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

A Sister's Comfort

Leo ran into another room, closing the door a bit too loudly behind him. He just needed some time to himself to think things through. There was too much going on, too much weight on his shoulders. He hoped he could just relax his mind for a bit without anyone noticing he was gone, but he knew that Ryoma had seen him run off, and as he ran, he felt the gazes of hundreds of others too.

"What was I thinking to just run off like that? I'm so immature... What will everyone think of me once I return to that room?" Negative thoughts raced through his head, yet he told them to go away, to leave him be. At least if he had an emotional breakdown it wouldn't have been in front of everyone. Why did he care so much about what people thought? That's when he remembered. It was his mother that had caused him to act that way.

He vaguely remembered her, probably because he didn't want to, but he remembered how she would always expect him to show confidence and perfection around everyone at all times. If he displayed weakness, she would be greatly disappointed in him, and would threaten to punish him for it. In fear of disappointing her and being punished, he would fake his emotions. He would lie, and all because he was told not to display weakness. To his mother, showing weakness was like a sin. Leo's mother, from what he could remember, was selfish, cruel, and unreasonable. She didn't care at all about Leo. She said she loved him, but he could hear the lies in her tone. She never did anything at all for him, only for herself. She would even use him in court to her advantage, for she noticed his lies fooled others so easily. Leo felt horrible doing these things for her, but he was wise enough to know it was best not to argue with her. He had become so damaged, and all because of her. But it wasn't like Camilla and Elise didn't go through something similar either. All three of their mothers were definitely not the nicest people, and didn't care for their children. It hurt Leo to think that Camilla, Elise, and him were only born because their mothers wanted access to the throne, in other words, power.

He stared down at the ground, wondering what life would've been like if none of that had happened. At least he had Camilla to serve as a motherly figure. But he'd always wondered, how did Camilla feel? She acted as a mother to Leo, Elise, and Corrin, but no one had ever truly loved her like a mother would.

With a sigh, Leo stood up, and put his hand on the doorknob, debating with himself whether or not he was truly ready to go back. He felt the knob turn, though he hadn't moved his hand. The door opened inwards, and he quickly moved out of the way to see someone walk in, then closing the door once more. "Leo? What're you doing in here, darling?" It was Camilla. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Ryoma told me you ran off somewhere, and I wanted to make sure you were alright." She hugged Leo tightly, her warmth comforting him as he breathed in the scent of lilac. She pet his back slowly and softly, then paused to look him in the eyes. Camilla took in a deep sigh, gently placing her hands on the sides of his face. "Look at you, King Leo... You're all grown up now, aren't you? And yet, you're still as adorable as you were years before," she said with a laugh and a bittersweet smile. "No, sister... I'm still just as immature," Leo hesitated, taking his gaze away from hers. "What do you mean, dear?"

"I can't control my feelings, and I'm letting them take control of how I act, just like I always did... I was always jealous of the attention you gave Corrin, and I let that take control over myself. I've always craved attention since then. And because I always seemed to be in Xander's shadow, I strived to someday outshine him... Now, I'm letting my grief and stress overtake me, and it's causing me to want to hide from everyone else, like a child would hide from their fears. I'm hiding from something that will always be there, no matter what. I can't do anything about this, I'm just wishing that Elise and Xander weren't dead instead of just accepting it, and trying to move on," Leo sniffled, but tried to keep in his tears. "Leo, sweetie, it's only natural for you to grief over their deaths. You're always going to love and miss them, it just won't be as hard to accept they aren't with you later on. I don't expect you to just accept your siblings' deaths immediately, because I myself haven't accepted it yet, either. It's okay to feel this way," Camilla replied, and Leo decided that he could no longer keep his tears in, and began to sob on Camilla's shoulder. She stroked his back gently, in a soothing manner that caused him to gradually calm down.

Once he'd gained control of himself again, he sniffled, and turned his gaze to the door. "I suppose there's a lot of people out there wondering where we are..?" Camilla nodded, and before Leo walked out and back into the main room, she grasped his hand tightly. "You'll be fine, dear. I promise," she smiled, and tried let go of his hand, yet Leo continued to hold hers. He was still feeling a bit trembly after crying like that, and he needed some support. Camilla didn't say a word, yet exited the room with Leo.

Leo noticed Ryoma glance over at him, but ignored it. He was debating whether or not he should avoid Ryoma, for he feared Ryoma would ask him what that whole running off thing was about. But he was suddenly interrupted by how hungry he felt, and quickly sat down at the nearest table and awaited for Jakob to bring him his food. He then tried to remember what would be happening after the feast, and noticed, to his relief, that the after party would soon be over. But, would something else be happening as well..?