the enslaved prince

Leo Windsgate is the youngest Prince of Sol. His sister is the Queen of Nore. Currently, he is being held captive in the whorehouse.

[hermia-higgenbottom]

She shrugged, offering a non-committal grunt of a reply. “I’m only doin wha’s right,” she said. She liked to think of herself as kind, but it felt…wrong, somehow, that someone else said so as well. Especially about her soul – not her, or her heart, but her soul. And something about that rang deeper than simply being called kind. She didn’t know what to make of it. 

And she disliked how easy it was becoming for this man to affect her. Even if he was nothing like she thought a prince would be, he was still a prince. A spoiled, wealthy, lordly prince that, once returned to his proper place, would surely forget her anyway. (Or perhaps she was simply bad at knowing what to do, when someone saw her as she wanted to be seen.) “Any proper Solish lass’d do the same.”

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

Leo grinned a little at her response, pushing a hand through his slightly tangled curls. “Perhaps that’s what I was missing all this time -- a proper Solish lass,” he said, amused by the idea. He couldn’t think of a single person, save Volka, he’d met that hailed from their country.

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

flashback | eira & leo

@eiracaddock

Leo didn’t even notice Ruby leave the throne room as he embraced his sister. He felt home in her arms, even if he hadn’t seen her since she was a child. His Solish sister had recognized him immediately--he knew she would. Where was she when he needed her most? Why had Grigor and Ruby kept him from her? They knew the truth; he knew it now. Ruby’s disappearance proved that well enough.

He chuckled as he looked down at Eira, his hand lingering upon her cheek. “Do I?” he asked, smiling a little. “I rather thought Richard resembled him more than I did.” Leo looked down, his eyes tracing the fine floors of the throne room. Did she remember what Father looked like? Did he? He sighed quietly. “Have you heard from Mother?” he asked, his voice weak.

[hermia-higgenbottom]

She paused, pressed her lips together. It took a moment of searching her memory, and then she scowled. “’Really,” she said, fighting to hold her irritation in. Insulting her about fighting when he could barely hold a sword himself. This guard was not a good one. “I think me I know ‘im, iffen memory serves right. ‘E’s a rude man, tha’ one. But I will find im, if I must.”

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

Leo looked at her apologetically and nodded. “Aye, he is a rude man. He did not used to be that way--life has treated him roughly since I disappeared.” He would do anything to return his former guard’s hand, but he knew of no magic strong enough to return a missing limb. “You have a kind soul, Hermia.”

[strong-as-iron-blog]

He ran the blade of the dagger under his fingers, holding it gently, taking a moment to appreciate his own work. It had taken him a full moon to get it just the way he wanted it, but it had been well worth the wait. Originally, it had been commissioned by a wealthy mercenary from Sol, but he had put a cancel on the request- Robbie, however, had already been working on the dagger for some time, and had kept at it.

He wasn’t sure what he’d do with it just yet, but there was no use in letting it simply lay around. He jumped slightly as someone entered the shop behind him- he’d been well wrapped up in his own world.

“Ah… welcome.”

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

Prince Leonidas Windsgate was in need of weaponry. Upon his imprisonment, he’d been stripped of the fine sword his parents had given him on his sixteenth nameday--and if he ever saw it again, he’d kill the man who had it. But for the present, he needed something to defend himself with, and he knew the Kilesso’s shop was the finest in the land.

He was dressed in the violet finery he had bought from Clara’s shop, looking every bit his princely self (except his hair--it was still a little disheveled). He smiled at the man and gave a nod. “Good morning,” he said, “I was hoping you could help me pick out some new weaponry. I fear all mine have been lost.”

[hermia-higgenbottom]

“Most fishers not in Dagurri, methinks,” she mused with pursed lips, then shook her head. “Nae, it doesnae matter.” She frowned. “Do ee know ‘is family name? Somethin’ I can spot ‘im by?”

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

“Well...He’s missing his right hand,” Leo replied casually, as if it were a normal thing to say. “That’s probably the easiest way to recognize him. His family name is Dalca. Volka Dalca.”

