She's in my veins again [Leona]

Edan knew Leona was coming, and he was getting a little more nervous as time passed. He knew the suspicious circumstances of her and Leoline’s elder brother’s death, but from everything he was able to see, there was little evidence that this death was from anything other than natural causes. He had a heart attack. It was unfortunate and sudden, especially since he was so young and healthy, but there was not much else he could do to keep the case open. He hated to be the bearer of bad news in this regard, but he looked forward to seeing Leona regardless. 

Edan had heard she was engaged now, and that was interesting. He might have expected to see her paired up with someone their age, a schoolmate, but instead it was a foreign man, someone older. Edan knew he was a Death Eater, too, and struggled to keep that to himself. He worried about Christoph. Leona was pure. She deserved all the best in this world, and he wanted to ensure she had it. Not that he really had any say in it.

He was nervous to see her for another reason, too. He was pretty sure Leona was aware of his… extended tryst… with her brother, and after the (fairly messy) breakup, he worried she might be mad at him. Had Leoline spilled the beans on them, after Edan specifically told him to tell no one? He knew the other man was getting worse as time went on, but he hated to be connected with the boy’s downfall. He liked to pretend he never even knew him nowadays. Of course, that was a lie. He cared for the other man very much, even if it wasn’t really being in love.

There was a tiny part of him suspicious about Leona’s brother’s death, though. How could such a healthy man have a heart attack so suddenly? He was wary of Christoph in general, but what reason would he have to kill him? Perhaps Leoline was involved? No, no… it had to be natural. Just a freak medical condition.

When Leona entered his office, he smiled warmly at her. “Miss Layton.” He greeted. “Or should I say, future Mrs. Klein?” He teased. He stood to hug her. “Leona, hey. How’ve you been?”

@Leona Layton

Leona had found much solace in the beginnings of a new relationship that would eventually lead to marriage but that did not take away from the grieving, the processing, and the occasional rise and fall of emotion she felt whenever she thought about Leoline. Even though the two had extremely different personalities, the two were close and he was, no matter what, the younger brother she had cherish for as long as she could remember.

But as the two had become older, the father had seemingly made it his duty to drive a wedge between the siblings, finding more and more reason to put one in opposition to the other, and to plant those seeds of mistrust and envy that often-plagued families like theirs. The death of Lycidas had been difficult for them both, he had withdrawn back into old habits, int a darkness that even Leona could not pull him back from. But who would pull her back should she succumb to her grief? The death of her younger brother had only devastated her.

But she tried to put on a happy face, as happy as one of her nature could manage while she attempted to sort things out on his behalf. Losing both of his sons had been devastating for her father, too, but if he refused to look in her direction before, he outright denied her existence now that he had no one worthy, at least in his eyes, of his inheritance. Leona took a moment to recollect herself before she entered the building, running a hand through her long, dark hair one more time to make it look more presentable and out of the way.

Edan had been one of the very few sources of comfort she had relied on after her death, the two were friendly towards one another however this experience, a rather grim one, had brought them closer. She entered his office with a warm smile that she hoped did not come off as a grimace, she had been crying earlier, it was probably obvious on her face but she hadn’t wanted to make a big deal out of it. Those feelings, that sudden rush of emotion came and went, after all.

“Leona is just as well,” she said, hugging him in return, maybe she had lingered a little longer than needed but it was only because she needed the comfort. “I’ve been well, planning a wedding as you must’ve heard,” she added. “I’ve wanted to keep myself distracted, you know, it’s been…difficult lately,” she explained, having a harder time vocalizing her feelings than she had expected but she assumed he would know exactly what she was referring too. “How about you? Have you had any leads? Anything…?” she asked, feeling apologetic for putting the sentences in that particular order but she was anxious to know.

 Edan had seen things start to go downhill after Lycidas’ death, in particular, for Leoline. This was just months before the breakup. He had become withdrawn, back to his old habits. Clearly, he was trying to grieve in the unhealthiest of ways. However, Edan didn’t get to watch the process very long, having his falling out (which was what he liked to call their breakup) with Leoline so soon after Lycidas’ death that he was certain this contributed to Leo’s bad behavior. He took responsibility for this to a degree, knowing that he couldn’t have made it easier on him, but he still tried to avoid the truth that any day Leo could overdose, hurt himself, cry out for attention—and Edan hadn’t been there for him.

Instead, he had spent more time with Leona after her brother’s death than with his former flame. Leona was easier for him to deal with, really. She wasn’t as clingy, as needy. She was still sensitive, but in a different way. That, and the loss of Leo as a partner ultimately led to the loss of his own father. He forgot he was supposed to be grieving alongside her. It hurt to pretend with her, but even as much as he had hated his father, he still grieved the loss a little bit. Alder had been fairer still than Linden was as a patriarch.

He hugged Leona back, reveling in her comfort. He could tell that she had been crying, and wanted to take that pain away from her. Of course, what he had to say was far from what she wanted to hear. She broached the topic quickly, and he sighed. “Come sit.” He offered. “Do you want some tea?” He offered again.

“I know you really want to hear that we’ve got some answers for you, Leona, but… it really does seem like…” He hesitated. “A fluke. There’s no signs of foul play, I know your fiancé tried to revive him, it seems just like his heart must’ve given out.” He sighed. “It’s strange for someone so young and with no underlying conditions we knew of.” He looked up at her, realizing he had been avoiding her gaze. “I know that isn’t what you wanted to hear, Leona, but it’s the best we can do.”

He watched her carefully. “Tell me, have things gotten worse at home?” He wondered. “How’s Leo?”