Adult Changeling (Chapters)

When she’d run out of tears, Mariah had been laid in a patch of soft moss and grass. Long strands of grass rose over her and curved inward, making an effective sun shade. Still naked except for a makeshift diaper, she appreciated the shade. Mariah didn’t know if she could get a sunburn in Faerie, but the sun was bright and she couldn’t so much as roll over to escape it.

Without the ability to do anything but talk, and no one to talk to, Mariah fell into a daze. She wasn’t tired enough to sleep, but her brain needed a rest from all of the madness she’d seen that morning. It was a very pleasant garden, full of delightful smells, caressed by soft breezes, and with the insouciant hum of bees for a soundtrack.

Mariah’s precious calm was shattered by the return of Lady Podra. The green-skinned faerie was directing a team of pony-sized mice that were drawing a cart. Like everything else in Faerie, the cart was ridiculously over-decorated. Filigree of gold wrapped expertly joined planks of white wood. The wheels were made of what looked like blown glass.

“Garden Mistress, I have the first effort of the dwarves. They were not able to make everything in the dreams on such short notice, but they promised that they will complete everything in due time.”

Lualdina inspected the cart. Curious, Mariah sat up on her elbows. Excitedly she realized she had enough muscle control back to do that. Just as quickly, she let herself fall back. She didn’t have a lot of hope of escape left, but there was no point in letting her captors know that she’d recovered.

“Ah yes, they made the ‘diaper’ garments. I see it’s not the same material, but they should work the same. Quite ingenious. What’s this though? It doesn’t look anything like the dreams.”

Lualdina was holding a beautiful crystal cylinder with fine white cloth at the top. It took Mariah a few moments until she wearily recognized it as a baby bottle.

“It’s for feeding the human baby.” Podra said.

“Then what’s this cloth? The ones in the dream had an exaggerated nipple on the end.”

“I asked about that too. They said we have no material in Faerie to make it exactly as it is in the dreams. They discussed making it out of flesh, but it was decided that crafting flesh is a goblin art, which the dwarves do not practice.”

Mariah was instantly grateful for the crafting divisions among faeries, or the proprieties of dwarves, or whatever had saved her from sucking on a nipple of ‘crafted flesh’.”

“Then have the goblins to make it.”

“I would prefer if that request came from you personally, Mistress of Gardens. The dwarves dispatched a team of brownies to find the rare mortal tree that makes the correct substance. They assured me that they will have a proper one for us soon, and were insistent that I not seek other crafters to replace it.”

“Oh very well, as long as we get the right thing eventually. Can you imagine, the Queen’s prisoner, attended with shoddy accoutrements?”

“They agree with you. That’s why the crib is not ready yet. The Mistress of Crafts said she would attend to the construction personally. They expect it to be used to display the baby to the Queen or Princess, should their majesties ask.”

Lualdina laughed. “Dwarves are always chasing perfection, at the cost of variation. We of the Garden know that most imperfections are the result of imperfect perspective.”

Podra nodded in agreement, bouncing eagerly on the balls of her feet.

“I can see you’re very eager to play with the baby. You may do so. Only, why are you so interested?”

“I like it, it’s cute. There were many beautiful emotions in those dreams from mortals caring for their babies. Something about how helpless they are makes them more appealing than faerie babes.”

“Would you like to be its caretaker then? Will you tend the human baby, as you tend the roses of the Garden?”

“Oh, may I truly? Garden Mistress, I would be delighted!”

“I am also delighted, for I have spent far too much of this day watching over our charge. I leave you with the child. The enjoyment and the responsibility are both yours.”

“Thank you, Mistress.”

Podra curtseyed so far down she must have been doing some kind of ballet or gymnastics move with her legs. Lualdina nodded, taking the obeisance as her due, and wandered away into the Garden.

Things were looking up for Mariah. Not only was Podra the most human-like of the faeries she’d seen so far, but the green lady seemed to care about Mariah for more reasons than the Queen’s orders.

