Greetings, from Celadon!

[Celadon's Penultimate]

The two battled fiercely, lunging at one another as they had so many times before. The rapiers clanged together, each one ducking and dodging hits, and taking the combat all around the room.

Sapient was particularly fierce at first, not relenting for a second. He was rather proud of the fencing he'd picked up on over the years. What's more, the stuff they'd toppled over kept his faux-foe from getting good footing.

That is, until Wise got into the corner. Sapient thrust and parried, and riposted and almost had the furball beat, but then Sapient caught sight of the two bystanders watching the sparring match they had set up. When he turned around, it was a whole 'nother ballgame. Where there once stood a devious cat, there was now only his remaining grin, and then even the grin was gone. Wise was invisible.

Sapient would be defenseless. Wise booted his canine combat partner in the gut, and began to lunge forward with his rapier, only barely riposted. Now that Wise had the upper hand, he would not let up. He swiped at Sapient's feet, nearly jabbed his toes, barely missed his ears, and finally, Sapient dropped his rapier, holding his nose with a yelp of misty-eyed pain.

"YIPE!" He whimpered, "That...that...you really HIT me!"

Startled, Wise reappeared, and leaned in to see what was the matter, but soon recoiled at a familiar sound.

"Now...now...let's not be hasty, my barking buddy!" Wise chuckled sheepishly, "We...we all make mistakes!"

But it was too late.

"Bionic Bark?" Id asked Ego, eagerly.

"Bionic Bark." Ego leaned in intently to see just how much carnage THIS one would do.

Sapient had been practicing. And so the sound that was uttered wouldn't be some wimpy yelp. Not some gruff bow-wow. Not even a man-sized Saint Bernard bark. This right here? This right here? Enough to shatter furniture, the surrounding walls, the bookshelves, all the glass...and Wise's poor self-esteem.

  

When Sage finally managed to pull herself and her poor cousin from the rubble of the bark's blast radius, there came only this response as Wise waved the tiny white flag, and Sage tossed the bone back to her flea-bitten nemesis in a huff.

"We didn't want your stupid bone anyway..."

[ParallelanPrincess]

"Okay, now that was epic," said Savior as she and Bridgette left the animals to licking their wounds. The two kept wandering until they came to a fork in the hallway.

"Right or left?" Bridgette asked.

"Hm..." Savior detached a coin from here charm bracelet. It was inscribed 'Fortes fortuna adiuvat' on one side and had a picture of a cornucopia on the other.

"Heads, right. Tails, left." Savior flipped the coin.  It landed on the side with the inscription.

"Right it is, then." said Savior as she refastened the coin to the charm bracelet. Bridgette was fascinated. She wondered if the girl made all her decisions with the flip of coin. And that bracelet was peculair. It had a ring, a coin, four leaf clover, a cornucopia, a  wreath, and wheel for charms. There were additional hooks for more charms to be added.

"Savior."

"Yes'm?" said Savior leading the way down the right corridor.

"Where'd you get those charms?"

"Oh, various places. The ring came with the bracelet. The wheel came from- Oh look! We found the library! " said Savior excitedly as she sped off to the shonen manga section.

Bridgette watched as the girl pulled book after book into a pile. She then arranged the pile in a circle and began reading the books in clockwise order. Savior was peculair. And perhaps, that wasn't so bad. After all, the Penultimate's student couldn't exactly be your average Jane.

"She's a character all right." said the Penultimate from behind her.

"How long have you been watching?" Bridgette asked.

"The whole time. I must say your little adventure was quite amusing." the Penultimate chuckled good naturedly.

"Still, I can't watch over the girl 24/7. She's bound to get into trouble on her own. Perhaps , Nikolai can  monitor her."

Bridgette frowned. A young lady should not be followed around by a male. It was simply not proper.

"My lord, if I may, I could keep track of Savior."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

The Penultimate crossed his arms. He hadn't been told what was and wasn't proper in what felt like ages. He ignored the thought, deciding she was likely right, anyhow, and agreed.

"You're right, Bridgette. It's entirely inappropriate", the Penultimate started. Bridgette thought to correct herself, not meaning to come off as confrontational, but then the Penultimate finished, "And so I'll need someone to be my eyes and ears. To be a watcher over her where I cannot go. Make sure she studies, eats her vegetables, bathes, brushes her teeth twice a day, doesn't watch too much TV, puts her shoes on the right foot. The others account to me about the condition of the house. YOU...will account to me for Savior's training, education and any other problems that may arise with her."

Bridgette frowned, looking back at Savior as she oohed and ahhed the Penultimate's InuYasha collection, "You mean, I'll...I'll be responsible for her personal safety, as well?"

"No", the Penultimate sighed, "We have Brutus and the other bodyguards for that."

"So...I'm her new tutor?" Bridgette twisted her face, misunderstanding, "I'm barely qualified."

The Penultimate zapped a fragile book out of Savior's hands, back to the top shelf where it belonged, then turned back to face Bridgette, his face falling slowly into a frown, "Nope, not her teacher. Her mentor. Her, um, confidante. Which, in this case, actually means her babysitter."

Bridgette recoiled at the word, horrified by the prospect, "You mean--? SHE'S my only job? Oh, dear..."

"Yeah." The Penultimate put his hands on his hips a second, and then exhaled, deeply satisfied with the new arrangement already; he patted Bridgette on the shoulder twice, "Glad you understand. See ya!"

