Loss

Two months passed. Occasionally, Frei would get the chance to be released outside of the basement, under CornWall's mercy. But, he'd be dragged back into the basement once Wall had enough of the amusement. Wall was paranoid of Frei, that his fortune treasure might escape from his grasp due to some miracle, but the paranoia wasn't enough to dissuade CornWall's persuasive request of temporarily releasing Frei. 

The first time Frei saw Freiheit again after weeks he spent chained up inside the basement, the view felt different than the last time he saw it. It felt nostalgic despite only being there for a few weeks at most. Frei saw the tree he would sit under, together with "Gloria", the stable where it housed his "Friends", he saw the sky again which reminded him of the night skies he relished with Johnny, and the plain grassy fields spanning meters, and the people he'd slaved away with. 

'Perhaps I don't need to escape, to see the outside world, I can just stay here.' Frei thought with his immature mind akin that of a kid, afraid of the punishment that would come if he ever tried to again. When the sun sets, and the night brews anew, he'd be dragged back by Mane into the basement where he'd be faced with his blood being extracted into a bucket. Something that didn't feel exactly pleasant to him, as the blood in him would gush out endlessly flowing into the bucket. Constantly draining him of his already finite amount of energy. But after days of facing the same thing, he thought nothing of it and endured through the grueling process. Again.

"Gloria"'s visits were the only thing that strayed him from the numbing pain and loneliness he felt. In the midst of it all, "Gloria" beside Wall would be the only ones visiting him, both a curse for Frei. Each time she visited him with a tray of food, she would bear more scars and red bruises underneath her maid attire. Her face grew paler, eyes darker, mouth dryer. Hands weren't quite as trembly as before, however her body would sway holding the tray like it was trying its best to hold itself together. 

Everytime she entered the basement, she would grab a spoonful of cooked beans and utter the word, "Eat." , as she fed it to the chained one. The word she uttered each time was the only thing that echoed within the somber silence. She'd do this repeatedly and each time Frei responded, he was only met with silence. Once the bowl of cooked beans was emptied, she'd left without saying a word. Her voice was hoarse. 

One time, "Gloria" approached the basement holding a tray. On it, bowls were stacked on top of each other and a wooden spoon. Beneath the bowl was a hard-cover book, a book with pictures and big words. Words that a kid like Frei could not comprehend. She opened the door to the room, and upon entering it, Frei saw a joyful smile on her face. Her face was full of red, her eyes though dark, displayed sorrowful happiness. A welcoming sight for him.

She placed the trays onto the ground and held a bowl with a hand and grabbed the wooden spoon. "Eat!" She said joyfully, grinning ear to ear. As she fed Frei the spoon. "Good?" She asked. "Good to hear!" She said,

There was nothing in the bowl. Frei had not said anything to her.

"I got a story to tell you, Frei!" She said, as she joyously brought out the hard-cover book that was placed beneath the stacks of empty bowls. "It's a story about!!! The Terra Sancta! The HolyLand! Where the holy capital is built on! Isn't that just wonderful." She said maniacally.

"That's nice…" Frei replied. Her reaction was something he wished he could see again, something he would desperately yearn for while being chained, as that was the only source of his happiness. But whatever she displayed then, terrified him. More than Wall ever did. Yet, he didn't want to sadden her of her new found joy.

"It indeed is!!! I hope that one day they will come, with their bright shiny armor, to this imperialistic land and free us all! Isn't that right Frei?"

"Yeah… A-Are you alright?"

"And that they will KILL all of them, slay the evil people like CornWall and Count Samarathan" 

The word KILL rang inside Frei's head.

"Ever heard of the story of Ludwig and Seraphine? Ludwig was a man. A big but gentle man, and Seraphine was a girl, a small, loving girl. Ludwig loved her, he'd do anything for her and she loved Ludwig. But she wouldn't do anything for Ludwig. She WOULDN'T!!! He was a greaat hero, a hero admired by many."

She continued on while Frei listened. Her demeanor was odd, insane even which weirded him out.

"I want to be a hero too. I want to be a hero too just like him. For her. For her. For her. But like Seraphine, she did not reciprocate, she did not do anything when he was gone even after everything he did. Well, I suppose… I got you. You can be my Seraphine. My Gloria." Upon finishing, she stared at Frei, her eyes fixated on him yet there was no hint of passion.

"What are you saying?"

"..." She did not hear Frei's question as it remained muffled outside of her ears. "Eat. Frei." She grabbed yet a spoonful of nothingness and fed it to Frei. "I even wrote her letters too. But she didn't write any back. Please don't be like her. Alright?"

Frei felt a strange, eerie emotion from her. 'Something about her isn't right' He thought to himself. 

Two days later, he was released temporarily back into Freiheit. He walked back from the estate and through the pathway in the middle of the forest. The radiating sunlight seeped through the tiny patterns created by the leaves of the trees, crickets and the birds alike chirped loudly, sounds of the river became clearer, the temperature soaring high. It was summer.