Checkmate

This chapter's song is:recall by kard!

Sylvia's POV:

The earl walks towards me and I try to break free of this magic restricting rope.

"I would stop trying beauty, that rope has been made from demon bear skin! It is magic resistant!" The Earl says. Well... I'm fucked... No point trying not to swear. I'm dead. I might aswell commit suicide than deal with porky over here any longer. Suddenly, I hear a thud. The earl groans and opens the door that leads to the closet. Inside, I see Emily tied up with a bunch of other girls.

"Stop making so much noise!" The earl kicks Emily in the stomach which causes her to hit her head against the ground.

"Emily!" I scream out as I try to break the rope. It was no use, I wasn't strong enough to break it. I could see all the other girls that were tied up. They were all scared out of their minds.

Damn it, where's Ace when you need him! The earl giggles in his high pitched voice as he rubs his hands.

"Don't be frightened my beauty, I'll deal with them later." The earl stretched his meaty fingers to me and I bit his hand hard. He screams and throws me to the golden wardrobe. My head pains, I can tell there's blood. The self screams as he runs towards me. "I'm so sorry beauty, you shouldn't make me angry."

I can see Emily in the corner of my eye, screaming miss at me. The last thing I saw was earl Domitius's hand stretching towards me before it all went dark.

No one's POV:

The door bursts open suddenly, with Royal guards filling up the room. Prince ace was at the front, commanding the guards to sense the earl as he runs towards Sylvia.

"Wait, no! How did you get out!" The earl squeals.

"It seems your servant has a conscious after all," Ace says as he looks at the long haired man who attacked him earlier.

"Zero! You disloyal dog!" The earl screams at the Zero as he was being cuffed.

"Actually, I say he is loyal. Loyal to the Royal family," Ace says.

Earl Domitius pales at that sentence as he realised who Ace is.

"Your highness! It's not what you think!" The earl pleads.

"Oh really, because it looks like you were going to do something indecent to my fiancée." Aces poker face slips as he kneels to the earl. His features turn dark, like ace was going to murder the earl on the spot.

"Listen you filthy pig, attacking me is one thing, but you dared to even think about my fiancée the wrong way. I say death penalty is most fitting for an animal such as yourself," ace spat out as he watched the earl being dragged out begging for forgiveness.

Ace rushed over to Sylvia, who was now unconsious from the pain. He calls over the Royal healer and watches as she gets treated.

Ace then looks at the closet full of gagged women. All of them were thanking the prince as they were being released. Emily was the only one who rushed over to Sylvia, asking if she's okay.

"She'll be fine, may I ask who you are?" Ace says.

"I.. My name is Emily. I'm a worker for the miss," Emily answers.

"I see..." Ace couldn't figure out why Sylvia went through all this trouble for one worker. However, it increased his respect for his fiancée.

Sylvia was carried by ace to the Royal carriage. He ordered for the slaves to be set free as the carriage set course for the royal palace. Sylvia was resting peacefully on Ace's lap as he covered her with his coat.

Sylvia's POV:

I woke up in am unfamiliar bed. My clothes were changed and my head was no longer bleeding, there wasn't even a bruise which was weird because I'm sure I hit the wardrobe hard. Soon, a maid came in and gasped when she saw I was awake.

"Lady Scilla! Are you feeling okay?!" The maid asks. She had really short hair like Lilian and had brown eyes.

"Yes... But where am I?"

"You're in the royal palace miss! Prince Ace carried you here to rest for the night!" The maid relies. Wait... Ace? So, he did rescue me after all. I'm so glad.

The maid, who was named Beth, helped me bathe and change. Even though this is the first time I've ever slept over at the royal palace, everything was in my size. The robe was my size as well as the clothes, shoes and accessories. I wore a white and blue dress with my hair done up in a blue ribbon. Then, I was brought to a very big dining room where the King, Queen and Ace were.

The queen was the first one who addressed me. "Ah, you're awake Sylviana. That's very good. I trust that you had no problem changing?" The queen asked.

"No, it was quite alright. May I know why I'm here? I fear my mother must be worried sick if I'm not at home," I say.

"That's taken care of. We've invited your parents over. For now, have some breakfast," the King said. I bowed and sat next to where ace was.

Breakfast was even more extravagant at the Royal family than at my home. There were four different types of meat, fish and vegetables. There were an array of jams to go with scones and toast and even an egg holder. There were porridges and different types of teas and coffees. It would've taken me two days to finish it all. I can't even imagine dinner.

Before I could even reach for anything I wanted, the King motioned for maids to serve me. The first course was a porridge. Followed by waffles and berries, and then eggs, toast, scones and finally a fruit bowl.

I was stuffed at the end of it, I couldn't even bother to touch the fruit bowl because I'm scared I might explode.

"Honestly Sylviana, you're far too skinny. Maids, serve her another helping," the queen said. Oh my gosh. Is this the type of blindness that only mothers have? The one where they think children are too skinny and need to eat more? I just shovelled the food in because I can't offend the queen. Finally, breakfast was over. The maids cleared away the empty plates and left us all alone.

"Now, Sylviana, let's get down to business." I straightened up when the King said that.

"I heard that you infiltrated a secret slave auction that even the Royal family didn't know about until recently. I've also heard that you're creating a new type of weapon."

"Yes I am, is there any problem with that?" I ask.

"No, no problem. It's just that, these weapons are revolutionary," the King said.

"Your majesty, I thin-" Ace started.

"A prince should not interrupt, much less the future king," the King said sternly. "Sylviana, we shall continue this in my study." With that, I was escorted to the king's private study. The King invited me to sit down on the couch and play some chess with him. I obviously agreed and as soon as I moved my first piece, the real battle began.

