Purity in the Stars *Maleficent: Mistress of Evil- Udo Love Story*

Chapter Twenty Nine: War Cry

Percival rowed the small boat until the water turned too shallow to trek through anymore.
Percival set the oars back onto the bottom of the wooden structure, eyeing Yuna through his thick hood.
"Stay here." He instructed.
Yuna nodded obediently and watched as Percival swung himself out of the boat.
The general hissed as the icy ocean seeped into his boots and the ankle linings of his slacks, and Yuna winced for him.
Even from the remote part of the island Percival had steered them towards, Yuna could still hear the rambunctious leers and shouts that could only belong to the visitors of Certos.
'Oh boy.'
The aid of thick fog helped them in their sneaky arrival, and the harsh pouring of rain covered any suspicious sounds as a storm threatened to break.
With an adrenaline filled shout, Percival tugged the boat until it banked in the sand while Yuna held on for the ride.
She jolted when the boat did; grateful that Percival was courteous and athletic enough to be up for the task.
They'd only rowed for less than half an hour, but Yuna doubted she'd be able to make the paddle in one trip without crashing from exhaustion. She probably couldn't even steer the boat, with how wild the waves were becoming.
Diaval squawked from her shoulder as Yuna rose from the boat, graciously accepting Percival's hand as she stepped out of it.
She immediately sunk into the wet sand, huffing in annoyance as the rain continued to beat down on them like a constant swarm of insects.
Their surroundings consisted of thick palms trees forming their own tropical jungle, and a broken down and uninhabited dock.
Percival made sure he would row them around the back of the island, where activity and parties were scarce and it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to see an abandoned boat or two. They'd need to go up a small sandy hill to trek through the short and hot jungle, leading into god knows what Certos had to offer.
The island wasn't large at all; perhaps ten miles, at most. The main draw of Certos were the taverns and entertainment halls. A singular inn that saw more hookups and back alley bargains that actual service was also on Certos, and that was really all the undisciplined island had to offer.
It was easy to see the appeal for unruly pirates and partying folk, really.
Yuna breathed in the scent of sea and rain; steady and determined.
'We're finally here.'
She breathed out.
'As is Azazel...Leo...'
"I'll set out first." Percival stated, fastening his sword in its holster beneath his cloak.
"If we enter in together, it could compromise our entire cover. I'll be first to scout; wait five minutes, and then follow."
He instructed seriously, locking eyes with Yuna to be sure that the girl fully understood.
Again, Yuna nodded;
"Alright." She agreed.
Percival held eye contact with Yuna for a few more moments before approaching her. From his side, he reached out to her;
"Take this with you."
The item in question was a curved dagger; no doubt royally issued.
Yuna looked at the metal with a curious gaze. She was obedient in taking the heavy weapon from the general, but still questioned nonetheless;
"Mina already gave me a gun." She noted,
"Is this necessary?"
Percival grunted.
"The hooligans on this island will have every type of gun, sword, explosive, throwing star and magical cursed tome you can think of." He chuckled under the tense atmosphere.
"Better to have a dagger on you. You won't always have time to pull out a gun and cock it, you know."
Percival seemed to hesitate before adding in the last bit;
"...It'll also bring me some peace of mind. Please."
He whispered.
In response, Yuna opened up her cloak to reveal the holstered belt that her sister had lent her. A gun to one side, Yuna tucked the dagger into the other.
She pat the leather casing satisfactorily;
'Well, wouldn't want to be the loser at the party with only one gun, would I?'
"Thank you, Percival." She whispered sincerely.
The man filled with relief at Yuna's acceptance.
He nodded, taking a few steps from both the beached boat and Yuna.
"Just...try to avoid any situations where you might have to actually use it." He cautioned one last time.
Percival looked towards the welcoming brush of palm trees that led into the small town, and let himself breathe deeply.
"I should go now." He figured, unsure of just what might be waiting for him and his companions.
He looked back to Yuna one last time;
"Remember, five minutes." He emphasized crucially,
"No more, and no less. We'll look out for each other, and we'll be in and out. No Leo, we leave. No Azazel, we leave. If it's too dangerous, we leave."
As Percival continued with the terms and conditions, his gaze turned even more steely.
He was deadly serious;
"Do anything stupid, and I'll have you swimming all the way back to Ulstead. You can explain to Udo why you've suddenly grown gills."
Naturally, Yuna knew the harsh warning came from the sheer worry the general felt.
She didn't blame him; this was risky.
Yuna winked,
"Well, I'm sure he wouldn't mind. That sounds rather enticing, Percival."
The guard rolled his eyes at the attempt at humor, and even Diaval managed to make a small sigh in his bird form.
Yuna chuckled off her nerves; striding forward in the wet sand. To the General and raven's surprise, Yuna hugged her friend's thick and muscular build with her tiny frame.
His cloak was wet against her cheek,
"Godspeed, Percival."
The man was at a clear loss for words, touched by the action.
Percival was never good with words (or feelings), but he in that moment felt like he could convey everything he wanted to tell his friend through a simple and mimicked response;
"Godspeed, Yuna." He squeezed her shoulders with a bulky arm.
Yuna released him, knowing that time was now of the essence
'No need to say goodbyes. I'll make sure I see him again.'
Percival looked down at the raven on Yuna's shoulder;
"You...better stay out of trouble as well." Percival tapped Diaval's shiny and hard beak.
"No more federal crimes between the two of you. You're lucky you received a pardon for your stunt over the wall."
Diaval cawed, long and exasperated. His wing seemingly shielded his face, saying;
"What kind of raven do you take me for, Percival?"
With a dry chuckle, Percival stepped away from the two. He gave one last fleeting and unreadable expression, before beginning his trek through the lush jungle and into the wild island town.
Yuna watched him go with a sinking but hopeful pit in her gut.
Diaval made a soft noise by her ear, barely noticeable from the onslaught of rain. Yuna smiled at the feeling of feathers brushing her cheek gently,
"It's okay. I'm here." The raven's message was loud and clear.
"Why is it you and I are always partners in crime for some outstanding quest, hm?" She contemplated affectionately.
Diaval fluttered,
"Fate, my dear Yuna! Fate!"
Yuna laughed, bringing a cloak arm up to protect both her eyes and the raven from the increasingly building rains.
"Right. Fate."
Her tummy bubbled again, and Yuna subconsciously placed her small hand over it beneath her cloak.
The two of them waited; pouring rain breaking any kind of white noise. It hit the sand, the palm leaves, the ocean and their cloaks.
While they waited, Yuna thought of many things.
The Moors, her friends, her family...
Old days on Miyagata and new days within Ulstead.
Udo.
The baby.
Yuna sighed.
'Gods, what am I even doing hear?'
As if to answer her own question, the sweet voice and small face of a distant past Leo wove in and out of Yuna's mind.
Her heart warmed, and suddenly she felt less worried.
Diaval's own mind was troubled with thoughts of his mistress and surrogate human daughter... the unexpected friends he'd made through this wild journey.
If he'd truly be able to protect them all.
Diaval also released a heavy, chirpy sigh.
'...That's five minutes.'
"Ready, little bird?" Yuna didn't look to Diaval as she asked, gaze trained steadily to the thick palm forest feet in front of them.
Against her ear, Yuna felt the raven nod.
It was a somber atmosphere, but not depressive;
"Let's do it."
Boots sinking in the wet sand, Yuna trekked up the small dune and into a humid and dark jungle.
'Mom, dad...watch over us.'
She disappeared into the thick leaves, the first friend she'd ever made in Ulstead right by her side.
*
Aurora trekked through the Moors with a heavy heart, eyes just barely fighting back thick tears.
The Moors was...dying.
Evidently so.
The waterfalls that used to roar with a majestic pride were drying and fizzling out. The sapphire lakes turned to a brown and uninhabitable marsh. Leave-less and sorrowful trees replaced the once lush and protective ones, flowers were closed and wilted with their faded colors.
Aurora put on a false smile of pride and encouragement as the faeries crowded around her; ensuring them that everything would be alright.
She didn't believe they really would be.
Borra watched the queen of the Moors and Ulstead from a distance; no discernible emotion on his face.
The Fey wondered how Aurora could act so falsely positive amidst what no doubt was the precursor to war, but he figured she was just exceptionally skilled in the game of politics.
"Oh, AURORA!!"
