Once upon a time, in a tiny kingdom, there was a prince who had a best friend. In time, the prince became king, and when he did, he made his best friend the grand duke. This story is not about either of them. It's about the grand duke's son who was forgotten.

 

The city is actually the royal city, of a pretty tiny country. No one pays it any mind though. It's not in any strategic points of interest on the landscape. On one side it has a small bay, perfect for trading, and on the other, are tall steep mountains. The kingdom only ranges a few hundred miles in size between the bay and the mountains. The royal city is located inland of the bay, so it has no harbor itself. However the city slums run-on and connect it to the next town at the harbor, making it seem like one large city.

 

The King does good in making sure all the neighboring countries are welcomed with open arms and diplomacy flows well. The Grand Duke helps with this, accommodating any guests into fine mansions and manors while they visit. In the center of the city is the palace, up long flat stairs, where the entrance has a fountain where people can sit on the edges while waiting to meet up with friends and family. The southwest leads to the slums, and then the harbor, where lots of trade happens. The northern areas of the city are left to the richer folk, and those who actually live within the city. One of the best places for a quiet stroll is in the northwestern park, where a large maple is surrounded by cherry trees and small fir.

 

Shrouded in mystery there is a world we fail to see- to acknowledge. Where life and death exist together. Though I know little of it. It's just a rumor I heard.

 

On a bright clear afternoon, a young man was walking down a busy line of shops. It was slightly cold, but not enough that he needed a jacket. He was dressed in slacks with a button up shirt and a vest over it. The collar around his neck was mostly decoration, but it served to keep his neck warm, while his pink hair had nothing on it. It was simply curled into a few locks, sticking to his cheeks and between his eyes. In his arms he carried a small white box; a package of pastries he'd bought from a previous shop.

 

Everyone knew about it. And because everyone knew, if I ever said anything about it, they responded appropriately. Telling me it was a dream I'd had.

 

Since he'd finished buying what he came into town for, Will was on his way back to the manor. A large fancy manor owned by the Grand Duke. Passing a few shops, Will glanced down a dim alley way. His eye had been caught by a silver glowing light down it. Interested, he went down the alley. As he came closer to the light, the sounds of the street behind him became quieter and he could make out the front of the small eerie shop.

 

Hanging from an iron pole on the wall was a strange flat triangular design that lit up the entrance. Hanging from the pole was a simple plaque for the store's name. The storefront had a large gothic window with three smaller windows framed within, each with diamond bars running through them. The door was large and wooden, with iron swirling details that mimicked vines.

 

Will tilted his head to the side, sure he'd never seen this store before. Curious as to what they sell, and since he still needed a gift for his father's birthday tomorrow, he opened the door and peeked in.

 

It doesn't look like anyone's here... Will thought as he looked over the shelves of books and mysterious bottles from the doorway.

 

Suddenly, a blond popped up from next to the front desk, smiling to him. “Oh! What a cute human!”

 

As her hand reached for him, all Will could think was, Did she say...human?

 

“Come on in, cutie pie!” She exclaimed excitedly, dragging Will into the shop without so much as a second thought. She smiled, her long blond hair framed her white skin and yellow eyes. She gestured to the wares saying, “We don't get very many humans wandering in here... Let alone cute little boys like you!” She smiled sweetly, matching her rosy perfume that came wafting to Will. Her voice was clear and seductive, yet very businesslike. She was flirting with him just for business. “Welcome to the Threshold store, Nocturne.”

 

Will raised a brow, holding his box of pastries close to his gut. “Threshold?” His blue eyes studied her as he thought. What's this crazy sexy chick babbling about-- and why does she have elf ears on?!

 

Standing so close to her, the smell of roses was strong. Growing. Stronger, and stronger. Will couldn't even smell the pastries in his arms now.

 

I think I fell into a rabbit hole. Crap!!

 

And then, Will fainted.

2: Chapter 2

Unconscious. Thoughts streamed through Will's mind.

 

What happened after that? It's just a blank spot in my memory. Kind of... like... it was taken. But, that's silly. You can't just take someone's memory like that, right from them. Can you? If... you could... Does that mean someone took my...

 

Faint words echoed in from reality disturbing Will's thoughts and muddling them up. “Will... Will... Will.”

 

Now I'm thinking crazy thoughts. That crazy elf-chick, she...

 

Still the voice came pressing through his mind. “Will...” It was enough to bring him starting back to reality, to wake up.

 

I smell something like... Ew, lavender. Gross. I don't want to wake up. Waking up means returning to...

 

And the voice broke through. Clear, strong and solid. “Will!”

 

Will's eyes opened instantly. He recognized his ceiling and the open window above him that was letting in day light. Feeling annoyed at the sudden awakening, he closed his eyes again and groaned.

 

A woman called from his door again, this time knocking. “Will? Are you awake yet? We need to get ready for the banquet tonight.”

