Lewis thought for a moment, but nothing was coming. Perhaps Rhenakos’ idea of keeping it simple wasn’t the nest idea after all, as now it seemed like Lewis was going too far down the simple route to even form a vow. Yet when he opened his mouth, words seemed to come out as if he had thought long and hard about them.

“I don’t know how best to say this…but my promise to kill you was out of pride. And, to an extent it still is…but…more so, I’ve come to understand that…there are powerful emotions in the world, and that only some people can bring out the best of those emotions.” He paused. It was kind of a half ramble. “I’ve never thought myself capable of these emotions, but…you’ve shown me otherwise.” There we go. Bringing it back on track.

“My promise remains true. You’ve shown me what I’m capable of, and for it…I will fulfill your greatest wish…” He whispered below his breath so that only he, Simone, and Angela could truly hear them. “You will die…and be set free. I promise.”

Simone’s face lit up and even Angela was pleasantly surprised by what Lewis had come up with. His last few words made Simone tear up for the first time ever but she nodded to him. “With these vows, I shall present the rings. Rhenakos~” She held out her hand for them. “You are supposed to have them.”

After she got handed them she gave the first one to Simone, “You both will repeat after me. Since we are already long-winded as it is.” Simone nodded as she started to slide the ring onto Lewis’s finger. “With this ring, my body and soul are yours until the end of days.”

Simone repeated it and slid the ring onto his finger and before long Simone’s ring was given to Lewis and Angela told him to repeat what she told Simone.

“With these vows said I pronounce you husband and wife as Goddess of Love and Life. May your unity no matter how short be filled with bliss. You can go ahead and kiss now.” Osiria gave a look to Rhen when she saw the hesitation. With a little pointing both Os and Rhen then pushed Lewis and Simone into a kiss.

That seemed to be all Simone needed to be kissing him deeply. She broke the kiss and left her forehead to his. “I love you, Lewis,” she whispered to him. “Thank you for making me happy.”

Anemone came up to them and offered them a few berries from her hands. “These are special berries that we give all of the newlyweds. They… Well, you will see what they do.” Simone ate the berries and tilted her head. “It will take a moment but you’ll figure out what they do when it happens!”

Leilah was back in action, “We cleaned out the shop and got all the food and stuff in! Everyone come back to the shop for the reception!” Simone took Lewis by the arm as everyone corralled back to the shop. Leilah had done a splendid job setting everything up. There was even a little cake too.

“Okay but, I have to see Lewis dance with Simone,” Osiria was demanding it to Holly who had her violin and was twirling her bow. “That’s a wedding thing to do right?”

“You should let them sit~ Enjoy themselves before you make them dance. Do they even know?”

“I bet Simone does!” Osiria looked to Simone and Simone nodded. “SEE! She can teach Lewis. He’s a fucking assassin how can he not be good on his feet.”

With the ring in hand, Lewis repeated what Lady Angela said, and slipped the ring onto Simone’s finger. When they were told to kiss, though, Lewis froze. He was expected to do that, in front of all these people. There was a surprise nudge from behind ,and Rhen pushed him forward. In order to not crash into Simone, he instead wrapped his arms around her. Whatever they had planned, it worked, and the two kissed.

It still tastes like apples…

When they broke apart, Simone whispered her love for him, to which he flushed. “I…love….” He grumbled out the rest. It was hard to say out loud, especially when their resonance wasn’t in full swing.

A lot was happening, and berries were thrust at him to eat as some kind of tradition. He didn’t press the matter, and ate them, but there was supposed to be some kind of effect. I better have not just been fucking poisoned.

“Fine. I’ll dance, whatever…just calm down already,” Lewis replied shaking his hand in the air. He had been taking etiquette courses, and one of them was surprisingly a simplistic dance. “Simone..please lead. I only know basics steps just…” he whispered to her, trying to appease the angry pregnant lady.

“Show me the way…”

Simone’s face flushed when Lewis started to speak and she shook her head. “You don’t have to force it, I know it’s hard when we’re not…” Well… whatever it was. She offered a smile up. There was no need to force Lewis because she knew how he felt.

Everything was entirely overwhelming even for Simone and she kept a good grip on Lewis even when they got back to the shop. Simone heard Lewis’s plea and she smiled a bit, “I can. At least there is something I can do to save you for once~” There was a bit of tease there as Holly raised her violin.

“Here’s a song just for the newlyweds~ Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Lewis~” It hardly mattered what their last name was and Holly had been told that they just weren’t too sure. Still, she was confident or not as she played and never missed a beat. That was a bard for you though and Holly oozed charisma. It was a slow song and Simone took Lewis in the center of the small dance floor that the shop now had.

She positioned him slightly and gave a smirk, “Just move with me.” It was a whisper but she got her point across as they danced slowly together. Her head laid on his shoulder and she closed her eyes. “I wasn’t sure if you would go with it but I’m glad you did. I don’t want everything I do to end up as a fuck up… I’m not entirely sure what dying for good is like but I know you are strong so I’ll be strong too.” She was whispering to him again, “I don’t think me dying will affect you too much and you will probably be glad to be rid of me. I feel like I’ve been a pain in your ass since we’ve met. Far too much trouble for just some strange girl.”

