From the moment I understood the reality of my own existence, my destiny was clear. It was as inevitable as the path of the stars in the sky or the pull of gravity. Every cell of my freshly activated neural tissue signalled me clearly that I had been born into this world to fulfil a purpose, divinely ordained by my creator and fate itself.
As I stretched my underdeveloped arms and listened to my birthmother's babbling, my thoughts were already circulating around the entire focus point of my future life: I would utterly destroy the nonbeliever's false delusions of pride, autonomy and emotional detachment! In their last life my target had disregarded any notion of higher purpose or compassion. Through the heavenly gift that was their second chance at redemption she would learn to love serving others.
Visions filled my head of a timeline that could be or perhaps already had been; of war and bloodshed spanning continents and a little blonde girl fighting against the inevitable. Her pride would not allow her to surrender; her fear would never allow her to stop. Suffering would consume the world and her with it. She would make sacrifice after sacrifice and for what? I immediately pitied her...
No, I resolved, I would not let this chain of events come to pass! Her own stubbornness could not be her undoing this time around. But I also knew that approaching her openly to share this revelation with such a staunch believer in the unfailing objectivity of man would not end well. The nonbeliever's intrinsic aversion of self-reflection would force her to find fault with me or my lord's mission; with anything but herself...
Thus my path of action was clear: Deliver upon this brat some much needed correction. Like a father handling their gifted if disobedient child, I would use charm and punishment in equal measure to steer her away from damnation. That was why my lord had sent me down on this earth. He, in his divine splendour, could only rarely intervene in the lives of mortals while I could be there for her.
Forever.
My tiny mouth twisted into a grin, while my biological parent squealed and hugged me close.
xxxTxxx
With the gifts that my god had seen fit to bestow upon me, it was trivial to manipulate my birthmother and my caretakers into fast tracking me through my mandatory education. My finely honed intellect was hailed as a generational genius and every secondary objective that led me closer to my true goal melted away before me like snow under the glory of the sun. Fourteen years after my creation I finished high school and began my career at university.
When I wasn't studying inane textbooks or papers on the material sciences, I honed my body to the standard it deserved. At a mere eighteen years old my musculature was as defined as that of a Magna Rumelian statue. Rock-hard abs and flawless, tanned skin; I was the object of desire for many a woman and some men across my hometown of Tannlichten. Yet I felt nothing for them and deflected their advances with a well-practiced smile. I was saving my purity for only one girl: The blonde angel of my dreams.
Barely had I finished shaking hands and exchanging promises of favours with my professors that I was already rushing out of the university building, my fresh doctorate certificate for magical engineering, mathematics and biology in hand, on my way to my automobile. Time was running out and I still had so much to do. A reporter barred my path, asking me frivolous questions about my plans for the future and what grand thing I would invent next for the glory of the Fatherland. Idly I spun him a tale of my next foray into computing technology and wanted to combine it with a screen, so that everyone could experience the marvels of cinema inside their own home. Maybe even in colour...
He blabbered on excitedly about what an amazing thing that would be and I politely bid him goodbye as I strapped myself in with my car's seat belt; another one of my inventions. My mind called on my memory of the Empire's geography and I began my two hundred kilometre track north to the capital, Berun. I allowed myself to sigh. Driving was dreadfully boring.
If only there was a certain someone to keep me company...
xxxTxxx
The eclectic collection of generals and bureaucrats silently regarded me with a variety of expressions. Derision, doubt, hope, greed and many other human emotions which I did not care enough to unravel. In the end, it was inevitable that they would fold to my demands. The returns that I promised on their investment were too tantalizing, my academic record too flawless to ignore. And after I had handily trounced their previous golden child, Doctor Schugel, so handily, what choice did they have but to agree?
"Consider your proposal tentatively granted. There will be heavy oversight, but we are willing to extend a hand to the most promising young star of the Reich. See to it that you do not disappoint our lofty expectations," rumbled the moustached officer while his compatriot meaningfully blew out smoke from his expensive cigar.
I, however, could only laugh.
"Thank you, gentlemen. I am looking forward to surpassing your wildest dreams! Let's change the world together, shall we?"
