The Close Call

The butterflies dissolved into the dawn like blue smoke.

"COME BACK!!!" Alice begged the creatures.

"You can't talk to butterflies, Alice," Leo whispered, a sweat drop clinging to his forehead, his eyes fixed with quiet intensity.

"EHHH?! WHY? YOU TOLD US STORIES ABOUT BUTTERFLIES IN THE ORPHANAGE BACK THEN!"

"You... were..." She stopped talking, a knot of frustration tightening in her throat.
Her lips trembled, words breaking before they reached air.

"More important than that, guys... we're about to get executed, I guess," Emma said with a sigh, her tone deadly serious.

"Restrain the intruders! Take them to the center!" one guard ordered.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!! AND LEAVE LEO ALONE TOO!!" Alice screamed, thrashing against the guards.

"What an annoying child. Unfortunately, we don't have child-sized handcuffs," another guard grumbled, struggling to pin her tiny squirming hands.

"You know what happens when you trespass on royal lands? You die, spoiled brat," a third guard with a scarred cheek snarled.

The guards' slow, steady footsteps echoed like distant drums growing louder, heralding an approaching storm.
Even chained, Leo felt the rhythm pounding inside his chest.

They drew closer to the castle's center.

"I CAN'T KEEP UP!" Alice cried.
"THEY ARE WALKING SLOWLY!!"

"And you love rushing, don't you?" Emma said; a faint laugh escaped her.

Leo sighed, watching the castle loom larger with each step.

Nestled within its protective embrace of stone, the castle stood like a colossal, multi-faceted gem, its three gleaming domes the perfectly cut peaks of a priceless crown.

"It's beautiful," Leo murmured.

"Yeah, it's beautiful... but not when you're about to die!!" Alice kicked Leo's leg.

"Tch! Stop fidgeting, brat!" the scarred guard snapped.

A figure watched from the castle window as the guards footsteps grew louder. His shadow vanished the moment he spotted the three youngsters.
The curtains swayed as though they had tried to hide him, but failed.

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP!"

The scarred guard threw Alice to the ground. Dust puffed up around her.

The figure on the terrace leaned closer to the window, watching events unfold.

"...A brown-haired boy?" he whispered, eyes fixed on the scene.

The guards continued marching, but the scarred guard lunged for Alice.

The moment he caught her arm:

"Heh... You're lucky, so lucky I'm living my best life..." Alice coughed out dust.
"I couldn't be happier with how things are going!" She stared up at him, a defiant smile spreading across her face.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" His leg pulled back like a wolf retracting its paw, coiling for a brutal kick.
For a heartbeat, even the other guards froze, sensing the cruelty in his motion.

"Alice? You've been silent for a while... You okay...?" Leo snapped from his trance, the castle's beauty forgotten.
"Wasn't she beside me a moment ago?"

He turned—

just as the guard's boot slammed into Alice's side.

"L... Leo?" Emma's voice trembled with confusion.

Metal clanked sharply among the guards as Leo strained against his chains, desperate, rattling gasps tearing from his throat.
"Don't you dare touch her!"

Leo whirled toward the scarred guard.

"Hey! Who told you to—" a guard began.

Leo's stare locked onto them—a predator's unblinking, simmering rage freezing them in place.
The square seemed to shrink under his glare, as if even the air bent away

"LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!!!!!!!"

His roar shook the square, fury unleashed.

"Leo, stop!" Emma cried, grabbing his arm.

A silent guard with spectacles approached from afar, sword drawn.

"...That's it. Time to slaughter."

As the man tightened his sword against Leo's throat—

A sharp CLAP echoed from above.

"STOP!!" a commanding voice thundered.