Bonding (Leona)

"Yeah, life in central Desierto is not easy and it doesn't discriminate based on gender. It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman. You've either gotta be tough enough to make it on your own or have a very good support system like family or friends who can help you." Leona started in a calm manner without sarcasm or bragging. There was nothing that needed to be protected, so she could discuss that freely. Besides, Medeia had already correctly guessed that life in the unforgiving desert was partly responsible for the Wizard Saint's attitude and outlook on life, so there was no point in trying to make a big mystery out of it.

"I had to grow up fast if I wanted to make it out of childhood. I had to learn to fight from an early age... somewhere around eight years old, if I remember. I had to learn or I'd get killed in a bandit raid... or get carted off by slavers looking for young women to sell." Leona threw in more information about her past, dropping a big hint as to why being referred to as "my girl" by the Warlord had resulted in such a displeased reaction. Again that was nothing that would put her or anyone she knew in serious jeopardy. What Medeia asked next did have a chance of putting someone the Wizard Saint knew in peril, so the blonde decided to make her hostess play a little guessing game.

"Yes, a member of my family did teach me how to fight." Leona answered without telling the Dark mage exactly who was responsible. Her father Samuel was an absentee father who had left the family to go on a trip when she was fourteen, leaving her, Leonidas, and Sophia to live in her home village. The living situation had remained that way until she was sixteen and forced into exile.

She did not tell Medeia that her mother Sophia and older brother Leonidas were the ones to teach her, though "teach" was too generous a term to use in the case of her mother. On more than one occasion her older brother Leonidas had had to twist their mother's arm to get her to teach Leona anything, even the basics of what would become the Wizard Saint's Wind Strike Magic. As a result Leona's training was best described as "half-assed." Leona had become so strong that against most opponents her lack of focused training did not matter because the blonde could and did compensate for that flaw with speed and power that allowed her to overwhelm most opposition, but against someone intelligent like Medeia speed and power were just not enough to permit Leona to win.

[Post Word Count: 454]
[Leona's Word Count: 7,102]
[Total Word Count: 13,882]

The more Leona said, the more of a picture that the Warlord was able to create and Medeia was fairly confident that she had a good gist of just what the blonde had been through. It explained a great deal and although Medeia still had questions, she was content with simply following the conversation's natural course for now, in order to hopefully stop Leona from suddenly clamming up again. To hear that the blonde woman was already training from the age of eight was rather eye opening and although it was not exactly a new occurrence to the witch, it did speak volumes, as did the risks that the Silver Wolf had to face from slavers.

“No wonder you took so badly to my nickname for you.” Medeia answered, playing around with the brush that was still in her hand. “I suppose our little meeting here must be a rather painful reminder of those days. I will refrain from calling you my girl any more, if it will help ease your anxiety.” She might have been willing to go that far but in her mind, it changed nothing, still believing Leona to be one of her precious few. That was an incredibly hard tag to get rid of once attached and the angel’s list was constantly growing. Legal, neutral, dark, it did not matter, she adored all those who caught her interest.

The answer to her question brought a smile to Medeia’s face, half expecting a vague answer from the Wizard Saint. It gave her the idea that Leona was attempting to protect someone which somewhat narrowed down the possibilities, considering that the blonde already knew about Medeia’s interests. It had to be a woman and that thought certainly aroused the curiosity of the witch but who? Who was it that played the role of teacher in Leona’s family? They had to be hard as nails too, of course and so the natural answer came to her rather quickly. “Oh, so you are the one teasing me now with half answers, hmm? Well, I suppose it is only fair.” Chuckling for a second, she would then resume. “I suppose the logical choice then would be that it was your mother who taught you, as you would not be so nervous about revealing the information to me if it was a man, either her or a sister.”

Deciding to tease the blonde a little in response to her own, she would rest her head on the chair and say, a look on her face that was half dreamy and half making fun. “Tell me, do they have lovely blonde hair like you?” There was no malice in her voice, she was just playing around or that was how it appeared anyway.

(460 Words)
(7238 Med WC)
(14342 TWC)

Leona visibly relaxed when Medeia apologized for using the term Leona learned to despise in less than a day. The blonde sort of got the reasoning behind it because it was obvious that the Dark mage considered the Wizard Saint the latest addition to her circle, but the connotation of being someone's property was still there, which made the name unappealing. The blonde decided to not hammer that point to death and let it drop for the sake of the tenuous peace that was prevailing and for the sake of carefully picking the spots when she pushed back.

"I've been called worse than that. Much worse. But I appreciate what you said." Leona calmly replied in response to the apology with a grudging respect for her hostess. She was starting to develop a grudging respect for Medeia for the latter being able to back up her talk and actually defeat her in a tense and lengthy battle. Deep down inside Leona always liked a good fight despite her desire to do something other than fight, but "grudging" was as far as the respect for Medeia would ever go. They would never be real friends and the Warlord likely knew it even if she claimed otherwise.

"Yeah, it was my mother who trained me to use magic and a sword. It wasn't easy, though." Leona admitted to Medeia, dropping a hint that the elder Jarnefeldt was not fully on board with training her daughter to fight. The latter had figured out the rather simple riddle, so she would get the truth in return. There was also no harm in admitting that because Sophia really did train her... whenever she felt like it. That was a major sore point between Leona and her mother, who felt that women had no place other than in the home. It did not matter that the Jarnefeldts lived in an area infamous for bandit and slaver activity... fighting was to be left to the men while women tended to home and hearth.

Leona heard Medeia's next question concerning Sophia Jarnefeldt's hair color and did not flinch.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that." Leona replied calmly and politely. Despite the tone in which it was asked Leona doubted that the question put to her was an innocent one. Even though she disliked her mother and her mother's outdated beliefs on gender roles Leona was not going to willingly give up any information on her to a Warlord. The Wizard Saint knew that her refusal would likely annoy her hostess... the blonde would just have to endure whatever Medeia decided to do to her in retribution.

[Post Word Count: 440]
[Leona's Word Count: 7,542]
[Total Word Count: 14,782]

Intending to stick to her word, Medeia would simply nod as her apology of sorts was accepted. It would be quite difficult for her to break the habit but she would attempt it. Her circle was one that was ever increasing and in the eyes of the witch, every woman that she met had a place within it, regardless of what the relationship between herself and them was. A spider web of influence that grew ever large and one that she enjoyed tugging on from time to time. She sometimes wondered if she was perhaps asking for trouble by adding so many powerful mages to her little group but the angel knew her own strength and even if her girls did attempt to rebel against her, her faith in her powers was steadfast. It would likely take more than one to push her to the brink and even then, she had one final level that she could reach, not that she had ever felt the need to use it before. The Warlord had various methods of temporarily increasing her power and together, the increase was beyond what most beings could even wield without burning up.

