(I did warn you. I was going to post up her conversation with Zosimus as well but this post is already wayy to long so I'll wait till the next one to introduce him :3)<br/><br/>Leola woke up with a start, shooting up from her feathered bed with a small gasp that seemed to stick in her throat. She stared out to her room, the soft light of dawn peeking through her drawn drapes, creating golden streams across the polished hardwood of her floor. She took a breath, letting the tranquility of the room calm the erratic thumping in her chest. Reaching up to wipe off the sweat that had accumulated during her slumber, Leola moved the thick covers from her legs letting the chill morning air prickle her flushed skin. Her feet slid to the floor as she stood up and walked to gently tug the drapes open on her balcony doors. The light almost blinding her as it filled the room, helping to scare away the lingering darkness from her mind. She looked out over the city, wrapping her arms in a soft squeeze around her form.<br/><br/>Even though she had long since settled into her new life at the capital; the view still took her breath away. The city seemed to sparkle in the morning light. Soft pinks and yellows danced in the sky, reflected off of the skyscrapers that towered over downtown. Even the castle that loomed to the west looked beautiful. The windows of the spiraling towers glittering like jewels with the light of the rising sun as if to hide the darkness she knew existed inside. Leola only partly noticed; her mind’s eye drifting back to her nightmare. It had been a while since she dreamed of that day. The lingering fears still haunted her after the years, though Leola could only clearly remember two things from that day. One the smell; the metallic stench of burning flesh that still made her nausea at the thought. Two, the crushing horror and sorrow of watching helplessly as her friend, just a boy at the time, was transformed into that…<span style="font-style: italic">thing</span>. The thought of it sent a shiver down her back. She refused to call that creature Drake, even though the rational part of her mind knew it was. She saw nothing that even came close to resembling her friend in that monster. Seemly drawn, her eyes glanced at the castle in the distance. It felt like a lifetime ago now, since she had last seen him. Really seen him. She had seen pictures, heard the gossip and stories that surrounded the King’s “pet” as they called him. A vile name that made her chest burn with white rage. To call him that… she couldn’t<span style="font-style: italic">stand </span>it.<br/><br/>Three light knocks on her door interrupted her thoughts. Leola turned, draping a silk robe around her bare shoulders and tying the ribbon around her waist before calling out.<br/><br/>“Come in.” The door opened soon after with a soft click, reviling one of the many maids that worked in the household. A petit round-faced girl with short blond hair, Lily, she believed was her name.<br/><br/>“Good morning Miss. Breakfast is prepared, and there seems to be a letter for you.” The maid curtsied, politely standing towards the side of her opened door. Leola still felt strange being called “Miss”. She didn’t really like having maids either to think of it, but her adoptive parents refused to let her do her own chores. “A lady doesn’t need to concern herself with such things,” they said. Leola's lips twitched at the memory.<br/><br/>“Thank you. Tell mother and father that I will be down shortly.” Leola said, putting on a small graceful smile for the maid as she curtsied again and left. Leola smile fell as she turned to get dressed for the day. Nothing to fancy, she thought, pulling out a simple lilac dress and putting it on. She glanced at her vanity as she quickly braided her hair to the side and securing it with a ribbon before slipping into black ballet flats. She made her way through the halls quickly, turning into the parlor were her parents preferred to have breakfast rather than in the large dining room. She sat down, after a quick bow and greeting towards her parents, in a plush loveseat situated beside the small round dining table that was filled with boiled eggs, bacon, toast, and potatoes.<br/><br/>“Claudia dear, you seem a bit pale today. Is everything alright?” Her mother said as soon as she sat, glancing over the rim of her tea with a concerned expression. Her father lowered the newspaper he was reading at this, turning to glance Leola’s way as well. Her adoptive parents were truly two loving people. Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Delacroix were around their mid-thirties when they had taken Leola in. Her mother, Lynna, was barren but the two of them still longed to have a child. Despite being adopted by the couple, they treated Leola like a born daughter. After losing her own family, Leola was always grateful for their love and care. It almost made her forget the pain.<br/><br/>“I’m fine mother. I had a… strange dream.” Leola said after hesitating. She never shared with her parents what happened that day. Not all of it at least. The only person she had ever discussed what had happened was with Zosimus and she wasn’t too keen in reliving the memory through words. Leola reached for a plate, grabbing a few pieces of bacon and some potatoes before grabbing the pitcher and filling up her mug with coffee.<br/><br/>“I’m not surprised,” Gabriel spoke up, flipping back up his newspaper to continue reading where he left off.  “The King’s Beast made the front cover again.” He mentioned almost as an afterthought. Leola felt her chest tighten as she stirred cream into her coffee.<br/><br/>“I don’t see how anyone at the castle can stand being there with him lurking around. I doubt there is a soul alive that he doesn’t frighten.” Lynna added with apprehension lining her voice. Leola had to bite her bottom lip to keep from speaking out. It wasn’t uncommon for her to hear things about Drake. The ladies of court always like to gossip about him. Some claiming to seen him around the castle, other claiming that they heard him munching on bones when walking through the halls. Leola used to retaliate against those who spoke about Drake in such was, but she was always reprimanded for it. She learned to keep her mouth shut when it came to rumors about Drake. Her ears too for some of the stories she had heard. Once she used to cling to every article that featured him, but over time it had become too painful to read about the awful things her friend did in the King’s name. Luckily the topic was changed when the butler came with a small silver tray carrying an envelope on top.<br/><br/>“Lady Claudia, a letter came this morning for you.” He said in a monotonous voice, lowering the tray to her reach. She smiled, grateful for the distraction as she grabbed the letter with a small “thank you”. It didn’t take her long to grab one of the clean jam knives and open the envelope to read the letter. She let out a small happy gasp as she instantly recognized the hand. Her eyes skimmed quickly over the letter before she lowered it to her lap and turned towards her parents.<br/><br/>“Is it alright if I go downtown today?” She asked so quickly her words rushed together. Her father gave her a curious glance over the paper before his eyes returned to it. Lynna smiled, though, nodding her head.<br/><br/>“Of course. You got word from that soldier, again didn’t you? Zosimus wasn’t it?” Leola nodded happily, carefully folding up the letter and placing it back into the envelope.<br/><br/>“Yes, he wants to talk with me over tea this afternoon,” Leola said, hurrying to finish her breakfast and coffee.<br/><br/>It had been serval weeks since she first happened to meet Zosimus again. She was out shopping when she noticed a familiar face among to crowd. He had seemed to notice her too, as he made a b-line towards her direction. Leola almost burst into tears at the sight of a familiar face. Zosimus was happy as well to see her again. They retired to a small café in the area as they talked for hours about all that had happened to them over the years. Leola telling him about her new family and life, and Zosimus explaining how he joined the capital’s city guard and giving her some news from their hometown. Ever since Zosimus would often send her letters. Usually, they would be like this one; invitations to meet for lunch or tea. Other times it would be shared news from his family or about his work. Each one was precious to Leola. It wasn’t that she had no friends in the capital, quite the opposite really. However, Zosimus and her shared horrors and losses that kept them close. Sometimes their conversations would drift to Drake. Zosimus was much like herself, never seeing their friend. He did often hear news about him though from the castle guards. It was a welcomed topic to both of them to hear about his well-being, even if most of the news started negatively.<br/><br/>Leola quickly finished her meal and called for the car to be pulled around. It wasn’t much longer that she was waving goodbye to her parents and skipping off to the designated meeting spot.