LittleFallenPrincess

Chapter 30: Next Stage Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess I waddled over to the door with my childish drawing in hand, waiting for Pandora to open it and let us out. One of the other bigs had come in and said they had finished stage one, so we could come out and help now, which was just around the time I finished the drawing I did for Mu… umm.. Beth. “She’s gonna love it…” Lucy whispered in my ear as she stood next to me, her arm linked around mine. Slowly opening the door, Pandora moved out of the way as a bunch of people rushed past me and through the door, excitedly. “Come on, let’s go see what the grown ups have done!” Lucy said, nudging me a bit and dragging me off quickly to the door-portal-thing. To say the place had been improved would have been an understatement. Like… I was expecting maaaaaybe in the relatively short amount of time we spent in that dimension box thing, they would have maaaaaaybe cleared the wrecked furniture and stuff. But no. Now don’t get me wrong, it was still bare bones, but it looked… almost new. All the wrecked furniture was gone. The counter by the wall had been ripped out. The floorboards were cleared AND cleaned. The cobwebs were all gone. Everything looked… spotless. The walls had been stripped of their old-timey wallpaper, everything was just… so… clean. Like it went from ‘haunted house’ to ‘ready to decorate’ in no time! “How…?” I said out loud, just as I caught Beth in the corner of my eye walking over to us, hurriedly. “Do you like it?” She asked, excited and hopeful. “I… how did you…” “Magic and supernatural strength. Together it makes a force to be reckoned with. And all the other abilities our other caregivers have. So… do you like?” She asked again. “It… looks amazing!” “And we haven’t even started decorating yet!” “Is…” “The whole hotel is like this. Every room, every nook and cranny… all clear, spotless and clean, ready to decorate as soon as we’re ready. So…” “I like it!” “Eeeee! I’m so glad! I know this is for everyone… but I want you to feel comfortable in your new home.” Beth smiled at me. ‘Home…’ it was only just hitting me now that this was our new home. Like… we weren’t going to live at our current address anymore. “What are you doing about our house?” I asked her. “Selling it, obviously. It’s no longer protected from Death, and now there’s a hunter on the loose looking for Lucy here, we can’t go back except to quickly pick stuff up. Although I spoke to Dave and a couple of others here and they said they’d happily go and pack everything up of ours and bring it here for us. They’re professionals, don’t worry, they do this for a living.” “Except they’re dead…” Lucy grinned at her terrible joke. “Yeah, well Dave is. Ghost and all. But even then… Lucy, I didn’t think you’d stoop so low…” Beth rolled her eyes. “I…” was all I could get out. This was a lot more to process on top of everything else, but no… I trusted Beth. We were in danger and she knew how to protect us. She’s even got the freaking Devil to help, so I’m sure she’s got everything handled. Maybe… maybe it’d be fun living in a penthouse of a hotel-slash-daycare-slash-nightclub-slash-whatever Beth decides this is in the future. “So… decorating.” Beth said, stepping up to me and looking down. “Oh… what’s that?” I looked down to see her pointing at my picture that I was holding to my chest. “Oh this? I… did this… for you…” I said, nervously handing her the sheet of paper with my crudely drawn picture of the two of us on a date in the park. I looked up to see tears in her eyes. “I… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean…” Beth didn’t say a word, she just wrapped her arms around me and gave me the biggest hug she’s ever given me. And that’s saying something, she’s definitely a hugger, I get multiple hugs per day from her usually. This one though… this one was the best one I’d ever received from her. I just stood there, my arms half wrapped around her, as she cried into my shoulder. This went on for a few moments before she pulled back only slightly, looked me in the eyes and quickly kissed my lips. “I love it baby, thank you!” She said, pulling back further and wiping her tears with her free hand, the one not holding my drawing. “I… I’m glad. I… umm…” “I’m okay, don’t worry about me baby. I’ve dreamt of this for… forever really.” She smiled at me, her eyes still tearing up a bit. “I’m glad you like it. It was… fun.” “Oh yes, how was it in there?” She asked me. “Illuminating…” I said, being intentionally vague. I didn’t want to accidentally reveal the whole proposal stuff that Lucy discussed with me… or the brief moment of doubt I had about my whole relationship. “Did you like it?” “I didn’t hate it…” “Well that’s a start. Was it a bit overwhelming?” “...Yeah. A lot of new people and a very visually overwhelming setting… it’s not like the nursery at home…” “Maybe we’ll start you off smaller then, in your brand new nursery.” “So we’re definitely building one?” “If that’s what you want?” “I…” I looked up into her beautiful eyes and knew… that it was worth the effort. Even if I’m not into this stuff, it’ll make her happy for a bit, and it’s not like decorating and furnishing an entire nursery is difficult for these people, with their resources and abilities… I can’t see it taking long to do this whole place in no time. “I can see you’re not totally sold on it yet, don’t worry. I’ve planned for it but we’ll do that bit last, so you’ve got plenty of time to change your mind. And hey, if you change your mind at any point, whether we put it in or not, we can always add or remove it if needed. Okay baby?” “I… thanks. I appreciate it.” “Shhh… come here…” She put her hands up on either side of my jaw, cupping it slightly as she leant in and kissed my lips gently. “I love you. And I want you to be comfortable and never make you feel like you’re being forced to do this.” I blushed and tried looking away. I really did appreciate her being so thoughtful and understanding. I just wish… like I’m not not into this stuff, okay? I will admit… maybe I like some of it. I just… it’s been like two or three days now? And a lot has happened. Apart from that tiny bit on her lap earlier, we’ve not really got a chance to try this together. The daycare box room thing doesn’t count as she wasn’t there with me, and it’s definitely something I’d prefer to explore with her. But as she looked down at me with those beautiful emerald eyes of hers, I felt something within me… “I wuv you too…” I said in a slightly babyish voice. I had to. I just had to do it that way. And it was worth it. That smile on her face… …Priceless. “Oi, lovebirds!” Beatrice shouted over. Quickly looking to see what she was wanting, we saw her waving over from where the counter used to be. Reaching down and taking my hand, Beth smiled at me before guiding me over to her sister. Along the way, I only just realised that Lucy’s outfit changed back to her normal one. It must have happened as soon as she walked through the door. I was too busy looking at the drastic change the hotel had gone through to notice at the time, especially given the fact my outfit still stayed the same. “What’s up, sis?” Beth asked Bea. “So this is the bar area, right?” Bea replied. “Yeah.” “How are we going to decorate it?” “Long bar running the length of the wall. Booths. Dancefloor. Typical nightclub. I know it’s been a decade or two since we went to one, and disco is dead now, but I think something like that. “That’s not a decorating idea, that’s furnishing. What theme are you wanting? Colours?” “I think I can help with that…” A booming voice rang through the room. “What the fu…?” I was cut off as I saw a large figure walk over, before just standing there, just… standing there… posing. “Aegir?” Beatrice called out in surprise, before running over and hugging the mysterious figure. “When the hell did you get back into town?” I tugged at Beth’s arm, signalling to her that I needed her. “Yes baby?” She whispered down to me. “Who… who dat?” “That’s Aegir, sweetie.” “Who’s Aegir?” “Norse God.” I looked at this ‘Norse God’ and… he looked like any ordinary man. Quite muscular, and whilst he wore a perfectly tailored three piece suit, you could tell by his build that he rocked some impressive physique underneath it. Chiselled jaw, perfectly trimmed goatee, silver hair… he was gorgeous. Not my type, but still… impressive. “God of what?” “Parties, little one!” The strange God turned to me and smiled, laughing heartily. “You must be this legendary Susan I’ve been told about, the one who stole my love’s heart!” “Your love?” Beth sighed, before putting her hand to her face in disbelief. “I’m not your love, you moron. You just want what you can’t have. You know I’ve no interest in you.” “Haha, one day I shall win your heart!” He laughed again, sounding so confident it was starting to make me sick. “God of… parties?” I asked, trying to change the awkward subject. “Yes! And as the God of parties…” “One of them…” Beth corrected him. I even knew there were a lot of Gods in ancient mythology that loved parties and alcohol. That put a sour face on the ‘God of Parties’ in an instant. “Yes… whatever… as one of the Gods of parties… I think I’m best qualified for the nightclub area at least. Let me design it!” “You… want to design our nightclub?” Beth asked, looking suspiciously at the ‘God’. “I’ve been visiting so many over the past decade, and I want to try my hand at creating one myself! I’ve hosted many parties during my existence, but never actually created a nightclub. Please, let me do it, fair maiden!” “Fine, as long as you stop calling me ‘fair maiden’. And stop creeping on me. And make sure it’s era-appropriate. And…” “Don’t you worry my lo… I mean… Elizabeth, I will create a design so wondrous that even you, the ice queen, will be impressed!” Aegir announced, before striking a pose and walking off. I was just about to say something to Beth, when she rolled her eyes. “Don’t. Don’t even ask. He’s a Daddy… and currently doesn’t have a little.” You could sense the frustration in her voice. “He doesn’t? But what about…?” Beatrice was about to ask Beth something but was quickly cut off. “They dumped him on their travels. I was dreading he would turn up today, I was hoping he was still moping about in Norway.” Bea bent down and whispered in my ear. “He’s had a thing for my sis ever since she started attending her adult baby events. He’s always been a bit of a creep, but harmless. He does know parties though… so he’s probably our best choice for designing this place down here.” That’s when Pandora walked over. “Oh hey Pandy…” Bea waved, standing up straight as she greeted the other mythological being I had met. Three in one day… AND the Devil… this was getting a bit too much. “Hey, I saw Aegir saying he’ll design the bar. Don’t worry, we’ll chip in our ideas too so he doesn’t make a mess of it. But if you’re letting him help…” “What is it, Pandora?” Beth replied, sounding more and more frustrated. “I know she’s not into this thing we’re into, but I have a friend of a friend who could help out with the hotel or hostel or whatever the rooms are going to be.” “Who?” “Hestia.” “Wait, I know that name! Greek God!” I spoke up, proud of myself for remembering her, but now suddenly feeling really embarrassed by bringing so much attention to myself as everyone was now looking at me. “Such a clever girl!” Pandora praised me, making my tummy feel all wibbly again. “But yes, Hestia, being the Goddess of hospitality and home and all that…” “Fine. Whatever. Call her. I’ll let you design all this down here then.” Beth snapped, turning around and walking off towards the stairs at the back, breaking contact with my hand in the process, before walking off, up the stairs, out of view. “What’s her deal?” Pandora replied. “Look, you go call Hestia then. See if she’ll help. Lucy, do you mind helping keep Aegir in check?” Beatrice asked. “Oh, me?” Lucy finally spoke up. She had been hovering in the background as everyone else talked, too shy to speak up or contribute. “Please, sweetie? I need someone I trust to rein in his ‘creativity’. He’s good an all… but he can go a bit too far.” “Fine… but you owe me.” “Ice cream later?” Bea suggested, with a huge grin on her face. That made Lucy perk right up, her anxious frown turning into the biggest smile I had seen on her in a while, before she nodded and ran off in the direction Aegir went. “Right… that was easy. Pandora, you go call Hestia, I need to talk to Susie for a minute.” “Okay, well have fun!” Pandora replied, walking off. Beatrice put her arm around me and walked off towards the stairs, stopping at the bottom step. “First things first, are you okay sweetie?” She asked calmly. “Yeah. I… wasn’t expecting to meet so many freaking GODS though!” “I know, I have a lot of… friends. So does your girlfriend. There are only a few in this community though, most are just friends or friends of friends.” “Still… the actual Devil, a Norse God, two Greek mythological figures I admired as a kid, and now a Greek Goddess! Like… what next?” “Don’t open that can of beans, sweetie. Let me introduce you to the rest of our world slowly. I know all sorts. Gods, monsters, mythological figures… a lot of them owe me favours.” “How do you know so many? And why do they owe you favours?” I gave her an accusatory glare. “Kinda answered your own question, kiddo.” I blushed as she called me that childish term. I couldn’t believe the effect all these cute pet names were having on me, let alone all the teasing and treating me like a child. “So you helped them all out, and now they owe you?” “Bingo. It’s the best way to make lots of friends, and gain a lot of power.” “Power? Is that what you want?” “Think of me kind of like an information broker. But instead of information, I deal in favours.” “I thought that was the Devil’s thing?” “Who do you think taught me? When she ended up owing me a favour, she was cursing me for a month! But right, no, what I need to talk to you about is important. I need to ask you a favour.” “What is it?” I asked. “Go look after my sister?” “What’s going on with her? She seemed… upset.” “You know how she is. Loves being in control. Loving but controlling, she always has been, ever since we were kids. And she’s clearly had this idea for a long time, and she’s finally been given the opportunity to create this kind of place and…” “All the decisions and choices and planning are being taken away from her?” “She put on a brave face when you came out, but whilst you were gone… she was being overruled by Pandora and a few of the other caregivers. I tried to say something but…” “But she’s gone into one of her ‘withdraw from the world and isolate completely’ moods?” I knew them well. And usually only I could get her out of them. “Exactly. So can… can you go talk to her, try to help her?” “I would’ve done that anyway, you didn’t need to ask, you know. She’s my girlfriend…” “I know, but I was wondering… maybe you suggest that you two, and only you two, work on your penthouse. I know she’s going to be upset that the rest of the place is being designed by others, even if they are more experienced with this kind of thing, so she needs something she can control, something she can focus on.” “And you think our new penthouse, our new home… is that project?” “I think so.” “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. I’ll give it a go.” “Have you decided about the nursery yet?” “I…” To be truthful, I hadn’t. But I knew that if we design a nursery together, Beth will perk right up. It’ll make her happy. Especially if we work together to design and build it. Magic and strength. Beth and me. It’s perfect. And I’m not going to lie… I was starting to think that maybe… just maybe… this kind of thing… may actually be something I’d be into. ======================================================== I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 29: Timeout Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess I felt so small as I was carried over by the enormous woman. That’s not a bad thing. Not a good thing either. It was just… interesting. Lucy, from the looks of it, was enjoying it a lot more than I was, as her face was stuck with this huge smile plastered across her face as she was cradled in Pandora’s other arm. “Right, you two, take as much time as you need, okay? I know this is a lot for you to take in, Susie. First your death, then this kink, and now you’re meeting all these other species of us… it’s a lot to process. If you need me, for whatever reason, even if it’s just to ask some questions about either world, just call me over, okay sweetie?” I nodded and blushed as she carefully sat me down on the floor, along with Lucy, in an empty, soft playmat area in the corner of the room, before waving goodbye and walking back off to her desk. Looking around, I saw that we were surrounded by stuffed animals and cushions and just lots of soft things. There was even a bit of a blanket fort behind us, made of wooden sticks and cotton sheets. “Do… you wanna go in there?” Lucy asked, pointing at the fort. “I… yeah… sure.” I replied, shrugging. I was just happy to be somewhere quiet after meeting so many people. We both got to our hands and knees and started crawling inside the blanket fort, before twisting our bodies and plopping our padded butts down on the soft interior flooring, which looked like a rug. “Are you okay, Luce?” I asked her, taking her hand and cosying up next to her. “Am I okay? I should be asking you! You’re the one who has been thrust into all this in a matter of days! It was decades after I realised I was into this before I saw this place, or even a nursery for that matter. You… you found out practically a few days ago, because we’re not counting the time you were under that spell. And now here you are, looking fucking adorable, sitting in a thick nappy, and cuddled in a blanket fort in Pandora’s daycare.” “Yeah but you’re the one who is anxious around people. I’m not that bad.” “True, but these aren’t normal people. Not human people anyway. So it’s a lot for you!” “I have to ask though, what do you usually do at these get-togethers? You seem to know the ‘adults’, but you don’t know…” I started pointing at random ‘babies’ that were dotted around the daycare, all having fun by the looks of it. “I… I’m just as bad as I was at University. I know Pandora, I know Beth, I know a few other bigs who have talked to me… but I don’t know any other babies.” “You know Medusa!” “Yeah… but we’re not that close. She… Well, everyone loves her. She’s so friendly with everyone. But she never gets any closer than that. Well, unless you count Pandora. Meddy knows all the littles, she’s really friendly with them, but she… she doesn’t really hang out with them outside of events or being little. She doesn’t even come to munches, she just goes to the main events we have.” “That sounds lonely.” I commented. “Really?” Lucy asked, seeming shocked by this. “Yeah… she knows all these people, she’ll play with them… but it doesn’t sound like she’s close with any of them. It must be lonely.” I commented. “I… guess. I always just felt too jealous to think of it that way.” “Jealous?” I tilted my head at my best friend. “Well she’s so loved. She’s adorable. She has this cool Mummy who loves her to bits…” Lucy started venting, but she put a little too much emphasis when talking about Medusa having a Mummy. “Ah. You want a Mummy…” “I… well… yeah… m… m… maybe…” Lucy began stammering. “It’s okay! You’re allowed to want that. I know I’m new to this whole thing, but I can see why you’d want one. I always took it for granted all the ‘adulting’ that Beth did for me. And now I understand why she always acted like a Mum, taking control and sorting everything out for me. I can see why you’d want that.” “It’s more than that. It’s the connection… the bond… having that person who allows you to be your complete self with no judgement. That person who loves you unconditionally and will protect you…” “I…” I didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t wrong. The way Meddy and Pandora look at each other… It was similar to the way Beth and I look at each other. Like… we were meant to be. That… we weren’t two parts of a jigsaw that completed when we got together… but more that we were two complete jigsaws that worked much better side by side. Like a ‘bigger picture is even better’ kind of deal. But now… I felt bad. Because I had been who I thought I was, I was my complete self, or at least I thought so at the time… but this entire time I was keeping Beth from being her complete self… from being a Mummy. Maybe I didn’t deserve her. Maybe she’d be better off with someone like Lucy, who actually wants a Mummy. I mean… sure, I kinda like the way Beth talks to me as a Mummy, I like how loved and protected I feel when she’s caring for me. But… I’m not like Lucy. I wasn’t even part of this ‘monster world’ until a month ago, and even then it feels like it was only a few days ago. I’m not a baby, I’m not even particularly kinky. The most we’ve tried is a bit of rope in bed, which I must admit… was fun… but not something I fantasise about. Am I holding Beth back? Should I break up with her so she can find an adult baby of her own? I know I’m enjoying it right now… but I’m mostly just trying this baby stuff for her… to make her happy… “Earth to Susan…” I was snapped out of my own thoughts by Lucy’s cute face popping up in front of mine. “Huh?” “I saw that face.” She gave me a sly leer. “What face?” “You were doubting everything. Questioning yourself. Spiralling.” “I… no… shush! What makes you think that?” I asked, defensively. “Because that’s the face you always pull when you do this. Plus you kinda went silent for a couple of minutes as you stared at the floor.” “I… Do I always do that?” “Yup. Whenever you start doubting yourself and trying to second guess your choices. You try to convince yourself to back out of stuff and you get that look on your face…” “Since when?” “Since forever. Remember when you and Beth started dating? You were sure you weren’t good enough for her. So you had that same look on your face and eventually tried backing out. If it wasn’t for me pushing you… you’d be single right now.” “I… maybe you should have let me do it.” I sighed. “The fuck?” Lucy said… a little too loud. “Language…” Pandora warned from the other side of the room as all the other babies stared at us. “Sorry!” Lucy called out, her face turning red again. Turning back to face me, she quickly lowered her volume a bit before continuing. “I mean… the fuck?” “If I didn’t date her, I wouldn’t have died, wouldn’t have… wouldn’t have caused all this. She could have found someone like you…” “But she didn’t want any of us. She wanted you. Do you know how many of the single littles here…. Of which most of us are… want her to be our Mummy? She’s so soft, so kind, so nurturing and maternal… she brings out everyone’s baby sides so easily and softly. Everyone here has a massive crush on her, me included. But she doesn’t want any of us. She wants you.” “But I’m not even a baby…” “You sure whine like one…” Lucy grinned. “Oi!” “I’m serious though, you whine like one, act like one, brat like one… it’s why I introduced you two to each other. That and Beatrice had one of her hunches when I mentioned you for the first time.” “She… did?” “Yeah. You and Beth are perfect for each other. And you may not think it right now, but you’re more like me than you think. You already use your nappies like a champ!” “I can’t help that…” “Yeah but you do it so stylishly!” Lucy laughed, setting me off laughing with her. “Shut up!” I whined between laughs. “Seeeriously, babe, you’re fine. You’re not instantly repulsed by all this stuff. You’re trying stuff for her. And hey, even if by some very low chance you’re not into this… she’ll still love you all the same. I swear… if these stupid humans allowed two gals to get married, she would have asked you already!” “Wha… really?” “Well obviously! And you didn’t hear it from me… but I think that now you’re part of our world… the supernatural one, not the nappy-wearing one, she may still propose…” “I… what? I’m confused.” “She hasn’t told me, but I’ve got the feeling she’s just been waiting to introduce you into this world so she could propose to you…” “But… like you said, humans don’t…” “Exactly. Humans don’t. But we’re not human. We have our own laws. Sure, you won’t be legally married in the human world… but we’ve allowed queer love in our world for… well… forever! Anyone can marry anyone. And I bet it’s just a matter of time before she proposes to you…” “You think she will?” “Now that you’re one of us, yeah! And that’s not dependent on you being into this kink of ours either, she’ll probably propose whether you’re into it or not.” “But that’s not fair…” “No, you know what’s not fair? Her not getting a drawing from you when you go back out to the hotel.” “I… wait, what?” I asked, taken aback by this sudden change in direction. “Come on…” Lucy said, shuffling out the blanket fort, climbing to her feet and holding out her hand. I followed Lucy across the huge daycare, towards the tables with a red chequered tablecloth. Two of the four chairs were occupied at it, so Lucy quickly grabbed the two free chairs and pulled them away so we had a little bit of privacy at the end of the table, away from the two girls busy working on something. “Come on… sit.” I did as she said and sat my padded butt down on the chair as Lucy reached over to the centre of the table and grabbed some pencils, some crayons and some felt tip pens, along with a few sheets of paper from the pile of supplies. Handing me a few pieces of paper, and putting the pens and pencils and crayons in the middle of us, she nodded down towards my paper. “What?” I asked. “You really are a baby… look…” Lucy said, reaching over and shoving her hand… down the front pocket of my dungarees. “What are you doing in there?” “It’s Beth… I bet she’s… aha!” Lucy said, pleasantly surprised as she pulled something out of my front pocket. “What… what the hell did…?” Before I could finish that question, Lucy shoved something in my mouth. “I knew she’d have put one somewhere for you, just in case…” Lucy smirked. I grabbed what was in my mouth and pulled it out to find… It was a dummy. A baby’s dummy. But one large enough for an adult. “But… how did…?” “She’s a sneaky one. But she always makes sure you’ve got what you need.” “I…” “Go on, try it. Whilst you draw something.” “But I can’t draw…” “So? That’s the point. The more childish it looks, the cuter it is and the more your girlfriend will love it. So draw whatever you want. Let your headspace run wild. And try it with that dummy in your mouth.” “Are… are you sure?” “Yeah! Trust me, if you don’t enjoy this… I don’t know what you will enjoy. And if you go back and give your Mummy a cute, babyish drawing you did for her… you’ll make her heart melt quicker than ice cream in the sun.” “I… really?” “Trust me.” Yeah. Trust her. It wasn’t that hard… right? Just suck on this dummy… draw something cute for Beth… let go… Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth and popped the dummy back in. Suckling at it for a few seconds, I could feel my body relaxing as the world around me just… blurred. I didn’t care about all the other people that could see me like this, I didn’t care how weird this may be. I… this felt… relaxing… it felt right… “Atta girl!” Lucy cheered, before pulling out a dummy of her own, opening her mouth to show her fangs, and popping it in. “Now dwaw!” She said, with a very obvious… but very adorable… lisp. ======================================================== I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 28: The Box Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “And voilà! Welcome to Meddy’s daycare!” Pandora said as we stepped through the door into A WHOLE OTHER FREAKING DIMENSION. Like… a month ago the biggest fear I had was being late to work, or forgetting to order the spring rolls for Beth. Now I’m literally dead, my girlfriend is a Witch who can cast actual magic, my best friend is an actual vampire, I’m being chased by Death, I’ve met the ACTUAL DEVIL! And I’ve met two of my favourite stories from my childhood, Medusa and Pandora… who ended up being into some pretty freaky kinky stuff, as did my girlfriend and best friend. And now… I’m walking casually into a pocket dimension, something I bet most, if not all, humans have never done before. And one that looked just like a damn daycare. Pale yellow walls, dark grey carpet, a big playpen in the corner of the room made up of what I could only assume was the entire colour wheel and then some, a few little plastic tables with various artistic tools sat on top of them, a row of square shelves sticking out into the middle of the room with various boxes full of toys… yeah this was like any other daycare I had seen, though everything was a lot… larger. Speaking of larger… My hand was now stretching upwards, instead of horizontally like it had been upon entering, so I followed my arm with my eyes, to see that the person in front who I had been holding hands with… was now a good few feet taller than me, dwarfing me in stature as she turned and looked down, smiling. “Are you okay? Sorry, it’s a thing about this room. Bigs are… well… big! Babies like you… well you’re tiny… like you should be.” Pandora smiled at me. “Beth didn’t share that piece of information…” I rolled my eyes. “I think she wanted you to experience it for yourself. Sorry.” “It’s… okay.” Pandora looked up at the rest of the group and put her hands on her hips, letting go of my hand in the process. “Right… little ones? Go play with whatever you want. You know my rules for this place. And Meddy, Lucy?” All the people behind us let go of each other’s hands and quickly dispersed around the room, running off to various parts of the daycare. It didn’t hit me at first… but I now realised they… well they weren’t wearing the same things they came to the hotel in. They looked… like babies. Adult babies. They were wearing outfits much more fitting for this place… so this was yet another thing Beth declined to share. Medusa and Lucy both turned to Pandora, both of them still holding each other’s hands. Lucy still held onto mine, and Medusa still held on to her Mummy’s. But they… they were wearing very different outfits now. The bell bottom jeans and camisole were replaced with… a footed sleeper. A vibrant-red footed sleeper. And her beanie… was now a baby bonnet. A matching red bonnet. Lucy… well Lucy was no longer wearing that black skirt or her red top. Instead she was wearing shortalls with a frilly red top under them, her combat boots becoming velcro-strapped babyish trainers. I… I was too nervous to look at what I was wearing. I never signed up for this. I said I’d give this room a go… to ease into it. I never agreed to let my outfit be changed. I was still getting used to the whole babying thing and the fact I need nappies now… but the baby clothes would need a bit more time. “Yes Mummy?” Medusa said whilst Lucy responded at the same time but with ‘Auntie Pandy’ instead of Mummy. “I need you two to show little Susie around and teach her the group rules, okay?” The pair of them nodded before Meddy grabbed my other hand and they both skipped off, dragging me along with them. “You’re okay, you know…” Lucy said, stopping in the middle of the daycare. “What do you mean?” I asked, confused. “You weren’t changed into anything. I can see how you’re avoiding looking at your outfit, whilst staring at everyone else's.” Lucy said, trying to reassure me. “Yeah, it only changes you if you want to be. Same goes with height.” Meddy explained. “But I…” “Yeah, you’re our height, which means there’s some littleness in you. But you haven’t accepted it yet, hence why you’re still in your normal dungarees.” “Plus they’re already pretty babyish…” Lucy teased. “HEY! No they’re not!” I whined, sounding… just like the baby I was sort-of dressed as. “Yeah… totally… any other woman your age would totally be wearing something like that…” she continued mocking me, trying to hold back her laughter. “I gotta admit… she’s not wrong.” Medusa added. “Seriously? You too? My favourite myth?” “I almost forgot you were human only a month ago. It’s still weird when people call me a myth… it’s like… I’m right here!” Meddy shrugged. “I know, but humans wouldn’t believe you if you told them.” Lucy replied. “They would if I showed them what's under my hat… well I guess bonnet now…” “No doubt, but then they’d try to kill you or lock you up and experiment on you. Humans are nasty.” “That they are.” Meddy agreed with Lucy. It may be weird for Medusa to hear humans talk about her as if she’s a myth… it’s even weirder to be talked about as if I wasn’t a human only a month ago. Like… I’m still getting used to this thing, calm down a bit on the anti-human stuff, please! “What about me?” I asked Lucy. “You’re different. I’m not saying all humans are bad… but… enough of them are to warrant us being scared of them.” “Okay… I sort-of understand. I am gay after all.” “YOU ARE? OH EM GEE. I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED!” Lucy replied in the most sarcastic voice she could muster. “...Shut up. What do we do now anyway?” “How about I introduce you to some of my friends?” Meddy suggested. “I… I’m not great at meeting new people but I guess I really should if I want to be a part of both of Beth’s worlds.” “Atta girl!” Lucy teased, wrapping her arm around me and escorting me away, following closely behind Medusa. We walked over to the corner of the room where all the blocks were, where two ‘babies’ were playing together and laughing. A guy and a girl, just acting like… kids? It was weird, but weirdly… wholesome. “Hey guys!” Meddy called out to them. “Hey Meddy, thanks for letting us hang out here. It’s much more fun than helping the big ones out there!” The boy said, the young, rough-looking one with shaggy hair and an unshaven face, who wore dungarees and a blue tee. “It was my Mummy’s idea, you know it’s her box really. But it’s okay, I agree. I’m happy to help with this big project thingy Auntie Beth has come up with, but I wasn’t expecting to do all the heavy lifting and stuff.” “Do… Do you all call her Auntie Beth?” I interrupted. “Oh yes!” The girl on the floor said. She looked to be a natural redhead with beautiful blue eyes and a face that would rival any model you see in magazines or on TV. Her gorgeous red hair was tied up into two large pigtails, her outfit was very… not babyish, which stood out more amongst the sea of onesies and dungarees. Instead, her clothes had transformed into a cute little blue dress that stopped half way down her nappy, as I could see the bottom of her padding peeking out below the hemline. “Oh sorry, you’re the new girl, Auntie Beth’s girlfriend, aren’t you?” “I… yeah… and you are?” “I’m Abby, and this monster here is Grim.” “Oh…” I replied. “Ah… my reputation has spread already…” Grim grinned as he stacked a block on top of his little tower, before quickly knocking it down. “I…” “Go on… what were you told?” He asked. “Just… to be careful… apparently you’re a handful.” I said, shyly. Grim grinned proudly, as if he had accomplished what he had set out to do. “Ignore him. He’s a pushover really. All noise and no action.” Abby said, rolling her eyes at the guy. “Hi… I’m Lucy…” A quiet voice beside me said. “OH hey! It’s nice to finally meet you! I’ve seen you in the community before, but you’re always so… shut off and shy.” Abby said, talking to Lucy who was half-hiding behind me, gripping on to my sides for dear life. “Yeah… she’s a shy person.” I explained. “Never heard of a shy vampire.” Grim shrugged. “Makes you more interesting!” Lucy’s grip on me loosened as she slowly edged out from behind me. “Do you three want to play?” Abby offered. “No thanks, though maybe once we’re done with the tour.” Meddy replied. “Ah yeah, good idea. Well it was nice meeting you, undead girl.” Grim grinned at me. As we walked away, being shuffled away by Meddy, I turned to Lucy. “So… you’ve never talked to them before? I thought you were big in this community?” I whispered. “Who told you that?” She whispered back. “I just assumed from everyone talking…” “A few bigs know me. And Meddy. That’s about it. I’m… look, you know how bad I was at uni? It’s been like that. I tend to keep to myself most of the time.” “Really?” “Really.” “Oh hun… well I’m here now. Maybe we can get you to come out of your shell. Seems this introduction is as much for you as it is for me.” “I guess… maybe…” “Can I ask… what are those two?” “Oh you mean what kind of…” “Yeah.” “I think the guy is a werewolf. Though I have no idea if that’s actually true. I just assumed, based on appearances. I have no idea what that ‘Abby’ is.” “She’s a kitsune.” Meddy stopped and turned to face us. She had clearly been able to hear us the whole time. “A kitsune? What’s that?” I asked. “A shapeshifting fox creature from Japanese folklore. Yeah, I know she doesn’t look it, but apparently her family has ties back there many generations ago. Great great grandmother or something, who was a Japanese kitsune, fell in love with an Irish guy over here, at least that’s what she told us.” “You know everyone, Meddy. You’re always so popular.” Lucy sighed. “I’m just not scared to talk to people. You need to open up, Luce. Oh and yes, Grim is short for Grimfang, and he’s a werewolf. Both of them joined around the same time not that long ago, so they kinda bonded over being the newbies. They’re slowly making friends with the others, but they mostly keep to themselves. I heard they’re planning on moving in together.” “Really? They didn’t look… close.” I said. “Oh they’re not dating. Grim is gay for one thing. And Abby is seeing a few people right now. They just… look, it’s expensive to live this close to the centre of the city, and it’s getting more expensive, so they’re trying to get a place together to make it cheaper for them.” “Makes sense.” “Right, let’s get going, there's a dozen or so of us left to introduce, then you can actually try being one of us!” We then proceeded to be dragged around the daycare, being introduced to the other ten or twelve people. I can’t remember how many, I can barely remember their names. I was still a bit… weirded out. They all acted so… normal. Yet there were creatures of all sorts just sitting there, in thick nappies and babyish outfits… playing with toys. Names and numbers, I don’t remember. But the types… I do. I mean there was even a fucking ghost! A GHOST! WHAT THE FUCK? HOW DOES A GHOST EVEN WEAR… OR USE… I… It was all a bit too much for me, and Medusa could apparently see that, because she grabbed my hand and pulled me off towards the front of the room, where Pandora sat watching everyone. “Mummy?” She asked, stopping just in front of the desk. “Yes baby?” Pandora responded. “I think Susie is a bit… overwhelmed.” “I can see that, it’s plastered all over her face. How are you doing too, Lucy?” She asked Luce, who was gripping my other hand tightly. Lucy didn’t say a word, she just nodded. “A new girl and a socially anxious one. Yeah, I should have seen this. Well I’m proud of you both for trying so hard, okay? You did super well and you deserve a sticker!” Pandora opened a drawer on her desk and pulled out a sheet of stickers, gold stars from what I could tell. Taking one on the tip of her finger, she reached over the desk and pressed it against my chest, sticking the star onto my dungarees. Pandora then did the same for Lucy, whose face turned red. “Fank you…” Lucy and I said, at the same time. “You’re very welcome, sweethearts. Now… How are you feeling? Do you need a break?” “I… I wouldn’t mind one, thanks. It’s… a lot. The baby stuff, the… types of people like you… I mean… us.” I was still getting my head round the fact I was one of them now. Not human. Not anymore. “I know, sweetie. It’s a lot to take in. It’s okay though. Do you want to sit in the quiet corner for a bit, or do you want me to