Chapter Text
Age 6, Day XY.
Cale pressed his arms on the windowsill to steady himself as he stood on his toes, trying to get a better view of the entrance, searching for the familiar face of his chauffeur. In the background his teacher looked at the small child with pity evident in his eyes, classes had already finished since half an hour ago and this young master's driver was still nowhere to be seen.
The green haired girl, that was watching the red head with a small frown, grabbed her bag and stood up, “Cale, would you like me to give you a ride home?”
The boy stopped his avid search and forced his eyes away from the window towards the girl, a weak smile played on his lips “Thank you for the kind offer, Amiru, but you said at lunch that you had to hurry home today because Lady Ubarr wanted you to-” he struggled a bit with what he was supposed to say next because he knew they were both stubborn, so he had to pick a good reason- “participate in the administrative gathering.”
Amiru nonchalantly waved her hand, “They will survive even if I do not attend the gathering. I mean, I do not understand most of what they actually talk about, so my presence is not that important.”
The young boy let a thoughtful smile grace his small face as he looked his friend in the eyes “Nah, I will be fine, I am sure the driver is just stuck in a traffic jam,” the hand at his side clawed into his jacket at the lie that left his mouth, before he relaxed it again and ushered his friend to leave “hurry up and go to your driver lest your mother complains to the school for keeping you too long.”
Slightly annoyed the young girl stomps her foot on the floor “You are such an idiot, gosh and here I am trying to be nice, but you just won't accept it,” a short look at her watch made her sigh in a defeated manner “Believe me if I do not hear that you have left the school in an hour, I will so call Gilbert to get you, since he has training near here and won't mind dropping by to play personal driver for you.”
To their teacher she offers an intimidating but scarily impassive stare, if one compared it to her earlier childish stomping “Teacher, you will call me if he,” her finger jabbed into the direction of the red head whose focus was on the entrance again, “is not on his way home in an hour.”
The teacher shallowed her chuckle at the cute display offered by the young lady of the Ubarr family, she rarely has rich children that behave so cute in her class, “Naturally young Lady Ubarr, I shall inform you should the young Master still be in school at that time.”
A short nod was offered along with a polite bow towards the teacher and then the girl stomped towards the door, not offering her friend a goodbye.
Cale decided he would wait another fifteen minutes before he would try to walk home, he guessed that his new mom would probably be at the hospital right now giving birth to his new brother, if not the driver would have already messaged him why he was late. ‘I hate it,’ the young boy thought as he balled his hands into little fists.
It was not that he hated the thought of getting a brother, or his new mother, no it was the fact that it felt like his mom was replaced. Now it was all about the baby, all about the new mother his father even forgot his mom's death anniversary yesterday and that hit harder than he thought it would[1]. He shook his head, feeling a lot like the child he actually was, he wanted to stop being mature for a bit and just behave like a brat. He nodded to himself and continued waiting in front of the window.
When the time limit, he set passed without a message from his chauffeur he scowled slightly annoyed and grabbed his bag and smiled cheerily at the adult “Teacher I just saw my driver's car pass the gate, so I will leave now.”
Albeit a bit confused, the teacher found nothing strange in what Cale said, so she just smiled at the child “Well then young Master Henituse, I hope you have a safe journey.”
The little boy shuffled slightly with his feet and looked shyly to the side as he proclaimed “Thank you for waiting here with me and I apologize for the trouble.”
Again, the teacher stopped herself from chuckling and offered a pleasant smile “It was no trouble at all.” Internally she swooned ‘Ah, I have such cute second year students, really, I wish my son would be like them but no he had to be a total brat.’
While the teacher was lost in her own thoughts, Cale gave a short bow and left the classroom.
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Cale sat down on a bench and looked at his trembling legs, he had no idea where he was and no power to continue in for now. The drain of running around for half an hour, because some strange people were lingering around his way home and then getting lost along the way, caught up to him as he sat down, regretting the fact that he had no supplies.
Fighting back his fear he forced his hands to stop trembling as he called his father, hope filled him as he listened to the ringing and he was elated when his father's voice reached his ear, till he registered that it was only the voicemail.
Crushing defeat surged through him and helplessness registered, which then turned into anger. The option of calling the driver or their butler Ron, were no longer plausible to him, driven by his momentary anger he ended the call and threw the phone on the floor as tears streamed down his face.
