ᴍʏ ɢᴜᴀʀᴅɪᴀɴ ᴀɴɢᴇʟ | ᴢᴇʟᴅʀɪꜱ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇɪɢʜᴛ

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"ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʙʟᴀᴍᴇ ᴍᴇ, ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴍᴇ ᴄʀᴀᴢʏ. 

ɪꜰ ɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴ'ᴛ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴀɪɴ'ᴛ ᴅᴏɪɴ' ɪᴛ ʀɪɢʜᴛ." 

ᴛᴀʏʟᴏʀ ꜱᴡɪꜰᴛ

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"Princess (Y/n)?" one of the Demon maids gingerly calls out to me when I remain silent. "You're unusually very quiet this evening. Is...everything alright? Are you perhaps hungry, my lady?"

"Why would she be hungry?" one of the other maids says incredulously. "She already had dinner before meeting Prince Zeldris on the balcony. My lady, are you maybe—Oh I see. Prince Zeldris."

All of the maids start cooing at this name and my cheeks immediately heat up, my eyes widening slightly when I remember what the youngest son of the Supreme Deity told me just an hour ago.

There won't be any other but me.

You said that the moment I entered this kingdom I was yours. 

I claim this promise now, Princess (Y/n).

Keep fighting and surviving for both of our sakes. 

You claimed me and I'll do the same because nothing will stop me from making you mine.

Foreign fingers gently dig into my hair, massaging my scalp, so I let out a satisfied sigh and close my eyes when I feel warm water start to rush down my face, falling onto the rest of my body. 

"Do you actually like it when we wash your hair, my lady?" one of the maids asks me curiously.

"You guys wash my hair better than I do," I admit gruffly. "If you don't want to, I can just—"

"No, my lady!" most of them quickly cry out at this. "We're honoured we can do this for you!"

Chuckling at their sudden reactions, I then tilt my head back as the maids continue to wash my hair and make sure that none of the water gets into my eyes. I shrug my shoulders as the warm water rushes down my back into the mass of water surrounding me in the tub I'm in right now.

After the cursed Goddess made his...confession, he immediately let go of me, his face bright red, his jade-green eyes wide with horror, before rushing off the balcony and leaving me alone. Not knowing what to say or do, I simply stood in silence, blushing as his words took over my mind.

In the end, some of the Demon maids came to check up on me after a while since they saw my best friend rushing to his bedroom, completely flustered and distracted. They were all rather bewildered when they called out to him and he ignored them since he usually always responds when called. But once he was in his room, he slammed the door shut and refused to come out.

"My lady, I think we're done here," one of the maids tells me softly so I open my eyes and take a towel from another maid, wrapping it around myself. "We have a new outfit ready for you."

"Thank you," I say gratefully as I swiftly step out of the tub and then head over to the next room where my bed and desk are. "Oh wow, look at that. This is a wonderful dress. Thank you, ladies."

"It's absolutely no problem, my lady," one of the maids says with a pleased smile. "Try it on."

While the maids distract themselves with tidying my room, I dry myself and put the new outfit on, smiling. Once I'm done, I twirl around, the new fabric brushing against the skin of my legs.

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(𝗬/𝗻)'𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗳𝗶𝘁

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗔𝗔𝟮𝟵.

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"How does it look?" I ask everyone and they all immediately nod their heads approvingly.

"You look beautiful as always, Princess (Y/n)," the maid closest to me says with a happy smirk.

"Thank you," I say with a giggle, twirling around one more time. "I appreciate your time, ladies."

"Of course, my lady," all the maids say at the same time, respectfully bowing their heads to me.

"How is Lenora doing?" I question curiously and they all share nervous looks with one another.

"Lenora had...one of her phases again," a maid answers me nervously when none of the others speaks up, each one of them anxiously and silently staring at me. "She refused to eat anything or say anything to any of us. So we left some food for her and we're hoping she'll eat later on."

"Just give her time," I say firmly, crossing my arms over my chest. "She will eventually, ladies."

"Princess (Y/n), may I ask you a personal question?" I hear a maid behind me ask timidly and to my surprise, I see many of the others shooting her very panicked and opposing looks.

Slowly turning around, I say quietly, "Your name is Runa, isn't it? Correct me if I'm wrong."

"It is, my lady," she confirms while her tanned hands nervously grip the hems of her dress. "What will happen when the Demon Queen finds out about the youngest son of the Supreme Deity?"

