The days passed but Hubert's mood didn't improve. Garrett would check on the boy once in a while but mostly left him to his own devices, figuring that he might need some time alone in order to adjust to the situation. However, after five days of trying that approach Garrett decided that it might be better to take the boy out for some sort of activity.
Garrett paced back and forth in the front hall as he considered different options. He recalled Hubert's excitement at Strahta's fountains. They were merely a part of the regular scenery to Garrett, and having both been born and grown up in Yu Liberte he had never given the matter much thought. He had picked up on the fact that they impressed visitors though, and used that to his advantage where he could. However, even visitors got used to them rather quickly so it was hardly a long-term strategy.
He crossed his arms and stopped to look out the window, where the view mostly consisted of his lush flower garden. It was lucky if one believed in local superstition but Garrett personally didn't believe that there was any connection between his success and what grew in his garden. Keeping a wide range of rare flowers did earn him additional respect so it still was useful, but they weren't going to solve the current problem. He started to pace once more and scratched his chin. He could take the boy to the presidential palace, he supposed, but again it was a thing that would appear impressive on first sight but eventually be just another part of the scenery. Then he remembered something much better. The boy liked boats and trade routes and could clearly go on about them for hours. What then was a better place to go than the port?
Garrett headed straight up the stairs and to Hubert's room, where he once again found the boy sniffling in a corner. "Look at you, still in such low spirits. Whatever shall we do?" Garrett walked closer and squatted in front of Hubert. "Would a trip to the harbor perchance be of interest?"
Hubert dried his tears and looked at Garrett with a blank expression. "...the harbor? Why?"
Seemed like he was too distraught to put two and two together. Garrett smiled, hoping that it would come across as comforting or caring. It would make things much easier if he could earn Hubert's trust. "Why? You do like ships, don't you? Wouldn't you enjoy watching them for a bit?"
"Oh... Um. Maybe." Hubert turned his head away and squirmed.
Garrett waited for a moment to allow the boy some time to respond. The only answer was silence and more squirming. Looked like the ships by themselves weren't quite be enough to convince him. However, Garrett's position in Strahtan affairs left him with several additional options at his disposal. "I can also arrange for a tour of the loading facilities, and perhaps even a couple of the ships."
Hubert slowly turned back to Garrett, eyes wide. "Really?"
Garrett chuckled. Now that was more like it. "Indeed, and we can leave for the port right this instant if you so desire."
Hubert nodded.
"Very well. Just give me a moment to arrange a transport."
It didn't take long before they arrived at the harbor. Hubert's first course of action was to find a spot that allowed him a good view of the ships. There were several, some of them quite large. Still, he wasn't able to feel the same excitement he did when he usually watched ships. The pain of being separated from Asbel and his parents took up way too much space inside of him. He knew that moping wasn't productive and wouldn't change the situation, but that still didn't keep the emotions from taking over him. Books had also stopped working. The mention of a tour of the port's facilities, however, managed to ignite a spark of excitement within him. No one had ever suggested that sort of thing in Lhant.
"Nice to finally get a bit of fresh air, isn't it?" Garrett commented.
Hubert turned his head and saw Garrett smiling at him. He had to admit that being outside felt better than just sitting in a corner crying by himself. "...yes."
"Should we get to the tour right now or would you prefer to watch the ships for a while first?"
"Mmm..." Hubert shifted his weight from one side to the other as he tried to figure out which option he preferred. He decided to go for the tour first. He wasn't managing to feel very enthusiastic about the ships so if anything could distract him it was the tour. "Tour."
"Very well." Garrett nodded and motioned for Hubert to follow him.
They began at the building where most of the paperwork was processed and then followed the path that goods most commonly took. At each station Garrett either explained or asked a worker to. While Hubert already knew a fair bit about the processes he knew little of the sorts of details that were explained to him now. Part of it were several complicated rules and import regulations, which Hubert only half managed to make sense of at times. Garrett also recounted a couple of stories where seemingly unimportant details had caused issues. They ended the tour by watching how a shipment of bananas was loaded. Hubert was feeling better when they turned and walked back to the public area of the harbor, though the bad emotions soon returned.
