Dragonsoul

Chapter 52

Quiet can be deafening for those whose thoughts are screaming.

Leonie feared that she would be overwhelmed with the weight of her own reflections, the same way the avalanche covers all in snow, never to be seen or heard again.

How could any person, especially a child, make such a world-changing decision? What would that choice say about Leonie's true nature, about the core of her being? What would she learn about herself?

In the past, Leonie used to believe that family came first and that she would do anything for them. Though that was still true, she wondered what gave her the right to destroy thousands of lives just so that her little family could experience joy once again.

It was not a virtuous thing to do, and yet it was tempting to embrace her own happiness, letting the world fight for itself. After all, no one came to her father's aide when he was dying. He was all alone when Death claimed him. Did other people deserve what her father was not provided with?

Being fatherless was terrible. Not only because Leonie missed her father but also because the loss shifted their lives, changed the essence of who they were. Furthermore, it marked them for pity.

The worst were those people who cried for them. People who would start saying something about fathers, remember hers was no longer there, and start crying. It was as if they wanted to say that their sorrow for HER father was more prominent than her own. Leonie never could understand how dared they do so.

They did not understand. No one but the people who went through the same type of pain understood. Thus, Leonie wished they would stop talking, let them be, stop pretending to share their pain.

No matter how painful her father's absence was, Leonie thought that they were all just starting to heal as a family, years after her father's demise. How could she then inflict such a festering wound on any living being? To do so, knowing full well how heart-wrenching, how soul-crushing losing someone could be, would be immoral.

Though Death did not say so directly, it was clear that bringing back Rimodar would cost others their lives or happiness, most probably both. Was Leonie willing to make that kind of decision, a decision that would hurt so many?

How did that make her any different than the evil she wished to chase away from their lives?

On the other hand, how could she not bring back the one person who was always there for her? How could she fail him by not saving him when he was there when she needed him the most, even after dying?

Before Leonie could answer any of those questions, she fell to her knees. She was suddenly overwhelmed by a vision, unlike any before. This vision did not frighten her the way her nightmares did, since it felt too familiar to be mistaken for evil.

Before long, Leonie could see the front of her house. Though the perspective was odd, it was seen from higher than she thought of as usual. It soon became apparent that the reason for that was the fact that she perceived things from Rimar's eyes.

However, what she saw made her heart pound as loudly as the village drums, and it was all she could hear in that place out of space and time.

A few ugly looking trolls were surrounding Rimar, while Amitola and Nald stood on the doorstep trying to hide but, at the same time, worrying about Rimar too much to enter the house.

Nald was hiding behind Amitola with eyes wide open and tears streaming down his face. The little guy was trying to be brave, but his body betrayed his fear.

Leonie also noted that Rimar did not appear to be using his full power to defeat the trolls, and she could not comprehend the reasoning behind his actions. She wanted to ask, but their bond was not as strong because of the distance, and though she could see what he saw, she could not speak to him nor understand why he chose to use the non-lethal power.

Upon closer scrutiny, Leonie realized that Rimar was trying to keep the trolls away from the house without killing any of them or hurting them too badly.

Seeing her brother's terrified face and Rimar's struggles, Leonie wanted the trolls gone. She wanted them all dead.

Rage was all she could feel upon seeing what was going on. All she wanted to do was crush the trolls for daring to try to hurt her family, the same family which had suffered enough as it were.

For that one second, she forgot what her people had done to the trolls, and their utter innocence, as rage burned brightly in her young heart.

"Oh, no. What am I thinking? How can I allow such vile thoughts to enter my mind? Trolls are the innocents. The darkness is controlling them, whatever it might be. They aren't responsible for their actions. My father has raised me better than this." Leonie thought, disappointed in herself.

The next thing she knew a wave of fear washed over her as one of the trolls swung an enormous club towards Rimar, who barely escaped its range. Then he turned and hit the troll with his tail rather than using fire on him.

Rimar would have been at an advantage if he were to fly above the trolls, but Leonie could see that he was ground-bound to protect Amitola and Nald, to do her job.

It was clear to Leonie that she had to make the most significant decision anyone had ever had to make in the shortest time possible. As impossible as the situation was, she knew that deliberating would only get her family killed.

Leonie's heart was breaking in two because, whatever choice she made, it would end up hurting someone.

Bringing her father back would hurt others and, in turn, the guilt would destroy her. However, if she failed to bring him back, she would shatter her own heart and those of her family members.

She needed more time to make a decision. Time was more precious than she ever deemed it to be, and she prayed for more of it.

As if hearing her heart's plea, Toras appeared in front of her house out of nowhere, probably using one of his portals. Thereupon he proceeded to stand in front of Amitola and Nald shielding them from any danger.

Yet, Leonie knew that even magic had its limits. She had to make a decision.

When Leonie was younger, she always thought that she would do anything to have her father in her life once more. Nevertheless, faced with the choice, she did not find it an easy one to make.

"You know the difference between right and wrong. No matter what happens, remember that bad things done with the purest intentions are still bad. The natural order of things must stay intact," Rimodar's words flashed through her mind.

With tears streaming down her face, sobs bubbling up and spilling on to the surface of her being, Leonie made the decision.

The moment the decision was carved into Leonie's mind, Death appeared in front of her.

"This is not the decision I expected you to make. I gave this choice to many great warriors before, and yet all of them made a different choice. Perhaps there are still a few things I can learn from humans, after all." Death said.

Upon saying that, Death snapped her fingers, and the image of Rimodar dispersed as if it was never there.

The moment the image was gone, Leonie broke down into uncontrollable sobs that shook her whole body. She hoped that she had made the right choice but also knew that there were no guarantees, no right or wrong answers in life.

"Clotho will be here soon to take you back. Farewell, little human. I hope we won't meet any time soon. You have shown more bravery in that one decisive act than many had in their entire lives." Death said before she disappeared.

Leonie crumbled to the ground, curling into a small ball of devastation.