This little piece was written for the Davis Twins Birthday event on tumblr, with the prompt "firsts". If you want more stories (and art!) check the GHHQ tumblr!
All my thanks to Snavej for beta-reading this work :)
The first time Luella reads the twins a fairy tale classic
"Ah, here it is!"
Luella picked the heavy leather-bound book she had been searching for, and caressed its cover gently, reminiscing the time she had proudly received this present from her father's hands for her tenth birthday. It was the illustrated edition of the Grimms' Fairy Tales.
She turned to the two young children who were patiently waiting, seated on the living room rug, and smiled at their expectant looks. Gene's eyes were sparkling in delight, and even the ever impassible Noll was showing signs of eagerness.
Since she and Martin had adopted the twins she had learnt that being a parent wasn't always as easy or delightful as she had expected, but little moments like this were worth all the work and energy spent raising these kids. They were what made her feel like a mother.
She took her place in the armchair in front of the hearth where a fire was burning, crackling and sizzling joyously, and opened the book at random.
"Alright boys, have you ever heard of Rumpelstiltskin?"
Two identical heads shook in denegation.
Luella smiled sadly, torn between the pride which came with being the first to read them stories and the consternation at the poor care and education they had received. She had had a hard time believing the twins didn't know how to read at age eight.
"Want me to read this one?" she enquired.
"Yes!" shouted Gene, bouncing, while Noll just nodded in agreement.
"Let's begin then."
Luella cleared her throat and started with her best reading voice.
"Once there was a miller who was poor, but who had a beautiful daughter. …"
She had the pleasure to see both of the twins listening to the tale closely. She took extra care to change her voice's tone whenever she was personifying the little man or the daughter to make it even more enjoyable. In her opinion, children were never too old to enjoy being read to, she had to offer a good performance, especially for their first time.
"... and he pulled at his left leg so hard with both hands that he tore himself in two," she concluded.
Luella raised her gaze from the book to look at the children. Noll was slightly frowning while Gene appeared a bit troubled.
"So, how did you find the story?" she asked, hoping they had a good time despite their mixed reactions.
"Interesting," said Gene.
"Illogical," objected his brother.
Luella bit back an indulgent smile. She should have expected this from Noll.
"Tales are not about logic, but about magic," she explained.
"There was nothing magical in believing the daughter was able to spin anything into gold. If she were, the miller obviously wouldn't have stayed poor," he countered. "It was illogical for the miller to pretend to begin with, his lie was too easy to reveal."
"Yeah that wasn't very smart," confirmed Gene. "And it was unfair for the poor daughter."
These children were too clever for their own good, Luella decided. But these were valid points, so she did her best to offer clarifications.
"Well, some people cannot help but lie like this to attract other people's attention. It is a sort of illness," she informed. "And the king was probably aware it wasn't true. But his decision wasn't stupid: were it a lie, the miller would be punished by having his daughter killed, were it not, he would gain some gold."
The explanation seemed to satisfy Noll. But Luella didn't have the time to congratulate herself about her good thinking. It was Gene's turn to question the tale.
"Why did the manikin want a baby? Babies are not really usefull, all they do is wail and sleep," he remarked. "There were two at the orphanage, they were no fun at all."
"Hum…" wondered Luella, stumped.
This was actually a good point, why would the sprite need a baby? She sighed inwardly. Why had she chosen this tale to begin with?
"And the Queen was stupid. She could have fooled him easily," added Noll.
"Huh, how?" asked his brother curiously.
Yes, how? Luella was curious, too.
"She just had to avoid having the first-born she had promised," was the smug reply.
Luella was speechless. How come she, an adult, had never thought of it? Darn, this kid was really too clever. Now that she was thinking of it, the moral of the story was quite dubious. Why did she use to like this tale again?
"Hey, that's right!" exclaimed Gene. "This way she wouldn't have had to deal with Rumple...Rumpletis... The little man again!"
Luella didn't have the time to dwell on how adorable was Gene stumbling over the complicated name. The boys starting debating the Queen's choices.
"But what if she wanted a family?" wondered Gene.
"She could have adopted. The manikin specified a first born, not an adopted one," objected Noll.
"Hmmm maybe the King wasn't keen on adopting," suggested his brother.
"This, or, like I said, she was just being stupid," shrugged Noll, starting to show indifference.
"She doesn't sound stupid," defended Gene, apparently not keen on letting the topic drop, "More like desperate. She probably had no choice. Children often come when you're married," he remarked. "Maybe they had no way to avoid having one?"
Luella stiffened in her armchair, starting to panic a little. This was not quite the direction she had hoped the conversation would take. It was heading to a dangerous, uncharted territory.
Reproduction.
She shuddered. It was high time they changed topics. Maybe she could suggest reading another tale...
"Lots of married couples don't have children."
"But lots do! How do the ones which don't have any manage?"
"I don't know," admitted Oliver, rather reluctantly.
"Neither do I."
Two inquiring pairs of eyes slowly rose to meet Luella's gaze.
She blanched. It was too late. She was trapped.
"Luella, how do people have children?" Gene questioned innocently.
The room became eerily silent for a few seconds. The grandfather clock ticked deafeningly loudly and the fire sizzled ominously.
Luella gulped. She wasn't ready for this! She only wanted to entertain her kids with a fairy tale, how did this happen? They were too young, she was too unprepared, she…
She took a slow, deep breath. There was no point freaking out. She was a mother now. She would act like one, and face the situation.
"That is... a very interesting question. And luckily," she added cheerfully, "I know exactly who has the answer!"
She got up and opened the living room's door. "Martin!" she shouted.
Soon enough her unsuspecting husband came into the room, smiling obliviously.
"Yes dear?"
"The children want you to tell them a tale."
Martin appeared slightly confused but agreed nonetheless.
"Why, yes. Which one do you want, boys?" he asked, patting the twins' heads fondly.
"The Birds and the Bees! Luella said it explains how children are made," provided Gene, looking at his father with huge, hopeful eyes.
Martin, feeling utterly betrayed, turned to his wife to demand some explanations. But Luella had already fled the scene.
Martin swore solemnly it would be the first and last time he let Luella read a tale to their sons.