get your Mummy… I mean, girlfriend?” “I…” I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to leave, because I missed Beth, and I also wanted time to process this stuff… but I also knew this was probably good for Lucy, as awkward as she’s feeling. So I turned to her and raised my eyebrow, trying to ask her what she wanted to do without actually saying anything. “I think… the quiet corner would be good…” She said, surprising me. I wasn’t expecting her to answer at all, and here she was voicing what she wanted. “Okay sweeties. Right, Meddy? You can go play now, thank you for doing such a good job showing these two around. You’ll get a gold star on your chart when we get home.” Medusa jumped up and down excitedly as she rushed off to the corner to play with Abby and Grim, who were still playing with blocks. Pandora looked at us both, before slowly standing up, towering over us with her newfound height, and walked around the desk. Without saying a word, without asking, she reached down and grabbed the both of us in one swoop of each arm, cradling us both at the same time as she then proceeded to carry us off into the corner of the room that was currently deserted. ======================================================== Who wouldn't want their own portable pocket dimension with a nursery inside it? I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 27: Favours Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “Oh no dear, the pleasure is all mine…” Miss Morningstar said, practically purring at my girlfriend. “I… I’m sorry to have brought you to this place… I just…” You could sense the fear in Beth’s voice. Which just made me even more nervous. “Don’t worry about it, dear. I’m actually quite happy to see this in such a state after all these years. I remember your Grandmother releasing the previous owner from his debt… which I must admit I was not exactly happy about at the time, but seeing it in a state like this… and more importantly… not in his hands, is… pleasing.” “I’m sorry about that.” “Please, enough with the apologies. Seriously. You’re Beatrice’s sister. So you’re a friend. You don’t have to treat me like everyone else does. The previous owners are the ones I have an issue with, not you.” “Umm…” I muttered, trying to get Beth’s attention. Because right now… I was so freaking confused! “Yes baby?” Beth asked, looking at me. “Who… is… umm…” “Oh where are my manners…” Miss Morningstar put her arm to her waist and tilted her leg back, before bowing before me. “Lucifer, at your service. People call me Miss Morningstar, though technically I don’t have a last name. But I kinda like it, so I’ve been using it for a few centuries.” “Miss… L… Lu…” “The Devil, Satan, Samiel… though I always preferred Samantha. Whatever name you’ve heard, that’s me.” “The… actual… Devil?” My eyes widened in fear. Witches and vampires were one thing. My childhood obsession being real people was pushing it. But this… this was so out of the box now I didn’t know how to react. “One and the same.” “Luci is an old friend of mine. She owes me a favour.” Beatrice smiled at me, trying to make me feel more comfortable with the fact that WE HAD THE ACTUAL FUCKING DEVIL IN FRONT OF US! Which was especially weird as she looked so… normal… …And hot. “And you love to remind me of it. So here I am, happy to help… and pay off my debt.” Lucifer rolled her eyes. “Umm… Miss Devil…?” I asked, fear in my voice. “You can call me Luci, sweetie.” She replied. “I… thought you were a guy…” “Don’t get her started…” Beatrice interrupted, her tone filled with disappointment. “Do you think the big man upstairs would send his favourite SON to rule Hell? No. But his favourite daughter… damn right he would…!” Lucifer started ranting. “See, once you get her going…” “Sorry… I didn’t mean to…” I apologised to both Lucifer and Beatrice. “It’s okay, sweetie. Any other questions before I ask what I’m doing here?” “I have to ask… what did Beatrice do for you?” “Let’s just say it involved a certain sibling of mine.” “Sibling? As in?” “A fellow angel.” I completely forgot that Lucifer wasn’t originally the Devil… or Satan… she was… she was an angel. An actual frickin’ angel! “But anyway, that didn’t work out, so I’ve…” “Actually…” Beatrice interrupted her. Because that’s totally a normal thing. To interrupt THE DEVIL. SERIOUSLY WHY ARE PEOPLE NOT FREAKING OUT ABOUT THIS? “Yes, Trixie?” Lucifer teased, causing Beatrice to sigh. “About that… I’ve got a proposal.” “Oh?” “Maybe a match for your sister. I recently made friends with someone who just lost their girlfriend last year. She’s in a pretty dark place. But she… I’ve got a feeling about her. You know… one of those feelings.” “Really? But it’s been forever since I last tried. I don’t want to have to start over again if it fails…” “Trust me. I’ve got a really good feeling about this one. Problem is… she’s not in a good place, like I said. It may take some… convincing. As in… you know…” “Trickery?” “Exactly. She hates the world. So maybe play on that somehow?” Lucifer took a second, deep in thought as we all held on bated breath for her reply. “I’ve got the perfect solution for that… though it may mean you’ll need to get closer to her…” Lucifer trailed off, grinning. Beatrice sounded so… different… talking to Lucifer. Much more… malevolent. It kinda scared me a bit. “What did Beatrice mean by one of those feelings?” I whispered to Beth. “She… well she can’t exactly predict the future. But she has these… feelings. She’s really good at reading people because of it. I can’t explain it any better than that, sorry sweetie. Whilst necromancy is more my thing… this was hers, which was passed down from the other side of the family.” “So you all have your own things that you’re special at?” “Yeah, kinda.” “So… what do you crazy kids need?” Lucifer asked, talking to the group as a whole, instead of just Beatrice this time. “Warding…” Beth replied. “Booooring.” Luci just rolled her eyes. “...Against Death.” That got her attention. “Run that by me again…” Luci said, walking over to my girlfriend and pointing at her chest. “We need warding. Against… well… everything. Including Death.” “I can see why you wanted to call in this favour… that’s some serious power requirement…” Luci grinned. “Can you manage it?” Luci just laughed in response. “I think that means she can…” I whispered to Beth, who nodded back at me. Stretching out her hands together, twisting them around and cracking her knuckles, Lucifer adjusted her suspenders and just… walked off. “So is she…?” Beth asked her sister. “Just leave her to it. She’ll get it done. When she’s finished, this place will be nigh-impenetrable. At least to any sort of supernatural entity. We’ll still have to reinforce the doors to stop humans.” Beatrice replied. “Right… Well I better arrange people into groups then. What kind of thing do you want to do, baby?” Beth turned to ask me. “I… I dunno… I just…” “Well first things first… we need to get everything cleaned up. All the old furniture ripped out and thrown out. Then we can repair everything and then we can start decorating.” “I mean… there’s more than that, but yes, that’s the overall gist of it.” Beatrice added. “So Susie, think about what you wanna do, whilst I go organise others into groups, okay baby? I can slot you anywhere.” “What are you going to do?” I asked Bea. “I’m going to go see if Luci needs any help or assistance, whilst making sure everyones has what they need. As long as every group has some muscle and some magic, I think we should be okay.” She replied. Beth was just about to walk off, when she was suddenly stopped by Pandora. “What is it?” Beth asked her. “I was thinking… this stage of the renovation is a bit too… grown up… for a lot of the people here.” “I mean, they’re still adults, Pandy…” Beth responded. “Wouldn’t it be cuter if…” Pandora nodded her head away from us, as if signalling somewhere. “I mean… really we could do with all the help we can get. Do you really think it’s a good idea to put them out of the way?” Beth asked, as if she knew what Pandora was talking about. “And do you want to have to deal with one of them bratting whilst we’re trying to work?” Pandora counter-argued. “Ugh… I guess. We do have some handfuls.” “I’m not much help really. I don’t have strength, and I don’t have magic…” Pandora sighed. “But I know that myself and the little ones will help a lot later when the place is… you know… not a dump. When we can start decorating and designing things. Why don’t I take the little ones to my box, then when things are looking a little less… ramshackle… we can come out and help? It’ll give your little one time to…” “I don’t know if she’s ready for that, Pandy. She isn’t even sure she’s one of them. She’s still coming to terms with being one of us. Non-human, that is..” “And this will allow her to socialise and…” “I’ll go.” I interrupted. “Are you sure, baby?” Beth asked, out of concern. “Hey, if it’s not my thing, I can always come back out and help, right? I have that increased strength you need if you really need my help too. I… I’d like to get to know more of these people. You know them all so well… so I want to too.” I explained. “Right, okay. Pandy, you take them to your box for the time being. If we need any of them for any particular jobs, we’ll come grab them, okay? And if any of them would rather help out here, don’t pressure them to go with you. Got that?” Beth said, sounding very serious. “I won’t, don’t worry. I’ll go play Nanny in my box with them, and they can get to know your little one… I mean… girlfriend. Sorry.” Beth nodded, before turning around and grabbing my arm, gently shuffling me off to the side, out of hearing range. “Are you sure, babe? You don’t have to go… She just wants to make all the littles blushy, and nothing makes them more blushy than having to go be little whilst the bigs are busy working. She loves making babies feel small.” She whispered. “I figured, but don’t worry. I can always come out, right? I have to ask though… this ‘box’...?” “Pandora’s box…? That whole story was nonsense. There was a box. And yes… she opened it. But it was just… nothing. There were no evils or curses. And it was a jar, not a box. It was just a pocket dimension where someone had left their gardening supplies, which had all rusted and it was basically just a mess. So she cleared it out and turned it into a nursery for her and her little Medusa, one she could carry anywhere.” “So… she has her own little pocket dimension now? And it's…” “It looks a bit like a daycare.” Beth answered. “Oh… so you’ve been?” “I’ve seen it, once or twice. She’s normally very restrictive when it comes to letting people in, she only lets us use it on special occasions. Don’t worry, it’s safe, and I think you’ll have fun. Everyone is dying to meet you, and I think you’ll get on well with a lot of them.” “Is that a joke?” “Oh… no it wasn’t, sorry. I’m going to have to be careful with the death puns from now on, aren’t I?” She laughed. “Anyway, go have fun. If you need me, just come get me okay? And if I need you, I’ll be right over.” I turned and looked at Pandora, who held out her hands, one towards me, one towards Lucy… who was still a bit stunned at the whole ‘meeting Lucifer’ thing I think. Thankfully she quickly realised what was happening and took Pandora’s hand as she guided us over to the big group. “Right… everyone? We’ve decided this stage of the build is too dangerous for the little ones, don’t you agree?” About half the people in the crowd looked towards their partners and nodded, whilst having the biggest grins on their faces. “Oh yes, I agree.” I heard a few of them say. The other half… well their faces were bright red. Guess it’s easy to win ‘find the babies’ in this crowd. “So… I’m going to take these two little ones and my own to my daycare, and I’m extending the offer to all other little ones. Obviously… you don’t have to go, you can help out here if you want, but I think the adults have this stage handled. We can come back out when it gets to the fun decorating stage!” Pandora explained, raising her voice so everyone could hear. “So if you’re coming, form an orderly line behind us, and make sure to hold hands with the person in front. Lucy… can you hold on to Susie’s hand?” Lucy nodded and let go of Pandora, before grabbing my free hand with hers. “There we go. Meddy? Can you come hold my other hand? I’ll need you to open Mummy’s box for me.” The girl with the beanie hat walked over and rummaged around Pandora’s bag that was hanging off her shoulder, before pulling out what looked like a tiny little wooden chest. Kinda like the ones you’d see in pirate things, like a treasure chest. “I thought it was a jar…?” I asked, confused. “Oh it’s whatever she wants it to look like.” Medusa replied, smiling shyly at me. “Oh, that’s so cool!” “Isn’t it just!?” She replied, before realising how loud she was, quickly hiding behind her girlfriend’s arm. “Right… everyone form a line…” Pandora called out once more as the crowd in front of us halved in seconds, with the half who I assumed were all the ‘babies’ shuffling out and walking behind us. “Meddy… if you would…” Medusa held the chest up in front of her, away from the crowd, and opened the lid. Suddenly a vortex flew out of the tiny box, swirling around chaotically for a few seconds, before it started to calm. The circular motions it formed started to become more… jagged, more angular, as it started to resemble a large vertical rectangle more than a circle. A few more seconds of it calming… and suddenly… a door stood there, in the middle of the room… “Let’s go then, make sure to hold onto your partner’s hands!” Pandora said as she walked towards the door, it opened as she got closer… to reveal… A pastel-coloured wonderland. ======================================================== So happy so many of you are enjoying this story so much! I really appreciate all the comments! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks! Pandora is Pandora! THE Pandora! I guess there are probably some kinds of Egyptian Mummies out there, but they wouldn't have Greek names The same way it works in loads of other stories Death reaps the departed souls and ferries them to their respective afterlives. Luci is the ruler of one of them. We've already seen Luci before... :3 But I guess we only had a little introduction in the previous story.

Chapter 26: Community Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “So where do we start?” Lucy was asking the most important question right now. The one I think Beth was avoiding thinking about. “I… well…” “SOMEONE ORDER SOME BURLY MEN?” A loud, gruff voice echoed through the enormous hall. Looking to the entrance, suddenly there was a gang of people, all standing there, tools in hand. “You… you were fast! What about…?” Beth said, gobsmacked by the strange-looking people blocking the exit out of here. One woman in particular stepped forward, pushing her way through the crowd of about 20 or so people, looking Beth in the eyes. She looked… young. Maybe about thirty? With long, brunette hair, a very youthful face, and wearing a long, flowing, blue flowery dress with a large gold necklace adorning her collar and a large bag hanging off her shoulder. “Elizabeth… after all the times you’ve helped us? As soon as we heard you got attacked we were ready to come support you. And then when you told us about this ‘sanctuary’ idea… of course we were going to drop what we were doing and grab our tools!” The beautiful brunette said, with a soft, reassuring voice. “Oh Pandora, thank you. So much.” Beth replied. “Hey, don’t mention it, seriously. We’re here to help. You’ve helped all of us in so many ways.” “I… umm… Beth?” I mumbled, shuffling over to my girlfriend and tugging on her blouse. “Yes, sweetie?” She whispered down to me. “Umm… who are these? Are these…” “And who is this little cutie?” The woman, who I assumed was called ‘Pandora’, asked, stepping forward a bit and bending down so she was at my height. From this distance I could see how tall she was, and it was a little bit intimidating. She was even taller than Beth and Bea, who already made me feel small. “This… this is Susie.” Beth answered, nervously. “But… wait… wasn’t that the name of your… human? Oh Beth… you didn’t, did you?” Pandora’s expression quickly changed to one of disappointment. “I wish people would stop giving me that reaction.” Beth sighed. “Anyway, Susie, this is Pandora, an old Mummy friend of mine. Pandora, this is Susie, my… undead girlfriend.” “But I thought your family had given up…” Pandora was about to ask the same thing I had heard others ask her, but Beth was ready this time. “Yes, but I had to. I mean look at her… I love her, okay? What would you do to save your little one?” “Okay… you have a point. But wait… so do you…” She pointed her fingers at me and Beth, then crossed them over, trying to insinuate something. “NO!” Beth snapped at her. “Not yet anyway. Not since… the accident.” “But… are you? Wouldn’t that be… umm… a bit…?” “No, don’t even think about it. She’s not technically dead. Sort of. She’s not dead… dead. She’s as alive as a vampire, okay? So it wouldn’t be classed as…” That’s when I realised what they were talking about. Sex. Because I’m undead. Eww. I hadn’t even thought about that. “Okay then… yeah, she doesn’t look as pale as a vampire, I’ll give her that.” “Trust you to think of that.” Beth rolled her eyes at her friend. “Hey, I can’t help it…” “Wait… Mummy friend… so she…?” I asked, trying to increase the volume of my voice so I didn’t mumble again. “She knows… right?” Pandora asked Beth, pointing at me. “Yeah, though it wasn’t the best introduction to the kink, I must admit. I’ll tell you later. She’s very new, so please go easy on her, okay? Don’t tease her too much.” I blushed as the two of them spoke about me like that, so I clutched my hands onto Beth and hid behind her. “So you brought everyone?” Beth asked, pointing to the crowd behind Pandora, who were all chatting amongst each other at this point. “Everyone in the community that could make it, yeah. There’s a couple of us who couldn’t, but they promised they'd come over as soon as they could manage it. Question is… what exactly do you need us to do?” “AUNTIE PANDY!” I heard from behind us, as Lucy ran past us at full speed, charging directly into Pandora, who managed to open her arms in time to grab the excited little vampire. “Hey Little Lucy, I heard about your hunter problem. Are you okay?” Pandora asked her. Lucy looked up at her and nodded, smiling. “Uh huh! Susie helped me, she fought him and he ran away!” She said, sounding just like a toddler reciting a story. “She did? Well she definitely deserves a treat later. And so do you, for being such a brave girl!” As the two bonded, I looked up at Beth with confusion on my face. Thankfully Beth understood this face and quickly explained it all. “Pandora is a Mummy. Everyone in the crowd over there is either a baby or a toddler or a caregiver. These are the people I trust the most. And they’re also very capable when it comes to stuff like this, some of them are very strong, like the werewolves. Whereas the ghosts can phase through the walls to check the wirings. They all bring something to the table with their unique gifts.” “Do… Do I?” I asked, nervously. “Of course you do! You have an amazing taste when it comes to decorating, plus you’re a lot stronger than you used to be. You could probably even give some of the werewolves a run for their money!” “Really?” I asked… actually feeling proud of the fact I was now someone who was… strong! “Oh yes.” “Wait… so Pandora… wait, is she THE Pandora? The one from the myth?” “Yes and no. Yes, she’s that Pandora. But the myth was made up. Misogynistic bullshit really, like most tales involving women.” “Wow… so she’s kinda like a mythological celebrity.” “Oh don’t. That will go straight to her head.” Beth sighed. “She mentioned having a little one? So one of those over there is her baby?” Beth bent down and pointed at a small girl, one with a large red hat over her head, kind of like a baggy beanie, wearing baggy bell bottom jeans and a matching red camisole. “That’s Meddy.” Beth whispered. “Meddy?” “Her little. Short for Medu…” “Medusa? Seriously? Wait… how many of the old stories are true?” I asked, super excited that my childhood obsessions were all… real! “That… will be a bedtime story for another day, sweetie. There are a lot of myths and legends out there. All created by humans… but based on real people like us.” “Are any based on you?” I asked. “Do I look that old?” Beth laughed. “I… well no… but…” “I know I’m older than I look, but I’m not that old. Not old enough to warrant a story about me.” “Are there any other famous mythological creatures…” “People.” Beth sternly corrected me. “Sorry… mythological people… are any others here?” “None as big as those two. And yes, before you ask, Meddy’s story was made up. Mostly. You’ll have to ask her to recite it, she gets angry when she doesn’t get to tell it. Also yes, please don’t grab her hat, yes there are snakes under there. And yes, they will petrify you. The bouncy castle incident from a few years ago meant I was curing petrified little ones all week.” “Oh… so be careful playing rough with her…?” “Exactly. But I think you’ll like her. She’s very shy, but then you have to be when your hair causes people to turn to stone. It took Pandora to bring her out of her shell and open up around people.” “Any other people I should know about?” “I think you should just get to know people here naturally. Introduce yourself, get to know them. They’re a friendly bunch. Just be careful of Grim. The werewolf boy over there. He’s a bit of a brat. Don’t let him intimidate you.” “Got it. I… don’t know if I’ll be able to say hi though.” “I’m sure they’ll all want to meet you, they’ve heard a lot about you, mostly from me.” “Really?” “Of course! It’s not like I can do much with this group without my baby here with me, so whilst we were dating I was mostly just organising munches and stuff, and solving issues in the group. And… bragging about how amazing you are.” “I…” I blushed and buried my face in her arm. “D’awww. Right, well I need to give instructions to all my friends. Why don’t you just hang on to me for a bit, and then when everyone’s assigned a job, I can find something for you to do?” “...Okay…” I smiled, but she couldn’t see my face, I was still burying it in her arm as she turned to the crowd of people. “RIGHT! EVERYONE!” She started very loudly, to get everyone to quiet down and listen, before returning to a good level to make sure everyone could hear her. “Thank you, seriously, for coming to help. I know I briefly explained what I had planned for this place, but now I think I better fill you all in properly. What this place will be… is a sanctuary. A safe place for all of us to come. And I’m not talking about kinksters, though yes, there will be a safe place for us here too. I mean for anyone non-human. Downstairs will be a nightclub. We need the non-kinksters to form a community together, rather than their own separate ones. Especially with hunters and humans getting so… assertive. We need to come together and I think a nightclub for all will help with that.” Everyone started talking amongst themselves, all nodding and from the looks of it… agreeing with my girlfriend. “Upstairs are the hotel rooms. My plan is to turn them into mini-apartments. Places for people to stay, sort of like a shelter. Those who have been recently turned, those who have been chased from their homes or abusive relationships, those who need a bit of a hand getting back on their feet… whatever the reason, I want them to have a place here, albeit temporary. I want to then help them back on their feet, with whatever assistance I can provide. Of course volunteers for this are welcome, but for now let’s just get the building in a decent state. We can worry about volunteers, staff and managers later.” “What about… us?” Pandora asked, with her hand around Lucy’s shoulder, holding her close. They must be good friends if Lucy calls her ‘Auntie Pandy’. “I assume you’re talking about kinksters?” “I mean… babies and their caregivers specifically.” “Well I’d like to have a nursery, a safe place for the babies to go if they ever need it. I know a lot of you can’t be babies at home, due to living arrangements or privacy or whatever. So I want a place where you can come whenever you need to be yourself. But I also want to offer that same kind of thing to the wider kink community, so maybe a nursery and a dungeon?” “That’s fair, I suppose. Some of us are in both after all…” Pandora smiled and nodded, she seemed satisfied by this answer. “And… I want this to be a safe place. For my baby.” “Your baby?” One person called out from the back of the crowd. “Yes, this gorgeous girl who is currently clutching on to me, is Susie. She… is no longer human. And yes, for the billionth time… Yes, that thing did happen, and yes, I know my family stopped the practice… but… look, she’s okay, she's coping. But she had a rocky introduction. So I ask all of you to please be nice and friendly and take it easy around her, okay?” Everyone in the crowd nodded and smiled, all agreeing. “Thank you. Now if you’ll all wait just a moment, I’ll start to assign people into groups and give you all tasks.” Just as Beth turned around, putting her arm around me and guiding me back towards the counter area, we heard a gasp coming from behind us. “Oh hey everyone. Nothing to see here. Just… coming through… I… thanks… oh hey Pandy, you look good… hey… just… ignore this… thanks…” Beth and I turned around at the same time to see Beatrice awkwardly push her way out of the crowd, and stumble forward a bit, before standing up straight and tugging her waistcoat back down, straightening herself out a bit, and walking over to us. “Hey Sis!” Bea said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Hey… are you okay?” Beth asked, concerned. “I’m fine. That crowd… they were too focused on her to let me through…” “Ah… I didn’t think about that. Sorry.” Beth said, looking guilty. “Don’t mention it.” “Think about who?” I asked. The crowd parted, and a figure emerged from it. A beautiful woman walked forward, across the dusty, creaky floorboards, over to where we were all standing. Her raven-black hair flowed down her shoulders, she wore black lipstick that matched perfectly with her look and complexion. She wore a very similar outfit to Beatrice, though instead of the waistcoat, she had her shirt unbuttoned and wore suspenders. She was… gorgeous. And as she stared at me with those dazzling blue eyes of hers, I swore for a moment… that they glowed red. Or maybe I was just imagining things. “I forgot what it’s like going places where people know who I am… haha!” The strange, but irresistible woman laughed. “I… umm… Beth? Who is she?” I whispered. Beth didn’t exactly answer me forthright, she didn’t want to seem rude to her mysterious guest. Instead, she just looked her in the eyes, looking… almost nervous… and held out her hand, which was clearly shaking nervously. “Miss… Miss Morningstar… it’s a pleasure to finally meet you…” ======================================================== So happy so many of you are enjoying this story so much! I really appreciate all the comments! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 25: Sanctuary Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess As we walked through the dingy corridor into what I could only describe as an old dump… I couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the amount of work that would need doing to this place to turn it into… well… anything. Nevermind whatever crazy idea my girlfriend has for this place. We took a few steps into the large, open room that looked a bit like it was a foyer for when this used to be a hotel. There was a large counter running along the side of the room, and a massive open floor, with some ruined sofas and large elaborate chandeliers that looked fake. “Okay… so you inherited a pile of trash. Well I don’t feel envious anymore…” Beatrice laughed as she looked around the enormous hall. “I… didn’t want to say anything…” Lucy muttered, nervously, as she took her protective blanket off her shoulders and dropped it on the floor nearby, before realising her mistake and picking it up off the disgusting floor. Beth then looked at me for what I could only assume was affirmation… for reassurance that maybe whatever she had planned for this place was a thing we could pull off. Problem was… I didn’t want to lie to her. So I shrugged my shoulders awkwardly. “Not you too! Oh come guys! Can’t you see the potential?” She said, trying to raise our spirits in that cheery way she does. “What potential? Unless you want somewhere to hide bodies… which I will totally help you do, by the way…” Bea joked. “What… what did you have planned for this place?” I asked. “Right… imagine this…” Beth was winding up to her big reveal, trying to get us excited with a bit of over-the-top arm motion. “We open this as… a nightclub!” “A nightclub? Seriously, sis? We don’t know the first thing about running a nightclub.” Bea rolled her eyes at her sister. “AH! But it won’t just be a nightclub!” “Eh? I don’t follow…” “It’ll also be a hotel!” “You’re not selling this idea to me, sorry Sis. Because again… we lack the experience of running a hotel too. Great… TWO things we have no idea how to run merged into one thing… that possibly couldn’t go wrong…” The sarcasm coming from Bea’s lips could have made even the Devil shiver. “But really…” Beth continued. “If you say it’s a third thing, I’m going to throw my shoe at you…” “It’s a sanctuary.” “A… wait… what?” Beatrice was in the middle of taking her shoe off, before putting it back on and looking up… genuinely shocked and baffled by this last reveal. “What do you mean by sanctuary?” Lucy asked. “Right… so Lucy… you’re being hunted…” Beth said, still trying to sell us on this idea. “Thanks for reminding me, but yes, go on…” “Imagine you had a place to go to be safe. A place always there for you if you ever needed it. Whether to socialise with non-humans, to hide out from unwanted attention from hunters or whatever, or…” Beth trailed off. “Or what?” “Or… you wanted to be yourself.” “What do you mean?” “I know this sounds silly. I’m shoving a lot of ideas together, but at least hear me out. I want a safe place for all non-humans… and maybe some humans who are allies… to come to. A place where they won’t be judged. Where they will be safe.” “So you want a hotel… nightclub… sanctuary thing?” “I initially thought maybe we’d make it a safe place for the little ones to gather.” “OH… so you want it to be a kink club too? Because that’s not a convoluted mash up of things.” Bea looked down at her shoes again. “Shush! Right… So this room we’re in here? Nightclub. Non-humans can come here, have a drink, dance, socialise, whatever. Every night, this place is here for them. Think about it Bea… do we have any clubs specifically for our kind?” “There’s the vamp club…” “Which doesn’t let anyone who isn’t a vampire in… same with the Witches’ Brew, that only allows us Witches in. We all have our own clubs… but they’re exclusively for our own kind. Now imagine we allowed everyone in. Vamps, Witches, werewolves… everyone included.” “I guess people would enjoy that…” “Now imagine someone like Lucy here… on the run from a hunter…” Lucy looked down at her feet, awkwardly. “Yeah?” Bea asked, confused still. “Imagine she had a place to hide out. Think about it… the amount of us non-humans who have been discovered and kicked out of our houses. The amount of us who have been driven from our homes. All those who need a place to crash or a place to get back on their feet or to process their new existence if they were recently turned.” “So that’s the hotel part?” “Yes! We give people a place to stay. It’s only temporary, but we don’t charge them anything.” “Won’t people abuse that?” “So? What system isn’t abused? Plus it’s better than making it so those who need help can’t get it.” Beth made a good point. “Yeah… I agree. Okay then, so nightclub for the majority of our ‘customers’, hotel turned into mini apartments for people to move into if they need it, for whatever reason.” “Yeah. We let them stay as long as they need, but at the same time… we help them.” “Help them?” Bea was taking it all in, as were we all, but this plan seemed… ambitious. We all wore a confused face as Beth tried explaining her idea as best she could. “With whatever it is that’s caused them to run and hide. Whether it’s a hunter, housing, jobs, family, whatever. We support them.” “That’s a lot of work… are you sure you’re up to it?” “That’s why we get help. We have friends. We have support. I’ve spoken to some to help fix up this place and they were eager to help, I’m sure some of them would love the chance to help others like us.” “You were always a goody two shoes…” Bea smirked. “But so far… Yes, I like this idea, despite it being a lot of work. But I have to ask… what else do you have planned for this place? You said something about the little ones…” “Ah… yes. So this is where I kinda wanted a bit more of a personal request…” “Go on…” “I was thinking… Maybe this could be the place we all gather. All of us in the community. I guess the whole kink community as a whole too. Anyone non-human… and allies, can come and not be judged. There are plenty of big event rooms in the back and upstairs that we could use for stuff like that.” “So you want a dungeon?” “I guess so? I’m not super into the BDSM side, but yeah, we could have a dungeon for that part, we could have a big playroom with changing tables and a playpen and everything for the little ones, and we could hold events here, instead of just munches. I mean… munches too… I like how casual they are, but we could have everything here. A sanctuary for all I guess. Though we’d keep the existence of the kink rooms known only to those in the community as to not scare off any vanilla non-humans.” “Anything else? A sauna? A circus perhaps? An evil lair? Anything else you want adding to this dreamhouse you’ve imagined?” Bea rolled her eyes again. I swear at this point her eyes were going to unscrew themselves and fall out with the amount of eye rolling she was throwing at her sister. “No, that’s it. I think. Seriously though, tell me it doesn’t interest you.” “Fine, you’re right… It definitely sounds nice. But like I said, we have no experience running anything.” “So we ask for help!” “Is that why you want to ask my friend for help?” Bea raised her eyebrow in suspicion. “Oh no… I want spellwork from her, remember?” “For what exactly…?” “Umm…” Beth was suddenly quiet. Which after the sales pitch she just performed… was a bit worrying. “OH OF COURSE!” Beatrice yelled out, making it echo through the whole hallway. “Huh?” I asked, after being awkwardly quiet whilst the two of them discussed this whole thing. Honestly… I felt a bit left out, I hadn’t even had my opinion asked for. “She’s doing this for you. And for Lucy now I guess.” Bea explained. “For me? But we’re still not sure if I’m gonna get into this baby stuff…” I shrugged. “Not the baby room, silly. Not even the nightclub.” I shrugged my shoulders yet again. Was it the hotel? Was she offering me a job or something? “The Sanctuary. It’s for you.” Bea said, making Beth blush slightly. “Huh?” “She wants warding put everywhere, don’t you?” Bea turned and asked her sister. Beth nodded awkwardly and smiled at me. “Warding? Sanctuary? Can one of you explain, please? In dumb human terms?” I asked, still confused by everything. “She wants to protect you from Death.” “But… we banished them, right?” “Death won’t stop coming for you. They’ll return eventually, back at full strength.” “But…” “So she wants to create a safe place for you to live. You want to move out of your house and into here, don’t you, sis?” “...Yeah.” Beth replied. “So you want us to move into this… shithole?” I asked. “Once we’ve got it looking somewhat more like a normal building, yes. We can have some serious warding that will keep even Death out. My stuff will only hold them back for a time, but Luci… she can keep her out permanently. At least I’m hoping so. I need to keep you safe.” “But that just sounds like this would become my prison…” “Oh baby, no! I would never do that to you. This would just be a safe place for you to stay. You could still go out, though we’d have to be careful.” “We could always anchor her here… You know… a home spell.” Bea suggested. “You mean a safety harness spell? Do you think… that would work?” Beth replied. “And for those of us not magically inclined…?” Lucy asked. “If you’re ever in danger, all you’d have to do is think of home… and you’d be transported back here.” Bea explained. “Oh like the red shoes and Dorothy!” I called out, excited that I could actually reference something. “Yeah, sort of! But you wouldn’t need any shoes, you’d just wish to be home and you’d appear here.” “But then I have to ask why you two don’t have that spell on you, it’d make getting places a lot easier and quicker, especially if you don’t need reagents.” “Oh you do need reagents, but you only need to refresh the spell once you’ve used it and then it’ll always be ready for you again. Means you can’t use it twice in a row without recharging, but it’ll be good in an emergency situation. The reagents are even harder to get than basic portal ones, hence why we don’t anchor ourselves to our homes.” “Is it safe then?” I asked. “Oh yes. A lot of vampires centuries ago, ones with a lot of power and resources, would get Witches to cast it on them so they could hunt until the break of dawn, then quickly teleport back into the safety of their castle just as the sun came up.” “It does sound useful… not that I hunt, but still…” Lucy said, smiling and shrugging at me. “Fine. As long as I can go out whenever I want, you can cast this anchor spell thingy on me. As for this being our new home… Where exactly are we going to stay? In one of the hotel rooms?” “In the penthouse, of course. We’ll have the entire top floor. Big enough for a nursery for you, a whole apartment for us, and the privacy we need by only being accessible by us.” Beth answered. “N… nursery…?” I blushed. “I mean… if you want one, of course. Though this time we’d make it to your specifications. The one back at home is one I always pictured, but I would rather have one that was made to make you feel comfortable and babyish.” “I… we’ll see. Maybe.” Beatrice looked at Beth and gave her some weird excited face, before quickly returning to her serious expression. “So… let’s say we do this. We make this our ‘sanctuary’. For non-humans, for babies and kinksters, and especially for you three.” Beatrice said, pointing at all three of us in front of her. “Where do we start? You said you got in touch with some people to help?” “It was a bit last minute, as it was only this morning that we got attacked, but they quickly heard about it and were eager to start helping… so they should be here very… very soon.” Beth replied. “Gossip does travel fast. I better get in touch with Luci then… so I’ll be back in a bit. You three… get started, I guess?” Beatrice said, shrugging, before walking off back out of the building, leaving the three of us standing in the middle of what would eventually be a freaking nightclub! That we own and will run! “So I… I can live here for a bit?” Lucy asked, nervously. “Until we throw the hunter off the scent, and you’re safe again. We’ll even help you find a new place.” Beth smiled at her, in that reassuring way that she does best. “I appreciate that… but what about Susie?” “What about her?” “Is she okay with your ‘save the world’ plan? Because like Beatrice said… you’re going to be busy running a nightclub, a hotel, a sanctuary, and also helping out those in need…” “I… well I was hoping to get some to help with the running of the nightclub, and probably the sanctuary. I could always help those in my spare time, it’s not like I need a job as a Witch…” “I’ll help…” I spoke up, awkwardly looking down at my shoes. Though it was more of a whisper rather than me actually speaking up. “Sorry, baby? What was that?” Beth asked, turning to me. “I want to help.” “Help with what, precious?” “I want to help. With the people. With those in need. Those who need help and guidance and whatever.” Beth’s face lit up at the prospect that I’d do this with her. “Are you sure, baby? It’s a lot…” “I don’t care. I know how scary it was for me. And it’s not like I have a job anymore, I’m legally declared dead after all. So I’m going to have a lot of spare time. So when we’ve got this whole thing up and running… I want to help people… with you.” “I’d love that. We can help people, together.” Beth smiled at me. You know that smile? The smile you see that makes your heart beat faster? The smile that makes you feel like your whole existence is on the same wavelength as them? The smile that makes you feel… alive? Well seeing that smile of hers… I swear I felt my heart beat for the first time in weeks. ======================================================== I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 24: Traffic Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess I sat there, feeling smaller than I had ever felt before, on Beth’s lap, nervously wiggling in my adorable dungarees and cute top, my pigtails swaying from side to side as I couldn’t sit still. “It’s okay, baby. I promise. It’s just juice.” Beth tried to reassure me, but it wasn’t working. I wasn’t sure how to feel right now, it felt kinda good… but kinda weird too. Looking over at Lucy and Beatrice, who sat on the sofa next to us, I couldn’t help but blush as they couldn’t stop staring at me, smiling. The teat of the bottle hung in the air, just an inch from my lips… and I was unsure what to do. That was until I looked at Lucy, who reassuringly nodded and smiled at me, and as I understood… was telling me it was okay to do this. So I opened my mouth and let Beth insert the teat of the baby bottle into my mouth. It was soft. My lips wrapped around the teat and I instinctively started suckling. The yummy juice flowed into my mouth and suddenly… Suddenly… Everything felt at peace with the world. “She really is enjoying that, huh?” Beatrice commented, bringing me out of my own little blissful haze. “It’s just juice, right?” Lucy asked. “Yeah. She must really love juice…” “Or she’s just as much of a baby as Lucy is…” Beth added. I blushed at that comment, but found myself unable to stop suckling. It was so reassuring… so good… I actually started to wonder why I had never tried this before. ‘Oh yeah… because this is f***ing weird…’ I thought to myself, feeling ashamed for enjoying this. “It’s okay, baby girl. You just enjoy your yummy juice. I can see you pulling that anxious face you do when you’re nervous. It’s okay, there’s nothing to be ashamed of…” Beth said in a relaxing, very soothing maternal voice. Pushing past the doubt and the shame, I continued drinking, snuggling up to Beth’s chest and laying my head on her shoulder as I suckled. “Beth… I know I’m not a Mummy… but that’s so freaking precious. She’s absolutely adorable.” Beatrice commented, making my cheeks warmer. “Isn’t she just? I knew she’d be an adorable little baby someday. The way she acts sometimes… I knew there was a baby in there somewhere, just waiting to get out.” Beth replied. ‘Do I really act babyish or something? Personally I’ve never noticed anything that would indicate I’d be like Lucy… but… maybe I just don’t see it? I suppose sometimes I can be a little bratty… and I do like snuggles. And affection. And forehead kisses. And I get excited when she gets me little treats. And when she praises me. Okay… things are starting to become clear now. Jeez Susie… why didn’t I notice any of this before?’ “Yay! Now I can have a playdate!” Lucy exclaimed. “That’s a good idea for later maybe. Maybe we could get the playpen set up sometime soon and Lucy can help Susie learn how to play like a baby.” Beth replied, smiling down at me as I suckled at the bottle she was still holding. “Would you like that, baby?” ‘I didn’t know what to say. Like… do I? I guess if I want to try out this baby stuff, to see if it really is for me… I kinda need to try a bit of everything right? Because so far… I like being fed a bottle. f**k… I couldn’t believe I just admitted that. Even if it’s only to myself in my own head. I like this treatment so far. f**k. But yeah, I’ll have to try playing to see if that’s something I like. What else do babies do? Oh maybe she could give me a bath or something? Or… umm… spoon feeding? I can’t remember what babies do. Despite being treated like one for the past three weeks. What else did I do during those three weeks that I’d like to try with my mind intact this time?’ “Susie? You okay, baby?” Beth asked, concerned, taking the teat out of my mouth, holding the bottle in the air just in front of me. “Huh?” “You looked like you were in your own little world again.” “I… I’d like to try playing. And umm…” “And what, sweetie?” “I’m trying to remember all the stuff you did to and for me during the last three weeks. I wanna see what some of that is like… but with my own mind.” “Baby steps, sweetie. I basically took care of you as if you were an actual baby for that period of time, the devotion caused by the spell made you act like a proper baby. Whereas you… my little munchkin, are an adult baby.” “What’s the difference?” “We can stop this whenever you want, and go have an adult conversation or go out on a date. It’s just a scene for us, we play it, enjoy it, we get what we want from it, and we go back to our lives. Some in the community are in their baby headspace like most of the time, but even then, they choose that. When you were regressed, there was no discussion or downtime. You were just… a baby. Even if it was you playing like a baby and not actually being regressed to a baby mentally. I think. But yes, you can take your time with this. We’ll try all the things we did, again, with your own thoughts this time… but we’ll take it at a pace we both enjoy and feel comfortable with.” “T… thank you.” I blushed. “What for?” “For being understanding and patient. And… not pushing this on me.” “It should be me thanking you, sweetheart. You’re the one indulging in my kink. You’re the one who had to put up with that messed up spell I cast on you. You’re the one accepting me as both a Witch and a Mummy.” “Yeah but you raised me from the dead.” “Yes, but…” “OH MY GOD JUST KISS ALREADY!” Beatrice yelled, standing up in frustration and walking off to the kitchen. So we did. Beth reached down and gently kissed my lips, sending a shiver of pleasure running through my body, before parting our lips and staring into my eyes. Beth and I blushed at each other, smiling awkwardly as Lucy couldn’t help but stare in wonder at the two of us. “Wha?” I asked her. “You two are just… adorable. I hope I find a Mummy and have something like this.” Lucy said, with a hint of sadness in her voice. “I’m sure you will, sweetie. You’re one of the cutest little beans I know, and any Mummy would be lucky to have you.” Beth said, putting my bottle down on the sofa so she could use her free hand to pat Lucy’s head. Lucy blushed and wiggled in place, trying to avoid eye contact. “At least I got a new playmate!” She said, her voice sounding much cheerier and upbeat this time. “You do! And like I said, once we’ve got the basics done, we’ll get you all set up in the playpen, okay?” “Basics?” I asked. “What exactly is this thing you’re doing?” “It’s a surprise. But I promise you, it’ll be worth it. I’ve had this idea for a while, and… now you’re in the loop with everything… maybe now I can actually invest some time into making it a reality.” “You’re being very vague…” I squinted at her in suspicion. Beth didn’t even reply, she just kissed my nose, which instantly shut me up and made me cover my blushing face. “Right kiddos… are we off then?” Beatrice walked back into the living room. “Wait… it’s been half an hour already?” Lucy asked, turning around. “Well yeah… thirty minutes isn’t that long, you know. Plus if the traffic is as bad as you say it is… I think we need to get going before it gets even worse at rush hour.” “Again… we could just portal…” Beth suggested. “No! We’re low on reagents as it is, and we don’t know when we’ll be able to get our stock replenished. Just deal with the stupid human cars.” “Can… Can you sit in the back with me?” I asked Beth. “Oh sweetie, I would love to, but babies need to ride in the back. You’re lucky we don’t have a car seat for you.” Beth released her arm from holding me and shuffled me off her knee, onto my feet. “...Yet.” We sat there, in traffic, for what seemed like an hour. It was horrible. This is what Hell must be like. Just a big fiery pit full of doomed souls… sitting in traffic. Not that I’d know, I was destined for somewhere much… cloudier. But does that change now I’m back from the dead and know about the afterlife? Because then that gets into the philosophical debate as to whether I’d be acting good for the sake of being good, or because I’m being selfish… no, forget it, if I fall down that rabbit hole I’ll never come back out again. So I quickly pushed that thought to the back of my mind, locked it in a chest, threw away the key, threw the chest into the ocean and tried my best to forget it even existed. “Are we there yet?” Lucy whined, like a little kid, with a blanket covering her so the sunlight didn’t touch her skin. I was enjoying this baby stuff so far… so I decided to join in. “Are we there yet?” I whined in unison with Lucy. “Oh no… not you too… my little angel… corrupted by a brat!” Beth joked, making both her and Beatrice laugh. Lucy and I just pouted in response, looking at Beatrice’s smug grin in the rearview mirror as she edged the car along a little bit further. “Look, it’s the next street, okay? Then we’re there.” “Wait, seriously? We’re here?” Lucy asked, surprised. “Wait… where is ‘here’?” I, however, asked the more important question. “Well as you know, our Grandma died. We recently went to the reading of the will, and she left us a bunch of stuff.” Beth started to explain. “Yeah?” I said. “Well I got left… a building.” “Wait… a whole building… here?” I looked out of the car window at the city surrounding us. Normal city, large buildings, lots of people… it made me glad we lived in the suburbs on the outskirts of the city. But right here… were some of the older buildings that haven’t been in use for… well… forever. Like I can’t remember the last time I visited this area, it was a dead part of the city. The enormous buildings towered over us, but unlike the ones in the centre of the city, these were not large structures made of glass, concrete and steel… no, these were large Victorian brickwork buildings that looked worn down and aged. Thinking about it, they are probably as old as Lucy! “Wait… so you own one of these buildings?” I asked. “Yeah, the one on the next street.” “So that’s where we’re going… why?” “I have big plans for it. And it has a lot to do with the two of you.” She said, looking back at Lucy and I. “Us two? How?” “You’ll have to wait and see, cupcake.” The cute little pet names… okay they were freaking adorable. She had always called me them before, but it was only now that I realised where it all came from. It was all her Mummy side, and ever since we met, she’s been calling me these cute pet names. But like… now I had a newfound appreciation for them now that I knew the truth about all this. Thankfully, we weren’t waiting long as the traffic moved just far enough forward for Beth to sneakily drive onto the corner of the pavement, and dash down the road we were trying to get to. “So… this is it?” I asked, looking up at a large, worn down, brick building from inside the car. Beatrice had parked on the small parking lot in front of the building and we all looked outside the windows to see the place we had travelled all this way to visit. Honestly… I was a little underwhelmed. Like… I know it’s a huge deal owning property, especially property this big, and doubly so for anywhere close to the city centre. We were just outside the centre, but nowhere near the outskirts, sort of a… middle ground? It was still expensive, but hey, it’s nowhere near as bad as the centre. But yeah… this building wasn’t exactly a 5-star hotel. More like a 1-star dumpster made of brick and mortar. “I know it’s not much, but I hope to fix that.” Beth said, sighing a little. “What was it? Some sort of hotel?” Lucy asked, still clutching on to the blanket that was protecting her from the sunlight, though in this street there was barely any sunlight able to pierce its way through the tall, murky grey buildings. “I believe so. It used to be, a long time ago, before my Grandma acquired it.” “How did Grandma get it? She never told me.” Beatrice asked her sister. “She didn’t tell you? Oh she took it as her reward for helping a guy get out of his deal with the… well with your friend Luci.” “Wait… and you want to bring Luci here? Now you’re asking for trouble…” “She owes you a favour. I’m asking you for a favour to cash in that favour with her.” “I’ll hold you to that.” Bea replied, rolling her eyes. “Of that I have no doubt. Now… Why don’t we go inside and I can tell you what I have planned for this place?” Beth said, getting out of the car and walking around to the back door, opening and helping me unbuckle my seatbelt… making me feel even smaller than when she was helping put it on me earlier. ======================================================== I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 23: Testing the Waters Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “Auntie Bea…” Lucy asked in that cute way kids do when they want something. “Yes sweetie?” Bea replied, turning away from the screen. It had been about an hour now, and we mostly just sat in silence the whole time, watching cartoons. We didn’t say a word to each other, probably because Lucy was attacked earlier, and I… well I don’t remember what I did, but according to Beth, I was a badass! So I think we wanted to take a little breather for a bit, to relax and process things on our own whilst we snuggled on either side of Beatrice, watching cartoons. “Do you have any idea what Auntie Beth is up to?” “I have no idea. Especially seeing as she mentioned our Grandmother.” “Didn’t you have a meeting the other week regarding stuff?” “Yeah, it was the reading of her will.” “So has Beth been left something?” “Oh shit… yeah… well that makes sense.” Bea replied, as if she had put two and two together and realised something. “What does?” Lucy asked. “I’ll let Susie’s Mummy explain when she gets back. I don’t want to ruin the surprise. Though what she has in store for it… I don’t know.” Beatrice said, before looking at me awkwardly. “Sorry hun. I… it’s natural for me, when I’m around littles. I know you’re not up to that stage with her and…” “It’s okay.” I assured her. “I… I was thinking of calling her it soon anyway…” “REALLY?” Lucy asked, jumping up and kneeling on the sofa, all whilst staring at me. “WHEN?” “I dunno… I…” “Only do it when you’re ready. I mean hell… you’ve never even tried being a baby… consensually of course. You need to try that first!” “Yeah maybe you’re right. Maybe I should actually try it out. I just… wanted to make her happy.” “Oh dear… is the spell still in effect?” Bea asked, looking concerned. “No, it’s all me now. I… the past few days, the attack at the cafe… it all confirmed that I love her. And I want to make her happy. I won’t go out of my comfort zone to do so, but… I dunno… this whole baby thing doesn’t seem that bad. The nappies are…” It was still embarrassing talking about nappies, as they are usually only worn by babies and old people. And I’m neither. “...they’re not as bad as I thought they’d be. Kinda comfortable.” “Right?” Lucy chimed in, smiling. “Maybe I’ll give this baby thing a go then.” “You’re reacting very well to all this, sweetie. Are you sure you’re okay?” Asked Bea. “Yeah. I think my mind is clearer than it ever was. Knowing about your world, and this kink world… it feels… good. Even if I don’t end up into the kink stuff, it’s nice knowing that part of Beth, especially as it’s something she’s kept secret, at least to partners… or maybe just me.” “Well I’m proud of you.” “Plus the first time I found out, it was a bit of a shock, so I will admit… I reacted badly. Then the second time, when Death woke me up from that spell… I also may have reacted badly then too.” “Understandably so though.” “Yeah but even so… I’ve had time to think. I want to at least try this out with her. If it’s not for me… then I hope she’s okay with me not taking part. If it is… then I guess you’ll have a… baby niece, I guess?” “Haha, I suppose I would!” Bea laughed. “I must ask though… this ‘Auntie’ thing…?” “Yes, sweetie?” “Lucy called Beth… Auntie Beth. So is…” “Oh it’s just a friendlier term than say… Miss or Sir. Lucy is one of our closest friends, so she calls us her Aunties. I suppose it’s different from you dating my sister and being her baby, that would make me your Auntie too but… Oh I don’t know. Look, if and when you’re ready, you can call me Auntie Beatrice or Auntie Bea for short, okay kiddo?” I blushed and looked down. “Okay, thanks. So… what do you call other… adults, I guess?” I asked Lucy. “As Auntie Bea said, sometimes just Sir or Miss or Ma’am. Or most likely… their names. Auntie is reserved for my bestest friends.” “That makes sense.” I said, smiling up at her. “So how does… this whole thing work? Like… I heard there was a community or something…” “We have a munch at a local pub every month. We just talk normally, chat like adults, maybe discuss some kinky stuff, and then we arrange playdates between us.” “So has…” “Don’t worry, Auntie Beth hasn’t been sneaking out to baby someone whilst you’ve been dating her. She attends the munches, but she hasn’t been active in the community for a while, and because of that, neither has Auntie Beatrice.” “Yeah it’s not exactly my thing. I love doing it when I do, but I’m not interested in the same way my sister is.” Bea spoke up. “How did you know…?” “That she was into it? Too many drinks when we were younger. She knows all my stuff too.” “What are…” “What things am I into? You’ll have to find out at a later date, sweetie.” Bea grinned down at me. I pouted at her and crossed my arms. “Perfect baby, see…” Lucy teased, making me pout even more. “But yeah, Beth arranges the munches and stuff, she’s very much the Mother Hen of the community. She makes sure everyones safe and protected. But she doesn’t actively baby anyone, other than talking down to us like we’re babies. Not since she started dating you. She’s been saving that part of herself for you, if you ever got into it of course.” ‘She has?’ I thought to myself. “But again, no pressure! We don’t want you forcing yourself to do things you don’t want to. Only if and when you’re ready. Remember that.” Bea added. “Thanks Beatrice. I appreciate it. Especially after the past few weeks…” “I understand, sweetie. And again, I’m sorry. I promise you… she never meant to do that.” “I know. That's why I’m open to trying this with her.” “Trying what with who?” I heard from behind me. Spinning around to see who the heck had snuck into our house and disturbed us… I saw… Beth? “How…?” “BETHANY!” Beatrice yelled at her. “That’s not my name, sis…” “BETHANIEL!” Bea looked serious, but you could see the corner of her mouth rising into a smile. She was having fun with this. “I’m going to kill you. And then bring you back to life. Just so I can kill you again. I know how to do it now. Be warned.” Beth said with a deadpan face. “You portalled here, didn’t you?” “I needed a book! And traffic… Well the traffic is really bad today.” “But you know the reagents are hard to get!” “Wait… Witches can make portals? As in go from one place to another?” I asked. “We can… but the reagents are rare… which makes them very expensive…” Bea answered, staring daggers at her sister. “I know, so bill me. I’m here to get a book, then I’m portalling back.” Beth was just about to walk off… “OH NO YOU’RE NOT!” Beatrice whisked her hand over the empty tub of ice cream in her other hand, making it completely disappear, before standing up quickly and turning to face her sister. “But…” My girlfriend was just about to plead her case, but Bea clearly wasn’t impressed by her use of portals. “NO! I’ll drive you.” Bea ordered, sounding very… dominant. “Ugh, fine. But only because I want to show Susie and Lucy something. They can come with us.” “Really?” Lucy asked. “Yeah. I’ve got in touch with a bunch of people, I just need… Beth’s ‘friend’. Then we can get started. I want both of your inputs though.” “Fine. I’ll drive us all there then. Little ones… grab your coats.” Bea ordered. “Can… can we hold off for a little bit though, if you’re driving us?” Beth asked. “Uh… sure? Why?” “I want to make sure Susie is okay. Plus… I missed her.” I blushed as she said it, trying to look away from everyone suddenly looking at me. “Fine, thirty minutes. Cup of tea, I’ll snuggle this little tyke…” Beatrice said, sitting down once again and grabbing Lucy, pulling her close to her, into a cuddle. “...and you can go talk to your girlfriend.” “Oh… do you need to talk…?” Beth looked anxious suddenly. “I… I mean… Do you?” I replied, just as awkwardly. “Are they always this bad?” Lucy asked Beatrice. “Not usually. RIGHT YOU TWO, GO TALK IN YOUR ROOM.” Bea ordered… very loudly. Beth and I looked at each other, unsure as to follow her sister’s orders or not. Thankfully Beth took the initiative and held out her hand, so I quickly took it and followed her away into our bedroom. “So you wanted to…” We both said at the same time. “...talk?” “You first.” I said. “I… look… I… I want to make sure you’re okay.” Beth said, holding either side of me with her cold hands. “I’m okay.” “And you? What did you want to say?” “Are… are you okay?” I replied, very awkwardly. “Right pair, we are. I’m okay, thank you baby.” Being called ‘baby’ felt… right. Every time she called it me, it just felt… right. Not just because it flowed so perfectly from her luscious lips… but because it made the butterflies in my tummy flutter around. “Umm…” “What is it, baby?” “Umm… the baby thing.” “Oh, do you want me to stop? Sorry.” She let go of me and put her arms to her side, as if she retreated back into her shell. “NO! No! I… was…” “You were, what?” This conversation was the most awkward conversation ever. Even more so than trying to get Lucy out of her shell at university, more so than when Beth and I started dating. “I was wondering if…” Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for this. “...We could try… the… umm… baby thing…?” “You… want to try it? Right now?” “I mean not right now… unless that’s what you want… I mean… I was thinking more…” “I can try it whenever, sweetie.” She quickly interrupted. “I… wouldn’t even know where to start…” “How about we get you dressed into something not too babyish, but not too adulty… and then snuggle on the sofa? Maybe I could feed you a bottle like Lucy’s?” I imagined what I’d look like, sitting on her lap, drinking from a baby bottle. It was weird, sure. I mean… it’s a weird fucking kink… but it didn’t gross me out. It didn’t terrify me. So pushing myself to the edge of my comfort zone, but not completely out of it… I said… “Sure.” “Like… now?” “We’ve got thirty minutes, right? Why don’t we try it now. It may make Lucy feel a bit better and more relaxed too.” I suggested. “Okay baby… right… how about… hmm. How about a pair of dungarees? They’re in fashion at the moment, right? So that with a cute t-shirt, with your thick nappy… maybe put your hair into pigtails? We can take the pigtails out when we go out.” “That’s not too bad. Wait… so I’d wear the dungarees out?” “We’d put a jacket on you, maybe change your top to something less babyish, but yeah. Dungarees are worn by big girls too.” “I guess.” “So come on, how about we get you into the nursery, get you changed, then get you on my lap with a bottle? Baby steps…” She grinned. “No puns. Otherwise, deal.” “Okay then… no puns. Maybe.” I walked out of the nursery with a slight waddle, wearing the new outfit Beth had picked out for me. Like she promised… it wasn’t too babyish. And hell, if I do as she suggested and just put a jacket on when we go out, the babyish top I’m wearing wouldn’t be noticeable. Blue dungarees, a pink top with puffed sleeves that looked more babyish than I thought under the dungaree straps, and my hair up in pigtails. It wasn’t much, thinking about it, but it felt like it was a drastic change. I felt… younger… smaller. She did ponder the idea of giving me a baby dummy, but in the end, she didn’t want to force that on me, so she clipped one on my straps, hanging down from a cute, multi colored piece of ribbon or something. For now… I’d let it dangle there. Maybe… just maybe… I’ll consider trying it later. If I’m interested. Maybe. “We saw you try to sneak into the nursery… and I see why! Oh my gosh, she looks so precious!” Beatrice said, smiling at me. Lucy was speechless, but had very much the same expression on her face. “We’re dipping her toes in the pool. So please, take it slowly and easy with her, okay?” Beth replied. I really appreciated it, and I really appreciated her being willing to take this slowly. Although to be honest… this didn’t feel slow. But we weren’t out of my comfort zone… yet. “Good idea! I really wasn’t expecting you to try it so soon though, you eager beaver!” Bea teased me. Guiding me to the sofa, Beth sat down and gently pulled me onto her lap, the thick padding making her legs even more comfortable. “Oh, Bea?” Beth asked her sister. “Yeah?” “Could you get us a bottle?” ======================================================== I'm glad you're all enjoying this story so much! And yeah, because this is a prequel, you can work out a lot of how this will end... mostly. But that's half the fun of prequels! Figuring out the connections and links to the other stories! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 22: Babysitter Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “WHERE ARE YOU?” Beatrice yelled across the living room. Lucy and I stared at our friend in stunned silence as she frantically looked around. Then nervously… I lifted my hand up slowly and waved. “Hey sweetie.” She said, in a much calmer voice than I was expecting, before looking all serious again, looking for what I could only assume was Beth. “Oh hey sis!” Beth called out, carrying a cup and a baby bottle as she walked out of the kitchen. “YOU!” Bea stormed over and I wasn’t sure what she was going to do at this point, it honestly looked like she was going to punch her! But instead, she wrapped her arms around her, making sure not to make Beth spill my hot chocolate. “WHY DIDN’T YOU CALL ME? WE HAVE THESE CRYSTALS FOR A REASON!” “Crystals?” I asked as Beth awkwardly shuffled over and handed me the cup, all whilst still being hugged by her sister. Nursing the cup in my hands, I took a sip but found it was still too hot. “We have these crystals, see...” Bea said, releasing my girlfriend from her grip, before pulling something out from under her blouse, something hanging from the string wrapped around her neck. “Oh! Yeah, Beth’s necklace. I’ve never seen her without it.” I replied. “For good reason! We made these when we were kids. It allows us to tell the other if we’re in trouble, if we need help, whatever. Just a few magic words and the other knows something is up.” “Oh wow… I had no idea that was the reason she loved it so much.” Beth quickly handed Lucy her baby bottle whilst her sister was occupied explaining stuff to me, which looked much cooler (temperature-wise!) than I was expecting, as there was very little condensation in it. I suppose you have to make sure babies have it at the right temperature… and if she’s treating her like a baby… yeah that makes sense. “We never take them off.” Bea turned to face her sister once again, before continuing her little rant, “And then today… you get in a fight with a freaking hunter? And you don’t tell me? I get to know much later on, when you’re home and safe. You dummy, I would have come and helped! Especially with these two little ones in danger!” Lucy blushed as she suckled at the baby bottle in her hands. And I must admit, with her referring to us like that… it definitely made me feel… things. But I won’t admit to any specifics... Not yet anyway. “Actually… I think you’ll find it was Susie that saved us.” Beth smiled over at me. “Wait… what?” Beatrice then looked at me in shock. “The hunter tranq’d Lucy and she was out like a light. And this guy has obviously had run-ins with other Witches before, as he dodged my spells like they were nothing. After kicking me back… Susie… well she went full rage mode.” “Rage mode?” “Like… you’ve seen a werewolf when they’re feral, right?” Beth asked her. “Of course. Wait… seriously?” “Oh yes. Dodging his attacks, hitting him with the force of a vampire, she kicked the everloving…” Beth looked at me and Lucy. “Poop. She kicked the everloving poop out of him.” Even now she’s treating us like we’re babies. She really can’t help it, can she? Or maybe it’s more for Lucy’s benefit… she must be terrified right now, and this whole baby thing seems to be helping her stay calm. “How did you get her to not kill him then? Because you said on the phone that he’s still alive.” Beatrice asked. “I just talked to her. It was like she was in control… but not.” “I was?” I interrupted. “I just remember blacking out and waking up exhausted with the cafe in a state.” “Teles is going to be pissed… is she okay at least?” Bea asked Beth. “Yeah. I saw her hiding at the back of the cafe. And don’t worry, I promised to help her clean up and get it all sorted.” She replied. “I’ll help too, two Witches can clean that place in no time.” “Me too. I’d like to help… if possible. She was really lovely and I feel bad for wrecking the place, even if I don’t remember doing so.” I added. “The street’s going to need more protection. Especially if a hunter got through…” Bea said. “Yup. Anyway, don’t worry, we’re safe… though I don’t think it’s safe for Lucy to go back home.” Beth said, looking at Lucy and sighing. “But…” Lucy pulled the teat of the bottle out from her mouth to complain, but was instantly silenced by the two ‘adults’. “No. You’re not going back, it’s safe to assume he knows where you live.” “But what about my stuff?” Lucy whined. “I’ll go get everything when things have calmed down a bit.” Bea suggested. “You’d do dat?” “For you? Of course, sweetpea.” Bea’s smile was so… reassuring… so… heartwarming. Like it reminded me of Beth so much, the way she’d talk down to me like that, making me feel all safe and warm and happy… “Baby? Are you okay?” Beth asked me, as if she was psychic. ‘Wait… she’s not, is she? Can Witches do that?’ I thought to myself, before realising she probably just caught me staring off into space and got concerned. “Me? Yeah. I’m okay. Just a bit… I’m still exhausted.” I replied. “You enjoy your hot chocolate, make sure to drink it before it goes cold. I need to get going, Bea… can you look after these two whilst I’m out? I shouldn’t be too long, a couple of hours at most.” Beatrice went on the offensive again. “Going? Where are you going all of a sudden? Shouldn’t we think of a plan of attack to deal with that hunter creep?” “What do you think I’m doing? I’m not letting him touch a hair on either of these two again. I’ve got a plan. I just… I need to make a few calls and meet a few people. Also… I may need you to get in touch with your… friend.” “Which one? I’ve got lots. Dave? Jim? Arachne? Red?” “Luci.” “Wha?” Lucy replied, looking up from her bottle again. “Not you, sweetie. Another Luci I know.” Bea said, before turning back to her sister. “Wait… what do you want her for?” “I need some serious spellwork. Stuff even we can’t do.” “Honestly Beth… what have you got planned?” “Oh I’ve been planning this for a long time. But then Grandma died… and I figured this was perfect timing. It gave me the push I needed. So I’m doing it.” “Doing what? You still haven’t explained!” Bea whined. “I will later. But can you call your friend? Please? I need her help.” “Fine. But I should be there just in case. She’ll probably want something in return. Good job she owes me a favour.” “You’re still going to have to tell me one day about how she owes you a favour…” Beth’s eyebrow raised in suspicion. “Maybe one day, sis. But not today. Go on then, I’ll babysit these two tykes. You get going, with whatever it is you’re planning.” Beth nodded and walked over to me, kneeling down in front of me and putting her hands on both sides of my face, pulling me closer and kissing me on the lips. Pulling back, she had the biggest smile on her face. “I’ve been waiting for that for weeks. Right, I need to go. You be good for Auntie Beatrice, okay sweetpea?” “I… sure. Okay. Be careful though… please…” I replied, squeezing her arm quickly before she stood up. “I will. I love you.” “I love you too.” I looked over at Lucy as Beth stood up, and she was just sitting there, suckling at the baby bottle in her mouth, enjoying the hot chocolate, like her whole world was in that bottle right now. It was mesmerising. She looked so… peaceful… so… happy. And by the time I managed to bring myself to look away from the adorable sight, Beth had grabbed her coat and left, and all I heard was the car pulling away from the house. “So kiddos… who wants to eat ice cream and watch movies you’re way too little for?” Beatrice said, putting her hands on her hips and looking down at us. Lucy looked just like how I must have looked the past three weeks, happily clapping her hands with the baby bottle hanging from her mouth by the teat. Padded, in her own little world, acting like a baby… I could see it now. I could see how cute this actually was. She looked so happy and adorable, and part of me felt… jealous. As if I wanted to be as happy and carefree… and as cute as her. Just, you know, without the whole ‘brainwashed into devotion’ part. Maybe… maybe this is something me and Beth could actually do. It scared me at first. And it wasn’t the best introduction… but seeing the happiness on Lucy’s face… despite everything that had just happened like an hour ago… I knew part of me wanted that. So when all this has calmed down, once Beth has finished whatever she’s doing, once we know we’re safe… maybe I’ll let her baby me a bit. “And you, sweetie?” Bea turned to me for an answer. “Please.” I replied, with a much more grown up reply. “Oh come on, you can do better than that. I know you’re struggling with all this right now, especially after the past three weeks, but give me your cutest try.” “I…” “I’m only kidding, you don’t have to. You’ve been through so much, and it must be overwhelming. Learning there’s a whole new world you didn’t know existed, learning about all this kink stuff… then being attacked by a hunter? Don’t worry about needing to take things slowly.” Now… I didn’t have to do this. But I felt like I wanted to. It was just… it wasn’t asking much, this was the perfect opportunity to dip my toes in the water so to speak. So I took a deep breath and imagined how a baby would say it… “...Fank you.” I shocked myself with how adorable that sounded, how… good it felt to speak like that. Don’t get me wrong, I like speaking like an adult, so I wouldn’t give it up anytime soon… but just letting myself go like that… “Did… did you just… oh my… you’re too freaking adorable, little Susie! I may have to steal you from my sister because of how cute you are and keep you for myself!” Apparently I wasn’t the only one who was shocked. I blushed as Lucy looked up at Beatrice. “I thought you weren’t a Mummy?” Lucy asked. “I’m not, this isn’t even my kink. But I can’t help it if my sister’s girlfriend is too freaking cute and I just want to smoosh her face and kiss her all over!” “Yeah, I even get that feeling with her sometimes. She’s adorable even when she’s pretending to be an adult!” Lucy took the bottle out of her mouth and was now speaking like her normal, adult self. “Hey! Why are you both ganging up on me?” I whined. “Because you’re too cute!” Lucy squealed. “I… am… not! Shuh up!” “Oh there it is again!” Beatrice squealed this time. “She’s just so precious!” Lucy’s smile was beaming. “My sister hit the jackpot with this little one…” Both of them hitting me with compliments from both sides… this wasn’t fair! “I’m not a baby!” “And she sounds just like you when you complain you’re not a baby!” Bea said to Lucy. It was Lucy’s turn to blush now, as Beatrice laughed and walked around to the sofa, scooching me over a bit and plopping herself down between the two of us, putting her arms around us both. “A Witch and two babies… What kind of trouble can we get in before Susie’s Mummy gets home?” ‘Mummy…? Maybe… maybe I could start calling Beth that when she gets back… that would make her happy… but… but I’ll do it because I want to. Not because some spell made me. I want to try this, I want to make my girlfriend happy, and I want… her. No messed up spell, no hunter, nothing will tear us apart. Not even Death, it seems.’ “What about the ice cream?” Lucy asked. “Ready for this, cuties?” Bea said, smiling at Lucy before turning her head and smiling at me. We both nodded at her, so she waved her hands a bit and out of nowhere, as if by… well, I guess it was actually magic this time… a tub of strawberry ice cream appeared, with three spoons buried in the top of it, sticking out. “Oh heck yes!” Lucy cried out in excitement. “F… fank you… A… Aun… Beatrice.” I mumbled. I couldn’t call her that. Not yet. Needed time. Mummy first, then Auntie. “You’re very welcome. Your Mummy is going to go crazy at me, but I think after the day you two have had, you deserve it.” I grabbed a spoon and dug into the tub, pulling out a big chunk of ice cream and taking a tiny bite of it. Beatrice lifted her legs so they were stuck out horizontally, then waved her wrist. Suddenly the footrest thingy… the pouffe or whatever it’s called (Hey, I didn’t buy it, Beth did, and she called it that silly name. I just call it a footrest.), flew across the living room floor and stopped right under her ankles. “So… any recommendations for cartoons?” Bea asked as she got comfortable and snuggled up between the two of us as we ate this magically conjured ice cream. ======================================================== I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 21: Plan Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “Are… are you sure? I mean, I’m happy to help… but I would have thought you were still feeling a bit… iffy about all that stuff and about… me.” Beth asked as we stood awkwardly in our driveway. “I’m still rubbish at putting them on myself. I mess the tapes up and I’m pretty sure I’m not using enough powder.” I replied, blushing. It wasn’t easy for me to say this, but it needed saying. I needed help. Plus… I was hoping maybe… just maybe… if she changed me like she did when I was regressed… that maybe I’d feel some sort of connection again. “Okay then. I’ll help. Then you can get some clean clothes on and I’ll shove these things you borrowed from Lucy in the machine.” I smiled up at her and nodded as she took over once again, just like she always had in our relationship. I still couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed this, but she… she was always a bit of a Mum. Always taking control, sorting things out for me, washing my stuff, cooking for me, making sure I brushed my teeth and had baths… I thought it was just her way of showing love. And yeah, it probably is… but now I know… it’s more than that. Beth guided me into the nursery, where I saw a sleeping Lucy lying peacefully in the crib, sucking her thumb as she snuggled one of the stuffed toys I had played with whilst I was regressed. She was still dressed in her normal clothes, which kinda made it look even more adorable really. It was still weird being in here after everything that happened, but at the same time it felt… reassuring. Like it was a safe place. Maybe there really is more to me than I originally thought. Maybe I am what Lucy is… an ‘adult baby’ or whatever she called them. I’ve always felt a bit childish sometimes, Beth often commented on how adorable I was or how bratty I could be. And I loved Beth taking care of me, even before the whole regression thing. So as she held my hand tightly, pulling me over to the changing table, I felt my heart flutter as she turned and smiled. “But what about…” I was about to ask, whilst pointing at Lucy. “She’s sleeping peacefully. We won’t wake her up. If you’ve changed your mind, just say, I can hand you the supplies and you can go get changed in the spare bedroom.” Beth whispered. “No… it’s okay. So do I just hop up or something? Last time I was getting changed in here I was lifted.” “Do you want lifting?” “Not this time. I need to gradually ease into this stuff if I’m to accept it. Baby steps. Oh… ignore that. I… ugh.” Beth giggled and smiled down at me, her cute face melting my heart the same way it always does. I was powerless against that damn smile of hers, I didn’t stand a chance. But I wasn’t lying. I was open to trying this with her. I loved her. I understand now that it wasn’t her fault the spell messed up, she didn’t mean to make me obsessed about pleasing her. And I wanted to make her happy, just not in the ‘I’ll blindly do anything for you’ kind of way, more in the ‘I’m your girlfriend and I’m happy to at least try stuff for you and then we can discuss if we want to continue with it or not’ way. Kicking a little step stool in place, she signalled for me to climb up. So I took the signal and climbed up, settling my soggy backside down on the plastic mat of the giant changing table. “So… you had this nursery set up before the accident? How… did I not see?” I asked as I spread my legs and Beth got in position to change me. “Glamour spell. You saw a wall where the door was. I was waiting for the right time…” “So how long before me did you have this room?” “Just before you moved in. Haha, I know, I was really hoping you would accept this part of me and want to be my baby, and maybe I got a little bit carried away…” “A little bit?” I laughed, trying to hide my nervousness as Beth untaped my nappy and pulled it down. “Okay… I got very carried away. But you start with the painting, then it kinda just… my Mummy side took over and I ended up with this room how it is now. Same with the outfits. I’d see them at events and stuff, and I knew you’d just look absolutely precious in them. I will say… I was right. You do look precious in them.” “Maybe another time…” I blushed. Her face perked up. Like it was Christmas and her birthday all rolled into one. “So… you’re willing to try it?” “I am. I can see how much this means to you. And I won’t lie… as angry as I was at being stuck in that state for three weeks… that was the happiest I’ve ever felt. And I saw how happy it made you.” “I loved it. But I also hated it.” “Why?” “Because it wasn’t you. It was this fake copy of you. It was a copy that just existed to make me happy. But that gave me the drive to find a way to reverse the spell’s issue, to bring you back. I may have enjoyed getting to be a Mummy… it just… it wasn’t for the right baby.” “And that right baby… is me? Actual me though.” I asked. “If you want to be. Obviously we can take this slow. As slow as you want. You’re already getting used to these nappies, which I’m sorry about by the way. When I was putting you back togeth… when I was ‘fixing’ you, I couldn’t fix that. Magic can only fix so much, even necromancy.” “So I’m incontinent or whatever you call it?” “Sorry.” “Stop with the sorr…EEEE!” I cried out as a cold wipe hit my most intimate area. “Sorry… Oh sorry about the sorr… I mean… the wipes are cold. I’ll be as quick as possible ba… Suze.” “You can call me that… if you want, that is. I guess it’s a good place to start.” “Are you sure?” Beth asked, her face perking up again. “Yeah. It’s just a cute nickname. Go for it.” “Okay… baby.” Something about her calling me that made my tummy flutter and my heart feel happy. And I could see it was having a similar effect on her. “You’re gonna have to teach me how to properly put one of these on.” I said, half-jokingly. “Maybe next time, okay? I need to get these clothes you’re wearing into the wash, then I need to get some stuff sorted.” “What stuff? Shouldn’t we have a plan of attack or something in case that hunter guy comes knocking?” “That’s what I was talking about, sweetie. I have some stuff planned, some stuff I’ve been planning for a little while. This attack… has sped up my timetable. But that means I need to get some stuff done to make sure it’s done in time.” “What stuff?” “I know you don’t want to hear this… but it’s a secret. I promise you though, give me a day or two, and I’ll tell you.” I sighed. “Seriously? More secrets? Can I at least have a clue?” “It’s to do with my Grandma and her will, and keeping you and Lucy safe. I just… I just need to make sure it’s ready before I reveal it, I don’t want to get any hopes up or anything. We should be okay here for a couple of days at least. There’s no way he could track us here, and even then, we’ve got a vampire, a Witch, and a raging zombie…” Beth said, tickling my tummy, making me squeal and giggle suddenly. “Sorry, couldn’t resist. Your tummy is way too cute not to tickle.” I just pouted as she put the wipes in with the used nappy and pulled it from under me, rolling it up and placing it in a trash bin by the changing table. Pulling out a clean nappy, she spread it out then looked me in the eyes. “Bum up.” “What’s the magic word?” I teased. “Now…” She grinned. “...Yeah I suppose that works too…” I said, sticking my tongue out at her. “And you seriously didn’t realise how much of a baby you are before all this?” Beth laughed. “I honestly didn’t! Not until you and Lucy pointed it all out! Shut up!” “Anyway, let's get you changed, then we’ll wait for Lucy to wake up. I need to call Bea, get her to babysit the two of you whilst I’m out.” “You’re going out?” “To sort that stuff I mentioned out, yeah.” “Wait… babysitter?” I asked, after taking way too long to realise what she had said. “I’m joking! Well… kind of. Look, I’m not having two little brats waddling about my house getting up to all sorts of trouble. But it’s mainly for your safety, hun. Just in case that hunter does track us back here, I want Bea to be here to protect you.” “Fine. But no babying!” “No babying. Promise. Though you know Bea… there may be a bit of teasing.” I did know Bea, and Beth was right. There’s no way Bea wouldn’t tease us both, especially now that I know about all this baby crap. Thickly secured into a nappy much thicker than the ones Lucy gave me, I waddled my way out of the nursery and into our bedroom, where I quickly stripped myself of Lucy’s borrowed clothes, dumping them into a little pile on the bed, and finding myself something to wear. Problem was… none of my jeans would fit over these nappies. So I picked out my nightie, as it was the only thing that was available that wasn’t too fancy or uncomfortable to wear in a relaxed setting. Grabbing the pile of clothes, including the skirt I had leaked on, I waddled back out to see Beth, who turned and just… stared. Honestly if this was a cartoon, she’d have little hearts for pupils right now. “What? It’s all I could find!” I pouted. “I… it’s just that you look… adorable. Waddling about like that.” Beth commented, trying her best not to squeal. “Hmph!” I replied, waddling over to her and shoving the clothes into her arms. “I’ll wash these then, and you can get snuggled up. I think I heard Lucy coming to, why don’t you go check in on her first?” “Kay.” Waddling over to the nursery, I slowly opened the door as to not disturb Lucy just in case she wasn’t awake yet. But as I peeked in, I saw a very blushy, very cute Lucy looking around the nursery, before noticing me looking in. “I… I just… what…” Was all Lucy could get out. “It’s okay, you’re safe. You’re at our house. We escaped. The hunter is in the wind. I just came to check in on you, see if you had woken up yet.” I replied. “So this… this is the nursery she built…” “Yeah…” “Damn girl, she must really love you!” “Yeah… wait, what?” “Do you know how much attention to detail is put into this room? The crib, the highchair, the changing table, the decorations… everything… she put her heart and soul into this room, you can tell. She wouldn’t have done this for just anyone.” “R… really?” “Oh yeah! And damn… waking up in a crib like that…” “So you’ve never…?” “Nope! Never. Always wanted to though. It was… interesting.” “Something you want still?” “Oh definitely!” “Well I’m glad you’re okay. Beth said she’s got some stuff to sort out in the city, but Bea is on her way to ‘babysit’ us.” “B… Babysit?” Lucy’s eyes widened. “She was only joking… I think. Mostly just to keep us safe in case that hunter of yours turns up again.” “Makes sense. Though Bea will definitely…” “Tease us? Oh for sure.” “Cute nightie by the way.” “T… thanks… I… umm… I’ll let you get up, I’ll be in the living room.” I said, awkwardly smiling and ducking back out, closing the door behind me. “Is Lucy okay?” Beth asked as I waddled back into the living room. “Yeah. She wasn’t expecting to wake up in the nursery though.” I replied. “I bet she wasn’t! I thought she’d appreciate it though. Help calm her down after everything at the cafe. How are you holding up, baby?” “I’m okay. Just… still a bit… I dunno.” “I bet. Why don’t you get snuggled up on the sofa and watch something?” “Will… will you join me?” “I… okay, sure. But only until Bea arrives. I called her whilst you were busy in the nursery, she’s frantically speeding across the city as we speak. She doesn’t like it when I’m in danger. She’s very protective of me.” “It’s cute. You both share that trait. I just hope she’s okay.” “Oh it’s Bea. Nothing could stop that girl.” Beth said, holding back a giggle. “That’s true.” “Come on then, let’s get snuggled up on the sofa for a bit.” Putting her hands on my shoulders, she turned me around and started guiding me towards the sofa, where she quickly sat down first and grabbed my hand, pulling me down onto her lap. My padded butt landed with a bit of a ‘poof’, which made me blush. “Comfy?” Beth asked. “I wasn’t planning on…” “Sitting on my lap? Well tough. That’s the price.” “Price, eh? And what do I get for that price?” “Unlimited snuggles and kisses? And occasional buttpats.” “Unlimited? But I get that anyway… you’re going to have to sweeten the deal…” I grinned. “Oh I’m sure I’ll think of…” “Get a room…” Lucy sighed, waddling over and sitting down next to us on the sofa. “Aww, is someone a little crankypants?” I joked. “She’s definitely a little something-pants…” Beth commented, raising her eyebrow. Lucy’s face turned red as she struggled to maintain eye contact with either of us. “What are you talking about?” I asked. “I saw that waddle…” “Wait… so she…” “Someone definitely put a nappy on herself before coming out here…” Beth grinned. “Wait… really?” I turned my gaze back to Lucy, scanning her for obvious signs that she was as thickly padded as I was. Lucy just looked at us, like a deer in headlights. “I… just… shut up!” She whined. “Don’t worry about it, hun. You’re welcome to them. But because you didn’t ask, you’re not getting a big girl cup for your hot chocolate.” “I… umm… wait, what?” Lucy’s mouth opened in shock. “Do I get one?” I asked, like the suck up I’ve always been. “If you want one, sweetie.” “Yeah!” I smiled and stuck my tongue out at Lucy. “So Lucy is definitely the baby sister right now…” Beth laughed, sliding me off her lap and onto the sofa, before standing up. “You two be good girls whilst I go sort them out. Beth should be here soon.” I shuffled over to Lucy, who still looked mortified as she sat down on the opposite end of the sofa with the familiar ‘poof’. “So you just… put one on?” I asked. “I… didn’t think it would be a problem.” “Oh I don’t think it is, I just…” “Look, I saw how cute you waddled about, and I got jealous, okay? None of my nappies are that thick, and I wanted to try them.” “How are they? Compared to yours of course. I’m not really a nappy connoisseur like you.” “Amazing! Like… they’re so soft and crinkly! They’re perfect!” “They do feel pretty good…” “Yeah see!” That’s when I heard a car pull up outside with a bit of a screech. A car door was slammed. And heavy footsteps stomped up the path. “That… must be Beatrice.” Lucy commented. “I… yeah, I think you’re…” The door flew open, and in the doorway… was Beatrice, in a very sharp waistcoat, shirt and pants, looking more pissed than ever. ======================================================== Couldn't post last night so here you go today instead! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 20: Interruption Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “Earth to Suze…” Lucy said, bringing me out of my thoughts. “Oh… sorry… I was in my own little world then, wasn’t I?” I laughed awkwardly and blushed, looking down to see that a chocolate milkshake had just magically appeared in front of me. “Wha… how…?” “She came over and handed it to you. You were too far in your own thoughts to even notice her.” “Oh! I’m sorry!” I quickly turned around and apologised to Teles, who smiled warmly at me and nodded her head. “Are you okay? What’s on your mind?” Beth asked, putting her hand on mine. “I… I’m sorry.” I sighed. “For what?” “For my reaction.” “Oh sweetie… you don’t have to apologise for that. I told you, I’m the one to blame for keeping things from you, for messing up the spell…” Beth’s face looked guilty, which in turn made me feel more guilty as she shouldn’t have to feel that way. “Which you wouldn’t have needed to have cast if I hadn’t reacted so badly that night!” I whined. “But it was understandable. That guy told you my two biggest secrets, and it shook your world.” “Biggest? So you have more?” “Only minor ones. Like… I don’t like that Dorothy movie you like so much.” Beth said, looking away from me, guiltily. “WAIT! WHAT?” I cried out, half laughing. “Sorry… it’s just… I mean… I’m a Witch. It wasn’t exactly the best portrayal of us…” She laughed. “Hmph. Fine. Understandable. What else? Next you’re going to tell me that you don’t like my cooking…” “I… umm…” Beth looked really guilty again all of a sudden. “No… please… not this… that’s the ultimate betrayal…” “You’re great at so much, sweetheart… we can’t all be good at everything…” I looked to Lucy for support, but she wore the same awkward expression on her face. “No… not you too?” “Why do you think I ordered pizza so much? Your cooking is terrible, sorry babe.” Lucy laughed. “Fine. You're cooking from now on!” I pouted, pointing at Beth. “If that’s what the princess wants…” Beth laughed. “It is! Because I am a goddamn princess!” “See, Beth? Exactly why I introduced her to you in the first place. Complete brat when she doesn’t get her way…” Lucy commented, grinning at me. “And a perfect little angel when she does…” Beth giggled. It felt like both of them were teaming up on me at this point, which is highly unfair. “So why don’t…” A loud crash filled the cafe as the glass on the front door shattered. I looked to my left, where I heard the smash come from, to see a small, round, metal ball on the ground, surrounded by shards of glass. Intricate designs surrounded the ball’s surface, but what was most noticeable were the holes at various locations, in little groups of 9 small holes or so. Evenly spaced around the whole ball… they almost looked like some kind of… Suddenly the mechanism inside the ball stirred to life as the holes started emitting some white smoke, billowing out, forming a pool of whatever cloudy substance this was around it. Within a few more seconds, the pool had doubled in diameter, but also quadrupled in height. “Shit… he’s here…” Lucy said. “Who’s here?” Beth replied. “A hunter.” “You mean…” I began to say. “Yes! He’s found me. FUCK! I need to get…” Heavy footsteps landed on the glass with a loud crunch, and from the smoke appeared a large man… a large rough-looking man. Taller than most, with a build only seen by those who frequented a gym… with his brown trench coat encircling his thick, leather biker boots… I looked up to see a well-matched grisled expression, with a thick beard covering his wrinkled, scarred face. And to top it all off, he wore some weird fucking hat on the top of his head. He looked like a right idiot, honestly. Before any of us could react, the strange man, this… hunter… lifted his arm up, and in his leather-gripped mitt, was a small crossbow. I knew what a crossbow was, I had seen the old fantasy movies, I had read the stories. I knew a bit about basic English history. But I never knew crossbows could be that small… And he fired. He fired a small dart that flew past Beth, then past my face, heading directly for Lucy. I turned to see if it hit Lucy, only to find a giant fucking needle (or a very small crossbow bolt, depending on how you look at it), sticking out of Lucy’s chest. Problem was, this wasn’t where her heart was. Even if my knowledge of vampires isn’t as accurate as I may once thought… pretty sure stabbing through the heart would be the way to off a vampire. But he missed, aiming more for her shoulder-area. And this small bolt was way too small to do any serious damage. “Lucy?” Beth asked, panicking. Lucy looked like she had the mother of all hangovers right now. Her face dropped, her body slowly rocking in a spiral, her expression completely devoid of life. “What’s wrong with her?” I asked Beth. “She’s been drugged.” “Drugged?” “Stand aside… before I end you both for conspiring with an agent of the Dark Lord.” The man growled at us in a deep voice. “Do you have any idea where you are?” Beth said, standing up, quickly signalling for me to stay sat where I was. “MOVE ASIDE, HERETIC. I AM JUST HERE FOR THE SPAWN OF SATAN. SHE WILL LEAD ME TO HER NEST.” The hunter continued, sounding like a cheesy fantasy movie knight. “Nest? HA!” I laughed. “She’s way too shy for a nest.” I looked over at Beth, who was chanting something quietly, something I couldn’t quite make out. Either that or it was all gibberish. Rotating her hand behind her back, a spark appeared, before it quickly grew into a small ball of fire. ‘She… she actually did that… with her freaking mind…’ “You have one last chance to leave. Otherwise…” Beth warned, stepping closer to the mysterious hunter, who quickly switched his sight to Beth, aiming his small crossbow accordingly. “Otherwise, what…? What are you, some kind of spawn of Satan too? A half-breed? A Witch?” “Oh you got that right.” Beth grinned, pulling her arm from behind her back, spinning in place so the bolt the hunter fired narrowly missed her head, before lunging the hand with the fireball in it towards the asshole who had just tried to shoot her. Problem was, the hunter was prepared. He, too, dodged the intended projectile, and with his heavy boot, kicked Beth in the chest with a weighty punt. Beth went flying back, into the bay window, as the hunter prepared his little crossbow again. Now… I still have no recollection of what transpired after this point in time. I saw Lucy unconscious and Beth clutching her chest in pain, and… I saw red. And that’s when it all went blank. All I remember is coming to my senses, my hands bloody and my clothes scuffed up, as Beth knelt down beside me, stroking my hair. “Baby? Baby? Are you there? Are you okay?” She asked as I looked up, still trying to piece together where I was… and who I was. “What… what happened?” I asked. “Come on, we have to go… now…” “Huh?” “I’ll explain when we get home, stay close to me, I’ve got Lucy.” “Oh… okay…” I said, climbing slowly to my feet, pain radiating from my chest area, with no idea what had caused it. Beth put her arms under a still-unconscious Lucy, lifting her up into the air and walking over the remains of a cafe table… or what was left of it anyway. I quickly clutched onto the back of Beth’s top, holding on for dear life as she steered me out of the cafe. And looking back… I only got a glimpse… but at that moment, I wondered what had caused so much destruction to the place. “Come on… we just need to get to the car…” Beth said, running as fast as she could down the street with Lucy in her arms and me being dragged along behind her, trying my best to keep up. We turned a corner to see her little car just sitting there, on its own, by the side of the street. “Get in, sweetie. Unlock it for us, please. Grab the keys from my bag.” Beth ordered as she rushed over to the back seats. I reached inside her bag, and within seconds, found her keys, before rushing over to the driver’s side door and unlocking it for us. “Good girl. Now get in…” She said as she awkwardly opened the back door and lay Lucy down gently, before closing the door and getting into the driver’s side seat. Whilst she was doing this, I ran back around the car and got in the passenger seat, fastening my seatbelt and trying my best to be calm for her, as this was the first time back in a car after… you know. I couldn’t afford to panic, not with all this shit that is currently happening to us. I can panic when I get home. For now… we just needed to get home. Starting the car frantically, Beth pulled out into the road and sped off away from the cafe we had just ran away from. “What… what happened?” I asked as we drove down the streets of the city, heading towards… home. Our home. “Do you not remember?” Beth asked, concerned, whilst keeping her focus on the road. “No… I just remember he kicked you…” “Yeah he did, then you went all zombie on him…” “I… did? What do you mean by ‘all zombie’?” I asked, confused. “You were like a feral beast. You started attacking him, getting a few good hits in. He really wasn’t prepared for a zombie girl to be there, he was mostly just ready for a vampire. I was surprised he even saw my spell coming, but that just means he’s clearly experienced. But yes, anyway, you knocked him on his arse, he got a few good hits on you, the cafe got a bit wrecked in this fight, and then… you threw the table at him. Like a full on, over your head, throw. I had managed to recover a bit after getting kicked in the chest, and I hit him with a spell or two as he was about to shoot you with his stupid little crossbow. After that, he knew he wasn’t prepared, so he fled. That’s when you calmed down and came to your senses… I had heard of zombies doing this. It’s probably where the depiction in the movies came from. Though you were a lot less shambling, and a lot more rabid.” “I… did that?” “You did, and thank you. For saving us.” “I… saved… you?” “And I saved you. That’s what we do. We protect each other.” “I…” I felt exhausted and still a bit dizzy and out of it, so I laid my head on Beth’s shoulder as she drove us closer and closer to home. “Wakey wakey, baby…” I opened my eyes to see Beth standing outside the car, on my side, with the door wide open. “Oh… I… did I fall asleep?” I asked, groggily. “You looked so peaceful, so I let you sleep. No doubt your little rage thing exhausted you.” “Where…?” “Is Lucy? I carried her inside. Put her in… that room.” “The… nursery?” “Yeah. Sorry, didn’t wanna call it that… wasn’t sure you…” “It’s okay. Just… is she okay?” “She’s resting. The effects of whatever he drugged her with should wear off soon. He wasn’t trying to poison her, he was just trying to capture her to get her to talk.” “About what?” “Probably other vampires. Then once he’d made her talk, he’d kill her. I’m just glad we were there when he attacked.” “Me too. Oh… I should get out of the car… haha…” I laughed awkwardly, undoing my seatbelt as Beth held out her hand. “Are you sure you’re okay to come in? I can drop you off somewhere if you’re still not ready? I just think… this is the safest place right now, especially with that hunter still out there…” “I’m okay. Promise.” I smiled up at her. “Okay then. Well take my hand, we’ll get you snuggled up on the sofa with some hot chocolate whilst we wait for Lucy to wake up. Do… do you…” Beth said, looking all awkward again. “Do I what?” “I… umm…” “Just ask.” I sighed. “Do you need a change?” “I…” I looked down and saw a little wet spot on the skirt I had borrowed from Lucy. “I think so.” “Come on, I’ll show you where the supplies are so you can change yourself.” And as I took her hand and she helped me out of the car, I had an idea and a small burst of courage to suggest what had popped into my mind. Shutting the car door behind me, I looked up into her eyes and smiled awkwardly. “How… how about you change me?” ======================================================== 🧟‍♀️ I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 19: Lunch Date Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “She was your… Mummy? So she knows all about… that stuff?” I asked Lucy, surprised and confused by this as we stood outside the open cafe door. I was confused because… well… Lucy just didn’t date. Period. Like I knew she was interested in girls, it’s probably why we bonded so easily to begin with, as we had that in common, but ever since I met her… I’ve never once heard about her going on a date. But then why am I surprised about this? Until a couple of days ago I didn’t even know she was a freakin’ vampire! “...Yeah. Though it didn’t last long. She was controlling and manipulative. And as you can see… good at making you feel bad about literally everything. She’s like this with everyone, so she’s been kinda excommunicated from the community.” Lucy replied, shrugging her shoulders. “There’s a community? I didn’t even realise…” “It’s not that big. And it’s not very organised. There’s probably loads of us spread across the country, but there’s no way to communicate. So I only know of our small community in this city.” “Wait… sorry, I have to ask… when…?” “When did I date her? I was wondering if you were gonna ask that… It was well before we met. Decades ago.” “Oh shit… did she…” I then performed a crude impression of a vampire’s fangs with my fingers, which I instantly regretted. Thankfully, Lucy just laughed at it. “Did she turn me into a vampire? Oh god no, thankfully, otherwise that’d be another thing she’d lord over me. No, I happened to bump into her when I went to my… supplier… and we got talking. She did however… well she got me into all this stuff actually.” “So she turned you into a little, but not a vampire?” “At first I just wanted to make her happy. Shoot me, the shy, anxious people pleaser wants to make her dominant girlfriend happy… but yeah, I tried it. Loved it instantly. Thankfully, we didn’t work out, but I kept the kink all the same, she didn’t taint it for me at least. Though she’s been like this with me ever since.” “Ugh I’m sorry. I’d like to say something like ‘ex’s are the worst’... but I can’t even do that. All my previous girlfriends are still friends of mine.” “You’re lucky. I’ve only dated two people in my long, long life… and both betrayed me.” “How so?” “One made me the girl I am today. One made me the little I am today.” “Oh so… it wasn’t her, it was another girl?” “That’s a story for another time. Anyway, we’re blocking the entrance so get that padded butt in there and find a seat.” Lucy said, slightly swatting my butt. The padding I was wearing cushioned the impact, and it just felt… nice? Weirdly nice… “Eeek! Sorry! I’m going!” I replied, shuffling into the cafe and finding a table in the corner by the window, before sitting down. Lucy sat down next to me and took a menu, handing it to me. “Get whatever you like, I’m paying. You deserve it after the past few weeks.” She offered, smiling at me. “Aren’t you getting something?” “This is one of the few places I feel safe, and less anxious… so of course I’m gonna be here a lot…” “Huh?” I asked, confused by what she was getting at. “I know the menu.” She said, sticking her tongue out. “I even have a usual. In fact… they’re already preparing it…” Lucy waved over to the woman behind the counter, who stopped what she was doing and waved back. “I’m… not very hungry though.” I… lied. I was starving at this point, but I also felt guilty at the fact she was going to pay for whatever I ordered. “Then just get a drink. Ooooh their strawberry milkshakes are to die for…” There was an awkward silence that filled the air as soon as she said that. I could see her trying her best to keep her smirk in. “Did you just…” “Hey, I don’t get to hang out with other undead people!” “But you’re not…” “Of course vampires count as undead. Just… a different kind. Don’t think you’ve got a monopoly on the whole ‘Death’ thing…” She laughed. “Plus I’ve known you for years, but this is the first time I’m spending time with you out where you actually know not only what I am, but kinda what I’m going through. So excuse me if I’m a bit giddy.” “Okay… you’re excused.” I smiled. “Thank you, Princess Susie, O’ benevolent ruler and Goddess…” She teased. “If you keep this up, I’ll have you worshipping at my feet…” I grinned. “Is that a threat, or a promise?” She grinned back, winking. There was no… romantic connection between us. I could feel the lack of it as we joked and talked, but getting to be this… kinky? This… open? Around Lucy… it was… …Fun. “We’ll see when we get back to yours.” Just as Lucy was about to no doubt come back with some witty reply, the door opened. There she was. In all her beauty. Elizabeth. Wearing a cute, baggy white blouse and pale blue denim jeans, along with some strappy sandals and her red hair pinned back into a large ponytail with sunglasses on top of her head. But I knew this wasn’t a spell. I knew the ‘devotion’ thing, or whatever it was, was gone. Because whilst I felt a yearning to be cuddled up against her chest right now, desperately wanting for her to cuddle me and stroke my hair, to tell me everything is going to be okay… I still felt that awkward distance between us, the little voice in my head telling me to be careful… at least for now. “Hey Lucy… Hey… Suze…” Beth said, tucking a loose strand of her gorgeous red hair behind her ear, like she always does when she’s nervous. “Hey…” Lucy replied, trying to sound very unimpressed, probably for my benefit. “H… hi…” I said, hiding most of my face from behind the menu I was still holding. “Can… Can I sit?” Beth asked, pointing to the only chair left at our table. I nodded, with only the top of my head visible to her at this point, as I was too scared to pull it down and show my true feelings right now. “Thanks.” She said as she waved to the person at the counter. It seemed both Lucy and Beth knew the person who owned this cafe, or at least whoever worked here today. The woman nodded and walked over, pulling out a little notepad and a pencil out of her apron. “Hey ladies… what can I get for you?” The woman asked. “You already know mine.” Lucy grinned up at her. “I know, I know. But I gotta ask.” The woman laughed. Looking up at her, she looked like she was in her… early twenties? But if this was some kind of supernatural cafe… she probably isn’t human. And from what I’ve learnt these past couple of days… is that appearances around here mean nothing. She could be a thousand years old for all I know, so I kept my judgments and thoughts to myself as she smiled down at me. Her beautiful long blonde hair was pinned up into some kind of messy bun, her dazzling blue eyes making me want to stare into them for the rest of my life. “Careful…” Lucy warned me, pulling my arm, and my gaze, away from this mysterious cafe worker. “Why?” I whispered. “She’s a siren.” “As in… as in the Greek myth…?” “Yup. It’s not just her voice that makes you fall in love with her.” “Oh…” “I’ll have a coffee, please, Teles.” Beth said to the woman, nonchalantly. “One coffee, one piece of strawberry cake and a strawberry milkshake… and what is it for this lovely young lady who I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting before…” The woman smiled down at me, making my insides feel like jelly. “H… hi…” I replied with all the awkwardness of a thirteen year old girl with a crush. “Hi there, cupcake! What’s your name? I’ve never seen you here before, and I never forget a pretty face…” “That’s my girlfriend, Susie.” Beth interrupted, answering for me. ‘Am I though? I… guess I still am. We never actually broke up or anything. We’re just… having some difficulties I guess.’ I thought to myself as the Siren, Teles… or whatever her name was, turned to Beth, surprised. “But I thought you were dating a hu… oh.” I think she figured it out. “I’m not human. Not anymore…” I sighed. “Bethany Lazarus!” Teles’ voice got deeper, more… judgey… A huge contrast to the friendly bundle of joy just a minute ago. “You know that’s not my name. You always call me that to annoy me.” Beth replied, rolling her eyes. “What did you do to this poor girl?” Teles asked, crossing her arms across her apron. “I died.” I said, speaking up for myself. “You… wait so…” Teles started pointing her finger back and forth between Beth and I, figuring out what she had done. “But I thought your family didn’t…” “I couldn’t lose her! Okay?” Beth looked up at me and smiled, weakly. “So this little cutie is undead now? Oh you poor little darling!” Teles put her little notepad and pencil down on the table and bent down, giving me a huge hug. I wasn’t going to complain. Especially not since I was nestled in between her boobs, with her warmth radiating from her, and her heavenly smell doing all sorts of things to my brain right now… “Well your order is on the house. Get whatever you like, darling.” Teles said to me, releasing me from a grip I didn’t want releasing from, and standing up, grabbing her notepad again. “Can… I just get a milkshake? And maybe… maybe a sandwich?” Now that it wasn’t costing Lucy anything, and this Teles was offering something for free… maybe… maybe I could eat something… “Of course you can, sweetie! What flavour? And what kind of sandwich?” “Chocolate, please? And umm… chicken?” “One chocolate milkshake and a chicken sandwich, coming right up. Oh and if either of these two useless girls haven’t said it already, welcome to our world.” She winked, before heading off towards the counter. “She was… nice.” I commented, once Teles was out of earshot, still in a bit of a haze from her hypnotising affection. “So is she…” “Is she what?” Beth asked in a way that clearly showed she was not impressed by Teles’ show of affection or the fact she was just being judged by her. “Into… you know…” “Oh, the cute pet names she uses? That’s just a thing she does.” Lucy replied, smiling. “She has no idea about our kink.” “Ah… okay.” “So… how are you?” Beth asked me, changing the subject and bringing me back to reality. “I… I’m ok. All things considered. Including the fact that I’m dead…” I made sure to put a lot of emphasis on that last word. “Undead.” Lucy interrupted, correcting me. “Not helping…” I growled. Lucy then quickly sat back in her chair. “I’m… I’m sorry, baby… I mean… Susie. I really didn’t want to introduce you to all this this way.” “How… how are you?” I asked Beth, trying to move the conversation a bit more as this was getting awkward again. “Hahaha… yeah…” Beth laughed awkwardly, looking around at various random parts of the cafe. “What’s up?” “I’m going to be honest with you Suze… I’ve been an emotional wreck.” Beth sighed. Part of me felt… guilty. Because me leaving like that probably caused her to feel that way. “How so?” I asked. “I missed you, dummy! We’ve barely spent any time apart since we got together, and after everything that happened… after you died… I really needed you. The real you. Not the baby version.” “So you didn’t want me regressed like that? Obedient?” “No! I brought you back from the dead because I missed you, and because I love you! And then when I brought you back and you were like… that… I felt alone still. Even though you were with me again, it still felt like you were gone, instead replaced by an obedient little doll, by someone different. So I was still grieving.” “I… I’m sorry.” I hadn’t even thought about her grief over losing me that night. Or the fact she hadn’t actually gotten ‘me’ back afterwards. “No, none of that. You have no reason to say that word. I’m the one who is sorry. I messed up the spell. I just hope you can forgive me. I promise you, I never meant to mess it up, I never wanted you to be that obedient or whatever. I promise I tried my best to fix it after I realised what had happened.” “But… you wanted me to be your baby, right? If the accident didn’t happen… if the guy didn’t show up that night…” “Maybe. Someday. I don’t know. If you weren’t into it, I could deal with that. That’s why I was planning on introducing you into my world first, about me being a Witch an all that. Then eventually… maybe I’d come out to you about the baby stuff.” “Be honest. You wanted me to be your baby.” “...Yes. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t daydream about you sitting on my lap, looking all adorable like you did the past few weeks. Just… with your normal self there, enjoying it. Not being forced to do it because the messed up spell wanted you to make me happy.” So she did want me to be like Lucy for her. But not under some form of fucked up mind control spell thing. And thinking back… all that time she was ‘working’... she was busy with her books. No doubt those books were magical spell books or whatever, and she was trying to fix me. So she wasn’t lying about that either, she really was trying to fix me. In the end it took Death themself to come and fix this fucked up spell. In the moment… she thought she lost me. So of course she’s going to try whatever she can do to bring me back, given that she has the power to do so in her blood, as a Witch. Or at least I assume it’s a blood thing, otherwise there’d be Witches everywhere. But then she just didn’t have any actual experience of bringing things, especially people, back to life. It seems to be a family thing of hers that stopped in the previous generation, at least that’s what I’ve pieced together from what I’ve heard the past couple of days. So of course she’s going to mess up… I knew I couldn’t blame her for what happened. She was just trying to bring me back. And honestly… I felt bad for then trying to pin the reason for my anger onto her keeping secrets. Especially when it turns out all my friends have been keeping secrets from me. Beatrice and Lucy are also both part of this ‘world’, and neither told me. I guess if I was in their situation… I’d do the same. You can’t just go around blabbing to anyone that you’re a freakin’ vampire or a Witch or a siren. It’s the same with me and being gay. This world is hostile to us, full of people who hate people like us… you have to be careful who you come out to. And as I sat there, with the noises of cooking in the background along with the people in the back talking, I started to process all this finally. The anger and frustration I held just a couple of days ago just… vanished. Replaced instead by a pit in my chest, one of guilt and longing. This wasn’t a sudden thing. Talking to Lucy… talking to Beth… coming to terms that there was a whole secret world the people in my life were part of that I didn’t know… it all helped get me to this point. I still had a lot of work to go. It still felt… weird. And no doubt Beth and I will have some work to put into our relationship, especially that conversation I’m dreading where she properly tells me about her kinks… but I knew, deep in my heart, that I was ready now. And I was sure about all this. I’ve forgiven her for what she did. If I was in her shoes… I’d have done the same probably. And most importantly… I still love her. “Earth to Suze…” ======================================================== I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Lucy isn't the demon from Infernum Infantem, she was the vampire Nia (the demon) met half way through the story.

