So this chapter has a battle. It's...really short and beyond subpar because I'm not good at writing combat. Sorry for the buildup with little payoff.
I'll also be doing Camp NaNoWriMo during July and this was the last chapter in my backlog. I'm not abandoning this fic but I might only get one or two chapters up during the month. I'm working on prewriting for a large project I've been working on for years, so that's where my focus will be.
Leo groaned when Takumi nudged him. "Your grandfather's here to tell you something." His ears strained to make out the words, but he managed a small nod as he slid onto his feet, then moved into the chair next to Takumi's. Berand's blue eyes danced with amusement as he took a drag off his medicinal herbs.
"I should probably—"
"Yer the leader of the Snow Wings and Ikona's child, right?" Takumi stared at Berand, frozen mid-push out of the chair. Leo looked at the man, eyebrows raised. How in the gods' name did he know that? He'd only been in camp for a night and yet…
"You really need to stay for this." Berand's eyes narrowed a little and Takumi pulled his knees to his chest, pressing into Leo. He felt him shaking and Leo place a hand on one of Takumi's arms. He took it and Leo winced a little from the tight grip, but he didn't say anything otherwise. Berand could be terrifying when he wanted to be, Leo supposed.
"I didn't bother you two last night since you needed to rest, but we're in for a battle today. I saw a group of summoners not too far away last night. Looks like Garon's planning a sneak attack with some Faceless." Leo squeezed Takumi's hand as he felt his head spin and let it drop onto one of the other prince's shoulders. His eyes shut tightly, tears stinging the edges of his eyes. Berand had mentioned the Faceless the previous night, but it had been so quick he'd barely registered it. But to face a group of summoners…
What's the matter? He cracked one eye and look at Takumi before sighing. There really was no avoiding it.
I-I…had a hand in helping create those abominations… Leo started moving away from Takumi, but he placed his free hand on his head, keeping him in place. Tears slid down his cheeks and his whole body shook. Those things had terrorised Nohrian and Hoshidan civilians alike for eight years because of him. He'd unlocked the final key to truly artificial life for that bastard Iago so they could circumvent Mikoto's barrier. How could he ever be forgiven for such an atrocity?
He felt a gloved hand run through his hair and he saw Berand to his right. "Sorry, beansprout." Leo nodded and rested against his great-grandfather which made Takumi release his hand. He blinked and looked at the other prince who stood and stretched.
"I'll go get some breakfast and be back in a few since we have tactics to discuss." He ruffled his hair and sighed, letting out a small cough. Leo looked at Takumi who just shrugged, not even needing Leo's unspoken question. "I'm fine, so don't worry about it." He raised one hand and then disappeared into the camp. Leo just drew his brows together and looked at his grandfather whose expression mirrored his own.
"I don't believe for one damned second he's fine, but if he's as prickly as Yumi says, it's best not to bring it up. And Princess Hinoka and Princess cami aren't here to help either, so that one retainer'a his—Oboro, I think Yumi called 'er—is our only real hope in this matter." Berand just sighed and ran a hand through his hair before shaking his head. "Anyway we need ta start planning so let's get to it."
Leo just gave Berand a sidelong glance. How in the Dusk Dragon's name did he communicate with the divine weapons? Only their rightful wielders should have been able to. It just made no sense. Yes, Brynhildr had assured him everything would become clear in time but…
Berand sighed again. "Kiddo, let's just say that Queen Arete had my allegiance before that damned monster ever has."
...Oh.
That explained a lot.
Not quite enough to satisfy Leo's curiosity, but it was enough to explain at least a few things.
He just nodded before pulling the atlas out as he fell into questioning the elderly woodsman about what he'd seen. Seven summoners with a battalion of archers and mages. Leo bit his lip. It might not have seemed like the biggest threat, but the summoners worried him. With the ability to summon up to two dozen Faceless at one time and the durability and strength they had…
Dear gods.
