TBATE - What if Tessia was the legacy ? - The legacy of it all

Hidden progress

Chapter 3: Hidden progress

{POV:Virion Eralith}

-Shouldn't you be asleep, little one?" I pointed out as my 5-year-old granddaughter jolted from her chair while letting out a cute, surprised, panicked yelp before turning to face me with frightened eyes and a small, shaking body.

It was only natural for her to be afraid, both because I had entered the room without making a sound and because she knew she should be in bed by now.

Glancing over her slightly shivering shoulder onto her wooden desk, I spotted a couple of drawings, the first one being an arrow stretching from one end to the other along with a group of circles covered in layers of big, bright colors and covered in weird symbols that vaguely resemble letters.

-And what are you making?" I asked while leaning over and scratching my chin, trying to figure out what any of this meant.

-Uh- it's a- it's a secret!" Shouted Tessia as she waved her hand in a panic before throwing herself on her work to try and hide it as best she could.

Although the little one used to often wake up at night, mostly due to nightmares related to her fear of others and loneliness, the nearby servants would notice the shouts or cries and immediately come to comfort her; this instance of nocturnal activity seemed rather different.

Not only because those nightmares had completely stopped since she had come back to the castle with the little Leywin boy, which everyone in the castle was very grateful for, but also because she had clearly taken careful and considerate steps to hide her activities.

-You seem very lively for someone who asked to go to bed early." I pointed out in a strict tone as I saw her face switch back and forth between anxiety and guilt every time her eye would travel between my face and her drawings.

-I- I woke up and couldn't sleep, s-so I started drawing." She explained in a rather straightforward manner, indicating that it was rather unlikely for her to be lying since, much like her father when he was a child, she would have hesitated much longer and stuttered quite a bit more.

-That doesn't change the fact that you should have called a servant over when you woke up." I scolded in a harsh tone while disapprovingly shaking my head, already preparing my next argument to rebut whatever point she would try to raise to pull herself out of trouble.

-I -I'm sorry..." She let out in a low, guilty tone as she sat back properly and looked at the ground with the expression of a sad puppy.

Slightly taken aback by her sudden cooperativeness, I reformulated the reprimand I had prepared in my head as I led her back to her bed before going on a spiel about the importance of following rules and having a good sleeping schedule.

Feeling like the message had been successfully passed down to her, I decided to not continue my rant any longer as I stood up before carefully moving her blanket back up to cover her fragile body while giving her a last warning and wishing her good night.

-Have sweet dreams too, Grandpa..." She whispered back in a weak, adorable voice before turning away from the door.

Walking away from the room before closing it behind me, I sighed heavily in lament and regret.

Despite my strict, impassible attitude, I did not feel any anger or take any pleasure in tormenting the poor girl. Scolding her was probably hurting me as much as it hurt her, since it was a full display of both my and her parents' educational failure.

Tonight's encounter, much like how she avoided talking about her own feelings or how she barely ever went out of her way to see any of us or how she openly defied certain orders, were symptoms all pointing toward the growing trust issue between us adults and her.