"Come on brother, we're nearly there!"
Luka was trailing him among by his sleeves eagerly up the hill, his round eyes, which looked incredibly immense in his small shaped face, narrowing more and more as his palpable smile kept on spreading across. His brother was, unquestionably the purest combination of atoms in this accursed, repugnant world. Despite his little age, Alois would occasionally climb the way up this hill by himself, just to feel himself above those hideous creatures that belittled both him and his brother everyday as if it was a routine business of their mediocre life. Humiliation brings forth humiliation. Violance brings forth violance. Abhorrence brings forth abhorrence. But what about love? What did love bring forth? Alois looked up at the bright, clear weather. He loved it. He loved the color blue, he loved the smell of air that carried the fragrance of each flower it gently caressed, the way it whispered into Alois' ear stories about places it had been to. Alois loved the vivid stripes of everything around him; from the smallest blossom to the most familiar sounds of warble. How kind and modest the nature was! But more than anything, Alois loved his brother. Luka's eyes were neither blue like the sky above them, nor did he have yellow hair the way he did, which; as their parents used to say, resembled the most delicate mix of sunbeams. Nevertheless, Luka himself alone portrayed something so beautiful that even the brightest sky would look dull when juxtaposed with his brother's pureness. They could have resided under a rock all by themselves for the rest of their lives if it weren't for their basic needs.
"If nature decided to turn into a human some day, I bet she would do her job better than those stingy cow pies!"
"How come you're so sure that nature would turn out to be female?" asked Alois, amused by the thought.
"Because it will, someday! I tell you brother, you won't feel lonely anymore, I promise you!" his cheeks were nearly meeting his eyes when he finished his sentence with an even more expanded smile, screeching in joy and still, pulling his brother along with himself.
"But Luka, I don't feel lonely when you're with me." frowned Alois, with a bit of maze in his voice. Why would his brother think he was feeling lonely? He didn't need anyone else's company other than his, was that not obvious?
"Look brother, we're there!"
Luka freed his sleeve and started waggling, making senseless gestures with his body parts, just like the child he was. Alois was standing right beside him, staring into the town that now seemed no bigger than his thumb.
"Look brother, my thumb's bigger than that gaffer's baldhead!" said Alois with a mischievous smile on his lips while he held his thumb right over the villager's head.
"Oh the nature, she's so pretty, so pretty!"
Luka was dancing on one foot, unaware of the fact that he was dangerously close to the edge of the cliff.
"Luka stop fooling around and get back here!" shouted Alois in a startled tone. He didn't realize his brother had moved that far away from himself.
"She's so pretty, brother, don't you think?" he was now bending over the eloquently colored grass to pluck some off, as many as his little palms could be filled with and toss them above his head.
"Luka, I said to come back here!"
"She has dark blue eyes, -oh yes she does- I saw them! I saw them sheen on top of her smooth, tanned skin! And I saw her long, long grey hair! She wrapped me up in it so that I wouldn't be scared. But I wasn't scared brother! I was dying of happiness to know that I made you happy! But she was so beautiful, brother! Oh the nature is so beautiful!"
"What are you talking about Luka? Stop it, you're scaring me."
Alois' eyes were gleaming with tears even though he knew not why. He started scrambling in the direction of his brother, who was still wobbling, singing around in a silly manner. However hard he tried to catch up with his brother's speed, it was as though he wasn't making a single movement at all. He soon lost the sight of his young brother on top of the tremendous hill. Alois got down on his knees, grabbing a handful of grasses and pulling them all ever so bitterly. The feeling on his fingertips were so familiar that it scared him out of his wits. When he looked up at the sky, he felt as if he was losing his beloved brother each day, yet every time he would be just as stunned.
"I think it's going to rain today too, Luka." he said in his calmest voice, looking up at the clear, bright sky.
A drop of tear wet his pale cheek, finding its way down painstakingly slowly to meet traces of grass beneath.
His foot dangles off the bed.
Slap.
He finds it impossible to let go of the sheets he unconsciously gripped with his pale, bony fingers.
Slap.
The sound of tears dripping from his nose, rushing down to hit the ground breaks the silence of the night.
"Claude."
It's hard to say whether it was a thought that echoed within the boundaries of his twisted mind, or a word which escaped his slightly parted lips to wear off alongside the sound of his tears dripping. His butler appeared before the entrance of his bedchamber before the young lord ever got a chance to think about it.
He was no lord tonight, only a child with nightmares.
And Claude was fully aware of it.
He made his way into Alois' room without waiting for his order.
"Nightmares again?" he asked in an emotionless tone, standing by his bed.
Claude never really understood the relationship between humanbeings and their dreams. Dreaming was something he wasn't able to do even if he did want to, as he was uncapable of falling asleep. He thought humans verily weak for letting such ludicrous concerns disturb them and even hold them back from handling their daily duities.
He sighed when Alois didn't even turn around to face him. Claude slowly put his gloved hand on his master's which was still grabbing hold of bed sheets and gently, worked it free. After a few minutes of precise conflict, Claude took his master's hand to his mouth and landed a tender kiss on it. It was then that Alois blinked his eyes a few times and slightly tilted his head to see his hand pressed on Claude's soft lips.
"Claude..?"
His voice came out as nothing more than a whisper. Claude pulled him into his arms and placed his master on his lap, so that he was stroking his hair and holding his shivering body close to his surprisingly warm one. Alois immediately reacted to the sudden feel of warmth and nuzzled his nose against his butler's neck.
"I will hold you until you fall asleep. There's nothing to be scared of, master."
"No… I- You're… Al-ways… It's always until…" Alois mumbled with his mouth pressed onto his butler's neck.
Claude turned his head down to meet his master's eyes.
"My lord?"
"You're always by my side until something happens, Claude. You're only there for me when there's a bullet coming straight to my head. You don't even look at me when you present my diner. Is there no other way for you to stay by my side other than ordering you to do so? Even though you're always standing beside me, I feel so lonely. I feel like if I were to turn to your side and reach to grab your arm, my touch would be passing through your body. You're always there, Claude, but the truth is, you're never really there."
It amazed the demon dearly that the boy was acting mature for the very first time in his life. It was his childish acts that led Claude to assume he only desired his presence for his own sadistic and selfish piece of mind. It was undeniable that he had been through so many direful things that such size of a boy he was now holding in his arms shouldn't have, nevertheless, Alois Trancy, his one and only master didn't ever care to reflect all the damage he took in such a way before.
Claude tilted up his master by his chin and looked him directly in the eye,
" I will always be by your side to hold you when your knees grow weak. I will be there to catch you should you ever stumble on your way. Besides," he said, placing his forefinger right under on the corner of Alois' eye,
"I will wipe away every single one of your tears until there is none left to shed."