Author: Dala, Posted: Fri Oct 9, 2020 10:12 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

Simone was slightly different, but it was still her. The child could see the care and kindness with a hint of sass. And now there was so much more to learn, no longer just hidden behind clouds of mystery. After the lumpy comment, Simone rushed to the mirror to inspect her appearance only to realize the child meant her hips. Dala nodded in confirmation with a confused look on her face. Then she explained the body was made to look older for Lewis. Dala nodded, pretending to understand what that meant then flopped on the bed with Simone.

"You're really that old? Then where are your wrinkles?" Dala asked suspiciously.

Simone explained how it was possible and how she died every time she turned twenty-nine. She listened as Simone explained the entire story. It almost seemed like something from an adventure and horror book rather than anything that happened in real life. But the proof was right in front of her. Besides, Simone wouldn't lie about this. Dala's eyes were wide as she drank up every detail of the story. She looked sad in the sad moments and ecstatic whenever they succeeded. Then they were married and he killed her out of a misunderstanding, which didn't surprise Dala in the slightest. The last time she talked with Simone about their relationship, Simone wasn't communicating with Lewis about her feelings.

"Yeah he was really drunk one night. That was the one time I decided not to clean up. I didn't wanna risk it." The child explained, "The next night he had a nightmare and was calling for you. I didn't really know what to do so I got him a little comfort cactus. Don't tell him! I'm trying to see how long I can go without him realizing where it came from."

The first couple of weeks were hardest on Lewis but overtime he did get better.

"After that drunken night he improved a lot. I guess that's when Angela punched his face." She said with a smirk.

Author: Simone, Posted: Fri Oct 9, 2020 9:39 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

She had heard the door open to Lewis’s room but she sat still. Maybe Lewis had forgotten something but still, she was paying attention to the letters that Dala had written her and if Lewis needed her he would call. That wasn’t what happened though as the door opened and Dala looked in at her.

Simone gave a tender smile to her. When Dala launched herself at her she patted her head and hugged her back. “Yeah, thanks to Lewis.” She put Dala’s letters up in a neat pile of read and not read.

The look that Dala gave her made Simone chuckle a bit. “It’s a very long story but I can tell you the child-friendly version of it all and who I am. Would you like that Dala? I remember everything now.”

When Dala called Simone lumpy she instinctively got up and looked at herself in the mirror. “Lumpy? Am I seriously lumpy–” It took her a few seconds before she was laughing. “You are talking about my hips Dala?” Once she got confirmation she just smiled. “I won’t age anymore so this body was made to look older so when Lewis gets older it doesn’t look weird.”

She walked back over to the bed and fell down on it. “Did you know… that I am over thirteen hundred years old? And I died every time I turn twenty-nine and reset to sixteen… and if I got killed early the same thing happened. I couldn’t remember anything except when my true self could shine through. Lewis saved me. He set me free and it was one hell of an adventure.”

Simone told her the whole story of her curse and her adventure with Lewis to free her. She left out all the sex and extreme violence. “Lewis even gave me a last request to marry me,” she showed Dala her wedding ring. “And then he killed me. Just like he promised to do. We were so stupid but after everything I’ve been through I didn’t think I had a right to be happy. I thought I was his burden.”

There was a smirk. “Lewis got punched in the face by a goddess. He stormed into Angela’s temple and demanded she bring me back. She said it would take a month. He probably looked really rough for a while… Didn’t he? We were actually on a honeymoon for the last two weeks.”

Author: Dala, Posted: Fri Oct 9, 2020 9:28 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

From that moment on, it had just become one of her daily activities. She still hoped that Simone would return but each day that hope was slowly dying. There was the strong possibility that Simone was gone, either killed or trapped somewhere. That thought occurred to the child multiple times. But she always pushed that thought away, believing that the universe had killed enough people she'd grown close to. They weren't allowed to kill any others. That childish logic helped her keep up her own hope. By that time, Lewis had apparently grown more accustomed to her presence. He didn't drink as much and it was almost like he'd pissed off someone who beat it out of him. Still she tried to stay out of his way and only touched the cactus in his room while focusing most of her attentions on Simone's room.

One day Lewis rushed out of his room, shouting about how he couldn't be late. Confusion crossed the child's face as she'd never seen him so excited. Perhaps Simone was finally coming back? The next two weeks there wasn't a sign of anybody and Dala's hope began to fall. Still she kept with the chores and taking care of the cactus, which had become a comfort cactus for herself as well. One day she was heading over to Lewis' room as normal. She checked for him first, not wanting to get in his way, then went over to the cactus. After giving it a little water, she went over to Simone's room with a rag and some soap for the weekend clean.

When she saw a figure in the room, she was shocked. Sneaking into the temple was all but impossible. Her dad wouldn't let a random stranger invade. Her eyes widened with realization as she took a closer look. The soap and rag dropped out of her hands as she rushed towards Simone, grabbing her legs for a tight hug and refusing to let go. Dala was determined to keep Simone around this time!

"You're okay!" She exclaimed with pure joy.

Then she realized Simone was alright and freed her. Dala had her hands on her hips and looked very cross.

