The Tyrant's Pet

Aries had a plan, and that was to trap Maximus in Maleficent's world. For her plans to happen, she needed to make them appear as realistic as possible. Hence, Abel, together with almost everyone, entered that spirit world and entrusted their lives to her.

They knew the risk — every single one of them was aware of it. But they still did. The witches and the night council deemed it the most efficient way to deal with a person like Maximus. And thus, they lent their powers to assist Aries. As they did so, Abel, Conan, and the rest were tasked to distract Maximus.

However, what they didn't expect was the amount of power and control Maleficent had. It wasn't like they underestimated it, but rather, they didn't think that Maleficent not only bring this strong repugnance against powerful vampires like the Grimsbanne and the Royal Family in the mainland but also, the power carried along the original Maleficent's will and twisted beliefs before she passed away.

Maleficent's regrets were the things the host — Aries — felt like carrying out. Hence, with that mission forced into her, she locked everyone in Maleficent's world. Only those who still had connections in the real world, like Sunny and Isaiah, were the only ones who could go back and forth. They didn't know Maximus was connected to the king (Maximus III), thus he got out before Aries locked everyone in the spirit world. Marsella got out as well.

With their plans crumbling down, Aries only had one thought in mind: <strong>if she feigned ignorant and stayed as an average human with no powers, would things turn out this way?</strong>

Aries collapsed on her knees, unblinking, eyes on Abel. There, lying beside Suzanne's remains, was Abel with a hole in his chest. 𝒇𝑟e𝙚𝑤𝙚𝐛𝗻𝐨ν𝚎𝘭.c𝐨m

"Darling," came out her shaking voice, planting her palms on his chest to stop the bleeding. "Abel!"

Aries pressed her palms on his chest to add pressure, looking back at Fabian in a panic. They just arrived in the banquet hall, only to see Abel lying in his own pool of blood. Marsella was nowhere in sight.

"Ah…" Aries clenched her teeth as tears blur her vision. "Ah…"

"Darling, I'm sorry," came out her shaking voice, trying her best to stop the bleeding. "I'm here now. You'll be fine."

Aries sniffed hard, shaking her head, trying to get herself together. She kept telling herself Abel wouldn't die just like this. Thus, ignoring the fact that he had a missing heart, Aries tried to stop the bleeding first.

"Fabian, wake up the night council. I need help!" she panicked as the blood sipped through the gaps between her fingers. "Quick! There's so much blood!"

Fabian pressed his lips into a thin line before he huffed quietly. "There's no point —"

"Shut up!" Aries glared at him, grinding her teeth furiously. "Wake up the night council. His Majesty is losing too much blood."

"He had a missing heart."

Her breath hitched and her neck instantly turned taut. "No," she denied before she could even think of a proper argument.

"Abel… he cannot die, Fabian." She shook her head, still putting pressure on his chest. "This isn't enough to kill him." 𝘧𝚛𝗲𝘦𝚠𝙚𝙗𝙣o𝙫𝗲𝚕.𝐜o𝓂

"That body doesn't have a soul," he stressed to get his point across. "If there is no soul, how can that body function like it used to?"

Her eyes widened even more, setting them back to Abel's face. What Fabian said was a fact. Even if Abel was immortal, if his soul was trapped in the spirit world, nothing could sustain his body. With this realization in mind, her face crumpled helplessly as tears rolled down her cheek.

"No." Aries shook her head mildly, sniffing, keeping her hands on his chest. "I'll make it right. I will wake him up. He's still warm — I can do this."

Aries closed her eyes, breathing out through her mouth. Her mind was in chaos, but she tried to clear it up, even if it meant allowing her witch to take over. If Maleficent could take over, she would know how to let them all out of Maleficent's world. But alas, before Aries could enter a state of calmness, Fabian grabbed her shoulder aggressively.

"You're making it worse. We have to go," he said, watching her lift her eyes to him. "There's nothing we can do."

<strong>There was nothing they could do…</strong>

Those words rang in her ears like a gong, almost deafening her. What did he mean by there was nothing they could do?

"Your enemy is here." He tugged her biceps mildly. "Let's go."

"No." Aries shook her head. "I can't leave him here."

His grip around her biceps tightened, knowing spending a second in this place was putting both of them in danger. Fabian didn't care about Abel; they just met. He had no attachment to anything in this empire. But that didn't mean he wouldn't uphold his words.

Fabian told Abel he would look after Aries until he comes. Until then… Fabian needed to keep this woman alive for his sake as well.

"Apologies," was all he said before using force, pulling her up to her feet. Without a word, Fabian dragged Aries, carrying her to his shoulder, and fled the banquet hall.

"Let me go!" Aries struggled, pounding her fist on his back, but to no avail. Fabian didn't budge, fleeing the banquet hall at full speed. Realizing there was nothing she could do to stop him, Aries raised her eyes.

"Abel…" came out her tiny voice as tension was stuck in her throat. "... help."

All she could do was stare at Abel's body as she got farther and farther away from him. Tears blurred her vision, stretching her arms, hoping Abel would wake up and hold her hand. That second, she wished Abel would just magically hear her cry for help and stop Fabian from taking her away.

But Abel didn't.

Even when they made a turn, Abel didn't move a muscle, and Fabian successfully took Aries away from the danger in the imperial palace.