Chương 11: What the Books Don’t Tell You

This does not make us friends. The words reverberated through Seraphina like an icy wind as she watched Celestia's eyes drop, the remark clearly landing harder than Seraphina had intended.

"Okay," Celestia muttered, the tremble in her voice betraying her facade. Seraphina's resolve wavered for a heartbeat. Distance was necessary but seeing Celestia flinch still twisted something in her chest. She had not meant to hurt the girl's feelings, but she had worked too hard and too long to have her professional persona destroyed over the current set of circumstances. She had learned that personal relationships with subordinates led to rumors and accusations of preferential treatment.

It was far easier to avoid putting herself in those situations than to explain them to the board. She had seen more than one manager face disciplinary action for mingling with staff outside of work, and she had always been careful not to cross those lines.

"Celestia, it's not that I have not found our current adventure, shall we say revealing, but you…" She broke off, trying to find a way to explain without risking hurting her feelings more than necessary.

"It's fine, Seraphina," Celestia said, cutting her off, trying to sound unbothered but the tremor in her voice betrayed her.

"I get it. You don't need to explain any further. You're my boss and I'm just a spoke in the wheel. This is still part of the job, even if it revolves around this tiny thing." Seraphina's jaw tightened, but she stayed silent.

"We're on the clock, so it's a job, and we do what we have to do to get it done." Celestia folded her arms and leaned against the door.

"Believe me, once this is over, I'll have no problem forgetting any of this ever happened. The fact that you have a life outside of work… well, that secret is safe with me." The two wordlessly finished the task of bathing and changing up the baby.

"Now we need to find you something to eat," Seraphina said, looking down at the infant, breaking the awkward silence.

"Don't look at me," Celestia said, shrugging her shoulders.

"I was quite serious when I said that I have no idea what to feed it." Seraphina's smile faltered as she realized it was not a joke.

"Don't you have any cousins or relations with small children?" Celestia's admission that she had no idea what to feed an infant left her dismayed.

"Yeah, but I never paid any attention to how to take care of them," she replied as Seraphina made her way past her and out the bathroom door.

"I mean I would hold them every once in a while, talk to them, but I have never actually taken care of one, especially one this small," she said, following Seraphina into the kitchen.

"The ones I am used to at least tell you what they want. This one…" she paused.

"This one does not so much as say thank you," Celestia muttered, motioning to the baby. The infant let out a soft gurgle, almost as if offended. Seraphina turned back toward her, eyebrows lifting.

"Celestia, just so we are clear, you are not expecting the baby to talk to you, are you?"

"Well, yeah. It is customary to answer when someone speaks to you." Seraphina bit her lip to stifle a laugh.

"Celestia, she cannot talk, and it is likely she cannot understand a word either of us is saying."

"Well, why not? Has she been struck dumb or something?" Celestia asked, her face wrinkled in confusion.

"Celestia, babies are not born understanding language or talking. They learn as they grow by listening and repeating. It takes a while for them to even be able to put together a sentence." She scoffed.

"So, you never babysat for anyone while you were growing up? A family member, neighbor, anything?" Seraphina asked, making her way to a cupboard. She reached up and pulled out a bottle and a can. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"Nah," she said, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"I was far too focused on my studies to babysit." Seraphina raised an eyebrow at this revelation but did not feel the need to comment as she examined the can.

"My parents were very strict about academics and their importance. It was simply wake up, eat, study, eat, study, eat, sleep, study. That was my life until I started working," Celestia said sadly.

"I was not allowed to have friends or play, just study." Seraphina lifted her gaze from the can dumbfounded.

"That sounds awful, Celestia. It must have been difficult for you growing up."

"It was not so bad," Celestia said, shrugging her shoulders.

"It got me a perfect score on the company exam, so I guess it paid off." Seraphina walked to the table with the baby in one arm and the can in her other hand.

"I do not have my glasses. Can you read that for me?" Seraphina asked, handing her the can. She was having a hard time processing Celestia's revelation. It sure did explain a lot about the young fairy and her utter lack of social awareness though. Celestia took the formula from Seraphina.

"Sure," she said, turning the can in her hand.

"What would you like to know?" Seraphina sat in the chair next to Celestia at the table and peered down at the baby who stared back with bright wide eyes.

"For starters, does it say that it is okay for species other than fairy?" Celestia studied the can, turning it.

"Ah, here, safe for Fairy, Elf, Human, Dwarf, and mixed breed consumption. Follow the mixing guide below for feeding instructions for each specific species." Celestia lifted her eyes from the can, turning them toward Seraphina, then at the baby.

"Um, what species would we consider her to be? I don't see any special instructions for a prophesied infant with a mix of ancient ancestor blood, tinged with human and elf and lord knows what else." She sighed. Seraphina couldn't help but laugh.

"I know right?! What's wrong with them for not including specifics for an infant like this one," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I think we will go with the mixed breed instructions, specifically human and elf." Much to Seraphina's surprise, Celestia stood up from the table and walked to the counter to get the bottle. She watched wordlessly as Celestia measured the correct amount of water into the bottle, then visually searched the counters, obviously looking for something. Seraphina could only assume it was for something to open the can with.

"It has a pull top," Seraphina called over her shoulder.

"Just lift the lid and you will see it." Celestia did as instructed and then poured some of the formula into the bottle. She turned on her heel to head back to the table, looking smugly satisfied with her accomplishment. Before her raised foot could touch the floor, Seraphina lifted a hand to stop her.

"Stop," Seraphina said, glancing back at Celestia.

"You need to make sure the cap is on tight, then shake it." Celestia did as instructed while Seraphina watched.

"Now you need to heat it up."

"Heat it up?" Celestia asked.

"It didn't say I had to cook it," she remarked, rolling her eyes. Seraphina laughed.

"You're not going to cook it, silly. You're just going to warm it."

"Oh." Celestia flushed with embarrassment.

"How do I do that?"

"There is a pan on the stove. Put some water in it, enough to cover the bottle halfway. Take the bottle out, warm the water, shut the stove off, and then put the bottle back in for a few minutes," Seraphina said with practiced precision.

"Why don't I just leave the bottle in the water and let it heat up that way?" Celestia asked.

"It just seems like extra work and would be a lot quicker that way." Seraphina took a deep breath, trying not to lose patience.

"Because, like you said, you are not trying to cook it. If you heat it with the bottle in the water, you risk overheating the formula. This way the formula will warm gently and not be overly hot when we give it to the baby. If it's too cold, she will get a tummy ache, if it's too hot, she could burn her little mouth. Isn't that right, Little Miss?"

"These things sure are a lot of work," Celestia said as she began the process of warming the bottle.

"I don't know why anyone would have more than one…" she paused, then muttered, "on purpose anyway." Seraphina laughed.

"Sweetie, this is only a tiny slice of what it takes to care for an infant. I hope you are paying attention because I am going to have to leave you here alone with Little Miss while I ah…" she paused, trying to find the words, "talk to the higher-ups and see how this should be handled so to speak."

"Once she is fed, she should be fine for the rest of the night. How hard could it be?" Celestia asked, her voice tinged with confusion as her eyebrows knitted together. Seraphina turned to her, dumbfounded.

"You really don't have any idea, do you?" she muttered under her breath as she began to rethink her decision to leave the child with Celestia.

"Did you say something?" Celestia asked as she took the water off the stove and put the bottle into it.

"Well," Seraphina began, searching her mind for a tactful way to make the girl understand how demanding an infant could be.

"I'm not sure how long I will be gone. Could be an hour. Could be six. In that time, she is going to need to eat again. Maybe several times. It's usually every couple of hours for a child this small." Celestia's jaw dropped.