Hello everyone! My god, this is the longest chapter yet! I hope you all enjoy and once again I want to thank all of you who praised this story so far!

And for the most resent guest (I'm not sure if you're the same guest who asked about Ida, I really wish we could private message guests on this site), the answers you are looking for are coming up soon! And I thank you for the encouragement, I am trying to do better with my writing!

That being said, let's get this show on the road shall we?

Warnings for this chapter: Mentions of molestation. Just mentioned though, nothing like the other chapter.

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Chapter fourteen: Life of an orphan, from thief to musician.

Danny wakes and finds himself laying in a dirty alley in England. He stands and stretches, feeling his back pop painfully as he rolls his shoulders. He looks down at himself, checking to see that nobody robbed him in his sleep and sees that he is still wearing his dirty brown shirt, trousers, and worn shoes that are a size too small. He runs his hand through the greasy and tangled mess he calls hair, and looks at his surroundings, finding himself alone as usual. When he feel his stomach growl, he sighs tiredly.

'Let's get this over with.' He thinks in resignation to what he has to do. He walks into the crowd, sizing up the people strolling the wide and dirty streets. He spots a man in a fine suit and begins to follow him, making sure to keep far enough back so people won't suspect what he is about to do. The black haired gentleman makes the mistake of turning down a street with fewer people and Danny sees his chance.

Danny gets closer to the oblivious man, and carefully puts his hand in one of his pockets. He makes sure to keep pace with the man, slowly pulling out his wallet.

"Boy, what do you think your doing?"

Danny jerks back, dropping the wallet. The man turns and raises a brow at the frightened boy, said boy speaking nonsense as he tries to apologize. The man waves a hand, silencing him.

"Either you're not a very good thief or the people you stole from were moronic. Tell me, which do you think is the case, young one?" He inquires menacingly.

Danny is silent as he only knew half of what the man was saying. The man seems to consider him, "You don't know how to speak do you? Where are your parents?"

Danny actually knows that word and looks down at his shoes in dejection. He shakes his head slowly, tears coming to his eyes.

The man sees this and gazes at the boy pityingly, "I see..." He seems to think for a moment before a kind smile spreads on his face, "Well I can't leave you out on the streets, and I see you don't like that you have to steal for a living, so..." He picks up his wallet and holds out a hand to the boy, "Why don't I take you in? I have a ship that caters to the most refined people in the world, so I'm well off. You won't have to go hungry again."

Danny should have known better than to trust a stranger, seeing how his life was, but it looked like the man was willing to help him. Danny grins and nods, almost making himself dizzy with the force. The man chuckles as he takes the boy's hand, walking with him to the docks. "My name is Vlad Masters, do you have a name Little Badger?"

Danny thinks about what the man said. It sounded like he was introducing himself, so Danny figured that it wouldn't hurt to do the same. He told the man the only words he somewhat knew how to say.

"Dan..nee..Jame..s-son..."

Life was bad once, then it got better...

A year later, Danny is able to speak pretty good english, though because he hadn't learned it until he was seven, he still has to think about what was said and what to say, causing him to have a bit of a stutter. Nobody on the staff seemed to have a problem with it though; in fact from what he could decipher they thought it was cute.

Danny's life had taken a drastic change for the better. He did odd jobs around the ship with the staff to make it up to Vlad, even learning how to read and write a little bit from the cook when the lady had the time. Everyone unanimously agreed that they wouldn't be where they were if it wasn't for Vlad. And now, to top off Danny's good fortune, Vlad has brought a boy about his age on the ship to live with them.

The boy has a dark skin color and really curly black hair that is cut close to his head. He wears the usual staff outfit of grey short sleeve shirt and grey trousers like Danny does, and has light green eyes. Vlad was even nice enough to get the boy some glasses, since the boy couldn't see very well. Danny was the only kid on the ship until now, and had never had friends his age before, so he was eager to meet the other boy. The boy is part of the kitchen staff, so Danny thought it would be the perfect place to meet him.

He goes into the kitchen to do dishes, (He wasn't aloud to collect them from the tables but he was allowed to wash them if there were any) and finds the other black haired boy trying to scrub the grease off of one of the pans.

Danny walks over, grabs a plate and wash cloth and starts to help. The other boy is so focused that he doesn't realize Danny is there until he goes to rinse the pan. He shrieks in surprise and drops the pan, making dirty water splash everywhere.

"Good lord man, you startled me to death!" The boy exclaims, a hand over his chest. "You like scaring people like that?"

Danny grins sheepishly and shrugged, "S-s-sorry 'bout that."

The boy glares at him suspiciously, "What'cha stuttering for? You scared of me cause I'm black?"

Danny looks at him, his brow wrinkling as he frowns in confusion, "Black? Why would I be scared of a color?"

The boy studies him for a minute before his eyes widen in realization. "You don't know what a black person is?"

Danny shakes his head, not able to get what the other kid is saying. The kid sighs in exasperation, "A colored person! A Nigro! Which is what I am! You ain't gonna spit on me or something?*"

Danny gazes at him like he'd grown a second head, "W-why would I s-s-spit on you? Do you w-w-want me to?"

