Lewis was shocked that Llynette could hear his Simone. And that his Simone was still fighting. Hearing that, even from Llynette, was the surge of strength he needed to press on. All of the doubts that he had were washed away, and he knew that there had to be a way out of here.

“You can…forget she said that,” Lewis said with a half smile. “It’s adult talk that you’ll understand when you’re older, though I wouldn’t mention those words to anyone around here. They might find it offensive.” Before anything else could happen though, this world’s Simone walked in, surprising both Lewis and Llynette.

“What’s this?” Lewis asked as he was handed the tea from the other Simone. It smelled pleasant, but there was something about it that was familiar. He watched as Simone sipped it, and he took another whiff of the tea. “Wait, this is-”

Simone started to choke, and immediately Lewis knew what was happening. It was poison, one that Lewis had used a fair number of times in his old line of work. He moved over to Simone, and set her on her back, looking her over. Normally, he would have the antidote nearby in case something went wrong, but he wasn’t on the job anymore, and had nothing. “Damnit, I’m not a healer…where the hell is Xeik when I need him?”

“Not again,” Lewis said as he frantically tried to think of something.

Lewis! Use your resonance! A voice echoed in his mind.

“But she’s not-”

You’re both right here, right next to each other! Nothing is stopping you!

Lewis’ eyes widened. It was Xeik. He was still there, on the outside, fighting. Just like Simone. And he was right…Simone and Lewis were together in the room. They were always together, always connected. Even when he couldn’t feel her, they were still as one, as they always would be.

Azure flame circled around Lewis as his eyes flickered blue. Magic flooded the room, circling Lewis, Simone, and Llynette, burning at the edges of the dream world. “Saphielle never stood a chance, huh…” He placed his hand onto her face, and felt the magical flames burn away at the poison inside of her. “Wake up…Simone…”

The rush of magic to the world’s Simone helped clear the poison. She was hyperventilating as her eyes met his, “Who are you?” She had never felt closer to anyone in her life.

A commotion rose and Lewis helped the pregnant Simone stand up. “That… sounds like the throne room.” There was screaming and yelling. A very, very familiar voice followed. “Tell me later?” Simone looked at him before dragging him to see what was wrong.

Llywellyn had a few soldiers and he was trying to keep Simone back as blue fire kicked up. “Saphielle, you stupid bitch where you are you.” Simone was screaming at the top of her lungs as she hovered in the air with her wings out. She looked like she had been through hell.

“Simone?” Llywellyn looked between his Simone and then the Simone in front of him. “What the hell is going on.”

“I’m trying to kill a bitch what does it look like?” Lewis’s Simone was angry beyond belief as she caught a shadow creature and ripped it apart almost with her bare hands. “When I get my hands on you… I’m going to destroy you! I’ll rip you to pieces!” Simone lost her wings thanks to the magic flux and she was just screaming at seemingly nothing.

It was the fire that she had started that was the problem as Llywellyn helped the guards try to put it out.

"Is that really me?" The queen Simone was scared and honestly, she should have been. Lewis's Simone was more like a wildfire and she wasn't about to be put out by just any old water.

"SAPHIELLE!"

In many circles, it was usually frowned upon to ignore a Queen when she was addressing you, but Lewis didn’t seem to care. The moment that he saw his Simone, he couldn’t look away. She was his world, and now that his world had returned to him, it was all that he could do not to jump to her on the spot.

As Simone raged, Lewis walked up to her, pulling her into his arms. The azure blue flame swirled around them, and immediately Lewis’ calm flowed into her, and her rage flowed into him. The emotions swirled around like fire and ice until they finally evened out, at least for the time being.

“You’re okay,” Lewis said as he stared into her azure eyes. “I was worried…” He knew that they needed to focus on the world around them, escaping, and most importantly, Saphiele, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away.

For a moment, the world quivered, and Saphiele was standing at the entrance to the throne room, tears in her eyes. “But why? Why, why, WHY!?” She threw her hands down, and the world seemed to bend. “All I wanted was you, Lewis. That magic connection…that’s the cause of all of this, right? I can break it! I know I can! Just give me a chance. See? Look! She’s so happy with Lly-what’s his face…she doesn’t want you…she never has. She even killed you! I saw it. I’ve seen it all!”

