The flip was what surprised her most as she felt the Lewis leave her warmth. She had a bit of frown as she kept herself preoccupied until the thrust came. It was rough with her and she initially winced but the pain was something she was expecting with everything going on. They would only get rougher with her as they had to wait longer for her.

“Oh fuck,” she let out in a scream as the Lewis got rough with her. It was a harsh moan as she tried to fight the one under her. Not to get free but just from the jolt of pleasure she felt. Her hips, even if it hurt her more, thrust hard against him in response as her eyes locked with his. She licked her lips and bit at her lower lip.

Sure she was going to get tired but she was riding the energy from everything happening around her. She was sure that afterward, she would crash for a small amount of time.

This Lewis was rough, and he took his time with her, thrusting for a time at a hard and heavy pace. Between this, and the Lewis behind her, Simone blanked out for a moment at the intensity. Between the two of them, at the pace they were going, both of the Lewis’ inside of her came, both of them grunting and moaning as the climax hit them. That left three more.

Tired, but still wanting more, Simone crawled away from the spent Lewis’, who seemed to be taking a breather. She loved that she could feel his seed dripping from her, but it was far from over. There were three more who needed their release, three more that hungered for her body and soul. The first was the one that she had been sucking on last. He walked to her as she laid back, spreading her legs. Despite being tired, she beckoned for him to fuck her. Her fingers slid down her body, spreading her pussy. Taking the invitation, this Lewis knelt between her legs, and fucked her relentlessly. It was fast, and because of earlier, quick. He came inside of her, and another one was taken off the list.

The last two had waited patiently, but it was finally their turn. Simone rolled over, pushing herself onto all fours. She arched her back seductively, and called for the two of them to come over. One mounted her from behind, taking no time to slide inside of her, while the other moved in front, his cock pushing between her lips. As the two seemed to be one of mind, their thrusts were in a rhythmic pattern with each other, letting Simone bounce between the two as she pleasured them both. The Lewis behind her gripped her hips, his nails digging into her as he got closer to his orgasm, and the one in front gripped her hair as he felt himself closing in as well.

It was almost done…

They would all reach their climax together. For Simone, she had forgotten how long this has taken to get all seven this satisfied. She was sure if she stayed in this room that they would have come again just because that was lust’s nature. It was the burning itching pain that caught her attention at first as the Lewis’ finished. The brand on her back was glowing a hot blue as a scream left Simone. The markings that made up the brand began to branch. It hurt more than anything she had ever felt and more like she was being torn in two. It started with just the area around her as the blue flames started.

By the time they were roaring she had passed out on the floor. Luckily it was a contained space and the fire fizzled out. When she came to she felt a gentle hand going through her long hair. Her head wasn’t on the hard floor and instead, somewhere she knew rather well. She nuzzled his stomach first as her head felt too heavy to get up. “Need more time,” Simone sounded exhausted and she wasn’t sure from what exactly. The scorched remains of the room were there and she was sure the Lewis’ were scattered.

She rolled her shoulder where the brand was and heard the crack from how stiff it was. There was a groan from her as she rolled over in his lap and fought herself to look up at the guide. Her breathing was rigid at best. The resonance was strong magic and while it hadn’t hurt Lewis to initiate the bond this time it was so much more wild than that. It was their life force. She was forcing their very existence open.

“I don’t know what could possibly hurt more. My body being almost torn open by a bunch of horny versions of my husband or the resonance establishing the second link,” finally those bloodshot grayish blue eyes looked up at the Guide. “This is what she meant by dangerous.” She could feel every fiber of her being on fire. Just touching the ground to try and get up caused a rush of flames from her. “Stop that,” she commanded as she shook her hand. The magic died down but she found it was very much alive and trying to escape. Even the brand was still on fire and glowing color in the dark.

With the help of the guide, she managed to get up and find her footing. There was a wave of magic that trickled from the brand to the edges of her body. It was barely visible but even the guide could see the azure magic make its way down. It looked like trickles of water like the ceremony Angela had described with the firewater back in Terrowin Pass. “I need a bath.” She was agitated. “You are coming with me.” She took his arm and dragged him out using him as something to lean onto.

“I need to focus myself before going forward or I won’t be able to control this body,” she warned the guide. She didn’t know how true it was but this wasn’t just from the fucking she got. Finding the bathroom they got a bath going and she laid in the hot water. She leaned her head over the tub and closed her eyes. “So much better…” Anyone else would have had their skin burnt off but to Simone, it felt good. "You said it was all my fault," her eyes looked back to him and she studied his face. "Does that mean you regret it?"

