Chapter Fifteen:
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Leaving her family was bittersweet for Sora. She and Leon had work to do in Europe, but it was hard to bid farewell to the comforts of her parents, younger sister, and Japan. With two months before the competition, they already had two-thirds of their program down perfect. The trapeze was their strong point, so on the plane ride over from Tokyo to Paris, they decided with their free time to work on ideas for a Rapunzel and Phantom of the Opera act. In a couple of weeks, they would take a train to visit her grandparents in Holland.
Sora waited alongside Leon for their luggage to circle around on the conveyor. As she stared absently at the colorful bags rotating in front of her with her arm brushing against Leon's, she considered her mixed desires. She wanted to be in California. She wanted to stay in Japan. But she also wanted to be wherever Leon was and he was going to France. For the first time in a long while, she was concerned about where her friends and loved ones were rather than appeasing an audience. She felt a little selfish, but couldn't really help it.
Leon caught both of their bags and smiled down at her. All thoughts about anything else vanished from her mind. She knew exactly what she wanted — Leon.
"You okay?" Leon asked, his brow pinched with concern. "You're not feeling nauseous from the descent are you?"
Sora shook her head. "No, I'm just glad we're finally here."
A soft chuckle passed Leon's lips. "Not quite. We still need to take a taxi." He glanced over her shoulder at the digital clock on the airport's display. "We have time to settle in a bit and then enjoy some lunch."
Sora was eager to see Leon's home. He wasn't rich quite like Yuri, but he'd earned a good amount of money over his career and had invested it well. After his eighteenth birthday, he'd inherited a large sum of money from the life insurance policy from the death of his parents. It had been kept in a trust fund for years, but with the subsequent death of his sister, he'd been the sole inheritor. She knew that Leon would have preferred having his family than a flush bank account.
Leon didn't actually live in Paris, but in Romainville to the Northeast. He lived on a fairly busy street in a large third floor condo. A bakery and a deli shop were on the first floor and a series of smaller apartments on the second floor while his residence took up the entirety of the third floor. Half of his condo had been converted into a gymnasium with trapezes and tumbling mats. While they were in Japan, Leon had hired a crew to install silks.
His condo was utilitarian with little personality. The only hint about Leon's affections within the residence was a series of framed photographs of his parents, younger sister, and of Sora.
Sora stared at her picture in stunned silence. It was from her first year at Kaleido Stage when she and Layla performed the Legendary Maneuver.
Leon stood beside her, his hand rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Kalos sent this picture to entice me to sign up with Kaleido Stage."
Sora looked up at Leon, surprised by the blush on his pale cheeks. "You came to Kaleido Stage because of me and you still acted like such a jerk?"
"I'm a taciturn man," Leon said with a shrug. He reached for Sora's hand and pulled her away from the pictures. "Monsieur Durand has the best deli meat this side of the Seine River."
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It felt good to be back home, but Leon felt guilty all the same. Earlier they'd eaten at Durand's Deli and Sora had ordered the Turkey Bistro — which happened to also be Sophie's favorite sandwich. His sister's grave wasn't far from his condo. They still needed to unpack, but his need to see Sophie's resting place with Sora increased.
"Will you come with me to the cemetery?" Leon began to gather up the trash from their meal and crumpled his napkin. He tossed it into the waste receptacle. "I was hoping to introduce you to Sophie and then show you around town."
"Of course," Sora agreed.
Leon flashed her a relieved smile. "My bike is in the garage out back." He took Sora's hand and entwined their fingers, their arms swung lazily between them.
They weaved around parked electric cars and compact vehicles and paused in front of his motorcycle.
Sora ran her hand over the front of the burnt orange colored Triump motorcycle. "It looks just like the one back in California."
"That's because it is," Leon answered. "I had it shipped." He had contacted Kalos three weeks ago and made the arrangements. The head manager of Kaleido Stage had only been too happy to help, knowing that any good turn he did for Leon, that the Frenchman would pay him back in kind. "It took a while, but just like us, it's here now."
He handed Sora the spare helmet and then strapped on his own. Sora settled behind him on the bike's seat and her arms wound around his waist. It still sent a thrill down his spine when her strong arms clung to him. He led them down the winding streets until they reached the ancient cemetery. His parents had been cremated, as was common in France, but he couldn't bear to do that to his beloved sister.