Leona did not sound as though her training with her mother, proving that Medeia’s hypothesis had been correct which pleased her, had been a pleasant experience. Naturally, the angel was curious as to why that was. She understood that it would probably have been quite harsh, given where they lived but still but surely that was not enough for the two Jarnefeldts to have difficulties. “I do not understand. Why would being trained by your mother cause issues? Is it to do with the patriarchal society that Desierto unfortunately still lives by to this day? Surely the fact that you are able to defend yourself is more important to your family than that idiotic way of thinking?” In a way, she already suspected the answer. It had not been that different with her, for either her human or angelic life. Both had been ruled by the same belief.

In response to her question, Medeia would smile from behind the blonde, unsurprised that Leona would not wish to divulge such information with her. “Why not? Do you think that I am going to fly all the way to Desierto just to teach her a lesson? That is a heck of a long way, even for a being such as myself to travel. Oh well, if you are unwilling to tell me, then I will just have to make do with visualising her in my mind. If she looks anything like you then she must be quite the beauty too.”

(443 Words)
(7681 Med WC)
(15225 TWC)

Medeia was so close to the root of the problem that Leona decided to enlighten her about it without the need for her hostess to play a guessing game. It was no secret that Leona disliked her mother for holding back on training that was so vital that it practically counted as a survival skill.

"You see, it isn't the village that had a problem with me being trained to fight. My mother was the one who had the problem." Leona stated. From what she understood her home village did have problems training women to fight some time before she was born, but at some point that resistance had evaporated, if only out of sheer necessity. There were just not enough men to make defending the village an occupation just for them. Everyone who could fight had to fight because bandits and slavers did not spare the young or the old, a fact that Medeia had likely gleaned from Leona's brief discussion on how tough life in central Desierto was.

"My mother's traditional. Very traditional. Her beliefs are as old as the village, if not older." Leona continued, dropping a big hint as to what was coming next. Medeia could probably figure out what the blonde was getting at without any additional information, but in the interest of using guessing games sparingly the blonde would just say what she meant.

"My mother believes that the only place a woman has is in the home. She thinks that I didn't need to learn how to fight if I got married. According to her a man is supposed to do all the fighting while the woman stays home and cares for children." Leona told Medeia exactly how traditional her mother was. That was hypocritical of Sophia because Leona had learned that her mother was an adventurer when she was the Wizard Saint's age. Leona had tried to ask her mother why the latter insisted on being traditional when she used to be an adventurer, but every time Leona asked the conversation got shut down before it could get started, sometimes with a slap across the face and a stern warning to not question her mother.

Leona heard Medeia's response and recalled how the Warlord had responded to honest answers to difficult questions. Instead of running the risk of ending up somewhere with missing clothing and a crowd of gawking people the blonde would play it safe and come up with another answer.

"You could say that she's attractive. She certainly didn't attract my father because of her personality." Leona gave Medeia a hint that her mother was attractive... as far as her looks went. The older Jarnefeldt's personality left a lot to be desired.

[Post Word Count: 452]
[Leona's Word Count: 7,994]
[Total Word Count: 15,677]

The witch had expected that it would be Leona’s village that would be the main problem, so to hear that it had actually been Leona’s own kin was enough to anger her. It was difficult enough to overcome that stereotype as it was, without women actually resigning themselves to it themselves. The Warlord was beyond incensed by the thought that the blonde haired woman’s own mother would believe that her daughter was fit for nothing more than to be a housewife. It was a way of life so archaic that it belonged in the annals of human history and left there.

“Absolutely ridiculous.” Medeia responded, her irritation impossible to be missed. “A woman’s place is wherever she wishes it to be, just like a man’s. I cannot believe that your mother would be stupid enough to believe such a thing, let alone try and enforce that philosophy on you. If it were not for your learning to fight, you would never have become the woman you are today. You have saved so many lives in your career, Leona and have no doubt defeated so many foes that threaten the lives of all humans. Does that mean nothing to her? Surely all you have done is worth more than simply stirring a pot around in your village.”

It reminded Medeia so much of her own backgrounds, both of them, that she briefly thought back. To the days where her elders would constantly speak of how her duty was to provide an heir, a notion that even back then, Medeia knew that she could not provide. Not because she was incapable but because she neither took an interest in men nor did she wish to. It was far worse in her angelic life though, for falling for someone of your own gender was considered a crime against the almighty. What did she do? She and Armina made love in the gardens, a proverbial slap in the face was felt through the entire sect. The result was an eternity of agony but that pain was what had made her into the woman she was today and now? There was no one left to force their beliefs upon her. She and her maid had earned their freedom.

Hearing Leona’s revelation added an extra edge to Medeia’s reply regarding her mother’s attractiveness, somewhat revising her previous statement about not visiting the desert country. “I confess that after hearing how you were treated, the idea of meeting her is far more appealing now. Would you like me to teach her a little about women’s rights?” There was no anger towards Leona at all and if anything, the dark mage actually supported the Wizard Saint when it came to her past.

(454 Words)
(8135 Med WC)
(16131 TWC)

It did not take long for Leona to realize that by mentioning her mother's stance on a woman's place she had piqued Medeia's interest in a bad way. It was too late to backtrack now.

"My career doesn't mean a whole lot to my mother." Leona told Medeia. That was not a piece of information worth enduring slow and oddly pleasurable hair brushing or worse to protect. Her mother had said as much in the past on a few different occasions, so Sophia knew where her daughter stood on it.

"She thinks that I'm still in a rebellious adolescent phase. She sees me as a rebellious teenager who won't listen to what's good for me and constantly tells me to come home, marry a man, and have children. That's all she wants out of me. Grandchildren." Leona commented sourly without prompting. Again Sophia knew exactly how Leona felt on the matter, so she could safely give that to Medeia. Leona knew that she was giving away way too much personal information to an enemy, but it was not like she had a whole lot of choice. She was tied up and in an unfamiliar place, so even if she could somehow break free of the ropes she would have to try and find the exit while avoiding a furious Medeia who would likely not bother trying to take her alive and go straight for the kill. Leona was still battered from the fight above Hargeon Town, so she could not survive a second round with the Warlord that took place almost right behind the first.

