I hate that I switch between the metric and imperial measuring systems in its chapter, but whatever, I hope you guys understand. I also call blonde William 'Liam' because why not? Enjoy the chapter!
Y/n POV( 10 years old)
"I expect you to take it off as soon as we arrive at the school. I do not want a repeat of what happened last week," Albert tells me as we walk to the entrance hall, preparing to leave for the ragged school.
"Yes Lord Albert," I respond as I keep my head down in shame, remembering the events that took place at our previous visit.
~Flashback~
"What happened?!" I hear Albert ask as he steps into the carriage. I presume all he can see is me holding my handkerchief to the back of my neck as blood slowly oozes out of my old wounds.
"I overreacted. It won't happen again," is all I say as I look out the window, not brave enough to see Albert's worrying face. This entire situation could have been prevented if I had only removed the collar as soon as we left the estate grounds. If I had only done that then my heart wouldn't be full of so much guilt.
As the carriage begins to move, Albert stays quiet beside me, likely fuming in anger.
'Why are you upset? Was it because I embarrassed you? Is it because you have to see my blood again, which even I don't want to see?' I think as I pressure myself into apologizing for my actions.
"Albert... I'm sorry for making you upset, I only-" I begin to say, but am quickly cut off by Albert raising his voice.
"Why are you apologizing?! It's not your fault!!" he suddenly exclaims, making me jump at the volume of his voice. He has never once raised his voice at me before today and it makes me feel uneasy. The rest of the ride back to the estate was quiet, broken occasional creaking from the carriage. As we begin to approach the house, I take my collar out of my pocket and put it around my fresh wounds, making me slightly wince at the pain.
"Please go to my room and await further instructions," Albert commands me in a serious tone, telling me I had no say in the matter. I nod my head as I wait for the carriage to slow down.
When the footman opened the door, Albert quickly steps out and walks into the house, leaving me to sit alone in the carriage. I slowly get out of the carriage and drag myself to Alberts room, not acknowledging any of the other servants as I pass them. Honestly, I had no idea why Albert wanted me in his room, but I assumed the worst was to come.
After a few minutes of walking, I reach his room. Staring at the door handle, I idly stand in front of it, my body not wanting to enter the room. 'Stop being so afraid and accept your punishment, you knew something this would eventually happen,' I think as I slowly open the door and walkthrough.
Looking around the room, I see that Albert hasn't come to his room yet, making me let out a small sigh, glad I wouldn't have to deal with his wrath for a few more minutes. I sit in the armchair I had previously been reading in as I wait for my master to come back.
After a few minutes of waiting, I hear the door open and shoes begin to walk over to my chair, making my whole body stiffen up. "Take off the collar and lay down face-first on my bed," Albert asks as he stands behind me, something slightly rattling in his hands. Not looking back at him, I take off the collar and walk over to his bed. I crawl across it until neither of my legs hangs off the edge as I lay down flat, my face burying into his thick duvet.
'It's not going to hurt, it's not going to hurt, it's not going to hurt,' I repeat over and over in my head as I prepare for whatever. Behind me, I can hear some liquid sloshing around in a bottle as Albert moves closer to me.
"This may hurt a bit," Albert says as he leans over my figure. I close my eyes and grip his sheets, preparing for something that never came. I feel a cold liquid being pressed against the back of my neck before the liquid starts to burn at my cuts.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" I exclaim as the stinging continues at my scratches.
"Hydrogen peroxide... 3% concentration," Albert monotonously says as he removes the cotton ball from my neck as it continues to sting. "I don't want your scratches to become infected," he says as the stinging from my neck begins to fade.
"Why would you do that?" I ask as I sit up and face Albert. Sitting beside him, I can see a small medical kit with bandages, gauze, and cotton balls in it as Albert puts the small bottle of Hydrogen peroxide back in its place. He looks back at me and stares me directly in the eyes, making me look at his beautiful emerald irises.