She also seemed to be a lot less powerful than Lualdina. Escape was pretty hopeless when Lualdina could explode a single flower and relax every muscle in Mariah’s body for hours. Hopefully Podra didn’t have that ability.

“There you are!” Podra said, leaning over Mariah. “You’re my darling baby now. Won’t that be fun? What’s the word that human babies use for their caretaker? Oh yes, it’s Mama. Can you say Mama, little Mariah?”

Mariah stared at Podra in disbelief. Of course she wasn’t going to call this strange, non-human woman mama.

“No? Come on, I know you can do it. Say Mama. Ma-ma. You can do it.”

Mariah squirmed, wishing she could sink into the moss. Her enthusiasm for Podra was drying up fast. Personal attention from one of these creatures didn’t seem like something Mariah wanted at all.

“That’s alright, I suppose. You’ll learn it eventually, even if you turn out to be slow-minded.” Podra patted Mariah’s cheek.

That almost forced the word out of Mariah’s mouth, just to prove she could do it. She kept her teeth gritted. Pretend to be helpless and stupid. It’s literally the only advantage you have right now.

Podra stripped the makeshift diaper off Mariah and picked her up without apparent effort. Unable to cover up, Mariah covered her face so she wouldn’t see if her nudity had an audience. She was deposited in a lovely silver basin, which was filled with warm rose-scented water.

Podra went at Mariah vigorously with a sponge of soft plant fibers. It was too much, way too much. Mariah fought it with all her might, especially when Podra was washing between her legs. Between the faerie’s strength and Mariah’s still-weakened muscles, her struggles amounted to no more than some vigorous squirming.

Mariah was dried with a fluffy linen towel and laid on an absurdly beautiful table. Every inch of the wood on it was intricately carved, the top was padded with damask silk in a rich blue color. The unreal luxury of the furniture was beyond anything that Mariah had seen, even in lifestyles of the rich and famous-type content.

The decorations are literally unreal if this is a magical world. Mariah thought, giggling a little.

“So sweet! Baby likes being clean, doesn’t she?” Podra easily lifted Mariah’s legs, sliding a diaper under her butt. As humiliating as it was, there was no point in fighting it. After Mariah’s sad performance in the bath, she didn’t see the point in physical resistance.

The diaper’s padding was just as extravagant as everything else. Mariah couldn’t tell what the padding was, but it was as soft as flower petals. The white exterior was shiny and seemed to work like plastic, though if the dwarves didn’t have rubber, they likely didn’t have plastic either.

The dwarves probably don’t have plastic if they don’t have rubber. That’s a thought I never expected to have. I don’t even know what way they brought me in here. I’ve got to figure out the rules of this place before I can escape.

While Mariah was contemplating, Podra dressed her in the faerie queen version of a baby’s dress. Gossamer white material in layer upon layer made a gorgeous bouffant skirt. The top was pale yellow of a satiny material. It was decorated with flower shapes in what looked very much like real emeralds, rubies, and sapphires.

Not content with dressing Mariah like a literal princess, Podra brushed Mariah’s hair out and tucked a buttercup into it. At the faerie’s urging, the little flower grew into a net of vines and flowers that gently held Mariah’s hair.

“How’s that baby? Better now that you’re properly dressed?”

Podra picked Mariah up, holding her easily on the crook of the faerie’s arm. The green woman was tall for a human, though certainly not enormous. Mariah guessed her at six feet or just over. It made for an awkward-looking carry, more like a lover than a baby.

“Can you say Mama? Come one baby Mariah, you can say Mama right? Mama, say mama!”

As Mariah was bounced on Podra’s arm, she realized she was going to have to humor this person at least a little. At the very least, saying Mama would hopefully get her out of the acutely embarrassing moment she was having.

“Mama.” Mariah said, blushing.

“Good girl! Oh, the dreams were right! It’s so wonderful to have such a good, smart, loving baby to play with.” Podra lifted Maria’s waist above her head, spinning her around.

Mariah laughed before she could stop herself. It was hard to be angry at someone who was trying to hard to be nice to her, especially when Podra had nothing to do with the kidnapping.

