"I command you to check for the mark, just as he claimed!" the King ordered the maid.
"And if it isn't there… give her one," he added with a chilling finality.
The maid nodded. "As you wish, Your Majesty."
She reached through the iron bars and grabbed Aya to pull her out. Strangely, instead of slamming against the metal, Aya's body slipped through the bars as if she were a mere spirit, weightless and ethereal.
"W-wait! Ficky! Help me!"
Aya's screams echoed through the corridors as she was dragged away. Not long after, another shriek pierced the silence.
"Hey! What are you doing?! GYAAAA!"
Ficky swallowed hard, masking his shock as Aya's cries rang out again.
"There was no mark," the maid announced, returning a moment later.
Aya, disheveled and trembling, was shoved back toward the bars. Before she could process anything, the maid moved with frightening speed.
Slash!
The maid sliced Ficky's hand. While pinning Aya down to prevent her from escaping, the maid began chanting an incantation. Using the blood drawn from Ficky, she began "painting" a design onto Aya's shoulder.
A unique, haunting pattern—resembling a symbol of death—was seared permanently into Aya's skin. As the seal took hold, a brilliant light erupted from the mark before fading into a dull, permanent glow. The slave mark was complete.
"It is done, Your Majesty."
The maid vanished into the shadows. The King turned to Aya with a wide, satisfied grin.
"You're a slave now, aren't you? With this, you can never truly leave that man's side."
Physically, Aya felt no different, but the weight of reality crashed down on her. Her lie had become her prison. By pretending to be a slave, she had legally and magically bound herself to the blonde man forever.
"As for you, blonde man with the mismatched eyes… I know exactly who you are," the King said, eyeing Ficky. "I'll allow you both to stay the night. As promised, I will tell you how to return to your world—provided you accept my request."
By some miracle, they had survived. The King even prepared a room for them, though it meant they had to share the same space. But while the King seemed to accept them, the rest of the royal family clearly felt otherwise.
***
Late that night, in the palace courtyard, Aya spotted Ficky from a distance. He was sitting alone, staring up at the sky.
Aya followed his gaze. The sky above was bizarre, filled with clouds that spiraled like a surreal painting. She stepped onto the soft green grass and approached him, catching the faint sound of him muttering to himself.
"Ficky? Who are you talking to?"
He opened his sapphire-blue eye, glancing back at her before she sat down beside him. For a moment, Aya was mesmerized. His features seemed to glow under the strange celestial light. Feeling flustered by his cold, sharp gaze, she quickly looked away.
"What are you actually doing out here?" she asked, her voice small.
Ficky reached out, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him.
"If you want to talk, then talk. Why are you suddenly acting so terrified?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He slid his sunglasses back on, hiding his eyes once more.
Aya froze, her face flushing hot. She was flustered, but also still annoyed by everything that had happened.
"Has he told you yet? How we get back?"
Ficky sighed and stood up, shaking his head.
"It hurts," Aya confessed, her voice trembling. "I don't want to stay in a place like this. It's too foreign, too strange. I hate it."
She couldn't hold it back anymore. The mystery of why that hooded figure had sent them here and the sheer terror of this world were too much. Meeting King Gorgeous VIII had been a stroke of luck, but it wasn't enough to make her feel safe.
"So, what is the King's request? He's making you do something in exchange for the way home, right?"
"Yeah. He wants me to take out a monster at the Sacred Altar tomorrow morning. Only then will he talk—though I have my doubts."
"Doubts? About what?"
"Is there anyone in this place worth trusting? I don't even trust you."
His words were like ice. Aya felt a pang of disappointment. She had hired him as a bodyguard thinking he'd be a professional, but his attitude was insufferable. To him, she was just a paycheck.
"If we don't trust anyone, how can we expect anyone to trust us?" Aya shot back.
"You'll never understand how it feels... being turned into a slave for this kingdom."
Ficky stunned, clearly caught off guard by her words. He looked at her from behind his dark lenses, his expression cynical, as if Aya's innocence was his greatest enemy.
"What do you know about it?" he muttered, turning his back to her.
"Hey! I'm allowed to have an opinion, aren't I? I'm a stranger here. I have no one!"
"Who says you have no one?" he countered without looking back. "Don't you have me?"
Aya's heart skipped a beat. Her jaw dropped in disbelief. She wondered if she had misheard him, but the words were clear. Don't you have me?
"'Don't you have me,' he says..." she whispered, trying to hide her blushing face.
"You have me as your bodyguard, obviously," Ficky added flatly.
The romantic tension shattered like glass. Aya stood there, stunned. For a split second, she thought he was being sweet, but of course, he was just being himself.
"I should have known better than to expect anything from you!" she grumbled, frustratedly stomping on the ground.
As she fumed, Ficky glanced back and smirked, clearly enjoying the fact that he had riled her up.
The night grew deeper. Aya assumed Ficky had headed back to their room, but when she entered, the space was empty.
"He's not here?"
Ficky had vanished. In the middle of the night, in a world she didn't know, Aya had lost her only protection. The man who was supposed to be by her side was gone, as if he had been snatched away—or worse, as if he had simply abandoned her.
"How could this happen? Did he... did he really leave me here all alone?" Her voice was a shaky whisper, a mix of disappointment and raw, paralyzing fear.
Standing alone in the dark, foreign silence, Aya's heart hammered against her ribs. She felt a cold, dark omen washing over her. She was a target, and now, she was defenseless.