Whoo, this is what I get for being influenced by a marathon of VC Andrews stuff. Eek! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys and that people will take the time to review! Much thanks!

Warning: Brief child abuse scene.

At three, he didn't understand why he was shoved onto the doorstep of the huge house on a cold night in winter. The red-haired woman with sad red eyes told him to stay there and used the doorbell, before she walked away and disappeared quickly from sight.

The door opened and his life changed forever.

The first thing he saw as the door opened was the beautiful woman with cold green eyes and the golden spun of silk hair.

"Who are you?" her voice was like ice.

His tiny hands held out the folded up letter that she delicately grabbed and unfolded, reading rapidly. A sneer spread around her painted lips, and she glared down condescendingly at him. But she stepped back and indicated he come in, and he did his best to hurry up, even with his short legs.

The door closed ominously behind him.

Once inside the grand house, she led him all the way to a private study, where a man sat behind a desk and was reading something indifferently.

"A child, Roman? Really?" the woman directed towards the man with a sneering tone. "You never told me you had a red-headed little brat with someone else."

Roman looked up finally, first looking with narrowed eyes towards the woman before his gray eyes landed on him.

"Quiet, Bel," he ordered, still staring at him. "You, child. What is your name?"

He stayed quiet, though he pointed towards the letter still in the woman's hand.

"Malcolm. His name is Malcolm."

She said it in such disdain, that he cringed in on himself.

~*~*~

Mal is what they called him. It was short for Malcolm, but Mal had learned from Belinda, his 'mother,' that it meant 'bad' in Latin.

He was a bad child, she said. He was bad.

Mal didn't understand how or why, but he strove to be a good boy. He didn't want to be bad.

But she said he was. And bad children shouldn't be seen.

She put him in the basement, which she said was to be his new room. A plain bed was put in there, though it had already been set to be used as an extra room, with even a small bathroom in place.

The basement was large, so he didn't feel crowded. He was just a small child anyway, so it was even larger to him.

But it was cold and had no heater in there. Belinda had given him only a thin blanket and some pillows, and he did his best to huddle a makeshift pile of them together to keep warm, especially at night.

As for food, she would bring in a box of food at the beginning of every week (well, he guessed so), and he would have to deal with what he received until the next delivery.

Since he'd been brought there though, he hadn't seen anyone else other than Belinda, not even Roman.

But one day, he came down quietly and stared at Mal with an odd look in his eyes. Then he was pursing his lips and took a chair at the table that had already been in the basement before Mal came.

"Do you know who I am?" Roman asked firmly, staring straight at Mal with unforgiving eyes.

"No," Mal said quietly.

Roman stared him down a moment longer, before standing up.

"My name is Roman Alexiandre and I am your father."

~*~*~

It wasn't too long after that he met his sister. She was two years older than him at five years old, and had pretty brown hair, like their father's, and gray eyes that were also similar but reminded Mal more of storms.

"I'm Leaf!" she told him chirpily.

And since their first meeting, where Roman stiffly brought her to the basement to meet him, Leaf had repeatedly snuck down to see him when he knew he was supposed to be isolated. He didn't want to get her in trouble, but he didn't want to be alone.

And she was kind to him. He didn't remember anyone being so kind to him, not since the red-headed woman (who continued to fade away from his memory), and even then he remembered that she had been more firm than kind with him.

He was Mal. Bad. Unwanted.

That was what he kept telling himself, though he was glad that he at least had Leaf, who was so, so sweet to him.

He wasn't completely unwanted...

~*~*~

According to Leaf, Mal had been there for only a month. Mal wouldn't know, having been kept in the basement since arriving and never being let out either. It had felt like much longer than a month though. At least he had things to occupy him.

He was still young, so it was hard for him. Leaf would leave him picture books. He tried to read them on his own, though mostly he waited for her to come and read to him. She even brought down some toys, but he preferred the books, especially because it was quieter and wouldn't bring attention to him. He wouldn't make Belinda come down and be angry with him...

"Hey, there's going to be a party this weekend," Leaf said quietly, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Wanna come?"

"Can't go out," Mal reminded her, feeling down.

Leaf scowled. "I'll sneak you! I want you to come, Mal," she pleaded after. "I don't want to be bored..."

He gave a small smile, before scrambling up in fear as the basement door flung open and Belinda was storming down the stairs. Leaf also stood up anxiously, but tried to put herself in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" Belinda screeched, seeing her daughter stand in her way. "I thought I told you to not come down here!"

"I was just playing with him," Leaf said stubbornly.

"Up! Go up to your room and stay there!" Belinda grabbed Leaf's arm and tossed her behind her, where Leaf tearfully ran up the stairs, though she glanced back apologetically at Mal.

Mal was roughly handled and tossed to his bed, where he was ordered to take off his shirt. He shakily did so, and cried out at the first lashing of the belt against his back. At only the first handful of lashes, he was a sobbing mess and could feel the wetness on his back.