[hermia-higgenbottom]

“Do ‘ee know what ee do now? Where ee live an’ such?” she asked. She hadn’t ever met someone with the name Volka as far as she knew, but Hermia didn’t get the name of many people she met around the city. “I dinna know if I met ‘im. Maybe ‘e buys fish now an’ then.”

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

“He’s living with his cousin, so far as I know...” he trailed off, eyes squinting in thought, “Whose name I do not know.” He nodded a little, but was still trying to recall the cousin’s name. “I would hazard he does. Who else sells fish in the market?”

[hermia-higgenbottom]

Hermia’s blush did not leave upon being released. The best she could do was clear her throat and fiddle about, clenching and unclenching her fists to try relieving her tension. She pressed her lips together, considering this new new revelation that Prince Leonidas had a guard somewhere in Nore. 

“Never did know what guards do outside of fightin’ bandits away from ee,” she commented. “Sounds like ‘e might be eer friend too?” She couldn’t meet his eyes still. What did she do around someone (a prince!) who hugged her?

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

Leo nodded. “Aye, that he is. Was? No--is,” he decided upon, nodding mostly to himself. “Volka. Perhaps you know him?” he asked her. “That’s primarily their job: to keep us safe in any way necessary. Though it could be said mine did a rather awful job not too long ago.”

[seamstress-ofnore-blog]

She shook her head, turning back to the sacks of clothing.  “No reason, I suppose.  I was just made t’remember, is all.”  The buttons and small notions in her hand were set aside for later employment in a cuff or collar.  “If ye take the gold, ye’ll need a doublet o’er it, t’make the colour less loud.”

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

Leo nodded. “Alright, then,” he agreed, bowing to whatever she suggested. He’d walk down the street decked out in gold from head to toe, if it were up to him. Perhaps he would, after he was discovered. “What would match the violet?”

[love-the-eyes]

Bonds Unbroken: Eira, Leo, Ruby

[love-the-eyes]

When you were six. Disgusting. Ruby had enough about people mourning times past. She didn’t wallow in nostalgia and self-pity. She didn’t weep over what might have been. These two. Horribly sentimental. She had to fight the urge to scoff at the look in Leo’s eyes as he spoke.

Her set jaw fell slack. Her lips parted, but she kept her composure. Leo was playing his part perfectly. He…might actually be who he said he was. No-one could falsify something like that. No doubt Eira remembered her last words to all her brothers before she left for Nore, and it was not exactly something to about telling others.

This was not a man pretending to be a prince, was it…?

She was starting to truly realize the danger she had put herself in, now that it had become ever more immediate.

[eiracaddock]

The moment Leo began to speak, Eira knew without a shadow of a doubt that the man before her was her youngest brother.  There were tears forming in the Queen’s eyes as she could scarcely believe this.  It had been over a year since his disappearance.  Everyone had thought the youngest Windsgate long dead, including Eira.  This was surreal and she could not believe it, yet Leo was standing before her.

“Little brother,” Eira murmured before she pulled Leo into her arms so she could embrace him.  It had been so long and life was so unfair.  Over a year he had been in the whorehouse, so they had told her.  Had Grigor known?  She would have words with her husband’s bastard for this.  “Leo,” Eira cried as she softly wept.  “I am so sorry.”  Eira was the Queen of Nore.  Her little brother was right under her nose yet there was nothing she could do to help him.  She felt as though she should have done something for him.  Unfortunately, it was impossible.

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

Leo’s arms encircled his older sister, a shaky breath escaping his lips. She felt so little in his arms--he’d never been bigger than her before. He’d always been the younger, the smaller, looking up at her from below her knees, her waist. But now, he towered over her, his once large frame made smaller from the harsh winter and lack of food and exercise he’d gotten in Sol. His golden brown skin had also faded, leaving him to look slightly pale, almost sickly in certain lights.

“Eira,” he breathed, holding her tightly. “It isn’t your fault,” he whispered, “I tried to find you...You were so close. No one believed me. And then that man attacked Clara using my name...It was no longer safe to call myself Leo. I feared being truly imprisoned. At least in the Whorehouse...I was allowed certain illusions of freedom.”

