(Ophelia)
***
I could practically hear the gleeful surprise in Leo's tone as the low swooshing of wings approached. He was en route to Koharu and I's little bubble of happiness, making us ready to collide and pop at any second.
I broke away from her, standing just the perfect distance from her so that Leo would zip right between us. We didn't need any broken bones after the number of fights we had gotten into.
As I predicted, he zoomed right past us, almost slamming into the wall. He made a quick u-turn before shooting directly towards me. I had to brace myself.
*Plant my feet on the ground, keep them shoulder-width apart, and…*
"Fifi!"
There was a loud thump as Leo hugged me like the youthful leech he was; somehow, the impact was more subtle than I would have guessed to the point I was more worried about his wings smacking me than his body.
His embrace was smothering, and my face dug into his chest due to his height. (I sometimes forgot he was quite a bit taller than me. He seemed much tinier.) I felt like I was being strangled, but I didn't say anything, accounting for the fact he likely thought I was dead or "permanently missing".
*Ah, euphemisms.*
"I… I didn't think I was going to see you again. How's your grouchy butt been doing?"
His tone shifted so quickly that it was jarring, but I had to laugh at it as he moved away. I didn't think he was a hugger.
"There's no stick up it—if that's what you're asking." I shook my head as I glanced at the stony ground. "I didn't think I was going to either."
With a sweet expression, Leo closed his eyes and snorted. "Was the field trip fun?"
It was obvious he was trying far too hard on his jokes. There was a lot on his mind, and his gestures weren't as flamboyant or fluid as usual.
"Can't wait to tell you all about it. Got to see the county jail."
He laughed. "For what? Having an attitude?"
I flicked him on the arm. "You'd wish."
"I don't have to wish when I have magic." He snickered and held up a hand with a flame in it. "This is neat."
"Kinda hot—if you ask me."
Koharu watched us with a pleased smile, and she decided to join our chat. "You don't have to play the jealousy game back at me," she joked. "I'm not going anywhere."
Reaching to grab her hand, I then kissed one of her fingers. "I know, love."
Leo's eye appeared as if it would twitch, yet his reaction wasn't as violent as most of his were.
I shifted my gaze to him and asked, "You're not going to gag?"
While pouting, he looked to the ceiling. "I *could*, but then, I'm just a hypocrite. Actually, that's kind of my middle name."
I checked to the left and right before whispering, "It's Sinclair, right?"
His eyes went wide, and he poked my arm with his other hand over his mouth. "Shut up, Lia."
"Tell me when I can stand on the table to act out your let—"
I stopped talking when a head poked out of the hatch like a ghastly mole in the ground. The figure's hair was jet black, and the person had a lackadaisical attitude until his eyes were revealed.
*I guess spotting someone goes both ways.*
I only had time to process his odd amber irises before Akiyoshi perked up and sped up the hatch.
"Haru?"
*Gee, thanks for ignoring me. Though, I know you miss your sister.*
So rapidly that I believed him to be possessed, he ran up to Koharu. He was always slow and calculated, but he let himself go then just to see his sister. Grabbing her shoulders, he slid hands down to her biceps.
His face was usually tense and stoic, but that was one of the few times he smiled. It was a sweet and sublime expression on him, and he didn't seem like the brooding boy he was before.
"You're really here," he said to her softly. He then wrapped his arms around her, placing them tenderly over her arms and looping them around her back so that his fingers were loosely clasped. "I missed you so much, Haru. I'm sorry for…"
The words he could not say lingered on his tongue as they faded in volume, and I wondered what the rest of that sentence was supposed to be—if it ever even consolidated into a coherent thought.
Koharu rubbed his back, her voice almost cracking when she replied, "You don't have to apologize. Are you crazy, Aki? I'm so glad to see you, too."
Akiyoshi took a small gulp. Then, I saw the small vibrations of his muscles. As he clung to thin arms, he did not say a word back. Everyone knew his actions meant countless words from anyone else.
Hikaru and Inei quietly appeared behind him while Sinclair joined Leo's side wordlessly, brushing a shoulder against him.
"Haru," Inei began, eyes shiny and wet, "I can't believe it. I…"
With a gulp, he joined the group hug of the siblings. "I'm so sorry about how I treated you and your brother all those years."
