Leonora was numb.
She didn't know what to say or do anymore.
She had just lost the only people who had ever cared about her in an accident that everyone in town was convinced she caused.
It wasn't her fault...truly it wasn't.
She wasn't even near her house when the fire started. She had been out in the woods behind their home collecting fruit and herbs when she saw the smoke.
But no one believed her; because no one saw her out there. All they saw was that she was outside the home as it crumbled to the ground, completely unscathed, while her parents weren't so lucky.
And given her tendency to be a bit of a troublemaker, everyone assumed she'd set the fire, in retaliation for whatever punishment her parents had forced upon her following her latest outburst.
No one spoke to her at the funeral. Well, no one except the local minister, who only spoke to her to inform her that there was a room available for her at the inn until she could get a job.
Leonora would turn sixteen in a few days; and with no parents, she would have to find a way to live on her own, making her own money, until she eventually wed...if anyone wanted her.
Certainly no one from Gavaldon would wed her; news traveled fast around this town.
But Leonora didn't want a husband from Gavaldon anyway. She wasn't even sure she wanted a husband at all.
She huffed to herself as she trekked through the forest that surrounded the lake near Gavaldon. It was far enough away that she wouldn't have any unwanted encounters with judgy townspeople and could finally grieve on her own.
Tears had stained her face for the last 48 hours straight. She couldn't stop them...she didn't even try.
As she sniffled softly, she moved to sit on the stump just outside her secret place.
It wasn't really a secret...
Anyone could find it if they looked hard enough. But Leonora was convinced that nobody ever did. She'd never seen anyone else inside it in all the years she'd come. And truth be told, she liked it that way. It was like having a little corner of the world all to herself.
Tucked away in a cave near the lake, covered with vines and leaves, was a shrine. When she had first found it, she hadn't known who the shrine had been resurrected for, as there was no inscription, or plaque, or anything of the sort indicating who the man in gold was. But as she'd explored further, she'd found a book, much like the story books in Madame DeVille's bookshop, that told tales of King Midas and his son.
The Lost Prince, they'd called him.
Yeah...lost.
The book had been separated into three sections. The first section was about King Midas, the second about his son, and the third was blank; which Leonora found slightly odd.
In King Midas's section, it talked of his rise to power; how he built his empire after making a deal with Dionysus which allowed him to turn anything he touched to gold. His empire rose quickly after and eventually he had a son. When the son grew up, Midas learned that he had secretly married a woman named Prytania of the Dead. She was one of the most feared witches in all the realms.
King Midas was so ashamed...so angry with his son's betrayal that he ordered their capture. His guards chased them all throughout the reaches of his rule, determined to catch the traitorous son before news of his marriage rolled through the lands. When Midas' men finally caught up to the couple, King Midas learned that Pyrtania had bore a child; the perfect mix between good and evil; though they'd sent her far away from Midas' kingdom, to be safe from his wrath.
As punishment for his betrayal, King Midas turned his son and the witch to gold; dropping them in the Aegean Sea to live at the bottom for all eternity. Then he fed his people a false story that his son had been lost at sea after being sent on a diplomatic mission to unite the neighboring kingdom with their own. He resurrected shrines of his son at every edge of the kingdom, painting him a hero.
Gavaldon had once been a part of that kingdom...long, long ago.
However, the prince's story was quite different. In it, the story told of how Prytania of the Dead had been the furthest thing from the evil witch everyone saw her as. She just used magic in a way unfamiliar to most; and the prince was convinced that's why everyone believed her to be this horrifying monster.
In his eyes, she was the most skilled magic user of all time; and the most beautiful and kind woman he'd ever met. He'd married her without a second thought of his father, or how marrying someone generally considered "evil" would look in the eyes of the kingdom.
The couple spent the majority of their marriage hiding from the public eye. The King had eventually learned of their marriage and so they went on the run; calling in favors from every ally the two of them collectively shared. But when they realized Prytania was pregnant, things became more difficult.
Two days before the palace guards caught them; Prytania gave birth.
The couple was absolutely awe struck by their daughter, naming her Astraea, due to their shared love of the stars. But with the guards close on their heels, the couple made the heartbreaking decision to send their child through a portal to escape whatever cruel fate Midas had dreamed up for them.
Using every bit of their magic, they sent their daughter to another place...far from King Midas's reach...never to see her again.
