She was a little shorter than Raziah, and she had the face and skin of a newborn baby. She was putting on a small cloak that stopped right around her lower back, and most of her hair was hidden inside the head of the cloak.
She ran past Raziah with her little legs, entirely focused on her destination as she came to a fast halt right before Fabia, trying to catch her breath.
"W...where is Caius? I...Oh God, tell me he is with you guys!" She crouched down, still trying to feed more air into her lungs.
"I’m sure he would be fine. They’re gonna bring him back soon," Maria replied calmly even though she looked very worried herself.
"Why would someone target him? Caius is just a child...!" Fabia uttered to herself, throwing her head back. Her right leg had been vibrating like crazy ever since, and Raziah had just arrived where the women sat.
"You shouldn’t worry too much. Malcolm would make sure nothing happens to him," She reassured again, while Aletta gazed at Raziah with wonder shimmering in her eyes. She was still trying to recall where she had seen the woman even before she kept her sleeping that day.
"I’m pretty sure his kidnappers aren’t human like Malcolm. Do you think he..."
"I’m sure Felix wouldn’t have allowed Malcolm to accompany him if he didn’t know what Malcolm was capable of," The second the words left Raziah’s lips, she furrowed her eyebrows. Huh? Isn’t this the first time Malcolm and Felix are meeting?! Why do they already seem to trust each other so much? It was surprising.
"What could they possibly want with Caius?!" She cried again.
"How did you find out that they opened a gate through that pillar?" Maria whispered this time, and the whole of them glanced at the particular block of wall she was talking about while Raziah simply shook her head at them.
"Let’s find him first, okay?"
"Coal!!!" Zoan’s loud voice filled the room as he sauntered inside looking like the owner of the place. Everyone turned to him, and the first thing they all noticed after the anger overflowing from his eyes were the fingerprints on his left cheek.
Aletta’s face turned pale and just wished there was a hole for her to crawl into. She might or might have not subconsciously given him a hot slap while they were still talking when she realized she saw Caius walking up to the door holding some dishes back then while she was still hanging around the double doors, but then she had taken her eyes off him to wander about the room. She had become so scared because he never got over to her side, and that was when she had accidentally slapped Zoan away from her and scrambled out of the room.
"You’re coal?!" Fabia and Maria asked again in unison when they saw him now glaring daggers at her.
"Help me get rid of him, please!" She pleaded.
"Come with me, I know a way," Raziah spoke all of a sudden, and the three women whipped their heads at her. She had already started walking up to him, and Aletta shivered on her feet as she followed closely behind.
Stopping right in front of Zoan, she stated, "It’s your fault we all took our eyes off the child. Your dramatic entrance, and asking me out to dance had everyone watching us, and of course, the kidnappers took that as an advantage to take the poor kid." She took a menacing step closer to him, while Aletta just kept peeking from behind her, "The pillar right behind you is a gateway. Two of our men are already in there, and you’ll help us get him back,"
"Are you...?"
"If you do it," Raziah reached out and dragged Aletta to stand in front of her. She squirmed under the suffocating eyes of Zoan, "I’ll convince her for you,"
Zoan and Aletta whirled in shock. What did she just say?
"She was the woman you kept glaring at during our dance, right?" She asked again. "Here’s the deal. It’s all your fault, now do it!"
"What sort of deal is that?" Zoan watched her closely.
"It’s a deal that benefits everyone involved. You help get back the kid, and she would agree to your demands,"
Aletta shook her head fervently at the Princess with a small whisper, "He wants to court me, I don’t want that!"
"What are your true intentions?" Raziah looked up at the Prince.
"I need her to confirm something...very important!" As he said so, He took a sharp look at his little brother whom might or might not have been eavesdropping on all their conversation.
"And you? What is stopping you from saying yes?" The Princess looked at Aletta again.
"Why should I?" She gritted out.
"Right. Why should she?" Raziah turned to him again.
"If she does, I might consider saving the kid,"
"And if you do, she will definitely say yes,"
"That doesn’t..."
"All of you were supposed to keep your eyes on the kid, right? I’ll assume since you weren’t at the party this whole time, you were supposed to watch him whenever he steps out of this hall. But you all failed, and now he is in danger. Do you really think this is the time for negotiation? I’m sure Zoan would forgive you for whatever you did to his face if you just agreed. Don’t worry, I’ll keep my eyes on the both of you," Raziah was now referring to Aletta again.
Aletta shook her head again, begging with her dovey eyes.
"Yes, it’s pretty clear you were the one that slapped him with the way he looks like he’s about to murder you. If you say yes, I’m sure he would spare your life, and also help us get the kid. We don’t know what we are up against. I trust Malcolm and Felix and I know they’re strong, but they might need backup. We could be running out of time here,"
Now Aletta was in a very bad position. Her lips trembled as she slowly faced Zoan again...and nodded.
"I didn’t get that," Zoan smirked wickedly.
"I...agree." she bit her lips.
"Good girl," He tipped her chin upwards, "And now, there’s no turning back," His eyes drilled into hers with such a powerful gaze, and then he was gone in the blink of an eye.
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