Author's note: Nothing new, but thanks for waiting as always! Sorry if most of it is filler...

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Several days later...

As noon emerged, Marie had been looking through her closet to see what sort of dresses she'd wear to the banquet, and so far, it seemed she was out of luck. However, Freyja would appear before her, and asked, "You're still looking for what to don for tonight's party?"

Letting out a sigh, she nodded. "I know one of my favorite colors is pink, but my mother told me that wearing other colors doesn't seem too bad."

The red-haired goddess peered into the closet, and suddenly let out a small smile. She had found herself a beautiful, long-sleeved light blue dress that was pretty flowy.

"Here's one you might like." she told her.

Marie took the dress out, and gaped as to how stunning it looked. "Whoa, that's a color I can go along with!" she exclaimed. But then she asked, "Do you really think I might wear this during some pretty chilly weather, though?"

"You possibly could. Oh yeah, I almost forgot..." Freyja said.

She took off her trademark golden torc, and handed it to her. "You should only wear this tonight; then on the next day, be sure to return it to me."

"Okay! Thanks, Freyja!"

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Around the same time, Elizabeth had considered making lunch for herself. After letting some of Marie's servants help her cook and prepare some food, she had done a decent but not remarkable attempt at cooked fish.

"Lunch is ready!" she called out.

While Marie and Helen were eager to eat, Lydia and Isuzu chose to have their lunch at the tavern. As the three of the Mad Hearts Neo started digging in, Patroklos stepped in and was surprised.

"You almost made it too late there!" Helen exclaimed.

He shrugged, before saying, "Didn't expect Liz to be good at cooking."

"Why don't you join us? We can talk about tonight, which happens to be Siegfried's birthday."

Elizabeth's words prompted a smile from Patroklos, before sitting with the girls. Since bringing up what had transpired with Pyrrha a few days ago, the other members of MHN were taken aback at such a revelation.

As he began recalling that day...

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On the night Nightmare was defeated and kidnapped Pyrrha...

When the other members of the MHN were summoned so that they'd hear of Pyrrha's abduction by Nightmare (except Lydia, as she already got wind of it), they were shocked.

"That means...she's Soul Edge's successor?" Helen asked.

"I don't know, but something's not right." Elizabeth added.

"Guys, we need to chill and hope that things can turn out for the better. We may have beaten Nightmare, but it's not over just yet." Marie told them.

"That means we'll have to train harder and a lot more valiantly, huh?" Isuzu inquired.

"I guess so. Besides, it's do or die!" Marie said.

On a side note, Patroklos had overheard the conversation the Mad Hearts Neo just had. With his fists clenched almost tightly, he felt that he was just as determined.

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Back in the present...

Since that day, their worries had already gave way to the same bravery and confidence Athena and Freyja had bestowed on them. For now, though, they had enjoyed the food that Elizabeth made for them.

"Gee, Liz, this dish is pretty good!" Marie exclaimed.

"Thank you. I may not be as excellent as you or your servants, but I've tried." Elizabeth told them.

"Being humble is always a virtue, that's what my parents told me before I came here." Helen added.

"Anyway, about the banquet tonight...are any of you good at dancing?" Marie asked.

Helen's brows furrowed, and Elizabeth pondered. Patroklos then replied, "I may have recalled dancing with a few girls. But that was the past, I guess."

"Well...to be honest, maybe I could get dancing lessons from you."

He was surprised by her assertive statement, before he smiled again. "I'd...well, I'd be more than happy to oblige."

Marie smiled back, and everyone resumed eating. Guess all that pep talk really worked, she thought to herself.

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Outside the base, however, Greed's fists clenched into balls as he told Malice, "When she's all alone, I wanna ask Liz if she'll help me with something."

"Really? What?"

"I want her to make an aphrodisiac; but if I tell her that it's for Marie, she'll kick me out." he replied.

"So be discreet and say it's for a friend of yours; say that he wants to get busy with a girl he's into." Malice advised.

"Oh really?" Greed raised an eyebrow, and grinned as he found the idea to be quite intriguing. "Sounds like a great idea! But how do we get into the banquet?"

"I dunno, but I think we have to wear some fancy shit." Malice said.

"Heh...this should be good." the blond man said to himself, his grin growing bigger.

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After lunch, Patroklos chose to take a small nap. As he laid back and was about to do so, he heard the sound very faint moaning. Needless to say, so did Athena.

"I know that voice..." he told her.

"What do you mean-oh, yes, Lydia. I wonder what she might be up to..."

"Well, I've got to see what she's moaning about."

When Patroklos said those words, he quickly left his room. Athena, on the other hand, blushed as she assumed that Lydia was...gods know what.

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Slowly opening the door to Lydia's room ajar, what he saw was quite bewildering. She was lying on the bed, with her skirt undone and her undies off as she was fingering herself.

"Is there something wrong?" Patroklos asked.

This prompted her to jolt up, and her eyes widened as he continued, "And why on earth are you playing with yourself?"

As he closed the door, he saw Lydia bite her lower lip as she replied, "Look, we haven't went out in a while, and I was wanting to you join me at the tavern for some lunch. And maybe a date along the way, but still..."

