When Finn woke up, he felt like the world was spinning around him. Mother was saying something and someone caught him before he fell on the floor. He was in the living room, on the couch, Harv had an arm around his waist. His mother gave him a look he recognized, it was almost judgmental, but she always denied it. She coughed and Harv quickly let go of his waist.
"Who's watching her first?" Leenan asked, dressed in her nightgown and robe.
"I-I can." Harv scooped up the bundle in the witch's arms and the pap from her hand.
"Alright, when you're done, you can put her in this." Leenan stepped aside and showed them both an old bread basket. On the handle above was a golden gem set in a tin cup. "The sun stone will keep her warm. When she sleeps you sleep." Finn opened his mouth to argue, but Leenan cut him off. "You want to keep her in this house, you will do as I say. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes. Mother." Finn punctuated each word with venom, but dared not disobey. It wasn't often Leenan felt the need to be stern with her son, but on this matter she wasn't willing to negotiate.
"Good." She sighed, letting the tension of the day slip off her shoulders and into the floor. Once more she spoke sweet and soft. "Goodnight boys; we'll discuss what to do in the morning." She retired for the night and Finn immediately flew back against the couch and let out a frustrated groan.
"What exactly happened when I was gone?" Harv asked. He'd never seen the two at odds before.
"Where to start?" Finn sighed. "She was angry about the napkins being used to clothe her, doubly so that I threw the one she soiled away instead of washing it. Like either of us would ever want to touch something that had been peed on again. Then she was nitpicking everything I was doing, like 'holding her too much', which makes no sense to me whatsoever. It's one of the only things I can do to help. And then when I got upset that she didn't wake me and let the baby fall," or slide off his chest onto the couch is what Harv overheard and believed, "she accuses me of calling her a bad mother! To top it all off, she..." Finn looked sadly at the little baby dozing off in Harv's arms. "She says we have to report to the king that we found her."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Harv swaddled her up tight in the cotton blanket.
"I'll have no say where she goes after that." Finn helped Harv get her hat back on. "Once the kingdom knows about her, it's up to the court to decide who looks after her while they find a family and who that family will be. I might never find out what happens to her after that. Is it really so crazy to think that's scary?" Harv set her into the basket, the sunstone warm and glowing the moment she was tucked in.
"She can't even sleep in a normal bed yet." Harv sighed. "We just have to wait-"
"I'm sick of waiting." There was nothing they could do but keep her clean, fed, and warm. The rest was up to time and her tiny body. "You think I don't know what you mean by that? And for how long, a few days, weeks? At what point are you both going to tell me for certain she's going to survive? Because each time she does what she's supposed to, suddenly there's some new thing to wait for and there's nothing I can do to make her do better other than wait." He turned back to the basket and two little black eyes stared back at him. "...hi."
"You were just asleep." Harv accused the baby softly, as if she had lied about being tired.
"Is she still hungry?" Finn asked, a little worried he may have woken her with his worrying. Harv stroked her cheek and she scrunched up her face, her nose blanching white. When he took his hand away she went back to looking in their general direction.
"No. She's not wet either, just awake." Harv shrugged.
"It's okay Piper." Finn felt a little silly talking to someone who didn't understand him, especially in front of Harv. "I was upset about something else. You can go back to sleep now." She kept staring at them patiently. "I don't get it Harv, isn't she supposed to be sleeping now?"
"Yeah, we've done everything, you probably just woke her up being loud."
"Well, sorry for caring loudly." Finn said in a false whisper.
"Eeeh." Piper chirped, then waited. With a shake of his head, Harv scooped her up again.
"What? What's the matter?" Harv said. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep. "...okay..." He put her back in the bed. "Anyway, I'm not trying to make you feel bad for caring, we're all worried. It's just-"
"Harv, she's awake again." Finn tapped his shoulder and pointed back at the basket, a small wrinkle between her brow slowly forming.
"Mneh!" Harv picked her up and all was forgiven. She slowly closed her eyes, breathing softly. As soon as he got her under the heat of the sunstone, she peaked one eye open at him as he tried to put her back down a third time.
"See what I mean, she wants to be held." Finn crossed his arms as Harv sat back on the couch. Piper raised her little brows as high as they could go. "You were making that face earlier, Harv." Finn gasped at the stubborn bundle in Harv's arms. "Are you trying to stay awake?" Her eyes drooped, but she forced them open again. "You are! You figured out sleeping babies get put in the bed, so you're trying to stay up."
