Leo lost track of the days. Klaus was the one to ever come and check on him. He would give him two glasses of water a day and one meal of bread and fruit. As the days passed, the fruit kept getting older, until the last two days they had mould covering the top.

It was the only thing telling him that a decent amount of time was passing. Leo did not eat the rotten fruit. The bread was the only thing he ate now, and it never helped the constant ache of his stomach.

It was so cold. No matter how tight he curled up, his body wasn't giving him any warmth anymore.

He jumped as the door was opened and raised his hand to cover the light that entered. It hurt his eyes just to see it now.

"Get him." Klaus said.

"No. No, please… please." Leo begged as he backed up into a corner.

"Hold onto him." The third man said. Leo struggled as Kurt held him from behind, the third man holding his hand and a bowl beneath it. Klaus smirked at him, taking out a knife.

"We're going to write to your father now." He purred, bringing the knife to Leo's palm. "Long live our gracious king." The cold knife sliced Leo's skin.

"AHHH!"

Leo cried out as they collected his blood.

"Shh… shh… Good boy." Kurt whispered against his ear.

"We got it. Pray that your father pays us, little prince." Klaus smirked.

"Wrap him up Kurt." The third man said and the two left him with that horrible man who chuckled, pulling Leo closer against him as he wrapped up his hand.

"No, no, please." Leo begged.

"Shh… little prince. Be good and I'll get you a present later." He hissed against his ear and pushed him down. Leo closed his eyes. He wasn't here… he wasn't here. This wasn't happening.

oOoOoOo

"Father… it's been ten days." Kai said softly.

"We have to get out of here. We have to go help look for him!" Licht yelled.

"No, we don't know who did this! They could be waiting to get you all next." Viktor said.

"Father… we can't just sit around." Bruno pushed.

Eins didn't turn away from the window as he spoke. "Tell them the truth, father." He said.

Viktor clenched his jaw and looked down. "The government has forbidden it." Viktor finally said. "They said the safety of the royal family is the priority." He said softly.

"I will go." Heine said.

Everyone turned to look at him. "We don't know where to start Heine." Viktor said.

"I will go." Heine said once more. Before Viktor could argue, there was loud yelling outside the doors and Maximilian stormed in with a couple of guards.

"Your majesties! A letter." Maximilian said, out of breath. "It's addressed to his majesty the king. It's… written in blood."

Everyone was on their feet then. Viktor took the letter and opened it. He quickly began to read.

All hail the king of Granzreich.

We have your son. Dearest Leonhard has been such a good boy. That is, after his first attempt at escaping. I believe it will be his last. He was given a thorough punishment by one of our men. He has such a way with young boys, I'm sure his royal highness would be happy to explain once he's back in the safety of the palace.

Of course, that all depends on you, your highness.

If you want your son returned to you alive, I suggest you do everything we ask of you.

As I'm sure you will remember, the anniversary of your great victory in battle is soon to be celebrated. The kingdom of Verstace, as promised, will sign to uphold their end of the peace treaty.

You will end the peace treaty with Verstace and eradicate that kingdom from the map as your father always planned.

Only once we are at war with Verstace once more, will Leonhard be returned to you.

I can't promise that little Leo will be returned intact, but the longer this takes, the more fun my men can have with the white lily of Granzreich.

I have to say his blood is so smooth to write with.

All hail Granzreich.

Viktor dropped the letter and turned to look away from all of them. Licht ran to it and read it aloud.

"Th-they wrote it in his blood?" Licht whispered, his hands shaking as he reached the end.

Heine reached up and took the letter, inspecting the envelope and the paper.

"This paper comes from the northern region. The wax is the same that is used in most cities of Granzreich. Considering the writing, the person writing this is well schooled and has money."

"They want a war with Verstace. They clearly were unsatisfied with father's resolution to the conflict." Eins said.

"The government would never forgive me restarting that war."

"You're the king!" Licht yelled.

"It's not that simple, Licht. You know this. Your father reigns by right of the government. He must work with the choices of the people." Heine said.

"Stop it! What are you all saying? Are we just going to let Leo die?" Licht yelled.

"No. Never." Viktor hissed.

"The anniversary is a month away. I will go look for Leonhard. You do what you must, Viktor." Heine said.

"I'm going with you." Licht said.

"No, you are not." Viktor said.

"You can't stop me!" Licht yelled.

