New Fairy Tale -- (Author) ZetaSonic

[llsadmin]

############################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################
Author: ZetaSonic
Timestamp: Nov 12, 2018 at 2:05 AM
Content: For those who don't know, Princess Maker is a fantasy-themed parenting simulator by GAINAX, where you raise a daughter over the course of eight years, letting her work part-time jobs, attending classes (for stuff like magic, swordsmanship, painting, etc.), participate in yearly tournaments to build up a reputation, chat up with the nobility, and even do a bit of short-range adventuring. The last of these had a lot of influence on this story. You can find the Refine edition of Princess Maker 2 on Steam (alongside other entries in the series) and play it for yourself, or if you're lazy you can just watch Peanut Butter Gamer do an astronomically awful job playing it.

This story, while set in a PM setting, has more of a focus on the adventure/fantasy aspect versus the parenting portion, despite such elements being there.

Also, don't get upset that there's not much babyish stuff as early as the word "go", be a little patient. Good things come to those who wait! =)

--------

PROLOGUE
One fateful night in the 12th Century, a fiery mass fell from the heavens, causing Mount Velchans to erupt and burn everything around it, leaving nothing but a wasteland. Earthquakes rocked the land and storms pummeled the coast. It was in this cataclysm that the Great Demon King Alazhad, son of Ordog, stirred from a 1,000-year slumber and terrorized the continent of Tajiri. With an army of monsters under his command, they laid waste to the battered countryside. Entire cities were leveled and Alazhad took over the king’s castle in Aeolus.

Grandmaster Hieremias Rode of the Order of Pegasus, a guild of warrior-mages, stepped forward to oppose Alazhad. He and his twelve students successfully fought the Demon King’s armies and reached Aeolus. Unfortunately, the immense power of Alazhad gave the Pegasus Knights a difficult fight and twelve of them died in the final battle.

Malachias Limbourg was the last man standing, and through sheer luck beheaded Alazhad. An almond tree grew rapidly from the blood of the Demon King and bore nuts. One almond fell from the branches and cracked open on the ground. From out of that nut, a newborn girl materialized.

Limbourg was terrified at the sight. Was it a trick? A last attempt by the fallen Demon King to kill him? He approached the newborn with caution.

Suspended above the infant, a beautiful-looking man with long blue hair and a crown crafted like deer antlers materialized.

Limbourg could tell that it was a god. He froze and stared at the apparition with awe.

“Fear not,” the being said. “You are to be congratulated on the slaying of Alazhad, though the cost was great. This infant before you, though born of the demon’s blood, is harmless. I give you the option of raising her as your on child or giving her to me. Should you reject her, no penalty will be levied upon you, but based on how you raise her, she will the potential to become a great woman and many will benefit from her deeds.”

Limbourg looked down at the crying baby and lifted her out of the blood spilled in the great fight. She started to calm down.

“As you wish,” said the god. “As you have accepted this task, you will need to follow these instructions to succeed: wander the woods between the Corus and the small lake to the north until you find a Green Slime. When you kill it, its core will harden and crystalize. Dig beneath the spot where the creature is slain and you will find a silver bottle beneath it. It can only be opened by the child twelve years from now. That is all you need to know. More will be revealed in time.” At that point, Palz departed.

Immediately, Limbourg went into Corus Woods and quickly found the seemingly common monster Palz described. The fight ended, predictably, with one blow, and the Slime’s core hardened. Collecting the trinket, Limbourg began to dig. Before long, an ornately-designed bottle was unearthed. The knight, as per his instructions, would not open it: partly from fear of punishment as well as an assumption that it was under a spell only the baby would be able to dispel.

Young Limbourg, the sole surviving Pegasus Knight, had become the kingdom’s greatest hero, showered with riches and accolades by the royal court. The title of count was bestowed upon him as well.

But wounded and weary, Limbourg retired from his life as a warrior. He used his rewards to build a mansion on the spot where the bottle was found. From there, he helped rebuild a country devastated by Alazhad through money earned through farming and trade. He would also raise his adopted daughter and see to it that the words of Palz came to be.

