And now for the second chapter... :)
CHAPTER TWO
Leonardo tried not to work too quickly as he stoked the fires in his brother's room. Mikey was sprawled out in his four-poster bed, warm and cozy and snoring gently, and Leo was content to be so close to him even though he was asleep.
This was the part of his duties that Leo liked best: taking care of his brothers personally, by keeping them warm. It was also the time when he was nearest to them, even though they were asleep. As soon as he was done, Leo stood up, looked at his brother fondly and walked out of the room, locking the door behind him.
Raphael was next. He was also snoring, but much louder than Michelangelo. He didn't stir as Leo unlocked the door and walked inside. He was probably used to the sounds Leo made as he moved around, which was a good thing, because Leo had heard horror stories from the other servants about what happened when you woke up a sleeping Prince Raphael. Those stories were not pretty. Privately though, Leo liked to think that on some level his brother remembered him and trusted him enough to allow him to come in the room at night.
Donnie was last, but not least. Unlike his other brothers, Donatello was not sleeping soundly. He stirred and mumbled the entire time as Leo put on a new log. If he could have, Leo would have gone over to comfort him-but that was forbidden to all servants.
Suddenly, Donnie gave out a cry and sat up awake. He looked around him, confused, until his eyes settled on Leo stoking the fire. There were tears in those eyes.
"It was just a nightmare," Leo said, doing the forbidden and speaking to his brother, "All is well, your majesty."
Donatello stared at him, as if trying to take in what he was saying.
"S-servant," he said finally, "T-take me to my brother."
Leo nodded and stood up. "It is cold in the hallways at this time of night," he said, "Can I get you something to keep warm?"
"R-robe," Donnie said, "Closet. Left side."
Leo retrieved the robe and handed it to his brother. "Follow me," he said, and he was more than a little surprised when Donnie grabbed his arm and held on tight.
He led Donnie out of his room and down the hallway, not even bothering to lock the door behind them, and without asking which brother he wanted to see he took him to Raph's room. They entered without knocking, and Donnie tore his hands off of Leo's arm and raced from the doorway to Raph's bed.
"Raph," Donnie cried out, and suddenly he was in Raph's arms.
"Donnie? What is it? What happened?" Raph said sleepily, trying to figure out why Donnie was hugging him.
Donnie didn't answer, so Raph turned to Leo.
"What happened?" He repeated.
"Nightmare, your majesty." Leo answered.
"Is this true?" Raph asked Donatello, and Donnie nodded.
"Well, what are you doing standing there?" Raph asked, and Leo realized with a start that he was speaking to him, "Don't you have anything better to do?"
Leo bowed his head and turned towards the door to leave.
"Wait!" Raph stopped him, and Leo turned towards him obediently, "Don't you dare tell anyone about this. There was never any nightmare, you understand?"
"Yes, your majesty." Leo said, bowing once more before leaving the room and locking the door behind him.
Donatello would be fine, now that he was with Raph. So as Leo walked down the hallway, he risked a smile. He had just spoken with two of his brothers, for the first time in years. This was the best day of his life.
But now, he had a job to finish, or there would be repercussions. He needed to stoke the fires in the servant's quarters, and perhaps he should also prepare Donnie's room in case he decided to come back for the night...
"Hi there!" Mikey shouted, and Leo jumped. He had just been walking past Mikey's room, but had not noticed the open door. And just what was Mikey doing up, anyway?
"Can you take me to Donnie's room?" Mikey asked.
"Yes, your majesty," Leo said, "But he isn't there at the moment."
"Oh. Is he in Raph's? I'll bet he's in Raph's. Hey, maybe you can help me! What do you know about shadow people?"
"Shadow people?" Leo asked, confused.
"Yeah!" Mikey said, "I've been seeing shadow people in my room. Donnie says I'm just imagining it, but he told me to let him know if I saw any again. And I just did, so I was gonna tell him."
"Have you told the Royal Guards about these shadow people?" Leo asked, frowning.
"Yeah, but they didn't believe me." Mikey said, "I mean, I thought I saw a giraffe once and it turned out to be my closet, and they laughed really hard at that. And then there was the time I found the dragon's egg in my sink, but it wasn't really a dragon's egg, it turned out to be this really cool stone I found once at the beach but I forgot all about it and put it on my counter and-hey! Maybe you can come look."
"At the stone?" Leo asked.
"No, for the shadow people!" Mikey smiled, "I mean, you haven't seen them yet, so you can tell me if they're real or not. Come on, come on come on!"
Leo suddenly found himself dragged into Mikey's room. The fire was roaring just as he had left it, but there was something different. Something...off.
"Here's where I first saw one!" Mikey said, dragging him towards his bed and pointing at the other end of the room, "Right there, by the window!"
The window. It was open, but Leo hadn't opened it.
"Highness," he said, "Did you open the window?"
"No," he said, "The servant who made the fire did. Donnie says it actually helps the fire, although I don't know how, that just seems silly. It really annoys me, because I have to keep getting up to close it. Oh! And here's where I saw another one," he said, dragging Leo off towards another corner.
