"No! No!!"
Aries's hand twitched as the eyes underneath her lids flickered. Her brows knit slightly, moaning as her entire body felt sore. When she opened her eyes, she pushed herself to sit upright.
"No!! What did you do?!" Giselle's scream pierced her ears, making Aries wince.
Her vision was still a little blurry, taking a few blinks to get a clear view of her surroundings. Several steps from her were Giselle, screaming while slumped on the floor. Behind Giselle — a meter or two from her — were Fabian and Miguel. Both men were staring in her direction with equal curiousness in their eyes.
On the side were Conan and London. From their appearances and the apparent bruises on them, one could tell they were exhausted.
Dexter, on the other hand, was still surrounded by several members of the Raven. Although all of them were frozen on their spot and staring in Giselle's direction. Marsella was still kneeling with her hands on the cracked floor, still fighting the crippling gravity on her.
Time in the great hall seemed to stop, but the situation Aries had woken up to didn't surprise her.
The corner of Aries's lips curled up into a smirk, setting her pair of crafty eyes on Giselle. She slowly rose to her feet, gazing at the metal bands around her wrist.
"Oh, Giselle. You would be surprised at the place I went to just now and who I met there," came out Aries's alluring calm voice, at the same time, the metal bands on her wrists turned into dust. "Such a lovely man."
Giselle's eyes were still clouded with white, but Aries could feel the growing fire in them. Such a sight to behold. The ever-composed and righteous Giselle had finally lost her cool, revealing the little girl hiding behind that pretentious mask of self-righteousness.
"What did you do?!" Giselle's voice thundered, rising from the floor. "What did you do to His Majesty?!"
"His Majesty?!" Aries laughed. "You mean that foolish first king who left this stupid curse in this royal family of slaves? Hah! I killed him."
Giselle's voice hitched. "What did you say?"
"Oh, Giselle. You've been planning for this day for millennia. How can you not see through my ploy?" The metals around Aries's ankles quietly turned into dust. "All I did is give you a little diversion and yet, you believed I wanted to stop this ceremony. I don't even trust myself."
Aries's smirk grew vicious. "No, little girl. I wanted this to happen. I wanted to see him — that king whom Maximus IV failed to kill."
"I wanted to meet him and end him once and for all. After all, killing him is the only way to hurt you." She leaned her face forward, deliberately taunting Giselle with every word she spewed. "You wanted Maleficent? The demise of the Grimsbanne? Hah! Giselle, you surely are a hypocrite."
"How dare you… a lowly bastard of a cursed fae and the traitorous Hakebourne, try to use Maleficent to exact your revenge on the Grimsbanne?" Aries lifted her chin, making her eyelids droop. Her voice was laced with intense anger as if the truth had sought her in that light. "How dare someone such as yourself use the king's will to your advantage, knowing full well the end of the Grimsbanne will be the end for all vampires!"
Aries's voice echoed across the entire great hall, confusing everyone. What did she say? The deep lines between Conan showed his utter confusion about what Aries called Giselle.
A daughter of a cursed witch and a traitor to the royal family?
"She…" Conan trailed off, eyes on Giselle. "… is a Hakebourne?"
Giselle was a royal family?
Just a quick recap of Giselle's origins. Everyone knew she came from a humble clan on the outskirts of the capital. Although she came from a humble beginning, Giselle's exceptional talent rewarded her with a great position in the palace. She started as a mere princess maid, rising to be a handmaiden, and slowly made her way as part of the coven.
Now, after many years of hard work, Giselle cinched the position of chief leader. No one criticized her for the unknown blood in her but was rather recognized for her talent. She even had a higher position than Duke Rothschild, a man who was a part of the founding family.
Therefore, hearing that Giselle was a bastard of a Hakebourne caught everyone off guard. There was only one treacherous Hakebourne everyone knew.
Maximus IV.
Was she a daughter of Maximus IV? Impossible. There were no records that Maximus IV was ever associated with a woman. Let alone with a cursed fae.
The existence of the fae was proven to be a myth.
"What does she mean by that?" whispered London as he was rather focused on Aries's other remarks. "The end of the Grimsbanne will be the end for all vampires?"
Myriads of questions filled everyone's mind as Aries spoke many things that didn't make sense. Or rather, words too shocking to process in one go.
Miguel glanced at Fabian, and then at Giselle. "Giselle, what is she saying?!" he yelled, disliking the confusion that had arrived at the scene.
"Why did the ceremony fail?" he added just as loud as his first remarks.
"Fail? Oh, Miguel Rothschild. The ceremony didn't fail but succeeded. The king's will is right here." Aries tapped her temple. "It's just that… It seemed Giselle had a misconception of the king's will."
Her eyes slowly veered toward Giselle. "Or rather, she was betrayed by the only person she thought would help her. How can you believe in Maximus IV, when you know for a fact, he had you so he could one day consume that body?"
"Poor, poor Giselle." Aries shook her head while clicking her tongue. "All the hard work and effort has gone down the drain because of one simple mistake. Love."
"Giselle!" this time, Miguel roared. "Why are you not saying anything?!"
"How can she refute the truth, Miguel?" Aries answered, shutting up Miguel. "How can you be so foolish? Giselle isn't on anyone's side. Unlike you, who claims to aim to save this land, her intention was the total opposite."
"She hated this land and this entire race of vampires. Thus, she wanted to end it once and for all. Ending the Grimsbanne will mark the end of the entire race, for they hold the curse put upon the vampires. You will never see the light ever again," she added, hissing at Giselle. "Isn't that right, Giselle?"
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