Chương 9: I’ve Got to Do What?

Fairy Realm — Fairy Central — Portal Vestibule M621 Celestia did her best to soothe the screaming infant, but no matter what she did the child would not stop its caterwauling.

"Seraphina! I don't know what to do! Why won't it stop?" Celestia, now on the verge of tears of her own, asked. Seraphina looked at Celestia, wishing she had an answer, but it was incredibly hard to think with the high-pitched screams of the baby piercing her brain like long needles. Being within the teleport's close quarters didn't make things any easier. Seraphina reached into her pocket, pulling out a glistening card key and holding it up to the reader embedded in the wall.

"This is Fairy 10987 requesting emergency override protocol C76," Seraphina called out over the baby's cries.

"This is Shirley. I will need further information to process your request, Fairy 10987," the computerized voice replied. Celestia's eyes widened.

"Woah," she breathed, taking a small step back.

"How'd you do that?"

"Who is that?" Celestia asked, awestruck. Seraphina lifted a hand, signaling her to be quiet.

"What information do you require, Shirley?"

"Is this an incognito mission, Fairy 10987?" the computer asked mechanically.

"Yes, Shirley. Please delete all data once the mission is complete," Seraphina said flatly.

"Is this fairy business or personal exploration?" the computer asked matter‑of‑factly.

"Personal. Highly personal," Seraphina replied, tapping her foot as her impatience grew.

"In order to proceed with your request, fairy 10987, I will need your PIP, Personal Identification Protocol," the computer replied. Seraphina sighed and looked at Celestia before shrugging her shoulders. Gotta remember to change my PIP when this is over. Been meaning to do that anyway, she thought with a sense of resignation.

"The red rabbit is not a cause for concern," she mumbled.

"I didn't quite catch that… Fairy 10987… I will need your PIP or protocol override identification… Fairy 10987." Seraphina sighed, her annoyance becoming harder to mask. She turned toward Celestia, who was doing her best to soothe the infant.

"The red rabbit is not a cause for concern." She repeated louder this time.

"PIP approved," the computer replied.

"How may I help you today, Seraphina?"

"Please take me home."

"Certainly." The sound of gears whirling up overshadowed the baby's cries. The mechanical white noise seemed to soothe her. The screams softened into gentle whimpers, as her eyes began to flutter shut. Both Celestia and Seraphina looked at each other, relief washing over them at the sudden quiet. The portal opened with a gentle whoosh. Celestia's eyes widened at the scene as she stepped out behind Seraphina. Before her was a modest, cozy house nestled among tall trees.

Its warm honey-colored wood blended into the forest as if it had grown there. A bubbling brook flowed gently beside it.

"Welcome to my humble home," Seraphina said, turning to face her.

"It is nothing like I pictured," Celestia admitted.

"How so?" Seraphina asked.

"Well," she began shyly, "you are the picture of grace and elegance, and I assumed you lived in a palace in the hills with scores of servants, stables, and I don't know…" She paused, looking around.

"Maybe a large swimming pool or something." Seraphina laughed heartily.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I mean, look at you," Celestia said, shifting as she caught a whiff and suddenly turned her head away, wrinkling her nose.

"But that is irrelevant right now. I am hoping you have something we can change Little Miss into. She is quite stinky." Seraphina stifled a smirk.

"I'm sure," she said, thankful that Celestia was the one holding her.

"I am sure we can find something. I may even have a diaper somewhere inside from one of my grandchildren." You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Wait, what?" Celestia cried out.

"Grandchildren? I did not even know you had children!" Seraphina shook her head.

"Yes, I have children. Three of them. I also have… are you ready…" She paused dramatically.

"Six grandchildren. Yes, count them. Six." She made her way to the front door as Celestia's jaw dropped.

"There is no way! How come no one knows this?" Celestia asked, genuinely curious and surprised.

"Celestia, it is not a secret by any means. It's not like I kept them hidden in the basement." She laughed.

"I simply prefer to keep my personal life just that… personal." Seraphina reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of keys. The baby's cries sharpened in urgency as they neared the front door.

"Here we go again," Celestia said, rolling her eyes.

"Why does she keep doing this?" she asked, looking down at the screaming infant. Seraphina opened the door and led Celestia to the bathroom.

"Well, she is cold, wet, and as you already pointed out, quite stinky. When was the last time she ate?" Seraphina asked as she pulled a small wash tub and some towels from under the bathroom sink.

"Seraphina, I don't even know what they eat," Celestia said, utterly bewildered.

"I didn't know I needed to feed it. It's not like I have had her all day. I mean, I found her and I brought her straight back to Fairy Central. It's not like I took her out for a steak on the way," she said, her voice shaky and flustered as her face flushed with embarrassment. Seraphina looked at the girl incredulously.

