A year went by without too much stress. The hardest part had been getting used to being away from each other willingly. The first few times had been hard but it took adjusting. Now there was something to celebrate. In a few days, it would be a year since Lewis and she were wedded. They were planning a small vacation to head back to Jayou to visit old friends.

“I’m going out today,” Simone wrapped herself around Lewis. He was staring at her and tilted his head. “It’s a surprise… Don’t look at me like that.”

“Where?”

“Adeluna.”

He let out some grumbles and sighed, “Fine. I’ll be gone most of today anyways.” They kissed and she let him go.

“I’m taking Dala if that makes you feel better,” Simone cupped his face a bit. He just shrugged it off but she smirked knowing he felt a little better about it all. After kissing Lewis bye for the day and seeing him off she found herself wandering out of their quarters to the little princess’s.

She could hear Dala existing inside and gave a few hard knocks on the door. Simone looked like a nobleman’s wife. Her long black hair was in long loose curls and half swept up. Her dress was made of satin and was layered heavily with dark blue and black damask fabric. The front of the dress was brought together with a second looser corset design. Her makeup was done which was something that Simone certainly didn’t need but it would be out of the ordinary for where they were going if she didn’t.

Fine jewelry was fitted on her too and the way she held herself was a bit better than normal, not that it was a problem. Thanks, corset, gods she was finding she did in fact hate them. She really did look spoiled. Once Dala opened the door Simone gave her a mischievous look. “Do you want to do something with me today? I need to go into the noble district of Adeluna to pick up Lewis’s anniversary presents. I was hoping that I could have a cute little partner in crime.”

The room was massive with a living room that connected to a bedroom and a bathroom. It was large enough to be a small house and had more space than the child knew what to do with. A chandelier sparkled above while the girl sat at her desk with a quill in her hand. Stacks of parchment paper covered her desk, each covered with writing. The words were in beautiful cursive with very few mistakes. Some of the stacks were her plans for the future, some were lessons, and some were for practicing her handwriting. When her parents and friends were busy, she stayed in her room, writing endlessly. Today she was focusing on writing in common, translating it into Boharian, then translating it back into commons. A fast way for her to learn the language and understand how language worked, she did it for every language that needed to be learned. Keeping focus was a challenge since sitting in one spot for long periods of time felt draining. But each time she looked away from her work, she'd give herself another sentence to write.

Dala's eyes were growing weary, getting tired of staring at one page for so long. Her wrist was tired but she kept writing, determined to finish this last paragraph. Suddenly there was a knocking on her door and she jumped from her chair, rushing to the door. The only people who had a reason to say hello was her parents or Simone or a servant telling her it was time to eat. But really, any excuse to get a break from work would be enough. She opened the door to see Simone with a mischievous look.

"Yes!" Dala exclaimed excited to head into town, "Lemme get my boots on."

She rushed over to the corner of the room where she'd tossed her boots and quickly got them on then ran back to Simone. Going into town with her friend sounded much better than having to deal with work. The child's hair was relatively messy and her outfit was just a plain tunic with trousers. The outfit was great for adventuring but not fancy in any way. Dala closed the door to her room and locked it before turning back to Simone.

"Ready for adventure!" Dala declared with her hands on her hips.

She was posing like she was some great hero, even though this was just a shopping trip.

Simone chuckled at her young friend. “I get to show you what Lewis and I did first,” she whispered to Dala. “You need to see what Lewis bought me.” She was so excited.

She held out her hand to Dala and took them back to where the gate to the house was. “Okay, I need you to close your eyes and just trust me.” She waited and carefully led Dala out the door. Through the door, she took her outside and got a bit away from the castle they now called home.

“Okay, open your eyes.” Lewis bought her a castle well technically, “He bought this entire island for me!” She showed Dala. “There’s lots of adventuring to be had so you can come here whenever you want! I even made up one of the bedrooms for you. The castle has about one hundred bedrooms and thirty-eight other rooms. We're the only ones on the entire island!”

“Well for us, he bought it for us, not just for me…” She smiled. “We plan on adopting a lot of children because well,” she put her hands on her womb for a moment had a sad smile. “Lady Angela said I couldn’t have children but… Lewis found a way for us to still have children.” She seemed a bit happier.

“Want to see the inside of the castle? After that, I need to dress you up to take you into the noble district of Adeluna! That was my other surprise.”

