Romance RP

(Welcome back. XD)

Lycoris felt Ryan touch her hand and could feel that he was in need of her support. She held his hand and gently squeezed it, for she need his own support as well.

The party ate their breakfast although most of them didn't have much appetite.

**************

The shapeshifter replied, "Well, Lycoris will die after giving up her powers anyhow so you don't have to worry about her much, I guess."

Lady Penelope gave her daughter a frown, as she could see how depressed Alex was. Turning to look at him kindly, she reached out to hold his hands in her own and gently said,

"Let's hope for the best, darling. There's still that true love miracle, right? It's a dim hope, a slight chance but it might be the solution for everything."

(Thanks.  XD)

Ryan felt a little more comforted as Lycoris returned the gesture and so he ate what he could.  Once he was done, he waited for Lycoris to be done as well.  Also, he wanted to wait for Nerine so that he could talk to her about Alex.

**************

Alex smiled a little and nodding, he replied, "Yes, you're right, my lady.  Thank you."

He paused and added, "It sure is a comfort to have you here.  Your presence is like the light of the sun."

Lycoris was soon done eating as well, having had what she could. Most of the party was soon finishing up and Nerine was done as well. Lisianthus spoke up,

"I'll be in my office to take care of some issues and try to figure out a solution for this trouble. Please excuse me, everyone."

She got up and left, with Duchess Irene following her.

***************

Lady Penelope giggled softly and replied,

"Aww darling, that's so sweet of you to say. But I am the happy one to be here, you know. I enjoy your company as well as my daughter's, of course, and I missed you two very much."

As the others had finished breakfast, Ryan turned to Nerine and said, "Lycoris and I are going to take a walk in the gardens this morning.  Would you care to join us?"

He wanted to find an excuse to talk to Nerine alone and thought that this would work.

*************

Alex replied, "We missed you, too.  It made my heart sad to think of you in that cell so I'm happy that you're free and here with us now."

Nerine was surprised that Ryan and Lycoris were inviting her of all people, and although she didn't like their company, she was curious to find out the reason behind this invitation. So nodding, she replied,

"Sure, no problem."

Lycoris didn't say anything and although she couldn't stand Nerine, she wanted to find out if she knew anything about Alex's true whereabouts.

**************

Lady Penelope smiled kindly to Alex and replied, "Thanks, darling."

She paused then getting an idea, she said, "We're free now, aren't we? So what do you say about a walk in the forests? They look to be very beautiful from here and we should investigate our surroundings."

Ryan replied, "Great.  Then let's go, shall we?"

He turned to the others and said, "We'll see the rest of you at lunch?"

Bryan nodded and replied, "Sure, we'll be here."

**************

Alex nodded happily and replied, "That's a wonderful idea and I would like that very much.  Taking a walk with two beautiful ladies sounds great indeed."

Nerine and Lycoris got up as they followed Ryan out of the dining room and to the gardens, where it was peaceful and beautiful as usual. Nerine didn't say anything and didn't attempt to make conversation, while Lycoris remained silent as she preferred to let Ryan take care of the talking.

************

The shapeshifter said, "You two go on your own. I am not up for that walk."

Lady Penelope looked to her and asked, "Are you sure, darling? A walk would be refreshing to us three."

The shapeshifter nodded and replied, "Yeah, go on. I want to stay here for this morning."

Once it looked like the three of them were alone and there was no danger of anyone eavesdropping, Ryan turned to Nerine and said,

"You've probably guessed that I invited you with us for a reason.  I wanted to talk to you about this first before telling Sia and Duchess Irene.  We know that Alex is working with that shapeshifter."

**************

As Alex did want to Lady Penelope alone, he replied, "Ok.  You rest and I'll watch over your mother with my life."

Nerine was surprised as Ryan claimed that he knew of Alex working with the shapeshifter, and wondered how he knew. Did Alex reveal himself to him or had they found out by some chance when they were captured?

Quickly trying to cover up for herself, she furrowed her eyebrows and replied, "What are you talking about? Alex could never do such a thing. He's taken hostage and it's all because of you and your darling Lycoris."

