The Tyrant's Pet

Ismael glanced at the door and saw the knight guarding it, talking to the person on the other side. His brows furrowed when the knight nodded and approached the table. The knight stood several steps before bowing with his fist across his chest. He then approached Ismael's spot to whisper the news he received.

"Your Highness, Her Royal Highness had gone missing and everyone in the Jade Palace is in chaos," reported the knight in a low yet panicking voice. Meanwhile, Ismael furrowed his brows before the knight continued. "I will send a party to search the --"

"No need." Ismael raised a hand, stopping the knight in the middle of his sentence. The knight looked confused, but Ismael just smiled encouragingly.

"Tell everyone to stop searching. It's about time for them to leave, after all." He breathed out, peeling his eyes from the knight to the men around the table. "Her Royal Highness had died fighting for the people of the Maganti Empire. A woman who took up her sword and fought as fiercely as a military man would. Her death wasn't a loss, but it was her victory."

"That is the story of the crown princess of the Land of Rikhill that everyone in the Maganti Empire and the future generation would hear." Ismael raised his chin. "That is the history will paint the crown princess Aries Aime Heathcliffe and not Daniella Circe Vandran. And that is also the reason I would like to take the Land of Rikhill as an official state of Maganti."

Ismael announced, which took everyone by surprise, but no one opposed it. History had always been written by the victors, and twisting it to rename the official name of the crown princess to her real one wasn't distorting history. It was the truth.

The Land of Rikhill had been subjected to abuse as Joaquin exploited the land's resources to make the Maganti Empire wealthier. So, even if Ismael wanted to free that country, it would take centuries to rebuild it to what it originally was. No one could also tell if another empire or land would try to conquer it, since letting the Land of Rikhill go was akin to letting the child explore the wild all alone.

"This is a responsibility the Maganti must bear, and it is only fair to announce it as an official state," he continued solemnly. "And as such, I had already chosen the Grand Duke of Rikhill."

Ismael paused once more, looking at their faces. Confusion dominated their faces except for Roman, whose face was hidden behind his metal helm, and Modesto, who had foreseen this coming. The three exchanged gazes, nodding slightly before the third prince drew a breath.

The side of Ismael's lips curled up as his lips parted, dropping the name of the man he wanted to oversee the land of Rikhill. That man was the only person who could help in restoring that beautiful land and bringing peace alongside the new emperor. Someone who carried the spirit of the Heathcliffe royal family, and someone who had always been acknowledged by the surviving people in that land.

Curtis.

*******

Aries marveled at the beauty of flying with the love her of her life. It was more wonderful than she had expected, and she had never felt so at ease for a long time. And thus, she somehow fell asleep after hours in the sky, which was a little surprising. Throughout the night, Abel stayed silent, flying steadily in the same direction.

When the sun started peeking and hit her face, Aries moaned. She moved, only to feel his arm tighten around her to keep her from falling. Aries slowly opened her eyes, blinking weakly, catching Abel's face.

"Good morning, Gorgeous," he greeted with a rasped voice, casting her a quick look.

"Mor — " her eyes popped open, freezing on the spot as realization dawned on her. Aries clutched his chest on instinct, looking around at the hazy sky which slightly concealed the sunshine.

"We're still here?" she gasped, eyes shaking at Abel.

"Not for long." Abel jerked his chin ahead, making her turn her head. Aries narrowed her eyes to see through the morning haze across the valleys she hadn't noticed.

"We're going down," Abel announced, and without waiting for her to respond, he sped up slightly as they make a descent. Aries clutched his chest at the speed, only to hear him chuckle and say, "Darling, look."

Aries hesitated, but still mustered her courage to look ahead. As soon as she turned her head, thick clouds welcomed her eyes, and then as they passed through them, her eyes caught a beautiful meadow filled with different colors of wildflowers welcoming the morning sun. Her mouth fell ajar as her heart tightened, making her neck turn taunt.

"That..." her throat bobbed, trying to swallow the tension building up in her throat, but to no avail. She felt suffocated, bringing tears to the corner of her eyes. Before she knew it, Abel landed on the end of the meadow with her still in his arms.

"This..." came out another unfinished sentence, tears shining in her eyes. When she looked at up him, Abel offered her a gentle smile before putting her down. She kept her eyes on him even when her feet stood on the grass, unable to stop the tears from falling to her side, ignoring the quick absence of his wings.

Abel brushed her cheek with his thumb, smiling subtly. "I cannot bring them all back to life," he whispered, knowing she wanted to hear some sort of explanation.

"That is why..." he snapped his eyes and set them at the meadow ahead. "... I thought it would be nice if they at least live in some way."

Aries chewed her lower lip as she faced the direction he was looking. Tears continued to flood her face, balling her hand into a first.

In this same spot she was standing on, was almost the same spot where she, the crown princess, had fallen. And this beautiful meadow... was the ridge where everyone lost their lives in the last war they fought. The last time she had seen this place was filled with smoke and fire, bodies piling up, and blood painting the ground red.

But now, it was bright, beautiful, and peaceful. Every flower where they bloomed beautifully was exactly the spot where her people died, as if their blood planted a seed in the ground. Even though she was stunned, Aries remembered that last picture in her head as if it had happened just yesterday, allowing him to see it in her nightmares.

Aries looked down and covered her lips with the back of her hand, seeing another flower blooming near her feet. The sight of the fresh flower slowly replaced the memory of Davien's head rolling to her feet.

"Davien…" came out a shaking voice, hiccuping.

"Come." Aries looked at the palm beside her and then raised her head to see his charming smile that was brighter than the morning sun. "Let's visit them... your family and my in-laws. I would like to pay my respect to them."

Her eyes brimmed with tears, blurring her vision. But she still reached for his hand, allowing him to take her to the newly grown trees with each of them having names and sheltering valuable pieces representing each member of the royal family: starting from the king and his necklace belonging to his wife, Davien with his sword, Alaric and the piece of parchment where her original music piece was written, and so on.

Standing before the small trees, Aries dropped to her knees. She couldn't believe it. Never in her life had she ever thought she'd see them… more alive than ever. Although they were trees, they were breathing and still giving beauty to this land they were all born and died.

"Ah…" she clutched her chest, her other hand on the grass. "Father… Davien… Alaric… I'm back."

Only then did Aries realize she… had never grieved about their deaths. The moment they lost the war, Joaquin also took away her freedom to grieve as he was too busy tormenting her. But now, it was like a thorn… no, an entire pipe that was stuck in her heart was pulled out.

Aries cried and cried. Although late, she had finally had the liberty to cry and grieve, to express the sadness that she had channeled into anger. As she grieved, Abel stood silently to her side and looked at the trees he himself planted and the valuables he personally retrieved a year back after visiting the Maganti for the first time.

'I kept my promise,' he whispered, talking to the dead to whom he gave his word. 'You will all witness her wedding.'

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