"But-"
Leonor had to stop even herself from speaking. She had run out of excuses and simply sat there with a faintly upset expression.
It was the first ti she was able to get into a dress and walk around their house in Burien. While it was larger than most hos in the township, it was still much smaller than the palace she had gotten used to and even Montclair Estate which waited for them in the east.
Desmond found her then found Stephano and made them both go to a sitting room so he could talk to them.
He told them his plans regarding his return to Eirenguard since Leonor seed to be healing quickly. Then he explained that he needed Leonor to stay in the palace no matter what happened, and that he wouldn’t be able to focus on his task in the south if he couldn’t guarantee she was sowhere safe.
She ca up with a plethora of excuses to try and sway him to give her more freedom, but each concern was t with an emotional response that was eventually enough to sway her. Even if her sister was put up to trial, it would be done in the palace so she wouldn’t need to leave then either.
All they were waiting for was the count to heal before they could go forward with persecution.
"I will pen a letter for you to give to Quinn for ," Stephano excused himself in the anti.
He realized that, after Desmond’s thinly veiled warning to protect his free-spirited wife, his presence wasn’t needed much more than that.
"Then tomorrow?" Leonor asked weakly.
"Yes," Desmond confird, sitting across from his wife and keeping his distance so he didn’t have to feel weak because of the expression she was giving that made him want to do anything but leave. "I have to leave tomorrow. I don’t know the status of Quinn and Cian. I’m getting worried that there haven’t been more ssages in the days I’ve been in Burien."
Leonor knew she was being selfish. She was the duchess and there were tis she needed to put others before herself. The only reasons she wanted Desmond to stay around were entirely for her own benefit and comfort.
"You don’t have to explain yourself to ," she admitted weakly. "Let’s just enjoy the short while we have together then I will pray that I see you before the flowers in the capital have started to bloom."
Desmond stood up and offered his hand. He took his wife back to the bedroom so they could rest.
Spending their ti lying around sounded nice. It wasn’t as if he had a whole team of people he had to prepare for the journey ahead. Quinn’s familiar had long since disappeared into thin air. He had a good sense of direction and didn’t doubt the path ahead.
Spending a few sweet hours with one another made the separation seem that much more painful after all they had been through the past couple of days.
Yet they both understood their duties to the kingdom. Getting through these hard monts would give them a quieter future once things were solved for the better. Desmond had to deal with Eirenguard while Leonor had her father and sister to worry about, or perhaps her real father and a family she did not know of.
The following morning, Leonor leaned into Desmond and embraced him for a long ti. He let go of her twice but she gave him a quiet "no" each ti he tried to pull away. The sun had not yet risen and it was cold outside but Leonor was feeling particularly clingy.
Just as the last ti Desmond had left her behind, Stephano was there to pick up the pieces.
Since Desmond wasn’t in Burien anymore, there was no reason for Leonor to stay.
She rode back to the capital with Stephano while her father and sister were transported in two separate wagons. She hadn’t seen them with her own eyes but she knew Anna was shackled using magical devices while her father was treated slightly nicer just because of his poor health.
The journey was long but Leonor had very little to say. She was full of sha and the fallout of everything that was going to transpire because of her sister making such decisions. Would she be undermined because of her relation to the Buriens? Would anyone be able to take her seriously after that?
She was only at the beginning of her journey as a duchess yet she felt like everything had been ruined irreparably.
However, Stephano was wise enough to know that Leonor had been imploding from the mont she was left to her thoughts for too long. She had brought a book with her to read, but it was long forgotten in her lap as she watched the passing scenery or tried to take a nap.
They were set to arrive in the capital extrely late, so they had a lot of ti to pass.
"Leonor."
Stephano’s voice roused her from her thoughts.
Her blue eyes lifted and she was t with a golden gaze boring into her. It felt like he could see right through her
"The count taught you how to bla yourself," Stephano said. "He taught you that everything is your fault because he couldn’t handle the fact that every terrible decision was why he was such a miserable person his entire life. I would like you to stop carrying the weight of his decisions on your shoulders and live your life however you would like. Whether that be joining the mage forces I want to create and teach those at the beginning of their journey or doing sothing otherwise. Please, Leonor. You deserve happiness."
Leonor’s dark eyebrows lowered and she tried to keep up a proper facade but it soon broke as her chin quivered.
She found solace in Desmond because he allowed her to feel anything she needed to and was prepared to handle anything that was sent his way. Yet no one ever gave her permission to just give it all up and be by herself. Desmond didn’t want to take away her dutiful nature because she had worked hard to make sothing of herself.
Yet the King was the one who told her to release the damn and allow it all to fall to the wayside. She didn’t know why it made her cry as if she had to mourn it.
Words didn’t need to be said for a long ti and Stephano gently comforted his friend until her tears ceased and all that was left were swollen eyes and a soaked handkerchief she promised to have cleaned.
To Stephano’s surprise, when they made it to the capital, Leonor didn’t retire to the Queen’s Palace right away.
"I would like to send Count Braulio a letter, if that’s alright with you, Your Majesty."
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