Wondrous Master | boyxboy | (alternate happy ending)

XIII - Wayward Son

Angry.

Broderick couldn't explain why he was far more angry than sad as the night went on. He was up in his bedroom, more than likely the only person awake in the manor at an hour like this. It was one o'clock in the morning, pitch black outside as the sounds of a distant howl filled the quiet with some bit of noise. There was a bag at the foot of the Young Master's bed, open with clothing stuffed inside, but he was still missing something. He went to his wardrobe and threw the doors open. Inside was the sack he'd taken from Erin Cross' house. The names of all the people he'd been adamant about killing were still inside, and when he lugged the heavy load from the base where other pairs of his shoes were, Broderick slung the strap over his shoulder and tied his clothing bag shut. With that in his hand, Broderick stopped when he discovered the present he'd purchased for Neville this afternoon on the floor beside the bed. With that in tow as well, he blew out the candles lighting his bedroom and left.

There was still a sting to his eyes from the constant tears he'd shed earlier, but he could not cry anymore, he was far too crushed to show much emotion or even feel much of anything either. Jamie was to be buried tomorrow morning and he didn't want to be around for that. He couldn't watch as his little brother's body was lowered into a hole, only to be covered with shovels of dirt as people stood around and watched.

Headed down the stairs, Broderick went into the servant's quarters nearest to the last hallway in the manor. It was a door that seemed to open into a whole new house. It wasn't as extravagant as the rest of the manor, but it was a perfect living condition for anyone working under the name of Thorne. Broderick left the bags he'd been carrying by the door and entered further. The first area was the kitchen and in the center of the dining table was a gas lamp. He lit the fixture and took it with him into the rear halls. He peered into each bedroom until finally coming up on Neville's around the first corner.

The boy was laid down atop the covers, still dressed in his day clothes from not having changed. Broderick wondered if he'd been sitting up for hours waiting for the Young Master to join him like he'd said he would, but with wanting to make sure every person was asleep when he schemed to leave, Broderick had waited a lot longer than he initially planned to. He didn't want anyone to know he was gone until someone checked for his whereabouts the next morning.

He closed the bedroom door behind him when he entered, and placed the lamp down on top of a dresser nearest to him. The bed was much smaller than his own, only able to fit one person, but that was customary for a quarters such as this. Broderick rounded the bed to the side Neville was facing and touched the boy's face. He called his name softly to wake him, giving him a light jostle to disrupt his sleep. "Neville, we must go," he said, and when the boy finally opened his weary gray eyes, the Young Master stepped back. "We need to leave. This is our chance."

Slowly coming out of his sleepy state, Neville looked up at Broderick with half opened eyes. As his vision cleared and focused, he knitted his brow when he could determine the redness in the earl's gaze. Concerned for the broken appearance of this strong noble boy, Neville stood from out of the bed. "Is something wrong, Broderick?" he asked, worried about the drastic change in the other boy's stare. It seemed stripped of sentiment. "Did something happen?"

"Jamie is gone," the Young Master said, his voice almost as stoic as the flat expression on his face. "We must go. Now."

"Y—You mean, he is—?"

"Yes. I took the liberty of packing what clothes you had in my chamber into a bag we will share. If you wish not to stay in this house anymore like I do, if you wish not to have me married to a woman hand-picked by my father, then there is no time for stalling. Let us leave this place."

Neville wanted to pull Broderick into his arms when hearing of Jamie's passing, but before he could think about stepping forward to do so, the young earl turned and headed back for the door. He couldn't imagine the pain Broderick must be feeling right now to lose his little brother. Even with only having laid eyes on the boy once, shared a few words, if there was anything Neville knew about Broderick's relationship with Jamie, it was that he had been the most important person in Broderick's life. He'd been the reason for the Young Master to stay, to put up with the family he wanted to get away from, and now that that rock was gone, it was time for Broderick to drift into a life he had complete say over.