“Such a sweet baby too. I know that it must be scary to be away from your mortal mama, and to meet all these new people. Lady Podra is your mama now, okay? I’ll take good care of you, just like you were a little flower child of mine.”

“Mama.” Mariah said, leaning gingerly against Podra. It seemed like the safest way to thank the faerie, without giving away her adult vocabulary.

“Mm, what’s this? Is this tenderness? I like your mortal emotions. It’s not like faerie passion at all!”

Mariah tensed involuntarily. Podra was feeling tenderness for the first time? I have to remember that these things aren’t human.

A child-sized person approached. She was wearing a simple dress made of leaves and didn’t look at all like a child in her features, despite her three foot stature. She was lightly furred in gold with tawny stripes and had a bare tail like a rat. When she spoke, Mariah shuddered to see that her teeth were all needle-sharp, like a cat’s.

“The milk you wanted, Lady Podra.”

“Set it there and depart.” Podra said dismissively.

The cat-woman set a flawless crystal decanter down on table Mariah had been dressed on and scampered away on all fours. Podra set the crystal baby bottle upright and poured what looked like exceptionally creamy milk into it. She deftly slipped on the cheesecloth-like top as well, all without setting Mariah down.

Mariah’s belly rumbled when Podra picked up the bottle. There wasn’t much question of refusing the drink. She’d have to eat and drink eventually. Refusing now would just leave her weak. Besides, if they wanted to poison her, they could do it with a flower. Lualdina had amply demonstrated that.

The milk was delicious. Mariah found herself sucking on the tapered cloth with embarrassing eagerness. Beyond being the richest, creamiest milk she’d ever drunk, it was sweetened with honey as well. She wished she could just drink, instead of having to strain it through the cloth.

Reaching for the bottle got Mariah bounced on Podra’s arm and admonished with, “No, no baby, let Mama help you.”

It took a lot of concentration to get the milk through the cloth without making a mess. It was worth it, to get more of the delicious stuff, faster. Without a care for how infantile it made her, Mariah sucked greedily at the bottle until she’d wrung every drop from the cloth.

“That’s my beautiful baby. You liked that, didn’t you?”

“Yes Mama.” Mariah said. The response slipped out before she could consider it.

“What a good baby!” Podra kissed Mariah, though on the lips, not on the cheek as you’d normally kiss a baby. Luckily it was just a quick peck.

After the fact, she decided it had been fine to agree with her ‘caregiver’. The milk was incredibly filling, tasty, and best of all, there was nothing terrifying or alien about it. If she could convince Podra to feed her more stuff like that, she could hopefully avoid the weird foods she just knew were lurking in the magical realm.

Podra set Mariah down on a patch of sunny grass next to a small pond and instructed her to play. She provided some colored blocks with weird shapes on them that Mariah assumed were faerie letters. At first, Mariah scoffed at the idea. Investigating one of the blocks revealed that it had been carved from a massive, fist-sized gemstone.

Mariah had seen pictures of the Hope Diamond but never been near it. Now she was holding children’s blocks, carved from gems far larger than that legendary gem. Though they looked dull at first, turning them just right would send a galaxy of sparkles through the stones.

Fascinated, Mariah tilted each of the blocks, watching the light catch and sparkle in them. She’d been at it for an hour before she realized she was playing with them exactly the way a baby would play with blocks, minus putting them in her mouth.

Blushing, but too enchanted by the gorgeous stones to abandon them, Mariah tried dipping them in the pond. When wet, they sparkled all the brighter. Dignity flew to the wind as Mariah openly giggled in delight.

Podra was sitting on a patch of fresh garden soil, smiling at Mariah. I wonder if she’s going to watch me every second. I wonder if she even needs to sleep.

With her delight in the gemstone blocks fading, another problem was making itself known. Mariah sighed at the pressure in her bladder. She lifted her skirt and poked her diaper. It wasn’t plastic, it was some kind of membrane over the padding, semi-translucent. Briefly, Mariah wondered what it was made of, before deciding that she didn’t want to know. She took comfort in the fact that visceral materials seemed to be a goblin thing. The dwarves who’d made her diapers wouldn’t touch such gross things, probably. It was best not to get any more details.