############################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################
Author: ZetaSonic
Timestamp: Nov 22, 2018 at 2:20 AM
Content: CHAPTER 1: VEGOIA

Limbourg gazed out into the green, leafy expanse outside his study window. Six farmhands were moving all about through the count’s fields to collect the first crops of the month. Things would be a little bit busier now that summer’s just around the corner.

The count liked the summer less and less as he got older, but farming was his source of capital. While it would have been easy for him to go out into the woods and win money from slaying random monsters, that couldn’t be said about the various villagers and peasants out there who would no doubt struggle to kill just one Green Slime and just gain an archma from doing so.

Then again, one of them wouldn’t have that much trouble. Not after the training he’d given her.

A knock at the door. “Master?”

“Come in, Cube.”

A dapper-looking demon-boy with red-orange skin and pointy ears entered the study. Physically, he appeared about fourteen years of age, with dark blue—almost black—hair, and bright-yellow reptilian eyes. He was carrying a small parcel, wrapped in parchment. “Master, your book is here.”

“Excellent,” the count said. “Just put it on the desk and I’ll open it later.”

Cube’s attention shifted to a roll of parchment his boss was reading. He didn’t look too pleased about something. “What’s the matter, sir?”

“Jones sent me a report,” he said. “The main beam on the Swiftsure cracked. She was able to get back to Scirocco, but she’s going in dry dock for a while. The repair bill’s going to be a headache.”

“Are you still planning on going to the festival tomorrow?”

“Naturally,” said Limbourg “it’s Vegoia’s birthday, after all. Besides, I think she could use a little downtime from all the hard work she’s done.” He faced the top shelf on the book case, where an ever-familiar silver bottle stood next to a bell jar. One would need a ladder or wings to reach it. “We’ll finally be able to see what’s inside that thing without worrying about getting turned into a toadstool or something.”

“It feels like we’re on the Sun today.”

Sweat streamed down Vegoia’s face. All morning long, she was picking peppers in her father’s fields—a typical early summer chore for her. Her sack had become particularly heavy by this point, but it was manageable.

Soon, she reached her destination and a cascade of jalapenos was poured out of the bag and into a large crate. Once the bag was exhausted, she slumped against the box and began to fan herself off with the straw hat she had on.

Cube approached. “My lady, your father requests that you stop what you’re doing and get cleaned up for the trip.”

Great timing.

“First of all…” The boy crouched in front of her and grabbed the hem of her dress. Up it came, revealing a very babyish-looking diaper and she clearly didn’t wear it for a fashion statement. “He was right, you need a change.”

The two went straight to Vegoia’s bedroom… or rather nursery. Packed with a large crib, changing table, and toys, an unwary person would think it was there for a baby giant.

Vegoia went on the changing table and Cube got to work: her stinky diaper went in the trash.

“I’ve already drawn you a bath, so that’ll be next,” the butler told her. “If you get a move on, you two can get to Aeolus by nightfall. I’ve already packed your things.”

“Dad says he’s dreading that speech he’s supposed to give,” said Vegoia.

“A monument’s supposed to be unveiled,” Cube told her. “He’s the last Pegasus Knight, so he kind of has to be there.”

The girl smiled. “You going to come?”

Cube laughed. “A little too noisy for me. I’ll be taking care of things around the mansion while you two are out.”

She was a little disappointed, but she understood.

Why is a girl on the verge of her twelfth birthday, still wearing diapers?

Vegoia Limbourg was born from the almond tree which sprang from the blood of Alazhad. Other than that, she had an otherwise typical infancy.

Things almost came to tragedy during the long, ill-fated saga of Limbourg’s attempts to potty train Vegoia. She could never get it. Not helping matters was a near-fatal encounter with a Wildcat in the western Corus Woods shortly after her fourth birthday. If it weren’t for her father’s intervention, the feral womanlike predator would have most surely torn her open. After that point, she wanted to become strong like him, but the struggle with the potty continued.

