Prince Kurapika and Sir Leorio [Leopika Royalty AU]

[5] Vulnerable [Angst + Fluff]

It was a cold night. The sunlight barely clinging to the horizon as it was pulled away, and the moon began to rise. Twinkling stars started to glimmer in the dark abyss above, and, on the balcony overhang outside his rounded window, Kurapika stood, leaning on the marbled barrier.

From the view he had, the land seemed so vast. Endless, and full of wonders, that of which he'd read about in books.

Books were something Kurapika could always bury himself in, immerse himself in the tales, myths and legends of the outside world. The world beyond the walls surrounding the palace.

Whenever visitors came to the palace, Kurapika would always find his youthful self asking question upon question, so much so that his parents would usually have to place their hands upon his shoulders as a cue, as if saying "that's enough, dear.".

The other kids always seemed to be let out of their palaces. The princesses and princes that visited for the events, dinner parties and such would always find it so odd that Kurapika had never been far beyond, that he'd never had experience of such things they'd taken for granted.

And right now, standing there, looking out over the land, he felt barely anything. If anything, he felt a longing. A longing to leave, and be rid of this wretched prison.

He recalled the time he'd tied together blankets upon blankets, coat upon coat, jackets and scarves all woven together with tight knots in order to create a rope long enough to lower him to the ground below his balcony by the side entranceway to the palace, and yet, of course the guards stormed in as he was about to use it, and he fell off the side, clutching the ever winding makeshift rope, having forgot to tie it to a ledge. He was lucky the guards could run fast enough to catch it.

As he remembered, dangling above the ground, clutching to his frayed, tied clothing, that was probably the one time he felt the most free.

A glistening tear glazed the side of Kurapika's cheek.

Reminiscing in such away about a dream that may never come true was bound to make him upset. Maybe it was just the cold, squeezing the tears from his eyes, but the sorrow he felt greatly overweighed the cold that made the hairs on his arms stand on end.

Since earlier, Kurapika's mind had been filled with nothing but worry. Leorio had carried him back to the palace, to which he had napped for some hours. They had made their promise, together, that they'd escape the kingdom, and live happily as he had always dreamed of doing since he was young.

Risking Leorio's life, though?
It's selfish.

No, no, it's not. Leorio's willing, isn't he? He promised, and he said he'd be willing. So why be so worried? Is it because it's the benefit of the doubt, Leorio is too kind for his own good sometimes, he'd seen as much. Or is that just his knightly instincts and manners?

Or worse.

What if Leorio tells the captains? The generals? The entire army..

The prince's legs began to quiver as gentle sobs escaped his lips with bated breath. He tried to hold them back, tried to calm down by viewing the horizon, but as more and more of the land was consumed in darkness, he began to be consumed by it too.

As the darkness absorbed the balcony, his will wained. Legs buckling, and giving way under him, his palms began to wrap around and grasp the barrier to keep himself up, but it became in vain swiftly.

All he could do was kneel there, slumped over, sobbing and sniffling. Why had this come over him so quick? What happened? Before, talking about this kind of thing, or thinking about it would be trivial, but now..