"Runa," I hear some of the maids breathe out her name in dread but I raise my hand for silence.

"I want you to be very honest with me right now, Runa," I tell the young Demon as I tilt my head to the side, eyes focused. "Do you believe the Demon Queen is a fair ruler to all of our people?"

Sharp crimson red eyes in front of me widen in fear before the stuttered response comes, "My—My lady, sh—should you really be as—asking me about this? Is th—this really ap—appropriate?"

"You are free to speak," I tell her, dipping my head. "Whatever is said in this room, stays here."

Nodding her head, it takes a couple of seconds before Runa says, "Everything was quite difficult when our Queen was living in the Demon realm with us but it became a bit more bearable once she was forced to relocate to Purgatory because of her magical powers. But we've always lived in fear because all our Queen ever cared about was bringing down the other races of Britannia. My lady, your mother keeps us together but I believe you are the one who can make us stronger."

Taking in her words, I slowly nod my head at this statement, exhaling heavily through my nose. When Runa doesn't go on, I just nod my head again and then give her a very small smile.

"I don't really care what happens to me anymore," I admit to those who are present and I hear several shocked gasps as I turn my gaze to the stone floor. "If there are some here who are loyal to my mother, I don't care if you decide to expose me once you leave this room. So I'm just going to say what's on my mind right now: I despise my mother with every fibre of my being."

It's only now I realise that my breathing has become laboured, my mind filled with indescribable rage and wrath, my teeth gritted dangerously, my fingernails painfully digging into my palms.

"Princess Gelda of the Vampire race, the only child of King Izraf," I say with a trembling voice as my skin all over my body starts to tingle, "was one of my best friends during the Holy War."

"Princess Gelda?" some of the maids breathe in astonishment and I close my eyes at this.

"When King Izraf rebelled against our race, my mother ordered me to execute the whole Vampire clan," I start to explain my story that I've not told anyone for a very long time. "But I just couldn't do it in the end. So I decided to seal them all away, including my best friend. When I returned a couple of days later to where I sealed them, I discovered my mother had slaughtered everyone."

"Oh, my lady," one of the maids whimpers when I open my eyes, my tears blinding me entirely.

"My mother had Gelda by the throat with her magic when I got there," I go on, my voice cracking. "And she told me that she was disappointed and disgusted in me because I cared more about a single Vampire than our people. But I didn't care what she was saying to me. All I could do was just watch my best friend who was struggling in the hands of the cruel monster that created me."

Frightened blood-red eyes, quivering pale hands, ripped clothing, blood splattered everywhere.

Large tears that have built up in my eyes threaten to spill over my cheeks as I say quietly, "I tried to use my magic to stop my mother but I was rendered powerless so I started to run to them and I could clearly hear Gelda's last words to me. With such a sweet smile on her face, she said—"

I love you so much, (Y/n). Remember, this wasn't your fault. Don't ever give up. I love you—

Swallowing the growing bile in my throat, my hearts aching terribly, I say very weakly, "She said she loved me and to never give up. And then my mother ripped her head off right in front of me."

Horrified sounds echo loudly around me and this is the moment the tears come streaming down my face but I do absolutely nothing to stop them. I just let the tears cool down my heated skin.

"Gelda hadn't drunk any blood for a week so there was no way she could regenerate from that," I say, legs trembling. "She was too weak for that. And I was too weak and pathetic to save her."

"Our Queen told us that King Izraf tried to overtake our realm and that's why she killed the whole Vampire race," Runa says very slowly while shaking her head in disbelief. "So she lied to us about that. I mean, if that's the case, then what else has the Demon Queen lied about to us?"

"Wait a second," a different maid says with suspicion and the other maids immediately turn to look at her. "My lady, that day you and your older siblings went to Purgatory...did our Queen—"

"My older brother's injuries that day were because of my mother's punishment," I confess and I sigh when I see many stunned expressions on the faces of the young Demons surrounding me. "Levi took the blame that day and he was the one who faced my mother's abhorrent wrath."

"His injuries were devastating," Runa chokes. "Our Queen told us it was because of Purgatory—"

"I know," I say weakly. "I know. That was just one of the many things my mother lied about."

"Oh Princess (Y/n)," a different maid says with great sorrow and despair. "Oh, my lady."

