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Their kiss was moist hot, he could not seem to stop.
She lowly moaned in his mouth; he soaked up the sound.
So entranced in kissing her for all that she was worth he had not seen the thick tears that slid from her eyes until he tasted their saltiness when they finally rolled down to her lips. Her earlier moan changed from pleasure to dejected. He quickly broke it off when the tears came out faster.
"Why did I have to help you?" she half sobbed. She buried her face in his shoulder to muffle the sound, not wanting to wake up Sophie. "Why do you have to be a royal?"
Potential suitors and relationships seemed to come and go so fast for her, she was a little agitated in her crying. First Ken and then Yuri. Both men had started with her but then they slowly showed more interest in her friends. She had noticed it both times which is why she broke off with them. If they were not truly invested in her, she saw no reason to continue with the courtships. She didn't believe that love had to be fought for in that way.
Why beg for scraps when you can have full love?
She had hoped, and even imagined that maybe Leon could be the one for her. Within that short time that she had known that he was not married, her heart had dreamed of impossible things.
Foolish, foolish heart!
Her knees gave out; he grabbed her and descended to the floor with her.
She felt his hand go under her chin and tilt it back.
"Sora," he warmly murmured, the sound soothing despite the heartache she was feeling. "Dear, sweet Sora. You do not need to shed tears for this." His thumb brushed her cheek, wiping the drop that slipped out. "Sophie is the royal, not I."
She tensed with the words. "Do not jest, Leon," she pleaded.
He sighed. He did not blame her for the doubt. It was a strange situation indeed, though common enough that it was not so peculiar. "We share the same father, however, my mother was not the queen. I am an illegitimate child and not recognized by the throne as an heir, therefore I hold no claims to royalty."
Her tears slowed with his words. She was interested in learning more, but the cut on his face made her pause. I probably should have thought to clean it sooner. The earlier shock had made her blind to other things.
"You can tell me while I clean this," she murmured, "if you want to."
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They were seated on the floor as she cleaned his face.
"When I was older the king had requested to see me."
She dipped the cloth into the bowl of water and then wrung it to get the dirt out of the cloth. "To see you?" Did his father regret not recognizing him?
Leon thinly smiled. "He wanted a guard that would not sway to the political opposition." Upon catching her confused tilt of the head, he wiry added, "I was not living in stable conditions." Back then, he made a living by taking on challengers. He had been fighting as an entertainer day in and out; looking back on it, he was ashamed of it, but he couldn't deny that he had learned the necessary skills during that time. "The King knew I would be desperate for a change in environment, thus I would be indebted to him."
He turned his head to the bed, spotting Sophie's young face.
His eyes softened. He could have left at anytime; he didn't have to go this far in protecting her, but he had felt connected to her that first time the king brought her out. He had been ready to tell the man off, but upon seeing Sophie's innocent smile, he instantly felt protective of her.
The half siblings formed a stronger bond than he had been expecting.
He had a feeling that the king noticed it as well, but as long as Leon stuck to his duties and did not raise any fuss over having an inheritance, there was no immediate issue.
She lifted his hand onto her lap and gingerly dabbed around the broken skin along his knuckles.
"...When a coup came, the King went one way and I took Sophie in the opposite direction."
She had been wrapping his hand when she stopped. "They would seek to harm her?"
"She's his heir," was all he said.
It was why he gave those men the title of 'wolves.' She was not yet seven but they hunted for her as if she were a dangerous threat. He did not feel remorse for doing away with the filthy scouts.
He felt her continue to wrap his hand.
They stayed in silence for a while until she decided to lighten the atmosphere.
"I did not think you were Sophie's brother."
He stared at her slender fingers as they tied off the bandage. It would explain why she would suddenly distance herself when they ended up walking too close to one another. With a half smirk he recalled their first kiss in the evening.
"I was not aware you have no qualms over kissing married men."
He was rewarded with the sight of her rosy cheeks.
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They had settled down on his traveling mat on the floor.
Before he could suggest sleeping with Sophie, Sora was already laying down with him. He took a look at her prone figure and her hair splayed on the mat and he could not find the will to voice his suggestion.
His arms opened and she came into them, her lips brushing his jaw.
His eyes half closed. He could get used to this.
She stopped and looked him in the eyes. "You don't have some secret engagement do you?"
He chuckled. "Not yet."
Before she could add to that, he brought her face to his and merged their lips once more. Her head rested along his shoulder as he angled his mouth, bringing out a light mewl from her.
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The first rays of the sun filtered into the inn room.
He watched as the soft yellow allowed him to see her features more clearly.
"Where will you go?"
He shrugged. "We will have to travel a little ways off."
She shifted besides him, his arm around her adjusted with her, not wanting to stop touching her just yet. "You can live with me for a while. My village is a little less than half a day's walk from here."
He played with the idea for a few moments. He could imagine them walking down some earthen path to the local farmer's market, Sophie giddy in her quiet way and Sora's arm tucked under his. The image was tantalizing, but there was a problem with it...
"We would need to go further than that." He was not certain when the turmoil will end. If he stayed in one place for too long-something he would undoubtedly do if he went with her-the opposition would eventually find them again. He would not want to risk endangering her home.
Her lashes lowered. She had hoped to have more time with him and Sophie...
"Then, you can travel with my friends," she cleared her throat, "Their eldest son travels often, so you might be able to go with him."
"Your gypsy friends?"
"Performing troupe," she corrected with a smile. "He was the fairy for the puppet show we saw a while back."
Despite their impending departure, he let out a faint smile. "Sophie would be happy to travel with them."
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