Rescuing Yuna (3)

"How... how could you know that?" Roric whispered, his voice trembling.

"She told me," Leon said simply. "Now, stand up, Roric. It's time to stop hiding."

Roric's eyes flickered as he slowly and shakily got to his feet.

"You speak as if you have spoken to our princess. But I saw her dead body personally. How do you want me to believe you?" Roric asked.

"Just take me to Yuna. I will explain it to her," Leon said.

Roric nodded, his eyes filled with a new, unwavering resolve. "Follow me."

He led Leon past the unconscious guards, deeper into the forest. He stopped before a massive, ancient tree whose trunk was covered in thick, illusionary magic.

"The Veil," Roric said. "It hides us from the world."

He gestured for Leon to follow and walked straight through the illusion.

Leon followed him through the magical curtain.

The oppressive gloom of the forest vanished instantly.

They were in a hidden dell, a place untouched by the outside world's decay. The trees here were ancient and impossibly large, their roots forming natural shelters. The air was filled with the soft glow of phosphorescent moss and the sweet scent of strange, luminous flowers.

A small community of beast-kin—the old, the young, the exiled—looked up as they entered, their faces a mixture of fear and hope.

In the center of the sanctuary, by a small, clear spring, an elderly bear-kin was gently trying to feed a bowl of soup to a young fox-kin girl.

She was thin, her silver hair was matted, and her eyes were wide with a constant, simmering terror.

It was Yuna.

As she saw Leon, a human, her eyes widened in panic. She scrambled backward, knocking over the bowl of soup. "No! Stay away from me! Bounty hunters! They found me!"

"Yuna, it's alright!" Roric said quickly. "He is not a bounty hunter! He is... a friend."

But Yuna didn't hear him. She was lost in her terror.

"Leon, she doesn't believe you!" Kira spoke in Leon's mind. "You have to prove it! Tell her something only I would know!"

"Tell her about the time we stole honey-cakes from the royal kitchen, and I got frosting all over my tail and blamed it on my little brother!"

Leon stepped forward, his voice calm and gentle.

"Yuna," he said. "The honey-cakes. Do you remember? The princess got frosting all over her tail and blamed Prince Kaelen."

Yuna froze.

Her terrified expression slowly melted away, replaced by one of utter disbelief.

Her head snapped up, her eyes locking onto Leon's. That was a story only two people in the entire world knew. Her, and her princess.

Tears welled in her eyes. "That... that could be a rumor. Something you overheard."

Her voice trembled, desperate for more proof.

"What... what was the name of the doll I made for her when we were children? The one she kept hidden under her pillow?"

"Stitches!" Kira supplied instantly in Leon's mind. "I called him Mr. Stitches because you used so many different colored threads!"

"Mr. Stitches," Leon said aloud. "Because you used too many colors."

A sob escaped Yuna's lips. "And... and the lullaby... the one her mother used to sing... what was the third line?"

"The moonbeams dance on silver streams... to guide you to the land of dreams," Kira whispered, her own voice thick with memory.

"...to guide you to the land of dreams," Leon repeated softly.

That was the final blow. Yuna's skepticism shattered completely, replaced by a wave of overwhelming emotion. Her princess was here. Somehow, impossibly, she was here, speaking to her through this strange human boy.

She turned to the scarred cat-kin, her voice soft but firm, regaining a sliver of her old authority. "Roric, could you... give us a moment? Please."

Roric looked from Yuna to the strange human boy, his protective instincts warring with his newfound respect. "My lady, I cannot leave you alone with a stranger. It is not safe."

"He is no stranger," Yuna insisted, her eyes never leaving Leon. "He is a friend of the princess. Please, Roric. I need to speak with her."

Seeing the resolve in her eyes, Roric finally relented. He bowed his head. "As you wish, my lady." He turned and gestured for the other beast-kin to keep a respectful distance.

As soon as Roric left, the tears she had held back for so long finally streamed down her face in a torrent of grief and impossible joy. She stumbled forward, but she didn't try to pass through an invisible spirit.

Instead, she threw her arms around Leon, hugging him tightly as if he were a lifeline, burying her face in his chest.

"Princess!" she cried, her voice muffled by his shirt. "You're really here! I missed you so much!"

Leon stood stiffly for a moment, shocked by the sudden physical contact, before awkwardly patting her on the back. This was, without a doubt, the most complicated part of his new life.

Something which he never had to worry about in his previous one.

"Princess, so you have now reincarnated as a boy?" Yuna continued, pulling back slightly but still clinging to his arms.

"But how did you grow up so much already? Did you take over the body of another person? You could have at least found someone handsome, right? Well, no matter, at least now we can be together…"

"YUNA!!!!" Kira shrieked in Leon's mind, her voice a mix of pure embarrassment and horror. "Tell her to stop! Tell her that's not how it is! And what does she mean 'not handsome'?!"

Leon awkwardly tried to pry Yuna's hands off his shirt. "Yuna, wait. There's a misunderstanding. I am not Princess Kira."

Yuna just giggled through her tears, hugging him tighter. "Oh, Princess, you're so shy now that you're in a boy's body! Don't worry, I'll still take care of you!"

Leon let out a sigh, feeling a headache forming. This was far more complicated than fighting a demon prince.

Just as he was about to try and explain again, a shrill, red notification flashed in his mind, overriding everything else.

[ALERT: Hostile entities detected!]

[New General Mission: The Hunters and the Hunted]

Description: A party of four bounty hunters has breached the Gloomwood's Veil. They are approaching your location. Protect the innocent.

Objective: Neutralize the bounty hunters or chase them away before they get information about this sanctuary.

Rewards: 200 Necromancy Points (NP), Rank-Up Progression if only necromancy spells are used.