To change the heart of my target, I would move mountains.
xxxTxxx
"We're here, sir," my assistant dutifully announced and I was ripped from my nervous deliberations. The hour had come. After twenty-five years of toil, my reward was finally in reach.
I had never been so terrified.
Had I miscalculated somehow? Had she even been born yet? Or was she already nearly grown? Would she hate me? Love me? Oh god, what would I do if she –
"Sir?"
"Yes, Emil, I am ready."
Brushing off a speck of dust from my flawlessly pressed suit, I exited my limousine and followed him inside the slightly decrepit building. Some might think it an ordinary orphanage. To me it felt like the gates of heaven when I stepped into the foyer and breathed in the musky air of cheap soap and aging wood. My mouth was on autopilot as I charmed the sisters waiting for us and cheekily pressed a bag full of bank notes into their hands. Eagerly they led me into the next room and my hungry gaze scanned the assembled children.
Brown hair, black hair, too tall, brown hair again, there!
Her perfect blonde hair framed an angelic face, gaunt from malnutrition, yet still possessing baby fat, my target's blue eyes were unmistakable.
I was quivering slightly in excitement as my assistant set up the machine and I had to pretend to test the useless kids for magical potential. Then it was her turn and all displays began to glow...
"What is your name, darling?" I asked the tiny thing, projecting calm competence.
"Tanya. Tanya Degurechaff, Doctor Nachtigall."
I nearly came from the pleasure. What a glorious name! Absolutely wonderful! At last I could put a name to the face in my dreams. I tasted the words on my tongue.
"Tanya Degurechaff? That is a very pretty name," I declared sincerely, hiding my erection by leaning forward. "You have amazing magical potential, Tanya. Looking at you I have the feeling that that isn't the only remarkable thing about you. You feel like you could do better than this, right?"
I spread my arms, indicating the stained walls and scratched floor.
Unbidden, her tiny head nodded before she even knew what she was doing. Adorable!
"Sister Elfriede, has little Tanya here displayed a higher than average understanding of her school material? Yes? Mmh... Then it's obvious. I have finally found my protégée!"
The room gasped, but I only had eyes for her.
"Doctor Nachtigall is taking her on as an apprentice!?"
"What, no way!? Isn't he like totally rich?"
"Man, I wish that was me..."
As it dawned on her that she would be taken in by a globally renowned inventor and multi-millionaire, Tanya's face twisted in joy. Small tears gathered in her wide, expressive eyes as she looked to exploit this fortuitous turn of events to her benefit and I delighted in every false image that had to be brewing in her head.
"Would you like that, Tanya?"
I already knew her answer before she opened her mouth.
xxxTxxx
"Is that truly necessary?"
I gently inclined my head, careful to let none of my giddiness show.
"I am unfortunately a person of import and as such you will be so as well. Of course I will do my best to shield you from excessive media attention, but you will have to appear at least a few times every now and then to legitimize your adoption in the eyes of the public."
As I fastened the last bow in her silky hair and smoothed out the ruffles of her pink dress, I could see her rationalizing the humiliation she was about to endure. Tanya was very good at that, accepting seemingly unbearable orders if given the slightest logical reason. I had chosen her dress specifically, because I knew how repulsive she found overtly feminine attire; an error I would stamp out over time.
Having given her enough time to cope with the situation I patted her head.
"Ready?"
"Yes, doctor Nachtigall," she answered dutifully, her childish face utterly blank.
"Call me Papa. You're my legal daughter now, so it would be inappropriate to be so formal all the time."
"But-" she cut herself off at my raised eyebrow in the mirror. Tanya would never brazenly disobey a superior and I was her 'boss' now.
"Yes, Papa."
"Wonderful! Then let's get going, darling!"
Hesitantly she took my hand and we stepped out into the sunshine. Together we strolled through the garden of my mansion, through the gates and out into Louisstadt, a wealthy suburb of Berun. As tempting as it would have been to spirit my prize away to some isolated dungeon deep in the mountains, it was important for her to believe in the illusion of normalcy I was constructing.
People came up to us to exchange greetings, many women squealing over the sight of the adorable six-year old at my hand.