"No!" The boy says, shaking his head, "It's just my dad was black and people always call me a biracial freak, why aren't you doing that?"

Danny shrugs, "W-why would I do that? Isn't it the person under the s-s-skin that counts?"

The boy stares at him in disbelief, "Really? No one's ever done that before," He suddenly grins extra wide, "You're alright kid! Name's Tucker Colins, TC as in 'too cool'.*"

Danny snorts before taking the offered hand, "Vl-Vlad calls me Daniel, but I like to be called Danny better. D-Danny Jameson."

But things changed as time went on...

Years pass and Danny is now thirteen years old. Vlad had been teaching Tucker violin for a few months and he was getting pretty good. But even if Danny is happy for his best friend, he can't help but be sad. Vlad taught Danny perfect English but he refused to teach him anything else, saying that since Danny didn't mingle with the passengers he didn't need to learn another language.

"And why would you?" Vlad had told him, "The staff doesn't speak another language. Are you saying that you want to be better than them Daniel?"

Danny had conceded the point at the time, he didn't want to make himself better than the others, they were like family to him. But he wants to learn more. He is able to read a little bit, though he still doesn't know numbers, (none of the staff could count and Vlad thought there wasn't any point) and he can write his name along with simple words, which is more than he would have been able to do if he was still on the streets in London.

But it isn't enough! Danny had spent most of his life not learning anything except how not to get caught, which Vlad certainly showed he wasn't good at. If anyone else had caught him he would have been sent to slave in the workhouses for the rest of his life. He owes his life to Vlad, and doing simple chores around the ship doesn't match that. So finally, he decides to approach Vlad and ask him if he can learn violin.

"Why would you want to learn something like that?" The man asks absently as he works through his paperwork.

Danny shuffles his feet as his eyes take in the lavish, yet sparse office/cabin, "You're teaching Tucker to play it, I want to learn it too."

Vlad finally glances up at the raven haired boy and sighs, putting his pen down, "I don't think you're suited to violin Daniel," He says carefully.

Danny's blood boiled, "But why?! You're teaching Tucker to play it, your even going to let him up on stage in front of all those people! Why can't I-"

"Daniel," Vlad says with a hard look. Danny flinches and falls silent at the reprimand, glaring at the ground as if it was the thing that had wronged him.

Vlad sits at his desk in silence, gazing at Danny calmly before saying, "What's the real reason, Daniel? Your not petty enough to be jealous of your friend are you?"

Danny sighs, slouching a little, "I owe you so much for what you did for me sir, doing little tasks around the ship isn't enough," Danny looks Vlad in the eye, something he had never done before, "I don't want you to regret taking me in. I wanna make something of myself, I..." He hardens his look, "I wanna make you proud."

Vlad takes in Danny's speech, tapping his finger on his chin. Finally, he says, "Alright Little Badger, I'll consider it," Danny's face brightens and he begins bouncing on the balls of his feet, "Though I still don't think the violin is right for you." Danny deflates at that, "How about..." Vlad taps his chin before he smiles, a thought coming to him, "I get you something better, something to which you could truly express yourself with."

"Like what?" The raven questions, eager to prove himself.

Vlad chuckles, "You'll see..."

And things became less innocent as the child became a man...

Danny runs into his room, shutting the door and locking it with trembling hands. He slides down onto the floor, clutching fist fulls of his hair as he rocks himself. He hears a knock on the door behind him and freezes, heart pounding in his chest.

"Danny? Come on man, open up."

Danny sighs when he realizes it is just Tucker. He shakily stands and unlocks the door, flinging it open and pulling Tucker through before slamming and locking it again.

Tucker sits on the bed, watching as Danny paces around the small and sparce grey room, running his hand through his shaggy hair and gripping it. Tucker also takes in the disheveled clothes, shirt rumpled and belt half undone.

Finally fed up with the silence, he asks, "Danny, what happened? You ran past me so fast I could hardly see you."

Danny's head jerks over and his eyes locked on the dark skinned boy. Tucker almost falls backwards at the intensity of the raven's gaze, fear and confusion swimming in the ocean blue depths.

"You wanna know what happened Tuck? Well so do I! Everything happened so fast I couldn't-" Danny whines in distress and throws his head back, hands pulling so hard on his hair he was in danger of ripping it out.

Tucker stands up and grabs his friend's wrists, pulling them away from the inky black strands, "Danny slow down! Tell me what happened."

Danny takes several deep breaths before he finally calms down enough to speak, though he is still trembling. "Okay okay, well, you remember that I was able to debute today right?" He says in a rush. Tucker nods, showing that he is listening, "Well, I preformed and the crowd clapped and-and I walked off the stage right? I-I was going to come back here to change when Vlad caught me..."

"And?" Tucker prods.

Danny takes a shuddering breath and grins, his eyes wide and manic, "He said that I was great! Said that I was a true prodigy and that he was proud of me!" He laughs crazily, "Can-can you believe that?"

