Title: Meant to Be; Part 2 of 7

Author: Risa

Pairing: Prince/Lyon

Fandom: Suikoden V

Disclaimer: If Suikoden were mine 6 would have come out a long time ago.

PART 2: Reluctance

Now the Prince of Falena was revered as a proper boy. He was well-mannered and well-behaved, he pulled his own weight, and he was friendly and fair to those he surrounded himself with. Like many boys who have passed their sixteenth birthday, though, the Prince found himself hot and bothered by the presence of his closest female companion.

The façade he put on was quite simple. He was a kind prince, so he was kind to her. Well, it wasn't like he had to force himself to be kind at all. That was just silly. He was, however, careful not to choose words too flattering, and he did not compliment her often. It spoke well enough to her that, as long as he and his parents allowed her to be his body guard, she was doing a fine job of it. What he wouldn't give sometime to return her kind words, though. She was always free to praise him, though he wondered if it was he she was praising, or his title. Being a prince made that sort of thing unclear.

The Prince thought of Lyon most often as he lay down to sleep. He often contemplated what the day would have been like had he allowed himself to compliment her form, praise her dutifulness, touch his fingers to her pretty smile, her rosy cheeks. Sometimes his mind would meander further into the impossible, and he would take those cheeks and those lips that he so adored into his own. He would make her feel warm and tender and loved as her presence made him feel.

Such thoughts comforted him, especially as times had become questionable, eerie even. The Godwin's heir Gizel had won Lymsleia's hand in marriage, which could sit no more right with the Prince than indigestion. On the one hand he was not Euram Barows, which seemed to relieve Lym enough. Even so, Gizel had a dark feel to him that even his parents could not deny. As the Prince lay in bed beside his sleeping sister, betrothed and confused and way too young for any of it, he couldn't help but wonder what storms to weather were ahead.

No matter what, though, he would always protect his sister. She meant everything to him, as did all of Falena.

It wasn't enough to protect, though. Something ought to have been said about all of this. The Prince usually did not ask questions, choosing to trust in the wisdom and decisions of his parents. Usually their decisions were sound and just, which was why most of the Queendom was satisfied with their rule. That was, until his mother chose to bear the Sun Rune. Perhaps that rune was manipulating her more than she let on. Surely not, she was a strong woman. The Prince believed in her.

He wanted to, anyway.

There weren't a whole lot of things in his world that made any sense anymore. If there was one thing that did make sense, though, it was Lyon.

He envied her in a way. As prince of a queendom, his role in Falena didn't amount to much. If nothing else he made a good diplomat. He had the charisma and the kindness to appeal to others, but otherwise he was background noise to do as he pleased. His purpose was more or less to be a good son, which wasn't unlike the destinies of young men in peasant families. Lyon, on the other hand, had a sworn duty. She was his sworn protector. She was hired to serve, fight, and even die for him if need be. Not that he would ever allow her to die of course. To him, that little blurb in her contract with Sol-Falena was a formality. At least he could pretend it was.

Deciding sleep wasn't probable at the moment, the Prince carefully lifted himself out of bed so not to awaken Lym. She was much like Sialeeds and slept like a rock, and was also like Sialeeds in that she hated being roused from sleep unexpectedly. Plus, she seemed troubled. It was only fitting that she got a full night of rest after the events at Stormfist. If he had to guess, he'd guess that she hadn't slept well since.

He walked with air-light footsteps all the way to the door, and closed it behind him without making so much as a tap. On his way out he almost expected to see Lyon standing to his left, adorning a patient smile and upright posture. He could be gone for a few minutes, or hours, and either way she would be there to greet him just the same. This was a late hour, though, and even body guards needed their rest. It wasn't like the Prince couldn't fight for himself if the situation called for it. He sparred with Kyle well enough to take on any gladiator in the arena, save for maybe that monstrous Childrich. If nothing else Lym didn't have to marry him, just the man he was representing.

When he was finally outside, the breeze nipped his warm cheeks like an insect. He hadn't realized, well, really neglected to realize how exciting it was to think of Lyon so late at night. It made him quite reluctant to allow Lym to sleep in his bed with him, but after all she had been through he couldn't say no. Her needs came before his, but since her needs were met and she had fallen fast asleep beside him, he would leave her be for now. He had to cool off.

