His footsteps rang as Derek paced down the gallery. Though Derek was a swordsman, he was trained in stealth and assassination. He was an expert in attacking the prey unannounced. Even in normal, everyday life, it was impossible to catch so much as a squeak from Derek's shoes even if he was walking on a floor laid with marble. But today Derek wasn't carrying his normal, cold self at all. His displeased and seething demeanor made the knights and maids crossing paths with him jump out of his way in alarm.
Derek's mind was calm in the morning though. It was the last day of the spring festival. It also meant that the holidays were over and soon the knights would start coming back to the estate to carry on with their duties. He was feeling pleased but couldn't understand the reason behind it.
While he was taking a stroll around the mansion, one of the knights who had just returned came up to greet him.
"Good morning, sir." the knight greeted him with a smile. He was in his blue uniform which announced in glory that he was a knight of Wintern family.
Derek nodded his head in reply. He was going to continue his walk again when he suddenly remembered that he had seen Hansel talking to that knight sometimes. With Hansel's personality, it was quite rare for him to engage in a conversation with someone. Derek smiled at himself. Somehow, he had ended up thinking about Hansel again.
"When will the new apprentice knight return?" Derek had asked the question in his mind without meaning to. He was surprised at himself.
"Which one?" the black-haired knight scratched his head in confusion. There were at least fifty new apprentices appointed this year and he wasn't sure which one Derek was referring to.
"You know… The one named Hansel." Derek said, trying to suppress the curiosity in his voice. "You two seemed pretty close." He paid emphasis on the last sentence. He was slightly displeased with the fact that someone other than himself was close to Hansel.
"Oh!" the knight made an 'o' with his mouth when an image of the caramel haired boy came to his mind but he got confused again when he recalled something. "But sir, Hansel didn't go anywhere during the vacation."
'Why?' Derek wanted to ask but he stopped himself. His mind could not process what he had just heard.
The black-haired knight noticing the lingering question in the atmosphere, then explained on his own accord, "You see, that lad is an orphan, sir. He has nowhere else to go and no one to visit. No lover or betrothed either. So, he stayed back in the estate." He looked proud and satisfied after he completed his answer. He was happy he could be of some use to the Second Master.
However, his smile didn't last long as Derek's face had grown darker. His blue eyes glistened fiercely. As the knight hurriedly opened his mouth to excuse himself, Derek hit him with another question.
"Where?" Derek asked, his voice shaking in fury. It was an incomplete question which made no sense at first but the black-haired knight understood what Derek was asking without a hitch.
"He is cleaning the armory." He replied swallowing his saliva. He had no hint what Hansel had done to invoke this wrath standing in front of him but nonetheless, he prayed for him mentally.
Derek disappeared as soon as the knight finished his words. He almost raced towards the armory; his mind occupied with questions.
'Why did Hansel lie to him?' he thought. No, Hansel didn't quite lie because Derek had never asked the required question in the first place. He had just conveniently assumed that Hansel would go to his home just like the other knights. To think he wasted all this time he could be with Hansel just because of is idiocy!
Derek was pissed at himself but he knew he wasn't all in the wrong. Hansel didn't turn up for his training with Derek the entire week. Even on normal days, the chances of Derek and Hansel meeting outside of training grounds were slim. So now, when Hansel was avoiding him all his might, it was only obvious that Derek couldn't catch even a hint of his shadow.
While lost in thoughts, Derek had already reached the armory. He kicked the door open which flew on his hinges to hit the wall.
BAM!
The loud noise attracted Hansel's attention who was peacefully swinging his broom on a wall corner to clear the spider webs. He turned around only to see Derek standing at the door. His eyes went wide as they met with the blue ones of Derek, the same ones he was trying to escape from after that night.
Derek's anger, upon seeing Hansel's face, cooled down a little. He took a deep breath trying to clear his mind so that he wouldn't say something unbecoming to Hansel in the spur of the moment.
