Work Text:
Screams of terror were heard and there were all too many demons fleeing away from the Princess; it was a sight that Leonard hadn’t witnessed in ages.
But what came about this rather old occurrence to resurface once more, you asked?
Letting an anxious gaze fall down to an exact somewhere, he knew the reason behind it.
The answer was in his grasp; a tonic with potent healing properties. But it came with side effects that were exactly meant to combat one’s fatigue; resulting in the user’s senses to be distorted and altered according to their healing space.
In other words, the user will only see and hear a certain someone that their inner selves considered as ‘healing space’ in other people. No longer recognizing others for what they truly were, but that.
And the Princess, of all people, drunk that thing. For a brief moment, he scolded himself for being careless enough to let it fall into her hands…
Which started this castle-wide scale of a mess in the first place.
Again, he shot another look at the commotion and…
With one other hand pressed against his forehead, Leonard let out a dismaying sigh. He wished for this ordeal to be a mere figment of his imagination. However, it was glaring right back at him so hard that it was impossible to think otherwise.
Not far from where he stood, numerous corpses and gravestones were scattered about the Demon Cafeteria. More than the fingers of his hands and tail can count.
That included Great Red whose (most probably) three-hour decaying corpse had slumped over one of the cafeteria tables, to which the Demon King clutched onto while hiding in silent fear. Using a good number of sheets from dead Ghost Shrouds as cover.
Though he couldn’t spot the rest of the Ten Guardians, there was Poseidon who was still alive and well…
Fleeing away from the Princess with all his might. Seeing that he wasn’t casting offensive-type spells at her like he normally would, then that must have meant he had long since exhausted his mana and resorted to this instead. Running and running, but to no avail.
It was only a matter of time before she caught up with the marine deity and forced him into a fate that the others had already resigned themselves to.
And then, the tormentor in question seemed to be the only one having fun amidst this sea of screeching victims and the fallen. As she chased after Poseidon, Leonard couldn’t help squinting his eyes to get a better look at her.
Unlike the demons suffering at her hands, she was full of vigor and all smiles.
The Princess dashed away then skipped on her toes, freely and at ease, almost as if the stone-cold floors her feet landed on were instead the soft, lush fields of leaves and flowers. He even strained to hear that almost inaudible tapping of her footsteps. Going silent like that can be dangerous, he must keep his guard lest he was ambushed by her.
He shifted his eyes to somewhere a bit below. Her arms stretched wide and curved out into an inviting hug. Seemingly harmless but he knew better. She could crush someone with those ‘dainty’ arms of hers if she so wished.
Then, his ears picked up on something. Giggles and soft, hushed noises escaping from her lips as she said along the lines of, “oh, you, come here~” in that unusually mellowed and motherly tone. A voice she so often used when talking to a Teddy Demon or an Eggplant Seal.
He lifted a brow at this. Then, he breathed out a heavy sigh soon after.
‘Of course, of course,’ the knowledge of it couldn’t have gone unnoticed by him, confirming his initial suspicions like a sore thumb, ‘why wouldn’t she? That must be her healing space.’
Just as he finally had a better understanding of the situation, for some reason Leonard was unable to break his gaze away from her. Standing still there, a thought came to him.
Like a demon moth to a flame. What he was at this moment as he continued looking onto her.
Her eyes, he closely observed, held a strange glow in those swirls of purples. The far edges of her lids crinkled in the slightest, farther accenting that tiny light. The same could be said to those twin stars. So bright and gentle that he was so drawn to them–
His fingers twitched, feeling the smooth coldness that emitted from the glass-made vial. The tonic he was still holding, he realized.
And more than that, Poseidon and the other demons were practically screaming for their lives while maintaining distance from the Princess in their frantic running. And yet, here he was, idling and being of no help to them.
“No, no, no,” he asserted to himself, shaking his head in immediate protest, “don’t get distracted now! You need to stop the Princess!”
His hand tightened its grasp on the bottle. Shakily tight from his head registering the erratic beats that his heart gave out.
