The Tyrant's Pet

Normally, Aries and Abel wouldn't waste time, as they would always find themselves stripping each other's clothes and tangled in a passionate kiss as if their time was running out. It was as if whenever their eyes meet or their hand touched, the electricity that would travel through every fiber of their bodies was enough to create tension between them.

But today… was different.

Instead of ending up naked in each other's embrace, Aries remained seated on his lap. The side of her body was leaning against his front, giggling as they play with each other's hands. There wasn't anything funny with what they were doing, but her giggles and his weak chuckles would constantly resonate across the lodging room they were in.

"I like your hand," she broke the silence with a smile, keeping his slender fingers in between hers and gazing at his clean nails. "They look like they're hands of a pianist. They're steady and strong… it can glide across the keyboards effortlessly."

Aries raised her gaze and faced him squarely. "Do you know how to play the piano?"

"Mhm." Her eyes slightly went wide when he hummed in response. "But playing is not what these hands are good for."

"And what are they for?"

"Snapping necks." He smirked while she frowned at his humor. Abel took a deep breath, fighting dominance with their hands as his fingers wrapped around hers. "I'm not joking. These hands were born to take lives."

Her frown deepened, staring at him while he focused his eyes on their hands. "Who told you those hands are born to take lives?"

"The world." Abel raised his chin and flashed her a subtle smile. "And the people in it."

"That's strange. You don't listen, nor do you care about other people's opinions."

"Now, I don't, but I used to."

"Can you tell me?" she asked in a soft voice. "What was Abel like before I met the tyrant?"

Abel pressed his lips as he leaned back, placing a hand on the side of her head. He guided her head until it was resting on his shoulder.

"I forgot. It's been a long time," he replied, pressing the side of his head on hers. "What was he like…? All I can remember is… he used to like people."

His eyelids drooped until they were partially closed to hide the lingering sadness behind them.

"So much so as to let them take advantage of him, thinking that is the only way to be accepted. But in the end, they burned him in the stakes. He forgives them, once… twice… until he can no longer count how many times he died in hopes his sincerity will get through them." Aries frowned as his voice sounded low, automatically translating his words into a more simple explanation as a young prince being sandwiched in politics.

"Hurt people hurt people," he continued. "Although hurting others just because a person was hurt wasn't a justifiable excuse for their atrocious deeds, but it is what it is."

Abel let her pull herself away from him to sit upright as he added, "It's either you or them," gazing at her with soft eyes.

"It's that why you told me that if I had to choose between you and me, I should choose myself?" she asked and then threw another question when he shrugged mildly. "Why?"

"What's there in me that I had to choose myself over you?" she clarified after a few seconds.

He kept his mouth shut, raising his other hand, and tucked the stray hair behind her ear. "Because I simply want to be a part of your world, and not become your world."

"But you were doing the complete opposite."

"Not my fault." He smiled subtly, caressing her jaw with the back of his hand. "All I'm doing is expressing my affection. I didn't mean to…" — although he wanted to.

"And how deep is that affection?"

"Hmm… I didn't measure."

"Just give me an example."

"Will you drink my blood straight from my vein, darling?"

"Pardon?"

"Because I will," he answered, ignoring the puzzlement in her eyes. "Not for pleasure — well, sort of, not like I have a choice. More like, I want you in my veins, darling. If I'm going to measure now, I'd say it's deeper than the pits of hell and higher than the heavens."

"You're making me sad." She frowned, feeling this grip around her heart.

"Shouldn't that make you feel the opposite?" he chuckled, hooking the side of her lips up so she would stop frowning. "Stop frowning."

"That's because you speak so cruelly," she mumbled, lowering her eyes to hide the sadness in them. "You make things sound like if you didn't involve yourself with me, then… there's no way I'd be a part of your world. No, it feels like you're just a part of mine, but I'm never actually a part of yours."

Aries raised her eyes once again with pursed lips. She had finally put the right words on what she had been feeling, even in the past. And with this knowledge in mind, the seemingly invisible distance between them was finally clear.

She wasn't close; he was still beyond her reach, and it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"You are my world," he remarked after a very long time, taking her by surprise. "If you shatter, I will too. That's why you have to choose yourself over me, because my life depends on you, darling. If you cry, I will bleed, and if you break, I will die. I don't think I will ever recover if that happens."

Abel cupped her cheek, brushing it with his thumb, eyes on her lips. "I'll burn this world completely and I will not stop until it's ruined if it did something to my world under my watch." He paused, gazing up into her eyes.

"Same with this Maganti Empire. If you let them hurt you, make sure it is somewhere I wouldn't see while you are naked. Or else this entire plan is over. I'll kill every single one of them — innocent or not — no mercy." Abel leaned his face closer and whispered.

"Because that's the only thing this primitive person is good at; it's all about between this world or my world. The answer is obvious."