Vivi

XXII

7:30 AM. First item on the agenda: gaze lovingly into Celine's eyes.

They were blue with flecks of green. Or more like green with patches of blue? They were full of water and life and as profound as a galaxy.

"I'm so lucky," said Vivi.

Celine smiled. "Me too."

They kissed.

Then Chamuel brought them coffee and croissants.

A perfect morning.

9:30 AM. Second item on the agenda: superhero stuff.

"I woke up with this idea," said Vivi as she put on her clothes. "You want to tag along while I work it out?"

"Of course," said Celine.

The first stop was a building which Vivi had literally dreamed into existence just that morning. It was a short, pleasant sail journey away. (They needed to wait ten minutes for sunrise, so more making out was in order).

This building was a businesslike cuboid with a sign over the door saying "DANGER – EDGY STUFF INSIDE – KEEP OUT" on it.

Celine rolled her eyes as they went in.

"I saw that!" said Vivi.

Inside was what looked like a firing range. A row of test dummies lined the opposite end, each wearing ridiculous cartoon expressions that seemed to come straight out of an emoji catalogue.

"Wanna blow one up?" Vivi asked Celine, grinning and offering her a rocket launcher.

Celine laughed so much that a tear came to her eye. "I think that's your thing," she said.

Vivi shrugged and blew an angry-faced test dummy into paste. "Do you know, Celine, maybe it is? I'm learning so much about myself recently."

They both bent over laughing again. "What's the point of this?" asked Celine finally.

Vivi closed her eyes and gestured with her hands. Around her appeared the ghost of a medieval suit of armour; it seemed to be comprised of nothing but a bluish glow, so transparent it was barely visible.

Vivi pulled the visor down and tapped it with her hands, satisfying herself as to its solidity. Then she began to pull it off, piece by piece.

"I knew I wouldn't be satisfied with it until I'd tested it," said Vivi. Celine helped her dress a surprised-faced testing dummy in the armour. Then, with Vivi's blessing, she shot a rocket at it. The explosion knocked a nearby (sad-faced) dummy off its feet but, when the smoke had cleared, the target dummy appeared not to have even moved.

Vivi made a suit of armor to Celine's measurements as well, and tested it with another rocket. Satisfied, they retrieved the armour, then Vivi blew up the last few testing dummies because it was "better not to have ammunition lying around."

Once they were back at the Palace, Vivi added a security protocol to the solar yacht so that it would only respond to her or Celine.

As a final touch, Vivi filled the palace with discreet security cameras with a sweeping gesture (Celine had to take her word for it) and manifested what looked like a terracotta statue, dressed in a dashing prince costume and wearing a sword at its belt. At a snap of her fingers, the statue's eyes lit up like glowing embers and it took a knee before Vivi.

"Rise, my knight," said Vivi. "Your name is Golem, and you are tasked with security in this palace. Watch the camera footage and be ready to protect us."