I woke up to some birds singing, covered in something soft and fluffy. Did a bird kidnap me to feed its children? I opened my eyes, to a scene of bats flying off towards a red sun, or a plate of strawberries, or moon. I sat up and it seemed I was in bed. The sunlight was coming from my left and when I turned, I was greeted by a wall of glass, revealing the top of a forest, various bird creatures jumping between the branches.

"Fluffballs, singing fluffballs." I looked around the room; dark stone walls, dark reddish wooden flooring and black covers on the bed. I looked back outside; blue skies, pretty trees and colourful singing fluffballs. Maybe real estate was limited, and the owner of the place missed out on a haunted forest. I bet the fluffballs had mouths instead of chests and their heads were just fakes.

I tilted my head, thinking I might have missed something. I looked around the room and there he was. By the wall opposite the bed, stood a man. He wore suit pants, a red shirt under a black vest and a black bowtie. He also had the most forgettable face ever. Like... pale skin, boring pale lips, calm brown eyes, short brown hair, uninteresting chin. Dude didn't even have facial hair. He just stood there, looking forward.

"Who are you?" I asked the figure.

"I'm Jon Smith mistress, I'm a butler in this mansion." Answered Jon Smith.

"Why are you "Jon Smith"?" I asked the butler.

"All male Shifter are Jon Smiths mistress." Answered Jon Smith.

"Whats a Shifter?" I asked the Shifter.

"It is my race mistress." Answered Jon Smith.

"You are boring," I informed Jon Smith.

"Thank you, mistress, you couldn't give a Shifter a better compliment." Answered Jon Smith.

I shifted out of the bed covers and threw my legs over the edge. I stood up onto my face, got up and dusted the nightgown I was dressed in. "I forgot I have short legs."

"You are exciting mistress." I heard Jon Smiths voice above me. When I looked up he was standing two steps away from me, looking concerned in a very uninteresting way. "Thank you, Jon."

"What now Jon?" I asked the man.

"I am to help you get dressed and take you to the master of the mansion." Answered Jon Smith and walked off towards a wardrobe on the other side of the bed. The wardrobe had reliefs of roses and bats all over it, the height of dark and brooding fashion, I've been told, by myself.

"Why don't you open it for me and wait outside?" I asked while waddling over.

"Yes, mistress." Answered Jon Smith and I didn't see him anymore.

I looked around at my options. The large compartment had various grown-up outfits, from a black bride dress to a leather outfit for travelling. In the shelves at the bottom, I found toddler and slightly bigger sized dresses. After some deliberation, I picked a white summer armless dress and a mini coat with a tall spiked collar.

Dressed, I rolled up the coat sleeves and fixed my hair to flow between the collar spikes. I think I fit the place now.

Since the door opened inwards, I stood next to it and knocked so Jon would let me out. A short moment later, the door was open and I was picked up.

"I will take you to master now, mistress. You will be served breakfast in his studio, do you have any preferences?" Asked Jon Smith.

"I think I'd like something sweet, I'm tired of salty rations." I answered and added, "On that note, I had a pouch, will I be getting it back?"

"Your pouch is on a desk in the room we just left, would you like for me to go back for it?" Asked the butler.

"No need, thank you." The conversation finished, I looked around. I was carried through a corridor with doors on both sides, between the doors, the walls were painted in roses ranging in colour from black to red. I saw some other butlers, they were all Jon Smiths.

Once we reached the stairs down, it seemed we were on the top floor, I saw some maids. All of the maids looked the same and painfully boring.

"What are the maids' names?" I asked, my boring steed.

"Cate Smith mistress." Answered Jon Smith.

"Utterly boring," I informed the world.

"Thank you, mistress." Answered a chorus of voices. That was somewhat interesting, I probably shouldn't let them know.

Not sure how much longer Jon would continue to carry me, I went limp and dangled swaying this way and that. It was somewhat fun, I think I understand now, why my siblings tended to do that.