"Where were you?! I wanna know!" Dala demanded, "I was worried sick!"

Simone had clearly changed. It was still the same woman but her attitude and appearance were different.

"And why do you look different? You look sorta lumpy." She said in reference to the sudden curvy figure that she called lumpy.

Author: Simone, Posted: Fri Oct 9, 2020 9:03 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

The rest of the months went by just the same. Lewis ended up disappearing too for almost two weeks. He had rushed out of the Observatory barely taking anything with him. “I can’t be late,” he nearly yelled it at Dala as she came. His drunkenness had gotten better the past few weekends almost like someone had beaten it out of him. He looked almost unprepared. He never looked like that when he was going on a job. It was something else. Something important.

The two weeks passed and in the middle of the night, there was ruckus from Lewis’s room finally. Soft voices talking but not loud enough for anyone to hear what they were talking about. Once they had gotten up in the morning Simone kissed Lewis goodbye for the day. He was sure to be busy making up whatever work he had missed while they had been on vacation.

Her wedding ring was snug back on her finger now and it made her happy as it had itched when she was missing it. There was something different about the way Simone held herself now. She not only looked quite a bit older but she held herself with pride and confidence. Every step she took had a purpose.

Today was busy transitioning Lewis’s room into their room. Turning her room into a sort of storage for Lewis’s tools. Just so they could make room for her own things. When she got into her room her eyes lit up a bit at the tulips. She moved over to her bed and sat down staring at all the letters.

One by one she opened them all up and read them. There was a smile on her face. Oh, Dala was just like her Cecelia had been. There wasn’t that heartbreak anymore now that she had moved on but not forgotten. She had got revenge for all of them and that was good enough.

Simone was still in her nightgown and her robe was loose as she read the letters. She had literally only just gotten out of bed following Lewis to the door to see him off. No time to do anything with her appearance.

Author: Dala, Posted: Fri Oct 9, 2020 8:44 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

Adults always made things more complicated. They turned tiny stacks of dirt into hills and hills into mountains. But this was their problem and Dala didn't to push her any further. Instead she burrowed herself into the blankets of the bed, causing a bit of a mess. She popped her head out of the blankets and listened to Simone talk about her old home. Dala wasn't an overly attentive child but these things that Simone said were all showing signs of memory loss. An old friend of hers, Madam Wheezy, talked like Simone. They both always seemed to question their own knowledge and appeared confused about their own past. For Madam Wheezy it was because she was old. For Simone….Dala had no clue. Perhaps she would ask her mother later.

When Lewis entered the room, the child quickly left the bed and stood up facing him. Simone clearly didn't want her to leave yet but Lewis had already made his decision. The child didn't mind since she knew whether she had permission or not, she'd be back to see her new friend. Besides she wanted more princess lessons! Lewis was strong but even he couldn't stop a princess! Fortunately for him, he somewhat agreed to let Dala come over later. The child wrapped herself in the beautiful purple shall again, making herself into a burrito.

"Yes! And I'll be wearing a dress next time!" She exclaimed.

The next three weeks Dala would spend time with Simone when they could. She listened to Simone's lessons and slowly was improving in her social skills, manners, and dancing. When they weren't focusing on lessons, she'd tell Simone all about her adventures and travels. Besides her parents, Simone was one of the few people she felt like she could really talk to. Simone never coddled her and was able to keep up when they talked. Before Dala knew it, she'd quickly become attached to this nice lady with memory issues.

On the fourth week, Simone was gone.

Dala tried to question Lewis but he just screamed at her to leave. The child knew he would never attack her, since her dad would skewer him if he tried, but she didn't want to be yelled at. The fifth week, she was still gone. Simone was gone and her room was abandoned. Yet Dala wasn't going to give up just yet. She began cleaning the room, avoiding Lewis as much as possible since he was cranky, and ensuring it was well kept. She even wrote some letters for Simone so when she came back, they could continue talking like normal. Her first letter went a little something like this,

-Dear Simone,

This last week was a wild one. I saw a Minotaur and it tried to trample me! I was much quicker than it. I jumped into a hole and waited for it to get tired. Then I followed it back home and poisoned its food then waited until it died. Once I got its liver and horns, I brought it back to the monster hunters. Not only was I able to keep the horns but I also got 2,000 silver! I'm going to be saving it for my future kingdom. I only need 53,560 more!

Also I really miss talking to you. If you could never ever ever ever go missing again that would be great. Or if you do need to go missing, please leave a note or something to indicate you'll be back. Oh and I still have that shawl you gave me. It's really soft. Great for when I need to wrap myself or my baby dragon in it. Anyway I can't wait for you to get back so I can talk to you properly.

From the coolest,
Dala-

Each letter was in fine cursive, a skill that the child had been working on for a while now. All the letters were similar, talking about her adventures and what had been happening to her. The child also placed a vase of pink tulips in the room to create a nice smell. Each week, Dala would replace the flowers with new pink tulips. On the sixth week, she found a broken and drunk Lewis. At first she didn't understand what was wrong with him, but once she realized he was drunk, she decided to leave. There was one thing Dala learned while living on her own. Drunk adults were dangerous. They were most likely to hurt you and cause damage. The next time she visited she heard him scream at night from terrible nightmares.

