Knowing the flowers should have died weeks before made Leonor feel miserable. She had been reviving them each night, not realizing how difficult it would be to part with them.
Normally, she was more logical. After she t Valerio, she beca far more emotional.
A thought struck her that would fix her problem entirely.
Leonor stood up from the chair at her desk and she rushed towards the mostly empty wardrobe. Inside was a box towards the back that she decided to pack last so it wouldn’t risk harm.
She lifted the lid off the box and revealed a beautifully carved jewelry box she had managed to steal from her mother’s things after the Count allowed maids to go through them.
Jewelry was among the few things in her mother’s life she cherished. Leonor felt it was important to preserve that aspect of Countess Jara.
Gold was highly valued and stones ant sothing to mages. They were infused with the naturally occurring mana of the Earth. Their value transcended monetary gain.
However, there was sothing Leonor was seeking in particular.
Leonor’s fingers found a small golden locket in a purple velvet pouch. She witnessed her mother wear it quite a few tis. The chain was braided and sturdy enough for daily use. Inside it was a picture of her and her sister.
However, she had a new use for the locket that she thought her mother would approve of.
Leonor cleaned up the jewelry box and went to her bookshelf where she found books her mother left behind for her as well. She then returned to her desk with all of the items.
Even though it was late and the journey the next day would be tiring, Leonor stayed up late. She cut the lilac stems off and pressed the blooms in heavy books so they would dry and be preserved for her in the future.
Before all of the flowers were pressed, Leonor cut off a small, perfectly shaped light purple lilac. She smiled sadly at the small flower.
"I’m taking you with ," she whispered. "I will keep you alive as long as I am."
Before she realized it, a tear slipped out of her eye. She no longer knew if she was talking to the flower or if she was talking to the beautiful man on the battlefield. He promised to make himself worthy of her, but he was worthy the mont he breathed his first breath. It was her who wasn’t worthy of him and his love.
She had done nothing to deserve him. Simply being wasn’t enough.
For the first ti in a long ti, Leonor found herself with her elbows on the top of her desk and her hand pressed against her mouth as she tried to muffle the bitter cries that escaped her lips. She had gotten better at hiding how she was feeling.
If she allowed herself to cry more often, she would never stop.
If Valerio felt the need to prove himself, she would prove herself as well. She would beco a mage that rivaled the mages of the Royal Family. She had already told Prince Stephano as much.
After pulling herself together, she placed the single flower in the locket and closed it. She would wear it every day.
As Leonor fell asleep that night after preserving her flowers, her hands lit up with blue mana. She only needed a small amount to keep the single lilac in the locket alive. It would be better for her studies that didn’t spend so much of her mana when she still wasn’t aware of how to control it.
She was determined to put her best foot forward.
Leonor fell asleep clutching the locket. As she often did, she dreamt of a life where she and Valerio could run away together. However, at the end of the dream, he told her she should continue learning magic. At that mont, she woke up to Francia urging her awake.
It was ti to get into clothing suitable for travel.
She put on sothing more structured and made of thicker material throughout the bodice. The sleeves were long but airy enough that she wouldn’t be too hot in the early autumn weather.
She brought a cloak in case she felt cold and sturdy leather boots on her feet. They reminded her of the night she followed Valerio to the forest. Luckily, her leg no longer swelled so much when she moved around.
With only her mother’s jewelry box left to take with her, she exited her bedroom for the last ti - at least for a while. There was no reason to look back. Her entire life, she had the sa bedroom overlooking the eastern gardens.
The mont her father had mistreated her in such a way, sothing within her shifted and she could no longer feel any sense of stability in that place.
To Leonor’s surprise, her father bothered with seeing her off. He walked to the front of the manor where a carriage sat, waiting for the heiress of von Burien. For a mont, he gave the image of a father who cared for his daughter.
As she offered the Count a polite smile and goodbye before stepping into the carriage, for a mont she wished her life was that. She wished she would miss her sister and father while she was away. She wanted to feel hosick as others likely would while studying at the Academy.
Yet she knew ho was wherever she could be in Valerio’s arms again. That ho was on a battlefield because of her father. Ho was too dangerous to be in so she would have to carve a new ho that would hopefully feel comfortable even though it was temporary.
It had only been a couple of months but it felt like a lifeti she spent with him and even longer apart.
Leonor was pleased that the roads were easy on the carriage ride. She fell asleep a few tis and tried to read as much as possible to prepare herself for what was ahead.
At first, the path went higher in elevation as they went east and inland, but the last half of the ride was down sloping hills towards another region. It was aptly nad Magi because of the magical stones and naturally occurring mana in the valley. While it wasn’t right against the ocean like Burien, it was only a day of travel away.
Eventually, Leonor sat up as the space around them beca more populated.
As she moved the curtain and peered out the window, she saw brightly colored buildings littering the narrow streets. Buildings were stacked on top of one another in a whimsical, almost dangerous way, and it was bustling with activity.
Leonor observed most people traveled on foot there. She would have to get used to a new lifestyle so she wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb. For the ti being, however, she didn’t have much of a choice.
Eventually, they stopped at the building where she would live while she was there.
When the carriage door was opened for her, to her shock and slight horror, Prince Stephano was reaching a hand out towards her, ready to help her get out of the carriage.
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