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The spoon didn't even reach Zola's mouth before he heard princess Sakura calling behind him, followed by Takumi. The war had ended not so long ago, with the death of King Garon, thanks to Iago, or should he say Corrin's husband. Zola didn't like to think about it. He hated to think about the past. All the good things that had happened before Garon turned... bad. He couldn't even look into Iago's eye anymore, without thinking that he killed his former best friend and King. The person Iago was- no, the person they were the most loyal to. In the name of love and peace.
Sakura's gentle hand on his shoulder made him jump, now finally looking at the siblings, embarrassed.
“H-hi... Can we… bother you a little bit?” asked the younger one with her soft smile, making his poor weak heart race and cheeks burn. He had a soft spot for pretty women. He could never say no to Elise when he was still in Nohr, and couldn't bear to say no to Sakura either. Especially after… the Opera accident.
“S-sorry. I was thinking of... never mind, why do you need this mage for?”
“Hinoka pranked us earlier today, so we are getting our revenge. She knows us by heart now, we need...” Takumi let out a long sigh. “We need you to help us. You're a shape-shifter, right?”
Blood ran fast in his body, excited to get to work. “Of course ! B-but...” It was a way for the trickster to have fun again, just like old times, but also to get closer to them. However, this time, it was tricking royalty. Not a random soldier, or even Iago when he felt sneaky enough.
“D-don't worry! If anything happens, we will take the blame. You are already kind enough to help us.”
He wasn't. And the look in his eyes said the same thing. He was a selfish monster who almost got them killed. Who manipulated them. He needed to talk about what had happened at the Opera. But he thought Takumi would not listen, and Sakura, she was too pure to hear him. He wasn't good enough for any of them. He had a debt, and in order to fulfill this debt, he left Nohr, and asked Corrin for help. She gladly took him in the Hoshidian army, without asking him anything else but to help people around him rebuild the country. Like every other Hoshidian around.
He always felt more at home here than in Nohr. Zola had a healthier skin thanks to the sun, and could actually eat without being scared of being poisoned. Sure, he was still as tired, not because he had too much work, but because he couldn't even close his eyes at night. He had terrible nightmares of what happened. He had vivid visions of it.
He was right in front of Garon, big and tall, still sitting on his chair, looking down at him. He was so proud of himself. He gave him his daughter back! He fixed the problem! And he could kill a big part of the Hoshidian army, right there, stop the war, and get back to being a family. But he didn't. He laughed at him. The mage couldn't understand at that time, that he wasn't the king he was before. That he didn't care about his daughter anymore.
The king stood up, his eyes still locked with Zola's, terrified, paralyzed by fear. Garon raised Bölverk. He could still hear Elise's scream, and see her push him in the water. She didn't get hurt, and he only had a minor wound, healed by Sakura right after. It was a miracle. Hinoka took him to the ground. She didn't ask anything, nor looked at him. But when everybody did, it was horrible. Especially Takumi. He could still see the disappointment in his eyes. He trusted him. He befriended him. A Nohrian. A liar. A filthy rat.
“Zola, are you alright? You haven't said a single word yet.” Sakura asked
“I'm fine! I was thinking of a plan! Do you have something in mind?” The mage lied, not wanting to talk about it.
“Not something that we haven’t already done.” Takumi said, taking a seat in front of the mage. Zola didn't look at him, eyes locked in his dirty reflection in the soup as soon as the prince was installed. “Maybe you should change into her or Ryoma, and do stuff around, I don't know.” Takumi added, while Sakura sat down next to her brother.
The dark mage wanted to do something a little bit silly, as a first joke, to show Hinoka that he wasn't too bad. Looking up, his eyes rested on Takumi's red cloth in his hair. “L-lord Takumi, may I ask you... d-do you... keep a lot of ribbons?”
“Oboro does have quite a lot of those for me, yes. Why?”
“We could... braid the mane of... her Pegasus. And put ribbons and flowers. And I... could help you by turning into your sister, s-so no one would suspect you.”
Sakura and Takumi looked at each other with pure joy in their eyes, making Zola's heart flutter. Well, it seemed like it was indeed a good idea! It was quite nice, and it maybe wouldn’t look too bad. She could even like it. Well, not really, Hinoka looked too much like a tomboy for that. He stood up, faking forgetting his soup, and changed into the princess.
“Well, let's go before someone find out about it. We must absolutely go change and take a bath after that, as we will smell like the stable.” Takumi said, looking at the illusion, shocked, making the simulacrum rub her arm.