After that she placed a mini cactus in his room and when he wasn't there, she'd water the cactus. Dala didn't know how to comfort the average person, let alone someone as prickly as Lewis. Instead, she just gave him a comfort cactus she'd found on her travels, hoping the sight of something green and growing would help a little. Soon this became her weekend activity. She'd wait until Lewis was busy or gone then she'd clean Simone's room then water the plants.

Author: Simone, Posted: Fri Oct 9, 2020 6:44 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

Simone got even redder as Dala called her out. She hung her head in defeat. “Maybe,” she rubbed the back of her neck. “But he doesn’t plan on keeping me here Dala. I’m a burden on him. Things are complicated at best. Maybe too complicated.”

Her voice was low as if she was hiding these thoughts from Lewis. She saw herself as an inconvenience. As confident as she could be with Dala there was something about Lewis that made her weak in the knees. “I’ll tell him how I feel eventually.” Maybe when it was too late.

Her mind flashed back to Angela’s realm. When Lewis declared her his. When she had declared him hers. They already knew but somehow this story didn’t feel like it would lead to a happy ending. She pushed it out of her mind and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it will be alright.” She offered a smile. Besides Lewis was terrible with emotions.

Simone chuckled a bit and nodded, “Better than a dungeon too.” There was a shocked look on her face as she tried to think about why she said that. “I don’t know why I said that.” There was so much she didn’t know about herself.

There was a chuckle from Simone, “I had a big room back in the castle. It wasn’t anything like that but it was nice. I think anyways. I can’t remember too much of it.” It was giving her chills thinking about it. “I am just glad to have what I do. For some reason… I feel like I’m living better than I have in a long time.” Even if she was a captive in a tower.

“Simone, send the runt back already,” Lewis sounded annoyed.

Simone made a face that was a cross between being upset and being stubborn. She was biting her lip and pouting at the same time which was actually adorable. “Lewis~”

“I want to talk to you and I don’t want her here to hear it,” Lewis had opened the door enough to look at Simone. It was the way he was looking at her that made her look at Dala.

“You can come back tomorrow! Or whenever you want! I am normally here! Is that okay Lewis?”

“Whatever.”

Simone gave him a smile and looked down at Dala. “Take the shawl with you. We’ll do more princess things later!”

Three weeks went by and Dala spend time with Simone when she was home. They became quick friends and Simone showed her everything she knew. Simone loved Dala and she couldn’t understand the heartbreak that she was feeling when Dala did something that made her feel nostalgic.

On the fourth week that Dala came for her… She found nothing. Just an angry Lewis yelling at her to get out but not forcing her. No Simone. The fifth week, the same thing.

On the sixth week of looking for Simone, she would find a broken and drunk Lewis. Simone’s room was a wreck and dust was starting to settle. Lewis's screams from nightmares at night were bad sometimes he would even scream for Simone.

Author: Dala, Posted: Fri Oct 9, 2020 6:19 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

Dala ended up laughing with Simone at that stabby fact. Once their laughter died down, Simone responded with a blushing face and admitted that she slept in the same bed as Lewis. So they slept together, occasionally. Lewis tolerated her existence enough to let her live with him and touch his stuff. Based on her first impression with him, that was probably the closest he ever got to love. But it seemed Simone had her own room and the girl followed her across to the door when Lewis suddenly yelled about some missing set of daggers. Simone responded and Dala could no longer hold in her thoughts.

"You guys should really just get married already. You already banter like an old couple." She said, "I mean you live together, he's letting you have whatever you want so he clearly cares, and you are blushing pinker than a flamingo."

How could people be so daft in romance? The child had little experience herself but she could see this budding love as clear as day. Maybe people were just really dumb when they were in love. The room that Simone showed off was smaller but comfortable. There was a roof, a bed, books and a dresser. Dala accepted the shawl and wrapped it around herself until she was a burrito. Then she flopped onto the bed, making herself all cozy in the blankets.

"Much nicer than a sewer." Dala commented.

It had been a long time since she'd needed to sleep in a sewer but the memory was hard to shake off. Everything else that had a bed and a decent roof felt like a treasure. Her quality of life had improved drastically since she met her parents.

"My room is bigger. A lot bigger. Like I've got my own private bathroom, living area, a giant closet and the bed part of the bedroom." She said, "It's practically a house on its own. I'm still getting used to it since I only need to use it on the weekends."

Author: Simone, Posted: Fri Oct 9, 2020 5:41 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

Simone knew he had caught her lying to him. He just didn’t care as if making her happy letting the child run loose was a small thing he could endure. “Stabby is an acceptable word to describe Lewis Dusk,” she got flamboyant with her speech as she elongated each letter as if to be fancy finally finding herself laughing. “If it isn’t a word… It should be. It’s perfect.”

