Romance RP

Ryan replied, "I don't know but we have to find her really soon before she does something that can't be reversed.  But what?"

He looked distressed, not knowing what could be done.

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

Matthew nodded and approaching the party, he stepped to the side and said,

"Lycoris has agreed to see you all.  Please come in."

The head healer looked quite troubled as well, and Lisianthus was silent for a few moments. Suddenly remembering something, she looked carefully at Ryan and quietly said,

"You...you know where the shapeshifter is, right?"

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

Lady Penelope, the chancellor, and the shapeshifter entered the room eagerly and indeed, there was Lycoris. The shapeshifter ran to her and unable to believe her eyes, she said,

"Lycoris...it's really you? How-how did you make it here? I don't understand."

Lycoris knew it was the shapeshifter from her voice and quietly replied, "I-I ran away. I knew that you'd come get me if I didn't do that and I didn't know what could happen then."

Ryan remembered as well and nodding, he replied, "I do.  If Lycoris is really going to the shapeshifter or she's already with her, then there is no choice.  We-we have to go to her, right?"

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

Matthew added, "I found Lycoris outside my place as I was finishing up some work last night.  I took her inside and we've been looking after her since then."

Lisianthus nodded and replied,

"Yes and right away. We can't let them cross paths together. Ryan, please tell me where she is and we'll go to her immediately. Even if Lycoris hadn't reached her already, we have to prevent the shapeshifter from reaching her."

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

Lycoris nodded in confirmation and replied, "That's right and they've been quite kind and generous to me since then."

The shapeshifter nodded and was quite pleased by this turn of events, as Lycoris was with her and she didn't have to go through any trouble for it. Inspecting her state of health, however, she furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "Wasn't that head healer taking care of you? Why are you still so weak?"

Lycoris hung her head down but didn't know what to say. She knew it was because of her other personality but didn't want to mention her in front of Matthew.

As he and Lisianthus had gotten closer again and he knew that he should trust her, he nodded and replied,

"All right.  I'm going to trust you, beautiful, so I'll tell you where the shapeshifter is.  She's at Alex's and Nerine's place."

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

As though he knew that Lycoris wanted to say something without his presence, Matthew said,

"I can leave the room if you all want some privacy to talk."

Lisianthus' eyes widened in shock as she heard from Ryan where the shapeshifter was, and it was a few moments before she gathered herself to reply,

"Alex's and Nerine's place...? They were hiding her in their home all along?"

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

Lycoris didn't know what to say as she didn't want to seem rude and ask Matthew to leave but couldn't speak in front of him either. The chancellor then spoke up, addressing Matthew,

"Perhaps we should let the ladies talk on their own for a little while, sir. They will want to reunite and all so we should give them a bit of privacy."

Ryan nodded and replied, "Yes, I'm afraid so.  I don't know the exact circumstances as to how that came about but I later found this out myself.  Also, I suppose you should know that Lady Penelope and the chancellor are there."

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

Matthew nodded and replied, "Yes, of course.  That's fine."

Turning to the others, he said, "We'll be in the living room if there's need of us."

He then left Lycoris' room, leading the way to the living room.

Lisianthus felt as though she were on the verge of losing it as she found out about all of us, knowing that Alex and Nerine were behind all these events. They were staying at her castle and hiding her enemies in their home?

But this wasn't the time for this. She took a deep breath and doing her best to calm down, she nodded and said, "Alright. We shouldn't waste time. We have to head there right away. I-I'll take a group of soldiers with us. We don't know how this might go."

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

The chancellor followed Matthew downstairs to the living room and as they settled there, he looked at him and with a small smile, he said,

"I have to thank you personally for taking such good care of Lycoris, sir. But hmm...I believe you aren't yet aware of who exactly she is, correct?"

Ryan nodded and replied, "Yes, that sounds good.  Let's just hope that they'll surrender peacefully."

Inwardly, he felt bad about betraying Alex like this but he didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

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

Matthew looked slightly confused and replied, "No, not exactly.  I am aware that she is blind but..."

He then realized something and asked, "Is this the young lady whom you were talking about before?"

Lisianthus nodded and getting up, she said, "I'll head back to the barracks to prepare the soldiers. Once they are ready, I'll let you know and come to the chapel right away, ok, Ryan?"

She then left the room without waiting for an answer.

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

The chancellor nodded with a smile and replied,

"It's ironic, isn't it? Only a day ago, you wished to meet her, sir but you were the one who found her and told us about where she is. But yes, this is her, the former princess of the devils' world, sadly fated to sacrifice herself for it."

After Lisianthus left, Ryan knew that he wouldn't have much time so with the first thought in his head, he contacted Irene, letting her know of everything that had happened this morning, hoping that she could help somehow.

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

Matthew looked surprised and replied, "But why?  I know she wants to save her world and I understand but she shouldn't sacrifice her life for it.  She-she can't.  I-I can't, not after having just met her."

He felt a strong connection to Lycoris although he couldn't explain why it was there.

Irene received Ryan's message and was surprised to hear all that happened. She had left the castle in the morning and everything was fine but how did everything mess up like that?

She replied that she would come as soon as she could, and asked Ryan to halt things with going to the shapeshifter until she came, as she wanted to come along.

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

The chancellor was a little surprised with Matthew's reaction but he sighed sadly and replied,

"Unfortunately, sadly, this is how things are supposed to be. This is why the shapeshifter was trying to find her for so long. It's her main goal and Lycoris wants to do this. Personally, I am against it but there's nothing I can do about it."

Ryan replied that he would do his best to delay things although he had no idea how long he'd be able to do so.

