Mourn Me - Vesperia Drabble

It had been two years since it happened, and never once had Yuri forgotten that day.

How could he?

It would be burned in his mind for the rest of his life, and he would never let himself  let go of the duty that was handed him before his best friend had left him.

It was his job to protect them now, his job to protect everyone and to carry on his   would-be brother's will.

His gaze was reflecting back at him as he stood before the mirror in his quarters, tying his hair up in a high ponytail as the final touch to his outfit. Red fabric was wrapped around his waist, a black jacket, and a grey under shirt; knee high armor served as his boots now - he wanted to look his best for this occasion.

There was a knock at the door, followed by a small voice.  "Yuri, are you ready yet?"  The door creaked open and the face of the princess peaked in, smiling. "We don't want to be late, or Flynn… he'd be upset with us."

He gave her a sad smile, and nodded in return.

"Yeah, I'm ready let's go."

It wasn't a terribly long walk for the two of them. It was a small patch behind the castle, where the fallen soldiers of the empire went to their final rest, and there was a stone where the others were waiting, back in the corner of the grounds.

Yuri didn't say a word to the others, as Estelle greeted them with the best smile she could muster.

Sodia gave Yuri a look, a look that he could easily see she blamed him for this, while the others - Rita, Raven, Judith and Karol, simply kept silent as the violet haired man took a knee in front of the grave, resting flowers down before it.

'Here lies, Flynn Scifo, Beloved Brother and Friend. Honored Commandant of the Imperial Knights may you rest forever in the most peaceful of slumbers, the Empire thanks you for all your hard work. You will be forever missed.'


Still no words came, and everyone around him stood in silence not wanting to say anything that would upset the young wolf.

__

It was as if the day replayed over in his mind every time he saw the stone.

He was setting in the jail cell that Flynn had so kindly made his home before he left when the guard had come to unlock the door. Only a week had passed before Yuri was thrown out onto the streets again.

"What couldn't handle me anymore?" he retorted as he stumbled to keep his balance as he was pushed down the castle steps.

"We were under strict orders from the Commandant to only keep you in custody for only a week.  Now be on your way, Yuri Lowell." One of the Knights retorted, and the vigilante could only scoff at them, and he was back on his way walking grumpily back to the Lower Quarter.

Thing stayed peaceful as the weeks passed, and every now and then he would pop into the castle to ask if Flynn had returned only to be promptly turned away and told that information was none of his business.

Apparently being the Commandant's best friend meant nothing if you were a wanted man.

Weeks turned to months, and there was a knock at his door.

It was the middle of the night, who bothered him at this hour? He'd been good…so there was really no reason for anyone to be there.

He hopped off of the window sill he was perched on, and strolled across the rickety wooden floor, wrapping his hand around the door knob and pulling it open.

"Yeah Yeah.. what do you want - " he started in a sarcastically annoyed tone, but he felt his breath freeze in his lungs for a moment as his eyes rested on the an all too familiar face.  "- LeBlanc?" What was the Knight doing here? He knew that the Schwann Brigade was pretty set on taking him in, but even so, this seemed like overkill.  "What are you doing here? I've been a good boy, I promise." he spoke with a tease, but tensed up when he saw the Knight's eyes only fall to the ground,  as a great sigh escaped him.

"Yuri, I'm not here to arrest you. I need to have you set down." He spoke as he walked past the young man, letting himself in.

Yuri raised an eyebrow at him as he walked into his small one room home, and closed the door behind him. "I'm fine, what is it?" He asked as his mind started to race through the reasons that an enlisted man would come visit him at such a late hour…an enlisted man who knew him rather well at that.

What could possibly be so important that Leblanc would come all the way out here to ….

Flynn.

His eyes widened as the thought rested in his mind, and he could tell that from the way the soldier was carrying himself it couldn't be anything good.

"Where he is?!" The wolf demanded, as he eyed the other, and Leblanc looked up at him with a somber look.

"Yuri, set down. Please." It was the first time in his life, that Yuri had seen such an expression cross the man's face. There was such emotion, regret, sympathy, pain, sadness in his eyes. What happened? Was Flynn hurt? What happened?!

"I don't want to set down! Just tell me where he is!? What happened to him!? This is about Flynn, isn't it!? Isn't it!?" It was easy to see the worry that was taking over the young wolf as his composer almost instantly crumbled once the first crack of worry was placed into his mind.

LeBlanc took a step backwards from the boy, swallowing hard, he tried to avoid eye contact. He expected for Yuri to catch on quickly, and he expected to get a wild reaction, but he didn't expect him to crumble this quickly…perhaps the two were much closer than they ever let on…. all he knew was that they were friends… not to the extent of how close.

"He's been brought back to the castle…" The Captain started to explain, with a soft tone.

