He was deemed "Number 264".
It was not his name, nor his place on a scale, but it was what he went by during his time at the slave camps. Not that the boy minded being nameless, it wasn't as if he was really worth one anyways.
He suspected that at some point in his earlier childhood, back in his home country of Latvia, he had a name. But it had been four years since he'd been taken away from his home. He was eight now, still homesick, still longing for the affection of someone he could call a "parent", still feeling as helpless as he had when he first arrived at the slave camps.
The camps where he had been raised were usually four or five large, white tent-like structures filled with cots for the multiple young slaves to sleep on. The cots, naturally, weren't supposed to be comfortable, but at least the slaves weren't sleeping on the hard, rocky clay ground. The operation was run internationally and many similar camps were placed in many countries around the world. The people running it said it was supposed to be an "International Adoption" operation to cover up the truth. The operators explained that they took children that needed better homes and had someone from another country adopt them, not only to expand culture, but too watch the interactions of differing nationalities between the different children they picked up. However the truth was different in a few ways. Rather than "adoptions", the slaves were sold off across different countries, under a contract of "eternal service". A slave was to remain in the household they were sold to until death, or told otherwise by their masters. This was almost never the case. Freedom was practically unobtainable.
Of course, the slaves themselves were never told this, and were simply told that "If they were good, they'd find a home sooner." Otherwise, consequences would be delivered. It was the perfect training to become the perfect slave: Follow your orders, else wise be punished until you learn to do it right.
The people who ran the operation were known as "The Dealers". Their goal? Sell the souls to the highest bidder for profits. They came from differing countries, all of them having to learn English as a common way of communication between each other. The slaves they kept at the camps were also taught to speak English, although most of them knew their native tongues too. To keep the image of an "Orphanage" preserved, they allowed the native languages to be spoken from time to time to be sure that there was no "loss of culture". To keep this goal in mind, each slave had a tag put on them reading their given number and the country they were picked up from.
Number 264 - Latvia
He looked at his tag everyday reminding himself of how he lived. He lived in a tent; he slept on a cot; he followed orders. Was this truly living? Or was this equal to being dead? He wasn't sure, but his goal was to get out and find out what it was like to live.
He got off his cot, dusting himself off before stepping out of the tent in his bare feet. The clay and rocks under his feet would usually hurt were he still new to the camps. However he was finally used to the pain of the rocks by now. He always went on his morning walks, usually before most of the others weren't awake yet. The sun was still rising, but it was at his back so it didn't hurt his eyes. He did his usual route around the camp, around the tents then down the middle to get back to his own. It was the fastest way for him to wake up. He made his way back into the tent, nimbly avoiding the cots of his fellow orphans to make sure no one noticed that he snuck out. His small, slim body made it easier. When he made it back to his cot, he sat down on it and traced the number on his tag with his finger, whispering to himself.
"2-6-4..2-6-4..."
"Latvia? What are you doing up?" A voice whispered. The mention of his nickname made the boy jump, making the cot squeak. Another boy, not much older than Number 264, was sitting on the clay ground near his cot. He had clearly crawled his way over, as his knees were covered in dirt.
"I-I could ask you the same thing, Estonia!" The boy whispered harshly to his friend, folding his arms angrily and scooting over a bit on the cot to make room for the older boy. He'd made only a few friends in his time at the camp: An Estonian 2-years old than himself, and a Lithuanian boy who was 4-years older. They'd stuck together like brothers, sticking up for one another when they got into trouble. Eventually, they began to nickname each other after the only names they could think of: The countries on their tags.
"I saw you get up and leave, is there something wrong?" Estonia asked, sitting himself on the cot as well.
"No, it's just my way of waking up. I go for a walk. I-I didn't think anyone noticed." Latvia whispered, looking at Estonia's tag: Number 239 - Estonia. Latvia then looked around. "D-Do you think Lithuania's up yet?" He thought of the eldest of their trio, thinking of how nice it'd be if all three of them could go for a walk.