And with that, he turned away, and went off to play wrestle the Kitty of Doom. Mr Fluffums needed his exercise. Bridgette simply stood there a second, and was shaken from her distraught imaginings by a tap on the shoulder by Brutus.

"Yes?" came her unenthused reply.

"I know that you're new around here, Bridgette, but I feel it best to let you know."

Bridgette raised an eyebrow...this was going to be good. "Oh?"

"Well, as one would imagine, the home of a reality bender can be...a frightening place. All sorts of mischief, and mayhem, and potential harm for Savior. I would hate to see anything happen to either of you."

Bridgette stepped a half-step forward. Was that a threat?

"Well...Brutus. I've got no problem handling whatever this house, or my new young charge can throw at me. I intend to do everything in my power to keep her safe, and keep her well rounded. If I can help it, she'll turn out to be quite the little lady. Not worried in the face of danger. Able to stand in the face of idle threats, and laugh. Picking on somebody her own size simply won't be fair. She'll simply have to look for bigger..."

As she let that thought marinate, she patted his cheek gently twice and walked past him with a triumphant smirk. After she broke the news, they might just go upstairs and make it an "Ah! My Goddess!" marathon.

[ParallelanPrincess]

."So you're my babysitter now? You guys do know I'm not a tarot card right? You can't keep shuffling me around," Savior grumbled.

Aphrodite sent her to the Penultimate who placed her under Nikolai's instruction who passed her on to Bridgette.

"I am not a babysitter. I'm more of a governess. I'll be teaching you proper etiquette in addition to ensuring you are happy and healthy. I've never done anything like this before, but I'll do my best to take care of you." Bridgette said determinedly.

Savior chuckled. She vaguely remembered Eros saying something similair back when they first met.

"I have a feeling that you'll do fine, Bridgette." Savior said.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Brutus took a menacing fighting stance, huffing hard from the rigorous workout that ended just ten minutes ago. At the other side of the mat, Dyndron, who was not nearly as enthusiastic to take his sparring mate in combat.

Whereas Brutus had been training and working out and exercising for years, he had only been doing it for nearly one year. But Brutus insisted he would have to get better one way or the other. And so...

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" The brute lunged at poor Dyndron, his face twisted in warlike savagery.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" Dyndron screamed, praying his body would move out of the way.

And Brutus gladly shook him out of his panicked paralysis. A good punch met with Dyndron's gut, followed by a couple less-powerful ones. Dyndron attempted to grapple, but Brutus' shoulder's were simply too wide. He merely flexed and Dyndron lost his grip again.

Brutus kneed him in the leg, and as he fell forward, caught him by the neck, tossing him bodily onto his back.

Dyndron could barely stifle the hacking, the coughing, the gasping for air, and then when he grew annoyed at Dyndron's inability to defend himself, he picked him up by both shoulders, pinning him against the wall, and then dropped him to the floor to recuperate.

That match was over before it even started.

Dyndron flinched as Brutus walked past him, pulling a towel from the shelf just above him to wipe his head. Brutus looked down at him, feigning pity, and then headed for the locker room, snickering to himself. Dyndron staggered to his feet, and Brutus stopped short at the sound. He turned slightly, looking just over his shoulder.

"You're getting up? Don't tell me you want to go for round tow--"

"Sorry, Brutus", came a voice that was not Dyndron's. It was Nikolai, "But we didn't have enough time to pen bullying into your schedule. You'll have to put it off for some other time, I'm afraid."

"You bet your scrawny behind, you're afraid." Brutus scoffed, "Where were you when Dyndron and me were goin' at it just a second ago? I would gladly have taken you in his place..."

"Ugh", Nikolai rolled his eyes with contempt, "Get a hold of yourself, you know-nothing neanderthal. Savior and Bridgette have requested you bring them sweets for their anime marathon."

Brutus dropped his head with a smile. Then he ran a hand through his black hair, turned for the door, and stopped just in front of blond-haired Dyndron. He feinted another blow, and Dyndron flinched again, drawing Brutus' smile wider. He then checked Nikolai as he walked past, and went to change back into his monkey suit.

[ParallelanPrincess]

"Savior, what on Celadon are we watching?" asked Bridgette as she watched a vampire propose to a fairy.

"Our Hearts Divine Third Series. I know it's kinda weird, but I watched this all the time when I was little. I'm a bit of a sucker romances ." answered Savior as she fast-forwarded to the end credits. The ending song was the best part!

"<We had it all. Our Hearts entwined. But you gave it away. I wonder when we will become more than this. But I know it's not meant to be. How I hate you, my love> Savior sang in Parallelan.

"Are you killing a cat?" asked Brutus snidely as he walked in carrying a tray of chocolates. Savior ignored him.

Bridgette however took offense.

"Shut it, you muscle bound lummox!"

"Make me, peasant girl..."

Savior thought she saw the gates of Hades open in Bridgette's eyes. Time to flee.

"Well, I'm just going to go um...yeah" Savior ran out of the room just as the insults started flying. Savior almost collided with someone in the hall.

"Sorry!" Savior and Dyndron in unison.

So this was Savior. Funny she seemed so young and innocent. Brutus had made her out to be a conniving harpy plotting to usurp the Master. To Dyndron, she was just a kid who was lucky enough to be trained by the best. How he wished the Penultimate would train him instead of Brutus!

