Chapter Eight: Shock from Awe

Rena and Elsword spent the next few hours talking and practicing poetry, to which Rena pointed out she had gotten very good at in a short period of time, when Ciel suddenly came to them from upstairs. The elven woman looked up to the butler.

"Yes Ciel?" She inquired sweetly.

"Lady Lu and Eve request the young lady's presence." He said professionally. Rena chuckled and looked at Elsword.

"That'll be them wanting to find you something to wear for your trip to the theatre. Best not keep them waiting." She said, patting Elsword on the shoulder, "We can work on some more poetry another time."

"Okay Rena." Elsword smiled, in a good mood after her time with the kind hearted poet, and followed Ciel upstairs.

He seemed like he was a nice guy, maybe a bit too stuck up and serious, but a nice guy all the same. He took her to the dressing room she had been to the day before. Eve and Lu were already present, Lu wearing a brilliant silver dress with three layers for the skirt. The sleeves were droopy but the design encompassed her like a shackle of painted lilacs. Eve wore her everyday dress but held what could only be the dress Elsword was due to wear. Crimson like her mane but simple like her personality Elsword felt pleased with it. It was slender and form fitting, ending at what would be her knees and with simple heels of a matching color.

"Wow…is that for me?" Elsword asked, sure it wasn't.

"Yes." Was all Eve said, "Now disrobe, we must make sure you are on time to the performance."

So after Ciel departed the room Lu and Eve assisted Elsword in getting prepared. Soon enough the royal demoness was bringing the crimsonette downstairs to the car. Ciel was standing ready and opened the backdoor of what could only be described as a small limo. Elsword entered first followed by Lu after which Ceil closed the door gently and entered the driver's seat after opening the garage.

"So Elsword, how do you feel?" Lu asked suddenly, snapping Elsword back to reality as she looked at the lavish seats and compared them to the cars she had been in already.

"Oh…um…nervous." Elsword said honestly.

"Oh? Why is that?" The demoness inquired innocently.

"I feel like I'm going to do something wrong…I wish I knew who I was before…"

"Well I for one think it doesn't matter." Lu said, "I have not been here long but these people, your friends, are clearly not the type to judge people just for who they are. They are very understanding." Looking up to a warm smile Elsword felt calmer, "Just be yourself."

"…" The crimsonette hesitated for a moment, "T-Thank you…"

The sun had set and Elder was alight with splendor. Driving home Elsword and Lu chatted about the performance which exceeded their expectations. Ceil drove calmly and slowly to give the girls time to talk to the fullest as he smiled at their joy.

"I must say the leading lady left something to be desired in her performance but the hero more than made up for it." Lu said, sipping on a drink they had bought before heading home; she had green tea while Elsword drank a simple brand soda.

"I liked when the princess jumped from the castle." Elsword said.

"It's a wonderful play, I'm glad that they did it proper justice." Lu smiled warmly as they finally pulled back into the garage at home, just in time for dinner. Aisha was waiting for them inside.

"Hey you two! Just in time!" Aisha waved, "It's stew for dinner, everyone's in the dining room."

"Thank you Aisha." Lu nodded slightly and the four residents convened for dinner with the others. After a brief moment to settle in they began eating. Elsword looked around at everyone.

"Elsword honey?" She jumped slightly at her name and turned to look at Rena, "Is something the matter?"

"N-No…I'm just thinking about the play we saw today…"

"I heard it was really good, what did you think?"

"Oh come now Rena, art is different for everyone." Lu stepped in with a gentle smile, "As a poet you should understand that better than anyone." Everyone laughed a little as Rena pouted, just trying to be nice but she got over it quickly.

"Say, it's been a good long while since we all went and did something." Chung mused, running his finger around the rim of his glass.

"I know right?" Elesis forced a yawn to surface, "I'm so bored."

"Well why don't we just take a vacation?" Raven said bluntly, "I mean heck, it's not like we really have money issues. Eve." Raven flashed a teasing look at the Nasod who was sipping her tea calmly.

"Whatever could you be inferring Raven?" She danced around the accusation, "However I do agree, it has gotten rather stuffy."

"But where should we go?" Add said, "So many places."

"Road trip?" Aisha asked.

"But so many things could go wrong…" Rena said. She always got absurdly motherly and protective when they went on trips and always had everything planned out. Raven just burst into laughter.

"Hah ha! Good!" He chuckled, "Everyone should lose their mind once and a while, it's healthy for you."

"Come on Rena, what's the harm?" Ara said.

"I believe a road trip would be the best course of action." Add said, "After all…Elsword has still lost her memory." Add said.