The stairs went all the way from the top, the third floor to the ground floor, the entire wall behind them was a stained glass window. The painting presented a scene of various unholy humanoids flying through the night sky, over a dark forest.

Jon stopped on the first floor and knocked on a door, opposite the giant window. Now that I thought about it, those were some tall floors, they were like three Jon Smiths tall. Neat, I like tall ceilings.

The two wings of the door were opened from inside by a Jon Smith each. Inside, I couldn't see much. Only the middle of the room was lit by some candles on a low table. On the right of the table, on two armchairs, sat a middle-aged man and a teen girl.

"I've brought Mads master." Informed Jon Smith and placed me down on the ground. I nodded to him and waddled over to the table. I scrambled onto the sofa opposite them and sat with legs crossed.

"Hello." I wiggled a little to make myself more comfortable and observed the two. The man began with legs in black suit pants, continued through a quite modern-looking suit jacket and ended with a pale head with sleeked, black hair. His face was alabaster white, he had deep red, thin lips and equally red eyes. His ears were quite pointy.

The girl also had black hair, flowing in waves onto a copy of the man's suit. Her complexion was much more healthy, and if not for having two, blue irises per eye, she'd look quite normal. Both of the people were pretty damn attractive.

I heard the doors close and when I looked over to it, the Jons were gone.

"You don't seem distressed Mads." Rang out a deep, velvet voice.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I shrugged, looked to the left and answered, "I think I will be receiving some sweet food. I've been told, children often fall for that."

The sound of softly ringing bells resounded from the woman. "The servants will be bringing food shortly. While we wait, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?"

"You already know my name, but I've yet to hear either of yours. Is that in any way polite?" I asked, putting on a haughty look.

"I apologize, to forget such basic manners." rang out the voice of the man, "I'm Horace, the master of this mansion."

"And I'm Monica, this youngsters mentor." trilled the woman.

I nodded my head. "What are your questions then?"

"How do you feel about the creatures of the night?" asked the old hag. The youthful woman gave me a cold look and smiled kindly.

"I don't know, I don't think I've met any before." I was getting hungry and patted my stomach, looking with longing towards the door. "Do y... they eat children?"

"Only the naughty ones," answered Horace. "Have you seen the planet from beyond the sky?"

"Only in photos. It's quite pretty and blue, very round." I began humming. I said photos in English, curious. I don't know the name of the other language I've been speaking, curioser. It's the language of the Consulate of Garilia? Curiosities never-ending.

The two exchanged a look and nodded to each other. "Would you like to learn magic?" asked Monica.

As I was nodding, the doors opened and Jons and Cates brought food. Cake and some steaming drink in a porcelain cup for the man, caviar sandwiches and a tall glass of clear liquid for the woman and pancakes with berries and whipped cream, as well as a glass of some juice for me.

I gestured a Jon, to move my plate and glass over onto the sofa. "Certainly, how would I go about doing that?" I stuffed my mouth with a large cut of the pancake.

The woman jingled again. I ummed and shrugged in response.

"You would enrol at the Academy, I'm an instructor of, in place of certain Madeline." Horace ranged out softly, over his cup.

I tilted my head this way and that and gulped down my food. "Will anyone miss her?" I think I had to ask.

"Her parents were estranged from the rest of the family and they died with her." Monica sipped her drink and continued, "The rest of her family, doesn't much care about the soul. To them, the only thing that ever mattered is continuing the bloodline. If you want to join them in that, I'm certain they will welcome you once you've become a proper Devil."

I felt something shift in me, a word tinted blue came out of my lips, "Status"

Name: Mads Age: 3 Race: Lesser Devil/High-human - A human noble on the way to become a semi-spiritual race. Your stat maximum are double that of a human and your stats grow as fast as Lesser Devils. Strength: 2(5) Endurance: 4(7) Mind: 10(13) Soul: 13 Well: 15(15) Shell: 11(11)

"Did you find something new in your status?" Asked the man.

