Eighteen-year-old Nicholas Hammerstein is at the cusp of finishing high school in his hometown of Los Alamos, NM. He has a seemingly ideal life and is blessed with loving parents, a cute baby sister, and great friends. Nicholas is a gifted student and martial artist who has dreams of leaving for college at the end of his senior year. But, living in a world of Emergent humans, he will soon find his life turned upside down as his life and the fate of a kingdom hang in the balance. His future and theirs will be determined by how he navigates the drastic changes in his body and the magical and superpowered Mergent population he joins.

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The Legal Stuff: Emerald Princess © 2016-2023 By Sofia Hammerstein
 
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016-2023 By Sofia Hammerstein. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.
 
 
Chapter 12: Picture Perfect

THE NEXT MORNING I was woken up as Mom changed my diaper. “Oh, you decided to wake up?” She teased me.

She was just finishing wiping me and had me in a new diaper before I could respond, “Yeah,” around my pacifier. “What time is it?”

“6:30,” she told me.

“Ugh…” I responded.

Mom first dressed me in white tights before wrapping me in my signature green dress.

“Isn’t it cold outside?” I whined about the dress.

“I want to get some pictures with you and your sister for our Christmas Cards and photo album.”

“Oh,” I said.

Mom did my hair for several minutes and added my tiara to make me look picture-perfect. “Are you going to have Lily wear her tiara?” I asked.

Mom shook her head, “I’m going to have to do some convincing with her since she doesn’t have one as pretty as yours.”

‘I can do something to help there,’ Caireen said.

‘My sister doesn’t need a priceless magic tiara, though...?’ I said questioningly.

‘Of course not, but you can make a silver one with glass jewels just as easy to make her happy,’ she insisted.

“What color is her dress?” I asked.

“Pink,” Mom said with a smile, “you should have been able to guess that.”

I nodded and concentrated without saying another word to Mom. In my hands appeared a tiara similar to mine. The shape was similar, but it featured clear crystal jewels for the prominent gemstones and several crystals that looked like pink sapphires that circled around the base. It was made in plain old silver, which meant it was probably only worth a grand then…

‘Probably a bit more, you made crystal jewels for the main ones, but the pink jewels are real sapphires,’ Caireen said.

‘Let’s keep that to ourselves?’

Mom stared at me in shock, and I said, “It wouldn’t be fair to Lily, so here is a tiara for her. Of course, it’s not the same as mine, but it should make her happy.” I said the last with a smile. I was grateful that my new size hadn’t caused a bunch of sibling rivalry so far. I had a feeling it would come someday soon, though.

Mom hugged me and said, “You’re still the best older sibling she could ever have.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Let’s get something in your tummy, and then you can go back to sleep while we drive to Albuquerque. I need to do Lily’s hair now.”

I nodded, and she carried me downstairs. My sister was already in her high chair with a bowl of cheerios in front of her. “What do you want to eat?” Mom asked as she strapped me into the high chair.

“Cereal’s fine,” I said as I pulled my pacifier out of my mouth and sat it on the tray. She had already poured a sippy cup of juice and sat it on the tray. I drank out of it silently while she found a bowl and filled it with just the cereal. I had never liked mushy cereal!

“Lily, look what Sofia made for you!” Mom said with a smile.

“It’s pretty like hers!!!” She said. “Am I a princess like her?”

“Absolutely,” I told her.

I played with the cereal more than I ate it as I watched Mom rearrange Lily’s hair. Eventually, I stopped when Mom said, “Sofia, you can either eat your cereal or I’ll feed it to you?”

I furiously ate it, so I didn’t have to live with that embarrassment that morning. By 7am, Mom had walked out the door once with all of the things she needed to take care of two toddlers and then came back inside for the two of us. Mom put Lily in her car seat first, ensuring she had her favorite doll with her, before coming over and doing the same for me. I had Emie in my arms. Mom attached my pacifier to a clip and then to my dress so we wouldn’t have to search for it. Since we had the garage, she didn’t have to remove our coats before we sat.

