Simone sat down, resting her elbows on her knees and shaking her hair out a little bit to get rid of some of the tension on her scalp. She’d been wound up like a spring for a while now and to be honest the fight against the Tomb Guardian had been a little unfulfilling despite the danger. She rubbed her knuckles absently, shooting a glance at the now passive Tomb Guardian who sat next to Roe as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Frankly, the machine-person-thing seemed to be happy as a clam. The way it swayed left and right and what Simone could only describe as a hummed tune echoing somewhere inside of its partially cracked cranium.

Roe caught Simone’s focus and decided that was a good enough place to start; “This is Steward, or that would be the rough translation of its title. It doesn’t have a name to speak of, much like yourself.”

Simone raised an eyebrow and glanced at Kik, “Is your name really Kik?”

Kik blinked, confused, “Kik is Kik, yes.”

Roe gave her a dour look. “I am aware that among us Kik is the only person who has given their proper name at this point,” She said, “You’re on the list as well, I’ll remind you.”

Simone crossed her arms, “I just haven’t picked a good one yet. I don’t want it to be something stupid like ‘Exa-something’ or something,” Simone explained and forced herself not to snort at the bewildered expression on Roe’s face, “Look, I’ll think of something while you talk, alright?”

“Why not just use the name you were born with?” Roe insisted.

“Because that one has no meaning here,” Simone said, her tone going a little hard.

She and Roe held one another’s gaze for several moments before Roe finally sighed and got to the point, “Fine, anyway, Steward is a Steward; a machine built by the ancestors of my people to caretake the noble houses within the Labyrinth.”

“Your people built this place? Those winding halls and everything?” Simone pressed.

“Yes, we have an acute sense of direction and can feel the patterns and structure of the Labyrhinth. While it may confound and bewilder lesser beings, we can navigate it without trouble and reach our destinations in a timely manner. It is why we call ourselves Labyrinthians,” Roe explained, “Among other reasons, but that explanation should generally suffice.”

“Right, and so what, you’re a Princess among the Labyrinthians?” Simone asked.

Roe shot Steward a withering look and the machine hung its head, she rolled her eyes and looked to Simone, “In a very, very, technical sense. Yes. But I’m not much of a princess without a people. Also my mother disinherited me from the throne so there’s that.”

Simone whistled, “What earned you that treatment? Did that disinheritance come with a cozy prison sentence too?” She chuckled, not seriously meaning the jab the way it came out.

Roe looked away and grabbed both of her arms, squeezing them tightly. Simone froze, a chill running up her spine and an uncomfortable weight forming in her gut, “Woah, woah, hold up, you’re not serious,” she stumbled. Roe drew inward, her shoulders going up and her chin going down. “Hey now I was joking, no freaking way, your mom did that to you? What the hell? I’m sorry, I uh… shouldn’t have joked about it.”

Roe flicked her eyes in Simone’s direction, “I didn’t know you were capable of apologizing.”

Ouch, Simone rubbed the back of her neck, “I’ll take that.”

Roe relaxed and turned her gaze to the ground, “The last thing I remember before my mother put the curse plaque on the wall was word that the Azar had rebelled against the Labyrinthians. There was an uprising in their homeland, Osan. My father was there-according to mother anyway-assisting with keeping the peace. I didn’t believe her, obviously, she probably banished him or something. Anyone who made her hold on the throne feel even the smallest bit uncomfortable just disappeared,” She fell silent after that, her eyes lost on the ground.

Simone glanced at Kik who was looking hopelessly lost. She rubbed her thumbs together, trying to think of a way to keep the conversation going. “So uh… what were their names. I mean you don’t have to tell me your moms if you don’t want to think about her,” she said quickly, “But your dad, tell me about your dad.”

“Parsis Alort and Teyva Rani,” Roe said, “They’ve long since passed, their names no longer belong to them. It’s okay to use them,” She paused, “Parsis-my father-was a magister, a worker of magic and an administrator in the government. Oustorax,” she fumbled for a moment, “A public servant.”

