Ex-Queen

Ariana woke up with a severe headache. The first thing she saw was a blonde lock of hair.

"Ah! ... huh?"

When she sat up rubbing her forehead, she found herself in a huge, lavish room. Looking at the chic furnishings, the canopy and silk ornaments hanging everywhere, nothing familiar greeted her back.

"Maybe… my soul transmigrated on to another novel?"

Her fingers ran through her shoulder-length blond hair. She saw a huge mirror in one corner of the room. She slowly got out of bed, then walked over in her blue silk nightgown.

"Oh…"

Although her hair color was different, the same pair of violet eyes greeted her back.

"No … I'm still Ariana."

She remarked as Jerome's trademarks flashed from under the fine fabric. They were only faintly visible… but she knew exactly, this is the body the king loved so much. As she touched one of the spots on her reflection, the door suddenly opened.

"I see you woke up. You must be hungry… "

A huge Creole-skinned man with brown hair and eyes entered, signaling to the staff with a click.

She hadn't seen stranger men in years, so she was so surprised by the sight of the stranger, that she also forgot how thin the dress was.

5 maids immediately appeared with trays containing delicious food and drinks. They were also set at a smaller table where two chairs were waiting to be occupied. The man sat down at the table and pointed to the free space with a smile.

Her stomach rumbled then, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in more than a day.

"Oh .. yes, thank you!"

She sat down blushing.

"Good appetite!"

She said politely and then started eating.

The man watched her with a satisfied grin on his face, elbowing on the table as she stuffed the bites into herself.

"Does your head still hurt?"

He finally asked.

"Just a little…"

She answered, then suddenly something flashed. About a masked man as he strikes her… Recalling the memory interrupted the meal.

"How can I still be alive?"

She asked incomprehensibly.

"Well… a person hardly dies in a blow to the neck… you just fainted…"

The man remarked as he leaned back.

"It was you, wasn't it? The assassin. "

The flash of a snow-white teeht was equal with a positive response.

"The maids… did you spare their lives ?!"

She asked desperately.

The man laughed.

"You are a really interesting human, Ariana Tia Vanderberg. People usually, when theystand face to face with death … beg for their own lives, not for the anonymous, insignificant lives of noone… "

He poured himself from the wine on the table.

"And now… that you realized what happened… isn't your first question why? But do the maids live? "

He grinned, then sipped his drink.

"And they are alive?"

She asked again.

"I spared their lives, yes."

"Thank goodness!"

She calmed down, and then buried her face in the palm of her hand.

After a few seconds, she collected herself, then smiled and asked another question.

"To whom can I owe my life?"

"Hahahaha"

By then, tears welled up in the man's eyes.

"Are you serious about this now? From the man who nailed his sword to your throat a 2 days ago? "

"Given that you didn't cut my throat… and we're currently eating at a table in luxury… Yes."

The answer was to the stranger's liking.

"Gideon, my name is Gideon."

"Gideon ?! You mean… the Hertian king Gideon? "

She was utterly astonished — she would never have expected this — though the fact that she discovered traces of a completely different culture in the furnishings of the room explained that she was in another country.

"You got it right Queen… Oh, sorry. I mean, ex-queen… since the Queen of Predin was buried today. "

He pulled down the remaining drink as Ariana turned pale for a moment.

'Today… was my funeral? '