When Dala asked her question Simone blushed a bit. “Not… always,” she rubbed her neck. “Sometimes I have nightmares so I crawl in bed with him. I don’t know when I started to do it. Lewis calms me down even if he is also keeping me here. It’s weird. I don’t know how to describe it.” She looked down at the child not knowing if she would understand. “I have my own room that Lewis gave me though.”

She motioned Dala to follow her and across from Lewis’s room, she opened a door. “See?”

“SIMONE,” Lewis yelled, “WHERE DID YOU PUT MY OTHER SET OF DAGGERS!”

Simone flinched as she tilted her head back. “Try by your side of the bed under the stand. I didn’t want them to get dusty so I rolled them up in a pouch.” There was fussing as he moved stuff. She smiled at Dala before taking her in.

“It’s not a lot but… This is home, I suppose.” The bedding was a soft lavender color. Obviously, having been picked out for Simone. There were dresses hung up that wasn’t cheap looking and a vanity filled with random things and a nice hairbrush. It was overall smaller than Lewis’s room but big enough for her to be comfortable.

There were stacks of books on a dresser. Some sort of system for if she had read the books or not. There was even a shawl that had been knitted with the material next to it. “I like handicrafts. I don’t remember when I learned how to knit but I’m really good at it.” She took the purple shawl and wrapped it around Dala. “Here, you can have this one. I’m sure I’ll make more. Shawls are really nice for when you are cold.”

"Not what you were expecting?" She looked down at the little princess. She was curious about what Dala would think.

Author: Dala, Posted: Fri Oct 9, 2020 5:28 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

Dancing was as foreign topic as manners to the child. That was why she needed to learn it. All princesses were able to dance and to be unable would be a disaster at royal events. A lesson Dala both wanted and needed to learn would make things easier, or at least she hoped. Simone gave a low bow with a cheesy grin. Dala smiled and stumbled through a clumsy curtsy before taking her hand. The song was unfamiliar to her, as most songs were but luckily this was a simple tune. The child watched her feet as they followed the rhythm. A few times she accidentally stepped on Simone's feet and there were some moments where she was going the wrong direction. Eventually the girl was able to get the hang of it, even starting to speed up the pace when Lewis suddenly entered the room.

Dala did NOT want to tell him she was in there to go through his stuff, even it if was to protect her parents. He wasn't the type to forgive or trust easily and he WOULD throw hands if he felt like it. The child felt relieved when Simone lied to cover for her. Lying was bad but so was making an assassin angry. She kept her face calm, pretending to be looking at a particularly interesting lamp. After a few tense moments, Lewis rolled his eyes and went back to his room. Dala had a big mischievous smile when she saw him buy the lie.

"Maybe we should call him Mr. Prickly?" The girl joked, "Mr. Prickly, the prickliest and stabbiest of all cacti…..Wait is stabby a word?"

Turning to back to Simone, Dala had a question in her mind.

"So do you both sleep in here?" She asked.

Author: Simone, Posted: Fri Oct 9, 2020 4:24 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

“No, I don’t think so Dala. I think something bad happened,” she squinted her eyes before the rest of her came tumbling.

Simone made a face and gave a smile as Dala called her out on the apologizing, “Somehow I feel more guilty when you say that.” She had a lot to apologize for… Funny, why did that cross her mind? What did she have to apologize for? Wasn’t she was a good person?

Once she had the energy and saw how happy Dala was they pushed everything to the walls. Hopefully, Lewis wouldn’t be too upset if he came home early. Knowing him he would probably cock an eyebrow at her.

“So, I’ll be the man and you can be the woman. It matters!” She took Dala and got her up onto Simone’s feet. “When I was learning the dance instructor used his feet to show me. I wasn’t that much younger than you!”

Simone showed Dala the first few steps in ballroom dancing. “See? Easy.” She got her off her feet and bowed to her. “Lady Dala? Do you want to dance with me?” She had a cheesy grin on her face and was laughing towards the end. “You just have to follow me and I will show you the best I can. We have to imagine music though.” So Simone began to hum as she danced with Dala. It was a common song she remembered from the parties in Auclair. Easy enough.

“One. Two. Three,” Simone started as she showed Dala more steps to the song.

All of it came to a halt when the door crafted open and Lewis came in looking exhausted. He stopped dead looked around the room… Back at Simone and then to Dala. “Runt, why are you in my quarters?”

Simone waved her hands, “I… invited her in here.” She lied efficiently.

“You left the room?”

“No,” Simone put her hands behind her back and did a cute little bounce. “I got some food, Dala was nearby when they delivered it… I got excited. You know how I am with kids and Dala is adorable.”

There was an eye roll from Lewis. “Clean up when you are done.” Simone gave Dala a cheeky grin when Lewis went up the stairs to his own room. There was a heavy sigh from Simone before she winked at Dala.

"He's like a cactus," and she found herself laughing.

Author: Dala, Posted: Fri Oct 9, 2020 2:09 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

Dala listened while practicing with the book as Simone began talking more about her past. Simone mentioned wanting to be strong in a wistful way, as though that part of her was long gone. Before the child could respond, the lady changed the subject to the room. Dala continued balancing the book on her head and was starting to get the hang of it. Half of her attention was on the book while the other half was on Simone.