Furthermore, she sneaking her old baby junk out of the attic. It was one morning when she was five that her habits were made clear for all to see. Cube discovered her asleep like a rock, but with a pacifier in her mouth to complement her soaked trainers.

After a heart-to-heart discussion between father and daughter, Limbourg made a deal. Vegoia would not only get her diapers back 24/7, she’d get all the bells and whistles as well. The catch, though, would be that she would have to do her very best at whatever she did. No room for laziness. She would have to do her best at chores and studies.

Cube didn’t understand why such a strange deal was made at first, but the count easily explained. Palz gave him the chance to raise Vegoia, despite the fact that she was the demon seed of Alazhad. Knowing that fact all too well, he would go to any length to prevent her from becoming an evil force greater than the one he’d paid such a painful price to defeat. She would stay a baby (sort of), but she wouldn’t be babied. She would carry her own weight, know how to behave, to tell right from wrong.

As she got closer to double digits in terms of age, she began to work part-time jobs to earn her own money. She worked at the Item Shop in Corus on Monday afternoons and Wednesday mornings, studied Science under Barcleo on Fridays, and regularly did outreach work at the church. When she worked at home, it tended to be farm and orchard-related when she wasn’t assisting Cube with housework. She gave 110% to everything she did, but her swordsmanship and martial arts classes most of all. Some of this may have been from the near-death encounter as well as her admiration for her father.

Was her upbringing unorthodox? Yes.

Was she a waste of life because of this? Absolutely not as far as the count was concerned.

Sir Hieremias’ Day had come.

People from all across the country, braving distance and monster encounters in the wild, came to the capital to celebrate the twelfth anniversary of the death of Alazhad. Games, exhibitions, vendors, music, food – all the trimmings. Aeolus itself, while having had been ravaged by the Demon King’s rampage, barely appeared to have had anything occur during that time. It was as if were never destroyed in a physical sense.

People recognized the count, and while his fame was unquestioned, Vegoia’s was somewhat mixed. Her unusual origin had become part of the regional lore – after all, the tree she was born from still stood in Castle Square near the yet-to-be-unveiled memorial. Many welcomed her as a citizen of the land, but some were wary of her connection to Alazhad and feared her.

Vegoia had a very good time watching the Incredible Sardice’s magic show and thrilled at Guido Sotio’s world-famous falconry skills. The count even won her a large stuffed dragon — half her size — at a knife-throwing game. A very fun birthday for her and all on a single diaper!

At high noon, an array of trumpets called the fairgoers to Castle Square. From the balcony, King Urban III gave salutations to his subjects and a brief introduction to Limbourg. When the count appeared on the balcony, he gave a somewhat lengthy speech relating his experiences in the Two Years of Fire, memories of his master and comrades, and the hand he had played in helping rebuild Tajiri. As much as he’d feared making this speech, he did pretty well as far as Vegoia thought.

Finally, the memorial was unveiled: a fifteen-foot tall copper sculpture of Pegasus Grandmaster Hieremias Rode, in full armor shouldering a voulge. A boulder of blue granite served as the statue’s pedestal and a plaque had been installed at its base, with a dedication to Rode, all of Alazhad’s victims, and the eleven Pegasus Knights who died in the final battle.

“I had a very fun day today, Dad,” said Vegoia “thank you.” After such a big day, Limbourg and Cube’s private observance of Vegoia’s twelfth birthday back home was markedly quiet.

Yet one matter of business still remained.

With a smile, Limbourg faced the demon-boy. “Cube,” he said “would you care to fetch Vegoia’s surprise?”

“I would be delighted, my lord,” he said. POOF! A pair of wings sprouted out of the butler’s back as he left the room.

“Dad,” said Vegoia “where’s Cube going?” Her thumb popped into her mouth. She had a tendency to do that when worried.

“To the study,” he told her. “I have one more gift for you and it’s been waiting to be opened since the day you were born.”

Cube returned with that very gift.

“Wait,” said Vegoia “isn’t that the bottle on the top of the bookcase?”

“It was given to me by the god of the woodlands as soon as you were born,” said Limbourg. “He told me it was never to be opened until you were twelve.”