Chapter 18: One of Us Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “Wakey wakey!” I heard a voice call out. “Ughhhhh…” I groaned, opening my eyes slowly as the dark room revealed itself. “Come on… get up.” “Why do you sound so chipper? You drank more than me…” It’s true. Yesterday, after Beth called and we arranged the lunch date, Lucy and I just kinda… did nothing. At least for a while. We watched a bunch of movies, gossiped about people we knew… which was even more fun now that I know half of them aren’t even human! She even got me to try a few of those ‘video games’ she keeps going on about. Though I didn’t see the appeal, they were just colourful and blocky things, I must admit they were a little bit fun. Maybe in a few decades, once technology has advanced a bit, I’ll enjoy them more. For now, I’ll just let that be Lucy’s thing. It wasn’t until after dinner, after Lucy had cooked us some lovely steak and chips, that she suggested something. Something we hadn’t done together since university. She pulled out a bottle of something that looked like battery acid mixed with cola and poured a shot for the two of us. I was a bit hesitant at first, but she assured me it couldn’t kill me. Because I’m already dead. I can’t remember much of the evening after that, to be honest. I just remember crashing in bed at like 2am, and here I am, being woken up at God-knows-whatever time it is. I couldn’t tell due to the curtains blocking out the sun. So it could be 6am. Or it could be 12pm and I’m missing my lunch date. Either way… my head was pounding, and this chipper little bloodsucker was bouncing on the bottom of the bed, like an overgrown toddler, trying to get me to get out of it. “Looks like I can handle my drink, whilst the widdle baby can’t…” Lucy mocked me. “I don’t even know what that drink was…” I replied. “Oh congrats by the way!” “For what?” I groaned, sitting up and wiping my eyes. “You’re officially… not human! No human would have survived drinking even a shot of that stuff!” “WAIT! SO YOU RISKED…?” “Calm down, cranky butt. I already knew you weren’t human. Though I did want to test you.” “Test me for what?” “See how your zombie-body works. You handle normal food fine. You don’t seem to crave brains like in the movies. And you process alcohol… normally? Although to be fair, using my mix wasn’t fair, that would have knocked even a werewolf on their furry arses.” “I’m not a zombie!” “I dunno… you look pretty zombie-like…” “I JUST WOKE UP!” Lucy just laughed and poked my leg. “I’m just kidding. But seriously, zombies are pretty unknown. At least ones like you. So we don’t know what your limits are. That’s one thing we’ll have to ask Beth today at lunch. Like… you can clearly eat and drink… but can you go without food? Will you heal like I do or will you just have scars all the time? Will…” I looked down at my scars. There were so many. I had tried my best to avoid even thinking about them, much less looking at them. Circling my arms, as if my arm had to be reattac… oh. Legs too. I had scars running all over my body. Up my neck. And only one slight one ran down from my forehead to my cheek, just passing my eye. Which was weird, considering how my body was flung out of the front window of the car when I died… I was honestly expecting more damage, especially considering how many scars I’ve got elsewhere. But that got me thinking… How bad was the accident? I know I died on impact. At least… I didn’t remember anything after the car hit the… but like… what state was my body in? How much work did Beth put in to get me fixed up to even this level? Which then led to me realising that Beth had done all this… on her dead girlfriend… She had painstakingly put my body back together so she could bring me back to life. All whilst dealing with the grief of losing me, and having to look at whatever mess my body was in. The more I thought about this, the more I started to consider Beth’s feelings in this whole matter. Yeah sure, I still had a right to be angry. But she… she brought me back. She dealt with all that stuff just to bring me back. Because… because she loves me. And that’s not any devotion talking. At least not any that’s magically created. I really do love that girl. And I really hoped… I really… “Earth to Susie…” Lucy said, bringing me out of my own head. “Huh?” I said, looking up to see her looking concerned at the end of my bed. “Sorry if I said something wrong. I didn’t realise your scars were…” “It’s okay. I just… it’s something I’ve been avoiding.” “Well let’s not talk about that until you’re ready then. Anyway, more important matters need addressing…” “What?” I asked, confused. “...You need a change.” “How do you know?” “I can smell it from here. And it’s not pee.” “Oh…” My face dropped. “Sorry.” “Hey no, shush. Your body was clearly pretty banged up. It’s not your fault. Just… why don’t you hop in the shower, grab some of my clothes to wear, then we’ll head out.” “Where are we going?” “That’s a surprise. Now hurry up, stinkybutt!” She grinned, smacking my leg slightly and hopping up, before skipping off out of the bedroom. I clutched Lucy’s hand as I nervously wandered down a quiet street in the city, one I didn’t even know existed. And by the limited number of people walking around us, I think I can safely say most people probably didn’t know this street existed. Quaint little shops that looked like they were from the Victorian era lined the sides of the narrow, cobblestone road. Old signs labelling which each one was. It looked very different from normal streets in this city. And that’s ignoring the fact that this place seemed darker outside than it was back on the busier streets, as if the sun couldn’t reach this place. “How… did I not know this place existed? Is it magic? Is it a magic street?” I whispered to Lucy. She just giggled. “Don’t be stupid. That’s a ridiculous idea. No, it’s just not on any map, and we’re pretty far out of the way of most humans. So aside from a few random wanderers, it’s pretty human-free.” Luce said, squeezing my hand. I could tell she was trying to get me to uncover myself a bit, to at least take this hood down that I decided to wear. It wasn’t cold out, but I had opted for one of Lucy’s long coats with a hood, so I could hide my face. Because whilst I know it didn’t bother her, I worried about people’s reactions to my scars. It’s why I also chose one of her longest skirts and some combat boots, so that I was showing as little skin as possible. Lucy, despite being a shy, anxious little creature most of the time, seemed a lot more confident for some reason today. Was it purely just that I now knew she was a vampire, and that she could be open and honest around me? Especially with all this baby stuff too… maybe she found a new sense of confidence? She strutted down the street, holding my hand tightly, with her lop-sided red top that showed off one of her very pale shoulders, a knee-length black skirt, and very similar combat boots, with her coat draped over her free arm. Thinking about it… have I ever seen this girl in heels? “How… how’s it not on any map?” I asked, quietly, as to not bring any attention to myself. “And wait a second… Why aren’t you burning up? I thought vampires couldn’t be in sunlight?” I think it wasn’t just my scars that were giving me anxiety right now, but the fact that from what Lucy said… that very few humans come down here… meant that I was already surrounded by… monsters. Creatures. Horrors. It was one thing being with Lucy. I have known her since Uni. She introduced me to Beth. She’s been my best friend for years. She means the world to me. So the vampire thing just… wasn’t that big of a deal. If anything it was a relief, knowing exactly why she was a bit of a shut in. Or at least why she never left the apartment. Though I think even for a vampire, she’s a shy, anxious little thing. “Regarding my ‘skin condition’ and sunlight… This street is magically protected. It’s why I took off my coat when we turned the corner. And regarding your first question… money, I guess? Business owners here must have paid people who make the maps of the city to not include it. It’s not a massive secret that this street exists, just that… we don’t go blabbing to every human about it. And even then, the local herbalist, also a Witch, put a glamour spell on the street so it appears normal to humans. It’s why you can see people like him…” Lucy said, pointing to a large, buff man whose shirt looked like it was going to pop off at any moment, “...walking about like normal, but if a human were here, all they’d see is a big burly dude.” “Wait… so he’s…” “Look closer.” She said, nodding towards him. Doing exactly as she said, I looked closer at the big guy walking in the opposite direction to us on the other side of the street. He looked… human. A really big human. With slightly darker skin… but… wait… that’s not like a brown… that’s more of a… sickly green colour. And looking up at his face, he had a much more pronounced underbite than I originally thought. And that was because of the tusks protruding from his lower jaw. “What…” “He’s an ogre.” “An ogre?” I said in an alarmed, but hushed, whisper. “Don’t worry, ogres are harmless. They’re the friendliest people… provided you don’t piss them off. Then you may lose a limb or two.” “So… everyone here…” “Is most likely like us, yeah.” ‘Us…’ I thought to myself. The fact that I was now one of them, even if I wasn’t born one, still sounded strange and wrong. I was just a normal girl, with a normal job… which I lost when I died, but still, I was normal! But then I remembered… Lucy wasn’t born a vampire. I’m pretty sure vampires can’t procreate, they turn humans. Lucy was bitten by a vampire early on… which means she was born human, like me, then became a m… m… monster. “Right, we’re here. Best behaviour, okay?” Lucy said, stopping outside a little cafe with chairs and tables outside. It looked like any other cute little cafe, with the smell of freshly prepared food and the cute little blackboards with the day’s specials on it. All the tables were wooden and looked handmade, and by the looks of it, it was mostly empty. One person sat outside in a long, flowing white dress and sunglasses, sipping on a cup of tea, and I could see a couple of really hairy people in the back laughing together. “Is… this where Beth…” “She’s not due for another ten minutes. I thought I’d get us here early so you can settle down and relax. She knows this place, you don’t. Oh… hey… Samantha.” Lucy’s face turned sour as the name emitted from her lips sounded venomous. “Luce? Is that you?” The woman sipping coffee outside the cafe put down her cup and pulled her sunglasses down so they were balancing on the tip of her nose. “Oh my… it is! Fancy seeing you here!” “It’s… something to see you. What that something is… I don’t know.” Lucy rolled her eyes and sighed. She clearly didn’t like this woman. “It’s been way too long. What have you been up to? Still hiding away in that dingy little apartment of yours?” Samantha asked, clearly trying to make fun of my friend. “Something like that…” Lucy responded. “And who is this lovely friend of yours? I didn’t realise you even had friends. Last I heard… you were slumming it with some humans back at their silly little universities.” I could see how uncomfortable this strange woman was making Lucy feel. So that’s when our normal dynamic returned. That’s when I found my confidence again. “Hi!” I said, holding out my hand and pulling down my hood with the other. “I’m Susie, Lucy’s best friend and roommate at university! It’s so lovely to meet you!” The woman, looking bewildered now, shook my hand nervously. “I thought her roommate was…” She began to say. “Oh I was human. Now I’m undead apparently. So that’s fun!” “Un… dead?” The woman seemed even more confused. “And what are you? Werewolf? Vampire? Siren? Ogre? Or are you just a massive bitch?” Oh she didn’t like that. Quickly retracting her hand, she pushed her sunglasses back up to the bridge of her nose, grabbed the book on the table and stood up. “Well it seems like trash collects trash…” The woman hissed at me, before actually hissing at me, showing me her fanged teeth. It was then that I realised she must be a vampire, like Lucy. “Well I’ve got a busy day, and I don’t have time to talk to a newbie and her little baby friend. ‘Baby? Wait… so she…?’ Storming off before I could respond, the bitchy woman disappeared out of sight as I turned to check on Lucy. “Are you okay, hun?” “I… thanks for sticking up for me. I just…” Lucy looked really shaken. “Who was she? How did she know you? And most importantly… she called you a baby…” “Yeah… she’s an ex. Or would be an ex if we ever actually started dating. We used to be close… and…” “Yeah?” “And she used to be my Mummy…” ======================================================== I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 17: Call Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “Wakey wakey!” I heard a voice call out. Rousing me from my peaceful slumber, where I dreamt of Beth and I walking down the beach, holding hands, kissing… I slowly opened my eyes, expecting the usual sunlight to invade my sight. But… nothing. “Huh?” I said. “Get up…” Lucy said, “It’s morning.” “It is? OH… right… vampire… sunlight…” I replied as I looked at the curtains which had ruined my prediction. “Yeah, it stings a bit, so I got these curtains that block out the sun.” She said as she walked around the bottom of the bed. My vision was still returning, so I couldn’t make out what she was doing. “Ah… makes sense. How long was I out?” “All night. It’s like nine in the morning now. So get that lazy butt out of bed!” “Sorry. Do you need to get some sleep now?” “Oh no, nothing like that, I just don’t want you wasting the day. You need to call Beth and sort all this out. Whilst I appreciate your company… I want you two back together, like it should be.” “Beth…” I drifted off, beginning to think about my girlfriend… the Witchy, kinky, secretive liar… “Come on. You need to talk to her today at the very least. Even if you don’t go back yet.” “Why?” I whined. “Because you said you would.” “Did I?” “Honestly… I can’t remember, but I’m going to say yes just so it gets your butt out of bed.” Lucy said, smacking my feet with her hand as they peeked out of the bottom of the duvet. “Better cover them up otherwise they’re fair game…” She grinned. Shuffling the duvet down so it covered my feet, I giggled and hid my upper half of my body under the duvet too, so I was completely engulfed by the soft, fluffy bedding. “Right… do you want to play that game? Fine.” Lucy said in a playful voice. Suddenly the bedding started moving, getting tighter… more compact… as Lucy bunched the duvet up and lifted it up into the air… with me bundled inside it still. “HEY! THAT’S NOT FAIR!” I cried out. But I was ignored as I was swiftly carried out of the bedroom and back into what I assume was the living room, before being dropped from a small height onto something just as soft as the bed. Pulling the duvet away, burrowing my way out of the mess that was the bedding, I took a gasp of air as I found my way out. “Oh good, you’re up!” Lucy said, standing there… grinning. I pouted at her and all that did was make her grin even more. “Again… it’s like you were made to be the biggest baby…” She commented. “AM NOT!” I whined. “D’awww… even your pouty voice is babyish!” She teased. Was… was it really that babyish? I had personally never noticed. And other than a bit of light teasing about me being a brat now and again, or a bit… childish… I had never thought about or realised I was acting like Lucy does when she’s pretending to be a baby. “So why aren’t you sleeping? You must be exhausted!” “That’s another myth. We vamps don’t need much sleep. Maybe one night a week at most? The whole sleep during the day and party at night thing was back when we didn’t have TV or video games. Who wants to be stuck indoors with nothing to do for the whole day? Not me. And neither would any other vamp. So we slept through it. But now that we’ve got all these fun hobbies indoors… we don’t need to sleep. I’ve got a few more days left in me before I need to sleep, so don’t you worry about me.” Lucy said, before walking off into the kitchen. “TOAST OR CEREAL?” She shouted back. “TOAST? PLEASE. THANK YOU.” I responded, hoping she could hear me. And as I heard Lucy busying herself in the kitchen, preparing breakfast… I felt something was… off. Looking down, I quickly realised what that thing was. I was soaked. Or at least… my nappy was. I must have wet myself during the night. This whole incontinence thing was going to take some getting used to. But hey… by all rights, I should be dead. If it wasn’t for Beth bringing me back, I’d be worm food… so a few accidents may be worth it in the long run. That's when it hit me. Like… properly hit me. I… I’m alive… or whatever the hell I am… because of Beth. Like… I’d be dead if she hadn’t brought me back. Part of me felt like I should be thankful for what she did. But another part still felt betrayed by her secrets. Didn’t help that I kept thinking about what it would be like in the afterlife… maybe I would have been better off there? “Eat this, then call Beth. Kay?” Lucy said, dropping a plate of toast on the coffee table in front of me. “You’re in a snappy mood today.” I commented, as I shoved a slice of toast into my mouth. “Sorry hun. This isn’t because of you. Rent’s gone up, and to top it all off… I think someone I used to know has nearly found me.” “Huh? What? Found you? Are they not nice? Why didn’t you tell me any of this? Who is it?” “I guess… Now that you know about all this… look, vamps are not exactly wanted in most places. So humans send hunters after us.” “Wait… you’re being HUNTED?” I blurted out, nearly spitting out my toast. “Yeah, but it’s no big deal. His family has been chasing me for like decades. This one in particular is getting on too, so no doubt he’ll send his next in line to get me soon.” “What do you do? Do you… kill them?” I whispered that last part. “Oh no. I just avoid them until I can no longer hide, then I run somewhere new and start afresh. I tend to move every twenty years or so.” “Wait… seriously?” “Oh yeah. But don’t worry, I’ve got friends now. I’m not going anywhere. Just means I have to be extra careful not to be found.” “How do you know he’s nearly found you? Did something happen last night?” “Well I was checking the mail, hence how I found out about rent going up, and then when I was checking the window on the way to sit down, I saw his car.” “How do you know it was his car? Maybe it was someone else?” “No one drives that car anymore. Custom built. Very old. Handed down in his family. So he knows the rough area… just not… exactly where I live.” “If you need a place to…” “Nah, it’s okay. Plus you need to patch things up with Beth before you can go home. So go on… eat up, then get that phone picked up and call her!” Lucy groaned at me again. I felt like a child being told to eat their veg as I picked up another slice of toast and took a bite, thinking about what I was going to say to Beth. I stood there, standing by the phone on the wall, staring at it, trying to gather all the courage within me to pick it up and dial. Lucy was watching TV with the volume turned down so I could make this phone call… occasionally turning to me and rolling her eyes at the fact that it had been fifteen minutes and I hadn’t even touched the phone yet, let alone called Beth. “I… maybe I should…” Sighing, Lucy then got up, stomped over to where I was, picked up the phone and angrily tapped in numbers, before forcing her arm out, handing me the phone. “I… I…” She didn’t say a word. Not that she needed to. That face said it all. I had never seen Lucy so… frustrated. She was always the quiet, shy, sweet one of my friends. It was like… next to impossible to make her angry, unless you were transphobic, and even then all you’d get was a slightly grumble from her and maybe a bit of a moan in private later. But right now… I could feel the frustration radiating from her. “Fine. Fine.” I said, taking the phone in my hand and lifting it awkwardly to my ear. That’s when I heard her voice. “Hello?” She answered. “B… Beth?” I replied. “Yes, who is… wait… Susie?” “...Yes.” “Oh my Goddess, Susie! Are you okay?” “I… I’m fine.” Beth breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you eating enough? Is Lucy feeding you? Did you get enough sleep?” She asked. “Wow… you really are like a Mum. I never noticed that before…” I laughed, awkwardly. “I… sorry. You know I worry about you.” “I know. Thanks. I… I’ve eaten. And slept. Don’t worry.” “So…” “Soooo…” I replied. “Umm… So how are you?” She asked, the awkwardness in the air swallowing up our conversation. “I’m… managing. Incontinence is taking some time to get used to.” “Sorry about that. I genuinely tried to fix…” “I know. It’s okay. I understand it all.” “You do? So you’ll…” “Need some more time, sorry.” The long pause told me everything I needed to hear. She was gutted that I wasn’t coming home today. At least I didn’t plan to. I was hoping Lucy’s offer of letting me crash for a few days would still be open. As much as I wanted to go home… It still scared me. “No, no… it’s okay. I understand. I… maybe tomorrow we could meet for lunch? Lucy could come along, provided she covers up of course. Goddess… it’s still weird that I can talk so openly about all that now with you…” Beth chuckled to herself. “I still don’t see why you chose not to earlier…” I said, very bluntly. “I… you know why. I assume Lucy told you the danger of telling humans?” “Yes. But you know me. She knows me.” “And I was going to. I… was actually going to… that night.” “You mean the one when I died?” I asked. “...Yeah. I was going to either tell you about my world, or the… kink.” “Not both?” “And lump it all on you at once? You’d have run faster than you did yesterday. No, I would have waited a week for the other one, probably.” “Sorry that guy ruined your plans.” “Not as sorry as he’ll be.” You could sense the hint of satisfaction in her voice. “What do you mean?” “Well when you died… so did he. And Beatrice… well she knows someone and can pull some strings. He’s just getting what he deserves for what he did.” “Who was he, Beth? Why did he hate me so much and why was he there bothering you that night?” “He… was a human. A human who knew about magic. About Witches. About me. Both sides of me. I met him at a munch, and…” “What’s a munch?” “A casual meeting for kinky people usually. It’s not important. But yes, he was the only human there… brought in by some newbie. He was mostly new to the whole supernatural world, and when he saw that I could do magic… he wanted me to ‘teach him’. I told him it’s a natural talent, that it couldn’t be taught, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.” “So he came to our home to push you to teach him?” “I didn’t think he knew where I lived. Then when he saw you, he must have realised you were not at the munch and didn’t know about that side of me, so he outed me to you. No idea why he thought that would give me a reason to teach him, but anyway… yeah… you know the rest.” “So I died because some jerk wanted power? Great.” “I intended to tell you that night, I promise. I was leading up to it.” “So which first?” “Huh?” Beth asked, confused. “Which were you going to tell me about first? Magic or… adult babies?” “Probably magic. That way you wouldn’t think the kink was as weird as it is.” “So even you admit it’s weird…” “Of course it is! But that doesn't stop it from being any less special!” She sounded so… passionate. Something I hadn’t heard from her in a while. “So I have to ask… say you told me about magic that night, and Dicky McDickface didn’t turn up and kill me… and say I accepted it. Then say you cooked me dinner again the week after and told me about this kink of yours… and I accepted that too…” “Yes?” She responded, sounding slightly… excited at this prospect. “What… would you expect from me?” “I… umm…” For someone so independent and headstrong, someone so confident and assertive… it was weird to hear her so hesitant and nervous… …She almost sounded like myself or Lucy. “I don’t know, honestly. Whatever you wanted. If you wanted to try it… that would have been great, but if you didn’t…” “Would you have broken up with me?” “NO! Not at all. I know it’s a big part of me, but my love for you is bigger. I could live without that, I couldn’t live without you.” “Clearly…” “Look, I’m sorry about the messed up spell. I promise you, from the bottom of my heart, I didn’t intend for it to go that way. It was just meant to bring you back, and then I’d tell you everything and we’d go from there. The devotion thing… I… it was my first time, I messed up the spell.” “I know. I believe you.” “You do?” She sounded so… relieved. “I do. I still need a bit of space though, so gimme a few days. We’ll grab lunch tomorrow though. Ease back into it.” “Okay. I’d like that. Should I call…” “I’ll call you later, arrange a time and place.” I interrupted her, trying to keep my assertiveness and dominance and not just make it seem like I’m giving in already. Which I totally am doing. “Okay. Well… please take care. I… I love you.” “...” There was no denying it, I couldn’t hide my feelings forever, “...I love you too.” I replied, nervously. Which was followed by a small squeak on the other end of the phone. “Okay sweetie… Well, call me if you need me. You know I’m here for you, always…” “One more thing?” “Yes?” She asked. “If I did try it… would I be…” “My baby? Well… hopefully. But that’s up to you. I’m not forcing anything on you. There’s no pressure. Look, let’s just get back to normal first, whatever that is. Then we can go from there.” I liked that she was being reasonable and sensible about all this. It reassured me that she really did value me over some stupid kink. “Okay. Well I’ll talk to you later. Love you.” “Love you too. Bye bab… sweetie.” And she hung up. “How’d it go? It sounded like it went okay?” Lucy asked, twirling her black hair in her fingers as she lay on the sofa, half watching TV, half watching me. “Up for lunch tomorrow?” I asked, smiling weakly and shrugging my shoulders. “Well that’s a good start. And yes, always up for lunch, provided you’re buying. But I’m picking where.” She grinned. ======================================================== It makes me so happy that you're all enjoying this story! And even happier when it brings out people's happy little sides I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 16: Questions Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess As I sat on Lucy’s sofa, legs crossed with Rupert sat in the middle of them, snuggling his soft fur and watching these old cartoons that Lucy must have had on VHS… because there’s no way they were showing this at this time of night… I found my eyes darting over to where Lucy was sitting, only a couple of feet from me, on the same sofa. I didn’t know what to say suddenly. It felt like I had spent the whole day talking and going through all this bullshit… and only now was I able to relax in relative quiet. Because aside from the noise from the TV, no one was talking to me. No one was expecting anything from me, nothing was being said and I didn’t have to worry about anything. At least not yet. I mean sure, I couldn’t get my mind off everything Lucy had told me. Vampires… Witches… Magic… ‘Adult babies’... the fact that she too was into all this and also not human… It was a lot for me to take in, so I really appreciated this quiet time with my best friend. But as my eyes darted over one last time, Lucy sighed and threw her stuffie to the other chair, before sitting back suddenly and reaching over to me. Clutching onto my shoulders, she pulled me backwards, so that I was now laying back, between her legs, her soft… nappy… cushioning my lower back as I rested my head on her chest like I used to when we’d snuggle back in university. “Better?” She asked, sucking the adult-sized dummy in her mouth. “I… yeah…” I said. I wasn’t lying either, just simply laying in her arms, between her legs, felt… better. I felt a lot more relaxed now as I still held Rupert in my arms, stretching my legs down the length of the sofa. Lucy… is a vampire. And an adult baby. Has been the entire time I’ve known her. Like… how did I never see that? How did I not see any of it? But the vampire bit especially… like… it was obvious with her late nights, aversion to the sun, her blood-red eyes… like… honestly I was more pissed that I hadn’t noticed than of her not telling me. Like… how did she feed? I assume vampires need to feed. If they’re anything like the stories and old movies… Like does she really drink blood? Does she need to feed from someone? The red stain in the coffee cup made me think she really does drink it. Which means it doesn’t have to be fresh… unless she’s got someone tied up in her kitchen… haha… she… she wouldn’t… right? Like… does she have superpowers, like other vampires? I know I’ve heard of vampires turning into bats, being invisible in mirrors, not being able to be killed unless via a stake through the heart… does she have those things? Increased strength? Speed? Wait… can she even enter a property without an invitation or was all that rubbish? But then… What about Beth? She’s a freaking Witch! Like… I know she can knock people back, she knocked back that guy on the night I died. She can banish Death with runes or sigils or whatever they were. She can brew potions if those things she made me drink whilst regressed are what I think they were and not just smoothies. But like… can she transform me into a newt? Can she conjure stuff? Wait… they can summon stuff… like Rupert can be summoned thanks to Bea’s spell… but can they conjure stuff out of thin air? How powerful is she? “Penny for your thoughts?” Lucy whispered, breaking my concentration. “I… just wondering things.” I replied, awkwardly. “Sunlight hurts but doesn’t kill. Yes I drink blood. No, it’s sourced from consensual donors. No, the mirror thing is bullshit. As is the stake through the heart thing. Oh same with the invite thing. We also don’t turn into bats…” “Are you reading my mind? Can vampires do that?” I looked up at her in shock… and a little bit of fear. She just sighed and shook her head. “No.” “You speak as if you’ve been asked…” “All this a bunch of times already? Yup. It’s not just humans who are curious about our origins, it’s other monsters too. So I’ve answered these questions many times before, don’t worry.” “What about Beth?” I asked. “Oh she already knew everything about vampires.” “No… I mean…” “Oh… you mean what can she do as a Witch?” “Umm… yeah.” “You’d have to ask her. Both sisters are pretty powerful Witches, though it’s clear Beth has the knack for necromancy more than her sister, despite the messed up spell bringing you back. Not even a normal necromancer could have managed what she did, even if it wasn’t the intended result.” “So raising me into an undead adult baby devoted to her is considered… a knack?” “Again, most wouldn’t even be able to get that far. The most I’ve heard necromancers manage is raising a skeleton as a mindless slave, or raising someone from the dead for ten minutes… max. You… you’re one of a kind, kiddo. Not only did she bring you back permanently… soul an all… but she got your body working again. Though… I think it’s still technically undead.” I blushed as she called me kiddo again. Something about that made me feel all… warm and squirmy inside. As if… as if part of me was still regressed. But Death broke that spell. They took away all the devotion and everything. I wasn’t trying to make Beth happy right now… So why did I enjoy being talked down to like that so much? “But from what I know, Witches can do all sorts. Conjuration, elemental stuff, potions, hexing, curses… if you’ve heard of a school of magic, there's probably a Witch that specialises in it.” “So each witch can specialise in one type of magic?” “Again, you’re asking a bloodsucker about magic… not my forte. But from what I’ve learnt… Some Witches have a knack for certain types, but most can use any school of magic. I think. You’d have to ask Beth.” I’d do that. I’d ask her next time I see her. I want to know what else she can do. There was a minute or so of awkward silence, before I gave in again. “So what other monsters are there? Sorry, is that the right term?” I asked. “Some may not like that term, but that’s what we are. We haven’t really come up with a term for the collective supernatural community. But if you reallywant to know… the answer is all sorts. Think about a monster movie or a story or a fairytale… it probably exists because it’s based on a real life monster.” “So… werewolves?” “Yup.” “Banshees?” “Yup. Don’t get a telling off from a Banshee Mummy though… It's terrifying. They have some seriously strong vocal chords.” “Fairies?” “Maybe not the cute kind you’ve probably read about. They tend to be assholes. Love playing pranks.” “Trolls?” “Yup. Again, anything you’ve heard of… probably exists.” “Have you seen all of them?” “Haha, I don’t think anyone has seen them all. And I’m probably the worst person to ask, with my anxiety and everything.” I looked up to see that familiar face of shame from my best friend. “Ah yeah… sorry.” “But yes… werewolves are…” We talked for a good hour or so about all the different monsters Lucy knew of, and her experiences of them. Most seemed like normal humans… but with unique traits. Just normal people going about their lives in the shadows. “So you all just exist around humans?” I asked. “Those who can pass as human do. Others… like trolls, have to hide in the shadows and only come out at night. Obviously we can’t let humans know of our existence, not unless we trust them.” “So… that’s why Beth didn’t tell me about…” “Yeah. We have to make sure not only the community is ready for a human knowing about our existence, but also that the human is ready to know all about us. One bad egg… and it’s game over for our kind. You’ve read the stories… we used to be chased out by villagers… hunted down… we can’t go