"So you married this prince?" Dala asked, curious to know if that was why she was there.

Suddenly, the lady had her hand to her head and stumbled before finding herself a chair. The child dropped the book and rushed over to the woman, looking for a pillow somewhere around the room. Sick people liked pillows, right? Simone quickly apologized and smiled softly, a smile that was as sweet as the sun. Dala had no idea how Simone was able to be so charming. Hopefully these princess lessons would teach her the same skills.

"You apologize a lot." The child commented, "I'm not gonna take offense if you accidentally scare me."

After a few moments, Simone held out her hand and offered to teach her how to dance. The child took the lady's hand and rushed over to the center of the room, energized by the idea of learning to dance. Every princess knew how to dance! It was an important part if one wanted to look elegant. Of course there was some more important political depth but she didn't care about right now.

"What do I do?" She asked.

Author: Simone, Posted: Fri Oct 9, 2020 12:31 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

Simone watched Dala with interest and smiled. “I was always climbing trees and doing what I shouldn’t have been when I was younger. Daddy would get upset but mostly he was scared I would get hurt. I wish I hadn’t lost that vitality. I want to be strong Dala.” She had no idea how strong she really was… She was so, so strong.

It was just an afterthought of watching how Dala did things. In a way, Simone had been just like Dala in her youth. For some reason, Simone felt like that was a long time ago so much more than just a decade.

“Sorry about the mess… I try to keep it cleaned up after Lewis,” Simone let out a chuckle as she picked up after the assassin. “Boys are always so messy~ I remember this prince I was betrothed too. He was a messy sort too. Always the maids were going in after he was done with stuff to clean up after him.”

She made a face and put her hand to her head as if she had a headache. “I can’t remember why we aren’t together. Why?” It hurt. Her heart hurt and she moved her hand to it as she felt the pain. “Why?” She stumbled a bit and found her way to a chair. “I should… be more careful. I’m sorry Dala.” She offered a smile that was as gentle as a soft summer rain. “I don’t mean to scare you if I do.”

After a few seconds, she held out her hand to Dala. "Do you want to learn how to dance? I think we can make enough space in the room for it."

Author: Dala, Posted: Wed Sep 9, 2020 7:50 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

They way Simone described her home life made Dala feel sad for the woman. The girl hadn't realized that cultures like that ever existed. And the way it sounded made it seem like it damaged the woman in a deep way. Growing up with that wasn't easy. It reminded Dala that there were so many people with different messed up childhoods. Some were because of society, some were because of health, and some were because of crimes. The child had always viewed princesses as strong powerful warriors with epic magical powers and giant swords that were way to big to be reasonably held. Perhaps not all princesses were allowed to become powerful.

And yet her history wasn't all bad. Her father genuinely loved her and adored her mother. Simone began to instruct her on how to be a better sarcastic individual. She gave an…interesting example. The type of example where Dala wanted to ask if Simone was actually okay. Then she remembered two things. First, they were being sarcastic so they probably didn't mean it literally. Second, it was Lewis they were talking about. Threatening to cut somebody's leg off was probably normal for that guy. The first time Dala met Lewis was when he tried to kill her with a bag of coins.

"I see." Dala said.

She thought for a moment, trying to see if she could come up with something sufficiently sarcastic. A dozen options ran through her head but she found one that she sufficiently liked.

"Oh Karen I absolutely ADORE that dress." Dala said in a cheery voice, "It reminds my of my mother's fifty year old curtains."

The child mentioned Karen but it was just a random name she came up with. For some reason she felt it meant a rude individual who was self centered. After the sarcastic lesson they seemed to be heading onto the balance. After taking Simone's hand and standing up, a single book was placed on her head. She began to walk around the room very slowly, doing her best to keep the book on her head. The book wobbled for a few seconds then was still. As she was walking she wasn't focusing on the ground beneath her but her head. Dala stepped on a sock and tripped, hitting the ground with a thud. But before she could even process the pain, she stood back up and recovered quickly.

"Stupid sock." She muttered before looking for the book, "Found it!"

The child began again, this time trying to watch where she was going.

Author: Simone, Posted: Wed Sep 9, 2020 7:00 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

Simone gave her a sad smile. “Where I was from women were to be seen and not heard. Supportive of their husbands and raise their banners to them. I think it’s dumb too but that’s just the world I was born into. I wanted to change it but I barely had a say and I can’t remember if I tried to in the end.” Her words were gentle as she explained.

After her story, Simone laughed a bit. “When you are the first princess and not promised you get all types of people asking. Men who lose their wives, men who want the throne, men who want other things. That’s the way it is. It was up to my father to make the good decisions and if I was lucky I would have a say in the end.”

She put her finger to her chin. “All the time actually. I was a rather rebellious little girl but that’s because I was an only child. It took a long time for me to take my lessons seriously and it was only after my father pleaded with me. My father never remarried see. He had a broken heart from my mother’s passing. It’s one of the few marriages I had always looked up to. He couldn’t even look at another woman. He loved her very much and he loved me too.”

