The tower as it turned out was home to a lot more than Lewis had let her know. She could go anywhere in the tower as long as she remembered the rules. They were simple and she found herself saying all of them in her head to a beat. Today: Lewis was off on a job for Lord Raith. He had told her that it would be quick.

Once again Simone found her handicrafts all finished and she had already tidied Lewis’s room once more (to his dismay). All of her chapter books were read and now she was just bored. The time for daydreaming was over! She could go outside of the four walls that she had been keeping to. Well, eight walls if one counted her invading Lewis’s room when he was gone.

Simone looked rather well put together for someone being held prisoner, willing or not. Lewis had gotten her a tailor and he had found out the hard way that those not geared towards magic could fall for Simone quite easily thanks to the curse. She had been handed a whole wardrobe even after Lewis told her to keep it simple.

Today her hair was swept up in an elegant bun. Her dress was simple but it did look cute on her. It was a high halter dress with a white bust and a midnight blue skirt. The skirt had many layers with the base being satin and the layers on top being more like lace. A satin wide belt of the same blue was tied around the waist separating the two colors and tied into a bow on the side. Lewis didn’t let her have heels calling them Simone death traps so she had settled for a simple pair of black slippers.

She opened the door from Lewis’s little set up and looked around. She had never been outside his area before. It seemed like there was no one around. “Helllooo,” she let out a tiny voice as she crept out. As long as she didn’t leave the tower she was not breaking any of the rules that Lewis set for her.

“I’m not going to cause any trouble~” She let out a soft whisper as she closed the door behind her and began to check out the hallway she was in now. She had seen some of the things there when Lewis took her for her baths but she never got the time to actually look at stuff up close. “It’s always keep up or I’ll cut your leg off~” She lightly mocked Lewis as she admired everything about the tower.

She managed to find one room that had it’s doors wide open. She crept up as if she was hiding the fact she even existed and looked around inside the room. Her eyes got a bit big as she saw something she had never seen before. “Whoa,” she was flabbergasted as she walked into the room looking all around.

There didn’t appear to be anything at all. Just the starry skies from bottom to top. She spun around in a few circles taking it all in. “This is so beautiful~” She stopped herself as she began to remind herself of the rules, “Don’t be a pest, don’t bother Lord Raith, don’t leave the tower,” she began to lightly jump around in a dance as she quietly chanted, “don’t fall behind, don’t gawk, don’t make too much noise~ or Lewis will cut my leg off.” Luckily she was barely making any noise and it was amazing how quiet she could actually be while singing.

It felt good to be out of those boring rooms. Not that she didn't appreciate it because she had nowhere else to go that she was aware of. Staring at the same walls every day was depressing though. Lewis could be a total killjoy when he got home as well even with their more recent activities at night.

And if anyone didn't know any better Simone was acting her age and was rather innocent but beneath that surface was a raging tempest that could not free itself. A different Simone laid in wait for her time in the sun.

A note.

His apprentice (Lewis had been mentally demoted from protégé due to the indignity Raith was enduring) had sent him a note to inform him of the latest visitor/prisoner now in residence in the Watchtower. Raith was not impressed. There had been no ‘my beloved Lord Raith, King of the Heavens, Ruler of Wrath, would you do me the honour of gracing me with your presence? I have a visitor with me, she is part of my latest duties but there is an issue I wish to discuss with you, and I must beg your permission for her to live here for a short while.’

No. 

Raith had received a note. 

To say Raith was irked by this slight (not that Lewis probably realised this massive faux pas in his etiquette) was the understatement of the century. The Lord of this realm was more than aware of the woman’s presence, he could feel every movement she made as it reverberated throughout his domain. And every stride of this usurper drove him deeper into his anger. 

He had unlocked the doors to Lewis’ quarters, allowing the girl access to the Watchtower unlike before, time for her to let curiosity drag her from her prison… it may kill her, Raith had not yet determined what he intended to do with the girl. When Draconis left her Master, Raith ordered her to leave the doors to the Observatory open, knowing the Heavens would draw the girl inside, no one could resist a jaunt amongst the stars.

