Leon was fifteen. He didn't want to think too hard about the consequences. He only knew everyone was looking at him with awe and approval.
Their father had always been an unusual man, even among the storied lineage of the Lion Kingdom's consorts. Where most noble husbands were content to wield their quiet influence behind the scenes, he had never been satisfied simply occupying the role of the Queen's beloved. He had an unshakable conviction that their matriarchal traditions—powerful as they were—could be something more.
He spoke often, sometimes to Leon and sometimes to no one in particular, about the injustice that seeped through the fabric of their society in smaller, quieter ways. It is not that men are powerless, he used to say, but that they are never seen as capable of holding power without suspicion.
Men were more prone to anger, unpredictable, hormonal, and they should definitely not be wielding power, they say.
