Trails of Intertwined Stars: Chapter 74 {Part 1}

~Chapter 34: Live Without Regret~

Leora led Jiu out to the garden, down the slope the the stretch of the river where the willow tree whined and creaked in the wind. Jiu marvelled slightly at the sight of the tree. It looked ancient, as if it had been there years before the manor. The river there felt like an oddly sad place; probably considering all the tragedy that had happened to it. The men who died fighting in the civil war... Leora's cousin. It wasn't exactly a place filled with fond memories. Leora sat by the bank her back pressed against the tree as she stared at the water, lifelessly. Jiu sat beside her, glancing at the water, too. It looked so cold, but oddly still. He tried to imagine each person who'd fallen in those waters, and heard their cold screams of agony, slowly drowned out by the water.
"I..." Leora muttered, her voice almost distant.
She glanced off, her eyes stern.
"You...hit him for me, didn't you?" Leora muttered, distantly.
"I didn't make him look that way, if that's what you're insinuating," Jiu shook his head," I punched him and gave him a nosebleed."
"A nosebleed..." Leora muttered, trailing off.
Her eyes widened slightly, remembering how in the kitchen she'd overheard Percy had a nosebleed. So Percy hadn't been lying.

Leora slunk down so she lay on the grass, staring up at the tree leaves; as the leaves spun like ballet dancers, twirling around, before falling to the floor. She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh she had not realised she'd been holding. Finally, she glanced back up at Jiu.
"Thank you."
Jiu nodded, gently slipping to lie down beside her on the grass; staring distantly upwards. They stayed like that for minutes, admiring the way the leaves twirled down in a sad waltz; neither minded the silence. In fact, it was comforting.
"Before he...looked like that..." Leora uttered, finally breaking the silence," He..."
She shut her eyes, turning her head away as she tried to force out the pain. Her breath caught slightly in her throat.
"...used his belt."
Jiu turned his head to look at her; his eyes wide, a mixture of horror and frustration flashing through them in a mere instant. A low growl left his throat as he glanced back up at the twirling leaves.
"He's pure evil," Jiu hissed," I should have beaten him up. I should have never let him walk free. He deserved more than he received. That filthy leach."
"That's mean, Jiu," Leora muttered softly, turning her head back to face him.
Jiu's gaze softened slightly; his eyes meeting hers as they lay on the grass. Both broke their gaze and glanced back up at the twirling leaves, taking in the sights as they spun down. The air was cool and refreshed them with each gust.

"There will be another..." Leora mumbled.
"Sorry?"
"Another tutor," The girl frowned.
Jiu nodded, thoughtfully," That there will be. Henry, he... doesn't seem to listen."
"Henry thinks himself the voice of every person in the manor when my grandparents are not present," Leora ran a hand over her face," I think that's why he hates that the wedding is here. He feels that once my grandparents are in the picture, the facade he's been so delicately constructing for the public eye will crumble in a moment. They will no longer see his charming looks; only his vulgar words."
Jiu processed each word, sitting back up against the tree.
"Then...perhaps this is necessary for him."
"Necessary but ugly," Leora winced.
They stared at the churning, grey waters; their expressions distant. Leora, absently, dipped her fingers into the liquid and closed her eyes with a slightly pained sigh.
"I wish it would all go away..."
"The wedding?" Jiu tilted his head," I thought you were excited."
Leora frowned," I was, until I thought about it. It's an excuse for Henry to have a go at me and ridicule me. I wish he'd get married sooner and have this manor all to myself. I wish my grandparents would die too. Then it would just be me, Edward and the servants; just as it should have been, long ago."

The corners of her lips twitched into a slightly sad smile.
"You hate your family that much?" Jiu muttered.
Leora nodded, before glancing up at him," Do you remember yours?"
Jiu's eyes widened, momentarily. He thought back. Whenever he thought about his family it felt as though he was thinking about someone else's memory, rather than his own. His past, it burned his throat like some kind of sickly poison.
"No," Jiu stated, coldly; turning away," I suppose I don't remember it."
Leora sat up and leaned against the tree, giving him a small smile," Perhaps it's better that way?"
"I think so."
Both of their gazes trailed back to the river, which had seemed to settle slightly; the willow, too, had calmed and it seemed as if less leaves twirled around them.
"I want to see the village," Leora muttered, her eyebrows furrowing," I'm an outsider to my own country. I want to visit lots of places that everyone raves about so avidly."
"Like where?"
"London," Leora stated," That's all my brother and his friends seem to talk about. And I sit there, feeling lost by their words. God I hate that feeling, don't you?"
"I dislike it," Jiu nodded," But I wouldn't go as far as to say I 'hate' it. There are many more things in the world that are worse than that, Leora."

Leora hummed softly, her eyes fluttering shut once more as her fingers moved to and forth in the cold current. Jiu watched her thoughtfully as she extracted her hand from the waters and wiped it dry on her dress, haphazardly.
"Here," Leora muttered, gently taking Jiu's hand and hovering it lightly over the water's edge.
Jiu's breath hitched as Leora gently pushed it down into the waters, the cold engulfing his hand. He tried to pull away, but Leora held it.
"Wait a moment, you will acclimatize..."
Jiu winced but obeyed, his breaths coming out as short gasps. Slowly, the stinging cold began to seep away into a numb sort of feeling in his hand.
"Servants told me, when I was little, that the water here washes away your sins. Perhaps that's why Henry and Percy are horrid, because they've never touched this river," Leora muttered, calmly," I hope all of yours will be washed away, Jiu, and you will never be like them and will exist without regret."
Jiu nodded, meekly," As do I."