Rockabye Baby [Job]

Job:

Smiling professionally, the sharp-tongued blonde positioned herself outside her client's door, running her fingers through silky platinum locks too smoothen it out. In her hands, a flyer for an escort task that Lillias had swiftly plucked off the request board the moment she saw the pay it offered.

How peculiar. For a family that pays so much, they have quite the humble abode. she thought, rapping on the door lightly. Perhaps they liked living quietly? It was uncommon, but not unheard of. Lillias herself liked her residence to be simple and classy.

She wondered if the escort mission was going to take long. Where would they be headed? If her memory served her right there had been no mention of the destination on the paper.

Well, whatever it was, Lillias was quite looking forward to it. Escort missions were quite interesting, since it brought her to all sorts of places. Unfortunately, in her hurry to take the mission, she'd unwittingly taken the wrong flyer off the board, and fully expected it to be an escort mission. So when the wooden door opened and a squealing, pudgy little thing was thrust into her arms, Lillias did the most reasonable thing expected of anyone of her caliber.

Lillias Noel dropped her supposed client's baby on his head, five seconds into meeting them.

---

Moments later, she was left alone with the child, staring suspiciously at the gurgling creature splayed on the floor. Fortunately, she had not been charged with attempted murder, thanks to the father's timely catch.

"What sort of hell-spawn child are you to need a mage to babysit it?" Lillias muttered to herself in bafflement. She removed the flyer from the waist of her apron, sighing discontentedly. So much for an escort mission, she thought. Despite her insistence that she had taken the wrong request, the couple insisted that she look after the child. They were pressed for time and could not afford to wait for someone else. "You did nearly kill my baby, after all, so it's only fair that you help me as a sort of apology. You'll even be paid!" She recalled the woman's smug look when Lillias was, for once, speechless.

"Your mother is an awful woman," she scowled, and the baby flopped adorably forward onto its front, giggling.

The two spent the next five minutes staring at each other, before she lost the baby's attention and he moved on to the toys scattered about in his playpen. Lillias decided to read the instructions his mother had left behind, which was surprisingly detailed. Lunch was in an hour - there was a simple recipe for it, alongside notes on how to deal with him. Then, bath time would be around four in the afternoon, and she would have to ensure that the water was warm, but not boiling hot. This was followed by dinner, then a little storytelling and bedtime. Strangely enough, bedtime was scheduled at 7:30.

The blonde looked to the baby curiously. The very picture of innocence, she thought. Perhaps now would be a good time to see just what she had missed when she left her infant cousin to the many babysitters years ago. Likely, not much.

She took one final look at the child, who was bashing blocks against each other dumbly before taking her leave from the playpen and heading for the kitchen.

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In the kitchen, Lillias was very focused - she had to be, given the nature of her magic and her current task at hand. Currently, the blonde had the notes suspended in the air, floating in front of her face with a little magic circle behind it whilst her two hands moved about "Lentils and broth... raise the heat, then lower it once it boils... " she paused briefly, pulling the notes forward with a single movement of her index finger. Her hands moved to position themselves on her hips whilst Lillias struggled to understand the reasoning behind it. She heard clattering behind her, presuming it was the baby and his building blocks and did not turn to look. He was fine, all locked up like a little prisoner in his pen. Surely, she wouldn't have to check on him often.

She resumed cooking a moment later, although the simplicity of the recipe left little for her to do once everything was in the pot cooking. Deciding that now was as good a time as any to check on the little one, she dumped the folder of notes on the counter and stepped out of the kitchen, only to rush forward to catch the toddler just as he leapt off a bookshelf. The shelf wobbled, and instinctively she turned around to shield the baby with her body whilst a spell circle flickered to life in front of her, repelling stray books and collectibles.

