Forgotten

-Chapter 27-

VOTE & COMMENT ❤️

"Do you like this color, Princess Athena?" The one wedding coordinator asked as she shoved a completed dream-board in front of my face.

The color scheme was actually extremely ugly. A combination of shit brown and throw-up green. Before I could let the coordinator down nicely, Leo beat me to it. "It's hideous."

I swear I saw her eyes water as she nodded, smiled, and turned away. "Seriously, darling, what are these people thinking?" Leo whispered in my ear as he softly fingered a strand of hair that fell against my cheek.

My cheeks hollowed as I sucked in a deep breath before pulling away, "They are just doing their job. No need to be rude."

Leo laughed loudly and the whole room turned to stare. Apparently the evil prince doesn't laugh much.

Just as quickly as they stopped to stare they started work again, afraid to be punished for their reaction. The meetings dragged on for too long and my eyes have gone blurry for staring at too many color combinations. I settled on a deep lavender and off-white cream color as the main theme with hints of all different shades of greens and browns. I wanted the wedding to be sort of earthy with lots of flowers and vines.

Leo seemed satisfied enough with my choice and grumbled some nonsense about it be too "sensitive" and I just rolled my eyes. Near the end of the meeting I got bombarded with some information about my schedule for the next few days. Cake tasting was tomorrow, dress picking was Thursday and the one on one with the florist was on Friday.

Once all the coordinators left the room it was just Leo and I sitting in silence. "So, Princess, feeling a little more excited for our ceremonial showcasing of love now?"

I scoffed at his exaggerated word choice and laughed sarcastically, "Why wouldn't I be? I get to marry a poor excuse of a man." I gave him a big smile and stood up to leave.

"Tesoro," Leo growled from behind me as he grabbed my wrist tightly, "you better stop firing me up so easily. I'm supposed to let you live until after the wedding."

The audacity of this man. "Well don't worry your pretty little head off because I'll kill you first." I smiled once again, spun on my heel, and left the cursed room.

I only made it halfway down the hall before I ran into Sofia. She looked disheveled. Her usually shiny hair was dull and her eyes looked black with sleep deprivation. "Oh," she sighed apologetically, "I'm sorry for bumping into you, Athena. I'm a bit.. distracted."

I could tell she didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering her, so I just gave her a small reassuring hug and off she went. I wonder what could have her so clearly upset?

I shook it off, deciding I'll wait until she feels she can tell me, and headed to see my best friends.

The tech department looked less lively today. Usually there's hackers and technicians bustling around the place. The lights even seemed dimmer.

A nauseous feeling started to settle at the pit of my stomach the closer I got to Aries' door. The bad feeling only worsened as I turned the door knob. My heart nearly slammed out of my chest as I opened the door. It creaked loudly and I noticed the top hinge was broken. Almost like it was broken into.

I stepped into the dark room and flipped the light switch.

My heart dropped. The room was empty and smelled of copper and blood. The horrid red substance was dried to the walls and stained the bed sheets. A desperate hand print was smacked on the wall next to the door, as if she was trying to pull herself back in. The room was destroyed. Blankets strewn, posters torn. Blood. So. Much. Blood.

The shock wore off, and a blood-curdling shriek erupted from my throat and tears shed from my eyes. Someone had taken Aries. Hurt her. And for how long has she been gone? How long have I let her be gone?

I screamed once more and fell to the floor. I heard feet pound against the floor getting closer and closer to where I was. My head was pounding and my body shaking. Blood. So. Much. Blood.

How could such a tiny body even hold this much blood? How was she not completely drained? Or was she? Is she already gone?

My head raced and soon arms encircled around my shoulders and yanked me from the floor. "Princess, we need to remove you from the premises immediately." The guard handed me off to another and they started to drag me down the hallway. "Find her. Please tell me you'll find them." I cried to the talk guard holding me up. "We will, Princess. We will."

"Athena?" Leo came running up to me. He noticed the blood on my hands and clothes and instantly interrogated the gaurd. "She's fine your majesty. It appears that someone has stolen your best hacker and her robotic friend. We'll do everything we can to find them."

I choked out another sob and Leo grabbed me from the guard. "I got her. Go help the others. And find the rest of my tech staff." The guard nodded and headed back where we came from.

"Tesoro why do you have to cause so many issues." Leo hissed and I sank into his arms. Desperate for any kind of warmth to hide from the chill in my heart. Even if it was from him.

He just sighed into my hair and carried me away to my room. The maids were instantly on deck. Warming the fire in my room and bringing any kind of stress-relieving tea that existed. They drew me and bath full of oils and rose petals.

I sank into the steaming water, hoping to burn away some of the pain that ached from within. My eyes closed and I tried to shut off my brain, inhaling the sweet smell of the bath oils and salts.

That was until the door swung open and my husband -to-be came in. I gasped and covered my body as best as I can. Leo just smirked before coming up to me. "They found a note. I wanted you to see." Hiding myself under bubbles and petals, I dried my hands and snatched the paper from his hands. The more I read, the more my heart sank.

Dear Prince Leo,

Clearly my last attempt didn't scare you enough, so I thought I'd do something more extreme. I've been watching your fiancé for a while now. She's beautiful, might I add. I saw she had a keenness for two particular girls and I decided to take them. I assume she's horrified by the state we left the room in, and she should be. Her friends are in extreme pain right now. If she wants them back, hand your people over to me, and resign as boss. If you refuse to comply, I will send your Queen a package full of her friend's parts. Thank you.

Sincerely, You Know Who

I felt sick. This must be the same man that sent that man to me in the bathroom. I can't even imagine what my friends are going through. The torture, the pain. "We have to help them." I begged Leo.

"My mafia is on the line, Tesoro. I can't risk it. Your friends are already gone."

My heart stopped. "Then why show me the letter?" I yelled at him, water sloshing out of the tub. "Because, Athena," Leo crouched down and traced my jawline, "there's something so beautiful about seeing you in pain."