The Tyrant's Pet



[ Present Time ]

Sabotaging Maximus over the two years that Aries was with him became an unconscious entertainment for her. She would do it with every opportunity she could get and would do it openly, challenging the king's authority and testing Maximus's patience repeatedly. 

It was already Aries's habit which she picked up from the Maganti Empire. The only difference was that her disobedience warranted heavy consequences in the Maganti Empire. Meanwhile, Maximus never hurt her physically. He would try to hurt her emotionally, but how could he hurt her when Aries already had nothing?

The Haimirich Empire was forgotten, and Abel and everyone were forced into Maleficent's world. Aries was forced to lock Dexter in London Leviticus's residence; she practically had no one beside her. Thus, nothing frightened her. 

Maximus told her once that her fearlessness was a part of her charm.

"Gratitude. If there were one person I could trust in this land, that would be the person who had saved me before I could equip myself with the proper gear to fight Giselle. That person was you."

"Gratitude?" Aries let out a dry scoff, not allowing her confusion to fill her mind. "I don't recognize such a word. Everything has a price. Nothing is ever free."

"That is why I am here to repay you because I also believed everything has a price."

Aries narrowed her eyes suspiciously, holding the woman's gaze.

"I've been watching you for a long time, Your Majesty," the woman continued, warranting a sarcastic remark from the queen.

"I hope you are aware I do not appreciate that."

"I am." The woman rocked her head, drawing a deep breath. "However, I planned to do so."

"And why is that?"

"Protecting you isn't the right word for it, but to be useful."

"Useful…" Aries scoffed once again, smirking in ridicule. "How are you going to be useful to me and what would you gain from… offering this unsolicited help?"

"My freedom," was the woman's answer, which Aries didn't expect to hear. "You and I… regardless of how much you despised the concept, we're in the same boat. This boat is slowly dipping, Your Majesty."

The woman took a deliberate pause, blinking ever so slowly as she glanced in a direction. Aries also glanced over her shoulders, hearing people's faint voices from a distance. 

"You will find out how I am going to be useful to you… soon." Aries looked back at the woman as the latter spoke once again. "For now, all I can say is that you're in danger, Your Majesty."

"I am always in danger."

The woman shook her head. "This time, you might die… no, not just you. The Grimsbanne will fall if you fell, Your Majesty. And if the Grimsbanne fell, I will also die, and everyone who was receiving help from them, intentionally or not."

"I will come to you when the time is ripe…" the woman's voice faded as her figure also turned transparent. "... until then, please be safe…"

******

"Sunny!!!" Samael yelled his daughter's name at the top of his lungs, turning his head as several knights came running from behind him. "Have you seen my daughter and Her Majesty?"

"Not yet, Sir. However, Sir Gustav told us to relay his message to you…" the knight relayed the order he received from the queen's chief chamberlain, telling Samael to check the deepest part of the maze as they were still in the entrance. "... he said they will follow after checking the royal palace."

Samael ground his teeth in irritation, but he couldn't vent his frustration to the knight. Gustav already widened the search, leaving Samael to lead the rest of \the unit to search the garden, while the rest would search every corner of the royal palace. 

"Guard every exit of the maze," ordered Samael to the knights. "You three, come with me."

He tipped his head in the entrance's direction. The knights nodded stiffly, and without saying anything, Samael led the three knights inside the maze. Meanwhile, the rest guarded every exit there was in the garden. There was a high possibility this would turn into an abduction case and therefore, everyone was being discreet but thorough about it. 

"Sunny!!" 

"Your Majesty!!" 

Samael and the knights called and shouted Sunny's and the queen's names repeatedly, hoping they would answer. They continued to call while checking every corner of the maze, aware they were going deeper and deeper into the maze. 

"Sun —" Samael nearly bit his tongue when he made a turn, not knowing he already reached the center of the maze. His eyes slowly fell on the figure on the ground, making his irises dilate in panic. 

"Your Majesty!" Samael dashed toward Aries. As he came closer, he caught Sunny lying in Aries's embrace. "Your Majesty, are you alright!?" 

Samael squatted down beside Aries. His eyes were shaking in panic, planting his hand on her shoulder. Much to his surprise, even though Aries was sitting motionless, it didn't seem she was unconscious or in shock. If anything, Aries carried these deep lines between her brows as if she was deep in her thoughts she didn't even know Samael found her. 

"Your Majesty?" Samael's call brought her back to the current lapse, making her lift her eyes back to him. "Are you alright? What happened here?"

Aries studied his face before clearing her throat, gazing down at Sunny. 

"Nothing." Her voice was quiet, pulling Sunny closer to her. She then raised her head once again, facing Samael squarely. "I found Sunny lying in here. She's not hurt or anything, so I figured she simply wandered off and couldn't find her way out."

"Huh?" Samael furrowed his brows. His reaction was quite different from what one would expect after being told his daughter wandered off and couldn't find her way out. 

"Call the knights and tell them we've found Sunny," Aries continued calmly. 

Samael sported a conflicted look momentarily before huffing. "Fine," he said. "Stay here for a moment, Your Majesty. I'll summon the knights to assist you back to the palace."

"Thank you."

With that being said, Samael left Aries to find the nearest knight in the area. Meanwhile, Aries kept her gaze on Sunny. When Samael's presence faded slightly, Sunny opened her eyes ever so slowly. 

"Can you keep this a secret?" asked Aries in a quiet voice. 

Sunny stared at Aries almost innocently before the corner of her lips curled up into a smile. "Mhm. I'll pretend I'm still sleeping."

And with that, Sunny closed her eyes once again to pretend she still hadn't regained consciousness.