Lora of Two Worlds

Love. To love each other.

These were words Leon had produced only by following her lead. He didn't know, this was the first time in Lora's two lifetimes that anyone had spoken such a direct confession to her.

Leon, over time, she wasn't without feeling. Handsome. Wise. Elegant on the surface, ruthless when needed. He'd saved her several times. Her twenty-seven-year-old rational heart, to say it didn't care would be a lie.

The one uncertainty: he was a man who'd sit a throne. And she had no desire to spend her life locked inside the Palace of the Holy Crown or the Serene Palace.

If she bore no children, and he died before her, would she end her days in a cold, empty abbey, copying the scriptures by lamplight? Hmm. A man confesses, and I'm already planning retirement...

But still, this was the first time such a handsome man had confessed to her. The thought made Lora giggle foolishly.

That giggle, and Leon's clouds parted. She's feelings for me! She'd always treated me as a cousin, but she'd defended me, again and again...

Leon tried to step closer. He wanted to hold her. But she was so independent, he restrained himself.

Sure enough, Lora demurred:

"We... can try courting. Love is something that grows naturally, from within. And I'm still young. I don't want to marry so soon."

"Courting?"

After decoding "love," Leon quickly grasped this new word: mutual visiting. Getting to know each other.

He smiled, low:

"I also don't want to marry you under my current identity. I need more time. Only, this 'courting'... how do we try?"

"Two people getting to know each other, building trust, being honest, spending time together talking. If your views align, that means it's worth going further."

Things she'd taken for granted, dating, courtship, she suddenly didn't know how to express in this age's terms.

"Good. Then let's start with step one." Leon's voice dropped further. He leaned down, close to her ear, as if afraid she wouldn't hear clearly:

"My name is Leon. I'm the sixth son of the late King Carloman. My mother was his Lady Shane. My elder and second brothers both sat the throne. And so, I believe I can too. And I have an advantage. I'm certain I can do better than they did."

Treason, the sky-breaking crime. To say it to her this directly, that was trust and honesty.

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"Your turn."

Lora, pressed by his presence, obeyed:

"My name is Lora Odenheim. My father is the military commander of the Lohenheim district. My mother is the eldest granddaughter of Prince Jasper. My five brothers all serve in the Lohenheim garrison. I..."

Following Leon's template, the last part should be a secret. She couldn't exactly say: I'm from twelve hundred years in the future.

She lowered her lashes, reached into her collar, and drew out the medallion. Smiled:

"The day I fell into the river, I'd actually sunk to the bottom. A man in white lifted me from underwater. This medallion, I accidentally pulled it from him. I'd like to ask you to help me find this savior, and return it."

She'd never told anyone. A real secret.

All right, we've exchanged secrets we both already half-suspected.

Leon saw she'd revealed it. No point hiding now. He smiled:

"I wondered where my medallion had gone. I was hiding my legs, so I couldn't let anyone know I'd saved you."

"It really was you?"

She'd felt it was. But hearing him confirm it, still a thrill: "On the canal boat, when you covered my eyes and killed the bandit, I felt it was your hand. Good, here, return it."

Well, the scene was a bit bloody. But in that moment, you still thought of me. You're not heartless. Since I'll marry you, I won't hide things from you. The medallion can stay.

Leon caught her hand, she was about to untie the cord:

"Keep it. Consider it my... courting gift. But, please return my handkerchief."

Oh right, they'd agreed he'd explain that privately. Lora pulled the handkerchief from her sleeve:

"I've been wondering, how did it end up with you?"

Leon took it from her hand. Tucked it back into his tunic, solemnly:

"Because I didn't just save you. I also saved a dog with a splint on its front leg. Its leg had been broken, it was used by a man to fake car accidents and extort money. I hadn't intended to bother. But a little fool insisted on helping, and gave the fraud my coin purse.

That night, the dog was kicked out again. I didn't want to waste the little fool's efforts. So I had Lyle retrieve the dog, and my coin purse."

"Oh... The person in the carriage that day was you? And the dog..."

Being called a little fool, but the dog was saved. She'd be magnanimous. Let it go. For now.

"Before we left, I had someone take it to my house. I named it Belle."

Belle... paired with Chance?

Lora felt a tiny glow of pride: So you liked me that early? They say the one who falls first suffers more. You fell first. I'm relieved.

Happy!

Courtship truly needed to be practiced. They'd discussed these things, and the distance between their hearts had shrunk again. Lora discovered, she liked him a little more than she'd realized.

She held out her hand. Leon took it without hesitation. In the dark, they felt each other's warmth. After a long silence, he swayed their joined hands:

"Is this a suitor's right?"

Lora didn't answer. She withdrew her hand, and wrapped her arms around his waist. Pressed her cheek to his chest. Laughed low:

"This is the lady's right."

Happiness had come too fast. Leon was dazed. His hands landed on her shoulders, tentative, reverent.

They'd touched before, on horseback, his arm around her. But then, their bodies hadn't been pressed together. Their focus had been on the horse.

Now, she'd initiated the embrace. Leon's whole heart bloomed.

A man in love, naive, reduced, turned clingy as a child...

The lantern at the stair base had gone out. Shawn and Lyle had vanished, long gone.

The half-moon hung in the treetops. Neither was tired. Neither wanted to let go, afraid this was a dream too beautiful to be real.

"There's a moon tonight, fewer stars. Let's count. How many are there?"

Lora looked up. Starlight fell into her eyes. Leon only wanted to count the stars in her gaze.

"So many... how do you count them?"

"All right. I'll count the stars. You're too slow, count the moon."

Even lying in his bed, Leon smiled at the ceiling. Happily counting, his one and only moon.

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