"You have the rest of the day off, please head back to your room," Albert tells me before he turns his face away and leaves the room with the medical kit in his hands, leaving me extremely confused.
"Uhhh...okay?" I question him as I get off his bed and leave for my room through the door that connects the two rooms, but not before grabbing my collar and taking it with me. "That was odd," I say as I enter my room, go to lock my door, and flop back first onto my bed. I try to sleep, but my mind is running marathons.
'He could have just asked me to do it myself, so why would he do that?' I question in my mind as my fatigue begins to hit me as I pondering the question over and over in my head as I drift off into a peaceful sleep.
~Flashback (Over)~
"Darling! What do you mean, your taking in an orphan?!" Lady Moriarty demands her husband, shaking me out of my trance. I notice Simon has handed Albert his walking cane while I was busy spacing off, making me internally kick myself, seeing that I can't do my job right.
"There's nothing more to it. It is exactly as I said," Lord Moriarty says as he avoids his wife's intense stare.
'I bet my dinner that it is because of a woman,' I make an internal bet with myself as I watch the scene unfold in front of me.
"As you said? We already have two outstanding sons in the family! So why?" the lady argues as I look over to Albert, whose eyes slightly widen and mouth drops as he looks away from the scene.
'I agree, Albert is amazing. However, your other pig of a son can go roll over and die,' I think as I slightly scowl at the idea of William.
"What's worse, an orphan from only God knows where!" Albert's mother continues to scream at her husband as I flinch at her words and Albert's scowl deepens.
"Acts of charity are the duty of the nobility. You know that much don't you?" Lord Moriarty responds as he questions his wife's intelligence, making me mentally giggle. Lady Moriarty's scowl deepens before it goes to one of recognition, telling me she found out the reason why her husband was doing this.
"The duchess Penieres, right? That charity-crazed woman put you up to this, that's why...!" the lady accuses as her husband's eyes widen at her words, showing she was right.
'Good job Y/n, you deserve an extra dinner,' I think to myself. The thought of food reminds me to double-check my pockets for the apples. It may sound odd, but my pockets are quite deep and can easily hide something as round as an apple or five. As I feel the outline of the fruit, I pat down my chest, making sure I have my knives. As usual, they are still there, letting me breathe in a breath of relief.
"Go take back what you said! Otherwise, I will go to her myself!" the lady yells at her husband as the aura around Albert changes, telling me he is preparing to leave soon.
"Don't be absurd! How could I do anything so disgraceful at this point!" the lord yells back as I see Albert frown and walk away. I quickly follow him to the carriage and sit across from him as usual.
'Mmm... parental issues, huh? I understand,' I think as I turn my attention away from Albert as I begin to remember Mary. Mary may have taken me in after the incident, but in no way was she my mother or even a parental figure; I was taking care of her, instead of her taking care of me. When I got the promotion, pretty much all communication was cut off between the two of us. She did want to separate her contract from mine, but she assumed that it would be her getting the promotion and not staying in the same position a year later. Occasionally I saw her while working but she would always avoid my gaze and walk past me.
As I feel the carriage slow down, I quickly take off my collar and shove it in my pocket, not making the same mistake twice. I look back at Albert who is watching me put it away. He gives me a small nod as the carriage comes to a complete stop. Like usual, he gets out first as I follow him out.
Once we reach the entrance of the school, Albert begins to talk to the teachers, and like last time, I walk past them and go to my hiding spot. This time I wouldn't be distracted and I would have more time to practice.
"Hi, Y/n!" I hear Jasper yell at me. I turn my head but continue moving, giving him a small, fake smile while nodding my head. He sits with the other children who also acknowledge my presence for a second before turning back to the new boys. Jasper's face seems to drop as I don't even greet him back, but I clear goal in mind that I need to accomplish. Right now, I needed to get my frustration out by throwing my knives at some apples. Without the teacher noticing, I snuck around back to my favourite place to conceal myself; the outside space in between the chapel and the school building.