”Lewis may not get a chance to cut your leg off, not if Lord Raith decides to eat you first,” the God rumbled darkly, stepping out from behind the door into the middle of the ‘room’. Raith drew in a deep breath and snorted, the girl stank of sex and most importantly, of Lewis. Did that mean the boy had heeded his Lord’s words and kicked that revolting child out of his life? Whether this one was a better option remained to be seen, but so far she at least spoke better, which was literal music to his ears. 

Stepping forward, Raith used the vibrations of his home to locate the girl, his hand shooting out to grasp her chin with a hand, his fingers firm against her cheek. ”You do not belong here. I do not believe we have been introduced, in fact I know we haven’t. Which is, in fact, something of an issue that Lewis will answer for when he returns,” he raised an eyebrow as he felt the rage in the girl, smiling wickedly. He could devour her wrath here and now, steal it from her and leave her an empty shell… but then he couldn’t frighten her half to death in front of Lewis… ”There’s more to you than meets the eye girl, and I should know since neither of mine work. Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he whispered darkly, leaning forward to speak into her ear, latching onto the rage he felt within her.

The voice. THE VOICE. The shock caused her to fall on her face in the most ungraceful way. She rolled to turned and her gray eyes were in shock. She was more like a scared rabbit. It didn’t take long at all for her to realize who it was talking. Quick to be on her feet she curtsied lightly, “I’m so sorry! Lewis told me not to leave the tower but he didn’t…” Her voice was so quiet and meek, “didn’t mention anything else…”

She was shy as she tried to come up with an excuse as to why Lewis hadn’t introduced her but for the life of her, she couldn’t. She shook her head, “I am truly sorry Lord Raith. It is probably because he sees me not as a person but as his latest conquest, not that I know of what he’ll do with me. He appears to still be deciding. I fear my demands even if I had asked him to introduce me would have fallen on deaf ears,” she was polite as she bowed and slightly shaken. However, she appeared to be holding her.

The raging tempest inside of her was calling out to him. It only took a few moments for her posture to change as he spoke. The way she held herself was filled with dignity and a lot more grace than the younger one from before. “You truly are as wise as the words sung by the heavens Lord Raith. Your power emitting is a terrifying beauty to behold,” even her voice sounded more mature and elegant. Even her fear and shock had been dismissed.

“I’m afraid since my last outing that I’ve spooked Lewis quite a bit or rather my biggest sins have. He shouldn’t have delved into my mind. The other god Angela? I think her name was. She helped him do it. Quite a talented woman but even I can tell she is nowhere near as talented as you are my lord,” she bowed once more. “For Lewis’s inability to be honorable and prompt please allow me to introduce myself. I am Simone Auclair, the first princess of the fallen Auclair empire of millennium's past. I am afraid that my condition, if one so chooses to call it that, puts me in a bad spot but rest assure I would have gotten my way and introduced myself even if he had to cut off my limbs. I hate poor manners and dear Lewis has much to learn in that regard.”

She motioned to the room, “This is gorgeous. Never in a thousand years of my life have I ever seen such a thing and I have bared witness to many things. It suits such a graceful and powerful god like yourself.”

Oh goodie… a frightened lamb.

Sighing heavily, Raith couldn’t quite decide if he found her spluttering as annoying as Akita’s broken, childlike speech, or more annoying. Either way it was irksome. As if he needed more reason to be irritated at her presence in his halls. 

”Lewis knows better,” Raith spat at the girl, ”I am the God of Wrath and the Heavens! Regardless of how he sees you, it is my opinion that matters in this domain,” he continued angrily. ”However, I shall deal with Lewis’ drop in manners when he returns from my errand, clearly he needs a good clout around the ears to remember his damned place in this realm.” 