back to those days.” “I understand, I think. I can see why Beth may have kept things from me. Still upset with her… but I understand. Anyway… so you’re… ninety years old? Did I get that right?” “Yeah.” “What was it like living back in the early 1900s?” “Horrible. Especially when you’re a trans girl. But I got through it.” Lucy shrugged. “Who turned you?” “I… maybe that’s a story for another time, hun. It’s getting late.” She replied, expertly brushing the question under the rug. “It’s not that late!” I whined. “It may not be for me, but it is for you. You can ask me three more questions about anything. And then I’m going to check your nappy, change you if you need it, then you’re going to get snuggled in my bed and I’m going to get some work done.” “Work? Wait… now that I know all about you being a vampire and everything… maybe you can tell me what it is you do for work!” “I write stories.” Lucy replied. She had always been so secretive about what she does for work, and I guess now that the cat is out of the bag regarding her whole vampire thing… she’s a bit more comfortable opening up more to me. “Are any of them published? Can I read them?” “Yes and yes. In the morning. And that’s three.” She smirked. “HEY! That’s not fair! And wait, that’s not three!” “Yes it is. You asked…” “I SAID maybe you could tell me what it is you do for work. I never asked a question!” I said, sticking my tongue out at her. “And you say you’re not a baby… turns out you’re a clever little brat. Honestly… at this rate you’ll put even my brattiness to shame…” I blushed and buried my face into Rupert’s soft fur. “Fine… one more question.” She said, squeezing me in a bear-like hug. “Do…” I hesitated. “Go on, no stupid questions. No judging. Ask whatever you want.” “Do you think… I… I’d make a good… you know…” “A good what?” “Umm… the thing you are…” I said, still nervous to say it out loud. “A good baby? Oh hun, of course you would. I’ve known you for years, and I always thought you had it in you. If this is something you want to explore, we can. Or if you want to explore this with Beth, we can do that too. It’s up to you. Or if you want to ignore it and pretend it never happened… We can do that too. Whatever you want. You know I’ll support you no matter what, you’re my best friend.” “Thanks Luce. I… I don’t know… I’m not sure if my feelings are to be trusted right now…” “Then sleep on it. We’ll discuss it tomorrow. But remember… we need to at least get in contact with Beth, she’s worried sick about you. You need to talk to her.” “I know. I will. Just… tomorrow.” “Good girl.” That term… that hit me stronger than any ‘kiddo’ or ‘sweetie’ or ‘hun’. It was as if I wanted… no… needed to wiggle with happiness. “Yup… wet.” Lucy said as I looked down and realised she had a finger in the leg hole of my nappy. “AHHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” “Checking you. Yeah, you don’t even notice going. Poor baby. It’s okay, why don’t we get you changed and tucked into bed?” “You’re a pretty good Mummy you know…” I said, blushing as I said those words. “I’m not. I just know how I’d want to be treated by one.” “How do you know that I want that treatment?” “Because I know you. And… because I’ve still got my finger in your wet nappy and you still haven’t told me to get it out.” “I… shut up!” I turned around in place, looking at Lucy in the eyes and sticking my tongue out at her. “See. You’re a pretty good brat. Now get that butt up, you can get some sleep then we’ve got lots to sort out tomorrow.” Lucy said, slapping the outside of my thigh gently, making me squeak and sit up quickly. “All ready for bed?” Lucy asked, sitting on the side of the bed after tucking me in with Rupert next to me. God… I felt like such a kid with her taking care of me like this. I know Beth used to take care of me in a very… maternal way… even pre-crash and resurrection, but now… I felt even more childlike. And… I didn’t hate it. I wasn’t sure if this was just a residual effect from the spell or if it was a genuine interest of mine… but for now, I’d have to wait to find out. I was feeling sleepy and my eyes were getting heavy as Lucy tucked my hair behind my ear. “Sweet dreams. And hey, Suze?” She smiled down at me. “Yeah?” “I’m glad you’re back. I don’t know what I’d do without my best friend.” She smiled, standing up and walking over to the light switch by the door. “I… I’m glad I’m back.” I smiled back at her as I snuggled up with Rupert and closed my eyes, quickly finding myself drifting off to sleep as the light went out and the door closed behind my best friend. ======================================================== I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 15: Adorable Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “So earlier…” I spoke up, cradling the fresh cup of coffee in my hand, the warmth radiating through my skin. It was warm… but it wasn’t hurting… it wasn’t scalding… which had me worried. It should be unbearable. “What about earlier?” Lucy asked, sipping something that I guessed was coffee… with a shot of something else… “On the phone with Beth… you said ‘that would explain the accident’. What did she say?” “She told me that you needed protection now, as the car accident caused a lot of damage to your bladder and bowels… when she was piecing you back together she couldn’t fix everything. Hence why you’ve been having accidents.” “Oh… that makes sense… so I’m incontinent?” “Yeah. Looks like it, kiddo. Sorry...” Lucy said, looking awkward as hell. “I… ugh. Suppose that's at the bottom of the priority list for things to worry about right now. Right below ‘my best friend is a vampire’ and ‘my girlfriend is a witch and they’re both into a kink I have no idea about’.” “So ask me questions, silly! Then you’ll at least have some idea!” Lucy nudged me with her leg, smiling behind her cup. “You… don’t mind me asking?” “Not at all. Look, I’m normally pretty secretive when it comes to it. But I figured I’d be having this conversation with you at some point anyway. I just didn’t expect it under these circumstances. I was expecting you a little more… alive.” “You expected it?” “Well… yeah… I figured Beth would tell you eventually. She’s just been so worried about scaring you off.” “Right, so wait… start from the beginning. What is this kink exactly?” “It’s basically a chance to let go of your adult self and be childish.” “Can’t you just do that normally? Like… playing games or whatever? Maybe get a colouring book?” “It’s more than that. It’s sort of like… a headspace you get into. You forget about your adult worries, your adult self, and your baby side just takes over.” “And what do you do?” “Personally? I just like to be as small as possible, be loved and looked after, and I have a craving for snuggles. But other adult babies have different ages and likes and stuff.” “Different ages?” I asked, confused. “Well some like to be really little babies. Some like to be toddlers. Some identify more as a little older than a toddler. And each age group has different activities and levels of responsibility. So the younger you act… the more you need looking after. By a Mummy. Or a Daddy.” “Which I’m assuming that is what Beth is?” “Yup, she’s a Mummy.” “So what’s Beatrice?” “She’s… not into this. She’s into her own kinky stuff, but she enjoys babysitting from time to time. She’s a natural at it, which is a shame.” Lucy shrugged. “So a Mummy…?” “Wants an adult baby to care for and love. You remember the past three weeks, right? When you were regressed?” She asked. “I… I mean… yeah?” “During that, she was a typical Mummy… albeit a full time one as you were actually mentally regressed… sort of.” “Full time? So this isn’t a lifelong thing?” “It’s not full time, if that’s what you’re asking. Not usually. Sometimes it is. A lot of the time the power dynamic is still there even if you’re not regressed. Even when we were both acting like adults, Beth used to treat me like a kid, knowing it’d make me blush.” “So wait… do you have a… Mummy? And if not, why didn’t you and Beth date then? Why did you set us up?” “Beth and I are just good friends. There was never any romantic spark between us, so other than the occasional teasing or whatever, she’d just be like any other adult to me. As to why I set you two up… it’s simple. You’re perfect for each other.” “But I’m not an adult baby…” “So? Sweetie… you always act childish around us. You’re a little brat sometimes. A little angel other times. You have the makings of a great baby…” “I DO NOT!” I whined. Loudly. Lucy just smirked at me, as I quickly realised how much I just sounded like a bratty toddler. “My point exactly. Anyway… I figured you two would hit it off, that you two would be perfect for each other. If she had the courage and just told you about the baby stuff and her wish to baby you…” “She wanted to baby me from the start?” I asked. “Oh hun… from the moment she laid eyes on you. She said to me that first night ‘That girl would melt my heart and I would be powerless to stop her if she sat on my lap in a wet nappy.’” “So that’s all she wanted from the start? To keep me as her ‘adult baby’?” “Not at all. Because then she spent the whole evening going on about your eyes, your beautiful hair, your smile, the way you did this, the way you did that, that if it ever became legal she’d marry you, blah blah blah. She wouldn’t shut up about you. It was clear it was love at first sight. If she got to see you in a nappy, that would be the icing AND cherry on the already perfect cake.” I could feel my cheeks getting warm as I struggled to look my friend in the eyes. Did Beth really say those things about me that night after we first met years ago? Did she really feel that way? Would she really marry me? Not that it matters, we couldn’t if we wanted to… but she would if we could? She… “So this baby stuff…” I blurted out. “Yeah?” Lucy said after nearly spilling her drink down her. “So if I was to be… her baby?” Lucy’s face lit up. “Yes?” She said, a sudden lilt in her voice made it obvious she was getting excited. “What… would she expect me to do?” “I mean… whatever you did for the past three weeks probably, although it would be more consensual this time. Not that it was her fault you ended up like that in the first place… that was just a messed up spell. But yes, basically what you did before, or any amount of it. Or none of it. It’s up to you! You make your baby side how you want. If you enjoy colouring, you colour. If you enjoy playing with dolls or action figures… do it! If you want snuggles and want to be a tiny baby with Mummy… go for it! You can do all of the above, or none at all. What matters is you both enjoy it and have fun.” “So I’d just… wear nappies…” “Not even that. Not all of us wear them.” “But you do.” I stared at her. “I… do.” She grinned… but blushed at the same time. “What appeal do you see in them?” “They make me feel smaller, more babyish. Plus it feels good to… you know… use them…” “Wait, WHAT?” “Seriously! I like the feeling of a wet nappy between my legs.” She blushed even harder when she admitted this. “Seriously? What about…” “Nooooo! I don’t do messy ones. Not unless someone else is willing to change me. But not all caregivers are up for that. Again, it’s all about finding a balance of what you want and what your Mummy wants.” “So some…” “Yes, some of us mess. It’s not the worst feeling. I just hate the cleanup.” Thinking back to the past three weeks… all those wet and messy nappies… I must admit, despite the ‘devotion’ part of the spell… having Beth to clean me up and change me… felt good. Honestly… a lot of it wasn’t as bad as I’d like to think. Cuddles were… amazing. The way she treated me… She was so soft… loving… I… Lucy quickly interrupted my thoughts, “Look, if it’s not something you’re into, that’s okay. You don’t have to be into it. But you at least have to talk to Beth about it all. Let her explain it. Maybe even let her baby you when you’re not under a devotion spell.” “I don’t know if I could do that…” I said, without even thinking. When in truth… I was already thinking about her babying me. It wasn’t an urge to make her happy or anything, like it was before, no… now it felt more like… an intrigue. I wanted to see what this whole ‘adult baby’ thing was like without being under a magic spell. I wanted to see what Beth loved about it, now that I knew the truth about her. “Just take your time hun. Ask me as many questions as you want. You know I’m happy to answer. Just… look, before the accident, Beth would have most likely told you about her kink. And about her being a Witch. Though not both at the same time. And knowing you… you would have accepted it.” “How do you know?” I asked, raising my eyebrow at her. “Because you’re a very understanding and accepting person. I know this as your best friend.” Lucy tilted her head and grinned. “Maybe you’re not into it. Maybe you aren’t actually a secret adult baby hiding underneath like we all thought. But you would have accepted her. Maybe even played along a bit. It’s just because of that dickhead who rammed you off the road and ruined your dinner evening that everything came out at once and everything went to shit.” “I guess.” “Look, ask me stuff tonight. Then talk to Beth tomorrow. Whether this is something you want to try or not, you and Beth are meant to be. Even if it’ll take a while to get back to how it used to be… you should at least try.” “I know. And I do understand it wasn’t Beth’s fault now. But…” “If you say ‘but’ one more time, I’m gonna throw you over my knee and spank that butt…” Lucy grinned. “Hey! You can’t do that!” I whined. “Can I not?” She teased. “Anyway, how about I go get padded myself, so you don’t feel left out?” “You… you’re going to wear one too?” “Yup. I’ll even grab a bottle and my fave stuffie. That way you can see what I’m like when I’m a baby. If you’re okay with that?” “I… umm… sure?” I said, unsure as to if I was actually okay with that. I mean… she was just going to be wearing a nappy like me… and have a stuffie like me… she’d just have a bottle too… so it’s not too bad… right? “Right, be right back then. We’ll make it a sleepover. And hey, if you want, when you go talk to Beth, I can be there for support.” “I’d like that… thank you.” I responded. “Right, time for me to get my butt padded!” She said out loud, like it was no big deal. Five minutes later, a sight I had never thought I’d ever see, walked back into the living room. Lucy was dressed in an adorable adult-sized version of one of those T-shirts that babies wear, you know the ones that pull together between a baby’s legs and snaps closed? Anyway, she walked in wearing one of those. It was black and purple, perfect for her Gothic aesthetic, with little prints of purple roses all over it. In fact it looked a lot like some of the stuff I was put in by Beth during the past three weeks, though mine were more pink and white. Tied to her shirt collar was a clip that extended down then looped back up to her mouth… where a purple adult-sized dummy nestled between her lips. Her long, flowing black hair was tied up into these adorable long pigtails, with a little purple clip in her hair pinning her fringe out of her face. She also wore no socks or shoes anymore, instead opting for bare feet, and in her hands was a large purple stuffed cat plushie. And as she walked around the coffee table so she was more in view, I heard the telltale crinkle of a nappy, just like she said she was going to wear. “Are you…” I began to ask, just to confirm my suspicions. “Padded? Yup!” The rest isn’t too much, is it? Sorry, this is… well, me. At least the me that I’d wait all day for you to leave our apartment for.” “Wait… you did this when we lived together? And I never noticed?” “Well duh! Like I could go a whole year without this! Especially when it was already Hell for me being out in public for that year.” “How did I never notice?” “Because you weren’t looking for it. Plus I’m very good at keeping it discreet. The amount of times I was padded when we went to the pub…” “YOU WORE TO THE PUB?” I shouted, quickly lowering my volume as I realised neighbours may be able to hear. “Sorry… you wore around us?” “Yup. And none of you noticed. Well… except Beth and Bea. They’d do very discreet checks. It was very blushy. Anyway… is this too much? I can go change again if it is… I just thought it’d make you feel at ease, knowing that you’re not the only one to wear stuff like this.” “I… no it’s okay…” ‘How the hell does she look so adorable? Was I that adorable when I was dressed like that?’ “Are you sure? And hey, if you want to join in, I have spare onesies.” She offered. “I… no. I’m okay for now, thanks.” “Kay!” She said enthusiastically as she walked over and plopped her thickly padded bum on the sofa, snuggling her cat stuffie in her arms. “Again, tell me if it’s too much. I don’t wanna push anything. I just want to show you that it’s harmless. It’s innocent. And a lot of fun. Really good for helping destress too.” “So… you do this often?” I asked. “As often as I can.” “And I know you said Beth and you didn’t match, and that Bea isn’t into it… but are you looking for a… Mummy? Or umm… a Daddy?” “Mummy. Tried a handful of Daddies. Not my thing. Problem is… Mummies are rare.” “They are?” “Yeah. I keep hoping to find one. Maybe one day I will. For now, I have fun with my friends and the few caregivers who babysit or just tease me.” “How many… babies… are there then?” I said, pointing towards her nappy. “I know of one other that I’m friends with. And I know Beth and Bea who are a Mummy and a babysitter. But I know that they know a bunch of other adult babies. It’s not a big community, but there are a few of us in this city. I see quite a few at munches and events but I don’t talk to them, I’m too shy.” “Really?” “Really!” “So…” I said, awkwardly, as I looked down at her nappy. I had no idea what else to ask. “Can’t believe you didn’t ask if it was sexual or not!” Lucy laughed, spitting the dummy out of her mouth. “Wait… it can be?” “Yeah. Wow… you’re like the first non-AB that thought that! But yes, it can be sexual for some, but it never involves… you know… it’s always consensual between adults. It’s more about the power dynamic than the theme.” “Oh… okay…” “Look, I can tell you can’t stop looking at my nappy…” “Wait… what?” I replied, unaware that I had been staring. “It’s okay. How about we watch some cartoons or something to get your mind off everything for a while?” She asked, smiling at me and trying to change the subject. “That sounds… okay.” I smiled back at her as she bunched her legs up and snuggled her stuffie, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. ======================================================== Oh btw, the name isn't a Dracula reference. Just a coincidence! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 14: Accident Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “WHY DO YOU HAVE NAPPIES?” I shouted at Lucy, despite her only being a few feet away from me as I stood there, half naked and still reeling from the accident I just had in my pants. “Shush. Let me get you cleaned up, let me get this on you, then we can talk about it all. I promise… I’ll answer any questions you have.” She said, walking over to me with the babyish garment in hand. “But…” “Look, do you want to risk having another accident in another pair of my pants, potentially ruining the sofa or something next time? Or do you want to be an adult and take some precautions? It’s just a slightly thicker pair of knickers, that’s all. Then you can ask me whatever you want. Promise.” “But… this was just…” “One time? Hun… you turned up at my door soaking wet. And from what you said… and also from what I’ve pieced together… you may need these from now on.” “Huh?” “Just… please? You trust me, right?” “I…” She didn’t say another word, she didn’t even wait for me to finish my reply, instead she just nodded and unfolded the crinkly undergarment, placing it on the bed, splaying it out… just like Beth had been doing for me for the past three weeks. “Come on, get that butt on there…” She said as she stood up and looked at me. I couldn’t help but stare into her beautiful ruby eyes as she smiled at me and put her arms on mine. “Sweetie?” “Sorry… I… was lost…” I replied. “It’s okay, just get that little butt on this nappy, okay?” “I… okay…” I replied, defeated. I knew she had a point. Firstly… I had been an adult baby for like three weeks and not once did I use a potty… sorry, I mean toilet. And then I had my accident on the way here… then without any warning, aside from the cramps which gave me absolutely no time to react, I messed myself right in front of her. It’s a miracle I didn’t ruin her sofa or her carpet or anything! Maybe… maybe nappies were the best thing for me right now… Laying down, my butt landing on the soft padding beneath it, it reminded me of… Beth. “It’s okay. Just a nappy. I won’t do any of the baby stuff.” That’s when it clicked. “Wait… so…” “Look, I know all about it. I figured that was what you meant by ‘kinky shit’.” She replied, rolling her eyes and chuckling to herself. “YOU TOO?” “How did you think Beth and I met?” Lucy looked up at me, smiling, as she effortlessly cleaned my lower half with a wipe, making sure I was thoroughly clean. “Wait so…” I pointed at her. “Oh no, I’m not a Mummy like her, I’m a baby.” She said, throwing yet another wipe into the trash can. “A baby? So you… wait… so these are?” “Yeah, these are my nappies. Like I said, I’ll answer any questions you have, let me just finish changing you first, okay?” Picking up a bottle of baby powder from her bedside table, she turned the top and started sprinkling it all over my nether region. For some reason… it felt… good. As if my brain remembered how happy it was when I was regressed against my will, associating this powder with pleasure or happiness or whatever. “So do…” “Suze… let me finish. Or do I need to find a dummy to put in your mouth? Look, I’m not used to putting another baby into one of these. I’ve only ever put them on myself, or had someone put them on me before.” “I… sorry.” I blushed, looking away from her as she pulled up the thick padding between my legs. Pressing down on my waist, holding the nappy down as she used her other hand to grab the sides, she pulled them over and taped them in place, quickly sealing me in the infantile underwear that I had just tried to run from. “There. Better. Now if you do have another accident… we don’t need to worry about my furniture or clothes! Come on, stinkybutt! Let’s go sit back down and have that chat you desperately want…” Holding out her hand, I grabbed it and she hoisted me up to my feet. The thick padding made my legs bow… and looking down… the nappy was just like the ones Beth had put me in. Babyish designs I hadn’t seen when she first pulled it out… as if it really was an adult sized version of a baby’s nappy. It was also a lot thicker than I had seen adult nappies to be. But then I had only seen medical ones before my death and resurrection. Lucy walked off into the living room, so I adjusted the nappy slightly so it didn’t pinch my legs or anything and quickly waddled after her. This whole waddle thing was going to take some getting used to… “So… questions…” Lucy said as I plopped my padded butt down on the sofa where I was sitting just before… before I had my accident. She had sprayed some air freshener in here to clear the air a bit, thankfully, and now everything felt normal again… aside from the thick nappy between my legs and the fact that I’m now a member of the undead and I found out my best friend is a fucking bloodsucking vampire. “Umm… I don’t know where to start.” “How about I explain a few things, and then you ask questions from there?” Lucy suggested. “...Okay… that sounds good…” I replied, nervously. “So… I assume that what you meant earlier by finding out your girlfriend is into some ‘kinky shit’... you meant… this…” Lucy said, pointing down to my nappy. “...Yes.” “Right, so I also assume that maybe… you weren’t kept as a mindless slave. Did Beth make you want to be a baby? Did she force you to be one?” Lucy looked concerned… concerned and pissed. “I… umm… maybe? I… I’m not sure.” “What happened?” “I woke up three weeks ago… and I… well she was… sort of… I… umm…” “Sweetie…?” “I FELT LIKE I HAD TO CALL HER MAMA! She babied me and changed me and fed me and treated me just like her baby, okay? I was humiliated and…” “Was this not consensual?” “NO! OF COURSE NOT!” “I never thought Beth would do that… she’s big on consent… there’s no way she…” “Well she did! Sort of. I think.” “What do you mean, ‘sort of’?” Lucy’s eyebrow raised. “I mean… look, when Death broke the spell… they said something about her being a stupid amateur necromancer…” “Oh…” Lucy sounded like she had realised something. “What?” I asked. “Look, I’m no expert in magic. I’m a vamp, magic isn’t our forte. But it sounds like maybe she just messed up the spell?” “She… what? She can do that?” “Oh for sure. One time she tried conjuring breakfast for us after a meetup, and she ended up conjuring up a chicken, two pigs and a cow. Thought to be fair… she was suffering a massive hangover at the time. But what I’m saying… is Witches are not perfect. Beth is a great practitioner, but even good Witches can make mistakes with magic they’ve never used before, especially if their emotions are out of whack… kinda like when you’re dealing with the grief of losing your girlfriend...” “So what… she just accidentally made me a baby?” “Suze… you told me before that you felt like you were devoted to her. That you would do anything for her. Now imagine that… after just finding out what she was into. Imagine you were some blank slate, ready to worship this random person because the spell fucked up… and the last thing you learnt about them was that they were into this weird kink.” “Umm… What are you trying to say?” “Now imagine you wanted to make her the happiest she’s ever been. Wouldn’t you do that thing that she wanted more than ever?” “I… guess…” “And if that thing is to be her baby…” “You mean my utter devotion to her made me want to act like her baby just to make her happy?” “Again, no expert, but that’s what it sounds like from what I’ve heard and from what little I know about magic. And mostly from what I know about Beth. Beth… there’s no way she wouldn’t seek consent first.” “But she didn’t stop it!” I cried out. “Maybe she couldn’t?” “I…” That's when I remembered… all that work she was doing… work she… wait… she never worked from home. Those books were… “She… was trying to find a way to stop it…” I said, realising the truth. “How do you know?” Lucy asked. “Because I’m an idiot and didn’t realise until now! She spent the three weeks I was regressed trying to fix me. She spent most of her days looking through her books. She said it was ‘work’... but she doesn’t work from home, she’s never worked from home!” “I mean… she doesn’t work, full stop…” Lucy added, shrugging awkwardly. “Wait… what? But she’s an accountant?” “Ooops…” Lucy looked at me really awkwardly, shrugging and putting her arms up in the air. “Sorry kiddo, but I think she was keeping up her ‘normal human’ act just for you.” “Then what is it that she used to do when she went out?” “No idea, you’d have to ask her.” “I… will. Eventually.” “When do you plan on going back? Not that I don’t enjoy your company… but she must be worried sick.” “She can wait a bit longer. If that’s okay, of course. I don’t want to disrupt your life… but I need some more space from her. Even if she tried to fix things… I still…” “Don’t worry hun, you stay here as long as you want.” Lucy smiled at me. “Plus I have more questions…” That’s when the phone started ringing. “Sorry hun, let me just get that.” Lucy said, tapping my leg gently and standing up, walking over to the phone on the wall. Grabbing the cushion, I squeezed it tightly for support, trying to find some comfort as all my worries and thoughts swirled about my head. That was, until a single thought popped into my mind. One little vision… one tiny thought that barely took hold for even a fraction of a second… that I wished I had Rupert, that stupid teddy bear, with me… I remembered how cuddly he was, and how comforting he was to hold… When suddenly the cushion disappeared, reappearing behind me on the sofa, and in its place… was Rupert. “Hello?” Lucy answered the phone. “Oh hey… yeah I’m okay. Susie…?” Lucy looked over at me, surprised by the sudden appearance of a strange teddy bear, expecting some kind of answer. So I shrugged, not knowing what to say as I snuggled Rupert in my arms. “Susie… yeah she’s here.” Lucy continued. I buried my face into Rupert’s soft fur. “No, don’t come over. She needs some space.” Nuzzling Rupert, I remembered… they cast a spell on him… didn’t they? “Yes, she’s okay.” Making it so he would always be here if I needed him… “Yes, she knows. About me, yes, and the kink, and you, and everything. Though she still has more questions… which I’ll answer.” Lucy’s face turned sour as she sighed heavily. “I don’t care, Beth. She needed to know.” She turned to me and nodded, winking and smiling at me. “No, she can crash here for a few days if she needs to. I really don’t mind.” I still couldn’t believe Lucy had kept so much from me… but she also didn’t force me to be a baby. So she was the safer of the two options I had right now. I know Beth didn’t mean to enforce it, but… still… I needed some space from her, so Lucy’s it was. “No, you can’t talk to her. Not yet. I’ll get her to call you when she’s ready, okay? I promise, I’ll take care of her.” I really believed her. Despite being a vampire… and a bit of a shy, anxious loner… She was being oddly protective of me. Sort of the opposite of how we were at uni. I was always the one protecting her and sticking up for her. “Oh… that would explain the accident. Don’t worry, I put her in a nappy. And yes, consensually. I figured that she must have had some need for them when she turned up in wet pants.” I blushed as she talked about me like I really was some young kid who had had an accident at school. “Yes, that was cleaned up too. Don’t worry, I’m taking care of her. Right, I’ll keep you updated, I promise, she’s okay. She’ll call when she’s ready. And before you argue again… she deserves to know all this stuff. I’m not holding anything back.” Lucy listened intently, before sighing… although this time it was much of a sigh of relief. “Glad you agree. Anyway, take care. Byeeee.” Lucy said, hanging the phone back on the wall and turning to face me. “How… how was she?” I asked. “Worried sick about you, but otherwise… she’s alright.” “Is she… angry?” I clutched Rupert tightly and hid my face with his head. “She’s just worried. Little bit angry that I told you I’m a vamp and about all the supernatural stuff… but hey, you deserve to know, given that most of your support group are part of that world. Like I said hun, I’ll answer everything you ask.” Lucy said, sitting down next to me, patting my leg once again, making me feel even smaller and more comfortable. “I have to ask though… Where the hell did the bear come from? It’s not one of mine…” “He.” I corrected her. “Sorry, he isn’t one of mine. What’s his name?” “Rupert. And he… I think he just magically appeared.” “You’re not a Witch, are you?” Lucy’s eyebrow raised again. “No. Beatrice… She cast a spell on him. I think… I can just sort of… summon him?” “Oh that’s cool! Honestly… I know Bea isn’t into the kink… but she’s a pretty damn good babysitter and auntie. She always knows the coolest magic to make you feel small and happy. Now… how about I put the kettle back on, we relax, talk a bit more, then you can take my bed for the night?” “But…” “No buts. You’ve had a rough time. You take my bed. It’s not like I’m gonna need it…” “Oh yeah… Vampire…” I chuckled. “Exactly. So I’ll be right back, stinkybutt.” ======================================================== I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 13: Vampires Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess Jumping back towards the other end of the sofa, trying to get as far away from Lucy as possible, my back hit the armrest and I panicked. “I… I…” “Oh come on… seriously?” Lucy sighed, rolling her eyes at me. “But… you’re…” “A vampire? Yes. Honestly… I’m still surprised I managed to get through our year of living together without you realising…” That's when it hit me. I didn’t realise. A whole year of living together in one room… and I never noticed the signs. “How… when…?” “Right… if you calm down, I’ll answer your questions, okay?” Lucy said, putting her arms out in a ‘calm down’ motion. Taking deep breaths and grabbing a cushion as a sort-of makeshift shield… I nodded and waited. “As for how… how else would it happen? A vampire turned me. As for when… I may be a bit older than you think I am.” “How old are you?” I asked, my voice quivering still. “How old do you think I am?” Lucy asked. “Like… Around my age? Somewhere around 25 or 30? Although to be fair you look younger than that…” “Try much older.” “40?” “Older.” “50?” “I can see where this is going. Much older…” “You can’t be older than… 100?” “Nearly. I’m 93.” “NINETY THREE?” I blurted out in shock. “I look good for my age, don’t I?” “So wait… you were…” “Born in 1890, yup. Towards the end of the Victorian era.” “So you were… wait… when did you transition?” “Socially… when I was in my early twenties. The lack of databases and stuff made it easy to fake my death as my old male self, then start again as Lucy. Thankfully, my youthful appearance allowed me to ‘pass’ early on, then when I was twenty five… I got turned. Hence the lifelong youthful, feminine appearance.” “But what about… hormones and stuff… I mean… your boobs?” “I didn’t have them for the longest time. You have no idea how hard it was back then for people like me. But thankfully, the vampire thing opened doors for me. Mostly that it opened the door to the supernatural underworld. The one that lives in the shadows of the humans. That’s where I met Lizzie… sorry… I mean Beth.” “Wait… so you met…” “I set you two up, remember? I knew she’d love you. I originally met her in