"These weapons, what's your motive for it Sylviana?" The King asks as he moves his rook.

"Nothing much really your majesty, I was thinking of making some money," I reply.

"You're the daughter of duke Scilla and the future queen of this kingdom, why would you need to make money?" The King raises his eyebrow.

"It's simple really, I am Sylviana de crystal Scilla, I do not need to lean on anyone for money," I reply as I take out the king's knight.

"Then why didn't you invest in something else? Why did you choose to design and create a weapon that could turn the tide of war?" The King takes out my bishop.

"Well..." I give a smile, "I was bored, your majesty."

"You were bored?"

"Precisely. My family line has created revolutionary things such as changing the art of cuisine or even the politics of this kingdom. I do remember that my aunt is working as a Royal designer right now. If all my family members changed the world, why can't I?" I explain.

"But they changed the world for the better, this can result to war," the King argued.

"War is inevitable. Anything can start a war. This is an insurance should war even happen. And besides, I think creating magical weapons is for the greater good. How nice would it be for people with no magic to own a weapon that could protect them."

"Or harm others..."

"That where the insurance comes in. These weapons will have a special type of rune that will allow me to monitor all my creations and destroy them if need be. It'd be all under my control."

"Well, how about providing the military with your weapons?" The King took out my other knight, and was heading for my King.

"Sure, if you can pay for it," I say.

"Are you seriously going to make your future father in law pay?" The King chuckled.

"Be it father in law or father, they all have to pay the amount."

"What if I just lock you up in the dungeon and use your power for my own benefit?" The King says. I look at him straight in the eye before placing my final move.

"Well then I'd just have to kill you now don't I?... Checkmate," I finish as I use my queen to take out his King. The king's face grew with a smile as he let out a hearty laugh.

"I knew you were the best choice as a future queen." The King looks at me with the same eyes my mother looks at me with. "Listen Sylvia, you are a very bright and powerful young lady, I know a fiery soul like you wouldn't really love the fact that you have to marry into the chains of the royal family but... I think that you're the only one who can make a difference in this world and become the queen everyone needs," the King says as he runs his fingers through his hair.

"I'll become the queen this kingdom needs, but until I actually become queen and not a second before, I plan to live my free life to the fullest. After all, a true ruler has to live among the commoners before leading them," I say.

"Wise words indeed... I fear that many other people would kill for you, literally. I know I'd want you as a future queen if you weren't already engaged to Ace. If you ever need any help, just come to me." The King says.

I nod in agreement. I know how many people would die for the chance to gain an upper hand in war.

"Now my shall we greet your parents? I'm sure they're dying of curiosity as to what we're doing in here," the King says as he gets up and extends his hand. I gladly accept as we walk towards the dining room.

"Now about those weapons..." The King starts.

"You only get five percent off. And that's being generous since I've put Monique Deveraux in charge of finance," I say.

"Agh, marquis Deveraux is such a scary fellow when it comes to money. I can imagine his daughter is no different."

"You are most definitely right your majesty," I laugh.

"I'm curious though, how did you find out about the grande suprele ball?" The King asks.

"You have your secret informants, I have mine," I reply as we turn around the corner.

"I'd actually like to know what happened to that servant of the earl. He was certainly very skilled."

"He'd make a fine bodyguard don't you think?" The King says. I se now, they're going to make him the royal family's lackey. It's so sad, I was planning to poach him as soon as I saw him. Even if he knocked me out, he's very skilled. Oh well, you can't win them all.

As the doors open, I see my parents sitting there. My mother notices me first and rushes towards me, hugging me, then checking to see if I'm okay... Then giving me the 'we're gonna have a talk later but in actuality I'm gonna kick your ass' face.

"Do you know how worried I was when we couldn't find you in your bedroom?! And then we hear word that you were nearly harrassed by a disgusting old man and was injured in the midst of it!" My mother yells. I look over to the King for help but he just backs away to the queen. Traitor... He's paying full price now...

The King and queen and ace just watched as I received the biggest lecture in all of their lives. Little do they know that mother has an even bigger lecture planned later in private. My dad was next after my mother finished shouting. He gave me that scary disappointed/angry/you're lucky I don't put you up for adoption glare. I closed my eyes, preparing myself for a the second lecture but I heard was a sigh and then... My father hugs me.

He hugs me for the first time in 11 years. I was so shocked that my most was wide open. Even the King and queen were shocked.

"Don't do that again. Upholding the Scilla name means nothing if you're dead," father says. My heart feels heavy all of a sudden, I feel so guilty that I let my parents worry about me all night. I fight back the urge to cry right there and then. All I did was hug him back, rubbing my face into his shoulders.

When I let go, my heart begins to ease up as I maintain my composure.

"Honestly Argent, in all my 37 years, I've never, not once, seen you show that much affection in public," the King says.

"You are the King of the kingdom. You have plenty of people to mourn you, however, she is my daughter. She outranks you in my heart," my father says bluntly. Cmon dad, that's embarrassing...

The queen laughs at the remark and the King does a surprised pikachu face before laughing aswell. I can tell that ace feels the same way as me right now. The visit ended with me and ace explaining everything that had happened.

My mother was shocked beyond belief but my father kept his poker face. When we finally got home, I got the even bigger lecture from my mother while my father was ordering some mages to triple spell my window so I don't escape ever again.

In the end, I couldn't do anything but smile. It was amazing at how much they care for me. Luna and Astro have disappeared into my head again. It turns out that the restricting rope blocked my link to them so they couldn't come to me when I was in danger. I fall onto my pillow and look at the ceiling. I soon fell asleep, waiting for tomorrow to come...

Man, Sylvia does more exercise in one day than I do in a week.