"AAAAAHHHHH!!" Olivia screamed and bolted toward the old wooden staircase the moment she saw a figure behind the door.
THUD!!
Her foot caught on something and she went fell.
Olivia groaned in pain, lifting her palm to inspect the damage , scraped raw against the rough basement floor. She blew on it frantically.
"OWWWWWW!!"
She scrambled to get up and climb back to the stairs but
"HELLLP!!" The voice from before rang out again.
Olivia, still whimpering in pain, froze. Slowly, she turned her face toward the old door.
CRREEEAK.
The door that had been slightly ajar was now opening. Slowly. She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to see what was coming out.
"Helllp..." the voice echoed softly.
Slowly, she cracked open her right eye.
"Ehh... nothing's there??" she said, opening both eyes fully.
Olivia gathered her courage and stepped forward to see what was behind the door.
Her hand pushed it open .... and then she saw him.
A boy. Both hands bound with golden chains, lying collapsed across the floor.
Olivia's heart stopped. Her eyes went wide. Ignoring the pain in her palm entirely, she rushed toward him, breathless.
She shook his body and lightly patted his cheek.
The limp boy parted his lips weakly.
"W...a.." he breathed.
"What??" Olivia leaned her ear close to his mouth.
"Wa...ter," he managed. Olivia pulled back and pieced the broken syllables together in her head.
The boy opened his eyes , and startled at finding Olivia so close.
He scrambled backward instantly, shoulders rising like he was bracing for an attack. His movements were exactly like a cornered cat , back arching defensively, a low warning growl rumbling from his throat, "Grrrr,"his trembling hands batting at the air between them.
Olivia stared at him.
"AWWWW YOU'RE SO CUTE!!" she said, reaching her hand toward him.
The boy looked terrified but alert, while eyes tracking her every move.
"Okay okay calm down, I'm not here to hit you or hurt you. I heard a voice coming from down here." She rubbed her own hands together against the damp cold of the basement.
The boy said nothing and only retreated further.
"Are you hungry? Or thirsty?" Olivia glanced at the empty water bottle on the floor.
She stepped forward and made an eating gesture with her hands.
The boy didn't respond. He only watched her hands move.
The moment she mimed drinking, his eyes lit up. Then he nodded. Fast.
"Ohhh, thirsty!!" said Olivia. She stood up and held both palms out toward him.
"Wait here okay?" she said, the gesture clearly meaning to stay.
She sprinted up the old stairs, crept back into the Aethelgard residence, and tiptoed into the kitchen to get water, careful not to awake a single servant.
Once she had a bottle safely in hand, she slipped back out and ran to the basement.
She handed him the water. The boy finished it in one go.
Olivia, sitting across from him, blinked amazed.
"He really was dying of thirst," she muttered softly, still slightly stunned by how fast that bottle had disappeared.
After the bottle was empty, the boy slowly turned his face away. His voice came out small, nearly swallowed by the silence of the basement.
"T-thank you..." he whispered, eyes quickly darting away from hers.
Olivia's heart squeezed. He looked so neglected , defensive and guarded, yet still trying so hard to hold himself together. She had the overwhelming urge to tuck him into her pocket so nobody could ever hurt him again.
She smiled gently and took the empty bottle, lowering herself so she wouldn't seem threatening.
"You're welcome," Olivia said softly.
Then, carefully "Can I know your name?"
The boy went completely still. His sharp eyes fixed on her. He didn't answer. Just let the silence fill the damp basement.
After a long moment, he finally spoke. His voice was cold as cracked ice.
"Why do you need to know?" he asked flatly. He pulled his chained hands slightly away, as if her very presence was a threat. "You're the same as the others. You come. You pretend to be kind. And then... hurting me."
Olivia was stunned.
She understood , this boy wasn't just frightened. He was carrying something deep. A wound that went far beneath those golden chains.
"I'm sorry," Olivia said quietly, her expression softening with sadness. "I asked something painful. But I really did only come here to help. Not to hurt you."
"Sorry," she added again.
The boy stayed silent, watching her eyes sharply.
"...Um," he started. His expression was complicated , somewhere looked between irritated and conflicted.
"Yeah?" Olivia answered, smiling.
He tried to open his mouth. But the words seemed too heavy to lift from his throat.
"It's fine. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. I won't force you," Olivia said, pressing her hands to her knees to help herself stand.
The boy went quiet listening to that.
Olivia exhaled. A small thread of disappointment wound through her chest, she still didn't know who he was. But she knew she couldn't push someone. Before she left, she turned back one more time.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me right now," she said softly, trying to hide the ache in her voice.
Slowly, she reached her hand out a small, sincere gesture.
"But... would you be willing to be my friend?"
The boy went still.
The golden chains at his wrists chimed faintly , the only sound breaking the silence of the basement.
He looked up slowly, his expression unreadable.
"Why?" His voice came out rough, like it hadn't been used in a long time.
Olivia smiled faintly, trying to let her sincerity show through the dim light.
"Because... I just want to be friends with you."
She tried to find his eyes , but it was no use. Thick silver hair, tangled and overgrown, fell past his nose, hiding almost everything.
Curious, Olivia reached toward it.
Before a single finger could touch even one strand , her hand was slapped away. Hard.
Olivia flinched. Her already injured palm throbbed sharply from the impact. But what hurt more was seeing his face drain of colour completely, like he was fighting something inside himself that she couldn't see.
His breathing turned short and ragged. His chest heaved. Cold sweat broke across his forehead. He crawled to the darkest corner of the room, putting as much distance between them as possible, as if Olivia were the most dangerous thing in the world.
"DON'T COME NEAR ME!!" he said, his voice startlingly loud for someone locked in a basement. He gripped his own chest, his whole body trembling and drenched in sweat.
Olivia moved toward him, only wanting to help.
But he slapped her hand hard away again and told her to leave.
"But you.." Olivia said, worried.
"GO!! GO!!" he cried, pressing himself into the corner, still clutching his chest.
Olivia stood frozen. Her heart hurt. She wanted to help. But watching him crawl in terror to the corner of the room , she knew. She had to go.
She turned and walked out quickly, and grabbed her chest tight.
"I'LL COME BACK!!" Olivia called out firmly, even as her heart broke watching him like that.
"Don't..." the boy whispered.
But his voice was already swallowed by the sound of her retreating footsteps.
The boy's pained groaning still echoed in Olivia's ears as she glanced back, but her small body could do nothing.
Before leaving, she carefully shut the broken basement door and arranged dry leaves over it, to covering the secret entrance.
Then she ran back into the Aethelgard residence, guilt pooling heavily in her chest.
What she didn't notice that .....
From behind a glass window, a pair of eyes had been watching her every move from a distance. Sharp. Unblinking.
A slow, cold smile curved across the lips of that shadowy figure.
"Hmm. Just as expected," came the quiet whisper.