[love-the-eyes]

Bonds Unbroken: Eira, Leo, Ruby

[love-the-eyes]

She glanced over Leo’s mention of violence, and clenched her jaw. She herself had been the one to sentence him to some of it, and then some. If Eira believed him…She wrung her hands ever-tighter. He played his part well. And the queen was a loving, hopeful person. She would want to believe him, Ruby was sure.

Leo had performed his magic for Ruby as well. He would tell the queen as much, and she would grow angry, wouldn’t she? I’ve known he had Windsgate blood, it would imply, and willingly kept him from you. She wondered how much grovelling would be needed to keep her head. She wondered if there would ever be enough.

She looked on, watching Eira closely for her reaction.

[eiracaddock]

Eira was fully expecting a fraud, but she listened and watched.  She knew the words.  Richard had entertained her as a child by turning things to gold.  He liked to show his power.  It made Eira frustrated as a child, but now she was grateful for it.  It meant she was well aware of how the magic worked.  Her eyes widened slightly as she saw the button turn to gold.  Nothing else mattered in that moment save she thought her brother was standing before her.

When he turned the mark and the nail to gold as well, she was all but convinced.  Stepping towards him, Eira kept turning the gold button over in her hands.  It couldn’t be true, could it?  Had her brother been living in the whorehouse for a year?  Taking a deep breath, Eira wracked her mind for something she could ask him to prove who he was.

She let out a breath.  “You were six the last time I saw you,” Eira told him.  “When I was expecting Sophia.”  She released a breath then and met his gaze.  “Do you remember what we did that last day before I left?  What I told you?”  Eira could remember it like it was yesterday.  She took her brother out to the shore and walked with him.  Eira promised the young boy that she would always be for him.  No matter what happened or how far apart they were, Eira would always be his sister.  She would always love him.

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

She was no longer skeptical. He could feel it in the way she looked at him, the way she spoke to him. He would be spending tonight in a real bed in a real chamber, surrounded by the finest things in Nore. (Though he knew not what that would be.)

He smiled at the question, reaching forward to take her hand. “You took me out to the beach,” he said. “I remember thinking how big you’d gotten. Father had yet to explain to me the whole idea behind reproduction,” he said. His lips pulled up in a smile, but there was a sadness in his eyes. “You took my hand as we walked beneath the warm sun, and I tried to pull you into the surf,” he said with a laugh, “Just to dip our toes in it. And you said to me...That no matter how far apart we were, you would always be there for me. All I need to was send a letter to you in Nore, and you would help in any way you could.” He sighed quietly. “I should have taken you up on your offer.”

[hermia-higgenbottom]

Appease? He still his hands on her arms. She was very aware of that, and it made it harder to think. People didn’t touch her for that long. They didn’t hug her or treat her like an equal when she was so clearly not. (He was a prince, in Mina’s name. A prince!) “I dinna think ‘m better than anyone. Not if they got a good ‘eart whats beati’n in th’ right place.”

She couldn’t meet his eyes. She felt awfully and terribly small. She knew her values, and she knew what she thought of other people. She didn’t know how someone couldn’t believe him, if he had gold magic and the right look to be a Windsgate. it made sense. At least, she thought it did.

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

Leo watched her, wondering what caused her sudden change in demeanor. He wasn’t even aware that he was still holding her arms for a moment, and then it suddenly dawned on him. “Oh,” he said, laughing a little as he released her. I’m sorry.”

“Perhaps that is why you believe me,” he said, shrugging a little. “Though it helps that you are from Sol. Apart from my former guard, who has apparently tarnished his reputation beyond repair--or so he seems to think. He didn’t think he could help get me out before.”

[hermia-higgenbottom]

A blush crawled up Hermia’s face. Her body went rigid and her jaw set. She practically fell into the embrace when he pulled, unused to the gesture. She was not one for physical affection outside of Artemisia – in fact, this man had to be the only one who wasn’t family to have ever hugged her.

Was this a normal thing in Farraday? To embrace someone for doing what was right?

She stood stock-still, red and flustered. “Um,” she answered. A new revelation – the Queen Crow was in Nore. The demon witch that ate the hearts of young women to stay beautiful. (Or so the legends went.) “I, um.” Say something, you idiot. “I dinna know wha’ con-de-sen-ten means.”

