A Highlander's Promise

Realization

Ian was wondering what was taking so long for Leora to realize that he had already carried the bin of water inside.  With the bin of water in front of him, he eyed the ends of the hallway searching for Beathag to pass by.

After accidentally eavesdropping on Leora and Fionn's conversation, he was somewhat proud of her. She returned to Fionn anything he threw her way, quite wittily as well. He thought her a force to be reckoned with.

She was straightforward and he had a feeling she would fit right in.

~*~*~

Fionn and Leora walked in silence as they left the stables and headed towards the water where Leora had left her bin.

The young man was feeling quite dizzy from all his inner thoughts while the foreigner couldn't be more relieved such a burden was lifted.

Why was it that everything Leora said or did made him more nervous of her being a spy or rather quite the opposite?

She was pleading him for answers she didn't know herself and suddenly the assumption that she might have had some sort of memory loss from an injury seemed like the best answer.

It would go along with all the stories in her head about the parallel universe she created.

Pity began to take over him when he looked at her again. Even if she was a little off because of some sort of incident, she was still a respectable girl.

Whatever happened to her did not affect her personality at all, unless she wasn't like this before.

It was hard to imagine a Leora who wasn't pushing forward towards something or smiling or trying to be polite and share conversation.

She was an amazing girl.

The more Fionn thought of it, the more his memory of Leora in his arms began to pop up in his mind.

Why do I keep thinking of that moment?

But he couldn't stop.

The feeling of having her in his arms and the need to give her comfort kept flowing through his body. She was smiling now, he didn't need to do any of that again.

"Where's my water bin?" Leora asked aloud, breaking him from his train of thought.

Looking up in confusion, Fionn looked around to remember what subject she was talking about. Leora was looking around, too, when she noticed the trail of water leading inside. The two followed the liquid trail into the castle where they came to the servants' hall. They spotted Ian besides the bin, sitting while he was looking at the floor lost in his own thoughts.

Leora smiled as she realized that Ian had helped her. She wondered how he would know to do so, but she knew if she asked he wouldn't tell her.

"Well, that took only forever," Ian said as he stood and looked up at the couple who had just entered.

Fionn felt left out as he was the only one confused, Ian and Leora were apparently smiling and he didn't know what to make of it.

"Thank you, Ian," Leora said in Gaelic as she approached him.

Ian flashed his oh-so-charming smile and nodded.

"If you need any help," he whispered in her ear while smiling light heartedly, "you can always ask me."

Leora nodded her head to display that she understood as she kept her back turned to him as he walked away towards Fionn. The duo left the hallway and Leora was there standing not sure what to make of it.