The Tyrant's Pet

When Climaco left Aries's chambers, she idled in the room before heading to the room next to her, Curtis's room. She knocked on the door lightly, peeking her head in. Her lips curled up as her eyes fell on the man sitting by the divan near the window.

"I'm coming in," she announced and intruded in, closing the door behind her. She pursed her lips into a thin line, seeing that Curtis was ignoring her.

'He's always the snob,' she thought, holding her hand behind her as she tiptoed her way towards him. She bent over, checking his side profile cautiously. Her brows rose as it seemed Curtis was simply deep in thought and wasn't purposely ignoring her.

'Mhm...' she pressed her lips into a tight slash before the corner of her lips stretched from ear to ear. With mischief flickering across her clear eyes, Aries jumped on the divan and her head instantly landed on his lap. She giggled when he flinched, watching him gaze down at her with widened eyes and furrowed brows.

"How dare you ignore me?" she teased mischievously, moving her head to find her comfortable spot on his lap. "This is what you get for not sharing seats."

"Aime." He sighed quietly. "You're not a child anymore."

"So?" she arched a brow and raised her chin. "I'm the crown princess. You don't tell me what to do."

Curtis sighed once more and shook his head, studying the playful grin on her face. His eyes scanned her face, flicking her forehead a second later.

"Ah!" she rubbed her forehead and clicked her tongue, but she didn't move or removed her head from his lap. "Did you just flick my forehead?"

"I did. Like this --"

"Don't you dare!" she hissed, seeing Curtis would demonstrate how he did it. "Goodness... why are you always so violent?"

He chuckled weakly as he leaned back. Curtis gazed at the window once more and smile subtly.

"Aime," he called while Aries was rubbing her forehead. "Do you remember the time we used to play on the hill behind the royal palace?"

Aries paused as she moved her gaze at him. For a moment, she didn't react before her expression softened.

"Mhm," she hummed a tune, smiling subtly. "I remember Davien pushed me down the slope and I rolled down like a ball. I thought I was going to die, but well, he was punished by Father."

"He was so scared that time."

"He should be." She chuckled. "But well, Davien had been my slave since. The injuries were worth it since he would do whatever I want like riding on his back."

The two of them chuckled before silence fell almost immediately. Her smile remained, but her eyes bore longing as she hadn't talked about her beloved brother with anyone until now. She really missed him. No amount of words could describe her longing.

"Aime," Curtis called after minutes of silence.

"Hmm?"

He slowly peeled his eyes away from the window and gazed down at her. He smiled subtly, stroking her hair before resting his hand on it, brushing her forehead with his thumb.

"Should we go home, Aime?" he asked, making her brows raise. "To our Rikhill. To our family. Should we go home?"

Aries stared into his eyes and pressed her lips into a thin line. "I'm getting married," she answered under her breath.

"Abel asked for my hand, Curtis." She smiled as she snapped her eyes, thinking about Abel's habitual proposals. "And I said yes. I don't see any reason I shouldn't marry the man of my dreams. He is everything, Curtis."

Curtis remained silent, keeping his eyes on her while she talk about Abel. She looked happy and at peace while thinking about this man she was talking about. He bit his tongue at the thoughts that crossed his head, stopping himself from telling her to forget about him.

"Abel..." she crooned, blinking and setting her attention back to Curtis. "I'm in love with him, Curtis. Very much." But then her smile grew bitter as she chuckled.

"But I also want to go home. I missed Davien, Alaric, Father... I miss everyone." Her lower lip quivered as tears swam in her eyes, rolling down her temple. "I had lost half of my heart when Rikhill fell into ruin and the other half... when I lost Bean. I'm barely a shell, Curtis."

She kept her eyes on the ceiling, gulping down the tension in her throat. "I'm barely alive," she confessed, trying her best so her voice won't crack.

"How can I say I'm in love when I don't even know how long this love will last?" she continued. "Once everything is over and I succeeded, I don't know what I'll do, Curtis. Will I be able to continue? Should I go back to Haimirich? And then what? Stay with Abel until he no longer wants me? After that... what am I going to do?"

Aries shook her head mildly. "I don't know, Curtis. I love him, but he scares me. Because once he had enough... I will die." — because Abel was the only person she let inside the tiny piece of her heart that was left within her. If Abel broke it, that's all for Aries.

"Then why are you marrying him if his fickle heart terrifies you?" he asked in a gentle tone.

She laughed and bit her lower lip. "Because I want to get married," she replied and smiled at him. "I want to experience getting married to the man I love."

"And then what?"

"And then..." her eyes moved to the ceiling, smiling subtly. "... go home."

Curtis smiled as he nodded. "I'll go with you, Aime." She moved her eyes back to him. "Let's go home once everything is over."

"Mhm..." she nodded, blinking weakly while he casually stroked her hair and massaged her scalp.

"I mean to Rikhill," he said after a minute. "Let's go home to Rikhill."

Aries smiled and chuckled, gazing at him. "Of course," she agreed softly. "We'll go back to Rikhill."

"Swear with your life," he urged gently. "I don't like that look in your eyes whenever you say home. It worries me."

"I swear with my life," she replied almost immediately, keeping her eye contact with him. "I will go back to Rikhill."

Curtis studied her eyes and sighed quietly. "Alright." He nodded, stopping himself from nagging her.

Curtis knew Aries very well — or rather, he knew the princess she used to be. But right now, he couldn't confidently say he still recognized her. Not only she was different, but her eyes were just empty.

'Maybe he is right…' he thought, thinking of Abel and the words the man told him during his last visit to him. 'You are… dead exhausted.'

"I'm so proud of you, Aime," he expressed, making her raise her brows. "Coming into this place is not easy, but you were doing a good job facing your nightmares every single day you open your eyes."

Her expression relaxed as she shrugged. "Waking up is the only option I got."

"Even so," he stressed, patting her cheek lightly. "You deserved to be happy, Aime. More than anyone in this world."

Aries's eyes gleamed and smiled subtly. "Thank you for saying that."

Both of them smiled at each other before they arched their brows. Curtis turned his head in the window while Aries propped her elbow to incline her body. The corner of their lips curled up, watching white little clouds falling.

"It's that time of the year, huh?" Curtis mumbled, and she hummed shortly. "But unlike before, it's warmer this year."

"Mhm." She hummed a tune once more. "It's warmer... indeed."