Leona was exercising caution in when she pushed back against questions. It might sound cowardly to try and protect her mother in one breath and then bash her for outdated views on gender roles the next, but Leona was in a bad place mentally and needed time to mentally recover from the earlier fight. She had also been warned by Medeia that she was on thin ice, so she had to carefully choose when she let the information flow and when she put a stop to it.

She heard the next question Med had asked and had to come up with a good answer fast.

"Please don't. That won't be necessary." Leona requested in response to Medeia's offer to head to Desierto and give the older Jarnefeldt an education she was unlikely to forget. Of course there was a good chance Medeia might ignore Leona's request and go anyway, but Leona did not dare say that and kept her mouth shut. In truth Sophia needed to learn that her views were as wrong as they were obsolete, but Medeia would likely take any attempt at education a bit too far and Leona did not want her mother to have to go through that.

[Post Word Count: 468]
[Leona's Word Count: 8,462]
[Total Word Count: 16,599]

Shaking her head in frustration, Medeia listened to the unfortunate circumstances regarding Leona and her mother’s relationship. It was so disappointing to hear that no matter what Leona did, it would have no bearing on her mother’s view of her or if it did, negatively. She was reminded so much of her own flesh of blood and the memories kept flooding back to her. There were not many that were truly worth remembering, besides her blossoming romance with Armina, who had been her bodyguard rather than maid back then. Medeia had been the princess of her sect, a privileged but restricted position. She could command the lower ranked members to a point but only when it came to non important matters. Any real order was simply dismissed by either her father or brother, leaving her as a member of the royals without any power. To say it had been frustrating was an enormous understatement.

“Then what you do is continue on the path you are on, despite what she says or does.” The witch answered. “Do not allow her foolish words to have any bearing on you at all. From what you have told me, she is not intelligent enough to understand that what you are doing is far more important than giving her a grandchild. You are not bound to her wishes and the fact that you are sitting here is testament to that. You saved so many lives today by facing me in battle and many more by knowing when to submit. Every day that you spend in this country, you are doing far more than you ever could have if you had remained in that village. Have you ever thought that maybe it was fate that you were cast out of that village? That everything you have been through was to help you become the Wizard Saint that you are today?”

When Leona declined her offer, Medeia chuckled for a moment, having expected that from the Silver Wolf mage. Even though they had so many issues, the blonde woman was still defending her mother. It spoke volumes about the character of her captive and rather than say yes or no, the angel would just lean in a little and say. “Well, I will not actively seek her out but coincidences happen, you know?”

After that, she would lean her arms on the back of the chair. “So, where are we in your tale? You were brought up in Central Desierto, trained reluctantly by your mother and then were unfortunately cast out because of a fool with hands that moved too freely. How did you end up in Fiore?”

(441 Words)
(8576 Med WC)
(17040 TWC)

"Oh, I ignore my mother's words. Believe me." Leona calmly started off. She had no problem ignoring her mother because her mother had ignored her on so many occasions that she had lost count. It seemed that all that Sophia Jarnefeldt wanted from Leona was obedience and grandchildren without even pretending to care what the younger Jarnefeldt wanted. As a result she had no problem saying that to Medeia.

Leona kept her mouth shut on the point about the recent battle between the two. It felt like she was being insulted and that was not only because she had been defeated by the Warlord. It felt like she had lost lives that could have been saved by continuing to fight despite the tentacle crushing people. At the time Leona had tried to justify that decision by deceiving herself into believing she could somehow make up for the deaths by defeating Medeia. After waking up wherever she was with nowhere to run and no way to escape Leona could no longer come up with any justification for such a poor decision and had to face reality.

She had gotten innocent people killed for nothing.

When the Warlord asked the Wizard Saint whether the latter believed that fate had a hand in her leaving home and if the ordeals she had went through had prepared her to bear the honored title she carried the blonde sat in confused silence. She was not being defiant. She was trying to figure out whether Medeia was being serious or if the Dark mage was just kicking her when she was down.

Yes, all of the trials she had endured up to this point had prepared Leona for the glorious moment she would become the captive of a Warlord with a worrying enthusiasm for bondage and a desire to be some kind of therapist.

Of course Leona did not say that, but she certainly thought it. She closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them again and giving answers that were not sarcastic.

"I'd say that fate had something to do with me leaving home. I caught a hell of a lucky break when I wasn't automatically burned at the stake for beating up someone who was related to a big name in the village. The big name themselves said their son was partially to blame for the incident, so I got to choose what happened to me. As you know, I chose exile." Leona calmly stated that fate had to be on her side that day for her to make it out of her home village alive.

"As far as the ordeals I survived preparing me to be the Wizard Saint of Courage, I'd say they definitely did." Leona addressed the second question without any sarcasm whatsoever. She had been through a lot of challenges up to this point and living in Desierto had certainly prepared her for most of them. Being able to handle hardship was why Leona had survived the battle with Medeia... the blonde had endured every spell she had been hit with except for the coffin spell, which signaled the beginning of the end for the blonde's ability to offer any meaningful resistance to her enemy.

When the topic of how she got to Fiore was brought up Leona paused again.

"I set out from my home village with the clothes on my back, a backpack for supplies and spare clothing, a knife in my boot, and the basics of my magic. I don't remember everything about the trip to Fiore because I was overwhelmed by finally getting to leave home without my mother being able to do anything to stop me. I was exiled from my home village and it was likely for good, so I started walking until I reached the nearest port. There I bought passage on a boat heading to Fiore." Leona told a condensed version of the boring story of her trip from Desierto to Fiore. She paused for a moment and searched for something that was of relevance to Medeia's question.

"While I don't remember the exact details of the boat trip, once I reached Fiore I remember exactly where I started out my mage career." Leona added.

"I know you're sick of guessing games, but would you care to take a guess?" Leona asked her hostess. She was pretty sure that Medeia would quickly figure that one out.

[Post Word Count: 736]
[Leona's Word Count: 9,198]
[Total Word Count: 17,776]

Pleased that Leona had told her mother where to stick her opinions, so to speak, Medeia took a surprising amount of pleasure from that fact. In truth, the angel had already made her decision about whether she wished to meet the elder Jarnefeldt or not. Her intrigue was piqued but what was more important was the fact that the dark mage truly believed that this woman needed to be taught a lesson. Leona would not like it but that was something that the dark mage could live with and as she continued to listen to her captive speak, the angel was already beginning to formulate a plan of attack. She knew where to start and if the woman was as unpopular as Leona said then she doubted that many other people would be willing to defend her from Medeia’s questioning. Yet, the angel gave no real sign that she had made a decision.