Simone was trying her best to think of a way of teaching how she knew to be sarcastic. “I’ve never had to learn but I had to get good at it. Getting good at it is the hard part. Sometimes you have to practice and practice to get it. The main thing when you want to insult someone like me is to focus on something you don’t like and make it sound as nice as possible.”

She got up off the floor and changed her posture for a moment. “Like so.” She looked at the mirror and pretended. “Oh, Lewis! I think it is so absolutely wonderful that you want to cut my leg off~ That is so amazingly gentlemen like of you.” She did sound sincere and honest at that.

She turned to Dala, “Like that but not about cutting your leg off. Honestly, I can’t think of anything to fault Lewis on except wanting to cut my limbs off when I can’t keep up.”

The princess helped Dala up and she put the books back up on her own head. “Balance though is easy enough.” She straightened Dala out and put only one book on her head. “It takes time and patience. Once you master patience you can do anything. Try it with one book. We’ll move to two… and then we can do three.” Simone started to dance around the room carefully keeping the balance.

“See?”

Author: Dala, Posted: Wed Sep 9, 2020 6:48 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

Fear or love. That is what Simone mentioned when talking about grace and speech. The child didn't understand yet how to inspire either. Fear was difficult since she was very small and her muscles were weak. Love….felt like it was even harder. She had her parents and less than a handful of friends. Getting an entire kingdom to love her seemed almost impossible. But that was why she needed these lessons. Dala looked up to Simone as she began explaining how it was just her father and the may nannies who raised her.

"That's dumb. They should used you as a strong leader instead." The child declared.

Dala gave permission to Simone as she helped with her sitting posture. Her legs were tucked properly and she was trying to keep her back straight. Then Simone began to explain how to give a big insult while making it sound pleasant. As Simone began to explain how she made a fool of some fat ugly duke that she hated. The story seemed to end with the duke being unaware while the father grew tired of the duke. The end of the story was a bit ambiguous but it seemed like she wasn't forced to marry that disgusting man.

"Eeeeeeewwww that gross duke was asking to marry you?" Dala asked with a disgusted face, "Gross!"

Marriage was something that Dala never really liked the idea of. Ria and Raith's marriage was one of the few times that she'd actually seen it done well. Every other marriage had its mixtures of abuse and misery while a few marriages turned out decent. Still the child felt the idea of marriage was dull and completely uninteresting. She'd rather fight a monster.

"Did you secretly insult people in any other situations?" Dala asked, "And can you teach me how to do that? Most of my insulting of people gets me into trouble. I wanna be witty!"

Author: Simone, Posted: Wed Sep 9, 2020 6:12 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

She laughed sort of hard at the language that Dala used, “I wish I was as brave as you to use such language but I feel like I would have been slapped by Ms. Bitch.” Simone encouraged her to continue to be strong or what her eyes saw as it.

Simone watched and studied Dala as she failed to balance with the books. “Very, it helps to become a strong leader. To become a strong leader you must be able to gain a following. A leader must be good at speech and be able to carry themselves with a certain grace. Whether that grace is to make your court fear you or love you.” She thought about it a bit, “It was just my father. My mother died giving birth to me. As far as I can remember he never remarried.” Her memory was so spotty. “So I was raised by nannies for the most part.”

The woman came over and sat on the floor by Dala. “To me: they were very important later on. Not so much for you, I am sure. As the first princess, my husband was to be a very important man. It was important that I attract a strong leader and bring honor to my family. Regardless if he made me happy or not. That part of my memory is on fire and I don’t know if I ever did get married.”

“May I?” She offered her hands to Dala and waited for permission. Simone was gentle as she fixed Dala’s sitting posture. She uncrossed her legs and showed her how to tuck them properly. “Try to keep your back straight. It will help with balancing.”

For a moment Simone held a smirk, “Sometimes the biggest insult you can give is to be as sarcastic as possible but make it sound nice. There was this fat duke once that was awful. I remember him trying to bargain with my father for my hand. He was ancientttttt. I was only twelve. Fat and gross and I hated him. So I was as nice as possible but I exaggerated everything about him to his face. It was so bad everyone but him caught on. They laughed. My father was upset a little bit he was growing tired of that fat duke. I don’t think he ever did catch on that I was being sarcastic.”

Author: Dala, Posted: Wed Sep 9, 2020 5:29 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

"Well if she was that nasty then you don't need her name. We can call her Ms. Bitch." Dala declared as she grabbed three more books for her own head, "That sounds unpleasant. But it probably didn't help that Ms. Bitch was so terrible."

She was attempting to balance the three books on her head. One fell off then the other two went with it. Dala picked up the books and tried again, trying to walk very carefully across the room. The child was trying to imitate Simone's technique and grace, yet the books kept falling off. The child held down her growing frustration and kept trying. The books were on her head once more as she began walking across the room.

"Were the lessons useful?" Dala asked, "Or were your parents just trying to be mean?"

The child didn't have any idea if the books were helping. So she put down the stack of books and sat back on the chair. Her legs were crossed and she was slouching a bit.