The child took Simone's hands where they were taken to where the gate to the house was. She nodded her head and closed her eyes, putting her entire trust on Simone. The child was led through the door and into the outside. When she opened her eyes, her jaw dropped. The castle was beautiful, far better than anything Dala had ever seen before! Then there was the fact the entire island was bought for them. It was strange, since the child had seen the temple and lived in a room of grandeur but that was owned by a god. Of course it was grande. But they had enough money to OWN AN ISLAND? Her father must have been paying Lewis a LOT of money if they could afford something like this.

"This is…..AMAZING!" Dala yelled, "It looks like a beautiful castle from one of my books. This is so cool!!"

Then Simone mentioned the fact they were planning to adopt which made the child smile. There were hundreds of children out there, abandoned or forgotten about. So many who'd been forgotten and left for dead or stuck in an orphanage that never treat them right. Some kids didn't even have local orphanages to live in. The fact that Simone was going to adopt, it made Dala hopeful for those still trapped in the system.

"Good. There's many kids who need adoption." She said, "Bringing them here….it would change their lives for the better. And if you adopt, make sure to show the child that you really care. Its easy for us to feel like we're being abandoned again."

Dala herself would adopt every kid she ever met if she had the money and was an adult. Unfortunately they didn't allow kids to adopt other kids. Adoption was a personal subject to Dala, as she knew the ins and outs of adoption and how it worked in reality. It wasn't as nice or simple as the stories showed.

"Heck yeah I wanna be a pretty noble and see all the epicness of the castle!" Dala exclaimed.

Simone was happy to see Dala’s reaction and chuckled a bit. “Believe it or not Lewis has so much silver he doesn’t know what to do with it. Bounties are high and a good living if you are good at it as are assassination targets.” She remembered her own. “My last husband offered Lewis twenty-five thousand silver upfront to kill me.” She didn’t know if she had told Dala that’s how she and Lewis had met.

“We have a friend who barters with just about everything. He got the island at a really good price and in turn, we were able to get it.” There was a nod from Simone as she smiled, “I want children Dala. I will love them unconditionally. I was in a real bad funk for a while after the news from Angela. Lewis wanted to make a change in the world that was good. It worked for both of us.”

She showed Dala the entire castle except for the bedrooms since they were all the same. They came across a tall muscular elvish looking woman who was working on their great family room. She was tearing the fireplace out by way of a giant sledgehammer. There was dark marble she was working to replace it.

“This is Kalina, she is Lady Angela’s daughter and the partner of our friend we told you about.” Kalina acknowledged them with a look. “She is a craftsman but she specializes in blacksmithing. This is going to be our family room! Where we can all sit together and relax after Lewis comes home. We can read books here in front of the fire and everything.” She had such big hopes.

“The grounds have six grounds that I’ve located. I’m working on getting them restored slowly. I’m going to make one a tea garden.” Then she took her up the grand foyer staircase. “Our room is this way.” She got to two giant ornate doors that sat at the very end of the east wing. Simone stopped to a door just before their room.

“Dala, I showed Lewis this already so it's not a secret anymore…” She smiled and opened the door to a nursery. It was done like a nightscape. All of the stuffed animals that Lewis had won her were in there all around for decorations. There was a crib of fine craftsmanship. Sparkling crystals hung from the ceiling and when the light hit them they lit up like starlight. “For when we adopt our first baby. We’re still looking though. Soon though! I worked hard on this for a surprise.”

After she took a breath in the room she had an exciting air to her. "Someday we'll find a baby I'm sure. Even if we don't get one right away. That's fine with me." She beckoned Dala to follow and went to the two big ornate doors. "This is our room." She opened it and Dala would be met with dark stone floors and midnight blue walls with silver molding. It was noble looking but in a different way. There was a large canopy bed with dark blue silk around it tied back with black ribbons. It certainly looked like somewhere Lewis would live. There was a large vanity, black stone fireplace, a blue couch in front of the fireplace, and other pieces of furniture. Dala's cactus was on a stand by one of the large picture windows.

Through the windows was a great view of Fulani's mainland and the lake. "Isn't it beautiful?" Though once Dala took everything in she brought the girl over to her armoire and opened it. Inside was a purple noblewoman's dress and shoes that would fit Dala. "I had this made for you~"

Lewis wanted to make a change in the world? She always had the impression that Lewis wanted nothing to do with anybody. Perhaps that was the version that Simone saw, like how her mom and herself saw Raith in a different way. The child followed Simone into the great family room and spotted the muscular elvish woman taking down the fireplace with a giant sledgehammer. Simone quickly introduced Kalina as Lady Angela's daughter and partner of that friend whom got them the island in the first place. Dala made a graceful curtsy, something that she'd been working on with Simone.