A flash of pink, green, and a blundering clump of blue wizzed past Borra in a hurried daze.
It caught Borra off guard as much as Aurora, the queen whipping about at the voice.
She seemed to relax momentarily, and a genuine smile crept onto her lips.
"Auntie!" Aurora cried out enthusiastically, arms opening widely as the three bundles crashed into her chest.
"Uh oh. Looks like we got some of Flittle's dirt on you."
Thistlewit smiled coyly, small hands just barely managing to carry the pot that her flowered sister resided in.
Her pink counter part sighed deeply as she pushed away from Aurora's chest.
"How many times have I told you to not let Flittle's pot overturn, Thistlewit!" Knotgrass scowled harshly, and the youngest fairy grinned sheepishly.
Aurora rolled her eyes, silencing the bickering faeries (and quiet flower) hastily.
"Aunties! No fighting! It's the first time I'm seeing you in months!" Aurora scolded, pinching at the faerie's wings to separate them with a scowl.
"Be careful not to let Flittle touch this soil! Poor thing may just wither away..."
Aurora brushed the azure petals with dismay.
'I'm so sorry you're like this, Auntie...'
Knotgrass looked around the Moors disdainfully, pink dress puffed out on her tiny form as if to emphasize her anger.
"Goodness Aurora, what even happened last night?!" The pink fairy frowned, and her green counterpart cut in with equal worry;
"Is Maleficent...really unable to wake up?" She whispered, wings drooping in a solemn sadness.
Aurora kept a bravely neutral expression on her face; fully aware of the Moorfolk creatures beginning to turn their attention and stalk towards her.
She held out her palm for Knotgrass to sit upon, and she smiled gently as she looked out over her people.
Her home, Aurora realized.
"Yes."
Her answer was simple and honest.
"Maleficent and our treasured Ini have fallen into a sleep like death, and we are all searching for a way to awaken them."
The queen bowed her head at the weakened, shocked, and saddened faeries.
Aurora continued,
"As your queen, I must be the one to inform you of a dark cloud beginning to form over Ulstead. We are on the brink of war, extermination, and times of uncertainty. We have agents and friend dispatched all across the open waters, military guards ready to move into Ulstead..."
Aurora took a breath, eyes shining sympathetically towards the faeries.
"...And I'm afraid that the thorn walls that once held terror over the Moors will need to go up once more. Our bridge between Ulstead and the Moors shall be severed, and we will spend an uncountable amount of days behind throned pillars."
Aurora let the outpour of mixed emotions release from the various Moorfolk; the anger, hopelessness and terror all similar feelings that she herself had felt.
A few of the younglings of the Moors clung onto Aurora's dress desperately, eyes watery as they looked up to her with a silent need for comfort and security.
Releasing Knotgrass, Aurora knelt down and delivered it wholeheartedly. Some were small little mushroom and flower sprites, while others were the larger tree golems that were bigger than your average child.
Aurora hushed them while still addressing her subjects;
"Do not fear. I will not leave your side in the Moors; no harm shall come to you as long as I'm here."
Thistlewit's ears perked up at that;
"Aurora, you're staying here in the Moors?!"
She cried.
Aurora nodded solemnly.
"For the time being." She mustered a smile,
"I can't bear to part with any of you right now."
Knotgrass's face was unusually worried in her tense state.
"...It's all going to be okay though, right?" She tried.
Aurora missed a beat before answering quietly.
"...I don't know." She whispered.
Knotgrass's anxieties seemed to grow,
"Well, what about the other Dark Fey? Where are they?"
It was Borra's turn to speak up from his forgotten place. His demeanor was much the same as Aurora's with how eerily calm but sorrowful it was.
"They've returned to the Cavernous Nest, for the time being." Borra dropped the tiny faerie's gaze.
"...Trying everything they can to save their Phoenix."
Knotgrass makes face twisted with a reserved horror, eyes flitting away sadly.
"...Right."
Aurora pat her auntie's head with a soft smile, rubbing at the little Moorfolk's backs. She straightened to her full posture, eyes steely set.
"You don't have to worry about anything. I'll protect all of you, as your queen..." Her eyes met Borra's.
"...and as your friend."
The fey dared to offer a small smile.
Aurora straightened to her full posture, the exchange with Borra helping to lighten her heart. In a confident, loud, and faux in-afraid tone, Aurora released a breath;
"We protect each other. We look out for one another; both for our kin within the Moors, and our counterparts in Ulstead; if we want to win this war-"
From Castle Ulstead's grandest point, the same one King Philip had addressed his people on during the peace treaty signing and the exact spot Queen Ingrith had raged a deadly war, Aurora's husband mirrored her announcement to his own subjects.
"-Then we need to all stand together!" Philip's voice boomed out in a way that resembled his seasoned veteran of a father. His crown rested proudly atop his honey curls and a thick, fur-lined red cape that was only dawned on the most crucial of occasions wrapped around his shoulders.
Philip could hear the unrest amongst Ulstead's citizens; the fear.
He could just barely spare a glance to the Moors before turning back to look down at his subjects.
Gods, there were so many children.
Students.
Elderly, young couples who were just getting ready to start the rest of their lives.
Philip felt a growing iciness begin to whirl in his gut.
"I know that some of you may still feel resistance and hesitation towards our friends in the Moors; I understand that." Philip continued, hands gripped tightly beneath his cloak.
He wet his lips,
"Last night, many of you bore witness to a strange phenomena within the Moors; earthquakes, hellfire, and waves strong enough to take down even our most armored of freighters."
Philip had to say a silent prayer that he hadn't been able to see such a ravaging sight; however, a small part of him also cursed himself for not being there.
"You see...Ulstead is under attack. What you witnessed last night may have occurred in the Moors, but It will soon affect all of Ulstead, all of you."
Philip let his subjects release cries of horror for a long few minutes; the grieving inevitable.
"Did he just say we're under attack?!"
"Gods, I knew union with those Moorfolk would damn us all!"
"Mama, I'm scared..."
"Wait, are we going to war? Is there going to be a draft?!"
"Great. We're all dead."
Philip took a breath,
"Our safety and prosperity is threatened by a pirate by the name of Azazel, and all of his crew. He's vial, wretched; top of our threat list to national security and as of today, he is indicted with acts of terror and aggression against Ulstead. He may solely be attacking the Moors, but make no mistake; he'll come for all of us as well."
More gasps resounded,
"At current time, we have not named a motive for these attacks. Rest assured, Azazel will answer for his crimes and I will not stop until he has been neutralized. I only ask for your understanding, your perseverance, and your cooperation."
Philip stated firmly, regal like a statue before his people.
That was when Philip heard it,
"Cooperation?! Certainly, you don't mean with the Moorfolk?!"
Philip closed his eyes with a heavy sigh, knowing hat the objection was bound to come sooner or later.
In the Moors, Aurora was having similar luck;
"The humans attempted mass genocide on all of us!" Knotgrass cried, angrily pointing to the blue potted flower.
"Look at what they did to Flittle! No peace treaty or summer festival will change that; not even a joint ball! One summer of prosperity can't undo the years of hurt they have caused us!" The pink faerie was almost glaring at Aurora, her frustration evident.
As she spoke, her small arms flew up into the air sporadically. Aurora tried to hush her auntie as she witnessed more and more Moorfolk begin to nod and groan in a frustrated agreement.
"I know, Auntie. I know." Aurora cooed.
"I'm just as torn apart over Flittle as you are, but that wasn't the fault of all the humans in Ulstead. It was the fault of one horrid one, and her disillusioned entourage." She reasoned, looking to Flittle's blue petals. It pained her heart to see the leaves wilt ever so, almost like Flittle's sadness was causing the phenomenon.
"I'm a human, so is Philip. Yuna is too... we're all good. Shouldn't that be all the proof you need?" Aurora reasoned, her eyes glimmering sadly.
"How do we know the humes won't just throw us to Azazel? How can we trust them for sure?" One of the bog faeries croaked out, scowling.
Aurora tried to respond before another faerie piped up;
"Why should we even want to work with them? We can defend ourselves with our own magic. The humans are useless and greedy and selfish; let the war give them what's coming to 'em." A male faerie grit out harshly, almost venomously.
Aurora shook her head desperately once more,
"I know you all don't mean this. You're frightened; I am too. Please, don't let this cloud your judgement. Trust me, as your queen; now more than ever we need to put our faith in each other." She desperately spoke, the same sorrow she'd felt all night beginning to bubble to the surface once more.
