Blood…

There were droplets of blood flying towards his face. In any other situation he would have reached for his napkin in order to cleanse himself from the crimson liquid. But this was not the time to indulge himself on such a trivial desire.

No, the desire that now dictated each swing of his fists had been building for too long. And now it was burning within his lungs, painting his vision with red.

The brat did not protest, not even when the sound of cracking bone began to resonate within the stone walls of the dungeon. Icy blue eyes never showing any sign of surrender.

But he didn't care. He knew that she wasn't going to give up easily. He had witnessed her stubbornness plenty of times.

The only thing he was seeking from her was a small retribution. Even if it wasn't even a fraction of the pain that she had inflicted, he wasn't going to let her escape his fury.

Tomorrow she would heal her wounds with that annoying ability of hers. She would once again refuse to answer question and give her interrogators the same stoic expression she was displaying now, she would be once again thrown away in her cell and he would sneak in during the night to dismiss the guards in charge, then he would…..

"Mph.."The small sound broke his concentration

She couldn't have broken from this. Not after showing how much she was going to endure in order to complete her still unknown objectives.

His frown deepened, one bloodied hand reaching for her now plastered hair and pulling roughly at the previously blonde locks.

He couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly when he recognized the shape of a smile on the girl's split lips.

He felt the rage rising up his throat, demanding him to shout whatever profanity he could muster.

Instead he leaned in towards her face, his rage controlled but still present on his face and voice as he practically breathed his question on her face.

"What's so damm funny?"

Instead of fading, her grin became wider, and he was sure his ears recognized a giggle coming from her. In response his grip on her hair became tighter his face now only centimeters away from her.

And then, just as he breathed in to speak again, a hoarse sound came from the monster's mouth, and he could barely distinguish the words, but as soon as he did his vision turned red.

"No matter how many times you call her, she's not coming back"

All of a sudden, his hands found her throat, grasping the pale skin tightly as he barely restrained himself from strangling her.

His jaw felt impossibly tight as his forehead found hers, his eyes blazing with fury as he spoke again.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" the curse word falling from his mouth like a low growl.

Another moment of silence passed on by. She seemed to be trying to regain her breath before making another statement.

He braced himself to whatever insult was going to come out of the girls mouth, but nothing could prepare him for the next mockery that came.

"Didn't you notice? You've been calling her name the entire time"

The young boy woke up with a start. Withe cotton sheets drenched in sweat. Small eyes flinching as they ajusted to the bright morning sky.

A loud groan came of his mouth, he was about to mutter a low curse at the brightness when another voice interrupted him.

"Young Master" an eldery woman appeared in front of his face.

"Right, right…" the kid said while rubbing his eyes.

…..

The boy took his time while bathing, still feeling uneasy about the strange rage he had woken up with. On all his short life, he couldn't remember feeling this angry.

The hot water did well in calming his mood; meanwhile the maids took care of taking out his sleeping clothes.

He let the warm water soothe his tense muscles while his ears entertained themselves on the chattering that came from the other side of the bathroom door.

"So the Master should return from London in a couple of days" a high pitched voice started

"Yes" another, more mature sounding, sighed, "He wants to be there at the young master Levi's birthday"

The kid's eyes snapped open at that last sentence. Of course...

"Bothersome..." he sighed before relaxing again.

"Young Master?" a knock "Your clothes are ready". He gave another annoyed sigh.

...

Even with his parents out and without his teacher to bother him, he still thought that the Mansion he shared with his parents at the countryside was way too noisy for him. His bedroom seemed to be the only silent sanctuary available, with only the occasional chatter from the maids interrupting his thoughts.

However, this time the interruption was pretty different. And it nearly made the kid jump in his bed.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Well, that was something he didn't hear every day, that was for sure. And he had listened to the maids for long enough to know that those screams weren't caused by a spider.

Quickly, he got out of bed, curiosity getting the better of him. He slowly opened the door, cautious before the possibility of finding a thief in his home.

Another scream pierced through that hallway. Leaving the safety of his bedroom, he took sure but slow steps towards the source of the noise; it seemed to come from the living room. As he made his way, more pained noises met his ears, uneasiness creeping through his chest.

One desperate maid on the other side came nearly running over him. Levi managed to doge the woman, only to give a small look inside the living room.

It seemed that a large group had gathered near the fireplace, maids chattering while covering their mouths with their hands. One large built man that he recognized as one of the horse handlers rose from the floor, clearly caring a person on his arms. Stepping further, Levi recognized the frail form of one of his mother's personal maids.