Leon parked his motorcycle outside the gates. The mid-afternoon sun was bright and cheery, eliminating the gloom surrounding the cemetery. The large oak trees lining the perimeter cast long shadows by the westward sun.
Sora walked solemnly at his side, her hand firmly wrapped around his. Leon appreciated her presence. For a moment, he fantasized about introducing Sora to his living sister.
"You know, I've lived in France for most of my life and never once have I visited the Versailles Palace," Leon mused. "Would you like to go?"
"The palace of that really rich king that lost his head?" Sora asked, glancing up at him with her brow pinched in confusion. "What made you think of that?"
Leon shrugged. "Sophie always wanted to go, but I always had an excuse. We were too busy training or something else. And King Louis the XIV, the Sun King, created the palace out of his father's hunting lodge. It was his grandson that was killed during The Revolution."
"Louis the fourteenth," Sora repeated. "Is he the one Leonardo Dicaprio portrayed in Man in the Iron Mask?"
Leon groaned. There was nothing more annoying than people learning about history from movies. "I have several of Alexander Dumas' works if you're interested in reading about fictionalized French history."
He walked down the familiar pathway towards Sophie's grave marker. He looked around in confusion when he reached the tree where her resting place was under.
"Is this it?" Sora asked.
Leon's mouth grew dry and he couldn't answer her. He kneeled on the ground and stared at the freshly churned earth. Sophie's marker was gone. A new name was engraved over the burial plot with the date of death only two months before.
Sora's hand fell firmly upon Leon's shoulder. Leon reached up and covered her hand with his. "She's been moved."
"Then let's go talk to the groundskeeper. We'll find out what happened, okay?"
Leon stood up slowly, his feet felt leaden as he shuffled back along the path. It hadn't been a full five years. The lease on the grave shouldn't have expired until the fall. "This is a nightmare," he whispered. He imagined the attendants digging up his sister's remains and carrying her away on the night wagon to join the millions of others in the catacombs beneath the city.
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They had gone immediately to the cemetery's management office. Leon's angry growls had served to terrify the staff as they prepared to clock out for the day. Sora stepped in front of Leon and smiled sweetly at the cowering, very short, young man behind the counter.
"My apologies, sir, but I do not speak French. Do you speak English perhaps?" Sora asked.
The young man nodded. "Oui, yes."
"You'll have to excuse us, sir," Sora continued. "Mr. Oswald is very upset. We came to pay our respects to his sister's gravesite and it's gone."
His dark eyes widened. "Je suis désolé! I'm so sorry!" He rubbed the heel of his hand against the center of his chest and glanced over towards the door in the back. "Come. The manager is still here. He will explain."
Sora and Leon followed him. The manager was a man in his mid-fifties with salt and pepper hair and an athletic build. The clerk and manager spoke to one another in rapid French. Sora couldn't follow the conversation, but by the thinning of Leon's lips he understood perfectly. The young man quickly scampered away after offering Sora one last apologetic smile.
"Have a seat," the manager said, gesturing towards the two chairs opposite his desk. "I am Philip. I'm terribly sorry for the confusion and unease this must all be causing you, Mr. Oswald."
"Where is Sophie?" Leon demanded. He stood towering over Philip, his hands braced on the large oak desk. "Five years has not passed and my lease has not expired."
Philip stared back at him pointedly and then flickered his eyes towards Sora. "Please, sit down."
Sora sat down meekly and reached out to tug on the back of Leon's shirt. He glanced at her, his eyes wild with fury. His expression softened at seeing her worry and he sat in the chair beside her.
"Mr. Oswald, I'm afraid the leases are based on calendar years, not precise days. In the winter, the ground is often frozen. The leases are exhausted and the bodies are exhumed in the early spring. This was all stated in your contract." He turned to his computer and began to type. He angled the monitor and showed the contract Leon had signed on display.
Leon stared at it quietly, his pale eyes narrowed as his body began to tremble with fury.
Sora reached for his hand and held it tight. "Where is Sophie?"
"As stated in the contract, she's been cremated," Philip explained. "Her ashes have been stored in an urn and are locked up on the premises for six months or until you claim the remains."