'They're not listening. They're so...spiteful.'
Aurora couldn't even recognize the loving Moorfolk before her, and Philip was having similar luck.
"If Azazel wants the Moorfolk, then let him have them! Why is this even a debate?"
An angry voice spit out, only adding to the outrage below Philip.
Philip's brows drew together in a muted disgust, and disappointment.
"Ulstead and the Moors are one and the same; we solidified that at the peace treaty signing. As your king, I cannot allow them to-"
"I didn't consent to that peace treaty signing!"
"You think because we partied with them two whole times that we're suddenly best friends?"
"The Moors and Ulstead couldn't be more different. Why do we have to risk our own lives for them?"
The outrage grew more and more, and at the same moment, Philip and Aurora's jaws clenched before their own separate subjects.
From the Moors, Aurora's voice shouted out in an uncharacteristically angry tone. From Ulstead, Philip bellowed in a mighty roar.
They both demanded the same thing;
"QUIET!"
Silence rang from both the Moors and Ulstead.
The faeries looked up at Aurora with wide eyes; like their mother had just scolded them and taken away dessert. Even Borra was noticeably taken aback, eyeing his friend curiously.
He couldn't recall a time he'd even seen Aurora a little bit upset.
It was the same on Philip's front, his eyes harshly glaring as his subjects instantly silenced.
Philip was so unlike his kind persona in that moment; his anger was evident in his voice and in his stature. Ulstead's citizens looked at him in shock at his command, obeying instantly like schoolchildren.
Philip released a shaky and hot breath. He rolled his shoulders back, and shocked everyone with his next action.
He rolled his shoulders until his cloak fell to his feet in a shrug, and Philip none too gracefully discarded his crown like it were just a used and worn hat.
His eyes refocused at the people beneath his feet.
His expression was stern; exhausted.
"If you won't listen to me as your King." Philip almost kicked the cloak in emphasis.
"Then just listen to me as a desperate man who wants nothing to happen to any of you; please."
The desperation began to seep into Philip's pleading voice.
His subjects watched on in a stunned silence, their king regarding them as not below him, but instead equal to him.
Philip kept his voice solid, steady.
"I have only been your king for a short amount of time. I've not accomplished many feats to be worthy of your respect and trust just yet; I am painfully aware of that. I understand all of you are terrified, trying to make sense of a hopeless situation-"
"-As am I." Aurora spoke quietly; chest threatening to heave with her breathing as she steadied herself.
She slowly glanced up, the Moorfolk watching her with a silent respect and Borra encouraging her with a nod of his head.
Aurora's fists tightened.
"I am beyond horrified that we are on the brink of war, and that there may be unavoidable casualties. I am horrified that my mother may never awaken, that my friends are strung out across god knows where to try and rectify this losing game..."
Aurora's azure eyes sharpened into a strict glare.
"And I am horrified that my people are turning their backs on those in need! Regardless of the situation; we all need to help each other! How do you think-"
"-we're supposed to win a war like this?! Torn apart. Separated. Being selfish and willing to sacrifice others if it means you can last one more day. You're all just making it easier for Azazel; this is what he wants. You're all being anything but resistant; you're practically inviting him right into the port!"
Philip boomed out over his subjects, still silent and shaken.
"You think I'm not also frightened over the prospect of loss? I see you all now; families, friends. You want to protect each other at any cost; as do I." Philip's hand motioned towards the Moors, voice building in emotional volume;
"Do you believe that those in the Moors do not feel the same way?! Do you think the families living there and the babies clutching onto their mothers are any less entitled to life than you? Simply because they are different from us? I've never heard anything more sickening; I never believed my people to be so twisted and corrupt." Philip spoke the words like they were bitter on his tongue, face twisting in sheer disgust.
His subjects watched on.
Philip continued,
"The day that our kind," Philip emphasized the pronoun, "raged a war on the innocent faeries and Dark Fey, Maleficent came to save us all. Now, she's at risk of never awakening due to the senseless violence of Azazel; she saved all of you, and you threaten to spit on her memory!" Philip cried.
Murmurs sounded through the crowd,
"Maleficent?! What happened to her?!"
"Azazel is just some guy...how did he take down someone like her?"
"If Maleficent hadn't intervened that day, of the dark fey didn't try to protect us, both of my children would've..."
Philip slapped his hands onto the metal railing of the platform;
"I'm not asking for immediate civility! I'm not even asking that you all become best friends and dance away into the sunset together!" Philip yelled into the crowd,
"I'm only asking that I we all work together! If we do not join forces now, then we're as good as dead! Ulstead needs the Moors, and the Moors needs Ulstead!"
Philip rallying cry pitched with Aurora's in the Moors, the girl's face red as she proudly and loudly stated;
"Trust me! Put your faith in me!" Her eyes were set in sharp and unrelenting determination.
"We fight together, we rise together! Azazel will not tear us apart; where he goes low, we go high!" The queen bellowed over the charged cries of the Moorfolk, and Borra broke out into a grin.
"For too long, the Moors and faeries have been targeted and murdered; for too long, the division between humans and faeries has been stifling and deeper than the darkest chasm,"
Aurora yelled out with a clenched fists;
"That ends today!"
More cries broke out into the Moors, and Philip's people cheered as their king bellowed;
"Trust in me! Trust in each other!" Philip hit his chest hard with a closed fist;
"Starting today, they are not just Moorfolk! They are your brothers and sisters, we fight this war together and we will emerge victorious together!"
Cheers and cries echoed from Ulstead to the Moors and from the Moors to Ulstead, and Philip finally let a smile flash onto his lips as he watched his people below him;
"I'll stand by you, King Philip!"
"I still don't like those Moorfolk, but I guess it beats dying..."
"We trust you King Philip!"
Similarly, Aurora looked over the faeries with tears welling in her eyes and a quivering smile;
"Queen Aurora has returned!"
"I'll follow you to the very end, Aurora!"
"If we really need to work with the humans...I guess we better start training them how to fight. They're a bit useless."
Aurora's three aunties (well, two aunties and a potted flower) clutched at her dress in a teary embrace, and Aurora's hand covered their backs with a warm smile.
Borra bowed his head, and Aurora cast her gaze towards the sky;
'Now just hurry up and come home, idiots! We're not supposed to fight this battle apart...'
Philip looked out into the cloudy skies with much the same thoughts, the cheers of his subjects almost deafening.
'Can't let you guys show up the king, now can I?' Philip chuckled, but his grip on the metal railing remained tight nonetheless.
They didn't have much time left to spare;
Azazel was coming, and the war that threatened to follow him was already here.
*
"Oh, piss off!" Yuna hissed as she kicked away at another start vagabond; the man yanking at her cloak as she weaved past him on the cracked and dirty cobblestone streets.
Certos was awful.
No other word to describe it; did the university students really enjoying coming here for their spring holiday?!
Maybe not being able to attend university was a blessing in disguise. Still, Yuna still found herself on this "trashy and shitty" (as Percival has mumbled wandering through the outskirts forests) island, and she was soon rendered to a spiteful little woman stomping through the streets.
'How am I even supposed to find Leo here?! Was this really the plan? Small island my arse, I can't even find the bloody town square!'
Yuna's eyes twitched as a merchant's stray flag flew into her face, the metal pole whacking her nose.
She ripped the fabric away with a kind of ferocity that was very uncharacteristic of her, and Diaval gulped in his little raven form.
'If one more person tries to pickpocket me, spills their wretched beer on me, tramples my foot or thinks I'm a prostitute-'
In the midst of her internal aggression Diaval bat a wing in front of her face cautiously. Yuna snapped her head to the black bird, and Diaval cawed out;
"Why not take a minute and get something to eat?"
Yuna's brows furrowed,
"I don't really have the time to-"
Diaval cawed again,
"You're clearly hungry and cranky; finding Leo can wait ten minutes." His beady eyes stayed trained onto her,
"Besides, you'd be surprised what kind of intel you can pick up in a bar. I want to take a bit of break as well..."
Diaval screeched as a drunken woman, powdered wig sloppy and silken corset coming undone, plucked at one of his feathers with an intoxicated giggle.
Diaval swiftly pecked at her fingers with a harsh glare, and Yuna panicked as the woman cried out indigently.