As soon as I reach the small hiding area, I quickly check behind me for any bystanders. All I can see is the three outside walls that form a dead-ended alley. The alley probably measured about 5 meters, or 16 feet, in-depth, while it was 3 meters, 9 feet, wide. It was surprising that they didn't fill this area in with more junk that they didn't use.
Walking down the alley, I eventually approach an old wooden stool that has been here since I first came. Whenever I come, I'll either use it as a pedestal for the apples or a target itself. When I first started, I needed a large target and the stool served its purpose, but as I became more accurate with my throwing, I needed smaller targets, which I used apple for.
Walking over to the stool, I take out the five small apples I had brought and place one on the stool, while I put the others on the ground. Stepping back about 3 meters, I take out all three of my throwing knives and carefully study them in my hand. They have silver blades with black handles and are about 8 inches long, with the handle taking up 3 inches of the length. The knives aren't the typical throwing knives, seeing that they not as flat as others, the handles are longer, and they have an extremely sharp edge, though I have found ways to avoid being cut. When I had first used them, they were huge compared to my small hands, but once I get older, they will fit in my palm perfectly.
Looking back up to my target, I begin to do math calculations in my head as I squint at the apple. 'If I'm standing 3 meters away and I throw it at my full strength, then that means the knife has to make a half rotation for the blade to hit the apple. For it to do that, I have to hold the knife by the blade,' I think as I position the blade in my hand. One day, I hope to quickly throw the knives at a moving target, but that may take a while, so for now, I will practice until I can advance.
Holding the blade like a hammer, I take one last look at the target and deeply breathe in before quickly pulling my arm back and throwing the knife. The sound of the knife hitting the ground as it misses the apple is heard as I huff out in frustration. Taking my second knife from my coat pocket, I repeat my process; I correctly place the knife in my hand, look at the target, and deeply breathe in. 'Let the knife...GO!" I think as I throw the knife again. This time I hear the knife fall to the ground but with 2 apple slices also hitting it.
"Nice," is all I say as I walk towards the stool and pick up my two knives putting them back in my pocket. I leave the cut apple on the ground and grab three more apples and line them up in a row on the pedastel. Again, I walk back, but this time I go 5 metres away from the target, increasing the difficulty of my throw. And not only that, but I'm challenging myself to hit all three of the targets within seconds of each other, which is not an easy feat. However, I was willing to test myself.
"You will be sliced, apples," I threaten as I point one of my dagger at the apples, my face completely serious. "...Pffft...You're a complete loser Y/n," I happily say to myself, my mood lifted a little by my actions. I pull out my two other daggers and place them in my left hand as I prepare to throw them. Intensely, I stare at the apples as I lightly stretch out my wrists.
'Ready?' I think as I am about to hit the apples. '...GO!!!' I tell myself as I throw my first knife, followed by my second and third knife, each following the other by a second. I close my eyes as I let go of the last knife, slightly praying that I would hear the hollow sounds of 6 apple slices hit the ground. As I hear the sounds of three metal objects hit the ground, I can lightly hear the sounds of apple slicing falling on the ground. Opening my eyes, my mouth suddenly drops at the sight.
All three of the apples are on the ground, all split evenly down the middle. "Did I actually do that?" I question as I approach the wooden stool, the apple pieces scattered over the floor. "Ha, I may be a pet, a loser and a terrible butler, but I can throw knives, making me a threat to everyone. And like how the nobles abuse their wealth and power, I will abuse what God has chosen to give me," I monologue as I laugh, a genuine smile reaches my face, one I haven't used since I first met Albert. I begin to pick my knives and clean them off as I slightly notice the three pairs of eyes on me. As a plan begins to form in my head on how I can get back at them, an evil smirk tugging at my lips.
3rd POV:
"They've gotten better," Jasper excitedly said as he turned to the two boys as Y/n begins to pick up the untouched apple and the pieces of apples laying on the ground. All three of them hide behind the corner, hoping Y/n wouldn't notice them
"Interesting," Liam said as the younger began to think about the previous time he had seen Y/n.
