The Tyrant's Pet

Every waking time was the start of a pour, which would eventually develop into a hurricane. And by the end of the day, Aries would mentally find herself trembling in the dark corner of her mind, hugging her legs, listening to every sound in case she had to run away. 

The darkness she was trapped in was insidious, and the anxiety she had to suppress compounded daily. It felt like this was no end; walking in circles in the middle of the storm. 

For Sunny to come to find her somehow made her feel that the thick, dark clouds in her sky showed gaps for the light to peek through. Watching her wander the garden without a care in the world, plucking out flowers mischievously, and giggling and grinning, was like a breath of fresh air. 

Aries couldn\'t help but smile as she watched Sunny from the bench.

\'All the people that surround me always carry ulterior motives; either for their own interest or to harm me,\' she thought, batting her eyelashes ever so carefully. \'It was honestly exhausting.\' — but who was she to complain?

Complaining wouldn\'t help. Giving up wasn\'t an option either. All she could do was grit her teeth and face each and every single one of the stones thrown at her. 

"I\'m really glad she came," she whispered, eyes softening. "I thought I was going to crumble moments ago."

Aries smiled broader when Sunny looked her way, waving to the little girl. Sunny wasn\'t as innocent as she appeared, but it was still nice to see a child\'s innocence amid the brewing tension in the royal palace. 

"There you are." Aries snapped her brows up, turning her head to the person standing beside the bench. "Greetings to Your Majesty."

"Samael."

Samael bowed slightly before glancing in Sunny\'s direction. "Apologies if she bothered you, Your Majesty. I told her not to wander off, but she didn\'t listen."

"Do not worry about it. Sunny is not bothering me in any way," Aries returned, peeling her eyes away from him. "If anything, I would say it was the other way around."

"Trust me. Your Majesty isn\'t."

"How kind of you." Aries chuckled and then cast him a quick look. "Would you join me for a chat?"

"If Your Majesty asked, how dare I refuse? It\'s my honor," he humored, joining her on the bench. Samael sat on the other corner of the bench, leaving an arm\'s length gap between them. 

"I heard you attended the noble\'s assembly," said Aries as an icebreaker. 

"Uh, yes. I was surprised when I receive an invitation. I thought they already kicked me out since I was absent for years."

"Were they nice to you?" she asked, making Samael look at her side profile. 

"If they weren\'t, will Your Majesty scold them for me?"

"Why not?" she smirked, casting him a knowing look. "They made me queen. I might as well take advantage of the title they gave away so easily to protect my nephew from getting bullied."

"Haha. I didn\'t know you can be funny if you want."

"Just tell me if they were putting you in a difficult position." Aries continued, keeping her attention on Sunny. "I\'ll put them in their place."

"Now, that is reassuring to hear. I\'d be sure to use my status as the queen\'s nephew if that happened." He chuckled, humoring her back. 

There was a moment of silence between them, watching Sunny fill her basket with flowers. Both of them wore subtle smiles with soft eyes while keeping their attention on the little girl. 

"Have you regretted it?" Suddenly, a question slipped past Aries\'s lips. 

"Hmm?"

"Leaving your daughter behind," she clarified. "You left your daughter in this land, and because of some circumstances, she had to leave the mainland and come to the Haimirich Empire. I don\'t think I ever get to hear your thoughts about it."

"To clarify, I didn\'t leave Sunny alone. I left her and my son, Law, in Tilly\'s care. Tilly was the one who left Sunny behind. My wife nearly killed me. I would\'ve been sleeping six feet deep if something happened to her." Samael kept a smile, recalling a memory from the past. "Though I cannot say I am not just as responsible. I\'m just grateful that you took care of her."

"Sunny is a smart and adorable child. Anyone would be fond of her in almost an instant."

"That is why we named her Sunny." Samael grinned, turning his head in Aries\'s direction. "Our life in this land wasn\'t easy, especially carrying the name Grimsbanne. When we were expecting Sunny, our family was having a crisis. Mainly because of this blood, I\'m passing it to my children. However, when Sunny came, the darkness that was slowly clouding my head suddenly cleared up."

"It is like the first appearance of the sun after the long storm," he added, nodding at her reassuringly. "Just like the sun, she reminds me that we, too, can rise again from the darkness."

Aries\'s expression softened after listening to Samael\'s short story about how he came up with his daughter\'s name. Looking at him, she could tell how much he cherished his family. It might not look obvious with how he would sometimes speak and act, but there was no shadow of a doubt he was a good father. 

"Your children are lucky to have you as their father," she remarked, warranting a laugh from him. 

"Those little devils…" Samael shook his head, peeling his eyes away from her. "But you\'re right. I also agree that they\'re lucky to have me as their father."

Aries laughed, looking away from him. "No wonder your firstborn was a little rebellious. He took after his father…" she trailed off, furrowing her brows. 

"Where\'s Sunny?" Aries\'s eyes shook as she looked around, jumping from her spot in panic. Samael also hopped out off the bench, looking around to search for his daughter. But alas, Sunny was nowhere in sight. 

The two of them looked at each other, wide-eyed. Their hearts thudded, and without saying a word, they parted hurriedly to search for Sunny.