"Why, you little-"
"Yeah, a break sounds great." Yuna nodded swiftly, yanking Diaval from her shoulder and holding him close to her chest as she adeptly ducked away from the woman.
The crowds were tight to weave through, but Yuna managed with quick steps and keeping her head down. Shoulders and elbows whacked into her and the drunken cries and stray gunshots threatened to deafen Yuna, but she managed to come to a break in the traffic in a dirty alleyway.
Once they were away from the noise and compact crowds, Yuna raised a brow down at Diaval who stared up at her innocently.
"Really? You almost got my arse kicked!" She thumped his head petulantly, and Diaval squeaked.
Without hesitation, Diaval's beak crunched down into Yuna's finger, and she cried out in disbelief.
"DIAVAL!" Yuna exclaimed, and Diaval let go with his usual puppy-dog (or, raven) eyes gleaming up at Yuna.
He cawed quietly,
"I'm sorry. I didn't get much sleep last night..."
His wings crossed in front of him; if he were in human form, he would've been hugging himself.
Diaval dropped his gaze down,
"I'm just so worried, it's driving me crazy..."
Yuna's eyes softened.
Gently, she pet Diaval's black feathery head with her index and middle finger.
"It's okay. I'm worried too." She forgave the raven, chuckling to herself at just how ridiculous the two were.
'Can't believe you actually bit me, little heathen.'
"Food does sound like a good idea. I don't think you and I have been able to sit down and actually enjoy a meal for over a day now, hm?" She gave him a sweet smile.
Diaval slowly looked up, nodding softly.
Yuna continued to pet his head as she turned on her heel;
"I'm worried too. That's why we're here, remember? It'll be okay, Diaval. I promise."
Even if Yuna couldn't believe her own words without a shadow of a doubt, she felt relieved at the obvious comfort it brought her companion. Diaval huddled closer to Yuna, nodding his little head into her chest.
'Can't really expect to get anything done if we can barely function.' Yuna reasoned, taking in their surroundings to try and spot shelter.
'I'll probably just let Diaval fall asleep on my shoulder after this. It's not like he could help me find Leo, anyways...'
Yuna pointed to a run down, shabby looking pub just across the litter-ridden streets.
"What about over there? "The Spellbound Tavern"...sounds decent enough." She offered, just as the first drop of rain hit her cheek.
Diaval squawked,
"Let's just hope it isn't full of a bunch of total morons." He sighed, shaking the rain from his feathers.
Yuna chuckled as her small hand pushed open the squeaky wooden doors with their rusted hinges; stepping inside the pub that was lowly lit and smelled of cigar smoke.
The first step she took inside, Yuna was greeted by a wooden stool shattering and splintering into the wall beside her face, and she sighed deeply.
"You spoke too soon." She deadpanned, the rambunctious pub patrons nearly making her beeline right back out of the doors.
Adjusting the wrap around her face, Yuna sauntered up to the open bar; figuring the service there would be better than if she took a booth.
She sat the farthest away, at the very end of the long strip of worn wood. Yuna kept her cloak and bag securely fastened to her person; knowing better than to part with them for even a moment.
The tavern smelled, and liquor and dirt stained the walls and floors. Maybe some blood.
The attendants were either filthy men too drunk for their own good or perfumed street workers clouding up the establishment with the gag-inducing scents they practically bathed in. The tavern was boring in terms of decorations; ripped paintings, wall mounted candles, a long bar and twenty or so old booths.
Nothing notable, really.
When the uninterested patron came to ask Yuna what she wanted, she kept it simple;
"I'll just take the house soup, and some water." She nodded her thanks, sliding her gold across the bar. An annoyed cry from Diaval came as the bird bounced on the bar, and Yuna chuckled.
"Right, sorry." She waved away Diaval's wings, which were desperately grabbing at her hand.
"Make that two house soups."
The man took the pieces of gold before shoving them in his pocket, just barely acknowledging Yuna as he walked off. He did, however, eye her exchange with the raven curiously.
Yuna rolled her eyes, effectively shaking her hand away from Diaval;
"Great. I'm about to be known as the crazy bird lady, thanks to you."
Diaval only chirped happily as he skirted around Yuna's fingers, songfully whistling.
"Thank you for paying!"
Yuna smirked down at the contented bird, wondering just how crazy the pair would look once Diaval shoved his little feathered face into a bowl of warm soup.
'I'm sure Certos has seen more curious things.' She shrugged, smiling her thanks at the server as he delivered her water.
Yuna would've gotten some wine to quell her nerves (not the smartest idea on a mission, but hey, some people work quite diligently under the influence)...but that was off the table.
Her stomach fluttered again at the notion, and she pulled down her scarf as she gulped down her water greedily. Yuna hissed as the ice cold liquid burned her eye sockets, blinking it away hurriedly.
'You better be worth it.' She shifted in her seat so that she was securely pushed against the bar; her flat stomach beneath her cloak finding shelter beneath the wood.
It was an odd sort of security; something Yuna desperately needed in the moment.
'...I know you will be.'
Diaval insist nudging of her hand pulled Yuna from her "mushy" (in her own words) thoughts, and she eyed him tiredly.
"I know, Diaval. Your food will be out soon, you just have to wait-"
Diaval swatted away her words with a "squaw!" , head looking towards the tavern doors.
Slowly, and cautiously, Yuna followed his gaze.
Her eyes widened in a visible relief as she saw what Diaval wanted her to, suppressing a smile as her eyes met his.
"Percival." She breathed under her breath, the whisper completely going unnoticed in the loud tavern.
The guard nodded his head to the two of them, pulling his cloak up as the three silently communicated through their gazes.
"Nothing here. I'm going to continue looking around; you two stay safe."
Making sure no one was watching, Yuna nodded right back to Percival.
"Stay safe."
Percival dipped his head after offering them a calm and steady expression, exiting the tavern and weaving back into the busy city streets.
Yuna couldn't help herself as she deflated ever so slightly.
"Percival was already here...that means Diaval and I probably won't find anything." She sighed as her soup was unceremoniously placed in front of her, the liquid sloshing over the saucer's rim and a few stray drops hitting her chin.
"Are we...even going to find anything? Did we come here for nothing?"
Yuna fiddled with her spoon, Diaval practically swimming in the bowl beside her own as he hastily gobbled it down.
The streets were so crowded. The surrounding jungle was unlivable. Her and Diaval had checked the disparaged docks first, finding no signs of Azazel's ship. Naturally, Yuna didn't let it discourage her;
Azazel could've easily switched ships or was docked in a much more secret location.
From the docks, they'd managed to find the local inn; while Yuna chatted up the love struck concierge boy (she decided never tell Udo about the exchange), Diaval swiftly ducked behind the reception desk and hastily scanned the guest book and room numbers for any hint of the pirate's presence.
No luck. It definitely didn't help that no one knew the names of Azazel's ambiguous crew, either.
They were chased from the inn by a terrified maid, broom swatting at Diaval and all.
Yuna asked around the market, even risking the marketplace in the lower quarter where some of the more...dirty business, took place.
"Haven't heard Azazel's name in years." A ship keeper had spit on the floor, eyeing Yuna's covered face curiously. "Bastard's probably in Davy Jones' Locker."
Yuna fiddled with her hands nervously;
Why was everyone here so intimidating?!
"What if his crew?" She asked, keeping her voice firm. "My, ah...husband, set out with Azazel's crew some time ago. I've been looking for him ever since."
The man shrugged nonchalantly.
"Probably dead at the bottom of the ocean floor with him."
Rejection after questioning look after just plain not knowing the man, Yuna was exhausted.
Mina had investigated so throughly; Azazel and his crew were supposed to be here.
So where the hell were they?!
Yuna could've cried if she wasn't surrounded by a pub of obnoxiously shrill patrons, spooning a glob of the thick soup into her mouth.
"I just want Leo..."
Her eyes watered as she angrily shoved the soup into her mouth like a child. Yuna paused as she swallowed; chills coursing through her.
She groaned, and tried to suppress a loud gag.
'Pumpkin?!'
Did the universe hate her? Maybe so.
A wave of nausea hit Yuna. It was sickeningly sweet, and so pulpy. The vegetable tasted a bit like dirt, and Yuna immediately brought her napkin up to cover her mouth.
Gods, was the cigar smoke always so pungent?
