Chapter 11
It had been six winters, six long years since he was forced into Harpy Village. Life was stressful, yet he felt privileged. Time and time again Leo was scared, only to be comforted by one of the beings he swore to never trust. He had the eager ear of a monarch, but he could never believe she would truly use his advice for good, or at least, the good of humanity.
Leo had prayed more than he ever had in his life to overcome the rash. He was never much of a faithful man but he knew he had to do something. Praying to Illias on his back, staring at the ceiling, asking for a chance to live this life. A chance to live his second chance.
And it was granted.
From what Leo knew his request was granted. His fever died down over the course of four days while the cough took around three weeks for it to fully go away. The disease had run its course through his body one way or another.
He felt thankful for whatever healed him, either the mystics of faith in a world full of magic or the natural reaction of his body to heat up and kill off whatever was inside of him. Regardless of what actually saved him, he could not take another risk with diseases again. He had to be more cautious and sanitary, at least as sanitary as he could be.
Leo knew he had to change so much about this world. He knew that nobody else would be able to think of something like sanitation when people were starving. That was a luxury in the grand scheme of things, but it was a luxury that the world needed. Life expectancy needed to go up for there to be a real chance at technological and social advancements.
The day Leo was cleared of his rash Irini immediately dragged him out of the house and back onto the platform where everyone played and ran around. She wanted as much time with him as possible after he nearly died. Leo knew that Irini was going to do everything she could to prevent Queen Sybil from monopolizing all of his time.
Queen Sybil… His teacher of sorts. Someone who wanted to be a more active participant in Leo's childhood and development. Not only that but she made it clear that he was not to be claimed by any of the other harpies as if to ensure that his full attention was on her and her lessons.
Leo found it funny that she assumed he would get together with a harpy. A member of a species who actively kept him trapped in this open-aired prison. He might think differently if they actually spoke with him or treated him like a person and not something to take. But as he grew older he could see the looks of the harpies change from one of adornment to one of desire.
They wanted him, and they wanted him badly.
It scared Leo, he thought he was nervous and on edge beforehand, but now it was something else entirely. He had to make sure he was with either Queen Sybil or with Irini to ensure someone would not rape him the second they could.
Even still, he was never one hundred percent about Queen Sybil's intentions. It was at the point where he would not be surprised if her teaching him was her method of grooming him to be her mate. A mate and the second in command of an entire species. It was an incredibly tempting offer when looking at it from the outside.
But after knowing everything that Leo knew, and after experiencing everything that Leo had experienced. It would be a cold day in hell the moment Leo 'settled down' with Queen Sybil or any harpy for that matter.
Regardless of her intentions, Leo was actually enjoying his lessons with Queen Sybil. Learning more about the world around him, the natural instincts of monsters, the hidden border struggle between monsters and humans, and so much more. It was a lot of information, but at the same time, most of it made sense.
The obvious problem that Queen Sybil pointed out is that some monsters needed semen to survive, while others did not. It baffled Leo that monsters like slimes and succubi physically needed semen to survive. While monsters like harpies, lamia, and elves could live their lives without it, only using it for breeding or pleasure.
Queen Sybil insisted that he understands which monsters require semen because they could potentially become a problem and were historically the hardest to manage. Not just from the harpy's perspective but from the Monster Lord's perspective as well.
The succubi took pride in their connection with the wind and did as they pleased. They hardly took answers from anyone and simply did as they felt at the moment, just like the wind.
That was what made them hard to control, they had no leadership and even when they had leadership it was only a loose connection at best. The Queen Succubi were notorious for following the Monster Lord's commands as loosely as they could. If there was a way to interpret a command then they would interpret it the way they felt.
It was why Alipheese the XV took special care to write specific instructions to the Queen Succubus, so that when the orders were distributed they would have to follow them in such a specific manner that there was no room for interpretation.
While the slimes on the other hand were more of a problem because of where they could live. Not only did they require semen, which made civilizing them extremely difficult. But they also needed to live by bodies of fresh, uncontaminated, water. Ideally like Undine's lake, the purest water on the planet.
On the Illias continent, the slimes could only live by rivers and streams because most of the small lakes were either contaminated by humans or too close to roads that led from human villages. The only suitable location for the slimes was the outskirts of Happiness and Harpy Village where a small river led inland from the mountains.
