Lacuna

Chapter 1

Katsuki stared out at the window, watching the autumn leaves slowly fall onto the ground, creating a beautiful graveyard of leaves. Autumn came and left in a blink of an eye. Katsuki never went out much, he always watched out his window, watching as the seasons changed. From a white desert that was cold and was the most difficult time of the year, to the blooming of flowers and animals waking up from their long naps. Katsuki was never allowed outside the house; doesn't know why.

The house was huge. It was a manor, a beautiful one at that. The perfect gardens that were well taken care of, the gorgeous furniture that came from foreign places just to make the place look perfect, and the architecture. Built for a family, family of two or more or just a lord living by himself with the rest of his people living in it with him. Made with secrets to sneak the people out when there's an attack and built for them to stay in the house without the guest knowing they were still there. The house was made with love and passion, Katsuki knew that right when he awoke in this house. Looking up at the plain ceiling and the soft sheets around his body.

That felt like yesterday when he woke up in this strange house. But it's been longer than a day, much longer.

Katsuki traced the armchair underneath his palm, tracing the patterns on the edge of it. The swirls that looked like waves. He continued to look out the window, still watching the leaves fall and any gardeners cleaning the leaves away. The gardeners' masks shined in the morning sun. Their masks were a rabbit's half face, with different brown spots or just plain white, making it look exactly like a rabbit. All the gardeners wore a rabbit's mask; all of the workers wore a mask.

The maids wore a cat mask. Some with orange fur, others with black, the natural colors of the gentle creature. The guards wore lion masks. Having the bright, yellow fur on the mask and the little tufts of the hair on the ends of the mask. It was like each area of the manor had its own mask. Cooking, guarding, cleaning, gardening, and all the others had their own animal to represent who they were in the house and what rank they were. The only person that didn't wear a mask was Katsuki. He wasn't sure why he didn't have one and whenever he asked, he was always answered with a "You have no need for a mask" or "That's nothing you need to know". He always got that answer for everything. "Nothing you need to know." Yet he felt like he did need to know.

A tug or an empty space in his mind that was blank. Wanting to find the missing piece yet not even knowing what it was. That's what happened Katsuki's mind so to keep it thinking, he kept himself busy with looking out the window to calm himself. He did this everyday and he was fine with that.

The door opened of his room and he turned to the sound. There stood a maid with a silver platter in her hands and what seemed to be tea and a plate of cake on it. Katsuki silently watched her as she set it on the table in front of him. She gently opened the little pot filled with sugar cubes and put two in the tea. Katsuki watched as the sugar cubes melted into the tea, combining the sweetness with the natural aroma. The maid closed the pot again and stepped away from Katsuki, not saying a word. Katsuki looked at her. The silence between them was so quiet, he could hear the raking of the leaves outside.

"Thank you," said Katsuki. The woman stood up a little straighter and nodded before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. Katsuki turned to his cup of tea and cake and lifted the cup, sipping the hot liquid. He felt it slide down his throat into the pit of his stomach, feeling the heat begin to rise in his body. Katsuki laid back, feeling relaxed.

He continued to watch the gardeners outside until the sun became a pink and orange ombré. The door opened once again and Katsuki turned to the door. There, stood a tall man with half-white and half-red hair. He had a black wolf mask over his eyes. Katsuki felt his heart skip a beat and he got up.