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Lina spread the blanket on the floor and put Lucia on it. She sat a rattle and teething toys within her reach and, satisfied that it would keep her daughter distracted for a good fifteen minutes, she walked over to her workbench to resume her research.
Parenting, thankfully, got easier as the kid got bigger. A few months back she finally stopped nursing around the clock and was introduced to solid foods, which was a relief for Lina. It meant someone who was not her could feed her and took a lot of the burden off of her shoulders. And then there was the glorious fact that she was now sleeping through the night!
As Lucia’s sleep schedule became regular and Lina was able to get a good night’s sleep for a change, the fog that had pervaded her mind lifted to the point that she could actually focus on her research. She snuck it in whenever she could. Fifteen minutes here and there while Lucia played with her toys before demanding to be catered to. An hour while she napped. Another hour after dinner when Gourry would play with her so that Lina could have some time for herself. It was not the rapid progress she was used to making but it was still glorious to be back in action again.
Lina worked on deciphering the ancient language while Lucia cooed and giggled. Occasionally she would hear the sound of the rattle, or Lucia jabbering on in her own little baby language. Lina stumbled upon some symbol that was defying her efforts to translate it, and finally took her eye off the book to glance at the baby to make sure she was okay when she realized that Lucia was no longer sitting on the blanket. In fact, she was no longer in sight.
“Lucia!” Lina cried as her heart raced. Sweat formed on her palms. Where could she have gone? Had some evil person snuck in and kidnapped her? Surely Lina would have felt some trace of bloodlust.
Lina walked frantically through the bookshelves and she finally found her, sitting in a pile of books that she had pulled from the bottom shelf as she flipped through one and started tearing out pages.
“Hey!” Lina snapped as she snatched her up and took the book from her grasp, “That’s a one of a kind, original, priceless manuscript! What do you think you are doing, tearing it up like that? How did you get here anyway?”
Lucia grinned mischievously as Lina’s stomach dropped. The answer was obvious. Lucia must have figured out crawling. Lina stared at the mess and realized that this parenting gig had just thrown her a curveball and that her life would never be the same again. Never again would she be able to sit Lucia on a blanket, secure in the knowledge that she would still be there when she turned around. Now Lucia could move of her own volition and get into anything she wanted. Lina would have to grow eyes on the back of her head somehow.
Lina stared at her daughter. “That’s it. I’m getting some rope and tethering you to the table from now on. Okay?”