Even with the combined forces, it likely wouldn't be the easiest battle. The summoners would no doubt be using the strongest breed of Faceless which were comparable to sixty average soldiers. If they used Stoneborn, then that made things even worse. Worth seventy-five of the average soldier, then add in their ability to immobilise from a distance, and their rugged strength…
They were looking at potentially the equivalent of over ten thousand troops without even taking the archers and mages into account. He'd faced some ridiculous odds against the Hoshidans before, but never anything of this magnitude. If Garon was going all-out so soon, it really didn't bode well for the rest of the war. Leo prayed that Xander's and Camilla's presences would sway the archers and mages away from Garon, but there was no guarantee. If they saw the siblings as traitors to their country or if the fear of Garon kept them fighting against the bulk of the army…
Leo felt a hand on his head and looked up to see Takumi sliding in next to him, then sat a plate in front of him. "I know it's hard for you to eat while you're stressed, but if you need it at any point, now is the time. Especially since you didn't last night." He couldn't even refute the words, but he just turned his head away. His stomach knotted so tightly that he was certain even a single grain of rice wouldn't fit in it.
"C'mon beansprout. At least try a bit. You don't want Elise getting on your case, do you?" Leo flinched and shook his head, managing to down the small portion. Elise might have been sweet, but she wasn't to be underestimated. Considering she'd silenced Ryoma just a few weeks prior, he'd rather not risk her ire.
He pushed the plate aside as he looked at his grandfather. He simply nodded before trotting out of the tent to retrieve Ryoma, Xander, and camilla. Leo then turned back to Takumi who ran a hand through his long hair. "This is going to be one hell of a battle, huh?"
You have no idea.
Lilyana's hooves pounded and Leo felt her wings strain, but a hand on them kept her aground. The heard the sounds of mages casting spells, out cries as arrows felled men, thundurus boulders clashing. Lilyana shifted and the fletching of an arrow scraped his ear ear and he gripped her reins, knuckles white under the pressure. The earth reverberated even beneath her and he instinctively dropped to her neck. Her shrill whinny drowned beneath the deafening boulder.
Leo gripped the tome to his chest and let out a breath, one hand raising above his head. "O Holy Dawn, cleanse the earth of these atrocities. Allow the land to rest in its true place. Purify the darkness and cast it from the Dusk!" He closed hsi eyes, feeling them water beneath the tightness. By this point, he was so familiar with Lustrate that he knew it would temporarily blind anybody that saw it. He sent a silent apology to his allies in the immediate area, but it was the best counter to the Faceless, Stoneborn, and their summoners.
He heard the screams as the light shone and his throat tightened as he panted, feeling the magic leave his body. It was so taxing, but since he was the only one that could use it…
Leo forced himself back astride in the saddle, seeing everyone in the immediate area on the ground, hands over their eyes, both friend and foe alike. Small craters sat where roughly thirty of the Faceless had been and three of the summoners cried out about the blindness.
Leo turned his attention to the remaining four and reined Lilyana around, his sharp gaze on them. "Retreat now and take the message to the king that we won't stop until he's dead and Nohr is in our hands. We will defeat anything he throws at us." Malice dripped off each word and the summoners paled. His throat burned, but he refused to back down and the four ran away. With all of their tomes disabled for the next forty-eight hours, they had no choice but to go by foot. The din of the battle quieted with the monstrosities gone and Leo let himself double over into a coughing fit, bracing himself with one arm.
He jumped out of his skin when he heard a loud thud beside him. His head snapped up, eyes wide as he scrabbled off Lilyana's saddle, falling onto his knees next to Takumi. The Hoshidan prince panted, cheeks flushed and Leo pressed a hand to his forehead, though he recoiled a moment later. What in the Dusk Dragon's name?! He'd just had a small cough that morning; he shouldn't be this bad…
"Healer! I need a healer over here now!" He tried to ignore the lit napalm in his throat, but a harsh cough sent his head reeling and off into darkness.
Leo snapped awake with a sharp inhale and looked around, recognising the inside of his tent instantly. René sat in a chair, flipping idly through one of his magic books, offering him the waterskin with his free hand. The familiar bitterness made Leo wince, but it soothed his throat. He let out a sigh and started to sat up, though the archer put a hand on his shoulder to keep him laying down. He narrowed his eyes, but René didn't flinch in the slightest.
