Holding hands

"Where do you think you are going, kitten?" Mikel stood like a towering mountain in front of Sylvia, blocking her view of the sweet sweet freedom.

"Aha ha ha. I apologize, your highness. I got lost." Sylvia weakly smiled and replied, whilst crying buckets inside.

"Heh. Is that so?" The devil curved his lips upwards. 

Sylvia's heart sank looking at that familiar expression. This man was up to no good.

"Since you seem to be incapable of following simple instructions…" 

The man paused, his hand reaching out and grabbing hers without any further explanation.

Sylvia winced uncomfortably, though his grip was neither painful nor firm. 

It was rather warm and gentle but at the same time, she could tell that it was going to be an impossible ordeal to get away from his grasp.

As the man tugged her, she quickly followed along catching up to Theodore and Cassius who were walking ahead of them.

Sylvia couldn't help but look down in embarrassment. She could suddenly feel several pairs of eyes on her.

And some of them had particularly strong killing intent.

She gulped trying to ignore the prying eyes while simultaneously curing the hooligan.

Not only was the devil ridiculously good-looking but the man was also a royal prince.

So obviously, when he held another woman's hand in such an intimate manner and walked casually, it sent the wrong picture.

Even though she was a slave, she looked gorgeous and had donned a pretty dress, so rather than a man dragging his slave, in other's eyes they appeared as lovers walking together, holding hands.

Thanks to that, Sylvia was currently being eyed with envy by the other women in the busy market.

And to make matters worse, Mikel stood out like a sun on a cloudy sky attracting all sorts of attention.

Other women might probably be happy and become ecstatic, provided with such a rare and delicious opportunity, but to Sylvia holding hands with the devil was nothing more than a leash on her neck.

She sighed helplessly and ran along as the devil dragged her. 

The man had long strides thanks to his tall stature and he walked much faster than her.

Sylvia was almost panting and out of breath by the time they walked past the huge market and reached the forest borders.

Her legs as well were a bit sore.

As if that was not enough, the little devil pointed at her and poked her.

"He He He. Slave gal is so weak." The kid chuckled. 

Now that he had 'made' up to Sylvia after having fed her several milk sweets, he was back to his normal and cheerful self.

Sylvia glared at him but quickly changed her expression, controlling her anger.

Though she wanted to pinch the chubby boy's cheeks till they tuned bright pink, she managed to squeeze out a weak smile and nodded.

The group paused a while in front of one of the rough trails leading into the forest.

They then armed themselves with appropriate pieces of equipment.

Sylvia watched in amazement as Mikel and Theodore, both touched their rings on their respective index fingers, and things magically popped up in their hands one by one.

What the hell? She stared dumbfoundedly at this magic.

"Slave gal. Wha cha are you looking at?"

"Ha Ha Ha. Have wu not seen a magic ring before?"

Cassius waved his palm in front of her, trying to get her attention and trying to show off that he as well had one such rings.

When Sylvia's eyes trailed down and fell onto his small chubby body, he grinned proudly and took out a small bow and arrow.

This again??? Terror filled Sylvia's eyes as she glanced at the three bows in the three men's hands.

Except for the one on Cassius's hand, the other two looked particularly terrifying.

Unlike the wooden bow which Mikel had used previously, this time the one he was wielding looked golden and magnificent, with several gems lining the limbs of the bow.

The knight Theodore's bow was equally splendid and was emitting a powerful aura.

Please! Please! Please! Don't make me the bait again. Sylvia prayed inwardly, cursing her bad luck.

Mikel, finally couldn't stand the faces she was making and leaned closer to whisper in her ears.

"Settle down, kitten. I won't be aiming for you today." He chuckled, taking great pleasure in her misery.

But Sylvia was already used to the jerk and his bullying ways. So she simply sighed in relief.

"Slave gal. You don't have a bow?" Cassius beamed and nagged her again.

Apparently, the kid was determined to show off to her since the other two guys had obviously better pieces of equipment than him.

"I don't have one, your highness." Sylvia nodded and replied to him, hoping that this would satisfy his eagerness to boast.

But the little villain did not relent and turned around to flash an adorable smile at Mikel.

"Uncle! Shall we give slave gal one bow too? I want to compete with her!!!"