Rei was awoken harshly the next morning, Natasha throwing a bundle of what looked like rags on top of his sleeping form. With a start he sat up quickly, his cheeks stained from crying himself to sleep the night before. Golden eyes wide as he looked into her icy blue ones and felt himself shiver, curling in himself as the pile of rags laid over his bed and legs.

"Those are your new clothes, get changed." Natasha commanded. "You've missed breakfast, so you're not permitted to take a bath either. Micah is waiting for you downstairs in the kitchen, you can clean up the mess you made last night." With that she turned on her heel, walking away from him.

Shivering from head to toe, Rei dressed himself quickly into the new clothes Natasha had brought for him. Like his bed, they were itchy and too big for him. His previous clothes weren't that much better, but at least they weren't stained or smelt like rotten food. He had plenty more of these clothes in the pile Natasha brought and dumped on him, deciding to leave them on the bed, he headed for the stairs to find Micah.

With each step downward, he felt his stomach tighten, his eyes burned with unshed tears and just as he made it to the bottom of the stairs he was already in a full-blown crying fit. At the bottom of the stairs were two doors, opening the closest on to his right led to another set of stairs and he closed it quickly.

A chill ran up his spine as colder air had hit him from opening that door, and it also shook him from how dark the stairwell was, and he swore to himself that he would never go down that dark stairwell for as long as he lived there. He wasn't sure why, but it scared him to the core.

The other door opened to a small corridor, brightly lit and warmer than the stairwell he was in and the one he had found. Wiping his eyes with the dirty sleeve of his shirt, he stepped into the corridor. A large wooden door sat to his right, while before him was a large opening into another room where he could see the days light coming through. To his right was another opening, just a bit smaller that led to another hallway where more light poured through the large windows.

There wasn't much noise coming from the room before him and not knowing which way the kitchen was, he started forward into the room. There he was greeted with another warmth from another fireplace to his left, a lavish set of furniture all in red fabrics sat around the room that was much larger than he was expecting to see. Windows that reached from the floor to the ceiling brought in the light, brightening up the room, giving it an even more welcoming look than the servants quarters.

On the wall to his right was another entryway and now really unsure of where he was he went through it. This part of the manor he remembered, it was the foyer he had been in when he had arrived. Still it did nothing for him since he was still lost, and everything in the foyer seemed to be ten times bigger than he remembered now that the light from the windows above him were bringing in the light along with the large chandelier that hung over him.

Once more there was another archway that led to another corridor, across from the one he had come through, but now he was so scared he couldn't move and began to cry once more. There was no one around, that he could hear or see, and everything from the night before to now began to fill his head and he collapsed on his knees in the middle of the foyer with his hands to his face.

"Rei?" A sweet voice called out to him, while a gentle hand was placed on his shaking shoulder. "It's alright darling, are you lost?" Misaki asked, bending down beside the trembling child.

"I… I can't find the kitchen." Rei cried, flinging his arms around Misaki's warm neck.

"Oh sweetheart, it's alright." She cooed, running her fingers through his knotted raven locks. "I was wondering why we haven't seen you all morning, you must have gotten lost." She said as she gently pulled the boy from around her neck, keeping her hands gently on his shoulders.

"Don't worry, this place is rather big I know. Follow me darling." Misaki took his hand and stood, letting him recompose himself before she led him towards the foreign archway and through the corridor he had been to scared to venture into.

Another large wooden door greeted them on his left, but Misaki passed by it and kept down the long hallway. This time Rei decided to pay attention to where it was he was being led to, and soon they passed another archway on his left. With a quick glance in, he shuddered and looked down quickly at his feet as his eyes had came to meet that of the older man he saw last night; Lord Voltaire.

That room, he figured to be the dining room. As there was a large table that Lord Voltaire was sitting at the head of, Kai and Susumu were there as well with Natasha standing in the corner with a glass pitcher in her hand. That was all he could remember seeing, as he had only glanced so quickly and back down, but he didn't miss the scowl on both Lord Voltaire and Natasha's faces.

Finally, they made it to the end of the hallway, where another wooden door sat on the left, where another archway to another corridor sat on his right and through that he could see the first corridor he had been in when he had come downstairs.

"This is the kitchen, it's like a giant maze, but the easiest way to get here is through that hallway." Misaki said, pointing to the hall on their right.

Rei only nodded to her, and she smiled at him. "Micah should be in here, this is where I leave you." After she said that she slipped her hand out from his grasp and started down the hallway to the dining room.

