'It's a miracle he's even alive.' Rakshata thought to herself as she made her way through the dusty marble hallways. Her pace slowed down before she came to a stop. Looking to the side, she could make out streaks of where something brushed against the layers of dust against the walls and floor. "Probably from when Suzaku stumbled his way out of his room." The white-haired woman muttered to herself, turning around to glance at the large, ominous black doors that lead to the room where her master has resided for the last ten years.

There were streaks here and there, where he had leaned or braced himself against the wall to help support himself on his wobbly legs. Sighing, Rakshata continued her way through the long hallway, making her way down the long staircase.

As a doctor, it was her duty to make sure that the residents of the house got the most proper treatment – in health that is. Since he was born, she has made sure to help bathe the master every other day. But since that happened, she was forced to place multiple towels around the chair Suzaku sat in 24/7, using a bucket and sponge to clean the gunk and grim that accustomed itself onto his now pale skin. Dietary needs were also one of her chores.

Since Suzaku refused to eat, except for the few bites he took here and there of the food Sayoko left for him, Rakshata has resorted to vitamins. The Indian woman would first check his vitals every day before mixing in the appropriate amount of vitamins into his water – the only thing that ever went down his throat at a constant rate.

In the beginning, Rakshata hated the duties that she was forced to do for her young master, but over time, she has learned to love it. They were the only things that reminded her and everyone else that their beloved master was still alive.

Walking out into the dreary, rain filled day, she mounted one of the dark haired horses that pulled the carriage, Lloyd on the other. It was that time of the week, where she and the light haired man went into town to get groceries and such for the residents of the Estate.

Cécile turned the spoon slowly, mixing the vegetable soup at an even pace. Dinnertime was always like this nowadays. Back before the incident, dinnertime was when everyone gathered, the daytime employees in the kitchen while the family ate in the large dining room. Those were times of happiness. Those times were long gone. Now, Sayoko would bring Suzaku his small dinner while C.C. ate with him in silence. The others – Cécile, Sayoko, Lloyd, and Rakshata – ate in total complete silence, reminiscing over the good old days.

The blue-haired women could faintly hear the giggling of children, most importantly the young master. She turned around, looking out the window into the withered gardens, imagining her young master running around the trees and flowers, playing hide-and-seek with his younger cousin and a few of the caretakers.

She remembered how the sun reflected off of his big green eyes, a smile ever constant on his face. But, sadly, those days were long gone. The master never once left his room. Never once felt the sun on his face for she heard from C.C., Rakshata, and Sayoko that Suzaku would move from his chair to the bed whenever the sun came out as if hiding from it.

Her job used to consist of keeping the gardens in tip-top condition. But they quickly died and faded away along with her master's will to live. With no one to help her take care of the garden, like Suzaku and Kaguya used to, there was no reason to break her back trying in vain when she could help everyone else with their jobs.

Wondering, Cécile made her way to the window – having turned the temperature of the oven down –, if her master would ever recover from what happened almost a decade ago.

Busying herself with work, Sayoko was currently sweeping the hallway that lead to her master's bedroom. The streaks that Rakshata had observed before unnerved the maid. She didn't want to be reminded of a false hope. So, getting to work, she cleaned the floor and wiped the walls clean of the dust – the streaks.

From the beginning, Sayoko had taken care of not only the house, but young master Suzaku as well. She remembered the times when the boy would cling to her leg, being no taller than her thigh, and beg her not to let father know that he was the one who trailed mud into the house. Scowling at the thought, Sayoko shook her head, willing the thoughts to go away.

Finally finished, Sayoko placed her cleaning supplies – Windex, sponges, cloths, etc. – on the floor, propped against the wall, and made her way into her master's bedroom silently. Taking in the site of a barren, pitch-black, dust filled room, occupied only by Suzaku and C.C. – who occasionally sat with the young master –.

Sayoko moved over to the bed, ripping the dirty, dust-covered sheets off the bed and carried them out of the room, placing them into the laundry chute. Walking back into the room, she pulled some brand new, clean sheets from one of the untouched closets and began making the bed. It was rare, considering that it constantly rained, but Suzaku tended to move onto his bed when the sun finally decided to peek out from behind the clouds.

Just as she finished, Suzaku stood up and made his way to the bed on thin, wobbly legs. Sayoko and C.C. instantly helped him towards the bed and lay down. Turning back to the window, the maid could see that it had stopped raining and that the sun, no doubt, would start making itself known in a few minutes

Quickly closing the large, black drapes, the kunoichi covered up the only light that made its way into the bleak room. After saying good night to the already sleeping young master, Sayoko left and closed the door to the room, leaving C.C. in there to do as she pleased.

