"You'll do fine. I'll only be gone for an hour." Lord Milori handed over Princess Anastasia to Silvermist. "The Queen is seeing to a nest of angry bees, and I have to go check on this avalanche. She's been fed and changed, so she's just tired if she fusses. If she hits her head or swallows anything, the guards outside know where to find Spruce." Then he pointed at Sleet. "You'd better fly her to the hospital at Alamur speed."
Silvermist grinned and held the one-year old baby on her hip at Lord Milori and the Queen's cabin. "She'll be fine. We're going to play and have lots of fun. Tell Papa bye-bye."
She seemed to enjoy this; he stood far back and sweated bullets. No one left a baby in an Alamur's care, much less an assassin of his rank.
Silvermist shut the front door, and he darted over to lock it. Then he marched to the windows and checked for danger.
"What are you doing?" She laughed.
"You're better equipped to handle the baby; I'm better at danger surveillance."
"Sleet, there are two towers of guards, and we're locked in a cabin. Here, this is good practice for when our baby comes." She held out the princess.
He held up his hands and backed up. "She's going to have nightmares. Look—she's scared of me."
The princess stared at him while chewing on her fist.
"She's watching you." Then she turned the princess around and held her up. "Should we go in your room and find toys? Yes, we will." She spoke in a cooing, baby voice.
A frown pulled. "Is that how you're supposed to talk to babies?"
"Probably not. But she's so cute. Yes, you are!" Silvermist rubbed her nose against the princess's tummy, and the baby squealed and kicked in delight.
"There's something wrong with her throat. She's drooling. Silvermist, she might be choking!" He grabbed the princess and turned her upside down against his chest. "Do you see anything? We should take her to the hospital!"
The baby cooed and babbled.
Silvermist burst out laughing. "Babies drool. Didn't you read the baby book about the first year?"
"What?" he scowled. "No, I'm still memorizing all the things that can go wrong during pregnancy!"
"She's getting a tooth. It's why she's drooling and chewing on her hand." She took the princess and turned her upright. "Is he crazy? I think he's going to have a panic attack," she cooed to the princess in that strange baby voice again.
With a snort of disgust, he turned to check out the window again. "I'm an Alamur, I'm made for annihilating threats, not trying to keep a tiny being alive."
"I'm so glad we're having a baby then." She shoved the princess into his arms. "I have to go to the bathroom again."
He frowned and held the princess out at arms length. "You just went."
"Do you have a baby sitting on your bladder? Hold her like a baby, not a bomb." Then Silvermist left.
Heaving a deep sigh of irritation, he looked at the princess, who studied him while chewing on her fist. "There's nothing wrong with holding you like this. Do you want an Alamur to cuddle you? I didn't think so."
The princess flung out her arms and gave little slaps to his, squealing with excitement as she kicked.
"Do you like that? It's like flying. I suppose you can't fly yet." He moved her up and down a little. Nope, her tiny wings didn't even raise.
She giggled and squealed.
"Do you like that?" He swung her up overhead.
Princess Anastasia screamed, her entire body shaking, and then she burst into giggles.
He frowned. "Why'd you scream? Is that too high?" He stilled.
And she burst into tears.
"Fuck, don't cry. Shit, did I break you?" He lifted her up to inspect her legs.
She laughed again. When he lowered her and studied her, her face crumpled.
"Are you crying because you want to fly?" He lifted her again and slowly spun in a circle.
A high-pitched scream erupted from her little body, and then she kicked her legs and flailed her arms.
He chuckled. "You're a strange creature." Then he opened his wings and pulled her close to his chest, facing out, as he flew up to the cathedral ceiling and lowered back down.
Her whole body flailed in excitement and she screamed again.
After five more times, Silvermist returned. "What are you doing?"
"She likes this," he grinned and flew up to the ceiling and down again.
"Ma! Ma!"
He froze like a terrified rabbit, just about ready to lift off again. "She wants the Queen. What do we do?"
Silvermist smiled as the baby burst into tears. "I think she's saying 'more'." She sat down, spreading her wings out across the sofa.
He rose up again, and the princess laughed. When Silvermist picked up a book on the end table, he frowned. "Aren't you going to babysit?"
"Can't. If I fly, I'll cause a tornado in the house. Have fun." She grinned and started reading.
After eleven more times, he landed. "Alright, little dictator, I'm getting nauseous. Time for a new game." He carried the princess over to Silvermist, but the baby burst into tears.
Silvermist took the baby in her lap and raised her wings to swoosh the feathers overhead. The princess stopped and stared. "What are these? Do you want to see?" As she lowered a wing, the princess reached up.
"No!" He grabbed her wings.
The princess jumped and burst into sobs.
"She'll rip out feathers. She has the grip of a squirrel fighting for a nut." He sighed and looked at the baby. "I wasn't yelling at you," he grunted.
Scooping the baby up to cuddle on her shoulder, she patted the tiny back. "She can't reason yet." When the cries didn't stop, Silvermist walked her.