She was rather curious to hear about the blonde’s views on fate and Medeia tended to agree with her. The woman had been through such a journey that the Warlord believed that the wheel of fate must have had a hand in it. From what she had heard, the blonde was lucky to have survived with her life and although Medeia did not know the remainder of Leona’s story just yet, she imagined that it had been anything but simple nor easy. Of course, nothing could have prepared her for the witch and her methods, as who else was as fond of kidnapping and fooling around with the minds of humans than the Warlord? Medeia could not think of anyone off hand. All of the other dark mages she knew were more the mad and destructive types.

In a way, she had been expecting a more exciting trip than what Leona told her. No fighting a kraken while traveling by sea? No betrayal from the captain of the ship? No romantic encounters with one of the other passengers? How disappointing.

She was amused by the seemingly obvious question that was posed to her and after a moment of thought, she chuckled and joked. “Oh, I know, you joined Sabertooth and became one of their tigers for a while. It only makes sense that a big cat such as yourself would want to join.”

After a few moments, she would add. “Seriously though, why did you not join a legal guild? Given how noble and righteous you claim to be, I would have thought that they would have been perfect for you. Was it too difficult for you to stay on the side of light? Maybe you kept drifting into a more grey kind of thinking?”

(448 Words)
(9024 Med WC)
(18224 TWC)

Leona blinked when she heard Medeia's assertion that the blonde had once been part of Sabertooth. Then after a few moments the joke hit her like a freight train. The blonde's face turned red and she looked down at her chest for a few moments because of how stupid she had been to miss the obvious joke.

Leona realized that the joke was connected to the meaning of her name.

Leona sat in silence with a red face because she was so ashamed of herself for missing the obvious. It had already been established that she was not the sharpest tool in the shed. Sophia, Masha, Samira, and anyone who had known Leona for any length of time could testify to how slow on the draw the blonde could be. Medeia had learned that herself during their battle, so it was not a state secret. It was still humiliating because despite not being in good shape mentally Leona should have caught onto what was being said... she knew her own history better than anyone, after all.

Once she recovered enough to look up again she faced forward and addressed the next question.

"It wasn't a matter of a guild agreeing with my moral values. It was a matter of luck... or fate." Leona answered calmly and seriously. The meeting with Leila Vergious was another event in which fate had likely had a hand in.

"I was just getting out of the hospital after barely surviving a battle with a serial killer. This was back when I wasn't nearly as tough and didn't have nearly as many spells and techniques available as I do now. I won, but I was hurt pretty badly. Anyway, I met someone who talked to me about Silver Wolf and... well, the rest is history." Leona gave a short version of the story of how she had met Leila Vergious, the person who inducted her into Silver Wolf and inspired her to become a Wizard Saint. She was glad Leila was not here to see her like this because she was pretty sure that the silver-haired mage would be deeply disappointed in her. It would have certainly been embarrassing for Leona to have the person who had played such an important part in her life and mage career to see her tied up and at a Warlord's mercy.

[Post Word Count: 392]
[Leona's Word Count: 9,590]
[Total Word Count: 18,616]

It was hard to hide the amusement from the angel’s face when Leona completely missed the joke and ended up embarrassed. Medeia knew it from the moment the blonde woman’s head dropped. Her captive must have been the easiest target in the world when it came to such things and now that the tension had dropped a little, the dark mage was more than willing to start prodding at the Wizard Saint’s weaknesses again but not out of pettiness or to upset the woman, just for the sake of humour.

“You truly must be one of fate’s favourites if that is how you ended up joining Silver Wolf.” The witch replied, musing to herself about just how many slices of luck one woman could have in such a short lifetime. Saying that, the angel had seen for herself that Leona’s power had certainly not been a gift of fate. It came from hard work and perseverance, traits that the witch admitted that her captive had in spades. “Not that I am saying that luck is all you have in your arsenal. There is far more to you than that.”

Continuing on the topic of Leona’s journey once again, Medeia would return the subject back to that area. “Must have been quite the culture shock. To suddenly be surrounded by an entire guild of friends after having had such a tough childhood.” She commented after some thought. “Did you adjust well to your new life or did you have a few teething problems along the way? I am not asking for trade secrets or anything like that, I would just like to know how you got along. I can imagine that it might have been a little difficult for you.”

Given how the blonde woman struggled with being social, the angel doubted that it would have been as simple as the blonde just blending in. That was not meant as a jibe either, just a point of view that the dark mage had. Of course, the witch only knew Leona from their own encounter and who was to say that with friends, the blonde was far more approachable? Perhaps when she was not tied up in rope, she was quite the social butterfly. She somehow doubted it but she was known to be proven wrong on occasion.

(386 Words)
(9410 Med WC)
(19002 TWC)

"I might have benefited in big ways when by all rights I shouldn't have benefited, but I wouldn't say that fate's always been on my side." Leona calmly replied to Medeia's assertion, making vague references to a few events from her past and one that was from the very recent past. Leona looked down at her chest. Fate had not been with her during the Ishgar Symposium and it had not been with her during the fight with Medeia. Whether she had intended to or not she had sacrificed innocent lives to the tentacle for one last desperate attempt to win instead of quitting while she had the chance and now she was saddled with that guilt. She deserved that guilt for being so stupid.

What would Leila think of her?

What would Samira think of her?

What would Masha think?

Even pulling off a miracle win against Medeia would not have brought those people back because even if she had managed to win she still would have gambled lives she had no business risking. However, Leona could not surrender to everyone who threatened her. If she had given up at the first sign of danger she would not have made it out of childhood, let alone Desierto.

"Maybe there is." Leona said calmly, suppressing the undertone of doubt that would have otherwise shown on her voice. She had "earned" the title of Guild Mistress of Silver Wolf by being there when Poko Monstar suddenly left and she had "earned" Masha's affections by being at the Singles Night event in Capital Crocus a few years ago. Those were not feats she had accomplished by being a peerless administrator or by possessing overwhelming charisma. However, she had to have something other than sheer luck to get what she had gotten. Maybe the Warlord had a point after all, but at the moment Leona could not easily see it.

Eager to move away from the subject before guilt from the past and present could really take hold, Leona seized the chance to change the subject and looked up again.

"Being around new people in a strange land was a challenge because my guildmates were all stronger and smarter than me, but the biggest shock was having a room to myself. A room for me and me alone. With an actual bed, even." Leona commented, her tone returning to a calm and normal state with no undertones of anything. Her description of her new living conditions was not a jab at her humble origins but the simple truth. Living in a tent in Desierto was a far cry from having an entire room to herself and not having to sleep on a mat on a worn-out carpet that passed for flooring.

