King of Hearts

36.

You'll be the one to put a spell on the King of Hearts. Hamza's words still ring in her ears as she's on her way to find the swan girl. Val doubts Prince Ulio is interested in her. He isn't interested in anyone except himself. Yet the sight of him made her heart jump and the butterflies of emotions in her stomach do backflips.

Val is wandering around the halls and is having flashbacks of the museum. Some corners remind her too much of it. How strange. She passes a few rooms when Satyn turns around a corner and blocks her way. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought the Maze War was enough of a warning," she snaps in a harsh voice. God, not her, not now. Val hasn't got the nerves nor time to waste on this snake. "If you're at least 1% clever, follow my advice and leave. He's not interested in you," she hisses. She should've worn a snake mask, honestly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Val answers as calmly as possible, trying to move past her but Satyn's still in her way. She cackles, "Of course you don't, you stupid twit. Do you think he could ever like your rude attitude?"

Hilarious.

"I don't wish to be likable, but I wished you would move or you're going to regret it." This situation is too stressful, Val needs to leave or she'll lose her patience. "You think so highly of yourself that it's straight on embarrassing," she snickers crossing her arms in front of her chest. Her venomous eyes travel up and down, making Val want to punch her across that nasty face of hers. Not even a mask can hide her malice.

"Not as embarrassing as cheating on a useless game and attacking defenseless opponents. Now move," Val demands one last time, her voice louder now. Satyn's face is running red. Her arms untangle as her hands turn to fists. She walks towards her raising an arm. "Don't you dare talk to me like that-," Val stops Satyn's arm mid-air without even touching it. There it is again! That thrilling force. Val wished to know how she did it, but it just happens automatically.

Steps can be heard from behind her and Val instantly lets go of her powers, making Satyn lose her balance. Val even recognizes his steps. His confident and dominant steps.

Satyn barely regains her posture when she almost shouts, outraged, "Did you see it? Ulio, she attacked me!" She gasps for air. Val smirks, "I didn't even touch you." Prince Ulio lets out a suppressed chuckle. What's he laughing about? At least he's not mocking her as well. Satyn stares at the two in disbelieve. "Ulio, why aren't you saying something?" she demands in a shrill voice. God, how irritating her voice is, Val could strangle her.

"You better go and have a drink. I'll join you soon, I just need to talk to Val in private for a second," he smiles charmingly. Satyn breathes heavily but follows his instructions. She stomps away in the direction of the food room. Val wonders if Satyn actually fancies him or if she's under his spell. How scary that is. He's not to be trusted. The thought of it sickens her.

Prince Ulio reads the annoyance in Val's eyes, so he chuckles. "Sometimes I find her quite annoying too. Perhaps one day I might actually kiss her and end this play." Val is shocked by his words. She's shocked, irritated, and repelled. Val easily forgets that he's a monster. Horrible is still a compliment for him. How can someone say such a thing? Does he really just kiss and kill people with who he gets bored? At this point, she prefers not to show him the Jade and go look for the Sacred Gemstones on her own. What a bastard.

She widens her eyes in disbelieve. "You're terrible. You don't deserve the powers you have." Disgust can be heard in her voice. She backs away and he laughs out loud as if it was a funny joke. "You're so cute. And so naive," he laughs. Even if it were just a joke, she doesn't share his sense of humor.

She widens her eyes in disbelieve. "You're terrible. You don't deserve the powers you have." Disgust can be heard in her voice. She backs away and he laughs out loud as if it was a funny joke. "You're so cute. And so naive," he laughs. Even if it were just a joke, she doesn't share his sense of humor. "You're pathetic", she says and turns around to leave but soon gets caught by his arms wrapping around her waist. "You can't get rid of me. I won't allow it", he whispers softly, and Val immediately freezes, unsure of what is going on.

He spins Val around and gazes dreamily at her, lost in his thoughts. "My favorite kitty," he sighs. Val furrows her eyebrows, irritated, and pushes him. "What the hell do you think you're doing", she manages to exclaim, although not as tough as she hoped. The prince, though, completely ignores her annoyance. "Honestly speaking, I knew you would show up, however, I pictured you wearing a different dress. You know, just to annoy me. I didn't predict that you would actually wear the dress I picked for you. You look quite hideous in it", he says with a playful smirk. Val just doesn't understand him. His last remark wasn't even that unexpected. Val isn't offended by it because his eyes clearly tell something different. His honey eyes sparkle as they bore into hers. He inspects every little detail of her face, from her eye color and eye shape to the mole on her cheek, to her delicate lips. He doesn't add anything, he just admires her in silence. No words are needed anyway.

"I like to be unpredictable. And don't think highly of yourself. I have better things to do than waste my time with planning on how to annoy you." Val slightly raises her head as she plans on finally leaving but for the first time, he touches her hand. A strange explosion of fireballs is happening somewhere in her body. Or maybe in her entire body, she can't really tell or think. A rush of unexpected feelings such as joy, excitement, and nostalgia form a rainbow in her head. Val has never felt like this before. Or has she?

"Stop running away, my darling. It's no use since I'll follow you anyway," his low honey voice whispers tenderly. Unable to control this hot shower of wild emotions, she weakly lets go of his grip and stumbles away, feeling his arrogant smirk all over her.