In any case, if she could avoid the diapers, it would be nice to. She didn’t even think she could make herself go in her pants. The whole idea was repellant, not to mention that her long-potty-trained body rebelled against it.

On the other hand, Podra was unlikely to let Mariah wander off looking for a bush to hide behind, or best of all, an actual toilet. Swallowing her pride, Mariah decided to try asking.

“Mama.” Mariah said, feeling a little heat in her cheeks. “Mama!”

“What is it, baby?” Podra asked.

“Bathroom.” Mariah didn’t know what weird ideas the faeries had about her abilities, or those of actual babies, but she hoped that broken sentences would keep them underestimating her. “Bathroom mama. Please? Need bathroom.”

“You’ve already had your bath, sweetie. You don’t need one right now.”

“Bathroom!” Mariah insisted, pointing at her diaper. She could feel the heat on her cheeks spreading to the back of her neck. She was about ready to surrender her dubious advantage in being underestimated to just talk to the faerie in plain English.

“Oh, did you soil yourself again?”

Podra rose, shaking out her dress and hair in an elegant motion, like a dancer. When she reached Mariah, she unceremoniously reached into the girl’s diaper to feel the padding. Mariah froze with a startled squeak. She hadn’t imagined diaper checks at all, but if she had, she would have imagined them to be much less aggressive.

“No, you’re fine. You’re a good baby for trying to figure out when you need to go, though.”

That was it. She had no evidence that pretending to talk like a baby was any help against these alien creatures. If talking could get her out of wetting herself again, it was worth it.

“Mama, I can go on my own. I don’t need a diaper. I can use the toilet.”

“The toilet?” Podra cocked her head curiously. “Oh, yes, I remember from the dreams. We don’t have those in faerie, silly baby. We don’t have mortal needs, not like my pretty little girl does.”

Mariah stared at Podra in bug-eyed horror. There were no toilets at all in Faerie? A hysterical giggle burst out of her. They were so royal that their poop literally didn’t stink, because they didn’t have any. That thought only deepened the horror. Sooner or later, Mariah was going to need to poop and she absolutely did not want it to be in a diaper. Desperately, Mariah tried another request.

“I can go behind a bush or something. I’ll clean myself up. I can even put the diaper back on after. Please Mama, don’t make me use a diaper.”

“Oh no sweetie, you can’t mess up the Garden Mistress’ beautiful work like that. She’d be very cross with both of us.” Podra shuddered in what looked like genuine fear at the very thought.

“Then a bucket or something. You have buckets right? I could use one of those.”

“No baby. That’s enough. It’s adorable that you want to be a big girl, but I’ve seen the dreams. It’ll be years before you’re able to stop using those diapers.”

“That’s not true! I’m holding it right now! Just let me use the bucket! Please, I’ll be good, I’ll do what you say, just let me-mmph!”

As Mariah was ranting, Podra took a stunning glass pacifier from the folds of her dress. It had a nipple made of the same stuff as the bottle cloth, but filled with padding. She licked the inside of the shield and reached for Mariah.

Podra grabbed her so quickly, Mariah barely had time to register that it was a pacifier and what Podra was doing with it. Podra had Mariah’s jaw in a grip like stone, pinching her cheeks to keep her mouth open.

The pacifier went into Mariah’s mouth and stuck to her lips. There was a sticky, sap-like substance on the shield where Podra had licked it. Mariah tugged at the pacifier in a panic, screaming behind the glass soother.

“Shh, shh. You’re quite safe.” With arms unyielding like a tree trunk, Podra pulled Mariah to her and pushed the girl’s face into her cleavage. A bloom of rose perfume overwhelmed Mariah’s nose as she desperately inhaled.

