Leo stood before the crowd, just beside his fellow high-ranking Reveurs.
Caspian cleared his throat with a low cough, lifting his head and taking hold of the sides of the podium before him.
"I bring myself and my fellow Reveurs here today in great regret, for we have lost someone of great importance just this week."
Many voices muttered and eyed one another, reporters steadily scribbling in their notes and journals as the Royal Reveur made his public statements.
"I am brought here with great sadness and regret to make this announcement. Yesterday morning, General Pierre was found deceased inside his house."
A collective gasp echoed from the crowd as reporters wrote faster and harder.
The eyes of some of the Reveurs seemed to unconsciously drag towards Leo, who stood tall and unmoving like a statue, his eyes equally hollow.
Caspian waited a moment, allowing the crowd to die down naturally before continuing.
"As some of you may know, a rumor has been spread around our very own Captain Morwyn regarding the situation. Outlandish claims of manslaughter and the like. However, I stand here today to debunk such theories."
Caspian gazed towards Leo, nudging him to stand beside him, behind the Podium.
Leo took a few, deliberately slow steps towards the front.
He towered over Caspian by a noticeable margin, making him curse his height in thought.
Another factor adding towards the growing anxiety of the moment were eyes.
Just as he felt earlier, the gazes of many added another layer of pressure to him, making it nearly impossible to lift his gaze.
He was aware how strange he must look, staring at the ground, but ultimately he couldn't help this.
Caspian turned forward after a moment, continuing.
"We have reason to believe that General Pierre's death was a case of self defense. According to Captain Morwyn, he was simply visiting the General after his reinstatement."
He stopped for a moment, allowing the journalists to catch up.
"Due to personal ties, this seemed to have enraged General Pierre enough to take drastic action, which led to the visible injury over Captain Morwyn's eye. We have witnesses present to confirm this line of events."
Leo's eyes involuntarily widened as he tried to hide his confusion.
` Witnesses? What is he talking about? There were no witnesses. Unless he's… lying. That's what this is. We're just lying. `
Caspian looked down for a moment, reading out some names of the supposed witnesses.
"May Cassie Schrader and Charles Schrader both come to the stand?"
Some moments later, a young man and an older woman had moved through the crowd, walking up towards the podium while keeping a distance from the Reveurs.
Caspian eyed the two for a moment.
The older woman spoke with hesitance and a hint of fear in her voice.
"Yes. We… We were walking from our home that morning when we heard what sounded like arguing coming from the General's house."
The way the woman spoke sent a shiver down Leo's spine. The pauses, the tone, everything.
He could tell every syllable coming out of that woman's mouth was practiced beforehand, forcefully so, most likely.
That would explain the look in her eyes.
Leo turned from the ground to the woman as he thought.
` So, that's what we've come to… Forcing some poor woman and her child to act as witnesses. I wonder how much they're paying her. No, probably nothing. More likely she was threatened into this. She's far too uneasy to be gaining anything. It just makes sense. Civilians often see Reveurs as something beyond human, so of course our words wouldn't be enough. It doesn't justify it, but… it's for the best. `
Leo was suddenly dragged back into reality as he felt eyes lingering on him.
He scanned the crowd carefully, thinking for a moment that perhaps it was just his anxiety fooling him.
That's when he found the eyes.
The owner of the gaze held a certain familiarity to him.
` Is that… Mateo? No. No, that can't be him. He's not in his wheelchair. Not to mention he looks older somehow. I do recognize that face though. His older brother, maybe? But then why the hell is he looking at me like that? `
Beyond Leo's thoughts, Caspian was announcing his closing statements.
"King Henrik and I have decided to increase the Reveur funding. If we can get more Officers out there and patrol these streets then we can be better prepared for any similar incidents."
As they were preparing to wrap up, the man that had been staring Leo down finally shouted, drawing the attention of many.
"Captain Morwyn!"
Countless eyes turned to the man.
"When are you going to apologize about the hundreds of young men you've ordered to kill themselves for you?!"
The crowd erupted in murmurs and journalists switching their focus.
Leo's eyes widened, his jaw left lightly agape.
Caspian calmly turned to Leo, examining his reaction.
Several Reveur Officers came rushing from the sides of the crowd, pushing through people to reach the man.
"My younger brother died this morning from injuries you gave him! You lied! You said his actions wouldn't be forgotten, yet no one came to pay for his treatment!"
Leo tried to get words out, his jaw clenching shut as he swallowed.
He quietly muttered to himself.
"Mateo's… dead?"
Several Officers reached the man, grappling him and pulling him away as he continued to yell out.
"You lied to him, Morwyn! You all lied to him! He stopped mattering once he couldn't serve you! You'll all burn in Nocturne for what you've done!"
Some wrestling and biting later, the man was arrested and had a piece of cloth placed over his mouth before being promptly dragged away.
Leo was left in a state of shock after this, unable to move or say anything.
Caspian continued to stare at him, after a moment gripping his shoulder and muttering something to him.
"Don't run away now, Reaper. You deserve this."
Like a whirlpool of thorns in the depths of his soul, Leo couldn't describe the pain he felt from this.
Usually, he would tell himself that they weren't Maria or Charlotte.
That it didn't matter and he could just push on.
But the flashes of the poor boy's face in his mind made him falter at this usual line of excuses.
Abruptly, he rushed from the podium and down the street. Not in a sprint, but a hurried walk.
He was doing exactly as Caspian said.
He was running again.
` No… I'm not running. I'm just… I'm late. I owe Maria a day out. I promised her. That's what this is. I'm just being a good father. Yeah. `
Leo's steps slowed down as he came to a stop.
He looked at his hands.
Even if it were invisible to most, his gloves bore crimson stains.
"Leo? Is that… Is that you?"
A familiar voice rang from behind him.
He slowly turned.
Wheat-blonde hair drooped over her shoulder in a neat braid, her eyes holding a rare warmth in them.
"Rachel?"
Leo muttered out.
The two stared at each other in silence for some time.
Leo collected his thoughts, quickly putting the mask back on as he forced a smile.
"It's very nice to see you again, Ms. Heizer."
She put a hand up, dismissing him.
"Please. Just Rachel."
He nodded after a nervous gulp.
"Yeah. Just Rachel."
Some moments later and the two found themselves walking side by side down the street, both far too awkward in the moment to say anything.
` What do I say here? The last time I saw Rachel, I… I hurt her. Not to mention pouring my chest out before her. Gods, I've made a complete fool of myself in front of this woman. `
She interrupted his anxious thoughts as she spoke.
"Are you busy right now?"
He shook his head.
"No, not that I'm aware of. Why?"
She fell silent for a moment as she fidgeted with her hair in thought.
"I was thinking we could catch up. Perhaps over a cup of coffee?"
His eyes widened at this.
` Is she asking me out on a date? No, don't demean her like that you idiot. She already knows I'm incapable of such. `
He cleared his throat with a cough before responding.
"I guess a cup couldn't hurt."
Her face seemed to glow for a moment, an involuntarily large smile growing.
"Wonderful! Where to?"
He thought for a moment, trying to think of a preferable place.
That's when the idea hit him.
What if he took her to the café that he met Charlotte in?
The coffee was great, the atmosphere was cozy, and it was somewhere he was familiar with.
It was likely the only place he could find himself easing up in.
Just as the thought began to seem nice, he remembered…
It was a week after Charlotte had passed.
Due to work, he was forced to pass that café every day.
The sight made him more and more sick. It meant nothing without her other than a grim reminder of what he had lost.
One night, he couldn't take it anymore.
So he burned it down.
All of its books.
All of its memories.
Now gone.