I had always figured after Fates' announcement and the inclusion of Laslow, Odin, and Selena, that it would be Odin to out them. However, I just love that it is Laslow who pushes both Xander's buttons and the line of who he really is. Plus, their support is one of my favorites, even if it also saddens me.
Prince Xander was angry. No, make that furious. It was obvious to both of his retainers as he rode back to Castle Krakenburg. His anger, as it often was as of late, was directed at Laslow, who walked between Xander's horse and Peri's. Xander would occasionally glare at Laslow, who at least had the mind to duck his head in shame. Peri watched her liege and fellow retainer with interest. When Prince Xander finally spoke, it was going to be nasty. And for her, somewhat funny. She could not help but find amusement whenever Laslow found himself in trouble.
Xander's gaze turned to her as he spoke for the first time since they left the tavern they had stopped in for their midday meal. "Peri, I think you should go ahead of us."
"Huh?" Peri looked confused for a moment, then her face became one of disappointment. "But milord, I wanna - "
"Go ahead of us. If anyone asks why we did not return with you, tell them Laslow and I had something to take care of."
Peri agreed, not without a pout, before she nudged her horse into a trot. Xander waited for her to disappear down the road before he turned his attention onto Laslow. The young man tried to play his expression off as relaxed, but Xander could tell he was trying to figure out what was going to happen to him.
"Do you have anything to say, Laslow?"
"I... thought I had a great chance with this one, milord," he whispered.
Xander narrowed his eyes. He did not appreciate the sass in that answer. The barmaid had just been doing what barmaids do to get men and their gold to part. She was all smiles, and at one point had put her hand on Laslow's shoulder. It did not matter if he pointed out that she was "flirting" for a tip, not because she liked him. Laslow never seemed to understand the difference.
"And, milord, if I may, she was the only one paying any mind to me. All of the others only had their eyes on you."
Xander glared at Laslow and asked, "Was I making a complete fool of myself?"
"No, milord, you were perfectly behaved, as always." Laslow did look a little ashamed of himself, but only a little. "I can't see how. If I had a half dozen maids throwing themselves at me, well, I imagine I could die a happy man."
Xander heaved a heavy sigh and asked, "Do you know why they were 'throwing themselves at me,' as you so put it? My status. What woman would not want to have a chance with a prince?"
"Your looks don't hurt," Laslow pointed out. He had lamented, though never to Prince Xander's face, that it was so challenging to work with someone so good looking. While on patrol, it was Prince Xander to whom the young women all flocked. "Oh, if I could only have been born royal," he said dramatically as he ignored the glare Xander shot in his direction.
"Thank the gods you weren't," Xander muttered.
"What do you mean by that, milord?"
"I highly doubt one woman will ever keep your attention long enough for you to want to spend the rest of your life with her." Xander felt a twinge of guilt as he said it. His own father was a womanizer, and he feel poorly about calling Laslow out when someone he admired was the same way. Laslow was his retainer, however, and his behavior not only embarrassed Xander, but if Laslow wound up in some dungeon for his own foolish behavior, how could he do the job he was actually assigned to do?
Laslow fell silent, his gaze on his feet as he walked. His bangs bounced in his face. He swatted them away. Prince Xander's words should have brought him shame, and he did feel a hint of shame, but his mind was far from Nohr and Prince Xander.
His mind was on a princess. A young princess who did not exactly act like a proper lady, nor did she dress like one, thank the gods. Her fashion sense was not that strong. Her sword arm was. Sparring with her had always left him bruised and exhausted, but elated as well. It had always given him joy to be around her. The only thing that gave him greater joy was to see her actually smile, whether it was for him or not. Those smiles were so rare growing up and nearly impossible to catch in their later years. He still remembered her resolve as she braided her dark blue locks and tucked them under to give herself the appearance of shorter hair. She took the mask offered by another friend of theirs, ready to take on the identity of her ancestor, the legendary Hero King.
