Well, this is officially my first published story on this site, and I did it all in one night.
I tried my best to keep Guy and Luke in character, especially since they're both significantly younger here. And Luke, especially, since his kidnapping gave him amnesia and the mentality of a baby. Oh, and this story is spoiler-free, for people that are concerned about that.
Anyway, I don't have anything else to say, so…enjoy!
"Guy?"
Feeling a small tug on his shirt, the blonde-haired servant looked down to meet Luke's innocent gaze. He paused in doing his work for the young master, offering the redhead a gentle smile.
"What is it, Luke?"
"Can I ask you a question?"
"'Course you can." Guy bent down on one knee, casually slinging his arm over his upper leg, so that he and Luke were eye-level. "What's on your mind?"
Luke stared off to the side for a while, seemingly getting his thoughts together before he spoke. When he turned back to Guy, his huge, childlike eyes were shimmering in a curiosity Guy had never seen before. What came out of his mouth, though, was definitely not what Guy was expecting.
"Where do babies come from?"
"Wh—?!" Guy gasped in horror, eyes bulging. He gawked at Luke, his jaw practically touching the floor, and tried his best to compose himself. Sure, he knew Luke's kidnapping caused him to lose all his memories, and that everyone in the Fabre household had to work quickly to teach him everything he used to know, but it's only been a few months since his return and he already wanted to know the answer to that? The kid wasn't even potty-trained yet! It was the inevitable question all parents and guardians dreaded to answer…and curious, 10-year old Luke just had to ask it.
"Wh-what made you ask something like that?" Guy continued shakily, silently praying for Duke Fabre to come by and whisk Luke away, or Pere to ask him for some help with the garden, or, hell, even a maid to burst his privacy bubble and send him careening down the hallway—anything to save him from this torment.
"I dunno," Luke said passively, shrugging. "But earlier I heard those worker-ladies talking about babies. One of their tummies looked kinda round, and she said she was 'preggenan' or something, and then all the other ladies got happy. What does that mean?"
"Oh, well, err…" Guy gulped, quietly relieved the topic was somewhat changed. "The maid said she was pregnant, right? Then that means she's going to have a baby in a few months. The other maids were happy because she was going to become a mother."
"Ohh… But why was her tummy round?"
"Because that's where she keeps her baby."
"Really? Can we talk to him?" Luke gasped, clearly hooked and not going anywhere for a long time. Guy suppressed a sigh and smiled patiently.
"Not until it's born. Right now, it's still developing. But for now, the mother has to take care of the baby until it's finally ready to leave her tummy and live on its own."
"So babies come from worker-ladies, then?"
"Not just them. Both men and women in general are needed to create a baby, even though it's the woman it comes out of." Guy mentally face-palmed; he could have just said Yes, babies come from worker-ladies, end of discussion right then, but he just had to get into explaining the development of human life. It wasn't a surprise when Luke's next question reverted back to what Guy was so daunted to explain.
"How does the baby get in the mommy's tummy?"
"Uhh…" Although Guy had been truthful about everything he said so far, he wasn't about to bust out the details of the process to make a baby, especially since it was something that had to be discussed in great detail to understand completely. So, instead, he decided to bluff it on the spot, neither actually telling Luke the truth nor defiling his innocence.
"So when a man and a woman want to have a child together, they should first be married, and second really love each other. Then they…get into a room and prove their love and devotion to one another through…umm…something called xes, where they basically hug, sorta…for a long time…
"And through that, they claim each other as theirs, with angel wing marks on their backs from love fonons gathering where their hands were when they hugged. Er, you know Cupid, right? That's why he has angel wings. Because through the process of xes, we humans show our love and get our own pair of wings, becoming the parents and guardian angels of our children. And as long as the wing marks are there on their backs, a baby will start to develop, and it acts as a sign that they are proud to be the parents of any children they are blessed with by Yulia.
"Each angel wings-brand is different for every person, so if you ever see someone's mark on their back, make sure to find the person with that exact same mark, because that's who their lover is. When the baby is born, the mark gets passed down from the mother to it, branding it exactly the same way that the love fonons created the mark on its parents. Then, when that baby has xes when he gets older—don't have xes until you're married, by the way—his mark and his wife's mark combine to create a brand new mark, which will, in turn, get passed down to their children when the wife gives birth to them. And then the cycle continues, for generations, and generations, and generations…" Guy concluded triumphantly, gasping for air while trying to catch his breath.
It was complete and utter nonsense, but he felt that it was adequately plausible to believe. Heck, if that was the first explanation of "xes" that was ever given to him, he probably would've believed it. Now all he had to do was make sure to keep any bare backs out of Luke's sight.
Luke, who was nodding slowly the whole time, now stared at Guy in amazement, most likely wooed by the concept of love fonons and angel wings-brands and all other ridiculousness that had escaped Guy's mouth. Judging from his reaction, Guy assumed that he believed every single word of it.
"But, wait! I don't think I have an angel wings-brand on my back…" Luke said, dejectedly. "Does that mean I don't have parents…?"
"No, that's not it at all! Of course you have parents, Luke." Hastily, Guy racked his brain for more magic. "You did have an angel wings-brand! Your amnesia is just stopping you from remembering. As you get more of your memory back, the brand will slowly begin to come back. Okay?" he assured, giving the redhead a wink. Luke nodded excitedly, smiling brightly.
"Okay!"
"Cool." Guy stood up, grinning down at Luke. "Satisfied?"
"Yeah! Thanks, Guy," Luke said sincerely, sprinting down the hallway. Guy smiled as he watched him run off, feeling a surge of pride for some reason he couldn't identify. That feeling suddenly vanished, though, when he heard Luke's loud, energetic voice further down the hallway.
"Papa, what did it feel like to have xes with Mama? Can I see your angel wings-brand?"
Slowly, tentatively, Guy backed out of sight.
Weeelll, how was it for a first-timer?
Feedback/constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated, thanks very much! Oh, and please be sure to drop a review by the door on your way out. I'll be writing more Tales of stories in the future, so…be sure to check out my profile for any updates. Thanks for reading!