Drip, drip, drip.
It was a cold, stormy night. At the Tonelico mansion, everybody was inside, as it was far too wet outside to do any outdoor activities. Nobody was expecting any visitors, and certainly nobody was expecting what would come next.
There were knocks on the door, which took people by surprise. Two children, whose names were Gregory and Roland, insisted on answering first, but their father, Marcos overruled them and went and answered. He was quite surprised to find a hooded woman holding a baby in her arms. He didn't know her, but her voice seemed familiar...
"Uhm, can I help you, ma'am-" Marcos found himself interrupted when the woman essentially forced the baby into his arms, who was crying probably because he had lost his mother. The mother was also sobbing, but she knew she had to do this to keep her baby and herself safe. Without giving Marcos any room to reply, she ran off. Marcos reached out his hand to her in vain.
"Wait, stop!" As Marcos realized there was no hope of changing her mind, he turned his attention to the baby in his arms. It seemed that he had stopped crying but was instead shaking because of the cold. Gregory and Roland had arrived by this point in time and saw what their father was holding in their arms—a baby. This, of course, called for questioning.
"Why is that baby in your arms?" Asked Roland, who had a very confused expression on his face. "That baby looks strange." Pointed out by Gregory as he further pointed to the infants' black hair and black eyes, which were completely different from the rest of the family.
Marcos replied, "A woman came up to me and practically forced him into my arms. I had no other choice but to keep him because who else would care for him? See, he's shivering!" Marcos soon closed the door, which was letting the cold breeze in. "Even though I have no idea where he came from, I say we treat him as family." Gregory hesitantly nodded, while Roland, the eldest child, soundly agreed.
"What should we name him? I doubt he's got a name." Roland said, having ideas in mind for what to name his now-youngest brother. "How about Philip? John? Henry?" Roland threw out a bunch of names, hoping to hear which his father would pick.
"Those are all good, but I will have to reject all of them." Marcos replied in an almost stern tone. He didn't think any of those names fit this child of his, and he thought the names his eldest son gave were too common and generic, so he threw them all out. With a brief pause for thought, an idea came to him. "How about Fenris?" Marcos tried to appeal to both of his sons, turning his head toward both of them.
While Roland was disappointed that all of his name ideas were rejected, he didn't mind the name 'Fenris'. "That is a fine name."
Gregory didn't necessarily care what name was picked, though "Fenris" to him, contrary to what his father thought, didn't really sit well. However, he agreed because his father said so. "I guess that name is okay."
With both of his sons' approval, it was thus made official; Fenris Tonelico was thus anointed as a member of the Tonelico noble family. His father loved him like no other child he had, just like his other two sons. However, as Fenris grew older, he would find himself facing prejudice from his own family because of two things: 1) he was a bastard child, and 2) his strange appearance, which was different from the rest of the family.
By the age of 4, Fenris had come to realize that hard truth. His adopted mother, while very loving of her children—especially her daughter, who was born 2 years after Fenris—was very cold and distant to the latter because she saw him as a bastard child and held a small grudge against her husband for taking him in. Gregory, the middle child, who relished in the privileges granted by being a noble's child, was spoiled and arrogant. He also shared his mother's prejudice, often bullying Fenris every chance he got.
Roland, on the other hand, secretly liked his brother, but due to pressures from the family and his peers, he had to act indifferent to Fenris's existence. This prevented him from stopping much of the bullying that Fenris had received. Fenris, on the other hand, began to simply accept it, and eventually it didn't faze him anymore. Except for his adopted father and sister, he lacked familial love.
The Tonelico mansion had many servants, who served as official residents of the household but were often treated as "lesser individuals", just above commoners. Fenris, who could relate to their situation, began to grow closer to them than his actual family, even though he loved his father and sister very much. Fenris began helping the servants with their various tasks—cleaning, cooking, yard work, etc.
Helping out the servants and maids of the Tonelico household helped Fenris develop valuable skills, such as cooking, and made him proud of his hard work. Not only that, but he had built up a good relationship with the servants of the household, to the point where everybody knew him and had at least something good to say about him. Three years later, at the age of 7, he was pretty handy for a child of his age.
One day, a female servant, a child like Fenris, came to his room for daily cleaning. This was nothing unusual, as every day he had his room cleaned up to ensure it was neat and tidy. This female servant, whose name was Sabrina, had grown close to Fenris because of his kind nature compared to her master, who happened to be Gregory.
Sabrina knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Fenris came to the door and answered it. "Hey there, Sabrina! Come on in!" Fenris kindly let her in, as he was happy to see her. This time around, he had left his room pretty tidy, so there really wasn't much to clean. This made Sabrina happy, as it meant there wasn't much work to be done.
