Give my heart. | Thomas Shelby [english]

/Prologue/

Welcome to the prologue of this story!

In case you wonder, Leonora was born in 1893 which makes her 3 years younger than Thomas.

In this prologue she is 11 and he is 14.

And if you want to know what I imagined her to look like, you could take a look at the collage I made and put above this chapter (the actress is called Gratiela Brancusi)

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1904, somewhere

Sneaking into the boys' tent has always been easy.

Leonora sat between the sleeping bodies of Arthur, John and Tommy, shaking the latter awake.

"No..." The boy grumbled sleepily before turning around and she rolled her eyes.

She quickly looked at his brothers to see if one of them has woken up, but the Shelby boys have always been heavy sleepers.

"Tommy..." She whispered and shook him once again until he was opening his eyes.

Nora bent over him, so she could look into his eyes. And she grinned down at him.

"Come with me."

"Go away. It's too early."

"I want to go for a ride. Come on." She yanked at his arm and he slowly sat up.

With his free hand, Tommy rubbed his face. Nora was kneeling in front of him, only in her nightwear, a white linen shirt with long sleeves and blue trousers which were a bit too big for her small legs.

"Please, Tommy..." The girl with the brown curly hair pouted and Tommy groaned internally. She knew exactly that he would say yes to her if she looked at him like that.

"Fine. But it's on you if our parents kill us, Nora."

A wide grin was plastered on her face as Nora pulled Tommy up and out of the tent. She did not give him enough time to grab his shoes or a jacket, but she wore neither of that as well.

"You're crazy." Tommy mumbled while they tiptoed around the other tents of their families.

"Shh!" Nora put one of her fingers over his lips and glared at him. Tommy, although three years older, shut up immediately.

When they finally reached the horses, both felt relieved. Purposefully, Nora and Tommy walked up to a black pony. It belonged to her mother and was a very peaceful pony.

While Nora softly stroked the pony's nose, Tommy undid the knot of the bridle. Then, he turned towards her.

"Come, I'll help you up."

He stretched out his hands to give her a leg up and soon, Nora sat on the pony and grabbed the bridle. Tommy used a wooden box to climb up himself and sat down behind her.

He instantly took the bridle out of her hands and she rolled her eyes, but let him do it. He's always been a control freak.

"Anywhere specific?" He asked as he manoeuvred them away from their camp.

"Everywhere and nowhere all at once."

"Nora..." Tommy groaned and rolled his eyes while she grinned.

"Alright then. To the sunrise!"

Both giggled and then rode over the fields in a comfortable jog.

It was her standard answer. Neither of them really knew where they were at the moment. They only arrived yesterday and this was the first possibility for them to discover the area.

The wind blew some of Nora's dark brown curls in Tommy's face, but he didn't mind. Well, he forced himself not to mind. A while ago he had asked her if she could tie her hair up and she had slapped him. And he also knew the fight her mother had to put up with every time she tried to tame her daughter's hair.

They rode for a while, talking and laughing about nonsense. For example, how John had managed to paint Arthur's face in his sleep last week. Or how silly Nora's mother had danced drunkenly in front of the fire a few nights ago.

Jumping from the pony, Nora did her best to copy her mother's movements, making both of them laugh whole-heartedly.

Tommy was lying on the back of the pony while watching how Nora plucked some buttercups and was talking non-stop. She'd never liked the silence.

Until Tommy called attention to the fact that the sun had already risen and they should get back.

"What do you think, who is going to be angrier with us? Your mom or mine?"

Nora sat with her back to the horse's head, so she could look into Tommy's face. He held the bridle in his hands – of course.

"Probably mine. Will yell at Arthur for letting me leave."

"Oh, I really want to see that." The girl giggled and Tommy rolled his eyes but smirked as well.

When they descended from the pony and tied it down again, the camp was slowly awakening. The first Gypsies were leaving their tents, feeding the horses or their children and preparing breakfast for everyone.

"Leonora Ethelind Shore!"

Both flinched when they heard the angry voice. They shared a sorrowful look before trudging in the middle of the camp.

Nora's father stood in front of them, his hands placed on his hips, his brown eyes glaring at the two children furiously. The vein on his forehead threatened to explode.

"Good morning." Nora greeted him with a sweet, innocent smile, her hands behind her back.

Tommy didn't say a word, knowing they would be useless.

"How often do I have to tell you that you are not allowed to leave on your own! Especially not in the middle of the night!"

"It was early morning, Dad."

"Quiet!" He yelled at her.

All eyes were on them. Tommy saw his brothers leaving their tent, already snickering about the fact that they got caught – again.

"No more hose riding for the rest of the month. That goes for both of you." He pointed between the two children who looked at him with widened eyes.

"But-" Tommy started wanting to argue that he was not his father.

"Nora, go inside and help your mother. Now!"

She rolled her eyes but knew that this was a lost case. With her chin help up high, she walked past her father towards their tent.

Before she entered though, she looked back at Tommy one last time. She flashed him a lopsided grin and a wink and he had to do his best to contain his own smirk.

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I know it wasn't much so far but how did you like it?

What do you think about their relationship for example?

- Lena