"I don't like this. I think I've changed my mind."
A little late to complain but he felt like he just walked into his own kidnapping and that didn't feel good. He agreed to leave his room, jump the castle gates and basically get himself away from everyone who could help him before agreeing to wear a blindfold. Clearly he went wrong somewhere. He hadn't known Leonard long enough to trust him this well and he wasn't sure where they were even going. It was all pretty unsettling.
"You better don't run off, you'll need me to find your way off." Not the most reassuring thing in the world to say, but Leonard held Barry's arm and led him through the forest, careful to keep him from stumbling over anything. Or nothing, he supposed, it was Barry after all. He noticed a shiver and stopped, taking off his coat.
He stepped behind Barry to drape it over his shoulders, arms around him momentarily to drape it a little tighter. "I told you, Scarlet. I'll bring you back before anyone notices you're gone. You have my word. As your friend and as someone who was a knight once."
It would mean a lot more if his word came from someone who was still a knight and a friend but as it stood, Leonard was neither. Not a friend yet, anyway. He wasn't so sure how much he could trust him. If Eobard even found out he'd done this, he was in so much trouble. And not the kind of trouble he could worm out of by arguing back, this was probably one of his dumber ideas. Running off with a known criminal. He had no idea why he'd done it.
Then Leonard touched him, almost held him, and he remembered very swiftly. Oh yeah. That was the reason. The perk of getting to wear his coat was kind of nice. It was really warm, which took him by surprise, he didn't think Leonard would have clothes like this. "I'm more worried about walking into my doom blindfolded like a complete idiot. I guess I have to trust you really."
"M-hm. Because if you didn't wear a blindfold and I'd lead you to your doom, you could just defend yourself." Leonard really wasn't the best at reassurance, but he wasn't really trying to be. However, he now kept an arm around Barry as he led him deeper into the forest, listening to the birds that called out occasionally, even though it was past dark. "I simply want to show you something you haven't seen before. You always liked to learn and you always liked to see something new. This is better than just looking through that thing your friend made for you."
At least it should leave a better impression. "What do you know about taxes, Scarlet?"
"I could. You think I'm a total wimp, don't you? I'm not. I'm strong, I can fight for myself." Debatable. Barry certainly wasn't a push over but against someone like Leonard? It was a dead set he'd be taken down in minutes. At least he could run for his life and try not to get killed, that was always on the table. "I do like new things, I just like knowing how I got to the new things. Crazy, I know." His idea of new things tended to be fantasy tales and weird myths and legends he liked to chase or read up on, not getting led into the middle of the woods.
"I know they get paid to the prince so he can fund the country and the army, repair the bridges, invest back into people. Taxes are like the way people make sure where they live stays liveable."
"Are they? That's ironic, considering how many people end up homeless because they can't afford the amount of taxes heaved on them." Leonard took a turn for no real reason other than to make sure Barry really had no reason how to get anywhere and how to ever find out or back here, which was why the blindfold was so very necessary. "If you knew how you got where I'm taking you, Scarlet, you'd be in a lot of danger. There are some secrets I can't allow to be out. There are people that depend on my and my secrecy. I like you, but I'd not betray their trust for you."
"That's just an unfortunate side-effect. Eobard is as lenient as he can be but some people can't afford to pay their way or they just don't want to. I already told him he should set up places for those people to go. I don't think people don't pay taxes because they want to be homeless." Barry didn't see the reason why anyone had to be homeless but he saw the reason why it happened. "Society will never be perfect, there's flaws in the system. Even in the best societies, homelessness happens."
That's what Eobard always told him whenever they spoke about it. There was no way to achieve a flawless society. "I get it, you want to protect them, I like that. Just don't get me hurt or lost trying to do it or I won't be trusting you much again any time soon. Understandably."
"I'd never get you hurt, Scarlet. And if you are lost, then you should trust that I'll come to find you." As he supposed he was doing right now, if one wanted to be dramatic. Less dramatic and more poetic. Why was he spending his valuable time, risking his neck, for someone who barely even remembered him? Mick had been ranting about that ever since he found out, but that hadn't stopped Leonard, perhaps exactly because he wasn't sure if he could answer the question.