the monster circles, and we hit it off from the start. Even had a bit of a fling with her sister…” “YOU WHAT? WITH BEA? SERIOUSLY? I didn’t even know she was…” “Yeah, she’s openly bi. Did she never tell you?” “No!” “She’s pretty private with her personal life. But yes, we had a short thing that fizzled out very quickly. We were very different people back then, wanting very different things in life. Or in my case… not-life. Anyway, I met the two of them, we became close… and they helped me.” “Helped? How?” “They helped me transition… magically.” “Magically?” “Yeah. Basically hormone therapy without all the waiting and judgey doctors. They brew their own form of magical hormone therapy and poof! I’m now the woman you see before me.” “They… can do that?” I asked, sounding more surprised than fearful at this point. “Of course they can. What do you actually know about Witches?” “That… they were satan-worshippers… that they were burned at the stake.” “Nasty period of time that was… but no, they don’t worship Satan. Most Witches are the nicest people you'll ever meet. Beth and Bea especially so. Despite their… family connection.” “Family…?” “Sorry hun, I understand you’re asking a lot of questions, but can you at least put the cushion down? I’m not going to bite you.” Lucy laughed awkwardly. “But… you’re a vampire…” “And I only feed on humans.” “I’m a human!” “Not anymore, sorry kiddo.” “Huh?” “I can smell it already. You’re one of us.” “What? A vampire?” “No, of course not! But you’re not human anymore. You’re undead. I can smell it in your blood.” “WAIT! That… that’s why that guy outside said I was tainted… OH SHIT, HE WAS A VAMPIRE?” “Don’t tell me… blonde? Long coat? Ugh. Ignore him, he’s a dick.” Lucy rolled her eyes again. I’m surprised she knew who I was talking about, but then again I have no idea how many people like her there are. “How am I tainted?” I asked, sounding confused. “You’ve been resurrected. You’re no longer human. Undead, zombie… whatever you want to call it. Means your blood is of no use to any vampire.” “I’m… not human…?” “Don’t worry, you’ve got me, you’ve got Beth, and you’ve got Bea. We’ll help you.” “I… can’t. I’m not going back.” “Because she kept the fact she’s a Witch from you this whole time? Whoop-de-doo. Do you know how hard it is coming out…” I looked at Lucy, raising my eyebrow. “Of course you know…” She continued, after realising her mistake. “Sorry, but think of it as coming out as gay to someone who is straight. You don’t know how they’ll react. Will it be acceptance? Wonder? Disgust? Or even… violence? But with her abilities… it would also flip your whole world upside down. Everything you thought was normal would be changed… I think she just wanted to save you from this.” “Then why did she date me in the first place?” “Because she fucking loves you, dumbass!” Lucy blurted out. I felt bad. Lucy’s analogy made sense and made me empathise with the struggle Beth must have been going through. Still doesn’t stop me from feeling betrayed and pissed though… “Still… she knows I love her… she could have told me…” “I understand you’re upset. But… just don’t give up on her, that’s all I’m asking. Both as your friend AND hers. Let her explain, apologise, make it up to you.” I slowly put the cushion back in its place, edging forward in my seat slightly. Now that I wasn’t at risk of being bitten by my friend, I felt my whole body relax a bit more, I was a lot less defensive now. “So… undeath… umm… how does it work?” I asked, trying to change the subject a bit. “For a vampire or… for whatever you are? Because I’m sorry Suze… I haven’t the foggiest as to how your kind works. Like I said… Your kind is relatively unheard of. Necromancy stopped being used ages ago. The only necromancers I know are Beth and her sister… though I never thought they’d actually take up the family business.” “Family… business? You mentioned her family before…” “Oh, duh… she never told you. Well her family name… used to be Lazarus. The Lazarus family were the main practitioners of necromancy, with some other individuals learning from them. But after their grandma banned all others after her from learning anything about it, they just became a family of regular Witches.” “So how did she…” “Their Granny died recently, so I assume they got hold of her books somehow. And Beth… she must have used that to resurrect you.” “She… died? Beth… never told me anything about her Grandma dying…” “They weren’t exactly close. But after their parents died, their Grandma was their last living relative. They must have inherited her stuff.” It was at that point that my stomach started rumbling. “Ummm…” I said, awkwardly. “What’s up, hun?” Lucy asked. “It’s all… a lot… can… can I get…” “You want something to eat? I can hear your tummy from here!” “Please…” “I don’t have much for a human… or a zombie. Sorry… I don’t even know what you eat. I have some crisps if you wanna try them?” “Sure…” I didn’t care, I just needed some food to settle my stomach. Lucy smiled at me and stood up, walking off towards the kitchen, whilst I just sat there on the sofa… still in shock at not only everything that had happened between Beth and I… but also that there were even more revelations about Beth that I didn’t know about. That she was from a family of necromancers… that her Grandma had died recently… that she knew Lucy from… ‘Wait…’ As Lucy walked back in, throwing a packet of salt and vinegar crisps at my face, I looked up at her with the question burning into mind. “Lucy?” “Yeah?” “If you’re 90… and you knew Beth and Bea… how old are they both? Are they as old as you?” “Hahaha no. But… they are older than you think.” “So Beth isn’t 33?” “Add another decade onto it.” “Forty three?” I accidentally tore the crisp packet too far as I reacted to this latest reveal, spreading crisps all over my lap. “Such a messy baby…” Lucy laughed. I blushed and looked away from her face as my chest felt… weird. “Don’t worry about it, just eat them from your lap. They didn’t go on the floor or the sofa, you’re alright.” Lucy said, tapping my knee gently. “I… sorry…” I replied, taking a crisp from my lap and popping it in my mouth, chewing it slowly and quietly. “Hey it’s okay, I’m just as messy and clumsy sometimes. But yes, your girlfriend is a decade older than you thought… She does look good for her age. I never asked how, but it’s probably magical. Bea is the same age, I mean… she has to be, they’re twins after all.” “I… just… can’t believe all this. All this stuff about my girlfriend. Witches… monsters… magic… her family… and… well… you!” “Sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.” Lucy said, putting her hand on my knee. One look at her cute face and I knew I couldn’t stay mad. Honestly… as soon as I see Beth’s face again I know I’m going to give in straight away… it’s why I got out of there as quickly as possible. I have a habit of doing that… of giving in way too easily. “It’s okay.” I replied. “Just… are there any other secrets you, Beth and Bea are keeping from me?” “Umm…” Lucy started twiddling her thumbs in that way she used to do whenever she was nervous. “Lucy…” “Umm… well I know that you talked about her saying she had…” Before Lucy could finish her sentence, I felt a cramp in my gut. Were the crisps not helping? Am I really a zombie… Do I need to eat brains? The cramping got worse as I dropped off the sofa to my knees, clutching my stomach as I screamed out in pain. “Suze… are you okay? What’s up?” Lucy fell to the floor in a panic, putting her arms on my shoulders. “I… I…” Something was building up inside me. Something… This… this wasn’t me being hungry… this was me… ‘No.’ ‘Not now…’ ‘Please… not here…’ Without a second’s warning, before I could do anything to stop or lessen the effect… I completely filled the seat of my pants as I knelt there, a loud roar filling the room. “Suze… are… did you just…” I had no way of telling what it was until it was too late. I couldn’t even hold it in! It was as if the floodgates were open and there was no way to tell what was coming or when! So I burst out into tears as I knelt there, avoiding sitting back and spreading it. “Oh hun… it’s okay… it’s just one little accident…” Lucy said, quickly slipping off the sofa and wrapping her arms around me as I sobbed into my hands. “But I… I didn’t know…” “Is this something to do with the spell?” “I… I don’t know… maybe?” “Then we need to take some… precautions.” “P… precautions?” I asked, in-between sobs. “Come with me, petal.” Lucy said softly, before standing up and holding out her hand to me. Awkwardly, trying my best not to move around the mess in my pants, I took hold of Lucy’s hand as she helped me up to my feet. But she didn’t let go, she just started walking back off to her bedroom, dragging me behind her once again. “What… what are we doing?” I asked, tears still dripping down my face. “We’re going to take some precautions if this is going to be a thing. Can’t have you ruining any more pants…” Closing the door behind her, we were once again alone in her bedroom, though the smell coming from my backside was making this even more uncomfortable as it filled the air. “Come on then, stinkybutt. Let’s get these pants off…” “Why… why are you acting like…” Letting go of my hand, she turned and looked down, grabbing my jeans and within an instant, yanked them down, leaving me completely stark naked. She hadn’t given me any underwear so I was just going commando right now… so I was in complete shock as she, without any hesitation, dropped my pants. “It’ll be okay, sweetie. Let me just grab a…” She said as she turned back around and started rummaging into her open wardrobe. “Aha! Here we go.” Turning back around… she had something white… and plastic… and rectangular… …And I knew exactly what it was. ======================================================== Monster girl baby club! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 12: Roommate Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess Lucy was a night owl. She was always up at god-knows-what time, working on whatever it is she does. I’m not sure what that thing is, I never bothered to ask to be honest, I was a bit nervous prying into her life considering she was so socially anxious. Like… this girl was as pale as Death (which I can confirm now!). It was almost like her skin had never even heard of sunlight, and her hair was as black as the void, running all the way down her back. Even her eyes were red… something that initially made me think she had some issue with sunlight. And you’d always see her wrapped in dark, baggy clothing. Honestly, at first I may have thought she was some kind of goth, but it turns out she’s just a bit of a shut-in. She rarely left her apartment. She’d get her groceries delivered by someone, someone she never told me about, and you’d never see her out during the day… I often worried for her mental health, but she always assured me she was okay. We met each other for the first time during university. She was studying something artsy or something to do with technology… I wasn’t quite sure, she rarely spoke of her studies. But we shared a room together in halls, so for the first year we lived together. Quickly becoming friends, she and I were inseparable. That was until we had to move out after the first year. I ended up moving in with a bunch of other friends, but she… chose this apartment, all by herself. I offered her a place in our house, but she turned us down, stating that she’d prefer to live alone now, that the first year in halls was just because she had to… it was university policy. We were really close friends. I often thought we’d end up together, as it was a few months into our living arrangement that she came out to me. It was really awkward because then I came out to her and we just kinda… looked at each other, surprised that the two lesbians had been put together, despite neither of us being out. It didn’t even phase me when she told me she was a transexual, or as she preferred to call it, transgender or trans. Like… she looked and acted like any other woman I had known. Didn’t bother me. I was open minded and I wasn’t bigoted like my parents and a lot of our friends. Only a couple of us knew her secret, and no one has betrayed her trust. Mostly because it’s very hard to earn her trust, you have to be very special to do so. I thought that explained why she was a bit of a shut in, she was too scared to go out and socialise, worrying that she’ll be outed and ridiculed. No matter how many promises to her that it won’t happen, that no one will know… I think she still fears that. She’d often go out to her classes with as many layers of black clothing as possible, along with an umbrella… even during summer. It was weird, and just made her more visible to people, which I didn’t understand, as she really didn’t want to be seen. She just kept telling me she was sensitive to the sun, which led to all the vampire jokes I’ve made at her ever since. She just laughs along with it now, though she was super defensive about it for a while. But no, I didn’t end up dating her, despite how close we were. She did, however… introduce me to Beth… or Elizabeth as she used to be called, my girlfriend. And now, here I was, standing in her apartment after not seeing her for months… in piss-soaked jeans. “Two sugars in yours, right?” She called out from the kitchen. “I… yeah…” I replied, feeling disgusting as I stood there in her living room, my wet pants getting cold. “Do you need a change of clothes?” “I…” “Don’t worry, I won’t ask unless you want to tell me. But yay or nay on the clothes?” “Umm… please…” “Kay. Give me a minute then…” I stood in the middle of her living room, afraid to sit down in the wet jeans, partially due to the feeling of sitting in these… but mostly because I didn’t want to ruin her furniture. “Right, let’s get those pants sorted before I make the coffees.” Lucy said as she briskly walked in, grabbing my hand and pulling me off towards a door at the back of the living room. If I remembered correctly, this was her bedroom. Which as soon as she pulled me into it with a lot more strength than I was expecting… was confirmed. A big plush bed, with a really cosy, dark eggplant-coloured duvet… I was surprised. “Purple, eh?” I said as she pulled me over to the wardrobe. “Yes, yes. I know. I’ve found another colour that works, not just red.” “Who convinced you to…” “No one! I did it myself this time, Miss ‘I am an expert on knowing what looks good’!” She groaned, sticking her tongue out at me before laughing. I missed this. I missed… her. “Glad to see you learned well then.” I laughed back. “Yeah yeah. Now… same size?” “Pretty much…” “Right… jeans…” We were roughly the same size as each other in clothes, meaning that throughout our year living together at university, we’d borrow each other’s clothes. Or more likely… I’d borrow hers. She wouldn’t be caught dead in my outfits, whereas I found some of her darker things worked well with some of my outfits. As she rummaged around in her wardrobe, I looked around. Everything looked exactly the same. Curtains drawn, barely any light… I felt so sorry for this girl. Especially now that I had focused so much on moving in with Beth… I had completely ignored my friend. I vowed years ago to get her out more… but Lucy is a stubborn little miss, and puts up a fight every time I try. “Aha! Here. These should fit you.” She said, handing me a pair of well-worn jeans. “Thanks.” Standing there, waiting for her to leave, I coughed to make it a bit more obvious. “Oh! Yes, sorry! I’ll let you change. Come out when you’re ready, coffee will be waiting for you.” She said, pulling that cute little smile of hers as she walked off, closing the bedroom door behind her. And just as I took off my coat and pulled down my wet pants so that they were around my ankles, the door burst open again. “Sorry when you…” Lucy stopped mid-sentence and her eyes widened in shock as she looked at me… whilst I was half dressed. “I umm…” I blushed, freezing in place. Her gaze fixated on my legs. “Wait…” “Can… I get a little privacy?” I blurted out. “I… oh… yeah… sorry… I was just… when you’re done, hang your coat up by the door and hand me your pants, I’ll shove them in the wash for you, ‘kay?” And there it was again, that cute smile of hers, making me feel at ease once again, despite her seeing me half naked. I mean… this wasn’t new, we lived together for a year… but still… “Okay. Thanks.” I replied. Lucy left me to get changed out of these wet jeans and into the ones she lent me. “Umm… here are… umm…” I said, nervously displaying my wet jeans to my best friend so that she could go and wash them. “Thanks. Have a seat, get comfy! Have a drink!” She said, taking the wet jeans in her fingers and holding them out away from her as she walked off to the kitchen, trying to hide her disgust at the sodden garment. Feeling ashamed for letting her do this for me, I sat down on her dark, leather sofa and picked up a plain white mug that was sitting on her coffee table. Looking down at the cup… something seemed… off. It didn’t look like a normal cuppa. “Umm… did you add milk to this?” I called out. “OH SHIT!” Lucy slammed a door in the kitchen and rushed back, grabbing the cup from my hand and pulling it away in a panic. “Are you okay? I don’t mind it without milk, it’s just…” “No, it’s okay… this… this isn’t yours…” “Oh…” She was already very defensive about her food and her drinks. She wouldn’t ever share, wouldn’t ever let anyone else prepare it for her… I thought she was just a bit… paranoid, but the fear in her eyes right now made me think something… something was up with her. “Lucy…?” “Umm… yeah?” She said, sipping at the cup she had grabbed. Taking the other cup, the one that had a much paler-looking fluid, I took a sip. “Are you okay? That was… rather…” “I umm… It’s okay. I just… this was mine.” “Okay… if you’re sure…” She nodded awkwardly, before sitting down on a chair across the coffee table from me. “Do you want the TV on?” She asked. “It’s okay for now…” I replied. “How about…” I sighed, before putting my cup down on my lap, holding it with both hands. “Go on… you want to ask… do it…” I said, interrupting her. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. “Okay… how the fuck are you alive? We all saw…” “You didn’t. You didn’t go to the funeral.” I interrupted her. Clearly this was an issue I had without realising it was actually an issue, and I was apparently taking it out on her now. “I… wait, how do you know? Did you fake your own death?” “No… I…” “No…” She interrupted, as if she was figuring something out, “Wait… the scars… the funeral… oh for fucks sake…” “What?” I asked, confused by her sudden change in reaction. “Don’t say Beth brought you back.” Lucy rolled her eyes and exhaled. “Wait… WHAT? YOU KNEW THAT ABOUT HER?” I yelled. “SHE ACTUALLY DID IT?” Lucy yelled back. “Of course she does… romantic fucking idiot… fucking Witches…” “YOU KNOW WITCHES EXIST?” “Oh Susie…” “Right…” I said, putting my cup down on the coffee table. “What the hell do you know about all this?” “First… Tell me everything that happened.” Lucy said, pulling up her legs so that she was sitting cross-legged on the chair, her cup nestled in between her hands as she sipped slowly. “Fine. So…” “So you found out your girlfriend is into some kinky shit, that she’s also a Witch and can cast magic spells, and then you overreact and leave, only to end up in an accident and die?” Lucy had a way of summarising things. “I wouldn’t say I overreacted…” I groaned. “I understand feeling betrayed… but you stormed out without even listening to her.” “I…” “And then she resurrects you…” “And then some stuff happened.” I butted in. “What stuff?” I had opted to skip the whole ‘adult baby’ thing in my tale, instead referring to it as ‘kinky shit’. But now we were up to the utterly obedient baby slave part… and I struggled to think how I could put it in words that didn’t reveal what I’ve been doing for the past three weeks. “I… just…” “Fine, whatever, don’t tell me. Just… so this was three weeks ago?” She asked. “Yeah. I was… utterly devoted to Beth. I would have done anything for her.” I said, figuring that was the best way to put it. “And what happened to break that?” “Death.” “Haha… oh… wait… you’re serious.” She turned pale…r, and her face dropped. Like she had just been told something seriously bad. “Yeah. THE Death. Actual Death. Grim Reaper and all that.” “And they… let me guess, they’re pissed at your girlfriend taking you from them?” “Yup. Broke whatever spell was cast on me, and then… I ran. They banished Death temporarily and I bolted.” “Did you not talk to them about all this?” “NO! OF COURSE NOT! They kept me as a…” “As a what?” Lucy’s eyebrow raised. “Just… a slave. No. I can’t go back to them.” Lucy got up from her seat, putting her empty cup on the coffee table, before walking around it, sitting next to me. Pulling her legs up again, sitting cross-legged, facing me… she grabbed both my hands with hers and pulled gently, signalling me to do the same. Sighing, I turned around, just like we used to back in our room, and looked her in the eyes. “Susie… look… I know this is scary… but it’s gonna be okay.” “But… you knew? You knew she was a Witch this whole time? That magic was real?” “Suze… this isn’t new to me. In fact… I’ve been used to it for a very looong time…” She put a lot of emphasis on the ‘long’ part of her sentence. “Huh?” “So… what do you know?” Lucy asked with a straight face. “About what?” “Magic. Witches. All that.” “Wait… ‘all that’? You mean there’s more?” I asked. “You know all those old stories? The ones in fairytales and old books? Monsters and magic?” “No… you can’t be serious?” “I’m afraid so. All real. Well… most of it.” “So… werewolves?” “Real.” “Witches.” “Obviously real, you’ve seen two of them.” “...The undead?” “Well… clearly. Though your specific type of undeath is rare. Haven’t seen or heard of a necromancer in… well… a very long time. I thought it was a dying art… excuse the pun.” Lucy tried her best to keep her laughter in check. “Vampires?” That’s when Lucy pointed to her cup. “Huh?” I said, before she nodded her head towards it, obviously trying to make me look closer. Reaching over it, looking inside… it was… stained red? But coffee doesn’t stain re…” I looked up at her, the pieces fitting into place. The clothes. The nighttime activity. The sensitivity to the sun. Being defensive when it comes to her food. It all made sense. And as I looked up, she smiled at me with that cute little face of hers… with her fangs on full display. ======================================================== I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 11: Space Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “What… What the hell happened?” I asked as my girlfriend and her sister looked at me in relief, after their vision had returned. “Just a banishing spell…” Beatrice replied. “A banishing… spell?” “Yeah, kicked Death out of the house for a bit…” “Death… spells… Witches… AND ALL THIS BABY SHIT!” I yelled, pointing at the playpen I was in just moments ago. “I…” Beth was still too nervous to speak, just like the night I… died. “I know it’s a lot to take in, sweetie…” Beatrice said, walking over to me slowly, before placing her hand on my shoulder. Quickly shrugging it off in disgust, I took a step back, away from her. “Sweetie…” She said again, reaching her hand out. “NO! BACK OFF!” “Hun… it’s okay.” “NO IT’S NOT! First I find out that magic is real, then I find out my girlfriend who I thought I knew everything about wanted to keep me as her fucking adult baby, then I FUCKING DIED! Only to be, what… resurrected? You’re a fucking necromancer now?” “It’s in our blood…” Bea answered, and yet again my girlfriend stayed silent. “And then I’m forced to be a fucking baby to you perverts, shitting myself and pissing myself, using goddamn nappies and babbling! I was so fucking obedient… I… I…” “Sweetie… calm down…” “CALM DOWN? HOW ABOUT I KILL YOU THEN BRING YOU BACK AS A FUCKING ADULT BABY ZOMBIE? SEE IF YOU CAN STAY CALM!” I shrieked. Beatrice shut up instantly, backing off a bit, looking really awkward… just like Beth. “Fuck this.” I said, turning around towards the stairs. “Wait!” Beth finally called out. With one foot on the bottom step, I turned around. “What?” “Where are you going…?” “I don’t know. I… just know I need to get away from the both of you!” I growled, turning back and stomping up the stairs. ----------------------------------------------------------------- I should have packed a bag at least. I clearly wasn’t thinking straight. And here I was, traipsing through the city centre, in the dead of night, in only the outfit I had dressed myself in. It had been a long walk here, miles in fact, but I had finally made it. At first I didn’t know where I was going, I just knew that I was angry and that I needed to get away from the two of those fucked-up sisters. With their magic and their… weird kinks. “I mean seriously… who wants to keep adults in fucking nappies?” I argued to absolutely no one as I walked down the completely empty streets. Honestly… it was weird how empty the streets were, I thought the city was a bit more alive at night. The entire journey was me just arguing with myself over how fucked up everything was. I mean for starters… I was dead. Actually dead. I saw Death… THE Death. And yet thanks to Beth… here I am. Not exactly dead, but not exactly alive. It wasn’t until I reached the edge of the inner city that I realised… I had nowhere to go. Beth and I had moved in together months ago. I sold my place, moved all my stuff into hers, and we’d been happy ever since. My family lived nowhere near, and even then they weren’t really accepting when I came out to them… but that’s when it hit me. Friends. I had a friend in the city centre, one I trusted, even if she didn’t turn up to my funeral. I’m sure she had her reasons for not going though. She was a bit of a loner, a bit of a night owl… so me turning up in the middle of the night to her apartment probably wouldn’t bother her. So that was it. I had a destination. I was no longer wandering aimlessly. Hopefully she’d let me crash at hers for a few days whilst I figure all this out… although I suspect turning up to her front door and being like ‘Hey… I’m not dead… I’m just… undead!’ may not go brilliantly. At least I didn’t look dead. Well… I had my scars from the accident… but I didn’t look like a Living Dead movie zombie. So maybe she’ll just be excited that I ‘didn’t die’… maybe she doesn’t need to know I’m actually dead. Sort of. That leads to the other thing my thoughts were trying to steer towards… What am I? Am I alive now? Or dead? Am I a zombie? What are the rules? Am I going to start craving brains? But everytime one of these questions popped into my head, I wrapped the coat that I had grabbed on the way out around me tighter, ignoring the questions and carrying on with my journey. I’m glad I grabbed the coat, it was warm. Although… as I was trying to keep my body from getting colder, I realised I wasn’t exactly feeling the cold like I used to. More and more deserted streets, only the odd car passing by… the city seemed just as dead as I was as I slowly made my way across town to my friend’s house. I was getting close at this point, and figuring that it was so deserted… I opted to take a shortcut down an alley. I was pretty sure it would save me having to walk all the way down the street and round, but I wasn’t certain. Usually when I visited my friend, I’d park up outside her apartment, I wouldn’t normally walk. “Hello hello hello…” A sinister voice echoed throughout the alley, making my whole body tense up and freeze in place. Echoes of laughter, multiple people all laughing, followed the voice as I heard clambering from nearby. Something in the shadows was moving about… “Look at this tasty little morsel… walking straight to us…” There was the voice again. “It’s like a takeaway delivery!” Another, slightly more erratic voice, spoke up. “What do we do with her?” This time it was a more feminine voice. “We share, of course. We are a family after all…” “Uhh…” I tried speaking, but found my throat had frozen up too. That’s when they appeared. Dropping down in front of me, like the fucking caped crusader, their long coats billowing out as they hit the ground, three shadowy figures stood up at the same time, looking at me in the eyes like I was prey. The middle one was the tallest, with long, blonde hair and a bit of a beard. The one on the right was a much shorter guy with short, dark hair and more of a pig-face, and the one on the left was an attractive young woman with what looked to be… gothy makeup? Like… that was a new-ish thing, and she had gone all in with dark clothes, dark hair… dark makeup. “Don’t worry, sweetheart… we won’t bite… much.” The middle, much taller, thug said, smiling grotesquely at me, revealing what looked to be… fangs? Looking at the other two… they too showed their teeth… their… fangs. My heart was racing at this point. I couldn’t run… I’m not exactly the fittest person. I couldn’t fight… I could barely fight my way out of a paper bag, despite how feisty I can be. So fight AND flight were off the table. All that was left was… nothing. Three figures, all wearing long, dark coats, licking their lips at the sight of me… “Wait… she… smells off…” The other male figure said, looking me up and down. “I…” “Yeah… something’s wrong with her…” “Oh god… she pissed herself… literally…” The woman said in disgust, pointing down to my jeans. I looked down to see that she wasn’t lying… there was a darker patch on my jeans, around my crotch… which begged the question… Why hadn’t I noticed? “Ewww! Seriously? Way to ruin a good meal!” The pig-faced man cried out. “No… it’s more than that…” The middle one interjected, “She’s… tainted…” The other two sniffed the air around me, before backing off a bit. “Oh… eww.. Yeah… Maybe we should avoid this one, boss?” “You’re lucky, kid…” Said the middle guy, before waving his hand and rushing off past me, with the other two quickly following him, leaving me alone in the alleyway once again. Standing in a puddle of my own piss. I broke down crying on the floor, kneeling in the puddle I had created. What the hell is wrong with me? What the hell is happening? Who the fuck were those three? They looked at me like I was prey, like I was… a meal? And then they said I was… tainted? What do they mean by tainted? Thoughts were crashing together, as I was trying to make sense of everything that had just happened. It felt like the world was swirling around me, and everything was overwhelming me. That was until a car a street away beeped its horn, pulling me out of my spiral. “I… need to get to my friend’s… I need… I need to figure this all out…” I said to myself, pulling myself up, looking down at my sodden jeans in disgust as I hoped to God that my friend had some spare clothes, as well as a place to crash. Standing there, outside her apartment door, I took a deep breath. What was I going to say? ‘Hey, I need a place to crash after my girlfriend turned out to be a Witch and resurrected me as an adult baby and now I’ve pissed my pants so can I borrow some of yours?’ wasn’t going to cut it. I’d have to think of a cover story. I can do that when I need it, if I start to come up with it now I’ll just forget it by the time they ask. Exhaling my breath, with my hand up in the air, I nervously knocked on the hard wooden door. “Who the fuck is…” I heard, just before the door opened. “Wait…” She stood there, in her natural state of pyjamas and a blanket, staring at me. “Umm… I know this is a shock…” “SUSIE?” She cried out, lunging forward and wrapping her arms around me, squeezing the life out of me… whatever was actually there anyway. “Hey Lucy…” I replied, glad that she hadn’t instantly grabbed a pitchfork or screamed in fear. “What… what the hell… how?” She asked, frantically looking me up and down. “I… umm… it’s a long story. Can… Can I come in?” I asked, awkwardly as my friend looked down at my soaked jeans. “Of course, come in, come in!” She said, waving me in as I shuffled past her, into her small, dark, apartment. “Sit down… let me put the kettle on.” Her apartment was just how it was the last time I was here, which I must admit… was far too long ago. After moving in with Beth and everything… I’ve just not had much time to spend with friends, which just made me feel even more of a bad friend as I walked into the dark living space that Lucy called home. The walls were black, the furniture was black, but at least she had the odd splash of red here and there. Lucy definitely had a theme going… darkness. She always loved this aesthetic, her side of our room at university was always dark and covered in dark cloth sheets, creating a sort of… tent? Honestly… it was kind of like the old blanket forts I used to make as a kid, though a lot more… colourless. She had this morbid fascination with dark things. At first I thought she was some kind of satanic freak, but as soon as she opens her mouth… She has the cutest, sweetest little voice that just drops her whole ‘dark, edgy’ visage in seconds. Like… no one that cute could be that evil. It wasn’t until I suggested throwing in some bits of red into both her clothing choices and her living space, that she would often be seen surrounded by only black things. Like… she was obsessed with it. That was until she got obsessed with this new craze… video games… ========================================================= Oh look! Doesn't this new addition seem familiar too? 😊 I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Yay 😊 I'm glad you figured it out! The cult from Infernum? They had pretentious names but none were named Garth. At least I'm pretty sure they weren't. I'm glad you're enjoying it though! He wanted it baaaaad. Pretty sure Garths fate has been revealed already 😊 I doubt we've seen the last of Death too. They probably aren't happy right now. I hope you enjoy the answers to the rest of your questions when they're revealed in future chapters, and im so happy youre enjoying it so far 😊 😊 I'm sure we'll find out soon.

