Chapter Fourteen

Ashleigh groaned as the twins ringtone echoed throughout her bedroom. Peeking one eye open, she reached over to hit the decline option on her phone screen.

She sighed, closing her eyes again and rolling over. The ringtone sounded again.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me…" She grabbed the phone and hit accept, bringing it to her ear. "Do you have any fucking idea what time it is here! Let me fucking sleep!"

She hung up before they could answer, tossing her phone across the room. It began ringing again. "No! Fuck off!" She pulled her pillow over her head, trying to block out the sound.

I'm just going to keep calling until you answer.

Ashleigh screamed into her pillow as Demi's voice filled her head. God damn it! She flung the covers off of herself and hopped out of bed, scrambling in the dark to find her ringing phone.

"What the hell is so important that you felt the need to use a telepath spell?" She yelled into the phone at her brother.

"I wanted to know how your first day in Paris was?" Demi's voice asked sweetly.

Ashleigh groaned. "That's what you called about?"

"Of course!"

She rubbed her hand down her face, sitting back down on her bed. "Fine, whatever, I'm up now."

"Good!" Delilah yelled.

"Am I on speakerphone?"

"When are you not?" Demi laughed.

Ashleigh rolled her eyes. "Of course. So what do you want to know?"

"How many cute boys?!" the twins chimmed in unison.

"Why do I even bother asking?" she laughed. "Normal people ask other questions first you know?"

"Yeah, whatever," Demi huffed. "Normal's boring. We want all the dirty details!"

Lilah laughed at her brother. "Fine. We saw you on the news today. How'd meeting the heroes go?"

"Is Chat Noir as hot as his pics? I'd love me some kitty," Demi purred.

"Pervert!" Lilah yelled, followed by a small thud Ashleigh could only assume was her sister hitting him. "Ignore him."

Ashleigh laughed at the twins usual behaviour. It almost made her miss being there with them.

"It'd didn't go exactly as I'd planned," she sighed. "And don't worry Demi, he looks just as yummy in his outfit in person."

"Didn't go as planned? Did they not receive you well? I saw that you'd purified the akuma. That must have been hard on your body," Lilah voiced her concerns over Demi's purring.

"Yeah," she sighed again before recounting that mornings battle to her siblings. The twins stayed silent until she'd finished. "Ladybug seemed confused that there was another miraculous user, and I think it's because she knows where the rest of them are. She actually thought I was akumatized."

"Have you talked to Terrance about this yet? It sounds like she knows where a Guardian is."

Ashleigh shook her head. "I tried calling him but had to leave a message."

Delilah sighed. "He can be hard to reach sometimes. Hopefully he gets back to you soon. You said purifying the akuma wasn't too bad?"

"No. It took a lot of energy, but nothing too major. The only problem is that's exactly what I didn't want to do," she sighed. "Unfortunately, my body had other ideas."

"That doesn't surprise me," Dimitri spoke. "You're the incarnation of a Goddess, someone whose job is basically to keep the balance. Of course it's going to go against everything inside you to sit and do nothing."

Ashleigh groaned. "Thanks Demi, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. I'm not supposed to interfere while I'm here you know?"

"Sorry sis, you're just going to have to do your best."

She sighed. "Figures."

"Okay, real talk," Delilah's tone became serious. "Are you going to be okay there alone? I know both Mariah and Terrance agreed to it…"

"Surprisingly," Dimitri added.

"But you've never been on your own like this before. I know you're very capable of taking care of yourself and stuff around the house, but I don't want you to isolate yourself from everyone and everything again."

Ashleigh bit her lip. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," her brother spoke up. "We're only worried about you sis. We know you aren't happy with how things are for you, and I can only imagine what it's like to have everything predetermined for you in life, but… you can't let it get to you again okay? You have to live for the moment…"

"And the hot guys!" Lilah screeched.

"Ah! Jesus woman what the hell is wrong with you?!" Demi yelled at her. "We're trying to have a heart to heart here."

"Ha! Not so fun from the other side now is it?" she laughed. "I'm sorry Ash, but you should have seen his face!"