"I know you know how to talk, but do you know how to be silent? The people I'll introduce you to deserve to be heard, no matter your thoughts on it all." He wasn't going to have these people insulted because a sheltered nobleman knew nothing but ignorance.
"If people want to talk to me, let them talk to me. I'll listen." He might argue back if he thinks it's unjust but he was always good at listening. He wasn't naive, he knew the issues society had, it'd be stupid to dismiss them. He just didn't feel like being taken someone and having the people in his life, the people he loved, bad mouthed for improper reasons. "I'm not some dumb spoilt brat, I know how to talk to people and how to listen to them."
Fortunately he was raised by very good parents up until their deaths.
"I know, Scarlet. But some truths are so harsh that they are hard to listen to. I didn't want to at first." Leonard stopped and turned Barry around, reaching up to pull the blindfold off and giving him time to adjust. They were in the middle of the forest, but it was a clear night and the moon shone brightly, so it wasn't too dark. Voices could be heard in a bit of distance, talking quietly. "If you introduce yourself tonight, it will be with 'Scarlet', all right? And you're with me, if anyone asks."
Not that he planned on leaving any doubt about that. "Are you ready to meet some friends of mine?"
"Scarlet? I have to use that? You know, you could have given me a better nickname." Barry wasn't exactly in love with Scarlet but he supposed he was stuck with it tonight. He adjusted his eyes and looked up at the moon for a few seconds, a stupid smile on his face. It looked so close here, so bright and beautiful, way better than what he saw through the telescope. The forest was beautiful really, he hadn't been in a forest since he was ten, it was nice to hear the crunch of the leaves and birds calling. "It's so beautiful."
He looked at Leonard and nodded his head, looking towards where he heard the voices. "I guess. It's why I came all this way, isn't it?"
"I don't know. I thought you just wanted to take a moonlit walk with me." That said Leonard turned and walked past a group of trees. The place they reached had some small shelters built, nothing up on the trees, all on the ground. A fire was in the middle of the area and the atmosphere was sombre, which wasn't that surprising. This wasn't Len's camp with the people that fought with him, this was the place for refugees.
Leonard stopped by the first place, where an elderly couple sat, the man with a blindfold and the woman feeding him. She looked up when Leonard looked at them, elbowing her husband and smiling up at Len. "God bless you." She elbowed her husband again. "It's Len."
The man reached out one hand and Leonard actually held it for a moment. "How's the pain?"
"Good, good. Thank you for everything."
"It's nothing." Leonard wished them a good night before walking further, lowering his voice as he spoke to Barry. "He used to be a tailor. He couldn't pay the taxes when they raised them and they blinded him and took their daughter. I haven't been able to find out where she is, she might just be dead."
Barry stuck behind Leonard, unsure what to do or what to think, he just kept his distance and slipped his arms better into Leonard's coat. He looked around at the people here and frowned deeply, they didn't look so good and their shelter was terrible. Maybe he could get them something better, there was a lot of empty properties not far from the castle and Eobard had discussed with him some kind of shelter for the homeless. It wasn't impossible.
He watched the old man carefully, unsure how to process this.
"Why -- why would they blind him? And his -- why?"
None of that made any sense. That wasn't the rules. If you didn't pay tax, you got evicted. That was the rule. Not blinding, not taking family members. "That's not right. That can't be -- this makes no sense."
"As punishment, I suppose. A lot of the men in charge of these things like to be cruel. You don't want to think about what happened to the daughter. I almost hope that she's dead by now." Which was an awful thing to say, but Leonard had seen many awful things. He was seeing awful things right now.
On the other hand, a little girl came running up to him and when she held out her arms, he lifted her up, turning so she could see Barry. "This is Scarlet. He's my friend."
She looked at Barry with suspicious, about six years old and more interested in putting her fingers in her mouth than in talking.
"Jane's a great marksman already. Her father was a hunter, she wants to be one too."
She seemed shy and not overly interested in getting to know him or speak to him, she mostly just wanted to chew on his fingers and lean her head against Len. She looked like she didn't trust Barry and honest to God, he didn't blame her right now.
