Chapter Text
I don’t wanna let you go, but I can’t stand to watch this, I don’t wanna let you know, but you can read my mind, I feel it all the time, felt it all around you, you had me under spell right from the start, but I don’t have a telepathic heart...
Leo spent the rest of his day looking over his shoulder.
So it felt like, at least. Encounters with Iago could never exactly be considered pleasant for any other parties involved, but the particulars of the conversation they’d had on that day left the second prince of Nohr with an especially persistent prickle of unease at the back of his neck.
At least, Leo thought, his father wasn’t one of his many worries that day.
A rogue band of Faceless had been sighted outside their usual precarious territory in the Woods of the Forlorn and, with Xander absent on a mission of his own and Camilla’s wyvern having suffered a recent injury, Garon had granted Leo command of the squadron sent to dispatch them.
Incidentally, he’d ended up with the dubious honor of receiving those orders at an age younger than either of those two siblings—Xander had been eighteen, Camilla nineteen. Part of Leo wanted to note that as a point of pride, yet the rest of him wondered, warily, if such a grim achievement was aught to be proud of at all.
Still, King Garon had been pleased, though the rare moment of genuine praise from his father had inevitably been soured by the ever-present stipulation that Leo had done as well as Xander. After sixteen years of hearing such a phrase, (and for all he knew he could probably add in the nine months in his mother’s womb) Leo thought by now the comparison should have stopped bothering him.
It hadn’t.
Xander hadn’t been around to give him the requisite pat on the back, having not yet returned from his own duties, though Camilla had cooed out her pride for as long as Leo had let her before he had feigned exhaustion and disappeared into the sanctum of his room. Sanctum it had not remained—he had scarcely managed to get out of his armor when Elise had come bouncing in, begging him for details of his adventures, and had stayed until an hour when Leo was no longer pretending to be enervated.
Morning came late the next day, or at least wakefulness did. It was Niles’s typical morning off, where Leo did not require his services until after the lunch hour—his retainer, as far as Leo knew, usually took the hours to head into the marketplace, and the prince did not question any further than that. It meant that the archer’s usual morning busyness hadn’t woken Leo, who found himself feeling equally parts decadent and ashamedly lazy when he finally did leave his bed.
Leo supposed it hadn’t been such a bad thing, as he very quickly found himself with want of something to do. Elise had a music tutor in from Nestra that day, a woman of very admirable age and incredible talent, who was—as Leo had learned firsthand—one of the singularly most boring people to listen to he had ever heard in his life. Camilla had, for some odd reason, decided to join their younger sister in her inevitable misery, and Xander had still yet to return.
I’ve heard a rumor your siblings were planning on making a trip to the Northern Fortress in the morn.
Leo had quickly realized such a statement had been another of Iago’s manipulations, though he hadn’t quite figured out why the sorcerer would lie about such a thing. He hadn’t bothered even asking, though—with his three other siblings occupied or absent, there was not a fraction of a chance of visiting Corrin that day.
That thought was just a little more bitter than it should have been.
With a frustrated sound in the back of his throat, Leo cast aside the book he’d been reading—if he used to word reading loosely, at least, since he wasn’t certain if rereading the same paragraph through five uncomprehending times really counted—and scrubbed a hand over his face. He was letting Iago win, he thought to himself, by dwelling so incessantly on their encounter.
Well, Leo decided. There was way he knew he could stop dwelling, if only because his favored mount made distraction impossible.
Casual clothes were quickly swapped for breeches and riding boots, Brynhildr stowed under Leo’s arm out of habit as he made his way out of the castle—he’d leave the tome under lock and key with Hati’s tack when he rode.
He wove through the maze of the royal stables with practiced ease—the Nohrian capital didn’t get its reputation for fine horseflesh from nowhere, after all—and stood appraising the tack room for a moment.
It stood as palatial and clean as ever, saddles, bridles, and equine armor lining the walls and leaving it with the always present smell of leather. This particular room held only the tack for Hati and Xander’s mount Skoll, with the only people bearing the keys to it being Leo and Xander themselves, along with their retainers.
