𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏// Lady Lesso x Fem! Reader

[16] Leonora of Gavaldon

Many who came towards them greeted Y/N with a friendly look, but as soon as they saw Lesso the smile on their lips disappeared and instead they all took a little distance from the two. Everyone here knew Lesso, knew who she was and therefore gave her a wide berth. Just like they had all done back in Gavaldon.

Y/N also noticed the tense atmosphere that had quickly spread through the village. After all, word got around quickly when the dean of the School for Evil walked through the streets. And then also still in company of a princess.

"I actually didn't expect them to be so frightful when they saw you. Sorry, I guess I misjudged quite a bit." Y/N wished the others wouldn't be so dominated by prejudice and be able to see what she too saw in Lesso. The other merely waved it off, as if she didn't even care about the looks the others were giving her. "Just forget it, it was bound to happen. Just get what you need and then we'll get out of here again."

Luckily, Y/N had already commissioned the gift for Isabell a few weeks ago, so now all she had to do was pick it up. Even though she loved being here in the city, she could clearly sense that Lesso was not at all comfortable here. She was tense and her facial expression literally spoke volumes. The contracted eyebrows, the downturned corners of her mouth.... Yes, Lesso really wasn't in a very good mood, but Y/N couldn't blame her.

Placing the gift carefully wrapped in the basket she carried with her, Y/N went to get a few last ingredients for tonight's dinner. "I think I'm ready, we can go" she then let Lesso know. Relieving news for the redhead, as she couldn't get out of here fast enough. Places like this always brought back dark memories. One of the reasons why she stayed behind in her castle during the vacations.

On the way back, there was again a silence between the two. This time, however, a much more uncomfortable one. One that triggered an oppressive feeling in Y/N and she was determined to do something about it. "Say, can I actually ask you something? You've been at the school for a while now, and there's something I've been wanting to find out for a while. Actually, I would have also asked Dovey, but so far the right moment has never arisen" she then began the conversation after a while, she had hooked herself slightly with Lesso.

The redhead looked down at the smaller figure and nodded gently. "Sure, feel free to ask away. What do you want to know?"
It wasn't exactly the best topic of conversation, but at least they were talking to each other a bit now, and that was the most important thing to Y/N.

"I once heard that it's very rare that people from outside can come to our world. Ones that have never belonged to our world and yet they are granted the opportunity to attend the School for Good and Evil. Is this true, or just a fairy tale told from place to place?"

A little irritated by this question, Lesso looked down at her. The dean had expected anything but this kind of question. But she didn't want to just lie to Y/N like that, for that reason she ended up nodding slightly. "It is the truth. We call them readers because they merely read about the stories that exist in our world instead of being part of them. It's very rare for readers to visit our school, though."

Lesso could tell by the look on her face that Y/N was completely intrigued, and she knew she probably wouldn't get out of this one anytime soon. "Have you ever met one of these readers?" There was an excited glow in the young woman's eyes. A glow that Lesso knew she couldn't resist. And so she just sighed softly before launching into an answer, "As a matter of fact, I did know someone once. A girl. It was a long time ago, and I was still a student myself."

In the meantime they had reached the familiar surroundings of Y/N's property again, because from far away they could already see the many apple trees, whose red fruits shone deliciously in the glow of the sun. "What was her name, and what was she like?" Y/N's curiosity had completely taken her. It was rare for Lesso to talk about the past, so of course she was just taking advantage of the fact that she was willing to talk about it.

Lesso was silent for a moment, recalling old pictures. Things she had experienced and done back then. "Her name was Leonora and she came from a small village called Gavaldon." Her heart consumed with pain at the thought of the horrible place she had once called home. Y/N had no inkling yet of the real truth about Lesso's past, which was within her grasp.

"She was... Set apart from the others. Even if she belonged to the School for Evil, she had no real friends. At least, there was never anyone who spent time with her. Most of the time she sat in her room and was absorbed in all kinds of books she could find. And even if you didn't see it right away, she was evil through and through. Guided by the darkest forces this world had to offer, as his loyal subordinate."

That was the moment when Y/N stopped as if frozen, a confused expression was on her face. "You say she was the student of Rafal himself?" Something about this whole story had seemed so strange to her anyway. This Leonora... Y/N just couldn't shake the feeling like she knew her. But when Lesso nodded in response to her question as well, the young woman stiffened.

"But I thought Rafal disappeared so many centuries ago and never gave any sign of life. If she really was his disciple, then she certainly wouldn't have told anyone unless..." Slowly one and one added up, she knew exactly where she knew this Leonora from.
Lesso's silence was answer enough for her, the redhead didn't have to say anything because Y/N already knew. "You are that reader! When you told me on our date that you used to read a lot, you meant the storybooks in your old home. You're Leonora!"  There was a mixture of joy and confusion on Y/N's face. She finally knew what it was about Lesso's past that the other was so eager to protect, but on the other hand, she wondered why Lesso had never revealed a word about her true name.

The dean stepped closer to Y/N and put a finger on her lips to stop her from speaking further. "Shh , don't speak any further. Don't call me that, that name is long past. I won't go into it any further, just promise me that you will never associate that name with me again." Gray-blue eyes looked at her with a certain urgency.
Y/N didn't quite understand what was so bad about it, but for Lesso's sake she nodded slightly, a sign of her promise.

Lesso then took her finger back from Y/N's lips and resigned herself to the situation. "There, and now enough of that. Let's see about getting back and having another nice day."

While Y/N still had a question or two floating around in her head that just wouldn't let her go, she knew well enough by now that she wasn't going to get anything more out of Lesso. No matter what had happened back then, it had to be something serious if the redhead reacted like that.
Still Y/N couldn't quite believe it. Her girlfriend was a reader and in all this time she hadn't suspected anything, even if the evidence was all the more clear.

"Are you coming or are you going to keep standing around?"

Lesso's voice snapped Y/N out of her thoughts. She quickly shook her head to get rid of all the questions and catch up to the dean. "No, I'm already there."

Hand in hand, they walked along the small gravel path back to the large estate, a light breeze blowing across the fields and providing a pleasant cool air for a change on this warm and sunny day.

Further cut off and well hidden behind a small hill lurked a sinister figure dressed in clothes of darkest red. Beside him, another of his shadow creatures kept an eye on the two. Rafal frowned a little at the sight of the couple, it had been a bitter setback for him that Y/N had survived his attack. It had all been planned quite differently by him and he had to admit to himself that he had underestimated her. Her and that hopelessly miserable feeling she called love. Love that she felt for Lesso. It was disappointing how easily Lesso had allowed herself to be influenced and softened by the other.

"Enjoy your quiet and happy days while you can, they won't last much longer. And when the time comes, you will be the one to help me win. Leonora of Gavaldon."