The pair spend the rest of the ride in a semi-uncomfortable silence, neither able to find something to break it. It is not until Ausren is standing on the edge of the forest, head raised and tail swishing softly behind him, that the boy manages to speak.
"Thank you, Ren. I'll be careful," Leo murmurs, carefully swinging his leg over the dragon's back. With one foot free, Leo kicks the other out of the stirrup and drops lightly to the ground. Whatever Ausren's soul did to him, it enhanced his agility along with his senses.
With the human safely on the ground, Ausren lowers his head to come level with him. "I will come if you need me. Remember that you are no longer alone."
Smiling faintly, Leo reaches up and coils his arms around the prince's head, hugging the dragon tightly. "Try not to worry about me, please. I don't want to cause you any anxiety. I promise I can take care of myself. Worst comes to worst and I'll simply slip back out and come to you."
Ausren huffs softly, ruffling the boy's shirt. "I'll trust you, Leonidas," he murmurs.
Leo touches his forehead to the dragon's and releases the prince. "Goodbye, Ausren. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
Ausren lifts his head, turning to look at the fort for a moment. Eventually, he turns back to the human and replies, "Goodbye, Riorra."
Walking out onto the snow-covered empty expanse, the human gives the waiting prince a wave and finishes, "Don't wait up! I'll be safe!"
With that, the boy turns and jogs across the clearing, hurrying to get across before a bored watchman could catch sight of him. The day is bright and the expanse is very open, leaving him exposed. However, as a soldier that has been assigned watch duty many times, he knows how boring it is. Mostly, he knows, you spend the days staring at the sky trying to spot wayward dragons. Only once and a while do you bother to spare a glance for the ground.
Hopefully, he can get to the wall and out of sight before they realize he's there.
Scurrying across the empty space, the human can feel as Asuren turns and bounds back up the slope, his mind rapidly receding. Good. At the very least the dragon will be out of danger.
Without incident, Leo makes it back through the damaged wall. On the other side, he takes a moment to ground himself. He has to remember that he's back with his human companions, the ones that believe him to be worthless and cowardly. Including his own brothers.
If only they knew what he has accomplished so far. The first human in one hundred years to make peace with a dragon. The first to ride a dragon.
Fear pushed aside by a solid sense of smugness, Leo brushes himself off, double checks that his markings are properly hidden, and steps off into the fort. If Cecil hasn't managed to screw everything up, anyone not on guard duty should be running drills in the courtyard right now, under the strict watch of the commanding officer… a Black Rank officer by the name of Fjero. As a black rank office, Fjero answers to Golden rank generals like Cecil, the Lords of keeps, and the High King himself. Needless to say, he's a very good soldier and displeased with his placement at Dismal Fort. As such, his training regimens are something no one looks forward to. But they keep soldiers on their toes and well disciplined.
Leo's never particularly liked Fjero, but he's never hated him. The man is good at his job, nothing more and nothing less. He's fair and he's level-headed.
The problem is Cecil. He used to be quite loving and protective. Now he's… not.
Making his way out from behind the main keep and past the butcher's barn, Leo glances out at the large courtyard as he aims for the barracks. He's been dismissed from his duties, meaning he no longer has anything to do but sit on his hands and wait for summons.
The soldiers are indeed collected in the courtyard but… that doesn't look like a normal formation for running drills. The many humans are clustered in a loose semi-circle around Cecil himself. Leo would not know who was being surrounded, if not for the very loud and familiar voice snarling angrily from an unseen source. Whatever's happening, Cecil's angry and broadcasting it to the entirety of the fort.
Am I supposed to be a part of this? Leo asks silently, and hesitantly starts across the courtyard. As he approaches, the indistinct yelling starts to become clear. Not clear enough for whole sentences, but Leonidas can gather the drift. The prince is still alive, he's out there and injured, he needs to be exterminated, what sort of training is happening here that a soldier would dare retreat from a dragon, and on and on and on.
Why blame the training, you coward, Leo thinks, scowling furiously. It's no one's fault but my own that Ausren is alive. Say it to my face and leave the rest of them out of it.
By now he has reached the edge of the crowd and gently pushes his way forward. As he makes his way through the crowd, Cecil finally stops his shouting and pauses for a moment, seeming to collect his thoughts.
It is enough of a pause to allow Leonidas to come to the front of the crowd.