"Prince Zeldris, the youngest son of the Supreme Deity, was my other best friend," I blurt out and I blink in bafflement when I see soft and knowing smiles on everyone's faces. "Did all of you—"

"Well, we had a feeling, my lady," one of the eldest maids says while the others nod their heads in agreement. "You became so much more open and kinder during the Holy War and we all knew that you had met someone special for sure. Once the Demon race was sealed away, it pained us to see that Prince Levi's sudden death and the loss and betrayal of your older sister caused you immense pain and grief. But we had no clue that you had also lost both of your best friends."

"When I heard Zeldris was cursed along with his older brother, I tried to save him," I say quietly as I hug my sides as tightly as I can. "But then, we were sealed away and I could do nothing."

"And that's why you're doing everything you can for him now," Runa says softly. "Oh, my lady."

"I love him," I whisper into the silence and I look up to see multiple pairs of widened eyes staring at me. "I've always loved him but I never admitted it to him or anyone because I knew I was the wrong person to take care of him that way. He deserves someone better than a broken Demon."

"You're not broken, Princess (Y/n)," Runa immediately protests and carefully walks toward me. "You're hurting, you're lost, you're unsure, but you're not broken. Don't ever say that again."

"That's sweet of you to say," I tell her with a very feeble smile. "I really appreciate that, Runa."

"I swear my loyalty to you, Princess (Y/n) of the Demon race," she abruptly says with a firm tone and I splutter in shock. "I owe my allegiance to you. Those who are present are my witnesses."

"I swear my loyalty to you as well, Princess (Y/n)," another maid says, standing beside Runa.

Hearts racing, I let out very short breaths when the rest of the other Demons in the room swear their loyalty and allegiance to me, all of them looking adamant and certain about their decision.

"From this day on, we will serve only you alone, Princess (Y/n)," Runa says with a large smirk.

"Your names," I say quietly with seven grateful hearts, smiling gently. "Tell me all of your names."

Once each one of them tells me their names, I thank them and excuse myself to take a quick walk around the palace and sympathetic and understanding gazes follow me out of the room.

"Damn it," I choke as I rush down the empty hallways of the Kingdom of Camelot. "Damn it."

I'm glad to see that raging anger still within you.

Because that means once you kill me you'll focus all that anger on our dear old mother.

You're scared. You're weak. But you have love to become stronger.

You love him. Always have. Don't try to run.

"Shut up, Elizabeth," I snarl even though that damn traitor is miles away from me right now.

I lost so much during the Holy War 3,000 years ago but now that I'm back in the Britannia, I have nearly everything within my grasp. However, I'm now surrounded by raging fires that can easily consume me if I let my guard down at the wrong moment or in the midst of the wrong crowd.

As much as it pains me to admit it, my older sister was right to a certain extent; both my anger and my love will keep me alive for now. As long as I stay focused and stay on the right path.

Never forget your rage, Princess (Y/n), the words of the Commandment of Selflessness from the past echo in my head. That burning rage will help you to fight on and never forget your goal.

"I'll never forget," I hiss bitterly. "I'll do whatever it takes to bring down my damn mother."

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"Eat," I hum quietly when my maid silently stares at the plate of fresh food in front of her. 

Slowly, she finally reaches out to drag the plate of food to her and then picks up the utensils to start eating. While she does this, I observe her sunken, dark eyes and her face that looks paler than usual. Sitting down next to her, I wince slightly when I see her struggle to eat her food.

Taking the utensils from her hands, I start feeding her and my hearts soften when she doesn't complain or reject me. For the next ten minutes, I slowly feed my friend and once we're done, I hesitantly stand up and wait for her to say something. When she doesn't, I leave the dark cell.

"Give her next meal in eight hours," I tell the two maids outside of the cell, Nari and Ashina.

"Eight hours, my lady?" Ashina exclaims, quickly shutting her mouth when she sees Nari's glare.

"She won't eat lunch even if you give it to her," I explain as I make my way to the stone stairs that leave the dungeons and leads to the palace. "Unless she asks, give her food in eight hours' time."

"Understood, my lady," the two maids quietly say at the same time as I start climbing the stairs.

After my walk around the palace last night, I headed back to my bedroom to find all of the maids had left and there was a small note left on my bed that said they would all forever be on my side. Right after reading that one tiny message, I collapsed on the cold stone ground, holding the note tightly to my chest as I started to cry quietly, overwhelmed with the loyalty I encountered earlier.