"Celestia, what do you mean you don't know you need to feed it? All babies are basically the same regardless of species. Fairy babies, elven babies, and well, all babies for that matter. They eat, they sleep, they drink, they pee, and they poop." Seraphina filled the wash basin with warm water and tested it with her wrist.

"Why did you do that?" Celestia asked, watching her closely.

"That's how you test the water. You don't want it too hot or too cold before putting the baby in it," she replied, reaching for the infant. Celestia watched as Seraphina quickly removed the child's wrappings before laying her on a clean towel on the bathroom vanity, then made quick work of cleaning the child's bottom.

"Seraphina?" Celestia asked as she watched the older woman work intently to clean the last of the baby mess from the cracks and crevices. Seraphina looked over at her.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"So, what do you think she is?" Celestia asked, looking closely at the naked child.

"She certainly isn't human," she added, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Seraphina smirked.

"Looks like Little Miss here has some Elven blood mixed in."

"So, she is elven then?" Celestia asked. Seraphina took a closer look at the infant. Her blue tint and pointed ears gave her some pretty definitive elven features, but her eyes were not those of a human or an elven infant. They appeared almost round, maybe dwarvish. Then there was her hair. It had almost a fairy‑like pattern to it, and the color was strange. It could be just the goo, but it had a reddish appearance when the light hit it just right.

The red seemed scattered throughout, while other areas appeared to be black or streaked with white.

"No, not entirely. She is possibly a half‑breed of sorts," Seraphina said, picking up the naked infant and lowering her into the basin. She reached for the washcloth and began wiping her down. Celestia leaned closer.

"Do you think she could be the child from the prophecy?" Seraphina paused for a moment but did not look up from her work.

"That is a conversation for later. Right now, she needs to be warm, clean, and calm." Celestia swallowed her questions and nodded, watching Seraphina closely.

"Can you go into that cabinet over there?" Seraphina asked, motioning with her elbow toward a cabinet behind Celestia.

"Grab me the baby shampoo. It should be alright to use on her. Whoever cleaned her after birth did a terrible job. She has blood and goo caked in her hair." Celestia turned to the cabinet and opened the door. Her eyes widened as she took in the abundance of baby things stored inside. She picked through the bottles until she found the shampoo and baby soap.

"How old are your grandchildren?" Celestia asked as she handed Seraphina the bottles. Seraphina took the bottles from Celestia one at a time with one hand while the other remained on the baby, who seemed much happier sitting in the warm water.

"My eldest grandchild is 10 and the youngest is only 4 months," she said, smiling proudly.

"Oh, so they are just babies themselves," Celestia said, nodding her head, having a newfound understanding of Seraphina's practiced hand with the infant. Seraphina poured a small dab of shampoo into her hand and then worked it into a gentle lather before rubbing it on the infant's head. The baby began to coo loudly, as if to say thank you, kind lady, for getting that stuff out of my hair. That feels so much better.

"That feels so much better now, doesn't it, Little Missy," Seraphina said, almost sensing what the child was thinking.

"In a matter of no time, we will have you all cleaned and dry and in a fresh set of Jammies with an actual diaper to catch those accidoodles," she said in baby talk, forgetting that Celestia was there. Celestia giggled.

"Accidoodles?" she asked, rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of the word. Seraphina, her face now blooming in embarrassment, looked up at Celestia.

"Yes, accidoodles. Do you have something better to call it?" she snapped. Celestia, taken by surprise at Seraphina's harsh tone, took a step back and looked at her through furrowed brows.

"Ah, no, accidoodles works," she said, raising an eyebrow. Seraphina realized her question had come out far harsher than she intended.

"I'm sorry, Celestia, I'm just not used to my subordinates speaking to me in such a casual tone. I know that under the circumstances it's unavoidable, but the professional and personal boundaries being blurred to this extent has made me rather uncomfortable."

"May I speak bluntly, Seraphina?" Celestia asked cautiously. Seraphina began rinsing the infant with a cup she kept by the sink.

"Yes, of course," she answered earnestly.

"This whole thing is awkward for me too," Celestia admitted.

"I am seeing a side of you I never imagined. You are not just my boss. You are a mother, a grandmother even, and you have this soft, gentle way about you that I never see at the office." She hesitated, then added, "It is strange trying to reconcile the Seraphina who is always in control and all business with the one who just said the word accidoodles." With that, Seraphina let out a hearty laugh.

"I guess we're both in uncharted waters here. I understand the lines being blurred in the here and the now, but you need to understand that once we are in the office the casualness will need to stop, and we will be back to business as usual."

"This does not make us friends." She added coldly, more as a reminder to herself than to Celestia. She knew the words sounded harsh but she could not afford to have those boundaries erased.