"Lietuva?" Estonia repeated, saying it the way that the Lithuanian preferred they did. "So, I don't think Liet's awake. I think we should leave him be, he had a bad day yesterday." There was a paused as the thought of the previous day, how Liet had acted up at one of the Dealers and got hit for it while everyone was watching. At least one of the boys had it happen to them from time to time.
"R-Right..."
At that moment, a Dealer came into the tent, blowing into his loud whistle to wake everyone up. "Listen 'ere!" his British voice boomed, "I'm looking for Numbers 2-1-1, 2-3-9, and 2-6-4." At the sound of their numbers, Estonia and Latvia looked up. The third was supposed to be Liet, but where was he. "Let's go! Stop your dallyin' an' let's get moving!" Immediately, the boys got up from the cot and when out with the Dealer. They waited for Liet to follow, which he eventually did. He rubbed his eyes lazily and yawned.
"What's going on...? Did we do somethi-" He was silenced by the tug on the collar of his shirt lifting him off the ground. Latvia shut his eyes tight so he wouldn't have to watch his brother-figure get hit again.
"When I say 'get up', you get up that instant, you got me?" The dealer snarled. Liet nodded his head, not wanting another bruise on his face. At the sound of Liet's feet touching the ground again, Latvia's eyes opened. The man made his way to Estonia next. "As for you," he jabbed a finger into Estonia's forehead. "You're to stay at your own cot 'til the wake-up-whistle is sounded." He removed his finger from the boy's forehead and made his way to Latvia. Estonia took this as the chance to rub where he got jabbed and mutter to himself. Latvia looked up at the man, trembling nervously as he almost always did around people bigger than him. "And you," His snarl remained unchanged, and Latvia's eyes brimmed with tears as the man's hand came down...And rustled his already messy dark-blonde hair. "You need to be wary of these two, and don't listen to them. They're bad influences on you, lad." Latvia nodded his head, still terrified.
"Y-Y-Yes s-sir."
"Anyways," the man coughed. "That's not why I brought you three out here. There's another reason." he looked at the boys and they all stiffened up. "Let's go."
The followed him to a large truck, like a delivery truck, with the back open. "Get in, you're coming...For a little drive." He said; his voice monotonous. He picked up Latvia, as he was too short to get in the back own his own, and the other two struggled to climb in behind him. Once they got in, there was a loud sound of shuttering metal, followed by the crash. They were left in the dark once the door of the truck close. The engine roared loudly as the truck started up and began to move.
"G-Guys? Wh-Where are you?" Latvia stammered, unable to see anything until his eyes adjusted to the lack of light.
"Just follow my voice!" the voice of Liet called from his right. The small boy crawled towards the voice, eventually knocking into him.
"S-Sorry Li-Lietuva!" The boy cried, rubbing his pained head. The brunette held the smaller boy, who started to sob in his arms. "Wh-Where are they taking us?"
"What does it matter?" Estonia's voice said sternly from the other side of Liet. "We're away from that camp, that's all that matters. And at least we have each other." Latvia sobbed harder, thinking of the murmurs of the other children at camp.
"Did you see the kid that got taken off? He was bad so they took him away, into the truck. And you know, once they go in the trucks, they never come back, even though the trucks do."
Latvia clutches his unkempt hair in his fists and held his held. "I-I h-haven't done anything in s-so...so long...I-I-I don't want t-to die..." he stammered, amidst the tears. Liet held him tighter."
"There there," he tried to reassure. "A-At least w-we'll be somewhere...somewhere better." He sighed, as the truck hit a bump in the road, knocking Estonia into Liet's shoulder.
"We've been driving a while," Estonia whispered. "Do you suppose that the driver got lost?" This caused Latvia to chuckle a little, as Liet started to pet his hair to calm him down. He looked up at his "brother".
"A-Aren't you scared, Lietuva?"
"I try hard not to show it, just as you should. People are going to pick on you for being so easy to frighten." the older boy scolded. "That's why I try to stand up for myself. You see, just keep reminding yourself that things will eventually get better. It might help you get through things." At that, the boys huddled together in silence for the rest of the long, bumpy ride.