It wasn't a very easy night to cool off, though. His father did them all a favor by refusing to let Kyle tag along, because that would have made everything worse. It was bad enough the Prince was having impure thoughts, and that his aunt Sialeeds was even encouraging them. Sometimes she went way too far. Although he didn't think at all to peek on the girls in the bath, because that was just rude. Besides, with his luck he would get caught and his parents would have killed him. That didn't stop his mind from wandering to bad places, though. Several times that night he pictured what Lyon in the bath would have been like. They were like ghosts that floated through his mind like old walls, each arousing more excitement in him than the last. He had never felt more embarrassed, or awkward.

To be fair, Lyon would have had more fun with the other girls. She chose to tag along with him instead and explore Lunas at nighttime, though. Of course she used the body guard excuse, but he would have been just fine on his own. Lunas was a well-guarded holy land, after all. He wondered if she liked spending time with him, or if she was just sticking to her sworn duty. He hoped for their sake, mostly hers, that it was the latter. The more time they spent together, the more thoughts of her bombarded him. Her face was the last thing he saw, both literally and in his mind before going to bed. Likewise, she was the first thing he saw at sunrise. Was it even healthy to be so captivated by a girl? Especially one who was his sword and shield in combat?

Well, she was more. Ferid saw her as more. It was difficult to ascertain how his mother felt about her. Arshtat was a fair and kind woman, thus treated all with that kindness when not provoked. That was much how the Prince was as well, but even when provoked he wanted answers more than revenge. That was how his mother used to be actually.

That was why he was afraid. He was afraid of losing Lyon if his mother knew of his feelings, especially now while the Sun Run beckoned her into a callous corruption. Surely it was unheard of that a member of royalty should fall in love with his bodyguard. Of course there was much about his family that was unheard of. Nobles usually wed the queen-to-be of Falena, and should a "barbarian" so much as make it to the semi-finals the nobles would see to it that they dropped out of the match. It was no great surprise, for example, that Belcoot had been cheated out of his victory. Still, it would have been nice for the second coming of his father to be the next Falenan king.

His mother lately didn't seem so open-minded to the unusual. As long as she worried him he would lock his forbidden feelings as far away into his heart as he could. In this world of cruelty and injustice, even something as pure as love was simply not meant to be.

So the Prince walked until he stopped at the bank of the river, where he and Lyon had previously arrested the two silly gold dust thieves, Logg and Lun. Neither of them was particularly bright, nor mean-spirited, so as far as the Prince and Lymsleia were concerned they could be let off with a warning. To tell the truth he was glad Lym was the one born a princess. He hadn't the power, authority, or heart to be a leader of any sort. He was too forgiving, an idealist, and didn't desire tremendous power. He just wanted enough to prove useful to his people, and to protect them to the best of his ability.

Often he would refrain from looking at his reflection lately. If he wanted to see himself he could look down upon the polished floors of the castle. This time, though, his eyes were on his reflection in the lake. He didn't know when he had become so solemn. Aside from being lovesick, and peeved that his sister had to marry so young, he had everything he could possibly want. So he thought. He envied the carefree spirit of the commoners, the way they'd hold hands while strolling towns, and how they would speak so openly and freely about their love.

"Prince?" said Lyon, startling him from his thoughts. He thought she ought to be asleep at this hour, though somehow she had a sense for him. Or perhaps Lym woke up and asked Lyon to come find him. Whatever the case may be, he had been caught in the blatant act of pondering about her. It was a good thing she wasn't a mind-reader, but he hoped she couldn't hear his erratic heartbeat like he could.

"Oh, Lyon?" said the Prince, once again putting on the innocent act. It was starting to feel stale, but the more stale it got, perhaps the more likely that these feelings he should not have would come to pass. That didn't feel very likely, but he could always dream.

"You could have woken me if you wanted some fresh air, Prince."

"I'm fine," he said a little too quickly. Lyon was no expert at reading the thoughts and feelings of others, but she did a fairly good job of reading the Prince. Sometimes that worried him.

"Right, I won't pry," she said, her smile at best solemn, but she did her best to be supportive. She had a big heart, and he loved her for it. "I'll always be right by your side if you need me, for anything! You know that, don't you?"

"I know." He did know, which was all the more reason to shy away from her. Should she ever discover what he felt for her in his heart, there were several different scenarios his mind reeled in. Not a one of them ended well.

For this night, though, she took a seat beside him along the river bank, and they watched together as the gold dust sparkled in the light of the moon.

TBC