Work Text:
Author's Notes: Number 3 of ?? because I still have no idea who long this series will run. I started 15 at work today, so who knows.
Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai
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Motion II
No. No no no. Anything but this, was all Flynn could think while staring at the sealed envelope in his hands. The contents only made his worry worse.
Why Ioder had even bothered to send a letter rather than walk down a floor to tell him in person, or even send word with Flynn's aide, Sodia, was beyond him. Flynn, however, was fully intent on walking up a flight of stairs to speak with the emperor-to-be about the contents of this letter that bothered him so much.
He stood from his desk, passing the window very briefly. In the garden below, Yuri and Repede were playing a game of fetch, blissfully unaware of the letter and its consequences. He wouldn't be for long.
Flynn had allowed him a little more freedom these past couple of weeks. He was allowed to wander the town by himself, although all the city guards had been notified to keep an eye on him and to report any trouble they had to Flynn personally. So far, he didn't regret the decision to give Yuri a little more freedom.. He only hoped that it would stay that way.
He left his office behind and mounted the stairs to the highest floor of the palace, where the royal family's quarters were, and where he would find Ioder's office. More opulent and lavishly decorated than the floor that housed his own quarters and office, he didn't come up here often. More often than not, Ioder found his way into Flynn's office for one thing or another or nothing at all. And if their separate offices were not involved at all, their meetings with the Imperial Council made up the bulk of their interactions.
Stopping at an ornately hand carved wooden door, Flynn took a sighing breath and knocked. It always felt surreal, even as Commandant, for a boy from the Lower Quarter to be standing at the door to the future Emperor's office. He and Ioder were on friendly terms, so there was no need for him to worry. But worry he did anyway. Mostly about the letter and why Ioder had sent it.
"Enter."
Ioder's office was furnished much the same as the halls outside: furniture of dark wood and velvet cushions, fresh cut flowers and crystal ornamentation. Flynn stalled at the door, unsure if he was interrupting, even though the two of them were alone in the room.
"Do come in, Flynn." Ioder waved him forward with a hand as he dropped aside a piece of parchment.
The young man was seated at his desk, apparently looking over some paperwork, and he didn't look up until Flynn had crossed the room and moved to stand in front of the desk. He smiled and that made his already young face seem even that much more boyish. But Ioder was shrewd at times and incredibly cunning for being even younger than Flynn. He had a dizzying intellect that made it hard for even some of the members of the Council to keep up with him.
He set aside his paperwork and folded his hands over the blotter of his desk, looking up at Flynn with a smile. "What brings you here?"
"I received a certain notice this morning--"
"Oh. The one about our interesting new guest here at the palace. What about it?"
"If it is not too bold of me, I want to know why you want to meet him."
Ioder leaned back in his chair, thoughtful for a moment before he spoke. "Estellise has told me about him. Yuri Lowell, I believe she said his name was. I am merely interested in meeting someone who claims to be from another world. And of course, if this is the result of our actions against the Adephagos, is it not my duty to do what I can to help him?"
"O-Of course, Your Highness."
"I assume that same sense of responsibility is why you have taken him in as well."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"We are agreed then." Ioder's smile brightened a little. "Then I should like to meet him for supper tomorrow evening."
"As you wish."
He was summarily dismissed from the Emperor's office and wandered down to the gardens to try and find Yuri. He had his work cut out for him.
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Oh, it was definitely cut out for him.
He felt a headache brewing behind his eyes as his elbows sagged against his desk and he was left rubbing his face in agitation. This was not what he wanted to be hearing about right now, and the knight standing before him stuttered a moment. He did not need this on top of the formal summons he had received from Ioder that morning.
"I-I'm sorry, sir. Is this a bad time?"
"No. It's fine. Please continue."
"We caught this young man trying to leave the city. As per your orders, we stopped him. He put up a fight, but we subdued him. What do you want us to do with him?"
Yuri tried to wrench his arm away from one of the knights, but the gauntleted hands held him firm. The scowl on his face was plain and completely discontented. "I knew it. You were keeping me under watch."
"Leave him. You're dismissed." Flynn waved the knight away with a sigh and they unceremoniously dropped Yuri into one of the chairs in front of Flynn's desk.
He just as quickly pulled himself up out of the chair, and was leaning over the desk, fists planted on its surface. "What the hell?!"
"This is for your own safety."
"I can take care of myself."
"There are monsters just beyond those walls who would waste no time making a meal out of you. I'm just trying to keep you out of harm's way."
"You're babying me! You don't know anything! You're so intent on keeping me cooped up here and for what?!"
