Fate: The End of War

1: Another Side

Leo

At one point my passive but doubtful actions had gotten me thrown out of Krackenburg. I had assumed at the time that father had issued the command, but it turns out my teacher, Iago, had thrown me out, both out of spite and disapproval.

I ended up laying at the feet of another King, King Sumeragi, of Hoshido. He was about to enter the castle in an attempt to quell the tense between the nations with negotiation. Once he saw me out there, for some reason that befuddles me to this day, he took me up from the cold floor, I was the age of about ten at the time, and brought me to the prosperous nation.

Shortly after, he sent a messenger back to Nohr to notify Garon that I was safe, and was only brought out of the cold of the street.

The messenger did not make it.
———————————————————

"Child." I was startled out of prodding the unfamiliar meal that had been placed before me. I dropped the utensil I was given to eat with, two sticks that I was to place between my fingers to grab food with, which I was failing miserably at doing (it's harder than it looks). They clattered against the table in a wooden echo. My eyes met the stern yet kind eyes of the foreign king.

"Y-Yes, sir?" I managed to utter, and the room fell to silence again. Footsteps echoed from the hall, light, but quick, like an excited child. The footsteps made their way to the room, where the door slid open, but I couldn't see who or what had entered.

Small fingers grabbed the table, and I caught a quick glimpse of a face as they tried to jump up to see. They had auburn-orange eyes similar to my own, and surprisingly long gray hair for how old he looked.

The king looked at the child. He chuckled slightly. "Takumi, did you come to see our guest?"

"Uh-huh!" The child responded wordlessly. He struggled to climb up onto the chair across from me, and had to kneel on it. He stared at me, his eyes blinked, having probably never seen a Nohrian man before.

A servant to the king entered with another platter of breakfast, a sort of egg with rice on the side, before the child, and a pair of sticks. He picked them up and started to almost expertly pick the meal apart and eat it, never taking his eyes off me. He noticed that I didn't touch my food, and assumed that I struggled with the sticks I needed to use to pick it up. He attempted to show me how to use it, and with how exaggerated his motions were, it gave me a chuckle.

The King watched the open doorway, as if waiting for someone.

"Where are those two?" He asked, before putting a hand to his face, thinking.

"Sorry, Father!" I heard a voice enter in. Two figures, a taller, long, brown haired prince whose hair almost reminded me of lobster for some reason, entered in after a shorter, red-haired princess, who seemed to be at least four or five years older than me.

"We had went to see Mother and our new sister this morning." The tall son explained, facing his father. "We didn't realize Takumi ran out of mother's room." He glanced at the child called Takumi, who just responded with a giggle. He smiled slightly and took a seat next to him, ruffling his hair. Soon his eyes met mine as well, but his eyes revealed a startled expression. I looked to the other sibling, whose expression also betrayed that thought.

The king seemed to notice this, and told them with a firm yet reassuring voice, "Ryoma, Hinoka. The boy is our guest."

"Guest? But why?" The one I assumed was Hinoka spoke up. "He's Nohrian." She seemed to put special emphasis on the word. My eyes slowly averted, as I felt the hostility that grew in the room.

The servants had returned with a plate for both of the other royals who entered the room, and after they left again, the king spoke yet again. "It seems the situation within Nohr has worsened." He closed his eyes and lowered his head. "Do you know who this is?"

The room was silent.

"This is the youngest Nohrian prince, Prince Leo. He was," He paused, "thrown out of home, for what reason, I do not know."

"I protested what father had ordered, sir. He wanted to plot an ambush." My voice weakened at the end, I felt wrong for saying that, but it also felt as if pressure was lifted from my chest. They all stared at me, before I went back to poking at my food. Takumi seemed confused, as he tried to keep everything he was hearing in order, but eventually gave up, and went back to eating.

The dining room remained in such silence that sounds down the halls entered in and could be heard clearly.

"I see." Ryoma says, finally breaking the silence. "It is unfortunate that you have to go through such turmoil at home."

"As I brought you back here, you were suffering, as you murmured numerous small and terrified phrases in your sleep."

"I-I did?" I wondered, my face feeling hot from the embarrassment of talking in my slumber. My tongue caught as I asked, causing me to repeat the word. The king nodded, and reassured me it was nothing to be ashamed with.

"Father!" Takumi spoke up. He set his utensils down, and stood on his chair. "If things are so bad in Noh- Noo- Nohr, why not have him come to little sister's birth ce-cele-celeb—"

"Celebration." Ryoma finished for Takumi.

"Yeah!"

Sumeragi thought about the proposal for a few minutes, before nodding. "That sounds plausible, Takumi." He looked over at me. "You probably want another perspective, anyways."

"Yes, erm, thank you, sir."

"You may call me Sumeragi." Once everyone finished their meals, he got up. "Let's find you some clothing more fitting for a celebration." I slowly complied and followed him, Takumi following behind us.