When I woke, I was being cradled softly by my mother, who was rocking softly back and forth. I also was now in an expertly burrito folded blanket, so movement was nigh impossible. Who folded this cloth prison? Why was it folded so tight? Wait, I can wiggle my feet. Does that help me though? She was just looking down at me, her wolf eyes seeming to peer into my soul. Now that I was a bit more clear headed, I got a good look at her. Senna had two, black as obsidian, elegant gazelle like horns that started at the top of her forehead and went a little past the back of her head. Her skin seemed to be made out of porcelain. What race were we? My mother’s hair was slightly curly, jet black, and down past her shoulders, to the point it draped over my tiny body.

“Look who finally woke back up. You must be hungry.” she whispered softly to me. As if on command, my stomach growled.

A stark reality hit me as she shoved her breast in my face. Oh this was humiliating; it felt wrong, but if I didn’t I would likely starve. I internally wept as I fed. It is necessary to survive. Look at it rationally. Babies needed food to survive and this was a source of food. After I was full I abruptly stopped. I need to get onto real food as soon as possible. Turns out, being a baby sucked; my control over my body was terrible, the best sounds I could make were unintelligible cries, and when my body needed to go it just simply went. It wasn’t all bad as my mother sang lullabies to me. Her voice was oddly angelic; it had this calming, sing-song quality even as she spoke. After about an hour of listening to her sing, Senna undid my cloth prison to let me move around a little. There was a maid nearby as well as Cesar if I recalled his name correctly. They both looked extra alert once my arms were free. My mother carefully set me down and moved over about two feet away before looking at me and gesturing for me to go to her.

“Your Imperial Highness, are you sure it is a good idea to encourage the Crown Prince to use his ? The last time was a bit difficult to fix.” Cesar asked, his voice sounding a bit concerned, with this odd politeness to it.

“It’ll be fine. I think it is better to let him do what he naturally wants or is prone to in a controlled way than stop him completely.” my mother retorted. A strange feeling welled up inside me. What was this? Mothers could be like this?

I focused on her. Was the hand motion a necessary component to ? I focused on her, trying to get that anchor sensation. It was coming nowhere as quickly as when I used my hand. I focused a bit harder on a point right in front of her. After a few seconds I felt the anchor sensation from before, so I pulled myself towards it as the world twisted around me. I felt drained, just nowhere near as bad as before.

“That was great! Who is the best Prince?! What a great use of Nil!” my mom praised. It felt genuine; it felt a lot better than any of the awards I ever received. Why?

I looked at her, then around a little; she looked happy as could be while the maid and Cesar were slack-jawed. I tried asking why did they look shocked, as per usual however, all that came out was unintelligible baby noise. I am going to keep trying to speak at least, eventually it will work. My mom copied me, responding to me when I made noise. She backed up a little more, about a foot and a half this time, and gestured at me again. The trick seemed to be aiming at a specific point when using . I again focused right in front of her and the anchoring sensation came much quicker than last time. The sensation overcame me, and I was there. I could tell that if I did one more the horrific nausea and pain was going to come back. My mom started playing peek-a-boo with me. I tried acting like a baby, but I honestly had no idea how well I imitated a baby. Don’t appear strange. Please be close enough. I didn’t want her to worry her child was off. Cesar and the maid looked on, watching me and her play.

“Your Imperial Highness, I hate to inform you, but there are duties you must attend to. The maid Helga will watch after the Crown Prince.” Cesar chimed. My mom shot him a look, like she clearly did not want to go, but knew he was probably right.

“I am assuming you vetted her thoroughly?” my mom pressed, sounding annoyed to have to leave.

“Helga is my sister, your Imperial Highness.” Cesar informed her while motioning to his sister. I could tell she looked more relieved.

“I will watch him with my life your Imperial Highness.” Helga tensely replied while formally bowing. Her form was right, and and so was her phrasing, though her nervousness was clearly showing.

