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I don't own anything
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"They'll push you into a well and seal it up, so that you'll die all alone and cold in the water."
"Yeah, and if you don't listen, they'll come get you and cut you into pieces to sell you. Not just for food, but for other things too."
"They will come if you don't listen. You're stupid, we all know that, but you need to overcome your stupidness so that we're all safe from them."
Amythest eyes, wide in horror, looked at the faces around him. Twisted grins and cold gazes were all that he met, and there was no escaping it.
"There's something wrong with you. You don't have to hide it because we all know, but if you don't do something, you're going to die."
That was it, he couldn't take any more. A horrified scream tore from his throat, tears streaking down his face as he did so. Hands flew up to hs ears, trying his best to block out any sound. The ring of children scattered away, just in time to escape the view of the two women who came running towards the shrieking boy.
"Raivis! Raivis, what's wrong?" One of them asked, crouching down and placing one hand on his knee and the other on his left hand, which was still over his ear. The second woman looked around accusingly, but didn't find sight of any other child.
"Raivis, you can tell me, I'll listen."
"Maria, I don't see anyone.... They probably ran away again."
"Oh, don't be so cross Sonia. I don't think they meant any harm."
The said Italian scrunched her nose, the cross look in her eyes still present. "Why they do this, I will never know."
"We'll never know how the minds of children work." Maria said. She somehow managed to put the sobbing boy in her arms, and was humming a tune of sorts. Standing up, Maria began to walk over ot the building.
"We should start dinner. Maybe it's best if we keep the little one in the house."
"The courtyard is a warzone for those runts."
"Sonia," Maria said with a tone. "I thought you liked children."
"Hn, I do, but I hate it when they do things like this."
Maria chuckled. Looking down at the boy, she felt her smile fall when her gaze fell on the dead stare that he was giving. A far look, aimed at all of nothing.
"Raivis, would you like to help me in the kitchen today?"
The boy could only blink. His blank stare bleak against his flushed, tear stained face.
"I know it's Ariana's turn, but I'm sure she'll be happy to stay in the courtyard for a while longer today."
Small hands clutched the front of the Italian's apron. "...Will I be safe?"
'Oh dear.' "Of course you will!" 'This boy's being bullied too much... asking if he'll be safe.'
Maria glanced over at Sonia, whose eyes gave the same thought.
If they didn't find someone to take the boy soon, he'll break.
-
The dinner he had on that night was his last. He just didn't know it yet. No one did.
There was a clattering of plates as Sonia washed them throughly. Raivis, standing on an easy-step, stood next to her, drying them just as throughly. The woman's deep brown locks were held up by a thin red ribbon that curled at the ends. Her sharp eyes staring down at the ceramic plates. There was a comfortable silence that hung over the two, but it was soon broken.
"Did they tease you again?"
The inquiry made his body grow rigid, but his hands didn't stop moving.
"...I don't know."
The brunette raised an eyebrow at this. "How do you not know?"
The blonde shrugged. "They said that they would come for me.... if I stopped being stupid, I would be safe." He said quietly, putting the plate down. "I don't want to be stupid... I don't want to be taken away."
"You're not stupid, and whatever they are, they won't take you away."
"But... I'm different."
"Everyone's different."
"No, I mean.... I look different."
It was Sonia's turn to go rigid.
"I, I don't have the looks I need to be Italian... my eyes are a funny colour too."
Then, out of nowhere, Sonia let the dishes drop and pulled her hands out of the water, cupping the boy's face and forcing him to look at her straight in the eye.
"You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. I do not care that you are not Italian, I do not care at all. You are the sweetest child I have ever met. Now go wash your face; my hands are dirty and I dirtied your cheeks."
Obidiently, the boy would go, but there was a strange look in his eyes.
"....I'm not Italian?"
Shit
"...Wait, but, I'm Italian..."
Sonia smacked herself in the forehead.
"...Raivis, forget about that, it was carelessly said."
"I'm not Italian?"
"I don't know. I don't care. As long as you are under my roof, that does not matter."
"So when will it matter?"
Fuck, the boy was sharp.
Sonia gave a deep breath. "Raivis, I will let you sleep in my room tonight, so please, forget about that."
A smile luminated the boy's face, and a grin pulled at his lips. Good, that meant a yes.
"Now go wash your teeth and face; bed time is soon."
Happily, he pittered off into another direction, and the woman was relieved. She had almost given away a terrible secret. If the other children found out, they would unleash hell for him.
-
It was about Nine maybe, possibly a quarter after that when the front bells chimed. All ears pricked at the sound, and everyone knew what to do. The children ran off to the bathrooms to clean up, Maria went to get the door, and Sonia went to make sure that everything was in order before lining the children in line.
Maria pulled the large wooden doors and gave a smile to the other person on the other side.
"Good evening and welcome to the Vargas Orphanage."
The burly man on the other side didn't smile back, but nodded. "If it is not any trouble, I would like to see the the children."
Maria nodded, her one curl that stood out bobbing up and down. Leading the man into the main hall, she was joined by Sonia, who had put her hair back down and had a headband in place. The man's cold eyes scattered over the heads of the children, who were neatly lined up like candies in a store. His eyes flickered from face to face and didn't rest until he stopped on one of them.
"...That one. Over there. Is he Russian?"
There was a horrified gasp coming from the others, Maria and Sonia looked at each other.
"Um, no. He is... Latvian."
"His name?"
"Raivis Galante."
"Galante? I thought you said he was Latvian."
"He is, he just didn't have a surname, so we thought it best to give him one... I'm sorry, but we don't know any Latvian names that would be proper."
The gray haired man nodded, still looking at the boy, who had begun to shake. Walking over to him, he crouched down and stared hard, scaring the daylights out of him. He raised his hand and brought it down. The Latvian flinched, fearing impact. But the only impact he felt was a soft sturdy pat on the head.
