Cendres
Chapter 4
"He what?" Francis about choked on his breakfast.
"He is an orphan. Though his mother remarried before she died. His guardian is now Robert Williams, a widow to two wives. I'm afraid his step-father treats him like a slave," Arthur said. He had pushed his breakfast aside and had papers strewn across the table.
Francis's face contorted into rage. Though it was not the fury of his loved being hurt, but of how a human being could be so cruel to another. "Was he healthy at least?"
Arthur let out a sigh. Matthew had been bruised and dirty. The hit Robert Williams had blown behind closed doors was clearly heard in the dining room, but neither girl seemed affected. The boy looked half starved and was very frightened. How could Arthur tell Francis that? At last, he answered, though vaguely. "He wasn't well, Francis."
The prince stood quickly, his chair making a harsh noise as he did. "We must go to him at once!"
Arthur copied Francis, but at a slower rate. "As much as I agree, I have to disagree. If we just go bursting in, it could end badly. We need to think this through."
"I want him arrested, Arthur," Francis said. "We can't let Matthew live there a second longer."
"I know, Francis, but this needs to be planned. What if someone sees us coming and they alert Robert and he does something even worse to be boy?"
Francis breathed heavily through his nose. "Fine. What if we continued with the flower representation? We'll just have to make sure Matthew presents his, then we take him here."
"What if he doesn't have the right flower? Just because he looked like how described, doesn't mean he's your mystery dancer."
"Then we arrest Williams and charge him for abuse," Francis said, growing upset.
"We can't just arrest him. We need proof. Evidence, witnesses to the abuse," Arthur raised his hands, like he was calming a wild horse.
"Isn't Matthew enough proof?" Francis was on the verge of yelling. A few maids flinched from their spot by the door. The prince never got this angry.
"I'm afraid it won't hold in a court," Arthur said. "Robert Williams, despite his awfulness, is a nobel. It would be his word against Matthew's. Not to mention he would include his other daughters."
Francis frowned and sank into his chair. "What about you? And the guard that went with you?"
"Alfred?" Arthur furrowed his large brows. "That might work."
"So we just need to get Matthew here." Francis said. The maids in the room began to relax, glad Francis was back to his calm self.
"That would be rather easy. He just needs to present his flower." Arthur said. He gathered his papers. "I'll go with the guards going to Matthew's house."
"Hurry, they're leaving soon," Francis said. He glanced about the room and flicked his fingers towards a guard with blond hair and stunning blue eyes. "Take Alfred with you."
Arthur visibly blushed and picked up his work. "Alright then, we should be back in time for supper."
"Remember what flower you're looking for?" Francis looked nervous. His smile was gone from his face and his hands had a slight tremor to them.
"A rose petal. And it will probably be shriveled up and dead," Arthur smirked. "Don't worry, we'll get him."
After Kirkland had left the night before, Robert Williams had backed Matthew into a corner and hit him for twelve minutes. Once his anger had been let out, Robert backed away and glared. "Clean up this mess," he had said while waving his hand over the blood from Matthew's mouth and the abandoned food. "Then go to your room and don't leave until I say."
Matthew could only nod through his tears and blood as the fat man finally left him alone. Once he was gone, Matthew mopped his face and floor with a rag before tackling the dining area. Gilbert looked on, unable to help. The fairy rules were strict, and he had broken too many. If he helped now, he wouldn't be able to help when Matthew would really need it.
Gilbert did help once they were back in Matthew's room. He cleaned the blood off as gingerly as he could while Matthew held his wilted rose petal in his hands. His eyes were bruised and his nose was broken. Gilbert broke another rule to fix it. His ribs and arms were black and yellow from deflecting the blows.
The next morning, Matthew woke with a headache and another bloody nose. Gilbert wiped him up, but didn't dare use any magic.
"They're not coming back," Matthew said suddenly, his voice muffled by the rag Gilbert had pressed to his face.
"Who's not coming back, Birdie?" Gilbert asked tenderly. He lifted the rag to see if the bleeding had stopped. Another drop came out and he pushed it back on.
"Anyone," Matthew looked at Gilbert. "That man knows the girls aren't who the prince is looking for, and I told him I didn't go to the ball. He's not coming back."
"You don't know that," Gilbert said sternly.
Matthew just lowered his eyes and fingered the dried petal.
"Boy!" the door rattled with the shout. "Get down here and cook my breakfast!"
Gilbert glared at the door. He had half a mind to tell that man off, even if it meant losing his wings. He was tired of how he treated Matthew.
Matthew pushed Gilbert away and stood. "I have to go."
"Wait, what if you didn't?" Gilbert stood and set the soiled rag on Matthew's small nightstand.
"I would be punished," Matthew looked at Gilbert like he grew a second head.
"No, not that. What if you came with me?" Gilbert grinned. "To the fairy world. I can talk to Ludwig, he's my baby brother, but he's also in charge of all the fairies. I'm sure-"
"Gilbert, it's not going to work. Live with fairies? You're always going on about breaking rules. The number one rule is probably bringing a human to your world."
"No," Gilbert pouted, looking much like a scolded dog. "The number one rule is showing yourself to a human you're not assigned to."
"And what happens when you break enough rules?" Matthew opened the door.
"I lose my wings."
"Exactly, so leave me alone," tears were swimming in Matthew's pretty blue eyes, but his voice was steady. He didn't want to be mean to Gilbert, he was just so sick of trying. Nothing worked for him, he was just meant to stay in this house and be miserable. Some people don't get a happy ending, and he was one of them.
