Technically Addicted [Dropped]

Prologue

Prologue

It was dark, yet warm. The room was spinning, yet perfectly still. A rapid, erratic pressure was felt.

"Please, Nicholas. You've got to. We don't have any other choice. Please." The frantic woman pleaded desperately, attempting to hand over the quiet baby in her arms to the white-haired man in front of her.

"I - we are so old and frail. We would not be able to care for her properly." The raspy voice of the old man had a texture of aged parchment.

"We can trust no other." The woman's desperation only increased as time ticked on, as evident by her increasing jitters and the gloss over her eyes.

"Do you have to do this? Can you not hide yourselves?" The man questioned with concern lacing his word.

"They know, and they will follow. We cannot but run. We can't take her with us, the danger is far too high. We will be back for her once the matter is settled." The woman now nearly pushed the baby into the man's hesitant arms.

The man, Nicholas as the woman called him, sighed and reluctantly took the baby girl, knowing all too well that this might be their last departure.

"Good luck, Selène." He bid her a saddened farewell.

Selène mustered a smile and said, "You're our only hope. Take care."

She kissed her baby's forehead and turned around without looking back. Determination was the only thing stopping her from breaking down. Determination to protect what she held most dear.

The man stared at her figure disappearing in the distance until he could no longer see her, then he closed the door. The sudden sound seemed to have stirred the baby, as she let out a small mumble.

He cooed and gently swayed her in his arms, then cautiously put her in a bed far too big for her and gingerly tucked a blanket around her.

He left the room with a frown. Unaware that the baby had completely awoken, left with one dazed thought: An unfamiliar ceiling.

Nicholas went into a different room, where his wife, Perenelle, was busy cleaning the stained sheets. She looked up at him, only to see his frown. She asked, "What's wrong?"

"She left," he replied, slightly stunned as he came to realise what had just transpired, "without the baby."

"What!?" She stood perplexed, dropping the sheets. "She had only just given birth! It's a miracle she can even walk. She won't stand a chance out there!"

The tired old man sighed, "I tried to dissuade her, to no avail."

"I'm going after her." The overly energetic old woman pulled up her sleeves and nearly stormed out of the room, almost crushing her poor husband.

"Wait!" He called after her. "It's too late now, I'm afraid. We wouldn't be able to follow her tracks."

"So, you expect me to just sit and wait for news of their demise!?" She was exasperated.

"Even if we could follow her, we would only place her in more danger. Right now the only thing keeping her going is the knowledge that her daughter is safe with us. If we leave now and catch up with her, she would be distraught. And if she's in the middle of a confrontation, that could cause her death. We cannot go." He said firmly, having made up his mind to do everything he can for the newborn.

Perenelle huffed in frustration. She knew that what he said was not wrong. She could only accept the matter.

"Where's little Elise?" She asked, realising that the baby wasn't in her husbands arms.

"I put her on our bed, for now." He responded honestly.

She sighed and took him by his wrist, nearly dragging him to their bedroom. She lay down on one side of the girl and gestured him to do the same.

He complied and covered them all with a blanket. The elderly couple cuddled up to the baby and fell asleep with conflicted thoughts.

~~~~~

The couple were woken early the next morning by the cries of the baby. Perenelle took Elise into her arms and slowly rocked her to and fro.

"Dear, I think she's hungry." She looked down then back up, "Could you go to the town to buy baby formula?"

He got up groggily and looked her up and down with tired eyes, "Yes, perhaps that's for the best."

She raised an eyebrow at him then rolled her eyes. She huffed with a little smirk then shooed him out.

He returned not long after with the new formula and followed the instructions carefully. He made sure that his measurements were exact, perhaps from habit.

He handed the bottle to his wife who fed the hungry baby. Elise could only think: I sure am grateful to whoever invented baby milk. I can't imagine otherwise...

Elise choked and started coughing. She suddenly felt a strange sensation and her airways immediately cleared.

"Thank you, Nicholas." Perenelle said.

Nicholas smiled, "I've always found that spell to be useful."

At those words, Elise's mind froze.

"Uh, yeah. You always do seem to choke whenever you see me." Perenelle joked with him.

"It's because I'm always so shocked by your eternal beauty." Nicholas said like a lovestruck teenager confessing his first love.

Perenelle's cheeks turned crimson, "T-thank you, dear."

Elise suddenly giggled, which the two found odd for a newborn. White flowers suddenly sprouted from the floor, all around them. The sight made Elise laugh the happiest, purest laugh the two elders had ever heard. It was full of love and wonder, and the sound made more flowers grow all around the house. Nearly every nook and cranny was filled, even the garden outside had some cropping up.

"Moonflowers." Nicholas said, "They're very beautiful, but unfortunately they're poisonous. I'm going to have to remove them."

Elise quieted. She pouted with teary eyes. The two were shocked at the sight. They looked at each other. After a while, they shook their heads, dismissing the impossible thought from their minds. She's only a day old, she couldn't possibly understand them, right?

Nicholas waved his hand and cleared up all the flowers in the house and most in the garden. He kept a small patch next to the house, around which he made a little fence, for safety.

The couple took a while, but they were starting to get used to the new addition to the family. The joys that the child brought gradually made them forget about all their worries.