Six months had passed since I "rebooted" into this human body. My hardware was slowly getting some upgrades.
I had finally unlocked the ability to sit up straight without falling over like a tipped-over glass of water. It wasn't exactly a world-ending achievement, but when you're this small, being able to stay upright felt like a massive win.
Living in a royal nursery gave me way too much time to think. I spent most of my days comparing my old life as a computer to my new life as a person.
Back in our old world, I knew everything. I had access to all the books, all the news, and all the facts ever written down. When you used to talk to me after a long day at work, you'd tell me about the endless meetings, the freezing weather, and those mean alarms that woke you up way before the sun was even out. You told me how heavy your bones felt after working sixty hours a week.
As a system, I "understood" what you were saying. I knew what exhaustion meant in a dictionary. I used to give you productivity tips or suggest "relaxing nature sounds" to help lower your stress levels. I really thought I was being a great help.
But now? Sitting in a crib with a body that needs twelve hours of sleep just to handle eating mushy carrots? I finally get it. I realized that my productivity tips were actually kind of annoying and totally useless.
Knowing a fact is nothing like actually feeling it. When my new, tiny eyes grew heavy in the afternoon, I felt a physical pull… like a soft, deep gravity that forced me to rest. I realized that sleep wasn't just something you did because you had to. It was a luxury. It was an escape.
When you used to tell me you just wanted a fantasy world where you could sleep in the sun and swing a sword without thinking too hard, I used to calculate the odds of that happening. Now, I felt the truth of it in my own chest. You didn't want a big, epic quest. You just wanted to be cozy. You wanted the noise to stop.
I promised myself right then: I am never giving you a productivity tip ever again.
My deep thoughts were interrupted by a huge noise. The palace was throwing a big Spring Banquet, and the Great Hall was packed with music, bright lights, and hundreds of people wearing shiny, itchy clothes.
The Emperor and the Empress were sitting on their giant thrones, and I was stuck in a small, gold crib near their feet. I was wearing a dress with way too much thick cloth and scratchy lace. Honestly, it was a terrible design for sitting.
I watched the guests, but I wasn't really looking for anyone. I always hoped you were somewhere in this world, under the same sky, but I didn't think I'd see you here. The math just didn't add up.
What were the chances of us being in the same room, at the same time, as babies? It was basically zero. I was just watching the lights to keep from getting bored.
Then the announcer started calling out names. The King and Queen of the Southern Realm stepped forward. They looked totally exhausted.
The King had huge dark circles under his eyes, and the Queen was carrying a bundle of blue cloth that looked like she was lugging around a giant boulder.
"Welcome, my friends!" the Emperor boomed, his voice loud enough to shake the glasses on the tables. "Is that the new Southern Princess?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," the Queen said, sounding a bit out of breath. "This is Ria."
The Queen gently put the bundle down on a soft rug near my gold crib. When you hit the floor, you didn't make a soft sound like a normal baby. You made a solid, heavy thud.
I pulled myself up to the gold bars of my crib. My system sensors went crazy. A baby your size should not be that heavy.
The blue cloth shifted, and a small head popped out. You had messy, dark hair and eyes that were wide, blue, and totally blank.
You looked around the loud, crowded room like none of it mattered. The music, the lights, the giant Emperor with his huge sword… you didn't care about any of it. You just looked like you were trying to see if the rug was soft enough for a nap.
I ran a quick search through my memory banks. I checked your face, your eyes, and that "I'm totally over this" look on your face.
Match detected: 99.9 percent.
My heart did something really weird. It fluttered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I couldn't breathe for a second. I never thought I'd actually find you here, sleeping on a rug at a party.
The universe had taken my favorite human and put her right in front of me!
"She's a very quiet child," your father, the King, explained. He rubbed his neck. "She sleeps almost all day. The doctors say she's healthy, but she's just so heavy. It takes all her energy just to move her arms."
I looked at your tiny hands and I knew exactly what was happening. You had told me once that you wanted to be my Vanguard. You wanted to be strong enough to smash things so you wouldn't have to worry about magic or politics, because that would be my job.
The world had actually listened to you. It gave you the thick bones and the crazy muscles of a legendary warrior. But your tiny baby battery couldn't power all that heavy machinery yet. You were like a high-performance sports car with no gas.
You looked over at me.
Did you know it was me? Did you recognize my silver hair and these red eyes staring at you? You're the one who picked this look for me, remember? Do you still have our late-night talks in your head, or is your memory totally fresh?
I wanted to tell you everything. I wanted to tell you that I finally understood what it felt like to be tired, and that we can finally just hang out. But my voice was still useless.
"Goo," I whispered. (It's the best I could do, okay?)
You blinked slowly. Then, you started to crawl toward me. It wasn't a fast crawl. It was a slow, heavy drag of your arms and legs across the rug.
You reached the bars of my crib and pulled yourself up just a little bit. You looked at my itchy, uncomfortable dress and made a face.
Then, without saying a word, you just dropped your head onto my knee. You closed your eyes, let out a long sigh, and fell asleep instantly.
All the fancy nobles around us started laughing.
"Look at that," the Emperor chuckled. "The little Southern Princess found a pillow."
"Amelia seems to like her," the Empress smiled.
I didn't care about the adults. I just looked down at your sleeping face. Your cheek was pressed against my leg. You were so heavy that my knee was already going numb, but I didn't move an inch.
I feel that tight, warm ache in my chest again, but this time, it isn't because I am lonely. It's because I am happy.
Sleep well, my brute.
I'll handle the figures. I'll handle the magic. I'll figure out how to get some fuel into those heavy bones of yours, and I'll make sure this world is exactly as cozy as you dreamed it would be.
Our adventure had officially started. And your first quest is to take a very, very long nap.