"I knew it was a bad idea to go on vacation without my brother."
Dennis stood with his brothers and sisters watching their father up ahead screaming and banging on the door of what once was their home. A week and a half ago, the Avarius family had left their castle to visit a mermaid-run spa and resort. But at the last moment, Brudo Avarius decided they would leave Dennis' older brother Ludo behind. Dennis winced thinking back on the heated exchange that followed.
"Where do you think you're going, runt?" Brudo slurred at Ludo. The excited smile on his face and the suitcase in his hand both fell quickly.
"What? But why? I thought we were all going on vacation?"
"We are, but you're not. Why should we take a runt like you? You can't do anything right. You're an embarrassment to the family name, boy. Hardly an Avarius, even. Maybe half an Avarius, looking at the size of you. Now you're going to stay here while the rest of us travel. Make sure nothing happens to the castle, and do the dishes would you? Make yourself useful for once." Brudo started to turn and walk away from his son when he felt a tug on his cloak. He looked down to see Ludo, trying to muster an angry look but mostly just fighting back tears.
"Why isn't a-anything I can do ever enough for y-you?" Ludo stammered out. Dennis, who had been watching the exchange, looked away. He knew what would come from talking back to their father like that. He heard a smack, a thud, and when he looked up, he saw his father breathing heavy with one arm outstretched. Ludo was now on the other side of the room against a wall, now sporting a black eye. Brudo stared at Ludo across the room, daring him to stand up. Ludo just dropped his head and looked away.
"That's what I thought, boy," Brudo walked away before stopping and looking at Dennis. "You got something to say, you keep it to yourself. Unless you want to end up like him. Go join the rest of your siblings."
"…Yes father," Dennis said, looking back at Ludo sadly. As the family left, he looked back one more time to see Ludo staring out at them from an upstairs window.
Clearly Ludo had done more than the dishes while they were away. The Avarius family had returned to find the locks to the castle doors changed. An outraged Brudo started slamming his fists into the door, prompting Ludo to appear on a balcony above the doorway.
"Who are you and why are you pounding on my door?"
"LUDO," Brudo screamed. "This is your father. Open the door right now!"
"Father? But I don't have a father anymore," Ludo said dismissively.
"Ludo," chirped Lady Avarius. "Listen to your father. Open the door and let us back in. We are your family and more importantly this is our house."
"Your house? Ha! Not anymore, it's mine now! All mine! And I don't have a family anymore. It's just Ludo by himself from now on. Now get away from my house."
Brudo screamed and bashed the door with his fists again. "You miserable little family traitor! When I get my hands on you boy you're going to regret ever being born!"
"As fun as that sounds, it's not going to happen." Ludo turned to yell into the castle. "Boys! Get rid of these intruders any way you can." He paused, listening to someone out of Dennis' earshot. "No I don't care what happens to them, be as violent as you want."
Some of Ludo's siblings started to back away from the castle. Dennis just stared up at it in shock. Brudo continued to pound on the doors until one of them swung open. Out stepped a deer sporting a facial scar with a beard and wearing a tank top and a giant monster with a black mask and spike balls for hands.
"Boss says to make you people go away," said the deer.
Brudo, seething, turned to face them. "And just what makes you think you can kick us out of our house? Because you want to listen to my failure of a son?" The monster with spike ball hands wound up a swing. It reminded Dennis of the one he'd seen Brudo use many times on his siblings, including himself. Brudo tried to duck out of the way but was struck full force by the massive ball. The blow knocked him in the air and he landed in the dirt ten feet away. Dennis flinched. Ludo meanwhile let out an evil cackling laugh from his perch above.
"It doesn't feel too good to be knocked across the room by somebody bigger than you, does it?!" Ludo wore a wicked smile and had an evil, almost insane look in his eye.
"Any more of you punks wanna try messing with the boss?" The bearded deer asked the Avarius family. Most of the siblings and Lady Avarius shook their heads and began to back away. Lady Avarius helped Brudo to his feet. He scowled at the two monsters before looking at Ludo. "You better hope I never see you again, boy. You're dead to me and to this family, and I'll make sure you're dead for real if you ever come around again." He turned to leave with the rest of his family, from royalty to homeless. Only Dennis stayed behind, looking up sadly at his favorite brother.
"What are you still doing here? Go, get out, leave with the rest of them."
"Big brother, why? Why did you do this?"
"Why did I take an opportunity to move up in the world when my former family was just holding me back? Why did I decide to get rid of everybody who always hit me, and looked down on me, and abused me? Why did I decide to look out for Ludo for once?"
"But, we're still your family."
"I don't have a family anymore."
"But big brother, I lov-"
"LEAVE! Now! I already said I don't want to see any of you again. I don't have a family, I'm not an Avarius! I'm nobody, I'm Ludo, and now I'm on my own! Get out of here!"
Dennis turned to follow the rest of his family, dejected. On the balcony, Ludo's anger melted away and he dropped to the ground in a fetal position. "None of them ever cared about you," he repeated to himself over and over. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't convince himself that was true of Dennis. Ludo trembled with thoughts of the one true family member he had. As he realized he had just sent him away, he began to sob openly.