Cecil is standing near the main gate, hands on his hips and dark green eyes furious. Beside him, Ruhban is standing with his head lowered. On his other side, Fjero is standing, barely hiding his look of absolute disgust.
At least Cecil is unpopular in some circles.
As Leo settles his weight on one leg, Cecil begins addressing the crowd once again. There is no doubt he missed Leo's approach.
"Now, I think I've made my point clear. I expect you to be in top shape when I return in two months' time. For now, I am going to go myself and kill that dragon prince. I'll add his head next to his brother's on my wall."
A stab of surprising fury racks Leo at that sentence, but he keeps his mouth shut. Good luck with that, brother. Your prize is no longer injured.
"And now that he has deigned to join us," Cecil's eyes flick down to Leo and pin him with a stare. It is an effort not to return it with every ounce of growing rage in his chest, so the boy just lowers his gaze to Cecil's boots instead. "I'll be taking Leonidas with me. I believe in giving him a chance to redeem himself before I bother to report this insubordinace to the High King himself. Leonidas, get up here and present yourself."
Leo steps forward, walking directly up to Cecil but refusing to make eye contact. It is better to look meek than let the newfound courage raging within him be seen.
Lowering his voice, Cecil snarls, "You better behave yourself, Leonidas. I won't bother to help you, should the prince get ahold of you. I don't take kindly to people letting our mortal enemies survive. You should be grateful that I'm not having you hanged."
So he knows, then, Leo thinks. He knows I let Ausren go. Of course he does, he knows how good I am with a sword. He's known me for twelve years.
"Cecil," Ruhban says quietly, his voice shaking. Immediately, Leo turns his attention to his twin, worried. Cecil better not have done anything to the younger twin. If he did, there will be hell to pay.
"You know as well as I do that I am incapable of killing," Leo murmurs in reply, not wanting to put Ruhban in the line of fire. "You shouldn't have put me in that position to start with. I almost died."
Cecil steps forward, nearly nose-to-nose with his brother now. His voice little more than feral, he growls, "I presented you the opportunity to join me at the High King's side. I gave you that dragon on a silver platter, hoping you would get over your embarrassing cowardice. And yet you failed to even drive a sword through an immobile dragon's heart. You proved yourself a coward, a traitor, and a failure. Hopefully, that dragon will tear you into bloody ribbons before I have to kill it."
Leo fights the urge to flinch and recoil. Ausren has proved all of what Cecil is saying false. It still hurts, though. Yet it is proving to bring more rage than pain, which is odd. Perhaps that is a side-effect of Ausren's soul as well.
I wish I was with him, Leo murmurs silently. Instead of taking this barrage.
"Cecil!" Ruhban yelps this time, taking a step forward to grab his eldest brother.
Before he can, Cecil whirls on him, gauntleted hand raised and ready to strike, and spits, "Did I ask you to speak?"
Leonidas moves without realizing he has, his hand snapping shut on Cecil's wrist and stopping his strike. Making direct eye contact with Cecil, Leo squeezes his grip slightly, and snarls lowly, "Don't you dare touch him."
Any ounce of fear or shame is immediately dispelled by a wave of howling anger.
No one touches Ruhban.
For a moment, Cecil just stares at his brother, something like trepidation flashing through his eyes. Is he… afraid of me?
Whack!
Leo lets go of his brother out of pure shock, the force of the blow registering before the pain. Cecil hit him… he actually hit him. The backhanded blow meant for Ruhban collides with Leonidas's face instead, delivered by the other gauntleted hand unsecured by Leo's own.
"Don't you talk to your commanding officer like that," Cecil snaps.
Then the pain hits, causing a low growl to slip from Leo's throat. It stings, more than anything, his face now bleeding from a gash in his cheek. It brings reflexive tears, making the boy blink to clear his vision.
Ruhban, now forgotten by Cecil, is staring at his brothers in horrified astonishment. Cecil has never struck either of them, has never even threatened. Until today, where both of them were put in danger.
Good, Leo thinks. Good, Ruhban. Look at him and see the monster that is there. He is no longer the brother we love. He's changed.
But, as always, Ruhban makes no move to go to Leo, makes no move to reproach his brother, makes no move to defend his twin. He just stands there, shocked and quiet. If someone has hit Ruhban, not only would Leonidas be in the middle of the fight, he'd be front and center to comfort his brother, regardless of the circumstances and regardless of the consequences. Leonidas would fight the entirety of the fort if he had to, to protect his twin.
Obviously, the feeling is not mutual.