***************

The shapeshifter nodded while Lady Penelope replied, "Alright then. Let's go and we won't take long."

She got up and waited for Alex to get up as well and lead the way to the forests for a relaxing walk.

Ryan calmly replied, "There's no point in lying to us.  Alex revealed himself to us to get us to trust him.  I could have told Sia right away after we were rescued but I chose not to for Alex's sake.  But with Lady Penelope's escape and the shapeshifter's demand, I'm considering telling Sia about Alex."

****************

Alex escorted Lady Penelope to the forests and as the two of them walked, Alex said,

"I've been doing my best to look after your daughter although she is a stubborn one.  But you probably already know that."

Nerine could tell that there was no point in denying things, and although she could simply claim that she knew nothing of it, she refused to abandon Alex like that. So biting her lower lip, she said,

"So that's it? Alex has become your enemy now? You're going to make him seem like the villain just to protect your precious Lycoris?"

****************

Lady Penelope smiled softly and replied,

"She is, isn't she? But I am quite grateful for your help, darling. I haven't had the chance to talk to her on our own yet but I can tell that you have been doing your best to take care of her and help her out."

Ryan sighed and replied, "No, that's not the point.  I want to tell Sia because she thinks that he's still in danger when that's not really the case now.  I know he can use magic as well so he can defend himself.  I'm honestly conflicted on whether to tell her about Alex but I can't think of how else to protect Lycoris."

***************

Alex smiled softly and replied, "Thank you, my lady.  I'm glad that we have a chance to talk alone.  There are a few things I should discuss with you although I don't know whether your daughter will approve.  But I feel like you have the right to know some things."

Nerine frowned and replied, "Protect Lycoris? You do know why they want her, don't you? This has nothing to do with the captain anymore. The shapeshifter wants her to restore life to the devils' world. Why don't you want to do this? Think of how many people she would save, how many lives would be restored. Yet all you two care about is how to protect her?"

*************

Lady Penelope grew a little worried and replied,

"Of course, dear. What is it? Is something wrong that I should know about?"

Ryan replied, "But there must be another way to save the devils' world without having to sacrifice Lycoris.  Besides, this Lycoris doesn't want to die."

He looked to Lycoris for her confirmation.

************

Alex nodded and replied, "I think you do although I'm sure your daughter won't be pleased.  But as I do care about both you and her, I feel that you should know."

He took a deep breath and then continued, "She hasn't told you what will happen if she continues to use her shapeshifting powers, right?"

Lycoris preferred not to say anything, as she felt that if she spoke, she would most likely explode at Nerine or something. Meanwhile, Nerine raised an eyebrow and replied,

"Really? She doesn't want to die? So she's being quite selfish as always, isn't she? There isn't another way and you two know it, yet all you care about is Lycoris and how she doesn't want to die."

**************

Lady Penelope grew more concerned and furrowing her eyebrows, she replied, "No, she didn't tell me. I've always known that her shapeshifting abilities weaken her and this became especially clear recently. But is there something she is hiding from me?"

Ryan replied, "So if you had to sacrifice your life, would you be willing to do so without hesitation?"

He was trying his best to be patient with Nerine although it was reaching a limit.

***************

Alex nodded and replied, "I-I'm afraid so.  My lady, if your daughter continues to use her shapeshifting powers, she'll eventually die.  You've already seen how weak her body gets when she uses them."

Nerine frowned and replied, "If it meant saving the world I watched getting destroyed with my very own eyes, and restoring life to the people who suffered because of those powers in the first place, then yes, I would do so. I am not like your pathetic, selfish Lycoris."

Lycoris was becoming quite angry with her sister and clenched her fists, doing her best not to interfere yet.

*************

Lady Penelope put her hand over her mouth in shock as she heard what Alex said, and in disbelief, she replied,

"Oh no. This-this can't be true. She wouldn't actually throw her life like that. Her shapeshifting abilities are slowly killing her?"

Ryan glanced at Lycoris and could see how angry she was getting.  He replied, "That's easy to say when it's not your life on the line.  But anyway, tell me something.  Why should I not tell Sia about Alex's involvement in all of this?"