“Here’s your bottle,” she said to Lily. Lily still got a bottle anytime we went on a long trip to help calm her down in her car seat. Mom looked at me with a question on her face, and I said, “Why not?”

She smiled, handed me a warmed bottle, closed our doors, and then got in herself. I nursed slowly on the bottle, in no hurry to drink it as I wasn’t that thirsty, so I still had half left when Mom pulled up to Hannah’s driveway. Hannah came out of her house as soon as she saw us. Mom motioned for her to sit in the front seat. I was suddenly self-conscious and thought about hiding my bottle.

“So you’ve discovered the joys of a bottle too?” Hannah said sweetly to me.

I turned red.

“Sofia, you’re a baby. It’s perfectly okay for you to have a baby bottle! So don’t go feeling self-conscious,” she told me. “It’s part of blending,” she added with a smile.

“You ready to go?” Mom asked her.

“Uh-huh, I’m so looking forward to not being stuck at home today! Thanks for inviting me!”

“Well, thanks for coming!” Mom said. She pulled out of her driveway, and I returned to nursing my bottle. I looked as much as possible at my sister on my left and noticed she was asleep already. Of course, that’s why Mom was still more than happy to give her a bottle on long car rides.

Mom and Hannah had a conversation in the front seat, but it was hard for me to hear them up there. So I settled for looking to my right for a while before I must have fallen asleep too.

I woke up when I felt our car starting to slow down. I looked out the window and saw we were on the outskirts of Albuquerque. Then I felt my body do something I hoped wouldn’t happen in the car! I filled the back of my diaper, and it smushed everywhere as it did so.

It was only a couple moments before the smell made it to the front, but Hannah said, “Uh-oh, smells like we have a stinky princess!”

I squirmed in the seat. I wouldn’t get a diaper rash, as Caireen had pointed out, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be in it any longer than I had to. I put my pacifier in my mouth to try and keep from screaming like a real baby.

“I assume that’s you, Sofia?” Mom asked.

I whimpered, “Yes,” around my pacifier.

“We’re going to stop to do those pictures and some shopping at the mall first. We’ll change you when we get there. It’s not too long,” Mom reassured me.

That was one of the longest twenty minutes of my life when Mom pulled into the parking space. Mom and Hannah got out of the car and came to the doors. Hannah took the bottle from next to me and handed it to me, “Can you hold onto that for a few minutes?” She asked me. I nodded.

“Do you want me to change her out here or in the bathroom?” she asked Mom.

“It’s easier to throw away a poopy diaper in the bathroom,” Mom told her. “We’ll change both of them inside.”

Hannah picked me up and put me over her shoulder while I whimpered and held onto my bottle as she asked. Then, Mom grabbed the diaper bag and Lily. She must have already put Lily’s bottle in the bag because I didn’t see it in her hands.

As Hannah carried me back to the bathrooms, with Mom next to her with Lily, we passed by a girl who was probably about four. “Dat baby is poopy!” She cried out in a loud voice.

I buried my head in Hannah’s shoulder and felt tears going down my face.

“Shhh, It’s okay,” Hannah said to me softly as we walked through the bathroom door.

“Sofia first?” Hannah suggested.

“Yes, the poor thing always hates having a messy diapee,” Mom said.

I pulled my head off Hannah’s shoulder and saw Mom wipe off the changing table before placing the mat on it. “I’ll change her,” Hannah offered.

Thankfully she didn’t waste any time waiting around. Mom grabbed my bottle from my hand and rinsed it out while Hannah happily changed the messiest and most disgusting diaper I had yet had. She wiped me clean, put a new diaper on, and pulled my tights back up. “There you go, all beautiful again!” Hannah said with a smile. She picked me up, sat me on the ground, and washed her hands. I then stood by Mom while she changed Lily while Hannah used the toilet. ‘I wish I could do that,’ I thought sadly.

I felt Caireen give me the mental equivalent of a hug. As soon as Hannah was out of the stall, Mom had her take over watching the two of us, and she went to the bathroom too. Hannah had the diaper bag on her shoulder and picked me up when Mom came out of the stall. Lily was in Mom’s arms soon, too, and we were off a little way down the corridor to the portrait studio where Mom had made an appointment. A man was standing at the counter when we walked up.

