There were a few good places to gather information in the Vilpamolan area, but none were quite as good as the seedy taverns that Lewis frequented for his jobs It was one such job that had gifted him Simone. Time had flown since then, and now they had built a life together, one that was being threatened by Simone’s family.

“Simone,” Lewis said as he pulled up the hood on his cloak. It was dark and rainy, and the air smelled strongly of blood mixed with the ocean. “I need you to keep your head down, and keep as quiet as possible. Don’t speak to anyone, and don’t…just don’t look at anyone in the eye. Half of these nutcases will kill you for looking at them wrong, and while I’m…not really worried about that, we’ll lose valuable lead time.”

For the most part, letting Felix go had been a smart idea. There was a complicated magical tracker that Lewis had performed, and despite his inexperience with the spell, it had lasted up till the area. They were here, but finding them in such a town would take some time and connections. And with the way Simone was, she was a loose cannon. Lewis would have rather told her to stay outside, but he would be at a disadvantage should he need to identify anyone else a part of the conspiracy.

“Do you understand?” Lewis asked, giving her a look. “It’s not about killing this time…it;s about information. I need you to keep calm. If it comes to it, pull from me.” It had been a trick they were learning. For everything that Simone caused Lewis to start feeling, the reverse was true. Lewis’ cold and calm could be given to Simone if she tried.

Simone had her own cloak hiding her. She looked meek which put her at more of a disadvantage in Vilpamolan. At least it wouldn’t be fear that they would sense from her. She wasn’t scared of them but more so very aware of what Lewis was worried about. Her feelings which had been bottled for so long had finally blown up. She could feel herself catching her breath every once in a while to keep her calm. Her heart was anxious.

The phoenix nodded to her husband and took another breath, “I’ll do it no matter what.” The taverns here were different from the ones in Benin. The smell was different as they walked in. The people were instantly on guard from the new people walked in. Simone kept her eyes down but she would looked around meeting no one’s eyes every once in a while. She was being distrusting. “So where do we start?” Simone whispered to Lewis.

She had never been to Vilpamolan before so this was her first time being in a seedy tavern. The stench in the air was quite different and not something she was used to. For the first time in a while she was at a loss of what to do so she was completely trusting in Lewis’s experience. This was quite the test for her emotional state and she could feel the hard thumps of her heart. She probably wouldn’t calm down until her family and enemies were dead.

“Just keep an eye out, and let me know what you see. Watch everyone’s reaction, and gauge appropriately. Certain words and phrases can trigger a reaction.” Lewis led Simone into the tavern, and just like before, there were scattered glances in their direction as they walked to a table. It was rather lively for the time of night, and there was a low roar of voices as drinks were ordered and games were played. It wasn’t long before a rather busty wench came, looking for an order.

“Whatcha want?” she asked, practically trying to shove her bust in Lewis’ face. “If nothin’ on the menu is to your fancy, maybe we can…strike up a different bargain.” She eyed Lewis up and down with a sultry look.

Lewis blew off the invitation, and put a single silver coin on the table. “A bottle of Midnight. Top shelf.”

At once the wench’s smile dropped, and she stood up straight, looking more annoyed than anything. “Fine. Just don’t cause a ruckus here…I’ve got plenty of clients lined up for the night and I don’t need your kind fucking it up.” She went into the back, obviously displeased with Lewis’ choice of “drink.”

About five minutes later, someone sat across from Lewis and Simone; a large, gentlemanly looking man with a black button down and a top hat. To complete the look, he even had a monocle. It was apparent to everyone that he was not high class.

“You look ridiculous,” Lewis said as he leaned forward. “If I didn’t know better, I’d mark you as an easy target.”

“Lewis, it’s been far too long,” the man said with a fake sophisticated tone. “You seem to be doing well for yourself. I take it the last few jobs you took a few months ago set you right?”

The assassin glared at the man, “You’re obviously benefiting from my hard work, and I very well know you sold me out on the last job…so I’d just drop the idle chat before I kill you.”

The man feigned shock, gasping. “Oh but, my dear Lewis! I would neve-”

“Not a fucking soul here will lend a hand to you,” Lewis snapped back. “So just give me the information I want, and I won’t coat the floor with your blood, Jasper.”