"So she's not in the catacombs?" Leon whispered.
"Of course not!" Philip turned the monitor back towards him. "I always try to explain this clause in the contract. You're not the first person to misunderstand." He shook his head. "You specifically asked that she be cremated after her lease. You didn't want her in the catacombs."
"She would have been unhappy in such a dark place," Leon said. He squeezed Sora's hand and then pulled his out of her grasp. "Give me the urn."
"Of course," Philip agreed. "I'm glad you came during daylight hours. I can imagine only too well the horror you'd have felt if you came at night and had no explanation. We do try and contact the family when it's time for the change of plot, Mr. Oswald. Your phone number was disconnected, but we did also send a letter by post."
They collected the urn, a bright silver vessels with lilac butterflies sketched into it. It was a beautiful vase. They returned home without speaking again. Leon was too absorbed in his own thoughts and Sora didn't know what to say. He placed the urn on a bookcase in his condo and then sat on the floor in front of his couch and didn't move.
He stared across the room at the urn without speaking for several minutes.
Sora left him alone while she unpacked her things. When she reentered the den, he hadn't moved and continued to stare in desolation. She brought her laptop to the couch and sat behind him. She scrolled through her music and began to play the soundtrack from Swan Lake quietly. With nimble, strong fingers she began to massage the tension from his shoulders and neck.
Leon didn't shrug her off. After a while, he leaned back with his eyes closed, and relaxed at her touch.
"I simply cannot believe this has happened," Leon muttered.
"What would Sophie want?" Sora asked.
Leon's shoulders slumped and he let out a frustrated sigh. "She wouldn't want me to worry so much about it. The cemetery was my idea. She wanted to be cremated. She even described what sort of urn she wanted." He gestured vaguely towards the bookcase. "She was always practical."
Sora wrapped her arms around Leon's shoulders and hugged him from behind. "Maybe we take her ashes with us and sprinkle them somewhere."
Leon turned in Sora's arms and in one smooth motion was on the couch with her in his lap. "This isn't how I wanted our first day in France to go." He pressed his forehead against Sora's and kissed her lips softly.
"Well, the day isn't over yet," Sora said. "You usually do best when you throw yourself into your work. Why don't we hit the trapeze?"
"Let's do it," Leon agreed. "Sophie would be mad at me for moping and feeling sorry for myself when I have the most beautiful and caring girlfriend right in front of me."
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The soundtrack to Wagner's Tristan & Isolde played on Leon's computer. He and Sora had tried to incorporate a few of their previous and new routines to the famous opera. One of the best parts of being partnered with Sora, it didn't take much explanation for the two of them to work out and perform an athletic feat. Their intuition was so exactly in sync.
Leon swung back and forth on the trapeze twice before Sora's trapeze swung towards his. She leapt into the air and landed on his swing, her feet perfectly positioned between his on the bar. Her chest pressed against his and he marveled at the way their bodies melded together so perfectly.
The last chord of the song faded and the only sound was the slight whoosh of their swing.
Sora's arms were wrapped around Leon's waist as his hands clutched the ropes holding the swing on either side. Sora angled her face up towards him and smiled. "I thought you were going to challenge me with a hard performance."
Leon smirked and rubbed his groin against her thigh teasingly. "You want hard?"
Sora giggled and then released her arms from Leon and flipped off the swing with ease to land on her feet gracefully. "You're such a guy, Leon."
"Guilty as charged," Leon said with a chuckle. It felt good to laugh. He'd been in a foul mood for days since the cemetery fiasco. It was probably for the best that Sophie wasn't trapped in the cold, dark earth anymore.
"We better get cleaned up," Sora continued. "You bought our tickets for the palace this afternoon."
"It's a forty minute ride on my bike," Leon answered. "We don't have to rush that much." He did a neat backflip off the swing and took Sora into his arms. He pressed a heated kiss upon her lips. "How about we do some acrobatics in the sheets, mon amour?"
"You're insatiable," Sora murmured.
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They barely made it to the palace in time for their appointed tour. Sora's overall impression of the magnificent residence of France's former royalty was golden splendor. The sheer size and opulence of the palace left her breathless. She explored the statues in the garden while Leon spoke with an official about obtaining permission to bring his sister's ashes to the palace.
