To Be King

After his transformation, Leona gave out a thundering roar that echoed throughout the empty stadium. Behind his body was a large shadow with four large paws, a black mane, and a fancy looking jar filled with black liquid for a head. It was a lion, no doubt, but it was definitely not alive and never have been before from what she could sense from it.

It was just as mass of negative and dark energy.

"Wh-what the hell?!" Jack called out, "A giant shadow just came out of Leona's body!"

"That's a..." Deuce said in bewilderment, "Blot Incarnation!"

"He's going 'evil berserker mode' just like Riddle did?!" Grim cried out in disbelief.

"Grr..." Riddle braced himself against the wind, "Retreat on your own if you can stand! Ace, Deuce, carry the injured outside."

"Lilia-senpai," Riddle called out to the student, "please go get the teachers for assistance!"

"Yes!" Deuce and Ace responded resolutely and reached out to the injured around them.

"Understood." Lilia nodded resolutely, "Hang in there until I return."

With that, he disappeared in a flash of light. Silver and Sebak were in a rush to help the injured out as Ace and Deuce jumped in to give them a hand. Lotus grimaced and pulled out a few needles which she stuck into her own arm before pulling them out. Then, she reached out to the nearest injured and dazed victim and helped them up. However, her movements did not leave a certain person's attention as she went to work tirelessly. Once outside, there was a crowd of injured people and some arguing amongst each other before a teacher appeared.

"Mister Trein!" Deuce gasped quietly in awe as the teacher instantly gathered everyone's attention to a speech he calmly gave out.

"Let's hurry." Lotus responded quietly to Deuce and Ace, "We can listen to his speech another time since we're students here."

"But, your arm..." Ace looked to her.

"I've numbed it." Lotus responded with a scowl, "I'll be fine for the next half hour. Acupuncture is not a permanent cure. If not careful though, the damage can be if you're not practiced in it."

Deuce nodded when he realized he can't argue against her, "All right. Just don't make it worse."

"Ah." She nodded and hurried into the stadium, "Where's Daimond-senpai?"

"Cater-senpai has gone to help Dorm Leader Riddle." Ace responded, "Um, something about Trey-senpai having his head?"

Lotus nodded with a small smile, "I see."

She hurried back inside and helped carry the other injured people out. Luckily, all were dazed or uncertain of the situation as Lotus and the others carried them out, so they don't know what has been going on and the number of injured people were few. When that was over, Lotus went ahead to help the school nurse tend to the wounded as she continued to move her energy to the frontal lobe of Leona's brain where the other dantian was.

Along the way, she ran out of bandages and tried to find some more when a hand stuck out to her. She looked up in surprise to find a woman in a foreign dress with her blond hair up in a bun. Her eyes were a bright flame red and with a yellow hue for the white of the eyes. The woman smiled kindly, "Here's a first aid kit."

Lotus nodded and took the white box with a smile, "Thanks!"

She then hurried back to the wounded tending to a child who had been crying before in her mother's arms as Lotus said a few soothing words she recalled using to the other young humans back in her world. After doing so, Lotus handed him a candy haw with a smile, "Good job! Here's a candy haw."

The tears in the child's eyes changed to eyes glittering in awe as the woman from before said with a smile and slight tilt, "Candy haws? Haha... I didn't think I'd seen them here. You're very good with children."

Lotus smiled, "I used to care for children when I was young and make candy haws for them."

"Really?" The woman laughed, "I used to do the same."

"They're very easy to make." Lotus smiled wider as she went onto the next injured.

"Yes, they are." The woman laughed, "What's your name?"

"Lotus." Lotus responded politely as she quickly bandaged the injured before looking up with a smile, "Lotus Xue, miss."

"Miss?!" The woman laughed, "I haven't heard someone call me that in a while now. You are an unusual student. I almost thought you were an intern."

Lotus shook her head politely after treating the last patient, "No, no. I haven't even earned any qualifications to become one. I'm just used to tending the injured since young."

"You do?" The woman looked to her in bewilderment.

Lotus nodded as she handed her back the box with a nod of gratitude, "Yes. I also often get hurt when I was young, so I had to treat myself. I was quite a wild child always getting hurt."

"Haha. Is that so?" The woman laughed, "That sounds a little like someone I know."

Slowly, her smile disappeared to a look of concern as she looked up to the dark skies, "Perhaps, my husband might not be wrong..."

"Miss?" Lotus raised a brow in confusion, "Could it be..."

It was then that she noticed the lion ears and tail as she spoke up, "Are you acquaintance with Leona-senpai?"

