As soon as he heard the tell-tale sound of Giselle closing the door outside, Alain turned towards his father. Maurice was still glaring at his failed invention as he sighed out loud.

"I'll never get this damned contraption working!" he complained with an annoyed look on his face. One could almost see him melodramatically resigning himself to a life of mediocrity, failure, and menial labor. Alain was used to his father's melodrama and tantrums, however. He approached his father and squeezed his shoulder.

"It's going to be alright, Papa," said Alain, "you're the best inventor I know!"

"I'm the only inventor you know!" he replied, albeit with a smile.

"Just don't give up, Papa," said Alain, "would you like for me to make some tea while you keep working?"

Already getting his tools ready to keep working, Maurice simply nodded in reply. Alain stood up, headed up the stairs to the kitchen, and put on some water with a few dried tea leaves to boil. Once it was done, he carried the kettle along with some milk and honey in a wooden tray back to the cellar.

He found his father laying down under the strange machine. Only his short legs stuck out from underneath while various tools lay around him in a disorganized mess

"I've brought you some tea, Papa," announced Alain.

Immediately, his father let go of his tools and slid out from under his beloved invention, still wearing magnifying goggles that comically enlarged his eyes. He sat up and headed towards a small work bench in one of the corners. Alain set the tray down and began to serve some of the tea. Both men sat down on stools and began to mix in honey and milk. Maurice thanked his son as he sat down. Alain gave him a simple reply as he followed suit. They fell into silence as they each began to drink their tea.

Maurice was the first to break the silence. "You're almost twenty years old now, son. Have you thought about marriage yet? A handsome man like you should marry a beautiful woman you know. Lke that Giselle girl, for example..."

A cough emanating from Alain interrupted Maurice, however. He was blushing furiously and he had spilled some of his tea.

"Papa!" he spit out.

"What is it, son?" replied Maurice, amused.

"What... what are you trying to imply?!" continued Alain as he wiped up his spilled tea.

Maurice chuckled at his son's panicked expression, as he rarely showed any emotion more extreme than excitement over a new book.

"I'm not trying to imply anything!" replied Maurice while trying, unsuccessfully, to look innocent, "I just want you to be happy. Is there anything wrong with Giselle? Or are none of the other women in town good enough for you?" he continued with a joking tone and a wink.

"It's not that, Papa," said Alain, "I just... can't seem to think of these women like... wives. It's just... weird. I've known the women in this town for too long to think of them as... lovers." He blushed and turned away at the last part.

"I just want you to be happy, Alain," said Maurice, amused at Alain's reaction to their conversation, "Though I would like to know why not Giselle in particular."

Alain frowned at that question. "Well, Giselle is... Giselle. She's beautiful, and I guess she's a good enough friend but she's, well, Giselle. What am I supposed to say about her? I just don't like her like that." He took a sip of tea at that point.

Maurice simply shrugged at his son's strange response, finished his last few drops of tea, and went back to work on his invention. Alain gulped down the last few drops of tea, then began to clean up, taking the tray, kettle, and cups back upstairs. As he cleaned, he tried to think of a reason as to why exactly he was not attracted to Giselle. She was breathtakingly beautiful, of course, and her family owned some of the most successful businesses in town. Yet, at the same time, when he thought of Giselle, he imagined a spider hiding behind a beautiful web while it waited for a pretty and juicy fly to pass by. He did not want to become a fly. A bigger problem crept up in the back of his mind, however. He tried to think of a time that he had ever been attracted to any women. He couldn't think of anyone. This just confused him even more.

He worked quietly, cleaning up after his father while thinking about Giselle, marriage, and love. A few minutes later, a sound emanating from underneath the invention interrupted his pondering.

"Hand me one of those gobbly do-dads, won't you son?" asked Maurice.

Alain heading towards one of the shelves on the wall where his father kept all the tools. He selected the requested instrument and handed it to his father. Maurice took the strange tool and began to tighten something underneath. Alain didn't understand any of it. He took out one of his newest books and began to read while his father worked. The two men remained focused on their respective tasks, saying nothing to each other as they worked. Eventually, however, Maurice emerged from underneath with a yelp of excitement.

"It's done!" He yelled.

"Is it?" Alain approached for a closer look. He did not understand the completed invention, as his father never explained anything before he finished it. It was a tradition of sorts. But now his father approached the invention and what looked like a lever. He pulled this and ducked while the machine began churning. It grabbed some wood, chopped it neatly in half, and threw it across the room when it lay in a neat pile. It continued in its task, chopping wood quickly and efficiently.

"You did it, Papa!"

"Why I... I did!" Maurice said with a disbelieving tone. The two ducked down as the wood flew over their heads, "This will knock their socks off at the fair tomorrow!"

"Congratulations, Papa!" said Alain with a gigantic grin that matched his father's. Maurice ducked and crouched towards his invention. He pulled a different lever and turned off the wood chopper.

"Time to pack, I suppose," he said while looking proudly at his machine. He began to disassemble his wood chopper while Alain headed upstairs to get everything ready for the trip.


Alain loaded some food and drinks unto the cart where his father's invention was already loaded. Alain made a mental checklist of all the things his father need for the overnight journey to Paris, where the inventor's fair was held. As far as he could tell, his father had everything he would need. Then, he walked towards their stable, where the untied their horse Phillippe from the stable and led and tied him to the cart. As soon as he had securely tied Phillippe to the cart, his father came out of the house, holding an old map in one hand and an equally old wide-brimmed hat. He waddled up to Alain and Phillippe, clearly ready to leave. He hugged his son, a gesture Alain returned.

"I packed you a lot of food, Papa," he said, "but I added a few coins just in case you need to buy anything.

"Oh, I don't know what I'd do without you, Alain," said Maurice with a chuckle as he got on top of Philippe, "I would have probably died by now! Now take care of yourself, you hear?"

"I will, Papa," replied Alain with a smile on his face. Maurice gave him a last grin before setting off. Alain waved at his father until he entered the forest and he couldn't see him anymore. He stared at the trees for a little while, half expecting something to come out. Nothing, however, came out of the forest, so Alain turned around and headed back inside, already impatient for his father to come back from what was destined to be a successful time at the fair.


A/N: So it finally starts getting interesting doesn't it? I hope so at least. Reviews are wanted and appreciated. The next update should be within the next week, since it's planned out, it just needs to be typed down and edited.

Once again, I'd like to tank my friends kellusumi and conejito1011 for helping me with the story, looking over my draft, and giving me little plot bunnies to work with. You can find them on tumblr really easily, since those are their usernames.