Innocent

Chapter 5 - Sandwiches and Spies

I lay in my bed after a long day of nannying. Alexi was rather intriguing. I needed to study him more before I made a decision, but if he was pliable enough, perhaps I could collect him after all. We'd never had a forgotten changeling before, so there was no protocol for how to handle it. It was all up to me.

I roll over and close my eyes, sleeping at night for the first time in over a hundred years. As I drift off into oblivion, Rilo's words echo through my head. You found him rather handsome... I smile slightly at the thought of Alexi's face. Perhaps I did. Perhaps I did.

***

I arrived back at number twelve to nanny once more. I tried not to think about what my subjects would think if they saw me wiping poop off of this small human's bum. This could be cause for dethronement. Perhaps I was being a bit dramatic, but it would definitely be an issue.

I held the little human and she nuzzled against me, snuggling closer. A pang of guilt stabbed at my heart, but I quickly dismissed it. I shouldn't feel bad about trying to uphold the changeling tradition. She would have been fine. We treat humans... alright I supposed. They sort of lived off on their own, the adult changelings caring for the young ones. They also served me as queen, cleaning, food prep, and carrying out my whims. It could be worse.

I set her in her swing to nap so I could look around. As soon as I did, she woke and started to cry. Great. I picked her back up, and almost immediately she quieted. Looked like I was going to have a snooping buddy. With a resigned sigh, I got to work.

It was much more difficult snooping while trying not to wake a baby. I entered Alexi's room, nervous even though he shouldn't be back for several more hours.

His room was messy. I wasn't prepared for how messy it was. Clothes were heaped in haphazard piles everywhere. An overflowing trash can sat in the corner next to a desk with a computer and several old pizza boxes.

It was like visiting an imp's hovel. It smelled liked it looked. Thankfully the baby didn't seem to mind.

Taking care to breathe through my mouth, I made my way to his desk. I woke up the screen and grinned when it didn't ask for a password. His social media account popped up and I clicked on his "about" tab.

Occupation: Administrative assistant.

What does that even mean?

Relationship Status: Single.

Well, I knew what that meant. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face. I was about to move on from the computer to continue with my search when my ears pick up the sound of someone coming up the front steps. Shoot. Alexi must be home early.

I quickly summoned a portal to take me instantly to the living room. It was a bit risky of a move, but I needed to be there now. My portal faded mere seconds before he walked into the room.

"Hello, Alexi." I purred, rocking the baby gently.

"H-hey Dris." He smiled awkwardly at me, blushing. This pleased me. I made him uncomfortable.

"How was work?" I asked, faking obliviousness.

"Good. Lots of... phone calls?" He ran his hands through his hair.

"Alright. Let me know if you need anything." I dismiss him, even though it was his house. An air of royalty can sometimes get you as much as actual royalty.

"Thanks." He headed back to his room and I hoped that his computer screen had turned off by now. He didn't come back out right away, so I presumed it was fine.

I turned on the television, proud of myself for having figured out how to use it yesterday. I watched some sort of "reality show." The about of chaos and drama was very enjoyable. It could use a bit more violence, maybe some death. But humans stopped killing for sport a long time ago. I remember reading about gladiator fights when I lived with my human "parents" as a child. They sounded magnificent.

After a while, I tried putting the baby down once more. That time, she stayed asleep. I headed into the kitchen for lunch. I'm not used to making my own food. I considered having one of my servants teleport me something, but I didn't want them knowing that I was here. Instead I opened the refrigerator and tried to figure out what to eat.

It was filled with bottles and packages. Where was the food? Perhaps, if I closed the door, and told it what I wanted, it would get it for me.

"Strawberry salad." I opened the door. It looked exactly the same. "Well, that didn't work."

"Do you not know how a refrigerator works?" Alexi stood in the doorway behind me.

"What? No." I whirled around, glaring at him to challenge me.

"Mhmm. Sure." He grinned and reached around me for the door handle. "Just in case though, I'll tell you."

I scowl, but don't stop him.

"The refrigerator, or fridge for short, just keeps things cold. You still have to assemble it " He pulled of bunch of the packages out of the fridge and set them on the counter.

"Assemble it... myself?" The idea was quite appalling.

"Well, yeah." His tone implied that this was obvious. It made me feel stupid. I didn't like that.

"Well, excuse me for having better things to do than prep food like a servant." I snapped at him.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to insult you." He ducked his head and started to open the packages. I dropped the subject, not forgiving his transgression, but not holding onto it either.

"Wait, there is food in there?" I gasped as he started to stack different foods on top of each other.

"Yeah. It keeps it fresh. Some food can be edible for weeks in the fridge." He placed a final piece of food on his tower and handed me the plate. For weeks? That's radical. I lived off of mostly fresh fruits and vegetables most of the time. Sometimes we feasted on deer or wild birds. However, hunting has suffered as the human population increased.

"And, what is this?" I pointed to the small tower in my hand.

"A sandwich?" Alexi quickly threw together a second one for himself.

"Interesting." I picked it up and took a big bite. Wow. Tomato, lettuce, meat, cheese, and some sort of sauce in between bread. I needed to eat in the human world more often. Or at least steal their ideas. Human food just didn't fulfill a fae like our food did.

We took our food back to the living room and I sat back down on the couch. He sat on the floor at my feet. I munched on my food and thought through my next moves. Going through his stuff hadn't told me much about him. It seemed like friendship might be my next step.

I wasn't very good at friends. I usually ended up helping them die.