He was lost, he was not sure if the strange people would find him and he was alone, he just wants his father to hug him and tell him he was safe. A small sob escaped his mouth, but he only slapped his face with both hands and muttered to himself "I am six years old already and probably a big brother, I have to be strong!"
Even after encouraging himself like that, he couldn't help but let a mumbled “I just want to go home” escape his mouth. In his emotional distraught state, the young boy did not notice the person nearing him with sinister intend. So, when a cloth handkerchief was pressed against his face, he was too surprised to even struggle before everything went black.
Ron noticed the phone of Deruth Henituse was ringing, so he carefully inquired "Master, don't you want to answer the phone?"
The younger male was completely focused on his new wife and just waved his hand, "I have more pressing matters to attend to, but I would appreciate if you could answer for me and inform the caller that I will be available tomorrow."
Ron gave a short dutiful bow and took the mobile phone out of his master's coat pocket. He was slightly surprised when the caller ID showed the name of the young master. Just as he turned around to inform Deruth the phone stopped ringing.
Ron found it strange, that the young master would call them especially when he should be at the mansion already and thus informed about the situation, his thoughts came to an abrupt halt. The young master should be home, but who drove him? If he remembered correctly, Deruth ordered the driver that was just about to drive him here, that driver should have been the young master's.
He looked at his master and questioned "Master Deruth, who was supposed to get the young Master?"
Deruth looked at him "You're getting older Ron, obviously it was…. Damn, call a driver to get my son from school."
Violan offered her husband a stern stare and chastised "Dear don't tell me you took our son's driver and left without ordering another to get him. How can you be so irresponsible. I know you are excited because of our new child but don't forget Cale because of that, you already forgot the anniversary of your late wife's death yesterday. Do you know how sad Cale looked when I visited the grave after the appointment with the doctor?"
She shook her head in disappointment "You know what he asked, he asked me why I was able to make time if you weren't." Her finger pointed towards the door as she ordered "Now out. I do not want to see you in here without our son."
The butler hid his amusement behind a cough as he held open the door so that Deruth could leave the ward.
Deruth stuttered out a "But," the stern look in his wife's eyes however made him shallow his rebuttal and leave the room in silence, followed by a smiling Ron.
Deruth knew he should have taken care of Cale better, but he had his hands full with work and then the excitement of getting a new child and all of this together left him thinking of his oldest child less. He took out a notebook and wrote down 'Taking better care of Cale!'. Violan was right it was irresponsible and he would have to be better from now on.
God, if it weren't for the woman in his life he would be pretty bad as a father, he still remembers nearly dropping Cale because he couldn't resist throwing him since the boy liked that. If his late wife hadn't been there, he would have dropped the poor boy. Since he missed the right timing and wasn't able to catch him. For Cale and his new child, he had to be better.
Strengthening his conviction to be a good father, he sent Ron a look and ordered "Get the driver, I will personally get my son."
Ron opened his master's mobile phone, he looked at the messages that came in while he held the door open and answered calmly "It might be too late for that."
Holding up the phone, he showed his master the photo that was sent. It showed Cale on a chair. He was gagged with a piece of clothing and his hands were hidden behind his back, the position looked slightly uncomfortable. A ray of hope was that while he seemed unconscious, he also did not seem hurt, at least from what they could see.
Cales father snarled in anger "Those bastards" he took a few breaths and then questioned Ron "Sorry, but can I ask you to use the skills acquired from your former work? Because I know you will get me my sin faster than the police."
Ron's smile turned dangerously bloodthirsty as he answered "For the little Master? Naturally I shall do my best to be fast, it will be easy since they took his phone too. Luckily, I installed a tracking app when he started going to school."
Deruth looked at his Butler but decided not to question him since it helped greatly at the moment. He would have thought Hans[2] or one of the servants that came in with Cales mother would do that since they were loyal and protective to a fault, but that his own trusty subordinate would enter the pit too he would have never guessed.
"Then go Ron save my son and bring him to me, also make em pay."
The butler bowed.
When his consciousness returned to him, the young boy in a futile attempt to move started to struggle, but soon the restraints on his arms stopped him, cutting slightly into his wrists, giving them a rosy hue.
Since struggling did not help, he let his eyes wander around in search of someone or something. So he was not caught by surprise when the door opened.