She had to have sounded as stupid as she felt.

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

“Condescension,” he repeated, trying to find the words, “It’s--It’s a feeling of superiority over another. I have told many others who I am, where I am from, but no one believed me. They either thought me mad, or pretended to go along with it to placate--to appease me, all the while thinking they knew better. Because it was such an absurd idea that the Prince of Sol should be discovered in a Norn whorehouse.” 

He sighed. “Anyway,” he said, “The idea of them appeasing me to my face while thinking they know better--that’s what condescension is. They thought themselves superior to me.” He smiled at her, “But you didn’t. You believe me.”

[love-the-eyes]

Bonds Unbroken: Eira, Leo, Ruby

[love-the-eyes]

Ruby bowed her head at Eira, and smiled in return. It was a hopeful, uncertain thing, meant to reassure as much as it could while still promising nothing. Ruby was sure this man was not the queen’s brother, but she would let Eira decide that for herself. She would provide facts, and back up Leo’s story when needed. Other than that, however, she was not here for anything but the queen’s benefit.

Her hands twitched at the mention of Clara – another person she fought hard to forget about. She bit her tongue and spoke up in defense of Leo, refusing to let herself get sucked up into her self-pity just yet. “He has been in the Whore House for a little over a year, your Majesty. Just after man who attacked the seamstress was put away. He is innocent of violence.”

[eiracaddock]

Eira listened to the man and Ruby.  She believed that he was not the man that attacked Clara.  It wasn’t fair for Clara to suffer and she was happy that the girl was okay.  However, the man had been in the whorehouse for a year.  How did Ruby not tell her before now?  If this man was her brother, it wasn’t fair.  He looked like family.

She nodded towards Ruby before stepping towards the man.  “I assume you know of the Windsgate magic,” Eira told him while she approached.  “I hope you do not fault me for wanting to see proof who you are.”

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

“Though I am no stranger to it,” he commented, referring to what Ruby had said. He would show Eira his scars later, after all this formality, when he could address his sister as his sister and not the Queen of Nore.

“Aye, Your Majesty, I thought you would prefer to see my magic.” He had kept Ruby’s purse and tucked a few small items inside it: a nail, a button, and a mark. He plucked out the first item, he chose the button, and showed it to her, outstretching his hand slowly so the guards would not be put on edge. “This is a stray button I found in the Whorehouse,” he said, in case the air needed to be cleared. He clasped his other hand over the button and closed his eyes, announcing his words to the world: “Cum his verba, muta quod in auro tango.” When he removed his hand, the button had been turned to gold.

He handed the button to his sister before pulling the nail and the silver mark out of the poque, deciding to do these two together. He did as before: displaying them clearly on his palm before covering them and speaking his words: “Cum his verba, mutate quod in auro tango.” He removed his hand to show the nail had been turned to gold, and the silver mark now more closely resembled a noble.

He looked at Eira confidently, his chin held high in the air. “I am your brother, Leonidas, Eira. If this doesn’t convince you, I know no other thing to do that would.”

[seamstress-ofnore-blog]

“Mmphm…”  She answered absently, turning to find the violet doublet somewhere amongst the neatly-organized bundles.  Her hands quickly untied a few here and there and sifted through, pulling gold thread and hand-carved buttons from one place or another until she finally found the violet doublet.  She personally preferred it to the gold, the other being so resplendent that she found it presumptive, even for a man that claimed he was a prince.  The violet was simpler, less embroidery and less eye-catching, but still finely-made and of a deep, dark colour that pleased the eye.  The gold, while lovely, would have to be dulled with a dark jerkin to avoid being too ostentatious.  (Though maybe that would match this man a bit better, eh?)

She suddenly paused, a thought occurring to her as she rolled a gold-painted button in her hands.  “Ye turned a button o’ mine t’gold once, did ye no’?”  She asked, frowning in thought as she turned and offered him the other doublet.

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

Leo took the doublet from her outstretched hand, his eyes searching her face for a hint of malicious intent. When he decided there wasn’t, he nodded his head. “Aye, I did,” he said as he took off the gold doublet. He set it aside, since he knew he was going to purchase it, and slipped on the violet one. “Why do you ask?”

