Fiona opened her eyes slowly, blinking at the soft light coming through the window.
The castle room was quiet, calm.
The bedsheets were warm.
She stretched her arms above her head with a yawn.
"Mmm… I slept like a rock."
Next to her, Fifi stirred.
The small bunny-eared girl peeked out from under the blanket, her ears droopy from sleep.
"…Fiona?"
Fiona turned to her and smiled.
"Morning, fluffball."
Fifi rubbed her eyes.
"Did we… really sleep here all night?"
Fiona sat up and nodded.
"Yep. Safe, sound, and snuggled."
Fifi yawned.
"…That was… the best sleep I ever had."
Fiona laughed softly.
"I bet it was. You needed it."
She reached over and patted Fifi's head gently.
"Now… let's get ready."
Fifi tilted her head. "Ready for what?"
Fiona stood up and walked toward her wardrobe.
"It's ti to et Lucius."
Fifi sat up quickly, her eyes wide.
"L-Lucius?!"
She hugged her pillow tight.
"Isn't he the… big boss?"
Fiona pulled out a clean outfit and nodded.
"Yep. The big boss of Luxoria Castle."
"He's the one who built all this."
Fifi hid her face in the pillow.
"I'm scared…"
Fiona smiled and walked back over, crouching beside her.
"Hey. Don't be."
"He's not scary."
Fifi peeked out with one eye.
"Really?"
Fiona nodded.
"Lucius is calm, smart, and kind to people who deserve kindness."
She added with a wink, "He only gets scary when soone tries to hurt his people."
Fifi's ears twitched.
"…So… he won't hurt ?"
Fiona placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Not at all. You're with ."
"And I already told him about you."
Fifi blinked. "You did?"
"Yep. He's curious."
Fiona stood up again and started fixing her hair in the mirror.
"He wants to et you. I think he already has a few ideas about how to help you too."
Fifi slowly slid out of bed.
She picked up her soft shoes and the little coat Liline had brought the night before.
"Okay… I'll try to be brave."
Fiona smiled in the mirror.
"There's the Fifi I know."
"Let's get clean, get dressed, and go et the one and only Lucius Luxoria."
Fifi took a deep breath, her spark-filled hair flickering gently.
"…Okay," she whispered. "I'm ready."
Fiona gave her a soft smile, then turned toward the wall.
"Liline?" she called.
A few seconds later, Liline appeared from the wall.
"Yes, Fiona?"
"Can you show us the way to Lucius?"
"Of course," Liline replied with a gentle nod.
Suddenly, part of the wall shimred and a hallway unfolded in front of them.
"Please follow this path. He's waiting."
Fiona nodded. "Thanks, Liline."
She looked at Fifi and held out her hand.
"Let's go."
Fifi hesitated for a second, then slowly reached out and took Fiona's hand.
Together, they walked through the hallway.
At the end of the hall was a wide silver door.
It opened by itself as they approached.
Inside, Lucius Luxoria stood by a long table with a soft couch in front of it.
He turned as they walked in.
"So this is Fifi," he said, voice smooth.
"The bunny girl."
Fifi imdiately hid a little behind Fiona again, her ears low.
Fiona gently pulled her forward.
"Yeah," she said. "This is Fifi Fluffiel."
"She's the one Aurelius called a failed hybrid."
Lucius looked at the small girl.
He didn't move closer. He just gave her a small smile.
"No need to be scared," he said.
"Sit down first."
He gestured toward the soft couch in front of him.
On the table were two cups of warm tea and a plate of cookies.
Fiona walked over and sat down casually, pulling Fifi gently with her.
Fifi sat slowly, still watching Lucius carefully.
Lucius stayed standing for a mont, then slowly sat on the other side of the table.
"I heard about you from Fiona," he said.
"I also saw what you did."
Fifi blinked. "You… watched the stream?"
Lucius nodded.
"You protected Fiona. You tried to fight. That takes courage."
Fifi looked down at her hands.
"…But I still lost."
Lucius smiled again.
"Even strong people lose. It's what you do after that matters."
He pushed the cookie plate gently toward her.
"Have one. You're safe here."
Fifi hesitated.
Then slowly, she reached out and picked up a cookie.
"…Thank you," she whispered.
Lucius nodded. "No problem."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Now that you're eating the cookie, let's talk."
"Do you have any information? Anything you want to say?"
Fifi frowned and looked down.
"I… I don't know much," she said softly.
"I only knew that I was called a failure."
"And I escaped."
Lucius raised an eyebrow slightly.
"How did you escape?" he asked.
"Did soone help you?"
Fifi's hands tightened around the cookie as her face tensed.
She looked a little scared.
Lucius noticed and gently raised a hand.
"Don't worry," he said calmly. "Just take it slow."
Fifi nodded slowly.
She closed her eyes, rembering.
"…I suddenly woke up."
"I was inside a water tank… or sothing like that."
"There were tubes in my arms. I felt cold. I didn't know what was going on."
She paused.
"Then I panicked. I trashed around."
"I broke the glass sohow."
"I fell to the floor, and everything was wet and loud."
Fiona listened quietly beside her, eyes soft.
Lucius said nothing, letting her continue.
Fifi looked up, eyes unsure.
"The place looked empty. Quiet."
"I don't know why, but there were no guards near ."
"So… I ran."
"I ran and ran."
"At first no one followed."
"But then… they noticed."
"I heard alarms. I heard them shouting."
"But I didn't stop."
"I just kept running."
"And sohow… I escaped."
She looked at Lucius, then down again.
"I thought I would die."
Lucius nodded slowly, his voice steady.
"I see… you were quite lucky."
"To think you managed to escape like that."
"It must've been during a shift change… or maybe when the staff was off guard."
Fifi only nodded as she continued to eat the cookies.
Reviews
All reviews (0)