I was so close to titling this chapter 'Boss Baby'.

A request for a father/daughter moment between Maxon and Eadlyn was given by missblue2807. After I read her request, I realized that a lot of the past chapters have been straight Maxmerica fluff and we need more with the kids.


Photo #89: Baby Clips

To Eadlyn, it always felt as if the role of queen was meant to be hers. Even if the laws of inheritance weren't changed, she would have felt the same. Maybe that was just a feeling that every royal offspring had because even if the chances weren't on their side, they would still be in the running for the throne. That leadership quality would and should always be there.

Or maybe it's been instilled in her from a young age so that she'd believe it was innate? This next photo sure seems to prove that.

It shows Eadlyn's father carrying her as a baby in his office. He looks as though he's giving her an office tour and explaining all that's there, which isn't really much since it's all more or less paperwork. Her father, however, looks joyful as he gives baby Eadlyn the show which makes present Eadlyn smile warmly to herself.

Like father like daughter, they say.

-o-

On one of Maxon's few days off from his office-related royal duties, he finds himself walking into his office. What makes this day different from any other, besides the obvious no need to work, he has baby Eadlyn in his arms. In all honesty, Maxon has no idea why he's here let alone why he brought Eadlyn here. It was almost like he subconsciously walked in here.

"Oh..." Maxon mutters, realizing where he is. "Sorry, Eady, let's go somewhere else."

Maxon feels obligation to go somewhere else but he doesn't move. Over the past two-almost-three years of being king, his office has become more or less his second home. His feet are rooted to the ground as Eadlyn looks around mindlessly. Maxon glances at his daughter and sees a glimmer of interest in her eyes and even though it's possibly because babies are interested in almost everything, he tries to ignore that and believe that Eadlyn is interested in his office.

"One day, you'll be in here when you're preparing for the throne," Maxon says, "what do you think Eady?"

Baby Eadlyn looks up at him blankly for about five seconds before her eyes wander around mindlessly again. Maxon blinks, he really should've seen that coming. Eadlyn's a baby and here he is expecting a verbal response.

"I know, you can't contain your fake excitement," Maxon tells her as he props her up again.

Was Eadlyn really fake-excited about being here? Maxon will never know for sure since she didn't respond when he asked her the first time. He'll just say that she was to make himself happy.

"Look at all that paperwork, Eady!" Maxon exclaims excitedly and sarcastically. "Isn't it great?!"

Maxon looks at Eadlyn for a response and she looks like she couldn't care less. Frankly, he shows the same disinterest due to the fact that it's work but it's not completely unbearable. He does enjoy it to a certain extent (when it's completed).

"Aside from all that boringness, look at my stationary," Maxon says more enthusiastically than before.

Maxon places Eadlyn on his desk as he takes a seat in the office chair. He makes her face him as if a serious conversation was about to go down which it was, although it would end up being one-sided.

"I've been king for about three years so speaking from inexperience," Maxon starts, "it's a hard task but you learn and it suddenly becomes easy and possibly enjoyable. You'll never be prepared for the stress though or the load but it's something you have to take on one day at a time. And you won't be alone, even though this office could sometimes be gloomy but nevertheless, I could never imagine not being King because then, I wouldn't have you, Ahren or your mother."

Maxon smiles to himself as he taps Eadlyn's nose. Eadlyn only blinks as a response. It was almost like talking to a wall.

"Hey, Eady, look at all my pens!" Maxon exclaims.

That's sparks a reaction. Maxon takes his pens out of their holder and spreads them out in front of her. Eadlyn smiles as she touches all of them, picking up one pen per hand and then dropping them only to repeat the cycle. Maxon doesn't understand the excitement in doing that but he does find entertainment in watching Eadlyn do so.

Eadlyn turns around and sees small containers of binder clips and paper clips. She reaches over and spills both of them, making Maxon laugh. Eadlyn smiles contently and she messes those around (and will be a complete pain to reorganize). For his own benefit, Maxon attaches the binder clips to Eadlyn's onesie. Eadlyn looks down and fidgets with them, not really fussing over them. Maxon even puts the paper clips in her hair like barrettes and wonders why that was never a fashion trend.

Eadlyn laughs even more as her hands reach up to her head. Maxon kisses her forehead as he takes her hands back. Maybe America will notice, maybe she won't.

Then, Maxon realizes something she will really like. He opens his drawer and takes out an ink pad used for stamping. Maxon opens the ink pad and stamps Eadlyn's hand in it. Eadlyn looks at her blue palm in confusion until Maxon softly stamps it on a spare sheet of paper. Eadlyn looks at her handprint in amazement and continue to make more handprints. Then, she goes to subconsciously put her inky hand on her onesie.

"No, no," Maxon says, taking her wrist back. "Mommy will definitely notice that."

Eadlyn doesn't react much. Maxon opens another drawer and pulls out a wipe that he uses on Eadlyn's hand to remove the ink. He lets go of her wrist and Eadlyn looks around and her eyes pop open at the sight of Maxon's stapler. Curious, she reaches for it.

"No, no!" Maxon exclaims. "That's not for you."

Eadlyn looks back at her father with a quivering lip and tightened eyes. Oh no, he couldn't take a crying a baby so he needed to act fast. Maxon results in pulling out a pack of sticky notes. Eadlyn's face softens and she takes the pad in her hands. As she leafs through the many sheets, she stays hypnotized.

Maxon sits back in his seat relieved. Crisis truly averted.

And to think that this was the future queen of Illéa.


Guys, I don't know if I've mentioned this anywhere before but I have an obsession with stationary. You'd be surprised on how much money I've actually spent on memo notes and notebooks.

Please vote in the poll on my page!

Stay Tuned - "Don't worry, you'll still be able to smile."