—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three months pass.
Ellaine and Almenor are currently sitting on hastily brought in thrones in the Grand Magus's office, with the Grand Magus sitting on a booster chair behind the table full of documents.
"I believe I have found out the purpose of the ring. As you are already aware, the ring does have a Tier 1 concealment enchantment on it, it also functions as a locator and a recording device but these do not seem to be the main purpose of the ring. They are just ways to increase the likelihood of the main effect taking place."
Almenor holds his wife's hand, "And what is that purpose?"
"In short, demonic corruption. The ring exudes pure chaos energy, with the express purpose of demonification."
Strengthening her grip on Almenor's hand, Ellaine asks, "How likely is it that our daughter was influenced by it?"
"Under normal circumstances, I would say that it is unlikely that the ring would be able to deal irreversible effects onto her in such a short time. But. The conditions for corruption were immensely favorable. Not only was she a newborn at the time, she was constantly suffering and affected by negative emotions. Her mana grew immensely during that time and the ring was present during her Highnesses' suspected corruption by the White Queen as well as during her being freed of her curse. That means her body and soul were highly malleable at the time and extremely susceptible. I do not wish to be alarmist, since we do not know for sure, but I find it likely that some irreversible damage has been done. The extent of it, we will have to wait and see."
The entire winter court as well as parts of the neighbouring courts are now engulfed in night as a violent blizzard rages over the land. Those sleeping are currently experiencing nightmares.
Trying to stay calm, Almenor asks, "What kind of changes can we expect our baby to experience if she has been corrupted?"
"It's hard to say. Chaos corruption is by its nature chaotic. If we go by common signs, it would be horn growth, tail growth, bat-like wing growth, abnormal skin or eye coloration, propensity to get into strange and uncommon situations, mood swings and a propensity towards cruel acts and disregarding authority. Though technically anything could happen, she could even start to experience mutations similar to those of an angel or become extremely orderly. Chaos is unpredictable and without reason, to think one can anticipate it, is as foolish as to think one can perfectly predict every grain of sand's resting position after throwing a handful of it into the wind."
Ellaine speaks up, "And how likely is it for us to detect whether or not she has been corrupted?"
"It's simple but it will take a while. What we have to do is, monitor the amount of chaos energy that exists in her body and see if it increases, decreases or stays steady over time. If it increases for longer than a short period of time, she is corrupted for certain and if it decreases until it is undetectable it means that her body has fought it off. If it stays the same, it's likely to be stable and we can attempt a forceful removal."
Taking a deep breath, Ellaine asks, "What dangers are associated with a forceful removal?"
"It depends how big the mass of chaos energy is and how much it has ingrained into the soul. It can be an easy one and done removal with no lasting side effect, a long lasting search and removal of different spots of demonic energy or the removal could trigger the chaos energy to spread further."
Putting her hand over her eyes, Ellaine tries to unsuccessfully hold back tears, "I understand."
Putting his arm around Ellaine, Almenor asks, "And what if she is corrupted? Will she need different nutrition? Different care? How will it affect her health?"
"It depends entirely on the corruption's influence. It could be as simple as her growing wings and a tail without changing her further or it could be her turning into a mindless demon who only chases pleasure at all times. Your Majesties' are obviously concerned and want to know as much as you can so you can prepare but unfortunately, you can only prepare so much. You will just have to wait and react when or if corruption takes place. It saddens me that I can not tell you more."
Trying to force a smile, Almenor answers, "We understand. Please make sure to forward all of this to her medical team."
"Of course, your Majesty."
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ten months later.
Maggie is lying in bed, propping her cheek up on her fist. Flying around Maggie to annoy her, I repeatedly say, "Come on~ Tell me~"
Flipping her tongue out of her mouth, she answers, "All you're doing by flying around me is getting yourself dizzy and tired out. If it's a war of attrition you want, you will lose."
"Will not!"
"Yes you will~"
"Nuh uh!"
"Uh hu."
"Nu uh!
"Uh hu~"
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About fifteen minutes later, Elleanor has exhausted herself and is sleeping, cuddled up, right next to Lila.
"Pfft Told ya."
Another twenty minutes later, Almenor and Ellaine come into the bedroom and Ellaine whispers, "Oh, wonderful. She's already napping."
"Pfft Yeah, she was flying around my head thinking she could annoy me into saying why today is a special day."
Ellaine chuckles as she sits down on the bed and brushes over Elleanor's cheek, "Is that so~ Our little snowflake seems quite excited, haha."
Getting onto the bed as well, Almenor tries to hold back his laughter, "She sure seems to be~ Say, how about we all take a good ol' family nap to make sure we're as energized as she is when she wakes up."
Lila chuckles, "Just say you're tired, dad."