"I can have you arrested to your room if I have to. These people are dangerous Licht!" Viktor yelled.

"Licht, listen to father. We have to stay here." Bruno said.

"No!" Licht yelled.

"You are not the only one that wishes for Leo's return, Licht." Kai finally spoke and it shocked Licht into silence as he looked away, crossing his arms over his chest, holding onto himself tight.

"I'll leave right away." Heine said and made his way out.

Eins looked at his father. "Can that tutor really be trusted?" He said.

"Professor Heine will find Leo. I know it." Bruno whispered.

Viktor came over to Licht and pulled him into his arms. "We'll find him, Licht." He whispered. Licht didn't push him away but didn't hug him back either.

"And if we don't? Will you declare war?" Licht whispered.

"I can't." Viktor looked away. This was the hardest thing he'd ever done as king. "If it was money I wouldn't even think about it but..." He whispered.

Licht pulled back. "What do you care about a fourth son after all? It's a good thing they didn't take me or you would have had me killed just to save you the trouble of searching!"

Viktor did something he never thought he'd do. He slapped Licht across the face. "Don't ever say something like that again. I would die for all of you ten times over! Don't ever forget that!" He hissed, shaking his youngest son by the shoulders. Licht simply pulled away and ran.

Eins stepped forward. "I'll inform the guards to keep a close eye on Licht." He said as he left.

"Please… leave me." Viktor whispered to his other two children.

Bruno came and hugged his father. "Licht didn't mean it, father." He said softly.

Viktor held him close. "I know. I know." He whispered. Bruno left and Kai hugged him also.

As they left, Viktor sat down on his chair. "Please find him, Heine." He whispered to the empty room.

oOoOoOo

Leo flinched as Kurt opened the door at the dead of night. Everything was quiet. Leo brought his aching hand close to his chest. It had been a few days since they'd cut him and his hand was hurting more and more.

Kurt would come nightly now, when the other two were out or asleep. He would always ask him whether he could get him anything, but Leo always stayed quiet. It didn't stop the man from taking what he wanted.

"You look pale, my little flower." He said, coming to feel his forehead. Leo didn't flinch. If he did, he knew he would only get hurt. "You're quite warm. Want me to get you something? Some nice cool water?" He asked.

Leo didn't say anything, like always.

"Do you know how long you've been here?" He asked, trailing his fingers down his neck and chest. "You've been here fifteen days. We've written many letters to your father. He wasn't accepting our terms. The blood was necessary this time to send a message. He still hasn't accepted." He said, trailing his hand lower to Leo's knee, trailing his nightgown up.

"What terms?" Leo asked with a frown.

"You kept saying he would pay, so we wrote to him to pay us. He doesn't want to pay my sweet. I guess being the fourth son, you're not worth much to him." He said, climbing on top of him.

"No, no… It's not true." Leo whispered.

"It's true…" he purred leaning down. "But don't worry. I'll take care of you. I won't let those two kill you." His voice was shaking as he panted against Leo's ear, desperately undoing his own trousers.

Tears blurred Leo's eyes. "It's not true. Father will pay. Father will-!" Leo gasped as Kurt got what he wanted, groaning in relief. Leo closed his eyes. This wasn't happening. It wasn't. He wasn't here.

"It's true. Your father doesn't want to pay. Nnh…"

Leo whimpered and sobbed.

"I'll look after you. I'll take good care of you, little flower."

By the time it was over, Leo's tears had dried up as he stared up at the ceiling. He felt numb all over.

"Can I get you anything my pet?" Kurt purred.

Leo opened his mouth, trying to find words to tell him to die. "A bath…" Leo begged.

The man smirked, a victorious expression on his face. "Anything for my little flower." He purred and left.

oOoOoOo

The next morning, Leo was woken up by the third man, whose name he still hadn't caught. "Get up." He ordered.

Leo struggled with that. His body was sore all over, his hand was still aching and his soul still felt heavy as lead after what Kurt had told him.

"Come here." He ordered. Leo limped forward, tensing the closer he got to that man. Even if he was the one that hurt him the least, he still wasn't shy about doing so. He took out a knife and cut the rope holding his hands together. Leo shuddered at the horrid state of his wrists. He didn't even want to look at them. "Get out."

Leo shuddered. Was this it? Had they decided to kill him? He stepped out and closed his eyes, his head bursting with pain as his eyes adjusted to the light.

