The gentle roar of the train had lulled Brigitta into a dreamless sleep, but Leopold had no such luck. A couple of days had passed since he’d eaten, slept, or even thought properly, the sudden upheaval of all normalcy mangling his ability to function properly. It showed in his behavior, in how he spoke and how he moved, but no one had mentioned it. He had come to the conclusion that his father either was too preoccupied to notice or too distracted to care. Roderich Edelstein had maintained that everything was going to be fine. He claimed to simply be sending his children off to their mother for the upcoming Christmas season, but in his eyes, Leopold could tell that he was lying. He avoided his son’s gaze and instead stuck his nose in the …show more content…
Carefully, Leopold brought a hand up to his cheek and softly brushed the three marks. Only five days ago had Brigitta scraped them into his face, and though he had yet to receive an apology, he knew she would never give him one. She was too busy choking on her pride, turning up her nose to any of her wrongdoings. Roderich Edelstein’s daughter, indeed. On cue, the little girl stirred from her sleep and sat up slowly, matted brunette locks falling into her face as she groaned in the direction of her brother. Leopold remained silent, unsure if she was simply fussing or actually trying to communicate with her brother. “Leopold.” Groggily, Brigitta turned to her brother. Leopold raised his brow and gave his sister a concerned hum in reply. Instead of immediately speaking once again, she gave a heavy sigh and looked down at her feet. She was never the type to stay silent. “Are you alright?” Leopold asked as though he didn’t already know the answer. Truth be told, she didn’t have to speak up; he knew that she was upset about leaving their father, confused as to why they even had to leave, amongst other woes that may or may not have been of importance. She was a child, and the stress was probably killing her. At the very least, Leopold could try to