save for the nuk-nuk-nuk sound of his pacifier as he suckled on it. He was surprisingly engrossed in the movie - a group of cute dinosaurs venturing out into the world in search of a rare flower, and getting into all kinds of trouble along the way. They occasionally broke out into song, and though repetitive, they were catchy.  “My favourite is Stompy, ‘cause he’s big and blue and not afraid of anythin’.” Juliette said with a tone like a scholar discussing a great work of art. She turned to her sister, once again finding her signature boundless energy. “What about you, Luci? Who’s your favourite Dino Buddy?” “Mm? Oh, umm…” Lucas looked back to the screen and took a few seconds to think of his answer. Eventually, he pointed up at the screen when a pink girl dinosaur appeared.  “Dat one. Wawa.” He slurred past the thick bulb of his pacifier.  Juliette looked up at the screen. “Rara? That makes sense.” She nodded. Lucas blushed at her comment. Made sense how? “Hello, everyone. What are we watching?” Leo entered the living room and greeted the family.  “Hello, Leo. The girls are watching a fun cartoon movie.” Charlotte said.  “Ah, just what I had in mind…” he quipped sarcastically.  Juliette patted the ground between her and Lucas. “Leo!! Come sit with us!” “Er, that’s okay… I actually have some studies to attend to.” Leo grasped for whatever excuse he could in the moment.  “Come ooon! Look, it’s got scary parts too so even big kids can watch!” She pointed up at the screen. When Leo looked at the “scary part”, he saw the Dino Buddies trying to walk across a long, underneath which was a small river that probably posed no danger.  Real scary stuff.  “Luci wants you to sit too!” Juliette added.  “Is that true?” He asked Lucas, who turned and gave a light shrug before scooting over a little bit to make room for Leo. The eldest royal sighed with a hint of a smile and sat between Lucas and Juliette, who was clapping her hands in victory. Leo settled on the ground cross-legged and got up to speed on what was surely a deep and intricate plot in the movie. Lucas felt the warmth of Leo’s arm against his body, and subtly looked up at his face - even sitting down on the ground together like this, it was wild just how big the Amazons were. Seeing his older “brother” so close and watching the movie with him, Lucas allowed his head to rest ever so slightly on Leo’s arm and returned to watching the movie.  Charlotte’s heart practically melted seeing her three children together, and she even took the opportunity to snap a few pictures in secret. Alexander nodded and smiled as Charlotte showed him the results.  “Well, I’d better head up. It’s getting late.” He said lowly so only Charlotte could hear.  “Already? You have plenty of time for your work. Why don’t you stay with us a bit?” “Darling, I’ve stayed this long, haven’t I? I don’t think there’s any real need for me. Especially now that Leo’s here - helps to have one man in the room, you know.” He stood and kissed his wife on the forehead, then took his leave from the room with little fanfare to his children.  Charlotte was left to simmer. What a comment to leave on… Alexander had a way of being so dismissive of women. She took it in stride, as she always had, because it’s just the way he was. A stoic, strong leader. He was at least a good father to the children… if a little distant.  That got Charlotte thinking… he certainly hadn’t warmed up to Lucille like she had hoped he would. At first she felt he must be adjusting to a Little in the family, but it had been quite some time now, and he had only given her the minimum one would expect. He had only just barely made it to the recital, and didn’t have a whole lot to say after.  Could Alexander’s attitude to women have anything to do with it? Could the fact that Lucille thought she was a boy when she arrived have given him some kind of hang-up with his new daughter? Charlotte scowled as he left the room. She’d make him open up with their little one… somehow. 

Sometimes my friends say "What crawled up you and DIED?!?!? " But I think that's probably something different.  😂🤣😆

Oh I wouldn't put it past that twit to do something like that.  But I can also see savvy giving Harley a whooping too. I think savvy has some true feelings for paul unlike Harley who's just a vindictive/possessive lil shit.  Just dont like her and her ways. Still loving the story though frosty baby. 

Oh I guess you thought the last two , administrations , were the cats ass !  Yer just a damn kid , what the fuck do you know , about politics ? ? ? jus sayn !