Alright, update after 40 years, here we go
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Everything was silent. The only sounds to be heard were the heavy breathing of the Wyrm behind him and the gentle flow of the river in front of him. Leo wanted to cry. Everything was falling down onto his shoulders, and for once, Leo was practically begging mentally for someone to come and just take it away. Just make it all go away. Make him forget Corrin, make his siblings forget... make Father kind again...
Please. For the love of the Gods, please. Please, make all of it go away.
The tears. Leo could feel them coming in the figurative form of a raging current. His eyes began to burn due to the salt of his tears. His face began to redden as he tried so damned hard to compose himself, not let his emotions overcome him... His throat began to tighten, almost unbearable to the young male.
A shaken sob finally broke through his lips as he hung his head and began to weep.
Yes, the wounds his father inflicted on him were physically painful. They hurt a hell of a lot, and it didn't take a Scholar to figure that out. But they hurt the most mentally. They were such a huge, near-fatal strike to his mind, his mental state, his goddamned ego. Everything was crumbling, his happiness, his pride, his damned sense of being. He was breaking, and he didn't think he'd be able to take much more of this.
This... what hurt the most was that this had been going on for so long.
Garon's abuses.
Granted, it was all purely mental and not physical then. But he could hide it all then. He could hide it when Corrin was here. He could hide it when his family was whole. He could hide it when Elise smiled genuinely, when Camilla doted over them all, even doting over her older brother, when Xander looked at them all with such... pride in his eyes. It was all so easy to hide then...
But now that his family was falling apart, his resolve and strength were too. He felt cornered, felt backed away as everyone looked at him with expectant eyes.
He wasn't used to this. He didn't know how to handle it. Didn't know how to cope with it mentally, now that the strength of his family was gone.
A heavy weight was felt on his left leg, causing him to look over, taking a bit longer to register the sight with his teary vision. (Y/n) had laid her head on his leg, and it gave him comfort, but also reminded him just how much smaller he was than her. Her head was easily bigger than his entire torso, and he always felt like an ant next to her.
Silence... sometimes silence is the best form of comfort... she seemed to understand that perfectly. Her piercing, yet hypnotically calm eyes stared straight ahead, and although he had a hard time reading her emotions and expressions... she looked conflicted if he had to guess...
God, the tears were coming down in streams down his face now, and he hated it. Crying always made him feel disgusting, hence why he tried his hardest to not do it often.
Leaning back against her cold, yet smooth form, he just let them fall. He wasn't going to hold them back, not now. Not when he felt like this. Not when everything inside of him was on the verge of exploding. It would all repeat by tomorrow. Everyone would come to him, worried out of their minds, begging him to tell them what was wrong, but he would always push them away. Sure, maybe he needed them now, but with the situation involving Corrin and Hoshido, this wasn't something he could burden them with now. Not only had their sister left for their sworn nemesis of a country, but their brother was getting abused by their father? It'd just be too much for them all.
"Leo?"
Leo let his eyes open as the serene voice echoed in his mind. The tears were still falling, showing no signs of halting. Gulping away the lump in his throat, he began to speak.
"Yes, (Y/n)... what is it?"
"It was nothing, Young Prince. I was simply making sure you were still awake."
Leo hadn't even noticed his cries had fallen silent, even as the tears still fell.
"Yes (Y/n), I'm awake. I don't think I'd even be able to fall asleep right now, even if I wanted to."
A chuckle filled his mind, unknowingly causing goosebumps to dance across his skin from how smooth it sounded.
"Yes, I had come to the conclusion that you were awake after your first response, Leo, but I thank you for doubly confirming my suspicions."
Her happy, yet solemn tone made him smile, if only slightly. What a mysterious beast that (Y/n) was. He unconsciously brought his hand up and rested it on top of her head, letting out a heavy sigh as he did so.
The silence surrounded them again, but it was very short-lived.
"(Y/n)?"
"Yes, Young Prince?"
"What... what were Nohr and Hoshido like? Back then... back when you were allowed to roam freely?"
A small hum came from her as she thought, and he could feel her tail move a bit on his right.
"Well, from what you have told me, they were not as supreme as they are today. Of course, they were still the reigning kingdoms, but their birth was still new, in terms of ruling kingdoms. Hoshido was... they were the more meditative country. They were always of a calm mind and high prosperity. Their harvests were always the most grand that I had ever seen in my long lifespan. I can only imagine how much more plentiful they have become over these many years. Nohr, while also a calm country, was rather competitive. It was clear they were the most militarily advanced, their tactics and strategies were grand and impressive. Their prosperity was in a different form, for the game they had roaming the woods were glorious, mighty beasts, so their stock of meats and hides far exceeded any other. I remember the hunters taking immense pride in their work... the beasts they managed to fell were strong and fierce, after all, and heavily feared by those who had no knowledge of how to best them."
