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 40: Tourists

WHEN WE REACHED the elevator, an older lady looked at me and said, “Oh my, she has to be one of the most adorable babies I’ve ever seen!”

“Thank you,” Camille’s mom said.

“How old is she?” She asked.

“Almost a year,” she responded.

“She’s so cute!”

I sat there while the torturous conversation went on about me with no interaction from me. Thankfully elevator rides never last forever, and we were soon moving again. A restaurant in the hotel must have been decided on before I was woken up because they knew where we were going, and we were quickly seated. “Two high chairs?” the hostess asked Camille’s mom.

“Please,” she said.

Cassidy sat inside a high chair, and her mom placed a bib on her. I didn’t remember her having a bib yesterday, so I wondered if that was because it was breakfast? Finally, I was picked up from the carrier, placed in a high chair, and silently sighed in relief. I was half afraid I would be left in there like a newborn!

I looked around a high-end restaurant with nice crystal glasses and was sure babies were not among their favorite patrons. So I looked at Camille and said, “Baba!”

“Okay, hold on, Princess,” she said with a smile and dug into my diaper bag. A moment later, I was hungrily sucking on a bottle of Hannah’s milk that she had warmed.

‘I’m glad they managed to get that back,’ I told Caireen.

‘Wait, did you just say you were…?’

‘Yes, I did. I miss Hannah,’ I added sadly.

‘I know,’ she said, ‘maybe they’ll let you call her again in a while?’

‘Maybe…’

While I nursed my bottle, a little bit of pancake was placed on the table. The small plate was set in front of me but out of reach. Hannah’s mom had already cut it up and covered the pieces with some syrup, and gathered a side of some eggs. Camille’s mom took the empty bottle from me and began giving me a bite of my food every couple of moments while she fed herself. Embarrassingly some of it ended up on my bib, face, and even a little in my hair.

“So, how are we getting there, Dad?” Camille asked.

“We’re getting a ride from your Aunt,” he told her.

“Cool,” she said excitedly.

When we finished, her mom wiped my face with baby wipes, an intrusion I hated a lot. Then a finger found its way to my diaper, and she said, “Camille, why don’t we go change Sofia and take Cassidy to the big girl potty while Daddy pays the bill?”

As the supposed infant in this scene, my opinion mattered not. I found myself quickly strapped into the infant carrier with a pacifier in my mouth and swinging from Camille’s elbow as they walked to a nearby bathroom. She sat the seat and my diaper bag on the ground next to a large built-in counter. Like always, things were quickly and gently taken care of with my diaper before I was again strapped inside. I kicked my legs a bit as I was left on the floor next to a toilet that Camille sat down on. I was glad she had faced me to where I wasn’t locked into looking at her, but the sounds of her peeing into the porcelain throne made me jealous.

I heard Camille’s mom talking to Cassidy, “Sweetie, you need to tell me if you need to go potty.” Cassidy’s sniffles could be heard from where I was in the carrier. “Let’s get a new pull-up on you.”

I felt terrible for Cassidy as I heard her mom cleaning her up, but at least she could potty train!

After an eternity, Camille picked my carrier up, washed her hands, and walked back to the table where her dad waited. He stood and helped Camille lock the seat back into the stroller. “When is Aunt Michelle going to be here?” Camille asked him.

“She called while you were in the bathroom and said she’s waiting for us outside the main entrance.”

“Well then, let’s not keep Michelle waiting any longer,” I could hear the smile in Camille’s mom’s voice. They moved a lot faster once Cassidy was in her stroller, and we were both wheeled through the hotel quickly to the main doors. When my seat was unlatched from the stroller, I could see that we were getting into a… limo?

Lots of happy conversations happened before we actually got in. First, I was introduced to my ‘Great-Auntie Michelle,’ who suitably cooed over me. Then my seat was latched into the back limousine bench by the driver and Camille’s dad. Cassidy sat in a car seat that was already secured for her. Then I noticed another person who was just quietly sitting towards the front end of the limo.

I looked for a moment and had trouble recognizing her for a second due to her not being in costume, but I realized it was Tigress!

I waved at her, and she waved back at me before making a ‘shhh’ sign to her lips with her finger. I frowned around my pacifier but nodded. I was definitely bored as I sat there sucking on my pacifier. Auntie Michelle seemed to notice because as she talked with everyone, she asked, “Does she have a teething toy or something?”

“Yeah, she also has a new doll she likes somewhere in here,” Camille said as she looked into the diaper bag for things I knew weren’t inside. A second later, I had a brightly colored teething toy dangled in front of me. I let the pacifier fall out to pretend I was chewing on it. Embarrassingly it actually did feel kind of good to chew on. Camille also brought out my new Eloise doll and sat her inside the car seat next to me.

