Emerald Princess - Revised Edition - Epilogue (5/18/2023)

[littlepinkdargon]

?

[BabySofia]

Chapter 10: Friends

 

MOM WALKED TO open the front door, and I decided to stand behind her.

“Hi, Mrs. Hammerstein, may we see Nick?”

“Come in, Jacob,” Mom said instead.

“Is he okay?” Jacob asked.

“Hi, Jacob, Hannah,” I said as I came out from behind Mom when the door shut.

“Hi, Sofia,” Hannah said. She couldn’t seem to help herself. She leaned down, picked me up, and squeezed me in a hug. I hugged her back before she said, “Come on, Jacob, we need to talk.”

“Let’s go to my room?” I suggested.

“Your room?” Jacob asked but dumbly followed. “Hey, this is Nick’s room. Why is it a nursery…?”

Hannah sat down on the floor with me on her lap.

“Jacob, this sort of is still Nick’s room, but you were sort of right on your guess that I was a Mergent…?”

“Holy shit! Nick?!?!?!?” He said, finally getting it. “What the Hell happened to you?”

“I emerged,” I said, “unfortunately, my body decided to play a trick on me.”

He looked around intensely at the crib and changing table, “So you’re a girl?!? And, like a baby now?” He asked, “Not just in size?”

I sighed, “I’m no longer potty trained and have a bonding with a goddess who prefers I continue to act my appearance for a while.”

“Diapers?”

“Unfortunately.”

“That sucks!” He thought, “Hannah, why aren’t you shocked?”

“His parents needed a babysitter for Lily when he changed. They were a little bit panicked for some reason,” she said with a smirk and squeezed me against her tighter. “It was kind of impossible to hide it all from me.”

“How come you didn’t tell me before?” He asked.

“Honestly, I’m scared to let anyone know about this! The fact that I let you know to come over was a big step, Jacob.”

“So, did you get any superpowers?”

I smirked, “Yeah, I did.”

“I mean, besides super stinky diapers.”

I momentarily wondered if I hadn’t gone again, but he was joking. So in revenge, I decided to turn his socks bright pink and add some white ruffled lace.

“That’s not fair,” he told me, looking down.

“I think they’re cute, Jacob,” Hannah said.

“Change them back, please?” He begged.

“Or?”

“Umm… tickle?”

I squirmed against Hannah, “Oh no, you don’t,” she said. “She’s all mine.” Then, suddenly, she started tickling my sides from nowhere, and I couldn’t help but giggle non-stop until she finally gave up. Unfortunately, my dress had ridden up during the tickling and my very soaked diaper was on display.

Mom came in just as it was ending. “I see you three seem to be doing okay.” Mom said and hesitated before adding, “Umm, Hannah, seeing as how I assume you just helped her make that wet diaper, would you mind changing her?” With that, she walked away, and I found my mouth open.

“Well, your mommy’s right,” she said, and I was up in the air before I knew it. She carried me flat in her arms outstretched in front of her. “You know, I think you’re lighter than a lot of one-year-olds I’ve babysat.

I blushed.

“How much do you weigh?”

“Twenty pounds.”

“I’m going to the restroom; I’ll be right back,” Jacob said, clearly not wanting to be present for my change.

“Wow, that’s light!”

Hannah sat me on the table, “How do we do this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re my best friend turned into a two-year-old baby. Do I treat you like your sister when I’m changing her diaper, or do we do this differently?”

I shrugged, “Caireen seems bent on me getting used to embarrassment and diaper changes. Change me the same way you do, Lily.”

She smiled, “Okay!” The next moment she had me laid back on the table and used the strap to keep me from going anywhere. She pushed my dress back up to where she could see my diaper, “Wow, you’re one soaked baby girl!” She said, using that mommy’s voice all girls have.

My thumb found its way to my mouth then, and she noticed. She reached underneath the table, “Here, why don’t you use your paci,” she said with a smile and put it in my mouth. I nursed it as she undid the tapes of my diaper and pulled it out of the way, setting a new one in its place. She wiped me really well, powdered me, and then taped the new diaper on. The next part was a surprise as she suddenly blew a big raspberry on my exposed belly button.

I giggled.

“Oh, do we have the giggles again?” She asked as she tickled my feet a little. Hannah undid the strap, pulled my dress back down, and then picked me up and held me in her arms. “You do realize you’ve stolen my heart at this point?”

I looked at her, slightly confused, “You have got to be the most adorable baby girl known to mankind. I so want to take you home with me instead of leaving you here!”

I knew she was joking, but a part of me would have been okay with that too. Jacob came back in then once he determined the coast was clear. The three of us sat back down then. “So, are you going to go to preschool now?” He asked, trying to start up the conversation.

“No, silly, I’m going back to high school!” I told him.

He laughed. “Seriously, what are you doing?”

“I’m going back to high school.”

“You’re joking, right?” He paused, “I know LAHS is weird, but even that would be too much for us.”

I laughed, “I am going back to high school, just not here.”

“Where are you going?” Hannah asked nervously.

“There’s a private school in the Northeast just for Mergents. It’s some sort of superhuman high school, I guess…?” They both gaped at me for that. “Anyway, they said I might have to be a sophomore again… or maybe in junior high for the rest of the year after Christmas. They’re supposed to get me through all of their placement tests then to figure that out.”

“A sophomore again? Or back in junior high? That sucks!” Jacob said.

I nodded but said, “It beats daycare?”

“I don’t know, naptime, playtime, snacks - daycare was pretty sweet,” he said.

I laughed, “I guess… of course, at this rate, I’ll probably find out since I’m not going until after Christmas. Mom occasionally has to drop Lily off at daycare and do some errands and things. Especially with me no longer being able to babysit her.”

“I’ll babysit you two if you need one,” Hannah said.

“We’ll definitely be taking you up on that, Hannah,” Mom said behind me, making me jump. “Are you two staying for dinner?”

“Sure, if you don’t mind?” Jacob said.

Hannah nodded, “I don’t have anywhere to go.”

“Let your parents know, though,” she told them.

“Will do.” I heard them answer in stereo.

I watched them both pull their cell phones out and text their parents. Of course, neither parent would be surprised by them being at my house. My new appearance…

“Hannah, have you said anything to your parents?” I asked nervously.

She looked sheepish, “I told my parents… They promised to keep it a secret, but I was worried they might ask some really embarrassing questions until I had no other choice.”

I just nodded, “I don’t see how you could have kept it a secret.”

“That being said, my mom really wants to see you!!!” She laughed.

I stuck my tongue out at her.

“Sofia, you realize you’re just like all of the other paradigm girl models, right? You’re just the ideal baby model!” Hannah said while I shot her daggers. “No, seriously, have you thought about it? You would be like their perfect toddler model since you could behave and listen to directions so much better!”

“So, what you’re saying is that I should be modeling Pampers?”

She laughed at me, “If it pays, why not?”

“I don’t think so…” I said. Although, in my mind, I had to admit that money is nice though...

We talked about things other than my new status as a baby. Hannah told me that my missing-in-action situation was hurting the flute section - apparently, they were lost without me. There was absolutely nothing I could do on that front, unfortunately. I hadn’t even had a chance yet to see if I could still play a piccolo. However, I had no doubts that holding a regular flute would forever be beyond me now.

“Dinner is ready, guys,” Mom said to us.

“Okay,” Hannah said in stereo with me. I had been sitting in her lap for a while, and she stood up and picked me up simultaneously. “You are so light!”

“How light is she?” Jacob asked.

“Here,” Hannah said and handed me towards him. It was like a deer caught in the headlights; the idea of holding a baby scared him to no end! Not to mention that I used to be his normally tall teenage best friend.

“Umm…”

“Boys!” Hannah huffed. “Here, put your arms out and let her grab around your neck. You grab her right here along her waist.” She made sure he was holding me right, and I made sure I could use a death grip to hold onto his neck if I needed to! “See, how hard is that?”

I giggled.

Mom must have heard some of it, too, and she took a picture of him holding me and standing there with Hannah. Three musketeers and all that…

Mom had made nachos for dinner. For those of you who may be thinking about those gooey things with fake cheese you get at the movies, that’s not what I mean. Instead, mom makes them with corn tortilla chips, some refried beans, lots of shredded beef, and real grated Colby jack cheese. The meat is cooked in plenty of red chile-based sauce, so it has a bite.

Much to everyone’s amusement, I insisted on my’ me size’ silverware.

