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| Leonora Tremaine's
Letters From Home *** The just-after-dawn light tinted Leonora's room a pale royal blue. She stirred under her thick blanket, stretching her legs with that deep laziness that is found only in the just waking hours. She hated this part, the part that meant she had to leave the warm, snuggly safety of her bed, meant she had to put her bare feet on the cold stone floor. Leonora nestled into her pillow a bit further, going through the same old "five more minutes" routine that she went through every morning. And then she threw herself out of bed. Wandering across the room blearily, she found the wardrobe and pulled a fresh Accepted dress out. Throwing her robe on, she staggered out of her room and headed towards the washrooms. Twenty minutes later Leonora wandered over to the dining hall for a plate of oatmeal and some juice. She yawned deeply, mentally tallying all of the things that she had to do that day. I wonder if Breanna Sedai would mind letting me copy her notes a bit later, as I'm completely and totally not awake... No, that would be a bad idea. Bad... She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't see the novice come up next to her. "Accepted?" Leonora looked up, startled. She gave the novice a tired smile, and asked, "Yes?" The novice handed her a thick envelope, the paper coarse, the rather unformed hand unmistakeably familiar. "Letter for you, Accepted. It came this morning with the couriers, and I'm on mail duty this morning." Leonora thanked the novice, and stared at the letter. Word from her father. It had to be. Flashes of her time in the arches ran through her head, the pain that had happened to her family... Three times. But she *knew* that it had to be false... That it wasn't real. This letter was probably just family news, and wondering about why she hadn't written. The thought of Raem adding his own note to her made her rip the envelope open. Two creased sheets fell out, covered in two different hands... The common unformed hand of her father, and the scrunched chicken scratching of her middle brother, Joril. None of Raem's steady hand. None. Leonora felt a bit of fear, but forced herself to read... "Leo girl, It's been a few months now, and I guess that means you are doing what you wanted? The homeplace misses you, it does. But if you are happy, Light, then go about it with your usual strength. You have more of your mother than I thought, hon. Try and write me a note, let yer old da know how you are. Now Jor looks like he's about to bust, so I'll let him have the rest. Send us something, Leonora, that's a good girl. -Your Da" Leonora smiled, a touch wistfully, missing her father's open way of speaking and his tired grin. But she didn't dwell on it long... She wanted to know why her oldest brother didn't write, and Jor's note would hopefully have answers. "Hey meat-head, Killed any small animals lately? Sorry. What'd you expect from me, huh? Well, I thought I'd walk around the bloody block on this, but I guess I'm not that good at beating 'round the bush(unlike Da, and you know it). Raem left home a couple weeks ago. He left with some idea of exploring the world, like you, but he looked funny. I tell ya, Leo, he looked strange. And you know that mule... He would always be Da's golden boy and be the steady farm worker, but he looked like he had a fever. Not a sick fever, but a mind fever. Oh well... Maybe he got bored, and wanted to reap what he could... Who knows. All I know is because of you leaving and that ox running off, I'll *never* be able to explore. Must carry on the great Tremaine farm and all that. Oh, by the way, Master al'Leof stopped by and asked about you. Raem told him you married into a great Saldean house and would soon send for us to be rich nobles. His eyes just about fell out! You would have loved it, meaty. Try not to worry(think about it, me comforting you... is the world frozen over yet?)... I'm sure he's just jacking around. Miss you, Leo. And Da does too, a lot. -Jor" She could barely breathe, let alone think. Raem running off? Crazed? It seemed impossible - she could hardly reconcile that Raem with the loving, protected older brother of her childhood. She forced herself to breathe, and focus on the tone of Joril's letter... Full of his regular snarky sarcasm. To think that she actually missed the mule. Breathing a bit easier, Leonora spooned a biteful of oatmeal into her mouth. "Cold!" she spluttered. She had been brooding over her family for a while.. The breakfast hour was almost over. Frowning slightly at the letter, she folded it with love and secured it in her pouch. She stood, shaking her head. She would head to the Sedai, and take notes to take her mind off of the troubling letter. The thought of the Arches kept passing through her mind, but she tried to keep it back. Sighing lightly, she walked out of the dining room, the sleep-tinged fogginess nowhere to be seen. |