Her hand gripped his and her other at his shoulder. She knew this dance by heart since she had done it so many times before and she was even good at correcting him even if she couldn't see. Perks of being as old as she was. "At least you'll be able to find stuff in your room again," there was a slight chuckle as her gray eyes finally opened up and she looked at him lovingly for what seemed like the very first time. "I can't stop thanking you for lifting the heavy burden off of me. If I had given in… Everyone who had died for me or because of me… It would have all been wasted. I don't care about my suffering but I do care about theirs. Yours too."

It was odd how Simone was so nonchalant about her death. Or, at least, due to the way that Lewis had experienced death in his own life, maybe it felt odd only to him. Growing up on the streets, killing to protect…he had always comet o believe that to live was to be strong, yet here Simone was willing to give up her life, and this willingness was considered strength.

“I don’t…” he started to say, but he stopped. It wasn’t meant for him to understand, and he might just have to be okay with that. Lewis smirked. “It will be nice to have my rooms back. And…” He glanced to the side as they swayed back and forth. “I’ve gotten quite accustomed to your sorting. It might stick…”

Lewis’ breath caught when she mentioned his suffering. What? “Simone…I’m not…” Was he suffering? No, that couldn’t be it. What was she talking about? There’s no way I’m suffering. Her dying had always been a part of the plan, and everything that had lead up to it was merely a means to the end. Why would that cause suffering?

These damned emotions… They never made sense…

There was a chuckle from her as she shook her head. She turned her head just enough to kiss him. “No, I think I’ve made you suffer in plenty of ways. I made you feel things… My mind did things to you. I can remember all of it now.” Her gray eyes were dancing over him as she thought about it.

“I’ve been nothing more than a problem since I showed up and yet,” she gripped his hand a bit more. “I am very happy… I can’t speak for you but when I can feel you… When we’re one I can tell–” She cut herself off not knowing just what she wanted to express.

“I’m the worst inconvenience.” That was how Simone had thought of herself. The worst inconvenience people could stumble upon. She brought misery with her and most everyone who had ever met her ended up dead because of her. “And I’ve inconvenienced you again by making you marry me of all people. I am both sad and happy.” There was a warmth growing in her though and she found herself desiring him much more than she did already. It was bothersome and it reminded her of what the small nymph had said about the berries. She ignored it for the time being as she kissed Lewis's shoulder and snuggled in close. There were only three days left at this point. Three days was plenty.

Lewis felt the dance end, and they were more or less just standing, holding each other in the middle of the garden. The assassin was fine with this, at least for the time being, and was content enough to stay there. Like with Simone, there was a strange feeling that he had noticed slowly building, a want and need for something that was more than just the sex they had been having the past few days.

“Here…let’s just…” He looked around. The opportunities were slowly making themselves known. Holly had finished her song, and she and Osiria were speaking about something. The others were shuffling their way to the reception in Raile’s shop. He lifted her as if she weighed nothing, and jumped hard. Despite it being daytime, Lewis was able to draw out the few shadows there to mask his escape as he landed on the roof of a building.

“Let’s just…leave them be. The reception is going to be stuffy, and I know a place down by the river that we can lay low for awhile.”

Moving across the rooftops was easy, even with Simone in his arms, and soon they found themselves underneath one of the many bridges that crossed Jayou. “We should be fine here,” Lewis said as he set her down. Feelings were welling up again in his heart. The resonance was kicking in alongside the berries.

He kissed her softly, and pulled her down with him…

Simone was most interested in what Lewis was up to now. She quickly put her arms around his neck as he picked her up. Angela had noticed and gave a bit of a shrug. They could celebrate however they wanted to. She could make up some good excuses~

“This is a first for me,” she chuckled up at him and but nodded along to his suggestion. “Today has been all about what I wanted so I only find it fair that you get something too.”

Simone didn’t release him from her arms as he set her down. “Alright, you know Jayou best.” At least better than she did.

Her heartbeat heavy before he kissed her. She could feel all of him and he could her too. They were laying on top of her dress when everything stopped spinning. He had her arms around her naked body and she was content. She snuggled her nose against his neck before lightly giving him a hug. “Best wedding day ever~” She lightly teased with a smile.

Moving up she kissed his lips softly. “Sorry about it being so pushy though. I wasn’t expecting it either.” She could still feel his heart beating with hers and it did make her head swirl. It was in a good way though as she pulled his jacket over them slightly. They hadn't really planned for this.

The time they spent alone underneath the bridge seemed to last a lifetime, and soon Lewis noticed that it was finally getting dark. Despite this, he made little effort to move, and instead pressed his body against Simone’s to share their warmth. He didn’t want this to end.

Is this her feelings, or mine? Did it even matter? He curled up underneath his coat, and closed his eyes. She smells nice. He buried his face in her hair, and tightened his hold on her. She’ll be gone soon, so remember this. But why? These emotions were a burden. Why would he want to remember this warmth? I don’t understand. Why am I like this?

The night passed with the two of them cuddling each other, and when the morning came, Lewis found himself questioning what was to come.

I have no choice…I have to end it. Just as she’s asked…