Panic alarm quickly set off inside Timothy's head. Without further delay, he unsheathed the dagger he brought with him and turned around, pointing it forward in a threatening manner.
"Who goes there!" His eyes scanned the area around until they landed on Ariel's sole figure—the girl was standing still with a wide stance and hands above her waist.
She was looking at them with squinted eyes, like how one would look at a suspicious criminal.
He, the royal Prince of Lioncrest, is being scrutinized by what he assumed was a mere peasant, fancied by his brother.
That thought alone made Timothy's blood race from shame.
"You there, whore!" Even though Ariel stood taller and older than him, the 14-year-old Prince barely cared about the tradition of respecting the elders as being a part of the elite makes him better than the majority even if they're older than him.
His insult was simply received with a confused tilt of a head from Ariel, "Whore?"
"That's right! You're Henry's whore, he fancies you isn't he? How much is he paying you?" Perhaps it was because of what he said in the second sentence that Ariel's ears automatically ignored the last one.
With a blushed face, Ariel breathed heavily as she softly held her cheeks, "H-Henry fancies me…So I'm actually called a whore?" She whispered to herself, her pupils turning heart-shaped.
On the other hand, the two grunts and Prince Timothy looked at one another in confusion. Why would a wench blush from being called a man's whore?
"Does it really matter that much being my brother's whore that all the women see it as a compliment?" Timothy gritted his teeth in anger. Even when it comes to women, his brother seems to be winning.
Meanwhile, while both parties were losing themselves in their own thoughts, Lily was already slowly moving away—inch by inch she was making her way to Ariel's position.
Only when she's already a few steps away from his brother do they finally notice.
"Hey! Halt!" Timothy pointed his finger at Lily and shouted, which immediately prompted her to bolt out of the place, she turned and ran without looking back—the only person in her vision was Ariel.
Timothy turned to the two twin grunts and cursed at them, "Why are you two idiots still standing there? Get her!"
The thug brothers looked at each other for a brief moment before shrugging their shoulders. There is only a girl and a child, not like it's hard to chase after them.
Meanwhile, Ariel snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Lily running towards her with a desperate expression. Combined with how she's running slowly and she accidentally releases her hold over the precious wooden toy, made Ariel's protective instincts flare.
Without saying anything more, she conjured her Ember out of nowhere, holding its shaft with both her hands and raising it high up in the air—the two prongs facing the sky, as if it were trying to pierce the heavens itself.
In an instant, the trees and grasses around them swayed as if a strong wind had flushed all over the place, the mud on the ground churned and out of it came flying a freshly purified translucent water devoid of the mud's filthy properties.
"What the?!" The two grunts slid to a halt while staring at the mesmerizing and yet terrifying scene occurring in front of them. On the other hand, Lily's eyes turned into sparkles as she excitedly watched the water slowly coalescing and swirling around Ariel like a water goddess that has descended to the earth to grace the mortals with her presence.
"Good heavens…" Timothy murmured to himself, the blood on his face draining by the second as realization finally dawning upon him.
The girl he just called a whore, might not be what he assumed her to be.
'She's also a magician, like Henry!' Timothy clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in anger. Jealousy was seething from his eyes as he wanted to cry out why would other people be gifted in magic but not him!?
He once tried to learn magic a few weeks ago, even steeling his pride to ask Master Elias for guidance, only to be shunned due to his lack of talent and affinity.
'He didn't even let me do anything or demonstrate magic. He just let me touch a glass ball before snatching it away a few seconds later!'
Of course, Timothy wouldn't forget that day. It was a huge strike on his pride as someone possessing superior blood compared to mere peasants.
Nevertheless, he's no match against someone like Ariel, especially after seeing her capabilities. No doubt about it that the two thugs he just sent out to their deaths wouldn't hold her back much. So without further ado, he turned on his heels and quickly ran, abandoning all sorts of decency.
Right now, he needs to be alive. As long as he is, he'll come up with a way to deal with freaks like Ariel, his brother, and his master.
Unfortunately for him, he was only right about one thing.
The two twin thugs weren't enough to hold her back, much less buy him some time. As with just a single movement of her hand, the coalesced ball of water turned into a raging tide of a tsunami that swept everythjng in its path, including everything aside from Lily who stood still as the tsunami passed through her harmlessly.
It didn't take long before the tsunami caught up to Timothy's running figure and also swept him inside where he joined the two siblings. And so, the three men were flailing their arms, cheeks inflated like a bubble as they tried to conserve the little air they had.
Meanwhile, Ariel slowly descended back on the ground, just as graceful as she ascended earlier. "Ariel! You were super cool!" Lily ran up to her and pulled her saviour's thigh into a hug.
Ariel smiled softly and reached out to touch the little girl's head, ruffling her hair slightly as she attempted to imitate what Henry once did to her when he patted her head.
Lily didn't mind of course, though Henry's pats are undeniably better.
"Of course I am!" Ariel puffed her chest in pride, her right hand still holding the shaft of Ember as the huge ball of water containing the three men was circling, eyes bloodshot and cheeks puffed in an air preservation attempt.
Despite this, they were staring at Ariel not in anger but in fear and regret.
Lily glanced at the huge ball of water and then asked in curiosity, "What're you gonna do with them?"