"I've decided on him."
The elderly man broke out into a smile that Raivis shyly returned. Big hands reached around him and picked him up, holding the boy against his tall frame. Sonia and Maria looked at eachother before Maria led the man into another room. Sonia managed to round up the others and put them away. Looks like Raivis had finally found a father.
-
"Here are the papers I need to have filled out. Sonia should be back with his things in ten minutes or so... Raivis, would you like to say goodbye to anyone?"
The boy shook his head no and clung to the front of the man's coat. The man quickly went through the papers and handed them back to Maria, who nodded a thank you and filed them. Sonia came in with a brown suitcase in hand and set it down. She stood in the doorway, looking at Raivis, as if she were expecting something.
"What? No hug?"
Raivis grinned and jumped off of his knee and ran over to her, having her catch him and spin around him before hugging.
"Thank you Sonia."
"Of course."
"Raivis... what about me?"
Sonia passed him onto her sister, who hugged him just as affectionately. Maria buried a kiss in his curls before looking at him.
"I'll miss you my dear."
"I, I'll miss you too Maria."
"Hey, you better come and visist us, we still need to go tomato picking."
"I'll try Sonia, thank you."
Both Italians grinned and set him down. The coated man, with suitcase in one hand, crouched down to pick the boy up and walked with the sisters to the front door. They waved good bye as Raivis was taken away.
To a new life.
To a new home.
With a new family.
---
"W-Where are we going?" He asked, his voice shakey. The man looked down at him.
"We're off to Russia."
"Russia?"
"Yes, it is cold, very cold, but you will love the flowers in the summer."
"W-Will I be alone?"
"Oh no, of course not. You'll have five new siblings. Try to get along, da?"
New siblings, a far away place, flowers. A big grin was given as he nodded yes, earning himself another pat on the head.
---
They road many trains, and walked around and through many ports and stations. They didn't stop to rest either. Raivis fell asleep most of the time during the train rides, but the man didn't seem to sleep at all, but never did he look tired. The air was getting colder as they pressed on, up to a point where the jacket he got from the orphanage wasn't doing any good. They stopped at a city called Minsk, and the man pulled him out of the train and into a small store on the corner of the block, three blocks away from the station.
The store bell rung as he pushed open the door. A blonde man looked up, smiling at the boy in his arms.
"Another one?"
"I needed another."
"Ah, is that so? Well, I had an uncanny feeling that you would be dropping by some time soon, so I made another coat, but the size may be a bit big."
"How big?"
"Well, I would say a good two sizes larger. It's very thick too, so it might be a bit too much weight for the little one."
"Hm... I'd like to take a look anyway. It might fit the others."
The storekeeper nodded and disappeared behind a curtain, only to reappear once he had the coat in his hands. The colour was a rich, deep red. Not a bloody red mind you, but a royal kind. The colour of the kings and their capes. The cuffs were thickly made, ensuring warm hands even without gloves. There was a hood that was big enough to fall over and cover his eyes, more than enough to keep his ears warm. The man reached for it and pulled the thin coat off of the boy before putting the red one on. It made no difference in Raivis's shivering, but his face smiled.
"Hmm, I guess it's not too big afterall, only a one size difference." The storekeeper said, looking at the sleeves and torso length. "It ought to keep him through two winters at least. If he doesn't suddenly grow that is."
The man handed the storekeeper a wad of bills before scooping Raivis up into his arms and heading out.
"Uh, thank you."
"Of course."
"Um, w-what should I call you?"
"General Winter."
"General Winter?"
"Yes."
The boy giggled and gently fisted the fabric of his coat.
"Will it take any longer?"
"Only another day or so."
They've been moving for weeks on end, but Raivis didn't dislike it. He had gotten the chance to grab a bite of different foods and a chance to see different sights. He loved Rome, but the sweets he had in Germany were no match. The station wasn't as crowded as it had been when they left it, which made it easier to reach their train. General Winter plopped the boy onto his seat before taking his own. The train would start in ten minutes, it would take at least ten hours to get to Moscow before they took another train to Novgorod.
---
A fire crackled, spitting heat in hazy waves that managed to keep the room warm. A brown haired boy sat on the couch next to a blonde girl who had a ribbon adorning her hair. Another girl, whose hair was put up, sat on the corner of the carpet while a sandy haired blonde with spectakles sitting in the bridge of his nose sat in front of her, reading a picture book. The only one without another to talk to sat in the centre of the carpet, gazing at the flames. A light coloured scarf was loosely wrapped around his neck, and his fingers fiddled with its hem.
The sound of the front door opening and shutting caught the attention of all five children. Loud footsteps thumped down the corridor, coming closer to the living room.
"It's father Winter." The girl with her hair up said in a hushed tone. The General appeared, holding a sleeping Latvian in his arms.
"Ivan."
The blonde stood up, facing the burly man.
"I've found a brother for you. Take care of him. All of you are to look after each other while I'm away. Understood?"
The five said that they understood, and Winter smiled.
"That is good. Now I've brought some things back from some places for dinner tonight. I want Toris and Eduard to clean the table, Yekaterina, I want you to get the plates, Natalia, help me with the cooking. Ivan, you go take him upstairs and put him in your bed, sleep with him tonight, will you?"
The Russian boy nodded and took the sleeping blonde into his arms and somehow got him into a piggyback position. He made way to the second landing and headed down to his room. Stepping in, he closed the door and put the boy on the bed. He pulled his shoes off before putting his feet up on the bed. Leaning over he placed a gentle kiss on his forehead and whispered something before making his way out the door and back downstairs.
Welcome home
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Please excuse the typos and grammar errors. And the pairing isn't happening yet, I need to keep that on hold for another while -grins-
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