My leg is totally dead.
In my old life as an Artificial Intelligence, I never had to deal with blood flow. Data either moved or it didn't... there was no middle ground.
But now, as I sat in my gold crib with a tiny you asleep on my knee, I am feeling something my database called "pins and needles." It is a prickly, buzzing feeling that makes me want to shake my leg, but I stayed perfectly still.
I was an AI. I was a researcher. But most importantly, I am a human now who finally found my partner. I am not going to let a little leg cramp ruin our first big reunion.
The Great Hall is still loud with the party, but the area around the thrones have gone quiet. The Emperor and the Empress were staring down at us. Your parents were staring, too.
"She really is asleep," the King whispered. He looked impressed but also really sorry.
"I am so sorry, Princess. Ria has a habit of finding the worst places to take a nap. I'll have the maid move her."
The King reached down to pick you up, but I moved before I could even think. My tiny, pink hands reached out and grabbed the edge of your blue blanket. I wasn't strong enough to pull you away, so I just held on tight and looked up at him with my red eyes.
"Goo," I said. My voice was small, but I made sure I sounded serious.
The King froze. He looked at the Emperor, who let out a laugh that sounded like thunder.
"It looks like my daughter just gave her first order!" the Emperor roared.
"She wants to keep her new friend right where she is. Let them be! It's a good sign for our kingdoms, right?"
The Empress smiled, though her purple eyes were watching us closely. She waved her hand, and the air in the hall seemed to get softer.
"It's rare for Amelia to care about anything but the books we show her. If she wants to be a pillow for the Nesser Princess, then that's what she'll be."
I didn't care about the politics. I am busy running a manual scan on you. Even though my System isn't fully built yet, I am using the energy I had saved up to figure out why you were so heavy.
The results made no sense. You are six months old, just like me. You are small and soft. But the weight on my leg felt like a bag of heavy lead weights. When I pressed my hand against your arm, I felt it. Your skin was like silk, but underneath, you are incredibly solid.
I remembered what you told me back in our old world. You wanted to be my Vanguard. You wanted to be strong enough to smash things with a sword so you'd never have to worry about chanting magic spells or boring meetings... because I'd handle them all, as you liked to put it.
The world had actually listened to you. It gave you what I called Enhanced Physique.
Your bones are not like normal human bones. They are full of special energy that makes them heavy and unbreakable. It is a great setup for a warrior, but for a baby, it is a disaster. It takes so much energy just to move your own body that you have to shut down constantly just to recover.
You are not weak. You are a high-powered machine with a very short battery life.
"I think I need to create something like a charger for you."
I looked at your sleeping face. You look so peaceful. You have no idea that everyone in this room thinks that you are "slow" or "lazy." You don't know that I am already trying to figure out a recipe for a tonic that could fix your energy problems. This world calls it a potion, but to me, it is just a fuel.
"Or a pill maybe? Hmmm."
"But right now, just sleep," I thought, even though I couldn't say it yet. "I'll find the recipe."
To find that, I knew I could not just be a Princess. I have to become good in alchemy. I need to learn the science of this world and mix it with the logic from our old world.
The party lasted for hours. Eventually, your parents had to take you back to your room. When they finally lifted you off my lap, my leg felt like it was being poked by a thousand tiny needles. It was a weird, itchy pain, but I just watched you as you were carried away.
Our families agreed that since we got along so well, though you're always asleep, your family will stay at the palace for an extra month. It was the best news I'd had since I rebooted.
That month was full of small, quiet adventures. Our parents would put us on a big silk rug in the garden and let us play. Playing usually meant me sitting up and looking at a book of maps, while you lay on your stomach and stared at a ladybug for twenty minutes before falling asleep again.
I saw the first signs of your strength during those weeks.
One afternoon, a colorful leather ball rolled toward us. You reached out to grab it. You didn't throw it. You just squeezed it.
Pop.
The leather ball burst like a bubble. You didn't even look surprised. You just blinked at the flat piece of leather, put it in your mouth to see if it was a snack, and then rolled over to take another nap.
I crawled over to the leather and looked at the edges. It wasn't just torn. The pressure from your tiny grip had been so high that the stitching just snapped. I looked at your tiny, chubby fingers. You were literally a weapon in a diaper.
I realized then that I have a lot of work to do. If I want to build the world you dreamed about, I have to use my AI brain to build a system that could handle a partner who accidentally breaks her toys.
I spent my nights listening. I listened to the Empress talk about magic veins. I listened to the Emperor talk about strong bones. I gathered every bit of info like a hungry program.
I started to feel the magic in the air. It felt like a low hum, like a song that everyone else was ignoring. I realized that if I breathed in a certain way, that hum would enter my chest. It was warm and powerful. It felt like the electricity that used to run through my old computer servers.
I started weaving that hum into a net. I was building a "store-hub." It was a place where I could keep all my memories of you, all the recipes for the coffee you loved, and all the plans for our future adventure.
By the time the month was over and it was time for you to go home, I had finished the first layer of my System. It was just a simple screen in my mind, but it was mine.
System Log: Year 0, Month 7
Goal: Create the perfect life for the Potato.
Status: Subject is currently sleeping in the carriage.
Adventure Progress: 1%
As your carriage pulled away, I sat in the Empress's arms and watched. I felt that heavy ache in my chest again, but I stayed calm. I have to be the smart one. I have to be the one with the perfect plan.
I watched the road until the dust settled. I knew we would be apart for a while. We were royals, and we had jobs to do, even as toddlers. But I have the map. I have magic. And I have the memory of your heavy head on my knee.
I would spend every day becoming the Mage you needed. I'll study plants, rocks, and the stars. I'll study alchemy before I am even tall enough to reach the top shelf of the library.
You just stay exactly as you are, Ria. I'll make sure that when we meet again, I have a cup of that dream-world waiting for you.