=== Ivy & Panette ===
--- C ---



[Panette]
Hm... Hm Hmmm...
[Ivy]
Did you need something from me, Panette?
[Panette]
Ah, no. Why do you ask?
[Ivy]
You have been staring at me for some time.
[Panette]
It's just that for a princess, you seem so...
How to put this? Composed.
[Ivy]
Do I? It seems like a rather ordinary level of
composure to me.
[Panette]
Really? But you are not bursting into song or
dancing to and fro.
[Ivy]
Correct. I do not do those things.
[Panette]
Nor are you running around like a mad wolf or
cramming prime rib down your gullet.
[Panette]
You are simply...standing around. It was so odd,
I could not help but stare.
[Ivy]
Perhaps you are merely unaccustomed to the
standard and expected conduct of royalty.
[Panette]
I have offended you, haven't I? My deepest
apologies.
[Ivy]
No─no need for that. I should not be looking
for offense in others' customs.
[Ivy]
It's rather nice to speak with you, actually.
My own retainers lack a certain...femininity.
[Panette]
Really? I enjoy your company as well.
[Ivy]
Good. Then, if it's all right with you, I'd like it
very much if we became friends.
[Panette]
Of course, Your Highness! It would be
my honor!
--- B ---



[Ivy]
Panette... Please explain yourself.
[Panette]
I promised we were going somewhere special.
Well...here it is!
[Ivy]
When I said that I'd like for us to be friends...
[Ivy]
I did not realize that would entail visits to
ancient...decayed...ruins?
[Panette]
Precisely! Doesn't it make your heart quicken?
[Ivy]
Excessively so, I'm afraid.
[Ivy]
I feel as if a vengeful ghost could steal upon us
at any moment.
[Panette]
I know! It is ever so charming.
[Ivy]
You find it...charming.
[Ivy]
Ghosts. You find the idea of ghosts charming.
[Panette]
Why, of course! I simply adore them!
[Ivy]
I suppose I ought to thank you.
[Ivy]
This place is...special to you. For that reason,
I appreciate your sharing it with me.
[Ivy]
Unfortunately, people have a wide variety
of tastes.
[Panette]
Oh dear. You are not by any chance afraid of
ghosts, are you?
[Ivy]
I am, in fact, terrified to the very brink of
my composure.
[Ivy]
The stain on the wall like a human silhouette.
The handprints on the windows. The stale air...
[Ivy]
It is only by force of will that I remain here.
Conscious. Not screaming.
[Ivy]
My dignity hangs by one last thread of decorum.
The pride I take in my royal office.
[Ivy]
That thread is...about to snap. Yes, it will snap
any moment now.
[Ivy]
Even a princess is only human, after all.
[Ivy]
So...with that...
[Ivy]
I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE!
[Ivy]

[Panette]
Good heavens! Princess Ivy...slow down!
--- A ---



[Panette]
I cannot tell you how sorry I am for taking
you to those ruins.
[Ivy]
Please, don't worry about it.
[Panette]
I didn't even think to ask if you were afraid
of ghosts. How horribly careless!
[Panette]
Please allow me to atone for my error.
Whatever you need done, I will do.
[Ivy]
You don't need to atone for anything. I'm fine.
[Ivy]
I seldom need to go anywhere alone, so I've
scarcely felt my new crippling fear of solitude.
[Panette]
What?!
[Ivy]
The howling wind keeps me awake at night, but
I've learned to scream myself into exhaustion.
[Ivy]
And so what if the creak of a floorboard renders
me motionless for hours on end? I don't mind.
[Ivy]
I have accepted that the lifetime of fear I went
through in a single day has scarred me forever.
[Panette]
Oh, you poor woman! I am so very sorry!
[Ivy]
Hahaha!
[Ivy]
No, I'm sorry. I had to tease you a little.
[Ivy]
I'm fine, Panette. Really.
[Ivy]
I understand that you brought me to that place
because you thought it would make me happy.
[Ivy]
Please don't worry about it ever again.
[Panette]
Don't worry about it?! I put you through a
terrible ordeal!
[Ivy]
Your intention was purely for me to enjoy it,
was it not?
[Panette]
Well, yes, but─
[Ivy]
That is what matters to me. Thank you.
[Panette]
Oh... All right. If you are certain.
[Panette]
Do you think, despite this horrible blunder,
we might still be friends?
[Ivy]
Of course!
[Ivy]
So long as you tell me where we're going ahead
of time from now on.
[Ivy]
And no more haunted places, please.
[Panette]
Hehehe, of course! From now on,
we stay in the land of the living!
--- S ---