The perfume dazed Mariah. Unlike the flower Lualdina had used, Podra’s perfume fogged the mind instead of relaxing her muscles. She felt her breathing and heartbeat calm immediately. As her breathing slowed, the panic of having her mouth sealed diminished.

Mariah slumped into Podra’s arms. The faerie woman gathered her into her lap and cradled her gently, rocking her back and forth. It was desperately important to resist the pressure in her bladder, Mariah remembered. She was running out of will to resist, unfortunately. Only a few minutes into being rocked; she felt her diaper fill with hot wetness.

Whimpering behind the pacifier, Mariah felt tears run down her temples. Podra smiled at her and tenderly wiped the tears away.

“It’s okay sweet baby. I know you’re scared, but you’ll like it here with your new mommy, I promise you. You’ll love me even more than you loved your human mama.”

Mariah whimpered again, pointing at her diaper. The padding was absorbing well, but she was burning with humiliation at wearing her own pee.

“You’ll be fine, my little Mariah. Those are made to hold even more than the mortal ones do. It’ll take the dwarves a while to make us a good stock of them. For now, I’ll let them fill up before I change you.”

Trembling, Mariah tried to fight her way out of Podra’s grip. Despite having her full strength back, her struggles were only marginally more successful than they had been in the bath. Podra handled the mortal girl like a fussy infant, wrapping an arm around Mariah’s knees and pinning Mariah’s arms against her body.

Swaddled up and truly helpless, Mariah went limp. That didn’t convince Podra to release her, but it made her more comfortable at least. She nuzzled up to Podra, partly out of emotional need, partly to try to get back on her caregiver’s good side. It seemed to work on both counts. After cuddling with Podra for a while, Mariah had some of her equilibrium back. Podra was beaming at her again.

Mariah made a questioning noise and squirmed an arm free. She tugged gently at her pacifier, looking up at Podra with pleading eyes.

“Will you be a good baby? No more screaming and demanding impossible things?”

Mariah nodded urgently.

“Very well. But only because I love you, little one.” Podra closed her eyes and sighed deeply. She raised a finger to her eye and brought away a single tear on her fingernail. As soon as the tear touched Mariah’s pacifier, the sap dissolved as if it had never been.

With a huge gasp of relief, Mariah spat out the pacifier. Podra picked it up and tucked it into her cleavage, prompting a blush from Mariah as she imagined the next time it’d end up in her mouth.

“You want to be a good baby, don’t you Mariah?” Podra said, stroking Mariah’s cheek.

“Yes Mama.”

“You love your Mama, don’t you Mariah?”

Mariah hesitated. Even a little delay made Podra’s eyes narrow.

“Yes Mama!” Mariah said hurriedly.

“Tell me.” Podra said, cupping Marias jaw and the back of her neck. “Tell me you love me.”

This time hesitation earned Mariah the discomfort of Podra’s fingers digging in under her jaw and behind her ear.

“I – love you – Mama.” Mariah said anxiously.

“That’s a good baby. Tell me again.” Podra said, stroking Mariah’s cheek again.

“I love you, Mama.” Mariah said.

It was horrifying, and not merely from the implied threat. As capricious and domineering as Podra was, she was Mariah’s strongest ally in Faerie. She’d showed genuine care and was stroking her with what felt like real affection. Being forced to tell Podra she loved her made it harder to see Podra as an enemy. Mariah didn’t want to love Podra, but she already felt herself relying on the faerie lady.

How long until I actually love her? I don’t remember a lot of faerie stories, but don’t they end with people all twisted up over the faeries?

“That’s my baby Mariah. I love you too. Make sure to tell me a lot that you love me, and I’ll do the same with you. We have a long time together, by your reckoning. I’m already feeling our twenty years slip away. Let’s make them wonderful.”

Lips trembling, Mariah nodded. “Yes Mama – I – I love you.”

“Good baby.” Podra beamed. “You’ve been very restless today. I’ll bring you some faerie children to play with in a while. For now I want to enjoy this love we have.”

Happily, Podra didn’t expect a response to that statement. Mariah was left to wonder what faerie children would be like, while she cuddled with to Podra.