"Good job, lassie! Now, come to Fifi!"
My legs tremble as I stand, and my fingers are pressed into the wall.
After my post-breakfast nap, Fifi helps me practice walking. I know, consciously, how to walk. I remember being able to walk before I was bedridden.
But this body doesn’t know that yet. This brain doesn’t have the prerequisite neural pathways for that level of coordination.
But it's getting there, slowly but surely.
I let go of the wall and take a single step towards Fifi.
And I fall flat on my face, into his lap.
I guess that's one benefit of being so small- there’s less space between my face and the floor, so falling (at least if I'm still on the ground) doesn’t really hurt.
"Ye stood up this time!" Fifi exclaims as he picks me up. "Good job! You'll be walkin' soon!"
I sure hope so.
The thing about being a baby is, I'm getting more sleep than I think I ever got in my last life.
With my constant insomnia, I'd learned to joke about it, saying things like, "I can sleep when I'm dead".
Heh.
Guess I was right.
After helping me practice walking, Fifi read me a picture book. I was pleased to find out this world uses the same Roman-based alphabet I'd previously grown up with.
And then I was put down for yet another nap.
No dreams this time, and I wake up on my own.
I can hear muttering, but I can't see who it's from- I recognize Fifi's voice, though.
Maybe I should pretend to still be asleep for now.
"-and you've met'em- buncha religious loonies. They think it's cause her body's not able to hold in all her mana."
A chuckle.
"Wasn’t there a priestess who studied medicine there? Surely they'd know better than that."
"I wouldn't be so sure, Rudy. Even if she's got no sire, we here know Jade was the one who made'er come out too early. An' that's all there is to it, aye?"
Are they talking about me?
"I suppose so. And I still think that was far too reckless of her. What would have happened if the princess had died? Pridavat and Sodavat would've punished her, right? And that's not even touching the others."
"....Perhaps," Fifi sighs- but he doesn’t explicitly disagree with "Rudy" either. "But it's not fer us to know. Go on back to yer post, now."
"Alright, alright. Don't forget to introduce her to the men, though."
"I know, rascal. Now get."
I hear the door close. Fifi lets out a heavy sigh, and I open my eyes as I hear him come closer.
He looks down at me, and even though I can't see it, I get the sense his expression is at least a little bit surprised.
"Ho! Well g'morning princess! Didja have a nice nap, hm?"
He scoops me up as if I weigh nothing at all (and, admittedly, that's not too far from the truth- I'm barely under two pounds as it is) and gives me a quick pat to see if I need to be changed again- I don't.
"Now, let's getcha dressed up, aye?"
He dresses me himself in a new dress- a pale lavender thing with far too many white tulle petticoats beneath it and a thin layer over the floral-patterned skirt.
I'm not wearing any shoes- apparently I'm not expected to walk around- and my hair is too short to really do anything with, so, having dressed me in more tulle than anything, and nothing else, Fifi cradles me in one forearm as he opens my bedroom door.
"Now lass, ready to meet some new friends?"
I assume these "new friends" include "Rudy"?
Well, even if I'm wrong, I'm still curious, so I give a nod and a happy little burble.
Wittle Baby noises.
Fifi holds me securely in his arms and exits my bedroom. Nursery? Is that what fancy people call their kids' bedrooms?
Whatever. It's not important.
I look around at the carpeted marble floors and contrasting brick walls. Fifi's arms feel sorta like he's rocking me to sleep. Kinda.
Somehow I avoid falling asleep (Yet again) and Fifi takes me outside to a flat yard of dirt. There are several armored figures here, standing in neat rows. Some of them wear their helms while others do not.
In front of them, someone paces while speaking. I think it's Rudy? But while I can hear his voice, my baby brain doesn’t yet have the neural pathways to distinguish all the different words and syllables out in the world from such a distance away.
Not yet, anyway.
"Men!" Fifi barks- he's not angry or annoyed, or even mildly irate, but the volume still hurts my ears. "Yer princess is here!"
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