“What? I really hate eating with my hands!” I said to them. I still had to touch my food some, though; the stuff doesn’t stay on the chip. It was a good thing she’d insisted on the bib, though. My more petite mouth made it much more challenging to eat with big chips than it used to! I forced myself to continue eating the meat even though it tasted as spicy as a ghost pepper to me now!

“How are you still eating?” Jacob asked in shock after my second plate.

I blushed, “I don’t know. It’s not like it adds any weight to me…?”

“I wish I could eat that much and not gain weight,” Hannah said.

“Me too,” my dad affirmed.

When I finished eating, Mom let me down from the highchair. I think she was trying to help me be discreet, but just like the last couple of days, Lily pooped first, and I was right behind her. I sighed and scrunched my face up.

“I’ll take one of them,” Hannah offered.

“Umm, thanks,” she said and Mom looked at me. So I just went ahead and pointed my head towards Hannah as okay. “Which one do you want?”

“I’ll take this stinker,” she said with a maniacal laugh and picked me up in such a way as to avoid smushing the mess anymore. I was getting upset, she could tell, so she pushed a pacifier into my mouth. “There, that’s better,” she said with a smile, teasing my nose with her finger.

I always knew Hannah was great with Lily because she liked her, but now I know how great she is with babies. She got me changed and kept me giggling the whole time. Before pulling the tapes down, Hannah had blown some raspberries on my belly. She tickled me to make me smile around my pacifier. Then Hannah cleaned me up quickly and never once made a disgusted face about it. She did make some fake comments about me being stinky. Well, sort of fake, you know what I mean. I’m sure it did smell! For some reason, the smell of my poopy diapers didn’t bother me.

She had just finished washing her hands and thrown the dirty diaper away, and I hugged her.

“Thanks,” I told her.

“Anytime, Princess,” she told me. Then, she looked at her cell phone, “I guess I need to get going home. If I can find a ride out here, would you mind if I came out again sometime this week?”

“You want to?” I asked, amazed.

“Sure, you’re still my best friend.”

As they were walking out the door, Mom caught Hannah. “We’re going to Albuquerque to go shopping for some things on Saturday. Would you be able to come and help with Sofia and Lily? It was nice having an extra set of hands for diaper changes today,” she smiled. “And I’m sure Sofia wouldn’t mind some time with a normal teenager.”

“Sure,” she said, “I’d love to. Let me just check with my mom.”

“Let me know, and we’ll pick you up on the way out of town.”

“Cool,” she said. “Bye, Lily, bye Sofia.”

As they left, Mom approached Lily and me and grabbed our hands. “Okay, girls, bath time!”

It was soon bedtime, and Mom once again gave me a bottle of warm milk. “I guess with your regenerating, I don’t have to worry about tooth decay,” she said as she kissed my forehead. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to break your sister of her bottles and pacifiers, though, with you around.”

I pulled it out of my mouth for a moment, “Just wait until I go to school?”

“That means getting through Christmas and your grandmother complaining about how her kids were done with bottles and diapers before they were one!” She laughed, and so did I.

“Have you told them about me?”

Mom shook her head, “They’re supposed to come down for Thanksgiving… I think it’s best to tell them in person.”

“And Grandma Wendy?” That was mom’s mom. The other two were Dad’s parents.

“Well, she wants us to go to lunch on Saturday…?”

“Oh…” I said. I sat up and hugged her as well as I could. Mom’s mother was her only family left, as her dad died when she was just a little girl. The biggest problem with her mom was that she was nearly a Sanguis Primum member with her rhetoric. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Mom shook her head, “No, but you’re my baby girl, and if she can’t accept it, then that will finally be it,” she said. Mom grabbed the bottle from my hand and pushed the nipple of the bottle back into my mouth. “You don’t worry about any of that, sweetheart; I promise you’ll be safe.”

She didn’t read me a story that night; instead, she held the bottle for me, stroked my hair, and sang a lullaby.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Thank you for reading! Please press the ‘Like’ Button if you’ve enjoyed it! Comments are always super appreciated as well!

If you're someone who must finish a good story 'now,' consider purchasing the full book on Amazon Kindle! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTBTTGX1  I will be posting a chapter about every other day until the complete 62 Chapters and the Epilogue are reposted.
 

 

[littlepinkdargon]

18 minutes ago, BabySofia said:

“What? I really hate eating with my hands!” I said to them

Ok, this. I hate getting my hands dirty.

 

This was a fun cute chapter ?

[BabySofia]

1 minute ago, littlepinkdargon said:

Ok, this. I hate getting my hands dirty.

Same!

2 minutes ago, littlepinkdargon said:

This was a fun cute chapter ?

Thanks! ?

[kerry]

7 hours ago, BabySofia said:

She had just finished washing her hands and thrown the dirty diaper away, and I hugged her.

“Thanks,” I told her.

“Anytime, Princess,” she told me. Then, she looked at her cell phone, “I guess I need to get going home. If I can find a ride out here, would you mind if I came out again sometime this week?”

“You want to?” I asked, amazed.

“Sure, you’re still my best friend.”

As they were walking out the door, Mom caught Hannah.

Just prior to the poopfest, both Jacob and Hannah had been eating with the family. When the poopy diapers came, Jacob seemed to vanish. Now I am not saying that this is out of character for a teen boy, but he never comes back! He seems to have gone home without saying goodbye!

Have I mentioned how happy I am that you have provided the perfect excuse to read this again?

[LittleFenny]

8 hours ago, littlepinkdargon said:

Ok, this. I hate getting my hands dirty.

 

This was a fun cute chapter ?

I need to learn to use chopsticks better, because then you can use them to eat stuff like doritos that get your fingers messy no matter how careful you are.

[FloridaKid]

3 hours ago, kerry said:

Jacob seemed to vanish

I wondered the same thing. I don’t recall if that happened in the og version.

10 hours ago, BabySofia said:

As they were walking out the door, Mom caught Hannah.

Perhaps a reference to Jacob’s departure at the same time as Hannah’s?

 I’m also enjoying reading this story again. ?

[kesselhaus]

9 hours ago, BabySofia said:

I shrugged, “Caireen seems bent on me getting used to embarrassment and diaper changes. Change me the same way you do, Lily.”

I think that should be "Change me the same way you do Lily." without the comma before Lily.

Jesus, @BabySofia .. you changed a lot ..

• you closed your Wattpad too? (your signature link does not work)
• you even removed the old Whateley story (your signature link does not work)
• you got a new profile picture?  

Well, Bechtel vs Whateley hmm, ok ..

Queen Nicneven? I thought like Nic-WHAT?!? But it seems like there was one, but it doesn't seem she had sisters, So let's see how Zora's spirit is related then? 

Mergents .. I always think on this about merchants and merchandising .. not sure why. I just wonder, why mutants didn't work anymore, also X-men uses mutants. EFP vs BIT well .. ok ..but regarding the EID vs GEID .. Isn't the EPC also a governmental organisation? If Los Alamos is operated by military, why not keep MEID for Military EID?

With paradigm, well, it's similar to mergents .. and btw, is this Emergent or Mergent like in this quote from the hospital:

Quote

“I wonder why I haven’t been able to sense any abilities yet?” I asked. “I thought ever Emergent gets abilities of some sort?”

BTW, I think it should be "I thought every Emergent gets abilities of some sort?"

Are the lines still ley lines?

Quote

Avatar: Level 5, Esens: Level 3, Regen: Level 3, Magic: Level 4+, Paradigm: Level 4

Since your world is changed from Whateley, are you going to have a description of the abilities and its levels? What is what?

And btw. there should be one additional as already mentioned ..  Cuteness: Level 7+ ?

Well, I hope you're well, and sorry if that sounded rude, but it's somehow like when they introduced here the "new German spelling rules", where it took me months to read any newspaper or technical magazin without being distracted by the changes.

[BabySofia]

7 hours ago, kerry said:

Just prior to the poopfest, both Jacob and Hannah had been eating with the family. When the poopy diapers came, Jacob seemed to vanish. Now I am not saying that this is out of character for a teen boy, but he never comes back! He seems to have gone home without saying goodbye!

I'll go look at that and see if I can come up with a quick revision... I thought there was something there actually. May have gotten axed in the edit. For anyone who bought the amazon version I will put an edit of change up in a week or so if any others come up. Thanks for the catch here.

7 hours ago, kerry said:

Have I mentioned how happy I am that you have provided the perfect excuse to read this again?

? Happy to oblige!

3 hours ago, FloridaKid said:

 I’m also enjoying reading this story again. ?

Thanks!

3 hours ago, kesselhaus said:

• you closed your Wattpad too? (your signature link does not work)
• you even removed the old Whateley story (your signature link does not work)

I'll go hit those, my WattPad is still active, but I must not have edited this link. I'll go hit that later.