There was no one else in the room aside from the caramel-haired apprentice knight. Upon walking closer, Derek could see Hansel's figure clearly. Dirt was smudged on his face and a few cobwebs were dangling from his hair. His torso was naked and when Derek turned his eyes, he could see the discarded white shirt carefully folded and kept on a clean rack.
Derek noticed Hansel waiting for him to talk business. He was annoyed and wanted to confront him but decided against it. Nevertheless, he managed to utter some words in his cold voice.
"You're cleaning alone?" Derek asked him. The Wintern armory, losing only to the imperial armory in the Empire of Estonia, was so big that it would take even ten knights a whole day to clean. Yet Hansel was cleaning the area alone. "Did they not send others to help you?"
"No…they did send." Hansel replied, trying to clear up the misunderstanding, "There were twelve of us assigned here but the rest of them fought amongst themselves and left..."
"So, now you've taken the responsibility of finishing a job of twelve men on your own shoulders." Derek cut in before Hansel could finish his words. Derek was enraged. He wanted to know who was daring enough in the Wintern estate to discard his work and engage in a meaningless fight instead. But most of all, he was pissed at Hansel for not realizing that he was being taken advantage of.
"No, sir!" Hansel protested when he saw Derek was taking him for a gullible person, "I'm just going to finish my share of work and leave."
Derek's face softened at the reply. He realized he had unconsciously been directing his anger at Hansel for all the wrong reasons. His hands moved on its own to pull out the dirty cobwebs sticking to his hairs.
Slap!
Hansel flinched at the sudden contact and slapped his hands away. Derek was dumbfounded. No one had ever behaved with him like this before. He didn't know how to respond. But when he looked into Hansel's eyes, he was struck with horror. Hansel's eyes were wide and his brows were knitted together. It was obvious that Hansel was scared of being touched by him. His heart panged at the thought of Hansel hating him.
Meanwhile, Hansel was surprised at his own actions as well. He cowered away from Derek thinking that the Second Master would definitely punish him for what he had done. His back hit the rack of weapons behind him and something stabbed his back. Hansel groaned in pain.
"Careful!" While Hansel was still occupied with pain, Derek who was watching the whole ordeal happen, suddenly took him by his hand and pulled him forcefully towards himself.
Clang! Bam! Clang! Cling!
All the weapons kept on the iron rack Hansel was leaning against toppled down in a split second. Both Hansel's and Derek's hearts raced at the thoughts of what could have happened if Derek hadn't pulled him away in time.
"At least be aware of your surroundings!" Derek lost control of his emotions, "You're cleaning an armory and not a child's playhouse! Someday you might end up with a slit throat due to your foolishness!" Derek's words would sound cold to some outsider but Hansel knew the underlying tenderness and concern in his voice. It was exactly because he was afraid of Derek's kindness that he had decided to shun him after that night, a week before.
In his eighteen years of life, no one had ever been kind to him without a motive. Though he could not understand Derek's intentions for approaching him, he couldn't help but desire him. While Derek was touching him, his body and mind had felt the pleasure he had never experienced before. He had totally lost control of everything. He became scared and started pushing Derek away, just like he did with everyone, because couldn't fathom what he would do if Derek decided to discard him. He felt Derek was too good for someone like him.
Derek's ongoing nagging stopped when he noticed Hansel's hands which were on his shoulders were shaking. Derek understood that Hansel was anxious even if he didn't say anything to express it. He caressed the cheeks of the young knight before him, rubbing off the dirt which was there and then planted a kiss on it. His hands went around Hansel's slim waist and he secured him tightly in a hug. The preoccupied knight flinched at the pain in his back which had been triggered again in Derek's embrace.
"Nnh.." Hansel groaned in pain and it attracted Derek's attention. Something warm was soaking through his sleeve. Derek had already added two and two together. Alarmed, he retracted his arms only to see his white cuffs painted red.
Derek understood at once. It was Hansel's blood?!