The next day, Celestine's life completely changed. Within a week, Mother and her were both moved into the box mansion in an unused wing of the building, on the opposite side of where Daemon and his son, Celestine's half-brother Sullivan, had their rooms. Celestine's wardrobe expanded from the simple dresses to a wide array of fancy dresses, shirts, and skirts made of much softer material than she was used to. Her bone-framed fur bed from their house in the slums was replaced with a fancy 4-poster bed with a mattress stuffed with down. The whole mansion was cooled in a similar manner to the church.

Each expensive building is outfitted with a special crystal that gathers magic energy out of the environment, according to Mother. These crystals are usually hidden in the attics. You can think of them as a sort of solar powered battery. It provides power to other crystals within the house for various things like light crystals, cooling air crystals, and pulling water from the basin in the basement for various things like drinking and baths. The crystals are connected to tiny strings that are built into the walls, but in the case of the church's basement, were visible along the stairs. Crystal artificing. It's not a branch of magic in itself, but a means of using certain magical abilities without the need of a caster. Normally with crystals, simply channeling power into them will allow them to function. The simplest and cheapest is a light crystal that even someone with no magic talent whatsoever can use, for example. Something so simple is usually all someone living in the slums needs. The crystals that absorb magic out of the environment are incredibly rare, though, and are only bought by very well-to-do people or organizations. High luxury. When powered by this crystal, even someone who can't use magic, like Celestine, can use them.

I say she can't use magic because even though she went through that ceremony, she has yet to have any training. During the next year, Mother has kept her under lock and key while teaching her how to read and perform basic arithmetic, something she would have taught her when she was maturing, but with nothing better to do she decided to start early. Celestine struggled on learning how to read. I struggled along with her and together we learned how to read the language of this land. This opened up a whole new frontier for Celestine, fiction. Most of her free time was spent sitting in Daemon's library reading novels about heroes and adventuring.

It was during this time I finally discovered how long a year was in this world. Five hundred and twenty-eight days. Each year is split into four huge months of one hundred and thirty days where the last month of the year is extended by eight days where those days are part of the year end festival. Celestine was born in the fourth month on day one hundred and fifteen. Of course, it's still hard to tell how the year lengths compare to Earth though. The thought occurred to me after discovering the year length. I have no idea how long a day is here. They do split the day up into something like hours, but there's no way to know if they are the same length as hours on Earth, they likely aren't. My 'sent to another world' fantasy fictions on Earth never prepared me for this! Basically Celestine, at five of this world's years of age, looks more like a nine or ten year old on Earth. And I can never be sure how it compares to Earth because I have no way of properly comparing the passage of time. I don't even know if humans on this planet age like they did on Earth. My head hurts, hold me Mother~

Speaking of Mother, she really did take the role of maid. She wore a nondescript black dress that reached below her knees with white apron over top, then went to work cleaning up the place, cooking meals, and attempting to bring the front and backyard back to life. Strange thing though, after word got out that she was working there, she was able to hire other help. All men, though. No woman seemed to want to even look at this building. Did you spread some nasty rumors of Daemon while we were living in the slums, Mother? Mother hired a full time cook and a dedicated gardener. Both men were provided staff quarters on the bottom floor while everyone else lived upstairs.

In one of the rare moments where Celestine was alone with Daemon, he told her what he did for a living. He was an apothecary. He brewed potions and made pills. Nothing magical I think. Much of his work is making remedies for heat illnesses and pills for general sickness. Though he also ships huge crates of... something every month that he said was a secret.

She also got closer to her half-brother, which she took an almost unhealthy liking to. The poor boy was so shy his own shadow probably scares him. Sullivan Tanett. Soft blond hair and dull blue eyes. Looks nothing like Daemon. Despite the rough treatment Mother gives Daemon, she is very kind to Sullivan. She even included him on the reading and arithmetic lessons. Celestine got so close to him she even calls him 'Bubby.'

A full year of living in luxury, learning to read, and playing with her shy little brother. On one ordinary day, though, someone knocked on the front door and Celestine just so happened to be sitting on the red leather couch in the main hall reading a book. Daemon was working in his shop, lab, workplace, whatever you want to call it, which was close to the front door, but he didn't seem to hear the door. Mother is upstairs cleaning. So that left Celestine to answer it.

She placed the book she was reading, an odd story about fairies, and walked over to open the door. Pulling the heavy door open, there stood a boy that looked maybe a year older than she was. On his head was thick brown hair and two droopy flaps where his ears should have been. Waving behind him was a tail of similar color to his hair. He looked her up and down with his golden eyes and smiled.

"Sylvianna! It's been too long since I've seen you!" The dog boy pushed his way through the door and wrapped his arms around the confused Celestine.

"Uhm, uh uh uh..." I think he broke her. Her face was hot and that wasn't just because the front door was open to the heat of the desert day.

He released her and pushed her in front of him, but held onto her shoulders so he could study her face.

"Hmm, what happened to your eyes? Weren't they green last I saw you?"

"Warran, what are you doing to my daughter?" Mother's voice was above Celestine. The dog boy looked up, his floppy ears moving with his head. The only thought I can hear in Celestine's head is 'cute cute cute cute'.

"Whoah, Sylvianna! There's your green eyes! You apes sure grow fast. So where is the daughter of Daemon he wanted me to train? $^@#@$#@ wouldn't give me a place to bug out before I agreed to teach his little brat."

"You're grabbing her." Mother said, placing her hand on Celestine's head.

"Oh?" The dog boy leaned in close. Too close! Too close! Celestine could feel his breath on her face as he looked into her eyes. "Well I suppose she does have his eyes. Not much else of a resemblance, though. When the hells did you two get it on?"

"Eeeeeeeee...." She quietly chirped. Too close. Celestine was struggling to get out of his grip. Mother noticed her bright red face and struck the dog boy's head before he took a step back. Celestine fell back and tried to hide under Mother's apron.

"I want to say it was the worst decision I ever made, but that's not fair to her. Take the bad with the good, I suppose. I wouldn't change it if I could. Not when I have her."

The boy stood rubbing the top of his head where Mother hit him. "So enamored. I guess this is a mother's love. A child changes a woman. Oh well, where's my room?" The dog boy spoke. He had a certain way of speech, an accent that made him seem older and foreign at the same time.

"Daemon never mentioned who was going to be her tutor. I have nothing prepared."

"Oh, another thing I wanted to ask, what kind of leverage does that boy have over you to make you his maid?"

"I'm doing this so I don't have to owe him anything. Celestine isn't even calling him father."

"Celestine then!" The dog boy lifted the apron to see Celestine's face. "Nice to meet you then. I'm Warran. I'll be your magic tutor starting tomorrow." For someone to so casually touch Mother like this, perhaps this is a friend? But he looks not much older than Celestine. Do the dog people age slower?

"That's enough of the pretty boy act, Warran. Change back to normal. Any more blood rushes to her head she'll faint." Mother said.

"She got her father's libido, I can guess that much." Warran said.

"I'll beat it out of her." Mother sounded scary just then.

"B-beat?" Celestine sounded scared.

Warran just chuckled. He drug in a few bags from outside and closed the door. "I'll change back in private. These clothes won't change with me and I doubt you want the little one to see something she shouldn't."

"There's a spare office upstairs."

"I'll take it. I'm used to sleeping at my desk anyway." Warran said, hoisting the bags over his shoulders. Mother pulled Celestine and made her sit down on the couch before she grabbed one of Warran's bags and guided him up the stairs.

She repeated.

I'm starting to see why she's so close to Sullivan.

"Eee, no, no beating!" She turned and buried her face in the couch.