12 Can I Trust You?

Daisy frowned and turned to look at Leo as he stared broodily into the flames. "Leo…why did you freak out earlier when I said to work your magic on the fire? You acted like you actually have fire magic."

He let out a heavy sigh. "Can I trust you?"

She was vaguely insulted but understood what it was like to not be able to trust anybody. "Have I let you down yet?"

"No."

Leo didn't say anything else so she figured she needed to do something to soften him up. "How about this? I'll tell you a secret of mine if you tell me what was up with your reaction. Does that seem fair?"

Daisy had to treat him like a child since he was one. This sort of coaxing method seemed like it might work. She had seen former foster parents use it with varying levels of success on certain kids she lived with but she figured it would be effective here knowing Leo.

She was right. His yellow eye blazed with curiosity and he pulled his knees up to his chest on the chair he was sitting on across from her.

"Alright. Tell me your secret first," Leo insisted.

"My secret is that my name isn't Veronica. It's Daisy and I'm not from here or anywhere near here. Your turn."

To her surprise, he smiled. A real smile. The first one she had ever seen from him. "Daisy, huh? The same as your favorite flower? I didn't expect that but it suits you. Someone who loves flowers so much should be named after them. Do you prefer Daisy to Veronica? Should I call you that now?"

"That would be nice, actually," Daisy admitted. "I've really missed being called by my name. But no one else can know about this. You can't call me Daisy in front of the Krinzels because they think I'm really Veronica."

"Did you replace someone named Veronica then?" Leo asked curiously.

"Yeah but it's kind of a long story and I only promised to tell you one secret. Can you tell me what you meant earlier now?"

His curiosity fizzled and he seemed to deflate like an old balloon. "Since you trusted me, I'm going to trust you. But you can't tell anyone about this. Anyone at all."

"Do you honestly think I would? I haven't told anyone about finding you so heavily injured, the color of your hair, or the fact that you have two different eyes. I have no reason to tell anyone anything about you," Daisy pointed out.

"I suppose that's true. I panicked because I do have fire magic and no one can know about it because it's a dangerous secret. I thought you had somehow figured it out and were going to use it against me."

She was offended he thought so little of her after so many months together but if it truly was dangerous for other people to know, she couldn't blame him. But she was also trying to wrap her head around the fact that this kid was talking about magic so seriously. He didn't seem to be joking with her so she was beginning to think he was on the level, crazy as it was.

"I would never do that…but I didn't think magic even existed. Can you show me?" Daisy asked.

Leo gaped at her. "You didn't think magic existed?! Where are you from?"

"Somewhere without magic. It's only in stories where I come from so I didn't expect it to be here. Wherever 'here' actually is. I'm starting to think I'm even further from home than I thought…"

He frowned as he mulled this over. "So you aren't from Mirea then."

"Is that where we are? I've never even heard of it," she confessed.

"Yes, we're in Mirea, though I'm not sure exactly where. So where are you from then?"

"I'm from Ohio."

Mirea…Daisy might not know much about history but she was fairly certain there were not and never had been any countries with that name on earth. If Leo truly did have magic…she might be in another world entirely. Another dimension.

But how had she gotten here?! How was she able to speak and understand the language of these people as if it was English? Was this some bizarre version of the afterlife or had her soul simply gone to the wrong place when she died? Did Veronica's soul end up in her body?

So many questions swirled around in her head but she realized she still hadn't had something confirmed for her. "Leo, your magic," she reminded him.

Leo snapped his fingers and flames danced across his palm. If she hadn't been sitting already, she would have fallen over in shock. That was actual fire magic. He conjured that out of thin air!

"You're actually magic," Daisy said faintly. "I can't believe this!"

He shrugged. "It isn't that unusual here. I'm more surprised that where you come from has no magic at all. It must be incredibly far away."

"It is."

Worlds away. An entire lifetime away. Believing she was living in the past had been hard enough to accept. Now she had to process the fact that she had been reborn in a literal fantasy world?!

"…you seem upset. What's wrong?" Leo asked with a hint of worry on his stoic face.

"This is a lot to process. I've been harboring a magical kid in my house all this time and didn't even know!"

He scowled. "You're a kid too."

Daisy really wasn't. She was a grown adult who had been living on her own for six years before ending up in this impossible situation. But she couldn't tell him that because he would never believe it. He seemed suspicious enough that she was from somewhere too far away to know about magic.

She ignored that and pulled the blanket tighter around herself. This was crazy. Everything about this was completely crazy! How was she supposed to accept this?!

"Are you…afraid of magic?" Leo asked hesitantly after several minutes of silence.

She shook her head. "Not at all. I'm just still trying to wrap my head around it. If I'm being perfectly honest, I think it's pretty cool."

"Cool?"

Right. He was from another world; he wouldn't know her slang. She had to use terms that he would understand. "I think it's impressive that you can do magic. Honest. When I was a kid, I wondered what it would be like to have magic sometimes."

"Well, it's not all it's cracked up to be. I can tell you that much," Leo said lightly, seeming relieved that she wasn't bothered by his powers.

Look at him trying to make her feel better about not having any! Daisy cracked a smile. He could be pretty cute sometimes. Most of the time he was so serious but he had his moments where he seemed like an eager-to-please kid.

"Oh yeah? Do you wish you didn't have magic then?" she asked.

Leo didn't answer. It seemed she had asked a bad question. They sat there a bit awkwardly for a while before she tried again.

"I'm sorry for offending you. I really don't know anything about all of this stuff so I don't know what is or isn't okay to say. I don't want you to be mad at me or anything. If I did something wrong—"

He cut her off. "You didn't. I was thinking about something, that was all. I could never be mad at you, Daisy."

A jolt went through her when he called her by her real name so naturally. She was oddly tempted to cry then berated herself for being so childish. That was nothing worth crying over!

"Oh yeah? Why?"

"Because you're special," Leo said simply.

Daisy smiled at him. She was pretty sure she knew what he meant. She was special because she had saved him and was the only person he could rely on after striking out on his own.

"That's the first time anyone has ever told me that. Thanks, Leo. I appreciate it."

"It's the truth. I should never have doubted you. I know what kind of person you are but I was afraid of someone else finding out about me and my powers. That would put both of us in danger," he replied in a serious voice.

She stood and the blanket fell away as she walked over to where he was sitting. She grasped her hands in his and met his eye unblinkingly. "Hey. I'll never tell anyone. No matter what happens, I've always got your back. Understand? I won't let you down."

Leo's face was slightly pink, likely embarrassed by the seriousness of the moment, and he nodded with another real smile on his face. "Yes, I understand. Thank you, Daisy. Truly. You've put my mind at ease."

"Good! Now that we've established we don't have problems with each other's secrets, let's go to bed. I'm exhausted and want to be under the covers where it's warm."

They each went to their own rooms and she went to bed with her head reeling but too exhausted to think anymore. Maybe this was all a dream. But if it wasn't, she had to keep the promise she had made to the magical twelve-year-old living with her. She knew from experience that kids took promises very seriously.