But Leo wasn't really looking at where Mikey was pointing. Someone else had opened Mikey's window, and that funny feeling...suddenly Leonardo realized that they were not alone in the bedroom.
"...And that's where I first beat Raph at marbles," Mikey was saying, "He was really mad, of course, but I won fair and square. Hey, over here! I saw one once on top of the doorsill-a shadow person, not a marble. 'Cause that would be silly. I tried keeping a marble on the doorsill once, but it kept rolling off every time Raph closed the door-"
Someone was watching them. But why? Why didn't their watcher do something, anything? Why was he or she just keeping to the shadow?
Maybe the intruder was expecting Leo to disbelieve Mikey, just like everyone else.
He needed to get his brother out of there.
"I think, Prince Michelangelo," he said finally, even as he walked over to close and lock the window, "That perhaps your brother is right. The light could be playing tricks on your eyes."
There. He said what the intruder wanted to hear, even if his brother did deflate a little when he said it. Now he needed to get Mikey away. He decided to play on one of his brother's weaknesses.
"Would you like me to take you down to the kitchens?" He asked, "Surely you are hungry for a midnight snack."
"Really? Oh wow, that sounds great!" Mikey said, practically tearing out of his room, "I never get to see the kitchens at night! Well, almost never. I did a few times, you know, and Donnie once helped me make the perfect dessert out of-"
"Wait a moment, let me lock your door," Leo said purposefully, locking the door behind them and hopefully locking the intruder or intruders inside the room, "Now, let me show you to the kitchens."
He took Mikey by the arm and led him through the twists and turns of the hallway, half-listening to Mikey talk until finally they entered a sitting room that had not been used for many years.
"This isn't the kitchen." Mikey said, confused.
"Prince Michelangelo, I have something urgent to tell you," Leo whispered, even as he closed the door they entered through, "There was someone in your room."
"So I was right? Awesome!" Mikey said.
"Not awesome, bad." Leo corrected, "Highness, I have been tending the fires at night for you and your brothers for years, and I've never once opened the window."
"So," Mikey said, confused, "Who has?"
"That's exactly my point." Leo said, "Someone has been sneaking into your room and watching you. Mikey, you have been seeing someone in your room."
"Um, yeah, that's a bit creepy," Mikey said, missing the fact that Leo had called him by his nickname and not 'majesty' or 'highness', "What should I do?"
That was a good question. Who exactly would be spying on Mikey? Was it someone sent by their uncle, or someone else? Would it hurt for Oroku Saki to know what was happening, or would he be in the perfect position to put a stop to it?
"I think," Leo said finally, "That you should inform your brothers first, and then your uncle."
That way, if Saki was behind this, his uncle couldn't talk Mikey out of telling any of brothers about it.
"Okay," Mikey said, "Will you help me?"
To have to stand up and tell his brothers about the 'bad feeling', about how he never opened the window? And then to tell the same thing to his uncle? Was there enough proof for anyone to believe them?
"Yes," Leo said, although he often dreaded what would happen if he so much as spoke to his uncle, "I will help you."
It didn't take them long to get back to Raph's room. Mikey was utterly confused about the direction, but Leo could walk the passageways in the dark-which he often did, as a matter of fact. To Leo's surprise, his brothers believed them. Raphael took it especially seriously.
"You're not going back in your room until we've got this straightened out," Raph had told Mikey, "If the servant says he never opened the window, then I believe him. He never opens my window."
"Or mine," Donnie added, "Although I do have to tell you, that would help your fires."
"Get in the bed with Don, Mikey." Raph ordered, "And try to get some sleep. I'll take the chair. Servant," Leo looked up as he was being addressed, "I want you to summon the Royal Guard. Tell them to come to my room immediately, but to be quiet about it. They'll inform Saki, and I'll make sure that someone checks out Mikey's room tonight."
"That Usagi fellow seems capable." Donnie offered.
"You're right," Raph said, "I'll have him do it. If there's anyone there spying on Mikey, Usagi will catch them. Well, what are you waiting for, a kiss on the cheek? Get going already!"
"As you wish, Majesty," Leo bowed, and then he turned and ran out the door. He heard Raph lock it behind him.
After Leo alerted the Royal Guards, he went back to his midnight duties stoking the fires in the servant's quarters. The guards were summoned, the Uncle was summoned, and Mikey refused to leave Raph's room. The warrior Usagi arrived, and within seconds had pulled out a darkly-clothed ninja from Mikey's closet.
"This one says he has been spying on the Prince for some weeks," Usagi reportedly told Saki when he presented the ninja, "He enters the room through the window and watches the Prince throughout the night. I suggest we discover who it is who has hired his services."
Leo heard all this from the servant's gossip the next day. He was grateful that he didn't have to talk to his uncle, but chances were high that sooner or later Uncle would come and find him, 'the servant who didn't open the window.' And he was fairly certain that, despite the fact that Mikey was now safe, his uncle wouldn't be so happy that he spoke with his brothers.
And for all he knew, it might have been his dear old Uncle Saki who had been spying on Michelangelo.
