"Leo! Are you alright?" A soft voice was what Leo heard the moment he woke up. He found himself on the floor next to Elliot's bed, that he had been sleeping in not too long ago. His hair was strewn across his face, covering more of the floor than it was the left side of his face. The dim sunlight from the thin, halfway closed curtains heated up Leo's neck and shoulder. He closed his eyes to relish the feeling once more before the noble called his name out again, listening to bare feet thud lightly against the ground next to him. The ochre-haired boy leaned over to stroke the hair lightly out of his face, earning a gasp. Leo opened his eyes and abruptly sat up.
"Why am I on the floor?" He asked, rubbing his temple with his right hand, wincing at the new found pain from being so harshly thrown off the bed.
"You fell," Elliot explained, helping his servant off his knees to a sloppy standing position. Elliot's button-down formalwear was only halfway buttoned up, exposing the white muscle shirt he wore underneath. Both shirts were tucked in neatly to his usual black dress pants all guarded by a dark brown belt.
"Did you kick me?" Leo started at Elliot's buttons, fixing the small, hasty mess he'd made of himself.
"No. I left for a moment to prepare tea, and came back just in time to watch you roll off the bed."
"That's quite embarrassing." He tried to focus on getting Elliot tidied up before speeding to where they kept their small tea area, finishing the pouring of one of the glasses the young noble had left half-full before tending to his was-floored servant.
"Are you hurt?" Elliot came up behind Leo, startling him a bit with a hand on his upper arm. He grabbed the glass the noirette was offering, thanked him, and took a sip.
"No," Leo passed Elliot and walked over to the dresser, which had his jacket, shirt, and pants lazily bunched up on the edge. He began undressing from his nightwear and into his dark purple tailcoat, after putting on his white, scalloped-cuffed shirt moments prior. He tied the darker ribbon in the front, the older boy watching as the the ribbon laced through his deft fingers. Shaking his head before getting too distracted, he reached behind Leo, grabbing his own lightweight coat and shoving his arms through the holes.
Leo was quick to finish, being the first to conclude lacing up the trimmings of his shoes. He froze in front of the nightstand by his own cluttered bed, gaze remaining on his round spectacles. Random thoughts raced through his mind of the night beforeーhow Elliot had told him he'd be surprising him with something new today. Although he could guess what, Leo had secretly hoped it would be many things. During his moments of thought, he was blatantly interrupted by a hand grasping at his glasses and holding them up in front of him.
"Stop looking so worried," Elliot pecked him warmly on the lips before moving the temple of them gently behind his ears. The younger pushed them just a tad up the bridge of his nose and brought his bangs to the front.
"Should I do anything with my hair?" He asked, shakily as the young Nightray brought his gloved hands up to play with the black, disheveled locks of hair behind Leo's neck.
"No, I like it like this." Elliot's voice was stern and calm, not like usual. He seemed to be too happy to be Elliot. Before Leo could question his well-being, Elliot clicked his heeled shoes on the floor, now approaching the front of the room.
"Come on," he beckoned the noirette with a slight tilt of his head and the younger soon followed.
"Right,"
It was less than half an hour formally after they arrived at the House of Fianna. Elliot and Leo walked quietly down one of the main corridors in the building with only the tap of their feet on the tiled floor to break the silence. Moments later, they were in the music room and Elliot made his way to the stool in the middle of the piano, removing his gloves and setting them on his side. His fingers glided against the cold, slick ivory keys and sighed sweetly, playing a couple high notches before returning his attention to Leo. He'd been standing, waiting patiently adjacent Elliot with his hands gripped on one anther.
"Is thisー"
"Your surprise," Elliot grinned. "Have a seat?"
Leo shook his head. "No, I want to watch you play." Sudden anxiousness lifted Leo's heart and his senses fluttered. He felt too eager and happy to just sit. Trying his best to hide his smile, he motioned for Elliot to play, but Elliot just laughed causally and splayed out his messily written staff sheets onto the headboard of the piano.
He stretched his fingers and focused on the notes he'd created, sure in his mind that his friend would love this piece he'd put together for him, just for the sake of seeing him happy. Even though it'd only been a little more than two months afore they became "master and servant", they seemed to grow more and more attached to one another; Elliot loving the way they constantly picked fights in the afternoons, wrote music together, kissed occasionally. The way Leo would always curse or threaten throw something at him whenever he dared to move his hair out of his face or rid him of his glasses completely.