As Raith gripped the torrent of rage in the girl he smiled, feeling it reach back at him. Suddenly the girl’s poise shifted, and Raith removed his hand from her face. ”Something it would appear my apprentice has forgotten, though he will relearn who his Master is,” Raith snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. 
Oooooof course… Angela had been involved in this mighty mess had she? Well he would have to have a word with that infernal nuisance of a Goddess at a later date. ”On that we are agreed, clearly he requires lessons with Syn to remind him of the proper etiquette I expect within my domain.” 

His blind gaze ‘followed’ the girl as she moved slightly within the room. ”People seem to forget the majesty of who I am, seeing only the anger I was born with. My fiancée and daughter are not so blind, and anyone honoured enough to venture here see a little more of my grace, as you stated. Tell me Simone, why has my apprentice brought you to my domain? I can feel your curse, it’s hard to ignore the bloody thing, but what links you to that idiot boy of mine?”

Simone could only nod to him she could see she was only angering him more. She choked down how scared she was but still she couldn’t quite get it to stop. She was only human and she had no experience in meeting such a scary man, she still respected him though. “Yes my lord, I’m sorry for my incompetence. I did not mean to offend.” It was all she could get out before he called the tempest.

“Youth often makes people dumb no matter their background. They lack proper insight, how to react, and furthermore how to think on their feet. Lewis may be gifted where the arts of death are concerned but he is still in that pit of youth. Even for his age, I would barely consider him an adult. Should I have more active control I would say to let me prove myself to my liege and straighten him out myself, however, I can see how that could be seen as insulting. Your people, skills, and everything about this place and you rank high above a lowly person like myself. I’m just merely stardust in comparison.”

Simone thought quietly on his words, “People often forget a lot of things they shouldn’t in my experience. They become blind to their own mundane shortcomings that they fail to grow themselves into useful people. They forget how short life is when you are mortal. They take things for granted when they shouldn’t and aren’t thankful when they should be. They cower at any sort of power and think just being afraid will save them.” She waved her hand at the thought as she moved away from the very much sore subject.

“Younger Simone has met Princess Dala. She came into our room and surprised my younger self. She seems to have taken a liking to her. She is a very sweet girl and you are very lucky to have her and her you.” She raised her hands as if reaching for the stars as she thought about how to answer his question. There was no point in lying but she had never actually answered it before.

“To kill me once and for all. To end my damnation on this walking hellhole. I’m exhausted and I want to finally rest but I have things I must make sure are done before I enter hell.” He knew about her curse and that was sort of relaxing but still, she kept on her feet about the situation. “Lewis was hired to kill my younger self. Color him surprised when I did not die and only revived younger than I was before. So he killed me again and the same thing happened. So he swept me up and brought me back here. I imagine its to sate his taste for success. Me being alive still just means his pride was hurt.”

She lowered her hand and clasped them in front of her. “I want him to find the man who did this to me and I want that man to die painfully. Once he is dead and I am dead, I won’t stop until I find whatever circle of hell he is in and torture him with a hot iron poker. Just like I did with his wife. Just like how I tossed his people through hellfire.” There was a dark glee in her eyes. “I shouldn’t be happy I lost control the way I did. Being at the bottom of a lake for three hundred years because he was angry I did it. Dying every time air couldn’t reach me. It does something to a person. You didn’t ask me for my life story though and I will not insult you with such mundane tales of death and decay.”

She sighed lightly, “There are worse things in this life than death. Watching everything you love get taken from you piece by piece. Hearing their screams. I thought, once, that I could withstand anything because I am a survivor. Lord Raith, I learned that lesson the hard way I do promise you that. I came to your house as a mere passerby. A nobody lost in the darkness. I will not find my way home nor will the light find me. I have only one destination. The end.”

