Lewis was up at the first sign of danger, and without hesitating started getting ready as Simone shelled out orders. All of them were solid plans, and by the time the two made their way down to the main foyer of the house, Lucas had already agreed to take the kids down to the cellar and watch over them. This left Lewis and Simone to deal with the attacking pirates, which…

“I’m not going to hold back,” Lewis stated as he checked the straps on his knives and daggers. “I hope the plants won’t mind the bloodbath.” There was a slight, maniacal grin that came with the last statement. It had been quite some time since he was allowed to ‘cut loose’ and do whatever he pleased. The fact that he was saving people was just a surprise bonus.

“If you fly around and take care of the ship…I can handle the one’s coming for the house.” He looked to Simone with his wicked smile. “Not a single one left alive…right?” He pulled out two daggers, “See you in the morning, love…” With that, he bolted out the door, and disappeared into the night.

—

Lucas huddled down with Fiori and Mira and the rest of the help. There seemed to be some hushed arguments between Mira and the help as she seemed willing to fight back, but it seemed like they knew how to talk her down, much to her disappointment. Still, the fact that a kid half of Lucas’ age was willing to fight was insane.

And here I am…letting them fight my battles. …I…why are they helping me? He was so preoccupied, that he never noticed the fizzling magic forming right behind him….

Simone stared at Lewis, “I heard bodies are good for plants.” It was brutal and cold-blooded but she had warned them. She had told them to leave their island and they didn’t listen. “Why don’t they ever fucking LISTEN.” The pirates. Felix. All of them. They were all dipshits.

“I can handle the ship. I’ll make it floating firewood with body decor~” She nodded to who they were leaving alive, “No one. Not a soul. The first time I gave a warning was the last one I will give.” They never fucking listened.

Simone was making sure the kids were in the cellar when the house help ran up in a panic, “MAGIC MISSUS.”

“What about magic?” She was worried now.

“Master Lucas is just gone,” the butler was scared and Simone growled.

”If you find the leader save her for me. She crossed the line just now. They abducted Lucas with magic.” She communicated with Lewis before making the butler go back down into the cellar. In a burst of fire the phoenix flew off towards the ship.

I bet they are going to hold them there while they punish us. No matter.

The first few cannon fires she dodged. She was a small target so they wouldn’t be able to hit her but she wasn’t about to blow up the ship with Lucas on board. His green hair was easy enough for her to spot up on the deck. She watched as they punished him and rage went through the resonance link.

An explosion of black and blue fire and took out the back half of the ship as she landed on the top deck. Her body shifted back to her human form where she was swift to kick the person closest to Lucas far and into the water. “I fucking warned you. I told you not to come back,” she let the magic shoot through her hands as she started to hurt the dark fireballs. “I will now teach you those who threaten my children and my home,” her rage was coming out as she screamed at the pirates. She used the daggers she had managed to grab.

“Lucas, get to shore NOW,” she screamed as one of the pirates grabbed her from behind. She headbutted his nose breaking it before reversing the hold and snapping his neck. She put another dagger through a pirate’s neck who was going for Lucas. “NOW, I can’t fight and protect you at the same time.”

The feeling of being pulled back into his own personal hell was soul crushing. The world that Simone and Lewis had tried so hard to sell him had all but been yanked away, leaving him once more in the cold, heartless truth of his existence. The pirates were relentless. They would destroy the island and castle, and burn everything to the ground. They’d kill Simone and Lewis, and take the remaining children as slaves, just like he was.

My mere existence here caused this… He would have no choice but to be a good little boy for them. No one else deserved this kind of pain, least of all those who extended their hands to help.

The pirate lord Sylvia laughed, her crimson red hair dancing in the wind as she took her boot to Lucas’ leg, crushing it beneath her heel. The boy cried out as she brought her sheathed blade down on his arms, beating him for trying to escape.