Looking theatrically flustered, he answers, "Tired? Me!? How did you come to that con-" he now pretends to fall asleep while sitting up and lets out a loud snore.
Gently bumping her elbow into his side, Ellaine whispers with a smile, "You're always so loud, come on, if you want to sleep do it quietly.
Pretending to wake up now, he look at Ellaine with a surprised look and whispers, "Oh my, I must still be dreaming. To think I'd see such a beautiful woman in front of me…It surely could only be a dream~"
Rolling her eyes, Ellaine smiles and gives him a kiss, "You're such a charmer."
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waking up, I'm lying on mama's chest with my feet against daddy's cheek and my butt on top of Maggie's head.
I wish I still had a digestive system so I could fart on her for some revenge…
Kicking daddy in the face to wake him up, he groans a little in his sleep so I kick him again and he suddenly shoots up from bed. I don't have my necklace on but I'm pretty sure he is saying 'Good morning, Elleanor', as he smiles at me, picks me up, gives me a kiss and wakes everyone else up.
I pull at his beard, "Dada!"
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He laughs loudly and hugs me close while Maggie gives me a kiss on the cheek and puts my necklace around me.
Grinning at me, she says, "Told you I'd win."
Pouting at her, I answer, "Well, you fell asleep too, so it doesn't count."
Rolling her snakelike eyes, she says, "Right…If you say so~"
"More importantly though! Why is today special!?"
Papa answers, "We'll tell you once we're down at the banquet hall."
"Are we inviting people over?"
"No~ Today it's just us and the servants."
I pull at his beard, "Why is it special then?"
"You'll see~"
Carrying me downstairs through the castle halls, I wave at all the servants when we pass them who all wave back with a smile on their face.
Being cute is awesome.
Reaching the wooden gate of the dining room, the head butler opens it for us and we enter inside. Instead of the usual sight of multiple extremely long tables, I see a big blue curtain blocking the way and a throne placed right in front of it.
Sitting down on it, Daddy says, "Now~ How about we count down together?"
"Okay!"
"Three."
"Three!"
"Two~"
"Two!"
"One~"
"One!"
"Open!"
The curtains open and a winter wonderland awaits me. The ceiling looks like the night sky full of stars and the northern lights, it's gently snowing and there are decorated Christmas trees, snowmen, cushions, fuzzy blankets and plushies everywhere.
"Woah…"
Mama and Maggie then give me a kiss on the cheek at the same time and shortly after, they all say, "Happy Birthday, Elleanor!"
"Eh!? So it's my birthday!?"
Papa grins at me, "Yes. You're now fifteen winters old, my little snowflake."
"Woah…I'm slowly getting to the age where I should get a job."
Maggie suddenly bursts out into laughter.
"Eh? What's so funny?"
Desperately trying to hold back her laughter, she picks me up, looks at my face and bursts out into laughter again.
Annoyed, I grab into her cheeks, "You're making fun of me aren't you?"
"I…It's just Pfft To hear you say something like that completely straight faced it, hahahaha, it's just too good!"
I cog my head, "What do you mean?"
Maggie's laughing now dies down slightly as she answers, "Well, to hear you of all people say that you will need to get a job soon is just hilarious."
"Why?"
Seemingly confused, Maggie answers, "Because you're a baby."
"Only on the outside though, inside I'm basically an adult. No…Technically I am an adult! I am twenty-nine after all."
Looking at me with a flabbergasted look, she answers, "First of all, you are fifteen not twenty-nine. And even if we go by life experience, you were asleep for thirteen years, so at max you would be sixteen.
"Still…Sixteen means I'm still a young adult!"
Giving me a weird expression, Maggie asks me, "Wait a second…Elleanor…Do you think that you are mentally still the same as you were before you reincarnated?"
"Well…Obviously not. I aged some more after all. So I'm a good amount more mature than I was back then."
Blinking slowly at me, Maggie looks like she wants to say something but Mama interjects, "Now~ How about you and daddy go play around a little? Lila and I will join you soon after we prepare some more."
"Okay!"
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flying off excitedly towards the toys and plushies, Almenor also gets off the ground and flies after Elleanor with a laugh.
Ellaine then puts her hand on Lila's shoulder, "Give her more time. It's normal for those that retain their memories to think of themselves as older. The first step of taking care of children like that is to get them to act their age. We're almost done with that. After that step, we will have to work on her self perception."
"I just…Don't understand how she still thinks she is acting like a teen."
Ellaine chuckles, "Well, she is a baby. They're very imaginative and not very introspective."
"I guess…"
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flying through the room with daddy, we play a bit of tag followed by hide and seek.
It helps that I'm small, daddy always takes so long to find and catch me, haha.