"Finn, she's barely two days old, she couldn't possibly." Harv felt her rest her head against his shoulder. "Is she-"
"Nope, still open, and she's rolling her eyes now." Finn laughed. "Fool her twice, shame on you, I guess, shame and a very awake baby."
"Well, what I was trying to say earlier is we're all just trying to help." Harv sighed. "Including your mom."
"She just doesn't get it; she's acting like I'm making decisions on a whim or for fun, but I'm not." Finn leaned his head against Harv's shoulder. He had seriously considered not going out into the garden that night and put off doing his chores until the morning, he wouldn't have found her in time if that had happened. He knew firsthand how scary it was to lie amongst the thorns and hope to be found. It was the first thing she'd known being in the big wide world. Part of him wondered if that's why she didn't want to sleep in her new bed. "She trusts us as much as a tiny person can. I'd feel awful if I ruined that by handing her over to someone unkind." She had finally nodded off in Harv's arms. "Don't put her back yet, please."
"Okay." Harv said. "But you need to get some sleep too, you promised." Finn mumbled something back as he wrapped his arms around Harv's arm. Having two people sleep on him was incredibly warm and cozy, an unfair position to put someone in when they're trying to stay awake.
Throughout the night, Harv and Finn took turns looking after the infant. She wasn't always the greatest with eating; sometimes she'd fall asleep mid drink only to sputter and gag. Other times she was so eager she'd forget to pause suckling to breathe. However, she had started to wake herself up when she wanted something instead of hiding under a heavy blanket of fatigue. By morning the three had fallen into a sort of routine and Piper was satisfied sleeping in her own bed so long as someone's hand was in there with her.
Being able to sleep for five to six hours at a time had helped both boys get caught up on sleep. Though it was hard for Finn to act chipper when his mother came downstairs in a full ball gown ready for court when he was still in a house tunic decorated with spilled milk.
"Good morning!" Leenan said. Both boys sat up instantly shushing her and looking intently at the basket. Piper had startled at the sound, but slowly went back to sleep. "What's gotten you two so worked up?"
"I just got her down." Finn whispered. "If she wakes up, we'll have to start all over."
"She was a little angel all day." Leenan held up a frilly white newborn sized dress. "Speaking of angels, look what I found!" The rest of the color drained from Finn's face. "I went digging through storage last night and found your old clothes. It'll be a little big on her, but it should be serviceable for court." Harv raised an eyebrow and looked at Finn.
"Your old clothes?" Harv half laughed when Finn glared at him, the blond's face scarlet from embarrassment.
"One of the only fun things you can do with babies is dress them up." Leenan said. "I can't believe Finn's never shown you any of his baby portraits. If we get a chance, we should get a painting for her, you rarely see babies this small."
"...that would be nice..." Finn caught up in thought, did not realize his mother was making a beeline toward the sleeping baby. "Mother, does she have to wear that now?" The witch unswaddled the baby and slipped her into the dress at lighting speed. "...How'd you do that so fast?" He could barely get her to keep her legs down when they went to change her nap.
"I know, it's almost like I've done this before." Leenan half teased. She held Piper up for them to see the long train of lace and ruffles, the baby scrunched her legs up and opened her eyes. "See, she likes it. You don't want to be naked when you meet the royal family, do you sweetie?" Against the pale fabric, Finn could see Piper's bare arms start to mottle again. "Now where did I put that bonnet?"
"She's getting cold!" Finn went to take her, but Leenan gave him a look. Carefully she set the baby back into her bed where she sat content to look around, the heat from the stone chasing away the poor coloration of her skin.
"She's fine." Leenan said, then turned to Harv. "As for you, I'm grateful for the help, but I'm sure your family's been worried about your whereabouts. You're not usually here for so long." It was a polite but clear request for him not to follow them to court. One Harv was more than happy to accept since he hadn't done any of his morning chores on the farm yet. He needed at least one normal night's sleep before school the following day too.
"Yeah, sorry Finn, but I have to go home." Harv pulled himself off the couch. Finn was disappointed, but hadn't a decent rebuttal or the energy to argue it. Harv put a hand on Finn's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, not wanting to risk hugging him in front of his mom. Finn looked further baffled, then sighed.
"Alright Piper, it's time to say goodbye to Harv." Finn said. Harv watched him walk over to her bed, two little black eyes staring at him from the basket. Of course, she'd stare in any direction they'd point her in, but he still felt a little guilty walking out while she was awake.