"As far as life in Fiore went it was a definite change from Desierto. I had a solid roof over my head, food whenever I wanted it with no questions asked, guildmates to talk to, and access to steady work for money or just to get out of the guild hall. It took some getting used to, that's for sure." Leona added freely. What she did not tell Medeia was that living in Fiore still took some getting used to primarily because she was so socially inept. As a Wizard Saint and Guild Mistress she was supposed to be able to socialize with anyone without trouble, but the truth of the matter was that her titles did not compensate for her poor social skills. She could make small talk to people and sound reasonably convincing, but she had a hard time making a meaningful connection to most people. Samira Nassar and Masha Dymonrel were among the few exceptions.

[Post Word Count: 616]
[Leona's Word Count: 10,206]
[Total Word Count: 19,608]

The vagueness was easy to pick up and the Warlord would briefly look down at her captive. The woman was still suffering and there was no doubt that it would take a great deal of time for her to overcome her pain. The depths of it would probably always be a mystery to the witch but considering what she had seen from Leona in Hargeon, it would be a steep mountain to climb. There was blood on the blonde’s hands and had she simply given in to the angel then at least those could have been avoided but such was life, the Silver Wolf had made her choice and now would have to live with it. Medeia was uncertain if the woman before her could handle it but if anyone could, it probably was the Wizard Saint. She would briefly lean in and whisper. “Surrendering to me was the will of fate, Leona, you chose to fight it instead.”

Her next few words were rather interesting too and the dark mage would simply muse to herself over them. They were not the words of someone brimming with confidence and Medeia pondered about just how deep her well of self revulsion was. During the conversation, the angel had time and again sensed that from the Wizard Saint. She rarely spoke about hating anyone but she was incredibly reluctant about praising herself. Was her self worth so low that she was unwilling to even look at herself in the mirror? It was a sad state of affairs for certain.

Listening to Leona carefully as she spoke about her transition from village to guild life, Medeia could not help but get the feeling that the Wizard Saint was playing her along a touch. That was not what the angel had been trying to uncover and while interesting, did not quite scratch the curious itch that the dark mage had about the subject. “I meant forming bonds with your fellow guidmates, Leona. How did you fare when it came to getting along with them? You are quite the shy flower when you want to be and it must have been tricky to make friends. I hope that your fellow Silver Wolves were civil to you. I suppose they must have been, given that you were able to climb the ranks and become the Guild Mistress.”

She chuckled and added. “We are not so different. When I first walked into the halls of Errings Rising, I was not exactly a social butterfly either. I remember asking why the male members were not in chains, with collars around their necks.” It was an amusing memory, one that had taken place before the witch had fully mastered her powers.

(452 Words)
(9862 Med WC)
(20060 TWC)

Leona's hands clenched into fists as she heard Medeia's whispered remark. She really wanted to say something back, but she could not come up with a clever riposte that was worth the risk of what would happen to her should she say something Medeia did not like, so the blonde kept quiet. She supposed that she deserved everything she was getting for letting innocent people die because she did not want to give up even in the face of evidence that surrendering to save innocent lives was not a grave sin.

But Leona did not want to take the chance that Medeia would kill people anyway once she had surrendered and was powerless to stop it.

Leona closed her eyes.

Who was she kidding?

She had committed another act of weapons-grade stupidity and was looking to escape the consequences.

She was trying to come up with something, anything to ease her conscience.

Leona was disappointed that Medeia would derail the most thought-provoking conversation she had had in years for a quick cheap shot, but she was even more disappointed in herself for what she had done to try and win the fight. Leona decided to let both topics go and focus on what her hostess wanted. Maybe she could drag the conversation back to where it was before the cheap shot, but that would take some doing. She opened her eyes and faced forward.

"All of them welcomed me with open arms, but I didn't make many friends. It wasn't their fault. It was mine." Leona started off with an honest statement. She did not name names because there was a good chance Medeia would go after them just to spite the Wizard Saint.

"I was so preoccupied with my new freedom that I traveled a lot and didn't keep in touch with most of them. One day I looked around and they were gone." Leona added with a hint of regret that could be picked up on if Medeia was paying attention. Again Leona refused to name names. Leila Vergious, Poko Monstar, Kitalpha Aurence, Quill Scorchwood, Eero Saarinen, Yuvon Mu-Myu, and Haley Musea... she had met all of them during her time as the new mage in Silver Wolf. She had lost track of where they had all went, everyone except for Yuvon. He was still a member of Silver Wolf, perhaps the oldest member of the guild.

Leona listened to Medeia talk about her time as the new mage in her guild and remained silent. Medeia was obviously entertained by the story she had told, but Leona was not. That anecdote revealed one of the key differences between the Warlord and the Wizard Saint.

Medeia wanted to dominate and enslave people for her own pleasure. Leona wanted to protect the innocent and give them hope for a future where they could live in peace without having to fear some two-bit tyrant destroying their homes and lives. Moments after thinking that Leona closed her eyes again and could not believe how stupid she sounded.

She could not give hope to people if every time she tried to protect them they became corpses instead.

[Post Word Count: 524]
[Leona's Word Count: 10,730]
[Total Word Count: 20,584]

Knowing full well that Leona could do nothing against her, Medeia did not give much of a reaction at all to the blonde woman’s seeming anger in response to the angel’s whispered words. It had been a simple opinion on the witch’s part and her purpose for saying it was actually to keep the blonde from falling into despair. Anger was better than misery and was far more useful. Despair, on the other hand, led to degradation and self destruction. Medeia did not wish that for her captive, no matter how angry she had been with her earlier on. A miserable Leona would not be able to stand before her again, after all, which was something that she sorely wished.

It was pleasing to hear that Leona was welcomed by her fellow Silver Wolves although as the blonde kept speaking, that pleasure began to fade. Medeia could understand the pain of losing friends, whether by them vanishing or other reasons. Jennifer, Amber, Tiisha, Anastasia, Suzhen, Terumi, all of them had disappeared from her life as quickly as they had appeared and while the heart of the Warlord had hardened to a point, there were still moments where she thought back on her time with them and felt a strong sense of sadness. “It is only when they are gone that we realise just how important they were. I can understand how you feel, as I have lost a great many of my companions too over time. It makes sense that you would find yourself travelling so much though and I cannot say that I blame you for wanting to travel so much. The wider world must have been so eye opening for you, once you had gotten away from Desierto.”