Rei couldn't help but watch her as she disappeared around the wall, wanting to run after her and cling to her like his life support, but also didn't want to face Lord Voltaire either. Instead he swallowed hard and stepped into the kitchen, where Micah was standing by the wash basin to his right.

"Bout time you showed up kid." Micah didn't even look away from the dishes he was busy washing, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the front of his apron soaked with water.

With the tilt of his head, he spoke to Rei without once looking at him again. "There's a bucket over there, get to scrubbing the floors."

Rei saw the bucket on the floor in far corner of the kitchen, a rag hanging off the rim of the bucket. Without much of a fight or word of protest he went to it, taking the rag from the bucket and got on his hands and knees to begin his first task of the day.


Rei was unsure for how long he had been on his hands and knees, elbows deep in the now blackened water of the bucket, but his back hurt and his legs felt like dead weight whenever he would have to stand in order to move the bucket along with him whenever he finished a section of floor. He hadn't even gotten to the door when Micah left him, having finished the dishes he had, and the new ones Natasha brought in from what he could only assume was from his master's meals.

He knew Natasha had looked at him when she came, but he kept his head bowed and scrubbed the tile quicker until he knew she had left. Now he was around where Micah had been standing doing the dishes, not even halfway around the square space of the kitchen and his entire body was burning.

He scrubbed harder and faster, trying to get his task done before his body gave out on him on its own from lack of food and proper sleep. Thoughts of his Momma Mary constantly coming to his mind, and even though he wanted to hate her for doing this to him, he couldn't stop the flow of tears as he only wanted her to come and take him away from this place; he missed her dearly.

When he had finally made it around the entire space of the kitchen his knuckles were bloodied and bruised, his knees were sore, and it hurt to walk while his back burned. He wasn't sure what time it was, but he was tired, and his little body just couldn't take it and he fell asleep in the corner of the kitchen where he had originally started his task.


When Rei had been found, asleep on the kitchen floor, Natasha woke him up by throwing the dirty water from the bucket upon his head and quickly hauled him back to the servant's quarters and threw him into a cold bath.

"You're more trouble than you're worth." She scorned before slamming the door closed behind her, leaving him shivering in the freezing water of the bath.

Rei only sat there, too weak to move his own limbs to wash his hair or arms of the dirt and muck that had been tossed on him. It wasn't until Natasha came back with a bundle of clothes for him did he move, letting her dry him off and dress him.

"Go sit on your bed." He obliged her harsh command, keeping his head low to avoid the stares of the other servants in the room he had to pass to get to his little darkened corner.

He sat down upon the pile of clothes she had brought him that morning, hands in his lap and his head low where his bangs covered his face. Jumping when Natasha came and sat beside him, shifting him around roughly and then running a brush through his soaked hair, pulling and tugging each knot free from the mess that had become his hair. He wanted to cry out from the pain, biting into his lip to keep the noise down as she continued her assault with the brush.

"You should get this cut, it'll only become a hindrance on your work as you get older if you keep letting it grow."

"No." His voice was croaky, his throat sore from the cold and crying, but his voice was dark even for a child.

"No?" Natasha mocked, though now the assault on his hair wasn't as bad as it had been as most of the knots had been worked out.

"Momma Mary likes long hair." He answered.

"Momma Mary isn't here."

"No." Rei said again, his voice with the same croaky darkness it had before.

Natasha only sighed, finished with brushing out the knots she sat the brush down beside her and took up his shoulder length hair into her hands. "Then I will teach you to take care of it. I can't be bothered to do this for you every day."

Rei wanted to ask why, and for a second, he felt a slight bit of hope swell within him at how kind Natasha sounded for once, but then she began to tug and pull on his hair in all sorts of directions and he felt miserable and in pain again until she was done.

"This is a braid. I'll show you how to do it in the morning, if you wake up on time. For now, go get something to eat from the kitchen over there." Natasha said, dropping the braid of hair over his shoulder and gently pushing him off the bed.

For a second, he just stood there staring at her, unsure how to react towards her now that she seemed kinder than before. Without a word he ran off towards the kitchen on the other side of the room, ignoring the eyes that were on him when he sat down at the table in the corner of the room where a wooden bowl sat before him. Digging into it like it was the only meal he's eaten in his life, he slurped up everything in it, filling his small stomach to the brim with seconds and thirds.

"Don't give me that look." Natasha said, arms crossed over her chest as she was leaning against her door in the hall. Her eyes on Rei as he continued to down more bowls of soup.

