The Villainess Wants To Go Home

It was the feeling of happiness and joy in the castle. The cheerful voices echoing the hallway once again, maids chatting joyfully as they strolled down the huge corridors of the marble palace with their daily chores or flirted with the royal knights or guards.

Kitchen staff cooked up a feast with loud enthusiasm, the mouth-watering smell lingering the air making the people close by drool at the thought of the glorious food that was going to be prepared for all of them as a reward from the king for spending night after night, day after day looking after the young prince who was ill.

Knights were drinking away in entertainment, clashing their wooden mugs together spilling their ale across the table as they did.

The cheerful atmosphere of the castle had returned once again taking over the gloomy and dull feeling that lingered around everyone these past months.

Meanwhile in the sleeping chamber of the prince where the warm rays of sun shining down upon the windows and brightening the room, the Empress sat on a chair beside her sleeping son while her hand gently stroked his soft silver hair. A soft melody she sang as her lavender eyes stared tenderly down at her son's sleeping face.

His chubby cheeks enlighten with a hint of pink that made Arabella want to kiss it, a little button up nose, thin eyebrows and long eyelashes that covered his eyes. He was an adorable little boy who would grow up to become someone handsome that all the girls will fall head over hills like they did to Ambrose when he was in his youth years and still marriageable and now to Neil who resembled his father very much.

Soft gentle breaths came from as he snored soundly.

"\~May you bring love and may you bring happiness. Be love in return to the end of your days\~" Arabella sang softly. Her voice gentle like melody of a flute yet beautiful like a siren.

"\~Now fall off to sleep, I'm not meaning to keep you. I'll just sit for a while and sing loo-li, Lai-lay\~" with a every stroke of his silver hair Arabella sang, her hands tracing through his hair as his head lay comfortably on the white pillow.

"\~May there always be angels to watch over you. To guide you each step of the way\~" the birds had began to chirp outside listening to the sirens voice inside the castle.

"\~To guard you and keep you safe from all harm, Loo-li, loo-li, Lai-lay\~"

Her beautiful singing wasn't just listened by the sleeping prince but the emperor who stood outside the chamber with his back leaned against the wall as his gloomy silver eyes stared down at his feet, eyes filled with shame and guilt and a face that could contain the anger towards himself.

His heart begged him to waltz in through these doors, kneel down on his knees and beg for forgiveness from his wife, but his mind refused. He was too ashamed of his actions yesterday to even come face to face with his dear wife.

With the end of her lullaby, Arabella pressed a kiss on Ben's forehead. "M-mother why did you stop?" Arabella felt something sting her heart. Glancing down she met the faded colour of her son's violet eyes that stared up at her in wonder. Those sweet eyes that she thought she would never see again made her heart sink to the ground as her eyes became a blur because of the tears that she could not contain came prickling down.

"B-Benjamin" Arabella voice trembled with a crack. "Thank the Gods they gave mercy to my son" she scooped his head up into her embrace, hugging him as she snuzzled her face on top of his head soaking his silver hair with her tears.

The young prince hugged his mother back, hiding his face on her bosom and clenching the back of her material with his fist while salty tears began to fall down Ben's eyes. "I'm sorry for getting sick and worrying you mother" Ben apologised with a muffled voice.

Arabella released her hug, cupping her child's cheek and staring deeply into his innocent eyes that resembled hers so much "My dear child you are not at fault. Do not blame yourself but your mother for not being able to stop it sooner" she placed her brow on his, tears still blurring her vision.

The door suddenly flung open startling the two. "Ben!" Ambrose gasped as he stood in the entry with a trembling body. His face had become pale, and his black pupils shook. Staring at his youngest son's sudden surprised face that faded away to be replaced with a sweet innocent smile.

"Father"

Ambrose tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, he bolted towards Ben before kneeling beside the bed and placing his head on Ben's lap. "Thank the Gods you are alive and recovered. I thought I lost you" he cried clenching his son's soft little hands gently.