LLynette looked at her mother, squeezing her hand gently. “I’m sorry, Mommy…” Without a warning, she ran to the other Simone and Lewis, standing in front of them. “You’re a liar!”

“Llynette!?” Lewis said, shocked. “What are you doing!?”

“Mommy isn’t happy at all. She has no time for me…not in this world, or the last! It’s really sad! But her…” The girl looked to the real Simone. “I felt it when she came here. She loves Lewis. More than anything!”

“What do you know, you little runt!” Saphiele screamed. “What would a child know of love!?”

“Apparently a lot more than you,” Lewis quipped.

The queen went to go catch her child but instead, she went to stand with Llywellyn to look at the scene. She had felt so close to Lewis when he cured the poison in her… but now… She understood why.

“I’ll live…” Simone snuggled into Lewis and she felt tired. Her body was full of wounds and bite marks but she looked like she gave one hell of a fight. “Had to make sure that my mister didn’t lose faith in me somehow.” She smirked a bit.

Simone looked at Llynette and she reached out patting the girl on the head, “It’s alright. Llynette right?” The girl nodded. “You were very brave running out here like that. Go to your mommy and daddy ok?” The girl hesitated before going.

“You fail in understanding why the resonance works. You think it’s just some magic? It’s not. In order for the resonance to work there had to be a connection before that. A pure act of love. That’s the only reason why I’m even alive right now. Lewis poured all of his love into the spell to bring me back. See, you could kill Lewis and you could bring him back the same way but it would never take. Lewis’s soul would have to be willing and it’s not. He would never love you because you would have taken me from him.”

Then Simone’s smile got soft, “Children are little drunks Saphielle. They see things we often can’t and they will call it like they see it. Their hearts when properly taken care of are filled with so much love that they can see it almost immediately. Children know the most about love. Maybe not the individual love that we feel on a special level but they know what they see.”

She held up her fingers, “First though. This last world was wholly manipulated by you. Let me explain. First, if Llywellyn married me and we were in a world where nothing bad had happened we would be in Auclair and not Sulwal. Two, never in a million years would I actually be happy with Llywellyn as a wife because he has the worst habits known to mankind… AND HE’S COCKY.”

The king looked offended by Simone. “Third, while Llywellyn did love me he never once tried to pursue anything past a sibling relationship with me but twice. Both times I turned him down. You rewrote the rules Saphielle and so I did too… by making sure that one of the obstacles in your path knew who I was.” Simone pointed to Llynette. “Lewis would always listen to a child if they opened up their heart to him. It was the perfect thing because you never saw it coming. All I needed her to do was be able to hear me so I could talk to Lewis even if indirect. To make me happy in this world? I rewrote that too. In order to win this world… You have to make Llynette happy.”

Lewis merely smiled through Simone’s explanation to Saphiele, waiting for her to lose her mind. As predicted, the crazed woman merely yelled and screamed, trying her hardest to reach Simone and Lewis. She she grew closer, though, the azure flames that were still encircling Lewis and Simone grew hotter, forcing her to retreat.

Once she was gone, Simone nearly collapsed, and Lewis caught her, feeling a bit faint himself. “Well…that was fun…”

Llynette ran up to them, a worried look on her face. “Are you okay Lewis!?” she asked.

“Fine,” he replied, groaning. “Say, Llyn…” He smiled. “I know it’s sudden…but do you want to spend a day with Simone and I?” Lewis looked up to the Queen and King of this world. “Of course…if your parents are okay with it.” He looked down, back into her stormy grey eyes. “We can show you what happiness is…what full happiness is.”

The queen and king looked at each other not really knowing what to think but they nodded. “Do you really think I have the worst habits?”

Simone looked up at Llywellyn, “You have the absolute most nauseating habits known to elven kind. For instance, you don’t listen. You have to take a rock and beat it on your head before you even get a single hint of what you need to be doing. God forbid the only time you get actual balls is when you are mad at something or someone.”

This time the queen started to laugh, “That’s pretty accurate actually…”

“She had to tweak my personality to manage this,” Simone’s eyes landed on herself and she smirked. “Because I couldn’t stand that part of Llywellyn’s personality from the day I met him. He was a good man… still is… He just has his priorities fucked up on a lot of things. He is a good king though I will give him that.”