These spots had to be closely guarded by Queen Sybil's border guard, a mixture of scout harpies and elven archers. The slimes were too delicate of a species to be left alone and had to be treated almost like royalty, or as Leo described it, like animals in a zoo.
Alipheese the XV make sure that each of the queens took care of all the monsters in their territory, and all their special needs. It was difficult for sure, but without this care monsters like slimes would be localized to Undine's lake, never to be seen across the world again.
It was a noble goal, Leo had to admit. But he knew it would never last. Unless something was done to prevent contamination as a whole then the slimes would eventually die off. Frankly, if Leo had any say in how the world developed, once industrialization took place even the slimes in Undine's lake would not survive.
It was harsh to say, but the slimes would not be a species in the world for much longer. Natural selection and global progress would almost ensure the slimes would go extinct in the next few centuries.
"Leo pay attention." Queen Sybil said after gripping his foot with her talon.
The two of them were sitting at a table in Queen Sybil's home with papers and books scattered across the table. Leo had several different scrolls unraveled around him while Queen Sybil had already cleaned up the area around her, leaving an organized stack of the border patrol's reports by her side.
"Sorry," he said, quickly reading through one of the scattered reports.
"A group of six Enrikan elves with a caravan of three covered wagons entered through the southernmost road and mountain checkpoint. They greeted the guards and allowed an inspection. Goods contained a mixture of sixteen weapons, four suits of leather armor, and one suit of chainmail armor, all made in the village according to the traders. Alongside several foodstuffs. They intended to sell at White Oak Village and Stillwater Village before making their way to Harpy Village." Leo recited
Queen Sybil nodded her head as Leo read off the report, once he was finished she spoke up, "What do you do next?"
Leo stared at the paper for a few seconds before looking up, "Send a message to both White Oak and Stillwater asking for a report of what weapons and armor were sold to the village and what left with the caravan?"
Queen Sybil shook her head, "Close, by the time our message would reach White Oak Village the caravan would have already started traveling to the next village."
She continued, "You also would need to send a message asking for dates of when they arrived and left, rather than what materials were purchased. The heads of the village will already send reports of weapons and armor entering and leaving the village, that's the law that all villages abide by."
"But what about traitors," Leo said, "Bandits are becoming more of a problem recently, we can't know if they were planning to rebel unless we constantly keep asking for where the weapons are. If we know where everything is then we don't have to worry about an unexpected uprising."
"Once again, close" Queen Sybil said, "The villages would have an easier time deceiving us if we constantly asked for specific reports. Not only would it take up more of our time and hurt our punctuality, but it gives them an opportunity to constantly, and more importantly, consistently give us false information."
"But they could also just not send the information and claim it was delayed? What if we can't keep track of all of the villages?" Leo said.
"If the villages decided to not send reports then we would already know they were scheming, most villages have caravans going out and all villages have caravans coming in. That would be our cue to investigate, if one stopped sending reports of incoming caravans." Queen Sybil said.
"Yea but what if they just continuously delayed the report of incoming caravans, until it was too late and they already gathered a mass of people and weapons?" Leo said.
"You know the reports must come in weekly," Queen Sybil said, "If the reports are delayed for more than two weeks then we investigate. The village chief is more often than not the most responsible and respectable monster in the village, but we must give leeway in case of disasters. Not to mention they all must come here and swear their loyalty."
"That minimizes the initial risk of rebellion," Leo said, "But that doesn't guarantee anything if one of the chiefs made deals and schemes years later."
"The amount of autonomy and protection given to the villages is more than enough to satisfy them," Queen Sybil said, "If it comes to a point where they are rebellious and are seen with bandits then their title is striped and they are brought here for a trial. Scheming with malicious intent toward the realm is not tolerated here. We are trying to start an era of peace."
"But it's still a matter of figuring out when they start plotting!" Leo said forcefully, "Unless we know when they start and who they talk to we can't be sure anyone will be safe."
"That is not possible Leo," Sophia said, "They do their duties, and until we receive relevant information there is nothing we will do. Acting preemptively on unconfirmed information will only garner their distrust and hatred."
"Then why haven't we been able to stop the bandit raids?" Leo questioned, "The villages have their militias and the border guards hunt the bandits but they're still as strong as ever. Nothing we've done has made a difference. The villages have to be providing them with something, they can't get their supplies from anywhere else."
"They can get their supplies from outside the realm," Sophia said, "You've read the report with me, some of the weapons and armor are human-made."