King Midas did eventually catch them, and they were turned to gold at his hand. But the book had a small addendum at the end of that story that shared what actually happened to Prytania.
While she did turn to gold and sink to the bottom of the Aegean sea with her husband, she eventually was spared the fate of spending eternity there. The gods of old took pity on her, as she had earned their favor through her magical practices; so she was reborn as Hecate, the immortal goddess of magic
The whole story fascinated Leonora, and throughout the time since she'd found the shrine, she'd read that story book quite a bit; wishing her life could be like the fairytales she so often read as an escape from her boring, drab everyday life.
She wished that more today than ever before.
Tomorrow she would turn sixteen, and would be forced to get a job in Gavaldon or she would have to leave.
As much as she wanted to leave this place, she was terrified of actually doing it. It was rare that people willingly left this town; and when they did, no one ever knew what became of them. She had never even been past the town's edge...let alone outside of it.
Besides, no matter where she went she'd still be a lonely, sixteen year old girl with no parents, no money, and no prospects.
Wouldn't it be great if there was somewhere where you could go and completely reinvent yourself? Somewhere where no one knew your face, your past, and the most important part of life wasn't finding a husband and becoming a housewife.
She sighed as a plethora of ideas flooded her mind of what she could be if given the chance. Perhaps she'd be a princess...or a knight...or a mercenary...
Though among all the various dreams, there was one thing Leonora was certain she never wanted to be...a monster.
She'd heard several people whisper that word under their breaths at her as she'd passed them in town the day following her parents death. She quickly grew to detest the world. It made the air around her taste sour and poisonous.
And though she'd done her absolute best to keep her head held high and rise above the pettiness of her town; she couldn't help the feelings of guilt that rose within her.
She had done nothing wrong...at least not this time. But she couldn't deny that she had sometimes been a handful to her parents. Perhaps the people of her town were right...perhaps she was a monster.
The silent tears that had been falling down her face now shifted to louder sobs as the grief, guilt, and heartbreak came pouring out of her like a tsunami.
So many thoughts were running through her mind it was hard to think. It felt as though her life was crashing down all around her.
But suddenly, a small, tender voice pierced through the noise of her turmoil. A woman who was approaching from around the bend of the lake let out a soft "excuse me" that startled the young girl, causing her to fall off the stump she had been perched upon.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," the woman said, as she rushed to help up the redhead. "Here, let me help you." She reached out her hand; it was pale and slender, and her nails were painted a soft shade of gray.
Leonora took the woman's hand and used it to stand, brushing off her apron before moving to sit back down on the stump.
The woman joined her. At least, Leonora assumed it was a woman based on her painted nails and gentle voice. She was wearing a large cloak with a hood that covered her face. The moonlight was bright, but the hood on her cloak was pulled so far forward it was unable to shed any light on her features.
They sat in silence for a moment, each staring out at the moon's reflection on the water. It was so smooth it acted as a mirror, only showing a ripple here and there when the wind blew or a fish surfaced briefly.
"So," the woman said cautiously, "may I ask why you're crying out here all alone?"
Leonora inhaled and exhaled slowly. "Because I am alone...completely and utterly alone..."
The woman tilted her head toward the girl, though she still did not show her face.
"What do you mean dear?" She asked.
Leonora looked at the hooded figure. "My parents died a few days ago," she whispered. It was hard for her to say it out loud.
"Oh...I'm so sorry."
"The town thinks I killed them," Leonora muttered, as she turned back to look at the lake.
"Did you?" The woman asked curiously.
Leonora's gaze shot back to the woman, her eyebrows knit together. "What? No! Of course not! I would never kill my parents! I would never kill anyone!"
The woman shrugged her shoulders. "Never say never darling...the world can change you and cause you to do some crazy things sometimes."
Leonora's expression shifted to one that looked almost like pity; as if she thought the woman was speaking from experience and she was sorry for her. But it quickly changed once again to one of hurt and heartbreak.
"They call me a monster," Leonora mumbled, "under their breaths. They may think they're whispering quietly but I can still hear them."
"They want you to hear them," the woman replied plainly. "Most people find it easier to pass judgment on a person when they aren't having to say it directly to their face. But regardless, they spoke just loud enough on purpose...to make you feel terrible...and make themselves feel superior. Trust me, I've seen it many times."
For a moment, silence filled the air; but it was eventually broken by the sound of the woman's hearty, genuine laughter. The sound, though oddly timed, caused Leonora to smile. She looked at the figure next to her, seeing just the edge of her smile shine from underneath the hood.
