Chapter 3: A New Dress

Leona was positively ecstatic and she jumped up and down even as her father held her hand firmly with his own large one. She smiled easily from ear to ear as they approached the amusement park. Her father had promised he would bring her there this day and he had kept it. Her mother might have been there as well, but was busy grading papers that had to be done that day. Leona didn't notice how easily they made it through the entrance somehow avoiding all the long lines or that he paid nothing as they went on the first ride—she just knew she was there and going to get to ride them in the first place.

She currently wore her bright pink tennis shoes, bright blue leggings, a pink skirt with large daisies and a plain red cotton shirt with a rounded collar—she looked the part of a six year old child. Her hair was pinned up in a bun that her father had managed to pull off before they had left the house together. Whenever she asked which one they should go to first, he would always tell her that it was completely up to her and that he would be just fine with anything. She chose the biggest ride first, of course, and they promptly went on it without further ado.

The little girl found herself shouting "Daddy, this one!" quite often that day and always resorting to dragging along her comparatively slow moving father—he simply couldn't move fast enough to match her enthusiasm. She went on rides at least ten times before she was satisfied enough to try something new. Leona just knew that she tried the biggest ride countless times. After trying the other rides she would return to the biggest ride over and over again.

It was as if she had a sixth sense as to when she had managed to wear her father out. Perhaps the only clue he would give to it was glancing at his watch which she supposed he hoped she didn't see, but she was quite an observing person even at this age. Yet he encouraged her to do whatever she wanted there for as long as she wanted. She found herself saying "Are you sure, Daddy?" when she thought he was being contrary to what he was truly feeling. "This is your day." he would keep saying to her.

In the end, they left when it became too close to her bedtime. Her mother would be furious if he managed to keep her out for so long once again for the third time, so said her father. It was unmistakably nighttime when they began the walk to the transporter that would take them home, but as she walked she began to feel something strange.

The feeling was warm and odd, it's presence becoming more and more palpable by the second. Something inexplicable was building up inside of her and she felt as if she would faint. The warmth became uncomfortably hot and she finally stopped in her tracks quickly drawing her father's attention.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked her as he brought himself down to her level.

She'd closed her eyes not in pain but because of how inescapable the feeling had become. She simply wanted it all to stop. "I…I don't know…" she groaned pitifully.

Something must have prompted her father to check her forehead which he did at the moment placing the back of his hand onto her heated skin. His hand drew back quickly.

"You're burning up," her father said more than a little startled, "I've never felt anything so warm. Let's get you home quickly so your mother can have a look at you."

She felt too scared to move. She didn't know what, but something was very wrong. Could it be a fever? She'd had such symptoms before, but it had never felt like that. How could she explain this to her father? She found herself in his embrace after a moment, protected and safe.

"It's alright, sweetheart, everything will be fine," her father said softly. She heard the words rumble through his chest.

She realized that she hadn't moved an inch in a long time and that her father was probably trying to get her to do so on her own. He'd have to pick her up, but before he could even attempt to do such a thing, the unthinkable occurred. Leona cried out when it became too much for her to handle and her world grew starkly white, a ringing noise filled her ears.

The oddness was gone, but the whiteness still remained for a moment longer. Then it began to subside gradually. It was like opening her eyes in the morning time except it was from brightness to darkness. The first things she noticed was that her father was no longer there. She looked around frantically now only to find him thrown back quite a bit. They'd been next to the railings of the large bridge they'd been traversing on and he had been knocked into the metal bars of the railing.

Instinctively, she ran over to her father who appeared to not be moving at all. She saw it as clear as day, blood and lots of it covering his chest and downward, his clothes impossibly charred. It was as if someone had come and peeled away his skin with a searing hot knife. Her father was unconscious and unresponsive as she cried out his name. She couldn't understand, it was impossible to understand. What in the world happened? If it hadn't been for the security guard who'd rushed in to see what the commotion was when he was close enough on his route, Leona had no idea what would have become of them.

The security guard didn't ask any questions on his part when he first arrived. He promptly called the ambulance. When help was firmly on its way, the guard tried to reassure the hysterical child with marginal success, but she still breathed hard and stared at her father with haunted eyes. That was until he started to make movement on his own. He tried to sit up, but he soon abandoned the endeavor when he found it beyond him. His eyebrows were furrowed in obvious pain when he gestured Leona closer to his side. He seemed to instinctively know where Leona was as he looked at her.

"I'll be fine," he said though his voice sounded strained.

"But how can you—

"I'll be fine," he repeated firmly to her. Tears immediately sprung to her eyes. "This isn't your fault, sweetheart. It seems you have…some of your mother's talents."

Before she could ask him what that meant, the flying vehicle pulled up to their positon and two strong men carrying a stretcher.

"Make sure you call your mother, alright?"

Leona nodded as the two men came and she had to stand out of the way as they moved him onto the stretcher and moved back to the vehicle. She followed her father onto the currently parked vehicle and climbed into the back of it along with the two men.

"He's lost a lot of blood," one of the men said and Leona bit her tongue.

She watched him slowly lose consciousness again as his eyes fluttered and then closed.