"So now the humans are to blame? Again!?" Leo shouted, "First you say this realm was formed to protect weaker monsters from the humans, which I can understand. The church hunts monsters, it only makes sense a defensive pact would form between the monsters."
"But now the humans are once again the cause." Leo continued, "You can't keep blaming them. Humans would never side with monsters, we're told since childhood to fear them. That they'll hurt us, kill us. In what world would they give their greatest fear weapons!"
Queen Sybil sighed, "If there was anything that Queen Refletsia taught me before she sent me off to learn from Alipheese the XV, it was that humans will do whatever they can to protect themselves from the monsters. In this case, it's arming monsters hostile to us in the hopes of weakening the realm or creating distrust"
"But they have no reason to trust the monsters," Leo said, "If one human saw another giving a monster weapons then they'd be hunted! All the monsters have done is kidnap men from outside the territory. Humans don't trade with monsters, and they won't until the monsters stop starting conflict."
"That's being unreasonable Leo, we need the men otherwise our species will die out, you know this," Queen Sybil said, "The humans would never visit a monster village regardless, their belief in Illias won't allow that."
"Unreasonable!?" Leo slammed on the table with his hand, causing Queen Sybil to flinch before standing up, "You haven't even tried to speak with them! You just assumed it would result in violence."
Queen Sybil walked over beside Leo and placed her wing on his shoulder, "There is no other option Leo, David was our attempt. We tried to offer an olive branch and they burned him at the stake for it. If we don't take the males by force then we will die off."
Leo brought his hands to his forehead and forcefully ran them through his hair, "That was a human, speaking to humans about how monsters are friendly." Leo looked up at Queen Sybil with a deadpan expression, "How did you think it was going to go!"
"Did you think everything was going to be fine after that?," Leo said, "After being told that heresy was perfectly fine and the monsters who took their children were actually really friendly!"
Queen Sybil brought her other wing in the air and slapped Leo across the face.
"David offered to go himself," Queen Sybil said forcefully, "Sophia wanted to go with him but he would not allow it. The humans at Happiness Village are anything but kind and you should know that first hand."
"They certainly aren't kind to harpies," Leo spat after lightly caressing his face where she had slapped him, "All you've done is kidnap kids from them without bothering to show face and tell them why. Without giving them a chance to comply, you've been trying to start an era of peace but all you've done is build more hatred."
"You want my advice?" Leo questioned, "Make an appearance at Happiness Village, hell at any human village and state your case. Open up trade. Come with gifts. Something. Give them a reason to not hate you."
"The humans would only assume it's a trap," Queen Sybil stated, "They don't trust us just as you said, they certainly will not like it when a monster comes offering gifts. They would only assume it's dangerous to them. Even if it worked it would take a long time before relations improved enough for men to immigrate here, too long."
"But you won't know until you try!" Leo said, "You don't know unless you try to reconcile. The realm already controls around half the continent. I know merchants would love a chance to sell new goods to a new population, it's a chance at profit for them and they'll spread good news about the prosperity here. It's bound to bring more people,"
"The human merchants only travel from Illiasburg to other human villages," Queen Sybil said, "Not only that but they have long since stopped coming to Happiness village. After the plague, both imports and exports to Happiness Village all but stopped. They do not have the people to risk sending them across the continent."
"That's all the more reason to offer Happiness Village another chance!" Leo said, "They're desperate, the more desperate they are the more willing they would be to at least attempt to talk."
"It also means they are much more willing to fight back," Queen Sybil said, "The lack of caravans has backed them into a corner and they will only react violently as they have in the past."
"Then why don't we break down that wall!" Leo said, "Give them a way out, give them the branch now and they'll accept. Hell, we should have done this so much sooner."
"Leo that is enough," Queen Sybil said forcefully, "I have heard your advice and I will consider it."
Her gaze calmed and she brought a light smile in an attempt to break the tension, "The idea is decent but you don't weigh the risks properly. Failure means extinction, and every alternative is preferable. We need the males now before we can truly think about reconciling."
Leo sighed, "There isn't a way for you to give birth to males, is there?"
Queen Sybil chuckled, "If there was a way it would already be done. Several Monster Lords have spent an extreme amount of time and money on that research and it has never produced results. It was never meant to be."
"I figured that was the case…" Leo trailed off into thought.