“Worthless boy…see what happens when you try to run? Look at what you’ve done to these poor people…” Her eyes were flickering with cruelty. She was enjoying every waking second of this. There was banter from behind her, followed by more shots from the cannons.

“LADY SYLIVA! PREPARE FOR IMPACT!” A voice called out.

“What the hell do you mean impa-” she screamed as the ship suddenly lurched, a large explosion of black and blue flames erupting from the back half of the ship as Simone landed.

Syliva was knocked to the ground, and she yelled to attack the crazy woman who dared assault the ship. As they all scrambled up to attack Simone, Syliva pulled herself up, and yanked Lucas to his feet. She drew her blade, and locked Lucas’ head between her shoulder and the edge.

“Too late…there’s no escaping…” Syliva smiled, even as Simone killed off her crew. “And here I was hoping to keep this kid around long enough to get some offspring…you know? Leviathans sell for a high price on the black market…and the young ones are easy enough to brainwash…” At this point, she was intentionally antagonizing the woman. The angrier she got, the more likely she would make mistakes.

Lucas whimpered, but didn’t move. He knew his mistress well, and she would not hesitate to coat his blood on the deck.

“Simone…” Lucas said, his voice quivering with fear. “Just…just kill me. Do it. Please save your family…they don’t deserve this. Just kill her…make sure she pays…” He was trembling now. More than anything, he feared the death that was to come. “I’m sorry….I’m sorry I brought this on you and your family…”

Simone startled to chuckle as she listened to Syliva, “You are a piece of work~” She could tell that she was intentionally trying to piss her off so Simone was off edge. The more upset Simone got though the more precise she was. “There’s just one, itsy bitsy… little thing you don’t know about me~ I’m a fucking perfectionist,” she screamed as she killed off the last bits of Syliva’s crew that was on the main deck.

Lucas’s words didn’t stop Simone’s advance as Simone homed in on Syliva, “Part of me wanted you in Lewis’s sight. Your crew is probably all dead on the mainland now. It’s been a while since he could just let loose and kill.” Her tone was filled with bloodlust. “I feel how excited it's making him to rip and tear through your crew. The ecstasy that he has known what I’m going to do to you.”

No threats made it to Simone even if Syliva tried to kill Lucas. All she found was a dagger in her faster. “Lucas, there’s also a small error on your part. From the moment we found you… You were already part of this family even if you wanted to leave tomorrow. We protect ours and that includes you, no matter how you feel about it we already decided this.” She pulled him into a hug real quick and forced him behind her. “Now stop being silly and throwing your life away. You aren’t a burden, you were made to feel weak and insignificant but you are not. You are worth the world and I would gladly burn a hundred pirate armies if it meant that you stayed safe.”

Simone’s eyes narrowed onto Syliva. “I was honestly wondering what I would do to you~ Normally Lewis and I would torture someone like you to death. We would make you feel EVERYTHING that you have done wrong. Not even that is good enough for you. You vile piece of shit,” she growled low.

She was quick to disable Syliva with her own daggers moving so fast that she wouldn’t have known what happened to her. Like a lion, she was circling Syliva now wondering what she should do. “Lucas, now is the one and only time you have to tell this vermin what you really think of her. She moves to hurt you I kill her. She moves to spit vile at you I kill her. Stand up for yourself. Tell her what you think, it will give you more strength than you can ever imagine and help the healing.” She took her barefoot and smashed it into Syliva’s back making her bow before Lucas.

“Scream, interrupt, or in general just be a bigger piece of shit than I already think you are and I’ll kill you. Got it?” Simone offered Syliva a displeased look before nodding to Lucas. “I told you. You are safe as long as you are with us.”

With the black flames circling around them, Lucas looked at the fallen pirate, Syliva. There was something about the whole thing, seeing the now broken woman kneeling before him, that made him feel an emotion that he had never felt before. It wasn’t anger, and it wasn’t rage. Simone was trying to pull something out of him that he wasn’t capable of. This vile hatred that Simone held for the woman was justified, and by all means he should have felt the same.