“You must still have some friends despite that, right? Surely you have a circle that you can open up to and just be yourself? I know that you have a lovely girlfriend but there must be other people too. A life of isolation will only lead you to become bitter and sour in the end and that is not a way of life that you deserve to live. Trust me, I have been there and it leads to nothing but despair.” A part of her wanted to start brushing the blonde’s hair again in an attempt to soothe her but decided that might not be a good idea at the moment, so refrained.

Instead, she asked another question, encouraging Leona to keep going, rather enjoying the conversation. “How was it that you became an Ace then? I imagine that your days were probably spent defeating villains so was that what caught your Guild Masters attention?”

(445 Words)
(10307 Med WC)
(21029 TWC)

Leona did not comment on Medeia's remark about people coming and going because that was not a revelation to her: she had lived through that many, many times in Desierto. She had met other villagers in her home village and tried to get to know some of them only to see them die in a bandit raid or be captured by slavers. She did not recall the exact point at which she gave up, but one day she stopped trying to interact with other people.

Why bother getting to know anyone when they were just going to go away?

The blonde listened to Medeia try to relate to her and had to fight the urge to say something really sarcastic that could easily land her six feet under, which was that the bondage and kidnapping thing did not make many people want to stick around. As dumb and socially inept as Leona was even she could see that. Leona kept her mouth shut and focused on something else her hostess had said, which was about the downsides of a solitary lifestyle. Medeia made it sound like a divine revelation, but the Wizard Saint did not need a Warlord who had read too many self-help books to tell her that.

Leona was almost past the point of caring about anything the Warlord had to say because the earlier snide remark about fate had taken the blonde right out of the conversation. She was sure that some other astoundingly egotistical remark was in the works, so she did not see much point in getting emotionally invested in what was being said. However, Leona had to pretend to care if she wanted to get out of here alive and with what dignity she had left, so she tried to give it a good effort.

"There's no circle for me." Leona laconically replied in a calm voice that had no emotion. She had long grown past the need for one to feel validation. If Medeia was looking to hear any names in the tiny group of people Leona considered friends the Warlord was going to have to torture them out of the blonde. If she actually said that Medeia would be all too happy to oblige, so she kept quiet and went along with the charade of a conversation.

"I've had plenty of people come and go since getting started. The same reason was behind it... I exercised my freedom to travel a bit more than I should have. It's no one's fault but my own." Leona added calmly, refusing to place blame on anyone but herself because in this case she truthfully deserved the blame.

When asked about what led to her becoming a Guild Ace Leona kept a calm voice.

"Yes, there were many fights against bandits. They thought that they had the right to kill and plunder wherever they wanted, but I showed them that they didn't. Unfortunately for them they didn't live to learn that lesson." Leona replied calmly. It was obvious that she was comfortable with killing her enemies. It was not a veiled warning to Medeia because capturing the latter and taking her to the Rune Knights would do more to humble her than a near-death experience would. It was just a statement of fact... Medeia was free to react to her statement however she wanted.

[Post Word Count: 558]
[Leona's Word Count: 11,288]
[Total Word Count: 21,587]

There was an almost robotic tone to the Wizard Saint’s voice at this point and the Warlord had to admit that it was becoming rather stale. Whether it was something she had done or just the woman’s natural blandness regaining control was difficult to tell but it was rather annoying and Medeia was starting to wonder where Leona had run out of things to say. It was a shame if that was the case but the angel had learned plenty already, enough to satisfy her for now. That being said, the Warlord was not finished with the blonde woman yet and the night was not over so if Leona was not willing to engage with enthusiasm then Medeia might have to amuse herself through another method.

She was just about to let her hands wander when Leona spoke about the bandits that she had killed, which did a good job of reigniting Medeia’s interest. The angel had not expected such a confession out of the blue and her eyes narrowed as she tried to get a read on Leona’s intentions. Was that a threat? If so, it was a foolish one to make and yet the calmness of the woman’s voice only seemed to make it appear more menacing. Given the state of the Wizard Saint’s mind, Medeia mused that she might be at the point of having completely lost her mind but it seemed unlikely. The blonde was too sturdy for that.

Deciding to ask directly, Medeia would lean over the back of the chair and wrap her arms around Leona’s shoulders, almost as if she was hugging her from behind. Her lips would move towards the blonde’s ear and when she spoke, her tone of voice was rather pointed, not aggressive but a sign that the Wizard Saint had her full attention after that particular choice of words. “Now why would you decide to mention your penchant for killing people at this stage? You have spent our entire encounter trying and talking about saving people’s lives and now you suddenly flip the script. Surely you are not trying to threaten or intimidate me, not in your current condition?”

The Warlord chuckled, one that came out a little darker than she had planned it too. “Or are you just finally going to admit to me that you are a bad girl after all? One who is not quite as noble as she thinks. I confess that I quite like the more aggressive side of you.”

(416 Words)
(10723 Med WC)
(22003 TWC)

"Well, you asked me about what led to me becoming a Guild Ace. My path to that rank featured me killing a lot of bandits who terrorized innocent people because they thought it was fun." Leona calmly started off her explanation. She would never understand why Medeia claimed to want the truth but acted offended whenever she got what she wanted.

"I've accepted that there's blood on my hands. There's been blood on them since I was twelve years old, when I made my first kill in combat." She told Medeia when she had taken her first life. Leona had made her first kill at that age and her body count had only climbed upward since then.

"It was during a bandit raid on my home village. I had been assigned to guard the village's food supply... I guess the village chief thought it'd be safer for me there. He was wrong. Two bandits slipped away from the fighting to try and raid the food supply and they went after me and the guy who ended up getting handsy with me years down the road, who had been assigned to help me." Leona began the tale.

"Anyway, the two bandits went after me and the guy. I had a shortsword and the bandit had a scimitar... I was a preteen and he was an adult, which meant there was a reach difference before taking into account the reach difference between a shortsword and a scimitar." Leona continued, explaining the odds she was facing.

"The bandit went after me thinking I wouldn't stab him because I was too scared to act. I stabbed him in the arm, giving the guy who was with me enough time to actually kill him by cutting his throat. The other bandit tried to attack my partner while his back was turned and I went after that bandit, stabbing him several times in the chest until he fell down and stopped moving." She told Medeia of the events that led to her first kill. Leona went silent for a few moments before speaking again.

"What I said about the bandits wasn't a threat towards you, Medeia. I just gave an honest statement of how I became a Guild Ace. The bandits I killed were killing men, women, and children and they wouldn't stop until I made them stop. I saw enough innocent people being killed when I was a child and now that I was able to step up and defend people I was going to defend them." Leona calmly explained to Medeia what she had meant by her earlier remark. If Medeia got angry then she would just have to be angry. Leona doubted that her hostess had become Warlord Of Lust by being nice to people and Leona had had to get violent with bandits to earn her titles.

