“So…we’re here,” Lewis said as they stepped through the gateway.

Neither Lewis nor Simone had visited the ruins of Auclair since their ‘death’. That tragic instance where they sacrificed it all to save their kids, and in the end…

None of that mattered now as the sun started to rise across the horizon, casting shadows upon the once glorious castle. Lewis had only ever seen the castle in dreams and shared memories with Simone. What used to be a grand opened was nothing more than a pile of dirt and rubble. The pathway leading into the front courtyard was nothing but weeds and half dead grass, the stone paths cracked and scattered. Remnants of great walls were scattered about. If one were to try hard enough, they could almost see the hallways and rooms that they used to be.

“I can’t even begin to imagine what this used to be,” Lewis said. “Dreams have nothing against the true architecture. I wonder…was this bigger than Lord Raith’s keep?”

“Who’s ‘Lord Raith?’” a small voice asked from his side. Lila was tugging at his shirt,asking to be picked up. ‘

“You’re almost getting too old to do this,” the ex-assassin said with a smile and he scooped his daughter up. “Lord Raith used to be a deity. I followed him for a time until I decided to leave with your mother…”

“Why’d you leave?” Lila asked.

“Well…Lord Raith wasn’t very happy with me when I asked Grandma Angela for help. Let’s just say that I got into a lot of trouble for that….”

Simone pulled Janus up into her arms as they walked the flooded area around and in Auclair. “This is where you were born?” Janus was actually paying attention now and wide awake compared to how he normally was.

“It didn’t use to look like this when I was born. It was a lot like Adeluna~ But the castle was made of white stone. The stone is all discolored now,” Simone gave a smile as they listened to Lewis talk to Lila. “It’s true Lila. All that we have now was expedited and Grandma Angela helped us talk to Uncle Raile about a house. We lived in Jayou for a little in a very small townhouse.”

“Small?!” Lila got excited. “How small?”

It made Simone chuckle. “It was probably as big as your playroom combined with both of your rooms.”

“I can’t imagine Mama living in something so dinky…” Lila replied with a face as she looked up at her father. “No wonder you got her a castle~”

“I do know how to be humble~” Simone chuckled.

Mone held a look on her face, “Even though I’ve seen it in dreams… I wonder if what I remember is actually how it was.”

“It’s possible that you aren’t remembering it correctly… You haven’t seen it in pristine condition for a very long time,” Avery said as he walked along side her. Llywellyn was near by as well putting up some wards so they went undisturbed. “We’ll make sure it’s put back exactly the way it was. Magic is unique like that.”

Mone nodded and snuggled into Janus who was quietly observing everything. “There was a flower stand that used to be over there,” she pointed at a swampy portion of the city.

“Oh… Miss Mable’s!” Llywellyn and Avery yelled together.

“She would always tease you before putting a flower crown on your head,” Llywellyn smiled as he recounted the memory.

“Then she would get mad at us boys and tell us we had to protect Auclair’s Jewel.”

“Auclair’s Jewel?” Janus tilted his head and Simone blushed a bit.

“That was your mother’s nickname,” Avery answered. “Everyone loved her in Auclair. At least we thought everyone did…” A grim look was on his face and Simone frowned a bit.

“Everyone in Auclair of now loves your mother though,” Llywellyn spoke up. “She’s irreplaceable to all of us.” That got Simone to smile a bit.

“I could punch you both…”

“Just have Lewis threaten us that always makes you feel better,” Avery answered her.

It was at times like this that Lewis felt like an outsider. Simone, Avery, and Llywellyn were all reminiscing about the old kingdom, and that left Lewis a bit out of the loop. It was hard for him to understand what they were experiencing, and that usually left him with little to no input for most of the conversation.

There was, though, a little bit at the end that gave him a half smile. “I’ll kill you both if you make her sad.” He could feel Simone’s smile at that. It was practically a classic at this point.

“Angela and Xeik should be arriving soon,” Lewis stated as they got closer. “Are you sure this spell will work? How long are we going to have?” Angela was a Goddess, but even she had to have limits.