"Prince Leo, you really ought to remain lying down. Using Lustrate like that wasn't a good idea even with—"
"T-Takumi…" He curled up in another short coughing fit, though it passed after a moment. He couldn't shake the worry for the Hoshidan prince and he just heard René sigh.
"Very well." René stood up and supported Leo. His head spun, but he steeled himself and willed focus. He couldn't entirely ignore the spinning, but his worry for Takumi made it easier to do so. He felt the Hoshidans stare and he wanted to shrink under it. They knew him as the terrifying, ruthless tactician, but now… They could all see him for what he truly was. He normally hated anybody seeing him so vulnerable and needing help, but right now, all he cared about was making sure Takumi was all right.
Surprisingly, René took him to a tent tucked away from the rest of camp, near where the Hoshidans kept their normal horses. No wonder none of them had been able to find it.
To his surprise, Elise of all people looked over Takumi, her eyebrows furrowed. Leo opened his mouth to speak, but a sharp look from René silenced him. "What's the matter, Princess Elise? Is there something wrong with him?"
"…Actually, just just the opposite. I mean he had some nasty injuries from the battle and the fall he took, but other than that, there's nothing physically wrong with him. His lungs are clear, his heart is fine and strong, and even after all of the diagnostic spells, he's perfectly fine. I don't understand what's going on…" Elise shifted and Leo couldn't help but feel like she was hiding something. What it was, he didn't know other than some sort of emotional issue. It was kind of a given, though, with how he'd been in the war for the past five years.
Leo then turned his attention to Takumi. In the intervening time, the flush in his cheeks faded and his breathing regulated. The fever seemed to have faded as quickly as it had appeared. How bizarre.
The Hoshidan prince stirred and Leo's eyebrows shot up. His eyes snapped open and he held the blanket as high as he could, face drained of all color. "H-How much—?" His gaze settled on Elise, pupils dilated as far as they could go. She narrowed her eyes and he froze. Eise had seen something she wasn't supposed to. Even for as poor as Leo was at reading others, he wasn't blind.
"With Hinoka-sama gone and Sakura-sama back at Castle Shirasagi, Ryoma-sama asked me to check on you. I won't break your confidence regardless. It would be highly unprofessional. You're awake and I can't find anything else wrong with you, so I'll take my leave. I'll be back to check on you in the morning." Elise bowed and walked past Leo and René, leaving Takumi to turn his attention to them.
"…You…came to check on me?"
"Prince Leo insisted. I'll sit outside so you can speak in—"
"You damned fool!" All eyes turned to the angry woodsman that entered. Takumi shrank on his cot, bringing the blanket up just under his eyes as he shook. Berand strode across the tent and Le's jaw dropped when Berand's hand landed straight across the Hoshidan prince's cheek. The sound reverberated through the small tent and all Leo could do was stare. He knew Berand's combat abilities were feared through Nohr, but he'd never seen him get physical with somebody like that before. Even René stood there, slack jawed and stunned into silence.
"You ought to have known better than to use the Fuujin Yumi like that here in Nohr! Yumi's told me about your intelligence, but I didn't think you be such a damned, reckless fool!" Takumi retreated under the blanket into a quivering mess, pulling the pillow over his head. "I didn't expect one of Sumeragi and Ikona's children to be so stupid!" With that, he turned to Leo, his expression softening a little, though not by much.
"Leo, this idiot is not to be allowed in any battles while we're here in Nohr. I'll be telling Ryoma the same thing." He let out a breath before stalking out of the tent. All Leo could do was stare for several moments before René settled him down in a chair and slipped outside. He hesitated for a moment before starting to click.
Takumi?
After a small shift, he saw Takumi peer out from under the pillow. Leo offered him a soft smile and he pulled himself out from under the covers, though, he kept the blanket high across his neck. He offered Leo his right hand so it would be easier to communicate. Are you all right?
"I will be. I just…need some time to recover from that." Takumi let out a sigh and closed his eyes, his entire body sagging. It was…strange to see him so vulnerable. Leo was used to him being the terror of the battlefield and Nohrian soldiers quaking in their boots. He couldn't count the number of defenseless healers Takui had picked off during battles. He was a monster to Nohrians and the most reviled member of the royal family among the soldiers.
