All was quiet for a change around the Palace aside from the usual hustle and bustle. Indeed, the Emperor had no reason to think anything would catch him off guard, except the fact his now ten-month-old daughter was in that phase of life where she started to explore and get into mischief. It didn't help his older children had a tendency to encourage said mischief.
"My Lord, Lord Kahn is racing around the palace again, but one of our Custodes is chasing him," Constantin Valdor said, looking out the Emperor's study window, and doing a double take. The massive man quickly stood and nearly plastered his face against the window pane. "Wait, HE HAS THE PRINCESS WITH HIM!"
Alesia squealed in delight as her brother, Jaghatai Kahn, raced his bike laps around the palace with her strapped to him. She was wearing a specially made helmet with a face plate Rogal Dorn had designed for her, but she doubted her rigid brother had thought Jaghatai would have her wear it just to go on a joy ride.
They had been riding for several minutes now, and she had only just noticed a Custodes chasing them and calling out to them. Jaghatai just laughed and rev'd his engine.
"JAGHATAI KAHN!" Their father's voice, however, could not be drowned out and they came to a screeching halt as the titan stepped into their path. "What the hell do you think your doing?! Your sister is far too young to be riding around like this!"
The Kahn remained silent, wisely knowing this was well earned, yet Alesia wanted to take some of the heat off of him. She gave a big smile, giggled and reached out to her father. Jaghatai quietly unfastened the straps that kept her latched to his chest and handed her to their still irate father.
"This helmet is Rogal's design," their father noted before taking the helmet off of her, revealing a mess of curly black hair that was not a rat's nest earlier, looked to the Custodes that had chased them earlier and commanded him, "Kithes, take Alesia back to her nursery."
"Yes, my Lord," the Custodes, whose voice she recognized almost immediately as the voice of Kitten, quickly stepped forward and gingerly took the princess out of the Emperor's hands. "Come now, Princess. Your nanny is worried sick."
Alesia kept her eyes on her father and let out a sad coo as the Custodes carried her back into the Imperial Palace.
"Now, son, explain why you thought taking your baby sister out on a joy ride was a good idea," the Emperor held his rage back, wanting to hear one of his more level headed sons' reason for such a dangerous stunt.
"I wanted to share the thrill of a ride with my sister as my adoptive father did for me at her age," Jaghatai calmly said. "Is it not normal for children to be exposed to such things early in life?"
"Not while they are literal infants!" He took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing. "From now on, you will not take Alesia out on joy rides until she is at least five years old, understood?"
"Yes, my Lord." Jaghatai bowed his head in respect. While his son could be irrational and never staying still for more than twenty seconds, he could rely on him to protect the baby princess.
"Jaghatai, know that I'm mad because I worry about yours and your sister's safety. Just, be more careful from here on out."
Her nanny was beside herself with worry when she was handed back to the woman. Alesia babbled in baby talk to try and calm the worry wart, and it seemed to be working to a slight extent.
"Oh, what was he thinking?!" Sylla said, walking the path back to the nursery with the Custodes, Kithes, escorting them. "Driving around with a baby, the Princess no less, strapped to his chest!"
"He thought it was a good bonding experience," Kithes said, his tone calm and leveled. "Children on his home planet are taken on horseback rides at a young age to get them used to the nomadic lifestyle. Lord Kahn was following a cultural tradition he grew up with and did not think about the dangers of driving a bike burdened with a tiny passenger."
"Well, I do hope the Emperor sets him straight on that! The Imperial Princess needs to be treated with utmost care!"
Alesia stared at Kithes, pretending to be a baby curious about the golden man following her and her nanny. Internally, she was frustrated that her brother was being bad mouthed by her caretaker. It was one mistake she was sure he would never make again, yet the servants of the Imperial Palace would gossip about it for months or even bring up years down the line she was sure.
"Madam Sylla," Kithes spoke firmly and stepped into her path, forcing her to an abrupt stop. "While your concern for Her Highness's safety is appreciated and valued, do not think for one moment that her siblings do not share the same sentiments. Lord Kahn would never allow the Princess to be harmed in his care, even if his actions are illogical and irrational at times. Do not ever speak ill of him or any of the other Primarchs again, especially around your charge." His tone never changed, but Alesia could feel his anger and she instinctively shrunk away from him.
"My apologies, Honorable Custodes." Sylla bowed her head and continued on her way once he had stepped aside.
Alesia didn't make a sound, even after she was placed in her play pen in her nursery once Sylla had brushed out her hair again. Her nanny tried to get her to play, but she couldn't muster any enthusiasm for the activity. While her adult self was in control at the moment, her base instincts as a baby was starting to overwhelm her due to the earlier interaction with the Custodes.
"My Lady, what is the matter?" Sylla inquired. "You're normally not this quiet. Do I need to fetch an Apothecary?" The woman pressed the back of her hand to Alesia's forehead, checking for a fever. "You don't feel ill."
"She is not acting like she is sick," Kithes spoke up from his position near the nursery door. "Perhaps we upset her with our interaction earlier? She has shown a level of sensitivity to others' emotions."
Give this guy a PHD, because that is some big brain thinking there! Alesia thought with every ounce of sarcasm she contained.
"Hmm. Hold on. I may have an idea." Kithes stepped toward her play pen and picked her up. "Maybe a story will cheer her up."
"Oh? Do you have a particular story in mind?" Sylla followed the giant man as he strode to Alesia's crib and placed the baby down.
"Yes, it's an ancient story studied by scholars and still enjoyed by denizens of Terra. The Emperor even has an ancient copy of the story from when it was first written and published, also signed by the author. Apparently he and the author were good friends at one point."
Alesia tilted her head, wondering just what Kithes was talking about. An ancient story? Granted, the Emperor had told her a few stories the rare few times she couldn't get to sleep on her own, and she had quickly let him know which stories she enjoyed.