The filth scent of the bar dwellers hit her nostrils as well; holy hell.
She let out a small noise as the nausea hit her hard, and Diaval looked up from his empty bowl with a tilt of his head.
"Yuna? Are you okay?"
His little feet clicked as he bounced over to her, nudging her arm worriedly.
Yuna nodded, trying to shake the taste out of her mouth. She shoved the bowl away hastily; hating that the substance was still on her teeth and tongue.
"I-I'm alright." Yuna groaned again, reaching for her glass as she reached for her water.
She downed the rest of it.
"Come on, not right now." Yuna rested her face in her palm, sighing as she took in a deep breath.
"Just give me a minute. I'm...overwhelmed."
'Technically, I'm not lying.'
As Yuna continued to rub her face into her palm, Diaval's little wing rubbed the hand with a soft coo.
"It's okay, Yuna. We'll find Leo, I promise." Diaval's little chirps we're always so cute, and positive.
"I already feel better after eating! Just fuel up, then we can search the rest of Certos. Someone knows something; why not try that weird little building with all the made up ladies in it?"
Even in the midst of hormonal nausea, Diaval still made Yuna laugh.
"That's called a brothel, Diaval. We don't want to go wandering around in there."
Diaval cocked his head.
"...Well maybe I want to."
Yuna blinked, then opted to not question the raven as he fell into a deep ponder.
Well.
Her sickness beginning to subside, Yuna made eye contact with the bar tender once more. He watched her curiously, judgmentally, as he witnessed the exchange between Yuna and the raven.
No one could hear Diaval due to his magic;
'Great. I'm definitely the crazy one.' Yuna rolled her eyes at the man as she looked away.
Her hand fell to the bag at her side, the strap shifting on her shoulder as she brought it up to hold it.
Yuna eyed the leather rather sorrowfully as she picked at the threading, the mysterious object inside the bag hard and sturdy.
'Hurry up and let me find you, idiot...' Yuna sniffled, nails digging into the fabric in frustration.
It was hard to remain positive in times like these;
So much had gone wrong. So much was unknown; it was too exhausting and too disappointing.
Yuna longed for the simple days of her, and Udo; together in their home in the Moors. The days before they were even together; when days consisted of touches that were too intimate to be that of just friends and longing glances exchanged ever minute.
The innocent laughter, the unforgettable afternoons spent with Udo flying around the Moors with her; their nights spent talking until the sun came up.
It was so simple and pure;
They were so in love, yet neither one had the courage to admit it.
No war, no terror, no pain or unknowns;
It was just...them.
Gods, Yuna loved Udo so much it physically hurt her. More than anything, she just wanted to be with him... tell him...
Tell him...
Gods, everything was so complicated now.
Yuna sat in that dirty tavern as rain beat down feeling deflated and just depressed; not a place nor feeling she thought she would be in or have the day following she found out she were pregnant, for heaven's sake.
Yuna also never thought she'd be so close, yet so far to ever seeing her brother again.
The aspect made her want to scream.
'Mina kept this safe for you after all this time; just let me find you. Let me give it to you...'
Yuna hugged the bag close to her.
'Let me see you again, Leo...I miss you...'
Her lips quivered with pain, and she pulled the bag back from her chest.
It was in that moment it happened;
The split second where Yuna brought the bag away from her person and let her grip ever so lightly relax on it; when her guard was down and her emotions were running high.
A gust of wind surrounded her, Yuna's hair whizzed and her hands burned as the leather rubbed angrily along her bare palms.
It was ripped up into the air, then it was gone.
Yuna could've screamed.
The shifting double doors of the pub were the only indicator that the theft had even taken place, the perpetrator quite literally gone like the wind.
Yuna snapped from her daze and stood up so abruptly that the chair she sat upon toppled down onto the floor harshly.
With and indignant cry, Yuna roared;
"HEY!"
Her muscles seized as her brain fired with various signals; not even knowing which one to process first.
Call for help?
Throw the chair at him?
Chase after him?
None of the other patrons even noticed; the act common place in Certos and truly, no one would've cared anyways.
The bar tender looked just as disinterested, and Yuna was about ready to strangle him.
Finally it clicked as Yuna stood in that crowded and treacherous bar;
Hell. No.
"Diaval!" Yuna commanded at the raven, who was equally as stunned over what just happened. He immediately was up in the air; flying with more velocity than Yuna had ever seen him glide with.
He cawed out angrily;
"I'm on it!" His beady eyes were set on the thief, wings batting like dangerous blades as he went.
Not far behind the raven, Yuna pushed the doors open so hard they practically flew off their weak hinges.
Her scarf just barely clinging to her face and head, Yuna took down the cobblestone streets with a fierce glare and little regard for the people she pushed past.
'I'm. Never. Coming. Back. To. Dirty,'
Yuna bent down just in time to avoid being whacked by a merchant stalks hanging baskets, and a general stores opening window.
'Rotten,'
Yuna jumped over a trading cart, knocking over some stray fruit from it in the process. She shoulder checked a burly man who cursed after her indigently, and Yuna kept her gaze trained on the fleeting figure as she trampled through stray puddles.
'Certos. Ever. Again!'
Diaval cawed from above her as he soared overhead; using the air to his advantage as he cleared rooftops and sought to cut the thief off from his vantage point.
Yuna rounded a sharp corner, ducking into a slim alleyway as she tailed the tall but skinny man.
"Bastard! Stop!" Yuna shouted, barely avoiding the persons crowding the streets.
The thief was fast, and cunning that much was certain. He scaled a low wall that divided an approaching alleyway swiftly, Yuna's bag almost snagging on the top of it as he did so.
Diaval continued to caw out angrily as he dove through laundry lines and in and out open windows. Yuna was vividly reminded of their time scaling Ulstead's own high walls and crowded backstreets as they ran from the imperial guards, the memory ringing in her head as she cleared the decrepit wall using a few spare crates stacked against it.
Yuna's lungs began to burn; her stomach twisted as the chase continued and she sought to catch her breath mid-sprint. It was just the two of them in a narrow alleyway now; trash and forgotten litter lining the old buildings with their chipped paint.
The streets were slick with rain, and Yuna was so close to getting the dastardly man.
"I said to STOP!"
Yuna cry broke into a pitched yelp as her heel skittered on a slick stone, the ground suddenly rushing up very quickly to meet her.
Her heart screeched, and Yuna's mind switched priorities in an instant; like nothing else mattered.
She screamed out of pure adrenaline and fear in that split second, just barely twisting her body out of the way so that her chest smashed into the building at her side as her fingers gripped onto the steel frames lining the windows.
Yuna's knees slammed into the building's exterior as well, which hurt like hell, but by some miracle...
Yuna's abdomen was completely untouched and unbothered; the young woman throwing all of her weight that would've been smashed into her chest and face as she used the momentum in her favor.
Yuna winced against the rundown structure. Lord, was her body screaming at her right now.
It didn't matter; Yuna couldn't let herself fall...
Couldn't risk anything happening to...to...
Yuna released a shaky sigh of fear-stricken adrenaline and fear and she peeled herself away from the wall, knees screaming and bloodied by their scrape-filled impact.
She couldn't muster up any words; almost feeling like she were going into shock from how damn close she'd cut it.
He was threatening to get away, one more turn down a nearby corner, and Yuna would lose him.
Still, her body shook.
'I-I could've, could've hurt...'
Was Yuna so stupid to do this mission in her current state? So selfish and uncaring about how Udo may feel?
About just how in danger the life inside of her was put into? The prospect made Yuna weak in the knees, and her chest was practically on fire from the long distance sprint.
'Screw this stupid town; screw all the thieving little pricks in it too.' Yuna clutched her chest as she fell against the building for support.
She could've cried as she watched him sprint away with her bag; the bag containing the one thing that would convince Leo, should he really be in Certos...
Should he really even be alive.
Before was about to take after him again in one last ditch effort to apprehend the thief, stopping abruptly as the man rounded the corner only to stop short with a sharp grunt of pain.
Yuna's senses went off immediately at the potential danger, watching as the thief stumbled back so aggressively he tumbled to the ground in a painful heap.
Yuna's bag splashed onto the wet street, as did the contents within it.
The sudden retaliation put Yuna on edge and she eyed the corner cautiously. The thief was rendered into a stupor from the bluntness of whatever hit him, groaning on the street just feet before Yuna, and she felt frozen with what was either curiosity or fear.
