Chapter 11 Midnight Stroll

I released Selena and smiled like nothing happened.

She was standing there. Completely paralyzed. In fear or in shock, I don't know which one. The 5 guards who were standing around and looking at us seemed to be confused, probably because they didn't hear our conversation.

Now I'm gonna ruin her life and the best part is that even if she tries to tell everyone I set this up no one will believe her. She's gonna be the bitch that cried wolf. One of the perks of being the idiot prince!

The 5 guards immediately surrounded her to protect her from whatever she was afraid of and a few sent death glares at me.

"What did you just say to her?!" One of the brave guards, I assume her personal guard as he looks to be around our 23 and seemed a lot stronger than the others, asked me.

"I just said that it isn't not polite to speak of the dead. I didn't appreciate the fact she brought up my dead mother. Why? Is that wrong of me to say?" I replied innocently.

"Kugh. No, that's not wrong." The guard whose name tag read Patrick, replied. He almost sounded defeated by my response.

"Then is that everything?" I asked politely.

Selena, in an attempt to save face, stood tall, though she was still lightly shaking. "Yes. I shall take my leave now."

"Bye, bye~!" I waved at her back as she walked away.

I watched and waited for her to leave. The second the door closed behind her a laugh rang out from my side.

"HAHHAHA! I think she pissed herself!" Luna seems to have really enjoyed the spectacle.

I smiled in anticipation. "I'm gonna have to start moving soon. I wanna get this done before the big banquet next month."

"Wait, don't tell me you're actually gonna follow through with all that??"

"Of course I am. I'm gonna make her life a living hell for what she did."

I wonder if Luna's gonna hate me now? I should be fine with her personality but maybe she'll be freaked out and quit. That would suck, then I'd have to find a new maid, plus I'm really starting to warm up to her.

"Bahahaha! Let's fuckin' do this. I'm really starting to like you Artemis." She enthusiastically called out.

"Hmm? You're really not freaked out? Not gonna call me a psychopath?" I hummed in amusement.

"No way! I feel like I've finally met someone who isn't some pushover pussy. I wanna join in. Let me help you out a little." She eagerly asked.

"Hahaha! I really found a good little maid."

Luna's face contorted into the same twisted smile I saw yesterday. The one that had made my heart pound.

"Oh, you have no idea, pretty boy~. I'm about to rock your world."

Her seductive voice rang in my ears and left me with one thought. This is gonna be fucking fun.

I can't wait.

…

At night.

The castle was finally asleep as the moon was towering over the sky with the sun hiding away.

The moonlight shone on two figures who appeared in an alleyway out of a bright white light.

"Spatial magic really is useful." Luna commented from within her large cloak with a hood on.

"Pretty much the only magic use anymore." I replied absentmindedly.

"Really? I thought you would love magic."

"Meh. It's convenient but I can't say it's the be all and end all for me."

"Is that so?... Why are we here anyway? You just told me to follow you."

I pulled out a few papers from a pocket dimension I had and waved them around.

"I figured I'd pay a little visit to someone. It's about time I started gaining a little more power on my home turf. Plus, this is the first step in my plan to fuck Selena over."

We walked out of the alleyway that we arrived in and onto the main street. All the stands were closed for the day and the lights were shut off. The paved road only slightly illuminated by the moon's reflection of light.

I always did like the night time. The annoying people are sleeping and it brings out a feeling of calm and peace. Plus the cool air feels nice on my skin and the stars paint a beautiful tapestry in the sky.

A bright gold shining reflection caught my eye as Luna held her hand at a certain angle. That reminds me.

"What's with the ring?" I posed an innocent seeming question.

Luna tensed up for a moment before trying to play it cool.

"Nothing!" She yelled out.

She really sucked at playing it cool sometimes.

I smirked and reached out for it slowly. Before I could get within a few inches of it Luna pulled her hand away.

"It's my precious ring." She growled and glared at me, accusatorily.

I raised my hands in defense. "Okay Gollum! Calm your tits."

"It's my last memento from my mom. The only thing she left me other than my life." She started to elaborate.

