A cold winter day.
Snow had fallen through the night.
In this white desert, a young boy was sitting on the stump of a tree.
With a knife, he tried to carve a small piece of wood in his hand.
"Ah!" he shouted when the knife slipped, cutting his bare hand.
Blood flowed out of the wound in an instant.
When the boy looked at it, he didn't clean it.
A sense of fascination rose in his eyes.
"So red!" he said as he looked at it.
He put no effort into cleaning it, instead he observed.
*Critter*
While his eyes were fixated, behind him, a small rabbit was moving slowly in the snow.
Its fur white, eyes red.
The boy was startled and looked over to the rabbit.
*Critter*
A sound escaped it as it approached him.
Stretching out his hand, he allowed to rabbit to approach.
It looked at his hand for a moment.
It was still bleeding, half his hand had taken a crimson colour.
The rabbit walked slowly to his hand, its tongue reaching out.
In that moment, a thought appeared in the boy's mind…
Would it also have red blood?
Just as the rabbit about to jump away after tasting the blood, a sudden move locked it.
The boy's hand grabbed its neck.
"Is it also red? Red like your eyes?" he asked, his expression one of genuine curiosity.
But at the corners of him mouth, a little smile had already formed.
Taking the small knife, he lead it to the rabbit.
It was only an inch away when a voice come from behind him,
"Cel, stop playing in the snow and come back in!"
The boy turned back. It was his stepmother who called him. She was wearing a fur coat and gloves.
A sense of anger welled in the boy's heart.
He looked at the rabbit in his hand.
Should he let it go?
"Did you find a rabbit?" his stepmother had approached him at one point, seeing he had grabbed a white furry thing. She didn't notice the blood, "Take it in if you want. It's cold out here, come inside now!"
The boy looked up to her, a hint of annoyance on his face.
He quickly hid it and smiled "Thank you, mother! I want to take this rabbit with me!"
Standing up, he put the knife into his pocket, acting like nothing happened.
The rabbit struggled in his hand, so he put it in his arms, petting it gently to calm it down.
His stepmother already went back.
Soon, Cel arrived at the manor.
It was a small old manor on a short hill.
"Madam, why did you go out on your own? I was about to fetch the young master!" an elderly man in a black suit and coat said, looking at the lady with a hint of admiration.
"It's fine, just a small matter." The lady said indifferently.
Bowing slightly, the butler gestured her to enter before turning to the boy.
"Young master, you shouldn't play outside like this. You have led the madam to go out! If she were to get sick, the master would…"
The butler went on a tirade, scolding Ludwig in a subtle manner, talking from a lower position yet seemingly acting like an person of authority.
Cel tried to pass him by and enter, but he was blocked.
"Young master, are you listening to me? This is a very important matter! The madam-"
His grip on the knife became harder as he listened to the butler talking about his stepmother.
Even when his eyes and face got red, he was still not allowed to enter.
It was only when nearly half an hour passed when a voice came from the door, "Young master, the master has called for you to stop playing outside."
"I-" Cel was about to reply, explain he hadn't been playing out at all.
But the butler interrupted him again, "Young master I told you to come in soon. Look at you! You are so red. If you catch a cold, won't I have to take care of you again?"
He seemingly rushed Cel inside, ignoring the maid that turned to him.
Inside, Cel took off his old coat. It was a fur coat, something only those with a higher standing could afford. While the outside looked like a beautiful coat, the inside was full of patches.
He washed his hand on a prepared basing. It wasn't warm but cold. He looked at the maid on the side.
"The basin was prepared for the madam. We assumed young master enter with her."
With that, the maid turned.
All this time, not a single person saw his half bloodied hand. Even the rabbit was ignored, as if it was a minor matter. Or maybe they were too busy scolding him, not even paying attention to it.
The maid left him alone.
Cel tried to clean his bloody hand, but it was difficult to do so while holding the rabbit in the other.
He then simply put the rabbit into the basin, cleaning it together.
A few moments later, his hand was somewhat clean. The cut was visible again, but now, it had already closed up.
The rabbit was also somewhat clean.
Taking the towel on the side, he dried both before taking the rabbit into his arms. A slight wetness could still be felt.
Through all this, his face was still red from the cold. Only when he entered the dining room did he feel the warmth of the fireplace.
"Greetings, lord father." He bowed slightly to his father who was already on the table, eating with his wife.
"Why were you out for so long?" his father asked when he saw his face red.
"Father, I-"
"Oh dear, I went out just to get him. Come on now, sit in front of the fireplace and warm up. Maid, heat up the soup for the young master again."
The maid took the soup and left.
"Cel, you should listen to your mother when she tells you to come in."
Cel wanted to say something, but couldn't.
Every time he did, he would be interrupted.
"Yes, father." He could only agree, his arms tightening around the rabbit.
"Oh, what are you holding?"
"It's just a rabbit he found outside. He can keep it, right, darling?"
"You're spoiling Cel! But alright, he can just keep it."
"Thank you, father," Cel was just about to thank when he saw his stepmother making gestures to his father. They laughed quietly while glancing in his direction.