And probably Iago, Leo thought with a sudden chill, an inkling of paranoia making him reconsider leaving Brynhildr there for a moment before he dismissed it. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t left the divine tome safely behind a hundred times before. Leo passed over the heavy armor and massive saddles for the lighter seat he used for schooling, one bearing a far simpler design and a longer stirrup than the saddle Hati wore into battle.
“Your Highness?” The voice behind him wobbled a little, high but still plainly masculine. Leo glanced over his shoulder to find a boy no older than himself. “My deepest apologies, I wasn’t aware you were here, I can of course assist you—”
Leo inclined his head slightly, reaching for the room’s lone double bridle—Skoll was a kinder horse than Hati, which meant Xander didn’t usually need the sharper, more refined aids Leo could give with two bits—and said in a flat tone, “You’re new.”
“Um,” the stablehand began. “Yes, Your Highness. I just started here yesterday.”
Leo nodded, shifting the cantle of the saddle a little higher on his hip as he hooked the bridle over his shoulder. “Your name?”
The boy looked taken aback for a moment. “Sven, Your Highness.”
Leo nodded. “Have you met my horse, then, Sven? His name is Hati.”
“N-no, Your Highness.”
Leo nodded once more—he hadn’t expected a second-day recruit to have been allowed anywhere near the royal family’s warhorses. “One more question, then. Do you value your limbs, Sven?”
Sven paled and it was a long moment before he answered, “...Yes, Your Highness?”
“Well,” Leo said. “If that is so, then I would recommend you stay out of Hati’s stall.” The last of his tack acquired, he moved to push past the stablehand. Belatedly, he turned back and said, “That’s not a threat from me, by the way. I know my horse far too well to ever believe whatever punishment I could give would be any fraction of what he’d already meted out to you.”
Sven somehow managed to grow even paler, and did not follow as Leo stepped around the corner.
Bang!
Well, Leo thought wryly at the collision of hoof-on-wall, if they ever rearrange the stable, I’ll have no trouble finding my horse again.
Hati’s face appeared in his window like a creature lunging from the abyss, his teeth bared and his ears flat against his head. Clearly he’d heard the sound of footsteps, and just as clearly he was not keen on the interruption.
Leo fixed his mount with a long look, one which was met by the sudden, innocent prick of Hati’s ears in his direction, his entire demeanor changing in a moment at the sight of Leo. Instantly, his expression could have been that of a demure children’s pony instead of the moody and irritable warhorse Leo knew all too well.
“You’re not fooling anyone,” Leo told him, hanging his saddle on the window before sliding back the stall door. “Least of all me.”
Hati blew out a snort, and Leo could have sworn that if a horse could roll their eyes the stallion would have in that moment. Two years ago, he might’ve been flattered by his mount’s abrupt attitude change. Now, he was well aware the innocuous facade was less out of respect for Leo and more of an attempt to play the infamous It wasn’t me! card.
“And after I saved you from amatuer incursion,” Leo chided, reaching to check Hati’s feet. “Would it kill you to show a little appreciation?”
His answer to that was a jerk of the leg in his hand, Hati slamming his hoof back down half an inch from Leo’s own foot.
Leo turned, giving Hati a sideways glance that was soundly ignored. “Was that necessary?” he asked. “You’re being unreasonably churlish today.”
Hati flicked his tail, which Leo took to mean the equine equivalent of a shrug.
“It’s not like you should have expected the day off,” the prince continued. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been so idiotic as to give you that.” He had, once upon a time, been stupid enough to let his mount have the occasional day of rest—until he found himself, without fail, on his rump the next day. On days like the present one, where he found himself without any pressing need to use Hati for his intended purposes, he’d learned to at least take the stallion out for an hour or so, lest he end up facing two full days of pent up steam when next he rode.
Strangely enough, though, by the time Leo had actually gotten on, working Hati through the series of circles, serpentines, and figure-eights that was their typical warm-up, he found himself facing almost nothing resembling steam. The usual spring in his mount’s step was gone, the spritely suppleness his line was known for nowhere to be seen. After twenty minutes, Leo found himself pulling up short and laying a hand to his mount’s neck. “Are you actually tired or are you just trying to lull me into a false sense of security?”