But he didn’t.

“Simone…I…” He looked to the fierce woman who had protected him. Even now, the visage of her form, wrapped in black flames was haunting. “I can’t…” He looked down at Sylvia. “I can’t be mad…” He knelt down, bringing himself to her level.

Lucas’ gaze was met by the pirate’s scowl. But she held back what she was going to say. After all, there was still a chance… “Well then, boy?” she asked.

“I pity you…” Lucas said finally. “I was terrified of you. Of all of you. Each day I cowered in fear, but…yet here this woman comes, a mother no less, and she absolutely destroys everything you held dear…” The boy stood up, a soft look across his face. “I thought of you as some terrifying monster, and yet a single woman has shown me that you’re nothing…” He took a deep breath, his eyes watering. “I pity you…”

“You fucking wretched child, I’ll-” At once, a dagger appeared in her throat. Her eyes went wide with shock as she started to choke on her own blood. It didn’t take long, and she fell to her side, dead.

Lucas simply stared at her lifeless body. What…am I supposed to feel right now? He looked to Simone, confused. “I don’t….understand. I thought….I’d be happy…”

Simone didn’t look disappointed when he started to speak instead she just smiled. “I’m proud of you Lucas. You didn’t need to be angry with her to do what I was asking you to do. You are Lucas and you’ve done things your own way. Justifying the situation on your own terms instead of doing it the way Lewis or I would have. We are all strong in our own ways and all have our different ways of handling it. You were very mature about it and very gentle.”

Once Syliva had died Simone simply used her foot to push her to the side. “No Lucas. Revenge, killing who hurt you… Nothing like that can make you happy.” She looked at him. “It just makes you feel empty for a time. This was all you knew and that leaves a hole in you just like it left a hole in me too. You can find people to fill that hole and make something of it. All you can do is keep walking forward. Learn the world.” There was a gentle smile on her face and her eyes were beaming full of pride at him.

The ship creaked and there was panic on Simone’s face before she took Lucas and threw him with magic. She made him land onshore safely before the ship exploded from magic below deck.

Simone never did learn how to swim, at least the explosion was nothing to sneeze at.

Lewis was wiping down his daggers when he heard the explosion off the shore. He smiled, Good job, Simone. ….Simone…? Simone!? Silence. The resonance he felt with her suddenly shattered, and his eyes widened with fear. “Simone!?” At once, he started towards the exploding ship.

—


Lucas hit the ground hard, and as he scrambled up, he was easily knocked back by the gunpowder on the ship igniting. The explosion lit up the sky, sending wood and shrapnel sailing through the air. The heat was almost unbearable even from the shore, and at once Lucas was panicking.

“Shit, shit…Simone! Shit…” He started pacing back and forth. “Find her…I’ve got to find her!” He dove into the water, and started to swim. His body started to elongate, and he dove underneath the water. His form grew and grew, to almost the size of the ship itself, a giant water snake slithering through the water with ease.

It didn’t take him long to find Simone sinking beneath the waves. He carefully got under hear, and pushed her to the surface and to the shore. As he got closer, he shifted back into his human form, and started to drag her onto the sands. As he got her to the shore, he saw Lewis running towards them.

“Lewis! Help! Please!” Lucas called out. “Please…” He was panting. “I…” the exhaustion was catching up, and his adrenaline was running out. “Just…just save…” He rolled over in the sands, losing consciousness.

—

Lucas groaned as the sunlight filtered through his window into his room. What happened? Everything was hurting. The shift into his leviathan form was faster than he had ever done it, and he was pretty sure he hurt himself in the process. Still, as long as…

“Simone!?” he shot up, and immediately the room was swimming. “Where…?” He was back in the room that was modeled after the sea. Someone had put him here, and even changed his wet clothes out. “…but is she…?”

There was a knock at the door, followed by the butler opening it. “Ah yes. I was hoping you’d be awake. Master Lewis requests your presence in the dining hall…at your earliest convenience, of course.” With a bow, the butler left Lucas.

