Chapter 173: Leon’s story [6]

"Young man."

Leon looked at him.

"Thank you," the father said. His voice broke on the last word. "You saved my daughter’s life. If there is anything at all we can do for you—"

Leon’s vision swam.

The alley tilted.

His knees gave out so fast he didn’t even feel himself start to fall.

"Boy! You alright?" The nobleman was there before he hit the stone and caught him by the shoulders and the last thing Leon registered before the dark came was the cold cobblestone against his cheek and the smell of dust.

Then nothing.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a painted ceiling. High and ornate and lit by soft crystal light.

His instincts sat him up immediately.

"Eek!"

The startled squeak came from the side of the bed. A small girl had jumped back in her chair with both hands over her chest. Leon blinked at her blankly as she tried to get her breathing back.

"You scared me half to death!" she huffed with tremendous dignity for someone her size.

Leon looked around slowly. Plush bed, silk sheets, white bandages wrapped neatly over his ribs and arms. A bowl of soup on the table beside him that was still faintly steaming. And the girl sitting in the chair with an expression that had moved from startled to deeply put-upon.

’Oh, it’s her. I guess they brought me home after I passed out.’

And then his body had simply run out of whatever it had been running on and shut down without asking him first.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I’m sorry little one. I didn’t mean to frighten you."

She crossed her small arms. Her eyes were still bright with something that wasn’t quite recovered from crying. "You sat up like a monster coming out of a coffin."

A weak laugh slipped out of him. "Yeah. Sorry about that." He settled back against the pillows and looked at her properly for the first time. "What’s your name?"

She sat up very straight. "I am Emilia. Emilia Evercrest."

He repeated the name quietly. Something about the shape of it sat in his chest gently. "Nice to meet you Emilia. I’m Leon—"

The words stopped.

For years he had introduced himself with context. Leon of Calyndor. Leon the royal ward. Leon who was raised in the palace. All of that was gone now. He’d left it behind. It had left him behind. Now, he was just a ragged street boy with nothing to his name.

He looked at the blanket over his knees. "Just Leon."

Emilia tilted her head. "Just Leon?"

"Yeah." He gave her a tired small smile.

She studied him for another moment with the serious evaluating look that children have when they’re making up their minds about something. Then a bright genuine smile broke through. "Nice to meet you Just Leon. And thank you. For saving my life."

The directness of it caught him completely off guard. "You really don’t need to thank me."

"I want to," she said firmly. Then she added as if it settled the matter: "I hope you like it here."

The door opened. The nobleman from the alley stepped in carrying a tray and stopped when he saw Leon sitting up. A relieved and warm smile spread across his face. "Oh good. You’re awake."

Leon immediately tried to get his feet over the side of the bed and stand. "Sir—"

"Please. Rest." The man set down the tray and waved his hand gently. "You don’t need to stand on formality here. We should be bowing to you."

"I only did what anyone else would have done."

The nobleman gave him a long look. The kind that says he’s thought about what to say and doesn’t think the words quite cover it. "Perhaps. But few would throw themselves between armed men and a stranger’s child with nothing in their own pocket and nothing to gain." He glanced at Emilia then back at Leon and his voice went thicker. "If you hadn’t stepped in we would have lost her. There is no scale I can put that on."

Emilia beamed from her chair.

"I should introduce myself properly." The man bowed his head with quiet dignity. "I am Drelan Evercrest. And my wife Althea." The woman who appeared in the doorway behind him gave Leon a warm tearful nod.

Drelan looked at Leon for a moment with the careful eyes of someone who has noticed more than he’s saying. "Where are you from young man? You seem very new to the Astral Kingdom."

The question landed in Leon’s chest and he held it there for a moment looking down at his bandaged hands.

"I don’t really know how to answer that sir," he said quietly. "Honestly. I don’t know where I belong anymore. I don’t have a home."

Drelan was quiet.

He looked at the sorrow sitting on this boy’s face and the way he held himself like someone who had learned to take up as little space as possible and he didn’t press for more. He just put a steady hand on Leon’s shoulder.

"Well," Drelan said. "You gave my family a debt that I can’t put a number on. So I’d like to offer you something in return." He looked Leon in the eye. "Stay here with us."

Leon blinked. "Stay?"

"You don’t have anywhere to go right now do you?"

Silence hung in the room for a moment.

"Then stay," Drelan said simply. "As long as you want since that’s the least we could do to pay you."

Leon stared at him. "That’s far too much for what I did once sir."

"It is nothing compared to her life," Drelan said. And the steadiness in his voice made it clear he had already decided and this wasn’t really a negotiation. "Please stop calling me sir. We would be honored."

Leon looked at Drelan. Then at Althea standing in the doorway. Then at Emilia who was watching him with her chin resting on the edge of the bed and her eyes wide with the specific hoping that children do without trying to hide it.

"Thank you," he said. His voice came out very small. "I’ll take you up on that."