Lapis Lazuli's Genie Secrets in a Bottle

Chapter 3: One Very Special Child

Ever since Lapis was brought home from the hospital, she was the apple of her family's eye. Almost every minute she was showered with hugs and kisses by her parents. And Steven loved to curl up next to his baby sister, especially at nap time.

Greg enjoyed amusing his little girl, playing games and making her laugh. He was also on hand with changing her diapers and giving her baths.

"Who's a cute little girl?" he cooed as he rinsed and dried his daughter after her recent bath. "Who's clean and huggable? You are. Yes you are."

Blue Diamond was the most in love with her daughter. She was very protective of Lapis when she nursed and swaddled her.

At bedtime or when it was time for her daughter's nap, Blue Diamond would sing a special lullaby to help Lapis fall asleep:

"Cold palace walls
And endless empty halls
Haunted by echoes of laughter
You gave a pull
And suddenly they're full
You've thrown the gates open after you
And swept in with the throng
Comes this wonderful song!
My little reason why...
I'll never make you cry
Oh I have got the sweetest things
to tell you every day
My little reason why...
You make me want to try
Loving you"

Her soothing voice always guided her daughter to a peaceful slumber.

"Sweet dreams, my darling." Lapis' mother whispered as kissed her baby goodnight.

Of course, Blue Diamond and Greg were also vigilant of their daughter in case strange things happened. Then, they would know that it was Lapis' doing unintentionally. These little incidents would include levitating things or her floating around the room. Because Lapis was only an infant, she had no control over what she was doing.

Neither parent could take their eyes off their daughter. Not just because her magic was so random or that they were protective of her, but also because the baby girl was extremely afraid of strangers. Lapis couldn't even be left with a babysitter without her crying and screaming for her parents when they left for their wedding.

Despite her distrust of strangers, Lapis' parents and brother gave her all the love any baby could ask for.

As Lapis grew up, her personality started to come out. She developed a shy demeanor around other people. That made it difficult for her to make new friends. At school, she often avoided the other kids altogether. However, she still liked to have fun like any other kid.

She loved to play outside in nature, especially on rainy days. While most kids saw rain as an obstacle for being outside, it only encouraged Lapis to be outdoors even more. Of course, that meant a lot of bubble baths, but she didn't mind.

Baseball and swimming quickly became the young girl's favorite sports.

When her dad got tickets to a baseball game, he'd always bring Lapis and Steven along to cheer on their favorite team. Lapis also liked to play baseball after being taught how to play by Greg.

And she found her love for swimming after her mom had her take up lessons  on it when Lapis was six years old. Since then, she took every chance to go to the beach or the local swimming pool.

The little girl also enjoyed quiet activities like drawing and reading books. She loved stories, especially the fantastical stories that Blue Diamond told her about a world where genies fly free. The stories often put her daughter at ease, particularly when Lapis was curled up next to her to listen to those stories.

Lapis may have had a normal lifestyle for a kid, but she was not a normal kid. She was half human and half genie, and she didn't even know it.

Whenever people around her would wish for something, the young girl had the sudden urge to snap her fingers. And after that, the wishes would somehow come true. For some strange reason, the wishes coming true always drained Lapis' energy, making her sleepy and longing for a nap. Her parents were aware of this and they became deeply concerned for her.

On days when Lapis was sick, her magic (which had grown since she was a baby) would go haywire. Greg and Blue Diamond would give Lapis extra supervision until their daughter got better.

And then, there were the occasional nights that Blue Diamond worked late and wasn't home to say goodnight to Lapis. As a result, the little girl would be haunted by a recurring nightmare about a ghostly white sorcerer coming after her. When she told her mom and dad about her bad dream, Blue Diamond feared that it may be more of a premonition than a dream.

One night after Blue Diamond helped her daughter fall asleep, she talked privately to Greg about Lapis' "nightmare."

"White Diamond cannot find out that Lapis exists." Blue Diamond discussed with Greg. "For all he knows, I'm still stuck in that lamp. If he learns about Lapis, he'll take her away or worse."

"It'll be okay." her husband promised. "I won't let anything happen to our daughter."

Blue Diamond wanted to be reassured, but the truth was; the genie couldn't stop worrying for her daughter. Sometimes, she would fantasize Lapis in a situation where she or her powers would be exposed or discovered by White Diamond. This kind of thinking ended up making the genie mother restless. However, the presence of her husband and her kids helped her realize that kind of mindset was not healthy. So rather than always fearing the worst for Lapis, she continued to watch her little girl grow up.

In spite of the hybrid girl having magical occurrences, neither her mother or father told her that she was  half genie. All the better to protect her from White Diamond at her age and because she was too young to understand. Another thing that Lapis' parents kept secret from her was that she was of royal blood, specifically a princess. One of these days, the young girl would have to face White Diamond to win back Zanaraha for her family. But, that was a long time from now.

Lapis had plenty of time to grow into her powers before she becoming overwhelmed by what kind of destiny was waiting for her.