"As am I," Hikaru stated with shame as he watched the rest of his family have a solemn moment without disturbance.
Inei moved away. "We were terrible parents to do that, and it was because of our negligence this happened." He paused to inhale and collect his thoughts. "We want to do better for you in the future."
"If we hadn't restricted the two of you so much, then nothing would have been done behind our backs. I'm equally sorry about this," Hikaru added. "I hope you both will forgive us. You, too, Ophelia."
The two parents were about ready to cry, but they hesitated, leaving a question up in the air.
*Why does it feel like I missed ten chapters of a story in a way?*
Akiyoshi answered first after backing away from Koharu. His voice became cold but was laced with sadness.
"I know you apologized to me before, and I can see you're trying to change. However, I don't know how easily I can forgive." A dark air hovered around his features. "I can always be appreciative, though. I've been incredibly stressed most of my life because of everything, and this doesn't change that."
"Son, you have a mind of your own on that. I respect that and how you feel about this." Lacking (or at least, hiding) any resentment, Inei walked up to him and grabbed his hand.
"I think I'm more willing to forgive," Koharu said, though her voice was reluctant and stiff, "but I'm still upset. I don't think you ever meant anything bad."
*How are you not madder? If I were a kid of his, I would bitch him out!*
A thought hit her as evidenced by her mouth gaping. "Does this mean…?"
After an awkward chuckle like he avoided a predicament, Hikaru answered, "That you can leave freely now? Yes, it does. The curse was broken by Algor." He looked around. "Where did he go?"
"Algor?" Koharu's face contorted into a disgusted expression, so visibly hurt by the confession that she looked ready to lash out despite her conciliatory words; however, the gentle lines of peace were drawn on her face at the realization that she would be able to leave her prison at last. "That's who it was? No wonder he disappeared so long ago."
Hikaru nodded to his daughter.
"He snuck out a few minutes ago, Your Highness. I don't know how, but he's a crafty one," Sinclair responded. They were their usual formal self, and their almost flat words balanced the tension around them.
Akiyoshi was equally shocked by Hikaru's news. "I can get out of here now…?"
Inei nodded. "Not that you weren't already by going to that damned trench, but—"
"You knew about that?"
Inei pointed to Akiyoshi's head. "Parental intuition?" He shrugged. "I never felt like saying anything unless you brought a lover out there."
Koharu interjected with a concerned voice, "Akiyoshi, your eyes… Why are they not green?"
*That's been bothering me ever since he had his Groundhog Day moment…*
"What are you saying?" Focusing on a single feature of hers, he countered by saying, "Yours aren't either, Haru."
Glancing to the side, I was so flustered earlier by my *unfortunate* hand placement that I didn't notice her irises changed from a plant-like green to an earthy brown. The color was vivid and nearly glowed like a crystal, and I thought about how it suited her lively but contemplative personality so much better.
*Yet it still might take some getting used to.*
Leo floated in the air with his chin between his hands. By then, he was being his quirky self to some extent.
"It was the spell. It did some weird tornado thing with the eyes that went *whoosh*."
"Wonderful description," I added as he spun in the air.
Sinclair glanced up at him with a half-grin.
"Anyway," Leo added while clapping his hands after all the emotional conversation, "I think we need to celebrate, yeah?"
"Not again!" Akiyoshi grumbled. "This isn't going to be a repeat of the inauguration—"
"I'll help," Sinclair said, and the two kings joined them to form a triad of voices.
Akiyoshi sighed. "Fine."
"Thank goodness!" Koharu cheered as she quickly grew contented. "Roslynn forgot to give me my alcohol and songbook, anyway. I need a distraction from that."
"Actually, Aries took your brandy," I said to her, and she gave a look of revolt as if the fairy were a traitor.
"Who the fuck are Aries and Roslynn?" Leo yelled.
Sinclair poked him on the cheek. "I don't think it matters, Lele. Let's get their party together."
Although his face turned a slight red, his mood dropped.
"Yeah… Party time."
Leo raised an oddly calm fist beside a toothy smile. I didn't completely get what the deal between those two was, but they seemed like they had an argument or something. They were far too attracted to each other for anything else to have kept them apart.
Anyway, in the wise words of Leo: It was party time!