**************

Alex nodded and sadly replied, "I'm afraid so.  I wouldn't have known this myself, had I not heard her mutter so in her sleep.  I had to confront her about it and she confirmed this.  Of course, she didn't want me to tell you but I felt like you need to know.  I don't know if we can completely stop her from using those powers but I think we should try to have her minimize using them at least."

Nerine replied a little more calmly,

"Because Sia won't understand. She will think Alex is betraying you all or something when that's not true. All Alex wants is to help restore life to the devils' world and that's a noble cause. Of course, had your Lycoris been more cooperative, he wouldn't have had to side with the shapeshifter or help her in the first place."

*****************

Lady Penelope was still in shock from this discovery but trying to compose herself, she replied,

"O-of course. I can't afford to lose her too. She needs to stop using them once and for all."

Instinctively, she rushed back towards the building, wanting to talk to her daughter about this immediately.

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows and thinking of something, he quickly used his telepathy to communicate to Nerine and said,

Listen, the true Lycoris would want to sacrifice herself and if she were in control right now, I wouldn't stop her but it's her other personality in control and that's not what she wants.


***************

Alex hurried towards Lady Penelope and grabbing her hand, he replied,

"Wait, my lady.  I know you want to confront your daughter about this right now but I don't think that's such a good idea."

He wanted to wait for Lady Penelope to calm down so he could explain further.

Nerine received Ryan's telepathic message and frowned as she still didn't get everything about these personalities of Lycoris'. She replied,

Really now? Where's the real Lycoris then? Why doesn't she come out and take charge of the situation?

**************

Lady Penelope did her best to calm down, taking deep breathes although it was difficult to, knowing what she had just found out. She looked tearfully at Alex and replied,

"Then what am I supposed to do? I can't just stand by and watch her as she slowly kills herself. I don't want to lose her too."

Ryan replied,

She's trying but this Lycoris is very strong.  I-I don't know what to do.  Perhaps if you showed that you care for the old Lycoris, then she might fight to come out.


***************

Alex nodded and replied, "I understand but if we confront her directly, she'll only be stubborn and continue to use those powers without our knowledge.  What we need to do is try to persuade her to not use those powers, that there are other ways of getting what she wants.  Like with your rescue last night, she could have used her shapeshifting powers but I persuaded her otherwise."

Nerine raised an eyebrow and found it hard to believe all this fuss about Lycoris' different personalities. She replied,

Are you sure this all isn't a trick of hers? How bad can this Lycoris be when the real one was quite bad on her own?

Meanwhile, Lycoris was fed up with this silence and going nowhere with Nerine so she spoke up, addressing Ryan,

"Hey, Ryan. Enough of talking to this traitor, alright? Let's just head to Sia's office and tell her everything. They really aren't worth our time."

************

Lady Penelope thought over Alex's words and becoming convinced, she nodded and replied,

"Yes, yes, you're right. But-but something crosses my mind. What-what if she is doing this on purpose? Slowly killing herself? I-I know that my daughter became quite depressed and she totally changed after she lost her husband and child but could it be that she just doesn't want to live anymore because of this?"

Ryan felt conflicted but sighing, he finally replied, "I think you're right, Lycoris.  It seems that we can't come to some sort of agreement."

He turned to Nerine and added, "I'm sorry but unless you give me a good reason not to tell Sia about Alex, I don't have many options."

**************

Alex thought over Lady Penelope's words and after a moment, he sadly replied, "It's possible.  But together, I think we can snap her out of it.  There have been moments when I've seen her smile.  We need to find ways to open her eyes to happiness."

Nerine became quite angry as Ryan declared that he would tell Lisianthus about Alex anyways, and frowning, she furiously said,

"You two are truly the most selfish people I've ever met. You only care about yourselves and everyone else is nothing to you!"

Finally at her end, Lycoris responded back, her voice full of anger herself, "You're one to talk! I've had enough with you and your terrible husband! Like it's not enough that you're traitors who betrayed everyone, but you don't want us to stand up to you!"

************

Lady Penelope nodded and wanting to hold on to hope that this all is possible, she replied, "Alright, darling. I will do anything to help her and you will stay by my side until the end, right?"