“Angela said that it should last a total of five days. It was the most she could afford to us to study this place. It might take a bit to master the new magic and to teach it to Janus and Lila as well,” Avery answered. “Her magic formulas are amazing. I’ve never seen such pristine work.”

“Thanks, she’s a workaholic…” Xeik spoke up as the new trio showed up. Raine was there as she looked around. It was her first time seeing Llywellyn and Avery.

“Who’s the girl?” Llywellyn asked.

“A rainbow phoenix,” Xeik answered which got a glare from Raine.

She started to open her mouth but Avery was holding her hand almost in her face, “You are so rare and amazing. Beautiful even!”

Raine was blushing now as she was speechless and finally, she shoved Avery away, “I! I HAVE A BOYFRIEND!”

“That’s nice,” Avery patted her hand. “Can I–”

“Don’t ask the question you were about to… She’ll body you,” Angela appeared and smirked. “She hates that question.”

“My feathers! You monster!” Raine shoved him and put her hands on her hips. “No! BAD MAGE!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Avery ran behind Llywellyn.

“It will take us a little bit to prepare. We have to draw the magic circle and do an incantation. It should take us an hour… Thirty minutes at minimum if Xeik and Raine can keep up with me.”

Xeik smirked at the fact that Avery was after Raine’s feathers. It was always a personal revenge for him whenever a crackpot mage went after the rainbow phoenix, and this was no exception. For what he had to put up with on a regular basis from the woman, this was the best he could ask for.

“All right, let’s get to work then,” the Divine Mender said as he rolled up his sleeves. “Thirty minutes. I can keep up no problem. Right Raine!? I bet I can do it even faster…” He gave a look to Angela, “But someone might slow us down…” He was being a smart ass, but that was how Angela had taught him, and he ended up one of the best healers in the world for it.

Lewis sighed, “Just don’t blow anything up please.”

“Like you have room to talk. You and your pranks almost got a few people killed,” Xeik snapped back with a glare.

“Not my fault that ‘the best healer in the world’ wasn’t paying enough attention to what he was giving out.” Lewis knew how to hit a button.

“Do you want Auclair or not? Cause I can just-”

“Get to work,” Lewis replied, clapping his hands together with a smirk. “Chop chop….”

Raine got a look on her face, “Xeik~ My precious protector.” She hugged him and suddenly left him and made a face. “Let’s see you keep up now~” Xeik was frozen like a statue as he yelled at Raine to reverse what she did.

“RAINE!”

“RAINE!”

“I can’t say I feel bad for you…” Simone said as she laughed. The delay was worth what happened to Xeik.

And so the magic circle took two and a half hours to complete because Raine taught Xeik a valuable lesson.

“Well, it was well worth the wait~” Simone smiled as she had both children in her lap now reading them a book. The men were sitting around her listening to her calming voice. It passed the time well and Simone’s voice calmed nearly everyone down.

“Okay, let’s activate this…” Angela took her place in the circle as Avery, Raine, and Xeik took theirs. Luckily, with Angela here they only needed the four of them. The incantation started and it was almost mesmerizing watching all of them chant at once. The twins were intrigued with it as they sat on the edge of their mother’s lap.

The magic activated and Auclair came back to life. The trees, the buildings, the smells… There were no people but it was just like it was days before the assault. Simone stood up putting the children down. She wandered into the town square and looked around. The fountain was roaring to life and she looked down at all of the coins in the basin.

Her eyes were tearing up. She couldn’t have remembered all the details. The little church on the corner with the beautiful stained glass… The little merchant stalls in the corner. The bakery that always gave them sweets for nothing as long as Simone was happy. She hadn’t been able to recall these vivid things about Auclair but now she could barely contain herself as she lost her balance and sat down on the edge of the fountain.