Was. That's what Leonard said. Her father was. So either he was dead or someone horribly mutilated him too. God, this just kept getting worse and worse. "Is her dad here?"
Jane took her fingers out of her mouth to tell Barry what would happen. "I'm going to go and free him!" Clearly she was very sure of herself, but then she glanced up at Len and added, slightly sheepish. "With Len." A prison was a very big place after all.
"You're brave enough to. But it's more important you take care of your little brother here, isn't it?"
She nodded and struggled as a sign that she wanted to be let down, running off into one of the makeshift huts the moment she hit the ground.
"Almost all the people here are banished. They'd be killed or be in prison if they weren't hiding here."
"They'd kill her too?" She was so small and she had to watch out for someone younger? How was that even possible? None of this made any sense. He was going home, he was going to talk to Eobard, to ask him what his men were doing. He could fix this. He was sure he could. It wasn't like this was what Eobard wanted, it couldn't be.
Barry backed away from the make shift little camp and started to walk back towards the forest. He didn't like this much but there was nothing he could do about it but talk to Eobard. What was the point of standing here feeling awful?
He kind of hoped his first trip outside in years would be a little more fun.
Leonard wasn't surprised that Barry didn't want to stomach more. He followed him, finally stepping in front of him as they were inside the forest again. He put a hand on Barry's shoulder and gave a slight shake of his head. "We're not done just yet. Don't you want to see something a little less depressing as well?"
Besides, he definitely had to school Barry on what to do with all he had just learned, or he'd risk even Barry's safety.
"No. I want to go home." It was kind of hard to want to be excited and see things when he just saw that. Mostly he just wanted to go home, crawl up in his bed and debate how to broach this subject to Eobard without getting himself into a shit load of trouble. Which honestly seemed impossible but there was no other way to do this. And he had to do it.
It was kind of hard to want a positive encore after something like that. His eyes welled up a little and he balled his fists up. "Please. I want to go back."
"Of course, Scarlet." Leonard hesitated, then he wrapped his arms around Barry and pulled him close, trying to recall how he had felt when he had first encountered the injustice in this world. But his work wasn't done. "The taxes have been raised and the punishments have gotten stricter, because the prince wants the money at all cause. Poor lives hold no value to him. Make no mistake, he knows everything about this. He watches every execution."
"That's a lie, I bet Eobard doesn't know about it. I have to talk to Eobard." Barry pushed away from Leonard, he had to, he didn't know what to do or where his loyalties should be, either he was being lied to or his idol and the man he looked up to was some kind of monster. And that wasn't easy to digest in a matter of moments. "I just want to go home, Leonard. I need to talk to Eobard. He's not like this, he'd never want this. It's a mistake."
"Just do me one favour, Scarlet, and don't talk to him right away. Think first. Make sure. Try to ascertain that he really is the man you believe him to be." Leonard reached into his pocket and pulled the blindfold out, holding it out to Barry. "But at least you know what I fight for now. This is what cost me my knighthood." Not to mention being an outlaw, being a wanted man. Leonard shrugged. "I have no regrets."
"I don't know anything." Not right now, not like this. Barry had to think about it, he had to talk about it, he had to understand what was happening. All his life, Eobard had meant so much to him and now he was being told he was the villain of the story? He needed a lot of proof before he jumped off Eobard and onto Leonard's side. Sure, the evidence was damning so far but he had to know more. "I'm just know I'm going to talk to Eobard."
"Just be careful. Be careful what you say." This had been a mistake, everyone who had warned him had been right. Barry was no longer willing to listen and he might very well make the situation worse. But he couldn't change it now and he had made a promise, so he put the blindfold on and took Barry's arm. "You'll be back before anyone is the wiser, as I've promised you."
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A little late to complain but he felt like he just walked into his own kidnapping and that didn't feel good. He agreed to leave his room, jump the castle gates and basically get himself away from everyone who could help him before agreeing to wear a blindfold. Clearly he went wrong somewhere. He hadn't known Leonard long enough to trust him this well and he wasn't sure where they were even going. It was all pretty unsettling.