 

That's right. Tonight's my father's banquet party celebrating his birthday with a few hundred of his business friends.

 

Will called back to her without getting up, “I'm up, Irene. I'll be out in a few minutes.”

 

“I'll see you in the kitchen.” she called back, and Will heard her footsteps echo as she walked back down the hall.

 

With another groan and a sigh, Will shifted up looking around. This tiny room with worn walls, and tears in the wallpaper was his new bedroom. It'd been his for about the last four years. It had a gloomy touch to it. He had a small desk right next to his twin bed, which the only nice thing about that was the good stuffed pillow and good cotton fabrics of the blankets.

 

At the foot of his bed was a tall wardrobe with only a foot to the ceiling from it's top, and just enough clearance for the doors to open before they hit the foot of the bed. Immediately next to the wardrobe was the door to the hallway. At the head of his bed was a small window that opened with a wooden latch, so the wood piece swung upwards and was propped up. There was no glass to keep out the weather, but the room itself was just too gloomy without some sunlight coming in.

 

Without much thoughts in his head, Will got up and got changed into his clothes for the day. A pair of black slacks and a white dress shirt, which he buttoned up nicely and finished with a black ribbon tied around his neck in a bow.

 

He ran his fingers through his locks of hair to ease out any tangles that might've formed from the night. As he did so, Will thought back about his shopping venture from the day before. Where had the box of pastries gone to? How did he get home? And who changed his clothes?

 

Maybe, it was just another realistic dream. Just... like before.

 

With a sad, and yet, frustrated feeling in his gut, Will finished getting dressed with his shoes and then headed out into the dank hallway of the servant's wing.

 

It was a dark hallway lit by a few small lights every few doors. Will's room was the last one of the wing, with only one of the powder rooms across from it. The rest of the hallway had doors to the other servant's bedrooms, getting bigger as they went. One of the doors was painted blue with a white design on it, symbolizing the door to the section where the toilets, baths and showers were (all in their own sections of that one room with walls dividing them up).

 

At the end of the hall by Will's room was a door that led outside into the back courtyards of the mansion. At the other end of the hall was a much nicer door that led to one of the back hallways of the mansion itself. Of course, since it was the mansion of the grand duke, it had to be multi-layered, with at least four different wings, and inner and outer courtyards separate from the gardens. And there must be a stable for at least six horses and a small pasture for them to be in.

 

On the second floor, immediately above the servant's wing, was another servant's wing with larger and nicer rooms meant for the butlers and other higher stationed servants. The rest of that floor was dedicated to various art rooms, studies and places where laundry and other chores could be done. The first floor had the main living rooms, banquet hall and the dining hall, while the third floor was specialized for the grand duke's family's bedrooms and bathrooms, and their guestrooms. An even smaller fourth floor to the mansion was there to serve as an observatory, sectioned off with large plants as a large greenhouse for the Lady and a grand piano, with a glass roof to make the plants grow.

 

In general, it was a large mansion. The only other buildings larger than it in the city other than the palace itself were the public locations, like the library and observatory, and the knight's base. It was because it's the mansion for the grand duke. It must be impressive. There were other large manors and mansions in the city, of course, belonging to dukes and other rich folk.

 

All this served to remind Will in a painful way that once he was part of this world of gleaming beauty. With the delicious food and luxurious fabrics. But now, he was a forgotten memory. His old bedroom had been given to his younger half brother, and Will himself had been forced to live as a servant in his own home. For a while, everyone agreed with him and told him that he had been forgotten by his father. But, in the recent months, if Will ever brought up the mysterious amnesia, they would ask Will if he had just dreamed the whole thing. Now, Will can't talk about it to anyone.

 

Will is the forgotten son of the grand duke. Forgotten not only by his father, but the whole city.

3: Chapter 3

Will headed down the hallway, turning in to the kitchen. He watched the chefs and cooks hurrying around to get the food prepared for the party. As he walked over to talk to one of the cooks, covered in powder and sauces, that cook smiled at him.

 

“Hey, you sure decided to sleep in late. It's already almost one.” The cook smiled. “You must've been pretty tired.”

 

Seeing this as an opportunity to find out just how long he had been out last night, Will asked, “When'd I get in?”

 

“Around three, I think.” He answered. The cook pulled off his cap, ruffling his hair a bit with his hand, and the put it back on. “Those pastries you bought for the Master are over there on the counter. They smell really good.”

 

Will nodded a bit, looking around, stepping out of people's way. Four years of being the kitchen-boy and he'd grown accustomed to the flow of busy and slow days. On a busy day, you are on your toes moving around so much it's like you were a ballerina. And on the slow days, you're moving so slow, you might as well challenge that turtle to a 'who can get there last?' contest.

 

“Were they expensive?” The cook asked, as he started to dice some cucumber up. Will looked back to him, shaking his head. “You do know that at ten dollar a pop for four pastries, that's expensive, right?”