"It is about time you got home Leo," Queen Sybil said, "Our lessons are concluded for today and I must say you are learning faster than I expected. You should be happy."
Leo maintained his expression, "Thank you."
Queen Sybil walked toward the door before motioning for Leo to walk through, "Let me take you down."
Once Leo walked outside Queen Sybil flew up and latched onto his arms before slowly bringing him down to the platform below. He gave a small wave before walking back toward Sophia's house.
The sun was setting and the red haze it gave slightly illuminated the platform. He could see the half-moon rising in the distance but the stars had yet to show in the sky. The stars that showed distant solar system upon the distant solar system. The endless worlds that laid past his own.
Leo wondered if Earth was out there somewhere and if he would ever manage to find a way home. Either to Happiness Village or to Earth. At this point, it honestly felt like it would be easier to learn magic and forge a portal to Earth than leave this village in his current state.
What if he could truly go back to Earth? What year would it be? Would it be thousands of years in the future or in the past? Would events unfold as they had in his version of Earth?
Leo shook his head violently to clear his thoughts. He could not think like that, that would only bring him down. He had to stay focused on the here and now.
He stood in front of the door to Sophia's house and pulled it open with his foot.
When Leo looked inside he saw Vasil and Natassa preparing their bed mats while Sophia and Irini were sitting around the table talking. The interior of the house had not changed in years but it still felt like every day the room shrunk. He knew it was the fact that all the sisters were getting larger but that did not stop the room from feeling small.
The second the door opened he saw Irini's head shoot up and she stood up almost as fast, immediately stopping her conversation with Sophia.
"Leo!" she cheered as she ran over to him and wrapped her wings around him.
He looked over and saw Vasil and Natassa wave at him and he waved back with one of his hands that was suck behind Irini.
"I'm back." Leo chuckled before patting Irini on the back.
When Irini eventually let go Sophia spoke up, "How were the lessons today?"
Leo sighed, "We're making progress, there's still a lot to learn. So much to cover and it doesn't look like we'll finish anytime soon."
Sophia smiled and waved her wing dismissively, "Don't worry about the time, you're still young."
"Still wish I could be doing more, but learning is something," Leo said.
That was the honest truth, one of the few times he had been honest with Sophia in all his years here. Despite all the learning he had done it still was not enough, he made his attempts to escape but Queen Sybil put more guards on watch for him so finding an opening was almost impossible.
Leo knew full well that she had no intention of letting him go, and that she thought Leo would willingly work with her to increase prosperity in her realm for the betterment of the monsters. She was delusional about that.
Leo would never work for the harpies. However, he had no objection to working with them. Humans working with monsters, he had no objection to bridging that gap. After all, humans possessed qualities that monsters could never have, such as the ability to use more than their natural element when it came to magic. While the monsters could perform physical tasks that humans could only dream of doing.
Not to mention the larger population would increase the amount of food produced and resources harvested. Along with increasing the market size for traders, and allowing artisans to specialize their goods for specific monsters inciting more innovation across the board. It would be a massive economic boom and prosperity would spike in the participating areas.
However, that was the ideal situation. If there was one thing he understood it was that radical change in short periods of time gets violent really quickly. People do not enjoy change and especially do not enjoy change that questions their way of life.
If Leo were to mold Queen Sybil's realm into one that accepted humans and treated them as equals there would be crusades upon crusades directed toward them. All for the legalization of heresy and the direct breaking of Illias' commandments. It could honestly get to the point where the constant hunt for the Monster Lord was put on hold just so they could put down Harpy's nation.
Messing with social reforms was a lot more enticing than messing with religion. Social reforms can make people angry but in time they will eventually get over it or accept it. However, messing with religion will only bring into question millennia of religious doctrine and faith. Even if Leo could find a flaw in the Church of Illias, similar to how Martin Luther wrote his ninety-five thesis and called out the Catholic Church. There would only be war and violence, just like what had happened on Earth.
It was terrifying, trying to find a way to bring the standing of humans up in the eyes of the monsters. So that they see them as more than just food and mates, and so that they start to see them as people rather than something to own and covet.
If the monster were able to overcome that boundary then the humans would be so much more likely to work with the monsters on small projects for the benefit of both. Over time those small projects would increase in size and eventually cohabitation of an area might be possible without violence.