So easily swayed by every little thing about her; he wanted to curse himself and slam his head against a pillar for being this way. But now this wasn’t so important.
He must make haste before more demons ended up dead.
‘And that means more work for me,’ he thought stiffly, removing his other hand from his forehead and placing it onto a pounding chest. A squeezing grip to will his heart to a calm. A habit he did in time of urgency.
From there he sucked in a mouthful of air, held back his breath for a few seconds, and then out they went. After some tries, the wild beating in his chest slowed down…
Though its current pace wasn’t normal as he wanted it to be. Still, this will have to do. Enough for him to keep a level-head and focus on the task at hand.
With narrowed eyes trained on the center of the area, he emerged out of the entrance door and marched forward. He truly hoped that such an attempt would catch the Princess’s attention. While so ignoring his heart, that once again but for different reasons, which thumped loudly in panic and uncertainty.
Fearing the worst of the worst that might possibly unfold from here on out. With her, there was no sure way of knowing. Leonard could only clutch more onto the vial for moral support as he made his way to said destination.
‘I hope this plan succeeds,’ he told himself in a mantra-like manner, trying to shake away such pessimistic emotions. Though it never quite worked on him, these words were all he had at the moment.
Before he knew it, his feet had stopped then. He stood on the spot where he had to be. Witnessing everything from the middle of it.
His lips slightly parted, muttering a defensive-type spell to counterbalance the Princess’s bone-crushing hug once she caught sight of a ‘Teddy Demon’ or ‘Eggplant Seal’. He had to endure as much as he could until the tonic exhausted its effects on her.
But as he installed the spell into his person, this rather familiar scene before him made his mind drift a bit and down onto memory lane.
How strange, back when the Princess was spending her first few months as a captive princess (and still was, but only on paper), such troubling times were countless. For the demons then, it was falling victim to her mass destruction, including her own life.
For him, it was his many attempts of stopping her then failing and the corpses and gravestones he had to revive on a daily basis. His work never seeming to end, much to his dismay.
There was even that one time, where he almost collapsed from reviving an entire race of demon bees, all because she could easily extract their honey that way. With the help of the forbidden grimoire, of course.
He can’t find it in himself not to laugh a little at the recollection. Finding it now silly and trivial when he once dreaded that day. But it was, without a doubt, yet another cherished memory to him.
And now, seeing this sight of odd nostalgia once more after some years later. He hadn’t realized up until this time that she had really changed so much.
Opening his eyes to this was unexpected but one that he’d happily welcome.
From a royal captive who was only interested in achieving a goodnight’s sleep through violence and bribes to someone who showed her care and understanding to others in a rather atypical manner you’d expect from her. So quietly and cleverly hidden underneath all that sleep-related fancies of hers.
At that, the ends of his lips curved into a smile, appreciating this newfound realization he had. ‘But of course, she’s just as important,’ he mused with lidded eyes. To him, to them.
As simple as that.
“Leo.”
All the pleasant thoughts had gone away as swiftly as a passing breeze. Hearing that voice call out to him, he snapped back to reality. His eyes grew wide and shaky, in complete disbelief when he turned to her.
She… the Princess was seeing him for who he was and not as a Teddy Demon nor an Eggplant Seal.
He heard a pound in his chest, a second time, and another. From emotions, though so strong, yet he wasn't sure what he was feeling.
How can this be…
Oh, wait.
It was only when a realization struck him did he calm down. He kept his breathing under control, acknowledging this fact.
‘She’s no longer under the influence,’ it rang loud and clear in his head. Traces of his poise gradually returned. Though there was no denying that sunken feeling of disappointment nestling its way around his chest.
Even if the Demon Church was the farthest area out of all the rest, this was no excuse to justify his tardiness in coming here to prevent more casualties. Not to mention, for emotions and little fancies to cloud his judgement…
This was unbecoming of him as a member of the Ten Guardians. A long-drawn sigh leaving his mouth as he admitted to this prickly truth of a thought.
Then, he got called for the second time. Leonard looked down to see a scowl forming its way on her face.
“Leo,” she had said again and he tried not to flinch at the slight harsh tone of her voice.
