The evening air was cool as Isabella strolled out of her room with a very wide grin spread across her face.
Behind her, Armia lay sprawled across the bed, her eyes glazed over, breathing heavily as if her soul had just been sucked out of her.
Which, in so ways, it sort of had.
[Good work, Isabella,] she thought, barely suppressing a chuckle.
Oh, it had been a very, very rewarding afternoon.
Isabella stretched her arms above her head, feeling every muscle relax as she made her way through the halls and out towards the garden. Laughter echoed in the distance, the voices of her friends mixing with the soft chirping of crickets as the sun began to set.
Though a bit of ti had passed given that Isabella had just spent most of the day with so darian dick in her mouth, the others were still there. Margaret, lisa, Javir, listair, Raven, all of them were still gathered, talking, and sharing a drink.
Isabella caught lisa's eye and basically confird any and all questions the nim may have had with a firm nod, but her gaze shifted to where her mother, Kimiko, sat on one of the benches, quietly watching the rest.
Naturally, she made her way over, dropping herself down next to Kimiko, her shoulder lightly bumping into her mother's. Kimiko smiled softly.
"Well, soone looks pleased with themselves," Kimiko said, her voice teasing.
Isabella shrugged, her tail flicking lazily behind her.
"What can I say? I'm just that good," she replied, her grin widening.
Kimiko chuckled, shaking her head.
"Careful. Confidence is no substitute for skill and practice."
"Luckily, I've been getting a LOT of practice lately."
They both cackled.
Isabella further leaned back on the bench, her eyes drifting to the others in the garden.
lisa was in the middle of telling so story to Hazel, her hands waving dramatically while Raven and the little mini-nim watched. Off to the side, Margaret, listair, and Javir were chatting about sothing else.
For a mont, they sat in comfortable silence, just watching the scene unfold before them. It was the kind of mont Isabella wanted to freeze in ti, to keep forever. But she knew better.
Monts like this were fleeting, and she was currently in the process of learning the hard way not to take them for granted.
Kimiko broke the silence, her voice soft.
"I can almost feel it, you know. The life energy... slipping away. It's strange, knowing your ti is borrowed like this."
Isabella's grin faltered slightly, her eyes still fixed on the others, though her gaze grew distant. She let out a breath, her shoulders tensing just a little.
"Does it hurt at all?"
"No, no," Kimiko shook her head. "It's more of an... existential thing? Kind of like running out of Essence actually. And, no matter how many tis I bed my dear sister over there, nothing is helping to raise it."
All Isabella could do was nod.
Kimiko turned her head, studying Isabella's face.
"Well, you're not crying this ti," she observed, with a gentle voice and a little smile.
Isabella swallowed, her throat tight for just a mont before she forced herself to smile back.
"Yeah, well, I think I got most of my tears out back then. Besides," she paused, her voice lowering, "I'm saving the rest for when... you know. When it really happens."
Kimiko reached over, her hand resting on Isabella's, her thumb brushing over her knuckles.
"You've grown quite a bit, 'Bella. I can't tell you how proud I am to see this kind of strength in you. It's not easy, facing this sort of thing with a smile."
Isabella let out a shaky laugh, finally turning to et her mother's eyes.
"Don't give too much credit, Mother. I'm just doing my best to not fall apart."
Kimiko's smile softened, her eyes warm. "And that's exactly why I'm proud of you."
Isabella looked away, blinking quickly.
Like she said, she didn't want the tears to co now. Not yet. Instead, she squeezed her mother's hand, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I love you, Mom."
Kimiko's fingers tightened around hers.
"I love you too, my darling."
Another comfortable silence settled between them, the noise of the garden fading into the background.
Isabella leaned her head against Kimiko's shoulder, closing her eyes for just a mont, soaking in the feeling of being next to her mother. She didn't know how much longer they had, but she was determined to make the most of every second.
"Hey, no getting sappy on now," Kimiko said. "I was fully expecting getting my turn sooner or later~"
Isabella grinned up at her.
"How about right now?"
And, giggling, they raced inside the manor.
