Chapter 4

When Lukas woke up the next morning, the room was freezing. A cold front had moved in overnight and he didn't want to get out of bed. His clothes weren't nearly warm enough and he hadn't brought any with him. He thought he'd be home by now, after all.

He slid out of bed, crossing his arms tightly to preserve some of the warmth. He shuffled over to the door, feet already cold despite his thick socks. He looked over at the fireplace in his room. It looked like it hadn't been used in years.

Lukas tugged the door open, surprised that it was unlocked at all. He went downstairs, checked the door, and sighed when it was still locked. He then turned and looked at the hall he was in, eyes scanning over the large room.

His eyes fell on the streaming banners like they had when he walked into the castle for the first time. Unlike before, he noticed symbols on each of them. Some had hearts, some had some sort of small animal that looked like a deer, and some had axes. The symbols combined in the center above an odd white cross.

It's a crest, he thought. He walked over to it, eyes raking over the symbols again. Below it was a table with a red, silk tablecloth. On top of that were three open books. He couldn't make out any of them. One was written in soft, curvy letters, while the one in the center was written harshly and splattered. The one on the right was mostly images, but there were some roughly written captions, too.

Lukas reached for that book. He ran a finger over the already fading ink. The pictures were beautifully drawn. He was incredibly intrigued. So intrigued that he didn't notice the shadow of somebody walking down the stairs.

He lifted the book off the table, balancing it on his hand. He reached down to turn the page, not accounting for how brittle each sheet was, and when he flipped the page, it tore.

The sound, in theory, would have been quiet, but to the man standing behind Lukas, it was deafening.

Matthias grabbed his shoulder, tenderly took the book, and set it down in its place. He had been holding his breath the whole time.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Lukas didn't move. It was just like a nightmare. He tried to move his feet, but they felt too heavy. "I-I, well, I j-just—"

"You just wanted to pilfer, did you? Weren't you ever taught to mind your own business?"

"You know I didn't mean to—"

"If a man kills another, does it matter to his family if he meant it?"

Lukas let out a little whine and said, "How could you compare the two? It is only a little tear!"

Even Matthias knew that Lukas hadn't meant to rip the page, and he tried to calm down. After a moment, he gulped and turned to him again. The fury in his eyes had lessened.

"Don't touch anything else without permission. Do you understand?"

Lukas sighed in relief and nodded. He then decided to change the subject, focusing on how cold he was again. Before Matthias could walk away, he said, "It is cold."

The taller man hadn't realized this until he noticed the swirling fog in front of Lukas' mouth. His eyes widened slightly when he realized he wasn't feeling the chill. That was never a good sign for him, though he couldn't show his concern in front of Lukas, so he said, "I will have Charles light a fire in every room."

With that, he was gone, although Lukas could hear him yelling orders still.

The castle had grown much warmer since the morning. That was also thanks to the sun coming out for a couple of hours.

Matthias stood in the window in his study, basking in the light, enjoying it for what it was worth since it had been so cloudy lately, and would most likely get worse.

Lukas was in the hallway outside of his room. He had never seen it so bright. It lifted his spirits a little. He had been thinking about Alexander again, and it was taking a toll on him. He hoped Matthias' servants would return with his brother soon.

Later than night, Lukas was in his room again looking through the books on his walls when he heard a knock on his door. He turned and opened it, seeing the maid like he had the night before.

"The young lord requests your presence in the dining hall," she said.

This time, Lukas stood up and gave a faint nod, not wanting a repeat of last night. The maid seemed to be surprised, though pleased. She walked him down to the dining hall and he sat down in the seat closest to the head.

He was surprised to see that Matthias wasn't even there yet. He picked his cup up, reaching for a bottle of something he assumed was a drink in the middle. He poured himself a glass, surprised to see that it was yellow. He took a drink, cringed at the taste, and called the maid back to ask her for water.

By the time she returned with a glass of water, Matthias came in and took a seat at the head of the table. The minute he sat down, a few of his maids came out and put plates down in front of both of them. Lukas just stared at his food, then looked up at the other man, wondering if it was proper to begin eating.

Once Matthias, lifted his fork, so did he, and the other noticed and was a bit amused, although his face didn't show it. He set the fork down again, watching Lukas as he did the same. He then rotated his plate and nearly smiled when Lukas repeated his actions.

Finally, he stood up, picked up one of the extra glasses he was given, and smashed it against the wall. Lukas stared, looked at his own, and said, "Is this ceremonial?"

