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One summer day, a baby appears on the literal doorstep of the Imperial Residence's west servants' entrance. She is in a basket. She doesn't look Barrayaran; while Barrayar is not uniformly Caucasian, it has very few people of east Asian extraction, and that is where this baby appears to have been toted from by more or less circuitous routes of migration and inheritance.
It is not terribly difficult for ImpSec to find the person who put her there - recent hire to the kitchen staff, competent but not overwhelmingly concerned with security when it was literally just a baby and not an explosive and he was offered a large chunk of change. Tracing back this chunk of change leads through a long meandering trail of people, variously shady, none of whom acted with particular malice beyond greed and the sort of vague dishonorableness of putting packages on the doorstep of the Imperial Residence.
The trail ends at someone who - under fast-penta - has no memory whatever of having interacted with the baby, the cash, the shady person who druggedly identified her, or anything else about the affair. She doesn't even have a similar-looking sister to explain the mixup. She has nothing in her background to explain how she would come by an offplanet baby or why she would convey it by such a circuitous method to the Imperial Residence. It's definitely not her baby - the lady's six months pregnant and the baby isn't that old.
In the meantime, the baby is parked with Droushnakovi, who found her in the first place; Cordelia, who was the first person she went to; and Gregor, as Drou is his personal bodyguard.
The baby and her basket are searched and found to be: a baby, and a basket. There is no note, it's the middle of summer and the child wasn't even in a blanket, the basket itself and the baby's onesie turn out to be local products that a Vorbarr Sultana thrift shop didn't even bother reporting stolen.
The baby babbles in her sleep. She's very cute.
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hatchedplan
Nika nods. "Hugs are nice!"
So Grandda hugs her.
And Nika hugs her Grandda. "This is a pretty place," she tells him, in case he did not know.
"Thank you," he says. "I think so too. Do you want to see more of it?"
"Yes," says Nika, still with her arms around his neck, because possibly that way he will carry her instead of her having to walk around the pretty place. "Please."
greatcomposure
Grandda picks her up and carries her inside. Cordelia follows.
The inside of the house is in many places as pretty as the outside! Nika can look at all the things. Grandda does not seem to mind carrying her wherever she wants.
The inside of the house is in many places as pretty as the outside! Nika can look at all the things. Grandda does not seem to mind carrying her wherever she wants.
That's very convenient! Nice Grandda. Nika points at specific pretty things and clarifies that they are especially pretty.
Grandda listens gravely to her judgments, and sometimes tells her a little bit about the history of this or that pretty thing.
Eventually they reach the back of the house, and he asks if she would like to go outside and see the horses.
Eventually they reach the back of the house, and he asks if she would like to go outside and see the horses.
"Horses!" approves Nika. "Yes please."
So Grandda carries her outside.
There are horses! They are moving around. Many of them are very pretty.
There are horses! They are moving around. Many of them are very pretty.
Nika points at the prettiest horse. "That is my favorite," she informs him.
"And why's that? Is he pretty?"
"He's pretty! The others are pretty too. That one is prettiest."
"He is very pretty," Grandda agrees. "Do you like horses, Nika?"
"Yes. Horses are good. Can I pet the horses?"
"You can pet some of the horses," says Grandda. "Some of them are shy or cranky and don't like to be petted."
One of the pretty horses is standing by the fence. He produces some sugar cubes with which to entice her closer, then holds Nika up to horse-head height.
One of the pretty horses is standing by the fence. He produces some sugar cubes with which to entice her closer, then holds Nika up to horse-head height.
Nika pets the horse's nose, giggling. "Can I give it a sugar?"
"Yes, you can," says Grandda. He hands Nika a sugar.
Nika puts it in her palm just like Grandda did and holds her hand under the horse's nose.
Nom!
"Eeeeee," giggles Nika. "The horse and me both like sugar."
"Is that so?" says Grandda.
"Yes. I like maple sugar best. Like our leaf!"
greatcomposure
"That's right. If you'd like," he says, glancing at Cordelia for confirmation, "sometime when they're making maple sugar, I can take you to see how it's done."
Cordelia nods.
Cordelia nods.
"Miles says we are tree vampires," says Nika. "Are we tree vampires?"