The headache grew more intense, a sharp stinging as the raised tone of their voices and the discussion they had already had once before started grating on him. "You are my responsibility and--"
"The hell I am! I'm not some fucking charity case!" He pushed back off the desk, sending it skidding an inch or so into Flynn's abdomen.
"Fine." Flynn was sick of this. If Yuri didn't want his help, then that was fine by him. He had done everything in his power to this point to try and accommodate Yuri and be kind to him, but this was too much. He couldn't go on dealing with this, not when he had a job to do where millions of people counted on him. And out of those millions of people, this one person was threatening to push him over the edge. If Yuri chose to go off and disappear then he would no longer be Flynn's problem to deal with. "His Imperial Highness, Prince Ioder sent an official summons to meet with you. Do this for me, and do it right, and you can do whatever you want. Leave the city for all I care."
Yuri turned his back to him, arms folded over his chest and quiet for a moment while he seemed to at least be considering what Flynn said. "You've got a deal."
"We've got a lot of work to do before tomorrow, then."
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He was going to need Estellise for this. The problem with that was that she had returned to Halure a week earlier. None of the lessons that Flynn had been giving Yuri seemed to be sinking in. He could at the very least see that Yuri was trying. It seemed like he was trying Flynn's patience mostly, but proper manners were not easily learned overnight.
"No. That's the dessert spoon. You need the soup spoon."
"Can we just get to dessert and be done with this?"
"Not until you get it right."
Yuri huffed and put the spoon down and tried again. Flynn nodded that he had chosen correctly, and allowed Yuri to continue with the simple meal he'd had the chef prepare for them as a trial version of what he would be dining on that evening with the prince.
Once the soup was taken away, a light salad came next, and then the appetizer. Yuri seemed to handle things well enough, as long as Flynn had a watchful eye on him. Maybe this wasn't as hopeless as he had first imagined. But then the entree came, and Yuri was completely lost.
"No. The other--Yuri, would you--listen for just a--not that one--use the other hand to--"
He slapped down the knife and fork and pushed himself back away from the table. "Just put me in a zoo. He can come look at me there." He was no doubt making a reference to how he felt Flynn was handling him in this situation.
"How do you even manage in society without knowing the very basics, at least?"
"There aren't many nobles weren't I'm from, and none of us need acrobatic dinner etiquette."
Flynn slumped against the table, forehead flat on the cloth. This was totally hopeless. Yuri couldn't handle a basic meal, so there was no way he was going to be able to handle a private dinner with the future emperor. If he could have backed out now, fed Ioder some excuse as to why Yuri could, or would, not meet with him, he had half a mind to do it.
The clink of metal on porcelain made him look up to find Yuri, fork and knife in hand, trying a second time. The utensils seemed awkward in his hands at first, but after a few moments, he seemed to be handling things all right.
"What?" Yuri asked, hesitating a second before taking a sip from the wrong glass. Flynn didn't correct him.
"I thought you were done."
"I plan on keeping my part of the bargain."
The bargain. Flynn had been so angry when he suggested it, and after a full night of sleeping on it, he realized that it had been a stupid thing to say. It was frustrating that Yuri couldn't understand that Flynn was worried for him and didn't want to see him get hurt. It was just as frustrating that Flynn seemed to have trouble verbalizing that.
The world beyond the city walls was a dangerous place, fraught with monsters and bandits, and the walls only barely kept them out. Without a weapon or formal training, it would be impossible for Yuri to survive out there alone. And that only made the guilt in his stomach grow worse. Yuri was still his responsibility. An argument between them didn't change that.
After somewhat successfully making it through all five courses, Flynn was left with the hope that maybe Yuri wouldn't mess this up too badly. He wished he had more time. A week might get Yuri ready enough for a meal with the prince, but a single day was pushing the limits of both Flynn and Yuri's patience. He went over conversation basics, what was deemed polite for the company and what was not, and the very basics of 'walk, sit up straight,' etc.
Finally the time came, and Flynn felt more nervous about it than Yuri seemed. In fact, Yuri seemed largely unimpressed as Flynn marched him up the stairs to the royal family's quarters. It wasn't just anyone who was allowed to dine with the prince, or even visit this wing of the palace, but that seemed to be lost on Yuri. He was probably just ready to get this over with and escape the city without Flynn's hold over him.
He knocked once more on the door to Ioder's office, and was called in. He entered first, and Yuri followed, his pace continuing into the room as Flynn shut the door.