[hermia-higgenbottom]

“Then I’ll buy ‘ee. Save up me coin ‘till I got enough and ‘elp ee get ‘ome. Ee can make gold, we’ll jes turn pennies int’ nobles until we got enough.” She didn’t like being told she couldn’t do something. She didn’t like being told to give up. It was wrong for anyone to spend time in a hellish snowwy wasteland like this, and it was wrong to keep a Solish man from his home. “I willna let ee stay ‘ere longer than ee must.”

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

Her kindness touched his heart. She was the first person to be kind to him, to believe his story. Before he knew what he was doing, he pulled her into a hug; he knew the gesture was too familiar, but it was a proper hug, his hands remaining on her back. He pulled back, his hands moving to hold her arms. “I’m sorry, I--You’re the only person who’s been so kind to me since my arrival, without a trace of annoyance or condescension. I don’t think my...Captor would sell me to you. He refused Queen Ammut of the Southern Isles--I’m not going anywhere unless Queen Eira comes and finds me.”

[hermia-higgenbottom]

“No. No, I know wha’ sisters can do. They willna forgate a face.” She wouldn’t believe that. She couldn’t believe that. Art would never do that to her, even if they were apart for years and years. She would recognise Hermia immediately. “Ee canna give up on goin’ back t’ Sol – ee must go ‘ome.” It was only right. She wasn’t thinking of any consequences, only that she make things right.

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

“I don’t see how, Miss Hermia,” he said, pushing a hand through his hair, “I don’t see how I’ll ever get home.”

[love-the-eyes]

Bonds Unbroken: Eira, Leo, Ruby

[love-the-eyes]

“Exactly, your highness, where you are wrong.” She spoke as if this were perfectly obvious to anyone, fighting instead to hide how her blood boiled at the mention of That Man. The one she, for some gods-damned reason, thought was above setting her aside for a temporarily shinier new toy. “My time is my business, and to waste it is to waste coin. That much should have been made clear to you by now. You must know how efficient I can be, to be sure.”

They passed the palace gates. Through the gardens to the doors. “Look pretty, my dear,” she commented, before waving the guards to let them in. Her heart was pounding as quickly as his. She did not want to meet her fate now.

[eiracaddock]

Eira was nervous.  With the threat of Ammut in the palace, she did what she could to keep it from showing.  However, she failed.  Extra guards were present in the throne room where she was to meet the man claiming to be her brother.  Eira would have preferred to meet him somewhere less gaudy, but the guards insisted it was the safest place, so she reluctantly allowed it.

By the time the doors opened, the queen had chewed the inside of her cheek nearly raw, but she could not think about that.  She was too busy focusing on what was to come.  When the doors finally opened, Eira felt her heart leap into her throat.  Could it be Leo?  She didn’t know, but with the pair approaching she could not help but hope.  Rising, Eira walked towards the pair of them.  

She smiled at Ruby before her gaze settled on the man.  He bore a striking resemblance to her father, but Eira knew magic could deceive easily.  After all, that was why she had Ruby in her employ.  “So you are the man I have heard so much about,” Eira said softly.  “You do bear striking resemblance to my late father, but I’m certain you are aware of the impostors that have claimed to be my dear brother, are you not?”  After all, appearance alone was not enough.  Eira had not laid eyes on Leo since he was a child.

[leo-princeofsol-blog]

As the doors to the throne room swung open, Leo felt awed, for the first time since he was a child, at the idea of walking into the castle. There sat his sister, regal as ever in her throne. He always thought she had the look of a monarch; when he grew older and understood the marriage, he knew it was the right option for her.

His eyes filled with tears as she approached him. He wanted to embrace her, to hold her closely against him, but she did not yet know who he was. Of course she didn’t, a voice in his head thought. What if she didn’t recognize her brother?

“Late father,” he whispered, looking down at his boots, “You think I look like Father?” He knowledge tore his heart, and he almost wished she hadn’t said anything. He didn’t know how to deal with his father’s death. It ate at him, day and night, even when he seemed happiest.

He nodded quickly. “Aye, my Queen, I know of the impostors. I know of the one that attacked poor Clara Bridge. If I ever found him, I’d rip his throat out myself.”