Matthew went downstairs, his head hung low. "Yes, sir?"
"The prince's guards are coming to determine who the future queen will be. They had just started so I estimate you have two hours to clean the house and dress the girls," Robert William said, a smug look on his face. "You will also need to pick the flowers for the girls."
Trying not to show any emotion, Matthew nodded once. "Yes, sir. Will I retire to my room when they arrive?"
"Yes, and you'll stay there until dinner. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," with a small bow, Matthew went to fetch his cleaning supplies.
Arthur clutched Alfred's hand as they pulled up to the third house. They still had quite a few houses to go, but he was getting increasingly nervous the closer they got to the William's residence.
"It'll be okay, Artie," the guard murmured as they came to a stop. "I know he was an awful man, but I won't let anything happen to you."
Arthur smiled weakly. "Thank you. Now go check this house. I don't want that poor boy to be there any second longer."
Alfred grinned and kissed Arthur on his cheek. Then he hopped out of the carriage and trotted inside with another guard.
It only took a few minutes before Alfred was climbing back into the carriage.
"How did it go?" Arthur asked. Mostly to have something to distract him from what felt like impending doom.
"They were lillies. There was a younger girl too, no more than eight, claiming she was who the Prince was looking for," Alfred chuckled.
Arthur felt his face crack into a genuine smile. "How cute. Don't tell Francis though, we don't need his head any bigger."
Alfred laughed and draped his arm casually around Arthur's shoulders. It was nice to drop formalities between them, though everyone knew they were together. Alfred is Arthur's assigned guard. He had been since Arthur was twelve and Alfred was merely training alongside his father, who guarded Arthur's father. Alfred had wanted it to remain as professional as he could, but when Arthur hit a growth spurt, Alfred couldn't resist.
"How many more houses before Matthew's?" Arthur asked. He leaned into Alfred's warmth, taking comfort from it.
"Just a couple. What are you going to say?"
"I don't know. I just hope I can hold it together long enough to get Matthew out," Arthur sighed.
"You'll be okay," Alfred pressed a kiss to Arthur's temple.
"I know I will, I just hope Matthew is."
"You're not even going to try?" Gilbert asked.
"No, because there's nothing to try for." Matthew glared over his shoulder. He had just finished dressing the girls and was now outside picking flowers for their bouquets.
It's not that Matthew didn't want to try, he just couldn't find the heart to. I had seen the way Kirkland looked at him. He wasn't coming back. Hell, Matthew wouldn't come back for himself. He was bruised and dirty and unwanted. He really didn't blame Kirkland for leaving in such a rush.
"Come on, Matthew. They should be almost here. I'll help clean you up," Gilbert tried again.
"Even if he did come back, he'll never let me show them the rose petal," Matthew stood, his arms full of flowers. They were beautiful despite their meanings.
"You don't know that," Gilbert prodded. "He's on his way, I just know it."
Matthew huffed. "Fine, say that Kirkland man does come back, that fat bastard won't let me out of my room. Now drop it and let me live the rest of this miserable like I'm peace!" he was breathing heavily. He never talked like that, but it felt good to finally let loose.
However, that all came crashing down at Gilbert's hurt expression. "I was just trying to help. That's what fairy godmothers do."
"Gilbert-"
"No, you don't need to say anything else," Gilbert mumbled. Matthew had never seen the fairy look so sad. "Let's get you inside."
As if on cue, the fat man stuck his large head out the window and Gilbert blinked away. "Boy! Get in here now, the carriage is two houses down!"
"Yes, sir," Matthew called. He cast a look around to see if Gilbert would reappear. When he didn't, Matthew trudged inside.
The girls were positioned at the bottom of the stairs. Dorlas in an ugly pink and Grelzda in a ghastly yellow. Matthew handed them each their small bouquet of flowers and turned to his stepfather for instructions.
"Perfect, I'll open the door when they come. Dorlas, you'll go first, then Grelzda," the fat man pointed to each daughter. "And tell me what you will be saying,"
Dorlas cleared her throat and sounded very much like a squirrel. "Hello, I am Dorlas Williams. I am eighteen and attended the ball with my sister. Here are my flowers I chose to show to Prince Francis," she demonstrated her curtsy and holding out the flowers.
"Very good. Grelzda, you next."
The chunkier girl patted her hair before dipping into a curtsy. "Grelzda Williams, pleased to meet you. I am seventeen and went to the ball with my sister. These are the flowers I would like to present to Prince Francis."
"Amazing, dear," the fat man praised. Then all eyes fell on Matthew. "And what would you be doing?"
Matthew resisted the urge to sigh. "I'll be in my room, not making any noise and pretending I don't exist."
"If only you could do that all the time," Dorlas said. "But we wouldn't have anyone to clean the house."
Grelzda chortled. "Or empty the chamber pots."
The girls dissolved into ugly giggles. Matthew felt his face heat up. He hated those girls.
The fat man smirked and went to the window facing the street. "They're next door. Get to your room, boy."
Matthew nodded and turned to the stairs. He didn't look back as he climbed the steps. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing how upset he was.
He got to the top of the stairs and saw the fat man following him. Matthew furrowed his brow but proceeded to his room. Once inside, he began to close the door, but his stepfather grabbed the edge.
"I mean it, not a peep," the fat man ground out.
"Yes, sir," Matthew said softly.
"And so you don't ruin the girls' chances," he held up a key. "You're going to stay locked in here until they leave."
Matthew didn't reply. There was a knock at the door and the fat man grinned. "That would be them." He shut the door and with a loud clang, Matthew was locked in his room.