Hati lowered his head, blowing out a breath that told the prince perhaps it was the former. Leo shifted his reins to one hand, propping the other on his hip for a moment. Of course he was wary of working his mount into exhaustion, but leaving the session so short would likely be just as detrimental—sometimes Hati needed the mental stimulation almost more than the physical.
Leo urged him forward again, pondering as Hati started into the long, ground-covering walk afforded to him by his enviable height and build. Had one of his siblings been around, or Niles, he would have scratched their usual work there and simply taken Hati out into the capital proper, affording him enough to keep his mind at work without being too strenuous. A glance at the sun revealed it would likely be another three hours at the least before his retainer returned, however, and Leo hadn’t any clue when his sister would be done or Xander would return.
I’m sure Corrin will be just ecstatic to hear of your exploits, no?
Leo forcibly tried to tamp down the memory of Iago’s voice, yet the damage had already been done, the idea already planted. Only twice had he ever gone to the Northern Fortress without any of his other siblings, and those two times he’d had Niles with him. They’d never had trouble with bandits or other criminals on the hour-long ride up, but never before had any of the royal siblings gone completely alone, either.
Still… gods, but he wanted to see Corrin. It had been almost six weeks since he’d had the chance to visit her, and with his ever-mounting stress levels he couldn’t help but pine for the quiet respite of the Northern Fortress. And the trek there and back would likely be just the sort of work Hati needed that day.
The smart thing to do, Leo reasoned, would be the put Hati up for now and wait the last few hours until Niles returned. Another part of him shot back that if he did that, he’d hardly have time at all to spend with Corrin until he had to turn around and leave again that evening, and what would be the point of a two-hour round trip then?
Without even realizing it, he’d started Hati back toward the stables.
For once in his life, Leo decided, he wasn’t going to do the smart thing.
He slid down Hati’s side, handing the reins off to a reappeared and still incredibly pale Sven. “Hold him for a moment,” he said, then added, “He’s tired, he’ll be fine.” Probably, he added mentally, and set about for his and Xander’s tack room.
It took him hardly a moment to retrieve Brynhildr, tucking it into the usual satchel at his hip before finding a scrap of parchment and scribbling out a note for Niles to meet him at the Fortress when the thief returned from his errands.
Someday, Leo thought to himself, it would be nice to have a second retainer.
“Hati, don’t make a brat of yourself,” he said, watching as his mount—with sudden energy—pranced in circles around Sven, who was starting to look increasingly desperate. “Honestly, you know better.”
Hati froze, ears flicking back and head drooping a fraction in what might have been contrition. Leo rather doubted it actually was.
“Ensure my retainer receives this,” he told the stablehand, taking Hati’s reins once more. “Honestly,” he added again to the horse when Sven was out of earshot. “Do you really enjoy tormenting people that much?”
The sideways look Hati gave him said he very much did, actually.
~~~
“Leo!”
The prince had hardly loosened Hati’s girth when Corrin’s voice reached him. A sudden grin split Leo’s entire face, one he carefully disguised by burying his face in Hati’s mane for the moment it took to get it back under control. It wouldn’t do for Corrin to think him too pleased to see her, after all.
Once he trusted his facial features again, he inclined his head slightly over his shoulder and chided her, “Ah ah. Hati’s stall is a ‘shoes-only’ zone.”
He heard her huff from behind him, a sound that had him suddenly biting back another enormous grin. Sure enough, when he turned around he found her standing a few feet from Hati’s window, arms crossed and feet very much bare.
“You’re a killjoy,” Corrin told him flatly.
“I’m just saying that shod hooves and bare toes are not a pretty combination, Corrin,” Leo replied, setting his saddle in the window. “But if you’re looking to drop a few shoe sizes…”
“That’s terrible, Leo!” Corrin cried, though he could tell she’d clapped a hand over her mouth from mirth rather than horror.