"Don't you ever soil my daughter's presence with your filthy existence," Belinda hissed out. "I'll kill you, you disgusting bastard! The only reason you were brought into this house was by my say so! Your father didn't care enough either way, even though it was his mistake that got you born, boy! Be grateful for having food and shelter, otherwise I would have locked you out and let you die in the cold winter."

She then left him behind, and he sobbed loudly until he passed out.

~*~*~

When he woke up, he was still in pain. It hurt. Everything hurt so much. His back felt sticky and his body felt like it couldn't move.

"Mal? You awake?" he heard Leaf's whisper from the top of the stairs.

"L-Leaf," he cried softly, and soon enough Leaf was thumping down the stairs hurriedly.

He heard her gasp, and then he was hearing water from his bathroom. Then she was by his side and the cold cloth that came in contact with his back made him jolt up.

"Shh, hold on, 'kay Mal? I got ya," she said quietly.

He did his best to hold still and keep quiet, letting Leaf wipe down his back and then it stung slightly as she sprayed something against it. Afterwards, she taped it up with gauze.

"Mother's not nice," Leaf told him solemnly. "And she drinks a lot. Stay away from her and don't bring her attention to you."

He sniffed and nodded. But he couldn't tell his sister that Belinda was always watching him because she hated him. Nothing he could do could change that or help him.

Leaf helped him onto the bed so he lay on it more completely, though he had to be on his front.

"Stay like that, 'kay? Your back's all hurt and stuff. I don't think you can be on it."

He nodded sleepily and she leaned over him to kiss his head.

"Night, Mal. I love you."

Someone loved him...

"Love you too," he murmured as he fell asleep.

~*~*~

The weekend of the party came and Mal could hear loud vibrations from above that showed the excited activity that was going on. He'd been left alone and unheard from since Leaf's last visit, and he was feeling lonely.

He wanted to be above. He wanted to be at the party. He wanted to be with Leaf.

Unfortunately, Mal wasn't able to do anything or be with anyone. He was alone there and he had nothing to do. It was a long time before anything happened that would make him get to be happy.

The basement door opened quietly, and he could hear the loud ruckus of the party happening above him. Then Leaf appeared, wearing a pretty red dress and her hair pulled back with a green bow.

"It's Christmas Eve," she told him quietly, though she smiled widely. "I brought you a present!"

He gave her a tentative smile and she came over and handed him the wrapped up present. He clumsily opened it and found a large, weird wraparound glasses thing.

"I found it in the attic," she whispered. "They're some type of goggles!"

She helped him put it around his neck, but they were too big on him for Mal to be able to put it on properly on his face, so he just let it hang around.

"I brought cookies too," she told him, unfolding a napkin full of chocolate chip cookies. "I have to go back, so you enjoy these, okay?"

Disappointed she had to leave already, he nodded and she snuck back out of the basement, doing her best to not be seen. He began nibbling on the cookies, though he wished Leaf was still there to eat them with him and he had someone to spend the time with.

After the cookies were finished, he threw away the napkin and hid his new goggles. Then he gingerly lay on his front on his bed and closed his eyes. He might as well go to sleep...

He was woken up abruptly and saw, to his relief, that it was Leaf.

"Mal, wake up!" she said to him anxiously. "Mother and Father are gone until the afternoon. Come, come! I can sneak you out for a bit."

Mal's eyes were wide open and he did his best to hurry after her, going up the steps for the first time. Once at the door, he only hesitated a moment before Leaf grabbed his hand and got him out. From there, she snuck around, helping him to avoid the servants still in the home, before she led him into a huge room.

"Stay here! I'll be back with breakfast," Leaf said and he did so reluctantly. He waited for her to come back, only relaxing when she brought back a plate for them to share. After Leaf had her fill and let him have the rest, she stood back up.

"I have to practice my violin," she told him morosely. "That's why I'm here while Mother and Father are gone. You can just listen to me, okay?"

Mal nodded, mouth stuffed with toast so he couldn't say anything. But Leaf had already grabbed her violin and started to play, so he had no need to say anything. He just stared in awe and listened.

Even though Leaf was so young, she was really good.

Afterwards, Leaf helped him back to the basement, where she kissed his forehead and smiled sadly at him.

"Bye, Mal. Merry Christmas."

And then she was gone and he was alone again.

But...

If he listened very carefully, he could hear Leaf still practicing her violin from above.

~*~*~

It had taken a long time for him to see Leaf again. He missed her, but he didn't want to get her in trouble. It was enough that she sneaked off to see him when she could...but he could wait for her. And wait for her, he did.

And she came.

She was subdued and quiet, but she offered him small smile when she saw him.

"Hey, Mal," she whispered and then they were playing with the dolls she'd brought with her.

"Leaf...M'hungry," Mal tried to hold back a whimper, but it came out and he was holding his stomach a bit.

