No One's POV:

They were a happy family.

The Kirklands weren't the richest, and they weren't the wisest, but they were happy. A 12-year-old, 10-year-old, and two 9-year-old alphas make up the oldest children. The 8-year-old and 6-year-old were the only omega children. And finally, a 2-year-old alpha to make a full circle. Yes, six sons and one daughter kept Laura Kirkland, the mother of the busy household, on her toes as she ran back and forth between her children, making sure each one was well cared for and felt loved. John Kirkland, head alpha of the family supported his family with a good paying job that kept him far away, but he made it to all the important moments and was there when his family needed him most. Yes, his family was very important.

Laura always claimed to have no favorites-and she really didn't have any-but if you asked the older kids, they'd all name Arthur as her favorite. (Arthur would name Peter since he was the baby of the family.) He was a Mama's boy. He'd follow her wherever she went and would sing to her.

He loved to sing.

Laura always sang her children a lullaby before they went to bed and Arthur memorized it, singing it whenever he wanted to calm himself down from throwing a tantrum or crying. His father would play guitar on his days when he was home, and he taught Arthur how to play after the young lad had shown interest in it. They also had a piano in their home left by the previous owner that the Kirkland parents never got rid of which Arthur practiced on too. Neighbors lent him all types of instruments and Arthur learned them quickly and easily. The family noticed they had quite the prodigy among them, and his brothers would tease Arthur, telling him he'd be the one singing to his Alpha from outside a window, not the other way around. (Yes, that was the most important subject at the point in Arthur's life, he was too romantic for any future alphas.)

The siblings were just like any others. They had their problems and fights, but at the end of the day-or week-they stuck together. Especially on Friday movie nights when everyone had their blanket partner and smushed themselves onto the couch to binge as many movies as they could before their mother called for lights out.

Yes, they were quite happy indeed.

Until the day of the accident.

---

It was a normal Wednesday for them.

The family was in their quaint home in Harrow, UK, getting ready to sleep that November night. Alister was with Maeve, brushing her still wet hair instead of getting into the shower since she got her brush tangled in it again and she was having trouble getting it out. The twins and Dylan were brushing their teeth in the bathroom downstairs, mainly because it had the fun sink with the whale that changed the water patterns to come out of its blowhole and made it easier to get water into their mouths, (almost like a water fountain one could say.) Arthur was with Peter and his father, showing Peter there were no monsters in his closet and getting ready to sing the lullaby in place of his sick mother. Laura Kirkland was in her bedroom, already in bed and sleeping, the head and stomach ache she'd had for the past week keeping her bedridden.

Yes, it was a perfectly normal night.

Then the explosion.

No was expecting it. There were no clear signs that it would be coming, but it came anyway and ruined the quiet night they'd had. It was the gas line. And unfortunately for them, that meant fire.

---

The explosion was right above Dylan and the twins, the loud sound causing their ears to ring tremendously. They weren't sure what was going on, but after starting to smell smoke, they ran to their living room and out the front door. When Dylan turned to ask the twins something, he couldn't hear his own voice. And from the looks on his brothers' faces, they couldn't hear him either.

---

Alister and Maeve were in the room next to the explosion. The heat wave had the ceiling on fire. It started burning rather quickly and Alister grabbed Maeve, jumping out of the way of the falling piece of ceiling. He was close to the window, and there was nothing but grass on the other side. He looked and saw no fire, then broke the glass. Some shards fell into his and Maeve's eyes, but he didn't care about that. With Maeve in his arms, he jumped out the window. He got a broken wrist, but that was the least of his problems. Because when he opened his eyes, his vision was blurred out of proportion. "Alister? Where are you?" Maeve cried. He held her tighter.

"I'm here."

---

Peter wasn't sleeping anymore. Arthur looked at his father in horror. The explosion came from down the hall. They noticed the smoke and John opened the window. He saw Alister and Maeve in the grass already. He grabbed Peter and jumped out, not as hurt as his son.

"Arthur! Jump I'll catch you!" He called.

"No! I'm going to find Mum!" He yelled back.

"Arthur, please! She might already be outside!"

"I'm going to find her!" He yelled. Arthur grabbed his emergency pack-he was always one step ahead-and stuffed his shoe box in it, then the carousel. There was no way he'd let Granny's carousel burn.

He knew fire procedures because of the presentation firemen did once at his school and crouched to the floor, using his shirt to breath. He crawled to his parent's bedroom and used his finger to see how hot it was. He hissed and pulled it back before he even laid a hand. It was very hot. He knew the risks but Arthur didn't care. He opened the door, hand burning, and opened his mouth to call for her but stopped dead in his tracks.

He found his mother alright, a burnt crisp of her. The canopy that hung over hers and his father's bed was on fire and over her like a veil. She was dead.

Arthur crawled back to Peter's room, which was now on fire, and looked out the window. His father was still there. Arthur was coughing a lung out, having breathed in a lot of smoke, and his hand was hurting badly.