I don't know why I assumed there were no Demons on my side even though this was far from the truth. There are so many Demons who have the same opinions and beliefs as me; thoughts such as my mother being a heartless and callous leader who's starting to put even Demons at risk just to win this ridiculous war; thoughts such as now being the right time for some new changes.

I lost my two older siblings and my two best friends over 3,000 years ago so maybe that's why I just gave up all hope of relying on others even though I had allies right next to me all along.

So maybe with this tiny hope, I have a chance to make a future for myself and those I care about.

"Where is he?" I question Runa and two other maids when I reach the top of the stone staircase.

"He's still in his bedroom," Runa answers and she and the other two maids bow their heads to me. "We had to bring his breakfast to his room but he refused to come out so we left it outside."

"I see," I murmur softly, swaying my hands by my sides. "I wish to ask you three something."

"What is it, my lady?" the maid closest to me, Orna, asks with a curious expression on her face.

"Do you think it would be a bad idea if I...took Zeldris outside the kingdom's walls?" I ask slowly.

The moment I ask this, the faces of the three Demons in front of me brighten and cheeky smirks accompany their expressions within the next second so I can't help but fondly roll my eyes.

"That's a brilliant idea, my lady," the third maid, Eris, answers eagerly. "You should take Prince Zeldris right after he eats his breakfast. We can manage everything here while you're gone."

"That would be great," I say gratefully, smiling. "Thank you, all of you. This means a lot to me."

"Of course, my lady," Runa hums lightly. "You deserve to be happy, please never forget that."

Bowing my head respectfully to them, I then turn around and make my way to the second floor of the large palace, towards my best friend's bedroom. But I have no clue what I'm going to say.

"Oi, you awake?" I call out as I knock on the door. "I hope you've eaten your meal, princeling."

"Don't come in!" the youngest son of the Supreme Deity immediately yells and I hear several items falling to the ground on the other side of the door. "Wait, just give me a second, (Y/n)!"

Grinning maniacally, I wrap my fingers around the handle of the wooden door and swiftly open it, tipping my head to the side when I see the Goddess on the floor trying to pick up some books.

"And what might you be doing, little angel?" I question with my grin growing bigger. "Hmm?"

"I said to not come in!" Zeldris snaps with an annoyed tone, huffing as I kneel down beside him and my eyes wander over the different books. "Why do you never listen to anyone, (Y/n)?"

"Because I'm a spoilt Princess," I say coolly as I pick up one of the books. "Just like you, darling."

"I'm not a Princess," Zeldris mumbles adorably and tries to take the book from me but I gently shove his pale hand away and open the book, flicking through the pages. "Hey, give that back!"

"This doesn't belong to you," I point out and continue to inspect the pages. "This belongs to the libraries of Camelot so I don't have to give this back to you. You were reading about Demons?"

"I was just curious, that's all," my best friend whines and tries again to take the book but I swiftly place my entire hand over his pale face, holding him back. "Hey, can you stop? You're so rude."

"And what have you learned from these books?" I question and look back up to see him blushing for some reason. "Now why the hell are you blushing, hmm? You feeling alright, princeling?"

Out of nowhere, Zeldris shifts his head slightly so that his soft lips brush the edges of my coarse fingers, his blush intensifying as he keeps his leaf green eyes focused on me, breathing quietly.

"What the hell are you doing?" I squeak in shock, pulling back my hand quickly but the Goddess grabs the same hand and brings the back of my hand to his delicate lips. "Stop that, damn it!"

"Your fingers," he whispers against the skin of my hand which causes my hearts to skip a beat. "They're really rough. You've used your weapons for a really long time, haven't you, (Y/n)?"

"I have," I respond once he lets go of my hand. "I'm the leader of the Ten Commandments after all. It's kind of hard to avoid. Now tell me, what have you learned from these books, princeling?"

"All of these books were written a long time ago," Zeldris states with a frown. "So all the authors were clearly afraid of the Demon race. All they write about is how Demons are a race of terrifying creatures that don't belong in Britannia. But that's a whole load of crap and far from the truth."

Blinking in surprise at this explanation, I say with a small chuckle, "Is that because you believe the other races of Britannia are monsters as well? Including your own race, sweet angel?"

"Of course," Zeldris says with a straight face and my jaw nearly drops. "Each of us are blood-thirsty beasts who desperately want something to fill the emptiness we feel within our hearts."