Who is the actual coward here?
As Leo reaches up to touch his injured face, Cecil snaps something at Ruhban that has the youngest twin scurrying backward. Then, raising his voice, Cecil yells, "Bring the hounds! And a sword for this buffoon!" Turning back to Leonidas, Cecil growls, "You can't even bother to come prepared?"
Rip out his throat, a tiny voice hisses in the back of Leo's mind, shocking him into momentary silence. Which, apparently, Cecil takes as a quiet embarrassment, for he rolls his lip up in disgust and turns to yell something else.
Where did that come from? The actual want to defend his own honor, to step up and challenge Cecil? For all his inability to kill, Leo knows, deep down, that when it comes down to a fight between the two brothers, Cecil will not come out on top. It might be close, but Leonidas possesses a raw talent that Cecil does not.
As the massive gates start to open, braying can be heard from the stables. The hunting dogs have been let loose.
Watching the space between the wooden gates begin to widen, Leo finds himself scowling. He promised Ausren not to get hurt, and here he is with a wound. He tried to stay out of trouble and now here he is with hunting dogs filing out with his crazed brother to find the Crown Prince of Solardwin.
How in the world did I get here?
And how in the world is he going to keep the dogs from finding Ausren?
Suddenly, the commotion reaches him, the hounds braying as they bolt past. And then a small page boy runs up with a sword balanced in his arms. Before Cecil can snap at him, Leo takes the sword and starts out into the wilderness after the dogs.
Whatever happens, it won't end well.
All Leo can do is follow along and hope Ausren can avoid the dogs long enough to make Cecil give up. And if the two confront each other, well, he's still not sure which side he'll take. The brother who has apparently cast him aside, or the dragon who found worth in him. It's not an easy choice.
As the boy passes Ruhban, the younger twin looks up and murmurs, "Leo--"
Leonidas lets his gaze slide to his twin, who flinches and immediately stops his speech. Instead, Ruhban's gaze finds the ground and he cringes, but doesn't bother to finish his sentence.
For a moment, a dark anger enters Leo's chest, but he forces it down quickly. It's not fair, perhaps, to blame everything on Ruhban.
"I'll see you later," Leo murmurs, passing his brother.
"Alright," Ruhban whispers in response, his gaze never leaving the ground.
Giving his twin one last glance, the boy walks out into the snow, then turns and calls to Cecil, "Are you coming?" Of course, he knows that riling his already angry brother probably isn't the best idea, but that new and savage part of him can't help it.
Perhaps Ausren has had a larger effect on me than I thought.
Cecil, stalking through the gates already, surprisingly doesn't even bother to react. He seems to have fallen into a pit of deep thought and is dead to the world otherwise.
Sighing softly, Leo wraps the sword belt around his waist, situates the cloak on his back, and leads the way into the forest after the dogs. Already a hundred yards in front of the two humans, the braying hounds race through the trees, desperately searching out a scent. Perhaps they'll pick up on that blue dragon's scent instead of Ausren's.
It's doubtful, but it might happen. It can't hurt to hope, right?
After struggling through the snow for nearly an hour in uncomfortable silence, the boys finally come to a small clearing in the woods, and Cecil speaks.
"Leonidas," Cecil murmurs, his voice surprisingly weak. Leo, still in the forward position, pauses and turns toward his older brother. To his utter shock, Cecil looks… nearly devastated.
Tilting his head curiously, Leo murmurs, "What?"
Cecil takes a deep breath, then holds out his hand and demands, "Give me your sword."
A dark feeling slithers through the younger brother, and Leonidas takes a cautious step back. "Why?" Leo asks softly.
"I gave you an order," is Cecil's only response.
For a moment, Leo simply stares his brother down, contemplating the order. Is Cecil trying to get him killed by Ausren? Why in the world would Cecil want to disarm him otherwise?
Well, if you think Ausren's going to kill me, you're sadly mistaken, Leo thinks, reaching to unbuckle his belt. Then, with the sword freed from his waist, Leonidas walks forward and gently places the weapon in his brother's hand. For a moment, both boys simply stare at the sword.
Cecil breaks the silence by flinging the sword off to the side, the motion fast and violent. Startled, Leo jumps a pace back, nearly losing his footing in the deep snow.
Alright, so now the sword's gone. But why? Why exactly did Cecil disarm his brother?
