weird Abyss AU story
First, I would like to thank aefallen again for her kind words. Really, your support means a lot to me and I don't know how to express my gratitude properly. Thank you so much ;_; I wish I was better at cranking this stuff out for you! I did manage to finish this chapter, though, so that's good...
Anyway, about this story. I started writing it as an answer to ranchelle's request (because my Florian story is rather badly tangled right now), gave up in despair when I saw it was getting too long, and then was convinced by aefallen to post this snippet anyway. Ummm, I'm sorry to ask this, but please don't ask me to continue. I know this is not nice to say, but I desperately need to do my own projects during the summer, and I'm quite easily rattled...
characters: The Vaticle bunch. Natalia and Tear should show up in a future update, whenever I get around to fiddling with this again. Due to the nature of the story, though, I've changed some details. If you've played the game, though, you should still be able to follow what's going on.
Oh, and can you tell I babysit?
SPOILER LEVEL: RADIOACTIVE KRYPTONITE. Don't read this if: you haven't played the game, don't know the entire story, or are Superman. Seriously. (Except for that last part.)
----------------------------------
As the assigned attendant to Luke fone Fabre - the heir to one of the most powerful men in the world - Guy should have been very busy. Aside from waking his charge up and dressing him every morning, he was also required to follow him at all times for advice and if necessary, physical protection. The events of several months ago had shaken the Duke so much that his son was no longer allowed to venture out at all, let alone unattended. So really, Guy ought to have been busy.
Which made it a bit peculiar to be standing out here, in exile after one of the young master's sudden and unexplained temper tantrums. Luke had always been prone to dark moods, but they had worsened considerably in the past while. It was understandable, but...
"Is my lord sure he wouldn't like my help dressing?" Guy asked the door, and winced in anticipation of the response.
"No! I told you to go away already!"
"My lord is aware that Princess Natalia is coming to visit today?" Guy said. And did not say, My lord Duke will have your humble servant's head for dinner if your humble servant doesn't do his job.
A bit of silence met that sally. "...I'll be fine."
"Very well. What shall-" and Guy's question was cut off.
"I don't care! Go play with that scum you like so much!"
"As my lord commands," Guy said, and bowed sardonically to the closed door.
---
Well, I can't say I didn't goad him into saying that, Guy reflected. It was just too easy to avoid that child, and so easy to talk to this one.
He knocked on the door. "Lucian? I'm coming in," Guy said, and entered without further ceremony. As he had expected, the room was dark, and yet seemed full of light.
Luke fone Fabre's replica turned to him, and reaching out his arms to Guy, smiled brilliantly.
---
Three months ago, following an anonymous tip, the knights sworn to the Duke had stormed his summer residence at Coral Castle to find the building a mess, with signs that whoever had used it had left in a hurry recently. They also found a strange room filled with Tone machines and two of the Duke's only son. Not knowing which was which, and unwilling to risk taking the matter into their own hands, they brought back both. The Duke had spent hours closeted in discussion with King Ingolbert, and finally they had agreed to keep the replica child in custody. However, the Duke's wife had spent a week sick with worry for her son, and having gotten Luke back was unwilling to surrender a single piece of her son - either son. She had instead, to the consternation of both her husband and her brother, named the replica 'Lucian' as a diminutive of 'Luke'. By now, she seemed to consider him her second son.
The effect this might have on the Score, the situation of Kimuelasca-Lanvaldear, or even her original son's frame of mind didn't seem to impinge on her happiness at all.
---
Guy's political consciousness was not developed much besides enjoying every Kimuelascan diplomatic gaffe. He knew who was likely to be behind the creation of Luke fone Fabre's replica, and he had an idea who might benefit, but he didn't care or even share his speculations with Pell. In this house, filled with people who had his family's blood on their hands and who would kill him as easily as they would crush an ant if they found out his full name, in this house full of his enemies, he had one ally who smiled and opened his heart to Guy without flinching. It didn't matter if his hair was as red as the Duke's hair or Maria's blood, it didn't matter if he couldn't talk and mostly tried to eat the Tone toys Guy made for him. In Lucian's room, empty of everyone but the small child no one knew what to do with, Guy found peace.
"And this gear takes the torque and uses it to move the feet. It's amazing what people can do these days! See, I'll show you." Guy set the little model on the child's bed and set it moving with a flick of his finger. The toy soldier, whirring, walked up the blanket until it met a fold and stopped, arms and legs moving uselessly. Lucian stared and then, with the big grin that always made Guy's chest seem about two sizes too small, batted at it. He missed the first time and then went at it again.