Since the thing in his mouth kept him from speaking, he only made some distressed sounds. The person entering this room laughed "There's our little gold bag. The one and only heir to the Henituse fortune, do you know how long we waited for such a chance?"
Without waiting for an answer the man grabbed his chin and scoffed "Too long but what do we have now? Still no reply even 20 minutes after the message was read. Seems like your father doesn't care about you." With that he tugged on the boy's chin and causing Cale to be thrown to the left side. The side of his face met the cold, hard floor, and one of his arms now carried the weight of both the chair he was bound to and his own body.
"Hope he replies in the next forty minutes or your life is worth rat shit little bastard," the man snarled as he gave a kick to the kid stomach before leaving the room again.
Cale whimpered in pain and fear, tears welled up in his eyes as he hated himself for leaving school and hated his father for not replying, but most of all he wished he was home. Slowly, the tears ran down his cheeks as small sobs rattled through him.
His arm hurt, his stomach hurt, but after a short while his tears stooped. He was biting his lip and forced himself to stop crying, he was a big boy after all.
While he was laying there torn between crying and thinking he was a big boy, Cale remembered what Ron told him when they were playing hide and seek, to always look for an exit.
His eyes focused on the door an exit in sight, so he tried to rob forward, which was highly uncomfortable thanks to the chair. He made it around two metres till he stopped because of the pain it caused and decided that just staying there laying down would be best. If his father cared, the man said he would be safe, so he just had to hope. Hope that his father would not abandon him for a new start with a new wife and new family.
He still remembered some of his father's business partners calling him baggage in the new relationship of his father. Maybe he was and that's why his father forgot to visit his mom's grave, maybe that's why he did not reply.
Sitting there alone and hurt, his six-year-old mind started to wander. He started to doubt, maybe his father did not love him any more. This made him sad, but at the same time he understood that maybe he was in the way and that hurt.
His thoughts entertained things his father never in his lief think of. If Deruth had known those business partners of his called Cale baggage, well, the deal wouldn't exist today.
But that's not something Cales young and hurt mind could comprehend. Because while he wasn't dumb, he was young and emotional, and especially his emotional stated caused him to have irrational thoughts and act in a way that he normally wouldn't.
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Ron surveyed the old shop in front of him while he muttered disdainful "such amateurs."
His tongue clicked and he disappeared into the shop faster than the gush of wind that blew a plastic bag along the street.
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Cale tried to loosen the restraints again with tears in his eyes, one cheek of his was marred with dirt while the other looked completely clean, his normally combed hair was ruffled and in disorder, going against his usual style.
Just at this moment, the door opened and his abductor entered again.
"Hello, little gold bag. I am saddened to inform you that your father still hasn't replied and there are only 25 minutes left for the deadline I set. So better be ready," the kidnapper announced with an overly malicious grin and stomped towards the child.
He grabbed a handful of Cales hair and pulled on it so that the child was pulled into a seating position. Tear welled up in Cales eyes from the pain and he struggled as much as he could, but it was useless. The man laughed and said "Be luck that they don't allow me to shot you through the leg, to warn your father of us being serious."
Ron saw this sight as he reached the room and swift but silently approached the young master and the brute.
When he was near enough, Ron ordered "Young master close your eyes."
The sudden appearance of a new voice startled both inhabitants, but Cale who was told by his father that in dangerous situations he should listen to Ron forced himself to close his eyes.
While the young master had his eyes closed, Ron in a motion that was nearly too fast to be seen dislocated the wrist that hurt his family's young master. After that, he knocked the attacker out. The discrepancy in their strength and skill was so big that the kidnapper had no chance to defend himself. Before he even reacted to the pain in his wrist, he was already punched in the gut and a hand chopped his neck so hard it might as well have broken.
Cale with his closed eyes was sitting there anxious, so when he heard the sound of something hitting the ground he gathered all his courage only for it to end up stopped by the gag.
Ron noticed that the child wanted to say something, so he carefully removed the clothing that covered the boy's mouth.
Noticing the movement, Cale flinched slightly but when the thing hindering was removed he tried again, albeit with less courage.
A stuttered "Are you fine, Ron?" reached the butler's ears causing him to look down in surprise.
Normally young master behaved a bit more brutish in his presence, he reckons it might be revenge for the lemon tea "I am well, you can open your eyes now, young master. I am here on your father's orders, he is very worried about you."
