CountryCore Series: Her Lady of the Lake (WLW)

Promises, Promises

Leah groaned into the microphone and scowled in what she assumed was Ruth's direction. Then the door opened and Ruth came in, her tell-tale perfume cascading inside right along with her as she snickered.

"I'm right here, dork." Ruth's hand tapped her shoulder and she frowned even harder.

"I can't do this. I don't know what I was thinking and Belle is going to hate my narration!" Leah rambled and stood, then felt steadying hands on her forearms.

The hands ran up her arms and cupped her face. "Listen to me. Belle will not be disappointed. Trust me when I say it takes a lot to upset her."

"Huh?" Leah wasn't totally sure she wanted to know exactly what that meant.

"Later discussion. For now, focus on the characters like you always do." She let Leah's face go and held onto her arms instead. "What is driving Chris to do what she does in this scene?"

"Horniness?"

Ruth laughed and guided her to sit down. "Good answer, but no. Tell me. Come on."

Leah thought about the character and imagined her in her mind's eye. Something Leah had never been able to do was see anything. Since birth, she hadn't known the colors of the world around her, nor had she ever fully understood them in the first place. She hadn't experienced light, nor had she ever been able to take a walk alone through her old city without a person offering to help her along her way. She couldn't understand why ancient people ever believed the sky was solid and had never experienced why body language was so important to a conversation aside from touch.

All of that was okay. Long ago she understood she saw the world differently and wasn't afraid of that. She adapted. She grew. She never once wanted what she'd never had, something she didn't need. In fact, she enjoyed telling others how she saw the world when they grew curious, even having been told her description of it made it sound like something out of a comic or the pages of some fantastical book.

When Leah saw these people in her mind, it was what she wanted to see and something only she could ever see. At least, not in the way she did. Not ever. She was sure it was different for others who decided against surgery like herself, but growing up in a time when most weren't born blind, she hadn't gotten to discuss it much with them. That small fact compelled her to move forward, to get out of bed and go through life because at the end of the day even if the vast majority of people could see, this was her gift. A gift she enjoyed by trying to live each day to the best of her ability.

Still, now really wasn't the time to reminisce about the past.

She visualized the characters from the pages of Belle's book and they all came to life, but one in particular caught her attention over all others. Chris was such a gentle soul. She cared for others more than she liked to let on and when anyone became one of those people, her people, they were set for life. She would be their fierce protector and always be there for them in whatever way they most needed. She loved, deeply and eternally.

"Found your answer?" Ruth asked in a voice that said just how self assured she felt.

Well, at least that makes one of us...

"I think so..." She held onto Ruth's hand and tilted her head to the side. "Chris is a lover."

"Hmhm!" Leah pulled her hand free from hers as she continued to cackle for a few long minutes. What was so funny about that answer? It wasn't like it was untrue. Besides, was there even a right answer to whatever her question was anyway? Leah sighed and sat back in her chair as she began tapping her foot. "Come again?"

"Well, what I mean is that she's so tender it's breathtaking. She puts those she cares for first, even though her company is so important to her. Plenty of other people would just focus on making money instead of actually caring so much about their employees." She rubbed her palms along her jeans and groaned, trying to find the right words for what she was trying to convey. Then, it came to her. "She loves unconditionally and while she isn't always great at saying it, she makes sure to show others through her actions."