A Familiar Face

As Leo exited the home in a rush, he immediately found himself in a predicament.

Which way to go?! 

Surrounded by rows of buildings built by the same materials, the only directions he could really go were left or right. With no other thoughts in his head, he decided to go left, not knowing if he was going in the right direction to leave.

A village? He saw all kinds of people and shops as he passed by, but he couldn't let his mind wander. Where's the exit?

All of a sudden behind him was a loud bang and a familiar voice in the distance that yelled, "HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

He looked back and saw the girl chasing him, because of his injuries he couldn't get far at all to outrun her. She was fast, and as soon as she caught up to him she tackled him to ground, almost forgetting about his wounds.

"OUCH!" he yelped in pain.

"S-Sorry, I forgot!" the ponytailed girl quickly got off of him and immediately went into lecture mode, "You still need to stay in bed! Your wounds aren't completely healed yet!" she dusted herself off.

Leo struggled to pick himself up from the ground. 

Approaching the two young adults was an old man with white hair on his head and mouth. He carried a plain old wooden stick with an odd shape and wore long gray robes that covered his feet.

"Hm...So this is the boy you brought in last night, Reina?" the old man asked as he stared at Leo scrupulously. 

"Yeah...He left my house all of sudden, so I chased him," the young lady identified as Reina, replied.

Reina, huh. He repeated her name in his mind. His eyes darted everywhere as if studying the area for any potential traps. This is vastly different from the palace...the atmosphere, the people...everything...

Continuing the conversation, the old man asked, "So, what might your name be, young man? I suppose you're not from here are you?"

"Uhm..I'm..." Leo was hesitant on giving his name, but at the same time he sensed no malice from the old man in front of him, so he finished, "Leonardo..."

"Leonardo...hm..." the old man sighed upon hearing his name, but it wasn't only him that reacted strangely.

The people in the village started to gather around them and whisper to each other. As the people said his name, they reacted as if it was a curse. 

Leo tried his best not to make eye contact with anyone, but only felt more uncomfortable, until a bulky man came up to him and set his heavy hand on Leo's shoulder.

"Leonardo! It's been awhile boy, how've you been?" the bulky man spoke as if they were long time friends.

"Huh?" Leo didn't know how to respond.

Then like a chain reaction, more people Leo had no recollection of, came up to him and asked unusual questions.

"How's the palace?"
"Have you been well?"

The questions seemed like genuine concern for the boy, but their demeanor changed when an old woman asked the following, "Hey, where are the others? Are they not with you?".

Others?  Who...Leo was confused.

Then all of a sudden the villagers' actions and tones were different as they started to whisper amongst themselves. 

"What's the matter?"
"Did they decide not to come with you?"

Overwhelmed, Leo could only let out a stutter of words as he felt an odd amount of pressure.

"I--"

"Stand down people! Can't you see that you're bothering him! Scatter!" with an amazing voice, the old man was able to disperse the crowd in an instant, and soon enough the villagers went back to their day to day activities.

Looking at the old man with his eyes wide open, Leo nodded his head in thanks.

"Sorry you had to go through that young lad. Say, I'm quite curious as to where you came from last night," the curious old man questioned.

"Uhm..the Northern Palace..." he hesistated to respond.

The palace, huh? Those wounds aren't from any normal skirmish either. The old man stared intensely at Leo's right arm that was heavily wrapped with bandages. 

"I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I need to leave before they get wind that I'm here!" However, before he could dash off again, the sound of bells started to ring.

The noise of the bells caused the villagers to scramble, but after some time they organized themselve in an orderly fashion. 

"The soldiers from the North are coming!" one villager yelled from atop of a wooden tower. 

Soldiers!? This is bad, I really need to leave! Desperately looking for a way out, Leo decided to run in the direction he just came, but something grabbed him before he could make a run for it.

"Wah--" he looked at the person who stopped him.

Reina?!