"Cecil…" Leo starts, staring at where the sword lays, nearly buried in the snow. However, as his gaze travels back to his brother, he lets his question fall off for, slowly, Cecil draws his own weapon.
Oh, Leonidas thinks with a detached certainty, He's going to kill me.
It didn't even cross his mind that Cecil would ever think to harm him. The implicit trust he has in his brother would not allow such a thought to occur. Cecil is his protector, the brother who became like a father to him. The one person who had never, until such a short time ago, given up on him.
For a second, the boys stare at each other, across just a few feet that feels like an endless expanse. Cecil, for his credit, is now nearly crying.
"I'm sorry," Cecil murmurs and steps forward. In that simple movement, he closes the distance between them and brings the sword around in an expert stroke.
Leo watches the movement as if in slow motion.
This isn't happening. This… isn't happening. Cecil… he's my big brother. He wouldn't… he wouldn't dare…
It is instinct that saves his life as the blade flashes toward him. His rational mind, too caught up in the utter betrayal happening before his eyes, takes a moment to realize he's moved. In a jerking movement, he steps back, stumbling in the snow. The very tip of Cecil's sword catches in the cloth of his cloak, ripping it open and deflecting the blade enough that just the tip scratches across the boy's throat.
Somewhere in the distance, the dogs' braying can be heard. And somewhere deep in Leo's mind, that overwhelming consciousness wakes.
Reaching up, mind still reeling and trying to catch up to reality, Leo places his hand on his bleeding throat. The wound is superficial, thanks to the cloak. But it still stings.
He did. He actually tried to kill me. He would have killed me if I didn't move. Cecil… Cecil just tried to kill me.
"Why?" Leo speaks the thought out loud, even as something in his chest tears open. He is plummeting, falling through layers of emotion he can't even begin to understand. "What… what did I do?"
"You know as well as I do," Cecil whispers, his voice cracking. "You let that dragon live. You're too skilled to have just lost. You let it live. You compromised us all. You… Leo you… you're too weak. I'm sorry."
Cecil advances another step, and Leo concedes the distance to him, stepping back. This time, however, his foot hits a patch of ice under the snow, and suddenly he is falling. He hits hard on his back, yelping in surprise as suddenly his footing is gone.
Cecil wastes no time, moving forward and raising the sword over his brother. He is crying in earnest now, staring down at his brother with tears running down his face.
What did I do?
"Cecil--" Leo tries, raising an arm between himself at the tip of that wicked sword. Fear is now thick in his head, clouding any rationality.
"Shut up!" Cecil snaps, the sword jerking down a foot or so. Leo recoils into the snow, cringing against the threat. "Be quiet, Leonidas. Don't make this any harder than it already is."
Staring at the thing above him, the realization finally hits the boy. The dark thing he had seen in his brother's eyes… that's what this is. This is no longer Cecil, the brother I knew. This is something dark and demented.
"I'm sorry," Cecil says again, through the sobs shaking his body. "I'm so sorry, Leonidas. But you've always been… so weak. You've never stood up for yourself, you've never been able to kill. You have to be able to kill, or you can never protect what you love. You've always had to rely on me for protection… you couldn't kill that dragon prince and you jeopardized us all in the process. I can't let it go on. I have to… I have to protect future generations. I have to protect any legacy I might have… that you might have. You are not strong enough to protect them from suffering. You'd rely on someone else… I have to… I have to cull the herd."
He collapses around the blade, raising it to full height. He's ready… ready to kill his younger brother.
Rage snaps down Leo's spine, startling in its intensity.
This is because I am weak? I have ridden on the back of a dragon. I am faster and stronger than you will ever be. What about our other siblings? Will you kill Yanera and Ruhban too, when you decide they are weak? Is this what you call mercy?
The confusion and terror seem to melt away, giving the rage its hold.
I may have never stood up for myself, but when you left me with our two younger siblings I stepped up and protected them. I am not weak.
Cecil, preoccupied with his own feelings, doesn't notice as the terror on his brother's face turns to a savage bearing of teeth.
Somewhere in the distance, a savage roar can be heard.
"I'm so sorry, Leonidas. Please, please understand that this is for the good of everyone you love. I'll tell them you died with honor," tears slide freely down the eldest brother's face as he stares and stares at his sword. "I have to do this. I have to. And… and now…" the eldest brother pants, "I guess there really is no one left to protect you."
Squeezing his eyes shut tight, Cecil raises the sword another inch, before slamming it down into his brother's chest.