“Hi, we have an appointment,” Mom said.

“Name?”

“Rachel Hammerstein,” Mom said.

“For two toddlers?”

“Yes sir,” she said, and he looked up to see what Hell he would experience. When he saw us, he smiled, “These two princesses?”

“Yep,” Mom said.

“Okay, Bonnie will be your photographer today; let me make sure she’s ready.” He walked away.

“So that we don’t have the shape of a pacifier around your lips, would you be okay with taking it out?” Mom asked me.

I shrugged and let it drop out of my mouth to hang on the strap. Hannah did some sort of one-handed gymnastics and unhooked the clip. I felt Hannah start bouncing me a bit like I used to do with Lily to calm her.

“Ready to get your pictures taken?” She asked.

“I guess… I just want to get it over with.” I told her quietly.

“You never know; you might have fun,” she told me.

“I hate pictures…?”

“No, you used to hate pictures,” she told me, “now you’re an adorable little princess. All princesses LOVE getting their pictures taken.” She chose that moment to tickle my side a little. I giggled and had to smile. It was weird having all of the tricks I used to use against Lily used against me - especially since most of them worked!

“Mrs. Hammerstein?” A lady in jeans and a sweater asked.

“Yes?”

“Come on back. We’re ready to take your daughter’s pictures.”

We followed her back to a studio that had a white background, ready to go first. Mom and Hannah set Lily and me down and began checking our appearance. Luckily my dress never wrinkled, but Lily’s had a little. Mom did the best she could to straighten it out, though. My hair was a bit crooked, but that was sorted through quickly.

“Okay, you want individual shots and some together?” The lady asked Mom.

“Please,” she said.

“Which princess first?” The photographer asked in the high pitch mama voice.

“I’ll go,” I said. If I was a good example, maybe Lily would be quicker…

‘Good girl,’ Caireen said in my head. ‘Now pretend to have fun and enjoy it too!’

“How old are you?”

I held my two fingers up, “This many!”

“They’re both two, actually,” Mom told her. The lady looked at her, and she said, “Ten months apart.”

“Ouch,” the lady said. “I assume this princess is the older one?”

Mom nodded.

“Okay, Princess, what’s your name?”

“Sofia,” I replied.

“Well, Sofia, that dress is beautiful! And your tiara too! Why don’t you sit...” She took pictures of me standing in front of the white background, sitting crisscross style, leaning on a number two, and crawling on the floor quickly before doing the same with Lily. She then had us sit together with the number and then some other poses together before repeating the same steps with two different backgrounds. One, we used a gigantic teddy bear as a prop. Mom and Hannah also joined in at times; one of the photos I hoped turned out had me sitting in Hannah’s lap. She had always been one of my best friends, but she was quickly turning into a big sister.

I actually had fun, smiled, giggled, and was probably a photographer’s dream happy baby. Of course, Lily got a little grouchy at the end, but I told her, “Come on, good princesses, smile!” and she bought into it.

In the end, the lady said, “I have never had two more well-behaved toddlers for photos. Ever! You should look into a modeling agency for Sofia. She’d make a fortune as a model.”

Mom smiled, “You’re not the first person to tell me that. When will you have proofs for us to look at?”

“Well, we’re pretty dead right now. If you want to come back in an hour, we can have printed proofs, or you’re welcome to look and pick from the computer screen in a couple minutes.”

Mom shook her head, “We’ll come back; I like having a print in hand to choose from.” She paused, “Plus, I think they both need to have a diaper change and burn off some energy.”

The lady laughed, “At least you’re probably close to being through with changing that many diapers.”

“Hopefully,” Mom said, as I noticed she eyed Lily. I would probably never grow up past that; we both knew that.

Mom grabbed my hand in one hand and Lily’s in the other. “Come on, you two, let’s go change your diapers.”

‘It would be nice if she wouldn’t announce that to the world...’ I thought.