“I order you to make sure he doesn’t leave your sight.” my mom snapped, with a level of ferocity and authority she hadn’t shown previously; Helga snapped up and shook her head vigorously.

Cesar escorted my mom away to perform her duties while Helga walked over to me. She was clearly younger than my mom and Cesar. Helga had more ram-like horns, green hair which was tied tightly in a bun, burgundy eyes, and clay colored skin. She took a few deep breaths before sitting down next to me. Helga pulled a parchment out of her sleeve and reviewed it.

“Address Empress Senna as her Imperial Highness, check. When I bowed did I remember the left foot behind the right leg? Remain by Crown Prince Nil’s side at all times, check. Her Imperial Highness fed him about an hour ago so it should be another hour until he is hungry. Why did I have to become the personal maid of the Imperial Prince?” she muttered to herself while reviewing the list.

My parents rule an Empire, and this was the maid they went with? I thought to myself. Was this nepotism at its finest?

She tried playing with me, while every so often she would shoot up and look around. I did notice the sound of other staff a ways off; whenever one made a sound she snapped to attention and looked around. How tightly wound is this lady? I thought to myself. I was not too familiar with customs and how the nobility act in this world, but shouldn’t there be more staff? Or were they simply not allowed around me? I could definitely hear them. After thirty minutes of her being the worst playmate in the world, something moved in a nearby shadow. Without a second of hesitation Helga threw something at it in the blink of an eye, a barrier instantly formed around me, and she was between me and the shadow. Helga managed to produce a sword from absolute thin air looking ready to kill whatever made that move.

“Attacking his Imperial Highness? How bold.” my father’s voice rang out from the shadow as he stepped out, clearly smirking.

“I am so sorry your Imperial Highness! I am sorry, please don’t let this affect my brother!” Helga begged as she slammed to the ground.

“It is fine Helga, I should not have snuck in here like I did. It is good to see how quickly you leapt to protect my son.” my father apologized, trying to keep a straight face.

“I am not worthy of you having to apologize to me your Imperial Highness!” Helga replied quickly while remaining in the same prostrating position.

“Do not make me repeat myself. I apologized, and praised you defending my son. I am not one to say something I do not mean. Get off the ground.” he growled, which she immediately shot off the ground to an attention stance to.

It didn’t help that my father had an intense aura; he just exuded authority and power. Then again, I am pretty sure attacking him even if she was defending me might be punishable by death. Wasn’t too sure about that, though it wouldn’t surprise me. Then something hit me: Helga was making sure there weren’t any assassins. That was a chilling thought. My father’s stern exterior soon melted into a smile when he saw me. He picked me up and lightly tossed me in the air. Something gripped me as I went up and down that kept my head from flopping around and made the motion ridiculously fluid and gentle.

“Why is his supply so low?” my father inquired, looking a bit displeased.

“Her Imperial Highness encouraged him earlier to use . He did a of about three feet and one and a half feet, both with no gesturing.” Helga answered immediately.

My father grimaced for a second, then lit up. He put a hand on my back, and I instantly felt that odd void that was slowly refilling was back up to the brim. Father took about two steps, sat down, and motioned at me. Now I looked at him clearly, Azzeck had the same bone white skin I did, with incredibly sharp features. His eyes were a vibrant purple, which was accented by his golden color hair which had the darkest color horns I have ever seen poking through. Unlike mom, his horns were more dragon like, that were more similar to daggers at the end with a much sharper point than any other being I had seen at this point. What am I now that I think about it? Clearly not a human, but I don’t think I am a type of beast person. I sat with my pudgy baby body looking at him while he was sitting with his arms wide open motioning for me to go to him. Last time I did this I ended up outside a window; granted, he caught me, but I was still a bit hesitant to try this again.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“How long did it take him to cast without his hands last time?” my father checked with a concerned tone.

“Less than five seconds on his last one. He should have used by now your Imperial Highness.” Helga informed him. My father grimaced again as I just sat and made baby noises.

I am not some dog who is going to come on command. I do really want to use more though; I need some semblance of pride though. I thought to myself.