 

Will blinked, surprised a bit, but nodded. The cook waved his arm, smiling. “What do you need me to do?” Will asked.

 

The cook nodded, pointing toward a box. “Take the compost out and then see if they need your help decorating the ballrooms and stuff.”

 

Will nodded. After he took out the compost to the back yard, he came back in and washed his hands. After drying them, he headed into the ballroom. He spent the rest of the afternoon going around getting the flowers in their vases with water, setting the tables, and cleaning the dance floor.

 

~*~

 

A young man with dark navy steel hair and orange eyes stood adjusting his dark red jacket at the collar and the cuffs. He turned, looking nervously up at the blond watching him. “I dunno about this. Shouldn't someone else be going?”

 

“It's really easy.” The blond smiled, glancing over to the young man next to them dressed in all black, with a blank look in his eye and black short hair. “All you have to do is just observe what's going on.”

 

“So why can't you or Akiio go?”

 

“Cause we didn't get the job.” The blond laughed, swinging his legs.

 

The three of them were standing around in a small bunch of trees in a non-busy part of the city near the Grand Duke's manor. The blond was sitting in a tee and jeans, swinging his legs playfully as he sat on a low branch of one of the trees. The nervous one getting dressed up and adjusting himself, kept looking at the mirror and the pile of products and clothing they brought.

 

“I dunno.” He said, looking to them. “I feel like a fool! Do people really dress like this when they're rich?”

 

The blond tilted his head to the side. “What does it matter? It's just clothes.”

 

“Clothes matter, Isaac!” he shouted. Then he looked to the one in black. “How do I look?” He stretched out his arms, thinking he looked fine.

 

The one in black turned his red eyes to him, and stared at him for a minute without saying anything. He knelt down, picked up some mousse, squirted a bunch in one hand, and then without warning, shoved his hand into the navy hair and pushed his bangs back with a shove.

 

“ACK!!!” He yelped, taking a step back from the sudden shove. He forced a smile at him though, “So.... how's it look?”

 

Again, a long silence followed as he was stared at. It became awkward, as the blond sat there covering his mouth so he wouldn't laugh.

 

“Better.” He finally said.

 

The navy haired boy sighed a bit, adjusting one last time before heading down the pathway. “I'll be back soon.”

 

“Bring me a slice of cake!” shouted the blond after him. Without looking, he just waved, grimacing inward as he felt an odd sudden feeling of stupidness coming over him.

4: Chapter 4

While Will continued setting up, a little boy dressed in a nice khaki colored pair of shorts and a white blouse with a blue big ribbon tied around the collar, came over and grabbed onto Will's shirt-tail.

 

Will looked down and smiled at him. The little boy had sky blue eyes and light blond hair with pink tips, hiding one of his eyes. “Hi, Alexander. Have you finished getting cleaned up for the party tonight?” Will set down the tray he had been polishing onto the table next to him, and patted the child's head.

 

The little boy smiled brightly at him, too shy to actually speak. He was an adorable little four year old.

 

“Well, I can't play right now. I'm getting ready for your daddy's birthday party tonight.” Will tried to let the kid down easily. The boy frowned a bit, but didn't let go of Will's shirt. “Did you get him a present?” The little boy nodded. “That's great! What is it?”

 

Just as Alexander opened his mouth to answer, an upset woman called to the two of them in a scolding manner. “Alexander!” The two jumped a bit, turning to look at the blond woman as she came walking toward them angrily. She was dressed in a dark red dress with her blond hair curled and waved, pinned into a partial bun. She looked like a gentle, sweet mother, but her green eyes showed she was pretty mad. “There you are! You snuck away just as we were getting you cleaned up for tonight!” She grabbed Alexander's free hand and tugged on him gently. “Come along now, we have to finish getting you cleaned up!”

 

At that moment when Alexander didn't let go of Will, she glared up to Will. “Uh, Lady, he seems pretty clean already--”

 

“I know he seems clean to you, Will.” She answered in an annoyed and snooty tone. “But, this is proper etiquette that you clean your hands and face before attending your father's birthday party. Wouldn't you agree?”

 

Will's mouth opened a bit to say something, but his newly made conditioned reflexes made him clamp his jaw shut before he insulted his step-mom with how bitchy she was being. The only response that could make it out of his throat was calm and gentle. “Yes, ma'am.” He pulled Alexander's hold off of his shirt, and leaned down to talk to him face-to-face. “You should go and get clean for the party, okay?”

 

Alexander pouted a bit, cutely. He really didn't want to let go of Will.

 

Will smiled at him, patting his head. “We can play later. I promise.”

 

Hesitantly, with a few looks to his mother and then to Will, Alexander finally smiled and nodded. And then he let his mother drag him out of the ballroom and back up stairs.

 

Will straightened up and started to get back to polishing the trays in front of him. He looked over, glancing to a woman with red hair pinned back in an apron, another servant, as she was walking by setting up chairs.