"Let's go, let's go!" the other shouted when they were all situated into the relatively small back area of the flying vehicle, but it was much larger than the Rhieard that her parents owned. It didn't exactly close, there was simply a place to sit and a small door that separated them from the outside—more like a flying pick-up truck. There were few medical supplies on the vehicle, but there were at least bandages and they began to wrap him up quickly to stop the bleeding.

"Daddy?" Leona choked, tears streaming down freely now.

She watched the men do their work as she quietly sat in distress watching for any changes in her father. When they seemed to be done with their work, she spoke again.

"Can I call Mommy?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am, we'll use the communicator in the hospital," one of them said to her much to her relief.

They didn't have far to go and eventually they were carrying him out and she was following. Someone held her back, but she struggled against their grasp as her father who had been transferred to a bed was rolled through two swinging doors.

"Didn't you want to call someone?" a comforting woman's voice said.

Leona looked back and nodded not knowing how the woman knew and she was taken to a room with large computers. The equipment looked quite sophisticated.

"Does your mother work somewhere important?" the woman said calmly.

"She works at school as a teacher."

"Oh, but the schools are closed now. What about home, is she there?"

Leona nodded vigorously.

"Do you know the sequence of numbers for your home?"

Leona nodded again. It was a five digit code that her parents had told her to memorize and she soon disclosed it the woman who then tapped it onto the small keyboard in front of them—it was much too high for her to see properly. Suddenly, the screen sprang to life and her mother's face was shown immediately.

"Oh, baby, I've been so worried about you! What's wrong? Why haven't you gotten home yet?"

"Daddy's been hurt really badly," Leona said trying to fight tears once again. "And these guys took us to a hospital!"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine."

"Daddy said the same thing!" Leona shouted. "You're both lying!"

"Leona, you will calm down," her mother said in a commanding voice. "I will be there as soon as I can, alright?" Her mother was no longer looking at her but at the woman who stood to the side. "And could you look after her for the time being?"

"Of course, ma'am. I'll make sure Lady Leona is well taken care of."

"Thank you," her mother said with relief.

And with that the connection was ended. Leona could only assume that her mother was now on her way. The woman led her out of the warm, humming room and then led her to what looked like the waiting area. Two large windows faced the amusement park she had just been to and she walked over to it to gaze at the well-lit park. Even at night it was beautiful.

"How are you feeling?" the woman said placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Leona turned to look at her. "They both said Daddy will be fine—so he'll be fine," and that was all she said before looking back at the scenic view.

She leaned on the ample windowsill, it was just the right height for her to lie her head on. Then she waited for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, her mother did come and they waited for only a few moments before they were admitted in.

Her eyes were immediately on the bed when she walked into the room. A strange plastic mask had been placed over his face. It grew cloudy and clear at a constant basis and Leona guessed that it was there for breathing purposes. When her mother pulled the blankets back, Leona saw that his bandages had been changed as there was no stain of blood to be seen.

At the time, Leona believed her mother to be far too calm as she looked him over. She grew mystified as she placed her hand over him hovering a few inches from his body and then closed her eyes in apparent concentration.

"Revitalize," she heard her mother say after a moment.

A brilliant light surrounded her father for a brief second and then it was gone. Leona wondered immediately what had happened. Her mother took off the plastic mask and gazed down at him intently.

"What's wrong, Regal, why won't you wake up?" her mother said softly.

Her mother looked around for something and finally removed a washcloth from a drawer. Momentarily, she disappeared into the nearby bathroom. Leona took this time to step closer to her father. He was sweating now profusely, his hair tousled. It was as if he was seeing something he disliked immensely but with closed eyes. Leona's brow creased in confusion. Whatever it was, it seemed discomforting and she immediately felt guilty.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she said in her small voice.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," her mother's voice said as she stepped out of the bathroom with a now wet rag.

Leona begged to differ. It wasn't as if her mother knew what had happened. In fact, her mother hadn't so much as asked her at this point. She watched as her mother wiped the sweat from his brow and about his face slowly.

"It's alright, Regal, it's just a dream. I'm here now," she was bent down close to him speaking in his ear.

"Mommy, what's wrong with him?" Leona asked shakily.

"Nothing serious," her mother returned. "It's just a bit odd is all. For as long as I've known him, he's never had a bad dream before."

She continued to wipe his sweating brow and he eventually did awake much to their relief.

"Raine?" he asked. His voice sounded dry and crackly.

She only smiled at him. "Welcome back."

And he was looking for Leona as well who stepped a little closer so that he could see her. She smiled as well. It was enough to see his kind eyes once again looking at her. He wasn't angry at all she could tell.

"Come here," he told her.

She followed his command and then as he asked her to climb atop the bed so that he could have better access to her. Then she knew a split second before it happened that he would hug her. That was all the reassurance she needed as she felt his warmth and his beating heart.

"I told you I would be fine," her father said as they separated and she was able to look up at him.

"I know," she said a smile drawn clearly across her face.

"Now," her mother said after a moment. "Tell me what happened." She'd been addressing her father.

"She seems to have your gifts," her father said to her. "That was light magic, pure and searing. I've felt something like that before, but I was stronger in the past."