The largest problem was breeding. Frankly, it was the main cause of everything. The lack of male offspring prevented a community of monsters from becoming self-sufficient, it forced the monsters to rely on other humans to reproduce so they could capture them and mate with them. Just as the harpies had done to Happiness village. Just as they had done to him.
Leo had centuries worth of work to do if he wanted to truly transform this world, into something where everyone could live peacefully and he only had one life to do it. One life to get the ball rolling so that the next generation could continue what he started. That's all in the hope that his progress isn't reverted when he's gone.
All he wanted was a better life for humans. It was not much to ask for, but it required completely revamping the thought process of monsters, or at the very least. The thought process of the Monster Lord and her Queens.
If nobody was going to try it then he would be the one to do it. Someone had to before humanity was pushed to the edge of extinction. The monster's existence as a whole was not sustainable, they were parasites. Either the humans would die out and the monsters would follow soon after, the monsters would die out, or they would learn to work together for the survival of both.
Regardless of the outcome, Leo knew the humans could not beat the monsters in a war if push came to shove. One unskilled, untrained monster could kill hundreds of untrained humans. While it took the most skilled warriors and heroes humanity had to offer to take down one Monster Lord.
If the monsters truly wanted humanity gone there was nothing the humans could do to stop it.
Leo tried to sleep as he had for the past few years but nothing he did worked. No breathing exercises, no counting sheep, nothing. He was too focused on home, on mother, and Maya.
Every now and then he would read a report from Happiness village and it would give him flashbacks to working on the farm and playing with Maya. His simple aspirations of revolutionizing the world with inventions from Earth.
But now everything was so much more complicated, so much harder. Nothing was black and white like he naively thought. He was not going to be able to sit back behind a research table and figure out inventions that would change the world. The monsters were not just some evil entity he would see in a book or movie, they had feelings and desires of their own.
He had to work towards preserving humanity before all was truly lost and the only way he could think about doing it was magic. The area he had the least knowledge of, and the one that gave him the greatest chance of solving the offspring question. Even if hundreds of monsters had tried, for all he knew a human had not tried and that was a chance he was willing to take.
Leo knew that if he got home mother could help him learn. Surely his father left behind some of his old spell books, something he could use to start learning.
Slowly he sat up from his bed mat and looked around, he needed to get outside and get some fresh air.
Leo saw Irini twitching like normal, slowly inching her way over to him like she did every night. Vasil and Natassa were still as rocks sleeping in their beds with their blankets covering their entire bodies minus the head. While Sophia was on her side facing opposite the door, he could not tell if she was asleep but he could only assume she was.
Before long Leo felt a feather brush against his leg, looking down he saw Irini's body twisting in ways that should not be possible. He could not help but lightly chuckle at the girl, she really did care about him and he found it so funny. She was the exception to the rule, a simple kid with a crush.
He knew Irini's ideals were more than her crush on him. She truly believed in fairness and that humans and monsters could work together, and live together. Irini wanted the world to all get along and live happily ever after. It was a noble goal, but she had no way of doing it by herself.
"...mmmh… Leo… Come here…" Irini softly spoke in her sleep.
Leo laughed internally. She was dreaming about him! He always wondered what went on in her head throughout the night so that she woke up twisted beyond belief. From the right angle, it almost looked like she was playing twister with herself.
She twisted some more and brought her other wing from under her and placed it on Leo's knee, "Leooo~." She groggily called out again.
He placed his hand on her wing in hopes of calming her down.
Only for her to quickly open her eyes and straighten herself out, pulling both of her wings back in the process.
Leo threw his head down while laughing, it took quite a bit of effort to keep it quiet in order to not wake everyone else up.
Irini kept staring at Leo and frowned before sitting up and wiping her eyes with her wings.
Once she was done Leo pointed toward the door with his thumb.
Irini nodded her head and the two of them slowly stood up and walked to the door. Leo looked back inside after the door was open and saw that everyone was still unmoving. He ushered Irini out before carefully closing the door behind him.
When Leo and Irini walked outside the light from the stars and the moon was all that illuminated the walkways. Everything else was pitch black and if Leo did not know exactly where the harpy guards were he would have never been able to spot them. He watched one of the harpies quietly fly to another post to give her a better view of Leo and Irini.
Leo sighed and silently shook his head, "I'll never get home at this rate."
Irini yawned, "But Leo, this is your home now. You told me you realized that a couple of years ago."
The two walked toward one of the bridges and sat with their feet dangling off the edge. The guard rope was significantly higher than their heads but it was enough for Leo to reach his hands up and hold onto it.