They stuck around to watch the ships as planned but Hubert's already limited enthusiasm was draining with each passing second. Soon enough he would continuously fidget as they walked and shift his weight from side to side whenever they made a stop.
"Perhaps it's about time we headed home. You appear exhausted."
Garrett's assessment wasn't quite correct but Hubert still nodded. He did want to return to the manor. The fact that he wasn't able to properly enjoy the ships was only causing Hubert's mood to plummet further at present.
And so Garrett was yet again left with the problem of how to cheer the boy up. The attempt at the harbor had seemed promising, and at first Garrett had thought that it was merely fatigue that brought Hubert's mood down after their little tour. However, as they returned to the manor it soon became apparent that nothing much had changed - the boy still retreated into his room and spent most of the time crying. The whole thing was getting to be a bigger problem than Garrett had anticipated. He had plenty of meetings and other business related matters to attend to but every spare moment he had was spent trying to figure what to do regarding Hubert.
Garrett hated to admit it but he found himself in lack of good ideas. How did one permanently make a child happy? He tried his best to act the part of the caring parent but it presented a challenge as he had little experience with children. Whenever he interacted with them he wanted to treat them as miniature adults, and they kept proving that they weren't.
He was back to pacing back and forth in the main hall as he tried to figure out a solution to his problem when one of the maids entered the room and began dusting off the statues. He stopped as an idea found its way into his head. This might be the time to seek outside advice, and he was fairly certain that a woman would know how to handle children. He turned to the maid.
"Tell me, what would make a child happy?"
The maid gave him a puzzled look. "Make a child happy...? Ah! Could it be that you are thinking of young master Hubert?"
Garrett sighed. "That is indeed the case. I just cannot seem to figure it out." He shook his head. It was nagging at him for several reasons. First, it was a problem that had to be solved before he could move on to any of his plans. Second, he was used to playing people with ease and the whole situation highlighted a deficit in him.
The maid scratched her head. "What would make him happy, I wonder... How about some new toys?"
Garrett huffed and shook his head. "His room already contains several crates of them, and so far they have done nothing to improve his mood."
"Perhaps they weren't the right toys?" she promptly responded.
Now it was Garrett's turn to stare at her with a blank expression. "Not the right toys? What do you mean? I have provided him with toys of the finest quality."
"Well..." The maid looked off to the side and rubbed the back of her neck. She was worried about challenging him, Garrett could tell by her movements. It was the effect he tended to have on people with little influence of their own.
He smiled at her in order to put her at ease. "Please, go on. I would highly value your input on this situation."
"It might be that he prefers different sorts of toys and that's why it's not working."
Garrett's expression lit up. Of course, how had he not considered that option before? It was obvious in hindsight. "Yes, yes that must be it." He would see to it at once that the boy received the proper toys. Then he would be happy and the whole issue would be solved. In order to get it right this time he would let the boy come along and allow him to pick. It was all so simple.
Hubert was surprised when Garrett barged into his room and announced that the two of them would be going shopping. Immediately. He was sitting next to Garrett in a Turtlez transport before he was able to wrap his head around what even was happening. Something had the man excited but Hubert had no idea what it possibly could be. And why were they going shopping? Garrett hadn't explained a thing to him. He turned his head to watch the scenery they were passing by. At least it was a pretty sight.
Their stop was the market district. The streets were lined with all sorts of shops and there also were stalls scattered around. All sorts of things were being sold. Clothes. Armor. Seafood. Fist-sized replicas of Duplemar. Dried herbs of various smells and sizes. Meticulously woven carpets. Ice in special globes that prevented it from melting.
There were so many things to be seen that Hubert hardly had any idea of where to look. But then there was one thing that did draw his eye. In a shop window he saw a meticulously detailed ship model. It was big enough that he'd have to use both hands if he was to carry it. He stopped walking in order to be able to take in all the details.
