Father

Before Charlie could ask who they were talking about, his mother said "Come on Charlie there's someone you have to meet now." Charlie's mother picked him up and carried him with her out of the room. They walked down the hall until they came back to the stairwell but continued forwards through a set of double doors. These doors brought them to a larger hallway that was grand in design, largely being made of stone as opposed to the previous wood. It's walls were covered in tall windows and a few paintings of landscapes or portraits of gaudily dressed individuals.

They walked down the hall until they came to another set of double doors which were open. There was a single lightly armoured guard that stood at attention next to the door who brandished a short sword at their side. Charlie's mother nodded at this individual before walking through the doorway. They'd walked into what seemed to be the lobby which had many doors leading from it as well as two stair cases against opposite walls that led up to a landing. The ceiling was very high up and was partially glass which let lots of light into what would've been a dim space. When Charlie and his mother walked in, the stairs went up to their right and what looked like the main entrance was to their left. Four unlit chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The whole area seemed better adorned than Charlie's previous environment but not hugely.

Charlie's mother walked to another set of open doors that was situated between the staircases that looked grander than the previous ones. There were two similarly dressed guards on either side of the entryway. This time Charlie's mother seemed to speed up as she walked past the guards into a long hallway with many doors. She walked all the way to the end of the hall to a single embellished door. Charlie's mother breathed deeply once before knocking on the door. "Come in Lady Adrianna" said a low voice from within the room. She opened the door and closed it behind her before turning to face the older man sitting at a luxurious adorned wooden desk. "Greetings Lord Byron" said Adrianna quickly following with an awkward curtsy with Charlie in her arms. "Come sit" said Lord Byron while gesturing to two chairs that sat facing his desk.

Adrianna placed Charlie in the chair on Lord Byron's right while she sat in the other. None of Charlie reached the edge of the seat which made the chair look huge or Charlie look very small. An awkward silence fell over the room as Adrianna fidgeted and the other two sized each other up. "He seems to be the head of the household" thought Charlie as he gazed at the imposing man. Lord Byron had neat short faded blond hair and a slightly washed out pale complexion. He didn't appear to possess much physical strength but something about the man exuded a subtle strength to Charlie. Lord Byron was wearing a simple dark suit, reminiscent of Victorian English apparel.

Anxious to break the tension, Adrianna hurriedly said "I-Introduce yourself dear." Charlie shifted his gaze to his mother before focusing on Lord Byron to misarticulately say "Hello my lord, I am Charlie, it's nice to meet you." Lord Byron's gaze focused on Charlie, pausing slightly before replying, "Charlie Byron that is." Charlie would've been shocked at this revelation if he had not guessed this to be the case. Due to the age gap, this man was likely Charlie's grandfather. Charlie's lack of surprise merited a slight surprise for Adrianna but no expression could be seen on the Lord's face. He just kept gazing at Charlie's expressionless face.

"Mature for his age isn't he?" said the Lord to Adrianna. "Yes my Lord, Charlie has always been very mature and a quick learner too!" said Adrianna. "Oh?" said Lord Byron with slight curiosity in his tone. "He spoke his first word at six months and his current fluency is great and only getting better!" said Adrianna with a hint of pride. Charlie showed a slight smile from all the praise he was receiving but couldn't help but think he was undeserving since he wasn't really a baby, at least by mind.

Lord Byron observed Adrianna and Charlie very closely, as though appraising a product. After pondering for some time, the Lord said "Charlie should get outside of his room more to help develop his body. It won't do staying inside all day. He'll also receive a tutor for some lessons in both academic and physical studies." Adrianna was frozen stiff in shock. This had turned out much better than she could have ever hoped for. "Thank you Lord Byron" said Adrianna while standing up to bow deeply to him. The Lord didn't respond to Adrianna other than a nod and instead said "Happy birthday Charlie."

