Three months had passed and I spent the majority of that time training in the mental space with the dragon.
To the outside world, it just looked like I slept a lot. But inside, I was refining my control over Ouro and using it for body enhancement.
It essentially was a second skin that acted like an exoskeleton. I could coat my entire body and manipulate it with my mind. Completely bypassing the need to rely on my muscles.
Which were still developing.
Anyway, that was to say that I could walk. At six months old, I was walking. Of course, I kept this hidden, mostly because I didn't want my mother to find out.
Who knows what she'd do if she did?
But now that I could walk, the chaos dragon wasted no time in imposing more training on me. He didn't have me doing squats but I did need to drag toys around the room.
Back and forth.
"Put your back into it, boy. We need to develop your strength, stamina, and agility." The dragon spoke with his usual commanding tone.
I learned to tune him out just by focusing on the task at hand. It was surprisingly effective.
The only downside is that I didn't hear his warning either. The door to my room opened with a click.
"Young master, I–"
The wet nurse stood there frozen mid-sentence as a water basin slipped from her hands. It hit the floor with a clang, and the water soaked into the hardwood floor.
I slowly released the string that connected to my wooden horse loaded with blocks. Now if I imagined this from her perspective she's thinking one of two things.
This was a series of strange coincidences.
Or I was way too smart for my age.
What are the chances she believes the first theory? Not great.
"Kill her." The dragon's voice cut through my thoughts like a sharp blade. "Aim for the throat, then we'll escape out the window. Quickly, boy."
Woah! I screamed internally. We're not killing the wet nurse. Besides, I think we can try something else.
"Like?"
Gaslighting.
My face scrunched up as my lungs filled with air. I released a loud wail and dropped on my ass. "WAAAAAAHHHH!" My arms flailed and I kicked my stubby little legs.
The wet nurse's eyes fluttered as she took a step back. A hand rested on her chest as she turned away from me to look down the hall.
A familiar voice echoed down the hall. "What happened? What did you do to my son?"
The nurse raised her hands in a placating gesture. "N-nothing my Lady, t-the young master… he was walking. It startled me."
"WAAAHHHH!" I doubled down and forced tears from my eyes. A habit I learned to farm sympathies in my old life.
The wet nurse frantically pulled away from the door and held her head low. The air instantly dropped a few degrees as my mother stepped into the room.
She was dressed in simple silk robes with her hair tied in a ponytail. Her eyes narrowed and locked onto me. Her lips shifted into a frown.
"He… walked?"
The wet nurse nodded. "Yes, my Lady. I saw it with my own two eyes."
My mother looked over my shoulder with a glare. "For your sake, he'd better walk again."
The wet nurse swallowed hard.
My mother's gaze turned back to me. "Lafayette, cease your crying." She's commanded me like this many times before.
My wails stopped as she approached me. I stayed on my back with my gaze to the ceiling. My next move was lost to me. Do I run? Do I shit myself?
What do babies do in these situations!?
The dragon growled in my head as my mother knelt beside me. "Should the worst come to pass, I will charge this vessel as a bomb and kill us all."
Can we not do that?!
My mother brought both her hands to my sides and lifted me. Her touch was both gentle and firm. She sat me with ten toes down and stared into my eyes.
"Stand, Lafayette," She whispered.
She pulled her hands from mine and as ordered, I stood there. I wasn't using Ouro either, this was just me standing on my own two legs.
Please, please don't let this woman butcher me.
"So it's true." She breathed, a manic grin stretched across her face. "Six months old and you stand like a man. My Lafayette truly is a prodigy."
The dragon and I breathed a heavy sigh. I've never been more relieved that this chick was insane.
My mother scooted back and patted her thighs. "Now… walk." She waited with her arms spread wide.
This woman may not kill me now, but her expectations definitely will.
"Go on," the dragon grumbled. "If the captain wants us to dance, we will dance."
I took a breath of courage before pushing off my heel. My center of gravity was off. These tiny limbs and my massive head weren't helping.
But I still step forward.
Once.
Then twice.
Then thrice.
On the third step, I collapsed forward and was scooped up by my mother. She pulled me close to her chest. The scent of lavender overwhelmed my small nose.
"Magnificent." She whispered against my ear. A shiver ran down my small frame. "You will be molded into a god, in my image."
The dragon chuckled. "Humans. The only fools to chase what they haven't earned."
— — —
I turned three years old.
And while most children my age were still being pampered, I learned to read and write.
At first, I was genuinely confused considering I understood the language just fine. But that's when the dragon revealed that he was sharing his translations.
Meaning he understood what was said, but had no idea how to read, write, or count in the local language.
The language itself could be described as a mix of Greek pronunciation and Russian syllables.
It was a very heavy language, one that requires you to speak with your chest.
I picked it rather quickly but I wouldn't call myself a genius. It's only because I paid attention in English class that I could use those lessons to learn this language faster.
Anyway, now that I could read I often found myself exploring the family library after lessons.
Most of the books didn't interest me.
But there were several that did. One was a history book. If I were going to live in this world I needed to know what I was dealing with.
Even though I could rely on the dragon for history lessons I wanted to verify for myself. The second book was a creature guide. It was basically what the title said it was.
And finally, I had gotten a hold of a book about Ouro and beginner techniques.
It was the one I read the most because it gave me an explanation of human magic. Something the dragon had only been on the receiving side of.