"Are you okay? You look you just lost a fight." Savior looked at the young butler's many bruises.

"No, I just got done sparing. With Brutus."

"Ouch."

"I know."

[ParallelanPrincess]

"So, I haven't seen you around the manor. I'm Savior." Savior said, extending a hand to Dydron.

"I'm Dyndron. I'm the newest butler around here." Dyndron said with a tinge of pride. To work for the Penultimate was an honor. Even if you were being trained by Brutus.

"You're a newbie,  too? So I guess that makes three of us. " Savior said counting on her fingers.

"I suppose it does. I don't think the Penultimate's ever had these arrivals in such a short amount of time." replied Dyndron.

" Say shouldn't you be studying?"

"Shouldn't you be butlering?" Savior asked innocently, batting her eyelashes to enhance her cute little girl routine.

"Uhm...well, Brutus did say I could take a break."

Actually, Brutus had said Dyndron could take a break after he learned to take a punch, but Savior didn't need to know that.

"In that case, we should take our breaks together. I haven't been outside in FOREVER. Can you take me to the greenhouse or the garden?"

"Are you sure the Master would be okay with that?"

"Probably not. But if you're with me, than you can supervise." Savior needed to see something green.

Plants were so  beautiful. It had nothing to do with the fact she missed seeing roses and rose petals everywhere.

She just wanted to check out some plants with a cute butler.

"I'm not-"

"Please! The last time I was outside, a cat tried to bite my hands off!" Savior pleaded.

"Fine. Brutus is going to kill me anyway..." Dyndron sighed. Girls were so persistent.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

As Brutus and Bridgette finally averted their eyes from an inimical staring contest, Savior offered Dyndron a donut from the tray cheerfully. But Dyndron put a hand up, declining politely, before lifting his shirt and patting his washboard abs in jest.

"I'm going to have to pass, Ms. Savior. Something tells me I need to get in better shape." He put his shirt down, his face falling from a smile, as Brutus passed. Heaven forbid Brutus take that as another invitation to hit him.

Brutus eyed Dyndron as he walked past, snickering at Dyndron's size compared to his own. Without another word, he headed out of the room to find something better to do. Bothering the lot of them had grown boring.

Meanwhile, the Penultimate sat in his bedroom, and patted Wise on the head at one side of him, with Sapient at the other, fast asleep. What else was there to do when the peace was easily kept on one's watch?

The harpies had all been flown away, back to their high, ragged perches. The vampires kept their distance, afraid of a one-way trip to the Sun. The ghosts? Busted. Bigfoot? Kicked aside. The werewolves? Sent howling. The gargoyles, the ghouls, the goblins, the orcs, the ogres--they had all been stepped to and conquered. Not to toot his own horn, he thought, but dang. He was on a roll.

His faithful manservant arrived at the door, and greeted him with a tray of healthy threats. At the smell, Wise and Sapient perked up, and began eying the food hungrily.

The Penultimate sighed, and invited them to it. As they devoured voraciously what would have been a lovely lunch, Brutus began his inquiry of the master.

"Sir...I'm normally not the one to complain. You know that. I typically am fairly patient with these things, but I feel I must be candid. May I, sir?"

The Penultimate gestured as he had with Wise and Sapient, and Brutus exhaled.

"Savior, sir. How do you plan on going about her education, and her subsequent training? She's coarse. Unrefined. I think I even heard her scoff when Nikolai mentioned the rivalry between the vampires and the werewolves! How could you expect something good to come of her blatant disrespect for diplomacy?"

"Look." The Penultimate answered, "I realize that she has a lot to learn. But, well, I intend to teach her as much as my mentors taught me. Things don't always go smoothly with these sorts of matters, but it doesn't mean I should kick her to the curb. OR hand her over to YOU, as you so graciously suggested before."

"But sir--"

"Don't 'but, sir' me!" The Penultimate vanished from the bed and reappeared upright a few feet away, "I know what I'm doing. Give her time. Give ME time. I'll have her poofing place to place, magicking up a storm before you know it."

Brutus rolled his eyes as the Penultimate turned away from him. Oh, goody. She'd soon be a MAGIC-WIELDING pest. The Penultimate caught the internal monologue he mouthed under his breath, and he shrank away, smiling sheepishly. The Penultimate grumbled a rather unpleasant promise if Brutus did that again behind his back, and stepped through the closet's double doors, to the library halfway on the other side of the manor.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Brutus cursed under his breath again, and Terryffinda entered the Penultimate's room behind him.

"Oh, my...such language!" Terryffinda chuckled, putting her hand to her mouth to feign shock, "What would the master think?"

Brutus rolled his eyes. She KNEW what the master would think. She simply found amusement in his fear of consequence. It was one of the few things he DID fear, but that fear was enough to outweigh any others.

"Don't you have some toenails to clip, Terryffinda? Some fingernails to file? I'm sure the Penultimate or that child--!"

"I don't serve the child, and the Penultimate is just fine without me right now. The one who needs my attention NOW...is you. What's going on in that handsome head of yours, Brutus?"

Brutus flashed that winning smile. He walked up to the lovely Terryffinda, and pulled her close to him. She gasped, clutching his biceps in admiration as he pulled her yet closer.

"A LOT of things go through my mind, Terryffinda..." Brutus locked eyes with the maid, and she looked at him almost amorously, "Did you have anything in particular you wanted to discuss?"