"I didn't say anything." Micah chuckled, coming towards her and to Rei's bed and began to fold the clothes that were still sitting upon the bed. "They're about the same age, aren't they?" He asked, setting aside a shirt he folded onto the pile.

"Yes." Natasha breathed out, closing her ice blue eyes.

"He'll be here this weekend for the young master's birthday, right?" Micah asked, glancing towards the woman on his left.

"I'm not sure." Natasha huffed, turning to her door and opened it. "But I can pray that I see him soon." She finished and stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.


The second day was much different than the first, with a renewed spirit Rei had woken up on time and ate with the other servants, whom he still had a hard time actually making eye contact with, and so he stuck to Micah's side like a leech. He followed the man around and listened intently to what his other duties would be, and where things were and what was expected of him when he crossed paths with one of the masters of the home.

His second day of duties took a toll on his small body, just like the first, and that night he fell asleep at the dinner table where he was left to sleep, a blanket placed over his shoulders though he was unsure of by who when he woke up for his third day.

Like the two before it, it was nothing but chores that broke his back and made his body burn. Though on this day he had more chores than before and there was more activity within the manor as the weekend was approaching, everyone was tasked with making sure the manor was set up properly for Kai's birthday.

The week had flown by so fast, that when the day arrived for the party Rei was more confused on what was going on than anything. Servants ran around like chickens caught in the rain, while the manor filled with more people than Rei could count. Instead of the rags he normally wore, he was dressed in a more fitted set of clothes that were dark in color and clean; like the other servants.

Sticking to Micah's leg still, he followed the man around the manor attending to the guests, while keeping his own head low but alert if he were to be called upon. There wasn't much for him to do, even with the slew of new people within the manor, but he had been ordered to be there and didn't want to disobey.

It wasn't his first time on the second floor of the manor, but with it being as crowded as it was with the array of ballgowns and men in suits with drinks in their hands, he was starting to feel suffocated and scared. Even with his head low, he could feel the eyes upon him and hear the whispers around him as if they were screaming in his own ears.

He didn't know how, but he had become separated from Micah at some point through the crowd and was now stuck by the railing of the second floor, where the foyer sat below him, also filled with an array of bodies in ballgowns and suits, where clouds of smoke was rising up through the space of the two floors from the cigars being smoked by the men below him.

He felt lost and trapped again, like the entire world was too big for him and he felt the old but familiar sting of tears coming to his eyes as he stood there against the railing. He wanted to wipe the tears that were trailing down his face away but refrained from dirtying the clean pair of clothes he had on, feeling as though he may get punished if even a speck of dirt landed on the fine fabric.

"Is that all you do?" A sudden voice spoke next to him, causing him to jump slightly in his place.

With tears in his eyes he looked beside him, blinking a few times as if he felt he was seeing things. Sure enough he was seeing it though, Kai the young master, was standing there leaning against the railing beside him with a slight look of boredom and something else in his eyes that Rei couldn't guess.

"I swear that's all you've done since you've been here." Kai spoke again, and Rei had to shake his head to make sure his hearing was still working.

Even though he had been in the manor for a few days, it wasn't often that he saw any of the masters during the nights or days. If he and the young master did cross paths, it was only briefly, and the other boy hardly gave him a second glance. Though he knew Kai was busy being tutored night and day on the third floor, where he knew the bedrooms were placed, and it wasn't a place he had been to yet as most of his chores kept him on the first floor or outside.

"C'mon, follow me." Kai said as he pulled his back away from the railing.

Rei hung his head. "I'm not allowed to leave." He said in a low whisper.

"I'm ordering you to, so let's go. No one's going to miss you." Kai said over his shoulder, already walking away.

Rei's head snapped up quickly, taking an even quicker glance around at the adults and realized that no one was watching him anymore and bounded after the other boy. Kai only took him around the other side of the second floor, and now that he was farther away from where he had been stationed, Rei's heart was beating faster, and he couldn't help but look around nervously.

"No one's looking, so hurry up." Kai called, bringing Rei back from his nervousness.

Kai was standing on the other side of a flight of stairs, half of his body hidden behind them and a half of the wall they sat by.

"C'mon." He called and then ducked behind the wall and was gone.

Rei was unsure of where Kai had gone and before he let his nervousness get the best of him he rushed to where Kai had been standing only a moment ago. There, hidden behind the wall and staircase was a small door, no bigger than him. Tentatively he pushed it open, being greeted by a swift gush of cold air.