---
{lisa}
Later, lisa was being a total vegetable in the garden.
She was lounging. Kimiko and Isabella were sharing a quiet mont on one of the benches, and Margaret had now sohow pulled Raven into the stories she was telling. lisa wasn't really listening.
Her eyes were half-closed, drifting off into that blissful state between "holy shit, we won" and "I could sleep for 50 years".
Until she heard a throat being cleared.
Lord Malachim was here, standing next to Javir.
[Oh?]
The businessman strode in, his long coat flowing behind him as he approached. lisa could see a few of the others straighten up...
... They were expecting a reprimand, given how the event went.
Isabella nudged lisa, her voice a whisper.
"Think he's here to chew us out for causing a scene?"
lisa gave a one-shoulder shrug.
"Probably. I an, we did make quite the, uh, ss out there."
[Here cos the royal lecture.]
She was already preparing her best "oops, I'm so sorry" face.
Lord Malachim stopped in front of them, his hands behind his back, his expression unreadable as he took in the group. There was a mont of silence, the air thick with anticipation.
Then, to everyone's surprise, he smiled.
"I must admit, I did not expect this outco," he said. "But your actions at the showcase have created quite a demand."
lisa blinked, her mind struggling to catch up.
"Wait, what?"
He continued, his eyes shifting to Isabella.
"There has been an overwhelming amount of interest in your wands, Miss Sumr. People are clamoring to know what 'those sticks' were that you and your friends used so effectively. I want more. And I'm willing to handle the distribution for you and your mother, if you can keep up with production."
There was a stunned silence. Then Isabella let out a squeal of delight, practically launching herself at Kimiko, wrapping her arms around her mother.
"Mom! Did you hear that? He wants to distribute the wands! We could be... we could be huge!"
Kimiko smiled softly, her eyes filled with warmth as she hugged her daughter back.
"We will have to work out the details, dear. There's a lot to consider."
Isabella was practically vibrating with excitent as she pulled back, looking at Lord Malachim.
"Right, right."
Lord Malachim nodded, his smile widening.
"Very well. I'll have my people contact you to discuss the arrangents." He gave a slight bow before turning to leave, his coat sweeping behind him as he disappeared through the garden entrance.
lisa let out a low whistle, watching as Isabella twirled on the spot, her face lit up with pure joy.
[Did not see that coming. But hey, good for her.] She smiled, standing and making her way over to Isabella, who was still buzzing with excitent.
"Hey, congrats on the business deal," lisa said, leaning against the bench. "Looks like all that hard work's about to pay off, huh?"
Isabella turned to her, her smile softening slightly as her eyes t lisa's.
"Thanks, lisa. But... there's actually sothing else I wanted to talk to you about."
lisa raised an eyebrow, tilting her head.
"Oh? What's up?"
Isabella glanced over at Kimiko, who was now engaged in a conversation with Margaret and Raven. Her gaze lingered on her mother for a mont before she turned back to lisa, her expression more serious. Enjoy new stories from My Virtual Library Empire
She gestured for them to move away a bit.
They separated themselves and Isabella took a deep breath.
"I know we've talked about this before, and I know it's... complicated, but I was wondering if maybe we could try so last attempts at saving Mom. I an, really go all out."
[Of course.]
lisa's smile faded, her heart tightening at the plea in Isabella's eyes. She nodded slowly.
"Yeah. Yeah, of course, Izzy. If there's anything I can do, I'm in. You know that."
Isabella let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, her shoulders relaxing just a little.
"Thanks. I just... I can't stand the thought of not trying everything, you know?"
lisa reached out, placing a hand on Isabella's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"I get it. And we're gonna try. We're gonna fight for her, alright? Whatever it takes."
Isabella nodded, her eyes glistening, though she quickly blinked the tears away.
"Whatever it takes," she repeated, her voice a soft promise.
lisa smiled, her fingers brushing a stray lock of hair away from Isabella's face.
"Hey, look at the bright side," Isabella said. "You've already done the impossible once. Who's to say you can't do it again?"
lisa let out a shaky laugh.
"Yeah. Maybe you're right."
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