She cast her glance to the side with a coy smile. Brutus leaned in, closing his eyes...only to have his kissable lips meet with the palm of her hand. He opened his eyes and blinked, confused.

As she pulled herself away from his professionally-inappropriate embrace, Terryffinda laughed. She had caught herself, she thought, relieved.

"Nice try, Brutus..." Terryffinda smiled, putting her hand under his strong jaw, "But your charms don't bother me like they do the other maids. I suspect Bridgette will tell you the same...Fine. If you don't want to tell me something is on your mind, when I can tell something obviously is, then you'll just have to find someone else to play with."

Brutus looked up at the ceiling, and sighed.

"If you don't realize my annoyance at the newcomers by now, Teryffinda, then you are certainly blind. I...I just want some company. C'mon...not even a hug?"

Terryffinda shook her head in disbelief. Not EVERYONE was meant to be intrigued with him. Not EVERYONE was as weak-minded as those fawning girls he was used to. Not everyone would be putty in his hands...

Not the Penultimate.

Not Savior.

Not Nikolai.

Not Bridgette.

Not Dyndron.

And not her.

"If you want a hug that bad", she started, "I'd suggest you find Wise or Sapient. You know those two. Little bundles of affection. Now, I have to go. I have some cleaning to do. And, for that matter...so do you."

With that, Terryffinda left Brutus to his thoughts.

[ParallelanPrincess]

"No,  Dixon! She going to-! Aww and now your dead. Again." Savior pouted.  OHD 3 killed Dixon off every season finale and brought him back for every season premiere. It was becoming annoying.

"Savior," Bridgette called drawing the tween's attention away from the television screen.

"Yes?" Savior asked drastically, too busy trying to figure out how Dixon would rise from the dead yet again.

"Time for bed. You need your beauty sleep."

"Oh...but I wanna watch the Season 6 premiere!"

"No whining! Bed, now!" she said dragging Savior to the door.

Savior was too tired to fight. She let Bridgette half walk, half carry her to her room.

A plaque inscribed with "Savior's Room" had been mounted on her door. Savior smiled sheepishly. It was official , she'd be staying here for a long time.

Bridgette tucked her in and  turned off the lights.

"Good night, Savior. I hope your dreams are pleasant."

"Night."

.....................................................

Savior was surrounded by hornets. They flew out of their nests in droves and stung her. She tried to swat them away. They swarmed her and covered her in absolute darkness. From the darkness sprang a tricolored purple, red, and teal rainbow. At the end of the raibow lay a pot of gold. At the bottom of the pot lay a key. Savior picked it up. There was a green ribbon tied to the key bearing TRUTH in gold letters
....................................................

"Door. Open door. Close door. Lock, key." Savior said in her sleep as Bridgette continually tried to shake her awake.

"Do-huh? Where am I?" asked Savior rubbing her eyes.

Bridgette exhaled deeply. Finally. The girl was a surprisingly deep sleeper.

"You are in your room. In the Penultimate's manor."

"Oh..right. So what's up?"Savior got out the bed and strecthed. Another day to be awesome.

"Young ladies do not use slang. What is  up is that it took me twenty minutes to wake you." Bridgette scolded.  It was only 7:30 in the morning and they were  twenty minutes behind schedule.

"What were you dreaming about?"

Savior shrugged. "Bugs and rainbows?"  

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Bridgette looked up to the ceiling, "Figures. I'd think to look through some dream interpretation books to find out what's going on in that peculiar head of yours, but...well, you're already late for lessons. Come, now."

The two made their way to the parlor, where Terryffinda straightened some drapes, and Linaea helped Dyris hang a new portrait. Monet or Morisot, somebody with an M name.

Savior sat, and Bridgette pulled a book from one of the shelves. Savior grabbed both arms of her chair, and Bridgette dropped the heavy atlas in Savior's lap.

"HEY! What is this?" Savior looked down, attempting to get the book off of her lap, "I'm not studying from this, am I?"

Terryffinda and Linaea giggled to one another in the background, as Dyris straightened the portrait. Bridgette looked to them with an annoyed seriousness, and then back to Savior.

"No worries, Savior. You don't have to study from it. Just walk to me...balancing that on your head."

She stepped back, until she was twenty feet away. Savior's face fell. Perhaps pretending to study from the book would have been a better idea. But it was too late now. She slid the huge book off her lap, onto the floor, with a thud. Dyris and Linaea rushed to either side of Savior, helping her to hoist it onto her head. It probably wouldn't be so hard to hold once it was on her head.

WRONG. She tried her best to balance the book on her head with all her might, and all she got from it was immobility. One fraction of a twitch, she would drop it. Likely on her toes, or on the toes of one of the maids.

But Bridgette wouldn't have it.

"COME TO ME." She demanded, a mix of coaxing and threatening, "Just a few paces, Savior. You can do it."

Savior exhaled. She looked to either side of her, and put her hands out to either side. The maids backed off. Savior took another breath and, holding her head steady as possible, stepped forward.

Dyris clapped twice, but upon catching Bridgett's gaze, stopped, for fear her clothes might catch fire. Savior needed her concentration, and that she would have.

Come on, girl, Savior coaxed herself internally, you can do it. You can do it...She took another step, keeping her poise to the best of her ability. She knew not to take long, wide steps, for Bridgette would certainly force her to start again. Another step.