"I'm gonna get muscles like her some day." Dala declared confidently.

They moved on to the nursery that was filled to the brim with stuffed animals. The crystals dangling from the ceiling caught her attention first. Each piece dazzled and sparkled, reflecting the light coming through the windows. There were a hundred stuffed animals in the room and a warm crib. Dala knew that the baby they adopted would be comfortable here. They would experience a comfortable life surrounded by love. Simone appeared to have an excited anticipation for the child.

The next room had dark stone floors and deep blue walls, reminding her of the midnight sky. She smiled to herself when she saw the little cactus standing strong on one of the large windows. She rushed over to one of the windows and opened it, letting in some fresh air. The island breeze brushed against her face as she admired the view. Then Simone called her over and showed her a purple noblewoman's dress. Dala's face lit up with joy.

"Really?!" Dala exclaimed, "I getta have this?!"

“Yup!” Simone put her hands on her hips. “Now, I’m going to make you fancy.” She pulled over the stool from the vanity. “Change behind the panel and come back over so I can lace it up the back.” Once Dala had gotten into the dress Simone admired the length. “So I was right with how tall you are. I haven’t lost my touch. The last time I did things by sight…” She hesitated for a moment. “I was getting measurements for my daughter Cecelia. It was her birthday dress.” She gave a sad smile.

“Let me do your hair.” She took no time at all showing Dala how to get ringlets in her hair and pulling it half up like her hair. “This is important Dala. When we go into the noble district I want you to pretend I’m your aunt. It might be weird if they think I’m with a stranger’s child.”

She paired it up with some nice jewelry, “These are all yours to keep okay? Keep it for your princess appearances. It looks wonderful on you.” She pulled Dala over to a gorgeous full-length mirror. “What do you think? I remember my nannies doing me up like this for trips into town all the time. Cecelia hated it though,” Simone chuckled. “She liked mud over dresses. She scared me a lot. Real warrior princess if you’ve ever met one. Just like you Dala.”

It was a good memory. She tried not to think about the end of everything and losing her. “Have you ever used a gate before? I have been working on it and not telling Lewis I can do it.”

Dala struggled for a moment since she wasn't used to dresses. The only other dress she had was a fancy pink gown meant for special occasions. As for accessories, she had a special flower crown Alairia had given her that she treasured above all else. Most of her regular clothes consisted of tunics and trousers. Once dressed, she stepped out from behind the panel and rushed over to Simone so she could lace the back. Simone began mentioning Cecelia and Dala could hear the nostalgic sadness in her voice. She moved on before the child could ask more, focusing on her hair instead.

"Makes sense." Dala said, "Aunty Simone it is!"

The jewelry consisted of a pearl necklace with a little amulet attached and a pearl bracelet, all which matched the outfit perfectly. She was guided over to the mirror where she saw her reflection. The child reached out to touch the reflection and smiled softly. It was at these times that she remembered how lucky she was. Dala had her mother and father, who loved her more than anything. She had Simone, a dear friend to her and mentor. She had all her friends, teachers, and pets. Everything that a person could want and everything she once lacked. Simone then began to talk about Cecelia and how she got mud over her dresses.

"I'm afraid I won't be any better about the mud." Dala admitted with a smirk, "It's not my fault! I just don't see mud spots sometimes."

The child wished she could meet Cecilia, but the girl was dead and gone. Even if Simone hadn't already mentioned it, Dala would be able to guess by the tone of her voice. But she wouldn't say a word about it. That was an old wound that didn't need to be ripped open again. Simone changed the subject to gates, something Dala had seen before but knew little about.

"Gate travel, I've gone into one a couple of times. Never had the magic to make one myself." Dala said bitterly, "My magic specializes in light and its proved to be useless."

She'd been told her light magic was powerful but even with training, reading, and trying to figure out how to activate it, she could barely get more than a flicker of light from her palm. Besides, she wanted COOL magic, like fire or storms. Light magic seemed utterly useless to the child.

“I’m beginning to think all rebellious souls love mud,” she chuckled a bit as she stared at Dala in the mirror. She was certainly cute. Though Simone found her cute no matter what she was wearing.

Simone held out her hand and a dark flame appeared, “My magic is the fire of life though Lady Angela made me closer to death.” She made it disappear and smiled, “Even light magic can be useful I am sure. You’ll have to find something to make it unique like you.” She thought about it and smiled more, “I actually don’t specialize in offensive magic. If I sing I can imbue Lewis with defensive and offensive spells but I’m actually quite weak myself. Sometimes you just have to find out what you are good at and sometimes it takes a while. I used to just touch Lewis to activate the magic until I found out I could do it through song. That took a long time to figure out because no one was there to guide me.”