"Then I need to go see him!" Yuri pushed the other out of the way as he headed for the door, only to feel a strong hand grip his shoulder, and pull him backwards.

"Yuri, don't.  The Commandant… he.. he didn't make it. We're going to hold a memorial for him in a few days, I just …thought you should know."

The reaction that came next, was something he wasn't expecting. The Knight had always seen this boy as strong and confident, able to handle any problem that was handed to him - so when he heard the thud of Yuri's knees hitting the floor, he didn't quite know what to make of it.

"Yuri? Are you alright?" he asked with the utmost care, as he leaned forward to try to see the other's face.  Yuri dropped his head quickly, letting his bangs hide his eyes, but the elder still caught a glimpse of the tears at were running past his bangs and hitting the floor at a growing speed.

"I'll just be going now." He spoke softly, resting a hand on the boy's back gently before he let himself out. "Unless, you'd like me to take you Lady Estellise. I'm sure she needs you in a time like this… probably as much as you look like you need her."

He didn't say a word, as he lifted himself to his feet. He only nodded, as he moved an arm to wipe the tears from his eyes. The elder man smiled at him sympathetically, and lead him to the castle.

It was quiet between them most of the way there, until they were walking through the halls of the castle when Yuri broke the silence.

"He was my best friend, if you were wondering."

There was a pause in the Knight who looked to the other with a minor surprise.

"Excuse me?"

"Flynn… I didn't have a family… his parents… they raised me. He might as well have been my brother."  the orphan sounded letting a little of that weakness show, still refusing to look at the other man despite this.

Leblanc could only smile softly at the other's words, as he knocked on the door he stopped in front of. They were here, at Princess Estellise's room, and he wondered if she'd been told of the Commandant's passing yet.

For as strong of a front the young trouble maker was trying to put on, there was one thing about him that the Knight couldn't help but noticing.

Never once, from the time they started out for the castle, to this moment did the tears stop, as silent as they may have been, they kept falling, unrelenting, almost as if part of the man himself had been taken from him.

"Um.. Yes? Can I help you?" A small female voice brought the Knight's concentration back to the reason he was here at this late hour.

"Princess Estellise, but I have something to talk to you about… it's very important."

She looked to him in confusion, but soon those soft green eyes widened at the sight of the vigilante and his perpetual stream of tears.

"Yuri! Yuri, what's wrong?!" She started, swinging the door open wide, and almost running to him in the short distance that was between them, to grab his arm and pull him inside the room.

He was silent, even as she walked him to her bed, and let him set down. She sat down next to him, checking him over in a worried fit, asking him things like 'Are you hurt?' and 'What's happened?'. He still said nothing, and just let the tears fall. Leblanc could see it was really hitting him now, and now knowing that someone so close… that the Commandant's family had raised him… the Knight couldn't begin to imagine what this lost felt like to the wolf like man.

Yuri couldn't remember much after that. He could recall Estelle breaking into a fit of crying, and holding her close for the rest of the night, but after that day, the days… the months - the years just seemed to drag on - empty and void of any sort of reason.

___

"You son of a Bitch!" Yuri's voice cracked the silence, snapping everyone back to their senses.  

It had been a quiet moment of peace as the purple haired man had zoned out in his time of recollection. No one dared to speak a word, as Yuri had been so quiet for these past years. So when he came here, came to see him - see Flynn, everyone knew they just needed to give the wolf his space.

Hearing this outburst was something new. No one had heard any sort of emotion from Yuri in quite sometime, and they all just attributed it to the fact that the two had been so very close.  

The sky was growing dark above them, and the clouds grumbled with displeasure, letting them know that the rain would be coming soon. It was only a few moments before the cool liquid fell from the sky, chilling them to their bones.

"We probably should get going soon…" Raven chimed in as he looked upwards towards the sky.

Their gazes all shifted to the wolf like man, waiting for his approval of this plan, but instead all they could see were the tears that ran down his cheeks as they mixed with the rain.

Estelle placed her hand on his shoulder, and gave him a smile. "He's right Yuri. If we stay out here much longer, we'll catch cold…and Flynn wouldn't want you to be sick." she urged him gently, hoping it would get him to give the approval to come back inside, however he merely moved her hand from his shoulder, and sighed.

"You guys, go on ahead. I'll be there in a little bit."

With that everyone said there good-byes, giving each other hugs and pats on the shoulders before taking off - until only two remained.

Yuri stayed on his knee before the grave, and next to him stood a small woman with long blonde hair. The intense gaze she gave him - it was mixed with emotions now, it was filled with both respect and hatred…for as much as she hated him for being involved with her beloved Commandant's life, Sodia couldn't bring herself to not respect the  man before her for everything he did not only for the world, but the Knight in question.

"Please don't take too Long…" she started as she moved to walk away. "…I wouldn't want you catch cold, Commandant Lowell. "