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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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"Okay, fly me to Kou?"
"Eeeeeee!"
And when they reach Kou close enough for him to be tapped, she taps him on the shoulder and says, of course: "I fairy magic you."
Eventually she has fairy magicked everyone who it is convenient to find and falls asleep on her mama.
It is weeks later when Nika espies that Gregor has maple sugar candies. She toddles up to him (tripping once along the way) and says "Gregor Gregor Gregor can I have some?"
And when they reach Kou close enough for him to be tapped, she taps him on the shoulder and says, of course: "I fairy magic you."
Eventually she has fairy magicked everyone who it is convenient to find and falls asleep on her mama.
It is weeks later when Nika espies that Gregor has maple sugar candies. She toddles up to him (tripping once along the way) and says "Gregor Gregor Gregor can I have some?"
"Sure," he says, and gives her one. With a little smile.
Nika says "thank you!" ever so politely and then walks very carefully so as not to drop her prize. Nibble, nibble.
Miles, sitting in a different room, espies that Nika has a maple sugar candy.
"Hey Nika," he says. "Is the candy good?"
"Mm-hm!" Nibble nibble. "Maple is my favorite."
"Where'd you get it?"
"I asked Gregor and he gave it."
"Could you go get me one when you're done yours? You can practice walking," says Miles.
"Okay," says Nika. Nibble nibble nibble. Her candy is all gone. Back she goes to Gregor.
"Miles wants one too," she tells him.
"Miles wants one too," she tells him.
...Gregor snorts.
"Miles has had three," he says. "He asked me for one and then he sent Sergeant Bothari to get one and then he sent your mama to get another one."
"Miles has had three," he says. "He asked me for one and then he sent Sergeant Bothari to get one and then he sent your mama to get another one."
"Oh," says Nika. "But he sent me too."
"Yes," sighs Gregor. "Yes he did."
He gives Nika another maple candy.
He gives Nika another maple candy.
"Miles had three?" muses Nika suspiciously.
He gives Nika another maple candy.
Nika beams and hugs his leg and goes and eats them in front of Miles, humming.
Miles makes a pitiful face.
"You had three," she says.
"But I wanted another one," he says. "And I asked you to get me one and you said you would and then you didn't."
Oh dear.
Nika sighs and gets up again.
"He wanted four," she explains to Gregor.
"Do you also want four?" inquires Gregor.
"That is fair," says Nika solemnly.
"Yes it is."
He gives her two candies.
He gives her two candies.
"Thank you," says Nika sunnily, and she goes to give one of the new candies to Miles.