The Tyrant's Pet

"As for your question that if Daniella shows up in front of me, I'd be a little confused. She was already dead, and I had grieved for her; I lamented day and night, blaming myself for her end. So it will be impossible that she would come back to life. However, if that ever happens, I'd probably give myself a chance. I'm not saying I will blindly accept her with open arms, but rather, I'd give myself the chance to be the brother I should've been when she was still alive. And that includes taking her life with my own hands if necessary."

"If necessary."

Dexter's answer for the scenario Aries gave him repeated in her head like a broken record. Sitting in a hot tub with flowers floating on the water, Aries was staring blankly at the corner wall.

"If necessary," she whispered, repeating what Dexter said this afternoon.

Dexter uttered exactly what Aries felt upon meeting Miguel Rothschild. Aries grieved for her family's death. Her beautiful memories with them haunted her because every time she would go back to those wonderful days, what would follow was the day everything crumbled down.

Grieving for someone, holding a funeral for them, and healing from that loss wasn't an easy experience. It traumatized Aries so much that she didn't want to lose any of her people. Not Abel, not Conan, not Dexter, and not those whom she considered a family.

It was one of the reasons Aries was where‌ she was right now.

She didn't want to go through the pain of loss again. Them, having long lives for they were vampires, was a great benefit for her. That meant time wasn't their enemy. Aries was terrified of losing someone that she even brought back Suzanne even if she had to sell half of her soul to the devil.

The point was that it wasn't that Aries didn't like the idea that her family — Davien, in particular — could come back to life. That was an ideal dream, which she hoped was the case. However, Aries already had all the reasons she should be wary of Miguel.

Miguel was a Rothschild. Not to mention, she was in a land full of vampires. Not just normal vampires, but noble and pureblooded vampires.

"Miguel Rothschild…" whispered Aries, spreading her arms over the rim of the tub as she was leaning back. "... just what the hell do you want?"

Thinking about Miguel, Aries couldn't help but recall all the time she spent with the man.

Miguel… was someone whom she didn't expect to be. At the back of her head, she didn't believe everything that Miguel had shown her all this time. He could just be pretending. If that was the case, Aries had to admit he was great at pretending.

Miguel always looked so sincere whenever they were sparring. The first time they sparred took him by surprise, but after that, Miguel always fought her without any trace of hostility or regard for their title. He would fight her — sometimes, almost like toying with her. Why, she thought so, because Miguel would always give Aries a fighting chance.

The result was always the same. Miguel was stronger and more experienced on the battlefield than Aries. With every loss, his superiority was growing clearer to Aries. However, Miguel wouldn't gloat about it but rather, give her a portion of his wisdom and tell her why she lost.

"It was… perplexing," she muttered. "The more I think about it, the more he looks convincing." — or the more he reminded her of her beloved brother, Davien.

Davien was just like that. In the beginning, no matter what Aries does, she would never defeat Davien in a duel. The difference was that Davien would humbly gloat about it, but he never failed to give Aries pointers.

Back then, Aries was so blinded by her pride that she would just keep ignoring Davien's advice. However, when she learned how to calm down and use her brain in the battle, she started showing signs of improvement.

"I feel like living in the past." Aries cocked her head back, shutting her eyes to relax. "Their tactic to delay me is quite efficient and effective."

Silence followed her soothing voice, thinking that she was aware she was allowing her enemies to step into the trap they obviously laid for her. Aries knew that dwelling in Miguel and how he looked exactly like her brother was delaying her from advancing her plans.

But she was allowing them to play the music while she danced to their tune. Not that she didn't know, nor she was as hurt and confused as the first time.

"Abel…" Aries whispered, reopening her eyes ever so tenderly. "... your world is driving me mad. No wonder you ran away from home. If it was me, I would too."

Hovering over her face as she had her head cocked back, resting the back of her head on the tub's rim, was Abel's. He had his hands on the rim, keeping her in between, bent over, and looking at her face that was upside down.

"Are you tired?" he asked under his breath.

"Who wouldn't?" she blinked ever so tenderly. "That is the reason I had allocated more bath time. I'm tired, but that doesn't mean I am giving up. All I need is rest… and your company."

"And here I am." He shrugged, smiling playfully. "To give your mind some rest."

Aries stared into his eyes, watching him lower his head slowly. Her eyes slowly closed, and soon, the softness of his lips dominated hers. However, their kiss didn't last as he drew his head back slightly.

"I heard you met your brother," he remarked, only to see a strange emotion in her eyes that only flashed in them momentarily. "Do you want to talk about it before we get down to our nightly arrangement?"

"Miguel Rothschild…" she whispered, keeping her eyes locked with his. "... is Davien, Abel. The thought that I'd kill my brother the second time terrifies me."

Aries paused. "Should I ask you to kill him for me? To a place where I won't see how he bleeds, smell the scent of his blood that is gushing out of his chest, and hear him struggle?"

Abel's countenance was unfazed by her remarks, which sounded more like a request. "Is that what you truly want, darling?"

"No." Her lips curled up into a short smile. "What I truly want is to get rid of such pathetic and cowardly thoughts."

Aries lifted her hands and cupped his face. "Help me."

"My pleasure." His eyelids dropped, lowering his head to plant his lips on her. This time, without any intention of stopping where this would lead the two of them.