"Dad!" He coughed. His father was there in a second. Arthur crawled out the window and let go. The cool November air whipped his hair around as he fell and landed in his father's arms.

He was rushed to the front of the house where firemen were on the scene. A mask was put over his mouth and nose to breathe, and paramedics were tending to his hand. He looked around and saw his siblings getting tended to. Dylan and the twins were having their ears checked out, Maeve and Alister their eyes and his wrist, and Peter everything. His eyes watered. How would he tell them what he saw?

"Arthur, are you okay? What happened?" His father asked. Arthur opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. He couldn't-no, he wouldn't talk. Never again.

Why have a voice if the person who loved it most was no longer there?

---

They put out the fire quickly.

The family was still waiting outside for more ambulances to come and pick up six of the seven children. It turns out some injuries were more severe than originally thought. And could possibly be permanent.

Arthur watched in silence as the last flame went out. John approached them to ask about his wife, but the looks on their faces stopped him.

"We're sorry, John. We found this in the bedroom." One man handed John something tattered and round, black soot covering parts. It was her wedding ring.

John took it and sobbed. His kids watched him, each of them letting their own tears flow.

Something landed on Arthur's cheek and he wiped it away. Then again. He wiped it away again. Then more. And more. It started to rain. Arthur cried harder. Stupid rain, stupid turn of events. Why? Why had the rain come now and not when the house was on fire? It could have saved his house. It could have saved his mother! There was a clap of thunder, making them all jump, except for Dylan and the twins, Arthur noticed.

From that moment on, Arthur hated the rain. He hated it and all it stood for. Because it didn't help him. And it didn't save his mother.

The ambulances got there a bit slower than planned, but they were loaded into them and taken to the hospital anyway.

---

Arthur spent a week there despite not being as injured as his older brothers or sister. No, they kept him because he refused to speak. He couldn't. Not after what he saw.

Jett and his family came within the week they were there. They visited all of them, but Jett mainly stayed with Arthur. Jett saw Arthur as a second mother despite them being cousins, mainly because he used to baby him when he visited from Australia. They made Jett try to get a word out of him-which was a very adult task put on the shoulders of a 5-year-old -but it didn't work. Not even Jett could get him to speak, which really worried them.

Eventually, a child psychologist went in to talk to the eight-year-old. He handed him a pad and pen and asked him questions that he would write the answer to. After he finished all the questions, the psychologist left and went to talk to his father. Arthur wasn't what they talked about but he didn't care. He wanted to leave the hospital and go home with his siblings and father, wherever that could be now.

The doctor came in with his father, and Arthur stared, waiting for him to say something.

"Arthur," he walked over to the side of the bed and sat down, taking one of his hands. "what exactly did you see in there?"

Arthur stared at him blankly. How could you explain something like this to someone who wasn't there? Especially when you no longer have the voice to either?

John sighed, but squeezed his son's hands. "Arthur, you have selective mutism and anxiety. Do you know what this means honey?"

Arthur shook his head.

"You're going to go to a special school from now on with all your siblings but Peter since he wasn't as hurt as you all were. This school is going to help you find ways to communicate without talking while also going to proper schooling and even omega classes. You're going to stay there for the school year and come home during breaks. Peter and I are going to find a new home for all of us. We'll all be fine. Everyone already knows about the school, and they're going. What do you say, Arthur? Do you want to go?"

Arthur just stared at his father, who looked so tired and aged despite it only being a week. Arthur and his siblings didn't go to the funeral since they were still stuck in the hospital, no matter how much their father pleaded for one day. He didn't want to put his father through any more of that, so he just squeezed his hand and nodded.

Arthur was on his way to The Academy for the Specially Inept.

---

Wow. That is one tragic backstory. I'm sorry Arthur but it had to be done.

Yup, this is why Arthur is mute. He saw his Mama die when he was 8. And 10 years into the future, he meets Alfred, the first person he's wanted to willing talk to without knowing.

Guys, don't hate me for this. This has been planned since the beginning of the book. (Special thanks to a family member of mine for helping me out with the little details.)

Jett is Australia, Laura is Britannia, and John is Celtia or Celtica or something like that? I can't remember and I forgot to save the link that had their names...sorry.

Why fire you may ask? I did some snooping around and England has a whole holiday to fire on November 5th. I thought I'd make irony to the holiday where people celebrate by making bonfires and having this family hate fire. And I made the school located in London, where it rains a lot, to further thicken the plot. This holiday is called Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night or Firework Night. One of the three. The reason its celebrated is a bit wacky, I suggest finding out why.

I hope you guys liked (er, well, you know) the chapter. I worked pretty hard on this one since there were so many details I wanted to include but just seemed useless in the end. I know this seems like its early but trust me, you need to know this for the future chapters.

Please tell me what you think, and I'll see you in the next chapter! :D