MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY.

I haven't forgotten about my fanfics, haha. Yes, as surprising as it sounds. Anywah ~ Have your late Christmas gift : a new chapter ! (I know I was supposed to update it a long time ago. Hush.)

What, I'm even late for Christmas ? Uh oh. /runs to get ready for next year/

Just kidding, haha. Enjoy !

The noble and his valet were playing in the garden; just by looking at them, one could not guess who had a higher rank. That is pretty much what Elliot wanted to achieve, as young as he was. And Leo kept telling him he would change his mind and think of him like an object as he'll grow older, although he did not hoped so.

"I'm a lion and I will eat you ! Roaaa-aaah.."

The ravenette ended his sentence with a loud yawn, small tears appearing in the corner of his eyes. Elliot was pretty much full of energy. Especially after sitting down the whole day listening to various (yet boring) stuff. He almost choked when Elliot placed his hand over his -wide open- mouth.

"What the hell, Elliot !"

He coughed. His master could be so random..

"The devil would have entered your body !"

"Uh ?"

He blinked, wiping the tears away. Either Elliot read too many legends, or his family told him too many lies. Or both.

"Yes. The devil will enter your body if you open your mouth like that."

"Okay. Thank you, I guess ?"

He already felt pretty much drained after spending the whole day doing various (yet awfully boring) chores. Something made him think that these tasks were not for him, but he was not going to decline the offer and receive even more hate.

"Anyway", Elliot said. "I've got great news !"

"Aside the fact that you just saved me from the devil ?"

At least, Elliot allowed him not to be extraordinarily polite when it was just the two of them. He gave up on playing and sat on the grass, waiting to know what.

"Yeah, even better !" he replied, ignoring Leo's eye roll. "Vanessa got a valet too."

He slightly raised his eyebrows, not really understanding what it had to do with him.

"Awesome. I'm thrilled. I might even collapse from excitment."

Or from tiredness. Elliot obviously did not shared nor did he understood his lack of excitment after learning this. He went on, deciding not to mind that. After all, Leo could be excited without showing it.

Kids did had their ways for everything.

"I know, right ! First, she'll stop minding you and second, if she tells you to do something you are not supposed to, I'll do the same for Hans."

Leo blinked few times, the realisation of the fact slowly reaching his brain. On one hand, he did not really liked the fact Elliot would eventually start bullying someone they did not knew yet just because Vanessa was a b... bad person. Though..

"Oi, Leo ! I can't believe you are already having remorses for something I haven't even done !" Elliot sighed, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Elliot, I know you want to protect me but this isn't right. You will be just like her if you start acting this way."

It would be hard to prevent, but the young valet was determined. He was not strong enough to protect his body yet, but he will give everything to protect his soul from the darkness. Hopefully, Elliot understood the danger. But he was having a hard time letting go of his idea. Vanessa had been so mean.

"You're right.."

Elliot sat next to him, thinking. Being a good person was hard at times. The ravenette was in deep thoughts too, but for another reason. He needed to find something to rise the general mood, quickly.

"We should get ready, don't you think so ?"

The blue-eyed boy looked at him, a bit lost. Leo felt relieved that he did not looked sad, because it meant he did not really cared about harming anyone. And once again, the purity of Elliot's thoughts surprised him. He truly wanted to retablish the balance.

"Ready for what ?"

It was not time to eat yet. He had totally forgot about a special event.

"Well, Vanessa is going to officially introduce her valet. Like you did for me."

Elliot slightly raised an eyebrow. And Leo, who never thought his master would intentionally forget about, knew another round started. True, he had been quickly introduced. Because no one showed up, except Vanessa. Who had been glaring at him without uttering a single word for the whole time. Uh, why did everything was so complicated.

"That'll be without us."

His voice sounded a bit less friendly now. Not an order yet, but almost there. Leo was lost. Their bond couldn't be more precious than his bond with Vanessa, could it ?

"We have to go."

He started nervously chewing the inside of his cheek. This was his role as a valet. Never let his master wander too far away, for whatever reason.

"I know, I know. Where's the brush ?"

"What would you need a brush for ?"

"Fixing your hair, indeed", Elliot retorted as if it was obvious.

"Uh, excuse you."

Leo crossed his arms on his chest. Elliot's hairs were as messy, even if not messier than his.

"Come oooon !"

"Fine.."

