Kaari woke up in a daze in a dark, unfamiliar room that wasn't hers. The first thing she noticed was her incapability to remember anything that happened before she got her. Nothing felt familiar to her except for a longing sadness for something.
'Right, I have to tend to grandfather.' She suddenly remembered, hurrying out of bed. 'I'm sure he's bored out of his mind without anyone to talk to.'
A commotion from the opposite direction managed to distract her from her initial task. The curiosity got the best of her when she decided to investigate. As she got closer, she met several of the servants running the opposite direction. She tried to get them to stop so she could ask what was happening but each time she got ignored.
'How odd.' She thought, slowly starting to feel uneasy. 'Varen must be having his temper tantrums again. Maybe it's best I head back the way I came from.'
Just when she turned to head back the way she came from, a servant trying to escape bumped into her, making her fall to the ground.
"Great way to start the day." She said to herself as she tried to stand back up. Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming from behind her.
"Wouldn't it be smarter to run when you see everyone else doing the same?" An unfamiliar voice erupted out of the deafening silence. The voice was must closer to her than she had initially thought. She froze in her tracks, unable to move nor speak.
The coppery smell of fresh blood sent chills down her spine when she realized just what predicament she had placed herself in.
"The usual reaction I see in humans when they meet me is to faint in shock." Lex managed to crack a sick joke at the horrified human. "Are you human? Or are you just different from the ones I've met?"
The footsteps continued and this time it was towards the front, stopping directly in front of Kaari. She instinctively closed her eyes shut, refusing to look as it would definitely make her faint like the man said.
"D-Do you always talk to your prey, I wonder?" Kaari stammered as she spoke, her eyes shut closed as she was far too scared to look at the Roseabelle.
"It's more like talking to myself since they're already dead by the time I get to them." He answered her question honestly. "Though, this is a first time they've answered back."
Lex was amused by the questions this girl was asking, it was a first time in a while he had a proper conversation with a human and he wanted more. It made a good distraction from all the anger pent up inside him.
"Open your eyes, child." Lex ordered; his husky voice was demanding yet merciful. "Don't you know its rude to avoid looking at someone you're talking to?"
'He's definitely going to kill me as soon as I open them.' Kaari trembled in fear, squeezing her eyes shut.
"I won't kill you... not yet." He answered her thoughts, again with that gentle voice. "You've somehow managed to intrigue me so open your eyes while I'm asking nicely."
'C... can he read minds?!' She thought in a panic, her heart beating violently against her chest. 'Oh gods, please help me.'
"I'm still waiting." The voice was now coming from right in front of her. She noticed there was a slight humor in his tone when he spoke to her that sent shivers down her spine.
'This monster must find this weak human so pathetic.' She thought, starting to tremble slightly out of fear.
After much hesitation, Kaari finally mustered up enough courage to do as she was told, slowly opening her eyes. She imagined a horrifying sight of a face splattered in blood, a man looking at her with hungry eyes, ready to kill her. Instead, the face in front of her was exceptionally... beautiful.
She had never seen the man before in her life and was mesmerized by his unreal beauty. His jet-black hair was wild and unmanaged, as if the wind had played with it before he got into the palace. He appeared human, but something about his beauty seemed far too ethereal to be the case.
The smell of blood became stronger now that he was closer to her and it was in fact coming from his clothing, mainly his massive black coat. The tailorship of his coat was something Kaari's never seen before, the intricate craftsmanship was made with bold and flawless colors that were now unfortunately tainted by blood. The material of the coat seemed to illuminate under the light of the candles ever so often, like the calm breathing of a creature in slumber.
Lex's stare felt intense to Kaari as he continued to look at her without saying a word, his green eyes were almost iridescent from Kaari's point of view. The intensity of it caused the human's face to burn in embarrassment even though it strangely captivated her, almost like a spell. She noticed something stir in his eyes like a wild animal trying desperately to remain in control of its sanity.
Lex was equally interested in her as she was of him. The figure in front of him was petite and weak but her eyes showed a determination that he never saw in a human before. Her silver eyes didn't suit the feebleness that her body displayed; they appeared too pensive, as if she was mourning a loved one's death.
It was far too alluring.
'I guess humans can look like this too.' He thought, admitting her beauty though it was unbeknownst to him.
Kaari's long, wavy hair covered most of her face, but it complimented her slim body well. Lex never really liked longer hair on women, but this human seemed to be an exception for some reason.
There was fear in the way she looked at him, but it slowly dissipated once Kaari realized Lex had no intentions of killing her. She was still in her nightwear, a long white silk dress that came down to her ankles. It was far too sheer for his liking as he tried his best to not let his gaze go any lower than her exposed neck.
"You." Lex pointed at her, tilting his head in curiosity. "What's your name?"
"... Kaari." She whispered quietly but loud enough for him to hear.
"Do you belong to this place?" He asked while offering his hand to the princess.
Though hesitant, Kaari accepted his help, his strong arms managing to lift her to her feet in one smooth motion. She seemed way too taken care of just to be a mere servant, her rosy skin was smooth and supple as he held her fragile hands in his which were rough and calloused that developed from centuries of handling weapons.
"I am the princess of Imnolyn." She answered despite still feeling unsafe around this mysterious man. "You can say I go back and forth this place and my home because of my grandfather."
'Now it makes sense.' He had his suspicions on her identity, but his recollections were foggy due to it being integrated with Kaiden's own memory.
"I believe this is my sign to leave." He said, letting go of her hand before he looked at her one final time. "I'll let you go alive but under one condition. Are you willing to listen?"
"It doesn't seem like I have much of a choice, do I?" She replied with a disappointed look, earning a smile from Lex.
"You took the words right out of my mouth." He smiled, satisfied with the human's obedience.
"Whatever you do, our meeting must stay a secret. Not even the emperor can figure out we met; do you understand?" He urged, pointing to the direction where she came from. "Or else, they'll think of you as my accomplice. And that will definitely not end well for you."
"I pray that we never meet again, Princess." He warned with that same sick sense of humor, although he seemed more serious this time around. "Because there's no guaranteed that I'll spare you the second time around."
With that he was gone, leaving Kaari all alone in the dark corridors of the palace. It wasn't long before more reinforcements arrived by her side, including Varen himself. As promised, Kaari feigned ignorance when she was questioned but Varen knew she was lying. He had made it back to Exousia just a minute too late, the damage was already done.
However, even with the crimes he committed, Varen needed Lex alive to get Zeya back. Nox had already left to go to Stygia to alert Zeya's comrades, it seemed like this was starting to become a larger issue than he wanted.
"I thought I made it clear that she must be kept asleep when I am gone." He whispered to Ezra, who had his head bowed in regret.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. It had slipped my mind to have her checked on." He apologized.
"Get her back into the room." Varen ordered, deeply upset by the current event that was unfolding. "She's the last thing I need to deal with right now."
Before she could protest, a heavy sense of tiredness hit Kaari out of nowhere, knocking her out completely. Carefully, she was carried back into the room where she slept until Varen saw it fit for her to wake up.
The damage Lex had left behind was larger than Varen ever thought was possible. He had taken Zeya's warning far too lightly and now, he had to pay the hefty price. His main priority now was to ensure Zeya was brought back safely, otherwise both of them were going to pay the price of breaching the contract.
Fortunately for everyone, Lex was already on his way to the shadow realm with a new resolution. His anger was still very much alive despite having went on a killing spree, so he needed to get it dealt with to move on.
He needed to get gain back the control of what was his and in order to do that, anyone that challenged him had to be eradicated. He couldn't help but smile at the thought.