"I gotta learn these lessons eventually." The child explained, "I've been putting them off since they don't seem as important as most of my other lessons. Its taught to all nobles so I figured its gotta be important somehow."

Dala was learning in a manner of things, usually from a variety of teachers. Economics, healing, gardening, politics, languages, writing, reading, and much more. All of these were important to being a good ruler, or at least that's what the child had been told. If she was to ever become a leader of value then the lessons needed to be learned as quickly as possible. When she wasn't hunting for ingredients or making money, the child was studying from her textbooks.

Author: Simone, Posted: Wed Sep 9, 2020 3:41 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

“Yeah, guess Lewis fits a big bad dragon… huh?” Simone chuckled a bit as she looked back towards Dala.

When Dala pointed out she was fine with it she just smirked. “If I ran away he would find me, Lord Raith would find me. It is much better to cultivate the garden you are in than to try and escape to the grass that might be more green on the other side. Trust is something you need to build not break. Eventually, Lewis will trust me enough.”

For her other statement, she mulled it over, “Dreadfully so. I’m half tempted to give Lewis a piece of my mind about it but it would be my own fault. I told him I had enough handicrafts to last me until he got back.” She gave a frown. “But this is Lewis’s room, not mine. I am just in here cursing him out a little. Mine is across the hall.”

She let out a laugh as she watched Dala. “Not quite.” She took three of the books and put them on her head as she balanced herself and curtsied at Dala. “You use books to learn proper balance. I got tortured by my etiquette instructor when I was your age. She beat it into my head… Nasty old woman… I just can’t remember her face or name.”

She thought about it once more and chuckled. “My father once told me that it was a princess’s job to make guests feel welcomed in our home. So we would practice introductions and how to say hello. You would always say nothing but good things to them because your political pulls meant everything. How you sit in a chair is important, how you interact with boys matter, everything does. I hated it when I was your age.”

Author: Dala, Posted: Wed Sep 9, 2020 3:33 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

Apparently Simone was a princess. An actual legitimate real princess! Not just a self proclaimed future princess like herself! Dala's eyes lit up with joy and excitement as she realized that this lady was exactly whom she needed to talk to. There were so many questions popping up in her head when she suddenly realized that Simone was moving over to a window to answer the difficult question. Dala listened quietly as Simone explained her situation. A prisoner who's kingdom wasn't relevant anymore and a girl who knew nothing about who she was.

"So you're a princess locked in a tower with a forgotten kingdom?" Dala asked, "Didn't know all those fairytale picture books were accurate. Huh."

The child hopped off of the chair and walked towards the window. Outside the maze could be seen and the sun was still up. Normally the child would be concerned about a prisoner princess but Simone had every chance to escape. The door to Lewis' room was open and if Simone was unhappy here, she would show it. The memory loss was a bit concerning but Dala knew there was little a nine year old could do about it.

"You seem fine with being here." Dala stated, "But aren't you bored? This isn't a big room."

The child was already getting bored just thinking about Simone's boredom. She pushed herself from the wall and rushed towards the bookshelf and grabbed a few books.

"You're a princess. Show me some princess stuff!" She exclaimed, "I don't know much about manners. But you gotta know a lot. Don't we gotta put books on our feet to help us learn to walk or something?"

Dala had no idea what she was doing.

Author: Simone, Posted: Wed Sep 9, 2020 3:10 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

Simone had a blush across her face when Dala called her out. “I don’t know if I would call it that.” She chuckled a bit and nodded, “That is a good thing to do for both parent and child. I would do the same thing if I were in your shoes. You are very brave.”

She tilted her head and gave a smile, “Well if I knew I was in the presence of another princess I would have straightened this place up a lot more. Lewis isn’t the best housemate.” She gestured to the messy room. “I am first princess Simone Auclair of the Auclair kingdom though it has been a long time since that was relevant. At least according to the books.”

She curtsied again, “It is very nice to meet you Princess, queen, and leader Dala Asher Balato.” She never forgot her manners but she had been lightly spooked.

Once Dala offered her the food Simone hesitated and looked towards Dala. After inspecting her and realizing she was human she took the food, “Thank you. I’ve been a bit peckish… I was told not to bother the servants too much.”

Once the question of why she was there Simone unlocked her eyes from Dala and moved over to a window, “I’m…” She struggled for a moment but it sounded like this kid had pull. “I’m Lewis’s prisoner. I’m here until he knows what to do with me. I’m not allowed to leave the tower unless he’s with me.” She offered a smile, "He found me a couple of months ago. That's all I can remember is when he found me until now. Bits and pieces of who I am… but besides that nothing. Lewis is all I have."

Author: Dala, Posted: Wed Sep 9, 2020 2:58 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

To her surprise, the woman seemed more afraid than Dala was. The child listened to the woman's response and gave a clumsily performed curtsy in turn. Manners was one of the things Dala had forgotten to train herself in. She had a couple lessons but they were short and a long time ago. Simone mentioned about her relationship and began questioning it, unsure of what it was.

"Sounds like you're pining for him." Dala said bluntly as she took a seat on one of the chairs, "We are definitely not friends. Its more of a toleration. I'm just here to make sure he's trustworthy. Gotta protect my parents."