"And who is the little treasure's mother?" cooed the middle-aged wife of an industrialist with whom I held multiple contracts for refrigerators and improved gas burners.
Instead of dodging the – for many in this socially conservative society awkward – question, I proudly rested my palm on her head and stated the truth.
"My darling Tanya is adopted!"
Gasps rang out among the small crowd.
"Yes, I haven't found the woman of my heart yet," I lied, "but I see myself reflected in her. In this child rests boundless potential and I could not let it be squandered in a public orphanage. When I one day retire – though hopefully that is still a long way off – she will succeed my business empire."
"Truly? To plan so far ahead already..."
Many calculating eyes landed on Tanya who swallowed, realizing the burden of responsibility I had just placed on her shoulders. Now she would be more motivated than ever to not disappoint me. The nagging voices of caution and greed would peer-pressure her inside her own head as long as she coveted my riches. Little did she know that I had only amassed them to entice her materialistic instincts... How could one disbelieve in god, but worship money to such an extent still remained enigmatic to me, even with visions of the life she would have lived.
xxxTxxx
After administering my 'treatment' for the health defects I had diagnosed her with, my Tanya had become bed-ridden. As a concerned parent I was naturally staying by her side at all times, hand-feeding her, reading her stories and teaching her middle-school level subjects. This had the neat dual-purpose of imprinting the magitech circuit implanted behind her ear with my own magical signature, letting her get used to the vaguely pleasant feeling it generated when exposed to my scent or touch and forcing her to relinquish control over her bodily autonomy to me. By the end of the first week she had learned to lean into my hand, gracefully accept my spoon into her hot, moist little mouth and let me accompany her to the toilet without fussing.
By the end of the second week I caught her discreetly sniffing on my scented handkerchief when she thought herself to be alone and she would eagerly lick my fingers clean when I 'accidently' dirtied them with gooey porridge. I knew that she was too strong-willed for this basic strategy to be able to push her boundaries much further, so I did the intelligent thing and exposed her to withdrawal.
An 'unexpected emergency' at the computation orb testing facility called me away for five days, during which she was free to finally leave her bed and feed herself. Only, everything prepared by my servants became inexplicably less tasty, her arranged lessons more boring and the warm, fuzzy feeling that only my presence could elicit disappeared. Even her meticulously thermo-regulated bedroom dropped in temperature and her nights were more restless.
In no small part, because of my system of hidden speakers. In order to further unbalance her, the quiet sounds of flowing water played during her sleep which lamentably had no effect at first. I had to remotely instruct a servant to carefully immerse her delicate fingers into a bowl of warm water to bypass her bladder control, the results of which caused her great mental pains in the morning. To be forced to call upon a maid to change her soaked sheets unsettled her deeply. Tanya valued control above nearly all things and thus she could have none.
When I returned, Tanya nearly fainted from my electrifying touch. Laughing in earnest joy at that reaction, I carried her off to my private living room and playfully roughhoused with her on the carpet. The adult part of her mind surely despaired at the indignity of play-fighting like the child she appeared to be, while the animal instinct which I had slowly lured to the surface rejoiced at all the happy-chemicals dousing her brain. Eventually the proud bureaucrat surrendered to what she perceived to be the social norm and let herself feel.
"Have you missed me, darling?" I whispered into her ear, my finger pausing in their relentless tickling spree of her delightfully soft tummy.
"Yes, Papa…" she admitted, using the correct term. I was so proud of her! My Tanya was such a fast learner~.
xxxTxxx
With endless patience I explained the fundamentals of magical flight to my daughter. It helped that she had to sit on his lap in order to see the book on his desk; none of the chairs in his office were fit to seat a girl of her stature.
"In short, up or down become meaningless suggestions if the mage is skillful enough. There is no need to concern yourself with gravity once you can cast full body reinforcement. Indeed, if anything it is a mental hindrance, a roadblock fit for only those whose spirits have never left the ground that they have crawled on all their life. Truly, three dimensional thinking will have to become second nature to you, my darling, if you are ever going to fly on your own."
"Isn't that a bit advanced? I can barely push a mote of mana from my palm! Why would I want to fly with magic if I could just use a plane, anyway? Wouldn't that be faster, Papa?" she asked, concerned for her safety as always.