"It's pretty amazing, isn't it?"
Sora glanced across the reflecting pool to see a young man with dark brown hair and eyes staring back at her. She was surprised that he spoke to her in English. "Yes, it is."
"You're Sora Naegino," he continued. He smiled, a lackadaisical flash of teeth. "I saw you at the ICF a year ago. I'm George. My partner, Janet, used to work with Leon Oswald. They were together for a while."
"Nice to meet you, George," Sora answered. She felt a terrible chill at the man's familiarity with her and didn't care to hear about Leon's former mistresses. "Have you been to the palace before?"
"Many times," George answered. "Janet enjoys volunteering here." He walked around the edge of the reflecting pool until he joined Sora at her bench. "Will you be at the exhibit? I'm curious to see you and Leon perform. He's never managed to keep a partner as long as you — at least not since Sophie."
The conversation was growing decidedly uncomfortable. "Gomenasai. My English is not so good." Sora smiled politely.
"Ah, so you're going to play coy?" George asked irritably.
Sora gave him a puzzled look. Then she stared back at the reflecting pool in silence and hoped the man would stop speaking to her. George made no move to leave. Resigned to his company she began to sing softly in Japanese the old children's song At a Quite Lake Shore.
George chuckled. "What nonsense are you singing?"
Sora pressed her lips together and didn't answer. She didn't ask for this stranger to come and sit by her and critique her singing. Luckily, she was saved by Leon. His long legs making short work of the the distance between them. Unfortunately, there was a very buxom redhead dogging his heels.
"Leon! Wait up!" The redhead walked as briskly as her high heels would allow.
Leon ignored the woman and stopped only when he reached the bench. He glared at George for a moment, but then offered his hand for Sora. Before she could take it, the redhead grabbed Leon's arm and pressed her breasts again it. She batted her eyelashes. "Leon! Paris has been so dull without you! I've missed you!"
"Only small-minded persons find life dull," Leon retorted. He shook his arm out of the woman's grasp. "Sora, is this man bothering you?"
"I believe I've stared into this pond long enough," Sora said, avoiding the question. She stood beside Leon.
The redhead chuckled throatily. "How perfectly crass of you, Leon! I've missed you!" She flashed him a bright smile. "You have my number if you want to reconnect."
"Hello Leon," George greeted, rising as well from the bench. "Your lovely companion and I had some difficultly communicating. Her English is limited it seems. Will you be at the exhibition this fall?"
"Did you see my name on the program?" Leon asked.
"The program hasn't been published yet," George said with a frown.
"Then I suppose you'll have to wait and see," Leon answered cooly.
George snorted. "Come on, Janet. We're going to be late." He started away from the pool and towards the exit of the palace grounds.
The redhead winked at Leon. "Call me." She scampered after her partner with her heels clicking smartly on the concrete.
"An old friend?" Sora asked, her voice flat as she tried to stamp down her emotions. She didn't care for the insinuations George had made. She didn't want to know about Leon's past affairs, but she couldn't help but be curious.
Leon shrugged. "I wouldn't go so far as that."
"George mentioned the two of you were involved," Sora suggested.
Leon cocked an eyebrow. "Do you really want to know?"
Sora closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. "Probably not."
Leon brushed his hands over Sora's shoulders and then gripped her upper arms. "She meant nothing to me, Sora. You mean everything to me. Don't think about it, okay?"
"I'm ready to go home."
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Sora went flying into the air performing a summersault. Leon caught her outstretched arms and she flipped to join him on a swinging trapeze, their bodies brushed against each other sensually. Sora stiffened, but continued the motions.
Leon noticed the change in her posture and raised his brow in askance. Sora ignored his silent inquiry and balanced with one foot on the trapeze with the other foot gliding over the length of Leon's leg, abdomen, and then chest to rest on his shoulder. She then slipped down the trapeze in quick trick while Leon caught her ankle with his foot and the trapeze bar while she dangled precariously.
Their balance had to be precise, or she would fall.
Leon rotated so that he and Sora were both dangling upside down from the trapeze swing. His arms wrapped around Sora, holding her chest flush against his while they spun in lazy circles.