Latvia had fallen asleep in Lithuanian's arms, and was woken by the shuttering noise of the door opening up, signalling for the boys to get ready to get out. He shook the other two awake and helped them get up off the floor. They jumped out, Latvia with some assistance, and when they were all on the ground they held each other's hands. Liet took Latvia's right, while Estonia took his left. Nervously, they all took a deep breath when the Dealer signalled for them to follow.
It was evening by then, and from where they left the truck it was clear that they were facing west, as the red sunset burned harshly in the boys' eyes. Latvia shut his tightly while the other two used their open hand to shield their eyes from the scorching light. Up ahead, they could faintly see the outline of structures that, thanks to the light, were indistinguishable. The dealer grabbed a pair of dark sunglasses from his pocket and motioned for the boys to follow his lead, and they did so. They walked further and further into the sunset, even amidst their visors the made from their hands, Liet and Estonia we having trouble with the harshness of the evening sun. Soon, the structures became visible as the sun began to creep lower and lower beneath its blanket of horizon. Liet sighed as he realized where they were, staring at a large white tent similar to the one they had woken up in earlier that day. Another tent followed behind it, and another, and another.
"Oh..." Liet began; a small sense of disappointment clearly evident in his voice. "So we've only been transferred..." All of his talk of 'a better place' had suddenly felt so fictional; so far off; so impossible. The boy continued to look around. "But my question is, where have we been transferred too?" He squinted his eyes, looking around hoping to get some sort of clue as to their location. Latvia opened his eyes and looked around as well, hoping he could spot something that would ease the older boy's disappointment.
"Have you tried looking atop of the tents, Lietuva? Perhaps a mounted flag will tell us?" Estonia mumbled, trying to be of assistance as well; something that was not his strong suit. "Well, 'tell' is a bad way to put it, as a flag can't really speak..." Liet couldn't help but smirk, how typical of Estonia to act like a smart-alec at a time like this.
"Well, what flag is that?" Latvia piped in, pointing at a flag not to far off. Its white, blue, and red stripes streaked horizontally in the wind as a warm breeze caused the flag to dance in the air. "I haven't seen that one before..." Neither the Estonian nor the Lithuanian got a chance to respond as the Dealer cut them off coldly. He pointed at a silhouette in the distance.
"See that? That's the man who you're 'ere to see." He said, his British accent floating heavily on his words. "You'd all best behave yourselves, 'else the consequences shan't be too go-" he was cut off when he realized that the figure was quickly drawing nearer. Immediately the three boys stiffened up and fixed their posture.
"Who is that man anyways?" Estonia whispered, before the Dealer snapped at him. The British man grabbed Estonia by the shirt collar and lifted him off the ground.
"Listen 'ere Number..." he looked down at the boy's tag to identify him. "2-3-9. Don't you go askin' unnecessary questions, or any questions at all for that matter. That goes for the lot of you." He let go of the boy's collar, letting him fall onto the dirt ground. "A slave hasn't the right to speak unless addressed to, or if told otherwise. You get it?"
Estonia lifted himself off the ground with the help of Latvia. He dusted the dirt and dust from off himself, scowling at the Dealer. He then went back to his stiff posture he had earlier, however the glare remained on his face as the silhouette came into focus. He was a rather large man; not fat, but big-boned most likely. He wore a tan coat, despite the warmer weather, that resembled a military jacket which went down to his knees. As well, he wore a long scarf around his neck, although Latvia was amazed at how hot the man must have felt in such an outfit. The man's blonde hair was similar to the style of Latvia's, only a lighter shade, almost platinum-blonde. The stranger smiled sweetly at the group.
