The King's Beloved

~ [Music Recommendation: "Hate" by Lucas King (Instrumental only) - available in Youtube] ~ Please listen to it in loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this scene ~

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Soft and sweet giggles could be heard from afar where Nefastus stood. She just got off from her father's office and was about to go home with some servants she brought with her when she suddenly stumbled upon a familiar voice. Soft and sweet like those of fairies, at the same time, enchanting and beautiful like that of a siren's. Yes, the very same voice she loathed so much … Azalea, the king's chosen queen.

Nefastus' gorgeous way of walking halted the moment she heard her laughter.

"Ugh, yes … it's that time of the day," she thought to herself. "Their 'flirting afternoon tea time'. How very lucky of her". Despite the words she thought, a glint of bloodlust shined from her eyes … such cold and deep spite. 

From the shadows which was the corner of the nearby hallway where she was at, Nefastus glared menacingly at Azalea, who in contrast, was happily sitting on a soft couch beside the king at the garden. There was a table in front of them filled with sweets and a luxurious tea set. Their surrounding was the relaxing garden that Azalea liked to visit when she felt troubled. The king looked pleased with whatever she was saying, much to her disgust.

"That should have been me," Nefastus' told herself. "Instead, I'm stuck here doing my best to avoid being seen by his highness … how very infuriating". Her heart beated loudly in her anger, and her fists clenched hard. But despite her rage, her voice remained low, not shouting a bit, unlike how she had been in the past.

The servants who were with her, noticed she was clenching her hands.

"My lady, we should head back now," the brave one advised. In her mind, if they stayed any longer, her lady might lash out any moment soon. 

Little did she know that Nefastus' anger was no longer something that could be calmed by simply lashing out.

Yes … for her anger ran much deeper,

… her jealousy, much further,

… and her bloodlust, much greater!

"Hmf!" Nefastus scoffed and turned her back. "Let's go," she ordered them and they all went away. But in her mind, she left a parting word for the current queen ...

"Enjoy it while it lasts, dear queen. For I will have my time … very soon".

Days passed after that and Nefastus could now be seen walking towards her father's office in their home. When she was about to open the door, the guards standing outside the door stopped her.

"My lady, I'm afraid your father hasn't arrived yet," one of the guards informed her. "If you need to talk to him, we'll fetch you once he's back. In the meantime, you can pass time elsewhere".

"And why the hell can't I just wait inside his office?" Nefastus glared at them.

The guards flinched, obviously scared of her, but her father was much scarier if they didn't follow his orders.

"I-I'm really sorry, my lady, but we were strictly instructed not to let just anyone inside until he gets back".

"Hmf! In that case, I can come in. I'm not just 'anyone', I'm his daughter!"

"B-but -" the two guards chorused. However, before they were able to refute her, Nefastus already kicked the door open and went inside.

"My lady! Please don't -"

BANG! And the door was shut before them.

Nefastus, who just went inside her father's office, shook her head.

"Seriously, what's wrong with them?"

Nefastus walked further inside, and sat on the couch where she usually sat whenever she visited her father in the office. Time passed by with nothing to do so she got easily bored and stood up. She roamed around the room looking at random things that seemed interesting for her. While walking around with no direction in mind, she suddenly bumped into "something".

"Aw! What the heck!" she blurted when she felt a slight pain on the side of her hips. She quickly turned around to see what it was that she bumped into but … there was nothing there. 

"Huh? What the - where did I - ?" Nefastus was confused. "Is it something invisible?" she asked herself, still wondering what she bumped into.

Knowing her father, she figured it must be something important that he used often, thus the reason why he turned it invisible instead of simply destroying it, risking itself from being an evidence against him. That … or he deliberately made it that way … for her since her father knew her a lot as well. Yes, he knew very well that she would still barge in even if told not to.

And so, Nefastus flicked her finger and unveiled the invisible. 

When she unveiled it, what she saw was simply a large table much to her dismay. Not until she looked closely that she was surprised and her eyes widened!

"This is - !!!" Nefastus gasped at the sudden realization. The table in front of her, with maps, and figurines matching every important person in the Floating Kingdom, with important notes written in their forgotten language so no one could decode it but them, a lot of "dangerous" information here and there … she couldn't help but tremble at it's sight. But most of all, what scared her the most was "that" - the black octagonal boxes at the corners.

"Exsorbeo …," Nefastus whispered to herself. "I can't believe these things still exist. So father had them all along. I thought that the ones from years ago were the last of it. Don't tell me he's planning on using it to - ," an image of the king, Calum, flashed on her mind, "No! Not him!"

Sweat formed on her forehead as she tried to study the rest of the plan on the table. She abhorred Azalea but Calum was an entirely different issue for her. She loved him since she was a child. All she ever wanted was to be his queen. But obviously, from what she was seeing, her father had a different plan in mind.

 "This man …," she murmured when she saw the figurine of Zeid on top of the Earth's map. The brown hair and green eyes were familiar to her since she's the one who killed him - though, seeing him still standing, while the late king and queen were darkened and stumbled at the sides, must meant that she failed in killing him and he was still alive. "Don't tell me he's -"

"Oh, what do we have here?" Avarus suddenly appeared from thin air, along with many hooded and masked men in black.

Nefastus was startled on his abrupt arrival. She jolted and quickly turned to her back.

"F - Father!" she greeted him in shock.

"My, my, what's that look in your face?" he asked while his eyes peered over the table behind his daughter. "Ahhh … I see you've seen it". His eyes turned evil and menacing, and his voice, very cold, even for Nefastus. Perhaps, he didn't mean for her to see it at all.

"T-this … table … contains lots of dangerous information, father," Nefastus let out a dry laugh. A drop of sweat fell from her forehead. It was obvious in her demeanor that she was startled and scared at the same time - scared of her very own father.

"Indeed, it does," Avarus nodded. He then walked closer towards his leather chair at the north center of the room where a large window stood tall with its curtains closed, and sat down. "Now, that you've seen it my daughter, I believe it is time for you to choose".

Nefastus frowned. She wasn't that stupid to not understand what his father meant.

Her family … or her one-sided love?

A moment of silence passed by as Nefastus deliberated on Avarus' nerve-wracking question. The hooded men remained silent like dolls in the corner, waiting for them to finish their discussion.

"What if …," Nefastus broke the silence, "there's no need for me to choose?"

Avarus leaned back on his chair and looked down at his daughter.

"Hm?"

"I mean … that human - Zeid," Nefastus pointed at the figurine of a man with brown hair and green eyes, "He's coming for his lover, right?"

"Yes, that is correct. I see that you know him".

"He was supposed to be dead since I tried to kill him and brought his lover here".

"Yes, and now, he wants to rescue her".

"Do you know who his lover is?"

At this question, Avarus tilted his head. "No but … does it even matter?"

"I know who it is!" Nefastus saw a light of hope for her proposal.

"And who might it be?" curious, her father asked.

"It's Rania! The National Treasure who died!"

"Aww, what a pity. It seems he will be coming here for nothing," Avarus shrugged.

"Yes, he will be coming for nothing! But … not for us!"

Hearing those last words, Avarus' lips curved into an evil smirk.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" his laughter echoed inside the whole room. "You are indeed my daughter, Nefastus!"