Simone was in pain but she was grateful that the arrow was out of her shoulder. She was barely coming to when Lewis came back over to her. “I appreciate what you can do though,” it hurt to talk stretching the wound a little but she couldn’t stand the silence. Her head was spinning but she closed her eyes to stop it.

“I almost lost though. I used all my energy to get you up there because I knew you would be quick about it. Too bad I’m not that great of a runner,” she laughed lightly and winced. Simone was passed out after that and it took probably a few days of rest before she was sitting up.

Instinctively she was stretched and she winced, “Ow, ow, ow. That was dumb.” She put her hand on her bandages. “You kept changing the bandages?” She looked over at Lewis. Of course he did she was his way out.

“Are you okay though?” Pride led to more selflessness for the guide.

Days passed with Lewis tending to the guide Simone’s wounds, and keeping mostly to himself. He wasn’t too worried about Lust or Wrath seeking them out; so far they had all played by a set of rules and he expected that it would stay that way. Each of their domains were clear cut, and they did their best not to entrench upon each other. Still, he stayed vigil, as best he could…anything could happen here.

Days passed, and the younger Simone barely stirred. He was surprised, but only slightly so, that she did not get a fever or infection…more than likely due to the fact that they weren’t in reality.

The real world? Lewis looked to the sky. How long has it been down here? He felt as though it had been days since he had awoken to Lust and her… Call it what it is. He stopped. Would he admit it to himself? A weakness like that? It shouldn’t affect him. There was no reason to.

Yet that loss of control was…

No. It was something he would rather not deal with just yet. He couldn’t process it…not now. It would take him away from the task at hand. He had to get out of here, and kill Simone.

That’s right. Everything that’s happening now is so that I can kill her. End it all. Strange. He should feel something to that. But what? What would someone feel? Sorrow? Grief? Happiness? Relief? He didn’t know.

It would be…quiet. He could go back to being alone, working day to day for Lord Raith. My room would end up a mess again. For some reason that brought a feeling. I…don’t understand. Lewis tightened his grip on the bone dagger.

Just a feeling. Ignore it.

Finally, the guide stirred. And we’re back in action…

He made sure to change her bandages one last time before they left. As he was tending to her, she talked as though she were shocked that he was taking care of her.

“Of course,” he said as he finished up. “You’re the key to all of this.” Lewis made his way back to the rushing water to rinse his hands. When he came back, she looked at him, asking if he was okay.

I’m not okay. “I’m fine. Lewis paused. Lying to her felt…wrong. But it didn’t matter if he was okay or not. This wasn’t the place to deal with it. Besides…I’ll be okay once this is all done and over. Till then, I can just ignore it/

“Lust and Wrath are all that remain,” he said. “I’ve been to Lust’s domain once, but…I’m not sure where it is, or how to get back. And Wrath…I’m guessing she’ll find us when she’s damn ready.”

Simone pulled him down as he changed her bandages and answered her. Her lips went to his forehead before putting hers against his. “I’ll save you even if it means giving up my own life to do so. We are all unique here and all different despite all being Simone. I would do this for you.” I am going to do it.

“I don’t know what is going through your head but I’ve learned you enough to know… Just… Everything will be alright. Maybe not when you leave but eventually everything will be alright.” She could see he was preoccupied and she was learning him even if he tried to hide it well. They were in tune and could sense a little bit of him.

Simone got up with Lewis’s help and she thought about it. “The fight with Lust will have to be on your own. I can… give you pieces of me to fight but I can’t go where she is.” She touched his head. “Lust exists here. Where wrath attacks physically Lust lives on an entirely different level of Simone. Lust is the very last thing Simone learned but Lust is inherently strong. Because she was suppressed easily she existed cognitively, which must be weird since this is a mental landscape. Lust can make herself appear but she won’t, she knows how dangerous we are together.”

Her eyes laid on his, “If you call out to her I bet she would take you to her. You will need to play her game to get close.”

Lewis was unsure of just how to call Lust out, but he closed his eyes anyway. The way that this world worked was contradictory to everything that he had learned, so why should this be any different? Lust would do anything to separate them, and that meant he would be alone for this next fight.

I’ve always preferred working alone. But was that a lie now? He had comet o respect the power that the guide Simone had, and in turn the power that the real Simone may very well posses. Does this scare me? Maybe it did, and maybe it didn’t. That sensation was something that he still struggled to reconcile.

Focus. That was the problem. He wasn’t focusing. Lust. He needed to get Lust to take him.

But I don’t… Not only had Lust stolen his mind, but his body as well. Was that something that was possibly holding him back here? That fear that he may lose himself again? That Lust could control him? Fear is a useless emotion. Cast it aside. Regret is useless as well. All you can do is accept that you were weak, and that you need to be stronger. Only the strong survive, and here you are…

Survive. Which meant letting Lust take him.