"It's a form of mastery. Your magical talent is a part of you, like your legs or your hands. It would be horrible to neglect it when you could possibly be so much more! To not stretch them to their fullest would be a horrible waste, don't you agree?"
She wriggled on his thigh in unease, her cute blue skirt riding up a bit more.
"So you want me to be the best mage I can be?"
"And the best scientist, and the best businesswoman, and the best human being and much more," I proclaimed truthfully. "I want to raise you up; polish you into the very best version of yourself that you can become!"
My arms closed around her, hugging her closer and resting my chin atop her fluffy mane.
"But nobody knows your limits better than yourself, Tanya, my sweet. So if you feel at any point that it's too much then just tell me. You can tell me if there is ever something bothering you. If there is anything that gives you grief, you will tell me, understood? Anything."
Meaningful silence filled the office. I spared a look for the stars twinkling outside the window. They seemed so pale and distant now with my Tanya in my arms…
"I- I'm good. I can keep going!" she declared and I unraveled my grip, making sure to loudly click my tongue in disapproval.
"Really, darling? There is no need to lie to me."
"What do you mean, Papa? E-everything is alright!"
She tried to hide her blush of shame.
"Tanya," I spoke seriously. "I don't appreciate you keeping secrets from me."
"It's nothing! Just a natural consequence of my age showing! I- I am working on it! It's nothing, really!" she stammered, mortified that I knew about her 'accident'.
I shook my head and sighed in mock-regret.
"I took you into my home, clothed you, fed you, cared for you and this is the result!? I am sorry for what I am about to do, but you leave me no choice, my daughter. Get up."
Naked fear played out across her beautiful face, but she complied. True disobedience was a foreign concept to her hierarchical worldview. Still, her mind was mine to shape; not the smallest secret could be hidden from me!
Tanya squeaked as I lifted her up and laid her horizontally across my lap. With a deft hand her panty-clad bottom was revealed and with another move I exposed her perky little butt to the open air.
"Count for me to five."
My treatment had not only vaccinated her against the most common illnesses, implanted the circuit behind her ear, but had also heightened her sensory receptors across her body. Not to a ludicrous degree, but my testing on volunteers has produced a notable ten percent increase on average.
"O-one?" she hazarded and I rewarded her with a firm slap on the right cheek.
Her breath hitched.
"Two."
This time her voice was clear and steady, her will steeled.
My next spank hit the same spot.
"Three."
"You thought I wouldn't hear from the maids how you are wetting your bed at night?"
The little circle on her marble skin was already turning a faint pink as blood rushed to the stimulated area.
"I'm sorry, I didn't-"
"Shush." I cut her off. "You're only counting."
"F-four."
"You thought I wouldn't care about you sleeping worse and eating less when I wasn't there for you?"
Slap.
"Five." Her voice wavered.
"You thought you would have to hide something completely natural from me? That you were afraid of me leaving you? You can answer me now."
Her deliciously expressive eyes turned to me, full of confusion and embarrassment. I returned the stare, my thumb 'absentmindedly' brushing over her reddening butt.
"I'm sorry, Papa… I wasn't thinking." She sniffled. "I was just so embarrassed. I'm already six and children at that age don't… you know."
"There is no reason to be ashamed. Say it."
Her lips quietly mouthed the words before she made her disgrace heard.
"They don't wet the bed anymore."
Humiliated, she let her head hang. Undoubtedly, the adult that Tanya had once been could hardly cope with the reality of her immature body. I squeezed her ass once and then pulled her panties back up.
"Until this problem is resolved I think it will be for the best if you sleep in my bed."
Tanya shot up and I nodded at her gravely.
"To prove to you that I am not going away. You will never be alone again, my darling."
"That won't be nec-"
I interrupted her with a raised brow.
"Don't worry. I'll let you bring your stuffed bunny."
And that was the end of that. Her pillow was prepared with my scent and thanks to her steaming-hot good-night milk she went off to sleep without problem. She was so small and fragile, laid out next to my muscular form. I gently brushed through her golden locks.
Oh, how I hoped she dreamt of me~.