3 hours ago, kesselhaus said:

you got a new profile picture?  

did that one last year when I started publishing. I really didn't want the 'Mouse' to come after me. He's a very vicious fellow with a baseball bat for taking out kneecaps!

3 hours ago, kesselhaus said:

With paradigm, well, it's similar to mergents .. and btw, is this Emergent or Mergent like in this quote from the hospital:

Emergent is the 'correct' term, but like everything in life things get shortened to fewer syllables. Mergent is the slang version.

I agree mutant is used in other universes, but I really was trying to distance myself from those and the Whateley canon as completely as I could here.

3 hours ago, kesselhaus said:

Since your world is changed from Whateley, are you going to have a description of the abilities and its levels? What is what?

Something comes up in a while there.

3 hours ago, kesselhaus said:

Well, I hope you're well, and sorry if that sounded rude, but it's somehow like when they introduced here the "new German spelling rules", where it took me months to read any newspaper or technical magazin without being distracted by the changes.

No worries whatsoever! Thanks for the comments! ?

[littlepinkdargon]

8 hours ago, LittleFenny said:

I need to learn to use chopsticks better, because then you can use them to eat stuff like doritos that get your fingers messy no matter how careful you are.

You can get little pincer thingerbops that keep you clean and aren't as fussy as choppysticks!

[DiaperedPrince]

3 hours ago, littlepinkdargon said:

You can get little pincer thingerbops that keep you clean and aren't as fussy as choppysticks!

Sounds like someone can't handle their chopsticks! ?

[littlepinkdargon]

14 hours ago, DiaperedPrince said:

Sounds like someone can't handle their chopsticks! ?

?

[BabySofia]

Chapter 11: Butterflies

‘ONE DAY ENDS, and a new one begins,’ I thought as I woke up in my castle nursery.

“There she is!” Caireen crooned over me and picked me up. “Who’s the prettiest princess in all the world?” She said, “Yes, it’s you!”

I let her baby talk to me for a few moments and finally said, “Okay, enough already; what’s going on?”

“Her little diapee must be messy! She’s a cranky little baby!” For the next thirty minutes, I swear I had the most embarrassing and surrealistic treatment of me, like I was younger than I even looked to be. Finally, when she changed my diaper, and I was dressed, she said, “Well, I’m having fun,” she paused, “why aren’t you?”

“Umm… it’s ridiculous and humiliating?” I suggested with my face flushed from embarrassment.

“No, it’s normal mommy behavior and definitely normal grandmother behavior.”

“Is that what this is about?” I asked, confused.

She sighed, “Remember also that I am the goddess of children?”

I nodded.

“Maybe I like to have fun every now and then?”

“Oh,” I said guiltily. “Have I ruined it completely for you?”

“Only a little. You can make it up to me, you know?”

I groaned, “I guess, given we’re stuck with each other, I need to let you get it out every now and then. Just don’t do it all the time; my brain already has enough trouble grasping being a teenager in a baby’s body.”

“Yay!” She said. “Let’s go play outside!”

I rarely saw the castle staff, but one of the maids came then. “Fiona, would you please pack a bag with a lunch, some changes for Sofia here, and bring it down to the East Garden?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she said.

“Let’s go see the butterflies!” She said with glee.

Mentally I groaned a little, but I kept a smile on my face. My thumb found its way to my mouth since pacifiers didn’t exist here. The bottles were a little anachronistic because they did. Still, they were old-fashioned with rubber teats that weren’t life-like or orthodontic. In the meantime, I noticed Caireen had either grown herself larger or shrank me down further. I decided she was taller because the doorways were closer to her head than I remembered. I had been shifted from holding onto me like a toddler on her hip to a more traditional infant cradle you might carry a newborn. All through the journey of stairs and corridors, she talked baby talk to me, and I did my best to try to not hate it.

We exited the castle through a door I hadn’t been through before, and I felt my breath catch as she held me up to see. Acres and acres of mowed grass were present, with a rose garden lining walkways. It was like a scene from one of the castles in France or England that took my breath away. “Beautiful,” I said around my thumb.

Caireen stroked my hair and continued walking down the path past roses that had no equal in the real world. Their colors were too vibrant, varied, and indescribably beautiful in appearance and smell. Caireen set me down when I squirmed to look at a green rose that looked like it had emeralds glittering in the petals.

“What is it?”

“A gift from a people that you base your dwarf legends off of. They dwell in caverns and mine for both money and joy. They designed this hybrid and gifted me with one of them many years ago.” She paused, “Those are real emeralds too.”

I gulped. That plant was worth a fortune!

I was picked back up, and she walked me past the pathways and the mowed grass to a field that stretched out far in the distance, with yellow, pink, purple, and blue wildflowers growing everywhere. The largest and most beautiful butterflies I’d ever seen were alighting from the flowers.

Many looked similar to the monarchs in our world. Still, there were so many other color combinations as they blended in with the many wildflowers around me. Finally, Caireen sat me down, and I snuck as close as possible to a big purple one. “Will you sit on my hand?” I asked it.

I was amazed as it looked at me skeptically and then moved to the finger that I held out. It tickled as it moved around. I brought it closer to my face and looked at it in wonder. When I was through, I said, “Thank you, you’re very beautiful.”

The butterfly seemed to bow before it flew away, and I spent a long time chasing others before Caireen said, “It’s time for lunch, my little butterfly!”

She laid me down on a blanket that Fiona had set out. I realized then that I had messed my diaper at some point and not noticed. “Well, you finally behaved like a normal baby and didn’t care about your poopy diaper.” She said with a smile, retaining that high-pitched baby cooing in her voice.

‘I really didn’t notice..’ I thought.

“How long have I been messy?” I asked, nervous about a rash forming.

“An hour or so?”

“An hour?!?”

“Relax, sweetie, you didn’t notice, and your skin won’t get a rash. You could sit in a messy diaper for a week, and your skin would keep healing.”

“It’s so disgusting, though,” I said with tears in my eyes.

“Not to a baby with no interest in getting out of diapers. You need to get yourself in that mindset. If you don’t, you’re going to go crazy in the next few months, let alone the rest of your life, honey,” The last bit she had answered sincerely and in her regular voice.

I nodded.

She continued wiping me with a cloth, and finally, I was put into a new diaper. “Okay, let’s have our lunch!”

I expected a regular lunch, but instead, I had a very finely chopped soup mixture that she fed me. At the same time, she ate what it must have usually looked like. “I’m thirsty,” I said after I finished.

“Okay, let’s get my little princess something to drink!” she said. I expected her to grab a bottle from the basket or something, but instead, she picked me up and pulled at her dress.

“What are you doing?!?” I freaked out.

“What are we doing today?”

“Treating me like a baby?”

“Exactly. You’re still young enough to nurse from the breast,” Caireen told me. “Normally, someone like me would not do this herself, you would have a wet nurse assigned to you, Princess, but given who I am, I love feeding babies!”

Before I could raise any more fuss, I was confronted with her breast and nipple. Knowing there would be no give here, I relented and at least tried it. I put my mouth around her nipple, latched on like a bottle, and sucked on it. Instantly my mouth was filled with a liquid that was sort of like milk… but so much better! I swallowed and repeated over and over again before I must have gone to sleep.

 

WHEN I WOKE in the real world, I felt different somehow.

‘Did that really happen?’ I asked, blushing.

‘Yes, my sweet princess, that wasn’t so bad, was it?’

I blushed, ‘No, I actually enjoyed it.’ There was no sense in hiding that from someone whose consciousness shares a body with you!

‘Good, I believe we will be doing that more often,’ she assured me.

‘Why?’

‘Well, for one, I enjoy it, and you enjoy it, right?’ she asked.

‘I guess.’

‘For another, you thought you felt different today, right?’

‘Uh-huh,’ I said.

‘When you nurse a baby, they get their nutrients and food from their mother, correct?’

‘That’s the idea...’ I said.

‘You gain magical power from me and additional strength when you nurse,’ she told me.

‘Seriously?’

‘Why do you ask that all the time? I don’t joke that much, do I?’

I sighed, ‘No, it’s just a figure of speech that I must say a lot for you to ask. I’ll try not to say it as much.’

I could feel her smile.

Mom came in right then as I was getting ready to stand up, and she said, “Oh, you just woke up?”

I nodded, “I was having a conversation with Caireen.”

“About?”

Oh boy… “Umm… What did we do last night?”

“Oh, her nursing you?”

“How do you…?”