Lewis helped Simone up and she looked tired and hurt. “Man… I feel like a dragon hit me. I think a dragon did hit me now that I’m remembering the encounters. Rest first, then play with Llynette. I’m sure Xeik would agree. If I try to exhaust anymore energy I’m scared what it might do to all of us.”

Lewis nodded in agreement at the rest portion of things. He looked over to the King. “Lly, can we steal a room? It won’t be for long.” Despite everything that had happened, the fact that the ex-assassin referred to the King as “Lly” sent a few ruffles through the guards.

“Deal with it,” Lewis said before anyone could honestly respond. “I just saved the Queen…I think I can have a little leeway…”

Once Lewis and the Queen Simone had explained what happened, Llywellyn was more than happy to provide a room for the two, though he did so with the demand that they attend breakfast before the day with Llynette. Both he and the Queen wanted a full explanation of what had happened. Lewis agreed, though he and Simone knew that they would have to curve some of the facts of the matter.

Lewis helped Simone into the bed they were provided, and once they hit the soft pillows, each of them fell asleep near instantly. When Lewis woke in the morning, he was holding Simone from behind. He wasn’t sure how long he had been in this alternate world, but it had felt like weeks since he had last held Simone like this. He almost didn’t want to get out of bed.

Lewis nuzzled the back of her head. “Morning…”

Simone smirked a bit as he snuggled into her. She nuzzled him back and let out a sigh. “Morning…” It felt like it had been an eternity since they had last been able to lay like this. “I hate how long it’s been since I could lay with my own husband.”

She turned around in his arms and put her head into his chest. Taking his arms she put them right where she liked them. “I almost don’t want to get out of bed but then I remember that it feels like it’s been a lifetime since I’ve seen the kids… and I just want to get this over with. I have a bitch to kill.”

She felt his lips with her fingertips. “Because I have to kill her for even touching what’s mine… and thinking about taking what’s mine…” She was just as possessive as he was. “You know how it is… Imagine if someone tried to touch me like that.” She had seen him cut off a person’s appendage just for thinking about it.

She kissed him. “Then once we get home I’m going to lock you in our room for an hour. How’s that? Maybe I can be brazen for you?” She chuckled. “Like the one me? Would you like that?”

“You’re cute when you’re angry,” Lewis said with a half smirk as they lay there. This was the most relaxed he had felt since this damned thing had started. He just wanted to stay where he was, looking down at his Simone laying next to him. This could be heaven…

“The children,” Lewis said after a moment. “I miss them too.” He smiled, and wondered what the little rascals were up to. He leaned down, and kissed her forehead. “We have a lot to talk about now, don’t we? I’m sorry if it seemed like I doubted you… I love you more than anything, and would do anything to make you happy, you know…” Now that the resonance was back, he felt safe again.

As she spoke of what she wanted to do when they got back, though, Lewis blushed and looked away. “I….wouldn’t be opposed. Though I can’t see you acting like that…” There it was again, that half smile as he looked back to her. “Think you can manage?”

“So you’ve told me a half dozen times,” she chuckled and let her eyes close.

She purred at his forehead kiss and smirked, “Loads, but we can do that at home after we’ve put the kids to sleep.” She kissed his lips softly and stroked his face. “I love you more than anything… I would do my utmost to make sure you are just as happy as I am Lew. You deserve it too.”

There was a sudden laugh from her as she saw his blush, “Ohh? You really liked the feisty me? I’ll have to practice so it looks good.” She winked at him. “Who knows? I won’t until I try.”

There was a knock on their door, “Breakfast Lord and Lady.”

Simone let out a snort, “I love the face you make when they call you Lord.” Once they were dressed they made their way into breakfast where the others were waiting for them.

“Now, I do hope you’ll tell us all about you and how you ended up here.”

Simone looked at Lynette hesitant but she told their tale as close as she could without scarring the girl. The queen and king look taken back as they looked at each other. “That’s a lot to take in.”

“It’s a lot that’s happened.” Simone held Lewis’s hand for them to see and she smiled up at him. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“You said you have kids… Do you have lots?” Lynette spoke up.

Simone smirked, “We have twelve. I can’t have children like your mommy but Lewis and I… our love created two beautiful children that we named Janus and Lila. All of our children are beautiful but we have four around your age too.”

“And you play with them?”