 

“You shouldn't egg her on like that.” the woman said, not even looking at him.

 

“I didn't.” Will answered, finishing one tray, picking up and starting to polish another.

 

“You do know she's going to either poison you or kick you out sooner or later if you keep getting close to Alexander like that, right?” she asked. “I mean, it's not like she likes you particularly or anything.”

 

Will choked back a laugh. “Like? Irene, I think if she had the chance, she would tie me up in a dank dark dungeon and beat me with the whip herself.”

 

“I don't think she hates you that much.” Irene giggled, moving more chairs aside.

 

“Oh yeah, and my getting sick after she's given me some food is just coincidental.” Will rolled his eyes.

 

“Don't be like that.”

 

“Like what?”

 

Irene glared over to Will's figure, as he was concentrated on the silver trays and not looking up to her. “Like a big baby. Alexander's the only one defending you from her.” Will glanced to her, not really looking at her. “You know if he didn't like you as much as he did, you wouldn't still be living here, right?”

 

“Yeah, I'd be shoveling poop in the stables.” Will answered without missing a beat.

 

Irene sighed. “Why can't you just be happy with what you've got?”

 

Will stopped, looking to her. “I'm happy.”

 

“No.” Irene, put down the next chair. “You're bitter.”

 

Will looked to his hazy reflection in the silver. Turning his eyes to the side to look as a butler came walking in to the room.

 

“Everyone, the guests'll be arriving in the next twenty minutes.” He pointed to Will, “I'm going to need you to be passing out hor'derves, so just...”

 

“Got it.” Will nodded, and headed in to the kitchen to get the first tray. On his way he thought to himself, Just get out of the way and don't provoke Lady Mia to poison you tonight.

 

With a sigh, Will picked up the first tray of cheeses, cakes and berries and he walked back out into the ballroom. He stood next to the wall in his directed spot. This was the spot of the room where he could see everyone. It's also the only spot in the room where he could serve guests, and still have access to a doorway for escape if Mia or the Grand Duke, came looking for Will. It wasn't common at parties. But whenever Mia couldn't find her son, Alexander, she knew he was always within ten feet of Will. The Grand Duke, however, made it a clear obvious point to avoid talking to Will at all.

 

Will clenched his teeth, clearing all thoughts from his mind. As he heard the guests start to file in, he closed his eyes a moment and took a breath. The band started playing a soft waltz, just for everyone to listen to as they started to get settled in to chatting and nibbling on foods.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Will saw Lady Mia enter the ballroom with the Grand Duke, Adell, on her arm and Alexander holding on to her other hand. Adell smiled and waved to the guests, going to greet them. Alexander tugged to get out of her hold, but she just smiled down to him, whispering something in his ear. But Will's eyes followed Adell as he walked around the room, greeting and talking to various guests with that big burly smile on his face.

 

As his blue eyes followed him, Will could feel his thoughts wandering down the wrong path.

 

Everyone can see it. Everyone knows it. His blue eyes and his skin tone, it's so obvious. If Alexander's his son, then I'm even more obvious his... Well. I guess it doesn't matter now. But, how can they all laugh at me like I'm stupid? Don't they see it?

 

In truth. Will knew that while his eyes and skin colors were obviously from his father Adell, his face's shape and his hair came from his mother's side. That's probably why it was harder for people to believe that he was Adell's son.

 

But I'm sure of it. Will thought again, watching as Adell raised his voice with a loud happy greeting to the king as he came into the room, and they hugged each other. Their laughter echoed around them. Why can't anyone else...?

 

“Hey there!” came a young man's voice shoving it's way right through the chatter to Will's ears. It was close and obviously directed at him.

5: Chapter 5

Surprised, Will's blue eyes turned to the one who addressed him on his left, eyes wide. He blinked a few times, then smiled. “Hello, sir! Would you like an hor'derves?” The young man smiled with a nod.

 

He had dark navy hair, and lighter skin than Will. His orange golden eyes pierced into Will's being, as they seemed to almost glow if you looked at them for too long. He had a red long-sleeved blazer on with a white button-up on underneath, with a mid-waist belt holding up his khaki slacks. His hair was gelled back smoothly, showing a few small spikes, with two thin locks falling into his eyes. On his left ear was a strange earring; a blue wing pierced into the top curl of his ear, with a thin gold chain connecting to the stud at his lobe, that had another small decorative chain hanging from it. He didn't look particularly older than Will, and only stood just a few inches taller.

 

The young man smiled a bit. “Sure. What have you got there?”

 

“Gouda cheese, some raspberries, and the gray strange cream is a delicious floral-honey flavor on a butter cracker.” Will explained, pointing out the three different hor'derves, none of which looked enticing at all.

 

“Will!” came a soft little boy's voice.

 

Will looked to his lower right side as Alexander came up and grabbed ahold of his shirt tail again. Will smiled at him a bit, “Hiya, Alexander. Do you want an hor'derve?”