The guide Lewis had come in after the others left, and witnessed the aftermath of the sexual deviancy that had taken place. He ignored the smell, which was both disgusting to him, and arousing, and instead focused on the woman laying in a puddle of her and the other Lewis’ fluids, obviously tired out from her experiences. Despite it being a trial, she looked satisfied, but more so, the magic tattoo and brand that signified her resonance had flared up, glowing an eerie blue, and had started to spread.

Ignoring the possible dangers, he sat down, and pulled her into his lap, slowly stroking her hair. The guide barely felt anything for her, other than the pull of Lust that still permeated the room, but he pushed that feeling down, and instead focused on her. As a part of Lewis, he knew why he was here, and what he was doing to help, but he had his…disagreements with it all. The guide was a doubting part, the one that saw the changes she had made, and how much they had thrown away for her. If he hadn’t been so immune to the other vices, he may have been something of a Sin himself.

The guide sighed as she started to rouse herself. He wasn’t sure why he kept petting her, but a part of him wanted to. A motion that felt familiar, even if there was no meaning behind it. Perhaps it was something that the true Lewis loved to do.

“You’re awake,” he said as she started to speak. “Lady Angela knows very well what dangers can happen. But this link between us is something even she has little say over. Once it’s established, it will either power you, or burn you alive. You’d do best to remember that. If you die…so do we…”

It took her a moment to stand, and even with help she was still shaky. It didn’t help that she was a mess from Lust, as well as a mess from the resonance starting to leak magic. Still, she was adamant with her next demand. A bath. The guide was half dragged out of the room, and with a bit of remembering on Simone’s part, they found a washroom in the memory of Auclair.

Simone drew a bath, and dipped herself in, but refused to let the guide leave. So, he was stuck there, his arms crossed as he stood in the entryway, waiting for her to finish. That was when she asked the question.

“You won’t like the answer,” the guide said. “Lewis loves you with his heart and soul. He’s buried the feelings of doubt and regret, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. It’s the darkest part in all of our souls.” He looked her dead in the eye. “You can tell me all you want that you don’t regret meeting Lewis, but…” He waved his hand in the air, “ A part of regret, even if you don’t realize it, is accepting all of the bad things, as well as the good things. Sure, meeting Lewis is the love of your life, but…in order for that to happen, you’ve had to shudder thousands of years of torment. If you could trade Lewis away to have never experienced it, would you?”

He put up his hand before she could answer. “You can’t answer that. At this point, your mind and soul are biased. You can’t possibly comprehend how life could have been. But that’s how curiosity works when regret is involved. A dark part of you will always wonder….”

“What. If?”

The guide sighed. “What if we had never met. What if the fae lord had never tried to take you. What if you accepted the fae lord. What if Lewis had never surrendered his icy, cold and calculating self for this emotional being he’s become.” The guide chuckled. “Do we regret it? Not on the surface…but deep, deep down where he represses his doubts and fears…”

“Maybe. Maybe he does. Just like you…”

There was a maniacal laugh from Simone as she covered her face for a moment before slipping into the water and submerging herself underneath. The guide Lewis looked over the side of the tub and Simone was staring up at him. It was an eerie calm from beneath the water. She pushed herself up after she couldn’t hold her breath another and put her hands on the side of the tub her face was close to his. “I hated Lewis. I loathed him. I hated everything he was. I hated you.” It was devoid of emotion. “I couldn’t stand the person you were or how much you acted like an ass. I watched through the fucking window of my soul and couldn’t tell you to go to fucking hell. Let you slit my throat as many times as you wanted because it didn’t fucking matter. You didn’t matter.”

There was a smile on her face now as she let him go, “A fragment of everything I am or would be. What life would I have had? I can actually tell you. Even if the fey lord hadn’t come and gotten me… Jerome didn’t actually love me. He hated me. He would have had me killed as easily as Emil had Lewis kill me. That’s the way of the world. He would have taken my throne from me for himself and married the woman he wanted to. That’s the way it is Lewis. That’s the world. My life? Is a hell of an existence and I would have been a stronghold for however long I had to be. If you had killed me and not come for me I would have left eventually with Edwin. I am finding every day I’m not as patient as I once thought I was.”