“Come and get me, Lust.”

He opened his eyes. He wasn’t quite sure where he was, but it was cold. Off in the distance he could see something bright. He took a few steps forward, and heard the sound of snow crunching beneath his feet. He shivered. What..what is this? Lewis pressed forward towards the bright light, which soon melded into an all too familiar shape.

Fire. Something was burning. He could smell death in the air. Lewis drew the bone dagger, pushing the feeling of cold to the back of his mind. He slid into the shadows, and approached…

Snow. It was all that she could remember in her younger form. The last thing she had been doing was playing in the snow. Her father had been watching. Sure, she was eighteen and she was acting like a child but thanks to the fey lord she could really only enjoy certain things now. When she did wake up to the fire though she remembered running through the castle coughing.

“Princess!” One of the guards was yelling but the stone walls were collapsing in. She fought her way up the stairs to the top of the burning castle. Her skin was freezing since she was barely dressed from her night attire. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Auclair. It was all on fire. People were dying in the streets.

“If he had listened, we wouldn’t have to watch this,” the fey lord grabbed her by the arm. “LET ME GO,” Simone reacted harshly as she shoved him. Doing so sent her over the side of the castle. Crippling her entire form as blood splattered. Lewis wasn’t so far from this now.

“That won’t work my little flower~” The fey lord came over and picked up her hair. “You are mine until the end of time or at least until you give me what I want.” Simone was scared but she could remember in that brief moment who she was and she slapped his hand.

“I hate you!” She cried, “You took everything from me.”

“I can always take one more thing from you whether you want me to or not,” the fey lord’s smile as he assaulted her and the screams as she tried to fight. The way she curled up after crying. The snow was so cold but it was melting from the heat.

“And I can die? Right?” From the puffy eyes and her lips that were turning blue from the cold. “And be reset?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then you’ll never get what you want.” The fey lord wasn’t prepared for what she did next as she grabbed the knife from belt and slit her own throat. His face twisted into rage as he kicked the newly revived Simone into the collapsing burning castle.

“You will give me what I want! One way or another.”

She had managed to pull herself up and come to the doorway to look at him, “No, I don’t think I will. I’ve never hated a single person in my life more than I hate you right now. You are asking me for pity.”

“I am telling you what I want and you are going to give it to me,” he grabbed her by her hair.

Simone’s eyes were broken but she smiled anyway, “You were cursed by the Unseelie Queen and your only hope is me. You are begging for my pity.” He punched her outright smashing her head into the wall enough to kill her.

“I will come back for you and when I do you best cooperate. There will not be a repeat of this.”

"Go to hell," Simone was laughing now and the fey lord stormed off but the laughing was followed by tears as she broke herself bit by bit. Remembering was painful she did the best thing she could do for herself was to find something sharp and end herself again. At least with no memories, she could try to survive.

As Lewis approached, he could hear the sounds of Simone being violated, her cries echoing throughout the burnt out halls of her castle. No one was left alive to respond. Lewis came across them, gripping the bone dagger. He knew better than to try and intervene. This was a memory, and doing so would change nothing. Instead, he watched as she struggled against the fey lord, how she killed herself in spite, and how his anger grew.

There was a feeling that stirred in Lewis’ heart. It had been the same as when he had tried to save those who were sold off into slavery. The children who were less fortunate, and broken in body and spirit. This was just like it. And Lewis had killed for less. There was that delicate balance of selflessness and selfishness that he held in his heart…

“You were weak,” he said as he knelt over her curled form. “But you didn’t deserve this.” The strong are meant to protect the weak, at any cost. Those who abuse the system deserve to die. That’s how I started all of this. Xeik had been against it, thinking he could change hearts with kindness. He was nothing more than a fool.

“I commend you for surviving, though,” Lewis said as he stood up, watching as she offed herself again. “It tried to break you, and almost succeeded.” He turned around, looking into the darkness that was slowly spreading from where he came, eating away at the fire from the light.

“And what will you show me next, Lust?”

He was right to assume that Lust had many things to show him. Things to make him understand just why Simone could be as cold as she was. One couldn’t tell how many years went by but from the flicker of seasons and scenery it could have been a few. There were many things that flashed before Lewis’s eyes. Love, hate, murder, violation. A girl who didn’t know who she was… She was most vulnerable to people who would abuse her.

However, what Lust showed him next, wasn’t another rape, but instead a happy moment. Simone was laying in bed and she was crying out in pain as a man was besides her trying to calm down. The crying of someone else gave way and Simone got excited. “Let me see!” She was exhausted though but the father swooped down after the healer was done and cleaned the babe.

Soft black locks just like Simone. “She screams like you do,” the man laughed and Simone made a face.

