A/N: So, yay, Ni No Kuni fanfic! I'm uploading it all in one go because for once, instead of writing it chapter by chapter, I wrote it all in one go. In one document. Which made uploading a pain.

Yeeaaaah. But, hey, this is my second finished fanfic every! Yahoo!

Anyhow, explaining the tidbit in the summary: Halfway through the story, my inner shipper took over and made the story waaaaaay too EstherxSwaine-centric. I managed to change it back, but...

Anyhoo, enjoy!

"Good night, Oliver." The room dimmed as she flicked the lights off. "Sleep tight."

"Mom… Can you tell me a story?"

Oliver watched as his mother paused in his bedroom doorway. One of her hands was on the door knob, and he waited to see if she'd open the door and leave.

She didn't.

"Of course, Oliver." His mother laughed and sat on the side of his bed. "Which story would you like to hear, sweetie?"

"The story about you and Lucien."

She smiled, just a little sadly. Then she began to speak.

"Once upon a time, there was a girl named Alicia. She had a very good friend whose name was Lucien."

Oliver pulled the covers up and closed his eyes, listening to the soft sound of his mother's voice.

"Alicia and Lucien liked each other very much, ever since they were little. They'd always play together, and their parents were happy to see them play. Alicia's parents said that she her smile was always brightest when she was playing with him."

Oliver could already begin to feel himself fall asleep.

"When they grew up, Lucien asked Alicia if she would become his extra-special best friend, and of course, she agreed." She had the faintest smile in her voice as she said, "Alicia was very, very happy to become best friends with Lucien. For her, it was like a dream come true.

"They fell in love, and a few years after they fell in love, they had a beautiful little boy named Oliver. Oliver was a very cute little boy, and both Lucien and Alicia loved him very, very much."

"What… What happened to Lucien?" Oliver mumbled. He felt his mother's cool hand brush some hair off his face.

"Lucien… Lucien had to go far, far away. There were evil monsters that wanted to take over the world and do horrible things to Alicia and Oliver, so they had to move far, far away from Lucien, and they weren't allowed to see him until he beat the monsters. But…" Her voice cracked. "If… If Lucien ever beat the monsters… Lucien promised that if he ever beat the monsters, he'd come running back to Alicia as soon as possible…because…he said he loved her. Very, very much. And I'm sure he loved his little boy, Oliver, very much, too."

She kissed him on the forehead. "Good night, sweetie. Sleep tight."

As she cracked open the door to walk out, Oliver mumbled, "Is…Lucien…done fighting the monsters yet?"

"I hope so, sweetie," she whispered. "I... Alicia really hopes so."

(-.-)Zzzzz

"Have a good time at school, sweetie!"

"I will, Mom!" Oliver shouted over his shoulder as he put on his backpack and ran out the door. At the end of his driveway, a girl with a blonde braid, tied high on her head, waited.

"Hello, Oliver!"

"Hey, Esther!" He ran down to join her, and they began to walk to school together.

"How's your mother? Is she all right?"

Oliver nodded vigorously. "Yeah, she's fine. The doctors said it was just some mild pneumonia, and she should be fine if she stays warm."

Esther smiled. "I can't help but be in awe of your mother – she managed to catch a cold in the middle of September! Not that it's a good thing or anything," she added quickly. "It's just… How many people catch colds? In September?"

"Not a lot, I guess," Oliver said. "So, how's grade six?"

Esther grinned. "Nothing to worry about, Oliver! Honestly, you're still in grade three – you shouldn't be worrying!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right… How's Rashaad doing?"

"You mean Father?" She pouted. "Well, he refuses to come over to any of your meetings until Kublai apologizes to him. Honestly, he's such a baby! He won't even let me come over, and your mother always buys the best bananas!"

"I'll help you talk to your father. I'm sure we'll be able to convince him somehow."

Esther nodded. "Thanks, Oliver! That would be a great help."

"Okay. I'll go to your place after school!"

