The Tyrant's Pet



"Your Majesty?" 

"Your Majesty?"

"Aries." 

Aries snapped her eyes, lifting her gaze to the person sitting across from her. There, Dexter was retrieving his fist from the surface of the table after knocking on it to get her attention.

"It seems you have a lot of things to think about whenever you invite me for some tea." Dexter tugged his suit as he straightened his back. "It makes me think you're simply inviting me as an excuse to avoid your work."

"Apologies." Aries smiled. 

"Don't be." Dexter smiled back. "You have many things in mind on top of surviving every day within the castle walls. I'm just glad that you don't forget about me even though we are in a situation where enjoying a cup of tea can cost our lives."

Her smile faded slightly, letting out a shallow breath. "I haven't been feeling well for the past few days. I thought spending some time with my brother will make me feel better."

"You don't feel well?" Deep lines appeared between Dexter's brows as worry filled his eyes. He leaned over, propping his arm against the edge of the table. "How are you feeling right now, Aries? Have you been drinking?"

Aries chuckled at the sight of panic dominating Dexter's face. 

"I am alright, brother." She shook her head mildly. "It was just that I felt sick the past several days."

Her eyes lowered, falling on the tea and the lavish snacks on the table. "It felt like my stomach was constantly turning, making me want to throw up. However, even when I rush to the lavatory, nothing would come out."

As Aries detailed what she had been going through the past few days, she couldn't help but recall all of it. For the past several days, Aries would sometimes cough so loud and continuously that she would collapse on the floor. But even when she would writhe in pain on the floor, tears would flow out of her eyes.

The pain she had been going through was far too severe she couldn't even start describing it. 

Abel was right when he said his theory might anger her to an extent it would surprise her as well. Aries never thought she would feel so sick out of anger she would vomit blood. 

"But I am fine now." She snapped her eyes back to Dexter, flashing him a gentle smile.

"Are you certain?" Dexter frowned, doubtful at her reassurance. After all, Aries had this habit of enduring something just to not worry the people around her. "Aries, you know the reason I am here, right? If something is wrong or if you are still in pain, I will help you with everything I can."

"Does that include offering your blood to me?"

Dexter's breath hitched as all the words he still had to say rolled back inside his throat. "Aries, that is not a good joke."

"I am not joking."

Dexter assessed her solemn countenance and sighed when the corner of her lips curled up into a smile. 

"Not funny," he repeated, leaning back while she chuckled. "I would give you my blood — all of it if you needed it. But I don't think I would ever give you even a drop right now."

"Why?" Aries cocked her head to the side. "Because sharing blood is a sensual act?"

"No." Dexter's expression turned hard, holding Aries's gaze. "If I end up giving you my blood, that only means one thing, and that was Abel is dead."

There was no way in hell Abel would allow Aries to drink someone else's blood because of the most obvious reasons. It was the same for him. Aries's blood was the only blood he had been drinking ever since she turned into a vampire. 

For Aries to drink another vampire's blood or even a human, that only meant Abel was dead. That would be the only time Aries could drink another, after all. 

"You hate Abel to the core." Aries let out a short chuckle, lowering her soft eyes. "Yet I always thought you trust him more than you trust yourself."

"Well." Dexter simply shrugged. "Your husband has an awful personality. But because he's a jackass, he was the last person to scheme on your back. If he wants to slaughter you, he would announce it in the most dramatic way he could think of at the moment." 

He smacked his lips, setting his eyes back on her. "So, yes. I hate Abel with all my heart, but at the same time, I trust him more than I could ever trust someone. I even trust him more than I trust myself. The irony, isn't it?"

"It's strange, but I get your point." Aries rocked her head in understanding. "Though, you should give him a chance. I politely disagree that my husband has an awful personality. For me, you just don't give him a chance to show you how kind he could be."

"We've been together for centuries, sister. Didn't you think he didn't get as many chances as he could?"

Aries and Dexter went on to their usual banter about her husband, Abel. Slowly, their conversation drifted into something light. This was the reason Aries would summon her brother every time things weren't going the way she wanted them to. 

Dexter had one thing no one else doesn't, and that was to make her feel motivated. Abel was a bundle of chaos, and all the motivation he was giving her was things centered around her boudoir. 

Dexter had always been a great support pillar, so spending the entire afternoon with him was worthwhile. 

*

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*

"Your Majesty."

Aries was standing in front of the window, staring at the lush greenery surrounding the queen's palace. Dexter already left half an hour ago. The silence in the room immediately replaced it as if the shared laughter and light mood they created when he was there didn't even happen. 

"Let the Count in, Suzanne." Just before Suzanne could call Aries once again, the latter spoke without looking back at her. "I already expect his request for a private audience today."

A glint flickered across Aries's eyes, keeping her eyes fixed on the window until her own reflection turned clear.