"Why was Y/n wearing a collar the last time we saw them?" Louis question the younger boy as Jasper shrugs.
" I don't know, they've never worn it before," Jasper said as he peeks around the corner again, his eyes going wide when he didn't see anyone in the alley.
"Looking for someone?" Y/n says as they pop up behind the three boys, seemingly coming from nowhere.
Y/n POV:
To surprise the peeping boys, I decided to quietly run behind them when they weren't looking.
"Looking for someone?" I ask in my completely neutral tone as two out of the three boys look at me with wide eyes while the oldest looks at me with a grin, slightly confusing me. "I see that Jasper has lead you to my spot," I say as I look towards the little boy as he looks away, knowing he broke the rules of the agreement the children and I had.
"I'm sorry, Y/n. I'm also sorry for last week," Jasper quietly said, shame evident in his voice as he stares at the ground.
" I over-reacted Jasper, it wasn't your fault," I reassure him, not feeling like holding my personal issues against a young boy. Pulling out the collar, I hold it in front of me and slightly shake it, making the bell ring. Wanting to not make the small boy fear for my wellbeing, I start to explain. "If I'm being honest, I would say this is one of my greatest shames," I say as I begin to place it back in my poacket. "But it's adjustable...so that's good...and I may or not have the intention to massacre the pig who forces me to keep it on," I whisper the last part, not expecting anyone to hear it. Unknown to me, the older blonde brother becomes increasingly interested in me as the whispered words leave my lips.
"Want an apple?" I ask Jasper, immediately making his face brighten as he rapidly nods his head. I chuckle as I hand him one of the sliced apples. Turning to the two brothers, I realize I had never introduced myself. " I apologize for not introducing myself right away. My name is Y/n Smith, please call me Y/n. Nice to meet the both of you," I formally say, bowing to the both of them. Neither of them speaks back, making me incredibly uncomfortable as I unintentionally begin to reach for the back of my neck, an unfortunate habit I had developed whenever I feel awkward, as I try to hide my scars.
"Why do you carry three knives?" the oldest brother asks, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. I blankly stare back at him before taking a few steps toward him and leaning into his ear the best I can do while being shorter than him.
"Why does your brother carry one?" I whisper to him before walking towards where the other children, slightly smirking, knowing I caught onto one of their secrets. As I see the entrance of the school, I try to stretch put my wrists, not wanting them to be sore later.
"Y/n! Did you bring the apples?" one of the boys older than me asks as I approach the children. I nod my head in response as I pull the 7 halves of apples out and hand them out to each of the children, every one of them smiling at the small present I've given them. They always told me the apples are always sweeter when I cut them with my knives, which makes no sense to me, seeing that every knife I throw is thrown with hatred.
Jasper and the other boys begin to approach the group as they quickly finish their apple slices. The two boys sit on the bench as the other children begin to ask the two, specifically the older one, to teach them math, or read to them, or how to win at chess, as I stand behind the two smart, blonde boys watching their interactions with the other children. From what I could tell from my observations, the youngest one is quieter and has some kind of sickness, making him frailer than the older. However, they both can read, separating them from other children I have seen on the streets. The older is incredibly smart, and will likely always be smarter than me, not that I minded. Intelligence is a double-edged sword; that's how I first saw it and my views haven't changed.
I look over to Albert and see him genuinely smiling at the boys, making me smile as well, knowing this one wasn't like the ones he would put on in front of his parents.
'Call me psychic, but I have a feeling good things are about to happen.'
I find it really funny how I see comments about how people ship Albert and Y/n and my first thought is 'ok, I should add more moments in with the other characters, but then put in a huge fluff moment between Albert and Y/n and expect people to see the other characters as love interests. I could reduce those scenes between the two, but that'd be evil. I blame my bad writing for my dilemma lol.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!
Have a good morning/evening/night,
~Kyra
(3553 Words)