It fell over, legs kicking. The child looked disappointed and sent his arm after the toy soldier again, but only succeeded in knocking it off the bed.
Guy couldn't help laughing. "You haven't figured out what your fingers are for yet, have you? Here you go." He picked it up and pressed the toy into Lucian's palm, and then carefully curled the boy's fingers around it. Lucian smiled gleefully - and started banging it against the bed. Guy groaned. "I think somebody's inherited his dad's personality... Oh, damn." There was a pounding sound of hurrying feet coming through the doorway. "I think her Highness is here. Talk to you later, kiddo - oh please, give me the soldier, I can't leave you alone with it or you'll choke on it. C'mon, I'll give you this ball! It has nice primary colors and it's guaranteed not to kill any nobles-"
Guy managed to extract the soldier from Lucian's hands and exchange it for the new toy. The child seemed apt to break into a temper tantrum at any time, and Guy knelt and gave him a hug, feeling torn. "I'll be back, okay? I promise-"
Ashamed, Guy left, leaving the child in tears behind him.
Outside was much brighter then Lucian's dusty room, and Guy blinked, momentarily confused by the flurry of maids with brushes and shoeshine passing him in the hallway. One of the maids turned at the sound of the closing door, and whirled on him.
"Guy! How could you do this?! Master Luke's nice suit is all rumpled!"
Guy backed up several steps, holding his hands up. "I'm sorry~"
"Forget it, I told Guy to let me do it," said Luke grimly, through the storm of distressed servants.
"But the Princess is coming today! Your lordship has to look nice for-"
"I told you to forget it! You think I can't dress myself?!"
Guy took a deep breath, and stuck the toy soldier into his pocket. "Young master, please allow me to adjust your outfit. I know you did a good job, but let's make certain, please?"
"..Don't call me 'young master'," said Luke, sullenly.
Guy swallowed his irritation and said, "Please allow me to adjust your clothing, my lord. For the Princess."
"...Fine."
"Understood." Guy took a step forward and then stopped, feeling humiliated.
"..Oh, for crying out loud. All you maids can buzz off."
"Yes, my lord!" The maids curtseyed as a unit and then left, with some sneaking amused glances at Guy. He winced. It's not like I do it on purpose...
He was interrupted by a short, almost embarassed cough, and returned to his business with a jolt. "Immediately, my lord! Uh-"
Luke's outfit was a disaster. His hair was half out of its tie, he'd missed the top button on the suit and his whole shirt was awry as a result. His sash was askew and the buckles on his shoes were not closed. He looked ridiculous, and Guy had to struggle a little to keep his Faithful Manservant face on.
Judging from the look on the young master's face, Luke knew this too.
"..Ah. This will take a while," said Guy, after a moment.
"Natalia's already here! I can't keep her wai-" Luke stopped, and then glared at the floor.
"I'll do it in double time," Guy promised, taking a brush out of his pocket.
As he worked, Guy could see the blush staining the boy's face and couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy. "They're designed like that, you know. His Majesty doesn't dress himself either, his robes are too elaborate..."
"What?" demanded Luke, roughly. Guy blinked, startled at himself. "Ah, nothing. Forgive me." He buttoned up the lad's shirt, adjusted the sash and stepped away with a flourish. "There. All done!"
Disaster averted, Luke grunted and stomped past Guy, walking about twice as fast as was proper. Guy quickly left the brushes and other tools on the floor for the maids to pick up, and hurried after his charge.
He kept the toy soldier with him, though.
----
Remarks
'Lucian'. Uh, I know, I'm stupid, but I had to think of something. OTL The only thing I can say for it is that at least it isn't "Luis".
Taking care of small children is the easiest way to feel like a horrible monster I've ever seen. You calm one kid down and then the next one starts crying, and the first looks at you like a traitor and a coward for running off. --; (I love kids, but I get tired easily when I babysit, believe me.) And you wouldn't believe the nonsense I end up telling babies...! Especially when they take a suicidal nosedive for freedom out of your arms... >_<
Guy is no good at hating people. He's just too nice for his own good. I'm sorry if I make Guy sound too girly ;_; Also, at this point he's considering 'Lucian' to be another victim of the fone Fabre family, so the kid is exempt from his mental revenge list.
...As is Luke's mother, all the maids, and basically all of the manservants aside from the knights. I told you he's too nice. (And I forgot the gardener's name SHOOT ME. I think it's Pell? Tell me if I'm wrong~)
Asch, on the other hand, is no good at being nice (or saying thank you). The chip on his shoulder keeps getting in the way. *shot* Well, at this point he's still shellshocked from the kidnapping and weird experiments.
