[Savior –Part 1]

The young master of the Greaves-Crawford Household held back tears in his eyes, willing his five-year-old legs not to move as he stood at the side, watching as his parents discussed with the lady at the counter. His parents passed their documents for checking and shortly received welcoming nods and words of politeness as they were gestured to move.

There were little luggage brought along with them since this was supposed to be a short trip. Besides, there was little need to bring any luggage; their butler had everything they could ever need already arranged at their destination. Such was the efficiency of a Reyes butler.

A soft, warm hand gently took Kyren's hand in hers, and the young master looked up to the gentle smile that the woman gave back to him. A small relief chased away the oppressive sadness and irrational fear swirling in his head and heart. At least there was going to be one person that he was familiar with staying with him while his parents went on their emergency business trip.

His parents moved to the boarding gate, still discussing seriously about some business that Kyren had yet to understand. Kyren found himself guided to follow behind his parents, but he knew deep down that he wasn't going to be entering through the departure gates with them like how he had previously done many times before. He wasn't any happier when he saw another familiar man standing and waiting for them at the boarding gate.

"Miss Louise, Brandon, you two should spare a look at your young one's expression." The loyal butler of the Greaves-Crawford Household spoke with a smile and amusement twinkling in his eyes when the small group reached him at the departure gate.

At the reminder, Kyren's parents turned to him with surprise written across their faces –as if surprised that they had forgotten all about him during their serious discussion about business.

"Dear boy! Come to Papa!" Brandon Greaves exclaimed as he knelt down on one knee to be on his son's eye level, opening his arms out in an inviting hug. The hand that had been kindly and gently guiding Kyren along let go, allowing the young boy to go running, which Kyren did immediately at the signal given to him.

"Mama, don't go!" Kyren cried, unable to resist the tears anymore as he ran past his father's inviting embrace to wrap his small arms around the long skirt of his mother's. "Bring Kyren with you!"

"You know we cannot do that this time, Kyren." Louise Greaves-Crawford answered with a gentle but determined smile, squatting down and pulling her son away from her skirt and legs to make sure she could see his tear-stained face. The blue eyes that he had inherited from her shined brightly with still-unshed tears, but Louise had seen that puppy-dog look too many times to be affected this time. Kyren had the tendency to use that expression to trick people into getting what he wanted, and it seemed as if Louise was the only person in the entire Household who had learnt to resist those eyes.

"Kyren is fine! Kyren is strong and fit. Kyren promise he won't fall sick." The young boy declared, raising one arm and trying to show off his muscles in a show of how strong he was. "Bring Kyren, please?"

"We promise that we will come home immediately after the meeting. You be a good boy and listen to Aunt Kiera. If we hear from her that you haven't been obedient, we won't come back quickly." Louise answered, her gentle hands on her son still feeling a little heat that his body was giving off.

The Greaves-Crawford Household usually brought their young one along for business trips along with Kyren's butlers to have him get used to travelling for business, but this time was an exception because both Kylar and Kyvan had just entered the Imperial Academy meant for butlers, and Kyren had come down with a fever a few days before departure. The difficult decision to have Kyren stay behind with the Head Butler's wife had been made.

The words 'won't come back' seemed to trigger immense fear in the young one as his tears seemed to explode more.

"Louise, you shouldn't threaten him with not coming back!" Brandon exclaimed, rushing forth to wipe his son's tears quickly. "We'll definitely come back quickly, Kyren. We will be back even before you know it. Listen to Aunt Kiera and be a good boy, okay? If you feel terrible or sick, you must tell Aunt Kiera quickly. Don't wander anywhere by yourself and call for help when you're in a dangerous situation."

"B-But Keyron is not with Kyren! Who will save Kyren when Kyren get kidnapped again?" The boy exclaimed, eyes flickering to the Head Butler who was making his farewells with his wife at the side. At the sound of his name spoken, Keyron Reyes turned his attention to the crying young master with his smile of amusement. It appeared that the poor young master had not yet gotten over the trauma of almost being kidnapped earlier that year by the disgraced Hague Household's ex-butler.

"Remember what happened the last time?" Keyron asked, standing tall and proud with his chest puffed out. On the lapel of his butler's coat shone brightly the Greaves-Crawford coat of arms, along with a golden coat of arms that signified him as the best graduate from the Imperial Academy. "Even when I was far away, I still managed to come and save you. It will be fine, Young Master Kyren. If someone takes you away, I will know immediately and come save you. I promise."

"You shouldn't promise the young master something you cannot do, Keyron." The Head Butler's wife, also young Kyren's temporary guardian while the Master, Mistress and the Head Butler went for the trip, whispered worriedly but Keyron only grinned with confidence, patting her on the shoulder in a wordless assurance that things were fine as they were.

"Really?" The young one looked up at his savior with eyes glittering with hope –and leftover tears. "Keyron will come to save Kyren if Kyren is kidnapped?"