The baby gurgled happily, and Lillias surveyed the living room whilst she tightened her hold on the child, eyes widening the more she saw. It looked as if a tornado had swept through - the place was a mess! How had the baby gotten out of the pen? She recalled locking it, and he certainly wasn't tall enough to reach the lock on his own. Unless... her eyes swept across the room to the pen, where building blocks had been cleverly arranged to form a little series of platforms. Some were scattered messily on the floor, and she figured that was probably what all that noise from before was about. "That little tyke... he actually unlocked it!" she realized, looking accusingly at the giggling baby in her hold. She was not leaving him alone again, she thought, making her way into the kitchen baby in tow. Unceremoniously, she dumped him in his high chair and checked on the soup, allowing it to boil for a little longer before scooping some into a little plastic bowl.

She pulled a chair next to him, and promptly sat down as well, bowl in hand, notes in the other. "Lunchtime... beware of flipping tendencies," she read, arching a brow in bafflement. Just as she did, a small pudgy hand came swooping towards the bowl, flipping it out of her grasp and emptying the contents onto her.

The perpetrator clapped merrily, gurgling and spit running down his chin. His blonde babysitter fumed silently, twitching.

Minutes later, she'd dried her hair and cleaned whatever she could of the food off her clothes, noting with distaste that the soup had seeped in and would require a good scrub to completely rid of. Not to mention she smelled of vegetables and soup. She filled another bowl, this time approaching the baby cautiously with a spoon, the bowl held out of its reach. A hand darted out, nearly thwarting her second attempt if not for her timely reaction. Growling, she leaked out a minimal amount of killing intent, and the baby ceased its flailing, mouth going slack and eyes watering. She took this as an opportunity to shove the spoon in his mouth, the new taste immediately distracting him.

"Muh!" He demanded, and she dutifully obliged, relieved that he had taken to the soup immediately. She had not cooked in a long time - and frankly, she wasn't exactly a Michelin chef when she did.

Lunch passed somewhat peacefully - aside from when the baby tried to climb out the highchair whilst she got him a second helping, and when he precariously waved a steak knife (god knows how he got his grubby hands on that) in her face - and Lillias opted to keep the baby buckled in his highchair whilst she washed up. She then relocated him back to his pen, this time careful to watch him whilst she tidied up the living room. Books were sorted neatly into their respective shelves, toys packed  into the toy-box and couch pillows fluffed and lined neatly. By the time she had finished, the living room was practically sparkling.

Then the foul stench of ammonia hit her nose, and she hesitantly looked in the direction of the child - said child now with a blissful expression on his face, and puffier diapers than before.

Horrified, the pale-skinned girl turned even whiter. 'Gods, no...'

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If Lillias ever had to explain the term humiliation to somehow, then let this make a fine example.

She was fighting - struggling, even, to win against perhaps one of her most challenging opponents so far. A little warrior, with strong kicks and tight grip, mercilessly yanking on her hair whoever he could grab ahold of it, kicking her arms away whenever she neared him with his diapers. The girl hadn't thought diapers would be so difficult to put on. Then again, she hadn't expected the baby to be so difficult either. If the bath she'd given him earlier was bad, this was a whole lot worse. She knows her little cousin hadn't been like this as an infant, and even now he was very docile.

She growled, doing her best to keep the baby's legs away as she pulls his diaper up. He kicked her hands (again) and wiggles out, and Lillias was on the verge of strangling him. "You little shi-" a puff of air escapes his bottom, followed by a whisp of baby powder, and Lillias backs away in horror, disgust etched into her face. How dare he! Here she was, a ruthless, cruel killer capable of ending his life in a single blow, but this baby... he..! She heaved a sigh, shoulders sinking with the weight of the burden she felt from this mere task. Child-rearing had never been her thing, she admitted. She'd always left her cousin with others, be it a fairly trustable neighbor when they were children with nothing to their names, or her household when she began earning more than enough to live comfortably, and got her hands onto some of their inheritance.