Anyway, about this story. I started writing it as an answer to ranchelle's request (because my Florian story is rather badly tangled right now), gave up in despair when I saw it was getting too long, and then was convinced by aefallen to post this snippet anyway. Ummm, I'm sorry to ask this, but please don't ask me to continue. I know this is not nice to say, but I desperately need to do my own projects during the summer, and I'm quite easily rattled...
characters: The Vaticle bunch. Natalia and Tear should show up in a future update, whenever I get around to fiddling with this again. Due to the nature of the story, though, I've changed some details. If you've played the game, though, you should still be able to follow what's going on.
Oh, and can you tell I babysit?
SPOILER LEVEL: RADIOACTIVE KRYPTONITE. Don't read this if: you haven't played the game, don't know the entire story, or are Superman. Seriously. (Except for that last part.)
----------------------------------
As the assigned attendant to Luke fone Fabre - the heir to one of the most powerful men in the world - Guy should have been very busy. Aside from waking his charge up and dressing him every morning, he was also required to follow him at all times for advice and if necessary, physical protection. The events of several months ago had shaken the Duke so much that his son was no longer allowed to venture out at all, let alone unattended. So really, Guy ought to have been busy.
Which made it a bit peculiar to be standing out here, in exile after one of the young master's sudden and unexplained temper tantrums. Luke had always been prone to dark moods, but they had worsened considerably in the past while. It was understandable, but...
"Is my lord sure he wouldn't like my help dressing?" Guy asked the door, and winced in anticipation of the response.
"No! I told you to go away already!"
"My lord is aware that Princess Natalia is coming to visit today?" Guy said. And did not say, My lord Duke will have your humble servant's head for dinner if your humble servant doesn't do his job.
A bit of silence met that sally. "...I'll be fine."
"Very well. What shall-" and Guy's question was cut off.
"I don't care! Go play with that scum you like so much!"
"As my lord commands," Guy said, and bowed sardonically to the closed door.
---
Well, I can't say I didn't goad him into saying that, Guy reflected. It was just too easy to avoid that child, and so easy to talk to this one.
He knocked on the door. "Lucian? I'm coming in," Guy said, and entered without further ceremony. As he had expected, the room was dark, and yet seemed full of light.
Luke fone Fabre's replica turned to him, and reaching out his arms to Guy, smiled brilliantly.
---
Three months ago, following an anonymous tip, the knights sworn to the Duke had stormed his summer residence at Coral Castle to find the building a mess, with signs that whoever had used it had left in a hurry recently. They also found a strange room filled with Tone machines and two of the Duke's only son. Not knowing which was which, and unwilling to risk taking the matter into their own hands, they brought back both. The Duke had spent hours closeted in discussion with King Ingolbert, and finally they had agreed to keep the replica child in custody. However, the Duke's wife had spent a week sick with worry for her son, and having gotten Luke back was unwilling to surrender a single piece of her son - either son. She had instead, to the consternation of both her husband and her brother, named the replica 'Lucian' as a diminutive of 'Luke'. By now, she seemed to consider him her second son.
The effect this might have on the Score, the situation of Kimuelasca-Lanvaldear, or even her original son's frame of mind didn't seem to impinge on her happiness at all.
---
Guy's political consciousness was not developed much besides enjoying every Kimuelascan diplomatic gaffe. He knew who was likely to be behind the creation of Luke fone Fabre's replica, and he had an idea who might benefit, but he didn't care or even share his speculations with Pell. In this house, filled with people who had his family's blood on their hands and who would kill him as easily as they would crush an ant if they found out his full name, in this house full of his enemies, he had one ally who smiled and opened his heart to Guy without flinching. It didn't matter if his hair was as red as the Duke's hair or Maria's blood, it didn't matter if he couldn't talk and mostly tried to eat the Tone toys Guy made for him. In Lucian's room, empty of everyone but the small child no one knew what to do with, Guy found peace.
"And this gear takes the torque and uses it to move the feet. It's amazing what people can do these days! See, I'll show you." Guy set the little model on the child's bed and set it moving with a flick of his finger. The toy soldier, whirring, walked up the blanket until it met a fold and stopped, arms and legs moving uselessly. Lucian stared and then, with the big grin that always made Guy's chest seem about two sizes too small, batted at it. He missed the first time and then went at it again.
It fell over, legs kicking. The child looked disappointed and sent his arm after the toy soldier again, but only succeeded in knocking it off the bed.