It was a similiar reason why she went after Syn but the child didn't particularly want to inspect every new servant her parents got. The only reason why she was legitimately concerned was because of Lewis' connection with Marcov. That was the only man who'd want her head so it was fairly obvious who sent Lewis in the first place. But it seemed it was a small connection and that Raith had Lewis' full loyalty. The child was just there to double check. But now was the time to deal with the lady inside the assassin's room.

"Nice to meet ya." Dala said, "I'm soon to be Princess, queen, leader Dala Asher Balato."

The child knew the difference between princess and queen now, she just was in the habit of introducing herself like that. She then stood up and inspected the woman. It appeared that she was in decent health, so it didn't seem like Lewis did anything to her. Dala then reached into her bag and held out some dried fruit covered in a water-proof cloth.

"Here. Food is good for the soul. And the stomach." Dala said, "So why are you here then?"

Author: Simone, Posted: Wed Sep 9, 2020 12:39 PM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

A quick job he said. Be good he said. Stay in the tower unless you’re supervised he said. Who was going to supervise her? The walls? She found herself more agitated than normal ever since the trip to Angela’s realm and her literal trip down a hill. She couldn’t remember anything but well whatever it was that Lewis and she were up to now.

Which lead to a blush and a face plant into her knees. He was her literal warden and yet… she was always happy to see him and talk to him when he let her. Maybe it was because she had no one else to speak to but that didn’t account for everything else.

Angela had looked her over after her fall and gave her a clean bill of health but… she spoke with Lewis more privately about something. Was something wrong with her after all? Lewis hadn’t told this Simone that she had the worst form of immortality ever. This Simone was… just dazed by it all. She had no idea she was actively going towards her death and that Lewis would be at the end of it. Nor did she understand why it made her so happy to think of her death.

It was all so macabre.

Simone had her long black hair down with the top partially pulled back into braids around her crown. She wore a halter like dark green dress made of velvet that wrapped around and tied in the front. The sleeves were lace and cuffed at the wrists in the same material as the base dress but they were off her shoulders. It was soft and she liked it because of that.

She was laying on Lewis’s bed muttering to herself about how he said it would be quick. It wasn’t that she was clingy or attached, she had run out of things to do again. The few handicrafts she had picked up and swore she could make last didn’t last long in the end… and she had finished all the books she had borrowed. She had actually forgotten she needed to change them all out before Lewis even left.

That was when she heard the noise. She jolted up off the bed and almost backed herself into a corner. She looked more like a frightened deer than a girl. They must have eeped at the same time because Dala was much faster at getting her questions and accusations out than she was. Privilege to the young if Simone had to guess.

“No! No! I’m not his sister nor am I a shape-shifting Lewis I promise!” She must have looked silly being so scared but she wasn’t expecting someone other than Lewis.

“I’m Simone,” she managed to calm herself down enough to come out of the corner and offer a little curtsy to the small one. You never knew what company you held and it was best to be proper – that was what her father had always told her. “I’m umm…” She couldn’t think of what she even was to Lewis. “Absolutely something to Lewis but I’m not quite sure what to call myself… To be honest.”

She was playing with her hair nervously now as she watched with her gray eyes, “Are you a friend of Lewis’?”

Author: Dala, Posted: Wed Sep 9, 2020 10:34 AM, Post Subject: A Simone Surprise [R][P]

As always with the child, she felt the need to investigate this…Lewis. Lord Raith seemed to trust him but Dala wasn't certain of him yet. She didn't care whether he was a good person or not. He could be as fucked up as he wanted to be. It was his loyalty to her father that she worried about. Her overprotective nature led her to Lewis' tower and she wanted to see what an assassin's room was like. But she was determined to not get caught. She began to sneak towards the room, hugging the walls and waiting for servants to pass before she entered the next hall. Of course, all the servants could see her. The child wasn't as good at sneaking as she thought she was. Especially since she hummed her own theme song as she went up the stairs.

"I'm the best. Yeah I am. I'm the best because I am." She softly sang to herself as she reached the door of Lewis' tower, "Here it is."

Taking out a little bobby pin from her bag, she began to pick at the lock of the door. But to her surprise, the door was already open. Whomever last left had forgotten to lock it or didn't want to. The child gently opened the door further and tiptoed into the room. She began to look around the room, trying to find letters or books to look at. And trying to see if there was any food she could steal, as she had suddenly become quite hungry. The one thing Dala didn't expect was another person. When she spotted Simone, the child made an eep sound and dropped a few random papers she'd just picked up.

"Wait a minute! You're a girl!" She said suddenly, "Are you his sister or something? Or….are you LEWIS? Did you shape-shift? Come on tell me the truth!"

Dala….was an idiot sometimes.

"Or are you a ghost? Oooooo are you one of Lewis' victims coming back to haunt him for the rest of his life?" Dala asked, "Nah you look too thick to be a transparent ghost."

The last thing she'd expect was Lewis having a girl friend or a girlfriend in his home. She suspected Lewis had no friends since he didn't seem like the social type.