Sora missed her cue and began to slip. Leon's arms tightened around her and they began to tumble into the safety net below in a tangle of arms and legs.
"What's going on, Sora? This level of distraction is dangerous," Leon chided.
Sora disentangled from Leon and scooted off the net. She started away from the trapeze. "Nothing."
Leon followed after her and grabbed Sora's arm, his fingers in an unrelenting vise around her biceps. "Don't lie to me. Something is bothering you. Tell me. This isn't still about Jane, is it?"
"You!" Sora tried to jerk her arm out of his grip, but all that did was bruise her flesh. She used her free hand and broke his grip using one of her classic self-defense moves where she put uncomfortable pressure on his wrist. Leon hissed and shook his numb hand. "You and that woman! You slept with her and then you acted like it was no big deal! And her name is Janet!"
Leon shrugged. "It wasn't a big deal. I had no feelings for her. I never had a relationship with her. I was depressed and drunk and she was available. And it was only the one night." He frowned. "I think."
Sora stared at him incredulous. "You don't know for sure? How is this supposed to make me feel better?"
"Look, I've done a lot of bad things." Leon sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, undoing his hair tie. His silver mane loosened around his shoulders. "I'm not a nice person. But I try to be when I'm around you. And you're my first real relationship. Yes, I've slept with people, but they were mostly one night stands!"
"You slept with women or you slept with people?"
Leon cringed. He should have been more careful with his word choice. While lying might make him feel better, if he omitted the truth to Sora it would eventually come out and hurt them both more in the future. "There may have been a guy once, but I can't remember for sure. I was really drunk."
Sora rubbed her throat. "How could you possibly forget that?"
"Sora, please, do not judge me for my past. I'm not like that anymore. Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?" Leon asked, his heart hammered in his chest painfully. He couldn't lose Sora because he was a jerk in his past. "You remember what I was like when we first met. Would you say that I'm the same?"
"No," Sora admitted quietly. "It's just painful."
"And I'm sorry. If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn't have done half the foolish things I did." He reached for her hands, and this time she didn't pull away from him. He rubbed his thumbs over the back of her hands. "Can we move past this?"
"It's going to happen again, isn't it?" Sora stared up at him, her caramel eyes glittered with unshed tears. "Women are going to throw themselves at you."
He didn't want to point out that men had a habit of throwing themselves at Sora, but she was generally too dense to notice. He'd been livid when he'd seen George sitting next to her outside of the palace. "Probably. If you want, I can write you a list of all the women I've slept with throughout the years. Though, I don't know how accurate it would be. It's a just a blur, but I did always use protection."
Sora frowned. "You didn't with me."
Leon shrugged. He didn't want to tell her that he half hoped that he would get her pregnant, because then she'd be forced to keep him in her life. "I will if you want me to." He drew her against him in a hug. "Please, Sora. You mean everything to me." He almost told her that he loved her, but it didn't seem appropriate after a fight.
"Hard to be mad when you say something like that," Sora murmured. "And please, no itemized lists of your exes." She sighed. "I guess you have had to deal with my former love interest — Kei."
"And don't forget Ken," Leon pointed out. "Is there a Karl or a Kurt that I need to be worried about?"
"Only Karl Urban," Sora answered with her tone serious and her eyes solemn.
Leon's pale eyes glinted angrily. "I'll kill him."
Sora chuckled. "I was kidding! Karl Urban is a famous movie star from New Zealand." She rubbed Leon's arm affectionately. "At least it makes me feel better, knowing than you're feeling homicidal at the mere hint of me having a former beau."
"I told you I'm not a nice person," Leon reminded her. "So, do you want to do this routine once more or call it a wrap?"
"Let's hit the stage," Sora said. She started to climb the ladder for the trapeze.
As Leon watched her rise higher, he felt his heart swell. Sora's work ethic rivaled his own. Whatever temptations might come his way, he wasn't about to risk his relationship with the girl of his dreams.
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(A/N: I tried to research the burial practices of Europe and I did my best to be accurate, but I don't know exactly how the payments for the leasing of the burial plot work, so I adapted it to fit this story. I realize it's morbid, but then I'm a bit of a dark person.)