"You left your room pretty clean this time, Master Fenris! Did you do it yourself?" She curiously asked because she had no knowledge of anyone else doing it for him.
"Yup. I cleaned it myself. I figured I would put my own housework skills to good use." Fenris replied, being happy to hear that Sabrina was impressed by his own handywork.
"Would you like to sit down and chat for a while? We have the time to ourselves, after all." Fenris suggested, though if Sabrina were in a hurry, he wouldn't mind letting her go this instant. However, he would appreciate someone to talk to.
"No, actually, I'm not busy at all! It's only morning, after all... I don't mind sitting down and chatting with you!" Sabrina said with a happy and enthusiastic smile on her face that she looked forward to being able to chat with Fenris personally. To her, Fenris was like family—well, all the servants treated Fenris like he was family, but Sabrina thought of it as something more.
"So, what did Master want to talk about?" Sabrina curiously asked, fiddling with a strand of her silver hair.
"Oh, nothing much. As a bastard child, I don't have that many responsibilities, thankfully. Though I supplement that by helping you guys out with whatever tasks you need." Fenris replied. He didn't have much on his mind other than the usual daily stuff. He was considering studying on his own since he was denied tutors, unlike his brothers.
"I know! You help us out a lot, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that. But, even as a bastard, do you think it's really normal for a noble child such as yourself to be doing work like this? Wouldn't you rather relish in the luxury?" Sabrina asked, because while she deeply appreciated all the help Fenris had given her and the other servants, she wondered if this was what he truly wanted. Even at her age, she understood that noble children typically don't bother with such responsibilities and prefer luxury instead.
"While I never planned on it, I'm glad that I decided to grow close to you and the rest of the servants. You guys treat me more like family than my brothers ever did. I may have my father and sister, but having people who unconditionally accept me for who I am and not what I am moves my heart in a way that I can't simply forget." Fenris replied to Sabrina's question. It was a very good question, and Fenris, as the child of Marcos, the Lord of Tonelico, should be living in great luxury. While his room was certainly very modest, he often didn't share the same prosperity as his other siblings.
"I see." Sabrina was happy with Fenris's answer. She now fully understood why Fenris had been so willing to help her and the others out as much as he did. Though she felt bad for him because he didn't have the familial love he deserved, "I feel bad for you; you have to deal with your brothers treating you like an unwelcome guest, and I can do nothing about it." Sabrina began to sob slightly as she clenched her hand against part of her clothing on her chest. She kind of "let" herself fall into Fenris's arms, to which he caught her and began rubbing her back to try and calm her down.
"It's fine, really. You don't have to feel sorry for me, Sabrina. I don't want to burden you with my familial problems and drag you into them. You don't deserve that kind of drama." Fenris said, trying to reassure her. But at the same time, he didn't want to have her suffer from any of the abuse that might follow if she tried to stick up for him. Out of gratitude, Fenris decided to give her a gift.
He repositioned her to be upright while she was still sobbing lightly, but less so because of what he had said, while Fenris reached from one of his drawers, pulling out a necklace with a green gem in it. He held it with both hands and proceeded to put it on her.
"Here, this is a gift from me. I made it myself." Fenris said, clipping the necklace around her neck so the gem would rest right on her chest.
"I-I..." Sabrina was a bit shocked. She didn't expect a gift like this from Fenris, yet at the same time, she couldn't refuse. Why would she refuse such a fabulous gift? Her expression changed from sadness to that of joy, as she was very happy that Fenris was so thoughtful of her. She felt a bit spoiled, even. "Thank you, Fenris! I will cherish this gift forever!" She hugged Fenris, wrapping her arms around him tightly, as she was very happy that he had given her this necklace. This showed that he cared for her and was willing to make something specifically for her.
"You're welcome, Sabrina." Fenris replied, smiling out of satisfaction. He was glad to know that she appreciated the gift that he had made and had hoped that she would indeed cherish it forever. He patted his hand on her back as he returned the favor by hugging her. He was glad to know that she appreciated the gift that he had made and had hoped that she would indeed cherish it forever. He patted his hand on her back as he returned the favor by hugging her. The two then let go of one another, as Fenris would kindly escort her out the door, appreciating the time spent with her.
"I will let you go now, Sabrina." Fenris got up, holding her hand as he led her out the door. He opened it up, letting her walk out on her own. She left with a happy expression on her face, coupled with a small blush. The two both said good-bye to one another, as Fenris was looking forward to seeing her again soon.
"See you later, Sabrina!" Fenris waved to her, looking forward to meeting her later.
"Bye, Master Fenris!" She replied, happily hopping off into the hallway. Fenris didn't think much of it as he shut the door, giving off a soft sigh. He was glad that he finally found the opportunity to give her that necklace.