A/N: Yep, don't own anything and I'm not profiting from any of this. My disclaimer. Thanks soooo much to reviewers!! Also, I'm not sure how much longer I can go on with this… my family was snooping around my room, and I think they found my notebook that I write this in. I'm really nervous, and don't have much self-confidence to begin with, and I might lose motivation now that they found out and were giggling when I walked in on them eating the candy I keep with my notebook. Dunno what to do now, so for now… Here's Chapter 2!

Chapter 2

Two years later

Just a few days after Alyss's second birthday, a few new faces entered the manor to be in the service of the Duke: an old gardener, Pere, and his grandson, Guy.

Pere was an old man, and couldn't do the labor that was required at his old job. He had gone to the castle to inquire about a position there, but the kind had all the servants he needed. King Ingobert had recommended that he stop by the Duke's home to question about work.

Susanne, being the kind-hearted woman she was, agreed to hire old Pere as the gardener. There were also a few jobs that his old bones would allow him to do while the snow covered the grounds, and frost prevented flowers from blooming.

Along with Pere came the blond-haired boy known as Guy. Rumors flew through the manor that his parents died when they were pursued by monsters on a pilgrimage a short time ago. The boy was staying with this man they said was his grandfather, who had just been hired. Lady Fabre agreed to give Pere's eight-year-old grandson the task of watching Luke and keeping him out of trouble.

"Here's the entrance hall, and here is the drawing room…" Ramdas drawled as he gave Pere and Guy the tour of the house. "Here is the courtyard, and here, Guy, is Master Luke's room."

Guy nodded and sighed. He was very mature for his age, as he had been through a lot in his short life. But he wasn't sure if he was ready to baby-sit this four-year-old noble.

"His lessons begin at 9 and 3 every day. He will meet with tutors then. Between his lessons, his is free to do as he pleases, as long as it does not break the rules of the house that have previously been explained to you."

"Yes, sir," said Guy.

Ramdas opened the door to Luke's room. "Luke, this is your servant, Guy. I trust you'll behave?"

"Yes, Ramdas…" The young red-head mumbled, rolled his eyes, and kept playing.

"I'll leave him in your care, Guy." Ramdas shut the door and continued leading Pere around the house.



"Er, hello Master Luke," Guy stuttered as he heard Ramdas's voice disappear into the distance.

Luke looked up long enough to glare at his new babysitter before going back to his toys. He was four, and he didn't need anyone to look after him. "It's your own fault for playing too many tricks," he told himself. On the other hand, if he ignored this 'Guy', maybe he would go away.

"So, what shall we do, Master Luke? Are you hungry?" Guy crossed the room to sit next to his charge.

Luke didn't like it. He didn't want someone to follow him everywhere he went. He turned away from where Guy sat, and as Guy inhaled to speak again, Luke stood up to stare out the window.

"Master, it's almost noon. Would you like me to…"

"Just go away!" Luke spun around to glare daggers at Guy. "They only hired you because no one here wants to be around me! So why don't you just go to your own home, and your own family and stop pretending like you want to be here?!"

Guy blinked, then a small smile spread to his lips. "Now why would you say something like that?"

"Like what?" Luke spat.

"Like no one wants to be around you? Aside from ignoring me, and making me feel completely unwelcome here, I can't see why people wouldn't like you."

"Stop kidding, I'm serious."

"Well so am I. I don't care what's happened in the past. I don't care if all these maids and servants don't want anything to do with you. I want to get to know you so I can see for myself, kay? I may not have a home or a family to go back to, but you do. I know your parents love you, so they hired me to watch out for you. And I'm going to give it my best shot. So let's start over. I'm your own personal servant. I'm going to be around a lot now, so let's not hate each other too much, okay?"

Luke stared for a minute, then realized Guy meant for him to shake his outstretched hand. He quickly shook it, and stepped back.

"Now…" Guy ruffled his short blond hair nervously. "How about we go see about some lunch?"

The next few days passed without much excitement. Luke was warming up to Guy, and was thrilled to finally have someone to play with.

Guy and Pere shared a room, which was perfect. They would wake up early in the morning to train. Pere would teach Guy many things- especially sword training.



The next week, when Guy went to wake Luke up to prepare for the day, he found Luke already awake and ready. Wondering what had inspired the sudden change from the usually lazy boy, Guy questioned Luke.

"What's going on, Master Luke? Why are you in such a hurry?" Guy had to jump out of the way to prevent Luke from crashing into him. Luke was gathering toys up from around his room and piling them on his bed. "Luke, what is it?"