"Ah! Pryvet! Welcome all, to Russia!" His soft voice rang, a heavy Russian accent curled around his words. Despite is soft tone and smile, the boys began to quiver and lose whatever thoughts their minds previously had a grip on. Not like they could help themselves, the Russian man was rather tall and gave off an intimidating impression. Latvia however, who naturally had a stuttering problem and shook rather often, shook the most due to his smaller size. The Russian looked towards him. "Is something wrong, little one? Perhaps the drive was too long, da? Or something else, maybe?" his tone kept that softness, with some concern added to it. For a moment, Latvia's mouth forgot how to form words. Liet nudged him, and the words came out in a ramble of stutters.
"J-Ja," he cursed in his head for his automatic Latvian response, "I-It was just th-the ride. It was q-quite long a-and rough." If he had said what was really on his mind, he knew the dealer would have hit him on the spot for sure. 'Not to mention, you're rather scary looking' His thoughts repeated over and over, but the boy resisted the urge to speak his mind. The Russian man nodded.
"Ah, da, we Russians has grown used to the climate here." he replied, it was clear by the thick accent that English wasn't his strong suit, nonetheless, Latvia gave the man credit for doing well thus far. "You will get better soon, da?"
"Y-Yes, sir, h-he is perfectly f-f-fine!" Estonia cut in nervously. Liet shot him a glare for speaking out of turn.
"That is good! However, we have not had a proper introduction, da? I am Ivan, Ivan Braginski." he pronounced his name 'Ee-vahn', giving it a traditional Russian flow to it. He held out his hand, to each person individually, the Dealer immediately shaking it out of courtesy and the boys timidly shaking it after a short hesitation. The Dealer pulled some paperwork from his briefcase, after shuffling through a mess of papers.
"My name is of no importance, it's these boys you're 'ere for after all." The boys couldn't help but grow concerned about them at the last bit. The Dealer turned to the boys once more, his sunglasses hiding whatever emotion could have possibly been shown in his eyes. "You boys go for," he paused for a moment in thought, "For a walk around. Get to know the place. Mr. Braginski and I have...adult-matters to discuss." They shook their heads simultaneously and scurried off.
"Hey, Liet?" Latvia stopped to get the other two boys' attention.
"Ja?" Both older boys stopped and turned to look at Latvia in curiosity.
"Th-That man, Mister Ivan, said w-we were in R-R-Russia. Isn't that...Isn't that close to home?" There was a pause as they thought about it. There had been atlases back at the camp for the children to look at if they were bored enough, and the boys had always spent their time looking at them, just to remind them how close the countries they came from were to one another. Russia was always 'that big blob that takes up most of the map' to them, but it was close to all of their homelands. Hope had begun to find its way into the boys.
"J-Ja, I guess you're right." Liet said; a small laugh in his voice. "We are close to home, it's almost like we're being mocked, huh?" Both Latvia and Estonia nodded sadly. So close, yet so far. It was mocking them.
"W-We could run away!" Latvia piped in, filling the long gap of silence. "We could go home, be surrounded by our own people again! We-" He was cut off by the distant sound of the Dealer calling for them. Estonia took Latvia's small hand in his own.
"Come on Latvia, we have all the time in the world to fantasize. Right now someone's looking for us, let's go." And they did so.
When they arrived back at the place they met the Russian man, the Dealer was handing him documents of sorts, all signed and official. The fine print was impossible to read from a distance, but it did not take a rocket scientist to see that it the documents were of some importance.
"It is a great pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Braginski." The Dealer chimed, the only hint of emotion that could be identified was a smirk on his face, however his hidden eyes kept whether or not it was a false smile a lingering secret. Latvia looked from the Dealer to the Russian, Ivan, in curiosity.
"I-Is that it then? A-A business trip?" Latvia questioned, not realizing he spoke aloud. The Dealer turned to him, as if about to strike the boy, however the Russian's abrupt and playful laughter caused the the man to back down.
"Nyet, Nyet~!" Ivan's voice rang out, still amidst some small laughter. "Something much more! Now, are you boys ready to see your new home?" Lietuva raised a brow.
