Part Twelve (Sugar)

"Alright already—what the heck is it you want me to look into?"

Leo met Sid's gaze directly across the table. Finally he smirked just a little.

"Good, let's make it short and sweet."

I swallowed hard as Sid explained about his past involvement with Leo. (I had no idea. To thin that Leo's been investigating Lord Aubin all this time.) Sid watched my expression carefully as he spoke.

"And as for what happened recently—well, Lord Aubin has an underling who likes to talk."

"What?" Sid took a long swig of his gin, and put the glass back down on the table. His expression soured as he stared at me.

"It's not really a very pleasant story. Are you sure you wanna hear it?" I caught my breath at the warning tone in his voice.

"Yes." (If it has something to do with Leo, then I don't care what it is—I need to hear it.) I nodded nervously, and Sid began to speak slowly again.

"That day—"

It was late on a dark, moonless night—Leo had left the palace and was walking through Lord Aubin's mansion. The corridors were dark, and his face was concealed by shadows. His expression was twisted with pain. At last he stopped before a particular door, sighing softly. He pushed the door open quietly and entered the room.

"What is it?" Leo stood in the shadows of the doorway for a moment, staring into the room. Lord Aubin had been sitting alone, drinking, but now he stared suspiciously towards the door. Leo shut the door quietly behind him and smiled suddenly.

"It'a a new moon today, isn't it?" Lord Aubin was silent as he stared at Leo's shadowed figure in the doorway. The sound of the door closing behind Leo echoed in the quiet room. Leo stared at Lord Aubin across the distance that separated them. "Why did you choose the full moon? Surely it would've been easier to do under cover of night. Or do you have some special attachment to the full moon?"

"What are you talking about?" Leo smirked at Lord Aubin's question.

"Heh, you can play ignorant if you want. It doesn't matter to me anymore." A lengthy silence descended on the room, until at last Lord Aubin put his glass on the table. He stared directly at Leo across the room.

"Why did you come here?"

"Aww c'mon, surely you know the answer to that?" Leo gave a faint smile and then slowly drew his sword. The sound of the blade sliding out of its sheath echoed loudly. Lord Aubin gulped, his eyes widening. He stood up quickly from his chair.

"I thought you said you quit being a knight?"

"Yep, I quit." Leo's voice was clear and sure as he slowly raised his sword. It's point reflected the dim light in the room, shining dully. "I had to—after all, I don't wield my sword to protect anymore." Leo narrowed his eyes as he glared at Lord Aubin. "Tonight, I came to finish everything." Lord Aubin stood unmoving at his desk, as if frozen in place. Leo tilted his head to one side, and then spoke softly, his voice hoarse. "This is where my nightmare ends." Lord Aubin caught his breath at Leo's words.

"You don't really mean that, do you?"He scowled as he focused his gaze on Leo's sword.

"What do you think?" Lord Aubin raised his gaze to meet Leo's, and pressed his lips together. Then at last he reached for his own sword sitting in the corner of the room. He drew the sword slowly from its sheath. Leo's expression hardened, his eyes narrowing, and in the next movement he was moving forward. Leo kicked the table to one side as he slashed at Lord Aubin with his sword.

"Gah!" The sword caught Lord Aubin across the chest before he could raise his sword, and he was thrown back against the wall.

"Aww, really—don't tell me you thought you were a match for me?" Leo laughed loudly, kicking the table onto it's side. Lord Aubin's glass shattered against the floor, spilling red wine across the rug. "You've let your guard down lately—you haven't been doing much at all, have you?" He glared at Lord Aubin, and drove him back towards the window with his sword.

"You—" Lord Aubin clutched the wound on his chest as he stared up at Leo, his face pale. Suddenly, they both heard the sound of an explosion coming from somewhere. "What the—?!"

"Oh, you finally noticed?" Leo thrust the tip of his sword right in front of Lord Aubin's ace, and gave him a sudden smirk. "It's exactly the same thing you did. That day, outside the mansion, with the flames rising—" The tip of Leo's sword moved down to Lord Aubin's throat, and Lord Aubin drew a nervous, shaky breath. "I saw you."

"But—" Lord Aubin raised his gaze to meet Leo's, and then at last gave a trembling smile. "So is this revenge? Or are you doing this for your princess?"

"C'mon, seriously." Leo scowled, his glare cutting off Lord Aubin's words. "Shut up already." He drew back the sword, ready to strike, when—

"Leo." He paused, the tip of his sword quivering. As he stared at Lord Aubin in silence, he could hear Maya's words echoing through his head.