“It’s okay Nil. You won’t go out a window this time. I promise.” Azzeck cooed. He was looking pretty desperate at this point; you could see the light in his eyes dying a little.

Okay I held out long enough. I focused on him and felt the anchor almost immediately. I was gradually getting better at this. Kind of wish I knew how the mechanisms of it worked, because I doubted it was just focus on a point. Within a blink, I was there. His face was flooded with relief. Again, I felt a drain from that pool, just not as bad this time. He took a few steps back and waited again. Why did both of my parents like this so much? What was the big deal? Again, I used .

“What’s the earliest you can test in a child?” my father asked. He looked so pleased with the I was using.

While Helga clearly thought about it, he picked me up and did a few more light tosses. It was kind of fun, but the extreme gentle and fluid nature of it was unsettling. It didn’t feel like I was going up and down but rather felt like I was being floated then cautiously brought down. There was nothing physically touching me though. There was definitely some at play here, but I wasn't entirely sure how it worked.

“Accurately would be a year sir. It would require better instrumentation and a more experienced and skilled than a standard evaluation.” Helga said after a few moments.

“That is pretty easy to get. I would like a few moments with my son alone if you do not mind.” he ordered. Helga clearly looked uncomfortable.

“Um, your Imperial Highness, I was, uh, ordered to-” Helga stammered.

“Empress Senna ordered you to make sure he never left your sight I am guessing?” he asked as she nodded her head. So if the Emperor and Empress give conflicting orders it ties, or puts you in a lose-lose situation.

My father snapped his fingers, and a cone materialized around us. What the hell? What was the point of this? Why did he feel this was necessary? I was a day old, at least physically speaking. He picked me up and cradled me before leaning his back against the cone. Azzeck let out a large sigh.

“Lords of Tenebrae being Emperor is so exhausting. Just want to spend some time with my son, see him use some but noooooo, that merciless taskmaster Cesar is all you have your duties your imperial highness. You got this meeting your imperial highness. Emperor Azzeck you need to go over these new policies that the Senate wants to implement. I JUST WANT A DAY OFF TO SPEND WITH MY SON!” he vented, sounding frustrated with the situation.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. I thought. I made some baby noises to see if that would cheer him up a little.

“Yes Nil, I do work hard. Thanks for agreeing with me.” he replied to my nonsense. I made some more noises and he seemed to love that.

“I am gonna level with you son, being part of the Crowthorne family isn’t easy, we are the leaders of the Demonkin. We have to act proper and honorable whenever we are out, and we have a duty we must uphold. Of course I am rambling to a baby who has no idea what I am saying, but I do want you to be happy. And strong. Hopefully strong enough no one considers the idea of ‘testing the borders’, man do I hate that human king what’s his face.” my father, the Emperor of Demonkin apparently, ranted.

I just stared at him silently. I want you to be happy. I think that was the first time I ever heard those words. I was much more used to I expect you not to embarrass us or It was expected for you to win that trophy. That strange emotion from earlier came back up. What was it?

“I wonder how long I can hide here before that monster finds me with that infernal list of crap to do.” my dad wondered aloud.

Maybe I could throw him a bone. I made some more terrible attempts at speaking, which he lit up again for. A few of the things he said did stick with me: I truly was a prince in this world. He said Lords of Tenebrae. Is Tenebrae this world? And he said Lords, is that referring to a power above him or perhaps some beings of religious significance?

“Alright let’s see if you can behind you.” my dad excitedly declared as he set me down and walked from what I could tell, two steps behind me.

There had to be something to this that made them want to test this. Aptitude? ? Clearly something was up with it. I tried sensing or making whatever that anchor was appear. Nothing. It was hard when I couldn’t see. Where I could focus my gaze, no problem. I tried visualizing behind me. Nothing; the anchor would not appear. My was not forming in any way as I tried that. After a few minutes of my dad encouraging me, an idea hit me. I can feel my around me. What if I tried sending a feeler made of ? Getting it to cooperate was more challenging than I anticipated. After struggling for a few minutes I made what could only be described as a lump of slowly crawl behind me. It was exhausting, and extremely uncomfortable, like I was flexing a muscle I never used before.

