The Empires Unite - A Jizzie Empires Fanfic

Chapter Seven

As it turned out, Joel's building ability wasn't a secret.  He helped rebuild all the destroyed rooms from the attack- of course, he more planned than anything else, but it was still work.

Lizzie joined in to help with some of it.  She considered it only fair, since the kingdom was under attack in the first place because she was foolish enough to leave her home and get stuck there.  She didn't do much, but she helped decorate each room, adding a little bit of her Empire's culture to them.  Joel really liked it, as did the rest of the royal family.

"You've got a lot of natural talent, for a commoner," the king said.  "In fighting, as Joel told us, in building, in academics.  It's strange."

Lizzie bit her lip.  She decided not to lie, but also not to tell the full truth.  Per usual, then.  "Ah, you see, I'm a higher-class member of our society," she said, hoping that she had worded it well.  From Jill's expression of understanding, she figured she had done a decent job. 

...

A few days later, it had finally been a week of her staying with the family.  She had gotten to know Joel really well over that time, too.

While making her way to the dining room for dinner, Lizzie saw a young servant, she must have been Lizzie's age.  She was cleaning up a bit of leftover rubble- surely, that's the last of it? Lizzie thought.  Either way, the servant had black hair, pulled into a braid, and shining hazel eyes.  She had dark skin and freckles, with a friendly smile.  She waved to Lizzie, who walked over to her.

"Hi!" She greeted her.

"Hello, there," the servant said.  "I'm Violet, and you are..?"

"Ah, I'm Lizzie," Lizzie replied. 

"So you're Lizzie," Violet murmured.  "I figured as much, but I just had to ask.  See, we don't often see anyone from the other empires, especially yours.  Ack!  I'm so sorry if that sounded rude!"

Lizzie laughed softly.  "Don't worry, Violet.  It's a reasonable reaction."

Violet sighed in relief.  "That's good.  I would hate to offend you."

"I'm not offended, don't worry," Lizzie said.  She is pretty, she noticed, looking at the curled hair escaping the messy braid, and the natural gleam in her eyes.  Oh no, Lizzie, your bi is showing, she thought to herself.  Okay, this is fine.  She's probably straight.  Anyways, you're meant to only be with guys.  That's how the Empire is.  That's how it is.

Violet waved her hand in front of Lizzie's face.  "Lizzie?  You there?"

"Oh!  Yeah!  I'm so sorry!" Lizzie exclaimed.  Violet chuckled.

"Don't worry about it, I get distracted all the time," Violet assured her.

Lizzie nodded.  "Alright, that's good.  Well, not good, but it's good that-" she sighed.  "You know what I mean."

Violet smiled.  "Yeah, I know what you mean.  Like I said, don't worry about it.  Oh, crap, am I interrupting something anyways?" She asked.  Lizzie shook her head.

"I was gonna go grab something to eat from the kitchen or dining room, but it can wait.  Here, would you like to hang out with Joel and I?" Lizzie offered.  Violet gasped.

"You would invite a servant?" She asked.  Lizzie smiled.

"You're nice, you're my age, you're probably tired after working all day, you deserve a break," she said.  Violet grinned.

"I would be honored," she said, bowing slightly.  Lizzie waved her hand.  "No need to do that," she said.  "Now come on!" She led Violet to Joel's room and knocked on the door.

"Joel?" She called.  He opened the door.

"Lizzie!  And-" he paused.  "I'm so sorry, I forget your name."

"It's okay, there's a lot of people who work here," Violet said.  "It's Violet, Your Highness."

Joel rolled his eyes.  "That makes it sound so proper.  Just Joel is fine," he said.  Violet grinned.

"Thank you so much!" She exclaimed.  "Uh, Lizzie said I could hang out with you guys, if that's okay with you?"

Joel nodded.  "Yeah, sure.  Here, you can join the secret painting group." He brought the two of them to the painting and jumped through it.  They followed.

"This is super cool, did you make it?" Violet asked.  Joel nodded.

"Yeah, thanks," he said.  Violet nodded.

"You know, Lizzie, you're really pretty," she mumbled.  She slapped her hand over her mouth.

"I mean-"

Lizzie laughed.  "No, no, it's alright.  You're really pretty as well, actually."

Violet smiled.  Joel glanced away briefly before saying, in a joking manner, "Okay, lovebirds, moving on..."

Lizzie felt her face heat up.

"Right, right.  Violet, if I may ask, why are you working here?" She asked.  Violet smiled.

"It's no problem at all!  My family needed somewhere to live after a bad storm, and my dad got a job as a chef here," she responded.  "I have dreams to be a writer one day, but sadly I'm not able to read or write, so I know that'll never happen," she muttered.  Lizzie bit her lip.

"I can teach you how!" She said.  Joel's eyes widened.

"W- wait, what?  You're gonna teach her how to read and write over the course of a week?" He demanded.  Lizzie shrugged.

"I can teach her the basics.  Is there a rule against it?" She asked.  Joel leaned back.

"No, not really, but I just mean, for free?  In a week?" He replied.  Lizzie nodded.

"Yeah, why not?  What's wrong with that?" She challenged him.  He raised his hands in surrender.

"Nothing, of course!  I was just surprised, is all," he defended himself.  She nodded.

"That's fair.  Here, Violet, we can start now.  Joel, do you want to join us?"

"Nah, I've got some stuff to do, and I'm not a very good teacher," he said.  "Good luck!" And he was gone.  Lizzie shrugged and turned to Violet.

"Maybe he's not good at explaining things," Violet suggested.

"Yeah, probably," Lizzie said.  And then they got to work, Lizzie teaching Violet to read and write, one letter at a time.

* Yes, Violet is an original character.  Also I'm sorry about how badly written all of the romance-stuff was in this chapter, I'm aroace and going off of second-hand experiences, so... *