Zola would stay mute for the rest of the plan, going through every guard, sometimes nodding when they saluted them. He felt so good in the body of the pretty tall princess, enjoying looking at his reflection in the mirror in Oboro's 'office'. It was the room where she kept everything, from paper flowers, to the beautiful handmade wool gloves. Sakura took the things they needed, and playfully pushed the other two outside, in a very good mood.
Once in the stable, they looked at each other and began to brush and embellish the mane of the pegasus, trying to be as quick and quiet as possible. But when they were done, Takumi couldn't help but laugh, followed by Zola and Sakura trying to make the boys stop, failing to. The poor white animal looked very strange; they totally failed to make it pretty. The braids were all tangled, flowers of many colors that didn't go well together were stuck in a few ribbons tied in original ways.
He hadn’t had a real laugh since forever. He didn't prank someone for so long. But that's what made him feel alive. Happy. The mage couldn't keep his joy, crying a little bit as he laughed. It was kind of bittersweet. He used to do that with his little sister. To the men who died in the war. But it was nice to make friend with Takumi, who was maybe nicer to him because he looked like his sister. And he was glad to be able to help Sakura; after all, she saved his life.
“Now now, let's run to the hot springs, someone will see us if we stay here!” Takumi said, wiping the tears from his eyes. No one saw Zola cry, good, so he did the same thing and followed him, changing back to himself with regret.
And then he realized. The hot springs, meaning they'd bathe together. He liked him enough to be intimate with him! Once in the bathhouse, with a smile on his face, he took off his muddy clothes, took a shower, and threw a towel around his waist, walking to the men’s bath. It was empty, even Takumi wasn't there yet. He sat in the hot water with a loud sigh, sinking his mouth in the water and closing his eyes. It was so calming. The sound of the water against the stone of the bath, the silence of the place... Hoshidians knew how to be comfortable.
Takumi's steps made him stand up again, before he understood that he was looking at him, upset.
“Are all you Nohrians so.... skinny?” The prince asked, going in the water, his eyes locked on his visible ribs. He could almost count them.
“I...I guess? We were pretty poor, in my family we couldn't afford food everyday. And even in the army, we didn't have a lot to eat. I-I mean I don't mind! R-really! A-and–”
“It makes you ugly.” he said, but not with any kind of hate or anger. It was more pity.
“I-I am aware!” Zola laughed nervously before losing all sight of a smile.
“I'm sorry, I don't mean it like that, urgh. I am sure that... if you ate more, and took care of you, you could look good.” The prince sighed, pink on his cheeks, looking really embarrassed. “Listen. You're not ugly. You've got some charm.”
“That's the first time someone lied to me so badly!” Zola burst into laughter “Lord Takumi, you really don't need to, I know I am a rat. Physically, and...”
He touched the small scar on his chest, the memory of his betrayal. Reminding him everyday that he had an obligation toward the Hoshidian family.
“I forgive you.” The Nohrian didn't reply, but tears came to his eyes. “I don't think you're a rat. Yes, you tricked us and tried to lure us to our death. But I don't think you're a bad person, Zola. I think you had good reasons to want us dead, like every other Nohrian had in this war. I don't want you to think that you've got like, a debt or something. We're friends now. The war is over.”
He tried really hard to keep his cool, but he couldn't fight the urge to cry. Takumi was the one who hated him the most. He fooled the prince to trust him, and Zola knew, he knew it would be hard. He had put so much effort into winning his trust that he forgot why he needed it in the first place. It had been so difficult for Zola to stay loyal to his plan. But it'd have been too selfish to stay with them. Corrin had to go back to Elise, Camilla, Leo and Xander. She had to go back. He had no time for his own feelings.
And here he was, relieved that the same person he used to achieve his goal didn't hate him.
“Y-you can't imagine how sorry I am. I wanted to come here to make it up to you, to Sakura, to Hinoka, everyone I betrayed. I want to be better, I swear.”
“I know. We all know. In fact, it's Sakura who told me you were avoiding looking us in the eye. She was worried that you could... yeah. Still think about that. Look at me, Zola.”
He slowly did so, eyes wet, sniffing a little, still shaking from the emotion. Takumi smiled at him, and ruffled his hair playfully, making them both laugh a little. They calmed a little, before going back to talking about the prank, how Hinoka usually reacted... It was nice, truly, to be the friend of the Prince, and to be finally able to know the color of his eyes.
It was a very pretty sunset color.