Learning from mum and dad

I recently celebrated my second birthday and my new life as a human is going amazing so far. I've learnt how to control my body and am able to run around by myself, as well as be able to talk to my parents.

I decided, when I started getting the hang of my body and the ability to speak, that I would try and slowly develop the skills so my parents didn't think I was processed or something. Gods only know what my parents would feel if I started talking in whole sentences.

That doesn't mean that I'm not growing and developing fast. I started getting bored and wanted to start reading and walking around. My parents were surprised but delighted as I showed a lot of intelligence.

And so for my second birthday, most of my presents were books, which was perfect. It's exactly what I wanted as I need to increase my knowledge of the kingdom I've found myself in. Interestingly enough our house has a large collection of books in my dad's office.

I asked dad to teach me about the history and geography of the kingdom, so I found myself taking lessons from him once a week. I found out that I live in the town of Zera in the kingdom of Vessar. Which is only one of four main kingdoms on this continent.

What I find puzzling is that I have no knowledge of the kingdom of Vessar. When I ruled Ixira, the world tree, we mapped the whole prime plane and would regularly send people to record the history of what was happening around the world.

This makes me think interested in how long has passed since my death and what has become of Ixira. I know that we have secret hideouts throughout the plane, as it was something I thought would be important to keep our people safe when travelling around.

I guess I just need to try and find elves travelling from Ixira or search for information on the location of one of those hideouts.

I won't be able to do any of that for at least a decade or more from now. I'll need to have my independence and a reason to start travelling around the kingdom.

I've been spending most of my days since my first birthday reading and with my mum helping her with what I can, whether it's going to the market to shop or just cleaning the house.

I learnt that mum is the most advanced healer in the town and at least once a month someone would be brought to our house to be healed.

My mum told me that she's a cleric of the goddess of hope, Elvora, which I knew was a minor deity and not one of the main worshipped gods.

I found that especially interesting as most learn to worship a chosen god from that god's clergy. And from my knowledge of my past life, there was no clergy or church for Elvora.

Mum showed me the holy symbol she always wears, it was polished brass in a stylised image of a rising sun. The sun was depicted as a glowing orb with long, sweeping rays emanating from its centre, giving it the impression of a radiant, life-giving force. In the centre of the sun, there was a small, intricately crafted dove in flight.

My mum told me the dove symbolises peace and serenity, and its presence within the holy symbol serves as a reminder that hope can bring about positive change and renewal.

When I asked if she knew more people who worshipped Elvora, she brushed off the question stating I would learn more about it when I was older.

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I've learnt that in this kingdom they use a currency of bronze, silver, gold and platinum coins. Which is a new thing I had to learn. Back in Ixira we didn't have a currency and didn't have individual wealth, so all of our populace had everything they needed and wanted.

Things were very different here, I remember how angry my mum was when she caught me taking fruit from the market stalls not knowing any better. Just thinking about having to learn how much everything is worth gives me headaches.

Another thing I've learnt is that our family is an important one in the town, that dad is the commander of the guards and one of the five people who manage and run the town. This means that we are quite wealthy and have one of the biggest houses in the town. That came as quite a shock when I first started going around town with mum asking what everything was.

In Ixira, all generations of the family lived together in extensive family estates that would easily house 50 or more elves. This culture of living individually from your parents once you reach adulthood was something I found odd, especially living in such small houses with only a handful of people in each.

The amount of culture shock I've received over the past two years is no small amount. So many things are different and most of them a bad way. The quality of life here was a lot worse, my guess is that humans on average are uneducated because of their short lives so they can't spend 30 years of it in schools like elves can.

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Another thing that's happened in the last year is that I've made my first friend in this life. Lotte, the beast-kin daughter of Elise, my mum's best friend and the woman who helped birth me.

Lotte is so adorable, she has beautiful ginger hair, cat ears and tail, as well as the cutest freckles dotted over her cheeks. She's a few years older than me which is great because I can't deal with small children they're so loud and obnoxious.

Lotte is quite the shy girl type, so I have to take the lead when we are together, not that I mind. We often play in my garden as it's vast and perfect for our little tea parties. After some time Lotte started to warm up to me and open up.

Today was one of those days. One of my favourites. Lotte and I have a garden tea party planned. I wake up early on days like this so mum can make my hair all pretty. We also like to wear fancy dresses so we can both feel like princesses.

It was early in the morning when Elise and Lotte arrived at my house. Elise and mum went straight into the kitchen to make snacks as Lotte and I rushed through the house to my back garden.

"Wow, Lotte! Your dress is so pretty! I love the sparkly blue colour."

"Thank you, Alice. I love your dress too. It's so frilly and pink."

"My mum made it for me. She says it's perfect for picnics in the garden."

"I can see why. Your garden is so beautiful. I love the colourful flowers and the way the sun shines through the trees."

"Me too. And the grass is so soft and green. It feels like we're sitting on a cloud. It's the perfect place to relax."

"I wish we could stay here forever," Lotte said laying back down on the blanket we had laid on the grass.

"It's like our own personal magical kingdom where anything is possible."

"Yeah! We could have tea parties and play with the butterflies all day long."

"And we could make flower crowns to wear in our hair."

"I love flower crowns! Let's make some now." I'm so happy that Lotte is more comfortable with me now. It took a couple of months but now she's fully open and we are the closest of friends.

"Okay! I'll pick the pink and white ones and you can get the purple and yellow ones."

"Perfect! This is the best picnic ever."

Our tea party ended in the early afternoon when we both started getting tired. I normally fall asleep before Lotte goes home. Even though I've gotten older I still have to take naps in the afternoon, it's rare for me to be able to stay awake the whole day.

Lotte and I had tea parties like this often. We were growing closer as friends and I think that we are probably going to be the best of friends all through my childhood. She is the kind of pure, innocent girl that warms your heart when I'm around her.

The past 2 years have been fun and stress-free. I love my parents, the ability to be able to study, and that I've made a true friend that I love spending time with.

My plan for the foreseeable future is to keep studying and living like at am.

I'm getting a little antsy as I've not been using my spirit arts at all. I'm also not tried training this body for combat at all. I feel like I might want to start to feel safer in my new life. I guess I should be safe with how powerful my spirit arts are but it's best to have more opinions so I'm never caught out.