 

Alexander shook his head, a hand to his mouth as he looked without interruption from the young man with golden eyes that was looking over the tray Will was holding.

 

“What one do you recommend?” he asked.

 

“Oh, uh the berries are good.” Will answered, his eyes looking slowly around for wherever Mia was. She was sure to turn up looking for Alexander soon after all.

 

Alexander made a sick face. “Ew!”

 

The young man laughed, and knelt down to look Alexander in the eye. “Do you not like berries, little boy?”

 

Alexander stuck his tongue out at him, shifting to hide behind Will. Will laughed nervously, “Uh, he's pretty shy.”

 

“What kind do you like?”

 

Alexander didn't answer, just watched the young man with his blue eyes.

 

The young man reached up, took one of each of the hor'derves, placed them on the palms of his hands, knelt down and held them out in front of Alexander. “Do you like the cracker?” Alexander shook his head, and the young man put it back on to the tray. “What about cheese?” And Alexander nodded a bit. He smiled, offering the snack to him. “Want it?”

 

And at this, Alexander's eyes glanced up to Will's and then back to the golden eyes. Then he shook his head.

 

“Well, would it be okay if I ate it?” he asked, smiling.

 

Alexander blinked, not saying anything. The two just watched, kind of dumbfounded, as the young man plopped the cheese into his mouth, followed promptly by a sick look on his face. Then he threw in the berries, and made an even worse sick look.

 

“Man! That's ….” He paused, trying to think of his word really carefully. “A really strong flavor. What's in them?”

 

“Lard.” Was Will's response, and at the same time, Alexander's was, “Bugs.”

 

The young man laughed as he stood back up, “How can you guys stand this stuff?”

 

And without missing a single beat, they both answered, “We don't eat it.”

 

Again, he began laughing again.

 

He stopped when a stern voice echoed toward them. “Alexander!”

 

Alexander let go of Will instantly, waved to him and ran off quickly around the table, and out the door into the hallway. Mia walked past them, not even giving Will a single bat of an eye, hurrying after her son.

 

“Well...” the young man smiled, putting a hand on his hip. “I think I'll have another hor'derves.”

 

Will blinked, turning his attention back to the young man. “Sure.” He moved the tray toward him.

 

The young man grew a smile on his face. He took the tray from Will's hands and, then put a hand to his chin, looking the other up and down. “There. Now you look better.”

 

Will tilted his head to the side, curious as to what he meant.

 

The young man offered up his hand. “Hand, please.” Puzzled, Will put his right hand into the hand offered. Smoothly, yet swiftly, the young man put the tray onto the table beside them and dragged Will out onto the ballroom dancing floor. He worked them through a few couples, until they were far enough in that Will couldn't just escape the wall. He then positioned their hands for the waltz, as the music had already begun to play a while ago, and began to lead Will in the dance.

 

Stuttering softly, and carefully trying to pull his hands away from him, Will looked toward their feet. “Oh, no, no. I can't dance.”

 

“You're doing fine.”

 

“No, no.” Will insisted, trying to pull away, as he was guided to step backwards and then forwards.

 

The other lead them into a small turn with a few steps backwards, “Just follow my lead, Will. I'm sure you learned how to dance as a kid, right?”

 

“Well, yeah... It's proper etiquette!” Will answered, looking up, feeling them step forward, him too far as he stepped briefly on the other's toes. “But that doesn't mean I've danced recently.”

 

“How recent is recent? Cause you're doing fine.”

 

“Try four years.” Will answered. What's up with this guy? Golden-orange eyes, and that... look. It's so, weird.... Alexander doesn't just get along with anyone.

 

“Whoa! Why so long? Surely you've had to attend parties, right?”

 

“Yeah, but as a servant.”

 

At that, the young man's eyes widened a bit. He blinked in surprise. It was brief, but there long enough for Will to catch it. “...What...? What do you mean servant?”

 

Will's mouth opened a bit to answer, not sure how to explain, or what to say.

 

“I mean, you're the--”

 

A firm hand landed on his shoulder, pulling the two to stop dancing. “Excuse me for butting in, but I think you've distracted my kitchen-boy long enough from his job.”

 

Will jumped in surprise, looking at Adell's stern face. He let go of the young man, took a few steps back and gave a brief bow. “Thank you very much for the dance, sir! Please, enjoy the rest of your evening.” He turned and gave a bow to Adell, “Sir.” And then he straightened up to walk away.

 

“Will.” Adell said firmly.

 

Will stopped, turning to the Grand Duke. The young man watched with annoyed interest. “Yes...?”

 

“Did you buy those four small pastries that were on the main table with the gifts?” Adell asked. Will swallowed his voice, “Will?”

 

“Yes, sir.” Will answered, trying not to sound too curt with that short nod he gave.

 

Adell lifted his left palm up and gave Will a firm slap on his cheek. At that, the young man's eyes widened, pissed and shocked that he would slap Will. He moved to say something, but Will had already moved into another bow.