Jasper sighed, “Fine.” He dropped the whole act, but he still didn’t seem afraid of Lewis. “What do you want to know.”

Lewis glanced to Simone, and then to Jasper. “Jasper, this is my…client, Simone. She’s got the specifics.” He gave the man across the table a piercing glare. “Treat her like you’d treat me…she can handle it.”

Simone had always heard stories about Vilpamolan from her father. Especially when shipments didn’t make it to where they needed to go because of the pirates. It was interesting seeing the people she was told not to associate with.

The invitation got a head tilt from her but she supposed it was normal. Still, she kept quiet about it all. Simone sat down and kept her hands in her lap. Her eyes were oddly meek almost as if putting on a show. This was her staying calm.

When the man stared at Simone she added a flush to her face and looked away, “She’s way too pretty to be your cilent~ What can I do for you, Miss Simone?”

Simone snapped her attention at once and her gray eyes looked into his with high intensity. “There should be a group of men here–”

“A lot–”

“Cut me off again and I’ll cut your hand off,” Simone’s eyes changed almost immediately. The man reeled back just a bit. “They would have been here a long time or they float. My guess is that they’ve been hiding here for the better part of a thousand years. One of them looks almost exactly like me. I doubt they are going by their actual names when doing business. There would be two elderly gentlemen. One would look more in his sixties and the other would be in his forties. I wouldn’t be surprised if the oldest of them gives information around the city for a high price.”

She moved her hand and pushed her hair behind her ear. “There’s also a man in his twenties. Brown hair and hazel eyes. The last one would also be in his early twenties, blonde and blue-eyed. There might have been a ruckus caused last night from the one who looks like me coming back to the city. He would have needed a healer late at night. The wounds would have been gruesome enough that the healer spoke about it.”

“And why would you need to find these men?”

“Just a little reunion~ They are part of my family you see and I need to pay them back for their hospitality. The specifics don’t matter but if I had to guess they would be trying to live large here in Vilpamolan. The rumors in Adeluna about women going missing would have brought excitement to the one who looks like me. He would have asked a lot of questions about women who looked like me.”

Jasper took his time thinking about the best way to answer Simone’s questions. There was a lot of information at state if it turned out that the family she was looking for was indeed that family. But this was Lewis’ ‘client’, and for that, Jasper could make quite the killing if he leaked the right information to the right people. If he was lucky, he could cause an entire family war on the peninsula, and war meant profits.

“Lewis, this puts me in a bad place,” he said as he looked between the assassin and the woman, leaning in close to whisper. “That family’s name doesn’t get spoken around here, lest you end up dead in your sleep. They’ve got a lot of connections.”

Lewis cocked his head to the side. “I’ve got a lot of connections too. You’d do best to remember that.”

Sucker. “All right then, Lewis…you got me…” He pulled out a piece of parchment and scribbled down an address. “It’s a dockside house, not too far from here. Tell him you want to talk, and hand him this note.” The shady man pulled out a sealed envelope. “Don’t. Open. It. He’ll tell you the family’s name.” He smirked. “For five thousand silver.”

The assassin sat back in his chair. “I’m not your fucking errand boy.”

“Like I said, Lew…” That earned a special glare for Lewis. “It’s not a name that can be spoken lightly…just trust me on this.”

The assassin took a deep breath, and let it go. “Fine.” He stood up, and beckoned for Simone to follow. They lefty the tavern, and started down the dimly lit streets.

“He’s an idiot,” Lewis said as he took a look at the sealed envelope. He pulled out a match, and lit it, holding the flame beneath it. “Like I thought.” The paper inside the envelope was barely readable, but what Lewis could make out was basically a note of introduction from a more well known family, and that Lewis was a messenger to declare war. “He’s trying to use me to stir up some shit, knowing full well I can make it out of any situation…”

“I figured this would happen, but…” Lewis smiled. “He’s not entirely without his uses. The family he’s going to declare war on is the one we’re looking for. That’s the game he plays…”

Her eyes narrowed down on the man and there was something that came under her breath. That irritation as she grumbled, “I’ll fucking show them a name that shouldn’t be said.” Otherwise, she was oddly calm about it all. Despite how outwardly calm she was her rage was like a boiling ocean again.