She pushed herself up from the building only to collapse right back against it, wincing in pain.
Guess she couldn't quite move like she was allowed to before.
Yuna heard footsteps begin to sound from where the mysterious savior(?) had halted the thief. Cautiously, Yuna's hand went to the quiver firmly fastened around her waist.
She didn't hear Diaval anymore; the notion also adding to her concern.
No one was around, not another soul was in sight;
It was just Yuna, the fallen thief, and whatever knocked him into a heap of shame and dirty rain water.
Yuna grasped the quiver even tighter when a hint of silver reared from the dark alley; from the corner where the ominous blow had come from.
She still desperately tried to gather her breath, wincing ever so slightly as her gaze dropped;
'Damn, it's going to be this bad for nine whole months?'
A winded sprint for Yuna would be the brisk run she'd complete from her and Udo's home in the Moors to Castle Ulstead on the rare days she'd be late for work (usually thanks to Udo keeping her up all night); she couldn't decide if it were the pregnancy or the adrenaline that was making her body so weary in the moment.
A hand touched her shoulder, and Yuna had the quiver pressed to a pale throat before she could even blink.
"W-Woah!"
With a terrifying kind of skill, the man before Yuna twisted the dagger right out of her hold; the blade pinched between his rough fingers like it didn't even hurt.
Instead of pointing the weapon back at the girl, the male dropped it to the ground. His hands immediately went up, vulnerable and submissive and showing that he meant no harm.
Yuna seized as his hands shot up, body tightening in coiled anticipation and arms coming up to a defensive position.
"I'm not going to hurt you!"
Yuna finally got a good look at the boy as he exclaimed, her eyebrow raising up in a hesitant analysis.
He certainly was...boyish, judging from the voice crack.
A shaggy and sloppily trimmed undercut that was a rusted-brown kind of color; one of his dark eyes covered in what looked like a post-op cotton patch. His nose was rounded, his jawline was strong; he was a bit on the skinny side, something his thick navy coat and patched drawers didn't hide.
Yuna understood now that the hint of silver she'd seen was the boy's sword; his hand just having left the thick hilt that he'd sent barreling into the thief's chest to send him flying.
She felt a wave of relief course through her;
'Didn't think I'd actually meet someone willing to go out of their way on Certos.' Yuna dryly mused.
The boy eyed her curiously as she still didn't respond, Yuna's body now only tense due to her exertion.
His dark eyes took in her slouch against the building almost worryingly, keeping his hands right where they were so that Yuna didn't run away like a frightened animal.
He knelt down so that her fallen face was in his line of sight, curiously prompting;
"Are you alright?" He questioned, noticing her labored breaths.
Yuna nodded, glaring at the thief behind the boy.
"Bastard stole my bag..." She sighed, head knocking into the stone wall.
"I'm, ah...pregnant." She explained briefly, emphasized by her shortness of breath.
If the situation were different, Yuna would've laughed;
'Didn't think the third person to find out I'm pregnant would be some stranger, in the middle of a dirty alleyway in Certos...' She huffed.
The boy's eyes immediately brightened in understanding, looking down at her womb before looking right back at Yuna.
"Oh!" With gentle hands, he carefully guiding Yuna to sit on a couple of leaning and and fades crates.
Yuna cocked her brow even higher at the unwarranted, apparent worry of the strange boy.
She took a seat out of obedience, the male sighing deeply as he ran a hand over his face;
"You're lucky nothing happened! Gods, you're lucky I took a different way to the ports today..."
His eyes cut to Yuna, and she sat there dumbfounded at the sudden shout.
'Is he...scolding me, right now?'
The boy sighed, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword as he turned to glare at the thief.
"Scum." He muttered, boots sloshing in the low water as he trekked towards his unconscious form.
"Whatever he stole better have been worth it; nothing material is more valuable than your own health."
Yuna watched him bend down to collect her things, still ready to up and bolt at a moments notice.
Time seemed to inexplicably slow as she watched the savior bend down to pick up her bag and it's spilled contents;
He instantly stilled, and Yuna felt a sudden chill hit her for no right reason.
His hand stopped, frozen in time yet shaking over the memento Mina had specifically given Yuna to deliver to Leo; a memento which no doubt would show the boy his sister was the real deal and this wasn't just some twisted set up.
The shaking soon consumed his entire body, and his voice was a cautious whisper.
The rain was numb on both of their skins, the air was hot and humid; a thick string of tensions began to bind the stranger and Yuna, and suddenly the healer felt all of her answers hit her at once.
A rain drop mixed with her lone tear, and Yuna's vision almost blurred from how fast she'd stood.
"Who are you?" The boy whispered, soft but dangerous. The hand that reached for her bag, for the book he'd cherished since he were a boy was now quivering over the hilt of his sword.
Yuna gulped thickly before speaking. She couldn't help the smile quivering onto her lips despite the atmosphere,
"Leo."
Even Yuna didn't know if it were a command or statement; maybe a question. It just tumbled out, his name sweet and reminiscent on her tongue and Yuna felt a numbing euphoria pump through her veins.
He whipped around at the name, eyes wide with a flicker of hope and hint of anger.
The sword flew from his hilt and immediately pointed straight at Yuna's throat. His grip shook, his brows furrowed painfully and his eyes cut to her with a sudden harshness; so different from the kind demeanor he'd greeted Yuna with just moments ago.
She could see him so clearly now;
The hair, both in cut and color were so different; gods, his entire face was. He wasn't a little boy anymore...
He was a man.
Her Leo.
From the stubble to cut jawline to muscular build, even to his deep voice, Leo wasn't the boy he used to by on Miyagata.
He was so different, yet just the same; even with one of his eyes covered and his face contorted in pain. Just like Yuna had seen with Mina, she saw it in the boy before her; even though it took a minute.
No doubt about it, like a sacred promise sworn in her heart, Yuna knew it to be true.
The tears came down with little to no control. Yuna didn't openly sob or even whimper, in fact she didn't even realize she was crying. It was an automatic response; a response to her hopes, to her anguish.
Yuna didn't flinch or feel fear as Leo brandished the polished sword at her. She could feel the piercing top of it at her throat, cold with the rain water.
Yuna could see the twisted up emotions flashing in Leo's singular eye all at once upon the utterance of his name; like he was trying to pinpoint one particular feeling, like he wanted to question a million things at once.
Instead, he settled for a singular harsh question as the grip on his sword wavered between iron-tight and flimsy.
"Did you hurt her?" Leo shook.
"How did you get that book?" Leo's eyes glared even harder if it were possible; muscles tensing in an apprehensive fear.
He was referring to Mina, Yuna realized.
She was quick to quell his deepest fears, blunt and almost in a daze.
"She's waiting for you. Has been for some time." Yuna whispered over the rain and her silent tears, watching Leo breathe out an almost inaudible sigh of relief.
She followed quickly with an answer to his second inquiry;
"I'm the one who gave you that book. Mina thought it only right that I return in." Yuna answered slowly, a singular finger coming up to softly push the sword's tip away from her jugular.
The shock that took hold of Leo let Yuna easily push the sword away; the teen relinquishing his grip on it entirely as it cluttered into the puddles below.
The metal hit the stone in a cringing pitch, and Leo looked like he'd seen a ghost.
His complexion paled, breathing slowed, and his eyes couldn't blink; couldn't risk losing sight on Yuna.
Yuna took a cautious step forward,
"Leo-"
"Your scarf." The boy took two steps back.
His breath quickened, his muscles tensed and clenched so fast that he shook as he walked back.
Leo repeated himself, shaking his head rapidly.
He pointed an accusing finger towards the fabric covering Yuna's face and hair, voice breaking;
"Your scarf. Take it off."
Leo looked like a terrified child in that moment, like how Yuna had remembered him on Miyagata whenever a schoolboy scared him with some made up ghost story or when he'd had a nightmare.
She obliged instantly.
With rain and wind swirling around them, Yuna ripped the scarf from her head and let it fall to her feet.
Ruby locks whipped around and hit her face, and dark eyes smiled at Leo as her pink lips broke into an emotional and involuntarily laugh; the pure ludicrousness of the situation rendering her defenseless.
Leo released a breath liked he'd been sucker punched square in the gut, looking at Yuna like she'd breathed fire or grew wings.