All of it.
All of Leo.
His leisure fingers traced the edges of the black keys, beginning with a half-step of C sharp. It was but three beautiful notes in when a maid called out from behind them, panting lightly and mumbling something incoherent.
"The children," she managed to get out. Elliot faltered, coming out from in between the piano and stool with a slight screech, and both him and Leo stepped closer to the woman.
"What about the children?" Elliot asked.
"John and... They wandered into the chasmー"
"They went into the chasm?!"
"Yes, even though it's absolutely forbidden!"
"Damn, we can't wait for Pandora. C'mon, Leo!" Elliot exclaimed, running ahead of him.
"Wait a minute, Elliot!" He called for the Nightray, but he only got told to hurry.
"I said let's go!"
Glancing back and thanking the maid, he turned on his heel and followed Elliot out. "I guess there's no choice," he mumbled to himself.
Walking amongst the pebbly ground and being surrounded by heaps of rocky hills and small, dark mountains gave the teens an eerie feeling. It wasn't light out anymore and the air was hazy. Elliot brought is palm up to try and form a way of view forward. It was longer than expected, but it didn't take much time to find the children. Leo was the first to catch sight of them.
"...Elliot..."
Two young bodies lay on the hard floor, arms and legs spread out with gaping holes in their chests that were covered in a dark red crimson, looking as though they'd been run straight through by some sharp object. The liquid still dripped off their small nightgowns. They walked closer, holding their breath at the children lying there. Elliot clenched his fist to his mouth and gasped.
Leo heard a small cry from behind a boulder just feet away from them and took no time walking over to the sound, wandering away from Elliot.
"Leo?!"
Leo came around, fnding a small girl, legs curled up to her chest and crying. When the girl lifted her head, he immediately recognized her as one of the many children of the House of Fianna.
"Helen!" he called and knelt beside her and held her shoulders in a comforting gesture.
"What..."
"Le-Leo," she hiccuped. "onii-chan! Bwaaaah!" she sobbed. "Jo-John was... Acting weird, and then..."
"And then?"
Elliot froze, looking spaces above the noirette. An enormous figure loomed overhead the two and immediately caught the young heir's attention. The being had black eyes that seemed as through they were swallowing everything they came in contact with. With it's rounded shape, small hands and feet that lingered below, the figure itself was absolutely terrifying. It drifted slowly toward Leo and Helen, startling Elliot out of his somewhat trance and he drew his sword, running toward it.
"LEO!"
...
"Elli...ot?"
Hands and knees crawled on the blood-stained floor in front of the boy. Not paying any heed to the warmth soaking through his pants, he made his way to the motionless body curled up before him. He rested a palm on the older's chest.
"Elliot?" He said a bit louder. His hands were suddenly gripping and grabbing just below the damp cloth of the heir's coat collar.
When the boy didn't respond, Leo released his grip and looked nothing but appalled at his own hands. His digits shook along with his body. He breathed out once, heavily, leaning down to touch the Nightray's face. His eyes darted from side to side, all over the body of what once was... Noーis...
He couldn't be... Right? He had only passed out for a moment.
Tears stung his eyes and heated their way down the noirette's cheeks.
"No," he whimpered, clawing at the boy's clothed chest. "No, no, NO!" He screamed, crouching over the body and pulling at his own hair. His face rested against the chest of his master as he wailed, his salty tears never once stopping their flow and the voices never leaving his mind;
It's your fault.
Why didn't you stop him from going to the chasm?
You should have gone by yourself.
Why did you have to go after that stupid little girl?
Why didn't you kill the Chain when you had the chance?
Why didn't you apologize?
You should have never become his servant.
He'd still be alive now, if you hadn'tー
"SHUT UP!" He keened. Tears mixed in with the blood that had just stuck there onto the cloth of Elliot Nightray. As he sat there, he clenched both his hands over one of the gloved close to his face, hovering below his neck.
"Please," he thought. "Please, please, PLEASE. You can't be... You promised you'd show me my surprise today at the party. You can't just...leave me. You can't just leave me!"
He cried, absolutely convulsing in his gasps, hugging the body close to him, desperately trying to wake up what wouldn't;
Knowing he was hours too late.