[Post Word Count: 476]
[Leona's Word Count: 11,704]
[Total Word Count: 22,479]

“I did not know that killing was part of a member’s path to becoming an Ace in your guild.” Medeia replied evenly. “You cannot blame me for thinking that your words might have been a threat, Leona, as I have no idea what is going on in that head of yours. For all I know, the first thing you will do after I let you go will involve plotting my capture. You claim that you do not seek revenge but you have already said that you want me in the hands of those pathetic Knights. So, you will understand if I do not accept everything you say at face value. It is obvious that you do not believe mine.”

Her arms remained around the blonde’s shoulder for the moment and she would carry on to say. “Your story is a rather interesting one though and it does sound like something you would do. I do not detect any deceit this time around and I suppose there is no reason for you to lie at this stage, knowing what the alternative is. Maybe just try not to sound as though you are trying to intimidate me in future, hmm? It was a little jarring to hear you going from saving lives to taking them all of a sudden.” She spoke softly, her previous irritation once more fading into the abyss.

Thinking for a moment, the angel would then stand up and head towards her bedside cabinet again, before retrieving something and heading back towards the blonde woman. “There is something that I have not told you, Leona.” She said, dropping the item into her captive’s lap. It was a magazine, with the blonde’s picture on the front cover, a smile growing on her face. “I already knew much of what you have told me so far. I simply asked you to tell me yourself to see if I could get through your shields which it appears I managed to do.”

Chuckling, she would crouch down, her smile becoming a grin. “I have been playing you from the start. Toying around with you as I did in Hargeon. You were so easy to get inside of, Leona, easier than I could have imagined. The answers you gave me were ones that I read about a long time ago.”

Nodding to the cover that had a fair few hearts drawn upon, the Warlord would add. “As you can see, I took a liking to you from the moment I saw the cover.”


(419 Words)
(11142 Med WC)
(22898 TWC)

Leona listened to Medeia trash Silver Wolf and did her best to keep a straight face.

"The task that led me to becoming an Ace did involve violence, but the goal was to rescue some people taken hostage by the bandits." Leona calmly stated even though that information would fall on deaf ears. Medeia's guild likely did not offer Ace positions for rescuing cats out of trees or helping elderly people cross a busy street.

After that Medeia engaged in some impressive mental gymnastics as she categorized Leona's vow to one day subdue the Warlord and haul her to the Rune Knights as revenge. Leona wondered what kind of logic the other mage was running on and swiftly concluded that she did not care. The Warlord would go to any length to try and confuse the blonde, thus keeping her off-balance and unable to effectively defend herself from the verbal jabs being hurled at her.

Leona did not dignify the nonsense about the tone of her voice with a response and listened as her enemy moved away from her. When the latter came back it was not long before an object suddenly landed squarely in Leona's lap. She looked down and saw the edition of Sorcerer's Magazine that had her on the cover. Her face remained calm, but it was just a facade. That unpleasant surprise was bad enough, but what she heard next was an even worse blow to the Wizard Saint.

Medeia had been deftly manipulating her all along.

Among other things she had learned from the magazine was an approximate location in which to look for Nebdoui this entire time.

On the outside Leona kept calm because she did not want to give her enemy the pleasure of seeing her intense discomfort, but on the inside she was burning with embarrassment and she was even more mentally hurt for being so stupid as to fall for Medeia's tricks. What was worse was that Medeia knew where the Wizard Saint's home village was. The blonde clenched her fists as she realized that more innocent people were likely going to die because of her.

Leona looked down at the magazine cover with a straight face, but it took quite a bit of effort to do so. The picture on the front had been "graced" with hearts that were not on the original version of the cover: they were most likely Medeia's way of personalizing her copy. More upsetting to Leona than the hearts and the Warlord's declaration of interest in her was the picture itself.

It was of a younger Leona who was full of hope and fueled by a desire to protect the innocent from people like Medeia. Her younger self would never have sacrificed innocent people to try and win a battle. So much had happened between then and now that Leona could barely recognize herself.

The Wizard Saint continued to stare at the image with a neutral look until she turned her head away and to the right.

"Why are you showing me that magazine cover?" Leona asked calmly, but in truth she was not completely unaffected by the image. Her voice had an undertone of disgust like she had just tasted a cold cup of coffee and that disgust could be picked up on if Mediea paid enough attention. The blonde did not want to see herself because of the self-hatred she felt over her past and present failures.

So many innocent people had already died because of her incredible stupidity and more were likely to follow thanks to her younger self's naivety.

[Post Word Count: 598]
[Leona's Word Count: 12,302]
[Total Word Count: 23,496]

There was a different look in Medeia’s eyes now, a playful expression that Leona might have remembered seeing during the fight. The Wizard Saint had done an admirable job of avoiding many of the angel’s head games but the witch knew that she had scored a direct hit this time. All of the conversation previously had led to this one simple but painful jab, which appeared to be exactly what she had hoped. Medeia knew that she had Leona where she wanted her mentally and now she would start to dig deeper, exposing the route of the woman’s pain. It would hurt but did Medeia care? Considering the situation, the answer was most likely no. The forced calmness that Leona had been hiding behind had somewhat bored the angel and that required a punishment but more than that, the blonde had simply buried something deep inside that Medeia was dying to learn about.

“The question that needs an answer is why do you refuse to look at it, Leona?” Medeia replied, cutting to the heart of the matter. “This one image seems to be able to slash through this facade that you are displaying for me. You are embarrassed by having been strung along for so long, I understand that but surely you can at least look at the magazine. The woman on the front is you, after all.”

With that same smile on her face, she would pick up the magazine and open it, turning to the section where Leona’s interview had been posted. It gave away a fair amount about her and gave better answers to some of the questions that she had asked Leona that night. The Wizard Saint’s home town, her mother’s name, her father’s name, even a couple of the blonde’s friends. Medeia had everything she needed to travel to the blonde’s home if she wished and the temptation was as strong as ever.

Now that the need for her to hide her deception was gone, Medeia began to revert back to her more whimsical persona. “Are you afraid that the woman in that image would be ashamed of the woman she is now? What is it?”

She would then lean down towards the Wizard Saint, try to cup her head and direct it so they were looking eye to eye once more. “There is no point lying to me or trying to put on a brave face anymore. I know that my deception has wounded you and I detect disgust in your voice.”