Guy couldn't help laughing. "You haven't figured out what your fingers are for yet, have you? Here you go." He picked it up and pressed the toy into Lucian's palm, and then carefully curled the boy's fingers around it. Lucian smiled gleefully - and started banging it against the bed. Guy groaned. "I think somebody's inherited his dad's personality... Oh, damn." There was a pounding sound of hurrying feet coming through the doorway. "I think her Highness is here. Talk to you later, kiddo - oh please, give me the soldier, I can't leave you alone with it or you'll choke on it. C'mon, I'll give you this ball! It has nice primary colors and it's guaranteed not to kill any nobles-"
Guy managed to extract the soldier from Lucian's hands and exchange it for the new toy. The child seemed apt to break into a temper tantrum at any time, and Guy knelt and gave him a hug, feeling torn. "I'll be back, okay? I promise-"
Ashamed, Guy left, leaving the child in tears behind him.
Outside was much brighter then Lucian's dusty room, and Guy blinked, momentarily confused by the flurry of maids with brushes and shoeshine passing him in the hallway. One of the maids turned at the sound of the closing door, and whirled on him.
"Guy! How could you do this?! Master Luke's nice suit is all rumpled!"
Guy backed up several steps, holding his hands up. "I'm sorry~"
"Forget it, I told Guy to let me do it," said Luke grimly, through the storm of distressed servants.
"But the Princess is coming today! Your lordship has to look nice for-"
"I told you to forget it! You think I can't dress myself?!"
Guy took a deep breath, and stuck the toy soldier into his pocket. "Young master, please allow me to adjust your outfit. I know you did a good job, but let's make certain, please?"
"..Don't call me 'young master'," said Luke, sullenly.
Guy swallowed his irritation and said, "Please allow me to adjust your clothing, my lord. For the Princess."
"...Fine."
"Understood." Guy took a step forward and then stopped, feeling humiliated.
"..Oh, for crying out loud. All you maids can buzz off."
"Yes, my lord!" The maids curtseyed as a unit and then left, with some sneaking amused glances at Guy. He winced. It's not like I do it on purpose...
He was interrupted by a short, almost embarassed cough, and returned to his business with a jolt. "Immediately, my lord! Uh-"
Luke's outfit was a disaster. His hair was half out of its tie, he'd missed the top button on the suit and his whole shirt was awry as a result. His sash was askew and the buckles on his shoes were not closed. He looked ridiculous, and Guy had to struggle a little to keep his Faithful Manservant face on.
Judging from the look on the young master's face, Luke knew this too.
"..Ah. This will take a while," said Guy, after a moment.
"Natalia's already here! I can't keep her wai-" Luke stopped, and then glared at the floor.
"I'll do it in double time," Guy promised, taking a brush out of his pocket.
As he worked, Guy could see the blush staining the boy's face and couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy. "They're designed like that, you know. His Majesty doesn't dress himself either, his robes are too elaborate..."
"What?" demanded Luke, roughly. Guy blinked, startled at himself. "Ah, nothing. Forgive me." He buttoned up the lad's shirt, adjusted the sash and stepped away with a flourish. "There. All done!"
Disaster averted, Luke grunted and stomped past Guy, walking about twice as fast as was proper. Guy quickly left the brushes and other tools on the floor for the maids to pick up, and hurried after his charge.
He kept the toy soldier with him, though.
----
Remarks
'Lucian'. Uh, I know, I'm stupid, but I had to think of something. OTL The only thing I can say for it is that at least it isn't "Luis".
Taking care of small children is the easiest way to feel like a horrible monster I've ever seen. You calm one kid down and then the next one starts crying, and the first looks at you like a traitor and a coward for running off. --; (I love kids, but I get tired easily when I babysit, believe me.) And you wouldn't believe the nonsense I end up telling babies...! Especially when they take a suicidal nosedive for freedom out of your arms... >_<
Guy is no good at hating people. He's just too nice for his own good. I'm sorry if I make Guy sound too girly ;_; Also, at this point he's considering 'Lucian' to be another victim of the fone Fabre family, so the kid is exempt from his mental revenge list.
...As is Luke's mother, all the maids, and basically all of the manservants aside from the knights. I told you he's too nice. (And I forgot the gardener's name SHOOT ME. I think it's Pell? Tell me if I'm wrong~)
Asch, on the other hand, is no good at being nice (or saying thank you). The chip on his shoulder keeps getting in the way. *shot* Well, at this point he's still shellshocked from the kidnapping and weird experiments.