“That’s unfair and you know it. You can’t just pick on an exhausted woman like that,” she smirked and he brought over the baby to her as she held it. “Hello,” Simone was all wide-eyed over her as she played with the child’s fingers. “You are so very small,” she was tired but it didn’t deter her. “I think I love you very much already.”

The child stopped her screaming and just listened to Simone. “She knows you already.”

“I would sure hope so… I slaved a long nine months for her,” Simone snorted as she closed her eyes only briefly for a second. It was enough time for the whole building to shake and destroy itself. The rafters of the house killing the man and the healer. Simone brought the baby closer to her as she was unable to move.

“This is what you do with your life? You deny me and yet for filth you–”

“You are the filth. I told you I would never give you what you wanted,” Simone kept the child hushed but she was scared.

“Then I’ll just have to show you just how fragile life is,” the fey lord stole the child from her. It wasn’t hard when Simone was barely conscious but the screams from her as she watched him take a dagger and end the child. It was haunting. “I can take whatever I want from you. Whenever I want it, if you weren’t so broken and used now I would show you again.”

Simone was an uncontrollable sobbing mess before the fey lord slit her throat and picked her up. “Maybe again soon,” he was playing with her as he hauled her out. “Do your worst to her and try to break her. I really don’t care how.” He tossed her to a group of men. “Destroy her, cut her up, piece her out, rape her, whatever it takes. Break her. No one will come looking for her I made sure of that.”

However, the fact that Simone remained spoke of how long they went without success. The dingy dungeons they kept her in as the scenery changed. She was chained to the wall barely able to touch the ground. She was shivering.

There was a struggle at the door and someone broke in. “Let’s get you out of here,” the man helped her get free but Simone was weak as she collapsed almost immediately. He wrapped her up and carried her out to god knows where.

"How long?" Simone was tired but she wanted to know if only for her own sanity.

"Seven years."

The assassin watched on with interest. Perhaps there was a clue somewhere on how to beat Lust, or better yet, kill Simone outright and beat the curse.

Even as he watched on, Lewis found himself almost amused at the lengths that the few lord was going to break Simone. And there was a hint of…pride? Simone didn’t seem like the kind to break. Watching as he broke against her will was awe inspiring.

“You’ve lost everything,” he said aloud. Lewis crossed his arms. “And yet you’ve still stood fast against the fey lord.” There wasn’t much else to say. Lust was either biding for time, or trying to lure him into a false sense of security. Just how much longer…

“What is it that you want, Lust?”

“He was desperate,” Lust finally showed herself as the scenery faded into the field he knew well enough. “He spoke out of turn in the Unseelie court. Got himself not only thrown out with his followers but the Unseelie Queen has a cruel sense of humor. She cursed him not to be able to reproduce and all of his followers were sterile of the day he found the girl she would bless as their savior.” Lust frowned deeply, “How he went about trying to get his way makes him the only one responsible for what has happened to me. The Unseelie Queen herself has been disgusted by it but the curse is in full effect and not even she can undo what she did. That's why he does what he does. I'm the only one who can make him not alone anymore.”

Lust walked around but stayed out of Lewis’s reach. “I’m tired too, we’re all tired. Me, Wrath, secretly that Guide too. I want you to end this. Lust isn’t just about the flesh Lewis, but I need to make sure you are strong enough for what is going to come. Wrath will not hesitate and she’s already making her move against you.”

She folded her arms against her, “I lust for death but before you kill me. I made you feel just like how we felt so many years ago. Over and over not understanding the why until the end. I’ve made you understand us at least a little. Wrath captured the guide and she has her held hostage at the stronghold. Hurry up and get to it already. Your journey is almost over.”

“Finally,” Lewis said as Lust appeared before him. He was going to end it quick before she could do anything, but paused. Her intent was gone. She showed little aggression, and made no moves to subdue him.

I don’t understand. He listened as she spoke. It was clear that she was finished, that she was laying down and letting Lewis through. But it made no sense. I don’t get understand at all. Simone was a survivor, one who refused to break, yet now…now she was just letting it go?

“I don’t get it,” Lewis said aloud. The whole thing was just a complicated mess of human emotions that, in the end, were all useless. And yet, for some reason, the assassin felt like he was lying to himself. That he did, just maybe, understand her a little bit. Was that something that he was capable of? Sympathy?

“This fucking place…” Lewis said finally as he walked up to Lust. “All of you fucking sins…” The dagger was in hand,ready to pierce Lust’s heart. “How fucking dare you make me feel something…” He plunged the dagger into Lust’s heart.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

The ground fell beneath Lewis, and he fell backwards. He landed on his back, confused. The sound of the stream off in the distance meant he was close to where Lust had pulled him from.

“Guide? Simone!?” Lewis called out. He was met with silence. Lust was right. Wrath had taken her.

“Wrath! Where the hell are you!” Lewis yelled out. He was so close to finishing this, so close to ending it. Where was she? Had the guide ever mentioned Wrath’s domain?