The book faltered, and her neck compensated. This balance thing was getting easier. Not by much, but still...

Another step. Another two steps.

"Almost there!" Bridgette urged, like she was waiting for the fastest runner at a track meet to cross the finish line, "Just a little further!"

Savior was about to give her a thumbs up, but the book faltered, and so she put her hand quickly back at her side, and tensed her neck yet again.

"Don't drop the book!" Dyris put both hands to her mouth, worried. Bridgette looked at her in wide eyed menace, hoping to GOD Dyris wouldn't say what she thought Dyris would say.

She said it.

"No pressure!"

Bridgette, Terryffinda and Linaea hung their heads in despair. Dyris was so going to get it when this lesson was over. Savior menaced her mentally, but for now, could only think to reach Bridgette. She felt like she was learning to walk all over again. Only with more gravity.

A couple more steps...a couple more steps...THERE!

Her shoe reached the tip of Bridgette's shoe, and the maids quickly moved the book from her head. Bridgette pulled her into a big hug, and smiled at her, proud.

"Perfect!" She let go of Savior, and turned to the back window, "I knew you could do it!"

Savior exhaled deeply, "DANG, that book was heavy. So...since I improved my balance so quickly, does that mean I can rest for a bit?"

Bridgette didn't turn from the back window, "Of course! Treat yourself to some ice cream, or pie!" Savior headed for the exit, but Bridgette continued, "Just...don't forget the book. Girls, I'll need you to help her get that up to her room."

"Huh-wha-huh?" Savior frowned, her hope to be rid of that dreaded book immediately crushed.

Bridgette smiled matter-of-factly, "Oh. And you might want to put in some especially dedicated practice into that, Savior. By the end of the week, you're going to be doing THAT...on a tightrope."

She patted Savior pleasantly on the head, and walked out of the room daintily, to find where Dyris had sneaked off to while the others were busy congratulating Savior...

[ParallelanPrincess]

Savior's face fell. Tight rope? Oh gods.... She picked up the book. It weighed more than....it was so heavy Savior couldn't think of anything to compare it with.

"We can take care of that," Linaea said, grabbing the book from Savior.

"You just go grab that pie and ice cream Bridgette talked about." she continued with a wink.

"Really? You guys rock!" said Savior skipping off towards the kitchen.

"She is so adorable!" Linaea gushed.

'Now if only we could keep Brutus away from her'Terryfinda thought.

...................................................

"Cupcakes! Cupcakes! I got some cupcakes!" Savior sang as she bounced towards the greenhouse with a vanilla cupcake in each hand.

"Too much sugar is a bad thing," said Brutus. The Hercules wannabe was blocking the entrance to the greenhouse.

"And so is too much testerone." Savior said sitting on the ground.

"Let me guess, you want to play 20 questions and then you'll let me into the greenhouse." This was so much of a cliche it was tragic.

"You're not as foolish as you look." said Brutus smirking.

"Not in the least. " Savior took a bite of a cupcake. "Let's get this over with. I want to feed the Saturn flytraps before nightfall."

[ParallelanPrincess]

"Question 1: Where do you come from?" asked Brutus in his most menacing tone.

Savior rolled her eyes. Somebody was trying a little too hard to be tough.

"Wonderland," she answered voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Don't play games with me, child." Brutus snarled.

Savior felt her eye twitch. Again with the child thing?

"Parallela." Savior felt that Brutus didn't need to know the finer details.

After all, not eveyone lived in a temple to the gods and goddess of love.


"Question 2: Where are your parents?"

Was Aphrodite technically her mother? Did that make the Erotes her uncles? Well, as a whole they were a sort of foster family.

"My foster family's back in Parallela." Or Mount Olympus.

Brutus raised an eyebrow. Savior was an orphan, then? Unless her parents had willingly given her away (which was extremely rare in any case).

"Question 3: How did you get here?"

"On my own two feet?." Savior shrugged.

'I fell off the roof because of bad teleportation spell,"she thought darkly.

"How did you get into the Penultimate's palace? How did you get past the guards?"

 If was extremely unlikely that a mere child with no powers whatsoever would be able to bypass the palace's many, many, security systems and enchantments.

Savior panicked. She couldn't tell him about Aphrodite.

"I..um....uh. Vanisito!"  Savior jumped up and ran.

"I'm late for my etiquette lessons!" she called back to him.

Brutus let her flee. She had something to hide. He simply needed to find out what.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

He reached into his pocket thoughtfully as he watched the little pest move further and further from view. Now that Nikolai had gone off to pick up with his reading, and Terryffinda had went to start the cooks on lunch, and Bridgette was upstair, teaching giddy maids how to speak Parallelan as she did, it would be much easier to go about his business...

Ring of Tyche, Brutus thought. The Penultimate said it was among the only artifacts he couldn't find in his many travels. He had found the Girdle of Hippolyta, plenty of leprechauns' pots of gold, the Ring of Nibelung, Harmonia's Necklace, The Philosopher's Stone, and so many more. Even the Treasures of the Wulf'n Prince Shadowulf, the 500 Rarae Objecti of Safaria. Why was that blasted Ring of Tyche any different?

He looked at the small strip of paper he'd torn from the magic book. If he was found out, he would be in dire trouble. But if HE were to find the ring of the Goddess of Fortune...then he wouldn't have to worry about all that.

