Painting

It had been a year and a half since my first birthday, and not much had happened. But I did start talking more, to the surprise of my parents and Yumi. My words were more coherent than a baby's should be. However, they seemingly wrote it off as me being gifted. 

"Princess, don't run!" Yumi, the evil demon lord, said. I ran away from her as she chased me through the castle halls. I had so much energy in my little body that I had to let it out.

"Hehehe, you will never take me alive!" Sprinting around a corner, I bumped into a wall falling on my butt. 

The wall looked down at me with a stern expression. Plastered on the face of the obstacle was a gray mustache. The aging was evident as the figure had wrinkles, and his hair was short, the color matching the mustache. As he gazed over me, realizing who had run into him, a faint smile found his lips. 

He was a human. Roland, the dutiful head butler of the castle, and his expression only ever changed once he saw me. You could say my cuteness was everyone's weakness. 

"Are you running away from the evil demon lord again?" He asked, and I nodded my head.

"Yes, Yumi is the evil demon lord!" I turned back to Yumi, who was stammering to get words out. I guessed, technically, Roland was like a boss to her, but Yumi composed herself, bowing before addressing him.

"It is as you say, Sir. She is quite lively in the mornings."

Roland responded with a hearty laugh as he bent down to pat my head. 

"That can only be a good thing. I am glad our princess is healthy. I would join you in the fun, but I have work to do, so please excuse me." He started to walk away before turning around, seemingly forgetting something. "Oh yes, before I go, would the princess like to take this?" He pulled a small blue bottle out of his pocket and presented it to me. My curious hands reached out, grabbing the bottle. "Well, then, you two have fun," Roland said, and I could feel his hands patting my head for a final time. 

He was already gone when I looked up to thank him for whatever he had given me. I eyed the bottle, wondering about the viscous liquid contained inside. 

"What is it?" I asked. 

"That is a hobby of his. He is masterful at painting. Many of the Murals inside this castle were made by himself. The paint is of the highest quality," Yumi said, "Do you want to go back to your room and try it?" 

I vigorously nodded. I was never good at art in my past life, but it could be different here.

"Very well, let us go to your chambers." 

"Yes, Ma'am!" I said, taking her hand.

"There is no need for formality. Besides, as your maid, you are of a higher status than me." She led me to my room, across from my parent's room. I was finally granted one when I turned two. 

Yumi's room was next to mine, a small door connecting them. This way, she would always be nearby if something happened. Usually, she would watch over me. After all, I was a toddler and had yet to venture outside. My parents always told me, "Wait until you are bigger." 

As we arrived at my room, I took in the surroundings as I did after I obtained it. My bed was decorated with purple and silver, matching my hair and eye color. It was small but still large enough to fit 5 of me with my tiny body. Next to the bed was a tiny wooden desk with a small chair in front of it, and a small compartment filled with paper was tucked away beneath it. 

I used it to practice writing letters. My parents and Yumi were amazed at the speed at which I picked up the alphabet. Surprisingly, the language and the letters were similar to my previous life. The spoken language sounded precisely the same to me, only with differing accents that were hard to pin. The written letters were only slightly different from the Roman Alphabet. 

Art decorated the walls with a few depictions of wilderness and bustling medieval streets. My white wooden dresser holding my princess clothing was tucked away against a wall, and a large window sat on an opposite wall overlooking the city below, silver curtains hanging down the sides. Outside was still daylight, but curiously, there was no stinging sensation when the light met my skin. 

Looking back at Yumi, I wondered where we would get a canvas. She took this as her cue, and it appeared out of nowhere. Again, magic amazed me as I looked at her in awe. I still hadn't cast a spell or channeled my inevitably fantastic magic power. 

When I asked my parents to teach me, they told me I was still far too young to use magic. They didn't mind displaying simple forms of it, much to my avarice. My parents enjoyed my reactions as I loudly proclaimed in jealousy that it wasn't fair.

Before long, Yumi had set the canvas up, presenting me with a small chair. I strode over, taking a seat, and a small brush was resting in front of the blank canvas, awaiting me. 

"What do you want to paint, princess?" 

"I am going to make something special!" I said, beginning my handiwork after that.

The time flew by as I painted a depiction of my mother and father holding my hands. The only color I had to work with was blue, making it hard to depict the scenery. 

In the background, I drew Yumi following us. The depiction was beautiful. The finished product was just blobs representing humanoid figures. It was supposed to be a scene of us walking through the city, but the buildings ended up misshapen. I turned to the giggling Yumi, my cheeks reddening as she looked at the scene before her. She put a hand to her chin in a sharp thinking pose.

"Is that cute little figure in the middle you?" She asked, to which I nodded sheepishly as my cheeks reddened. "Then I am to guess the two next to you are your parents? And who is the figure behind them?" 

"T-that is y-you."

She nodded, her tail wagging happily. She bent down and hugged me even though my hands and clothes had paint all over them. 

"Thank you for drawing me in such a cute way," she said, separating from me and looking me over, "It looks like you require a nice bath, princess." 

"You should speak for yourself!" I said, giggling at the paint splatter across her maid's clothing. 

She took me into the bathing room adjacent to my own. It was a long cleaning session, but she cared for me like a proper maid. Being pampered like that felt alien to me. 

When she finished cleaning me, my mother had returned from her queenly duties, meeting us in my room after I was fully dressed.

"Fufufu, how was my adorable daughter today?" Mom asked.

"She is quite the lively girl, happily running away from me, proclaiming me the evil demon lord, and then slamming into Roland. It was eventful, and then she depicted the cutest scene I have ever seen!" Yumi said, bringing out the painting. 

I was again embarrassed, wondering if she had to show Mom. My mother ignored my inner plight as she looked over the depiction. 

"My, my, how cute! Is that us?" She asked, and I sheepishly nodded. "Fufufu, I see you are on your way to becoming a master painter!" She hugged me tightly, and I was happy to receive her love, but it almost felt like she was patronizing me. Nonetheless, I hugged her back as she picked me up in her arms, showering me with kisses.

We finished the day with my mother telling me a bedtime story about a haughty dragon forced to learn it wasn't the king of the world. The dragon in the story wasn't evil, according to her. He was just stubborn and needlessly full of himself. The queen in the story brought him down to his level and showed him what real power was; however, I couldn't help but wonder about the origins of such a story before I finally fell asleep in my mother's arms.