“I came while you were asleep, still nursing,” Mom said wistfully. “I miss doing that,” she admitted.

‘Tell her I can help her lactate if she wishes...’

‘NO!’ I said.

“Mom, Caireen asked if you would like her to help you on that, but I said no; I’m hoping you’re okay with that?”

Mom smiled at me, “I know you wouldn’t be comfortable with me feeding you like that, so no worries.”

I sighed in relief. During this conversation, Mom stripped the blanket sleeper off my body and pulled the soaked diaper off. I was soon in a dry diaper, and Mom found a cute dress to wear without any tights. With that, my day began, and I alternated playing with Lily, eating, pooping, getting diaper changes, and getting on the computer. I found myself researching my new school as much as possible online. I also watched Tangled with my little sister. Much to her joy and amusement, I used magic to make her a dress identical to Rapunzels. She looked adorable in it and had to show Mom. Unfortunately, I forgot to create a diaper in my mind... She peed on the kitchen floor as she excitedly showed it off. Oops!

I really hated being Nicholas and had avoided looking at my reflection over the years because I didn’t like what I saw. Now though, Mom frequently discovered me looking at myself in the mirrors around the house, asking me each time if I was okay. Of course, I would assure her I was, but I couldn’t believe I was really a girl now! The baby part I could do without, but I felt like all of the dysphoric feelings I’d dealt with over the years had completely melted away!

Thursday and Friday passed similarly during the days, and my nights were filled with a second day in the other world where Caireen nursed me at least twice each night. During the days, I could feel more energy at my fingertips. So I was excited when Friday night, Caireen said, “Okay, it’s time to teach you some defensive magic.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’m nervous about this trip tomorrow. I want you to be able to defend yourself and your family if needed.”

I nodded. “So what’s first?”

“I want to teach you to make a shield for yourself first. It should stop any physical hits and projectile weapons you might encounter.”

“Cool!”

“I want you to visualize the lines coming towards you right now.”

We had spent much time already teaching me to see them more clearly than when I first became aware of them last week. I noticed that there were always at least four or five lines that led to me at all times. This time though, there were more like twenty. I opened my eyes, “Why are there so many more lines?”

She laughed, “I told you that nursing was making you stronger?”

“Oh,” I said. “Will that keep increasing?”

“I believe it will go to a point, and then it’ll plateau.” She smiled, “Now, let’s get back to work. Visualize those lines again.”

I saw all twenty, “Okay?”

“I want you to visualize those lines to weave together around you and protect you.”

The first time I tried, it was like a fishing line that had gotten tangled in the trees, an unfixable knot! After five tries, I finally managed to get it around me like a grid defining a three-dimensional character on a computer screen. I looked up at Caireen, “Is that it?”

“It should be; let’s see how it holds up!”

I gasped a second later when she threw a dagger from her sleeve straight toward my shoulder. It hit the field and glanced off.

I jumped and felt my diaper grow warmer, “I think I need a change…?”

She laughed, “Why, you’re perfectly safe in there.”

“How long does it hold up?”

“Until the power in the lines, you are using runs out. Right now, I would say about twenty minutes.”

“A minute per line?” I asked.

“That’s a good way to guess it, I guess,” she agreed. “Now, drop it and try it again.”

We practiced my bringing the shield up for about another hour before she changed me and nursed me. I was still awake when she finished, and I asked, “What can I do to protect my family?”

She sighed, “I hope we have much more time to perfect this in the future. The same idea lets you do it around someone else. So you can visualize it around multiple people. Just know it won’t last as long!” We practiced that for a while before she said. “I have one last defensive spell I want to teach you tonight, though it’s really more of an attack. You must never use this purely for fun or games.”

I nodded.

“Take one of the lines out of your shield and visualize it going to your hand. From there, think of it sending all of its energy as a ball of energy at that wall.” She pointed at the far end of the stone room we had been working in.

A ball of purple lightning, that’s the best way to describe it, went shooting through the air at the brick wall and… right through it. I gasped as I saw a hole in the wall six inches in diameter. She picked me up and showed me that it went through three more walls before ending at the castle’s outer wall. “How come it didn’t go through that wall?”

“I have warded the walls; it’s impossible to use that spell to attack this castle.”

“Will it ever stop otherwise?” I paused, “I might accidentally hurt someone I didn’t intend to if it never stops…?”

“The way you just did it would send it flying until it met a barrier like this or shot into space from leaving the earth’s curvature at the angle you shot it.”

I felt my diaper get wetter. “That’s scary.”

“Now, let’s teach you to limit it!” She smiled, “I wanted you to know your full power first so that you’ll respect that power.”

We spent an hour practicing limiting it to a distance in my mind of the target plus a foot to five feet, depending on what she asked me to do. I could also limit it to hitting a human target and stopping them. Then, as she nursed me to sleep, she said, “Sofia, I would not teach you the blast spell if I did not know that you have a pure heart. I will teach you many less destructive spells in the future, but if something happens tomorrow, I want you to be prepared.”

I felt her stroke my hair and pat me lovingly before I fell asleep.'

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Thank you for reading! Please press the ‘Like’ Button if you’ve enjoyed it! Comments are always super appreciated as well!

If you're someone who must finish a good story 'now,' consider purchasing the full book on Amazon Kindle! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTBTTGX1  I will be posting a chapter about every other day until the complete 62 Chapters and the Epilogue are reposted.

[LittleFenny]

Thank you!

[BabySofia]

Chapter 12: Picture Perfect

 

THE NEXT MORNING I was woken up as Mom changed my diaper. “Oh, you decided to wake up?” She teased me.

She was just finishing wiping me and had me in a new diaper before I could respond, “Yeah,” around my pacifier. “What time is it?”

“6:30,” she told me.

“Ugh…” I responded.

Mom first dressed me in white tights before wrapping me in my signature green dress.

“Isn’t it cold outside?” I whined about the dress.

“I want to get some pictures with you and your sister for our Christmas Cards and photo album.”

“Oh,” I said.

Mom did my hair for several minutes and added my tiara to make me look picture-perfect. “Are you going to have Lily wear her tiara?” I asked.

Mom shook her head, “I’m going to have to do some convincing with her since she doesn’t have one as pretty as yours.”

‘I can do something to help there,’ Caireen said.

‘My sister doesn’t need a priceless magic tiara, though...?’ I said questioningly.

‘Of course not, but you can make a silver one with glass jewels just as easy to make her happy,’ she insisted.

“What color is her dress?” I asked.

“Pink,” Mom said with a smile, “you should have been able to guess that.”

I nodded and concentrated without saying another word to Mom. In my hands appeared a tiara similar to mine. The shape was similar, but it featured clear crystal jewels for the prominent gemstones and several crystals that looked like pink sapphires that circled around the base. It was made in plain old silver, which meant it was probably only worth a grand then…

‘Probably a bit more, you made crystal jewels for the main ones, but the pink jewels are real sapphires,’ Caireen said.

‘Let’s keep that to ourselves?’

Mom stared at me in shock, and I said, “It wouldn’t be fair to Lily, so here is a tiara for her. Of course, it’s not the same as mine, but it should make her happy.” I said the last with a smile. I was grateful that my new size hadn’t caused a bunch of sibling rivalry so far. I had a feeling it would come someday soon, though.

Mom hugged me and said, “You’re still the best older sibling she could ever have.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Let’s get something in your tummy, and then you can go back to sleep while we drive to Albuquerque. I need to do Lily’s hair now.”

I nodded, and she carried me downstairs. My sister was already in her high chair with a bowl of cheerios in front of her. “What do you want to eat?” Mom asked as she strapped me into the high chair.

“Cereal’s fine,” I said as I pulled my pacifier out of my mouth and sat it on the tray. She had already poured a sippy cup of juice and sat it on the tray. I drank out of it silently while she found a bowl and filled it with just the cereal. I had never liked mushy cereal!

“Lily, look what Sofia made for you!” Mom said with a smile.

“It’s pretty like hers!!!” She said. “Am I a princess like her?”

“Absolutely,” I told her.

I played with the cereal more than I ate it as I watched Mom rearrange Lily’s hair. Eventually, I stopped when Mom said, “Sofia, you can either eat your cereal or I’ll feed it to you?”

I furiously ate it, so I didn’t have to live with that embarrassment that morning. By 7am, Mom had walked out the door once with all of the things she needed to take care of two toddlers and then came back inside for the two of us. Mom put Lily in her car seat first, ensuring she had her favorite doll with her, before coming over and doing the same for me. I had Emie in my arms. Mom attached my pacifier to a clip and then to my dress so we wouldn’t have to search for it. Since we had the garage, she didn’t have to remove our coats before we sat.

