Trails of Intertwined Stars: Chapter 74

~Chapter 87: You're Just Like Him~

"A servant started a fire?" Leora hummed, sat in bed, sketching.
Jiu had decided to take his fifteen minutes alone with Leora now, it was impossible to sneak in as her room would be locked unless Henry and Julian were awake and nearby.
"Not necessarily started, more like...nearly caused," Jiu muttered, running a hand over his temples," Burning a newspaper on the oven stove top. What kind of moron leaves something out like that and walks away?"
Leora shrugged her shoulders, rubbing something out quite vigorously," A passionate idiot, I suppose."
Jiu tried to peer round at the sketchbook. She hissed and hid it, giving him a reprimanding swipe on the head with the sketchbook; pulling it back close to her chest. Yes, Leora still refused to let Jiu even see any of her sketches of him, let alone the portrait. Jiu rubbed the top of his head, wincing, glancing over at the canvas; which she'd gotten a large piece of cloth to cover.
"Why aren't you drawing on the canvas anyway?" He muttered.
"I accidentally coughed up a bunch of blood on it that day..." Leora muttered, trailing off as she stared at the cover," I want to work the blood off it eventually."
"Leave it any longer and it will dry."
"I've taken the majority of it off, there's just a stain," Leora sighed.
Jiu frowned at the thought. The painting she'd worked on for so long...bloodied.

"Anyway, you were saying earlier about a dream?" Leora hummed, sketching once more.
Jiu glanced at her and nodded," Right, it was creepy, Leora. Like actually morbid."
"A manic waltz, a bride in a chandelier cage, bleeding petals and a golden dagger..." Leora closed her eyes, trying to imagine it," That's a gorgeous idea for a painting, don't you think?"
"A horrifying one," Jiu shuddered.
"Did you see the bride's face?"
"No," Jiu shook his head," The veil was covering it, but...I feel like I knew her from somewhere."
"Our minds can't recreate people, so we imagine a person we've already seen; Henry told me that one," Leora hummed, as if reciting it.
"I have a bad feeling about that dream."
"You think it's dangerous?"
"I think...it means something."
"All dreams mean something."
Jiu shuddered once again from only remembering it," The fact there nearly was a fire too."
"Oh please, you can't look into the future," Leora scoffed, raising an eyebrow," You likely smelled the smoke unconscious and it gave you an image."
Jiu frowned.
"You sound like him."
"Him?" Leora raised an eyebrow.
Jiu jabbed his head at the closed door, where Henry was most likely waiting for their session to end; with Julian.

Leora glanced away, awkwardly," I'm not..."
"It's the kind of answer he would give," Jiu muttered, almost begrudgingly.
Leora glanced down at the sketchbook on her lap. She shut it briskly, and got up from her bed, storming over to the desk.
"You're supposed to be resting..." Jiu frowned.
Leora grunted in response, shoving the sketchbook into the drawer and shutting it. She turned to her desk and grabbed a vial of something Jiu couldn't recognise. It wasn't Julian's medicine.
"What is that?" He got up.
Leora went to drink it, but he snatched it off her in a moment; holding it up out of her reach, raising an eyebrow.
"Give it back!" Leora huffed, trying to grab it, but struggling to jump.
"What the hell is it, Leora!?" Jiu demanded, glaring at her," Tell me, now!"
Leora blinked in shock. He'd never yelled at her like that before. Jiu felt a sudden surge of guilt, but forced it down; maintaining that furious expression.
"What...is it?" He whispered.
"Medicine," Leora stated, clipped.
"Funny, I don't remember it looking like that whatsoever," Jiu uttered," Now tell me, what is this?"
"I made my own medicine, okay!?"

Jiu's eyebrows raised, glancing at the vial.
"Do you know how to even make medicine?"
"N-No, not really, but-"
"But what, Leora? Is this poison?"
"No!" Leora shook her head, wide eyes," No. I just knew that night that this would...help me."
Jiu unscrewed the cork and sniffed it. Earthy, and unappetising.
"Ingredients?"
"Mainly crushed petals," Leora muttered," The odd bit of menthol, and then the river water."
Jiu's blood went cold.
"He made you make this, didn't he?" Jiu whispered," Duncan... that's how you knew..."
Leora nodded," It's made me better."
Jiu frowned, suspiciously. In truth her state had improved since yesterday. She definitely still had a fever, but she could at least move around now and sit up. But this was Duncan they were talking about. Just because she looked healthy now, didn't mean she necessarily was recovered. Jiu pocketed the vial, and Leora let out a cry; trying to grab it back.
"Don't fight it," Jiu hissed, snatching her wrists and gently pushing her into bed," It's not safe..."
"Jiu, give it back, please!" Leora cried, struggling.
Jiu held her down in place till she calmed, her cries dying down to small sniffles. She stared at him with a look of hopelessness, that he couldn't bear to face.

"I'm starting to understand now, why they've locked you up in here...when you go into the garden, you make abominations like that," Jiu whispered, slightly regretting his words, but at the same time, he knew it was the truth.
Leora gritted her teeth," You sound like him as well."
Jiu furrowed his eyebrows, angrily.
"That's not true."
"Sure sounds like it."
He straightened up immediately, glaring down at the girl, who lay looking up at him on the bed, as if offering herself and her frustration whole. Jiu's gaze softened slightly, seeing that defensive gleam in her eyes. What were they doing?
"We're as petty as each other, arguing over who's more horrible like your brother," Jiu sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
Leora glanced away, sulkily," I suppose..."
From the window, there was an odd mewing noise, followed by the scraping of claws. A black cat sat outside, wanting to be let in.
"Does the manor have a cat?" Jiu tilted his head.
"It does now," Leora smiled, easing herself off the bed and going over to the window.
She opened it and gently scooped the cat up, shutting the window, and joining Jiu back in the bed.
Jiu chuckled, stroking the cats chin," Sure is a docile little fella."

"He's a sweetheart," Leora hummed.
The cat flopped onto its stomach, lying on Leora's lap, as the girl gently massaged its face.
"You like cats?" Jiu tilted his head.
Leora nodded," And dogs."
"Is there anything you don't like?"
"Humans," Leora giggled, before shuddering slightly," And spiders. Ugh."
Jiu laughed softly, watching her. Perhaps getting Leora something like that would do her some good and learning to stay put and rest. He hoped as much.