He truly would have NOTHING to fear...

Though, for now, he still did, even if he wouldn't show it to the others. Bridgette came walking down the hall, two nameless maids at her heels.

"Jou imina gulena?" One of them inquired, "Did I say it right?"

Bridgette laughed, "Only if you ENJOY eating boots..."

She stopped short, and the two maids stopped at her side. What was Brutus up to, standing there, looking especially innocent? What was that he was holding?

Brutus didn't even look away as the girls approached; only put the small torn slip of paper into his pocket. He greeted them with a smile, paying especial attention to Bridgette's younger counterparts.

"So? You girls are learning a new language?" Brutus inquired, leaning in at the shorter one, causing her to giggle girlishly.

Bridgette cocked her head to the side, "Yes. Yes, they are. And if you wouldn't mind, your ego is blocking the way to the library."

The girls giggled again, and Brutus narrowed his eyes, before turning his attention to the taller one, "Well, if you'll excuse me, ladies, I have much better things to do than be berated by the grating insults of a cackling old maid. Some of us are simply more mature than that. Now..." he turned back to meet Bridgett's glare, "I'll be in the parlor waiting on the Penultimate if anyone needs me."

Brutus: 1, Bridgette: 0, he thought as he walked down the hall.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

He would find the Penultimate in the Study. And he was in one of his moods again.

Brutus entered with caution, and the door shut behind him. He couldn't see the Penultimate right away, but his presence was clear. A gust of wind whirled violently in the furthest corner of the study, whipping books from their shelves, tossing chairs and tables to every side.

The lights all burst out of their sockets, and the statues and busts grew uneasy, sure he would accidentally break one of them in all his raging.

"STUPID! STINKING! STORY! STILL! STYMIED!!!!" A vehement cry rang out from the same corner.

Brutus shrank back, remembering his fear of the Penultimate again.He was especially unpleasant when he spoke in alliteration. Brutus reached behind himself, and tried the door again, but by now it was already locked. And so he stepped forward with utmost caution, hoping he wasn't interrupting any PARTICULARLY important project.

He was.

Before he could take a second step, there appeared before him a great black cloud, issuing forth thunder and lightning with hateful menace. Brutus thought to call out to the Penultimate that it was only him, but the doom cloud spoke first, internally flashing lightning with every syllable.

"WHO GOES THERE, YOU LOW DOWN, FOUL UNWORTHY--???" The Penultimate was too angry even to leave the epicenter of his rant.

Brutus stuttered, "M-m-me...B-Br-Brutus."

"INDEED..." The Penultimate's voice replied. The floor beneath Brutus' feet quavered a second, and then at last simply slid Brutus forward, around a few corners, up a few aisle, past desks, shelves, fallen books, until he was face to face with the Penultimate himself.

"What?"  The Penultimate grumbled.

"Um, well, sire, I came only to see if you had something for me to do...you know? A task or something..." Brutus tested to see if he could move his legs. He could.

"Yes, sure, I have a task for you..." The Penultimate began, his frustration simmering down into a less wrathful resentment, "I need somebody to look at my stories. Actually take a good look at what I've written, and give me their honest opinion of what they think about it."

Brutus looked confused, "But, sire, we look at your work all the time! They, they're great! Awesome! Wonderful!"

"Oh, hush, you kiss-up." The Penultimate grimaced, "You're PAID to think I'm awesome. I need somebody who has nothing to lose if they tell me otherwise."

Just then, a familiar face came through the adjacent hall, her charm bracelet jangling as she made her merry way to the greenhouse to try the fruits of the mintfruit tree. Dyndron had told her than not only do they taste like mint, but they freshen your breath and whiten your teeth!

The thought would have to be put on hold, however, when the Penultimate called her into his study. Savior stopped short when she heard the call.

"Oh, no you don't, Brutus! You won't trick me into going in there to the Penultimate can dip ME in burning hot oil, thankyouverymuch!"

The Penultimate rolled his eyes, and tapped on her shoulder, giving her a start. She turned around.

"It wasn't Brutus. It WAS me."

Savior followed the Penultimate, and sat down. She looked at all the pages scattered across it, and read the fragments. Who was Urien? The Sanguine Charm? Something about a Vampire Hunt? What was this? What did he have in mind? Was the Penultimate really as terrible as he originally seemed?

"What is this?" Savior asked, a mix of afraid and confused.

The Penultimate's face fell from his friendly face; hearing her thoughts was most unflattering, "You nasty li'l nasty...I am NOT some evil dictator, you ninny! It's a STORY!"

Brutus gasped. Savior turned.

"Um...you...WANT me to see it?"

The Penultimate sighed, hoping he wasn't making a HUGE mistake, "Yes. I..." He could barely bring himself to spit it out, "I want...I want you to read it."

[ParallelanPrincess]

Savior's face became blank.

"Say what now?"

"I want you to read my story," the Penultimate repeated. He was in no mood for repeating.

"Uh huh. And what happens if I don't like it? You want send me back to Mr.Fluffums right?"

 Savior was in no mood for a rematch with the Kitty of Doom. The fact that she had beaten him once was pure luck.

 "Depends."

"On what?"

"What you say about my writing."

"Dude, I've read My Immortal. Your writing can't be That bad." said Savior searching for the first page among the sheets of paper. She found the page marked chapter one and began reading.

After three minutes of silence....

"This..."