Vegoia stared at her present for a moment.

“Go ahead, Veggy.”

POP!

As soon as it became uncorked, a small, intense ball of fire – like the lit end of a sparkler – shot out of the neck and skittered around in the air.

Finally, the sparking mass came down on the floor, creating a huge puff of spruce smoke when it landed.

############################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################
Author: ZetaSonic
Timestamp: Nov 23, 2018 at 5:36 PM
Content: CHAPTER II: RAIYU
The smoke lingered for a bit, but soon a figure could be seen at the very spot the spark exploded at. Upside down with a cheek against the floor. Gravity took effect as one can predict and the stranger was flat on the floor.

Fanning the smoke away, the count, butler, and girl got a good look.

It appeared to be a young woman in her late teens with surf-green skin, pointed ears with ruby studs in the lobes, and a knee-length ultramarine ponytail. She wore white harem pants, gold shoes with curled toes, and an electric violet top.

She sat up with a groan and rubbed her head.

"Are you okay?" asked Vegoia, still clutching the bottle.

The stranger opened her eyes and took notice of the young human. "Forgive me, my mistress," she said "I am not yet accustomed to the physics of this plane."

"Mistress?" Vegoia said, perplexed.

"Would you care for some water?" asked Cube.

"No, thank you, er…"

"My name is Cube," said the butler. "This is my employer Count Limbourg and his daughter Vegoia."

"It is an honor to meet you," she said with a bow. "My name is Raiyu. I am a Genie assigned by Lord Palz and Lord Dorzd to serve a child who was instructed to free me."

"Do you grant wishes?" Vegoia asked enthusiastically.

Raiyu smiled. "I am afraid that such of my kind are of a more potent class."

"But whoever heard of a Genie that doesn't grant wishes?" Cube inquired.

"I am not entirely surprised by your reaction," she admitted. "I am a mere category Zeta Genie, as such my magic is fairly limited. The Genies you think of are much more powerful than I, such as Gammas and above."

Limbourg stroked his chin. "I've heard a lot of lore about the Genies over the years. The emperor of Cham is said to have two Genies in his service, other encounters ranged from having crushes on their masters to turning some unlucky guy into a monkey."

"Verily," said Raiyu "such a fate would have certainly befallen whomever released me ahead of today, but Lord Palz would have executed such a curse. He also said that you would have a Slime Core in your possession."

An awkward silence overtook the room for a second before being broken by Cube. "Well that was lucky!"

The genie pointed at her bottle. From out of the neck came a roll of parchment with two seals, lifted by her telekinetically. "Another matter," she said "Lord Palz in the event you'd followed your instructions has charged me to give you this message."

The scroll levitated to the count, who broke both seals. Revealing the document, it appeared to be blank, but text slowly appeared:

Young Malachias,

If you are reading this, you are to be congratulated for your obedience. The next phase is to commence at twilight tomorrow. The core of the Green Slime you killed twelve years ago is to be thrown by your daughter into the pond directly north of Corus. It is imperative that this is carried out.

Palz

[End of quote]

"One mystery dies," Limbourg remarked "one mystery is born."

The next morning was clear and sunny. First thing after a change and breakfast, Limbourg tasked Vegoia with going to Solanus on an errand. She asked if Raiyu could come with her and was obliged. She was, after all, her mistress and she'd probably need someone to talk to on the road south.

Raiyu enjoyed the company of her new mistress, though the fact that she still enjoyed activities one normally outgrows less than ten years ago was puzzling for the Genie. Even though she had telekinetic powers that could come in handy around the house and such, she showed absolutely no experience changing diapers last night. She did do a little better for the morning change, though.

"There's the river," said Vegoia, noting a glittering surface ahead. "Solanus is only a little further."

"I take it you have been to this town before, mistress?" asked the Genie.

"Usually with Dad," said Vegoia "but I've occasionally soloed market deliveries there since I was ten and — uh-oh!" A Green Slime had emerged from under a bush and was slithering toward the pair. "Another one. This will be quick."