Belinda hadn't come for a while. His stomach was starting to hurt and he was becoming hungrier with the days passing, or what seemed like days to him. With no way to tell time, he couldn't be sure.

"Hold on. Stay here and I'll be back with some food," she grinned widely at him.

She was gone and he wished he could have taken it back. He'd rather have spent the time with Leaf, than to have sent her away for any reason. Thankfully, she was back soon and she'd brought several sandwiches.

"I had my nanny make a bunch this morning, so I can grab one when I felt hungry. You can eat too!"

Mal eagerly grabbed one and took mouthfuls of it, until it was gone and then grabbed another. He ate until he finished them all, and looked bashfully at Eve. She just giggled and patted his head gently.

"Let's play now!"

He wished he could stay like this with her forever.

~*~*~

Time passed by. Mal had no idea how long exactly, but he knew that it had been a long time since he'd first gotten there. He and Leaf got older, and they played quietly together when she was able to sneak into his basement. Most of the time it would have to be at night, when everyone was asleep and they could stay up a little.

Leaf was his only friend and the only one who cared about him. And she was also the only one that he saw most of the time. Roman seemingly forgot about him, and Belinda didn't stick around usually. And he wouldn't want her to either.

Besides, Belinda being around longer just meant more trouble and pain for Mal. At least Leaf made it bearable for him.

At some point though, he'd caught a cold. A very vicious cold that wracked his entire frame with harsh coughs that made his chest hurt. He also felt his body become hot a lot, and he always felt like he was burning. It was always hard to breathe now too.

It worried Leaf, he could tell. He wanted to tell her it was okay and not to worry, but he felt so bad that he just wanted to curl up in bed and cry. However, things would change for him again.

Leaf got him help on what he found out would be a week later from the time he first got sick. For the first in what seemed like ages, Roman appeared in the basement and watched him with darkened gray eyes, so much more indifferent than Leaf's. But he'd picked Mal up from his bed and carried him up the stairs, and Mal was actually up above and in the house.

He was finally in Leaf's world, where he'd longed to join and be with her for the longest time, and no longer be stuck below.

Leaf was waiting quietly and anxiously by the entrance, and Mal could see it was nighttime. All of a sudden, the three of them were outside, and Mal was being put into the back of the car.

"Father promised me I could have whatever I want for my birthday, so I asked him to get you help," Leaf whispered. "Don't worry anymore, Mal."

He could only get into a coughing fit, unable to really answer her.

Everything was such a blur, and he couldn't remember much from that point onwards.

~*~*~

Gabriel Thrones stared down his half-brother, who stared back at him impassively. Roman Alexiandre had always seemed incapable of caring, but Gabriel had never thought he would be this heartless. And his little niece, solemnly cute by Roman's side, was stuck with him for a father.

"Are you telling me...that you had a quick affair with someone, and had this child? So what, he was left on your doorstep and then you allowed Belinda to stick him in the basement and live there mostly on his own for around two years? How has that child lived –no, survived that?!"

"He seems a smart and capable child," Roman actually replied, and in such an uncaring tone. "And I allowed Leaf to sneak down to see him, even behind Belinda's back."

Gabriel's eyes flashed angrily, but he took huge breaths to calm himself. He looked down at his niece and gave a strained smile, reaching out and tenderly ruffling her hair.

"Little Duchess, why don't you come inside and join Aunty Laylah. She's probably in the kitchen."

Leaf nodded and quickly darted inside. Gabriel reluctantly let Roman inside as well, taking the sickly, unconscious child from his brother.

"You want me to take him in," Gabriel repeated the request his brother had made politely at his door, practically the first thing his brother had said.

"If you could," Roman said carelessly. "I don't care what you do with the child, but Leaf wishes that he be cared for properly."

Gabriel's lips turned down into a scowl, but he said nothing.

"I wash my hands of him, and absolve any responsibility I hold to the child."

Roman held out the child in his arms, and Gabriel carefully took him. He had red hair like himself, but had gray eyes like Roman. Gabriel could guess the mother was a red head, or that the child had inherited Roman and his father's red hair.

"Fine, I'll take him in," Gabriel said tersely, glaring at his brother.

He wished he could take Leaf away as well.

"Good. I shall take my leave. I'll let Leaf stay the night, and come retrieve her in the morning," Roman nodded to him and then left without another word.

Gabriel closed the door firmly, now so worked up and upset that he probably wouldn't be able to go to sleep. He carefully adjusted the boy in his arms, beginning to think it was best they head to the hospital. He looked horrible and more than just sick. He'd rather be safe than sorry anyway.

Locating Leaf and his wife Laylah, he cleared his throat and got their attention.

"I think it best we head to the hospital to get this child looked at," he told them gravely.

"Mal," Leaf spoke up. "His name's Mal."

And so it is.

"Mal Thrones then," he declared. "He'll be taken in and be called Mal Thrones."

He gave a soft smile to answer Leaf's beaming face.

"Laylah and I will take care of him, Leaf."

I promise.