"But what?"

"But you didn't and instead had lunch with Marie and the others, from what I heard. Also, I really wanted to let all this tension out and take care of things on my own." she said.

"How about I help you?"

Patroklos walked over to her and turned her to face him, before diving in between her legs. She gasped as she bucked her hips, muttering under her breath, "Oh, fuck, that's what I want..."

Running her fingers through his hair, Lydia watched as his tongue delved into her twat. To her surprise, though, he chose to do double duty as his thumb also rubbed at her clitoris.

Her eyes widened as she recalled the numerous, clandestine and individual trysts she had with both siblings. In the end, it looked like as though he was more experienced and was happy to take charge, a lot more so than his sister.

However, he decided to switch gears by unfastening his pants and taking out his length. After teasing her a bit, Patroklos slid into her.

Lydia shuddered as his familiar girth filled her once again, and pulled him in for a fervorous kiss. Their tongues started to slowly dance, as he thrust at a slow pace at first.

And yet, he broke the kiss and asked, "Is this what you've been missing all this time?"

"Oh, yeah, I have...fuck Leia and fuck all the others I've courted, you're one perfect fit!" she exclaimed.

"You really mean it?"

Lydia blushed, and replied with a simple "Maybe."

"I haven't really found the girl of my dreams just yet..." he said between grunts.

"And...if you pick me," she gasped, and was unable to finish her sentence due to Patroklos's movements becoming much faster.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, the British girl clung to him like static, and through her numerous curses, continued encouraging him. He grit his teeth as he leaned in to whisper in her ear, "I'm close, Lydia..."

"So am I..."

After several more thrusts, Patroklos came as his seed was poured into her. Lydia followed him down, throwing her head back as she reached her own climax, as well.

Both were almost close to passing out as he laid on his side next to her, and after fixing his pants, asked, "You really mean it when you said I was a perfect fit, right? And you mean it that I'm a much better lover and Leia?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I believe so."

Patroklos smiled, before they locked lips for a moment. He then asked, "Shouldn't we clean up after all this?"

"Sure."

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And so, Patroklos and Lydia had their individual baths in the bathing chamber. When they were done, she kissed him goodbye.

Before he could retreat to his room, he was stopped in his tracks by a rather mischievous-looking Isuzu. "I-Isuzu?" he asked.

"Didn't expect you and Lydia to be making noise when I came back from eating." she said.

"You heard us?!"

"Of course." was all that Isuzu replied before she quickly brought him into her room.

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"You're not seducing me, are you?" Patroklos inquired.

"No, I'm not. But I get the feeling you've been learning an awful lot from her." she said, grinning as they sat at the kotatsu in the center.

"Actually, I lost my innocence to Liz, not Lydia."

"A-ha, I see. In fact, your good looks has not only entranced me, but the others, too." she said. She pulled out a bottle of wine and poured some into one of the cups.

This perplexed Patroklos, and he asked, "You're drinking wine from a cup like that?"

"I've tried this method a couple of times, and sometimes it worked, whereas sometimes it didn't. In the latter's case, I had no idea that I'd overfill the cup."

"Interesting habit there..."

"By the way, are you coming to the banquet for Siegfried's birthday? Marie and her pals will be there, trust me." Isuzu asked.

"But what about you?"

"Of course I'll show up, you ding-dong! As long as I don't drink too much and pass out, I'll be happy to dance with a hunk who can also give me a good time." she replied.

Remembering the night when he overheard a scream from her while he and Lydia were talking, Patroklos blushed. "Y-Yeah, I guess. But I'm not sure who'll ask for a dance with me." he said.

"Have you ever ballroom-danced before?"

"Well, since I told e Marie and the others about it, I have. So, yeah, I'll be heading there myself as well." he told her.

Isuzu grinned as she replied, "I'm looking forward to it!"

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Later on, night had come, and a knock on the front door was heard. Marie had quickly went down to answer, and standing before was Hilde.

"Marie, your family and friends are in need of your group's presence. Besides, it's about time we took time off from the usual adventuring and whatnot." she said.

"Wasn't Patroklos supposed to join us?" Marie asked.

"Of course. So, do you wish to come along?"

"Sure!"

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Patroklos and the Mad Hearts Neo, having found their best outfits for such an event, had now trekked towards the castle belonging to Siegfried and Schwarzwind. True to her word, Marie also donned the golden torc, promising to give it back to Freyja the next day.

To their surprise, though, a few others had managed to tag along with them. Patroklos inquired, "I guess you didn't want to miss out on the festivities, right?"

"Of course not." Z.W.E.I. replied. He, alongside Viola, Greed and Malice had also been expected to attend the banquet.

In Greed and Malice's case, though, the latter had hidden a small vial in one of his pockets. "Any chance there's gonna be some hot girls who'd like to dance with us?" the former asked.

Isuzu, who had selected an exotic purple kimono, and added some extra accessories such as a golden hairpin, rolled her eyes. "If you're expecting me to dance with either one of you clowns, count me out!"

Both men grimaced, and soon, everyone would eventually reach the castle for the anticipated banquet.

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Coming soon: part 2 of chapter 13!

With love for my fans,

Chrissy