"If you can even call a place like this 'home'." He muttered, causing Estonia to let a small smirk form on his lips. Ivan did not notice, and lead the way, lightly offering a hand to the youngest. Whether it was out of fear, or simply the curiosity of being a child, Latvia took the man's hand. They were firm, yet soft and protective; a similar feeling to the aura the Russian himself gave off. He looked to the Dealer shyly, but he was nowhere to be seen, nor was the truck that once lay in the distance.
"Is something wrong, little one?" a soft tone of concern wrapped in a Russian accent brought the Latvian back to reality. He shook his head.
"Ne, I-I'm alright. R-Really!" the boy flashed a false smile to assure the man. The truth was, he was terrified, more so than he ever was. Lietuva and Estonia trailed not too far behind them, and Latvia could tell they were just as frightened as he was. The group walked in silence, but rather than towards the camp, they walked past it. Estonia stopped so as to draw attention.
"Mister Ivan, sir, I-I don't mean to be rude but," the boy gulped as everyone's attention was upon his, the Russian's in particular, "Wh-Where are you taking us?" The Russian closed his eyes and smiled faintly, Latvia looked up at him as well.
"As I said, we are going home. That is okay, da?"
Home. The word echoed in Latvia's mind, it seemed so far off it was unbelievable.
"Home," he whispered, his excitement causing him to stutter even worse, "Y-You mean, I-I can g-go back to L-Latvia?" The small boy smiled excitedly. He would finally get to see his family again; his home; his happiness.
"Latvia?" The Russian repeated, astoundedly. "Nyet, nyet, nyet!" Ivan shook his head. "You come home with me! All three of you! New home, da?"
His hopes were crushed, as were the hopes of the elder two boys. Latvia admitted, it was great that they were being adopted; fantastic even! Not only that, but it was the three of them together, as official adoptive brothers! Still, he sighed disappointedly. Latvia would always be his true home; he didn't carry the name with him for just any reason after all. "Ah," he whispered; his grip on the man's hand loosening as the grip of disappointment stole him away. "I see." He let his hand slip out from the larger one as he shoved away toward his brother.
"Be grateful, Latvia!" Liet whispered, scoldingly. "This man is offering us a place in his home! We'll have a bed to sleep on; food to eat; it'll be a better place!" The Russian turned and continued the walk to his car, pulled out the remote and the car doors clicked open. The boys took their places in the back seat; Latvia in the middle, Liet to his right, and Estonia to his left. The car's engine started with a light purr, thankfully breaking the awkward silence placed over the atmosphere. The elder boys looked out their respective windows as Latvia stared up at the car ceiling. The sunset was still slowly falling from behind them, so Latvia knew they were heading further East.
"Russia," Latvia whispered to himself almost inaudibly. His gaze moved from the ceiling to the empty seat next to the driver, and a wave of guilt came over him. Lietuva was right, this man had offered them a life; a home; everything they had ever really asked for. It was unfair to be so ungrateful, yet here this man was still sitting with an empty seat next to him. The boy's gaze moved up to the rear-view mirror at the top of the windshield, where the man's hypnotic violet eyes seemed to meet with his own. "Th-Thank you, sir."
"It is no trouble at all!" Ivan replied, setting a cue for yet another silence in the car. The sky seemed to change hues every time Latvia took a moment to glance out either side window. It was an indigo–purple gradient by now, the clouds adding shades, depth and volume to the sky's magnificent portrait. Trees flew past on the landscape as nothing more than blurs. The boy sighed, causing the elder boy on his right to look over him in concern.
"Latvia? Is something wrong?" Liet whispered, his eyes glancing up at the rear-view mirror to make sure the driver did not notice. "Try to put on a smile please. Think of the positives...The positives..." he assured, although from Latvia's standpoint it had sounded more like self-assurance than anything else. Latvia looked over to Estonia, who was fogging up the glass with his breath to draw shapes on the window. 'At least he seems distracted enough', Latvia shrugged. He leaned back in the seat, his gaze returning back to the car ceiling as the long silence continued, as it would for the remainder of the ride.