Currently hiding between a polar bear and wolf plushie, daddy floats right by me, "Hmm…Where could she be~ Perhaps under the table? No~ Behind the curtain? Nope~ Hmm…Wherever could she be~"
Giggle
He flies right past me again, "Perhaps she is hiding under the blanket~ No! Oh my~ What if I never find her~"
Giggle
Daddy is so bad at this game. Though…Maybe I'm also just really good! Yeah, I have a lot of practice after all! Elleanor, Crownprincess of winter, Archduchess of the Unseelie, Duchess BEEatrice of Hive one, Master hide and seeker. Yeah! That sounds awesome.
Flying by me again, daddy takes a good look around the room with his back turned to me, "Oh my…Wherever could she be~ What will I do if I really lost her? We'll have to have the entire castle searched!"
Flying out of my hiding spot, I go towards daddy's face and hug him, "I'm here, daddy!"
Seemingly surprised, he hugs and kisses me, "Oh my! There you are~ Where were you hiding so well, my little snowflake?"
"I was hiding between the plushies!"
"I see! What a comfortable hiding spot! Why were you hiding there~"
"The plushies are all my size! So I thought you might mistake me for one at a glance!"
"Pfft What a clever idea! You sure are quite resourceful, Elleanor!"
Giggle
"My hiding spot was perfect! You didn't find me at all!"
Rubbing his cheek on mine, daddy answers, "I was against a skilled opponent after all!" giving me a kiss, he adds, "The servants wanted to wish you a happy birthday as well. Do you want to meet them now?"
"Will nanny be there too?"
Smiling at me, papa answers, "No…Your nanny is still on vacation for now."
"Oh…Okay."
He brushes over my cheek, "Don't worry you will meet again. Now, how about we greet the servants now?"
Rubbing my cheek on daddy's hand, I answer with a smile, "Okay!"
Carrying me out of the banquet hall, we go down the hallways where mama and Maggie are waiting at the door to the grand staircase and ballroom.
Smiling at me, Maggie asks, "Did you have fun with dad?"
"Yeah! I won at hide and seek!"
"Pfft I-Is that so~"
"Yeah! I was hiding in the plushies and daddy totally missed me!"
Looking very happy, Maggie answers, "I pfft I see! You must be really good at hiding~"
"Yeah! I'm basically a master hider."
Holding her belly, Maggie bends over as she starts to laugh, "Hahahahaha, I see! I'm glad you two had fun!"
Mama then comes over, picks me up and gives me a kiss, "Let's go greet the servants, take a nap and have some more fun after, okay?"
"Yeah!"
We then walk through the door and move to the grand balcony where the servants have all gathered below. They seem to be ordered by importance, the personal aides of mama and daddy and the grand magus and head doctor are all in the front with the lesser servants in the back, ranked by experience and rank. The room is heavily decorated with winter imagery and filled with refreshments, food and a stage with instruments placed on them. It looks like they're about to have a party.
Stopping at the edge of the balcony, papa says, "Your crown princess has arrived!"
And all of them in unison do a deep bow and yell, "Happy Birthday crownprincess!"
Letting out a giggle, I wave at them which seems to make them really happy.
Papa speaks up again, "The crownprincess will now retire to her chambers, be at ease for the day."
We then leave and as the doors behind us close, the sound of music and cheering is heard.
Moving over to our bedroom, I suddenly hear the White Queen in my head as time stops, "Happy Birthday, Elleanor."
Eh? I didn't think you'd care.
"Oh please~ What do you think me for~"
A weirdo obsessed with being entertained?
"..."
"Ohohoho, you are not wrong. But you aren't entirely right either~ I do in fact care about you quite a lot, Elleanor."
Because I'm useful to you?
"I won't lie, that is a major part of my original plan for you but it goes beyond that. My interest in you is unique, even if my plans fall through and you become useless in my original purpose for you, I would still stay interested in you."
Hmm…So…You're trying to say that you like me?
"Perhaps~"
Huh…I think I like you too but I can't trust you.
"That is wise of you."
Time starts moving again and we enter the bedroom, quickly lying down in bed.
As we get comfortable, I float towards daddy and sit down on his chest, "Before we go to sleep, can I show you something?"
Papa smiles at me, "Sure, my little snowflake. What do you wish to show us?"
I take the translation necklace off.
Alright Eleanor, you practiced this, you can do this!
I then open my mouth and in Feyspeak say, "Mama, dada, ma'i, I luv u."
Mama and daddy look at me shocked for a bit before having happy tears flow down their faces as they smile at me, give me a hug and say, "We love you too".
They then talk for a bit, of which I only understand maybe half of it and we lay down together. Smiling at me, Maggie holds my hands and in English says to me, "I'm really glad you are my sister, Elleanor. I love you too."
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