"See you, Oliver!" Esther called as she ran to the farther end of the school, where the sixth-graders lined up. Oliver waved goodbye to her as he stood in the grade-two section. When she turned the corner and vanished, he sighed.

Time for another day of school.

(^o^) (^o^)\

"So, who has a story to share with the class?"

The teacher selected a boy in the back, someone Oliver didn't know, who went to the front of the class and began to read out of a journal.

"Yesterday, I went to the zoo with my parents. My mother bought us all ice cream, and I tripped and accidentally smeared some all over her purse. She grounded me for a week."

There was a collective ripple of laughter, and even Oliver smiled. His mom would never do that – she'd just buy him another cone.

"Then, my dad took me on an elephant ride. The elephant we took was lazy, and it stopped halfway through and refused to move. We were stuck there for ten minutes before the trainer could convince it to go back."

Oliver's smile faded.

Where was his father, Lucien? Alicia had told him enough stories about his father to last his entire childhood, but it wasn't the same as actually having one. Wasn't his mom lonely, too? Surely she missed him – she always sounded so sad when she told him stories about Lucien.

An odd idea popped into Oliver's head: What if, for his mother's birthday – it wasn't coming anytime soon, but time flies, and he knew that July would be there before he even knew it – he could bring Lucien back? It would be the best birthday gift ever – she'd be absolutely delighted!

Okay, he decided. I'm going to find Lucien and convince him to meet my mom on her birthday!

How he was going to do that, though, was an entirely different matter.

(o.o)*

"I'll wait here," Esther called as Oliver dashed up the driveway. "Hurry, Oliver!"

Oliver rushed into his house and threw his bag onto the table. "Hey, Mom!" he yelled up the stairs. "Can I go over to Esther's house?"

"Of course you can, sweetie," she replied. Oliver could hear the faint clacking of keys, and guessed she was working on an article on her computer. "Be a dear and say hello to Rashaad for me, would you?"

"Okay, Mom," he called back as he ran back out. "She said yes!" he yelled to Esther.

Esther clapped her hands in delight. "That's perfect! Now, Oliver, didn't you say you wanted to ask me something?"

"Uh…yeah." He looked down nervously. In his head, it seemed like such an idea. Out loud? Not so much. "Um… I've decided that, for my mom's birthday, I'm going to find Lucien and get them to meet each other."

"Lucien?"

Oliver felt like face-palming (it was a strange new concept that the older kids had introduced to the school; basically, whenever you were dumbfounded by someone's or something's stupidity, you kind of let your face fall into your hand). "Lucien's my dad. My mom told me a bunch of stories about him, and since she really misses him, I thought that, if I could find him for her, she'd be really happy."

Esther stopped and gaped at him. "Wait – you mean your father's not… dead?"

Oliver blinked. "No, he's not – I'm pretty sure he's not, anyway. What makes you say that?"

"It's just…" She sighed and started walking again. "Oh, never mind. I think it's a great idea, Oliver! I can help, right?"

"Of course you can! That's what I was going to ask."

Esther beamed. "Oh, that's wonderful! That's so romantic!"

Oliver forced down a groan. Esther was in her fairy-princess mode again.

"Your father had to leave due to various undetermined reasons, although it broke his heart to do so, and with the help of her son and her foster brother's daughter, your mother will be reunited with your father! That's so sweet, Oliver! Of course, it'll work brilliantly! After all, true love triumphs against all odds!" Her smile wavered. "Well… Most of the time, it does, anyways."

Oliver knew exactly what she was thinking about. Esther's mother, who'd seemed to be madly in love with her father, Rashaad, had left just a few months after Esther's birth. Nobody knew why, but it had left Rashaad heartbroken. It might've even been why Esther was so obsessed with romantic stories.

"Don't worry, Esther." Oliver awkwardly patted her on the back, the only reassuring gesture he could think of. "I'm sure your mother had her reasons. She'll definitely be back, probably before you even know it."

Esther gave him a wavering smile. "Thanks, Oliver. You have no idea what that means to me."