Teyva? Maybe she was just tired but she could have sworn she’d read that name somewhere. She’d ingested so much information over the past few hours it felt like all of it was jumbled in her head. She sighed and scratched her head for a moment before finally coming up with a question that seemed like it would get them somewhere, “So what are you going to do now? I’m heading to the surface. I don’t think it’s a very good idea to stay down here, neither do you apparently.”

Roe exhaled, “No, I’ve felt eyes on us since I woke. Someone knows I’m conscious now.”

“That is information that you could have lead with,” Simone said.

“To what end? You wouldn’t have understood why someone would be watching us if I didn’t explain where I came from,” She pointed out, “Context is important.”

Simone shrugged, “Fair, but that still leads us to the same conclusion, we gotta get out of here,” She paused and looked over at the machine and then at Kik. Kik who’d been dragged into her mess. The machine who’d she’d help bring back to its senses. Roe who she’d unintentionally freed from her prison. A tiny part of her was starting to point out that this was all kind-of her responsibility. She rubbed her face, “Tell you what, once we get out of here, if you want to do your own thing that’s cool but uh,” She scratched her head, “I’m planning to go to the human capitol and get some answers of my own. You can tag along if you like.”

Roe gave her a skeptical look, “You say that like it’s your decision.”

Simone blinked, “It’s not?”

“My father gave me that Aspect Stone to give to someone important to me, someone I felt could use the stone to do something positive for the world,” She said, “If you think you’re going anywhere without my supervision, you’re fooling yourself. You are stuck with me, I will not have you abusing the power my father left behind.”

Simone held up her hands, her eyes wide, Kik was starting to laugh again. “Woah, hold the hell up, you’re saying the aspect and you are a package deal?”

“Unfamiliar with the phrase but I believe I understand the meaning well enough, yes,” Roe said, “And where I go, Steward will also be going. I will not leave it here now that it is awakened lest it return to its original state.”

“This is not a freaking road trip!” Simone blurted.

“Kik thinks it kind of sounds like one,” Kik pointed out.

“Shut it you,” She growled, turning to bop the creature on the noggin.

“Can’t hit Kik!” Kik cackled, fleeing towards a set of shelves. Simone was about to get to her feet to chase the little runt when Roe cleared her throat.

Simone hesitated, glanced her way, and then sighed. “Then I want a name.”

“You want me to give you a name or give you my name?” Roe asked.

“Both. I don’t know shit about this world beyond what little I’ve read,” Simone pointed out, “Figure the best person who could give me an idea for a name would be someone who’s been here longer.”

“You make it sound like you aren’t from Orum,” Roe said, her eyes narrowing.

“And when I’m damn good and ready I’ll explain properly,” Simone said, “But I ain’t ready to talk about that yet.”

Roe frowned, “I told you what you wanted to know!”

“And I gave you some hints, freed you, nearly got killed for you, and heard you out!” Simone shot back, “You gotta learn about bargaining with people, Princess.”

Roe spluttered, looked away, crossed her arms, growled, looked down, looked up, and then sighed. “Nanaroa,” she said finally, “Nanaroa Rani. It means ‘with a Wise Soul’.”

Simone blinked, “Oh, that’s uh…” She scratched the back of her head, “That’s actually a really nice name. Guess it makes sense that Roe would be what you’d fall back on.”

Roe huffed and mumbled her thanks before looking Simone in the eyes, “And yours? What does your old name mean, if you have one? Perhaps I can give you something worth remembering.”

“The one who listens,” Simone said, “Or something kind of like that.”

“I’ll think about it,” Roe said, getting to her feet. “I think it wise for us to change our surroundings soon. Those eyes are still on us and I dare not risk them focusing hard enough to listen in.”

Simone shrugged and hopped to her feet, “Kik, what do you want to do? Gonna go back to your collection?”

Kik poked its head out from inside of a crate and stared at her like she was an idiot, “Are you crazy? Kik hasn’t had this much fun in ages!”

Simone laughed, “Alright, let’s figure out how to get out of here.”