France, 1771

Bang! Clash! Clang! Kai jumped at the sudden hullabaloo, having dozed off while practicing his piano lesson. He grumbled at being woken so early in the morning, rubbing the crusty goo out of his eyes, wondering what could have cause the uproar. He heard more noises, then yelling. Curiosity now peaked, he stood up from the piano bench, stretched quickly, then proceeded to follow the sounds.

Sounds like it’s coming from mother’s room. Now feeling a bit apprehensive, Kai slowly tread along the plush velvet carpet hallway, pausing when he reached the last door on the left, his mother’s room.

“Faites attention!” The doctor yelled as he shoved Kai out of the way after nearly running him over in his haste to leave the room. What the hell? Kai thought as he entered his mother’s room wearily. Upon entering, he froze in horror, his fear that the worst had happened, confirmed.

*************IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH, SKIP TO THE NEXT SET OF ASTERISKS (CONDSIDER YOURSELF WARNED)*************

Lying on the bed, his mother remained motionless, save for the body-jerking fits of hacking. He could see from here that something was terribly wrong; her body looked charred, the skin blackened from within, and her coughs brought up blood long with the mucus. Kai’s mother seemed on the verge of insanity, the whites of her eyes were an angry red, as if she cried tears of blood.

*****OKAY MY LOVELY QUEASY READERS, IT’S OVER NOW, YOU MAY READ*****

“Kai…” He spun around in confusion, searching for the source of the voice.

“Haetia! You gave me quite a fright. I did not see you in the corner there.” Kai caught his breath and let his heartbeat slow a bit before he continued, teasingly. “You really should announce yourself instead of lurking in dark corners like that.”

The elderly servant did not smile, her only response was to look at him with sorrow-filled eyes. This really isn’t good then; Haetia always smiles or laughs at my jokes. Kai’s demeanor became decidedly more somber after that. He braced himself for the worst, hoping against all odds that the disease which claimed his father did not leave him orphaned.

“Haetia…tell me, honestly. What’s wrong with my mother?” In his mind, he knew the answer already, but his heart refused to believe the petrifying truth.

Haetia spared Kai a sympathetic glance before responding to his inquiry. “Votre mère…elle n’est pas en bonnes santés.”

“Pourquoi?”

“The pox. Votre mère est très malade…she will be dead within the week.” Kai didn’t know what to do, all the strength left in his body, flying on swift wings far away from this dreadful place he inhabited.

*for the translations, please see the author’s note at the end*

~Later that evening~

“I hate these things. And I still don’t understand why I have to go…” Kai complained as he tied the deep red ribbon in his hair.

“You know exactly why you have to go.” Suho, Kai’s best friend and adoptive older brother, stated matter-of-factly. “If you don’t go, the other nobles will know something’s wrong, which would put your family in jeopardy because, like piranha, they sense weakness and attack while your defenses are down. It’s your job as the oldest male in your family to protect your reputation and all that. You know how it is.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it…” Kai grumbled, giving Minni one last scratch before exiting his bedroom, with Suho following closely behind. “It’s never any fun…just a bunch of stuffy old people who think they’re better than everyone else because of some money or a stupid title.” Suho smiled, resisting the urge to affectionately tousle the brown locks of his petit frère.

“Oh, just ring for the carriage and stop complaining.” Kai complied, letting his annoyance at being dragged to the party show.

“Hey, look on the bright side, maybe you’ll meet a pretty lady~” Suho teased. Kai gave him a look that said quite clearly he was in no mood to court anyone.

“Just a suggestion…” Suho shrank back a bit from the steely gaze the younger gave him. “I figured it may at least take your mind off…things.” He tried to be delicate about broaching the subject of Kai’s ill mother, though he could see by Kai’s darkening expression that his artful implication had not gone unnoticed.

“Oh, look, the carriage!” Suho leapt to his feet in his relief that the ominous silence between the friends neared its end. Kai didn’t move, his eyes glazed over, lost in his own little world.

“Kai, c’mon, the carriage is here. Allons-y! Kai! Let’s go!” Kai still remained frozen. He’s in one of his trances. Merde, I don’t have time for this right now…Kris is already expecting me (us) to be there! Suho had to deal with the situation quickly.

He grabbed Kai by the shoulders, shaking him roughly in a (failed) attempt to wake him from his stupor. Still, Kai would not budge, continuing to stare blankly at the stone wall in front of him. Suho, brilliant as he is, decided to simply carry the young noble to the carriage and force him to go to the party. Kai weighs a good 130 pounds at least. Not his best idea ever to say the least. Urgh, this kid. I’m going to kill him when he finally wakes up. Suho lugged his brotherly companion to the end of the long drive, where the gilded carriage awaited orders (and passengers).

Suho half-shoved, half-lifted Kai into the carriage, ignoring the incredulous look the driver gave him as he followed his friend into the stagecoach.

“Allons-y.” Suho instructed the chauffeur, after giving him the proper directions to the social gathering. The distance between Kai’s residence and the place of the party took about twenty minutes by horse-drawn carriage. When they were nearly halfway there, the bumping and jostling of the carriage shook Kai from his state of semi-consciousness.

“Where am I? …Suho? What’s going on? When did we get in the carriage?” Kai inquired, groggy after returning from whatever alternate world he had been visiting in his head. Suho shushed him, telling him to remain calm, that he’d just passed out from stress and dehydration.

“…So I faint and you think the best way to deal with it is to drag me to a party I’m bound to hate? Some friend you are.” Kai huffed, indignant. He pretended to be put off, but on the inside, he was just glad he had a friend like Suho who would take care of him, even if Kai didn’t always approve of his methods.

“Of course. I will always do what’s in your best interests, mon petit frère~” Suho smiled at the boy, glad that he’d taken Kai under his wing. Kai’s face flushed in embarrassment at the sudden show of affection. Luckily he was saved from making a sappy response by the chauffeur.

“Messieurs, we have arrived.”

AN: OMG guys I'm so sorry for not updating yesterday!!! Mianhe~ *bows* I switched dorm rooms today so that's what took so long, but it's okay because I have a new roomie now, who's a lot nicer than the I roomed with before ^^

WOW 60 SUBS

I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH

...but anyway here's the translations for the random French:

“Votre mère…elle n’est pas en bonnes santés.” Your mother...she isn't in good health.

"Pourquoi?" Why?

"Votre mère est très malade." Your mother is very ill."

"Allons-y!" Let's go!

"Mon petit frère" My little brother (they aren't actually related)

...and that's pretty much it. Thanks for reading, hope you liked it, lemme know what you think in the comments below~ (I REPLY TO EVERY SINGLE ONE) ^.^