That's How the Story Goes

Chapter 5

Things were normal when the day started. Leon woke up, got dressed, ate something, teased Xiao Pai, and got the newest assignment from Arthur for him. Everything was normal save when he went to Porcoline's old office building. Arthur offered to let the fox man use the room but the true prince had to leave for other duties today. Meaning he wasn't going to be there and thus there wouldn't be anyone to banter with while Leon worked. That didn't sound like fun. So instead, Leon took the book back to his room at the Inn and set to work. Only to pause...

It was time.

There was nothing he could do.

After fighting it for so long, he couldn't do it anymore.

Leon sat at the desk in his room. Eyes glazed over while looking at the ancient text open before him. The book was a new one that Arthur had asked him to translate but it was considered a classic during the time before he became a guardian. He could tell this story in his sleep. He had read it countless times to himself and others. Because of this, all of the reminiscing that he had been trying to crush down the past week would not allow itself to be bottled up this time. It was like he was back in his tower... Leon Karnak. Time was standing still and all of these changes in the modern world were gone.

Scenes flashed behind his eyes. The town he worked for, Ventuswill, the people he left behind... Maria... Tears wanted to crest but Leon refused to let them fall. He didn't deserve to have the privilege to shed tears after what he had done to that girl. This was probably punishment for all of the fun that he had been having the past week with Frey. A kind of... retribution. A retribution that he dearly deserved if the Princess's reactions to his presence were anything to go by.

Frey had a crush on him. It was obvious. From the way she was so easily flustered to the fact that most times she had problems being in close proximity with him... the girl had it for him bad... and he seemed to be in the same boat. The past week had only proved to enhance their relationship. All of the teasing and flirting was hitting its peak. One that he wished he could pursue more than anything... if he didn't have another promise holding him where he was.

Maria.

The girl's face flashed in his mind and it took all he had to not just cry out her name. She was like his little sister. He loved her as such and all he did was give her pain in return. More than likely years of pain if she had kept to the promise he had made to her. Leon shuddered at the thought and pushed his feelings of Frey down. As far down as he could. She was a happiness that he couldn't have. Not now. He didn't deserve to have this amazing woman in his life. One that made him smile just about every day with her antics.

His eyes glanced at the large pile of turnip headgear that he had found the day before. If he hadn't caught her in the act, they would have been quite the creepy surprise. This was the first time she had tried to get him back and it had amused him to no end at the time. Now they just looked like reminders of the fact that he wanted to break his promise. The promise he made to his dear friend so long ago...

It was crushing.

It was hard to breathe.

Why couldn't he seem to do the right thing? Why did he want to be happy, even though he knew that he couldn't be?

Leon sat immobile for a long time with the thoughts of guilt and the past swirling around in a self-deprecating spiral in his mind. It was times like this that he wished Dylas, Dolce, or Amber were nearby. They didn't have as long a distance between this era and theirs but he had caught them in their own reminiscing spirals several times. Leon closed his eyes but that only seemed to make it worse as any outside stimulus was now gone.

People had come up to see him but all they were was background noise. Their voices muffled as if underwater. He had opened his eyes and he was sure he had spoken to them but he could not, for the life of him, recollect what he had said. It wasn't until the slightly heavy steps of a certain acting princess that he was able to pull out of this dreaded cycle for a small bit. Just to see what she wanted.