Cale only sniffed and opened his eyes "Then father did not forget me?"
Ron only shook his head in an interesting mixture between bemusement and exasperation "No young master."
He carefully undid the bindings on the boy's arms and lifted the boy up into the air, so that he was now carefully sitting on his arm "let's go back to your family, alright?"
The only answer Cale was able to give was a non-verbal one, that showed his agreement.
Having obtained a positive answer, the butler marched forward, not bothering to step over the kidnapper, which therefore caused him to step on the body lying on the ground. But his step's never faltered as if it was no surprise for him, as if he was used to it
When Deruth saw Ron carrying his son into the hospital room, he stood up faster than one would think possible and ran towards the two.
In one swift motion he moved his son into his arms holding him securely "You are safe. That's good. I was so worried, don't think I won't get you a bodyguard after this."
Cale just sniffed and buried his head in his father's neck "I was so scared. I thought you didn't want me because I was just a burden."
Deruth looked at Ron, who shrugged before going out to call a doctor for the young master. Seeing that his butler was of no help, the older Henituse could only question his son.
After hearing his worries Deruth hugged his son tighter "Cale, son whatever they said isn't true. You are my treasure, and in no way will you be a burden in my new relationship. Never listen to such boring talk again, in no way will I ever think of you as a burden. And I just did not pay the money so that we could get more time for Ron's rescue. It was short-sighted of me to not answer the kidnapper's and for that I am sorry."
Cale just sniffed and hugged his father tighter, so his father still love him, and didn't see him as a burden. As soon as those thoughts registered, he felt a wave of relief rush through him and started to cry into his father's arms.
The doctor who just entered the room followed by a smiling butler looked at the two and decided to give them one more minute.
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Violan was tired, but her new baby boy looked so cute, she couldn't stop hugging the child.
The spark of worry that harboured disappeared completely when she saw Deruth enter with Cale. She accepted the boy as her son, so she will very well mother him, and she is still not done with Deruth for stealing her son driver.
But for now she was tired and since the worry left she offered both of them a slight smile "Look at your new brother Cale, isn't he cute?"
Cale stepped closer towards the bed and agreed "Yes, very cute. Does he have a name already?"
Violan smiled slightly at the boy "No, I wanted us all to decide."
She sent her husband a glare promising a long talk and many hours of her nagging him, as soon as she noticed the bandages on the read head's arms and head, she would bet there are some more hidden by his clothes.
Deruth knowing full well he was in trouble only sighed.
Cale did not notice this non-verbal conversation of his parents, too enamoured with the cuteness of his new brother "Can I hold him?"
Violan smiled warmly "sure, just be careful."
When the newborn was in Cales arms, his eyes opened and he made a giggling sound, grabbing for the older boy's nose.
The surprised look of the red head was only answered by Violan, who said "He seems to like you."
Cale felt warmth in his heart, smiling at the little boy he proudly announced, "He is so smart, already knowing who he should like."
Deruth wasn't sure what to say to that, he had a feeling his son would end up a bit overprotective of this child. Little did he know how right his premonition would be.
Violan on the other hand was just happy that the two boys seemed to get along "we still need a name."
Deruth offered "Belius?"
Which Violan vetoed in under a second.
They threw names at each other and the other said no. This is also the reason why they still have no name for the boy, they simply could not decide on one.
In this name throwing contest, Cale happily played with his brother who grabbed his finger with his small hand "So small," he looked at his parents and muttered "God I hope you laugh when I tell you this story in the future."
His brother would laugh till when he was older Ron told him the whole story, then he would ignore their father for two days sticking to Cale like glue, never leaving his brother out of sight, but this all is a story of the distant future. For now, the newborn still waits for a name to bestowed.
After five minutes of the naming contest, Cale decided to take matters into his own hand's and offered "Why not go with Basen, after all he is so little[2]."
Deruth and Violan stopped their conversation at the same time and started to think about Cales idea. Both of them reached the same conclusion, since they could not reach a consensus, might as well go with the idea of a third-party.
While Deruth called for the doctor to officially name the child, Violan looked at her two children "Well let us hope you did not curse him to be smaller than the average height when he reaches adulthood."
And thus it was decided that the newborn Henituse shall be called Basen Henituse.