Pov change...

The first thing out of his mouth when he wakes is, "I hope that man gets pulled down into the deepest pits of hell."

"You don't mean that."

Gilbert grunted. He pushed himself into a sitting position and examined his arms which had been bandaged tightly from his biceps to his wrists.

Ludwig sat at the window to his left, a book on shapeshifters rested in his lap. When Gilbert woke, he closed his book, an impassive look on his face, though Gilbert could clearly tell when his brother was upset with him.

"Why not?" Gilbert flexed an arm. The pain was fainter now and much bearable. "The bastard has no right to order us around as if we were dogs." Gilbert placed his hand on his chest and asked, "Do I look like a dog to you, Lud? No, because I'm not a goddamn dog!"

A sharp spike of pain ran down his right arm. Right, the mark. Gilbert clenched his hand, ignoring the sharp pains.

He hated him. That bastard had too much fun ordering them around and it was about time something was done about it.

"Gilbert." Gilbert faced his brother. "You are not going to attack the headmaster."

"The hell I'm not!" Gilbert pounded his fist on the night table. "We have to fight back, Lud. We can't just let him-"

"We will not." Ludwig replied. "It's our job to serve the Headmaster's family. We've known this since we were children, Brother."

"That doesn't make it okay!"

"And what you did was okay?" Ludwig scooted to the edge of his seat, his hands folded.

"He-"

"Lovino did nothing to you! You attacked him without reason."

"I did have a reason!"

"You did?" Ludwig raised an eyebrow.

Gilbert didn't want to admit that it was on a whim. It wasn't his intention to make the kid pass out, he just wanted to scare him, to create so much fear that the kid would run home crying to him mommy.

He hadn't known that the kid would be so weak! If he wanted to do the same thing to Feli, he'd have to use triple the amount of power to even leave an impression on him.

"I wanted to test him." Gilbert lied.

Ludwig narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure it wasn't because of that?"

Before Gilbert could begin to form a response, a chiming noise came from Ludwigs pocket. Ludwig flipped open the device, quickly scanned it's contents, and stood.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ludwig stopped in front of the door, but didn't turn around.

"I've been summoned by the headmaster for a mission, Gilbert." Ludwig's voice barely rose, making it slightly difficult for Gilbert to hear him. "We can continue this conversation later."

"Get back here!" Gilbert was not ready to let this conversation go, not after being accused. He threw the covers to the floor. "We'll finish this conversation now-"

Gilbert never touched the floor. The pale markings surrounding his bed lit up, pushing the older teen back onto the bed.

"What the hell?" Gilbert studied the markings. The accents looked familiar. "Did you draw this?"

"The headmaster said to keep you there until he arrived." Ludwig replied. He closed the door behind him.

"Ludwig!"

No one answered.

Gilbert was still in bed three hours later when Romulus arrived.

"Hello." Romulus greeted as he took the seat Ludwig occupied earlier this morning.

Gilbert didn't reply. The man was lucky the barrier was still up.

"Come on, now, Gil." Romulus chuckled. "No need to be silent. It won't do you any good, anyway."

Gilbert gritted his teeth. "Hell-o."

"Good." Romulus reclined back in his chair.

"What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Romulus repeated. The man smiled, though the ice cold stare he was giving the teen disrupted his calm allure. "I want to know why you attacked my grandson."

Outside, Gilbert wore a mask of confident anger, but inside, he was scared shitless.

He had messed up this time. Gilbert had done a lot stupid shit over the years, hell, his most recent stupid idea was just recently undone. He had always tried to defy the man in any way he could, but this time he had probably taken it a little far.

"I wanted to test him," Gilbert said, regurgitating his earlier lie.

"Test him?" Romulus's smile vanished as he leaned forward. A faint aura surrounded him. "By trying to kill him?"

Gilbert swallowed. He was in some really deep shit this time.

"I wasn't trying to kill him. You can't kill someone with-"

"Yes you can!" Romulus roared. Gilbert barely kept himself from flinching as the man leaned closer. Romulus whispered, "What would you have done if you killed him, Gilbert?"

"I wasn't trying-"

"What would you have done if you harmed my grandson because of your own issues, hm?" Romulus smiled once again. "Would you have taken his soul?"

Having been accused of the same thing twice in one day, it suddenly clicked that Romulus was concerned with more than just his grandson being harmed.

"I wasn't trying to take his soul!" Gilbert shouted.

Romulus and Gilbert stared at each other for a moment. The clock ticked 40 times before Romulus relaxed.

"We'll worry about this later." Romulus rubbed his forehead.

"Can I go now?"

"You didn't report back to me after your mission."

Gilbert hadn't wanted to see the old man after 10 days in the heat. He had been curious when Francis and Antonio told him about the new Vargas kid.

"You didn't tell me my 'partner' was arriving this week. Is that why you sent me on that mission to Europe?"

"I wanted to give Lovino an adjustment period. I know it can be difficult adjusting to the existence of demons."

Gilbert read between the lines. His mission was supposed to last a bit longer, but the demons he was chasing didn't put up much of a fight. Romulus was probably still letting the kid get adjusted to the school and would probably explain the situation at a later date. Gilbert was talented at making trouble for people.

"Did you find the trace of the Cult?"

Gilbert was in no mood to give a report, but he knew he had little choice. Didn't mean he was going to give in easily.

"Not really."

Romulus narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean not really?"

"I found the guys you told me to follow, but I didn't find a cult."

"What did you do with the demons?"

"I captured them and sent them to the nearest retrieval station. They should arrive in a facility soon enough."

"And you didn't bring them here?"

"No, what was the point?"

"The point," Romulus said, voice low, "Is that you were sent to find the whereabouts of the Cult and you found nothing."

Gilbert said nothing. There was nothing to say. His mission was pointless. He had discovered nothing of importance regarding the mysterious Cult, who, by the way, he was beginning to think was a bunch of baloney.

"We'll discuss this more later. Right now, I want you to get dressed."

"What?" He was expecting much more anger from the man, not a complete dismissal of the topic.

Did he know I wouldn't find anything? Gilbert wondered.

"The festival is still ongoing. I want you to show Lovino around the town."

Gilbert's eyes widened. He wants me to do what?

Romulus gave Gilbert an icey smile.

"I want you to make him feel welcome. Is that understood?"

The sharp pain in his arm increased exponentially, forcing Gilbert to hunch over in pain.

"Yes." Gilbert ground out through clenched teeth.

"Good. He will meet you at the bottom of the staircase in 30 minutes. Don't be late."

The man ran a hand over the markings reverting the magic cast around Gilberts bed. Romulus gave Gilbert's shoulder a firm pat and exited, leaving Gilbert stewing in his thoughts.

He absolutely hated him.