Weight of the Crown { A Leonardo fanfic}

Did I find Hogwarts?!

With quick strides, Leo and Drace make it back to the lounge in record time. The three turtles and two humans lift their heads as Leo enters. "Leo? Bro!" Mikey exclaims, his mouth full of a pink and cream coloured pastry. The youngest turtle leaps up, dashing into his brother's arms. The blue-clad leader hugs back, smiling. 

"Mikey, I was only gone for like fifteen minutes." Leonardo chuckles. "It felt like forever!" His youngest brother protests. 

"Were you successful?" The professor asks. Leo nods, his smile brightening. "We can stay." There is a loud whoop from Casey as the rest cheer. Drace clears his throat, rolling his blue eyes. I have plans for my night, earthlings." The captain growls, turning to the door.  "Leave your chatter for the rooms." 

The turtles brighten. "We get rooms?" Raph asks, half expecting them to be confined to the dungeons for the night. The captain of the guard offers no repeat, only leaves the lounge, striding down the hall. 

Excitedly, the earth-dwellers and their cyborg companion trail behind him. "Her Majesty insists on you 'guests' having the best rooms in the castle," Drace explains, though his tone remains unimpressed.

Stopping outside a door with a golden plaque on the frame, Drace turns to the small crew. The words on the door are written in a foreign language neither turtles nor humans could understand. 

"You are lucky, earthlings." Drace comments, unlocking the door and standing back, his hand resting habitually on the hilt of the sword at his belt. "Don't expect it to last long." With that, the captain of the guard turns on his heel and trudges back down the hall. 

"Positive chap, isn't he?" The Fugitoid ays in an attempt to lighten the mood that darkened whenever the seemingly cold-hearted captain was present. Leonardo grasps the door handle and pushes open the door. There is a collective gasp as they beheld the glory behind the door. 

A common living room occupies the main area. A small dining table with chairs sits under a glittering chandelier. Another five doors lin the far wall. "No way!" Mikey explains, rushing around, inspecting every single object in the rooms. 

"This place is totally metal!" Casey cheers, flopping onto the plush couch. "For once, I agree with puck-head." Donnie chuckles, eyeing the juicy-looking fruit in the silver bowl on the table. "We need to set up rooms," Leo announces, turning his attention to the five doors. 

"Roommates?" Raph groans. Mikey bounces up and down. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" The youngest turtle shouts excitedly. "I call dibs on Red!" Casey calls, jumping up and throwing his arm around April's shoulder, wiggling his eyebrows. 

The look on the girl's face was utter disgust. "You with Jones." She huffs, planting her hand on the dark-haired boy's face and shoving him away. No one seems to notice the steam billowing from the purple-clad turtle's ears. 

"Casey, you will room with Raphael. Donnie with me. April, Mikey and Professor get their own rooms." Leo says. A relieved sigh deflates Donatello's chest. "Aw, why does Mikey get a room to himself?" The hockey player whines, his shoulders slumping. 

Raph rolls his eyes, grabbing the human boy by his arm, dragging him towards to closest room door. "Trust me Case. You do not want to hear Mikey's Pizza-Crognard monologues." 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Leonardo lays away, unable to sleep. The soft, whistle-like snores of his brother in the bed on the other side of the room working like an unseen clock. Leo doesn't know what it is that keeps him sleeping. Maybe it is the too-soft pillow, or the daunting thought of Drace Thornhill hiding outside the window, knife in hand and a maniacal grin on his scarred face. 

Or maybe it is the thing that kept him awake all night every night. The question of what is they failed to save the earth? Was usually always positive, but the fear was always there, weighing him down and eating at him bit by bit. 

Leo sits up, his mind racing. What would happen if they didn't save their planet? Their home? Slipping out of bed and the room, the blue-masked leader walks toward the balcony, pushing open the glass doors. The cold wind hit the terrapin like a wave. A refreshing wave. 

With his hands on the railing, Leonardo lets out a heavy sigh. "Why us?" He asks no one in particular. Closing his eyes, Leo let his senses take control. He can smell the pine of the forest below, the sweet spice of freshly baked bread in the town off in the distance. 

He can hear the howling wind that played with his bandanna tails, the various noises of hunting nocturnal animals. All of this making him feel at ease. He remembers Master Splinter telling him many times, "Nature is a ninja's best friend."

A soft smile tugs at his lips. For some reason, his mind wanders back to the events of a couple of hours ago. More specifically, the young queen. Something about her brown eyes had caused him to freeze in his spot in the throne room. 

She had seemed to understand him in some way. Leo doesn't know how to put it, but there was something in the way she looked at him that made him feel....comfortable. Relaxed. Shaking his head, Leo chides himself.

'You just met her. Heck, you didn't even properly meet her.' He scolded himself mentally. He decides to explore the castle. Peeking around the door, he surveys the hallway. Half expecting to see soldiers patrolling, he is pleasantly surprised to see how empty and silent it is.

The young ninja slips out and begins strolling down the long blue and gold carpet. He observes the high windows that allow the silver moonlight to pour into the building, lighting up the floor and picture frames on the wall. 

Leo glances at each one as he passes them. Past monarchs of the kingdom, he decides. Kings and Queens who ruled Lycadia in the past. Reaching the last, one, Leo pauses. He takes time to really look at this last photograph. 

A woman with a strange familiarity stares back at him from the frame. She is in a sense, beautiful. Long, blonde, near-white hair and icy blue eyes. The pure determination in her eyes and the confident set in her jaw makes the connection click in Leonardo's mind. 

The young queen. This woman shared multiple features with her. "This must be her mother." The turtle mutters to himself. He notes the rough scar just above her eyebrow, and the look of authority in her gaze. 

Leo continues walking, his thoughts awhirl. The girl who sat on the throne was still quite young. Her mother should be alive... Unless of course, something happened to her. That would explain why the girl was queen at such a young age. Reluctantly, Leo pauses in front of a door with more words in Lycadian written on the frame. 

Out of pure curiosity, the young turtle pushes open the door and finds himself surrounded by mountain hight shelves. The shelves are filled with precious books. Books of all sorts of sizes and colours. A soft gasp escapes Leo's lips as he stumbles into the ginormous library, wandering the labyrinth-like rows of musty smelling paperbacks and hardbacks. 

The aroma of ageing books and dusty shelves envelops the young leader's senses. His sapphire eyes wash over the towering wooden shelves. "Woah..." He breathes. Leo runs his hand over the smooth surface of a shelf, rubbing his fingers together to rid them of the collected dust that clings to his skin. 

Suddenly, Leo wonders if there is anything in the great library on the Triceritons. With new found excitement, the turtle runs through the rows of cedar smelling shelves. He runs his fingers across the rows of aging delicacies, his eyes brushing over the titles. Many, is not all of the books were in the native language of the Lycaons, the swirling characters unfamiliar to him. 

Leonardo sighs and slips a large book back in its place. The turtle was just about to turn around and leave when a voice broke the silence. 

"Looking for something?" 

Uh, oh. Someone's busted! Wonder who it could be. Any guesses?