I became the center of attention for a few more minutes with cooing and other things coming from my auntie. Cassidy soon grew tired of not being played with and started crying about something. That re-focused the attention on her, and I could just sit there quietly, mortified as I realized I seemed to easily appear to be a helpless baby.

 
 

WHEN WE REACHED our destination and got out of the limousine, I was surprised to discover we were in New Jersey! Aunt Michelle explained to Camille that even with the drive out to New Jersey, it was quicker to travel there to get the ferry. It would also be faster to get on a ferry later to come home. My seat was reattached to the stroller, and we were taken through security. My diaper bag had to be opened, and the liquid from a bottle was examined.

“It’s just breast milk,” Camille’s mom said, clearly a little annoyed.

The lady looked like she was going to raise a fit, but another worker whispered in her ear. A moment later, we were waved through. I looked at where Tigress was the best from my view and saw her wink at me. “Baba!” I told her mom as she held it in her hands.

She sighed, “You just want to make us change your diaper sooner, huh?”

She tickled me as she placed the bottle in my mouth and reclaimed the teething toy to return to the bag. Camille must have done a spell from next to me because it wasn’t cold like I was afraid of. Thanks to our strollers, I figured we were stuck on the ferry’s lower level going out to the island. I was surprised, though, when a couple of trips together carried both Cassidy and me upstairs. To my relief, I was let out of the harness and held on Camille’s mom’s hip while Aunt Michelle had Cassidy on hers.

“Ooh, can you see that?” She asked Cassidy. “That’s the Statue of Liberty!”

I tuned her out as the announcements from the boat discussed emergency procedures and then told some of the stories of immigrants coming to America. Time did seem to pass quickly as we were unloaded onto Ellis Island. “Let’s take Cassidy to the potty really quickly and change Sofia again before we start looking around.” She told Michelle as Camille and her dad pushed our empty strollers behind us. Her mom handed me to Camille to change while she dealt with Cassidy, who excitedly shouted, ‘She was a big girl!’ When she successfully made it to the potty!

She was so cute with how excited and proud she had made it after missing every time since last night! Tigress hung back with us but did not appear to be part of our group. I wanted to talk to her, but a baby having a conversation with her would draw attention, so I patiently sat when they placed me back into the stroller and watched stuff go by.

The morning would have been much more enjoyable if I hadn’t had to pretend to be a regular baby. Pictures were taken of us everywhere, but my favorite ones were in the great hall upstairs. It wasn’t overly crowded when we took the picture, so you could see the vastness of the space and the extraordinary tile work everywhere!

‘Maybe someday, when you let me pretend to be older with that spell, I can come back and actually enjoy myself?’ I suggested to Caireen.

‘That would be fun, actually,’ she acknowledged. ‘I know this is boring… Sorry.’

I was allowed a little time to walk around holding Camille’s hands, but not much was out of the carrier. Shortly into that bit of freedom in the gift store, I found my body forcing me into a squat and groaned.

 
 
THE REST OF the visit to Ellis Island went by quickly after a swift diaper change. We boarded the ferry and headed to Liberty Island to look at the Statue better. I noticed that helicopters and flying superheroes all seemed to be warily guarding against attacks from above. It proved unnecessary while we were there, though. After lunch, I watched Camille and her mom whispering with Tigress.

Camille came over to where I stood on a bench and whispered, “She’s going to go ahead and take you to your meeting.” She looked nervous, “they suggested I not come along, so there’s less chance of you being recognized.

I nodded but sucked my pacifier a little more, “Baba?” I asked.

She smiled at me and whispered, “Okay, I’ll get one warmed up for you. You realize that regular people can warm up bottles, too, right?”

I blinked at her and shook my head. She gave me a hug, placed me back into the carrier, put the nipple of a warmed bottle into my mouth, and then handed my diaper bag over to Tigress. “We’ll see you both at dinner?” She asked hesitantly.

“Absolutely, I love taking my little cousins’ baby for the day, but you won’t catch me wanting to deal with all those diapers all the time!” She laughed.

I just sat there and pretended I was a good baby as she cooed at me and played with me. I made sure to fuss when I ‘realized’ that I wasn’t with Camille or anyone else. She just pushed a pacifier back in my mouth, though, and picked me up out of the seat to cuddle with me. Something about her body heat was off. I also realized that I wasn’t actually looking at any of her natural skin! She had some sort of projection on her face that my hand went through as she held me. I reached out and felt soft fur.

It took everything to keep me from saying, ‘Kitty!!!!’

‘I thought it might have been a costume last night,’ Caireen acknowledged. We’d both seen the fur.