“It’s almost too much for me… I can’t believe I forgot so much about this place…”

As the four started their chant, magic crackled to life around them. The scale and magnitude of this spell was unlike anything that Lewis had ever seen, even in his time as an assassin. He was impressed not only by the raw magical power, but the fact that Xeik was a part of something so mystical.

The spell worked, reconstructing the long lost Auclair, and as the magic and chanting faded, the sounds of the fountain were all that remained. It was eerie that, despite all the warmth on display, how cold and eerie it all felt. THis may have been Auclair in physical form, but it was merely the resurrected corpse of the long dead kingdom. The soul was nowhere to be found.

Still, even the shell of Auclair was enough to bring Simone to tears, and Lewis could feel that. Despite the lifelessness of the place,it was still a beauty to behold, and one that held many secrets still yet to be discovered.

Xeik took a few deep breaths as he stepped outside the magical circle. “If you need me, I’ll be in the library researching. Who knows what may have been lost.” He pulled out a notebook and a map, and without much else to say, disappeared into the castle.

Lewis wandered around the courtyard for a moment, breaking off from Simone for the time. Lila was still in his arms, and she seemed almost confused at Lewis’ actions.

“Daddy, why aren’t you with Momma?” she asked. “She looked sad.”

“That’s…hard to explain,” he replied. “This was her home. We’re always connected, but even sometimes she needs to experience these things alone to figure out how she feels. If she needs me, she knows I’m always here.” He paused. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. And if she isn’t, she has Janus by her side. Right?”

“Right,” Lila responded. “If you’re not careful, though, he might steal her away.”

That brought a smile to Lewis’ face. “You know that’s not how that works…’

Janus had followed his mother and snuggled up to her. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“I know baby,” she kissed his forehead. “It’s been a very long time since I saw home.”

“Home… is where your heart is,” Janus repeated what he had heard his mother and grandmother say.

“That’s right and a piece of my heart will always be in Auclair.” She helped her son out of her lap and got up. Leading him over to a statue of a woman she smiled a bit.

“That looks just like you mama!” Janus sounded excited.

“That’s my mother. My father had it built as a memorial for her,” Simone explained calmly. “He had loved her as much as daddy loves me.”

“That’s a lot of love…” Janus held onto her hand as they walked around some more.

“That’s the stable that your uncle Llywellyn used to sleep in when he wanted to get away from his lessons.”

“The hay was okay,” Llywellyn found them and stayed near Simone. “Avery had the same look as you… and I’ve just gotten good at hiding it. This place was home to us too but not as much as you.”

“No, it was home to all of us. We all grew up here…” Simone gave a smile and held Janus a bit tighter. “We can venture to the castle.”

“Not yet… There’s something I want to show you.” He took Simone’s hand and he led both of them into the castle gardens. There was an easel set up with a half done painting.

“That’s…” Simone lost her voice. It was a half done painting of Simone, Avery, Llywellyn, and Jerome. “We all look so happy…”

“Aye, this magic is something else… I almost wish we could take it with us. Just get rid of Jerome though.” That made Simone chuckle a bit. “Horse’s ass…” Llywellyn took her over to a swing hanging from a large white oak tree. It was an odd looking tree.

“What’s this tree?” Janus looked at it oddly having never seen one.

“This is called the White Oak. It was the only one of it’s kind. Jurien saved it from disease when the others died. Simone sit,” Llywellyn put her on the swing with Janus in her lap. He started to push her.

“Gods, this reminds me of when we were seven…” Simone laughed with Janus as they got pushed.

“…Reminds me of before all of the others show up. You probably don’t remember but… We played out here even when you were a toddler. Your father would push us on the swing. You would be in my lap. I wasn’t that much older but I can remember it. You always had the widest eyes when you discovered something new. The same look that Lila does.”

“That’s where she gets it from?” Janus was excited to learn new things.