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He stepped behind Barry to drape it over his shoulders, arms around him momentarily to drape it a little tighter. "I told you, Scarlet. I'll bring you back before anyone notices you're gone. You have my word. As your friend and as someone who was a knight once."
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Then Leonard touched him, almost held him, and he remembered very swiftly. Oh yeah. That was the reason. The perk of getting to wear his coat was kind of nice. It was really warm, which took him by surprise, he didn't think Leonard would have clothes like this. "I'm more worried about walking into my doom blindfolded like a complete idiot. I guess I have to trust you really."
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At least it should leave a better impression. "What do you know about taxes, Scarlet?"
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"I know they get paid to the prince so he can fund the country and the army, repair the bridges, invest back into people. Taxes are like the way people make sure where they live stays liveable."
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That's what Eobard always told him whenever they spoke about it. There was no way to achieve a flawless society. "I get it, you want to protect them, I like that. Just don't get me hurt or lost trying to do it or I won't be trusting you much again any time soon. Understandably."
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"I know you know how to talk, but do you know how to be silent? The people I'll introduce you to deserve to be heard, no matter your thoughts on it all." He wasn't going to have these people insulted because a sheltered nobleman knew nothing but ignorance.
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Fortunately he was raised by very good parents up until their deaths.
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Not that he planned on leaving any doubt about that. "Are you ready to meet some friends of mine?"
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He looked at Leonard and nodded his head, looking towards where he heard the voices. "I guess. It's why I came all this way, isn't it?"
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Leonard stopped by the first place, where an elderly couple sat, the man with a blindfold and the woman feeding him. She looked up when Leonard looked at them, elbowing her husband and smiling up at Len. "God bless you." She elbowed her husband again. "It's Len."
The man reached out one hand and Leonard actually held it for a moment. "How's the pain?"
"Good, good. Thank you for everything."
"It's nothing." Leonard wished them a good night before walking further, lowering his voice as he spoke to Barry. "He used to be a tailor. He couldn't pay the taxes when they raised them and they blinded him and took their daughter. I haven't been able to find out where she is, she might just be dead."
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He watched the old man carefully, unsure how to process this.
"Why -- why would they blind him? And his -- why?"
None of that made any sense. That wasn't the rules. If you didn't pay tax, you got evicted. That was the rule. Not blinding, not taking family members. "That's not right. That can't be -- this makes no sense."
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On the other hand, a little girl came running up to him and when she held out her arms, he lifted her up, turning so she could see Barry. "This is Scarlet. He's my friend."
She looked at Barry with suspicious, about six years old and more interested in putting her fingers in her mouth than in talking.
"Jane's a great marksman already. Her father was a hunter, she wants to be one too."
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She seemed shy and not overly interested in getting to know him or speak to him, she mostly just wanted to chew on his fingers and lean her head against Len. She looked like she didn't trust Barry and honest to God, he didn't blame her right now.
Was. That's what Leonard said. Her father was. So either he was dead or someone horribly mutilated him too. God, this just kept getting worse and worse. "Is her dad here?"
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Jane took her fingers out of her mouth to tell Barry what would happen. "I'm going to go and free him!" Clearly she was very sure of herself, but then she glanced up at Len and added, slightly sheepish. "With Len." A prison was a very big place after all.
"You're brave enough to. But it's more important you take care of your little brother here, isn't it?"
She nodded and struggled as a sign that she wanted to be let down, running off into one of the makeshift huts the moment she hit the ground.
"Almost all the people here are banished. They'd be killed or be in prison if they weren't hiding here."
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Barry backed away from the make shift little camp and started to walk back towards the forest. He didn't like this much but there was nothing he could do about it but talk to Eobard. What was the point of standing here feeling awful?
He kind of hoped his first trip outside in years would be a little more fun.
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Besides, he definitely had to school Barry on what to do with all he had just learned, or he'd risk even Barry's safety.
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It was kind of hard to want a positive encore after something like that. His eyes welled up a little and he balled his fists up. "Please. I want to go back."
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