"We have no other choice," she had told her gathered friends, and in that moment Laslow, who went by another name then, realized he truly, truly loved her. It was not simply a boyish crush. He would have followed her to the end of the world, or, in that case, through time itself.
"Why are you sighing?"
Prince Xander's voice brought Laslow right back to Nohr. "Sorry, milord," he said softly, "There was this one girl..."
"What?" Xander demanded.
"You said no woman would ever catch, and hold, my attention. There was one."
"Truly?" Xander asked. His voice was full of disbelieve, but Laslow earned his full attention when he nodded. "With the way you behave, I simply cannot imagine it."
"Ah, well..." Laslow rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled awkwardly.
"I suppose your womanizing ways were too much for her?"
"She never knew how I felt."
Xander tugged the reins to stop his horse and turned in the saddle to stare at Laslow. His expression was one of astonishment. Laslow, who just had to flirt on anything female even though he had been punished for it several times, had not told a young woman how he felt? Xander simply could not believe it! Laslow caught Xander's eye and managed to suppress his laughter. He had never seen Xander so shocked before!
"I suppose you would want to know my reasons?" he asked.
"You brought it up," Xander pointed out as he urged his horse forward again.
"The timing was entirely wrong. We suffered a lot of hardships over the years, and it felt like," he heaved a loud sigh, "such a trivial thing at the time. We could save a possible romance for later, when things had become more... clear." His wording was difficult. He did not want to give too much of his past to Xander. No doubt the Crown Prince of Nohr would do his best to find this Ylisse, to find everything he could about Laslow himself. "And, ah, I was not the only one who felt that way."
Xander scoffed. Laslow had, to his knowledge, no qualms flirting with women who were married. Xander had received many complaints from husbands who had demanded punishment of his retainer for that offense. "You cannot mean to tell me you were afraid of competition."
Laslow felt his face flush from anger. "Well, when the competition is a complete wag who all the girls fawn over because he's brooding and mysterious, I have no chance!" He grumbled something else that sounded like "masked jerk," but Xander was not positive what he had heard. "Oh don't get me wrong, we were all friends, or at least we tried to be friends. I tried very hard to get him to see we were all allies. He preferred to mope around with his wyvern."
Xander kept a straight face, but what little details he had just been given of Laslow's previous life were mostly useless to him. There was little to piece together about a masked wyvern rider and a hard childhood. "Anything else?" he asked.
"Well," Laslow said with a nervous chuckle as he recalled the Exalt. Not the one who had died when he was a child, but the one they had gone back to save. "Her father frightened me," he admitted. "He could be rather terrifying when it came to his daughter."
"And I'm not terrifying?" Xander demanded. How could someone else instill fear in Laslow, when his own threats, including the removal of skin, were largely ignored? What sort of man could this girl's father be?
"Oh no, you're quite frightening as well, milord!" Laslow said, his tone cheerful. Xander scoffed. If he was so terrifying, why would Laslow continue to disobey him? As they talked, they had reached their destination. Not only was Peri waiting for them, but Prince Leo was as well. Laslow watched as Xander dismounted from his horse and passed the reins off to a stable boy. "If that's all we need to do for the day, milord, I think I'll head to - "
"You'll go nowhere."
"What?" Laslow had just turned to walk away. Xander's tone stopped him mid-turn. He faced the prince again and asked, "Why not, milord? I've learned my lesson!"
"You've learned nothing. You are not to leave this castle unless you are accompanying me as I make my rounds until I say otherwise."
Laslow began to splutter. He became more flustered as Peri began to giggle. Finally, he managed to say, "Yes, milord." He followed the princes inside the castle with Peri at his side. Even with Peri, and several other women in the castle, it was going to be a long and boring punishment. For the moment, he did not care. He was feeling both wistful and angry. He had opened up to Prince Xander only to be put under house arrest again! Coupled with that, he missed his home, the people he left behind, and most importantly, a blue haired princess.