His brows furrowed and his eyes blinked rapidly and refocused on her, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing...like he was scared to.
Yuna looked to the book on the pavement before locking eyes with Leo once more.
It took everything within her not to crush the boy in a never ending embrace that would always protect him and keep him close; to not simply break down and be rendered to sloppy words and loud tears.
Steadily, Yuna smiled with a racing heart.
"It's me, Leo."
The boy crumpled to his knees, and Yuna dove to catch the boy in her waiting and loving arms.
He tried to push away, but Yuna held steadfast in her tight embrace. She held him by the back of his head and across his shoulders, not minding the rough street digging and cutting into her knees as she embraced Leo with a passionate desire to simply protect and love.
Leo was limp; eyes red with tears but completely unresponsive in his once thought dead sister's arms. He stuttered out, voice pitched with hoarse tears and complete, terrified disbelief.
"Y-You, You're, you're supposed to be..."
He struggled to form words, hyperventilating as Yuna hushed him.
"I'm here." She squeezed him tighter, smiling into his hair and thanking anything and everything that might be listening to her.
"I'm right here, Leo; I never stopped looking for you. Never."
Yuna nuzzled into his lightened locks; he still smelled like he did when he was a baby. Like lavender, and a bit of sage.
She finally let a cry bubble from her, holding Leo even tighter.
"You've been alone and fighting all this time, haven't you? You, and Mina...."
The thought made Yuna's heart clench. She should've been the one fighting, struggling just to survive... it wasn't right. Yuna believed she'd be apologetic for it for the rest of her days.
"I'm sorry."
Two strong, muscular arms wrapped around Yuna's torso tightly, squeezing like Leo were afraid Yuna would vanish into thin air.
Yuna smiled as she felt the first quiet cry shake from Leo's body, the boy holding onto her like a baby sloth to its mother. She hushed him as he cried, rocking back and forth and stroking his back like she'd done so many times in the past.
If they were anywhere else but Certos, they certainly would've looked mental embracing on the dirty streets like this.
"I'm here, and I'm never going anywhere ever again. It's time to come home, Leo. Mina's been waiting for you all this time; I have too."
As Yuna held Leo, she suddenly felt a sense of fullness she hadn't felt in a very long time;
Not since that first night she ever spent with Udo in the Moors.
Everything felt right, everything felt so whole and complete; as Yuna held her baby brother in her arms, she stared up at the dreary rain clouds with a brilliant smile, watching as the sun began to glow behind them and the rain washed away their remaining sorrows.
Yuna kisses the boy's temple,
'Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.'
Yuna's face contorted in her intense sob, hugging her brother with the full intention to never release him.
She breathed a sigh of relief, then her smile grew even more as she heard Leo's soft cries.
They were together and nothing else mattered.
Keeping one arm securely wrapped around her brother, Yuna reached forward and firmly took hold of the old leather bound book.
It's title was faded and the stitching was worn, but sure enough it was Leo's book through and through.
The book she had gifted to him.
Gently pulling away, Yuna pushed the book into Leo's chest; her gaze soft and loving.
"I believe this belongs to you." She whispered, Leo carefully taking the book from her with tear-filled irises.
Yuna knew from the conflict reflecting on Leo's face that the poor boy was confused and discombobulated beyond measure;
"H-How-?" He shook his head as he clutched tightly onto the book, trying to comprehend just what the hell was going on.
"Mina, Y-Yuna...how are you alive? Where have you been? How did you two get here, what-?"
Leo began to blabber hysterically, and Yuna hushed him once more. Taking him by the wrists, Yuna brought both of them up to their feet.
Her tone dropped in urgency, eyes serious and grip tight.
"I know you have a lot of questions, and I swear I will answer every single one." Yuna smoothed Leo's hair and the boy blinked up at her; attentive.
Glancing around the alleyway, Yuna picked up her bag and Leo's sword before handing it back to the male. She squeezed his shoulder;
"But right now, you and I have to go. Mina is anchored out in the ocean; I have a royal guard and very dear friend here with me. We put everything into the one chance we could find you, Leo. I need to bring you back."
Yuna tried to tug him along using the grip she held on his wrist, surprised at the resistance she felt. She gave the boy a questioning look, desperate and pleading, and Leo simply stared back at her with the same look of genuine shock.
"Leo...?" She prompted again, giving the boy another tug.
Finally, Leo seemed to snap out of it. Book still hugged close to his chest, the boy exclaimed,
"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!" Leo repeated the sentiment, although this time he sounded a lot less catatonic and a lot more emotional.
Yuna watched as the book ran his hand across his face, gesturing wildly;
"Mina and I saw it all, on Miyagata! We saw what Azazel did to the town and to our home; how are you even here?!" The boy cried.
Yuna huffed, smiling softly.
The boy wasn't upset, no. If anything, he was completely hysteric; excited, if you would.
"I hid in the caves by the beaches, when the attack happened. I didn't die that day, Leo; I got the hell away from that island just like you and Mina."
She said with a gentle aura, prompting the boy to calm down.
"I know this is all crazy and overwhelming; trust me, I already had to go through this with Mina. Just...put your faith in me, okay? It's me. I swear it. You know me, Leo; I brought you that book so that you wouldn't have a doubt in your mind I could be anybody else."
Yuna whispered, not being able to help herself as her thumb came out to softly trace the cotton patch over Leo's left eye.
Leo shook his head incredulously, Yuna relieved to see his boyish grin back on his lips;
"Oh, of course it's you! I don't doubt that for a second!" He exclaimed, laughing out from relief.
"It's, just..."
Sighing deeply, Leo's shoulder drooped. His gaze fell to the book, eyes still watery and voice strained.
"Everything I did, leaving Mina behind and joining Azazel's crew..." Leo blinked, brows creasing.
"I did it all for you." He finished, eyes scrunching in his small smile as he stared up at his big sister.
Yuna's gaze turned loving, and Leo's lips quivered.
"It was all so horrible. All I did was cry, the first few weeks..." Leo chuckled dryly.
"It was so lonely and so isolating; there were so many times where I just almost gave up, but...but..."
Leo's hands tightened around the book;
"I knew I had to do it all for you, and mom and dad. You three kept me going; everything I did I did it because I had to make you proud."
Pride bursting in her chest, Yuna pulled Leo back into a warm embrace. The boy hugged her back greedily, and the siblings laughed into the hug.
"You and Mina have made me more proud than I could ever convey. I missed you, every single day and every moment, I missed you so much Leo."
Yuna muttered, beginning to feel the sun's breaking rays on her face and back.
Leo nodded simply; much taller than Yuna in his teenage-hood. It was endearing, really.
"I missed you." Leo clarified, his full height and straightened posture letting him tuck Yuna's head under his chin.
Yuna smiled, and held him a bit tighter.
Leo's now light brown hair caught the sun's rays elegantly, and Yuna fiddled with the undercut in amusement;
"Awfully dedicated disguise." She noted, not use t seeing the boy with anything but his midnight shaggy tresses.
"Lye soap." Leo noted with amusement, letting go of his sister. "Terrible stuff; damaged my hair so bad I had to almost cut all of it off. Burned like a bitch, too." He smirked.
Yuna chuckled, once again tracing her brother's cotton eye patch. Her voice dropped dangerously as she soaked it in, gnawing at her lip.
"Did Azazel do this to you?" She questioned, slowly retracting her hand.
Leo shook his head negatively.
"The night I boarded Azazel's ship, I saved a bard at the local tavern from some drunkards." Coyly, Leo smiled abashedly at his elder sister.
"Got a broken bottle to the eye; hurt like hell but hey, I think it's what saved me from ever getting discovered."
Yuna winced at the explanation, pouting as she sighed deeply.
"Always the one saving others, aren't you? Just like you saved me." She chuckled, eyes glimmering with approval despite the unfortunate circumstances.
Leo shrugged;
"I knew I had to get onto Azazel's ship no matter what; if he discovered me, I'd be dead. I didn't want to undergo all these ridiculous changes, take away my birth name...but I had to get on that bloody ship." He whispered.
Yuna's gaze turned serious again. She glanced over her shoulder, towards the direction of where she, Diaval and Percival had come.
'Speaking of that...'
"Where you able to discover anything on that ship?" She whispered, voice dropping significantly.
"With Azazel, what did you learn."