In the beginning, C.C. was there to watch over the brunette to make sure he didn't hurt himself, which proved itself to be hard within the first week. When he was younger, the master would constantly be running outside, running inside, climbing trees, hiding in bushes, playing in the now non-existent pond, and doing just about everything there was to do.

Nowadays, the young master would just sit in front of the large window, staring into the rain-filled sky – probably rerunning the incident over and over inside his poor mind – barely blinking, never moving. C.C. herself often sat around, thinking about the past, sometimes even the present, and even the dull future. The one thing she constantly thought about: Suzaku and the incident.

Everyone called it the incident, the accident, or that. Former loyal employees and servants came by now and then, asking if the young master got over the incident. Of course, they were disappointed to hear 'no' every time.

C.C. remembered Ragnei – half Indian, half Britannian – a slightly plump woman with long, graying hair pulled into a bun on the back of her head. She had shown up on her monthly visit when those Britannian's were visiting. The slightly busty woman had all but kicked the door in, hearing the scratchy yell of her former young master.

Of course, when she had come in, Suzaku had already left. When Sayoko lead the elderly woman up the stairs, Suzaku was already in his natural position, staring at the window. After wishing good luck to the practically comatose boy, and greeting everyone else, she had left in a hurry to get back to her family.

C.C. chuckled as she remembered the shocked faces of the Britannian snobs, they all but ran when C.C. had stepped up, helping Ragnei swear them out of the house. The green-haired woman ran her hands through the dull brown hair of the teenager that lay before her.

"You're useless!"

"Always have been, always will!"

-SMACK!-

The piercing words followed by the loud smack echoed through the thoughts in her head. C.C. scowled slightly as she pictured the look of the stricken child and the silhouette of that monster. Everyone, except those that stayed just cause they were being paid, referred to the late Prime Minister of Japan as a monster. "He had no right to do that." The green-haired woman muttered, standing up and walking out of the dank, dark room of the pain stricken young master.

Pulling up to the house, Lloyd slid off of the large, black haired horse that he had ridden, helping Rakshata carry in the groceries of the day. Earlier this morning, it had been raining pretty hard and continued to do so as they left. Now, it was bright and sunny out, and Lloyd couldn't help but feel annoyed with the weather. To him, it was mocking his young master, telling him that he'd never be happy again. 'That must be why Suzaku-sama never goes near to window when it's sunny out.' The light-haired man thought to himself, self-consciously looking up to large window that lead into said master's room.

The blinds were closed and Lloyd couldn't help the feel of dread that ran over him. He remembered when he had first come here. The light-haired man was an inventor; he built custom made toys for the young master since the child had moved into the house. Remembering the look of absolute delight on the sun-kissed face of his young master, he shivered at the sight he was given not a week ago.

The pale, sickly look of his once tanned face. His once emerald colored eyes, shimmering with mischievous intent and the innocence of an angel, now dull and broken. His fit body, from running around the large estate, was now just a memory. The gargled, broken, and scratchy sound of his once angelic voice had broken Lloyd's heart. Everything that wasn't supposed to be his young master now was.

Remembering the reason – the person – who had done that to the once lively young boy make Lloyd sick to his stomach. If he ever ran into that man, that monster, Lloyd swore that he would force that vision of his son into that damned man's head. Feeling slightly more psychotic than normal, Lloyd cackled as he thought of the face that damned man as he envisioned what his son had-has gone though.

Ignoring the pain that blossom in his head as Rakshata smacked him with something hard and should-be lethal, Lloyd grabbed more groceries to carry inside, silently promising his young master that he would get revenge on the boy's father.

So a little insight on what has gone over in the years. The picture of a lively young Suzaku turned into the embodiment of a ghost in ten years. Not a pretty thought. I've made this story pretty dark…haven't I? Anyway. I put the thoughts and feelings of each person who still resided in the house – Minus Suzaku – and I think I got everyone…. I was going to add Gino and Anya in one…but it just didn't appeal to me.

Oh and remember Ragnei. She might be showing up later in the story. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. And as always, ignore any grammar mistakes I may have made. Also, the quote that was in the beginning and ending of the last chapter, and was thrust into this chapter, will be repeated throughout the story because it was basically the reason Suzaku is the way he is now.