‘You’re a baby; your potty habits are public record,’ Caireen said. I could feel the smirk on her face.

 
 
Chapter 13: Grandma

LILY AND I walked down the hallway to the bathroom, holding Mom’s hands. Mom changed both of us, this time on the changing table. “Okay, we need to get the stroller out of the car,” she said. “I don’t think Hannah wants to carry you all day Sofia.”

“I can walk, you know,” I told her quietly. Hannah was holding me tight.

Hannah whispered back, “A normal two-year-old wouldn’t walk the whole day, though.”

She was right.

Back at the car, Mom pulled out a new double stroller that she had bought online and had express shipped to the house. The stroller was a classic design that had one seat behind the other. Mom put Lily in the front, and Hannah placed me in the back. “Why am I sitting in the back?” I asked.

“Eyes,” Mom said.

I hadn’t even thought about my eyes… I wondered if the photographer noted them.

“May I have my pacifier?” I asked, suddenly nervous again.

Hannah reattached the clip and placed it in my mouth, and we were back shopping. I was very bored for the next hour as we walked from one store to another, mostly keeping Lily and me in the stroller. Mom picked out a dozen new outfits for me and a couple for Lily. Still, we mostly walked and looked with them, occasionally dressing us as their living dolls. The only place I got enthusiastic about shopping was the Disney store, where I found a couple of costume dresses I liked. Mom also bought Lily and me each a princess doll there. Several times as they walked, girls would say, ‘Oh my God, your daughters are sooooo cute!’

We were in Sears, and I really was getting thirsty. “Mommy?” I got her attention.

“Yes, Sofia?”

“I’m thirsty.”

“Okay, just a minute,” Mom said. I heard her messing with the bag behind my seat for a moment. I listened to a cap pop, and she handed me my bottle of apple juice.

“Umm… thanks,” I said. “No sippy cup?”

“Why? You love your bottle!” Mom said with a smile.

I just began nursing from it slowly as she kept shopping before finally we returned to the portrait studio. “Ah, you’re back!” The lady said, “Come over here to the counter, and you can look at the proofs.”

Lily was out for the count in the stroller in front of me, her head lulled to the side. Seeing her asleep, Hannah pulled me out of the stroller and placed me on the counter so I could see. The pictures of me were perfect! I did look like a child model… except for the eyes. There was just something unnatural about the shade of green, and I didn’t think my being two years old would keep that from being noticed. Mom and Hannah chose their selections of three pictures of each of us individually, two of Lily and me, two with Mom and the two of us, and finally, one of all four to get printed.

“They’ll be ready about four if you want to stop back by?” The lady offered.

“Great! We’ll be back then. Come on, Princess,” Mom said as she put me back into the stroller.

The journey back to the car was made, both of us were strapped into our car seats, and Mom pulled away.

“Where are we going now?”

“Grandma’s,” Mom said.

“Oh,” I said nervously.

“It’ll be fine,” Mom reassured me.

I watched the streets and buildings pass by and sucked nervously at my pacifier. I had heard many cruel things from Grandma directed towards Mergents over the years. I clearly remembered a year ago, we saw a lady with GSD that looked like a half-human/half-bear person at the mall. Grandma had loudly said, “I can’t believe they let that animal inside!”

‘She can’t hurt you physically,’ Caireen reassured me.

‘She’s my mom’s mother, though, Caireen. I don’t want to be why she doesn’t love my Mom anymore...’

‘You have one of the smartest mothers I have ever met, Sofia. I guarantee she would blame her mother, not you.’

The drive seemed to take both forever and be too quick. I noticed my diaper growing wetter as we pulled into the driveway. ‘Great, I’m meeting my Grandma as my new self, AND I need a diaper change.’

Not wanting to antagonize my grandmother, I took my pacifier out of my mouth, unclipped the clip, and pulled out my purse wherever it disappeared. I quickly put it in there and then put my purse back. Mom watched me in the mirror and gave me a smile and a nod. “Good idea,” she said.

“I’ll take Sofia. Would you take Lily, please?” Mom said to Hannah.

