Revenge

“Oh, princess Eodelle!”

I almost tripped as I ran towards her, sobbing terribly. I felt like I was looking at an angel as she smiled down at me. I embraced her tight and we both dropped to the floor, relieved and happy to see each other again. Even Nina’s face is drenched with tears, glad we found each other in the palace after the chaos that happened so many days ago.

“I thought you were dead!” I cried at her with grief in my chest, my body trembling terribly because I never expected to see her again, “I thought I was the only one left… I felt so alone…”

“Me too, your Grace… I thought I was going to die that night! But the new Emperor spared my life!” She caressed my hair smoothly then dried the tears on my face, “I guess he knows you need me and ordered his soldier not to include me with the people they have to execute in the town square. He’s your mate, right? I guess that connection made him a little softer on you,”

“I-I don’t know, Nina. I still don’t trust whatever he says,” I said to her.

My nightgown slipped down my shoulder, revealing the huge, black bruises that made her eyes widen, “Good gracious! What did they do to you?!” she exclaimed in horror. Her hand covered her mouth and then checked my arms and thighs with frantic hands, “Ohh, princess Eodelle…”

“It’s fine. What’s important is I am still alive, Nina… Do they know you are here? Did that man send you here for me?”

“T-To is honest, I just tried to sneak, hoping that the guards outside don’t know that I am your personal maidservant, your Grace. One of the servants was assigned to assist you with your bath and to my desperation to see you, I tried to trade tasks with her, your Grace. That’s why I can’t stay here too long. I am scared of what they might do to me if they'll find out about what I did—-”

“I am just happy to see you are alive…” I embraced Nina once again before she dried the tears on her face and helped me stand up with her. I still can’t believe she is here but I can’t make her life go in danger for sneaking inside my room, “Go. No one should see you in here. I will be fine.”

“A-Are you sure, your Grace?!” she asked with perturbation on her face. Nina is the only person I can feel has a genuine concern for me and because of her, I don’t feel alone anymore. I can survive here. I have to.

“Yes,” I smiled at her. “Now that I know you are here, I can finally breathe, Nina. At least I know I have someone here who cares about me.”

After Nina helped me with my bath, I didn’t make her stay too long in my room anymore, scared that people in the palace might get suspicious of her. I just spent a lot of time looking outside the tall window of my room, watching the guards doing their rounds down the gardens and all around the palace. I don’t understand why Aster still wanted me to stay in this place. But based on what he said about the citizens of this Empire being angry with the former Emperor, I don’t think I would be safe anywhere. Aster made my world smaller. And now, I don’t know what I would do with my life anymore.

But there is one thing I want to do…

Revenge!

I will make Aster pay for everything he did to me. For all the horrible things I suffered in the dungeon. For the abuse, he did to me the night after he decapitated my father. Maybe he just tried to save me from death just to torture me again. But whatever his plan is, I will never let him make me one of his puppets. I will find a way to end him, even if it means I have to sacrifice my own life!

Besides, I will be dead any other way. So I’ll just drag him to Hell with me.

I feel amazing after taking a nice, warm bath, and wearing a new clean dress feels so new to me after so many days the awful people in the dungeon made me wear rags, leaving me shivering on the hard cold floor.

I looked down at the window with hatred. I tasted the metallic tang of blood when my lips bled, and didn’t notice that I bite hard on my lower lip while reminiscing the hardships I endured during those dark days I tried to survive in the dungeon. But now, all I can do is use Aster’s feelings for me and make him fall for me while he hasn’t rejected me yet. That’s how I can have my revenge for what he did to me.

Curiosity came into me when it was almost dark and Nina hasn’t returned yet. I was hoping for her to visit me again but it seems the staff of the palace really keeps her busy so I tried to open the door but two guards blocked my way with spears in their hands, their faces looking disgruntled from my abrupt attempt to step outside the door.

“You cannot get outside your room. You are a clear prisoner of this palace and not a princess anymore,” one of the guards gruffly said with his eyes looking down on me as if I did something bad to him, “Get inside!”

I tried to stay tough and refused to get inside the room. I held my chin high and gave him a condescending look but my knees under my long dress are shaking badly out of fear and if I am not holding on to the knob of the door for support, I would surely drop on the floor in front of these soldiers.

“I need some fresh air to clear up my mind…” I uttered with a tough voice, my face hard and I can tell that the guards are still hesitating if they will grant my wish or not.

“You are not making any demands here anymore,” the huge soldier gruffly yelled at me, and before he could even push me inside the room and shut the door, a guy with blonde hair approached us with a smile of amusement on his face, exchanging look at me and the ill-tempered guard.

“What’s going on here?” he asked gently, his smile still didn’t fade on his face even after seeing me flinch away from him and the guard.

Then I got a little alarmed. I know him! I have seen him together with Aster while he was torturing me in the dungeon! It is Aster’s Beta!

I felt knots in my stomach when he stared me straight in the eyes as if he was measuring the situation in them. Looking at him makes me feel strange so I dropped my stare and just thought of going back to my bed but he stepped forward and stopped me from closing the door.

“It’s fine, Sandor. I guess I’ll just accompany her if she really needs to go to the garden,” the handsome blonde guy said and it made me wish I remembered his name when Aster called him before. I should be a little suspicious why he granted me my wish but what’s important for me now is to get away from this room because I feel like I am getting sick by just staying inside the whole day. The anxiety in me is getting worse and I can’t handle it well after being imprisoned in the dungeon for so many days.

“Thank you…” I murmured to the man as he walked beside me and lead me in the corridors towards the garden. I want to look up at his face but I don’t know why I am feeling shy and conscious being with him. Maybe it’s the fact that I am not used to being with men walking alone inside the palace and in addition to this, he’s the Beta of my enemy.

Stupid Eodelle, you shouldn’t thank him at all!

“I am surprised you survived all those injuries in just a few days,” he mentioned and then looked down at me, flashing me with his perfect set of white teeth. His lips are just so plumpy that every girl would surely lose her focus after seeing those kissable lips, “But I am glad that you did. I could never agree with what our Alpha did to you because I believe you have nothing to do with what your Father did to his people…”

Biting my lower lip, I tried my hardest not to sob in front of him but what he said gave me a sharp pang of pain in my chest, “Well, there’s nothing I could do about it, though. And I can’t blame anyone for thinking that I am also like my father. They don’t know me after all…

But before we could even enter the gate towards the garden, a familiar face made my eyes widen with shock and my hands just automatically took the metal pin I used on my hair…

My whole being became overwhelmed with anger as I stepped quickly towards her direction to stab her with the pin on my hand!