Ashleigh started laughing. "I could only imagine it. Good job Lilah!"

"Thanks!"

"Anyways, I know you guys are worried, but don't be," she smiled. "I made a friend today."

"A hot one?" Demi lowered his voice, whispering. "Please tell me it's a hot one."

She laughed again. "You tell me." She pulled the phone from her ear and quickly sent the twins the photo she'd taken with Luka from the top of the Eiffel Tower. "His name's Luka."

Demi whistle low. "Please tell me he took you on a private tour of Paris."

"Pervert," Lilah sighed. "Do you own the gutter?"

"What?" Demi became defensive. "I didn't say anything wrong."

"Sure sure."

Ashleigh giggled. "He did take me on a tour, don't worry Demi. Just not the private kind."

"Damn."

Lilah laughed. "How are we related again?"

"Well you see, you're a closet pervert."

"A what?" she asked, confused.

"You know, you're hiding in the closet with all your perverted thoughts," he teased, laughing.

Ashleigh rolled her eyes. "Only you Demi, only you." She sighed. "I just wish we could have gotten ice cream like I was promised."

"Oh?" Lilah mused. "And why couldn't you get ice cream exactly?"

"Well, Luka wanted to take me to get ice cream from this specific ice cream vendor, but we couldn't find where he'd set up for the day. Some guy named André or something. Luka insisted that we could only get ice cream from him, though I'm not really sure why."

"André? As is André THE ice cream man of Paris?!" Demi screamed. "Oh my god! OH MY GOD!"

"What the hell are you freaking out about now?" Delilah questioned her twin.

"Do you not remember? He was the one that was akumatized. The man who serves ice cream to only the perfect couples!"

"WHAT?!"

"Oh yeah, him," she laughed. "He's really famous among the citizens of Paris for the supposed love predictions of his ice cream. Apparently the couples he serves always stay together, like they're meant to be."

Wait! So Luka wanted to take me to get couple guaranteeing ice cream? She shook her head. That's crazy! There's no way that's really a thing. "People will believe anything these days," she laughed nervously.

"Actually…" Delilah trailed off.

"You've got to be kidding me…" she sighed. "You're fucking with me right?"

"Nope!" Demi laughed. "I looked into his background. His grandmother was a fortune teller, one pretty well known for her love predictions. She fled from her home when she became persecuted for witchcraft. It's more than likely he has magic users for ancestors."

"So in other words he's unknowingly using trace amounts of prediction magic."

"That's what it seems like," Lilah sighed. "Try not to worry too much about it."

"Awe, come on party pooper! Wouldn't it be nice for her to find her fated one by sharing an ice cream together," he sighed wistfully. "It is kind of romantic."

"Are you forgetting that we have the ability to find our soulmate ourselves," she smacked him again, making Ashleigh giggle. "As witches we just have to touch the person we're meant to be with to know it's them we've been looking for."

"Maybe it's that easy for us," Demi voice quieted. "But Ash has lots of lives. She's not going to find her soulmate in every one."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Lilah sighed, defeated. "In all her past lives she's gotten married and had kids, so I guess she technically has a fated one each lifetime."

"I'm the exception," Ashleigh interjected. "I don't think I'm supposed to find anyone this lifetime."

"What? Why the hell not?!" the twins exclaimed.

"Well, history says that I'm supposed to be the oldest, but I'm not this time, Mariah is. So, wouldn't it make sense that it's not going to be like every other lifetime? Maybe I'm not the oldest because I don't find anyone to have kids with this lifetime. Maybe Mariah is supposed to continue on the bloodline as if I wasn't born."

"I'm sorry, have you fallen out of bed and hit your head? Why the hell would you think like that?" Dimitri scolded her. "You're living in what is literally considered the city of love, and you're trying to tell us that you're not going to find someone? Do I need to come over there knock some sense into you?"

"Fine, jeez! Sorry I said anything!" she huffed.

"Just remember what we talked about sweetheart," Delilah's concern drifted through the phone. "We're here if you need us, for anything. Now go get some sleep."

"Alright," Ashleigh yawned. "Night."

"Goodnight sis."