"So a road trip, traveling and taking it as it comes would be the best course of action to not overwhelm her." Eve nodded.

"I'm making things harder…" Elsword shrunk into her seat but felt someone place a hand on her head. Looking up she saw the blue eyes of the resident prince.

"No you're not Elsword, we all just want to make it easier on you. Besides, we're all going together so it'll be fun either way." He smiled and Elsword felt her stomach float. Blushing she looked away, confusing him and making him think he did the wrong thing. Aisha stepped in on a dime.

"Chung's right Elsword! Besides, I've always wanted to try taking a road trip, and since I'm not driving it'll give me lots of time to continue my book!"

"So it's decided." Raven said, setting his empty glass on the table, "We'll leave the day after tomorrow so everyone can take time to pack. Make sure you pack light everyone so we have room."

After dinner everyone went their own ways. Add went straight to the basement, saying something to himself about having to pause all of his work for this. Aisha, Eve, Lu, and Ceil went upstairs to have some evening tea and Chung and Raven went to the garage to sort out some stuff for the trip. Elsword sat in the living room with Ara and Elesis as Rena was busy watering the flowers out front.

"So." Elsword suddenly jumped slightly, jostled out of her train of thought, as she looked up at her sister, "How you holding up sis?"

"I'm…feeling better." She replied honestly.

"You feeling excited about going out to see the world with everyone?" Ara grinned innocently, resting her head on Elesis's lap.

"I just want to let you know." Elesis started, "Rena will be pulling you aside, hell probably after she's done with the flowers, to give you an important lesson."

"Oh…" Elsword sank into her seat, feeling guilty for once again being a time consumption.

"No no, Elsword this isn't anything that's just for you." Ara stepped in, earning her gaze, "It's something Rena tells all us girls when we go on a vacation, to keep it fresh and for protection."

"And speaking of…" As if on cue Rena was in the living room holding a satchel and looking at Elsword.

"Want us to leave?" The mature crimsonette inquired.

"Nah, it will be easier if you're here." Rena said, sitting down next to Elsword. She placed a hand on hers and looked her in the eyes, "Now, Elsword, you remember when we were shopping for clothes and I expressed my concern on your fashion choice?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Well, not everyone is a nice guy like Chung, Raven, and the other boys around the house. Some of them would try to…assault your body sexually."

"In other words, they'd try to do things to you against your will to make them feel good." Elesis clarified with a hint of acid in her voice.

"I hadn't normally thought much about it, but one vacation we went on almost ended with Ara succumbing to some of those men. We were very lucky Raven was looking for her so we could go to dinner and stepped in."

"I still thank him for that…" Ara blushed a little. Her life partner laughed and held her waist.

"And he still tells you to stop." Elesis teased, poking her nose.

"So anyway, after that scare I decided to make it a rule that all the girls wear these special pads when we go on vacation." Rena pulled out some metal plates and handed them to Elsword. They were light to her, almost like paper, but still had that solid feel, "They'll give you a hidden edge to fight back if you end up getting caught alone."

"Always aim for here sis." Elesis had gotten up with Ara, waiting for Elsword to look, and moved her leg slowly, demonstrating a proper kick, and ending right between Ara's thighs, "that'll make 'em cave in and you can either run away or take an attacker out of the fight."

"Okay, thank you." Elsword nodded.

"I have plates for your ankles and heels, knees, and elbows. If you're going to fight back, remember where your plates are and always keep them covered by clothing so they won't be expecting it."

"Yeah, if they know you have them they can prepare themselves for the blow and will also be more cautious." Elesis said, "If you want I can give you some training before we go."

"Maybe we should do that anyways…" Ara said meekly, "Elsword did forget her memory. While I'm sure she retains her combat memory instinctively, it'd probably be best to give her a course first."

"Yeah, Ara's right." Rena said, "And if I hear you blaming yourself Elsword I'm slapping you smack on the cheek." The elf teased. Elesis leaned in with a warm smile.

"We're doing this because we care about you Elsword, we want to help you." Elsword clenched the plate she held, trying not to tear up.

"Thank you…everyone." She sniffled a little, and the three girls all hugged her supportively.

Vayne: HO. LY. FUUUUUCK. I am so sorry everyone for the delays. I had a weeklong vacation around the start of summer once I got out of college and I spent the entire time with family and after I got back home I've been having job interviews and academic issues so I've been busy still! But good news! I think it should be dying down soon and I'll be able to get more sweet, sweet ToDtL chapters out! I wanted to say again, thank you all for sticking it with me through all these delays, and I'll be sure to pay much more attention to detail in these updates you guys and girls deserve so much. I love you all, hope you enjoyed the read!