 

“Yes, sir. Thank you for your kindness.” Will answered. He straightened up with a smile, and then turned to walk back in to the kitchen.

 

Adell turned with a smile, putting his hand on the young man's shoulder again. “Please, my friend, enjoy the rest of the party on your way to the door.” With the last few words he firmed his grip momentarily on the young man's shoulder before letting go, giving it a few pats. And then he walked away, “Duke Rutherford! It's been too long! I think I see more gray hairs coming in on your head!”

6: Chapter 6

The young man rubbed his shoulder, looking after Adell with a confused annoyed look. “Well. That was interesting.” He shrugged a bit, lifting his chin to see the doorway to the kitchen. A smile grew onto his face just before he headed across the crowd to the door. He greeted the servants coming and going with nods, and then slipped into the kitchen, looking around.

 

His golden eyes spotted Will just as the pink-haired young man had exited out the back door with an ice pack in his hand.

 

With a curious look on his face, he went to follow when a young woman stepped in front of him. She waved her hand at him to stop walking. “Excuse me, sir. But if there's something you need, I can get it for you,” Irene said with a sweet smile.

 

He looked at her, confused, then turned on the charm. “Well,” he put a hand on his hip, a stupid grin coming onto his face. “I saw a young man with pink hair come in here, and I was wondering if I could continue the riveting conversation I was having with him before we were interrupted. But, I'm not at all opposed to having a conversation about sweet sticky honey with you, if you'd like?”

 

Irene's face turned beet red at the suggested perversion coming through his tone of voice. “I will have to respectfully decline, sir. I'm still working, and so is he. So!” A few pushes and shoves, and the young man was back in the ballroom grumbling about his block.

 

With a surprised glance over his shoulder as Irene crossed her arms at the door way, a blush on her face, he turned a smile back to her. “Right then. We'll have to save it for later, huh?” He winked, and then walked back into the crowd to disappear. Though Irene couldn't see it, he had a firm glare on his face brimming with anger. A few seconds of fun and someone has to spoil it.

 

A woman's voice, soothingly echoed her alto octaves in the young man's head, right between his ears. “You've got much bigger fish to fry.”

 

At this, he stopped. Glancing up to his right, and then slowly to his left, looking around for where she was coming from. Uneasily, he pushed the thought away, like a lump in his throat. He knew her voice. It was the voice of his captor, and master.

 

However, now that he was reminded as to why he was here, the young man looked for the nearest lonely young lady to dance with. While whispering sweet nothings and seducing her into a feverish blush, he was looking around the entire time for his target. Once he spotted the man with the dark red hair, blue eyes and the skintone the same as Will's, a small smile appeared in the crook of his lips.

 

“Say... Where is the Grand Duke's son?” He casually interjected into his conversation as naturally as possible with the girl he was dancing with. She was dressed in a green Victorian dress with white lace and trim, with a veil over her blonde hair, fair skin and green eyes.

 

“Eh? Oh...” her blush receded for a moment. “I think Alexander's probably already gone to bed. He is just a kid after all!” She smiled a bit. “Why?”

 

He tilted his head, “Oh... No reason. I just... Could've sworn he had a much older son?” He looked at her, continuing to dance the waltz with her.

 

She smiled and shook her head. “No, no~” Then with a giggle she lowered her voice to a hush. “His older son was debauched to a simple servant. Serves the cad right for what happened.”

 

A cad? I... don't remember him being like that... Just what the hell happened after... His thoughts trailed into his next question, “Oh? When was that?”

 

She frowned, pulling him suddenly inappropriately close in their turn of the dance. “You should stop talking about boring things. It's not a good way to woo a lady.” And she leaned in closely to his face, bumping her nose to his.

 

I'll tell you boring, freaking ass! He smiled and pulled back, removing himself from the dance with his eyes closed. “Sorry but conversations carried out with actual words is far more interesting to me than the other types of conversations sounds can make.” He bowed to her, and proceeded to leave the ballroom, leaving her with a blank look and blush growing on her cheeks.

 

Outside in the hall, he leaned against a wall, grumbling to himself.

 

~*~

 

Will sat outside on a small stool someone had brought out a long time ago for a smoke break. In the cool clear night air, Will's cheek felt all the more hot as it burned from the blood rushing to it from the smack he had taken earlier.

 

An almost sad look grew onto his face, before he pushed it away with a grin, tilting his head down. He pushed the ice pack firmer to his cheek, mumbling, “He never hit me when I was his son.”

 

“Will!” came Irene's voice a moment later. Will turned his head up and looked over his shoulder to see her come out of the kitchen, several feet away. “Some creep was asking for you a minute ago. Do you know him?”

 

That's out of the blue. “What'd he want?”

 

Irene shrugged, crossing her arms. “He didn't say, and I didn't ask.” She waved her arms a bit with another shrug, then she walked closer to him to see his face in the dim light. “Did you get hit again?”