Almost instantly, he stood in attention while so forcing out a smile. Despite these thoughts pestering him for what seemed to be the umpteenth time, he didn’t want her worrying about him…
When she should be spending her day in the ways she always had. In absolute satisfaction and pride over her hard work in achieving a goodnight’s sleep.
That was all he wanted from her. Well, without putting everyone’s lives at risk. He bit on his lower lip, just to keep his smile in place.
“What is it?” she inquired shortly after, her shoulders slouching in habitual mannerism yet leaning too forward before him. That curious gaze was on his person, all that courage he mustered thus far had come breaking down at once.
“Oh, uh, it’s nothing at all!”
“You sure?”
Not trusting himself to say the right words, he opted to slow nodding.
And much to his relief, she didn’t press on and turned her back to him. Though such a feeling was short-lived as he heard her say in a gleeful voice, “well, I’m back to my business then.”
It seemed like the world paused around him. The smile, frown, or whatever expression on his face it froze along with those bits of lost time.
What did she just say…? And in what tone?
Oh, no. It can’t be…!
He may have looked untroubled and carefree in the surface, but deep down he was screaming and panicking.
‘The effects are still active in her system, after all!’ with that in mind, his shoulders slumped down as if carrying a too big of a burden that he knew he was facing.
In a desperate effort to capture her attention again, he took a step forward with one hand stretched wide. Trying to reach her.
Only to feel a sudden spark spreading over his body and then, that loud crack. He buried down the wince his mouth dared to release. An agonizing pain coming from his back.
Surely, he must have pulled on a nerve when doing that immediate yet clumsy move! This accursed, old body of his! Why can’t it go without a pain relief patch for even a day?!
To make matters worse, his knees grew weak and trembling, unable to withstand that pain taking hold of him. He turned pale, dreading that he would collapse next–
Except he didn’t.
A strong gush of wind blew over him and his vision spun momentarily. Then, it stopped but the sight around him had changed a bit.
No, rather, the next sudden thing he knew…
His feet were no longer touching the ground and that he was in someone’s arms.
The Princess’s, to be exact.
“I knew it,” she stated coolly, both answering and confirming the thoughts racing through his head, “you shouldn’t keep things from me, Leo.”
Along with that scolding, she shot him a piercing glare. But Leonard couldn’t pay any attention to it, he was all too focused on the fact that he was in her arms!
Just why, why was she carrying him of all things?!
He put a hand to his face, trying to conceal it from the rest of the world. It was unbelievably warm to the touch. Ahh, he must be as red as a bright tomato! How embarrassing!
“Hey, you listening?”
“P–Princess,” how can he not stutter when he was practically too close to her?! Still he continued on despite his clumsy speaking and his heart racing. “Please, let go of me…”
“Not a chance,” was her quick reply. If that wasn’t enough, she even tightened her hold on him!
“But this… this is too…!”
“Hush now,” interrupted the Princess amidst his panicking, “we’ll reach your room in no time. You’ll get plenty, plenty of back massages when we get there.”
He blinked at her words, confused and frightful all at once. Why did that sound more like a verbal threat than words of reassurance?
At that, he stayed still, not wishing to incur any more of her ire.
Although he couldn’t help wondering…
How come she can see him despite still being under the effects of the tonic…?
Something wasn’t right, that much he knew.
.
.
.
As the two had gone away, leaving the scene behind them. And those few ones who managed to survive the Princess’s wrath or so it seemed.
“What was that all about?” The Demon King said as he crawled out of his hiding place of dead Ghost Shrouds. Both brows raised at the puzzling sight he just saw.
The Princess just went up and left, carrying the Demon Cleric in bridal style for some reason. One that he couldn’t even fathom about.
“Who cares,” replied a panting Poseidon who was on his knees, both hands clutching onto a chair for support, “all that matters… is the old–old man managed to stop her…”
“Yeah. Thankfully, he came to our rescue before it was too late.”
Though they needed to clean up the ‘mess’ the Princess left behind. For now, they had to rest their exhausted bodies and souls from all of this.