“Sure,” Hannah said. So they went to each of our doors, and I was soon let out of the car seat.

Mom reached under my dress and felt my wet diaper. “I’ll change you once I figure out how your grandma will take this.”

I nodded and held onto her as she grabbed the diaper bag, and we walked up to the door. Mom opened the door, “Mom, we’re here!”

“My land, Rachel, who is this beautiful little girl?” She said as she saw me.

“This is Sofia,” Mom said.

“One of Lily’s friends?” She asked as she hugged Mom and moved on to hug Lily in Hannah’s arms.

“No, Nicko!” Lily said.

The world ground to a halt for a moment then. ‘Really, Lily?!?!’ I thought to myself.

‘She’s a two-year-old; you know it’s a requirement that she blurt out embarrassing things inappropriately.’ Caireen said.

I had to agree with her. I watched Grandma’s face as she turned to look at me again. “She’s just pretending, right?” she asked Mom.

Mom sighed, and I felt her squeeze me reassuringly. “No, Mom, Nicko emerged last week, and his EFP, or rather her EFP, transformed him.”

“I knew you should never have married that no good husband of yours!” She started.

“Mom, stop right there. I know you have some extreme beliefs against Mergents...” Mom said all this in a calm, soothing voice, “but it’s not true. I love my child no matter what they may be, and that won’t change. If you can’t do the same, please tell me now, and we’ll turn right back around and never come back.”

I saw the hurt on Grandma’s face and felt terrible.

“But…”

“Look at her, Mom. I promise you she’s the most beautiful grandchild you could ask for. She’s just as sweet as she always was, and all either of us wants you to do is just to love us.”

Grandma cried and said, “I’m sorry; I promise I’ll behave. Please don’t ever think I could walk away from you, Rachel.” She came over and hugged Mom, and said, “May I hold her?”

Mom passed me to her, and she said, “Well, you are a beautiful baby, my dear. Why did you end up like this?” She asked.

“I woke up sick and saw my sister in the hall… I guess I was thinking about how it would be nice to still have Mom hold me like she did when Lily got sick... Next thing I know, I’m a two-year-old baby girl.”

“Wearing diapers?” She asked in surprise as she readjusted her hold on me and felt it. “And a wet one?”

I buried my head in her shoulder, “Sorry… I can’t help it.”

“Let me see that diaper bag, Rachel,” Grandma said. I looked surprised, “What, you don’t think I can change diapers still?”

Grandma carried me to the room that served as her spare bedroom. Inside was a large dresser we used to change Lily on when we were there. Grandma sat me down next to it, laid out the changing pad, and then picked me up. “Let’s get those tights down, huh?”

I lay patiently while Grandma changed me almost exactly like Mom, but it was sweeter somehow. Maybe that was because she didn’t change a dozen diapers a day or something. “Where did you get that pretty tiara?” she asked me.

“It was a gift,” I said simply.

“From?”

I sighed, “From the goddess who bonded with me.”

“Goddess?” She said, “There’s only one God,” she said tersely.

“Call her a being then, Grandma. She’s very powerful.”

“Do you have powers now?” She asked as she pulled my tights back up.

“Yes, but I’m barely learning how to use them,” I told her.

“What can you do?” She asked me.

“I can change my dollies clothes,” I said with a smile.

“Umm… well, that’s special,” she said.

Mom had Emie in her hands from a second trip to the car. When she handed me Emie, I changed her into a one-piece jumpsuit like Mom had purchased for me earlier.

“Whoa!” She said and glared at me. “Can we pretend you’re a normal baby now?” Then, she paused, “It’ll be easier for me to get used to?”

I nodded as she hugged me in thanks, picked me up, and carried me to the living room, where Hannah played with Lily on the floor. She held me in her lap and sat on the opposite side as Mom on the couch. “So, I assume Sofia is all registered and such?”

Mom nodded, “We took care of that first thing Monday.”

“What now?” She asked.

“Well… after Christmas, she’s going to go to a school in the Northeast.”

“A Mergent school?” She asked, a little bit of prejudice showing, but I could tell she was trying.