“Here’s your bottle,” she said to Lily. Lily still got a bottle anytime we went on a long trip to help calm her down in her car seat. Mom looked at me with a question on her face, and I said, “Why not?”

She smiled, handed me a warmed bottle, closed our doors, and then got in herself. I nursed slowly on the bottle, in no hurry to drink it as I wasn’t that thirsty, so I still had half left when Mom pulled up to Hannah’s driveway. Hannah came out of her house as soon as she saw us. Mom motioned for her to sit in the front seat. I was suddenly self-conscious and thought about hiding my bottle.

“So you’ve discovered the joys of a bottle too?” Hannah said sweetly to me.

I turned red.

“Sofia, you’re a baby. It’s perfectly okay for you to have a baby bottle! So don’t go feeling self-conscious,” she told me. “It’s part of blending,” she added with a smile.

“You ready to go?” Mom asked her.

“Uh-huh, I’m so looking forward to not being stuck at home today! Thanks for inviting me!”

“Well, thanks for coming!” Mom said. She pulled out of her driveway, and I returned to nursing my bottle. I looked as much as possible at my sister on my left and noticed she was asleep already. Of course, that’s why Mom was still more than happy to give her a bottle on long car rides.

Mom and Hannah had a conversation in the front seat, but it was hard for me to hear them up there. So I settled for looking to my right for a while before I must have fallen asleep too.

I woke up when I felt our car starting to slow down. I looked out the window and saw we were on the outskirts of Albuquerque. Then I felt my body do something I hoped wouldn’t happen in the car! I filled the back of my diaper, and it smushed everywhere as it did so.

It was only a couple moments before the smell made it to the front, but Hannah said, “Uh-oh, smells like we have a stinky princess!”

I squirmed in the seat. I wouldn’t get a diaper rash, as Caireen had pointed out, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be in it any longer than I had to. I put my pacifier in my mouth to try and keep from screaming like a real baby.

“I assume that’s you, Sofia?” Mom asked.

I whimpered, “Yes,” around my pacifier.

“We’re going to stop to do those pictures and some shopping at the mall first. We’ll change you when we get there. It’s not too long,” Mom reassured me.

That was one of the longest twenty minutes of my life when Mom pulled into the parking space. Mom and Hannah got out of the car and came to the doors. Hannah took the bottle from next to me and handed it to me, “Can you hold onto that for a few minutes?” She asked me. I nodded.

“Do you want me to change her out here or in the bathroom?” she asked Mom.

“It’s easier to throw away a poopy diaper in the bathroom,” Mom told her. “We’ll change both of them inside.”

Hannah picked me up and put me over her shoulder while I whimpered and held onto my bottle as she asked. Then, Mom grabbed the diaper bag and Lily. She must have already put Lily’s bottle in the bag because I didn’t see it in her hands.

As Hannah carried me back to the bathrooms, with Mom next to her with Lily, we passed by a girl who was probably about four. “Dat baby is poopy!” She cried out in a loud voice.

I buried my head in Hannah’s shoulder and felt tears going down my face.

“Shhh, It’s okay,” Hannah said to me softly as we walked through the bathroom door.

“Sofia first?” Hannah suggested.

“Yes, the poor thing always hates having a messy diapee,” Mom said.

I pulled my head off Hannah’s shoulder and saw Mom wipe off the changing table before placing the mat on it. “I’ll change her,” Hannah offered.

Thankfully she didn’t waste any time waiting around. Mom grabbed my bottle from my hand and rinsed it out while Hannah happily changed the messiest and most disgusting diaper I had yet had. She wiped me clean, put a new diaper on, and pulled my tights back up. “There you go, all beautiful again!” Hannah said with a smile. She picked me up, sat me on the ground, and washed her hands. I then stood by Mom while she changed Lily while Hannah used the toilet. ‘I wish I could do that,’ I thought sadly.

I felt Caireen give me the mental equivalent of a hug. As soon as Hannah was out of the stall, Mom had her take over watching the two of us, and she went to the bathroom too. Hannah had the diaper bag on her shoulder and picked me up when Mom came out of the stall. Lily was in Mom’s arms soon, too, and we were off a little way down the corridor to the portrait studio where Mom had made an appointment. A man was standing at the counter when we walked up.

“Hi, we have an appointment,” Mom said.

“Name?”

“Rachel Hammerstein,” Mom said.

“For two toddlers?”

“Yes sir,” she said, and he looked up to see what Hell he would experience. When he saw us, he smiled, “These two princesses?”

“Yep,” Mom said.

“Okay, Bonnie will be your photographer today; let me make sure she’s ready.” He walked away.

“So that we don’t have the shape of a pacifier around your lips, would you be okay with taking it out?” Mom asked me.

I shrugged and let it drop out of my mouth to hang on the strap. Hannah did some sort of one-handed gymnastics and unhooked the clip. I felt Hannah start bouncing me a bit like I used to do with Lily to calm her.

“Ready to get your pictures taken?” She asked.

“I guess… I just want to get it over with.” I told her quietly.

“You never know; you might have fun,” she told me.

“I hate pictures…?”

“No, you used to hate pictures,” she told me, “now you’re an adorable little princess. All princesses LOVE getting their pictures taken.” She chose that moment to tickle my side a little. I giggled and had to smile. It was weird having all of the tricks I used to use against Lily used against me - especially since most of them worked!

“Mrs. Hammerstein?” A lady in jeans and a sweater asked.

“Yes?”

“Come on back. We’re ready to take your daughter’s pictures.”

We followed her back to a studio that had a white background, ready to go first. Mom and Hannah set Lily and me down and began checking our appearance. Luckily my dress never wrinkled, but Lily’s had a little. Mom did the best she could to straighten it out, though. My hair was a bit crooked, but that was sorted through quickly.

“Okay, you want individual shots and some together?” The lady asked Mom.

“Please,” she said.

“Which princess first?” The photographer asked in the high pitch mama voice.

“I’ll go,” I said. If I was a good example, maybe Lily would be quicker…

‘Good girl,’ Caireen said in my head. ‘Now pretend to have fun and enjoy it too!’

“How old are you?”

I held my two fingers up, “This many!”

“They’re both two, actually,” Mom told her. The lady looked at her, and she said, “Ten months apart.”

“Ouch,” the lady said. “I assume this princess is the older one?”

Mom nodded.

“Okay, Princess, what’s your name?”

“Sofia,” I replied.

“Well, Sofia, that dress is beautiful! And your tiara too! Why don’t you sit...” She took pictures of me standing in front of the white background, sitting crisscross style, leaning on a number two, and crawling on the floor quickly before doing the same with Lily. She then had us sit together with the number and then some other poses together before repeating the same steps with two different backgrounds. One, we used a gigantic teddy bear as a prop. Mom and Hannah also joined in at times; one of the photos I hoped turned out had me sitting in Hannah’s lap. She had always been one of my best friends, but she was quickly turning into a big sister.

I actually had fun, smiled, giggled, and was probably a photographer’s dream happy baby. Of course, Lily got a little grouchy at the end, but I told her, “Come on, good princesses, smile!” and she bought into it.

In the end, the lady said, “I have never had two more well-behaved toddlers for photos. Ever! You should look into a modeling agency for Sofia. She’d make a fortune as a model.”

Mom smiled, “You’re not the first person to tell me that. When will you have proofs for us to look at?”

“Well, we’re pretty dead right now. If you want to come back in an hour, we can have printed proofs, or you’re welcome to look and pick from the computer screen in a couple minutes.”

Mom shook her head, “We’ll come back; I like having a print in hand to choose from.” She paused, “Plus, I think they both need to have a diaper change and burn off some energy.”

The lady laughed, “At least you’re probably close to being through with changing that many diapers.”

“Hopefully,” Mom said, as I noticed she eyed Lily. I would probably never grow up past that; we both knew that.

Mom grabbed my hand in one hand and Lily’s in the other. “Come on, you two, let’s go change your diapers.”

‘It would be nice if she wouldn’t announce that to the world...’ I thought.

‘You’re a baby; your potty habits are public record,’ Caireen said. I could feel the smirk on her face.

 

 

Chapter 13: Grandma

 

LILY AND I walked down the hallway to the bathroom, holding Mom’s hands. Mom changed both of us, this time on the changing table. “Okay, we need to get the stroller out of the car,” she said. “I don’t think Hannah wants to carry you all day Sofia.”

“I can walk, you know,” I told her quietly. Hannah was holding me tight.