Leonora gave her a questioning look. "What are you laughing about?"
The woman, still slightly chuckling, turned toward the girl. "Your town seems to be full of cowards and idiots from what I've seen so far...blaming a child for the death of her parents...and their pure hatred of witches and magic...it's asinine."
The topic of magic caused Leonora's face to light up. She could feel every fiber of her being snap to attention and words began blurting out of her mouth before she even had the time to consider if it was safe to ask them.
"Are you a witch? Can you do magic?"
The woman's gaze shifted out toward the lake, contemplating whether or not to tell the truth.
"Can you keep a secret?" The woman asked softly after a moment.
Leonora nodded excitedly.
The woman lifted her hand, opening it to reveal a small golden ball of light. It wavered in between her fingers as she moved them, floating ever so softly through the air.
A small demonstration, but still the most amazing thing Leonora had ever seen.
Magic was so widely detested in her town that the redhead had never actually seen it performed for herself. But she'd heard many stories, mainly from Madame DeVille; though she'd overheard a few others from people who had encountered travelers from distant lands.
After a moment, the woman spoke. "Just because the town thinks you're a monster doesn't make them right, you know. Everyone's a monster from someone's perspective."
Leonora looked from the golden light to the hood of the woman, who still sat stoically looking out at the lake.
"The only perspective that really matters is your own. So don't listen to all those idiots in town. Do your own thing. Be your own hero...or whatever it is you want to be."
The woman looked back toward Leonora as she closed her hand and the ball of light dissolved. "Who we are, or who we're perceived as, doesn't matter. What matters is what we do, okay?"
Leonora nodded, not fully understanding the meaning behind the words.
That understanding would come much later in her life.
"I don't know what to do now," the redhead admitted, as her gaze lazily moved back to the lake. She inhaled and exhaled, letting her shoulders drop as she fiddled with her hands in her lap.
"What do you want to do?" The woman asked. It was the first time someone had genuinely asked Leonora what she wanted, with no expectations, no judgment. She could tell by the woman's tone she was sincerely curious.
"I want to leave this place," Leonora said, feeling a slight sense of relief after finally saying it aloud. "I want to live somewhere that is magical...somewhere like the storybooks."
The woman did not say anything for a moment. At first, Leonora felt slightly ashamed, as if perhaps the woman was in fact judging her, but then she spoke.
"Magic is all around us, dear one. But it only shows itself to those worthy of wielding it. I believe if that is truly what you want, with all your heart, then someday, that dream will find its way to you."
Leonora looked back at the woman once more. Even without seeing her face, there was a faraway sense about her...as if she was remembering something.
"You think so?" Leonora asked gently. "After everything that's happened with my parents and me...I feel like I attract nightmares more than dreams."
The woman let out a soft huffing laugh through her nose, and a hint of a smile rested on her face.
"Everything happens for a reason dear, I promise."
Leonora shook her head; and in the brief second she lost sight of the woman, the woman disappeared in a small flash of purple smoke.
The girl watched as the smoke trailed through the air, dancing along the breeze until it was fully dissolved.
She knit her eyebrows together.
Had that conversation really just happened? Or was it her imagination?
She sat there in contemplation for a moment, thinking over all the things the woman said to her.
Imagination or not, the woman had been kind, helping Leonora through one of the toughest times she'd ever experienced in her life. It was rare to find someone that genuine in Gavaldon. The words she said replayed in the girl's mind over and over.
Everyone's a monster from someone's perspective.
Do your own thing...be your own hero...or whatever it is you want to be.
It's not who we are...it's what we do.
Everything happens for a reason.
For the first time in a week, Leonora felt a genuine smile inch up her face. She couldn't really explain it but she could feel, deep down inside, an unweighted sense of relief. That woman had just given her the one thing she needed more today than anything...
Hope.
Hope that tomorrow would bring about a brighter future.
Hope that one day, that dream she'd described would find her.
Hope that someday, she would be all those things she wanted to be.
She had given Leonora the greatest gift she could've ever asked for.
A reason to keep going...
And as she looked out at the moonlit lake, Leonora made a promise to herself. One day...if she ever met this woman again...she would thank her.
Thank her for whatever her life became after tonight. Thank her for showing her she could be more and sparking something inside her that would be the beginning of a flame that would burn for decades.