After fifteen minutes of distractions not working, Silvermist shoved the baby at him. "You try."
Resting the baby on his chest, he started walking toward the kitchen to get a bottle. But she quieted.
"Don't stop walking," Silvermist whispered and came up beside him. "She's going to sleep."
"Do I put her in the crib?"
"The book said right when she's out." She followed to the nursery.
When the baby seemed asleep, he eased her down toward the crib.
She started crying again.
He returned her to his shoulder and turned. Something sharp jammed into his foot, making him stumble. "Neverland! What the hell?!"
The baby stirred.
Silvermist bent down and picked up a wooden play block as he limped to the rocking chair.
"Dammit, we're not getting our baby blocks. That hurts like a mother Neverland." He sat and rocked as the princess gave a tired fuss.
"Stop cursing before she repeats it to the Queen," she whispered.
"Right. She can't say 'more', but she'll say 'Neverland' or 'dammit'," he replied dryly.
She cocked an eyebrow.
The princess stirred and whimpered, pulling her legs up to her chest. A rude noise filled the room.
Sleet stopped and met her wide eyes. "I'll take all your labor pain if you do the diaper."
"Do we tie her arms and legs down?" he yelled minutes later over the princess's screams from the changing table. "She's going to get in it."
"I don't think so. I'll hold her hands and feet, you slide the diaper off."
"I can't look! She's a female! She's going to be our queen one day!"
Silvermist rolled her eyes. "She's a baby."
"It's indecent!" His face actually turned red from embarrassment.
Nudging him aside, she took off the leaf diaper and held the feet out of the way while he held the hands clear. Wiping the baby clean, she nodded. "Go figure out where to toss that."
He grumbled and blindly reached around for the diaper so he wouldn't see the baby naked.
"Sleet, no!"
But his fingers shoved right into the middle of the dirty diaper. "Son of a fucking Neverland!" he roared.
She burst out laughing.
The princess quieted, apparently distracted by the entertainment.
"Dammit! I'm going to remember this when you're queen, little monster," he growled and snatched the diaper before marching out.
Pulling out a fresh leaf, she giggled at the baby. "You're going to be a good queen, keeping him from getting a big head."
The princess babbled.
She rocked the fussy baby when he returned. "Maybe you should try her on your shoulder again. I have to wash my hands."
He took the princess and sat in the vacated rocking chair. "Little demon. I'd rather face Creatures than change your diaper again."
When she came back, she stopped in the doorway. The princess was curled up, easily fitting in the crook of his arm as he rocked and hummed, stroking the little arm that was no longer than his finger. His head bowed as he watched the princess sleep.
Never had she heard him sing or hum, or even whistle a song. But here this notoriously dangerous Alamur sat rocking and humming an innocent little baby to sleep. The princess slept peacefully, her body completely limp and trusting that he'd keep her from harm. Her heart melted and she rested a hand over her belly. He'd be a perfect father. The baby's first word would likely be a cuss word, but Sleet would raise a strong, kind son.
He looked up, as if sensing the emotions in her glow, and offered a soft smile.
A half hour later, she opened the front door for Lord Milori and the Queen.
"How did it go?"
She smiled. "You aren't going to believe this. She wants only him to hold her." She led the way to the nursery.
Sleet still rocked the princess reclined in his arm, but the little baby tried so hard to stay awake. Sleet spoke in soft, low tones, reading a storybook about the adventures of a rabbit.
"Oh my," the Queen whispered.
Lord Milori smiled. "And here I was certain that he'd be afraid of her."
"He was, but when I came back from the washroom, they were best friends," she whispered with a grin.
Sleet looked up and set the book down as he slowly stood, still quietly muttering to the baby. He eased her into the crib and carefully tucked her in. Then he tiptoed out and closed the door.
"Looks like we have a new babysitter," Lord Milori smiled.
Sleet scowled. "That's a poop weapon in there. If this babysitting ever happens again, it's one day off of work for each diaper. And no, I wasn't a pervert who looked at her, I just handled the dirty diaper." Then he marched down the hall.
She covered her mouth to keep from laughing when they looked at her in confusion. "He was very embarrassed when she messed and wouldn't look at her naked, so he stuck his hand right in the dirty diaper when I gave it to him. Diaper changing didn't go so well—for Sleet."
The Queen smothered a smile, but Lord Milori burst out laughing.
On the way home, he carried her but was silent. His glow felt a little sad. "You'll see her again, you know."
He grunted. "I don't need that little insect shitting all over me, " he growled.
"Oh! I forgot I have the block in my pocket! Let's go back quick."
When she knocked on the door, Lord Milori answered with the princess awake in his arms. "I had this in my pocket." When she handed over the block, the princess spotted Sleet behind her.
"Ma! Ma!" she squealed.
"No, Mama is inside." Lord Milori frowned.
The sadness vanished from Sleet's glow. "She wants a game," he growled, as if extremely put out. But he stepped forward and took the baby, lifting her up and down as she squealed in delight. Sleet didn't seem to notice the audience or that he grinned like a fool.