"Hmm? Hubert, did you spot something of interest?" Garrett immediately took notice.
"Oh, um..." Hubert looked down and shifted his weight from one side to the other. What were they here for anyway? Was he delaying Garrett? Or was he meant to do something?
"That ship model, is it? I should have expected as much." Garrett sounded pleased.
Hubert didn't understand what was going on. He automatically began to fidget. What was Garrett pleased about? "Umm..."
"You do want it, correct?"
So that was what it was about. They were going shopping so Hubert could pick something... right? The whole situation would be so much easier if Garrett just had given him a proper explanation to begin with. But what if that wasn't it? Hubert settled on a neutral response. "Uh... It's a nice model."
"In that case we'd better buy it before someone else does, don't you agree?"
Okay, so he definitely was buying the model for Hubert. Then he had probably come to the right conclusion about the purpose of the trip after all. Hubert's fidgeting lessened in intensity as he followed Garrett inside the shop. A quick look around the store revealed that the wooden ship model in the window was the only one they had in stock. They spent a short while looking around before Garrett asked Hubert if there was anything else he might want. When there wasn't Garrett went and paid for the ship model and suggested that they make their way back to the mansion, as dinner time was drawing near.
Garrett had to leave for a business meeting right after dinner, but even as he was on his way he couldn't stop thinking about his recent findings. It should have been clear as day to him long before this point, but now that he finally had made the connection it turned the rest of it into a trivial matter. The boy liked boats so it was only natural that he would enjoy replications of them. It really was too bad that the shop had only carried one. He would have liked to see Hubert's reaction at two boats, or even three. Or why not a whole dozen? That should make him a very happy boy and dispel his worries about his old family in Lhant once and for all. Material goods always outweighed than allegiances, promises or ideals. Garrett knew that very well. The trick to it was to pile up enough to get to the point where the value of the material outweighed that of the intangible.
Once the meeting was over Garrett headed back to the market district and scoured the shops. He found some more ship models, but not all of them were of a satisfactory quality and so the amount he wound up with was less than a dozen. He put in orders for the remaining number, emphasizing that he would need the items as soon as possible.
It still took three days for everything to arrive, during which Garrett kept the models that had arrived hidden in a cabinet in his room. The wait didn't feel long to him as he had plenty of business to take care of, but he worried about Hubert who was still moping. Still, there was no way around the wait as he wanted to surprise the boy by presenting him with all of the ship models at once. He expected the gesture to have the greatest effect in that way.
At last the final model was in his hands. He had to admit that it had been worth the wait - it was biggest out of the dozen, smooth to touch, and had intricate details painted on it in the appropriate places. There was no way Hubert wouldn't be excited about it. There couldn't be. Garrett was in a great mood when he returned to the manor and the first thing he did was to arrange all the models on a table before he went to get Hubert.
He knocked carefully as he could hear the boy crying from the other side. "Hubert? I have a surprise for you. One I'm certain you'll enjoy."
Hubert's sobbing stopped. "O-oh?"
"Why don't you come see what it is?"
Hubert nodded and Garrett led the way. When they reached the room he closely monitored Hubert's reaction as he opened the door. The boy's face showed surprise.
"Wow, there are so many ships!"
"These are all for you, Hubert. I hope you will enjoy them." And that he would soon forget about his old family in Lhant. Though that part was not suited for saying aloud.
"All of these are for me?" The boy regarded him with wide eyes. "Really?"
Garrett smiled. It seemed that his surprise was successful. "Indeed. They're all yours to use as you please."
Hubert walked over to each model and carefully inspected it. When he was done he turned to Garrett again. "Can I move them to my room?"
"Of course." Garrett chuckled. "I did say that they are yours to do with as you please, did I not?"
Garrett watched with contentment as Hubert began transporting the models to his room one by one. The boy was handling them with the utmost care and was still marveling at the level of detail that had gone into them. Garrett folded his hands behind his back and smiled to himself. Now he would finally be able to move on to the next phase of his plan.
