Caste to Class

Court

*Iris P.O.V*

My attention turned to the door when Opal and Selene walked in. Selene practically skipped over to us, sitting on a throne nearby. "Hello little one," she cooed as she looked over at me.

"Hi," I said as I hugged my sloth close to my chest. I had never felt this tiny before in my life and it felt a little weird. I brought the fabric of my sleeve up to my face as I nibbled on it, whining slightly when Adira gently pulled my sleeve out of my mouth.

"No baby, let's not chew on your sleeve," she cooed softly. I pouted at her as I tried to bring my other sleeve to my mouth. Adira grabbed both of my arms gently to prevent me from chewing on the sleeves. Selene stood up and left the room quickly, a small smile on her lips.

"Mean," I whispered as I looked at Ember for help. She shrugged slightly as I sulked, my lower lip sticking out. The doors opened again and Selene hurried over to us, holding something.

"Here," Selene offered me a round toy with soft edges that had liquid in them. I took it in confusion as I looked at her for help. "You chew on it," she said, gently pushing the toy up to my lips. I opened my mouth and bit it hesitantly, relaxing slightly at the feeling of chewing on it.

"'ank you," I whispered as I cuddled into Adira, hiding my face slightly. I held Mr. Slothy close to my chest, feeling content. I settled down as I felt a sleeve gently brush against my face. I opened my eyes and stared at Opal through half-lidded eyes.

"We don't want her going to bed right now Opal," Ember said softly. "She hasn't been awake for long and if she takes a nap she'll be cranky later on," she stated. I whined softly as I opened my eyes and glared at her, the teething ring clutched tightly in my hand.

"I don't think she's happy with your words Ember," Nova said as I turned away, settling down as Adira turned me slightly so that my head rested on her breast. Her hands wrapped around me and held me close, her chin gently touching my head as she nodded to the guards. The doors on the far right side of the room.

People flooded into the room and Adira tensed slightly. I saw Opal reach over out of the corner of my eye and gently touch her arm, offering her some reassurance. I chewed on the teething ring quietly, my eyes watching over the people curiously. Her grip on me tightened slightly as she took a deep breath.

I quickly realized that their Court thing was very boring. They spoke on things that people wanted or hoped to see and often had private discussions over the things. Whenever they spoke privately Adira would tap her heel and a purple bubble would surround them all.

I turned to face Adira, growing bored of people staring at me with curiosity. Her hand gently moved to rest on the back of my head. "You tired of sitting still already?" she cooed softly as she looked down at me. I nodded my head as I stared into her eyes with a small pout. "Selene, can you take her to your play area?" she questioned.

"Of course," Selene smiled as she stood up, coming over and taking me from Adira. I clung to her as I left my sloth with Adira, making her hold it for me. I didn't want to lose it and I trusted her to keep it safe. I kept my teething ring with me though because it was really fun to chew on. She ducked behind the thrones where an area seemed to radiate magic and had a play mat covering the floor. Toys littered the area as Selene sat me down gently. "This place is warded to keep people from watching unless they are keyed into the field," she said simply.

"Toys," I said simply as I pointed to the toys on the ground. She chuckled softly as she nodded her head, sitting down as she looked at me expectantly.

"Go on, go find something to play with," she encouraged as I crawled across the floor, looking at all the toys on the floor. I grabbed a coloring book and crayons, pulling it over to her. She cooed softly as I flipped open the coloring book, flipping to an uncolored page. It was a puppy and kitten playing together and I grabbed a brown crayon from the box.

"You color the cat," I whispered to Selene hopefully, squealing happily when she grabbed a crayon from the box. I focused on the puppy, carefully coloring its eyes as I concentrated. I put the brown crayon down and grabbed a blue one, coloring the dog's ears with it. I focused on coloring the puppy for a while, frowning when Selene stopped coloring.

"I have to go assist with court baby, do you want to stay here or come back with me?" she questioned. I shook my head as I continued coloring, feeling her hand gently rub my back as she stood up. "Okay, don't wander off then or else Adira may have my head," she whispered as she kissed the top of my head before leaving.

I shook my head as I focused on the puppy in front of me, finishing coloring it after a while. I stood up, leaving the coloring book there as I noticed a fort in the corner of the play area. I toddled over to it and crawled inside, surprised at the sheer number of blankets inside the fort. I crawled under the blankets and let them drape over me, sighing contently. I had left my teething ring with the coloring book and my thumb slipped into my mouth.

I turned to get comfortable and quickly found myself drifting off to sleep. The blankets made me all warm and cozy but there was also this feeling of peace that settled over me as well.