The woman looked to her in surprise as Lotus continued, "Um, I meant no offense, it's just the ears and tail sort of give me the idea and Leona-senpai is the only student with Lion features I can think of."

"You're a blunt one." The woman nodded with a smile, "You could call us acquaintances... I'm actually his sister-in-law, but..."

She shook her head with a sigh, "I don't know if he'll actually see me as such from how things are now..."

After realizing the person before her was the queen, Lotus raised a brow in confusion, "I think he'll be fine."

"Hm?" The sister-in-law looked to her in surprise.

"He seems to be frustrated from something that he was exposed to from his surroundings growing up." Lotus said as she recounted her interactions with him, "He never told me directly, but I've noticed that he's always aiming to be the top for some reason and everyone kept saying how he could be king... But... I don't think he wants that or wants to hear that. He always seems frustrated or annoyed when he hears that..."

"Oh?" The woman looked to her in surprise, "So... it wasn't just me or Farena..."

"Hm?" Lotus looked to her in confusion.

"It's nothing." The queen shook her head with a small smile, "I'm sure my husband would be relieved to know there's people like you around him. For I also believe in the same thing..."

The woman stared at Lotus and laughed with a sigh in the end, "... if only you weren't a student here... Maybe it'd make things easier to him... haha!"

Lotus raised a brow in confusion before continuing, "Well, he'll be all right. Everyone is trying to bring some sense back into him and Ruggie-senpai and Jack is helping us. Though, he'd probably choose to continue playing later with everyone... haha..."

"What do you mean?" The queen asked her curiously.

Lotus chuckled, "You'll see when everything is back on course again. Please excuse me... Miss. I'll go check on the situation in the stadium."

"Are you sure it's safe?" The queen asked with a look of concern.

Lotus nodded, "You just wait and see. Everyone will be in once peace in the end."

As she rushed off, the queen stood back with a sigh and a small smile as a buff older man walked over to her with a small smile and a red hair child in his arms. She chuckled and said, "You heard that, dear? Looks like we might be worried a little over nothing, especially you. Leona's going to be fine."

"I hope so..." the man with the lion ears muttered nervously as he watched the clouds, "Overblot is a serious matter... I thought he'd still think the path to king is the only one he can take in life, but... It was a naive thought that the people in the castle would change after he got into Nights Raven College..."

He sighed, "If only they didn't put in those silly ideas in his head..."

"This isn't the old age anymore." The queen responded, "He's had a tough year since he ended up attending Nights Raven College while the prince of fae entered the school."

The man grumbled with a sigh, "I don't think he's going to hold back another year till he defeats him, but I'll prepare to talk things out with the others. I wonder if he still plans to go into this field after this in the end?"

"Why not ask him that when he comes back during the next holiday?" The woman said with a smirk, "I think he'd be more willing to talk with you."

"Mom, can I have a candy haw too?" the child in yellow called out innocently.

The queen sighed with a small chuckle continued, "Or this child just might keep him in the school again..."

She reached out to pick up the child and brushed down his messy hair with a hand as she finished, "And, you need to learn a little bit of patience."

"Agh..." The boy cried in annoyance and whinned, "Mom, you're messing up my braids!"

The queen laughed, "All right. I won't mess with your 'braids'... haha..."

When Lotus rushed into the mirror she noticed bits and pieces of images in monotone color like Riddle's. Where they of the past too?

Leona's voice kept repeating over and over how he is treated differently just because he was the second prince or that he was born a few years younger. Rather than admire him for his ability, they feared his unique magic as they were in a country where droughts occur often, so his ability to turn anything into sand was despised.

However, no matter how much she kept hearing those words cry, she can't help but wonder if he really wanted to be king. His words confused her greatly. She finally began to question him in confusion, "Is bring a king really so great? Just because others sees it as something you have the possibility of, why do they always have to connect your magic to your heritage?"

"Huh?"

She was surprised when she got a response, "Um..."

"Damn it..." Leona grumbled, What is it now?"

"Oh..." Lotus gasped in revelation.

She made a mistake and accidentally ended up communicating with Leona's mind while he was out of it.

"For someone who hasn't even know the hardships of being a second prince, who gave you the right to-"

"I don't." Lotus responded bluntly telepathically which shut down Leona's growl, "I don't know what it means to be in your shoes. But, I know what it means to be jealous and envy others."

"What are you..."

"I was once a person who was born as a ruler." Lotus responded bluntly with a cold feeling in her chest, "In the past, I also had duties I needed to fulfill rather I wanted to or not. However, at the same time, I envied my elder brother who had the freedom to live without the expectations or the judgemental eyes of others."