Chapter 2: Broken Soul
Ienzo stares as Braig joins the breakfast table the next morning. Aeleus can't blame him; Braig's face is heavily bandaged. Braig scowls at Ienzo and he quickly lowers his gaze to his plate again.
"It's good to see you, Braig," Dilan says softly.
Braig merely grunts at him before taking his customary seat.
"Now that Braig is here we can discuss who will be taking care of Ienzo today," Ansem says from the head of the table.
"Well it sure as hell ain't gonna be me," Braig sneers.
"You should be the one to take care of him today, because you were supposed to be watching him yesterday. Only you left without a word," Even says icily. "Because of your carelessness, Ienzo was free to wander about the town and was attacked by some of those creatures. He was lucky he wasn't killed!"
"Whatever," Braig says with great indifference. "Pass the eggs, will you Dilan?"
"How can you be so careless?" Even demands as Braig plops a large helping on scrambled eggs on his plate.
"Simple. I ain't the kid's babysitter," Braig says.
"Like hell you aren't!" Even's voice rises. "Ienzo is our responsibility now."
"You know, I didn't ask for this." Braig waves his spoon around in his agitation, sending bits of scrambled eggs flying.
Aeleus glances over at Ienzo, who sits quietly, playing with his scrambled eggs. A tear slips down Ienzo's cheek and lands on his plate as the argument grows. Then, there's a soft scraping sound as Ienzo pushes his chair back from the table. The entire room falls silent for a moment and everyone stares at Ienzo.
"Excuse me," he murmurs.
He rises and hurries out of the dining room. As he passes, Aeleus sees his usually expressionless face contorted with pain. A wave of cold fury surges through him as the arguments pick up at full force again and Ienzo runs from the room. He rises from his place and stares coldly at the others, who have fallen silent once more.
"You should be ashamed of yourself for arguing in front of a child like that." His words resound like a slap to the face.
When he steps into the hallway, Ienzo is nowhere to be found. Automatically, he heads for the library. At first, it appears to be deserted, but Aeleus knows better. After a bit of searching, he comes across Ienzo hiding at the end of one of the rows of books. He sits with his back against the wall, knees pulled up to his chest, and his head buried in his knees. Aeleus realizes after a moment or two, Ienzo is crying softly. He kneels down in front of the little boy. The small grey-silver head shoots up and when he sees Aeleus, he gives a soft gasp and immediately starts scrubbing his eyes with his sleeve to try and conceal the fact that he had been crying.
"It's okay," Aeleus tells him softly.
Ienzo hesitates for a fraction of a second and then throws himself at Aeleus, sobbing. Aeleus wraps his arms around him and tries to comfort him the best he can as it seems all of the feelings Ienzo had been trying to hold back come flooding out all at once.
"I'm scared," Ienzo sobs.
"You'd be a fool if you weren't," Aeleus says.
"I didn't mean for it to happen," Ienzo whispers.
"I know," Aeleus says gently.
After a while, Ienzo's sobs stop, though tears still streak down his face. Aeleus reaches up and gently wipes the tears away.
"Come on," he says softly. "We should get you cleaned up."
Ienzo nods and together, they rise. Aeleus takes his hand and leads him out of the library. On their way to Ienzo's room, they pass Even, who looks curiously at them. Ienzo buries his face in the material of Aeleus's pants, refusing to meet his gaze. He does not look up until he and Aeleus are safely in his room and Aeleus has closed the door.
Without a word, Aeleus leads Ienzo into the bathroom and forces him to sit on the closed toilet seat. He fetches a washcloth and wets it with warm water.
"Here," he murmurs, handing the washcloth to the silent little boy seated on the toilet seat. "Wash your face with this. It'll help you feel better."
Ienzo takes the washcloth and washes his face. Once he's done, Aeleus has a look at him. His one visible eye is red and puffy from crying and his lips are pressed together into a thin line. He looks so young and vulnerable, sitting there on the toilet seat.
A soft knock on the bedroom door brings Aeleus out of his thoughts. A silent understanding passes between him and Ienzo and he goes and answers the door. He's surprised to find Ansem standing outside.
"Hello Aeleus," Ansem says. "How is Ienzo?"
"Upset," Aeleus says flatly. "He was crying."
"I see," Ansem says, frowning.
"He's calmed down now," Aeleus adds.
"I'm very glad to hear that," Ansem says. He clears his throat. "I will be the one looking after Ienzo today."
"I will let him know," Aeleus says.
He turns and heads back into Ienzo's room. Ienzo is in the same spot as before, his eyes focused on the tile floor. Aeleus walks over to him and kneels down in front of him. He reaches up and gently touches Ienzo on the shoulder. Ienzo looks up with a quiet gasp.