"Yes?" The Penultimate asked with mixed feelings of fear and excitement.

"This.." Savior continued.

"Out with it already, you stupid girl!" Snapped Brutus impatiently.

"This...IS THE MOST INCREDIBLE THING I"VE EVER READ!" Savior exclaimed.

"The dialogue! The characters. The sheer action. This is not a story! This is literary art!" she squealed.

"You've only read one page." Brutus said sardonically.

"That's all I need," said Savior with more certainty than she had ever experienced. The Penultimate was a literary genius hands down. Savior grabbed the Penultimate by the hand and looked him straight in the eyes.

"You are my hero, sir." she said.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

The Penultimate blinked. He attuned his hearing to the wavelength of her thoughts, scanning her psyche for a hint of deception. He HATED being kissed up to. And yet...if this Savior kid was yanking his chain, she was darn good at hiding it.

"So...you really like it, huh?" He raised an eyebrow, suspicious.

Savior nodded, her expression cheery, "It's off to a really good start!"

"Oh, really?" His tone was still accusatory, and now he crossed his arms, "And what about it did you like that you saw from only the first page?"

Brutus pushed the pages aside, so she couldn't cheat. But, she wouldn't have to.

"Really good detail. You can easily tell what Damien is like. Especially compared to Dorian, Seth and Lucas. And it's easy to see Molly's the leader. She's way more confident than Sarah and the others."

The Penultimate unfolded his arms, and began to shuffle the papers into organization, with a smile growing, "Okay, well, I'm glad to know I have an honest opinion. If you like, you can read the rest. I'm not done, what with working on that, Giva GiSerra, the Graffrica: Royalty and Jealousy play series, the Frighteningly Fictional Stories and a few other stories. But you can look at it, if you like. The others, too, even. And when you're done reading those, you can even feel free to take a look around at the rest of my books, whether I wrote them or not..."

Brutus was dumbstruck, utterly gobsmacked with silent, simmering frustration. Had Brutus been caught DEAD in there, he'd have been resurrected, and tossed to the carnivorous plants to die again! Even Nikolai had to bring all his books from home. NOBODY touched the Master's precious books, his manuscripts, his plays, his poems, his anthologies, his folios, his codices. Next thing any of them knew, Savior would be dabbling with the Penultimate's FLASH DRIVES.

The thought made him shudder, and he called out to the master in dismay as he readied to go to another part of the house.

"Sir!" The Penultimate stopped, "You can't possibly be planning to leave Savior alone in here with all of your books?"

The Penultimate raised an eyebrow again. He was nice, not stupid, "Of course not, BRUTUS! I'm gonna go get a book, and read right here across from Savior. And when she has questions and commentary, she can let me know as it comes to her. What kind of fool do you think I am?"

Brutus made himself think happy thoughts, so the Penultimate couldn't hear his answer to that question, "Oh, Penultimate, I don't think you're a fool...I trust your judgment. I'll...just be somewhere across the manner. Far away, to keep busy."

He hurried out, hoping his mind hadn't already been scanned by the ever-suspicious, ever-vigilant Penultimate.

[ParallelanPrincess]

"Okay, so you know Part 2 needs a touch up" Savior commented before taking another sip of lindaberry juice. Dyndron had brought her and the Penultimate lunch and dinner while Savior had spent hours critiquing his written work.

"What do you mean?" asked the Penultimate with a touch of annoyance. He really liked Part 2. It was his favorite part.

"I know the series is supposed to be...dramatic, but Part 2 feels a little soap opera-ish. I mean, the love triangle is enough. You don't need to bring up the issue of who the main character's real father is in the same part. It gets to be too much. I'm just sayin'." Savior took another sip of juice to accent her point.

The Penultimate was a tad aggravated. The girl was honest to fault. That was appreciated, but still annoying. If Savior disliked a scene, she was sure to tell him all the ways she thought it sucked.

"Sir, it's Savior's bedtime," said Bridgette from the doorway.

"Me no need bedtime." said Savior without looking up from the page she was reading.

"Bed. Now." said Bridgette sternly. With a grumble , Savior rose from her perch and began shuffling off to her room.

"Good night, sir." Bridgette said with a smile.

"Bridgette! I need you to tuck me in!" Savior yelled from down the hallway.

"I sincerely hope she's being sarcastic," sighed Bridgette.

Brutus entered as Bridgette exited. The two had a brief glaring contest before Bridgette departed.

"Sir, I have something I think you should know,"Brutus said immediately jumping to the point.

"Let me guess, it has something to do with Savior." The Penultimate resisted the urge to groan. He knew what was coming next.

"Indeed. I believe she's been lying to you."

"Not likely." As if anyone could deceive him. Brutus must have forgotten. Twas he, the Penultimate.

"I beg to differ, sir."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

"You don't think it's...odd." Brutus began, "She came out of nowhere."

The Penultimate looked up from his book, half-listening, careful not to reveal he really DID know how she had arrived, "Uh-wha-I'm sorry, what?"

"That's not amusing, sir."

"So? What did I tell you about patronizing me?" The Penultimate REALLY didn't enjoy being patronized, especially when it interrupted a good read, "Want me to turn you into a jester again? I'm sure a child in the giant village would LOVE to have a new Brutus doll..."

Brutus sighed, "Sire..."

