"Young Master Cale, the count awaits you in his office." He walked to the office, hiding his bloodstained sleeve.
"Cale, look after Basen. You're the older brother." he nodded mutely.
"Hyung, I'll follow you." He looked at the boy before looking away.
"I'll wait here, Hyung!" He walked away, wanting to get some fresh air.
Crash! He cut himself, drawing attention from all.
"Hyung!" That boy looked so worried.
"Cale Henituse!" His father… looked mildly inebriated.
Slap! …
"Young Master Cale, the count said you will be grounded until further notice,"
The door was snapped shut right in front of his face, leaving him all alone in the darkness of his room. Cale released the breath he was holding, shuddering as his mind caught up to the situation. In the darkness, every one of his senses was enhanced, everything that he had not noticed in time.
His odd breathing to the nails that were digging into his skin, and the numbness in his cheek. The sudden sensation caused his brain to try to catch up to what had happened for the last few hours.
Honestly, the day had passed by in a blur for him. Without the usual guaranteed privacy, he couldn't talk with his sworn siblings without being heard by the servants. He had to lie low, days gone by without a proper sleep or eating due to paranoia.
Anyhow, he must be too exhausted to even notice that he has been dragged into some sort of party arranged by his stepmother. He had no recollection of ever agreeing to go or even setting foot into the room with his stepbrother.
He didn't know how he got here, but he certainly needed to take a breather. He couldn't, though, not with a child trailing behind him like a lost duck with a bunch of people in the same space, no matter how big the space was; he was suffocated.
Apart from that moment, Cale couldn't recall what had happened. Until this moment.
Sighing tiredly, he dragged himself into the bathroom nearby and went to the sink. Moonlight filtered into the space, illuminating his face as he stared into his hand.
It was dripping with warm crimson blood. The pain was already numbing as he had clenched his hand for too long.
Slowly, he unclenched his palm and winced when he saw the shards. Embedded into his hand like glass, shining under the silver light of the mournful moon.
It was not a pretty sight, he concluded.
And he wondered, was it worth it to stay here any longer?
He doesn't know, and quite frankly, he had an answer to that already.
***
Sinking into the comfort of his bed, Cale drew a slow breath as he listlessly stared at the ceiling. His hands held an old book to his chest.
Being grounded was not a fun affair. Not that he was actually bothered by the lack of social status around him. In fact, he was all too glad to be left alone and unbothered.
However, what he was uncomfortable about was the necessity that was brought in daily. This led to him being unable to eat them and just dumping that food out of his balcony at night.
Water was also a problem. Since food was not an option, he could only drink the glass of water that was brought in after tasting it.
So far, it seemed that the water was safe. Well, for now.
Ignoring his growing stomach, he turned on his side, curling up into a fetal position. His chin to his knees as he enveloped himself in warmth. The book was between his chest and his curled-up legs.
So far, he couldn't contact his godmother, much less his sworn siblings. The communication device that the siblings had given him was taken away when he was not around. Damn, thieves.
Writing a letter would not do either, since he was grounded, not allowed to communicate outside. And he was sure that the servants would just throw it away.
"... how many days has it been?"
He was here for so long that he had lost track of days. The days passed by in a blur, his mind too exhausted to think of any sort of comprehensive thought. With how long his stomach was craving any sort of food and how much he wanted to sleep, his mind just sort of emptied.
Cale had wondered, though, just how long it would take for them to notice he was being grounded for too long.
His brow furrowed, heaving a sigh to mask the pain that his stomach was causing as he closed his eyes.
However, sleep escaped him as insomnia easily found itself rooted in his exhausted and dulled mind.