—

After the meeting with Lord Byron, Charlie was taken back to his room to take a nap before lunch. Once Charlie had woken up, his mother brought him back to the dining area to have their lunch. She hadn't stopped smiling since they'd left Lord Byron's office. Her pride was overflowing. Giselle once again came into the room with a food cart. It now had one bowl with a creamy vegetable filled soup and a plate with pancakes and sliced strawberries. There was syrup drizzled over the tops of the pancakes. Adrianna was given the soup and Charlie, the pancakes. Charlie quickly finished his delicious lunch and chugged a small glass of water to wash it down. These tasks troubled Charlie slightly since this body's dexterity was not amazing but it was definitely better than that of an average one year old so he managed.

After their lunch, Charlie's mother took him to the stairwell that led to his room, but instead of going up she went through a door that led outside. As soon as they went outside, Charlie took a deep breath of fresh air. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed the outside world. Charlie's mother carried him over to a gazebo situated in the middle of a garden. They walked between the numerous rose bushes and hedges that surrounded it before sitting down at a white stone table in the gazebo. The gazebo was open, a white stone platform on which a domed roof was supported by six equally spaced pillars. The exterior of the house was shown to be pale stone walls that had two levels in most sections with a dark blue tiled roof. Away from the house, stood a tall forest of coniferous trees with red bark and dark green needles.

Charlie was seated on his mother's lap when she pulled out the story book that she had been reading to him since the beginning. She opened the book to where she had left off and continued. By this point, Charlie was not learning new words from this exercise but in his position he could see the writing. He would've found following along very difficult if his mother hadn't used her finger to point to the words as she was reading. The language was similar to English in its phonetics which in turn made speaking easier but as Charlie regarded the words, he noticed that they were also similar to the way English was written. The words were from left to right, spaced out and contained individual letters that were pushed together to form said word. The language was also subject-object-verb but Charlie had already known that from speaking.

To pass the time, Charlie first tried to memorize all the letters and their sounds. This was over-ambitious. Charlie clearly wouldn't be able to do all of that in a few hours but he did manage to remember a few letters and their sounds.

After a few hours of reading, the sun had started to sink so Charlie and his mother went back inside to have their dinner. Before going to the dining room, Adrianna stopped at a door on the right of the hallway that led to the dining room. She brought Charlie inside what looked to be a bathroom and placed him on a counter next to a basin of water. There was a mirror on the wall behind the basin that captured Charlie's attention or more the face he saw reflected in it. Charlie had wavy light blond hair like Lord Byron which was comparatively messy and dark brown eyes like his mother with flecks of green inside. Although it was still too early to have a definitive answer, Charlie thought that he would grow up to be quite attractive; with long eyelashes, high cheekbones and full lips, albeit chubby, he was already handsome.

Adrianna was washing her face in the basin when she noticed her son staring at his reflection at which she chuckled. "Who's my handsome little boy" said Adrianna while pinching Charlie's left cheek which shook him out of his narcissistic episode. Charlie's hand went to his red cheek and suddenly became embarrassed by his actions; his cheeks turned even redder.

Adrianna finished drying her face and hands before carrying Charlie to the dining room. Upon entry, Adrianna and Charlie noticed a third set of cutlery which confused Charlie and excited Adrianna. Giselle was already in the room next to a food cart which was covered this time with a slight smile on her face. Adrianna looked to her and received a nod which gave Adrianna a big smile. Charlie was placed in his chair quickly. His mother then asked Giselle to watch him before rushing out of the room.

Charlie was sitting in his chair wondering what had happened when his thoughts clicked together. Someone else was coming for dinner tonight which excited his mother. This person was arriving on his first birthday and the thought that this person hadn't arrived in the morning made Charlie's mother sad. "My father?" thought Charlie.

Moments after Charlie's revelation, Adrianna entered the doorway but stopped while passing through as though to block the sight behind her. Adrianna had a wide smile on her face as she said "There's someone here to meet you Charlie!" At which, Adrianna sidestepped to reveal a handsome man that bore a striking resemblance to Lord Byron. With light blond hair, green eyes and pale skin, the man also bore a resemblance to Charlie.

"Dada?"