"At this point Irini, I've lived more than half my life in this village," Leo said while staring up into the sky, "You're the only person who makes this place feel like a home, but it's still not home to me."
Irini moved closer to Leo and placed one of her wings on his leg before looking at him, waiting for him to turn, "What can I do? How can I help you feel at home here? Just say the word and I'll do it."
He turned his head and looked Irini in the eyes, "I've known you longer than I've known my twin sister Irini. I can't think of anything you can do that you haven't already done. I appreciate it, all of it. But I'm a prisoner here and despite my privileges, they still treat me as one."
Leo pointed behind him to the harpy guard in her post, "You see her don't you? She moved closer to us the second we walked outside."
"But that's just her protecting us," Irini said, "She wants us to feel safe."
"She wants to keep other harpies safe. But she wants to make sure I don't run away again. Every time I tried to go run away one of them was there to drag me back here. Every. Single. Time." Leo said.
Irini frowned, "Maybe she's scared about you getting lost in the forest? Why don't you ask her to take you to Happiness Village?"
Leo dimly chuckled, "I wish it was that simple. I've tried asking. After my first few attempts, I asked If I could just visit my family and tell them I'm okay, nothing more nothing less. I wanted to reason with them and you know what they said?"
Irini tilted her head, "What?"
"Your family is here now."
Leo ran his hands through his hair, pulling slightly, "They disregarded them. They want me to act like Maya and Mom abandoned me. They want me to forget about it, but I can't. I need to see them so I can live my life. I'm tired of being a hostage here, I need to do something but every time I try it just fails."
Irini moved closer and hugged Leo, lightly stroking his head with her wing. He relaxed into her embrace and held her back, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Don't forget about them Leo," Irini said, "They'll always matter to you, and you know they didn't abandon you. Mama and Queen Sybil have their reasons to not like your mom, but they shouldn't take it out on you."
"I know they wouldn't," Leo said with his voice wavering, "but it still doesn't change the fact that they can't get me out and I can't leave. They probably think I'm dead at this point, that's probably what Mom told Maya."
"When we're older Leo I'll make sure to take you to them," Irini said determinedly.
"They'll kill you, you know that right?" Leo said slowly, "Mom would take out the blame on you, not even counting what the other villagers would do if they saw you."
"Then you'll convince them to not hurt me, I know they'll believe you," Irini said.
"That's if they even recognized it was me…" Leo said, "I've changed Irini, I'm a lot more different than I was when I was six. Taller, more defined, my face isn't the baby face it was before, and that'll only get worse with age. I'll look like a stranger to them."
"You have memories with Maya, just talk about those," Irini said, "I know Maya will remember her few moments with her brother. I have a memory of Vasil and Natassa that I always hold onto, so I'll never forget them."
Leo flashed back to when they first found Foxy in the forest. He was so concerned with protecting the two of them from the wild fox that he never thought about the fox being friendly. He always assumed she would either attack them or run away, so when she moved closer he was petrified.
Maya accepted the berries from Foxy while Leo was panicking that they were poisonous. Looking back on it he felt like a complete idiot and Maya had every right to make fun of him for it, but she never did. She just wanted to play with Foxy and they did just that, played with her every day until he was taken.
"Maya would never forget that, even if she forgot what I looked like. She would never forget meeting Foxy," Leo said softly.
"See, " Irini said, Leo could almost feel the smile on her face even if he could not see it. "She'll never forget you. You're her brother. I guarantee she's thought about you as much as you've thought about her."
Leo dimly laughed again, "I honestly felt at times that she couldn't function without me." His eyes hardened, "It's all the more reason I need to get back to her."
There was a long silence before Irini eventually let go of Leo and put her wings in her lap, looking outward toward the forest. "Do you even know where to go? If you got out."
Leo sighed, "I have an idea," He pointed to their left, "I have to run in that direction, it would eventually lead me to a road where I could find my way back. Harpy Village is secluded from other humans, there are no roads that a human would know about without traveling deep into the forest."
"Do you really think you can find that road? Would it be possible without another monster finding you?" Irini asked.
Leo shook his head, "I don't know, but it's a risk I have to take. I've studied the maps and I'm sure I'll find a road eventually. I just have to try it."
Irini looked down while fiddling with her wings, "...What if I helped you."