Her hand reached out and she took his face, “Lewis… You… You gave me a purpose and a better ending than I would have had otherwise. I was a person of power and I was naive and vulnerable. I would have been killed regardless. It just matters when. Without the fey lord, I wouldn’t have become strong and without you, I wouldn’t have become whole. These are the facts. They wouldn’t have changed because I have thought about them every day. Every dream. Every second. Thinking about the ifs. When I was drowning for three hundred years, when I was being raped, when I was tortured… I had the time.”

She thought about his other question, “If we had never met, eventually the fey lord would have found out I wasn’t in the lake. He would have killed Emil, his whole staff, his family… and he would have taken me. He would have shoved me back in that lake until I broke, or thought I would break. Who knows maybe I would have. Maybe I would have been forced to get pregnant and carry a child I hated and loved before he slit my throat and ripped that hated child from my arms. I’ve done it before you know. Tore my own child out of me to save it from its fate. He was pissed. The question isn’t what if but what will I do. That should be what terrifies you.”

She kissed his forehead lightly. “It is entirely human nature to have fears and doubts. How much he has given up for me I don’t doubt at all. Your words don’t hurt me in the least bit. I would think it was odd if you or he didn’t feel that way. I went to war with myself and I killed every last bit of myself to become whole with the explicit purpose of using Lewis and ditching him when I was done.”

He wanted honesty, but would he like what she had to say?

“However, when absorbing the last few pieces of me… They were the pieces Lewis had directly influenced one way or another. Love is a very strong emotion, and it was strong enough to sway the hatred I felt. Do I have regrets? I have many. Mostly about stupid little things but I wouldn’t be the person I am without all the torture and rape. Would I endure it again? Yes, even without Lewis. The world is nothing but shades of gray and I prefer knowing the harsh truth than hiding behind a mask. Even if it does bring me great sadness and hurt. The dark part of me?” She flopped back in the water and thought, “You are looking at her. The guide is the one you want to give this speech to. It’s never been about salvation for me not even when I was originally raped and murdered. It’s been about survival and getting even. Even if I had to rot in the underworld upon my death bed. I didn’t even flinch when I bashed his wife’s head in with that iron rod. Would I have accepted the fey lord’s request? If he had asked but then I would have lost my kingdom and I would have been labeled a whore. All power pieces for Jerome. I’ve thought about all of this already. Every possible outcome. Every possible move. I’ve had nothing but time Sweet Lewis. It’s made me a very bitter person because as much as I want to be the ones pulling the reigns… even now Lewis is the one doing it.”

The guide was surprised at her answer. It wasn’t that she had felt these emotions towards Lewis, nor was it the hostile tone she took towards the malice she had felt, but at the ease that she slipped back into it, as if the memories of her past were happening now. Still, as she spoke on, her tone softened, just a bit. It was harsh, but true. The guide had called her out on the things that she lay hidden, but she in turn showed him her devotion to the events that had happened, and how they changed her for the better.

The guide shook his head, scoffing at her answer. “You’re too fucking much, you know that?” He looked away, but there was a half smile on his face. “You two…we…we really do belong together.” When he turned his attention back to Simone, the smile had vanished. “We need to get a move on. Hurry up and finish. That’s two down, and five more to go.”

Once again, the cold and calculating Lewis was back, and he was impatient. They still had a lot of ground to cover.

Simone gave a smile before answering, “So I hear from time to time.” She pulled herself out of the tub after she finished and dried herself off. “I’ll have to find clothes first,” she sighed a bit and didn’t waste any time going through the closets until she found something that fit her.

Once she was dressed she hurried out of the Auclair castle door and back into the Hoja Mesto. Instantly though her face contorted into a deep frown as she looked back at the Guide Lewis and over to a set of barrels. “I was wondering why the fuck I was on edge,” she marched over and pulled up two Simones.

These Simones were very much younger than the older one before the guide Lewis. They had a look of terror on their faces before they waved at Lewis. “WHAT are you two doing here? AND HOW ARE YOU HERE?”

“Well, Lewlew is in trouble and I want to help him!” The guide replied as she got excited and wiggled her way out of Simone’s grasp.

“I want to help too! He helped me I want to help him!” This was the younger Simone, one that Simone hadn’t let out for a variety of reasons mostly because she was her sanity most of the time.

“That doesn’t answer how you both are here,” Simone was unamused as the two slipped away from her and took the guide Lewis’s arms in theirs and shoved his arms in their breasts cutely.

