Leona was not a woman driven by fleeting emotions.
She had ruled Galevire for eight years. Under her leadership, the country prospered and its people flourished. Poverty was almost nonexistent, they had good relations with their allies, and they were known globally as a formidable kingdom.
All this to say- Leona did not make decisions lightly. There had been many instances where she had to put her country before herself. That was what it meant to be Queen. She had inherited several decades of peace and it would snow in every one of the nine hells before she put that at risk.
Taking you in had been the closest she had ever come to ruining everything.
You were the only surviving member of the royal family of an allied country after it was invaded. The fact that you managed to escape death and make your way to her doors was a miracle.
Leona was not blind to the threat your existence also brought along. If she took you in, Galevire took you in. It was a statement to the world about which side of the brewing war she stood on. Galevire’s military was not one to be scoffed at, and as expected, once Selemant learned that she’d granted you asylum the letters began pouring in.
Yet she could not find it in herself to regret her choice. Not when she recalled how pitiful you had looked, the light gone from your eyes near completely. She wasn’t sure you remembered your first few weeks in the castle, when she had chosen to care for you directly. And even though you had begun to heal, her fierce protection remained. Any time you stepped into a room her attention shifted to you.
She was, to put it plainly, quite smitten.
"What flowers are you stealing from my garden this time?"
This was not the first time she found you in the greenhouse. You seemed to gravitate there; it was always where she looked for you first when no one else could find you. The gardeners had grown quite fond of you, mostly leaving you to your devices so long as you weren’t causing any lasting harm.
“You would sleep in here if I allowed it.”
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