Hannah whispered back, “A normal two-year-old wouldn’t walk the whole day, though.”

She was right.

Back at the car, Mom pulled out a new double stroller that she had bought online and had express shipped to the house. The stroller was a classic design that had one seat behind the other. Mom put Lily in the front, and Hannah placed me in the back. “Why am I sitting in the back?” I asked.

“Eyes,” Mom said.

I hadn’t even thought about my eyes… I wondered if the photographer noted them.

“May I have my pacifier?” I asked, suddenly nervous again.

Hannah reattached the clip and placed it in my mouth, and we were back shopping. I was very bored for the next hour as we walked from one store to another, mostly keeping Lily and me in the stroller. Mom picked out a dozen new outfits for me and a couple for Lily. Still, we mostly walked and looked with them, occasionally dressing us as their living dolls. The only place I got enthusiastic about shopping was the Disney store, where I found a couple of costume dresses I liked. Mom also bought Lily and me each a princess doll there. Several times as they walked, girls would say, ‘Oh my God, your daughters are sooooo cute!’

We were in Sears, and I really was getting thirsty. “Mommy?” I got her attention.

“Yes, Sofia?”

“I’m thirsty.”

“Okay, just a minute,” Mom said. I heard her messing with the bag behind my seat for a moment. I listened to a cap pop, and she handed me my bottle of apple juice.

“Umm… thanks,” I said. “No sippy cup?”

“Why? You love your bottle!” Mom said with a smile.

I just began nursing from it slowly as she kept shopping before finally we returned to the portrait studio. “Ah, you’re back!” The lady said, “Come over here to the counter, and you can look at the proofs.”

Lily was out for the count in the stroller in front of me, her head lulled to the side. Seeing her asleep, Hannah pulled me out of the stroller and placed me on the counter so I could see. The pictures of me were perfect! I did look like a child model… except for the eyes. There was just something unnatural about the shade of green, and I didn’t think my being two years old would keep that from being noticed. Mom and Hannah chose their selections of three pictures of each of us individually, two of Lily and me, two with Mom and the two of us, and finally, one of all four to get printed. 

“They’ll be ready about four if you want to stop back by?” The lady offered.

“Great! We’ll be back then. Come on, Princess,” Mom said as she put me back into the stroller.

The journey back to the car was made, both of us were strapped into our car seats, and Mom pulled away.

“Where are we going now?”

“Grandma’s,” Mom said.

“Oh,” I said nervously.

“It’ll be fine,” Mom reassured me.

I watched the streets and buildings pass by and sucked nervously at my pacifier. I had heard many cruel things from Grandma directed towards Mergents over the years. I clearly remembered a year ago, we saw a lady with GSD that looked like a half-human/half-bear person at the mall. Grandma had loudly said, “I can’t believe they let that animal inside!”

‘She can’t hurt you physically,’ Caireen reassured me.

‘She’s my mom’s mother, though, Caireen. I don’t want to be why she doesn’t love my Mom anymore...’

‘You have one of the smartest mothers I have ever met, Sofia. I guarantee she would blame her mother, not you.’

The drive seemed to take both forever and be too quick. I noticed my diaper growing wetter as we pulled into the driveway. ‘Great, I’m meeting my Grandma as my new self, AND I need a diaper change.’

Not wanting to antagonize my grandmother, I took my pacifier out of my mouth, unclipped the clip, and pulled out my purse wherever it disappeared. I quickly put it in there and then put my purse back. Mom watched me in the mirror and gave me a smile and a nod. “Good idea,” she said.

“I’ll take Sofia. Would you take Lily, please?” Mom said to Hannah.

“Sure,” Hannah said. So they went to each of our doors, and I was soon let out of the car seat.

Mom reached under my dress and felt my wet diaper. “I’ll change you once I figure out how your grandma will take this.”

I nodded and held onto her as she grabbed the diaper bag, and we walked up to the door. Mom opened the door, “Mom, we’re here!”

“My land, Rachel, who is this beautiful little girl?” She said as she saw me.

“This is Sofia,” Mom said.

“One of Lily’s friends?” She asked as she hugged Mom and moved on to hug Lily in Hannah’s arms.

“No, Nicko!” Lily said.

The world ground to a halt for a moment then. ‘Really, Lily?!?!’ I thought to myself.

‘She’s a two-year-old; you know it’s a requirement that she blurt out embarrassing things inappropriately.’ Caireen said.

I had to agree with her. I watched Grandma’s face as she turned to look at me again. “She’s just pretending, right?” she asked Mom.

Mom sighed, and I felt her squeeze me reassuringly. “No, Mom, Nicko emerged last week, and his EFP, or rather her EFP, transformed him.”

“I knew you should never have married that no good husband of yours!” She started.

“Mom, stop right there. I know you have some extreme beliefs against Mergents...” Mom said all this in a calm, soothing voice, “but it’s not true. I love my child no matter what they may be, and that won’t change. If you can’t do the same, please tell me now, and we’ll turn right back around and never come back.”

I saw the hurt on Grandma’s face and felt terrible.

“But…”

“Look at her, Mom. I promise you she’s the most beautiful grandchild you could ask for. She’s just as sweet as she always was, and all either of us wants you to do is just to love us.”

Grandma cried and said, “I’m sorry; I promise I’ll behave. Please don’t ever think I could walk away from you, Rachel.” She came over and hugged Mom, and said, “May I hold her?”

Mom passed me to her, and she said, “Well, you are a beautiful baby, my dear. Why did you end up like this?” She asked.

“I woke up sick and saw my sister in the hall… I guess I was thinking about how it would be nice to still have Mom hold me like she did when Lily got sick... Next thing I know, I’m a two-year-old baby girl.”

“Wearing diapers?” She asked in surprise as she readjusted her hold on me and felt it. “And a wet one?”

I buried my head in her shoulder, “Sorry… I can’t help it.”

“Let me see that diaper bag, Rachel,” Grandma said. I looked surprised, “What, you don’t think I can change diapers still?”

Grandma carried me to the room that served as her spare bedroom. Inside was a large dresser we used to change Lily on when we were there. Grandma sat me down next to it, laid out the changing pad, and then picked me up. “Let’s get those tights down, huh?”

I lay patiently while Grandma changed me almost exactly like Mom, but it was sweeter somehow. Maybe that was because she didn’t change a dozen diapers a day or something. “Where did you get that pretty tiara?” she asked me.

“It was a gift,” I said simply.

“From?”

I sighed, “From the goddess who bonded with me.”

“Goddess?” She said, “There’s only one God,” she said tersely.

“Call her a being then, Grandma. She’s very powerful.”

“Do you have powers now?” She asked as she pulled my tights back up.

“Yes, but I’m barely learning how to use them,” I told her.

“What can you do?” She asked me.

“I can change my dollies clothes,” I said with a smile.

“Umm… well, that’s special,” she said.

Mom had Emie in her hands from a second trip to the car. When she handed me Emie, I changed her into a one-piece jumpsuit like Mom had purchased for me earlier.

“Whoa!” She said and glared at me. “Can we pretend you’re a normal baby now?” Then, she paused, “It’ll be easier for me to get used to?”

I nodded as she hugged me in thanks, picked me up, and carried me to the living room, where Hannah played with Lily on the floor. She held me in her lap and sat on the opposite side as Mom on the couch. “So, I assume Sofia is all registered and such?”

Mom nodded, “We took care of that first thing Monday.”

“What now?” She asked.

“Well… after Christmas, she’s going to go to a school in the Northeast.”

“A Mergent school?” She asked, a little bit of prejudice showing, but I could tell she was trying.

“Yes,” Mom said simply.

“They have a preschool program?” She asked without any malice.

“No, I’ll be going to high school, I think,” I told her.

“You’re a little young for a high schooler, plus they’re usually potty trained?” She suggested.

“I know, but it’s just part of what I get to deal with. It’s like having a disability with the diapers.”

“And you really don’t have any control?” She asked.

I shook my head but tried not to look ashamed in front of her. “I have less control than Lily, I think.”

“Yes, speaking of Lily, when are you going to potty train her? She’s about six months overdue if you ask me, Rachel.”

“After Christmas,” Mom said simply, “it’d be too hard right now with her big sister still in diapers. It’ll be a bit easier when she goes away to school.”

Grandma looked at me for a moment and just sighed. “So this tiara of hers - I see Lily has one just like it?”

I shook my head, “No, it’s a lot different; it just looks similar. I made it for her to keep her from feeling jealous. Mom wanted me to wear mine today.”

“And just why do you even need a tiara?” She asked me.