But Luke just kept going and grinned. Soon, he had all sorts of toys on his bed. Puzzles, blocks, trains, everything. "After lessons, I'll tell you. We're going to eat lunch somewhere special today!"

Guy could tell Luke was very excited so he decided he'd have to wait. He didn't want to spoil his young master's fun. As Luke ran off to his first lesson, Guy headed toward the kitchens, where he was to receive his chores for the day.

The morning passed slowly. Guy was so busy with his tedious task of mopping the floors that he didn't notice when Luke came running into him, beaming. "C'mon, Guy, it's time!"

"Oh, yes, Master Luke." Guy gave his mop to another one of the servants and followed Luke. They wound through the twisted corridors to get to Luke's room.

"Here, Guy, carry these!"

"Uh…okay." Once his arms were filled with the toys Luke had gathered, they set off. They twisted through many hallways that Guy had never even been in.

At the end of their journey, they came to a plain looking door. It felt like it took forever, with Luke dropping toys all over the place, and Guy having to take the short-legged four-year-old's pace.

The door they stood at was in the corner of the manor, at the end of the hallway with the guest rooms and further still from the meeting halls. Luke twisted the knob, and Guy wondered if they were allowed to be there.

When Luke stepped in, and Guy after him, Guy thought the room was empty. The walls were plain white, the bed perfectly made. There were no signs the room was lived in at all. The only furniture was the bed, a dresser, and a small toy chest in the corner.

Luke dumped his toys on the bed and ran over to the corner. Only then did Guy realize there was a small girl sitting there playing with a doll.

"This is my sister, she's two, her name is Alyss. She's a girl, Guy, so you gotta be nice!"

Guy ran a hand through his short hair. He didn't even know Luke had a sister… was this a joke?

"Your sister, Master Luke?"

"Yeah, she's sick, so she can't walk around that far. I'm supposed to leave her alone, but she gets lonely with just maids, doctors, and Mommy…"



Guy suddenly felt angry. How could they do this to her? She was weak, but surely that didn't justify quarantine! She was a two-year-old girl, expected to play by herself, day after day?

"Hi brother!" Alyss smiled, and Luke hugged her. Alyss stood and walked slowly over to Guy, but stopped a few steps away.

"I told her you were scared of girls, Guy. She promised she wouldn't touch you."

"Hi Guy!" Alyss continued to grin. She must've been really excited to get to see her brother. Then Guy remembered seeing Luke with the same goofy grin earlier that morning. "Wanna play?"

"They really do love each other," Guy thought.

They played the rest of the morning. Luke and Alyss played with blocks and worked together on puzzles. Guy sat on the bed and watched them. When dinnertime came, and the maids came with food for Alyss, they chastised Luke and Guy.

"Mistress Alyss is not to have visitors. You know how delicate she is, Master Luke. Do you really want your sister to get better?"

When Susanne heard about Alyss's visitors, she called on Guy, and discussed the situation with him. "She was born premature, and she was too small to survive. It is a miracle she's lived this long."

"But my lady, don't you think it would be better if she lived a full life as opposed to a long one?"

"I see your concern Guy, but there is no way for you to understand. The doctors all say she has a better chance to gain strength if she doesn't have to exert herself. All the best doctors from the cities in Kimlasca have seen her. Even doctors from Sheridan cannot help her."

"Have you tried Belkend, I've heard they have the best doctors anywhere…"

"Yes, but Belkend is under Malkuth's control. I cannot trust them not to murder my daughter instead of curing her. Thank you for your concern, but we've tried everything."

Guy left with new resolve. The excitement at visitors. The love for her brother. The life that filled her eyes, though her body was weak. She was only two, she should have more of a life than that room. That was when Guy knew.

He was going to help her. He would find some way to help the weak young girl everyone pitied. And he would stop at nothing until she was well. He couldn't explain it yet, but it was something he had to do.

A/N: So this is chapter two. It was the hardest chapter to write, since I'm not too sure how young kids act anymore. The kids I baby-sit are all older than that, and Luke being a noble, and Guy being so mature… it was really difficult. There will probably be spoilers in the next 

chapter, for Guy's past and stuff. I've been trying to hold off the spoilers, but they're ready to come spilling out.

I'm also looking for someone to read my chapters before I put them up. I'm only a little over halfway through the game, and I'd like someone to check for continuity or grammatical errors and such. So if you'd like to help, please email me or say so in a review. Thanks so much!

Thanks, and sorry for so many notes! Love, The Chosen