She patted Dala on the head. “Alright, I think we are ready.” Simone thought about it, “As soon as Kalina is done with the rooms~ You can have any one you want so you can visit and explore the island. Raile told us that there is a pirate ship crashed in the cove but you have to be careful. You are welcome here anytime you want even if we’re not here.”

Simone let loose a soft song as a gate of black fire appeared. It was small enough for her and Dala to go through. “This will get us to the alleyway,” she winked at Dala and scooted her through. Grabbing a basket that had a loose blanket in it she handed it to Dala. “For hiding my surprise.”

Once they got into the alleyway she made sure no one saw them as she closed the gate. They were in the noble district and the chatter was oddly loud. Taking Dala’s hand she motioned to follow her, “Don’t mind them too much but we must be on our best behavior. Nobles tend to be a bit vindictive,” she warned.

The streets were a bit crowded and when other nobles stopped for Simone and Dala to cross Simone made sure to curtsy. “Alright, this is it.” The sign was done in a fancy font as thick black smoke raised from a wide chimney in the upper district. It read “Jameson’s Smithy” and Simone opened the door for Dala to go in.

“Ah, Mrs. Terrowin. Here for your order?” It was an older man possibly in his forties. He was wiping his hands off with a cloth.

“Yes, please. I’m so excited to see them,” Simone looked down and smiled at Dala. “This is my niece Dala.”

“AHH! Miss Dala, it is a pleasure to meet you. It concerned me the last time Mrs. Terrowin came alone. There’s been a lot of kidnappings lately of women who fit your looks. It makes me feel better you at least didn't come alone this time.” It threw Simone off but she waved it off. She wasn’t overly concerned about it since they were here for only a short moment. “Anyways, here they are.”

He brought over two blood-red sheaths with black and gold designs. They were beautifully crafted. Pulling one of the blades out they were curved and the blade was etched with the design of a bird, a phoenix if one were to look closely. Steam was rising from the blade. “I don’t recommend touching the blade. The magic imbued on it will burn anything it touches.”

Simone’s eyes were wide, “Oh, they are beautiful! My husband will love them!”

“Some of my best work. I was a little shocked when you paid the full price upfront for them. What is it your husband does for a living?”

Simone didn’t skip a beat where most would have, “He is a mercenary by trade but also dabbles in trade.” It was sort of right. “He’s away a lot to pay for the lifestyle he wishes for me to have. I have terrible health you see?”

The blacksmith frowned a bit, “That’s awfully unfortunate but I am glad that your husband sounds like a good man. I hope he likes it and tell him if he ever needs them sharpened just to bring them back. It's on the house” Simone nodded and took the sheathed one before gently putting it in the basket.

“Thank you so much. Want to see it Dala?” She held the other sheathed one out to Dala. “Your uncle showed you how to use a dagger, right?” There was a wink since the blacksmith couldn’t see her. She knew that Dala would love to hold the dagger.

"I don't really care about all that magic." Dala claimed, "And I am so gonna check out that pirate ship later."

One didn't mention a pirate ship unless they wanted her to go investigate. But that was for another day. The child's eyes widened when she saw Simone sing, bringing forth the dark fire and creating a travel gate. It was just the right size for the both of them. Dala accepted the basket then rushed through the portal without a hint of hesitation. The other side was in an alleyway near the noble district, a place she'd never had the privilege of visiting. Most days the child looked more like a street rat than a noble. Simone gave the warning about vindictive nobles.

"Got it. I'll be so noble like, they won't even know what hit them!" She declared.

The streets were buzzing with activity as people rushed from stall to stall, buying whatever their wealthy hearts desired. Many curtsies and pleasantries later, they finally made it to the Jameson's Smithy. Dala thanked Simone for opening the door then looked at the room with an evil little grin. There were so many sharp things! She kept down her instinct to swipe them and instead focused on the old man.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She said politely with a deep curtsy.

The girl's attention quickly left the shopkeeper and focused instead on all the blades that decorated the shop. She watched how they sparkled in the day's light and the beautiful gems that decorated the handle. There were swords too, which were just longer daggers. Her face had a big smile as she reached out to touch the weapons but stopped, realizing that the shopkeeper would get mad at her. So she just watched the cool weapons with great interest. Then Simone offered to let her see the daggers. Dala rushed over and jumped up and down, nodding her head repeatedly.

"Gimme gimme." She said with her hands attempting to grab it.