"Sorry to hear that. But, I do have a question about it."

"...sure."

"Alright, I've always been curious. Can you turn into something non-human?"

"What?"

"Like a dog or cat or maybe a goblin or something. Maybe a bird."

"Are you high? I don't think there is any magic for that." She raised an eyebrow like I was an idiot.

"Oh c'mon princess. I already know what the ring does. It's shapeshifting. Why do you think all the king's look so sexy in their paintings? You think they all stayed in perfect shape until their 60's?" I tried to get her to drop the façade.

"If there really was this mysterious ring that could make you look like anything then why does your dad look like an ugly bastard?!"

"... He sold it. Actually, possibly to your mother."

"He sold it? He sold one of these rings?! Does he not understand how valuable they are?" She called out in shock.

"Aha, so you admit their value."

"... You're really annoying. You know that?"

"So I've been told."

"Well, I know your dad didn't sell this to my mom. My mom got it from somewhere else…"

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked as I kicked a rock across the road with my hands clasped behind my head.

"Well, not much of a story. But here you go. Once upon a time, 6 years ago. There was a beautiful princess who lived in a large castle-"

"I don't know if I'd say beautiful. More like mediocre." I interjected.

I swiftly received a chop to the top of my head. Well, I kinda deserved that one.

She continued on with her story.

"There was a BEAUTIFUL princess who lived in a large castle. She was sick and tired of living like a bird in a cage and having no free will. It turns out, her mother felt the same way. She had married the king when they were young out of love for one another but after a while he became a cheater who was still possessive and obsessive of her. He would lock the princess and queen in their rooms and keep them out of touch with many people. Only high ranking nobles were allowed to witness them when they had a banquet or a meeting in the throne room when the queen's presence was required..."

She looked up to the sky for a moment before continuing on.

"...The princesses mother had finally had enough. One night she snuck into her daughters room to leave. Luckily the princess was actually a master of sneaking around as she had snuck out many times before without being caught once. The two of them made their way out of the kingdom. No one had even noticed their escape until the next day. They traveled for months in search of anywhere else to live, however they got stuck in the forest as they were lost and neither had any experience camping or traveling..."

She smiled, likely reminiscing about her own foolishness for running into a forest without any experience.

"...They made due in the forest, the princess who had always been good at fighting learned how to hunt and kill. She actually started to enjoy scavenging for food and hunting down her prey. Then after a year of hard life in the forest. Misfortune struck. The two were going about their day like usual when all of a sudden a dragon appeared. Like a full fledged four legged fire breathing dragon with wings. It soared down and charged at the girl's mother. She tried her best to fight it, but she had only just recently mastered regular aura. She stood no chance. She was just... too weak..."

Luna's face fell in frustration. I pretended not to notice anything wrong and let her have a few seconds to collect herself. Then she continued on.

"...She was injured badly by one of the dragon's claws and forced to watch as the dragon attacked her mother. H-h-her mother got hit badly, and wasn't gonna make it. But instead of despairing for her lost life in her final moments. The queen instead hugged her daughter tightly with a bloody smile on her face and gave her one last gift... This ring..."

Luna looked down at her hand with watery eyes. She took a deep breath and continued on.

"...It was the queen's wedding ring when she got married to the king and she had kept it all this time, even when he treated her like shit. You know the worse part? When she went to take off the ring to give it to her daughter her appearance was exposed. She looked no different without the magic except for one thing, her body was filled with scars and marks all over. It turns out that shitty ass king had been beating and torturing his own wife. I just I-I J-just."

Tears started streaming down her soft cheeks. I wrapped one arm around her shoulders and brought her in tight for a side hug.

"It's alright. Take a second. We got all night."

"T-Thanks." She sniffled.

We stayed in the same position for a few minutes before she wrapped both arms around me and squirmed into my chest. I brought in my other arm as well for a real hug which lasted at least a full minute.

By the time she pulled away she had a completely different expression on her face.

The next words that left her lips sounded so forceful, it felt like a promise.

She clenched her fists so tight that blood started to drip.

"I WILL kill him."