"Of course. Don't you know that I have an in-built Kyren radar that alerts me when you go off somewhere you're not supposed to? You can't go running off anywhere without telling Kiera, because I'll know and think that you're kidnapped if you go running off." Keyron warned, and Kyren nodded quickly, believing the lie quickly.

"Don't talk about kidnapping and getting lost like it's definitely going to happen." Brandon scolded his butler quickly, grabbing Kyren in a tight hug quickly. "Everything is going to be fine. Nothing will happen if you listen to Aunt Kiera and stay beside her, okay?"

"Kyren really cannot come?" The young boy asked once more for good measure, knowing that the tears weren't working with his parents.

"No, Kyren. Kylar and Kyvan are not with you this time, and you are not well enough to go to a cold country yet." Louise shook her head with firm refusal. "It will only be a few days. You be good, and we will be back before you know it. Be brave."

"Okay." Kyren wiped his tears and sniffed the last of the snot away. A sad frown still hung on the corner of his lips since the young master was still too young to learn how to hide the expressions from his face, but he nodded to his mother, opening his arms to invite himself to a hug when his father backed off. "Hug Kyren one more time?"

This time, Louise could not resist her son's small demand and scooped him up in her arms. Kyren rested in his mother's warm and soft embrace, pressing his face to her neck and breathing her smell in as she smoothed his hair with her gentle hands.

"You are a good boy, Kyren. Mummy and Daddy loves you." Louise assured her son and knew that those words settled very well in the young boy.

Louise could only distantly remember herself when she was her son's current age. Louise had not been allowed to go along on any business trips while her father had been the Master of the Household since she had been too young to bring along. Then, after her father had passed on and the title as Head had been passed to her uncle, she still did not get any permission to go along because Oscar Crawford had never any love for his niece.

Then again, Louise never truly did have love –not even familial love –for her uncle. The Crawford Household had been a cold, icy and heartless family after her father's death. The only warmth that she had ever gotten within the household then had been from her butler, but even he was gone. Louise had been lucky enough to be temporarily adopted into the Greaves Household after the disaster, and through her husband's family, she had learnt how to love and care for family all over again. Her experience was something she would never wish for her son no matter how much she wanted him to grow up strong, upright and righteous as an heir to the Greaves-Crawford conglomerate.

"Okay. Kyren is a good boy and will listen to Aunt Kiera and wait, so Mummy and Daddy must come back quickly." The young one bargained, true to his inherited businessman genes from both his parents.

"You have a deal." Louise promised indulgently, and with a small peck on his cheek to seal the deal, she finally let Kyren back on his feet. This time, a smile hung on the young one's face as he faced his parents once more, still a little afraid but with much more bravery and courage than before to survive the upcoming few days without his parents and the Head Butler Keyron.

"We have to be going, or we will miss the flight." Keyron spoke upon checking his watch. "After you, Miss Louise, Brandon."

Last farewells were made, and Kyren found his hand encouragingly held once more by Kiera who passed him silent strength through the hold alone. There were no more tears this time as the young one watched his parents enter through the boarding gate, waving enthusiastically to his father and the Head Butler who looked back. His mother, however, refused to turn back to him and simply made forth without any intention of letting her son see any hesitation.

The affair was short and soon the Master, Mistress and Head Butler of the Greaves-Crawford Household disappeared from view.

"Young Master, we should go." Kiera spoke gently after leaving the young one an appropriate amount of time to accept the fact that his parents were gone from sight.

This was the very first time Kyren had been separated from his parents and the Head Butler, and Kiera knew better than to force her young master to remain brave and strong. To miss his parents and experience fear upon separation was normal.

It was Kiera's sons that were not the normal ones. When they had left to study in the Imperial Academy a few weeks ago, they had been completely nonchalant to the fact that they were effectively leaving everything that was comfortable and their routine for the past five years of their lives. In fact, they had been so eager to leave the comforts of their house to be forced to grow up in an environment where they would be surrounded with grown men either insulted or jealous of their youth and abilities that Kiera had been worried that something was fundamentally wrong with her sons. Her husband had reassured her that it was just the results of too many stories of grandeur at being recognized officially as a Reyes butler serving the Greaves-Crawford Household, but Kiera had not been able to help her worry.

Still, Kylar and Kyvan had left to lead their new temporary lives in the Imperial Academy, and it was currently Kiera's responsibility to watch over the leftover young master of the Greaves-Crawford Household.

"Aunt Kiera." Kyren said, and she watched him wiped the few stray tears that had come out accidentally when he watched his parents disappear. "Let's go home."

Kiera smiled. The young master was obviously very loved and pampered –especially by his doting father –but the Mistress had done very well making sure that Kyren would grow up resilient as well.

Kyren Greaves-Crawford had a long road to walk, but it was without a doubt that Louise and Brandon were doing their best to make it a smooth journey.