Taking a bit she cooled herself down from her rant of anger. She had every right to be angry with her situation. “I do hope that you allow me to stay until the time for my demise comes. The girl won’t cause any problems but Lewis should probably leave her with more things to do. Useful as I may be with all the lifetimes of skills I have acquired she has none to offer you. For that I am sorry,” she bowed to him once more. “A god of your stature deserves to have only the best and those willing to strive to become the best.”

Raith snorted. "Youth is not an excuse for ignorance, but no matter, it won't happen again." People only made mistakes in Raith's circle once, he didn't take kindly to people fucking up, in the same way, more than once. "Syn will handle it, other than my Champion, her word is law in my Halls. Her's and Alaria's," he added with a small, warm, smile at the thought of his beloved. "I can trust my assistant to bring him to heel." And then he would not have to have that conversation again… ever. 

He raised an eyebrow at the mention of his daughter. "Dala has a way of making anyone like her, it's a talent that should come in useful given her ambitions," he snorted. "She is the polar opposite of everything I am, but she is very much like my Alairia… well… maybe she has a little of my murderous streak," he admitted with a grin. It was clear, from how fondly he spoke of the girl, how much Dala meant to the man. 

"Interesting. A goal I myself once held, until I found a higher purpose with my Ria which led me to this fate, which clearly was my true destiny," he said smugly. "An assassin unable to kill his mark? I can imagine that has stung my apprentice somewhat; no wonder he's forgotten his damned manners, his head must be in quite the spin," and it will only suffer further upset once he returns from my task… I shall see to that. "I can understand how frustrating it must be for you, to want release only to be denied it must be beyond infuriating." 

This girl was interesting, and oddly not far from his own wavelength in terms of her bloodlust. "Death and decay are all part and parcel of existence. I am no stranger to the call of bloodlust, I have killed for gain, for vengeance, or purely because I bloody felt like it. Now I see why it was so easy to draw you forth, you have centuries of wrath to latch onto. If I wasn't so inclined to allow my apprentice his chance at finishing you off, as he is meant to, I would feed off that rage and fuel my own. Who knows, maybe that's your next best option if you cannot die - let me devour that wrath of yours and leave you an empty shell instead." The words were genuine enough, what he said he meant. Alairia had never been under any delusions where her lover was concerned - Raith did not have one foot in the darkness, he was consumed by it. His connection to the world was limited only to what he could take for himself, what he felt he was owed, the people who crossed his path generally were not worth more than a passing thought and he had no qualms about ending their existence. Simone would have been no different. 

"Then in that regard, you and I are not so different," Raith growled. The 'incident' with Xyaban still held its own scars, and while he no longer went to sleep with the sound of Ria's screams, they were always there in the back of his mind, a newer source for the anger he had carried from birth. "So long as you abide by my rules and show me the reverence I deserve you may remain until Lewis has figured out how to kill you, or you have found the man who cursed you and you end it yourself. Whatever comes first. If she gets in my way or bothers me, she is likely to fall foul of my temper and my blade. But she can remain until you are freed of your nightmare, if only so Lewis has a reminder that he must complete his tasks no matter how difficult they may be." Raith stopped and smiled. "Shall we play a little trick on my apprentice upon his return? Given you're not meant to have left his rooms, shall we let him panic a little when he finds you gone?" 

“Indeed,” Simone smiled at the thought of Dala, “she reminds me of my Cecelia. Such a brash small little thing and she always told people how it was. Heavens help them if they were rude in her presence. I am just sad that I never got to watch her grow up and even sadder to know her fate. She wasn’t that old when the fey lord took everything from me,” Simone sounded sad for the first time since the conversation began as she moved her hands to where her womb had been. “The fucked up thing is,” it was odd hearing such language from her, “when he was done taking all those people from me… He took my ability to have children too. Said I could have it back when I gave in to his demands. I promised myself even when he was sinking me to the bottom of the lake that I would never give in. If I had to relive my life ten thousand times I would do it out of spite.”

