The Tyrant's Pet

"You… will not leave me again."

Aries held her breath as she felt Third's breath down her neck. Her entire body just froze, unable to react quickly, but she immediately sensed the dark shroud enveloping her.

CLENCH!

"Hah!" Aries breathed out sharply, turning her head on instinct, only to see Isaiah standing a few steps from her. His complexion was pale, as if he barely did something in the nick of time, right outside the Forbidden Mansion.

"Isaiah," called Aries airily, and then heard Sunny's voice on the other side.

"Ouchy…"

Aries turned in Sunny's direction, and the moment her eyes landed on the little girl, relief swelled in her chest. Sunny was getting up on the grass, just as equally confused as her.

"Grandmama…" Sunny scratched her head, trailing off as her eyes moved to Isaiah and then to the other man several steps from him. Her doe eyes sparkled the moment realization dawned on her. "Mister Fabian!"

​ Sunny jumped, running to Fabian with open arms. "Mister Fabian, you came!" cheered little Sunny, jumping into the man's arms as the latter squatted down.

Her lips were stretching from ear to ear, facing Fabian squarely. Excitement twinkled in her eyes, meeting someone she was so familiar with. Fabian also smiled at her until his eyes were squinting. His eyes then cracked open upon feeling someone's gaze on him.

Fabian slowly turned his head in Aries's direction, and the second he did, they locked eyes with each other. Aries held her breath until her neck turned taut, swallowing down a mouthful of air.

"You were real," she blurted out, making the side of his lips curl up.

"Of course I am," he humored. "You are real."

Of course, she was real.

Aries gulped once again, lips quivering, but her tongue kept rolling back in her throat. This wasn't the time for this, but her heart was thudding nervously. She couldn't explain in words what she was feeling at the moment, but what she was certain of was that Fabian was someone relevant in her life.

"Well, well, well." Her train of thought was abruptly put to a halt upon hearing Third's voice behind her. "What a nice reunion! It's been a while, Fabian."

"It has been, Your Majesty." Fabian held Sunny in his arms, bowing slightly. "Lady Tilly will be disappointed if she heard you tried to harm the young miss."

Third smirked, scanning the four of them. Fabian was carrying Sunny, and then, several steps away from those two, was Isaiah, and then Aries stood several steps away from the three. They all gazed back at Third, assessing him from head to toe.

"Darkmore…" Third crooned, setting his attention to Isaiah, who teleported Aries and Sunny before any disaster could happen. He stretched his neck from one side to the other, producing careful cracks. "Back then, it was just the Grimsbanne. But now, the list just keeps going longer it is… fascinating."

Isaiah wiped the blood off of the scars on the back of his hand. Teleporting a person wasn't the type of spell that was compatible with his powers, so he had to exert extra effort to get Aries and Sunny out of the Forbidden Mansion.

"It seemed you hurt yourself by saving those two." Third smirked, seeing some of Isaiah's skin peeling off. "Pity."

"Your Majesty," called Isaiah to get Aries' attention. "Please return to the hall. No one is there to look after His Majesty."

"No." Aries kept her sharp eyes at Third. "You go. I don't think with the amount of energy you had been lending me since the beginning, you still have the strength to wield your sword."

"You are underestimating —"

"You should take my little miss," suggested Fabian to the two, gazing at Sunny with a smile. "Is it alright to leave you with His Grace, my young miss?"

Sunny smiled and nodded. "Will you come back to get me?"

"I will." He rocked his head, shifting his attention to Isaiah. Reluctance filled Isaiah's eyes, but then Fabian's eyes fell on the man's bleeding hand. "Being a witch is truly troublesome, in a way."

"I'm not letting you stay in here with these questionable men," Isaiah remarked, keeping his eyes on Aries and ignoring Fabian's side comment. "Your Majesty. We had a plan, and we followed this plan. You —"

"The plan is me, Your Grace," argued Aries while holding Third's gaze. "I can bend it and tweak it anytime and anywhere I want. Take Sunny away and tell everyone to keep what they were doing."

Isaiah's jaw tightened while Third let out a laugh with his lips closed. He gazed at Aries from head to toe, rocking his head, pleased at how fierce she was.

"When you're like this, you remind me of Maleficent," he mused, eyes drooping dangerously. "She was also like this back then. A woman full of hope and an overall enthusiastic person. She looked weak, but the fire in her eyes was commendable."

A smile turned up on Third's face as he reminisced about a memory of the past. "That bitch… I will be going to kill her. A thousand times isn't enough for the sufferings she had inflicted upon me."

"You deserved it." Aries lifted her chin, ignoring the situation behind her. Her countenance might be pale, and she looked like someone on the brink of passing out, but the fire in her eyes almost made her beautiful green eyes turn red. "It was you, wasn't it?"

Third cocked his head to the side, arching a brow.

"Those women," came out a whisper, making Fabian slow down as he stood up after putting down Sunny. Meanwhile, Sunny sprinted towards Isaiah, flashing him a smile as she clung to his side. "You were the one who put them on that tree."

"Ahh…" Third chuckled as if that memory was something funny. "The witch went crazy after that. It was a fun memory to remember, and it seemed she still remember it even though she didn't have any physical, human body anymore."

All the last bit of emotion disappeared from Aries as a thin layer of frost coated her eyes. "How repulsive," she muttered.

"Don't worry. Those emotions weren't yours, so don't take it to the heart," he humored playfully, disappearing from his vantage point only to reappear in front of her. "You don't like being forced into the passivity of the situation, correct?"

"Na ah." Suddenly, Fabian's voice came from his side, grabbing Third's wrist inches from Aries's eyes. "It was nice meeting you, Your Majesty, but I think you should wake up. That sister of yours is a sneaky demon. I can feel her in here as well."

He then flashed Third a smile. "Apologies. My master's uncle and my soulmate's husband had quite a humor. He'll be here shortly, so until then, I will humor you."