She Belongs To The Devil

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The dinner ended on a happy note. Everyone was genuinely happy for Kenneth as well as Damien.

And as if it was a ritual, the young generation–except Victoria–gathered in the room Ariel was staying in.

"Tell us more." Zach was giving a puppy-eyed look to Kenneth even when Kenneth had finished saying everything there was to say back at the dining hall.

He gave an awkward laugh and said while squeezing between Grace and Ramon, "There's nothing more to say, Zach. I've already told you everything."

"Tsk…" Zach frowned and went to pester Damien as Kenneth wasn't talking anymore.

Kenneth noticed how the two people on either side were giving longing glances to each other but for some reason, he didn't want to get up and change his seat. He felt the need to protect Grace even when he knew that Ramon didn't have bad intentions towards his cousin.

"So, what did you all do when Damien and I weren't here?" He asked Grace in an attempt to make small talk and divert her attention away from Ramon.

Grace sighed, knowing full well what Kenneth was up to. However, she did answer him without showing any hint of bitterness in her voice.

"At first we were just worried about you two since you both were half vampires traveling in the werewolf territory. But later on, Ariel's dad reassured us that you both would be safe. And then Joyce took us to show some famous places around the capital. We also made some purchases for souvenirs and tried new foods. That's about it."

"That's great." Kenneth nodded his head and then asked while looking in the direction of Ariel and Joyce, "Did Ariel enjoy herself? I hope she had a good time."

"Why don't you go and ask her yourself? They are planning to leave for Wyverndale tomorrow you know…"

Kenneth's heartbeat increased rapidly when he heard that. This was news to him. "What do you mean they are leaving tomorrow? I thought we were going to stay here for a few more days and travel back together."

Grace looked visibly saddened when she replied. "Ariel's dad said that it was still too dangerous for Ariel to be outside Wyverndale. So, they are ending the trip early. He said he will teleport them back home."

Kenneth's heart suddenly felt heavy at the news. He wasn't ready to part with his friends yet, but he understood Theodore's concern for his daughter. It was a miracle that he even allowed Ariel to come back after what happened with Michael.

"Ken… Hey… Ken…"

Kenneth could hear Grace's voice but it kept on gradually disappearing in the background. He only returned to reality when he suddenly felt a light push from Grace. "Hmm?" he raised his brows at her.

Grace shook her head and repeated once again, "I said go and talk to Ariel. I think she also wants to talk to you."

Kenneth followed Grace's gaze and realized that Ariel was looking at him from the other side of the room. When he saw that, his feet automatically dragged him in her direction as if they had a mind of their own.

"Hey!" Ariel smiled at him and patted the seat beside her. "Will you sit with me? I was hoping we could talk for a while."

Kenneth quietly sat by Ariel's side. He didn't know what to talk about so he remained quiet until Ariel took the initiative to start the conversation.

"I'm happy that you reunited with your mother."

"Me too."

After a few awkward seconds, Ariel threw a question at Kenneth. "So, have you given any thought about what you are going to do with Scarlett? I mean… will you take her to the castle with you or are you simply going to visit her every once in a while?"

"Honestly, I haven't thought that far yet. I have yet to register it in my mind that I finally found her. I think we both will need some time before thinking that far." Kenneth had yet to share this newfound information with his parents who raised him as their own. He had yet to sort out a lot of things like the feelings of everyone involved.

Ariel nodded her head in understanding.

"I heard that you all are leaving tomorrow." Kenneth suddenly blurted out.

Ariel could see Kenneth's changing aura. She could tell that it was affecting Kenneth a lot. "It hasn't been decided yet. Dad suggested we do that but…" She gulped and said while looking at Kenneth's face, "I don't think it is right to just leave you and Grace in the middle of the trip. I will ask my dad to at least let us travel back together to Brenalia."

"It's alright. You don't have to jeopardize your security for my and Grace's sake. We can travel back home on our own." Although Kenneth didn't want to travel back home without everyone's company, he didn't want to be selfish.

Ariel simply smiled and said, "We started this trip together, so it is only fair that we end it together. And you arranged this trip for my sake. How could I just disappear without making sure that my host was back home safe and sound?"

Kenneth felt a rush of bittersweet emotion in his heart upon seeing Ariel's sweet smile. He wished he could spend more time with her just so he could keep seeing this sweet side of her–the side that she had started to show to him very recently.

Before he could think properly, a few words slipped out of his mouth. "I wish I had forced you to come on this trip months ago."

Realizing what he just said, he quickly jumped up from the seat and then nervously laughed while pointing at Grace and Ramon who were sitting too close to each other now. "They would have been married by now if I had."

Ariel only gave him a sad smile. She wasn't a fool to not understand what Kenneth truly meant. In her heart, she hoped that Kenneth would get over her soon.

After Kenneth left Ariel's side to go and talk to Joyce and Vlad, Damien came and sat on Kenneth's spot.

He took Ariel's hand in his and gently rubbed his thumb on her knuckles. He was also thinking the same thing as Ariel. He wished that Kenneth would heal from Ariel's rejection sooner. He didn't want things to be awkward between the three of them for too long.

"Oh, right!" Damien suddenly turned his head to look at Ariel's face and announced, "I met Silvia."

"What?" Ariel was happily surprised. "You met her?"

Damien almost jumped back when Nylah shouted right in front of his face, "Where? How?"

He craned his neck backward and answered Nylah's question. "In the forest. I collided with her when I was running after something."

"What were you after?" Ariel asked worriedly while Nylah made herself comfortable by Damien's other side. She was eager to hear about her little cousin.

"I was after a few werewolves." Damien recounted back to the event that led him to bump into Silvia. Zach had also joined them when Damien was halfway through the story.

After Damien finished retelling his short encounter with Silvia, Zach excitedly asked Damien, "I heard that she got her wolf. Did you get to see her wolf form?"

Damien nodded. "Yes. She had white fur with a few brown patches. And I am still surprised by one thing. She recognized me by my scent even when I was using the invisibility spell."

"She always had a keen nose," Nylah replied proudly.

After talking some more about Silvia, Damien looked at Ariel and said in a somewhat guilty tone, "I think Silvia and everyone in Aberdeen will be waiting for our arrival. I had said that we were visiting Brenalia and Romania. She sounded sad that she couldn't join us. So... I might have suggested to her that we would visit them while returning from this trip.

I'm sorry I blurted it out to her without thinking and gave her false hope."

Zach also turned sad upon hearing that. "I wish we could visit her."

Not just Zach, Ariel, and Nylah also felt the same way.

"I will talk with my dad and see if we can make a quick stop at Aberdeen," Ariel mumbled after a while.

She knew that her fate was about to be the same as before–getting restricted within the boundaries of Wyverndale. So, before stepping her feet inside the barrier, she wanted to visit Aberdeen.

Nylah cleared her throat and suggested, "We could travel back to Brenalia in our carriages; and after bidding our goodbyes to Kenneth, we can teleport to Aberdeen before teleporting back to Wyverndale."

"That sounds good. I will talk to my dad and see if he agrees." Ariel got up and left the room in a hurry. She wanted to discuss it with her dad before he made plans of his own.