Her eyes looked up at Raith now as she contemplated it. She didn’t cry anymore she was incapable of it. “They didn’t even know why it was happening to them. They didn’t know who I was. The baby did but he was only a few months old. He knew his mother well.” She bunched her hands and felt the rage again. “I’ll make him pay three hundredfold more than just killing his beloved kingdom and wife. I have nothing now. All I have is time and he can’t take that from me without screwing himself over.”

She found herself unable not to be pissed and rant while talking to Raith. Simone wondered if perhaps he had known that he was influencing her to be so forthcoming or maybe it was because for the first time someone understood her. She listened for a bit more before she let out a light scoff but it wasn’t directed towards Raith, “It makes me so upset. He comes once every fifty years turns my life upside down, half the time I don’t even know who the hell he is, he takes everything from me if he catches me with it, and for the first time he doesn’t even realize I’m out of the watery cage he put me in. I hold an advantage over him for the first time ever, it's powerful but it’s also infuriating because I don’t have my next move planned out. When he sank me in the water and when I realized that he was absolutely serious to keep me there until I broke… I separated my sanity from the reach of my emotions and I built a wall so tall it could touch the stars. The only reason I’m even coherent is that I think quick on my feet.”

Simone offered a genuine smile and shook her head with a laugh, “That would just be running away and I do have my principles to keep. Tired as I may be I promised that bastard that I would never give in and for that to happen I need to be able to spit on him. I do appreciate the thought though Lord Raith but I am not the type of woman who gives up on a fight winning or losing. My strength does not come in the form of muscles, magic, nor armies I am afraid.”

Once more she bowed as she learned that she could stay, “I thank you your greatness for a home until I am no more. Kill her if need be. She is sturdy and will come back. I believe that Lewis has a crystal to restore memories for her but only ones he’s witnessed, that should keep things sane on the side of the introduction of things.” Then the lord thought of something dreadfully wicked and Simone grinned.

“Oh, I would like that very much. Given the state of things with him and my younger self, it should get him moving quite quickly. It will take much more than being a savior and a daydream to earn my affection unlike her I’ve seen and been through it all… Shall I suggest leaving the door open My Lord? It might spook him into knowing who took me.”

Out for just a bit.

It rang in his mind over and over. Lewis said those words almost every time he left, but did he mean it? Was that something that humans just did? Make up lies on the spot? How was it that she, of all things, she was the thing that brought these stupid little…human parts out of him. It made no sense, and it was almost infuriating. But…it would be over soon. At least, he hoped it would.

The climb up to his tower was no more eventful than normal, but there was something in his gut that told him otherwise. That innate feeling that something was wrong…was that something that was a ‘gift’ from Simone as well? Can we just…not have these feelings?

Oh right. Intuition. That was what it was called.

He got up to the doors, and stopped.

The door.

He paused, his hand inches away from it.

The door.

That feeling he had when he was ascending the tower.

The. Fucking. Door.

“Fuck.” Lewis already knew the answer, but he threw the door open anyway, and darted between the rooms of the tower. “Fuck…” It was an inelegant word. It had no use passing Lewis’ lips. And yet, for some reason, it fit the situation perfectly. Another one of those weird quirks that ‘normal’ humans had.

Cursing, he ran back down the stairs. Where could she have gone? What could she have been doing? Who could she have met? Out of the list of people, he wondered.

It’s Lord Raith. There was no question. That was what the ‘feeling’ was telling him. That it was Lord Raith. A number of scenarios ran around his head. The worst outcome? She was dead.

Well, as dead as she could be. But what about that magic? Lady Angela said it was okay and wouldn’t hurt anyone unless they tried to break the curse, and Lord Raith would certainly not try to. Would he? No…that would make little sense.

“Damn it all…” He had put it off for far too long. He should have done this sooner. But now…now there was a huge issue. Lord Raith would easily toss her from the tower and not even blink.