The oddest part was, I could sense and feel what was around the . As I got it near my dad I tried making that anchor appear. I felt the familiar sensation, and cast . In an instant, I was there, feeling completely drained. I felt large void in me again; no waves of nausea or pain though. So that was what must be, probably some punishment for using a spell that requires more than I possess at the time of casting. Given that the that triggered it were not much larger than the ones I did today, it must get pretty bad if you were severely short on . Then I noticed two more things. The cone was gone and my dad wasn’t praising me. I couldn’t exactly control my body enough to turn to face him better. Was something happening?

“-ur Imperial Highness, while I understand wanting to spend time with your son, you have duties that you are currently neglecting, not to mention the fact you tried making his maid disobey an order from the Empress herself. Such behavior is unbecoming of someone of your stature and position.” Cesar was lecturing before Helga coughed awkwardly to get his attention.

“Helga, you may be my sister, so you should know that you are not in a position to interrupt the conversation of the Emperor and his Chief Advisor.” Cesar snapped at her.

“I know it is not my place, but his Imperial Highness Crown Prince Nil just used rudimentary to cast directly behind his father.” Helga interjected, immediately following I heard my father and Cesar gasp.

“That is my son!” my dad exclaimed as he picked me up like I was some amazing trophy, holding me high above his head.

“What terrifying innate talent.” Cesar muttered. Talent? How was that talent? That was brute force and insanely draining.

“I was taking the time to help develop the next Emperor of Speranza by testing his ability to adapt his use of . As Emperor, it is my duty to see that my successor is properly trained and cultivated to the fullest capacity of his talent, which you neglected to include in the schedule.” my father retorted quickly. What a load of garbage, we both know you were spending time with me while shirking work.

“And the was to prevent outside ears from hearing the divine knowledge you were imparting onto your successor? Not to cover the fact you were ranting and rambling?” Cesar probed. His tone made it clear he knew my father was full of crap.

“That is correct. It is a Crowthorne family that cannot be heard by those outside of the family.” my father replied. I could hear Cesar’s eyes roll.

“I will make sure to make room in the schedule for ‘cultivating the talent of your successor’ from tomorrow on as time provides. Should I also schedule it for the same time as the Empress’s time slotted for ‘ensuring the nourishment and instilling a sense of duty and honor into the future generation’ or at a different time?” Cesar inquired after a long sigh.

“Overlap them halfway Cesar. Helga, that was an important discovery you noticed and shows great diligence in your work. Please continue with this level of dedication and sincerity.” my father instructed as he handed me to her and began to walk away after one final pat on my head.

“Yes maid Helga. Thanks to your astounding attentiveness we were able to properly document and notice a key stage in the ‘development and cultivation of the future Emperor’ and all of Speranza thanks you. Please continue the excellent work.” Cesar praised but his voice was monotone and completely deprived of any emotion, like a robot’s.

It was odd, both my parents were so busy but trying so hard to spend time with me. They had so many responsibilities that needed their attention, and they still made time for me. They even went out of their way to spend even a little more time with me. Is this how parents are supposed to be? Helga let out an immense sigh of relief once the two of them were clearly no longer within earshot. My stomach let out an audible growl which broke the silence. I was brought to my mother. Again, a breast was shoved in my face. This is necessary for survival; this is necessary for survival. I chanted in my head as I fed. I felt terrible. This is natural, I am physically a baby. I was quickly returned to my safe area after feeding.

“I attacked his Imperial Highness and got off without so much as a slap on the wrist. How many people could say that?” she stated, a look of amazement on her face.

Helga seemed a lot calmer than earlier. After attacking the Emperor I guess there isn’t much more you can step it up from there. Using exhausted my baby body. That was just not something I was used to doing. I settled down and closed my eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.