Oliver smiled back. Esther took a deep breath and wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Well!" She gave him a bright, energetic grin. "Let's see what you can do about my chicken of a father, shall we?"

/(^o^) (-.-')

"I'm not going back until that wannabe pirate Kublai apologizes to me," Rashaad grumbled, folding his arms over his chest.

Esther stomped on Oliver's foot. The poor kid nearly choked on his muffin.

"Oliver!" she hissed. "Say something!"

He quickly swallowed. "But, Mr. Rashaad, sir, didn't you insult Khulan first?"

"No! I…" Rashaad paused. "Okay, maybe I did. Even so, that doesn't give him the right to punch me."

Esther slapped her hands down on the table and glared at her father. "Father! He's probably forgotten all about the incident by now! Just go back already! I'm sure that Alicia and Marcassin and the others miss you – don't they, Oliver?" She turned and shot Oliver a do-as-I-say-or-you'll-regret-it look.

He gulped. "O-Of course. My mom's really sad that you haven't been able to come lately."

Rashaad grumbled a bit longer under his breath. Finally, he sighed. "All right. I suppose I could just sweep this incident under the carpet and go back. But!" he added, right as Esther jumped up to give him a hug. "If he ever insults me like that again, I won't go back without an apology on his part."

"Of course, Father!" Esther wrapped her arms around her father's broad shoulders and gave him a hug. "So, Father, Oliver had the best idea ever for his mother's birthday. He wants to-"

"Make my mom a scrapbook with a bunch of pictures of the two of us together!" Oliver cut in. Esther gave him a quizzical look, but played along.

"Yes, Oliver wants to make a marvelous scrapbook of pictures of his mother and him together. Could you look through our photo albums and look for photos he could use?"

"Of course, Oliver." Rashaad got up. "How many pictures do you need?"

"Uh…" Oliver stammered, "J-Just a couple would be good, thanks."

As Rashaad left the room, presumably in search of photo albums, Esther hurried back to Oliver's side. "What was that for, Oliver?" she whispered. "Don't we need more information on your father in order to find him?"

"But I want to do it on my own!" he whispered back. "Otherwise, it wouldn't be as special!"

Esther sat and pondered it for a minute. "I guess you're right," she finally said. "Still, it'll be a lot harder to find this Lucien man without any help from any of the Four Wise Men."

"Shh! He's coming back!"

Rashaad walked into the kitchen, arms piled high with albums.

"There, that should do it," he grunted as he dropped them all onto the dining table with a resonating crash. Oliver and Esther had to grab their silverware to keep it from falling onto the ground. Rashaad dusted the cover of the top one, filling the room with a dank, musky smell. "It's been a while since I've looked at these. I reckon some of them are older than you, young Oliver!"

"They look old, too." Esther coughed and covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve. "Honestly, Father – when was the last time you took those out of the cabinet?"

He ignored her and grabbed the album off the top of the pile, then sat down and opened it up. He smiled fondly as he looked at the pictures. "Ah, these bring back memories. I remember this one." He pointed at a picture of two men and two women. "That's me, Khulan, Alicia, and Marcassin's father. Marcassin was just a little boy back then." His voice sobered a little as he added, "Gascon was still with us back then, too."

He stared down at the photo contemplatively. Esther and Oliver fidgeted, unsure of whether it would be appropriate to interrupt his thoughts. Eventually, he looked back up and sighed. "That photo was taken just a while after we began calling ourselves the Four Wise Men."

"Why men, Father?" Esther cut in. "None of you ever really told us. Why 'men,' and not 'women' or 'humans' or 'people'?"

Rashaad roared with laughter. "There's my little girl! Always asking questions, nosing around into business that's not yours."

He patted her fondly on the head, despite her many protests, and succeeded in nearly squashing her braid flat. Oliver watched then with a slight smile.

If Lucien had stayed with them, would he have done the same?

"Well, 'men' just sounded good, I suppose," Rashaad explained. "Besides, all kings have wise men, and we were each clever enough to serve a king!"