Matthias sat down, ignoring his question. He was a little disappointed that Lukas didn't repeat him that time. "You may eat now, Lukas."

Lukas squinted at him, but was too hungry to be suspicious. Besides, the food was always wonderful. Since he'd gotten to castle, he'd been eating better and that was one thing he couldn't complain about.

"What made you change your mind about joining me for dinner?"

Lukas looked at him mid-bite, quickly covering his mouth with his napkin and clearing his throat. "I saw no harm in coming to eat dinner. I need to eat," he replied through a mouthful of pork, his napkin still covering his lips.

Matthias nodded and there was silence while the two ate. After a moment, Lukas set his fork down and looked at him again.

"Where is Alexander? Have your servants returned?"

"Not yet. They will return soon, I'm sure," he replied, pouring himself a glass of whatever disgusting thing Lukas had accidentally drank and chugging half of it without a single look of disgust.

"And what if they don't?"

"You don't need to be worrying about this. They are good servants."

Lukas picked at a piece of bread and sighed quietly. It wasn't easy to stop worrying. Matthias couldn't hardly understand what it was like. Suddenly, Lukas was curious. Where was Matthias' family? Did he have one? The maid had said something about it when he first arrived, but he couldn't recall what it was.

"Do you have family?" He asked.

Matthias immediately shot him a look and slammed his cup down, suddenly fuming. "We don't need to discuss family. That isn't any of your business."

The other man knew that Matthias could be harsh and cold, but this was out of line, and Lukas was even more curious than he was before. "Everyone has family," he said under his breath.

"It is not important!"

Lukas held his hands up defensively and looked down at his plate. He could feel Matthias' eyes still on him, but he pretended to not notice, hoping that he would look away.

After a moment of staring, Matthias shoved himself away from the table, making Lukas flinch and spill his water, and stood up. He tossed his napkin on his plate and stormed out, muttering under his breath. After a minute, Lukas heard a heavy door slam and the chandelier above him shook.

Lukas couldn't help but wonder why he was so sore about his family. He went to find Charles, dead set on answers.

"I'm afraid it is not my place to speak of the young master's family."

"But he does have a family, yes?"

Charles looked away and gave a small nod.

"What happened? Where are they?"

Before he could ask more questions, he was being escorted to his room. "They are away, sir. You needn't worry."

"But—"

"Goodnight, sir."

When Lukas woke up the next morning, he heard a commotion downstairs. He crawled out of bed and ran down, seeing Matthias, a few servants, and the butler gathered around the front door. They noticed him and talked in hushed tones.

"What's going on? Did they find Alexander?"

One of the servants stepped forward and said, "Ay. He's safe. We heard news around the village that he's been kept with his grandfather." Matthias leaned in closely and said, "And he isn't returning?"

Both servants shook their heads and Matthias visibly stiffened, his jaw tightening. He knew that the boy wouldn't return and had expected it, but it made things harder than they already were.

"I see."

"He won't be coming back? How am I to leave the castle? When will you let me go?"

The panic in Lukas' voice was evident and his breaths quickened as it sunk in that he was facing both the castle and its harsh lord alone.

"Soon," Charles replied. Matthias looked back at his butler, nodding in agreement, though both knew they were lying.

"What could you possibly want from me? Surely you would have killed me by now if that was your intention."

Charles looked back at Matthias, who took a deep breath before nodding again, giving him permission to use any explanation necessary so that Lukas would stop asking these questions. The butler took Lukas by the shoulder and led him to the kitchen.

"What is this about?"

Charles cleared his throat and took out two glasses, pouring fresh milk in each and handing Lukas a cup. He sipped it slowly, calming down a bit. Charles took his and just held it, thinking up a quick explanation.

"It is partially my decision to keep you here, sir. Please forgive me, but it seems that my young master has been alone for so long that I took it upon myself to find him temporary company."

"He's lonely? That's why I am trapped here?"

"I suppose you could leave out the unlocked window in the storage room on the west side of the castle on the first floor."

Lukas stared at him for a moment, then put his cup down. "W-What?"

"But it would mean very much if you would stay, sir. You see, his family is away and he grows worse every day. I am attempting to keep him sane, you see."

"But he's so—" Lukas stopped, just grimacing and shaking his head. Charles nodded in agreement.

"That he is, sir. But I can assure you that he is a good man. You will see."

After much thought, Lukas took a deep breath and nodded. Charles escorted him out, relieved that the boy would no longer question their motives.

But he also had to wonder. How much of the "made up" explanation was truly a lie?