He’s gonna kill me… Mustering up his strength and courage, he made his way down the stairs and to the dining hall, where Lewis sat waiting. When the boy entered, Lewis made no sudden movements, and instead focused on the plate in front of him, slowly eating and sipping his drink.

“L-Lewis…?” Lucas asked as he approached the table. “…is…is Simone…?”

Lewis sighed, and looked up from his plate. “She’s….”

Lucas’ heart dropped. “I’m so sorry, I….”

Simone’s resonance had gone out like a light. She had used too much energy protecting herself from the blast combined with how angry she had been. Luckily Lucas had been there to pull her from the water. Once they were settled in at the house the hours that followed had the Guide waking up in Simone’s place. She was confused by some of the cuts on her but was immediately filled in that there had been an accident.

The morning that Lucas joined Lewis in the dining hall she was making her way down. She had been made aware of a new child living at the house. Her eyes lit up when she saw the green hair. She loved the color of it! Her feet pattered against the floor as she threw herself onto Lucas from his back. “SIMONE IS ASLEEP!”

She held onto him, “HI! I’m the other part of Simone that comes out when she runs out of magic!” It was a hastily made explanation as she hugged Lucas tightly. Lucas immediately threw her off and started to scream. The guide was horrified that something was on her so she started to spin and scream too. It was after a few seconds that she was screaming because he was scaring her and finally it dawned on her that he was afraid of her.

The guide started to cry and fell into a puddle of herself on the floor, “he hates me.” The tears were huge and she looked like a mess. “I was just trying to love him.” She was yelling it in huffs of breath in between her tears.

After thinking that Simone was dead, the sudden assault from her made him absolutely flip out. Without really meaning to, he threw the lady off of him, and immediately started to scream. What REALLY confused him was that she started screaming back, and while Lucas went to hide behind a chair, Simone started running in circles screaming.

It took her a moment to realize that Lucas was hiding behind the chair, and at once she started to pout and cry, looking to Lewis for support.

“What…the…” Lucas said, taking a step back and dragging the chair with him. “What…happened to you…?”

Lewis sighed from the table, “Lucas…this is the Guide. She’s…well…Simone, but…not.” The assassin grumbled. “It’s too hard to explain, but Simone told you the story, right? It’s the same Guide…she’s…” He looked to her. “Very…innocent.” He stood up and walked over to her, petting her hair.

“Simone…Lucas has a fear of women. I should have told you. I’m sorry.” He helped her up, and took her over to the table. “It’s not you, I promise…” He looked to Lucas. “Please sit at the table. After you eat, I’ll make sure to get you to Benin.”

Lucas froze. Benin? It dawned on him. Even with the attack, Lewis was still arranging a boat. “Oh…” He moved the chair back to its place, and sat down. His food was brought out, and he picked at it before finally eating. “So…how long…is she going to be like this…?”

Simone snuffled up at Lewis as she stopped her tears immediately when he was petting her hair. “He does? So it’s not me?” She was still taking giant huffs of air from her wailing. “Good.” She got off the ground with his help and sat down at the table. The staff help had an expression on their face but it melted away as she plopped a tart in her mouth with a satisfied look on her face.

With a mouth full of food the Guide looked at him, “So, you aren’t staying with us?” It was hard to hear over the food in her mouth.

“MADAM,” the butler was in shock of her manners. Manners which the Missus was very thorough.

“What?” The tart crumbles were falling out of her mouth. The butler looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. “Did I do something wrong?” Her eyes were concerned as she looked at Lewis. She had tart jam all over her face now.

Once he asked about Simone the Guide thought it was, “She protected herself with all of her magic during the explosion. She’s exhausted but not as exhausted as the time she choked her emotions out. If I had to say… It will be a few hours before she comes back but she is pushing for sooner because she is worried about you.” She was looking at Lucas.