“Yes,” Mom said simply.

“They have a preschool program?” She asked without any malice.

“No, I’ll be going to high school, I think,” I told her.

“You’re a little young for a high schooler, plus they’re usually potty trained?” She suggested.

“I know, but it’s just part of what I get to deal with. It’s like having a disability with the diapers.”

“And you really don’t have any control?” She asked.

I shook my head but tried not to look ashamed in front of her. “I have less control than Lily, I think.”

“Yes, speaking of Lily, when are you going to potty train her? She’s about six months overdue if you ask me, Rachel.”

“After Christmas,” Mom said simply, “it’d be too hard right now with her big sister still in diapers. It’ll be a bit easier when she goes away to school.”

Grandma looked at me for a moment and just sighed. “So this tiara of hers - I see Lily has one just like it?”

I shook my head, “No, it’s a lot different; it just looks similar. I made it for her to keep her from feeling jealous. Mom wanted me to wear mine today.”

“And just why do you even need a tiara?” She asked me.

“Because I’m a princess now,” I told her matter-of-factly.

“Of COURSE you are,” she said and laughed a little, “I forgot all little girls are really princesses.”

I decided not to correct her, and Mom didn’t either.

We spent about an hour talking there. During this, the criticisms never really stopped. Grandma went on about me being too light, about my eyes being pretty but, still obviously, those of a Mergent. Lily needs to be potty trained, and a billion other nitpicking things came up. It’s part of why Mom didn’t come to see her that often - it wore on you. Eventually, Grandma said, “Well, shall we go out to eat lunch?”

Hannah ended up in the middle seat between the two car seats and seemed squished. Luckily it wasn’t far to the restaurant. Mom carried Lily into the restaurant, and Grandma had me. “You are way too light,” she told me quietly while we waited for them to get a table with two high chairs ready.”

I blushed.

“You do eat, right?” She asked.

“Umm… you could say that,” I whispered back.

“Rachel for five?” the hostess said and led us to the ready table. Lily and I were placed into the seats, put on our bibs, and sat there coloring on the menu while we waited for Mom to order for us. Thankfully we’d already talked before that I wanted the chicken alfredo! The waitress preemptively brought us a box, thinking we would need it. Instead, she and my grandmother were shocked to see I daintily finished every bite! Mom checked Lily’s diaper where she was sitting in the high chair and said, “I’m going to go change Lily’s diaper. Do you need to be changed too, Sofia?”

I had to nod. Hannah picked me up from the high chair and sat me down on the ground. Mom grabbed Lily and my hands and walked us back to the bathroom. We had to wait for another mom to change her newborn’s diaper before Mom could use the station for Lily and me. After she washed her hands, we went right back to the table. By the time we got back, the check was paid by Grandma, and she and Hannah were ready to go.

Grandma decided to go shopping with us. We started at Costco, then Kohl’s, Buy-Buy-Baby, and another mall before returning to the photo shop at the mall we started at in the morning. Mom decided to be brave and go without the stroller since we had both been getting antsy inside it. “Come on, slowpoke,” Hannah prodded me when I stopped to look at a window display of pretty dresses on our way in.

Mom and Grandma had just gone up to the counter to talk to the man while Hannah, Lily, and I stood outside the store. Someone grabbed me all of a sudden and started running.

“What are you doing?” I screamed.

It wasn’t Hannah! Someone was kidnapping me!!!!!!

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I looked at my work schedule and realized it’ll be a really late posting schedule if I did it the next two nights. Instead I decided to group these two together to tide you over until Wednesday! If you don’t like being left with that cliffhanger a couple readers comments might get me to at least make a late night posting of the next chapter Tuesday! (Thank you to the couple who have commented on the last two chapters, please consider leaving one!) Thank you so much for reading!

Please press the ‘Like’ Button if you’ve enjoyed it!

If you're someone who must finish a good story 'now,' consider purchasing the full book on Amazon Kindle! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTBTTGX1 I will be posting a chapter about every other day until the complete 62 Chapters and the Epilogue are reposted.