The Slime was undone with a quick stab of Vegoia's dagger, leaving behind a single gold archma.

"For someone as young as you are," said Raiyu "your fighting skills are quite impressive."

"I learned from the best," the young girl said, half-bragging.

Raiyu smiled and shook her head. Slimes and Wretch Condors were no trouble for Vegoia, but she still drinks from a bottle.

"Say, Raiyu, how come you were put in a bottle?" Vegoia asked. "It couldn't just be because of me."

"Many Genies elect to subordinate themselves to mortals such as yourself as a means to improve their position in the hierarchy," she explained. "Accumulated credits of service can be used to upgrade your category. In general, ten moon-cycles is the equivalent to a single credit. At minimum, it would take around forty credits to qualify for a promotion."

Vegoia stared at her for a second upon hearing this. "That sounds like a long time."

"Only to a mortal."

The two continued down the route, but before long they got to Solanus. A town of log buildings not too different from Corus, but as things appeared, not as many people. Their own destination, Pietro's workshop, was locked.

"Dad said this place would be open," said Vegoia "but I haven't seen a single person since we came to town."

The twosome wandered around the streets for a few minutes, before they caught sight of an old lady watering flowers from her window. They wasted no time approaching her.

"Excuse me," said Vegoia "do you know where everybody is? We've just reached town and the whole place is deserted!"

"They're all across the river at the cave," the old woman told her. "Yesterday, the mayor's grandson went in there and never came out. So far, the whole posse they assembled hasn't been able to find him."

Following the old woman's words, Vegoia and Raiyu crossed the river, where a whole ring of people had gathered at the foot of a bluff. A ruckus emitted from the center. While Vegoia had no way of seeing through the backs and heads of all the rubberneckers there, Raiyu easily floated a few feet off the ground.

A cave was ahead and at its mouth, several men were struggling with Green Slimes. Some tried to stab them with pitchforks, but they simply went through the oozy masses. Others tried to chop them with butcher's knives and hatchets but to similar futility.

Vegoia eventually got through the crowd and joined in. What had been a long struggle for the villagers ended in only a moment when she made short work of the Slimes.

"Thank you," said an exhausted farmer, putting his pitchfork down.

"I was told about the mayor's grandson," she said. "Let us go into the cave. We'll find him."

"Well be careful," said another would-be hero "we struggled with these Slimes, who knows what could be in there!"

The human and the Genie entered the cave.

If the mayor's son were still alive, based on the inefficient adults' efforts, it would be a miracle.

############################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################
Author: ZetaSonic
Timestamp: Nov 25, 2019 at 1:54 AM
Content: CHAPTER III
As Vegoia and Raiyu ventured into the cave, the Genie folded her hands and bowed her head. In an instant, a ball of light appeared above her head. Though it was small, it was powerful enough to illuminate everything.

“If you were around when I was younger,” said Vegoia “I would have had a lot less trouble sleeping at night.”

They kept going deeper. What was already a smelly, dank cave just seemed to get more and more damp and slippery as they descended. Water wasn’t collecting down there, but goo. The caverns served as a Green Slime nest, and the duo encountered quite a few in there in addition to the odd rat and bat.

Eventually, the human and her Genie reached a spot where the ooze was so thick and viscid that they were having difficult proceeding. Then there came a breathing sound. On the wall of the slime-coated tunnel, they noticed something handing in what appeared to be a large booger. The mayor’s grandson!

Vegoia wasted no time cutting him out of the slimy restraints, thankful to have found the boy still alive.

“This is extraordinary,” said Raiyu. “The townsmen were unable to advance a yard forward without having to fight a difficult battle with monsters you had little effort dispatching.”

“That said,” Vegoia added “would have been easier still were Dad with us. Let’s get out—!” A glimmer in the slime broke the girl’s train of thought. She reached out and grabbed it. Out of the child’s amorphous bindings, she pulled out something: an oblong, amber octahedron the size of her fist.

Neither girl could look away from it. How did something like that wind up in a place like this?

Their thoughts were soon interrupted by a high-pitched shriek. A large green mass came shambling up through the cave ahead with a single red “eye”. A Queen Slime!