Does…Does Lord Raith blink? He topped midway down the tower. What an absurd thing to think amid this…panic? Panic seemed like the appropriate word. But why was he panicking? Lewis didn’t panic.

Still…where did he even begin to search?

“Lord Raith?” Lewis called out. “M-may I inquire as to if you are…available?”

Raith kept quiet as the girl spoke of her daughter, something flaring in his heart as he imagined such an atrocity happening to his own child. Dala had swiftly become his world, he would tear Revaliir in two in order to avenge her. ”Give me his name, my Coven will search this world to find him, as will the Assassins who swear allegiance to me. I am the God of Wrath, and vengeance is mine to seek, you have found yourself in my Halls, I shall answer your prayer and I shall find the one who took everything from you as part of my domain. And I shall feed off the excess Wrath as you tear him to shreds,” Raith smiled, his tone dark and foreboding.

Oh blood soaked vengeance was the sweetest of flavours. He could only imagine the sheer fear the man’s family suffered as this slight, slip of a thing lost her mind to the darkness and succumbed to her rage. It had been so long since he had tasted that sweet nectar himself, killing Sirona’s Anointed did not quite hold the same blessed euphoria as exacting a long standing grudge did. They had merely been in his way. Now, had he killed Sirona… that would have been a different matter entirely.

”I respect your principles, the offer remains, should you grow tired of reincarnation,” he chuckled. ”Good, I do not intend on introducing myself to her more than once, or she will spend every waking minute in my presence finding new ways to die,” he snorted, he really wasn’t the most patient man, not when it came to his reputation anyway. He grinned and nodded, leaving open the Observatory doors (unheard of, lest you wish to attract your prey of course), and summoning two glistening, black marble chairs with a flick of his wrist. ”What would you like to drink while we wait? It would appear he’s returned home, so it won’t be long before the panic sets in.”

Raith settled into one of the chairs, Silence shifting from his Master’s shoulder to the back of the chair, eyes on the open doors. He smiled as he heard Lewis call his name tentatively, ”No, I am not available, I am unfortunately occupied. I believe that you have misplaced something, have you not?” He asked sarcastically, smiling as he imagined the boy whimpering at the thought of facing his irritated Master. 

There was gratitude in her eyes when Raith offered to help her. He wanted nothing more than to destroy him just like she did. “Fey don’t believe in giving their real name but the name he gave us was Caellach Sealbhach. I have my suspicions that it was a fake name but you may be able to figure out what he is going by now. He’ll make a fuss when he realizes I’m not in the lake anymore. He thinks of me like property and he’ll do anything to get me back but he won’t fight a god. He’ll wait. He’s only made one mistake and that was inviting my father and me to his city when I was younger. It’s how I knew where he lived.”

Simone bowed her head to him in obedience. What the girl did and how she got killed had no bearings on her, not anymore. There was a moment of thought and Simone took a seat, “If we could have some chamomile tea with honey that would be splendid. It was my favorite and it has been a very long time since I’ve had it… I think the last time I had it was with my father in his study before this mess started.” Stupid mundane pleasures but she would give herself what she could. “If it is up to your tastes of course.”

Once she had her drink she was blowing on it and sipping it lightly. “If I may~” Simone was whimsical in the way she toyed but she did get dreadfully bored being locked away with just her own thoughts. She opened her mouth and a much younger voice came out. The same as the Simone that Lewis knew well. “Lewis!” After she was done she took a sip of it.

“That shrieking is god awful. I don’t know how people do it. If people didn’t scream half the time most of their problems wouldn’t happen to begin with. That was one of the first things they taught us was not to fight back if we were taken. Do as we were told and wait. Only if we were able to properly fight back should we. No one is going to hear you scream if someone has you so you shouldn’t waste your energy on it but she doesn’t remember that lesson as I do~”

She tucked her legs like a proper would and held herself with much grace as she sipped on her tea. “I will say that this has been pleasant. It’s been a truly long time since I was able to have my own voice.”