It had been a habit of his, something he had done since he had been very young, when he had been all alone inside a dreary and huge castle.
Mother would be sitting in an empty office, sea green eyes dimmed from exhaustion and fingers looking as if they were glued to her temple, constantly rubbing in small circles to rid herself of a migraine.
Gwendal would be sitting in stony silence just across the hall, reviewing and re-briefing battle plans that would cause many other chrisom stained battle fields, losses on both sides.
Konrad would not even be in the castle, sleeping in a cold tent on the hard ground with a bristly blanket and lumpy pillow.
And Wolfram...he would be with all of them even if they didn't realize it. They were too busy to notice a teary eyed, lonely little boy looking like a ghost standing in the middle of a freezing hall.
Sneaking out of his room and leaving behind a snoring nanny, small feet pattered down the hall. Instead of stopping to see his mother, he snuck past both occupied offices and soon arrived at his dear mother's bedroom. Opening the door and listening to the hinges squeak, he silently hoped no one else had heard. Tip-toeing over towards the bed, he picked up one of the lacy pillows and tucked it beneath his arm. Sneaking back into the hall, the male glanced around to check if anyone was coming.
Rushing down the middle of the hall to avoid having to touch the cold stony floor, he soon reached Gwendal's room and snuck in, going straight towards one of the selves filled with various sewed plushies that were supposed to be some animal but looked like something else. Grabbing one that was meant to be a puppy, but looked more like a ferret, he quickly tucked it beneath his other arm. Doubling checking the hall again, a faint squeak of surprise came from his throat and closed the door as he noticed a shadow rounding the corner.
Waiting for the footsteps to disappear completely, he soon stuck his head out to take a glance around and was soon rushing down the hall once again, almost tripping over the oversized white night shirt on his petite frame. Gasping softly, he regained his balance before continuing his scampering to his next destination.
Soon the little blonde arrived in front of Konrad's closed door. Taking a deep breath, the small boy stared up towards the door, hesitation plastered on his innocent features. Finally reaching up to touch the cold brass knob, he turned it and examined the empty room. Still pausing, Wolfram suddenly jolted across the floor and jumped into the bed to avoid the 'monsters' lurking underneath. Placing the frilly pillow down and tugging the sheets over his body, he clutched the knit animal to his chest, breathing in the combined scents.
Gasping, heartbreaking sobs were wretched from his lips, fragile chest raising and falling spastically. A little boy wasn't supposed to be left alone, left to worry over if his half-brothers were going to come alive, left to listen his mother worry herself to death over her children and country.
The tears continued to fall, but as soon as the sun rose, they dried up, completely red and puffy eyes; half lidded and watching the sun's attempt to comfort him. Lids finally fell and even in his sleep, he clutched the animal tightly, nuzzled his face against the pillow and snuggled deeper into the sheets.
With all these things that reminded him of the people he loved around him, it made his heart ache for some reason he could not understand, but at the same time protected him from his nightmares.
And so it wasn't a huge surprise that the day Wolfram had gone missing after a harsh rejection by Yuuri, his poor heart and mind and soul not being able to take it, they found him in Konrad's bed...with his mother's pillow beneath his head...Gwendal's tattered plushie against his chest...and Yuuri's pajama top on his form, passed out from emotional exhaustion.