"I thought the Gods had ignored my prayers and left you to die" Ambrose sniffed, his face hiding away from everyone. "Forgive me child that I had failed as a father"

"Why does everyone keep blaming themselves for something they hadn't done. I should be the one apologising for getting sick" Ben said with a sniffle, wiping away his tears with his sleeve.

Ambrose lifted his head up and glanced at his teary son, his cheeks had gone red from crying and so had his eyes.

"My dear son" Ambrose reached out his hand and placed it behind Ben's neck before pulling him into his embrace. "Do not fret now, you are well, and the empire will now rejoice for your recovery"

Ben did not reply but continued to hug his father deeply. A gentle smile appeared on Arabella's face as she watched her husband and son like this however her heart ached from Ambrose actions yesterday that would lay a permanent home in her heart for as long as she could remember.

"Father where is big brother Neil? Why has he not come to see me?"

\~Artemis P.O. V\~

"Your cheating!" Homura squawked loudly, his voice echoing the cell room and making the chains rattle a little.

"Your just saying that because you suck" I said with a dead panned expression while watching Homura observe my fingers with his beady onyx eyes.

finger with his feather version of it and I changed my number of fingers

I rolled my eyes, tapping my other hand that

whole time" he said refusing to believe that he just sucked at playing chop sticks. His eyes examined my hands from left

right had three. Homura on the other hand had 1

going to lose whatever he plans to do.

smacked his feather on my left hand turning it to five and disqualifying that hand from

had two fingers and disqualifying that one, I glanced up to his face drop

"One left"

of two or three to be able to use. His only choice is to hit my only had which

his hands in the air like he threw

placing my chin on my palm and resting it on my leg "and coincidentally I know all of them" a smirked appeared on

was going to fly or something "That's just telling a

be such a sore

mean human games not fox games" Homura huffed in

suggested gesturing my hands to

lifting his beak in the air like a sassy

for those cackles of laughter soon took over the whole dungeon. These dungeon dwellers have been making fun of me for the whole day, telling me I fucked up

annoying convicts I ignored yesterday and

and I glanced at each other for a mere second as if we just seen something stupid again.

be set free unlike you guys who will be rotting in here for the rest of your moral

exhausted not from working out all

much about last night either, it was damp freezing in this cell that I probably would have had trouble opening my

least given me a VIP prison cell then this dump. I saved their prince,

at the ceiling, bored. "Has the human

a million-dollar

head to take a peek at me.

face. He slumped his head back down and sighed a long breath before it all

I broke the silence with a

with a cheater

wall to stare up at the dripping water that formed from the small cracks and landed beside me. 'Tch, that better not

peace of quite here even in the night when everyone is fast asleep, and the only things are heard is

my phone reading manga

entry of the cell was and watched few guards walk in through the

turn right to enter the other prison cell. So, I glanced away and back to the wall in front of me before closing my eyes to take a quick nap before I get up and

when to my surprise, they suddenly stopped instead of fading away. I heard the sounds of dozens of keys clashing against each other and

to him" the

at the guard who waited for me to get up. 'Ben woken up. Took him

My feathers are falling off due to the stink in here" Homura's tone hinted annoyance as he flapped up to his two claws

hope the dragons eat you all" Homura muttered angrily under his breath, storming his way to the entrance clenching his father wings into a fist and moving them back in fourth in a swing as he marched.

to them

stood up, dusting off an excesses dirt on me and my back side before following Homura and scooping him up. "Don't go anywhere and stay on my shoulder" I whispered quietly to him and in response he cussed a few swear words making me roll my eyes at

cell, I felt a shiver run down my spine for some unknown reason, it felt my senses was warning about something that I could not foretell. I shrugged it off. Whatever comes my way I can handle it, that's what I have been doing these past weeks I

the feared assassin of my time,

of the prison door slamming against the metal bars startled me out of

gesturing his metal gloved hand forward indicating me to start walking forward. Surprising they didn't

guards guiding me from the front.

with you"

with you, I'm

bail us

our freedom as well" the convicts shouted and spoke, wailing their bony and dirty hands out from gaps between the metal bars as if they are trying to grasp something. Each one begging

lady, I knew your husband. We were