"Believe, huh?" Leo muttered the words to himself. Lord Aubin froze in place, his expression fearful. Leo adjusted the grip on his sword, and readied it for strike, when—"Nnngh!" Something struck Leo in the back, and he fell forward to the floor.

"Lord Aubin, are you okay?" The guard's face was pale as he stared past Leo at Lord Aubin.

"Yes." The guard helped him up, and Lord Aubin stared down at Leo. Leo was on his hands and knees on the floor, his head lowered, his breathing ragged. Blood was oozing from a deep wound on his back. Lord Aubin allowed the guard to help him walk, but he glanced back at Leo as they reached the door. "I never hesitated, Leo." Leo grimaced as he turned his head towards the door. He watched helplessly as Lord Aubin escaped from the burning mansion. At last the sword fell from his hand. He smiled bitterly as he watched it hit the floor.

"If I fall asleep now, I'm just gonna see that nightmare again." Leo grimaced in pain and collapsed against the floor.

"That's how I heard it." I caught my breath again as Sid finished his story. My mind was whirling—I couldn't pull my thoughts together at all. My pulse was racing, and I could feel the sweat on my forehead.

"Oh, Leo—" (How could this have happened?) I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. (I have to get through this.)

"Maya, are you okay?" Nico glanced down at my pale face, and then spoke in a soft voice. "And then? What happened to Leo?" Sid took a sip of gin as he stared up at Nico.

"Who knows. They say nothing was found in the ruins of the mansion. So either he escaped somewhere, or—" Sid left his sentence, unfinished, and I swallowed hard. I didn't dare ask what the other option might be. Sid finished his gin, and then stood up and patted me on the shoulder. "That's all I can tell you for now." I looked up at him, my shoulders trembling, and Sid frowned. "Go on home, Princess. Leave the rest up to me." Nico and I returned to the palace in silence. I was in no mood to talk after what Sid had told us.

Once we were safely back in the palace, I visited Leo's office. Atop his desk was a huge pile of books that he'd been reading. (Leo's been suffering, all this time.) I opened the topmost book on the pile and sighed softly. I remembered how Leo had looked, reading his books late into the night. (That's why he couldn't sleep.) I put the book back on the pile. I opened the drawer in Leo's desk and stared down at his glasses. I took them out and tried them on, and the room blurred around me.

"Oh, Leo." As I whispered his name, there was a knock at the door. Giles peered into the room.

"So this is where you're hiding."

"Yes?" I hastily removed Leo's glasses and put them back in the drawer. I looked up at Giles again and he met my gaze directly.

"I have something to report." He told me that Lord Aubin had been arrested. "There are a great many things we need to discuss with him." He also told me that Nico had returned to Stein, and that Stein was investigating Lord Aubin's crimes on their side as well.

"I see." I nodded slightly as I spoke, and then raised my head. "Giles, I have a request." Giles raised his eyebrows in surprise at my words, but he said nothing, waiting politely for me to continue. "Please let me meet with Lord Aubin."

The next day, I visited the room where Lord Aubin was being held. There were no windows, and it was lit by candlelight alone. I stood silently in the doorway, surveying the room.

"Well if it isn't the princess." Lord Aubin sat up in bed, a smile on his lips. I frowned as I saw the bandages wrapped around his chest. "And what business would you have in a place like this?" His voice seemed to echo loudly in the still room. I gazed at him for a moment before I finally spoke.

"There's lots of things I'd like to ask, and a lot more I'd like to know. But right now, I just want you to tell me one thing." Lord Aubin stared up at me from the bed and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What do you really think of Leo?" Lord Aubin gazed at me incredulously before he gave a sudden smirk. He folded his arms and spoke quietly.

"He's an idiot. I couldn't use him as a pawn, and in the end he even failed at his revenge." His words left me speechless. (Whatever may have happened int he past, this is the man who raised Leo. I thought he might still have some affection for him, but—)

"I see." (I was wrong.) I dropped my gaze, and stood up from the chair where I'd sat. I nodded briefly to him and then turned to leave the room.

"Back then—" (What?) I could hear Lord Aubin's voice speaking quietly from behind me. "Back then I wish I'd dealt with them as well." I couldn't think of anything to say to that, so I left the room, shutting the door quietly behind me.

As I walked down the corridor, I thought about what Lord Aubin had said. I stopped suddenly as I replayed his words in my head, thinking about his tone of voice. (He sounded sad somehow. Or is that just wistful thinking?) At that moment I heard the sound of wings flapping noisily. I looked out the window and saw Sebastian flying towards me.

"Sebastian!" Sebastian flew in thought the open window and landed on my arm, and I stared down at him. "I wish I knew where Leo was." Sebastian tipped his head to one side.