After exploring a bit more Simone and the boys met back up with Lewis. Simone gave him a kiss and smiled. “Do you like Auclair? It used to be so loud in the center…”

“There was always a festival. I swear… Auclair found things to celebrate. The Flower Festival was what they were famous for though. It’s actually how we met Avery for the first time. He was so awkward. This scrawny little kid who hid practically under his mother’s skirt.” Llywellyn explained. “Simone coaxed him out and we went to the flower festival together. He didn’t speak the whole time until Simone got him to eat some pudding. He hasn’t shut up since.”

Lewis had spent his time wandering about the outer gardens. When he was younger, he couldn’t have cared less about the different kinds of flowers and their meanings, yet now he could name almost all of them. Most of that was from Simone’s side of the resonance, but it was interesting that he at least knew how t o appreciate them on an aesthetic level as well. He had come so far, and all because of Simone.

His smile, though, faded.

“Daddy, you don’t look happy now,” Lila said with a similar frump. “What’s wrong with you?”

“All of this used to be Simone’s home. And while I’m happy she’s here now, with me…I can’t help but feel like so much was sacrificed just for her to be here.” Memories of the alternate worlds they had visited in their dreams flooded his mind. Worlds where Simone was happy, and a world that might have been…one where Auclair was never sacrificed. “I’ve done a lot of damage in my life…but nothing to this scale. I can’t comprehend what was lost all so that I could meet her…”

Lila looked at Lewis with a curious glint in her eye. “But it’s not like it’s your fault. You didn’t do this, right?”

“No, but-”

“No buts, Daddy. Momma would scold you for being so negative. All that matters is that she’s here now. Right?”

Lewis smirked. “When did you get so bossy.”

“I’m always bossy,” Lila responded, sticking her tongue out.

When Simone and the rest finally caught up with Lewis, they found themselves at the entrance to the grant castle.

“It’s…really big,” the ex-assassin answered, looking around. “Would have been a pain in the ass to plan any kind of hit here.” It was still one of the first things he always thought about. “But it’s beautiful. Even if it is a little creepy here…” He couldn‘t help but shiver. “So…now for the grand tour of the castle. Lead the way, Lady Simone…”

Simone slapped Lewis lightly upside the head and the twins were giggling because they were also communicating. “I would always choose you. To be you would be the bigger loss even if it meant I lost Auclair in the process. You are my home, completely and without you I wouldn’t have my precious ones.”

His assassination comment got Simone to giggle. “Yeah, they always did struggle to kill me.”

“…Those were the worst,” Llywellyn frowned. “I remember breaking an assassin’s arms and pinning him down just on the edge of Simone’s bed. Scrawny little fucker~”

Simone held out her arms as she shrugged. “The poisoning was the worst…”

“Yeah, it ended up being your personal maid,” Avery answered. “I made her pay for that one.”

“…You did that?” Simone looked shocked and the image of the mangled corpse appeared in her memories.

“Of course, the pain you felt I wanted her to feel it back… So many people do things without thinking about who they hurt. She was supposed to protect you.” Avery admitted to not being as innocent as he tended to come off.

“I am touched… A little bit,” Simone smirked a bit. Letting Janus down she took Lewis’s hand. “I’m going to spend some time with your father. Explore with your Uncle Llywellyn an–”

“UNCLE AVERY! Please call me Uncle Avery… I’ve always wanted a niece and nephew~”

“But you had two siblings…”

“Had. I needed to become king so I could find you. Small price to pay and they were jerks.” Ah… Yeah, his brothers were jerks now that Simone thought about it.

Simone tugged Lewis with her and showed him up to her room. It was colorful and girly. There were stuffed animals and she had a large canopy bed. Soft silk draped over the bed making it look enchanted. Large elegant gold in-laid wood was sculpted to curve and it almost looked too extravagant for a young princess. Soft pinks and purples were through out the room.

“This is how my bedroom actually was. I guess I forgot a lot of details.” She touched the bed and smirked. “My father got me this bed when I turned six. It was lavish and he wanted me to have it so bad. He actually fist fought a noble for it from what I hear.” She sat down on the bed and looked towards the balcony door.

“The balcony locked but it’s easily picked if you know how to do it… At least I always thought it was.”