Dying Lily & Wilted Rose

Two Princes

They threw off the men halfway through their escape. That didn't mean they stop running, no.

Paranoia was a horrible thing to deal with. But it kept a) them (Penny) alive and b) time flowing.

Iklies, surprisingly, didn't have enough stamina to keep up with Penny all the way (and there was no way she and Yvonne would slow down), so Penny just snatched him up and kept running.

Yvonne thought the way Iklies looked so bewildered was hilarious, especially since he rarely showed expressions on his face.

(It was also safer, Penny could easily immobilize him in case he decided to attack.)

As she kept close to Penny, Yvonne wondered to herself, If Iklies had been on Penny's side, even just once, could she have survived in the duchy?

Before Penny had been able to see her, when Yvonne used to just trail behind her hijacked body, she saw just how loyal Iklies was. Even though he was brainwashed by the Leila–

"Don't jump on that building, it looks unstable!" Yvonne warned, pointing ahead.

Penny nodded. Thanks, she mouthed.

–after observing him countless times, Yvonne could say that most of his loyalty was genuine.

So of course the Leila took advantage of that. Yvonne watched Iklies kill Penny over and over again under the Leila's command.

And painstakingly wait for years for Vinter to turn back time. For Penny, the reversal was immediate. So Yvonne was admittedly clingy to Penny after each loop.

But Penny didn't mind.

That made Yvonne happy and sad at the same time. How lonely must've Penny been that she has no one to turn to except a pitiful spirit she can't even touch?

Yvonne followed Penny as she dropped down from the rooftops as they neared the palace, and watched her sorrowfully.

But... it's the same for me too. Because we the only ones who carry the same pains, the same looping memories. That's why we cling to each other so desperately. We have no one to turn to except for each other.

The floating spirit took a moment to glance up at the starry sky. She used to be able to feel the summer warmth as well with it, a long time ago.

("Derrick! Reynold! Look at that! The stars are flying!")

("They're called "shooting stars", dummy," her second brother said affectionately.)

("Don't call Yvonne a dummy," both Father and Derrick said at the same time.)

I wonder if I can experience that warmth again with Penny.

—

Penelope managed to slip them past the guards unoticed. The security here is so lacking, she noted disdainfully.

Getting to Callisto's office might've been the hardest part, if only for how Penelope had to wrangle herself and Iklies up through the window silently. She could've entered normally, but where's the fun in that?

(And also because there were too many eyes in the entrance and hallways. Spies were everywhere, and Penelope very much liked not being spied on.)

Penelope balanced precariously on the window ledge like some eldritch horror in the dead of night, and tapped on the glass.

"I come with tribute. Open the window, bitch." She could feel the indignant glare from the back of her head.