He rarely exchanged looks with the women in charge of his mother's whims. They carried perfumes, soaps and other weird concoctions that made them stink. Those smells, however pleasant they were by separated, were unbearable for Levi's nostrils when combined.

This time, however, Levi didn't felt the beginnings of nausea when he walked closer, silently following the man as he carried the maid out of the living room.

Then another scent assaulted him, manure. They were near the stables, he hadn't even realized they were outside the house; he just followed the pair as they made their way towards a small cottage.

"Ugh…" the foul smell forced him to whimper in disgust. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder stopping him dead on his tracks. Levi felt a small pang of anger when he realized he wasn't following the two people anymore, something inside him as telling him just to keep walking, but the grasp on his arm was tight.

"What?!" he turned around and asked a bit louder than usual. The maid nearly flinched at his rash tone, but kept her composure.

"Young Master", she spoke with a clam tone. "You don't want to see this". The woman tugged gently at the boy's shoulders.

Levi would have listened to the older woman if his curiosity wasn't tugging harder at his brain. His gaze went back to the couple, whom had entered the cottage.

"What's going on?" he asked a bit more calmly

The old woman lifted her eyes and Levi noticed that she was watching the small wooden structure. Her gaze remained still for a while, as if she was pondering what answer to give him.

After a long moment, her gaze fell back on the boy.

"I'll escort you back to your room", the elder tugged at his shoulder gently, but Levi kept firm on his spot, something inside him keeping him glued to the ground.

"I-I" he was lost for words. For the first time, this stubborn, persistent and rude five year old could not talk back coherently. He wanted to say something, desperately so, but he couldn't process the thoughts that were running wild inside his infant brain. This feelings felt foreign yet his own.

His vision was becoming blurry, and before he knew it, he was walking blindly away from the wooden structure and back into the mansion.

…..

He didn't know how many hours he spent near the window if his bedroom, his eyes fixated on the small wooden house next to the stables. In a couple of occasions, he saw people entering the small cottage, some of them carrying sheets.

During that time, his ears barely caught the concerned whispers of the maids that came by his rooms. All of them sounded confused at his interest on the current events.

All of a sudden one motion snapped Levi out of his trance. The same man that had carried the maid into the cottage was now running out of it. The boy couldn't distinguish the adult's expression, but he could notice the agitated way he moved.

Then he was assaulted by another strange feeling, something different than childish curiosity tugged at his chest and demanded him to return to that rusty place.

Before the maids could catch him, or even he could figure out what he was doing, he was running as fast as his small body would allow him.

Making it out of the mansion was easy enough, but as soon as he got about fifty meters from the stables, a new sound reached his ears.

Levi's almost frantic race slowed down to a cautious walk, the high pitched noise was making him uncomfortable yet anxious at the same time.

He finally made it to the entrance, his lungs burning both from the effort and the unknown euphoria that seemed to invade his brain.

One glance inside the small house and he was able to distinguish the small frame of his mother's maid lying on the floor, a pool of dirtied sheets below her and making an improvised bed.

But the next image Levi managed to distinguish was sure to remain burned on his mind. In the arms of the maid a small bundle seemed to be struggling to get out. A bright patch of ginger hair directed his attention towards the infant.

"Young master…" a gentle whisper broke the trance that the baby's image had put Levi into. "You can come closer".

Then Levi felt something he couldn't remember feeling before. He felt a slight burning on his cheeks. However, before he could dwell in that strange fact, he was right next to the improvised bedding. The baby was still struggling against its mother's arms, making annoyed sounds.

"Shush there, little one"

The baby seemed to calm down a little, finally quieting. Then a pair of bright amber eyes opened. The brightness of those eyes brought so many feelings to the young boy, some of them completely unknown. He could distinguish relief, nervousness and, most prominently, a weird happiness he could not remember feeling.

One of his hands reached towards the baby's head, his fingers suddenly aching to touch the orange strands, and as soon as his fingertips made contact, he felt his heart swell inside his chest, a warm tingle spreading within him.

Then, before he could stop himself, his lisp started to move, uttering a single word.

"Petra"

A bubbly giggle broke through the silence of the room, and then the new mom saw her master with the biggest smile she had ever seen on him. And when did he noticed that it was a girl?

"She seems to like it"

"Uh.."

"The name, young master. It shall be Petra then" She tucked the newborn closer to her body, Levi's fingers now tracing the curve of her cheek. He didn't knew why he said that word out loud, hell, he didn't even know that it was a name for a girl, but as he said it again, it seemed even more fitting for the little girl.

Then, with the softest tone he had ever used in his life, he spoke again.

"Nice to meet you"