"Anyway." The Penultimate put up a hand, "I will look into her more thoroughly when the time calls for it. For now, just go...find something to do. The others are busy, except, I think Dyndron. Go see if you can help him."

Brutus balled his fists as the Penultimate looked back down to Incarceron to finish reading it a fifth time, and exited with a wicked smile that would have troubled the Penultimate had he looked up from his reading to see. But Incarceron...it was so good...

And so Brutus stalked off after Dyndron. He would find the young butler in the upstairs observatory, approaching a telescope to stargaze.

"Oh, um...hi, Brutus." Dyndron looked nervously away from Brutus, looking hesitantly into a telescope, "You came to stargaze, too?"

Brutus scoffed. He had no intention of looking at the stars. Everything he intended to achieve was right here in Celadon. He leaned on an adjacent telescope, and spoke calmly.

"No, I came to speak to you. You know, you're my favorite pupil. It's why I'm so hard on you." Brutus pulled out a throwing knife impossibly concealed up his sleeve, "I want you to be prepared for anything a foe can throw at you. You'd be shocked how quickly your job can go from being a butler to being a bodyguard. This place is full of dangers..."

Dyndron cracked a weak smile, "I'm sure..." He knew he was looking at one of them.

"Speaking of danger, and needing to be prepared", Brutus continued, "I see you've been getting awfully chummy with the newcomer these past few days..."

"Oh, Bridgette? Yes, she's lovely. Pretty...smart..." Dyndron didn't even bother to look up from the telescope, and so Brutus decided to catch his attention himself.

His tossed throwing knife purposely missed him by barely an inch, landing instead in the wall with a hateful thud, causing Dyndron to look up. He had seen Brutus aim in training, and knew it could easily have been his heart, or between his eyes instead. Having caught the boy's attention, Brutus lunged forward, yanked the boy up from his watching post, and pinned his back against the wall, menacing him as hatefully as whenever they started sparring.

"Don't play stupid with me, boy." All pleasantness from his voice had gone, "I can tell the difference between your fake ignorance and your normal stupidity. I meant SAVIOR. Have you noticed anything peculiar about any goings-on with SAVIOR?" He looked ready to go for the knife concealed at his side if Dyndron didn't tell him what he wanted to know.

Dyndron's brow had misted with sweat, and he was breathing hard. All the other butlers were easily won over as friends, but for some reason, Brutus seemed from the start, ready at a moment's notice to do physical harm to him. He thought back to the many "accidental" close calls on his life that somehow included Brutus being nearby. with that, he swallowed hard.

"Well...nothing of importance. She just seems luckier than most, I'd say."

Brutus shook him a little, and so he continued, "Like the time in the garden! A grown Saturn's Flytrap tried to nip at her from behind and a puffle accidentally jumped in its way. When the puffle was caught in its jaws, it bit and scratched the poor thing up so bad, it could barely eat. And the time Terryffinda slipped on a ladder, dropping a chandelier. It happened a second after Savior had passed under her. And then, of course, there's that Kitty of Doom incident. You know most of us nearly died at his paws. Nobody ever dealt with Mr. Fluffums so quick and without even layin' a hand on him."

His older counterpart let him go, and he straightened his butler's suit. Before Dyndron had the chance to add anything else, Brutus was out the door. He had some more research to do...

[ParallelanPrincess]

If anyone caught Savior in the library this late at night she would be in a lot of trouble.

'Well, she reasoned. It's not the Penultimate's private library. And I do have permission to come in here.'

 She wanted to find a dream dictionary like Bridgette mentioned. If she was going to have weird dreams then she might as well find out why.

The library's door was already open. Savior peered inside.

"Come in," called Brutus.

Savior felt a shiver run down her spine. That guy was really starting to creep her out. She wanted to run but something in Brutus' voice made her know that was not an option.

"What are you doing up so late?" asked Brutus in mock concern.

"I-I couldn't sleep," Savior stuttered. She was shocked. She hadn't expected anyone to be up this late.

"I could ask you the same. Brutus." Savior said, eyes narrowing at the mysterious, muscle boundbutler.

"Just catching up on my reading." Brutus replied.

"I heard  Incarceron's good." said Savior stepping into the library with a confidence she only half felt. She plopped down on the arm chair opposite Brutus.

"I know, the Master's told me." And told me and told me. Brutus thought.

"But enough about me. Let's talk about you. After all, it's always about you these days. The lucky, little girl who won over all the hearts on Celadon."

Not to mention the trust of the Penultimate.

"What can I say? I'm a lucky gal. Can't help that. I was just born this way like that Madame Cinqueme song.

"Like the what?"

"Parallelan rock star. She's very talented. I'm a huge fan." Savior smiled, remembering a karaoke contest between Anteros and Hymenaios.

Man, she had to get that new album before it sold out. Where there record stores nearby? She'd have to ask Dyndron.

"I see. Well enough about rock stars. Let's talk about you. Tell me, how did that foster family of yours treat you? I'm sure they're wondering were you've wandered off to." Brutus asked.

Savior shot him a look of contempt. Had he struck a nerve?

"They were awesome. They are the best go-good people ever. My family's the one who sent me here in the first place." Savior crossed her arms. He had a lot of nerve.

"Oh really? What are the odds of a Parallelan girl's amazing foster family sending her to the Penultimate and becoming his student the same day?"

"Point two three seven percent! If you're done interrogating me, I'm going to bed." Savior huffed, storming out of the library.