At that, Leo's gaze turned troubled. His eyes fluttered away;
"I...Yes." He nodded, clearing conflicted.
"I may have figured some things out, but..." He sighed.
"This goes deeper than we first thought, Yuna. Much deeper."
The statement brought a chill to Yuna's spine.
She had to bide her time; if Leo was here, then so was the rest of Azazel's crew.
So was Azazel.
'He'll need to elaborate later.'
Yuna nodded; he would elaborate later. Yuna would take him home, she wouldn't let Azazel take Leo away again.
"I have friends in Ulstead; Moorfolk who are unable to awaken from a deep sleep. Azazel is behind it." Her voice was hushed and her tone was urgent.
"With what you know, can we do anything to save them? Anything at all?"
The concern and uncertainty still glimmered in Leo's eyes, but a glare of determination did as well.
"Yes."
Yuna sighed with relief, almost falling to her knees right there.
'Thank the gods.'
She clutched her chest, and Leo still seemed hesitant.
"It...it won't be simple, Yuna."
Yuna was quick to respond;
"I'll do whatever it takes." She stared firmly.
"Whatever it takes, Leo; just like what I did to bring you home."
With an encouraging smile, Yuna tugged again at his hand.
"Come home with me, Leo. With Mina. I'll protect you from Azazel; I need you home with me where you'll be safe."
Yuna could see it in Leo's face, the fear.
The uncertainty the boy had lived with all his life; his meekness and tendency to second guess himself shining through despite everything he'd been through over the years.
Of course Leo wanted to go with his sisters; he wanted it so bad.
That didn't mean he wasn't scared, terrified of what going with them might entail...what harm it may bring upon them.
Leo couldn't bear anything happening to his sisters.
Never.
With his hand in her grip, Yuna gently guided it towards her abdomen.
"Come back for us." She whispered, Leo's soft against her flat stomach.
Leo's eyes widened; suddenly remembering Yuna's words with a flood of emotions.
"I'm pregnant."
His eyes threatened to spill with tears again, and he stared at his sister's stomach with something akin to love and wonder.
It was all so overwhelming, but it was so wonderful at the same time;
"Okay." He whispered.
"Okay. I'll go with you."
Yuna felt elated, her lips broke into a bright smile, and she grasped onto Leo's hand tightly.
She sent one last disparaging glance at the unconscious thief before setting out.
'Alright, I need to find Diaval; little bird probably got attacked by a few stray cats.'
She gripped Leo's hand tighter, and the boy held on just as securely.
Her heart pounded in her chest;
"Should I use the flare? No, that'll attract too much attention; Percival should still be somewhere on the town's main strip. I can find him, find Diaval, then we can all-"
"Hey! Geralt!"
Leo stilled, and Yuna almost tripped from the abruptness of it.
She looked back at him with a questioning expression, and his eyes begged Yuna to stay silent. Swiftly, he shoved the book back into her bag, and turned around.
It was his fake name, Yuna realized.
"Ah, hello Luka." He squeezed Yuna's hand, and the girl instantly understood.
The air grew tense and cold, and Yuna's heart sank;
'One of Azazel's crew members...' She swallowed thickly, averting her eyes.
Leo took a protective step in front of Yuna, and the man before them continued;
"The hell are you going? We gotta get back on the ship; just bring the whore onboard with you." He huffed in annoyance, and Leo tensed.
"T-That's not-"
The man groaned again, his tied back blonde hair falling in loose strands.
"Okay, then just leave her! Come on, the guys are all ready to leave. We just had to fill up on the liquor, that's it."
Leo stayed stone still, and Yuna's chest started to tighten with anxiety. He stood there; he knew...he would know if they kept acting like this.
'Think fast, hurry!'
Yuna saw Leo ever so slightly begin to reach for his sword, and she stopped him with a sharp hand. She eyed him carefully, before looking to the crew mate;
"I'm an herbalist; an apothecary. I was just looking to travel East to respond to a request and your friend was offering to help me."
Leo tensed, and Yuna smiled a bright and faux grin.
The crew-mate just shrugged nonchalantly once more.
"Alright; lucky you. We just so happen to be heading East right now. Just hop on board with us and we'll take you there."
Leo's eyes screamed for Yuna to decline, to simply just run away and let the whole dangerous charade end. Instead, Yuna smiled with tense and tight muscles.
She almost fainted;
"Ah, perfect. Thank you."
Yuna grit out, and Leo squeezed her hand so tight it hurt.
Luka beckoned with his head.
"Cool. Let's get going then, can't keep everyone waiting any longer."
Luka watched them, waiting for the two to take the first steps. The atmosphere was thick enough to cut with a dull blade, and Yuna had to will every fibre of her being to step towards the man.
Leo followed, trying to maintain his composure as the two strode. Satisfied, Luka turned on heel and lead the pair.
They strode in complete silence; nearing the back of the island and Yuna's steps beginning to become unsteady.
'What.'
One step.
'The hell.'
Ten more.
'Am I doing?!'
Twenty more.
She looked to her side; Leo glaring harshly at her.
Yuna glared right back,
"I'm not leaving you." She whispered, biting the words out.
"Well you should.' He bit out right back.
Despite his words, Leo grabbed hold of Yuna's hand; making sure he trailed ever so slightly in front of her.
They reached the back of the town, the opposite side where the main docks where located and that was when Yuna saw it;
The small, inconspicuous charter boat.
'Bastard. Changed his boat so no one would track him.' Yuna tried to quell her pounding heart.
Luka turned back to face them;
"Go ahead and board; you're lucky Captain is so easy going and doesn't mind taking passengers."
He arched a brow.
"Where...exactly did you want to go?"
The question seized Yuna in anxiety once more, and she laughed it off as she tried to think.
'Shit. What's the closest island to here?'
Yuna tried to hide her apparent unease.
'Oh gods; They won't even know where I am. Udo, I...'
A sharp 'caw!' sounded above head, and Yuna felt a resounding joy course through her. Her head shot up, just in time to see a little black bird circle overhead before diving straight down.
Diaval flew onto a nearby window's sill, beady eyes questioning and almost frantic.
"What are you doing?!"
Yuna adeptly cocked her head towards Leo, towards their entwined hands, and Diaval cawed once more;
"Don't. You. Dare."
Yuna was suddenly grateful for all those times she'd spent studying the geographical maps in the crowded meeting room; eyeing Diaval with a careful state while addressing Luka.
"M-Mera Island."
She looked to Luka, nodding her head.
"I need you to take me to Mera Island."
The male laughed at that;
"That's just an overnight trip. Not really anything there; what kind of request would you be filling on an island like that?"
Yuna smiled again, laughing nervously but not obviously.
"Ah, just need to visit the local school. Small pox outbreak." She lied, her smile staying bright.
Luka winced.
"Gross." He clicked his tongue.
With a wave of his hand, they trekked onto the heavy sand of the cold beach and towards the looming ship.
"Geralt, when you get back onboard, you gotta run an inventory check."
With a soft voice, and a worried glance to his sister, Leo mumbled.
"A-Aye."
Time stilled as Yuna strode through the sand, eyes scanning the looming ship before her.
Her stomach churned, her throat constricted, and her eyes narrowed; gods, what was she doing?
One glance at Leo, and Yuna had all the answers she needed.
'Diaval will tell Mina and the others what happened. Mera Island is a day's trip from here. They'll come get me; I'll be okay.'
Yuna gulped.
'But how the hell am I supposed to get Leo off the ship too?'
Yuna's eyes narrowed as the ship shadowed over her, and with a faux confidence, she took her first step onto the wooden stairs.
'Hurry and come find us...' Yuna didn't know exactly who she was calling out towards, but one man in particular did flash through her mind;
Gods, she craved Udo so desperately.
Yuna held onto Leo tightly as they boarded the ship; what awaited her was unknown and foreboding, but she did know one thing for sure.
Azazel was on board.
If need be, Yuna would take him out right then and there.
'Gods, give me strength.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope you guys enjoyed!!!
What do you think will happen aboard Azazel's ship? Will Udo come in time to rescue Yuna; will she even need saving?
Also, this fic is almost a year old!! That's so crazy to me; thank you to whoever reads and supports my writing, it means so much!
I'll see you guys in the next chapter; I am updating and writing whenever I can and apologize for the infrequent uploads! Next chapter will be posted very soon; thank you! <3
~Akahana