(419 Words)
(11561 Med WC)
(23915 TWC)

Medeia had smelled blood in the water and she was pressing her advantage. Leona was trying to hold out to save what dignity she had left, but the mind game that had just been revealed to her had hit her almost as hard as the coffin spell. She was also standing her ground out of spite for the Warlord, who was obviously having the time of her life trying to grind the Wizard Saint's face into the dirt.

When Medeia actually turned to the section with the interview Leona glanced at it and the full magnitude of her failure was brought to her attention. It had a lot of information she had been trying to protect and it was spelled out in such clarity there was no hope of trying to obscure the truth even if she had the mental clarity to try. Her home village, her mother's name, her father's name, two of her childhood friends who had somehow survived life in the desert alongside her... it was all there.

She was just glad that Samira and Masha were not mentioned.

When she had told Medeia she did not have a circle of friends that was technically true. She had Samira and Masha as friends and a lot of people as acquaintances who were listed in varying degrees of friendship. Guild Ace Mercury Arsenault was close to a friend, as was Yuvon Mu-Myu, a mage who was perhaps the member of Silver Wolf with the longest tenure. Aspen Azarov and Theo Silversong were next in line. Beyond that were acquaintances like Serilda Sinclair, someone Leona was afraid to even attempt to approach.

In short Leona had two real friends, two people who could become friends, and two more people who could move into the "close to friends" category. At any rate it was a small group. Leona would likely see it destroyed thanks to her stupidity.

Medeia was smug because she knew that she was holding all the cards and tried to assume the persona of a merry trickster now that she had hit Leona with her most damaging trick so far. The Wizard Saint was not amused by the sudden change in personality because a liar was a liar no matter what face they put on. The blonde had no choice but to look into the face of a liar because the Warlord used her hands to align Leona's face with hers and they made eye contact... Medeia made it willingly while Leona made it because there was no other choice. The blonde surmised that she was being set up for yet another trick but had no choice but to play along because she could not escape either physically or mentally. That did not mean she had to give up her dignity, though.

"Shame has a part in it." Leona stated plainly, unwilling to surrender to emotion. If the Warlord expected crying and screaming or attempting to lash out in blind anger she was not going to get it. Medeia likely had an idea or two about what made the blonde feel shame, but she was likely going to ask just to drive Leona's self-esteem further into the ground and make it clear who was in charge.

Little did Medeia know that Leona and her self-esteem had not been on speaking terms for quite some time before the encounter with the Warlord.

[Post Word Count: 564]
[Leona's Word Count: 12,866]
[Total Word Count: 24,479]

“You are never going to get over it if you refuse to face it.” The angel replied, a hand still on each side of Leona’s face. “What will happen is that you will just continue to wallow in misery until one day, you will not even be able to get up in the morning. Everyone has events in their lives that they are ashamed of, mistakes that they have made that they wish could be taken back but as I am sure you know, life does not work that way. What you have to do is pick up the pieces and carry on. That woman in the magazine is still you and no matter how much you hide it, will always be. How she would feel about you in the modern day is of no importance, it is what you feel about yourself now that does and from what I can tell, you do not feel much at all.”

The situation was irritating in a way and had evolved into something that Medeia had not intended. This was not how these encounters usually went and the angel had not come across such a captive before. The witch’s normal approach was simply not working. Gentleness was not working, threats were not working and manipulation was not either. What did she need to do to drag this woman out of the pit of despair she was in.

“You are such an enigma to me, Leona and that is what makes you special.” The Warlord added after further thought. “If I was not so interested in you, I would have given up ages ago in this conversation and yet, you continue to be able to keep me intrigued, even though you are trying to shut yourself down on me. You know that usually if I am unable to communicate my feelings through words, I will eventually end up resorting to the bed but because of the respect I have for you, I have refrained from doing that. I just want you to feel something, something other than disgust for yourself. Hate me all you want but do not let it turn inward. Despair is no good.”

Leaning forwards, she would capture Leona’s lips with her own for the second time that evening, a kiss that was filled with passion and sensuality on the Warlord’s end. She sadly did not expect much in return from the Wizard Saint but it appeared that Leona was missing something quite simple. Only the most unique of people could attract the Warlord’s attention for so long and whether she knew or not, Leona was most certainly that.

(439 Words)
(12000 Med WC)
(24918 TWC)

Medeia was not getting anything Leona was trying to say, but that was not surprising considering how big an ego the Warlord had. The blonde was tired of going in circles. Even thought it was probably going to cost her dearly she was going to say what was on her mind.

"I've got a lot of regrets all right. Missed opportunities, people I never really connected with who are now gone, and mistakes upon mistakes." Leona replied wearily when the topic of dealing with shame was brought up, hinting at earlier points she had made or tried to make.

"I've also been trying to follow the examples of better people. No matter how hard I try I just keep coming up short." Leona made another remark in a weary tone of voice, hinting that she aspired to be like other mages she considered to be more competent. Those "better people" were Leila Vergious, Samira Nassar, and Serilda Sinclair. The one Leona valued most was Samira Nassar, her closest platonic friend and an all-around better person with considerable intelligence, endless patience, and a moral compass that was as strong as her magic. She would have never been forced into a position that made her consider gambling the lives of those she was supposed to protect for one last attempt to win against a tough opponent.

Leona did not know very much about Serilda Sinclair, but judging from pictures of her in past issues of Sorcerer's Magazine the Rune Knights mage always looked to be confident and in control no matter what was going on. Leona envied those traits and wanted to be confident and strong, to feel like she could handle anything that came her way. After tonight she would be lucky to have a quarter of the white-haired mage's confidence.

And Leila Vergious... Leila was special. She was the mage who made Leona aspire to be more than a normal guild mage. The silver-haired mage made Leona want to excel, to be a Wizard Saint just like the Silver Wolf Guild Mistress who had met her in Hargeon Town and talked to her as if she were an equal instead of talking as an established mage to a newcomer.

That was the younger Leona's goal.

The older Leona was just trying to get out of this mess with as much dignity as she could save.

Speaking of dignity, a good chunk of what she had left was ripped away with Medeia's kiss. Leona's eyes widened and she blushed furiously while squirming in obvious discomfort. Medeia was not Masha and she never stood a chance of replacing the redhead in Leona's affections, but the dark-haired mage's touch was oddly warm and comforting. Leona was so confused and embarrassed that describing how she really felt was something she could not easily do.

[Post Word Count: 470]
[Leona's Word Count: 13,336]
[Total Word Count: 25,388]