"Where, where?" (I want to talk to him. I want to know what he's thinking right now.) My voice was hoarse as I whispered.

"Leo—I wish I could see you again." Sebastian tipped his head as he gazed up at me. Then he spread his wings and took off again. "Sebastian, wait—" I followed him to the window and stuck my head outside, looking for him. The wind blew hair in my face, leaving it in a mess of tangles. I brushed it back carefully with one hand, undoing the knots. (That reminds me—Leo and I were here before, or somewhere like it.) I leaned against the windowsill, remembering a moment I'd shared with Leo.

"Maya, look this way." I glanced back over my shoulder, and suddenly Leo caught his fingers in my hair.

"W-What?" I stepped back a little in surprise, and Leo tilted his head and grinned at me.

"It's tangled, that's what." (Oh he means my hair. Is he going to untangle it for me? I thought—) Leo leaned closer and caught my gaze. "Don't tell me you were hoping for something more?"

"What do you mean 'hoping?'" I pulled a face at him, but I could feel myself blushing, and I looked away.

"Maybe something like this?" Leo placed both hands on the windowsill, boxing me in.

"Ahh—" He moved his face even closer to mine, and I ducked my head away, worried that someone might see us. I stood there in silence, my head still turned away, but I saw Leo smirking at me out of the corner of my eye.

"C'mon, look this way Maya."

"Leo—" My pulse was racing just being near him, and I was sure he could hear it. My back was pressed against the windowsill, and I could feel Leo's breath against my cheek. "You're always such a tease." Leo smiled lightly at my words, and then gazed right into my eyes. Something about the way he looked at me in that moment made my heart skip a beat.

"Do I look like I'm teasing?" He pressed his lips lightly against the corner of my mouth.

"Leo—!"

"Sorry." Leo smirked, not looking sorry in the slightest, and let go of me. I was still worried about someone seeing us, so I felt relieved as he took a step back. But a part of me was disappointed as well, and I sighed softly. (If you're just going to back off again, don't get so close in the first place.) Leo pressed his lips together as he stared at me. Then suddenly he narrowed his eyes and laughed. "Your expression says that wasn't enough for you."

"Hey, that's not true—" Before I could protest any further, Leo kissed me on the lips, swallowing the rest of my words. I sighed softly into his mouth, closing my eyes for a moment. Our lips parted again, and Leo ran his thumb along my lower lip, his gaze amused. "I'm right, aren't I?" In spire of all my worrying about being spotted, I couldn't come up with a single valid response. (I'd like to deny it, but I can't. When I'm with you, nothing else seems to matter.) I pouted at him again, and he laughed softly and leaned forward to kiss my pout away.

My memories of Leo were almost real enough to touch, and I gave a long sigh. My heart ached every time I thought about him. (If you're just going to back off again, don't get so close in the first place. I remember thinking that at the time. Yet now—) I raised my head again and turned to stare out the window. (Right now I want you to get close to me, and never let go again.)

"Leo—where are you?" The rest of the day passed in a blur of duties I could barely focus on. It was with relief that I made it back to my chamber.

But later that evening—there was a quiet knock at my door, and the last person I expected to see stepped into my room.

"Sid!"

"Heya, Princess." I caught my breath at the sight of him. Sid stood in the doorway for a moment, then slowly closed the door behind him. "I've got some information." I bit my lip, not sure what to say to that. (Information about Leo?) Sid wandered across my chamber and sat down on my sofa with a sigh. "So this is the princess's room, huh?"

"Sid—" Sid's deep voice completely drowned out my soft whisper. Sid glanced around my room curiously, and narrowed his eyes.

"It's kinda more sedate than I expected."

"Sid!" I called in exasperation. Sid frowned, but he finally stopped talking, and raised his eyes to look at the ceiling. He hadn't yet met my gaze, and he was clearly avoiding what he'd come to tell me. I began to feel overwhelmingly uneasy. "Do you know what happened to Leo?" I could barely get the words out, but Sid sighed and stood up again. He came to stand in front of me, and this time he stared down at me, meeting my gaze directly.

"I checked into it. It seemed like he managed to escape from the manor in spite of his injury." I caught my breath at his words. My heart skipped a beat and then began to pound faster. (So Leo's okay?) "However—" Sid frowned again, and his low voice held a warning tone. For a moment I'd had a glimmer of hope, but I struggled to keep hold of it. "Leo's injury was pretty he made it out of the manor, Leo is—" I couldn't look away from his lips as they mouthed the words.

"You're lying—" My hands were suddenly shaking helplessly and I clenched them into fists.

"I'm not lying." Sid took a deep breath before he spoke again, his voice clearer this time. "Leo's dead."