‘Her condition must be rough, but she probably is pretty cute underneath that.’

Tigress looked at me with a little bit of a glare, and I realized I probably shouldn’t pet her without permission. She smiled at me as I gave her a small baby hug as an apology, and I stayed still while we waited to get off the ferry. As I expected, she placed me back into the car seat and pushed me down the pier to a waiting vehicle. The car was a simple-looking yellow NYC taxi van, but I had a gut feeling it wasn’t a regular taxi.

The second she swung my seat in to buckle it in, I could see I was right. I passed through a magic ward into a large bus-like space with TV screens and maps all over the walls. She placed my stroller to the side and buckled the seat into one of many available.

“What is this?” I asked while pulling my pacifier out into my hand.

“This, Your Highness, is one of the autonomous vehicles we use as a remote command post as needed,” Tigress said. “Can you go ahead and change into your costume?” she asked.

I activated the spell, and she made some sort of purring noise.

“You are beyond adorable, Your Highness,” she said.

“Why do you keep calling me, Your Highness?”

“Because you are a Princess, I’ve encountered Queen Caireen before this. I have absolute respect for her Majesty, and now you as her daughter.”

I felt Caireen come to the surface to speak, “When was this?”

“I was just a young kid when I was pulled into your world. You kindly set me free from the people who had kidnapped me.”

Caireen cursed inside my head, and I was taken aback as that was so unlike her! “How do you remember?”

“When I emerged as a teenager, the memory came back. I thought it was just a dream until I met you yesterday.”

“I am grateful that you can help now, and I’m even more grateful to see what you’ve become,” she said. I could feel her leaking tears out of my eyes. It was one of the first times I could remember her taking this much control over me. “I am going to let my daughter take back over; I am glad to know that she has an ally such as yourself here.”

I shook my head, “That was weird,” I told Tigress. I watched her change into her costume and turn off the generator over her face. Now that I was closer and knew the fur was real, I couldn’t help but admire how pretty and cute she was. “You’re beautiful, by the way,” I told her.

“As are you,” she smiled. “Are you ready for this meeting?”

I shook my head, “No, this was supposed to be a vacation,” I told her. “So, can I stop pretending to be a helpless baby now?”

“I think that’s best. By pretending to be as able-bodied as possible as Emerald, you can probably better hide yourself as the infant you appear out of costume.”

I nodded and thought for a second, “Can you hand me my diaper bag?” I asked her.

She looked at me oddly but handed it to me, probably half expecting me to drop it since it weighed as much as I did. Instead, I quickly did a spell and put it away in a space beside my small purse. Tigress looked at me oddly, “Well, you don’t think it’s a bad idea to have the same diaper bag running around with the baby?”

“Smart, you can still hand it to me to change you?”

I nodded and suddenly looked at my diaper, “Like right now, huh?” I sighed.

“Well, we are stuck in traffic…?”

She pulled me illegally out of the car seat after I handed her the diaper bag for a change before I put it back, and she re-buckled me. The ride ended soon after that, and she gave me a hand getting out of the car in our parking garage. This time she let me walk beside her into the massive Federal Building instead of being carried.

‘So, am I like the human sidekick to the big kitty?’ I asked Caireen.

She laughed at that, ‘More like my toy baby doll,’ she told me.

She led me up to an office on a different floor than we’d been in last night, “Okay, Agent Emerald, I’m going to wait out in the lounge they have while you meet.”

I looked at her and nodded before stepping into a smaller conference room through the open door. Agent Sanders and Agent Caruthers both stood as I walked in.

“Agent Emerald, good to see you again!” Caruthers said and offered me his hand. Sanders was right behind him and did the same before giving me a helpful boost onto a chair they had thoughtfully placed a booster seat on. Even with it, though, I could still barely see over the edge of the table. So I ended up standing up and jumping onto the table.

“If you don’t mind, I’d prefer to sit here since I’m so short?” I asked.

“No problems at all,” Agent Caruthers said. “I’m mainly here in a supervisory role; Agent Sanders is your actual agent in charge.”

I nodded, “So, what’s new?” I asked

“Well, the first thing I must say is that last night you threw a huge wrench into our investigation…?”

“Sorry,” I said, trying to keep tears from my eyes. I wasn’t sure I would ever feel anything but a need to cry about last night.

“Not in a bad way, ultimately, since you may have given us a lead. You saw this picture of the man you called Maponus?” He asked as a screen came alive with that photo again.

I nodded, “He’s the son of a King that my avatar spirit and I are at war with.”

“Well, he also happens to be smack in the middle of the investigation of the daycare we need you to investigate.”

“What?!?” I asked and felt Caireen’s rage.

 
 

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