Ariel appeared with a thoughtful look before leaning down to meet Lily's eye level, "Let me ask you then, what do YOU think I should do with them? You're the one familiar with your…brother." She spoke the last word as it disgusted her.
Never in her entire lifetime had she heard or witnessed a person attempting to harm their sibling. In Ariel's eyes, doing that sort of thing immediately makes the worst person in the entire world!
"…What if we just ask Henry? My brother definitely knows how to handle this sort of thing!"
Ariel also nodded her head. She knows how capable Henry is and considering it is a matter of his siblings, it's only right for him to handle the matter.
"Then let's bring them in shall we?"
———
"You want me to steal a book?" Flynn Rider sat across from Henry, eyes darting towards the bottle of whiskey sitting on the table beside two glasses.
While Henry's glass is still partially full, his was already empty and his throat is itching for more but he was too embarrassed to ask.
Henry nodded his head, "More specifically my sister's diary. I've always known her habit of writing everything that happens to her day to day with a specific date on each. As a matter of fact, this isn't closed information, everyone in this castle knows it."
"Can I ask why?" Flynn asked in return. Thankfully, Henry noticed his predicament and filled his glass again before answering.
"I'll tell you after stealing it. For now, just do as I told you, use the map I just gave you to better navigate the castle, and do it at night—" Before Henry could finish his sentence, a knight barged in, interrupting their private discussion.
"Your Highness! Something happened that requires your attention!" The Knight sighed heavily after, as if a huge burden of carrying very critical news was lifted off his shoulders.
Henry immediately abandoned all he was doing and rushed out of the room with both the Knight and Flynn who trailed behind after chugging the newly filled glass of whiskey.
Which was soon followed by a series of coughing from the thief.
———
In front of the castle gates, a crowd has formed around as a three extremely drenched men sat on the ground with their heads bowed down, all except for one.
"This is blasphemy! I'm being framed! I'm the prince of this Kingdom, release me this instant!" Timothy started to pout nonsense and combined with his unappealing appearance, he doesn't sound that convincing.
Though even if he looked proper, people would still find his words hard to believe especially when the little princess and the most adored one is testifying against him herself.
It didn't take long before Henry arrived, along with the rest of the royal members.
While the King bears a worried look on his face, his wife was different, she was looking at Tinothy with a hint of satisfaction.
On the other hand, Samantha Charming first stared at the scene with surprise before turning into a full-blown grin filled with nothing but amusement.
"What's the meaning of this?" Maximus turned his attention from the three wet cats to Ariel and Lily, his creased brows were asking for answers.
Before they could answer, Timothy beat them to it, "She attacked me! She attacked your son! She attacked a royal Prince! She should be off with her hea—"
"Silence!" As soon as the word was yelled, Timothy turned silent. Not because of the shout but because of who it came from.
He was expecting his father to be the one to shout but instead, it was Henry, looking down on him with a disgusted expression.
"W-Why are you looking at me like that?!" Timothy gulped his saliva hard, his voice croaking in confusion and fear.
Henry simply crossed his arms, "Don't tell me your Smartass brain already forgot our laws? All sorts of crimes, be it made by the common man or the noblest of all, shall undergo the solid hand of justice."
"But they're framing me! It's an accusation!"
"That's why we're going to a very delicate process in order to discover who the real culprit is." Henry started to pace around the place, and all eyes were following him.
"Let's say you're telling us the truth. How do you prove it?" Henry crossed his arms and asked.
"Look at me! Do I look like I'm not attacked!?"
"Oh really? Then please pray tell, point your finger at the person who attacked you." Henry gestured for the crowd, causing some to back away in fear of getting falsely accused by the fallen Prince.
Fortunately for them, Henry was simply being performative. He's taken a liking to acting like a professional lawyer.
Timothy wasted no time and pointed at Ariel standing beside Lily, "Her! It was all her and her blasphemous sorcery!"
Before Ariel could even defend herself, Lily already stepped forward for her, "Liar! You tried to kill me! With those two scary men!"
"You're the lying brat here!" Just as the tensions were starting to rise and the place was getting more crowded, Henry cleared his throat and with a raise of his foot, he stomped hard on the ground.
Boom!
The entire place shook, putting a silence on the place, "Order in the court!"
"Due to the lack of sufficient evidence from both sides. This meeting shall be transferred to a more suitable ground. In the meantime, these three gentlemen shall be put behind bars." His words shocked not just Timothy but everyone listening.
"What?! What about the two of them?"
Henry scoffed, "Oh dear, Timothy have you forgotten again? Tsk tsk, I guess you're not as bright as I thought." Before the boy could explode in anger, he continued.
"Both Princess Lily and Ariel are under the age of 18. Meaning, they're not of eligible age to enter a prison. To compensate for this, they'll enter a very strict supervision of the court's chosen guardian."
"So am I! I'm only 14!" Timothy desperately replied.
"Right. You're right." Just as Timothy's face was about to contort into a relieved smile, Henry grinned, "Then as you're under the age of 18, we the court will assign a proper guardian for you."
"Allow my mother, The Queen herself to supervise you." In an instant, Timothy's smile turned into dread.
Everyone in the castle knows how much she despises the concubines and their children. If she were to supervise him, he might not even last until the next hearing!