Chapter 10: Three Weeks Ago... Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess I stood there, at the door, waiting. I knew this was stupid, but… I wanted to do it anyway. So with a small bouquet of flowers in hand, I waited patiently as I heard footsteps walking up to the front door. “Who is it?” She called out through the door. “Me…” I replied. “Susie?” “Yeah…” “Did you forget your key?” Beth asked, unlocking the door. “Umm… yes?” I lied. “One of these days I’m going to…” As she opened the door, she saw the flowers and went silent instantly, putting her hands up to her mouth. “...For me?” “Uh huh!” I thrust the bouquet of black dahlias forwards, towards Beth, who was all dolled up in her best black dress and makeup. “Happy Anniversary!” “Oh baby… my favourites! Thank you! Now come in, before you catch a cold.” Walking in, scraping my boots on the mat before taking them off and placing them on the little rack, I then closed the door and took off my coat. “These must not have been easy to get…” Beth said, walking off to the kitchen… where I could smell something was cooking. “Worth it though…” I shouted back, unsure as if she could hear me from the kitchen. “Is… is that…?” “Dinner? Me cooking specifically for our anniversary? Why yes! Yes it is!” She smiled as she popped into the doorway, leaning against the wood with her arms crossed. “So I guess we’re both pretty good girlfriends…” “Wait, does that mean…” “Yes, I’m cooking your favourite. And we have a really yummy dessert for after too.” “Dinner AND dessert? Oh Beth… it’s as if you know me…” I purred at her. “I mean we have been dating for a year… though it feels like much longer than that.” I knew what she meant. It had only been a year since she asked me out and cooked me dinner, the same meal we’re having tonight, but it felt… like we had been together our whole lives. I loved spending time with this girl. Every morning was a blessing to see her gorgeous face snoring, and every night was an absolute joy as I snuggled in her arms as we fell asleep together. It felt like I had found my soulmate, as silly as that sounds. “I love you, Beth.” “I love you too, Susie. Now… get comfortable. The table is already set, and dinner will be ready in about ten minutes.” “Kay!” I replied, getting myself comfortable and preparing my tummy for the feast that was waiting in the kitchen. I sat at our dining table, waiting patiently. Beth had told me to sit here, as she was just dishing it out now. “Here we go…” She said, shuffling out of the kitchen with a plate in either hand. “For the special girl…” As she was placing the plate in front of me, the doorbell rang suddenly. “Oh who the Hell is calling at this time?” She said, her tone suddenly changing. I couldn’t blame her… we were hoping for a nice, quiet, peaceful anniversary night… and now someone had to come and disturb us. Placing the other plate in front of where she was going to sit, Beth then walked off, towards the front door. “Who is it?” She yelled through the front door. “Garth.” Came a voice from the other side of it. “Seriously?” She sighed, shaking her head in disbelief. “Who’s Garth?” I asked. “A… person from work.” ‘A person from work? From her accountancy job? I… why is he bothering her here?’ “Please… let me just speak to you…” Garth shouted through the door. Opening the door angrily, Beth looked at the scrawny little guy with shaggy hair, glasses, and a long, black trenchcoat and growled. “Seriously? You’re coming to my home now?” Beth yelled angrily at the guy. “Please! I’m begging you!” He whined. “No. My answer is no. Now please leave!” She yelled at him. That’s when he looked past her… at me. “Wait… is this… is this a dinner? Wait… are you… are you teaching HER?” “That… is my girlfriend. And we were just about to have a delightful meal… but we were RUDELY interrupted…” “So you’ll teach HER, but not ME?” Garth snapped back. “I told you, the answer is NO. Now leave… before…” “Wait… so she’s your girlfriend?” He asked her. “Why? Is that a problem?” “No… I don’t have a problem with lezzas…” I wanted to punch this guy in the throat at this point. “But does she know about…” “BACK. OFF.” Beth growled. I had never seen her so angry at someone before. “Aww… you haven’t told her yet.” “Haven’t told me… what?” I asked, curious about what this strange man was talking about. Did he know something about Beth that I didn’t? I thought Beth and I told each other everything… “That she’s a fucking kinky freak!” He shouted at me. Beth was preparing to introduce her fist to this guy’s jaw, but I knew that wouldn’t end well, so I quickly got out of my seat and shuffled over to the front door. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Ignore him, he’s…” Beth held her arm out to stop me getting closer. “She wants to put you in nappies and treat you like a baby!” Replied Garth. “Wait… what?” I laughed. But as I looked at Beth… I could see it plastered on her face. The slight blush whenever she’s ashamed and anxious… “She’s into the whole ‘adult baby’ thing. She wants to put you in nappies, make you her baby…” He looked so fucking proud of himself at this point, making me want to introduce my fist to his jaw. “YOU FUCKING JERK!” Beth shot out her hand… but instead of clocking his jaw like I was expecting, she opened her hand out as she thrust forward… and a shockwave knocked him back onto his ass, onto the gravel outside. “What the…” Garth looked terrified, before getting up and rummaging around his coat pocket, no doubt for the keys he produced to get back into his car that was parked up outside our house. “YOU’LL PAY FOR THAT, WITCH!” He shouted, starting his car with a bit of a splutter and a bang, before driving off quickly down the street. “B… Beth…?” I turned to her as she shut the front door. “I…” Beth just looked down at the floor, looking… ashamed. “Firstly… What the hell was that? And secondly… was anything he said… true?” “I…” I had never seen her so anxious or nervous before. Ever since I met her a couple of years ago, even before we started dating, she always felt… in control. Like she was the most confident, courageous person I had ever known. She always took control of the situation, often solving all problems and making sure everyone was happy and everything was okay. The amount of times she had helped me… she almost felt… …Maternal. ‘Oh God… wait… so…’ “What did he mean by ‘adult baby’? And what came from your hand to knock him back like that?” I asked. “Susie… I…” “TELL ME!” “I… was going to tell you eventually…” “TELL ME WHAT?” “Fucking asshole ruined everything…” “Don’t blame him! You’ve been keeping stuff from me! Now tell me!” I yelled at her. “I’m a Witch, okay? I’m a fucking Witch!” She screamed. “Like… broomsticks, black cats, magic spells…?” “I mean… I have a car; broomsticks are a little 17th century… and I thought it best to ask you before we got a cat… but yes, spells and all that.” “And you’re only just telling me now? Wait… if Garth hadn’t come along, when would you have told me?” “I… was planning on… very soon.” “And what about the baby stuff? He said you were a ‘kinky freak’. And that you wanted an ‘adult baby’. What does that mean…” “I… that I was…” “Wait… were you even intending to tell me about that? Is it something about chil…” “NO! Hell no. I just… Look… I…” “What else have you been keeping from me, eh?” “Nothing! I just…” My thoughts and feelings were all over the place. I was weirded out by the talk of baby stuff. And I was scared by the whole ‘my girlfriend can cast magic spells’ thing. But what hurt more… was that she didn’t trust me enough to tell me. Even after a year of us dating… “I’m going for a drive.” I said, grabbing my keys by the side of the front door, slipping my boots on. I needed time to think and process this. “But what about… dinner?” Beth asked, pointing to the table with the food that was quickly getting cold. “Eat it yourself. And whilst you’re at it, think about what else you haven’t told me. I need… I need to process things.” “Susan… please…” But before she could stop me, I grabbed my coat and walked out the front door, slamming it behind me. The weather was cloudy earlier, when I was at the flower shop, and I could see the skies getting darker as I got home… But now? Now it was thunder and lightning everywhere. It's as if the skies had opened and let all the rain out at once. Heavy raindrops hit my windshield as if it was hailing. My windscreen wipers were working overtime here as they struggled to clear the water from my view as I drove down the empty, winding, suburban road. “How could she not tell me… I mean… the baby thing… she was clearly into it. You could see it on her face. So like… she wants me in nappies? Like a baby? What else does she want to do with me? Like… how… what…” I ranted to myself as I put my foot down on the pedal. All my thoughts and feelings were trying to come forward at the same time, causing a jumble of thoughts and emotions as the disgust I felt towards her… ‘kink’... the betrayal of not telling me any of this in the year we’ve been dating… I thought we had no secrets! And then there’s the fact that MAGIC IS REAL! Holy fucking… like… magic… actual magic… I had like a billion questions regarding that subject. Feeling betrayed, feeling emotional, feeling… like I didn’t even know the woman I loved… my ‘soulmate’... I was upset. I felt betrayed. I felt angry. I felt disgusted. I felt everything, all at once, as I put my foot on the pedal, trying to squint through the stream of water that obscured my view of the road. It didn’t help that the tears running down my face were also making it harder to see the road in front of me. All I could see was little rays of light shining through as I passed the occasional car or lamppost, but thankfully it was mostly empty… and I could still make out the road, or at least the general path it was taking. That was… until a blinding light came from behind, reflecting in my rear view mirror directly into my eyes. Whichever jerk it was behind me had his headlights on full beam, making my eyes hurt and squint even more, which made trying to concentrate on the road even harder. At this point… I couldn’t see the road at all. My shitty little car was trying its best to keep up with the torrential rain covering my windscreen, the blinding light was hurting my eyes and the car started swerving a bit. My heart was racing. I was losing control. Everything was happening all at once… When suddenly the light that was blinding me… stopped. As my eyes adjusted to see what had happened, where the intense light had gone… as my vision came into focus and I could see once again, I heard a rev of an engine coming from my side, but a bit behind me. Turning to my passenger side, I saw a car trying to overtake me. I hoped that prick would hurry up and overtake me, but as he sped up alongside me… he stopped at the same speed I was travelling… right next to my car. Upon closer inspection… it was Garth, in what looked like a black SUV. The same guy who ruined my evening. The same guy who had some mysterious connection to Beth. The same guy who apparently knew Beth better than I did… My hands gripped onto the steering wheel in anger, squeezing until it started hurting. This guy… this guy had ruined a perfectly good anniversary. The best I’ve ever had. No… not just him… Beth too… for keeping secrets from me. “What the fuck does this guy want?” I asked out loud to myself. “I SHOULD HAVE BEEN TAUGHT! SHE SHOULD HAVE PICKED ME!” Garth yelled from his car, his windows wide open as the rain poured down. “FUCK OFF, CREEP!” I yelled back. “FUCKING DYKES!” He screamed, twisting his arms, rotating the steering wheel clockwise, making his wheel turn… towards me. The much larger SUV collided with my shitty little hatchback and caused me to lose all control of the vehicle as I was pushed off the side of the road, onto the pavement, heading directly for a lamppost. And at that moment, it was just as people had said in movies and stuff… though it wasn’t my whole life flashing before my eyes. All I saw… was Beth. None of the stuff before I met her… just her. All the happy moments, and the sad ones. And that’s when I felt it… …Regret. But it was too late to worry about that now, especially as the front of my car ploughed into the lamppost, the metal frame of my shitty little hatchback wrapping itself around the pole as I was launched from my seat, the impact throwing me forward, through the glass pane in front of me. As the glass shattered, I felt weightless as I was flung through the air, past the lamppost and well away from my car, to the cold, wet grass on the side of the road. Everything flashed white for a second, and suddenly… I was sitting on the pavement nearby, watching my totaled car… with an empty… hollow feeling… ========================================================= Ruh roh. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 9: Death Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “You have NO idea how hard it was to get in!” The voice boomed through the basement, making us all stand still in fear. The only thing you could hear was their voice, their heavy footsteps… and the slight crinkle of my underwear as I shuffled about on the spot. “What… What do we do?” Mama asked Auntie. “We pray to whatever God we think will help us.” Auntie replied. “Considering you pissed off the big one by being friends with his daughter… that only leaves us with a few hundred more. And I’m pretty sure our family has pissed off most of them.” Beatrice held her hand out backwards and Mama clutched on to it. They seemed really scared of this ominous stranger, but I personally… had no idea what all the fuss was about. I could sense their fear, but I felt none of my own as a black-robed figure descended the stairs. And upon first glimpse… seeing only her boots… I felt… something familiar about this stranger. “Whose idea was it to put runes everywhere? Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get in when you’ve put runes up?” The voice said as their body showed now… their robe dissolving into nothingness, revealing familiar denim jeans and denim jacket… along with a white top and biker boots. The sleeves were rolled up as were the pant legs. And when their face came into view… I… I knew that blonde hair from somewhere… “I…” Auntie was trying to speak, but couldn’t. “Oh… it’s you two.” The ambiguously-gendered figure said, sighing and bringing their hand to their forehead in disappointment. “I…” Mama too tried to speak, but she seemed lost for words. “Of course it’s you two. Your fucking family… have been the bane of my long… long existence for a while now. That damn Granny of yours… she really didn’t want to die, did she?” “I…” “And your craft? I see you skipped a generation… but who thought it was a good idea to bring it back, eh? Who’s bright idea was it that maybe the dead SHOULDN’T rest?” ‘The… dead?’ Mama went to pull something out of her back pocket, something tucked away… as did Auntie Trixie… but before they could pull whatever it was out, the familiar blonde figure waved their hand in front of them. “Oh no. Don’t even think about it…” They said. Suddenly Mama and Auntie stood completely still, unable to move. You could see them struggling to move, but for some reason, they just couldn’t. “I… can’t move…” Mama said. “Me neither…” Auntie replied. “You’re lucky it’s not your time yet. But for all this difficulty… I just want to say I’m going to enjoy reaping you when your sand has run out.” The figure said as they walked up to Mama and put their hand up to Mama’s hair, twirling it gently in their fingers. “So… I suppose you know why I’m here? Let me remind you. Three weeks ago, I was going about my business, reaping souls, sending those who had passed off to their respective afterlives. When suddenly… at a funeral… someone grabbed the soul I was just about to send off, and dragged it away...” Mama looked terrified at this point, and I started to worry. If Mama is scared, then something bad must be happening. “Then when I tried to locate the missing soul… not only could I not find it… but when I did eventually track it down, thanks to cashing in a few favours people owed me, I found I could not get to it. So tell me… do you have any idea about this?” They asked Mama as they walked slowly around her and Auntie. “I… fuck you.” Mama said. “Oh such language! How about the other one? Do you have any idea?” “Get… fucked.” Auntie replied. “How about…” The figure turned to me, as I sat in the playpen, holding on to Rupert for dear life. “Oh…” Their shoulders slumped and their head tilted to the side slightly as they stared into my eyes… as if into my very soul. “Oh sweetie… What did they do to you?” The stranger said in a soft, almost maternal, voice. Walking over to the playpen and opening it up, they knelt down in front of me and smiled, and suddenly I felt… less terrified. Like… they had an aura of calming around them… “Is this… is this what you did with it?” They asked, turning to Mama. “I… didn’t mean…” Mama replied. “Amateur necromancers… Seriously, you guys are the worst.” The figure said before turning back to face me. “Are you okay, sweetie?” “I… uh huh…” I responded, still clutching on to Rupert. “Do you know where you are?” “I… home.” “But do you know… what happened?” “Umm… wha happened?” I asked. “So let me guess… no memory? Complete devotion? Obsession?” The stranger sighed and turned to Mama. “You stupid girl. Can’t even do a simple raising spell properly. I’ve seen this before. That’s okay. I’ll fix this, I’ll take her where she needs to be…” Mama and Auntie started struggling even more against their invisible bonds, as if they were panicking about something, whereas the ominous blonde stranger just… smiled at me as they lifted their arm up slowly, raising it towards my head. “This won’t hurt. I promise. But it’s your time, sweetie.” It sounded almost reassuring… but I was starting to worry they were going to take me away from Mama… Inch by inch, their finger got closer and closer to my head, until it was almost touching it… …Then… …Nothing. This strange person started poking my head gently. Then they started poking a bit more vigorously. They were clearly waiting for something to happen, but it just… wasn’t. And they were getting very frustrated. “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?” They said, falling backwards onto their bum, crossing their legs and holding their head in their hands. “What the Hell did you do to this poor girl?” “I… didn’t…” Mama replied. “Well whatever you did, I can’t bloody reap her!” The stranger just sat there and sighed, thinking to themselves as they looked at me. It was as if I could see the cogs turning in their head; they were trying to figure something out. “Right. Now I’m really pissed. Not only did you mess everything up, and then make me waste all this time and effort to get in here… but now I can’t reverse what you’ve done. Yet.” I felt tears forming in the corners of my eyes. They were angry, Mama and Auntie were scared… everything was… too much. “Oh sweetie! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you cry. Are you okay?” The stranger got up and shuffled over to me, kneeling down next to me and holding me in their arms. “What… What am I going to do with you? Poor dear. You must be terrified. Not knowing what’s going…” They stopped mid-sentence. As if something came to them. “If I can’t take you now… I’ll find a way, believe me. But for now… let me give your ‘Mummy’ a little gift…” They said, grinning at me. I felt really uneasy at this point… Waving their hand at Mama and Auntie, the two statue-like forms of the people I loved most turned to face me suddenly, but still stayed completely frozen on the spot. “This is my promise to all of you… I’ll be back. Have fun with this little… gift…” The stranger closed their eyes and put their palm against my head. A cold feeling radiated from their hand, which I first felt on my forehead, but that coldness quickly spread not only around my head… but through it. And just as the cold feeling encompassed my whole head… everything went black. “Susie?” My head was swirling. Thoughts… feelings… everything was just a jumbled mess right now. I struggled to even open my eyes as I clutched onto the furry, cuddly thing in my arms. “Susie? Are you there?” “Open your eyes, baby…” I stayed there for a good ten seconds or so, letting my head slowly calm down, until it felt… balanced again. Opening my eyes… I looked up to see the familiar blonde face from the night I… …from the night I died. “D… Death?” I replied. “There she is!” They said, smiling down at me. “I… what… what happened?” I asked. “I think you know what happened.” “The car… the accident… the funeral…” “Yes… and?” They asked. “Oh God… I… was pulled away. Shoved back into my body. Then… the obsession… the craving… the devotion…” “There we go.” “WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?” Beth shouted at Death. “Just… rebooted her a little.” “B… Beth?” I said, looking up at my girlfriend… “Susan?” She replied. “Is… is that you?” “I… remember… everything.” I replied. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” She cried out, tears forming in her eyes as she sobbed, still frozen in place by whatever Death did to her. “Beatrice…” I said, turning to face my girlfriend’s sister. “You…” “Hey kiddo. Glad to see you’re back. But please… don’t…” She began to apologise but something was off… something about me… something… “UGH! I’M STILL WEARING THIS SHIT!” I screamed, quickly standing up onto my feet. I was about to tear off this fucking nappy and this ridiculous babyish outfit before I realised if I had done that… I’d be naked in front of two women and a personification of Death. “Can… Can I get some normal clothes on?” “Go ahead. I need to have a chat with your girlfriend…” Death said, waving me off as I walked away, dropping the ridiculous teddy bear in my arms and storming off past these two… witches or whatever they were… and towards the basement stairs. Going to our bedroom, I found a crop top and some jeans, along with some underwear, and quickly tore the ridiculous-looking nappy and baby stuff off myself, throwing it to the floor, before getting dressed in my normal adult clothing and slipping some shoes on. “Three weeks. THREE WEEKS of this baby shit. I…” I needed to have a strong word with Beth. Like… how she brought me back, what she is, and why the Hell was I so obsessed with being her baby for the past three weeks. Taking a deep breath and staring at myself in the mirror, I thought back to everything that had happened. A month ago… none of this was known to me. I had never thought necromancers were real, especially not my girlfriend and her fucking sister being part of that group. I had never given a shit about the afterlife or even thought about ever meeting THE Death. I had never known about magic or thought I’d ever be raised from death. My life was… was… normal! I had a boring job at a coffee shop… which I doubt they’d take me back now after I saw them at my funeral. I dated a seemingly normal girl, even if she did turn out to be a fucking wizard or whatever the fuck she is. I was normal! And the worst part… was this baby stuff. That too wasn’t part of my ‘normal’ life. My girlfriend was normal, I was normal, our lives were normal even if to most people we were just ‘friends’. I mean hey, it’s the 80s… maybe in the future we’ll get accepted more but right now we kept our relationship under wraps. I had heard of people having kinks before. Feet, crossdressing… you know… the weird things. At least I thought they were weird… But to be dressed as a baby? To be cared for and humiliated and made to wear baby clothes and wet and mess adult-sized nappies? Like… WHAT THE FUCK? And then… for the past three weeks I… Letting out a long sigh, I turned and stormed off… towards the basement for answers. “Much better.” Death said, looking at me as they sat on a stool they had pulled up in front of my frozen girlfriend and her sister. “Thanks.” I replied, fixing my top. “Now… I’ve been having a chat with these two… and neither are cooperative.” “Huh?” I asked. “I’m trying to find out how they kept me from reaping you.” “Wait… so you want…” “To take you away from this plane of existence, yes.” “What… what if I don’t want to go?” Death’s face turned serious for a second as they stood up and slid the stool away to the side of the basement without even touching the damn thing. “Look, I can let the occasional spirit stick around. Not too many, otherwise the world would go to shit. I can even give vampires and the others a pass, as they’re special cases. But you… you’re not meant to be here.” “When I was dead, I was happy to let you take me somewhere better. But… I’m alive again.” “Only sort of…” Death interrupted. “Fine, whatever. Undead. But the important thing is… I’m here, not a spirit. I have a body and I’m somewhat alive. Who says I want to go yet?” “But…” “No, shut the fuck up.” I couldn’t believe I had just told Death themself to shut up. I looked up at Beth and Bea. Beth’s eyes couldn’t keep eye contact with me. She knew she had fucked up and she was too scared now to even look me in the eye. Bea though… she was shifting her eyes in a rapid motion to the side… as if pointing at something. “But you can’t stay. This isn’t supposed to be how it goes.” Death said. “Show me where I’m supposed to die.” I said. “Show me where it is written that I must be dead.” I thought I was calling their bluff, but suddenly they produced a large tome in their hands and opened it up, flicking through the pages. Putting my surprise aside for a second, I looked to the side of the basement, where Beatrice was trying to point her eyes to and saw a symbol… painted in red… on the wall. Looking back to Bea, she was mouthing something… ‘tut it’? To… Tou… OH WAIT, TOUCH IT! Despite what Beth had done to me, Bea was always trustworthy… so I quickly turned around and pressed my hand against the symbol on the wall. A flash of light filled the room, blinding everyone… And when the light died down… when the room returned to normal… Beth and Bea were rubbing their eyes… …And Death was gone. ========================================================= Eeeeeee you're gonna get a bit of backstory next chapter! Exciting!!!!! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!

Chapter 8: Babysitting Parum Mortis – LittleFallenPrincess “How was it?” “How was what? Changing my sister’s adult baby’s nappy?” Auntie said, looking at Mama with disdain. She was still clearly unimpressed with Mama for whatever reason. “...It was fine. She’s an absolute delight, aren’t you, Princess?” As she tickled my tummy, whilst she carried me back into the living room where Mama waited for us, I couldn’t help but giggle and squirm in her arms as she went and sat down next to Mama. “Again, this wasn’t my plan.” Mama responded. “But you still ended up with things the way you wanted… like always…” Auntie sighed. “Hey! That’s not fair!” Just because I inherited Grandma’s place doesn’t mean you were left empty handed!” “I got her cauldron. Big whoop. Totally better than a fucking building… oops, flipping building…” Auntie quickly corrected herself after using such a naughty word. “And all her recipes. Even her secret ones.” “Still… not a building.” Trixie rolled her eyes at Mama. “Whatever. Just… give me my baby…” Mama reached over and went to grab me, before Auntie Trixie pulled me away. “I don’t think so… Not just yet. Auntie is getting some time with her ‘baby niece’. Plus you need to reinforce those runes as soon as possible with Esther’s ones.” “That means…” “Going to her place, yes. All her books are still there, so you better go get them, and quickly.” “What about…?” Mama asked. “I’ll look after her.” Replied Auntie Trixie, much to everyone’s surprise. “You’ll… babysit? Oh my god… you… babysitting…” Mama giggled. “Hey! What’s so funny about the idea of me babysitting?” Auntie whined back. “Just… you’re not the most maternal…” “Nonsense…” Auntie huffed. “Cousin Trevor? You were to babysit him that one time and you forgot about him, so much so that he nearly fell into one of Esther’s potions. If I hadn’t checked in on you both, we’d have spent weeks trying to separate Trevor from the potion.” “One mistake. I was like ten! I don’t know if you realised this yet, but I’m an adult now…” “Barely…” Mama teased her. “Hey! You’re minutes older than me. Trust me Beth, I’ll take care of her. Just… be quick, okay?” “Are… are you sure? I mean… everytime I try to leave she gets…” “Possessive?” “Yeah…” “I thought so. Look, just be quick. I’ll make sure she’s happy and looked after. We’ll have lots of fun, won’t we, little Princess?” Auntie Trixie looked down to ask me. “Uh huh! Lots of fun!” I replied, smiling up at her, then at Mama. “Are you sure? I could stay and you go…” Mama said to Auntie Trixie, but Auntie Trixie quickly cut her off. “Beth… go. I’ll be fine. Susie will be fine. Now go, get the book, and come back… before I adopt this little cutie for myself.” Auntie tickled me again, making me giggle more. “Fine. But use your crystal if you need me.” “I know, I will. Don’t you worry. Now get going!” Auntie Trixie had placed me on the floor in front of the TV whilst she shuffled Mama out of the front door as quickly as possible. As for the reason why she was so rushed to get Mama to leave… I had no idea. “There. Gone. Finally.” “You okay, Auntie?” I asked her. “Yeah. More importantly… How are you? Now that she’s gone, that is.” Auntie asked me. “I… miss her. It… it hurts a bit.” “I figured. Don’t worry though, sweetie, your Mummy will be back as soon as possible with a book that will help keep you safe!” “I always safe when Mama here!” “I wish that were true, little one.” “You silly!” I replied, smiling up at her. “I am silly, aren’t I? So why don’t we be silly together? It’s a lot more fun!” “Otay! How we do dat?” I asked as Auntie sat down on the floor, opposite me. “How about… I ask you a bunch of questions?” “Dat… doesn’t sound silly.” “I know, and they’re not, but they’re super duper important and allow us to be silly together after!” “Otay den!” “So firstly… how are you doing, little Princess?” She asked, reaching out and holding my hand in hers. “I otay.” “Really? You don’t miss being an adult at all?” “Me? An adult? I thought you said these questions weren’t silly!” “Okay then… second question. What do you remember before… three weeks ago?” “I…” I tried thinking back. I could remember the past three weeks vividly. But I couldn’t remember anything before then. Not clearly anyway. It was like… a fog covered all the images in my mind. “What about… these scars? Do you remember getting these?” She asked, pointing to my legs and arms… and face. “I… umm…” Flashes of memory invaded my mind, just like the last time. But it still wasn’t clear. I couldn’t make out what they were when I thought of my scars. Clutching my head as the pain flowed through it, Auntie Trixie started to worry. She jumped up onto her knees and leant forward, holding my arms and trying to calm me down. “Baby… it’s okay… you don’t have to think about it right now. Just focus on my voice. I’m sorry for making you think about it. Come on… come back to me…” She said, rubbing my arms to try to get me to calm down. “I… I…” “Toys! Why don’t you tell me which your favourite toy is?” She asked, changing the subject. “Toy… toy… I… I like toys…” “Yeah! I bet you do, a good little girl like you must love toys! So which is your favourite?” The pain started to subside as I looked into Auntie’s eyes, her compassion… her warmth… it was so similar to Mama’s… “I… like… my big cuddly bear. He makes me feel super small and happy.” “The big brown one? I saw him in your nursery! He looks very cuddly.” “He is!” I replied, excitedly. “What’s his name?” “Rupert!” “Rupert… but isn’t he the one with the scarf…?” “Dey can have the same name, dey jus different bears, silly!” I explained. Adults just wouldn’t understand it. “Ah, I see. Well Rupert is very lovely. Why don’t I go get him, then we can do something silly and fun?” “I… otay…” Auntie Trixie got up and walked off, leaving me alone again. The pain from Mama being so far away was starting to get worse, but thankfully Auntie came back with Rupert, sitting him down next to me. The pain was still there… but now it wasn’t as bad. I instantly reached out and grabbed Rupert, pulling him closer as I squeezed the stuffing out of him. “That’s better. Okay sweetie, no more delving back into memories. Can I ask you a few questions regarding your feelings?” Auntie Trixie asked. “I… uh… will it hurt?” “Hopefully not, but I can’t promise anything.” “Otay. I trust you, Auntie.” “Aww, I’m glad. I’m always going to protect you, sweetie. Always have, always will.” I felt a warmth in my heart as she said those words. As if I had heard them before… But I hadn’t seen her in a long time… “But maybe we leave it for now, I don’t want to put you through that again.” Wrapping her arms around both me and Rupert, she cuddled us tightly and kissed my forehead. “So, how about we just cuddle for a bit whilst we wait for your Mummy?” “I’d like dat!” I replied, watching Auntie Trixie shuffle around so she was leaning against the sofa. As soon as she was comfortable, I snuggled up next to her, with Rupert between my legs, and rested my head on her shoulder. “So what movie are we watching?” We watched the same movie me and Mama watched previously, as neither of us wanted to get up to change the VHS. We were too comfy. If the remote control wasn’t within reach… I’m not sure we would have watched anything and would have just sat there, snuggling in silence. It was then that I heard a car pull up outside. “Mama!” I called out. “I guess my babysitting duty is done…” Auntie said, getting up and stretching, before walking over to the door. Before Mama could put her keys in to unlock the door, Auntie opened it for her. And I’m not sure what was going on, but Auntie looked terrified, as did Mama as she rushed into the house clutching an old, large book. Outside looked… dark again, like before. But before I could lean over and get a better look, Auntie shut the door quickly, locking it properly. “Shit… when did it…?” Auntie asked Mama. “YOU DIDN’T NOTICE?” Mama responded, yelling at Trixie. “No, you had the curtains shut and I was too busy watching a movie with your little one.” “It was here when I arrived. Had to fight my way through the shadow to get to the front door.” “Round two then? Did you get the book?” Auntie asked. “I think this one has her runes in it.” Mama held out the large book to Auntie, who opened its pages and scanned through them, one by one. “Looks like it. Why don’t you go prepare the ingredients, and I’ll get the little one safe?” “Fine. I’ll be in the basement. Bring her down with us, I think that’s the safest place for her, with us.” Mama suggested. “You sure? If we’re trapped down there…” “Then it’s better than being trapped up here with… that.” “I guess. But what about…?” “Food? Water? I’ve got a bit down there, but all it does is buy us a bit of time to read through Esther’s book to see if there’s a way to banish Death… at least for a while, hopefully giving us enough time to get out and away from the house.” “I guess that’s our best option. Although…” Auntie trailed off. “Although what?” “Have… have you tried… talking… to it?” “TALKING? SERIOUSLY?” Mama yelled as Auntie Trixie bent down and picked me up, lifting me into her arms and carrying me closely behind Mama as they both walked towards the door at the back of the house. “Seriously. Maybe… you could come to some sort of… deal? I mean my friend does it all the time.” “This isn’t the Lord of Hell though, Beth. It’s freaking Death! “But…” “No. Not even an option. I’m not letting them take her. Now get in the basement.” Mama opened the door and shooed Auntie and me through, before following us and closing the door behind us, locking it. And not a moment too soon. I heard glass shatter on the other side of the door, along with a large crash, right where we had just come from. “Quickly… we need to get these runes on!” Mama ordered, rushing us down the steps quickly. Auntie carried me over to a corner in the basement, where a small playpen was set up. As if… Mama was expecting this. Because I had never seen that playpen before. “Buh… buh Rupert!” I yelled as I was placed into the playpen. “Rupert will be fine, sweetie. I bet if you think about him, think about hugging him… holding him… his soft fur…” Auntie said, trying to reassure me. So I did just that. I imagined his soft, brown fur rubbing against my face. His stuffing that always made the bestest pillow. His little nose that I loved to press mine against. And as if by magic… he appeared, in my arms! “Beatrice?” Mama asked. “Just a little spell. So that she never loses him. I cast it on him earlier, when I went to grab him.” “That… that’s pretty clever. Thank you. Now get over here and help.” Mama ordered. Auntie Trixie looked down at me and winked at me. “Fank yoo!” I said, not quite understanding what had happened and why Rupert suddenly appeared out of nowhere when I thought about him, but I did know that it was thanks to my Auntie. “You’re very welcome, Princess. Be a good girl for a bit, your Mummy and I have a bit of work to do, okay?” “Otay!” I said, snuggling into the soft, brown fur of Rupert, giving him a massive cuddle as Auntie walked off to where Mama was currently reading. “So if we paint that rune on the door… then that one on…” Mama was suddenly cut off as something crashed upstairs. “What… what was…” Auntie asked, both of them looking towards the stairs, the only way in and out of this basement. “FINALLY!” A booming voice came from the top of the stairs, along with the thud of heavy feet as they descended the stairs slowly, one massive step at a time. Mama quickly stood in front of me, with her arms open wide, as if shielding me from whatever was coming down the stairs. “We were too late…” Auntie said, stepping in front of Mama, doing the same to her. ========================================================= Ruh roh! I'm glad you all recognised who 'Auntie Trixie' is! Are the pieces fitting together yet? I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! Thank you to all my patrons for their support! Don't forget, the remaining chapters are available on my Patreon which can be found here if you go for the second tier. New chapters of Parum Mortis every Wednesday/Sunday! Also just a quick note: I don't mind people saving this story for personal reading. But I'd appreciate it if people didn't post it elsewhere, even if you're just suggesting it to other people. If you want to show others, please send them a link to the first page of this post! Thanks!