"Close the door!" An unknown voice demanded around the corner of the wall on his left, and Rei slammed the door behind him.

He had never been in this room before, it was small where the ceiling was only high enough for children. The walls and floor were all made of grey stone, which kept the room colder than any he had ever been in before, there were only candles on the floor that lit up the room. Around the corner of the wall there were pillows in the corners, a fur pelt laid out on the floor and some wooden toys scattered along the floor. At the end of the room was a very small window, which brought no light even from the moon that hung in the nighttime sky above the manor.

Kai was already sat down, propped up on the many pillows in the corner of the room sitting on the animal pelt with his legs outstretched. Next to him sat another boy, looking to be about his age with red hair and icy blue eyes. In the candle light they looked paler than usual, as the soft glow from the flames danced along their features.

"You don't have to stand there, come in and sit." Kai said, taking up a stack of cards sitting beside him.

Without hesitating Rei did as he was told, sitting down on the fur pelt across from both boys. His heart still racing as thoughts of what might happen to him if he were caught hiding away, remembering Natasha's warnings to be smart and not get into any trouble or he may be punished.

"You know how to play cards?" The red-haired boy asked, picking up the stack Kai had left at his feet.

Coming out of his fear ridden thoughts, Rei shook his head quickly. "No." He sounded so weak and confused, only to get a deep sigh from the other two boys in front of him.

"Guess we'll have to teach ya then." The same red-head said. "Pick your cards up." He ordered, and Rei did as he was commanded.

"It's pretty simple, this game. What you have in your hand, you're trying to get as many of the same card you can; there's four of each kind of card. You can ask Kai or I for a card that you have, but you can only ask one of us each turn. Are you listening to me?"

Rei nodded, looking at the cards in his hands and taking notes of the symbols they held, and the numbers written on them. Already he felt like he was losing something, what he wasn't sure, but none of his cards matched each other.

"If we don't have the card you asked for, you pick one up from the pile here. The person who has the most sets of the same cards wins, it's pretty simple." The red-head finished, and then turned to Kai beside him. "Since it's your birthday and all, you can go first."

Kai only rolled his eyes, then glanced down at his own cards and then looked back up and Rei jumped in his spot as their eyes met. "Do you have a king?"

Rei looked at his cards. "Um… I don't know what that is…." He mumbled.

Kai sighed while the boy beside him chuckled. "It looks like this." Kai held his king up to show Rei.

"I have one, but it's not the same color."

"That's fine, hand it over." Kai said, holding his hand out.

Rei plucked out his king and handed it over, though he was more confused than before.

"We're only comparing the cards by their number or letter." The red-head explained, seeing the look of confusion of the Chinese boy's face. "I'm Yuriy by the way."

"Rei…" He answered meekly.

"Well, it's your turn Rei." Yuriy said, giving Rei a small smile.

"Do you have this one?" Rei asked, pulling out and showing Yuriy his three of diamonds.

"Nope, now pick the top card off the pile." Yuriy answered.

As the game went on Rei got a bit better, learning the names of each card and how the game worked more, though by the end of it he ended up not pairing any of his cards and losing most of them as he wasn't told that when he had a full set he could place them down and out of the game, and in the end he lost his whole deck to the other two.

The entire time they were playing he had completely forgotten where he was, and who he had become, as he enjoyed one night of freedom after several days of what he could only describe as hell. For the first time since being in the manor he felt relaxed, even if every time Kai spoke to him did he tense and feel as though he did something wrong or was about to be sent away from them back to the crowd of adults that gave him awful looks and whispered mean things about him.

After the game the boys just relaxed, Yuriy throwing a pillow at Rei who took it and curled up in the other corner and fell asleep the second he laid his head down upon it.

"Should we wake him up?" Yuriy asked as he and Kai headed for the door, Kai looking back at the still sleeping boy.

"No." Kai answered, stepping through the door first and closing it behind Yuriy as he came out of the small room.

"Well, I should go see my mother before I have to leave." Yuriy said as he strode away from Kai who only nodded to him. "Happy birthday Kai!" He called out as he made his way around the railing to the stairs that led to the first floor on their left.

Kai only smirked and stepped back into the hidden room. Rei hadn't stirred once, still sleeping peacefully on the pillow and fur pelt in the corner. From a chest that sat across from the door in a small alcove, Kai pulled out a blanket and draped it over Rei who pulled it closer around his chin.

Blowing out the candles along the floor, Kai headed back to the small door. Just as he reached his hand out for the handle, he paused as Rei breathed out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Thank you…"