"It does seem like I'm a lesser devil." I shrugged and drank some juice. It tasted like apples and oranges.

"Little Madeline was just a Lesser Demon, it seems something in your soul, pushed the body over from the bloodline degeneration." The woman sang happily.

"I'm an asshole?" I mused out loud and ate more pancake.

"Where you are from, Devils might be believed to be rather unpleasant. Here it's just a matter of pride, not conduct." Clarified Horace. He already finished his cake, and a Jon brought him a different one.

"Horace? Can I call you Horace? If I refused to let you into my home, would you come in?" I was only halfway through my pancake, but I was beginning to feel full.

"Would anyone?" The man said and smiled a bright smile. He had fangs.

I looked over to Monica, tilted my head and shrugged. She pouted, "You can request another person's status, by asking Provide Status and focusing on them."

"I will guess you some other time." I waved my head. It was nice to know I could do that, but where would be the fun in that. She smiled and drunk a bigger gulp of her drink. The smell of vodka has wafted over to me by now. Maybe she was a High Russian. Classy Gopnik/High-human? Maybe I would ask for some caviar tomorrow, or in the evening.

"Being an advanced race, will I remain a child longer?" I thought to ask.

"That depends on how well you will grow your stats." Swam instructors voice, "If you will grow them well enough to remain on the roster, and I will make sure you will, you will reach the physical adulthood in no less than three decades."

Every day is leg day when you have tiny legs. I will have like two decades of leg day. I suddenly felt I had more space for the pancake.

"While you slept, we've learned your titles," began Monica. "We were curious, we know three of them, but what did you get the Brat for?"

"Titles?"

Titles Reborn One who died in one world and was reborn in another. Adventurous Toddler A toddler that went on an adventure, out of pure curiosity. Brat Acted like a brat towards the gods. Self-Awakened Awakened, before reaching twenty in Well, without the assistance of another sentient.

"I was bratty towards some gods," I paused and after some thought, resumed, "I think it's for throwing away their booklet." I quite liked the juice, sadly, I finished it.

"Well, since we've finished breakfast, why don't we move outside?", proposed the youthful lady.

I got picked up from behind by a Jon and the three adults strolled out. The masters of the house discussed something I ignored. I thought to check if there was an update on a different screen. "Talents"

Talents Gift for the Transported Lesser Devil

Stats affect appearance, bringing with them new magical abilities. You are too weak for your racial gifts.

Minor psychic resistance

I think I'm not going to ask what gifts my race brings. What new surprises will tomorrow bring? My musings were interrupted by bright light, it seemed we were outside.

"Were you the one who beat the wolf on the road?" Asked Horace, as Jon put me down.

"It's more like it beat itself on my dagger, I just sneezed some at it." I brushed my nose, thinking of sneezing made it itch.

"We would like you to sneeze at some targets and maybe other, smaller beasts." Said Monica and her mentee picked up, "If you can call up magic whenever you want, we will provide you with training in it. Otherwise, you will receive only theoretical lessons for the next few years."

I looked up at the adults and tilted my head. How did I push the wolf... and myself. I couldn't recall anything special; The excitement and fear, the sneezing from the cold. I felt a small lump well up in my chest and another one in my head. With a sound between a squeal and a cough, something escaped me towards the two.

Horace who was closer to me waved it off. "Unaspected mana, it will do." With those words, he picked me up and carried me from the vines covered terrace onto an uneven path into the forest.

"You will test me, before teaching me?" I asked while fixing the mans tie since it was slightly tilted and I had free hands.

"Explanations do little good, to those who can't understand them," echoed Monica. "You will need to have some practice with spellcasting before studying will do you any good."

Her voice was the most curious thing. I wasn't even sure if she spoke words, or just released natures music and gave it meaning. Honestly, both of them were like this.

The forest was much darker beneath the trees. Gnarled bushes and large webs bordered the path and bats of various sizes flew and hanged here and there.

Slowly my full stomach made me sleepy, and before I knew it I dozed off.