“Because I’m a princess now,” I told her matter-of-factly.

“Of COURSE you are,” she said and laughed a little, “I forgot all little girls are really princesses.”

I decided not to correct her, and Mom didn’t either.

We spent about an hour talking there. During this, the criticisms never really stopped. Grandma went on about me being too light, about my eyes being pretty but, still obviously, those of a Mergent. Lily needs to be potty trained, and a billion other nitpicking things came up. It’s part of why Mom didn’t come to see her that often - it wore on you. Eventually, Grandma said, “Well, shall we go out to eat lunch?”

Hannah ended up in the middle seat between the two car seats and seemed squished. Luckily it wasn’t far to the restaurant. Mom carried Lily into the restaurant, and Grandma had me. “You are way too light,” she told me quietly while we waited for them to get a table with two high chairs ready.”

I blushed.

“You do eat, right?” She asked.

“Umm… you could say that,” I whispered back.

“Rachel for five?” the hostess said and led us to the ready table. Lily and I were placed into the seats, put on our bibs, and sat there coloring on the menu while we waited for Mom to order for us. Thankfully we’d already talked before that I wanted the chicken alfredo! The waitress preemptively brought us a box, thinking we would need it. Instead, she and my grandmother were shocked to see I daintily finished every bite! Mom checked Lily’s diaper where she was sitting in the high chair and said, “I’m going to go change Lily’s diaper. Do you need to be changed too, Sofia?”

I had to nod. Hannah picked me up from the high chair and sat me down on the ground. Mom grabbed Lily and my hands and walked us back to the bathroom. We had to wait for another mom to change her newborn’s diaper before Mom could use the station for Lily and me. After she washed her hands, we went right back to the table. By the time we got back, the check was paid by Grandma, and she and Hannah were ready to go.

Grandma decided to go shopping with us. We started at Costco, then Kohl’s, Buy-Buy-Baby, and another mall before returning to the photo shop at the mall we started at in the morning. Mom decided to be brave and go without the stroller since we had both been getting antsy inside it. “Come on, slowpoke,” Hannah prodded me when I stopped to look at a window display of pretty dresses on our way in.

Mom and Grandma had just gone up to the counter to talk to the man while Hannah, Lily, and I stood outside the store. Someone grabbed me all of a sudden and started running.

“What are you doing?” I screamed.

It wasn’t Hannah! Someone was kidnapping me!!!!!!

 

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Thank you for reading! I realized my work/life schedule the next couple of days is going to be a bit hectic and wouldn't be able to post again until late either night. As such I posted both of these chapters. I might be convinced to post the next chapter Tuesday if there are enough likes/comments that bribe me to do it! Just going to be later! 

Or, if you're someone who must finish a good story 'now,' consider purchasing the full book on Amazon Kindle! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTBTTGX1  I will be posting a chapter about every other day until the complete 62 Chapters and the Epilogue are reposted.  

[Moon3ye]

Oh I hope you manage to update on Tuesday.

I know what should come now approximately (even if I believe that in the original work it was earlier).

I am so excited.

I had actually forgotten how annoying the granny was.

I find the new edition in any case exciting written.

[BabySofia]

1 hour ago, Moon3ye said:

Oh I hope you manage to update on Tuesday.

We'll see what happens. Definitely a busy week for me here in the real world. The good thing is after this week hopefully things calm down for a bit again!

[FloridaKid]

Gyaaah! Even though I know where it goes from here, it’s still a cliffhanger. Love it. ❤️?
 

Thank you for two chapters today. ?

[BabySerenity]

Oh no!! 

[Samriis]

Heh, I still remember bits and pieces from the previous version... and I SO want to read the entire thing again... and as much as I want the entire thing to be released like... now... I'm very grateful that your release schedule is as fast as it is... I NEEDS my fix!  ?

[BabySofia]

1 hour ago, FloridaKid said:

Gyaaah! Even though I know where it goes from here, it’s still a cliffhanger. Love it. ❤️?
 

Thank you for two chapters today. ?

? Welcome, thanks for the comment!

1 hour ago, BabySerenity said:

Oh no!! 

*nods* Not good!
 

 

34 minutes ago, Samriis said:

Heh, I still remember bits and pieces from the previous version... and I SO want to read the entire thing again... and as much as I want the entire thing to be released like... now... I'm very grateful that your release schedule is as fast as it is... I NEEDS my fix!  ?

Well... it has been released on Amazon Kindle! ? 

Thanks for the comment, glad you're enjoying it! Should be the next chapter on Wednesday I think at this rate. (Two very long days ahead of me and I don't like posting really late since people tend to go to bed!)

[LittleFenny]

Hope your next few days aren't too hectic. Gotta get some playtime to keep the adultitus from getting too bad.

If I remember correctly the kidnapper was part of an anti-mergant group... Which really, even if the mergant you've found out about looks like a little kid trying to kidnap one seems like a really bad idea.

[BabySofia]

21 hours ago, LittleFenny said:

Hope your next few days aren't too hectic. Gotta get some playtime to keep the adultitus from getting too bad.

Sadly that disease has a foothold on this week!!!! Thanks for the comments! ?

[BabySofia]

Chapter 14: Back Road

 

“PUT ME DOWN!” I screamed loudly.

“Shut up, freak!!!” A man said as he found the pacifier clipped to my dress and shoved it in my mouth.

“I warned you!” I said around my pacifier as I touched his body with my hand and pushed a charge of magic into it. I didn’t have time to think about ley lines or technique; I did it by instinct.

That’s when all Hell really broke loose. He fell like a sack of coal, but his momentum carried us forward. I tumbled across the floor, and my head hit the tile floor hard! I wanted to cry and could feel some tears begin to stream out of my eyes.

“Oh my God, someone call 911!” A lady screamed.

“That baby’s a Mergent!”

“Someone, get that baby! It’s a freak of nature!”

I looked around at the unfriendly faces for a second before I picked myself off the ground and began running as quickly as I could back down the hallway I’d come. People tried chasing me, but I ran between the legs of the adults and around mothers pushing strollers, and I was sure I was putting the mile time from the other day to shame. ‘Caireen, is there any way for me to move faster?’ I asked.

‘You already are. You need to find your Mommy.’

‘Duh!’ I said.

Fortunately for me, I spotted Hannah not far from me. “Hannah!!!” I cried! When I got close to her, I leaped into her arms.

“Oh my God, I was so worried,” she said as she caught me and hugged me tightly.

“We’re not out of the woods. Where’s Mom…?”

“That girl has her; come on!” I heard a voice yell.

“Run, Hannah!” I told her.

Suddenly, the world seemed to almost freeze in place as more things happened at once than my brain could process immediately. First, I noticed that Hannah’s eyes changed colors to a green almost identical to mine. Then, before I could even gasp, she began glowing green like a glow stick… Finally, she shouted, “You won’t hurt her!” A shockwave of green light flew out from her towards the mob chasing us.

‘What the Hell?’ I screamed in my brain.

Hannah staggered a bit, then she sat down suddenly while barely holding onto me. Luckily Mom and Grandma were right there by then. Mom asked Grandma, “Mom, can you help Hannah?”

Grandma nodded while Mom picked up Lily. Grandma put her shoulder underneath Hannah’s arm and began helping her move down the hallway. I ran alongside them as we retreated to the parking lot as quickly as possible. As we made it through the doors, I thought we might just make it away safely without any other pursuit… but that wasn’t to be.

We had just about made it to the car when a dozen men began running towards us with ski masks over their faces. “I’ll take care of this,” I told Mom.

“But…”

“We’ll never make it past them, even in the car. I’ll take care of it. Get Lily strapped in and Hannah in there. Leave the door open for me to jump into.”

Thankfully my mom decided not to argue and just started doing what I’d told her.

As the crowd approached, I found six lines for a blast right in front of them and let loose. A green ball of energy flew from my hand and struck true about eight feet in front of where they were. A sudden explosion nearly knocked me to the ground! The blast was terrifying, and a vast crater formed in the asphalt where I had aimed. All of our pursuers were blown backward and lay still on the ground. Car alarms blared all around me, and windows were shattered all around the crater. I only caught that with a glance as I turned to jump into the car, closed the door, and screamed, “Go!”  

Mom sped away with screeching tires. I clambered into my car seat, and Hannah shakily latched the straps for me. “Are you okay, Hannah?”

“I think so. I’m so glad you’re okay!!!!” She said, and there were tears in her eyes.

“Mom, drive to Grandma’s as fast as you can.”

“Why there?” Mom asked.