For a moment, the sword moves, and then, with a bone-jarring impact, it stops. Confused, Cecil looks down, horrified that his aim was off and that he hit a rib. He has no intention of torturing his brother. He just wants a clean, swift kill.
However, as he glances down, he finds that the sword didn't hit bone. In fact, it never even made contact with skin. Instead, the sparkling silver blade is gripped tightly by a hand covered in black scales.
Staring up the blade at his eldest brother, green eyes ablaze with something close to hate, Leonidas opens his mouth and bares fangs at Cecil.
"I can protect myself," Leonidas snarls. He pushes his brother back using the sword as leverage, still gripped tightly in his scaled hand. The blade didn't even succeed in scratching the protective layer the black scales provide.
Slowly, forcing Cecil off of him, Leonidas stands in front of his brother, panting heavily. Rage laces his bones; pushes against the oily betrayal and demands retribution.
Cecil, for his part, only stares, his tears forgotten. Then, his voice low with horror, he breathes, "What are you?"
"What I have always been," Leonidas snarls back, ignoring the shaky hollowness those words strike in his heart. It is time to stop being a coward. It is time to teach this wretch that he is no longer in control. Mercy is not weakness. "I'm your baby brother."
And with that, Leonidas lunges forward, easily flicking the sword to the side, and erupts.
Magic, as bright green as Leonidas's eyes, crackles down his scaled arm and arcs for his brother. It hits the blade of Cecil's sword and bolts up it into his hand.
With a surprised shriek, the eldest brother drops the sword, doubling up over his hand. Before he can recover, Leonidas is there, grabbing him by the front of his armor and taking him to the ground. Despite his injury, Cecil is still one of the top-ranked fighters in the entire nation, and he will not go down so easily.
Drawing a short knife from his thigh, Cecil slashes at his brother, attempting to drive him back long enough to regain his feet. Magic crackles and the blade is once again shocked from his hand, leaving a stinging burn in its wake.
And then Leo's clawed hand closes on Cecil's throat.
Staring down at his brother, Leo watches with a detached fascination as Cecil immediately turns to try to get the pressure off his throat.
"I am not weak," the youngest brother growls. "And even if I was, that gives you no license to kill me." He trails off for a moment, staring down his arm at his gasping brother. Cecil is strong, not strong enough to throw his brother off, but strong. Feeling something in his chest crack and give way, Leo whispers, his voice breaking, "I'm your brother. I… I love you. Why… why--"
Through the trees an earth-shaking roar comes, knocking snow off the branches of nearby trees.
"Riorra!"
Ausren.
Immediately, Leonidas releases his brother, whatever spell of rage that had settled over him immediately broken. Cecil arcs under him, gasping for air
Pushing himself up off of his brother, Leo stands and brushes the lingering snow from his trousers. Then, for just a moment, he watches as his older brother rolls over, still desperately dragging oxygen into his lungs.
I nearly killed him.
He deserved it.
Now what?
There are only two options now. Finish the job and kill his brother, blame it on Ausren, and retain his position with the humans. Or leave his wretched kin alive and leave Ruhban alone with him. There will be no going back to the fort after this. Leo's secret is out, and his twisted brother is most certainly going to spill some sort of lie to everyone.
If I leave now, I will never be able to return to my fellow humans. I will be cast out forever. If I kill him, I can keep everything.
Leo takes just a moment longer to stare at his brother, who has now managed to make it to his hands and knees. Then, softly, the younger brother growls, "You don't deserve to live. Not after what you've done."
And with that, Leonidas turns and strides across the clearing, aiming for the trees that will bring him to Ausren. Ruhban has made his choice, and Leo will find some way to protect him. But for now, he will go to his dragon and run.
For now, he will be selfish.
Each step toward the trees hollows out a corner of his heart, the rage draining away and leaving nothing but an empty silence in its wake.
And the only words in that pit in his chest are: Somehow, I betrayed him. So badly he'd want to kill me. Is sparing a life really so horrible to him?
As Leo steps into the trees, walking calmly toward the howling hounds, he hears the softest of sounds behind him. Cecil's back on his feet.
Then, a quiet crack echoes through the forest.
Leonidas whirls, knowing that sound much too well. He spins, just in time to watch a crossbow bolt jump from the bow in Cecil's hands and spear for his heart.
And then, snow is flying around him, wind hitting his side so hard he nearly loses his footing, and there is a wall of scales between him and the killing shot.
Ausren.