Leo's head shot up, "What did you say?"
She kept looking down, "What if I helped you get to Maya."
"You would really do that for me?" Leo asked skeptically.
He thought that no matter what Irini wanted him to stay here so he could be with her. Leo always assumed she would be one of the last people to get him out. After he figured out how much she liked him he threw out the option of asking her for help. He only went to her when he needed to vent or complain.
She was that outlet for him. It felt like he was taking advantage of her at times but every time he apologized, she insisted that he come to her again when he needed it.
"I want you to be happy Leo," she said, "I hate seeing you like this all the time. You look constantly frustrated or annoyed, or just sad. I hate it."
A tear started to flow down her face, "I want to see humans and monsters living together. Having fun, making memories… Not trapped and scared."
"Irini you have no idea how much that means to me," Leo said after grabbing onto the tip of her wings.
"Just Leo," Irini said slowly, "Promise me you'll come back… At some point."
Leo's ever-brightening grin started to dim and his head tilted down, "I… I can't make that promise. If I make it out and come back they'll just put me under lock and key."
He looked back up at Irini, "If things start to change, then I can promise I'll come here for you."
"I'll make that change!" Irini said with tears still in her eyes, "I'll make it so you can come back!"
Leo started to smile at her determination, "Please do Irini, I want to see that."
He sighed and raised his hands to wipe the tears from Irini's eyes, "We'll make that peaceful world. One step at a time."
"We can do it," Irini said before standing up on the bridge.
Leo followed and stood up as well, "Let's walk closer to the edge of the village, there's a tree I've jumped on before. Just distract the guard when she comes by, I know she's watching me so pay attention to her."
Irini nodded her head in response.
Leo watched the guard harpy move from one post to the next as they traveled. It was slow and quiet but she still continued to watch them. He knew the post on the far edge was further away than the other posts so once they were in position he just needed Irini to do her job.
Looking over he could see she was frightened. She shook every now and then but the determined look in her eyes was something that Leo took comfort in. She would not let him down here. Irini and he may be young physically compared to the guard harpy but he knew Irini was going to give it her all.
He just hoped it would be enough.
When they arrived at the bridge by the tree Leo sat down and went under the guard rope. Once he was cleared he stood up with his hands on the rope behind him, attempting to make it look like he was simply leaning on the rope.
Leo turned his head and saw the guard harpy watching them but not making a move. He could not tell if she was anticipating he would do something or not but waiting around to find out was not something Leo had in mind.
Leo took a deep breath to focus before looking down at the tree. It was around a two-meter drop which overall was not bad. However, if he missed the tree limb then it was around a six-meter fall if not more.
In theory, it was simple, just do not miss and hold on as best he could.
"Here we go," Leo said quietly before jumping off the bridge.
The limb came in fast as he expected it to and Leo reached out to throw his arms around the branch. He felt his hands and arms connect with the wood and he shifted to the center of the tree as fast as he could.
Leo made a good amount of noise landing on the tree but he did not hear the guard harpy fly to him. Maybe it was because Irini was blocking her line of sight. He thought the more likely option was that she was on her way Leo just could not hear her. The harpies could fly silently if they tried hard enough.
Once he reached the center of the tree he tried to place his feet on the sides to stabilize and slow himself down. Leo could feel his muscles pulling as he stretched his legs further than his body wanted them to go. But he made contact and inched his way down.
The progress was slow but he had to be, otherwise, he had the chance of breaking something if he fell. Leo could deal with being recaptured, there could always be another attempt at escape. But breaking something was a death sentence in this era.
Bit by bit Leo made his way down the tree until Leo felt he was able to safely drop down. Taking the chance he slowly let go with his legs and fell to the ground.
The second he landed he felt pain in his legs from the impact and fell on his back. It hurt, but it certainly was not the worst pain Leo's felt before.
"Leo! What are you doing!" A harpy shouted.
Shit. That was the guard. Leo still could not hear her wings but could clearly hear her voice from her station. He had to assume she was moving at lightning speeds like the last time he made an attempt.
Leo forced himself to his feet before sprinting toward the woods. He turned his head to see Irini rapidly flapping her blue wings while still on the bridge, ready to jump at any second.
He turned his head back to the forest and kept running. Running from his captors, running from these manipulators, running toward his future.
There were around one hundred meters of light trees left before the deep forest took hold of the area. He could see fallen branches in the forest and made sure to keep their location in mind so he would not fall on them. A stumble here would be the end of this attempt, his best attempt by far.