 

Not really wanting to answer, Will gave a small nod, and looked away as he heard Irene start the usual scolding. “Why do you do things that'll make him mad?”

 

Irene waited for the answer. Will just gave a slight shrug, slumping his shoulders a bit.

 

Because I'm his son.

 

“You have to stop! You aren't his son anymore!” With this Irene raised her voice. “You're just a stupid servant now, so get it through your head! If you keep this up” and her voice began to raise into a shout, “Then it won't be Lady Mia that curses you! It'll be Adell! If you want to stay here then you have to be a good servant to him and his new family! You can't just be constantly pressuring him that you're his son! He doesn't want it, let alone believe it! If you keep this up, he'll kick you out!”

 

Will smiled a bit, turning to look at her. Even though he was smiling, there was sadness in his eyes. Irene stopped her rant, her anger pausing when she saw the ocean in his eyes filled with sorrow. The depressed look in his eyes was so prominent it made her gasp a bit, jumping with a start.

 

“It's all I can do.” Will answered her, his smile never wavering.

 

“... Alexander called for you.” Irene replied, looking down. Shame filled her for having just yelled at Will.

 

“Right.” Will smiled and stood up. As he walked past her back into the kitchen, he patted her shoulder reassuringly.

 

Irene looked after him, staring at his back. “Somehow, you look so lonely... Even with us all around you. You should really share that sadness with us.”

 

Will put the ice pack back into the freezer as he heard Irene speak. He took a smooth deep breath, letting it out through his nose as he turned and headed out of the kitchen. Anyone else might need to recompose themselves, or swallow a lump in their throat, but not Will.

 

The pain that the sadness will cause me is not worth feeling, so why should I even bring that to anyone else? That's a rotten thing to share.

 

Walking up the dim servant's stairways toward his old bedroom, Will took the time to clear his mind of any lingering thoughts he might have. It was these meditation periods that had caused him to become well practiced in pushing his emotions down so far that he couldn't feel any emotion. All of his tears, along with all of his laughs, had been suppressed for so many years that he couldn't even recall what it felt like to have them. However, even though Will couldn't feel those emotions, he was able to give the appearance of smiles and other emotions, but it just left the impression of the empty facade he had.

 

Truly, I am worth nothing. Will thought as he stood in front of his old bedroom's door. He lifted his eyes to the center of the door and felt a surge of energy briefly. But I can't just stop, for Alexander's sake.

 

Will knocked on the door, opening it quietly. “Alexander?” he asked quietly into the darkened room. “Did you call for me?”

 

“Will!” came Alexander's soft voice from inside.

 

With a comforting smile, Will let himself in, and closed the door. He walked over to the bedside, seeing Alexander awake and playing with some of his stuffed animals in the dark. A candled nightlight by the door was offering a warm flickering glow to the room.

 

“Aw, you aren't even in your pj's yet.” Will said, as he started to pick up a few of the plushies.

 

Will didn't need to say anything more. Alexander got up and was changing into a lightweight nightgown as Will was putting the stuffed animals back into a toy chest at the foot of the bed.

 

“Which one do you want tonight?”

 

“The blue bunny.” Alexander's answered, smiling as he climbed back into bed.

 

Will nodded, picking the small stuffed animal from the foot of the bed and closed the toy chest. “Here you are~” He smiled, handing the plushie to Alexander. The little boy happily took it and started to hug it.

 

It took a few moments for Will to get Alexander to move enough for him to get the comforter down and get the little boy under it and all tucked in.

 

“Comfortable?”

 

“Mm-hmm!” Alexander nodded, his blue eyes brimming with happiness.

 

Will patted his bangs, stroking his hair a bit. Then he stood up and started for the door. “Good night.”

 

“Will.” He stopped and turned back to look at the boy. “Play me a lullaby?”

 

Will had a surprised look briefly on his face. Then he smiled and walked back over to the bedside. He reached over to the nightstand and lifted up a lyre with eight cords made out of a turtle shell.

 

It was an old item that had belonged to his mother. After her passing, Will took the instrument and kept it in his room. He only knew how to play the one lullaby on it, the same she had played for him as he grew up. But after he had been sent to the servant's ward, Will had decided to leave the lyre in his room. It had probably never left his room during his whole lifetime. He couldn't picture the image of his mother walking out of the room once with the lyre.

 

“You have to go to sleep after this, okay?” Will asked, eyeing Alexander's eager face. The little boy nodded and snuggled in to get comfortable.

 

After Alexander stopped fidgeting, Will began to pluck the strings and play the lullaby. The song it self was simple, lasting only around twenty seconds, with periods of quiet between the notes. A middle note was struck first, being lead into by high-to-low notes with a swing of his fingers. Then again the middle note, then a high note, and then a higher note, then a pause, another higher, and one more higher, before going back to the first higher and then the high note. Then, once more a pause. Then, again Will ran his fingers across a few cords like before to hit the middle note, then he paused, hit the note again, one more lower, and then a few higher notes. Another pause, and he finished the cycle with three more strokes leading high, with the last note being one below the middle-note. Then, with a pause, he began the song again.