Realization came to her mother's eyes. "Yes, we were. Your wounds were quite grievous from an attack that probably would have been child's play to take head on. Exspheres truly did give us strength." Her mother looked at her then. "I'll have to start training you then in the use of magic and how to manage it, but for now, let's all go home."

It took Leona a moment to learn that her father was completely healed and that he no longer needed the bandages. She was quite amazed by this and asked her mother if she'd be able to do the same. "Only time will tell," her mother told her calmly.

Even on their way home, Leona began to ask her mother a million and one questions, but her mother was quite evasive and both parents seemed to be in agreement that it was a discussion best saved for tomorrow. She could tell they were both weary and she was reminded that she indeed had forgotten about dinner altogether.

That was the day when she had first showed signs of magic and the very next day her mother took time out to train her in earnest even as her father trained her physically. It was weeks before she asked her mother if her father really was alright and just as she expected, her mother did not sugarcoat things. She'd healed him so he was fine physically, but he'd been plagued by nightmares for a few days before it tapering out. It wasn't that she had traumatized him, it was, her mother discovered, a rare effect that few magic users had the ability to use in which even if one was to survive the attack, they would be forced to also weather through nightmares. For how long?—that simply depended on the person. For someone like her father, not very long since it was unusual for him the first place. "He'll recover," her mother reassured her.

Still she felt horrible and a growing sense of dread for her own power.

Leona woke up with a start and was confronted with the harsh rays of the sun. She'd forgotten to close her curtains. After yesterday's activities at the beach with her parents, she'd been more tired out than she'd known and fallen straight to sleep upon laying down on her bed. She groaned in displeasure. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept so late into the morning. After washing herself and climbing downstairs she realized she was all by herself once again at the house.

She looked into the kitchen and saw some food from breakfast her parents must have eaten together. Wordlessly, she made a plate for herself and sat down in the dining room contently eating the lukewarm food. She must have just missed them before they had left. She understood her father leaving for work, but she wondered what her mother could be doing since it was the weekend.

On the weekends, there weren't many activities that she partook in. She stayed at home with her mother and either lazed around the house with her or decided on something a little more extraneous to do. Today she would be doing the latter. After yesterday's training session with her father, she felt she had reached a new plateau with her power. With the ample time that she had, she went out to the courtyard once again pulling out the equipment including a dummy. She began as she had yesterday with her stretches and then with the weights which she decided to increase. Before she knew it, hours had gone by. It was her mother who interrupted her.

"At it again?" her mother asked clearly amused. "If only you showed the same dedication with your magic."

It wasn't that she wasn't proficient at the use of magic, it was that her mother thought she could be better. But magic required constant concentration and it wasn't physical at all. Not only that but she seemed to have no talent for healing magic. All she seemed capable of were light elemental attacks and it distressed her. If she was going to learn how to harm others, then she didn't want it to be in as devastating a way as magic clearly could be. She remembered what she'd done to her father vividly even more so now that she was older and understood more.

"Did you want something?" Leona asked her mother coolly.

"Well, your birthday is coming up soon," her mother began and immediately Leona's mood dropped. "We still need to pick out a dress for you and I want you completely involved in the decision of which one."

"I already have a lot of dresses, Mom. Couldn't I just use one of those?"

"You could, but this day is supposed to be special. Pick something that really speaks to you. It's very important."

Leona sighed heavily. "Alright…" She was just going to be in her manor and only a few strangers would see her in it for all of a few hours.

Leona had to put all her training gear up once again and then take a shower before going out with her mother. The day wasn't a complete bust, she supposed. She would get to spend time with her mother which she always enjoyed. Her mother treated her as her equal and hardly ever sugarcoated her words. It was always interesting to see just how different her parents truly were. Kindness wasn't something she wore on her sleeves or one could see clearly in her eyes like her father, it was simply a fact that she cared about her and everything she did for her was out of love and kindness. Her mother was sarcastic and quick-witted. Leona felt as if she could tell her mother anything and she would understand immediately. Yet there were times when she could be extremely motherly especially if she was hurt in anyway and Leona would be reminded that she was, in fact, her mother.

They went to a specialty store called Sandra's Boutique and they took their time looking around. Leona couldn't quite decide if she was a tomboy or not, but when it came to shopping for clothes especially dresses she found herself immensely interested. She was attracted to beautiful things. She knew she could blow an entire afternoon in places such as these. Her mother, on the other hand, was interested in so much as what was practical. Then again, she had always been a practical woman. She made no suggestions this time as she usually did to carry things along. Instead, she was surprisingly patient taking a page out of her father's book.

Then all at once Leona found it, a mostly red with black accents Lolitta-esque dress that seemed both daring and beautiful. This was it. This would be perfect and she called her mother over so that she could see.

"Oh, that's beautiful, honey. I like the two red bows in the front here," her mother said approvingly.

The thick material dress was sleeveless as well with black ruffles on the shoulders. The bottom part of the dress spread out in three black ruffle-rimmed tiers. There was a simplicity about it that called to her. She tried it on first and when she stepped out of the dressing room, her mother's astonished reaction was all she needed to confirm her suspicions. This one would do.