Dragonsoul

Chapter 39

The jovial mood that had fluttered in Leonie's heart had soon flown away as if it was never there as if no sunshine could ever chase away the darkness, it could tame it for a while. Thinking about the near future, about what might occur, left no place for happiness in Leonie's heart. No positive emotions could take permanent residence there.

However, Nald seemed to be overflowing with joy as he chattered excitedly with his friend. It made Leonie want to be wrong. She wished that Autumn was a true friend to her brother.

No one could tell what the future had in store for them, but Leonie knew that there was a chance that she would not come out of it unscathed. Thus, she was happy that her brother had a friend, someone to rely on if the worst were to happen, even if that friend was a Gatherer.

Being unable to focus on either the food or conversation, Leonie impatiently waited for Toras to finish his meal. She needed to share her worries with him, to tell him the truth. It was high time for her to inform him how bad the nightmares had become.

Yet, her parents raised her better than to interrupt a man having his meal. It was one of the first things she learned. The meals were sacred, they kept them alive, and they had to pay them proper respect.

The moment Toras finished his meal, Leonie jumped up from her seat, not even noticing how abrupt her actions were until she saw Autumn wince. It saddened her that she had managed to terrify the little girl that reminded her of her younger self.

"Can we go to Rimar's cave and talk?" Leonie asked Toras.

"Of course, I am at your disposal, as always. After all, it's not like I have anything more important to do than help you save the world." Toras said, chuckling.

The man's sense of humor made no sense to Leonie, but at least it was something familiar, something that was a constant. Whether she liked to admit it or not, Toras was one connection to her father that she still had to hold on to, and the familiarity of his ridiculous sense of humor managed to calm some of her nervousness.

"I am sorry, would you mind if I had a word with you, Leonie, before you go?" Amitola asked Leonie.

Leonie hesitated but was unable to say no to her mother. She had too much respect for her as well as love. Whatever happened, she never wanted to hurt her mother, and she was ready to do anything in her power to please her mother even though she did not think her mother was just towards her earlier on.

"Of course," Leonie said as she followed her mother into the house, away from the prying eyes of others.

"I am sorry, my dear. I overreacted. It was wrong of me to be harsh to you when I know that you were trying to deal with your pain any way you could." Amitola said the moment they entered the house.

"It's okay, mom. You don't have to worry about me, I am fine." Leonie said, engulfing her mother in a warm hug.

"I know I hurt you, my baby, and for that, I am truly sorry," Amitola said, trying to keep her tears at bay.

"Mom, it's alright. I wasn't on my best behavior, you were right." Leonie said.

The truth was that Leonie thought she was not behaving nicely. However, she was also shocked by her mother's outburst. It happened so rarely that Leonie could not help but feel as if she had done something awful when it did occur.

"You see, there are more things about me you don't know. I wasn't hiding it from you or anything like that, but it's part of my past that I never considered you needed to be aware of it. However, the way you reacted to that little girl tells me that this is something I need to share with you, to help you go past your prejudices." Amitola said.