I'll be your Queen (ON HOLD, REVISING)

Her Return

"Leo?" a familiar voice said. "Hm?" Leo turned around, and realized who it was that had tapped him on his shoulder. Corrin. At the very sight of her, his heat began to race. "O-oh... Hello," Leo stammered, unsure how to react to seeing her here. He knew she'd be here, but it had completely escaped his mind. "Well...it's certainly been awhile. How have you been?" she asked in a way that made Leo wonder if she'd been worrying about him. "Oh... I've been fine lately. The only thing that's really been on my mind were my plans for Nohr," he lied, mostly because he wanted to avoid thinking of Elise and Xander. If he even thought of them for a second, it was as if someone had just punched him in the gut. "That's nice. I'm so excited for you, Leo. I know you'll be a wonderful king!" Corrin replied with a soft smile, her scarlet eyes glistening.

Leo couldn't help but smile back at her. After all, she looked so mesmerizing. Her black dress contrasted nicely with her white hair, and her hair complimented her eyes, which flickered with hope, and shone like rubies. Leo became so distracted, that he hadn't realized that the crown's weight had started to take its toll on him again.

He nearly lost his balance until Corrin grabbed his hand, steadying him. Leo glanced down at his hand, and, realizing he'd been holding Corrin's hand, a deep red blush raced across his face. He pulled his hand away from hers, which, unintentionally, he did forcefully. "Uh..sorry," he stammered, trying not to look Corrin in the eyes. "It's fine," Corrin said, though she seemed somewhat hurt. "As long as you're alright. I was afraid you were going to fall over." He felt his heart racing again, then realized that he shouldn't be so foolish as to fall for Corrin.

"Remember, Leo... She's the reason Xander and Elise are dead." Leo told himself. But, he felt as if she still might've had that innocence that she had before. Perhaps, she didn't want to hurt them, but it just happened while she was trying to achieve her goal of bringing peace to the two countries. Yet, it was her fault she'd left Nohr in the first place. Perhaps, if she hadn't gone off to Hoshido, Elise and Xander wouldn't have been dead. While they were battling, they must have felt heartbroken, betrayed, and horrible. Those would've distracted them from concentrating on battle. So, it was Corrin's fault, in Leo's mind. And yet, she was right here, making him fall for her again. He wished he wasn't so foolish.

"Are you alright..?" Corrin wondered aloud, noticing that Leo was staring intently at the ground. "I'm fine," Leo said, letting out a sigh. "Now, could you..leave me be? I..have a few things to tend to." "But...aren't you going to the feast with everyone else?" Corrin replied in confusion, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I have to discuss something with someone at the feast. Something...personal," Leo lied, lowering his voice and looking away from Corrin, trying to convince her that he was looking at the person he'd be talking to. He was really just trying to find any excuse to stay away from Corrin, but he didn't want to say it to her directly. If she hadn't changed so much, he'd do anything to be near her. It pained him to know of how she betrayed him.

"Oh, I see," Corrin nodded in acceptance. "Well, I'll talk to you later, then." Corrin waved at Leo, and walked off to sit at a table and wait for the feast. Leo had noticed she was sitting with Camilla and Hinoka. At least he was glad that those two were getting along. He sighed, and turned around. For a moment, he was surprised to see two people right behind him. However, upon noticing who they were, he was no longer surprised in the slightest. "Odin, Niles," he sighed. "What were you doing now? Were you eavesdropping?" "Pff... Of course not," Niles snickered. Leo rolled his eyes, and decided to sit down at the nearest table. Much to his annoyance, Odin and Niles followed along.

"What do you two want?" Leo groaned. "Lord Leo...you seem..troubled. More so than usual," Odin remarked. "I-it's nothing," Leo replied, looking down at the tabletop. "Do you..want us to leave, Lord Leo? Or should we stay here with you..very close to you, and-" Niles began, but Leo cut him off. "Actually, yes, stay here. But, Niles, try to hold your tongue for once..." "Fine, fine," Niles replied with a groan. "But that's basically the same as telling me not to talk at all.." "Then don't talk," Leo said with a quick smirk. "May I speak, Lord Leo?" Odin asked, sitting beside Niles. "Odin, you're always so loud when you talk... If both of you can behave and quiet down, that'd be much better," Leo replied.

"Lord Leo..I know you were lying when you said nothing was bothering you, earlier... There must be something wrong," Niles insisted, narrowing his eyes. "Come on, tell us." Leo glanced back at Corrin, and then down at his robes. With a sigh, he opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when Jakob came over with plates of food. "Thank you, Jakob," Leo said. "It's my pleasure, milord," Jakob replied with a bow. Leo watched as he walked off, Odin and Niles devouring the food on their plates. Leo looked down at his plate, and suddenly realized he didn't really feel hungry, though his stomach felt empty. He picked up his fork and poked the food on his plate, resting his head on his hand.

"Leo," a familiar voice from behind him said. "Xander?" Leo whipped his head around, and instead of Xander, he saw Ryoma. "Congratulations," he said with a smile, placing his hand on Leo's shoulder. Leo felt oddly comforted by this, and looked at Ryoma's hand, unsure of what to think. "Thank you..Ryoma," Leo replied awkwardly. "Oh, am I bothering you?" Ryoma said, removing his hand from Leo's shoulder immediately. "No, no, it's fine," Leo answered, looking up at Ryoma. For some reason, Ryoma's warm smile reminded him of Xander. "Ryoma, do you happen to know when the feast ends?" Leo wondered aloud. "Hm.. I'd say in about 45 minutes," Ryoma replied, looking out the window. "Okay, well, if you'll excuse me," Leo said before running off. Ryoma's gaze followed him, filled with confusion.