She let out a heavy sigh and readjusted her head to where it was completely over Leo's lap.
"Although much smaller than they were today, they were still very proud, their kindness and utmost care for their people spanning above all other. I... I do not know when this feud between them happened... the war against my kind had happened before that, thus forcing me into solitude. But I assure you, Dear Prince, it was not always this way."
"What were the rulers of that age like? The King and Queen..." Leo asked silently. It wasn't that he wanted to know, he was just curious. Curious if the King and Queen of that time were kinder than the current ones... Well, the current one. King Sumeragi and Queen Mikoto... They weren't around anymore.
"Hmm... to be perfectly honest, it would all depend on who you asked. But, I suppose I am the only one left here that remembers them. Regardless, I remember the King... King of Hoshido, King Kuramoto. I remember him being tall... oddly tall for a mortal man. Yet the pride and joy that radiated from him were immense. He took pride in the qualities his country had and was working near to the bone to fix its flaws. I remember he was never one to rely too heavily on others, yet he understood that sometimes it was required. Although he adored his people... none came over the importance and love of his children. One could say he near worshipped them. They were his true pride and joy."
"... He sounded like a kind man..." Leo muttered, his hand having not left its resting place.
"Truly." (Y/n) whispered. Her eyes were closed now, seemingly lost in thought.
"The Queen of Nohr... she was truly beautiful and almost otherworldly. Queen Evangeline was her name. I remember her vibrant, yet piercing purple eyes... she was a very rational and calm woman, and she spoiled her children, almost rotten, I must say. The care she had for her people... it was as if she was a mother to them all. There was no other living mortal that exceeded her wits and knowledge, however. She understood well the beasts and threats that surrounded her, yet she always kept her calm composure, never losing her head to anger or panic. She truly was a mortal I admired greatly... there was no better man or woman to rule over Nohr in that era."
Leo kept silent. Such a ruler of Nohr... was that true? Well, he didn't think it was a lie, but with how Nohr was now and its current ruler... it was just hard to imagine. Maybe, one day, Nohr would get a ruler worthy of her. But would Leo ever see it in his lifetime? He wasn't so sure.
"Tell me, Young Prince..." (Y/n) began, causing Leo to look down at her. "While I may be overstepping my bounds, and I certainly won't pry if you ask me to not... but do your siblings know of your predicament? The one involving your father, that is..."
Leo's breath hitched. His right hand clenched into a fist as he swallowed away a lump in his throat. "N... No. They don't. I don't have the strength to tell them. Not with everything that has happened to our family... I cannot even fathom a reason to push my burdens onto them. Maybe... Maybe if someone gave me a really good reason, I would share it with them. But my brother and my sisters... no. Never in a thousand lifetimes."
"Hmm..." (Y/n) hummed out, adjusting her head in Leo's lap so she was staring across the river. "... I understand, Young Prince. Such matters pushed upon others often feels worse than the actual problem. But please understand that keeping them in the dark for too long... It may lead to your demise. With how gruesome these wounds of yours have been..."
(Y/n) fell silent for only a few moments.
"I have no doubt your father may kill you one day."
"And he may kill you, (Y/n)."
"Oh?" She sounded genuinely curious as she lifted her head from Leo's lap and looked down at him.
"I think he knows you're up here... He told my brother to gather a small army and come slay you. Xander won't, because he doesn't think you exist. But he very well might force Xander to one day..."
Closing her eyes, she sighed before letting out a laugh so sudden that it caused an actual growl to come from her wyvern form.
"Hah. I dare your father to send all his men. They would do naught a thing to me while I slew them all. The only ones I would spare would be your siblings, I couldn't ever bring myself to even slightly harm them."
Leo sighed. As soon as he closed his eyes, simply from slight exhaustion...
His father's voice flooded his mind.
"You failed, Leo. And Failure is No Option."
"I'm disappointed in you."
"Do not fail or disobey me again."
His eyes shot open and he immediately sat forward. He could feel the pain again... the pain of his father backhanding him, the pain of that dagger digging into his palm slowly... It made him break out into a cold sweat as he began to panic.
The feeling of cold scales pressed to the back of his hand made him remember where he was.
"Fret not, Young Prince... Your father is not here. As long as you remain here with me, he cannot find you."
Leo covered his face with the one hand not covered in a gauntlet and began to shiver.
"I don't want to go back there, (Y/n). Don't make me go back there."
He heard her gentle sigh, and she laid her head across his lap again, effectively keeping him in place.
"No one is forcing you to return, Leo. You may return at your own leisure... Dear Prince."
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