Then Kithes knelt, cleared his throat, and began to tell the tale of a hobbit. She was very familiar with Tolkien's work, and she loved the Hobbit. Alesia gave the Custodes her utmost attention and began to nod off when the dwarves were starting to show up at Bilbo's house, and then finally fully fell asleep to the song the dwarves would sing after the dinner party.
In all of his years, Malcador never thought he'd see the day where he would hear a Custodes sing the song of the Lonely Mountain. It had been centuries since he had last read the Hobbit, so seeing one of his friend's most loyal Companions share a piece of history with the Imperial Princess was a wholesome sight to behold.
He stayed out of sight, watching and listening to the Custodes telling the story until the Princess had drifted off to sleep. The past ten months had been busy for the old Sigilite as his old friend took the time to keep an eye on the child. It wasn't until today that Malcador could finally return to Terra for some needed down time and to check in on the Princess.
The last time he saw the child, Alesia had been under the constant care of Erda, a fellow Perpetual and close confidant to their shared friend, Neoth. She had needed time to recover from her psyker powers lashing out and he had left just before she was presented to her Primarch siblings. It had warmed his heart to hear the eldest children of the Emperor had accepted their new sister almost immediately and that some of them had to be kicked off of Terra to get them back to being generals of the Imperium. He did hear how Nekona got dragged back to her transport by the ear from the cat woman herself; it was very amusing to see the massive woman pout in irritation from the treatment she received from her father.
"She's out like a light," he heard the nanny assigned to the princess say in a whisper. "I'm surprised you have that story memorized!"
"Our Lord Emperor mentioned that his daughter particularly enjoyed this story when he told it to her," said the Custodes in just as low a tone. "Though I think he does a better retelling than I could ever do. He certainly has the voice to do the song justice."
Seeing that the child was asleep, Malcador turned around and left quietly to see his old friend.
Alesia was startled awake by the sharp crack of thunder. Her adult conscious was pushed back by the overwhelming fear her baby self felt and a scream of terror tore out of her tiny mouth.
Heavy footsteps thundered over to her and Kithes peered into her crib, checking his charge as the nursery door bursted open.
"What is it brother?" Another Custodes asked, weapon at the ready just in case.
"The storm must have scared her awake, brother," Kithes explained as another bolt of lightning flashed and made baby Alesia cry harder. As much as she wanted to calm herself, her base instincts as a baby were always going to override her adult logic due to her physical age and development. Her personal guard reached down and gently picked her up, letting her latch onto his chest plate with her tiny hands. "Oh, Princess, everything is fine. You are perfectly safe."
"Should one of us go get her nanny?" The other Custodes inquired, clearly unsure of what to do in this situation as he relaxed his stance. "I doubt she will go back to sleep until the storm has passed."
"What is going on here?" A familiar, deep voice made the two Custodes straighten and turn to address the newcomer. Lion El'Johnson stepped into the room, his face a blank slate as he studied the situation. "Is the Princess hurt?"
"No, my Lord. The storm startled her awake and she is too scared to go back to sleep." Kithes explained while gently rubbing the baby's back as another bolt of lightning made her jump. "We were about to go fetch her nanny."
She hated this. She hated being unable to do anything; being frozen by uncontrollable fear and instinct. It was the most helpless she had ever felt since her final fight against that fallen Primarch in her past life.
"Give her to me," the Lion commanded, surprising her mentally.
"Are you certain, my Lord? You need not trouble yourself with such a trivial matter." Kithes inquired.
"In regards to my sister's wellbeing, nothing is trivial," the First Son stated without any emotion, yet Alesia was certain he was genuinely concerned about her.
Kithes did as commanded and handed the baby over to her oldest brother after gently prying her fingers off his armor. Once she was in her brother's hold, her hand immediately grabbed his dark green tunic tightly. Both Custodes left the room, leaving the two siblings alone.
"I do not blame you for your fear, sister," Lion said as his baby sister continued to cry. "I was just as small as you when I experienced my first storm, but I did not have the luxury of taking shelter in a place such as this."
She looked up to him, still whimpering, but hearing his voice, despite it's aloof tone, was starting to soothe her. This was also to first time he'd spoken to her like this.
He walked over and sat down in the large chair their father would normally use when he'd visit her.
"While I believe you will grow up spoiled, I would not wish you to go through what I experienced," the blonde man continued. "Every child deserves to grow up loved and cared for.
"Well, you are already loved by all of our siblings and Father. While us, Primarchs, were made for war and conquest, you were not part of Father's grand scheme, yet he has made it clear that you have a purpose in this empire. Maybe you are to be our morale support?" He cocked an eyebrow at the question, as though expecting any hint of an answer from her, and then shook his head. "Hmph. Whatever the case, you have already made a difference in our father. He has become more understanding as of late; he even has shown more trust in us all since your arrival."
Her grip on his tunic had loosened then and she laid her head against his chest, finally calm enough to begin drifting back to sleep.
"No, he changed well before you came along. You are the more obvious example of his change in personality. Though, this change may very well be for the better."
For being the most aloof Primarch, he sure is chatty right now, Alesia thought as her eyes began to close. Lion had never interacted like this with her before now, yet she felt the most at ease with him, as if she instinctively knew he would protect her from anything.
"I can see why our siblings want to visit you all the time now. You do not judge, you just listen. This bond is perhaps the most healthy bond any of us have in this tragedy of a family."
That's an…odd choice of words… Alesia wouldn't think much more of this until the next time she woke up in the late morning. Just as she fell asleep, the First Son noticed their father briefly poke his head in the door, quickly snap a picture with a data pad and left without saying a word, all the while Lion glared at the man for leaving him to care for his sister.