“I’m hoping she’ll let us borrow her car to buy a little more time. Then we need to get back to Los Alamos as quickly as possible. Hannah will have the EPC all over her if we’re not careful!”

“That’s fine,” Grandma said. “We’ll put your car in the garage to try and kill a bit more time.”

“Won’t they be watching the road to Los Alamos?” Hannah asked.

“Probably, but we’ll take the back road through Jemez Springs instead,” I suggested.

Mom nodded and pulled through the streets as quickly as she could without getting pulled over.

I pulled my purse from the space it was kept, pulled out my cell phone from where I had left it that morning, and dialed Dad. “Daddy!” I practically shouted in relief.

“Sofia? What’s wrong?”

“We’re in trouble… Someone tried kidnapping me, and I used magic to take him down. Some Sanguis Primum types tried to grab me, but I escaped to Hannah, who chose that moment to emerge herself… She used some sort of energy to blast at the people following me, which made a huge blast to knock them over.”

“So, you got away?”

“In the parking lot, there were more, so I used my magic and blasted a spell in front of them… it might look like a bomb went off,” I said, embarrassed.

“Where are you now?”

“We’re heading to Grandma’s to trade cars for hers and leave her there.”

“Which way are you planning on coming home?”

“The back way,” I said.

“I’ll see if I can get some friends to help you. Be careful.”

“Okay, talk to you later. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

“Dad’s going to try and get us some help,” I said as Mom pulled into the driveway. Grandma had a garage opener in her purse, used it to open the door, and was in her car quicker than I believed she could be at her age. She pulled it out, and we parked our car and switched out the car seats before jumping in her car. Quick hugs were exchanged, and Mom took off quickly.

“Are you okay, Hannah?” I asked as we drove. I was glad she didn’t seem to be going through an immediate burnout like I did.

“I think so. People and a lot of objects have these weird glowing auras around them now…?”

I nodded, “You definitely emerged too! And you nailed those guys; thank you for that!”

“You’re welcome, Sofia, but I couldn’t let anyone hurt you. When I saw those guys coming to attack you, I felt something pop inside and… it’s weird.”

“What’s weird?” Mom asked.

“The last week, Sofia has mattered to me because she’s been like my little sister, but now she seems different. I really don’t think I can describe it…?”

‘She bonded to you,’ Caireen said with a gasp.

‘What do you mean?’

I felt her sigh. ‘It means I have to share you with two other mothers now.’

“WHAT?!?!” I screamed aloud.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Mom asked, frantically looking around.

“You’re fine, Mom. Keep driving.” I said, not wanting to mention it.

“You know what it is?” Hannah asked.

I nodded, “Do you?”

“I think so… sorry,” she said.

“What, it’s not like you could help it?” I suggested, “We’ll talk about it when we get home.”

“If we get home…?” Hannah said nervously.

Mom took a back route through Rio Rancho to Bernalillo and then down the road to San Ysidro, where we would turn. Just before she made the turn, my phone rang. “Hello?”

“Sofia, it’s a good thing you went the other way. The news is showing a group of Sanguis Primum has set up roadblocks the other way to catch the suspects in a heinous terrorist attack.”

“Great, nothing on this route yet?”

“Not mentioned on the news yet, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Unfortunately, one of the ‘features’ of Los Alamos for the government is there are only two ways in and out. You might try and disguise yourselves if you can.”

“Doh! How come I didn’t think about that?” I said, annoyed. “I think we’re going to lose service here, Dad. Hope to see you soon.”

As soon as I hung up, I changed everyone’s clothes. Lily and I were now in frilly innocent-looking onesie rompers that showed the edges of diapers. Hannah’s outfit was altered into a Gi, and Mom’s into a business suit. Mom and Hannah’s hair colors also got changed to dark brown. I left mine alone for a while. I was prepared to make a shield around the car if we were attacked.

“Why am I wearing one of your uniforms?” Hannah asked.

“Well, would you prefer a cheerleading outfit?” I asked.

“No…” she said thoughtfully. “I think a sweater and jeans stick out less, don’t you?”

I sighed, “That’s why I had you wear that. It’ll make your clothes stand out and not your eyes.”

“Oh.”

Mom drove down the twisty road through the Jemez Pueblo and the Mountains. In Jemez Springs, we spotted the first sign of trouble: a long line of traffic seemed to be running into a roadblock. “Hannah, can you get a bottle for Lily and me?”

“Now?” She asked.

“Now, I’ll look more innocent,” I said with conviction. “Then act like you’re napping.”

So it was that five minutes later, we pulled up to a roadblock of a county sheriff officer and some Sanguis Primum volunteers. The volunteers seemed to have been deputized and were all looking at vehicles. “Looks like you got your hands full, ma’am, the officer said while looking around the car with a flashlight.”

Mom laughed, “At times, it feels that way.”

“Where you coming from?”

“Las Cruces, my oldest had a tournament there today.” She nodded towards Hannah, “It always amazes me how tired she is after her adrenaline wears down. Anyway, I heard there was some sort of Mergent problem the other direction to town, so I decided to play it safe and drive this way.”

He nodded and shined a light at me in the car seat. I could feel it somehow, even though I had my eyes shut. I hoped I looked like I was sleepily nursing on my bottle. “Cute daughters,” he said, “Yeah, we’re keeping an eye out for a couple of dangerous Mergents here. Have you seen anything suspicious on your drive up?”

Mom shook her head, “It’s been a quiet drive until we ran into this checkpoint. I hope you catch the Mergent filth you’re looking for.”

“Me too,” he said, “go ahead and move along,” he said.

Mom drove away, and I waited forty seconds before I dared breathe. She moved through the small town and sped away at the limits down the highway to Los Alamos. “I can’t believe that worked,” Mom said.

“Don’t get cocky, Mom; they’ll probably have another guard looking out at the guard station going into Los Alamos. Hopefully, Dad at least was able to help out with that...” I sat in the car and watched the steep cliffs and forest go by. The snow from last week was still around, and it was beautiful. I noticed I still had half a bottle of milk left and nervously nursed the rest. I never once felt sleepy as we continued up the mountain. It was at the Caldera entrance that we hit another checkpoint - this one an EPC run checkpoint that seemed to have hastily been put into place.

“I have a bad feeling about this one, Mom. But, play it like we did the last one. If they get suspicious, gun the engine and don’t stop until we get to Los Alamos.”

Everything was going well until they ran the license plate and discovered it was registered to Grandma, “Ma’am, we need you to step out of the vehicle. The Mergent scum in your car are to be taken in.” He said as he leveled a pistol at her. I activated the shield spell and said, “Go, Mom!” At the same time, I also fired spells at the cars they had and obliterated their transportation.

The next fifteen minutes of my life were the most terrifying moments I had ever experienced! Mom drove like a crazed lunatic through the switchbacks down the mountain and into town.

“There’s a helicopter up there!” Hannah cried out halfway down.

As I tried to see from my limited view, I saw a blue electrical pulse flying toward us. Fortunately, my shield stopped it and the energy dissolved. My shield seemed undamaged, but I felt it was slightly weaker. Fifteen or so shots of that or a few more powerful blasts would probably knock my shield down! Then, just as I was getting ready to shoot off a spell attack, Hannah rolled her window down and sent another of those bright green balls of energy at the helicopter. The ball exploded against the rear of the helicopter’s engine.

“They’re really not going to like us,” I said.

“Oh my God, I didn’t mean to!” Hannah said.

“Hannah, it’s okay. They would have done much worse things to us.” I told her as it went down, “Besides, some of them probably made it off and are just going to deal with broken bones.” I doubted all made it, but they weren’t too high above the ground when they crashed...

Finally, the lights of the town came into focus, and we could see flashing police lights waiting for us. Fortunately, they were Military Police vehicles, and I was eternally grateful as they welcomed us into town and then asked us to step out of the car. Dad was standing there beside one of the chief security officers.

Mom grabbed Lily and me out of our car seats and launched herself at Dad in a hug. “Get in here!” I told Hannah as she looked sheepishly around.

“Mrs. Hammerstein, is everyone alright?” He asked.

Mom sniffed her nose and nodded, “Mostly, I have two poopy babies, though.”

I hadn’t even noticed.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thank you for reading! Please press the ‘Like’ Button if you’ve enjoyed it! Comments are always super appreciated as well!

If you're someone who must finish a good story 'now,' consider purchasing the full book on Amazon Kindle! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTBTTGX1  I will be posting a chapter about every other day until the complete 62 Chapters and the Epilogue are reposted.

[FloridaKid]

I completely forgot about Hannah bonding with Sofia. Thanks for the action-packed reminder!