Moments later, she succeeded in keeping his diapers on him, and swiftly slipped him into a hideous pink cotton onesie, with rabbit ears and a little tail even. The brat whined, and she grinned at his obvious displeasure. Revenge was sweet. She got to preparing dinner soon after upon realizing how much time she had spent cleaning the mess in the living and bathing the baby, deciding to reheat some of the leftovers from lunch and make an apple purée to hopefully bribe the baby with, should the need arise. The baby was left in his mobile cot in the living, fast asleep after a warm shower. It was a good thing babies needed so much sleep - that made looking after them much easier, she thought, agreeing with herself. Dinner eventually passed by relatively smoothly (as it could get, what with the little hellspawn and all) and Lillias found it nearing 7:30.

While she had initially questioned the child's mother - over many things, really - and her requirement for putting him to bed at exactly 7:30, she had begun to see why when it was clear the baby was overly hyper. He would not stop crawling and tottering around, like a bumbling fool. When she put him in his cradle, he whined and made a fuss, even crying shrilly when she left him there, turned off the lights and headed downstairs into the living room. She left him there for fifteen minutes, until recalling that babies could cry and cry until they were so out of breath, they asphyxiated themselves. She ran upstairs as quick as she could, and her heart jumped a little when she realized his face was red.

It was eight-forty by then, and Lillias was both hungry and mildly tired. And cranky. What had been intended as an escort mission had become a babysitting errand, and it was frankly below her. Looking after someone else's child, as if she had nothing better to do. She paced back and forth in the darkness of the nursery, the only light bring that of moonbeams streaming in through the window. And still, the baby would not rest. So she hummed a little, to calm herself down, and realized that he relaxed a little at the sound, snuggling into her for comfort. So she sat down on the rocking chair, scowling and cursing in a hushed tone. If anyone else knew of this, she'd be a laughing stock! Her! Lillias Noel, a nanny!

She continued humming, eventually finding that the tune had slowly shifted to an all to familiar lullaby that she would've never sung to anyone else, one that she hadn't sung in years. And- Her heart clenched painfully at the memory - the recollection of her abandoned past driving stakes through her.

And that beautiful little boy with sparkling blue eyes.

The lyrics of the lullaby came as naturally as they did when she was nine. She never forgot them, she realized, and almost not unwillingly, her lips part and her tongue wove its way through the words.

Sooner than she realized, the baby drifted off into sleep, and Lillias followed not long after. When she awoke, it was to the flash of a camera, and she growled on instinct, magic flaring to life in her veins only to remember she was babysitting. She deposited the sleeping infant in his mother's arms, relieved, and the father escorted her out into the living room. His wife followed after she tucked in their child, and Lillias cannot help but notice they're both smiling about something. "What- You- You took my photo!" she hissed indignantly when the woman hands her a Polaroid with her cradling the sleeping baby in it. It was a miracle she hadn't dropped him in her sleep.

"You did quite well. The usual babysitters could never put him to sleep until we came back. Thank you for your help, child. Perhaps if you have the time, you could consider coming back for another round?" Lillias is close to dry-heaving at the thought, and shakes her head. "Oh, what a shame. You'd have made a great babysitter. I noticed you've even cleaned up my living room for me - thank you for that." She leaned forward without warning and embraced Lillias, who nodded awkwardly. She was all too eager to receive her payment and leave. She was not comfortable; what with her smelling like soup and the woman being way too affectionate for her liking. Not to mention her day had gone awry because of the woman forcing her son onto her.

With a laugh, the mother sent her on her way with a wad of jewels and the Polaroid as a memento, and Lillias happily hightailed it out of there. When they were sure the girl had long dissapeared, a hooded figure joined them by the doorway. "How was she?" The mother asked, curiosity lacing her voice. A lock of ash white hair peeked out from under the hood, and the telltale reflection of the moonlight from beneath the hood revealed him to have vibrant purple eyes, much like the girl herself.

"Kind. Gentle. Sweet," the stranger paused, drawing in a shuddering breath. "Radiant. As she has always been."

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{End}