"Tell me the story again, Father!" Esther stared up at her father with puppy-dog eyes. "Oh, do tell the story again!"

He grinned. "Well, I was a master chef. Still am, of course," he added, puffing up his chest proudly. "Best chef in all of North America!"

Esther jumped up impatiently. "But what about the others? Father, keep telling the story!"

"You're so impatient, Esther," Oliver said. "You should sit down. He'll get around to continuing the story soon."

Rashaad cleared his throat as Esther retook her seat. "Anyways… I was one of the top chefs at my college. Khulan had a way with people and animals that made you suspect she could read their minds. She was planning on becoming either a pediatrician or a veterinarian – in the end, she settled for pediatrician, I think. Is that right?"

Oliver nodded. "Yep. Khulan's our family doctor, and my mom says she's also getting a degree in psychology now."

Rashaad grinned. "That's our Khulan! So, I was the cook, Khulan was the people-person, Alicia was the top of her school in music composition and writing, and Hamelin – may he rest in peace," Rashaad added, with a tinge of sorrow in his voice, "was a dreamer. He could imagine the strangest machines, build them, and make them do the most magical things. I remember one of them looked like an innocent mechanical pig – but if you tossed it up into the air, it would morph into an armed soldier, and if you tossed it up again, it would turn into a tank. We buried all his models with him when he died."

They all sat silently for a minute, thinking of the deceased Hamelin.

After a minute or so of silence, Rashaad said, "Well, by then, he'd already had two sons to carry on his legacy – Marcassin, whom we all know-"

"He replaced his father as a Wise Man, didn't he?" Oliver asked. Rashaad nodded.

"Indeed, he did. And, of course, Gascon, although he-"

"He's so handsome!" Esther squealed. "Marcassin showed me a picture of his brother once, from before he ran away! He left when he was – um, fourteen or so?" She glanced over at her father for confirmation. "So he was twelve-ish in the picture. He looks like a prince!"

"He gets that from his father," Rashaad quickly cut in, before Esther could rant any longer. "Marcassin gets his looks from his also-deceased mother, Emprene. That was also about when I met your mother, Alice."

Esther's smile froze on her face. Oliver noticed and patted her hand gently. Rashaad didn't.

"She sure was a beauty," he said wistfully, staring into the distance. "Pity she had to leave us so soon."

Esther looked like she was on the verge of fainting. Oliver quickly said, "S-So, is that also about when Kublai and Lucien came into the picture?"

"Kublai had been with us long before then. Khulan met him when she first graduated high school. Lucien, on the other hand-"

Rashaad froze mid-sentence. Oliver looked around, concerned. Father and daughter were both frozen, motionless, although clearly for different reasons: Esther's face was pale and bloodless, whereas Rashaad's was reddening more and more with every passing sentence.

"Where did you hear that name?" Rashaad whispered. Oliver cringed when he saw a vein pulse in Rashaad's forehead. "Who told you about Lucien?"

"M-My mom did," he stuttered. "She tells me all these stories about him. He's my dad, isn't he?"

Rashaad settled back in his chair. His face was beginning to return to its normal hue. Esther had already gone back to normal, surprised into excitement by her father's strange reaction. "Lucien…" Rashaad squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed them with his thumb and forefinger. "Never mention Lucien's name again. Your mother left him of her own free will, for good reason. It's a good thing she took you with her."

Esther begged and pleaded and tried to cajole an explanation out of her father, but for the rest of Oliver's visit, every time Lucien's name was brought up, Rashaad's lips thinned into a tight, angry line.

A/N: I just rewatched Sharkboy and Lavagirl and, apparently, in the US, school starts in August. I've been trying to make this as location-unspecific as possible (you know what I mean, right?) but I don't know if it's just Texas or all of USA, so I'm keeping it like this. Plus, it would kinda mess up my whole timeline.

And I like using emoticons for paragraph separators, so I'll just keep doing that.