The village was alive with the sounds of contented chatting and children's laughter ringing through the air. It was finally that time again. Easter. The day where people would come and go, to and from the village to visit friends and relatives. A day for exchanging sweets, greetings and other various gifts. A day for children to play happily in the fields that surrounded the small village. Friends chasing one another with joyous giggles, making flower crowns with whatever plant life could be found sprouting among the blades of grass that rippled gently in the spring breeze.

However, there was one boy who stood and watched the activities from afar, half hidden behind a tree at the corner of the village fields. He was rugged looking, with messy auburn hair and dirtied clothes, one strap of his dungarees having fallen off his shoulder. His dark chocolate eyes watched with a sense of longing. He wanted to join with their fun. But he was never allowed. None of the other children liked him, or his older brother. They were orphans, living in only their own small shack on the outskirts of the village by the running river.

He was too young to truly understand why the other people in the village hated him and his brother. His innocent mind could see no wrong in whatever his brother did. He was loyal and devoted to the other. His brother, however, returned the hatred the villagers had for the two young boys. He had made the habit of stealing from them, whether it was a form of payback for being mistreated as well as a way to survive, the younger of the two didn't know.

He watched curiously when the children suddenly left whatever they were doing and ran over to the adults. He squinted slightly, trying to see what was going on from his perch. Were they being told off for some reason? Or were they going to all go home and continue the joyous occasion with family only? He was still thinking of possibilities when something landed on his shoulders, making him jump and spin around with wide eyes.

His surprised expression turned into one of happiness and he tackled the person who had spooked him into a firm hug. It was none other than his older brother.

"Jim!" the younger two cried happily, looking up at his brother with sparkling eyes.

Jim was an inch or two taller than the boy. With messy light blond hair and dazzling sky blue eyes. His clothes, too, were rugged and dirtied. The shirt might've once been a brilliant white, and the thin ribbon tied around his neck might've once been a tie to match. He had always told his brother that it was to make him look similar to the kids from noble families. To mock them.

"Whatcha doin' out 'ere Luka?" Jim asked, peeking over to where his brother had been watching. "Oh...you've been watching them again, huh?"

"Why can't we go and play with them, Jim?"

"I've told you a million, trillion, gazillion times before Luka! They don't like us" Jim's voice turned cold slightly, grinding out the last four words like he was being forced to eat dirt. He then huffed, noticing his brother's discomfort at his tone. "I know you want to play with them Luka but you just can't, okay?" He tightened his hold on the younger boy. "Besides, why do you want to play with them? They've hurt you all the time".

"But they look like they're really happy doing that stuff..."

"It's just rolling some eggs down a hill, it doesn't look that much fun. It's not as fun as catching fish in the river with nothing but bare hands, that's for sure" Jim chuckled with a crooked grin. That was the usual way they caught their dinner in the summer time. Jim would roll up his sleeves, despite not actually minding getting his clothes wet, and would thrust his hands into the water when a shadow swam by, he would drag the fish out of the water and throw it on the side where Luka would hold his foot down on it until it stopped uselessly flopping about and laid still.

"Why do they play with the eggs instead of eating them on this day, Big Brother?" Luka asked as he turned to watch the eggs roll down the hill again in small blurs of orange, yellow and various shades of red from the cranberries, lemon peels and beets used to decorate each one.

Jim shrugged, shaking his head. "How should I know? I think mum said something about some dead guy or whatever. Something the vicar would know".

"We should go and ask him!"

"Luka, he hates us as much as they do; calls us vermin".

Luka sighed and his brief excitement disappeared, taking his brother's hand tightly with a small squeeze. "I wish I could play with the eggs too..." he whispered, and an idea sparked within Jim.

Jim and Luka parted ways for the rest of the day, Luka being told to go and try and find something of some value while everyone in the village was preoccupied. He had no idea what Jim was doing but right now he stood at the small tree where they always met up to walk home together in the evenings. It was then that a rustle caught his attention and he stared at the bushes before spotting something amongst the leaves and branches.

Cautiously, he checked his surroundings before going over to the bushes and having a closer look. There, sat neatly amongst the greenery, was an egg covered in red cranberry splotches. He pulled it out and looked around again before noticing another one at the base of a tree. He picked that one up too.

This continued for some time. Luka would find egg after egg, picking them up one by one and following the trail that seemed to be mapping out. Something in the back of his mind told him to go back and wait for Jim, but something else told him to continue collecting the eggs. It was the most fun he'd had all day!

When he had picked up the last egg, he looked up to find that he was home. And Jim was sitting by the edge of the river, looking lost in his own world again but with a smile on his face as he gently kicked his feet in the water below. He called out to him, walking over and showing him his collection.

Jim looked up with that same smile which seemed to grow when they took in what was cradled in his brother's arms. "You found them!" He leapt to his feet with shining blue eyes full to the brim with joyfulness.

"Huh? You knew there were hidden eggs about?" Luka questioned, slightly confused.

"Haha, yeah, of course I did! I saw who put them there too!"

"Really?! Who was it Jim?! Who was it?!" Luka bounced from foot to foot gently, getting caught up in his older brother's excited tone.

"It was a rabbit! But not just any rabbit; this one was huge! Way taller than both of us put together! And he carried this little sack and pulled the eggs out of it, hiding them. I was gonna set a trap to get it with but then he spotted me and told me that the eggs were for you to find" Jim placed his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest proudly.

Luka's chocolate eyes sparkled and his mouth opened into a wide grin as he looked down at the eggs, getting giddy with the enjoyment of such a thing. This had been done all for him! He then carefully put the eggs down and hugged Jim tightly, encircling his small arms around his waist. "Thank you Jim...you're the best big brother ever".

This was done for a contest entry over on the Black Butler amino ^^

Some fun facts about this piece - just for the most historical accuracy I could manage:

. Alois' name means famous warrior in German - Egg hunts were introduced from Germany.

. Children would often paint eggs using cranberries, beets, oranges and lemon peels.

. Egg rolling is where eggs are rolled down a hill to see which egg can get the furthest.