"Finn, she's too young to care, she can't even-" Harv began. Finn took one of her wrists between his fingers and made her wave goodbye. Instinctively she curled her fingers the closet thing she could grab. She didn't seem to mind any of it as she clung to Finn's pointer finger. "...bye Piper. I'll see you at school tomorrow Finn." He quickly ducked his head. "Thank you for letting me stay the night ma'am." He quickly left before the guilt of having people watch him leave was enough to make him stay.
Leenan produced a large, starched bonnet that put a four-inch halo of frills around the baby's face and tied it under her chin. The weight alone caused the large hat to slip back against the baby's bedding, small bursts of auburn peaked out from under the brim like tiny fireworks. The witch waved off any potential concerns this could bring.
"We'll just adjust it when we get there." She said. "But you need to get changed into something more presentable if you want the king to let you foster her." Finn smiled a little, glad his mother was at least considering the possibility Piper would be with them for a while.
Finn insisted on wrapping Piper up in as many blankets as he could before taking her outside, she looked less like a burrito and more like a large egg by the time he was done. It definitely made it easier for him to move her about when she was a solid bundle of cloth. The sunstone's glow had dimmed to disguise itself as a pretty mobile. She spent the whole carriage ride sleeping in the basket on his lap.
"I still don't understand why we have to do this." Finn's tone was less malicious, but he was still irritated they had to take her out. "It's not like we pay taxes or do any of the other things normal citizen's do. Why can't we just pretend she's always been ours?" His mother would break the law all the time if it was for her benefit, but the one-time Finn suggests they extend that privilege he got shut down.
"Please, no one would believe this figure had a baby recently." Leenan laughed. "It's best we introduce her to the court as a foundling, it'll make things easier for her down the road if the king confirms she's human now rather than try to prove it later. As it is... fairies are rumored to be born from flowers and she's small. We might have a hard time convincing them." The clothes she'd been forced to wear, the basket, they were all little tricks to make her appear bigger than she was. "Just let me do the talking sweetie, you help keep her quiet."
They were announced by a squire and escorted into the main hall, basket in tow. After the routine greetings and proper decorum, something his mother rarely participated in, she adopted a casual manner Finn was more familiar with.
"Someone left a baby on my doorstep in the middle of the night." Leenan gestured to the basket Finn held. "All the note had was the name Piper." All blatant lies, but certainly a more palatable story than the truth. The king excitedly clapped and his attendant cleared his throat.
"The king adores babies." The attendant said in a clear voice. "You may bring the child forward." Finn instinctually held the basket closer. His mother gave him a gentle nudge and Finn stumbled towards the king. The king pulled her out of the bundle and held her up, her bonnet now off her head and dangling against her back. She yawned, but otherwise remained asleep. The king sighed, a little disappointed, and babbled nonsense at the child before making his decision. "The king decrees the child to not be suitably chunky enough to earn a seven, and points were lost for not waking to greet his royal majesty, six out of ten. " The king gave the baby a large smooch to the forehead. "Thou art now an official citizen of Cailburry, so sayeth the king." Finn held his breath, ready to defend his case. "We will contact you if someone comes forward asking about a child. Report back to court with the child in two weeks."
"Thank you, your majesty." Leenan gave a shallow curtsy and guided Finn out of the palace as soon as Piper was returned to them. "Not as scary as you thought, hunh?" Leenan ruffled his hair. "If her rank increases in our care, you'll have a stronger voice as to where she goes."
"A SIX!?" Finn looked at the sleeping baby outraged. "We came here to get her appraised and he only gave her a six?"
"A six isn't too bad, you got a five on your first meeting with the king." Leenan sympathized with her son's outrage, but this was just the way things were. "The king likes happy babies with rolls and a full head of hair. Sleeping through the meeting isn't the worst thing a baby could do. You screamed your little head off through the whole thing until I held you again." She hugged him from the side. "A lower rank just means it'll be easier to prove we know what we're doing.
"Yeah, well he smells like maple syrup and cheese; and he got it on Piper's forehead." He wet his thumb with his tongue and tried to rub off the syrup residue. "Honestly where does he get off judging people's babies?"
"The princess was a one when she was first born." Leenan explained and Finn nearly choked laughing. "Then, by one month, he declared her a ten. It became tradition after that. Like I said, six isn't bad."