"While you're here, you're going to make yourself useful." He said and pushed Leo forward. Leo fell onto his knees and opened his eyes, seeing the bucket and cloth. "Clean the floors."

Leo looked up, confused. "I… I don't know how." He admitted. The other two, Kurt and Klaus weren't here, and there was only one door, which Leo guessed led to the outside due to the opaque window allowing the sun's light through.

The man grabbed him by the hair painfully. "You grab the fucking cloth and wipe the floor, you imbecile." He hissed and let go of him, before going off to sit in the corner, drinking from a bottle of wine to pass the time.

Leo used his good hand to wet the cloth, starting the tedious process of cleaning the floor. He didn't think he could ever get used to feeling so sore. He just wanted this to be over. He wanted to go home.

The other two returned a short while later and made themselves a stew to eat that had Leo's stomach rumbling furiously. Kurt glanced at him and winked and Leo looked away, scrubbing the floor harder.

"Mmh… not bad for a pampered little fool." Klaus said, walking over to him. Leo flinched, backing away. The man grabbed the bucket full of freezing, dirty water and dumped it over him. Leo gasped, shuddering, holding himself as he began to shiver. "Get into your room, your royal highness." He hissed.

Leo didn't even have time to react as he was grabbed by his arm and dragged to the dark room. Leo stumbled in and a firm kick to his back sent him crashing onto the floor. The men laughed and slammed the door shut and Leo curled into himself, crying softly.

He was so cold and yet he couldn't keep himself awake. The only thing that roused him was a shake of his shoulders.

"Wake up my little flower." Kurt whispered and Leo flinched, jumping awake instantly. Kurt placed his index finger over his lips and smirked, pulling him up. "Come quietly." He said, walking him out of the room.

The bigger room now had no fires lit and it was still night out. Kurt opened the front door and Leo shuddered as he took a deep breath of fresh air.

"Wh-where are we going?" Leo asked.

"I promised you a present, didn't I?" He said, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him close.

Leo felt like he would have thrown up if he'd had anything in his stomach to hurl. He loathed this man and yet he was so cold that he was grateful for the warmth the other's hold provided.

Leo looked around at the decrepit houses built all around. He was terrified of walking barefoot in the shanty side of this town, and yet he had to stumble right next to the man that had hurt him far more than even Klaus had.

Kurt knocked on a random door and an old woman opened the door. She was blind, to Leo's dismay, and holding a horn to her ear. Gone were his hopes of getting recognised.

"Yes?"

"Do you have it ready?" Kurt asked.

"Of course I do, come in, come in." She greeted them jovially. "It's nice and hot for you." She said, hobbling over to the centre of the room where Leo saw a bath with steaming water. Leo watched Kurt pay the old woman and come over, undoing his clothes.

"Get undressed." He ordered Leo.

Leo looked away. He couldn't take a bath with this bastard. "Please… I don't want…"

"I said… undress." Leo looked at the old woman, who had sat herself down, humming as she worked her needle through some cloth. "That deaf, blind woman can't help you." Kurt said and forced Leo to look at him, leaning in to kiss him.

Leo shuddered when he pulled back and looked down at his sleeping gown. Instead of pink it was covered in grime, torn in many places and all the lace had been practically ruined. Leo reached down and pulled it off, dropping it by the bath, allowing Kurt to help him step into the warm water.

Leo whimpered at the relief of the hot water on his skin and couldn't stop himself from bursting into tears. Why did he have to be so weak?

"Shh… shh…" Kurt purred, entering the water with him and taking his injured hand. "Lets have a look at this." He said. Leo whimpered as the other tugged on the cloth he'd used to wrap around his wound. Leo flinched as he saw the cloth pulled away, seeing his hand inflamed and clearly infected. "Oh dear, let's hope it doesn't become gangrenous. We'd have to cut off your wrist to keep you alive a little longer." He smirked and Leo looked away. "If only your father had paid your rescue, you wouldn't be suffering like this. My poor little prince."

The man took his time washing him, which Leo hated to admit felt wonderful on his abused skin. When he began getting closer, Leo closed his eyes. He wasn't here. This wasn't happening.

"Leo?" Leo opened his eyes to see his father smiling at him. "What are you doing here my sweet child?"

Leo looked around him. He was in the gardens, sitting on the swing.

"I…"

"Come, Leo." His father said.