“Any ice or water magic, Raiyu?” Vegoia asked.

“Genies are unable kill, we can only use White Magic.”

“A real shame, those are their weaknesses” Vegoia said, drawing her knife. “Take care of that kid, I’ll handle this glorified booger!” She leapt forward and into the Queen Slime. Immediately, she was pulled into the center.

The monster ambled closer and closer to the retreating Genie and child. Then a blade penetrated the beast’s eye and the whole mass melted away. In its wake, a slime-coated girl, but a victorious one nonetheless.

“Guess I’m going to be getting a bath when I get home.”

The mayor’s grandson was fine. Raiyu’s healing spells were able to fully restore him. Things in Solanus went back to normal now that the boy was saved and placed in the corner where he deserved to be. In addition to her great-grandfather’s cuckoo clock (what they’d come to pick up in the first place), the two girls left with 500 archmae in reward money as well as the strange gem they’d found.

They were able to wash it off in the river. It looked prettier in the daylight and you could see clear through it.

“It’s a good thing that cave wasn’t so deep,” said Vegoia. “I was afraid we’d be down in there until nightfall. Dad would be so angry about that.”

“Nevertheless,” said the Genie “we do have enough evidence to explain.”

“But what I want to know is where this… crystal(?) came from,” said Vegoia. “According to my studies, treasure-hoarding is more of a dragon and troll thing.”

“What I fail to understand, though, is why so many people failed to defeat such weak monsters.”

“They’re untrained villagers,” said Vegoia. “They don’t know magic and they’re never used any real weapons. They would be lucky if they dealt 2 HP of damage at their strength. The reason I didn’t have so much trouble is because Dad taught me how to fight. I almost died once a long time ago and—!” The sudden sound of fluid interrupted the young girl’s explanation. She looked down. A small puddle was forming on the dirt road at her feet. It was fed by a gentle arcing fountain. From under her skirt. Her face became as red as a beet. “Oh no! My diaper must have fallen off when I was fighting that Queen Slime! Thank goodness this isn’t happening in front of all those people!”

“I would put you in a new one, mistress,” said Raiyu “but I still need practice with this task.”

“It’s alright,” said Vegoia “we’re almost to Corus. That’ll just be more work and I am going to need to get cleaned up when we get home anyway. Just keep going and pray nothing goes wrong between here and there!”

Cube had the duty of bathing the young Slime-slayer and playing teacher to Raiyu when it came to rediapering her. After that, Vegoia went into great detail to her father and the butler about everything that happened: the deserted town, the cave, the mayor’s grandson, the Queen Slime, the crystal, and the fact that she came home covered in slime and didn’t have a diaper on.

“That’s quite a story, Veggy,” said the count. “I have to admit that I was starting to get worried, but it eases my mind to know that not only were able to fend for yourself in random encounters, you also showed great character in helping in a situation the average peasant couldn’t handle.”

“But what of the Slime Core?” asked Raiyu. “The sky is growing dark.”

The count gazed at the pumpkin-orange sky outside. “Might as well do it,” he said “though I get the feeling that this whole thing might evolve into some divine prank.”

Wasting no time, the count, the butler, the Genie, and Vegoia traveled a short distance northward to the pond as instructed. Vegoia was given the trinket by Cube and, with all her might, threw it into the water. PLOOP!

Seconds passed before the spot in the water the bauble landed in began to separate. A whirlpool began to form, growing bigger and bigger!

From the midst of the maelstrom erupted a column of light. Within the light, a figure emerged.

A beautiful figure whose crown had antlers. One whom the count laid eyes on so many years ago.

Raiyu fell to her knees in awe. “Lord Palz…”

############################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################
Author: ZetaSonic
Timestamp: May 25, 2020 at 12:36 AM
Content:

GRUMPY1962 said:

a very well told story.
Props on having the Christian flag in the background.
i do hope this story continues.

[End of quote]

At times I feel as if I’m the best friend the Church has on boards like this.

I’m also surprised that someone actually said something about it