"It's just me," Aeleus says soothingly. "I came to tell you that Ansem is going to be looking after you today."
"All right," Ienzo says in a flat voice. "I'll get ready."
Aeleus nods and leaves the bathroom to give Ienzo some privacy. He returns to the hallway where Ansem waits, closing the door behind him.
"Ienzo is getting ready," he tells the other man.
Ansem nods. The two of them are silent for a while. Then, Ansem says, "I'm grateful that you were looking out for Ienzo and took care of him like you did."
"It was no problem at all, Master Ansem," Aeleus says curtly. He hesitates for a moment before adding, "I had a strange feeling."
"Oh?" Ansem prompts.
"While Ienzo was crying, I felt something," Aeleus says. "It was like I hated seeing him cry and I would do anything to stop his tears. I don't understand this strange feeling."
To his utter surprise, Ansem chuckles softly. "It is not something strange, what you are feeling. It is much like a father feeling concern for his child."
Aeleus blinks. "I didn't think of it like that."
"It's good that you care about him," Ansem insists softly.
They're interrupted by Ienzo's door opening. The little boy shuffles out, his head lowered.
"Are you ready to go?" Ansem asks.
Ienzo merely nods, keeping his head lowered. Ansem takes his hand and leads him away. Ienzo glances back at Aeleus with a single red-rimmed eye, but says nothing.
.o.O.o.
From the Diary of Ienzo
Today was not a good day at all. An argument broke out over breakfast about who was going to take care of me today and I lost control of my emotions. I broke down in front of Aeleus like a complete fool. I suppose I shouldn't complain; it could have been worse. It could have been Even or Braig.
I am not sure why I completely broke down in front of Aeleus like that. It was like all my emotions came flooding out and there was no way for me to stop them. Aeleus was kind, at least. He's always kind to me and I'm extremely grateful for that.
Even so, sometimes I wish I didn't have any emotions.
.o.O.o.
Aeleus yawns as he switches on the kitchen light. It's well past midnight and he'd much rather be sleeping, but that's not an option at the moment. Almost on cue, angry shouts echo through the kitchen. Aeleus sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, sick of the arguments between Even and Braig about Braig's constant disappearances.
He starts when he hears a soft sound. He turns and sees Ienzo standing in the doorway in his pajamas, rubbing his one visible eye. He looks worn out from the day's activities.
"Shouldn't you be in bed, Ienzo?" Aeleus asks, though he knows for a fact that Even had put Ienzo to bed hours ago.
"I was," Ienzo says grumpily. "Their shouting woke me up." He glares at the hallway over his shoulder.
"Yeah, they're keeping me up too," Aeleus says. "I was going to make some tea while I wait for them to finish arguing. Would you like to join me?"
"Yes please," Ienzo says.
Aeleus fills the battered teapot with water and sets it on the stove. While the water boils, he takes out two teacups and sets them on the counter, then goes into the cupboard to find the tea.
When the teapot starts whistling, Aeleus fills each cup and adds the teabags. Then, he and Ienzo head into the adjoining dining room. Ienzo flinches as shouts echo through the room. Aeleus rises with a frown and shuts the door that leads back to the hallway, muffling the sound a bit. Ienzo tightens his grip on his teacup.
"I'm glad they're not arguing about me for once," he murmurs.
"Me too," Aeleus agrees as he rejoins Ienzo at the table.
Ienzo takes a small sip of his tea and then looks up at Aeleus. "Chamomile?"
"Yes, that's right," Aeleus says with a smile.
"It's really soothing," Ienzo says.
"Yes," Aeleus agrees.
They finish their tea in a companionable silence. Aeleus has always been a man of few words and it can be difficult sometimes. But with Ienzo, he doesn't feel like he has to force a conversation. Ienzo is comfortable with Aeleus just being there, something he's very good at.
Aeleus notices that Ienzo is drifting off and takes their teacups back to the kitchen. When he returns to the dining room, it's quiet and Ienzo is pretty much asleep with his head nestled in his arms on the table. Aeleus carefully picks the little boy up. Ienzo murmurs a sleepy protest, but doesn't fight too much. Aeleus tucks him back into his bed and crosses the room.
He's at the door when he hears Ienzo murmur, "Good night, Aeleus."
Aeleus stops walking, but doesn't turn around.
"Good night, Ienzo."
Author's Notes
Music Notes: For the scene between Aeleus and Ienzo in the library, I listened to "Addicted to a Certain Lifestyle" from Series 3 of Sherlock. It's such a sad violin piece that I feel fits that scene well. Also, I'm such a Sherlock whore. :P