“Well, the resonance is also with us so we can freely navigate to Lewis too when you do.” The guide was quick to explain. “So since you are here we just made the decision to follow. After all, this is your conscious state and not your physical one so the three of us can exist all at once with no issue.”

“There is an issue,” Simone held up her finger as the two little ones tilted their heads. “You two can’t fight, can’t use magic, get in the way, trip a lot, and gawk over Lewis when he does the littlest things that you find cute.” The two of them got bright red.

“THEN WE WILL BE MORAL SUPPORT,” they yelled together as they hugged Lewis tightly to them. “WE ARE GOING TO SAVE OUR LEWLEW.”

“Oh, for the love of God,” Simone marched her way to the next door. “Just… stay out of the way or something. Be useful if you can.”

The guide Lewis was shocked to see the two other versions of Simone. He was with the true Simone, though, and thought that they shouldn’t have come, but in the end they were about as stubborn as Simone was, and there was no relenting. However, the guide Lewis was annoyed at their possessiveness over his arms, and as Simone relented, he yanked himself free.

“Keep off of me,” he snapped at both of them. This Lewis was harsh, and it was something that only the younger Simone had dealt with.

As Simone neared the next door, the guide hurried to talk about it. It appeared as a standard tavern door, but this was from his memories. It was the tavern that held Heaven’s Dawn, a thieve’s guild that he and Xeik had built from the ground up with the help of a few benefactors. In the end, it was destroyed.

“There was a time when Lewis and Xeik were inseparable,” he said as he caught up to her. “And then…Xeik made a mistake. With a target on his back, he had to leave in order to keep Heaven's Dawn safe. So, he ended up traveling the world, and that was when he met Raile. But, he left us behind to watch the guild.”

As the door opened, revealing a scene of children running around the tavern, the guide stepped into it, and pointed up to a young boy, lazing in the rafters. “I was their leader, but I was alone. Lost without the one who I looked up to. I was afraid of leading, scared of my apparent lack of strength, and most of all…envious. Envious of those who took the time I had with the one person I trusted. Envious that I could not have more. I had been left behind…but soon after this, I would find that killing helped fill that emptiness…”

“Until then, though…I was alone. Always distant…”

“OKAY! You can punish us okay,” the Simones answered him and there was an audible groan from the true Simone.

Simone moved around to look around the guild, “Thieving can catch up to you quickly… That’s what you told Rex.” She had been listening.

The true Simone was busy scouting and making sure that she wasn’t missing anything. A single thing that she missed could end up killing both of them. However, it wasn’t the same for the guide who was elegant in climbing her way up.

“Why are you by yourself?” The guide made a puffy face at the younger Lewis as she struggled to pull herself up. “Isn’t it… Lonely?” Hadn’t she been listening? The true Simone almost pulled her down but instead let the Guide do whatever she would want. A child would sometimes only learn by touching a hot stove. Her big gray eyes were looking into Lewis’s hazel eyes. The younger Simone was more hesitant but the Guide knew danger well enough. She crossed her legs and sat next to this new Lewis.

"Any plan for just in case this goes bad?" The younger Simone was whispering between the Guide Lewis and Simone.

"No, just let her do it. She'll learn or die. It's not like she can't be remade. You stay back though."

It took the guide Lewis a moment to answer, but when he did, it was merely to cross his arms and shrug. “This was before he really killed, so she might be okay. But, to be honest, I haven’t the slightest idea what is going to happen.” He smirked. “It should be interesting to see how it plays out. I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended with her death…”

Envy looked at the guide as she approached, but ignored her. Just another one of the rescued girls from another raid. That was all she was to him. The others could take care of her. But she was focused on him, now. What was he to do?

“Go away,” he said. “I’ve got more important things to do than deal with your kind.” He dropped from the rafters, and landed with ease. He was a little surprised, though, to see Simone here. He glanced back to see if his patron was here. “The hell Bat, I thought you said you closed for the night.” He glanced back. “Lady, you need to leave…”

There was an aura of danger about Envy. Despite being a child, he was in charge, and he knew that if it came between him and the kids he was tasked with, he would fight to the death. It was all he could do. That’s why Xeik had left him here. That was his worth. He may have longed for more, but this…

“We’re closed…” He was slowly reaching for the dagger at his belt. It was a tough situation. The guards wouldn’t come, so it was up to him to get her out.