She stood up with Lewis and followed him right away. “Fun~” Her eyes looked at the envelope. “Can’t wait for them to realize their long lost princess is coming home~” There was heavy sarcasm in her voice.

“Stirring up shit tends to be what we seem to do best,” Simone chuckled a bit as she looked up at the sky. “It’s such a dreary day for them. The rain would put out the fire.” Maybe she wasn’t thinking about setting the whole place on fire.

“Let’s get this done already so I can say hello to long last friends,” Simone pulled her hood more over her face. “I think, that we should be careful as well. The older one is good at having many friends and who knows who could have heard me. Though that would just make this game of cat and mouse more fun.”

They made it down to the docks and Simone enjoyed the ocean view. The waters were rough but she did say the weather was shit.

The house that they were sent to look like any other run down shack on the dockside. It was barely standing, and when Lewis knocked on the door the whole structure seemed to rattle. The door opened, and a short, somber looking man with a few missing teeth opened the door. Lewis handed the letter to him.

It didn’t take him long to read the letter, and he opened the door wide, inviting them in. Lewis could feel the presence of two assassins appear behind them. Less an invitation and more of a threat. Still, Lewis was calm, and willing Simone to hold off. They walked into the place, and the door slammed shut behind them.

The two assassins behind them were professionals, their entire faces covered in wraps. One of the was holding a dagger to the back of Lewis’ neck. The other one seemed to be trained on Simone, but her meek presence wasn’t enough to warrant a full threat.

“So…the infamous Lewis Dusk,” the short man said as he waved the letter around. “Declaring war on one of the top nobles of the town? Siding with Wintercrest? Never thought you were the type.” He cackled, and snapped his fingers. Several stronger looking men came from the back of the house. “How very courageous of you to walk into the center of Asdown’s den.

Ah. There we are. Lewis smiled. “I’m terribly sorry. There seems to be a mistake…you were simply supposed to give me information for coin.”

“No mistake here, boy…” The man marched up to Lewis and slapped the paper into his chest. “Says that you’re an envoy for war. Once this gets out-”

“Oh…well this does seem to be a misunderstanding.” The assassin huffed, crossing his arms. “I guess that…I’ll just have to make sure this doesn’t get out then.”

“How bold of yo-” The man stopped. He looked very confused for a moment, and then he fell forward. Lewis cocked his head to the side. “Strange…I didn’t do that.” The assassin looked down at the paper that had fallen when the man had, and he cursed. “Fuck. Poiso-” Lewis stumbled, and fell forward.

The ever meek Simone act was coming in handy. The fact she was so good at acting scared and her constant looking to Lewis was protection made her look like she wasn’t a threat. The theatrics of it all was about to get an eye roll from Simone but she kept the act going.

Lewis did say they were declaring war and being used for it. She sighed a bit once Lewis fell. Her hand came up and she took off the cloak throwing it down. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Shut up,” Simone shot a look at one of the men. “I’m getting tired of playing the meek princess.” One of the assassins behind her went to restrain her but the moment he touched her he lit on fire. “Now,” she began to crack her knuckles as she spoke. “I need information. Let’s see who has some.” The chances of any of them knowing what she needed though was low.

“There’s only you,” one of the men laughed.

“Is there?” Simone was quick as she grabbed the daggers off Lewis’s person immediately taking out as many as she could. She left only three standing since she was much more agile and fast than they were. Working on her flexibility, no matter how they did it, was actually a good idea in the long run. Them also not knowing who Lewis was to her was also working to her advantage.

“Now~ How should I punish the three of you,” Simone took the bone dagger from Lewis and sliced her wrist. The dagger lit up in hot blue flames.

“The fuck,” one of them was uncertain.

“You should consider all the possibilities when people are in front of you. All of them,” it took her no time with her speed to fit them. The last one didn’t even know where she went when she snapped his neck was behind.

Considering Lewis couldn’t die the only thing she could do was wait for him to wake up. She sat on the ground and put his head in her lap. Stroking his hair she hummed softly as her healing magic did what it could.

Once he was awake she smiled at him, “It’s about time Sleeping Beauty.”

