She Belongs To The Devil

A smile blossomed on Ariel's lips as soon as she opened the door of her room. She didn't think she would miss her room's comfort this much.

Osanna had already finished emptying the contents of Ariel's luggage. Her clothes and shoes were already arranged in their respective places, and the gifts she had brought were neatly placed on the table.

"Herb?" Ariel looked over her shoulder when she didn't hear the footsteps behind her.

Herbert was nervously standing at the door as if waiting for Ariel to grant permission.

"Herb? What are you doing there? Come in." Ariel gestured for Herbert to come and stand next to her.

The moment he heard that, Herbert sprinted towards Ariel. "Are these all for me?" he asked innocently while looking at the heap of gifts.

Ariel chuckled and shook her head. "I brought one each for everyone. So, only one is for you." She shuffled through the boxes of different sizes. "Now where did Osanna keep yours? Ah! There it is." She pulled out a small wooden box and handed it to Herbert.

She was expecting Herbert to be excited, but instead, he looked confused.

"What do I do with it?" He knocked on the box a couple of times and even tried to bite it.

Ariel face-palmed herself and burst into laughter. "I think I will have to teach you a lot of things, Herb." She kept laughing while Herbert just stood there, clueless as to why Ariel gave him a piece of wood.

After laughing until her stomach hurt, Ariel finally wiped the corners of her eyes and took the box from Herbert. "This box isn't the gift, Herb. It's what's inside." She opened the box for Herbert to see.

"Oh! It opens!" Herbert giggled excitedly, his eyes shifting between Ariel and the black strap-like thing in the gift box. "It's beautiful. What is it though?" He poked the huge amber stone at the center of the strap and looked at Ariel with curiosity.

"It's called a choker. Apparently, this item is popular among the noblemen of Romania. So, I thought you would like it too." She took the choker from the box and said while positioning herself behind Herbert, "You put it around your neck like this."

She helped him with the clasp and then pushed him in front of the mirror. "What do you think?" she asked while staring at Herbert's reflection in the mirror.

"I look so beautiful." Herbert's eyes were wide open as if he was awed by his own reflection.

After seeing Herbert's expression, Ariel was glad that she bought it for her familiar. "Yes, you look really beautiful."

Herbert smiled and pointed at the stone on his choker, "I like this. It is the color of your eyes. So beautiful…"

"Oh! Thank you!" Ariel hadn't realized she had chosen the stone similar to her eye color until Herbert pointed it out.

A sense of immense joy rose in her heart because it looked like Herbert had missed her while they were apart.

Ariel suddenly tensed up when she sensed her mother's aura getting closer and closer to her. 'Oh, no! What do I do? Should I run? No… I need to tell her one day or another. Besides, Dad might have already told her about Damien and me.' With that in mind, she waited for her mother to approach her.

"Ariel?" Adeline knocked on the door and peeked in. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" Seeing Herbert inside the room with her daughter, she wondered if it was a good time or not. Herbert had been sad lately, so she wondered if they were still in the middle of talking.

"Of course." Ariel smiled and invited her mother inside her room. "I was showing Herbert how to wear the gift I got for him."

Adeline petted Herbert as if he were in his cat form. "Aww! Do you like it, Herbert?"

"I do, Your Majesty," Herbert said while politely bowing to the Queen.

Ariel raised her brows, surprised that Herbert knew how to show respect to her mother. "Did Arion teach you how to greet my mother?"

Herbert nodded. "He said that Queen Adeline is the most powerful woman on Earth, just like how God is in Heaven."

Both Ariel and Adeline ended up chuckling after hearing Herbert's innocent words.

'He is probably repeating after hearing Arion's exaggeration,' Ariel thought to herself.

"Why are you laughing?" Herbert looked at those two with big eyes.

"No, it's nothing." Ariel cleared her throat and then pointed at Herbert's choker, "I have cast a magic spell on it. Its size will adjust according to your neck size, so you won't have problems while shape-shifting."

"That is wonderful. Thank you, Ariel." Herbert hugged Ariel as he was feeling over the moon after getting attention and affection from Ariel. "I will treasure it forever."

"Thank you! And I will treasure you." Ariel patted Herbert's head and then said after pulling away, "I will find you later, okay? I need to have a little chat with my mom."

"Okay." Herbert grabbed his gift box and then ran out of the room.

After Herbert was out of earshot, Adeline made herself comfortable on a chair and made Ariel sit down by her side. She then held Ariel's hand and asked softly, "Ariel, did something important happen during your trip?"

"Didn't Dad tell you anything?" Ariel wanted to know how much her mother already knew.

Adeline shook her head and truthfully said, "No, I didn't give him a chance. I ran after you right after you left the dining hall, but I had quite a hard time catching up to you."

"Oh!" Ariel nodded and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her escalating heartbeat. "Yes, something did happen."

"Between you and who?" Adeline wanted to clear that up first since there were two probable suitors for her daughter in her mind.

Ariel understood her mother's concern. "Me and Damien, of course." She looked down, feeling a bit shy. "He confessed his love to me. He said that he has always loved me, ever since we were little. And I accepted his confession… a few days later."

Adeline smiled widely and pulled her precious daughter into a warm hug. "I'm so happy for you, my sweet baby." She looked at her daughter's rosy face and smiled, her eyes glistening with tears of joy. "You grew up so fast. I can't believe all of this is happening already."

Ariel simply smiled and kept staring at her fidgety fingers.

Adeline caressed her child's hair and looked at her with a gaze full of love. "I had always thought that Damien would be the one for you. I was sad when he suddenly cut himself from our lives. We all were. But when I saw him here again, I knew you two would mend your severed relationship."

She chuckled and continued, "I hadn't thought that Damien would confess to you so soon though. I thought that silly child would take a few more years to realize his love for you."

Ariel's smile turned a little gloomy. "He might have taken a few years if he wasn't cornered."

"What do you mean?" Adeline narrowed her eyes a little. "Did you threaten Damien somehow?"

"Mom! Why would you think that?" Ariel frowned and pouted. She then sighed and clarified, "I had given a chance to Kenneth to pursue me. Damien didn't like that."

"Ah! That explains the rush." Adeline nodded in understanding. "Anyway, I'm happy that you two are together now."

She pursed her lips and then spoke under her breath, "In my opinion, Damien is better suited for you. He can at least protect himself from Michael and the others if they attack us again. He can run from them before they think of taking your significant other hostage to hurt you."

"Mom!" Ariel had a horrified look on her face when her mother didn't filter out anything. She was horrified because she knew her mother's words might actually come true someday.

"I'm sorry. Forget I said that." Adeline leaned in and kissed Ariel on the forehead. "I hope you two won't fight anymore. And don't boss him around too much like you did during childhood. A relationship only works when both of you respect each other. Love isn't always enough.

Other things like compromise and sacrifice also play important roles in the success of your relationship."

"I will keep these things in mind." Ariel hugged her mother again, thankful for her support. She was grateful to have such loving and understanding parents. Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire

"Oh, I almost forgot something." She pulled away from the hug and fished out a gift box from the pile. With a grin on her face, she handed it to her mother. "I got this for you, mom."

Adeline's eyes glinted with joy. "This is for me? Thank you, Ary!" She opened the gift box to see an exquisite gold hairpin decorated with flowers made out of jade and pearls. Adeline's jaw was wide open after seeing her daughter's choice. "This is the most beautiful gift I've ever received, Ary… after you, of course."

"I knew you would like it." Ariel was happy that her mother was happy.@@novelbin@@