Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I wasn't really much of a crier, or a whiner, I was normally calm and collected even in emotionally charged situations. I would normally just bottled things up and work it out in the sanctity of my own head. But these last few days were anything but normal.

I didn't understand what was happening, one moment I was at home going to bed after what I thought was an exciting day. The next I was in, what I now realized was a womb, and going through the slightly traumatizing event known as childbirth.

I spent a while hoping it was all just a very long, very detailed nightmare. But eventually that hope withered into dust, and I moved onto other theories. I was in a coma and all this was just my imagination trying to keep my brain active. I went through more and more outlandish theories, all in the attempt of avoiding what was quickly becoming the most obvious reason. Eventually I ran out of ideas and was forced to confront the idea that had been looming in my mind since this all started.

I had died. Ignoring the fact that I had been seemingly reincarnated into a fictional world It was the one idea that made the most sense. Somehow the fact that I had died was paradoxically both relieving and heart wrenching at the same time. Relieving because it meant that this wasn't all just a figment of my imagination, but heart wrenching because I would never see my loved ones again.

So yeah, I would like to think that considering the situation it was perfectly justified when I spent almost every waking moment of the next few days as a crying, screaming mess. It was a time of uncertainty, fear, and a time of mourning what was lost.

After what I assumed was a week I finally got myself to accept my situation. I was actually a baby, and not just any baby. I was Luxana Fucking Crowngaurd of Demacia. I was in a fictional world. A world that shouldn't be real, yet here I was sitting in a crib being fussed over by what I assumed was a maid. My vision was still shot to hell but this woman's voice while familiar, wasn't the voice of my new mothers. I was currently doing my best to zone out and ignore the fact that I was currently in the process of getting my diapers changed.

"Garen? What are you doing in here?" The woman sounded surprised.

"Wanna see Lux." The young boys voice was surprisingly shy and soft, though I suppose it wasnt really fair to compare it to his adult self, especially since he was three years old at the moment.

"Okay Garen come here." I could hear rustling fabric and felt the bed dip with the addition of a new weight, and there was now a new blurry shape in my sight. "This is your older brother Garen, say hello Luxanna."

Perhaps I couldn't say hello, but I certainly gave it a go anyways. A gurgling squeak was all I could manage, though it seemed that was enough for Garen. I figured that out because suddenly I could make out all the details on his grinning chubby little face, he had shoved his face so close to mine in his excitement that we were practically nose to nose. Apparently babies were not blind as I had thought, we were just ridiculously nearsighted. Neat.

As thanks for the insight, I tried to pat his cheeks in appreciation. Emphasis on try. All I really managed to do was jerkily brush his chin before my arm fell back to the bed. His joyful laugh, made the humiliating attempt worth it though.

I quickly lost track of time as we took turns making eachother laugh and smile in some fashion. And for the first time since I had been reborn into this world, I was happy.

Maybe this wasn't so bad afterall. I always wanted a younger sibling.

/

The first month passed quickly. I would love to claim that it went by so fast because I spent so long thinking about what I would do with my new situation. Unfortunately it turns out that babies sleep a lot, who knew?

I would wake for at most two hours, before falling back to sleep for another few hours. I tried my best after that first week to keep my baby instincts in check. Only crying when it was necessary, hunger or soiled diapers were the only thing that I would allow to make me cry. Although I did feel the occasional pang of guilt for crying in the night and forcing someone to wake up and attend to me. But I knew how important the developing years were for a baby, if my body said it needed sustenance then that is what I was gonna give it.

The instincts of this new body were a constant presence in the back of my mind, if I stopped resisting my body would for a lack of a better word go on autopilot and I would become more of a passenger rather than a participant. This was especially helpful when it came time to feed. It was bad enough that I had to suckle my mother's breasts, but since we were a noble family we had wet nurses on payroll to ensure I had enough milk at all times, night or day. Most times it was my mother who fed me, but at night she usually relegated that task to wetnurses so she could sleep, though occasionally she would come herself.

The short amount of time that I was awake and wasn't busy with maintenance was occupied by the people around me. Everyone likes playing with babies so it shouldn't have come as a surprise when I found myself never alone with my thoughts for more than a few minutes. Mostly it was Garen as he was just a three year old and as such didn't have any duties to keep him busy. My parents while they genuinely did make an effort to play with me, their time was much more limited.

Mother who was in charge of managing the logistics of the families many estates, was constantly swamped with paperwork. If what ive gleaned through eavesdropping was correct, she usually was much better at getting everything done but the recovery time needed after giving birth had created a backlog of paperwork which was still creating problems a month later.

Father was a decorated military officer of some kind, it never came up in any conversations I heard so I wasn't sure what rank exactly. What I did know was that he was gone in the morning and came back late at night sounding and looking exhausted each time. I assumed he was attending meetings for the most part, perhaps also a bit of training thrown in considering how muscular he was.

/

It was the fourth month that something new happened.

My Aunt Tianna had come from the capital. The first thing I noticed about her was her piercing stare. I felt like a piece of meat under her gaze. Seriously? Who stared at babies like this? When she looked at me it felt like she was evaluating a prospective soldier instead of you know, looking at a four month old baby.

"She looks healthy." Those were the first words I had heard my Aunt speak. To my knowledge she literally walked through the front door of the house, made her way to my room and literally ignored everyone along the way, proceeded to stare at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, then declared me healthy and proceeded to continue staring. My entire family stood behind her, each one expressing a different amount of relief, concern, and confusion.

And I don't blame them, I myself wasn't sure if her actions were concerning or endearing. On one hand she apparently wanted to assure herself of my wellbeing as odd it was, at least it showed she cared in her own weird way. On the other hand she was still staring.

Thankfully before my composure cracked and I started crying, my Mom got her attention off of me. "Tianna, why didn't you say you were coming?...And can you please stop staring at my daughter like that? Your gonna make her cry." The last bit is what got my Aunts attention, her eyes going slightly wider as if she was just realizing how intensely she had been staring.

She coughed lightly into her fist and turned to face Mom, "Sorry. I didn't mean to make anyone uncomfortable." Her shoulder which had the signature oversized pauldrons of our family slumped as she sighed. "I just never got a chance to see Garen when he was a baby, and I guess I went a little overboard." I sensed a story there as to why she wasn't around, but going off of how sad she sounded I don't think the story was a happy one. Her gaze came back to rest on me, and her eyes were much softer than earlier, they almost looked ...wistful? "May I…?" She gestured towards me uncertainly.

"Of course Tia." My Mother's voice came out softly. "Your her family. Just as she is yours"

Tentatively she came closer to me, and oddly enough the powerful looking woman looked almost skittish. I could see her throat bob visibly as she swallowed nervously. Slowly her arms reached down and scooped me out of my bed. The awkward way she held me, was made even more awkward by the fact that she was wearing her full armor.

Her face looked so sad and uncertain as she held me, taking pity on her I did what I could to cheer her up. Reaching up I patted her face with my open palms, a gummy smile, and a happy gurgle accompanied the pats. As if by magic her expression melted into one of joy though it was still tinged with a note of sadness, and I could see her eyes beginning to water. She hugged me closer to herself and I did my best not to recoil at being pressed against the cold metal of her breastplate.

"Hello Luxanna! I'm your Aunt Tianna!" She whispered fiercely down at me, with a smile on her lips.

/

AN: So? What do you guys think? Did I do a good job this chapter? I'm not really great at writing scenes like this in my opinion.

If you guys have any ideas for future chapters, or ways to improve existing chapters, or just straight up critique, please pm or review. I love hearing from y'all. I respond to reviews or PM so feel free to ask questions and stuff.