A small table had been set up with the standard dining preparations for the five-course dinner they were expected to sit through. He could only hope that Yuri would behave. But that hope seemed very suddenly in vain.
Ioder was already seated at the table, watching them as they entered. As soon as Yuri spotted him, his face went red.
"You?!"
"Hello again."
"You little shit!"
Flynn had to physically hold Yuri back from charging at Ioder. "Yuri, what in the world has gotten into you?"
"This is the prince?"
"Yes. Now explain your behavior!"
"Allow me." Ioder stood, taking a step toward them. Yuri pushed harder against him, face reddening. "We met yesterday afternoon, down in the Public Quarter. Your friend here is capable of causing quite the ruckus."
"We met because one of your goon squad knocked a lady's groceries out of her hands without so much as an apology. And you did nothing about it."
"Yuri, please don't address His Highness so informally...."
"It's all right, Flynn." Ioder waved him off as if Yuri's rudeness was nothing. "I can assure you that I have dealt with the problem."
"Really? Did you go down and replace that lady's food? Did you even give her a proper apology? What did you do to fix it?" His sense of moral outrage was strong, and uncalled for over such a small and easily fixed circumstance.
"Calm down, Yuri." Flynn grabbed him by the wrist, which he quickly pulled away.
"No. The deal's off. You can forget me having dinner with this kid." Yuri turned on his heel and made his exit swiftly, letting the door slam shut behind him.
Flynn immediately took to one knee, arm across his chest in a formal bow. This incident was deeply embarrassing, and if he were upset, Ioder could outright throw Yuri out of the palace to fend for himself in the city, or worse, the world beyond. "I'm terribly sorry, Your Highness. His behavior was inexcusable and I will see to it that it is addressed immediately."
"There's no need to bother, Flynn." When Flynn looked up, Ioder was smiling, although for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. "He may stay here as long as you see fit."
"But, Sire, why?"
Walking to the window, Ioder turned away from him to peer out into the city's nightscape, dotted with lights from oil lamps and candles. He was quiet a long moment, and Flynn feared the answer he would give, or that he would recant his statement. "I find this Yuri Lowell very interesting. He may stay, just try to see to it that he doesn't make too much trouble."
"O-of course. Thank you."
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Dinner had been a complete disaster. And as hard as Flynn had tried, he should have expected as much. It was a while before he had the clarity of mind to go see Yuri. It was anger at first that kept him away, but as the night wore on, discomfort and concern set in. He hadn't heard but the faint whisper of Yuri speaking to Repede, soft and almost inaudible through the walls.
Yuri was in the wrong. He had completely flown off the handle in front of the future emperor, who had treated him as a guest. He had openly insulted Ioder and had been highly disrespectful. But at the core of that had been a strong sense of morality. He didn't feel that Ioder had slighted him, but that he allowed an injustice to be done. He was so angry over some groceries, even after Ioder had said that he had taken care of the problem. Flynn knew that the cost of food could be steep, but there were better ways to come to a solution than shouting. And while Yuri's behavior had been inappropriate and uncalled for, he had only seemed to have had the woman's best interests in mind. As angry as Flynn had been about the whole fiasco, he couldn't hold that much against him.
Finally, he drew up the nerve to knock on the door to the room Yuri had been staying in. There was no answer at first. He knocked again. He knew that Yuri could hear him.
"Can I come in?"
"Whatever."
Flynn stepped in and turned his attention to the balcony. Yuri was seated, slumped against the wall, and gazing out into the stars with Repede's paws folded over his outstretched legs.
"I guess I'm in for a real earful this time." He looked at him, those charcoal eyes deep and dark. He wasn't angry. This was something else, something resigned.
"I'm not here to chastise you further on what you did. But I did have something that I wanted to say."
"Say it then."
"I don't want you to leave the city."
"Look, I got it the first time--"
"The guards will no longer hold you back. You are free to leave if you want to."
"What?"
"His Highness has permitted you to stay, with the promise that you will keep the trouble to a minimum, and I ask that you not leave. The world beyond the walls of the city is dangerous and I am only concerned for your safety. I cannot, however, keep you here against your will," Flynn explained.
Yuri was silent for a very long moment, regarding him with those strange eyes. He looked back up to the sky, letting out a deep breath that caused his chest to cave in. "Teach me how to fight. With a sword."
"Does that mean you'll stay?" Flynn found himself feeling much more hopeful about the answer than he expected.
"For now."
He wasn't sure what had convinced Yuri to stay, even if it was only for a little while. In spite of the chaos that came in his wake, Flynn was glad for that much.