Leo got up and went searching for the hated tool. Few minutes later, they were both helping each other with their looks and no one could tell who was the valet. In fact, Leo was quite curious to see if Elliot would remain the same after growing up. Teens change a lot, especially in noble families. They stop seeing the good in everything, start acting high and mighty to impress people, that kind of things.

He would like to believe that Elliot was different. But they were still kids, and it was hard to tell. He just had to enjoy the moment and pray for them not to be the last ones. These thoughts were always lingering in his mind. Along with other voices..

"LEO."

A violent shiver shook him. Elliot often yelled. Not at him though. He made a mental note to stop drowning in his thoughts at random times.

"What ?"

"You looked.. gone."

In fact, his eyes used to look darker when he was in deep thoughts. Not to mention his emotionless features. He let out a small laugh. Elliot certainly thought the devil did took his soul. Seriously, he needed to find that book where the noble's relatives found all these odd stories.

"I'm there. I'll stay as long as you'll need me around."

"I hope so."

They both glanced at the clock. Time to go. Leo tried to straighten his back, but he knew he could never reach the kind composure Elliot had. It's not something one could learn. It was running in his blood, giving him this 'noble' potential that so many people wanted.

Vanessa already sat where she was supposed to. Introducing a valet was no big deal, she told herself. Her young brother did well, although she hated the person he chose. Her relatives slowly filled the room. Even the Duke and the Duchess came. Hans did not had anything special, in Elliot's opinion. But he had Leo. No one could compare.

Leo felt a bit anxious about the dinner. He had no idea whether he should try talking to the newcomer or just ignore him. Since his mistress highly disliked him, Hans would end up following anyway. But it would be sad not to try. Hans was the one to greet him, which made everything easier.

"My name is Leo."

"I know."

The other flashed him a smile before to start eating. Leo shook his head, hiding his eyes behind his long bangs of hair.

"Lady Vanessa doesn't like you."

He shrugged, not knowing if it was a statement or a question.

"I know."

Best answer ever. He took a small bite of bread. This talk didn't seemed to get anywhere.

"That's sad. I would have liked to know you more", Hans added.

Leo did his best not to shrug it off. He got used to. It was weird being only with Hans. Usually, there were other people here, at this time. Maybe they were too busy with the dinner.

"You know my name."

Hans slightly raised a brow as Leo stood up. What was wrong with him ?

"That's more than enough", Leo added while walking away.

He left the new valet in the kitchen and discreetly made his way to Elliot's room, where he waited for the owner's return. He opened a random book and forgot about everything else until then.

" 'Evening Leo."

He finally looked up to greet him back. Even if Elliot seemed surprised to find him there, he didn't asked anything. He jumped off his bed to help him with undressing.

"How was it ?"

"The dinner ? Vanessa was stressed, I don't remembed ever seeing her that anxious", Elliot added with a small frown.

"Weren't you anxious as well ?"

Reffering to his own introducing.

"Maybe. I didn't had a lot of public, it looked more like a rehearsal."

Leo stepped back, leaving him alone to finish. He still had no idea what to think about Hans. He was just devoted to his mistress, as expected. Elliot lit a candle for him to keep reading, despite his protestations.

"Your sight will not get better if you keep reading without light", Elliot noticed. "And how will you protect me if you're blind ?"

Leo had to agree. He did not wanted to waste anything though. He had to learn how to live without light, as difficult as it sounded. Not because winter came and it was getting darker. Not because the role of a valet was to stay hidden and help someone else reach the spotlights.

But just becaue he couldn't always rely on someone to lit up the lights every time. The tiny voices in his head never stopped whispering. And deep inside, he knew Elliot and him will have to part ways someday.

Who will fight the shadows when he'll remain alone ?

"Hey, Leo."

"Yes ?"

He turned around to face Elliot.

"Do you think one of my relatives already lost their soul ?"

Leo thought for a moment. Being honest, they did not looked like getting one to start with.

"I don't know."

Talking about such a deep topic made him feel uneasy. Elliot and him used to have deep talks when there was a topic they could both understand, but he couldn't stand that. They were out of the topic. For once, his mind was quiet. He could quickly fall asleep.

The problem was not missing a soul.

It was having more than one.

See what I did there ? /whistles a random christmas carol/

I'll try to post before the New Year. Not sure though, you know me well enough to tell ~