“That’s me,” he replied without missing a beat, pushing his saddle over a few inches so he had room to lay his forearms against the ledge. “Leo the Terrible, known for his most heinous crime of making his dear sister wait two more minutes before she can crush the air from his lungs.”
A beat went by, and when it had passed a rather dangerous smirk was coming to Corrin’s lips. “Are you sure about that?”
Leo realized, belatedly, that he was definitely in reach of her, and hurriedly moved to push himself off of the window—but the realization came a second too late, because at that moment she all but lunged for him, managing to snake her arms around his neck before he had enough room to get away. He let out a sound that was halfway between a sputter and a screech, only managing to stumble back half a step before the force of her embrace slammed him back against the half-wall separating them.
Corrin let out a giggle, one muffled by the way their awkward positioning left her face smashed up against his chest. She pulled away momentarily, brushing her hair back behind her ear and giving him an angelic smile. “I win.”
“Do you feel better now?” Leo asked, rubbing the back of his neck and hoping he could attribute the sudden warmth of his features to the summer heat.
“Mmhmm,” she replied brightly.
Hati stamped a foot behind him, unceremoniously interjecting himself into the conversation, and Leo took the distraction of resuming the care of his horse. “So. Any new and exciting news to discuss?”
“No,” Corrin said immediately. “Not really.” She paused, her eyes narrowing as she glanced around the stables. “Where is everyone?”
“Xander’s away,” Leo said carefully. “And Camilla joined Elise for one of her lessons. I’m afraid you stuck with me today.”
“Yeah, but…” Corrin looked back at him, her lips flattening as a furrow painted itself between her brows. “Where’s Niles?”
“Oh, sure,” Leo said, rolling his eyes. “I come all the way out here to visit you and you’re worried about Niles.”
“Leo,” Corrin said, crossing her arms once more.
“He’ll be out here in a couple of hours, if you’re that worried about seeing him,” Leo said with a sigh, brushing the last of the trail-dust from Hati’s coat. He patted the stallion’s neck, slipping out of the stall and fixing Corrin with a slight raise of brows.
“Leo,” Corrin repeated, concern written all over her features. “You didn’t come out here alone, did you? You could’ve—what if something had happened?”
“Corrin, nothing happened,” Leo said with deliberate lightness. “Krakenburg isn’t that far.”
She still chewed on her lip, tilting her head back to look up at him. Two years ago they’d been eye-to-eye—in that length of time, Corrin had added perhaps an inch and a half to her height; in that same period, Leo had gained half a foot. Judging by the fact he had that much to add again before he might be the same height as Xander, it didn’t seem like his body was going to be inclined to stop there, either.
It was still weird to look down at Corrin, however.
“You worry too much, sister,” Leo said, skimming his hand along her chin for a moment before he reached back to tug on a lock of her hair.
Also two years ago, he thought, he hadn’t known that particular title was nothing but a lie. Even now the word sister burned at his tongue every time he said it.
“You give me reasons to,” Corrin shot back.
Before Leo could answer her protests any further, a gruff voice reached them. “Lady Corrin,” said Gunter, a moment before the old knight came into view. “I understand your excitement, but you do still have lessons.” He paused, giving Leo a nod. “Good morning, Lord Leo.”
Corrin visibly deflated. “Gunter, can’t they wait?” she asked. “I haven’t seen Leo in weeks!”
“It’s all right, Corrin,” Leo told her. “I can wait. Or help, even. What are you studying?”
Her expression managed to turn even more sour. “Geography,” she said sullenly. “It’s okay, Leo, you don’t have to help. It’s really boring.”
“Studying is only boring if you make it boring,” Leo told her loftily. “You must be going about it the wrong way. Clearly you need the aid of a master.”
Corrin’s lips twitched the tiniest bit. “A master, huh? Is that what you are now? Leo the Terrible, Master Studier?”
“If the shoe fits,” Leo replied, then shot another glance at her feet. “Not that you’d know.”
He earned himself a smack on the shoulder for that remark, but deemed it worthy anyways as the three of them headed back to the Northern Fortress proper.