The thought of being fed like a child was annoying at best and insulting at its worse, but for as irritated as he was, he would admit – begrudgingly and silently – he didn’t have much of a choice. He could barely lift his arms, and trying to grasp a cup of hot liquid and keeping it balanced was a far reaching goal right now. It was pathetic, really, what would Hugo do if he could have seen Lion in this state? Laugh? Finish him off? Find a new pawn?
It left a bad taste in his mouth. But at least… he could rest with the knowledge that he wouldn’t be hunted down.
He’d longed for freedom for so long, but now that he had it… what was he meant to do with it?
Lion mind drifted back into focus as Rutee continued to speak, and his expression darkened as he moved his face away from the cup. “Don’t call him that,” he scowled, the sharp tone and raise in voice feeling like daggers against his throat, but his anger carried him forward. “That man is–” but he couldn’t finish.
More harsh coughs poured fourth, shaking Lion’s body hard enough that he was forced forward, bending in half. Father? How could she even relate the word to him? Hugo was many things: cruel, manipulative, selfish, cunning, clever, and demonic, but a father? No, he was nothing remotely like what a family figure should be. Nothing.
Perhaps it was why Lion felt so little at the mention of his death… or maybe he was still too exhausted to react. But a father…? No… he’d lost hope for that so long ago. A foolish thing he’d clung to in the depths of his mind. Lion had accepted long ago he had no family.
And yet… here was his sister – thought to be long lost and unreachable, someone he’d pushed away so many times – sitting beside him and still holding out her hand.
How could she care after all he’d done? Why hadn’t she just left him to die?
“…why?” he forced out once he’d gained control of his breath again. “Why… are you helping… me?”
She’d explained it, certainly, that’s what sisters and family did. But Rutee hadn’t even known until he told her at the last moment. Surely she’d seen no meaning behind the bond of, what she knew at the time, was a man about to die.
Rutee looked at him oddly. “What do you mean why? I want to, duh. Isn’t that a good enough reason?” Did someone really need a better reason? Selfish reasons were okay too, sometimes. Heck, Rutee had gone a long time with other people thinking she was only seeking money for herself, and, in a way, isn’t that what she had been doing? It had been spurred on by her own desire to earn that money, because she wanted to. No one else made her do so, just herself.
But maybe that was harder for Lion to understand, at least where he was concerned. No one had done anything for him, if what Marian had said was true, if what little she’d gotten out of Chaltier the past week was true...Things being done for Lion never came without a catch. It would be surprising if he even contemplated that someone found worth in him for him, rather than what he could provide for someone.
Rutee bit her lip as she thought, trying to put herself in that position, trying to figure out the best way to show Lion that she really just wanted to help him for his sake, not anyone else’s; that she wanted to be there for him because she felt he deserved more good in his life, even if she wasn’t sure yet if she was good for him.
“I guess...I want to because when I look at you, I wish so desperately that our positions had been reversed. That you’d been the one to end up with the matrons, and had a life as happy as I’ve had. You deserve so much for everything you’ve done...if I could, I’d give you that.”
“But...I can’t change the past. I can’t give you that happy childhood you deserve. But maybe I can give you a better future? At least that’s my hope. But it’s really only if you’d be okay with that. I mean, that manor is rather large for one person and his staff alone. Though I’m sure Stahn won’t let you be alone for very long, huh~?”