Leo took another glance back only to see the guard harpy diving down past the bridge. She was going at speeds he'd never seen a harpy go at, it almost looked like an arrow flying down from the sky aimed directly toward him.
The next thing Leo saw was Irini jumping into the air, flying in the path of the guard harpy. In one motion Irini managed to latch her wings onto the body of the harpy, causing her to lose balance and try to slow down her dive.
Only for her to try and use her wings to no avail. The guard harpy had locked them at her side in the dive, only for Irini to lock them in place when she grabbed onto her.
She slammed into the ground, leaving a trail of dirt behind her as she slid on top of the ground. With Irini on top of her.
Leo turned around toward the forest again ignoring the screams of pain coming from the harpy. He knew she broke something, and frankly, it might be a miracle if she survived. Harpies had lighter bones to allow for easier flight. That adaptation was good for increasing speed but in terms of withstanding damage, it made them a much more vulnerable species than most.
"Aida!" Another harpy shouted, "You two get the kid, I'll chase down Leo!"
This time Leo did not bother to look back. He heard the harpy loud and clear, and she was pissed. He forced his way into the forest and kept running, he tried to stay as low as possible to blend in with the trees and foliage but the noise he was making would just make it easier for her to find him.
Distance, or hiding. That was the question Leo had to answer and fast. Did he run further in hopes of creating more space, or did he jump down and hide in a bush? Hoping that the harpy would not find him.
Leo took another step before sliding down into a bush. He was small right now, he had to take advantage of that. His brown clothes helped to blend in with the trees and the canopy blocked a large portion of the moonlight. He was hidden, he just had to calm down his breathing.
Slowly in through the mouth, hold, slowly out through the nose.
"Leo enough of this game!" She shouted again, "We're going to find you and you'll be in big trouble. Aida got hurt pretty bad from this, don't you feel ashamed?"
Slowly in through the mouth, hold, slowly out through the nose.
"Leo run! Get away!" Irini shouted.
Leo could hear the struggles in her voice, the other guard harpies were locking her down fast. He just hoped she would not get punished too much for what she did. But he could not worry about her right now, he could worry when he had the time to worry.
He heard the guard harpy land outside the forest. The second she started walking through Leo could hear the rustling of grass, bushes, and smaller branches. Taking the opportunity she made with the noise, he pulled himself further under a bush and into as small a ball as he could make his body.
"This isn't funny Leo, Queen Sybil will not be happy when she hears about this," She said.
Slowly in through the mouth, hold, slowly out through the nose. His breathing started to slow down but it still was rough.
Eventually, it came to the point where Leo swore he saw her legs. She was practically on top of him, then she stopped moving.
"This is your last chance to come out before I rip you out and punish you myself. You don't have your right to chastity anymore. Not out in these woods," She said.
Leo held his breath, he would rather die. Please walk away, please walk further into the forest, please walk away from him.
His lungs started to burn before long, the sprinting did not help him hold his breath and it felt like someone set his lungs on fire. But he kept holding and holding.
"You'll wish you never tried this. You should have just stayed with your little girlfriend in the village," She said, anger clear in her voice.
She started walking, slowly walking.
Leo's lungs felt like they were going to burst.
Footstep, after footstep. The minor rustling did not give a hint as to where she went, only the fact that something was moving. She could still be right on top of his for all he knew.
He felt his mouth open but covered his mouth with his hand to mitigate the noise. It was not loud but he just had to hope it was quiet enough for her to not hear.
Leo just had to get his breathing back under control fast, slowly in through the mouth, hold, slowly out through the nose.
More rustling, he kept hearing rustling. But this time he swore it was getting quieter. Maybe she really was walking away from him.
Was this it? Was this his breakthrough?
He did not move for several minutes before he slowly peaked his head out from under the bush.
Leo saw the harpy off in the distance, moving through the foliage. She was gone! Not fully but gone far enough away so he could slowly move.
Quickly turning around to gauge his direction from the village he adjusted himself and began to crawl. Slowly but surely he started inching his way away from the village. Taking advantage of the night sky and the thick canopy.
He still had to be cautious, by morning he was certain that harpies would be covering the sky in a search to find him.
But for now, he just had to take what he had and start moving.
His chance at true freedom was here, and he would be damned if he messed this up.