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

Matthew replied, "But surely, there must be another way.  Hasn't anyone looked into another possibility?  I-I could look into it and I have connections.  Lycoris doesn't have to sacrifice her now, does she?"

Irene replied that she would leave immediately, and should arrive at the castle quite soon. She then shut off the telepathy and proceeded to leave the academy to head to the castle.

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

The chancellor sighed sadly and replied, "I don't think there's another way but Lycoris' state of health does delay things. The shapeshifter wants to have her powers sacrificed as soon as possible but she can't do that when Lycoris is so weak. But she'll eventually get better, surely, and then the shapeshifter won't wait."

Remembering that the head healer was still in the room, Ryan turned to him and said,

"This must be difficult on you, too, sir."

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

Matthew nodded and replied, "I see.  Do you think it would be best if Lycoris were to stay here to get better?  I recommended that she stay here for the time being to rest and get her strength back, and maybe this would give me time to look into this whole matter."

The head healer looked to Ryan and nodding sadly, he said,

"It is, sir. I can't help feeling responsible for Lady Lycoris' appearance. She was under my protection, in a way, but yet she was able to run away desperately. I am quite worried about her."

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

The chancellor looked thoughtful and replied,

"Well, perhaps it would be better if she stayed here after all. She would be safer here, and you're a doctor, sir, so I am sure her health will improve under your care. But isn't it troublesome at all to you, sir? I understand that it isn't quite pleasant to be pulled into all of this."

Ryan nodded and replied, "I understand.  You should come with us, too.  If we find Lycoris, she will need your care and attention.  And please don't blame yourself.  None of us could have foreseen that she would run away on her own."

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

Matthew shook his head and smiling softly, he replied, "It isn't any trouble at all.  Lycoris is very pleasant to be around and there's something so special about her.  I suppose I'm being selfish in saying this but I want her to stay here for a while."

The head healer nodded and replied, "Yes, I will come, if Her Majesty allows it. I need to be there and at least help find Lady Lycoris."

Shortly after, Lisianthus contacted Ryan telepathically and said,

Ryan, I am at the chapel and the soldiers are ready. Please come now.

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

The chancellor smiled gently and said,

"Well, before you met her, you did mention that she's quite special and now I guess you can see it for yourself. It was quite kind of you to help her out, sir, and to continue doing so. I'm personally quite grateful and I am sure Lycoris herself is as well."

Ryan replied to Lisianthus that he would come as soon as he could.  Then he turned to the head healer and said,

"Sir, I told Duchess Irene of what has happened and she wants to come as well.  She's on her way back but I need to delay going with Sia until she gets here.  What do I do?"

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

Matthew nodded and replied, "Despite the circumstances, I'm glad to finally meet her.  I want to be by her side, to know her better, to help her.  She looks like she's been through so much and I just want to be there for her."

The head healer looked thoughtful and replied,

"Can't you tell Her Majesty that Duchess Irene is coming and we need to wait for her as well? Knowing the duchess, she'll be here quite shortly."

As the head healer wasn't fully aware of the tension between Lisianthus and Irene, he thought the solution was that simple.

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

The chancellor couldn't help but wonder at Matthew's increased care for Lycoris but thinking it was only natural of a gentleman to react like so, he nodded and said,

"That's quite noble of you, sir."

Thinking about something, he said, "Hmm have you looked into her blindness, sir? You mentioned that you already knew so I was wondering if there was a possible solution for it?"

Ryan shook his head and replied, "There's some tension between them so I think Sia may not want Duchess Irene to come.  But I believe she should.  I know that I should trust Sia but she should have those around her who can make her be reasonable, too, or am I wrong?"

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

Matthew nodded and replied, "Yes, I could very well cure her blindness.  I even made the suggestion to Lycoris but she shrugged it off right away.  I don't understand, though.  I mean, she wasn't born blind so I would think it'd be only natural that she'd want a chance to regain her sight."

The head healer nodded in agreement and replied, "Yes, sir, you're right. In that case..."

He looked thoughtful, trying to come up with a solution. Fortunately, it was when Irene contacted Ryan then,

Ryan, where are you? I just made it at the castle.

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

The chancellor sighed sadly and replied,

"I suppose I should have expected. Lycoris has already gone through an operation before to cure her blindness but it was unsuccessful and only restored her eyes to their normal appearance. And on the top of that, she may think that since she will sacrifice her powers soon, restoring her eyesight isn't a priority."

Ryan was relieved to hear Irene's communication and immediately, he replied,

I'm in Sia's office with the head healer.  Sia is with a group of soldiers in the chapel.  Should we meet outside the chapel?  I haven't told Sia that you're coming.


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

Matthew sadly replied, "But even if she still goes through with sacrificing herself, wouldn't she want to see the world while she still can?  I can restore her eyesight.  I know I can.  I wish she would let me help her."

He looked sadly into his lap, feeling distressed.

Irene replied,

Yes, I can meet you there. I'll head to it right away and wait for you to arrive.

She then shut off the telepathy and headed to the destination Ryan specified.

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

The chancellor looked gently at Matthew and said,

"Perhaps you can talk to her again about it? Now that you know everything, she'll be more open when talking to you so perhaps you can convince her. I want Lycoris to be able to see the world while she can too."

Ryan then turned to the head healer and said, "I'm sorry for the delay.  Duchess Irene contacted me and she's here.  We should head to the chapel and we'll wait for Duchess Irene outside.  Is that ok?"

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

Matthew looked up at the chancellor and nodding, he replied, "Yes, I'll give it another try.  Now that I understand everything, I won't stop at persuading her.  She's a wonderful lady and she only deserves to have the best things in life."