But now…
He looked so weak and helpless.
Leo gave his hand a small squeezed, trying to bring him some level of comfort. There was no reply and he just looked away. Would you prefer if I got one of your retainers? He really didn't know what good he could do. It was apparent Takumi didn't trust him, reviewing their past interactions. Takumi hadn't really revealed anything about himself other than their interests overlapped considerably. It was always about Leo or whatever topic Takumi pulled out. He couldn't remember one time the other prince had shared a single detail about himself.
Leo had been a fool to think they might have been becoming friends.
To his surprise, though, Takumi shook his head and looked at him. "I'd rather not Oboro or Hinata fuss and fret." He closed his eyes again and let out another sigh. "Plus, I'm sure you're curious what all of this was about…and it relates to how I use magic." Leo's eyebrows shot up at that. Yes, he had always been curious. The ability to change and adapt the Fuujin Yumi's elemental properties had always mystified him. It could do essentially whatever he required it to. Leo had even see it paralyse and knock me people unconscious, all without a mark on the body or any negative repercussions on the victim.
Leo gave a slow nod. I am but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It seemed like a rather large secret and he didn't want Takumi to tell him something he didn't want to. The curiosity ate at him, but he wasn't heartless.
Takumi just stared at the ceiling of the tent, gaze unfocused. He let out another heavy sigh before shaking his head. "It's all right; Leo. Considering everything, you ought to know." He let go of Leo's hand for a moment and put his index and middle fingers together. A scroll floated off the shelf and into Takumi's hand, though he placed it on the covers next to him before taking Leo's hand again.
Leo just stared. How in the Dusk Dragon's name—?! Not even his mother had been able to do that and she had been the strongest mage in Nohr, bar none! Even Iago had feared her before her execution!
"…Okaa-chan—Queen Ikona to you—could use magic like this too. Not eveen kaa-san—Queen Mikoto or maybe even Eirene to you—could without the use of music. Not even Reiko-nee can." Considering how his mother had spoken of her sister's abilities, Leo couldn't help but be surprised. The entire Spiros family was the most powerful magic in the world, bar none. Cami didn't quite measure up to her aunt or mother from the sound of it, but given their abilities had been through ceaseless combat and Cami's disinclination for it…
"Long story short: this sort of magic can't be learned through classical theory. It requires years of being out in the wild, away from human contact. Literally the only way I can describe it is 'befriending' the force of magic itself." He gave his head a weak shake. Leo really didn't know what to make of it.
"It's like…it becomes a part of you and you it. You interface with it in on a level nobody else knows is possible. Nature responds to you in ways you didn't know could happen." He gave a small, hoarse laugh. "Sorry this is all so obtuse. It's like trying to describe sight to the blind."
Leo gave Takumi a faint smile and squeezed his hand. It is hard to grasp, but that's what makes it interesting. Maybe you could teach me after the war? An entirely untapped, unexplored way of using magic? How could he not be excited at the prospect?
"I'll need a few months to decompress and recover first. This…is actually why I'm sick. There's something…wrong with Nohr. The flow of its magic… There's something disrupting and poisoning it and the land as a whole. It's like poison to me." He brought his other arm up, resting it over his eyes. Leo's brows just furrowed at the revelation. Nohr's land was sick and something powerful was behind it? Could whatever was behind the that also be—
Leo let out a small sound of annoyance when the thought slipped between his fingers like sand to a stream. It had happened plenty of times before in regards to information from his mother, but never like this. It meant he was definitely onto something but he couldn't remember any of it. Gods, what was going on?
But he just nodded as he shoved the thoughts away, giving Takumi's hand another squeeze to bring him any sort of comfort. There was no response and Leo let out a small sigh. Takumi had done so much to help him, and here he sat in a position where he could do the same. Yet his inexperience with people left him unable to do anything to help. Gods he hated—
No.
He could help.
Hey, do you think you could tell me what you know about pegasi? That made Takumi lift his forearm a bit and glance over, Leo just giving an encouraging smile.