Lewis awoke to the soft sounds of Simone singing. It was something enjoyable, and he would lock this particular memory away for a time when he could actually enjoy it. For now, though, he forced himself up, groaning. “I wasn’t expecting the poison in the envelope trick…should have, though…” He rubbed the back of his neck, and looked around the room. “What a mess…no one escaped right?” With Simone’s help, he stood up, and pointed towards the back of the house.

“There’s tunnels to the main house more than likely. Since we hold the element of surprise, it shouldn’t be too difficult.” The assassin was feeling better, and walk able to walk towards the back of the house on his own. It didn’t take him long to uncover the secret passage, and the two descended.

“Now…we can go about this two ways,” Lewis said as they stared down the dark path. “My way…” He lightly tossed a dagger into the air. “Or…”

“Didn’t even give them the chance too~” Simone was quite proud of herself. She was gentle with him as she helped him up. “Careful,” she could tell he was still woozy from the poison. “I think the element of surprise can be done both ways~” Simone chimed in as she smirked up at him.

“I want to surprise Jermone,” there was a bit of poison to her words as she kept to his side. Once they got to the house Simone looked at Lewis and rubbed his hand. “Go into the bottom level, I’ll make sure to scare them like rats.”

She transformed into a phoenix and was careful as she flew into an open window. It didn’t take her long to find a room. The men were all sleeping which meant they worked more at night. She was quiet not a sound to her step as she slid herself up onto the dresser. She cleared her throat and Jerome shot up in bed.

His blue eyes locked with hers. “Si-Simone,” he got out of bed and approached her. “Is it actually you?”

“As much of me as I can be. A lot of me was destroyed,” Simone was being honest when she spoke. He put his hands to her face crashing her cheek. He leaned in kissing her lips but she didn't respond.

“I was so worried about you. No one saw you after Auclair burned. Felix being a dumb ass lied to you,” his voice was quiet. Simone inhaled a bit and nodded but she allowed Jerome the chance to keep talking. “I wanted to look for you but they wouldn’t let me. You’ve always been my heart and no one could replace you.” He certainly sounded sincere.

“You’ve gotten really good at lying to my face,” Simone frowned a bit. “You were the only one who knew about the tunnels to my room. The only one who could have told the fey lord they were there but my father. Not even our spymaster knew.” She saw the color drain from Jerome’s face. “I told you about them so you could sneak into my room. Do you remember? Our soft moments? We never did much of anything but cuddle in bed and talk about our future.” She frowned a bit deeper. “So at what point did you decide to throw it all away for a bigger kingdom?”

“I didn-”

“Don’t lie to me any more than you have. You might find yourself without a tongue… You’re already without the top floor of your house.”

“What?”

From the point where Simone sat black flames burst out. Jerome started to cough as he ran for the door yelling for everyone, “GET UP, we have to leave now,” the flames were spreading as all five of the men panicked.

Smoke flooded downstairs before the fire seemingly stopped. Simone came down the staircase cornering the men with Lewis. “It’s been a while, Uncle Sigmund~ Peter. Edward.” Simone’s cold eyes were looking at all of them. “You look much better Felix.”

“No thanks to your psychotic ass,” Felix hissed up at her.

“That’s pretty rude but if I am fucked up it is entirely all of your faults. It was probably the three hundred years of drowning that did it if I had to be honest.” Simone shrugged and looked at all of them.

“What?” Jerome looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“The fey lord couldn’t break me so he tortured me in unimaginable ways. If I have no humanity left it is because he took it from me. Tortured. Raped. Killed. I’ve been burned at the stake a few times… but it will never hurt as much as realizing the people I trusted most stabbed me in the back for something as stupid as longevity… Don’t you think Lewis? Has Felix told you about my husband Lewis? He’s quite good at his job. It’s how we met, after all, ~ Stabbed me right here,” Simone touched where Lewis had killed her the first time. “And right here~”

"So I was right about you being an omen of death," the spymaster Peter spoke up.

"A black bird who death follows? That's what I am. It's fitting considering what we're going to do to all of you. Thank you, Felix."

"For what?"

"For being a fucking idiot enough to lead us back here to you," Simone called it out that they had used him and all the color left Felix's face. "Lewis~ My love~ Where should we start. Jerome had the audacity to kiss me upstairs."