Tucker releases his wrists and takes a step back, "Actually, yeah I can, I told you you were good. But that doesn't explain why you're clothes are out of place and you're stuttering, you haven't stuttered in years man!"

Danny starts running his hands up and down his arms, "Well, h-he said that he had something for me, s-since I did such a good job," He pauses for a minute, and Tucker's eyes go wide in shock as it dawns on him what might have happened, "I-I went into his room with him, you know, not thinking anything since I had been in his room before. B-But then he got really close to me and started t-touching me and," he huffs, "He put his hand down my pants. I was so shocked that I didn't do anything at first but then I..." He falters, so Tucker motions for him to go on, "I...I kicked him between his legs and ran." Danny finishes in one breath.

Tucker is silent for a moment before he keels over laughing, clutching his sides.

"This isn't funny Tucker!" Danny squeals. Tucker takes a deep breath and grabs Danny's shoulders.

"I wasn't laughing at you man, I was laughing at what you did to Vlad! Man, who knew he was such a nasty ass!"

Danny looks at their feet, "But I hurt him Tuck, even if he did that I hurt the captain, He might kick me out on the streets again!" Danny's eyes widen in horror at the thought.

His friend shakes his head, "I won't let him do that to you Danny, what he did was wrong, you did the right thing by kicking him in the jewels," Both cringe at that, Tucker recovering first, "He can't kick you off this ship Danny, the staff loves you, and from the reception you got there ain't no way he can kick you out without losing profit."

Danny thinks about what Tucker said for a bit before he nods slowly, "Yeah, y-you're right."

Tucker smirks, happy he got through to the blue eyed boy, "Ain't I always?" He lets go of Danny and walks to the door, unlocking it and stepping out. He turns back to Danny saying cheerfully, "Come on, get changed, I'm pretty sure that Margaret's got some of those sweet rolls you love so much, don't want me to eat 'em all do ya'?" On that note he closes the door behind him.

Danny smiles a little. Yeah, Tucker was right, Vlad couldn't get rid of him, the people loved his music and the cruise staff loved him like their own child. So with that in mind, Danny changes out of his suit and into the grey outfit he'd always wore since the captain took him in. He opens the door, prepared to follow his friend, when he runs into a solid chest. He backs away, ready to apologize, when he looks up and his breath halts in his lungs at the site of the very man he had harmed and ran from.

Vlad keeps his face carefully blank, though his dark blue eyes seem to be darker as they gaze upon the younger male in displeasure. Danny instinctively steps back, eyes wide as plates as he feels sweat bead on his forehead. Vlad is quiet, making Danny start to wonder if maybe he would get kicked off, when the captain finally says in a very low voice,

"I will over look what happened today, seeing as you did so well in your performance to the passengers. However, don't think that I will let this pass again Daniel."

He steps into the room, and Danny backs away to keep the man out of his personal space, "You said yourself that you owe your life to me, would have had nothing if I hadn't taken you in," He manages to back Danny against a wall, "And didn't you also say that you didn't want me to regret that? I could have very well turned you into the police all those years ago, but I didn't. Do you know why?"

Danny shakes his head fearfully as Vlad narrows his eyes, "Because you had potential boy, so the next and anytime I need you to 'prove yourself' you had best comply. And if you think you can run away, then remember this:"

He grabs Danny's collar, looking the shaking boy straight in the eye, "I can find you anywhere in the world. If anyone tries to help you, they will regret it in the most painful way. And," Vlad shakes him to get his point across, the back of Danny's head hitting the metal wall painfully and making him see black spots.

"Despite what any of those servants of mine think, I could make any of you disappear and no one would wonder or care. And that goes for you too."

He drops the frightened boy on his rear, saying dismissively, "I want you to think about that. And just so you're not distracted, you will not be leaving this room for a week," He glared down at the raven, "And you are not to have any contact with the violinist either."

Vlad walks away, picking up the key on the bed as he leaves. He closes the door and Danny hears the click of the lock. The sound seems to echo around the room causing Danny to shiver at the finality. He curls in on himself, hiding his face in his knees. He hasn't felt so afraid since he was seven; and Vlad, the man that he and the staff thought of as their savior, was the cause of it.

After a week, Vlad let Danny out of his room, though he never got his key back, and whenever the man wanted him the blue eyed boy fought, which led to Danny being locked in his room for weeks at a time. Tucker tried to help but it was no use; neither of the boys could do anything.

They never told anyone about it either, not that anyone would believe them anyway. This went on for months and Danny stopped fighting, beginning to accept it as part of his life, even enjoying it to a certain extent though he always became nauseous afterwards.

It is then after several months that Daniel Baritoni, heir to a fortune in Italy, started coming on the ship...

Trivia

*During the 1920's, British women were considered less than lower class if they went with someone of a different color. It wasn't just black people that this applied to, Asians and the like we're also subjected to this. Biracial kids were basically social outcasts at this time, so Tucker was understandably suprised when Danny wasn't following the same attitude.

*I have no idea how people talked in this era, but I figured that Tucker being Tucker, he would probably say something like this regardless of what time period it was.