"What do you want, princeling?" I question breathlessly while I stare at my best friend intently.

"Peace," he answers instantly and I raise a sceptical eyebrow at this. "Not just peace between all of the races but peace within myself as well. I think that would be really nice, don't you, (Y/n)?"

"I suppose," I say quietly as I close the book and place it on the large pile that Zeldris has made at the end of his bed. "But what exactly are you dealing with that you want peace that badly?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Zeldris then asks, "What about you then? What do you want, (Y/n)?"

"Freedom," I say as I stand up and tip my head to the side to crack my neck. "I want freedom."

"Freedom," the cursed Goddess repeats, smiling almost angrily. "Yeah, that sounds nice too." 

Heading over to the window, I then turn to him and offer my hand, saying, "Come here."

"Um, OK?" Zeldris says slowly, wrinkling his nose in confusion as he walks over to me and places his pale hand on top of my empty palm. "So are you planning to throw me out of the window?"

Grinning slyly, I tug him forward with our connected hands and gracefully sweep him off his feet, carrying him bridal-style in my arms. This gets a startled gasp out of Zeldris as he quickly wraps his arms around my neck to stop himself from falling, his emerald green eyes wide with worry.

I jump onto the ledge of the window and Zeldris immediately shouts, "Don't you dare, (Y/n)!"

"Whoops," I breathe with our noses an inch apart, tipping forward so we fall out of the window.

"(Y/n)!" Zeldris screams in panic while we fall with the strong winds whipping through our hair and for some strange reason, a burst of giggles escape my throat and all I can do is smile widely.

Wings spreading on my back, I pull us up just before we reach the ground and quickly head over to the enormous walls of Camelot. My bottom lip twitches when the Goddess in my arms holds on tighter to me and buries his pale face in my neck, his panicked breaths warming my skin.

"I've got you, little angel," I whisper to him, holding him closer as my wings beat on my back.

"Where are we going right now, (Y/n)?" he questions quietly after a couple of seconds of silence.

"Another surprise," I say with a smirk. "But it'll take a couple of minutes before we get there."

"OK," Zeldris mumbles, shuffling in my arms. "I—I don't like heights. So don't let me go, please."

My eyes widen slightly at this sudden statement since heights and flying were something Zeldris was never scared of. At least the Zeldris I knew over 3,000 years ago during the Holy War.

"Sorry," I apologise, nuzzling my nose in his jet-black hair. "Just hold on for a little while longer."

"This place better be worth it in the end," Zeldris grumbles and I chuckle when I hear this.

"Don't worry, princeling," I whisper and the gentle sounds of the wind seem to calm him down since he relaxes in my arms. "This place will definitely be worth it. Just you wait and see."

The youngest son of the Supreme Deity moves both of his arms around my neck and just when I'm about to move my own arms to change his position so that he's more comfortable, he firmly holds onto me and tilts his head up so that his nose gently brushes against the edge of my jaw.

Unable to stop myself, I turn my head so I'm looking down at him and I nearly gasp when I see the trust and faith written all over his wonderful face. Slowly, a tender smile takes over his lips.

"Is this your way of making me yours?" I tease but I'm not really joking around with this inquiry.

"You're already mine, (Y/n)," Zeldris says and his voice has become way deeper right now.

"Because of the promise you made last night, princeling?" I question, my hearts beating faster.

"There was something there before we first met one another all those weeks ago," Zeldris says quietly and I freeze the moment I hear this. "I think we were meant to find each other and I don't care how long it takes me but I'll make sure you understand that this was more than fate, (Y/n)."

Turning my gaze back to what's ahead of me, I say, "I don't believe in fate anymore, princeling."

"Good," Zeldris says a bit too loudly beside my ear. "Fate, destiny, it's a whole load of crap."

Blinking, I then roar in laughter before the hiccups start to mess with me so I stop laughing and shut my mouth, smiling instead. Once my hiccups go away, I look back down at my best friend.

"Good on you," I say approvingly and he immediately blushes at this. "Good on you, princeling."

"Stop praising me like that," he mutters. "You're making it sound like I'm a child who said this."

"Not a child, ey?" I say slowly with a very nasty smile on my lips and Zeldris narrows his black eyebrows when he hears me say this. "Tell me, dear angel, do you think a child could take this?"

And with that said, I let go of the cursed Goddess.

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