 

Will played through the lullaby several times, closing his eyes as he strummed. He imagined his mother strumming to him as a child, the notes echoing into something further than just his ears. The song was slow and soothing, a perfect melody to put someone to sleep with.

 

After a few minutes, Will stopped playing and slowly opened his eyes as the last note echoed into the silence.

 

“Are you sad?”

 

Will looked down at Alexander, a bit surprised he had stayed awake through the melody. Usually he'd just fall to sleep. “Hm... Not really.” He looked down at the lyre, letting his memories fade from the forefront of his mind. “Why?” He asked as he put the instrument back onto it's spot on the nightstand, a violet velvet square.

 

“It sounded sad.”

 

Will smiled at him as reassuringly as he possibly could. “Sorry. I guess I was thinking about something else.”

 

“What?”

 

Will sat back down on the edge of the bed, adjusting the blankets some. “Just someone I miss.” He looked back to Alexander's curious face and patted his hair again. “Go to sleep, okay?”

 

“All right.” And Alexander rolled over, pulling the cover up to his cheek and closed his eyes.

 

Will stroked his fingers through the blond hair briefly before he stood up and headed to the door. Closing it quietly, Will whispered into the room a “good night”.

 

After closing the door, Will started back toward the ballroom. It was faster to take the main staircase, so he did. I better get back to serving the hor'derves and drinks. He thought, knowing that by now the king should've arrived; which only meant that Adell would be wanting more beer as they enjoyed each other's laughing company long after the other guests would leave.

 

At the base of the staircase, Will spotted the strange young man he had danced with earlier. “Can I help you with something?” Will asked as he came to the bottom of the steps.

 

The young man straightened up with a start, since he had been leaning with a grumbling troubled faced against the wall. “Oh! Uhm, not … really.” He smiled, waving a hand. “I was just wondering whatever happened to Adell's son.”

 

“Alexander? He just went to sleep.” Will answered, without missing a beat.

 

“No.” His smile widened, but not with a sinister intent. He was amused some. “The older son. He was about my age last I knew.”

 

Will's face contorted into a soft glare as it hardened on this stranger. “You're mistaken.” He spat out the expected response. “The Grand Duke only has one son, and that is Alexander.”

 

“Really?” His smile continued, tilting his head to the side. “Cause I could've sworn the one I'm thinking about was around my age.”

 

Will closed his eyes and started past him toward the ballroom. “You must be thinking of someone else.”

 

“You sure it's not you?” he asked after Will passed him.

 

Will's legs froze. The question made his entire being stop working. His mind, his legs. All of it just stopped working. Part of him wanted to answer truthfully, the other part wanted to shout and scream, and another wanted to curse this young man, while another wanted to interrogate him. With all the possible responses spinning in his head, Will couldn't think of anything to say. In fact, he couldn't think at all.

 

After a few seconds of this speedtrain going crazy, a few words burbled out of his throat, tripping on his tongue as they came. “Y-You are mistaken.” He said it with a firm tone, even though the words themselves shook.

 

Without hearing a reply, Will went to take a step forward, when his left knee collapsed inward on itself. His knees had locked up, and his legs had gone numb. Overwhelmed by the thoughts and the lack of blood to his brain, Will fainted forward, hitting his head on the floor when he landed.

 

In dumbfounded-shock, the young man stared at Will's collapsed form. “Well. Uh... Not quite what I had in mind.” He looked around quickly for if any of the other servants had seen, then he quickly gathered Will up into his arms and hurried out of the building. “Geeze, he's heavier than he looks!” he complained as he sprinted outside down the pathway entrance.

 

Almost 35 yards away, he finally ran into the blond and the black haired man from earlier in the night.

 

The blond stood up with a shout, pointing at the fainted Will. “What the hell! This wasn't part of the plan! … Who is it?”

 

“It's the target's son.” he answered, shifting Will so he could carry him easier. “We better go now.”

 

“He won't be happy.” the young man with black hair stated matter-of-factly.

 

“Yeah, well I doubt Adell will come really easily. Sides, wouldn't having the son make for just as valuable research?”

 

“Bias.” the man with black hair answered.

 

The blond laughed, “Akiio's right, Crow. We're gonna be in trouble without Adell.”

 

“We'll just come back and get the old fart later.” he answered, starting to walk away. “Let's go already.”

 

The man with black hair, Akiio, looked to the blond blankly. The blond let out an exasperated sigh, hanging his shoulders into a slump. “But his punishments are really bad, Cro~ow.”

 

“We'll be fine. Now hurry it up!” Crow called over his shoulder. “This guy isn't exactly a featherweight.”