'Could that despicable person be our future queen? '

A week had already passed. Athena was glad that the vampire king had not yet come after her. She licked her dry lips as she looked at the table before her. After obtaining those ten thousand gold coins, she had been eating to her heart's content for the past few days. Her table was full of all kind of food but she was not satisfied.

"I also need a full roasted chicken," she ordered.

The waiter gaped at her in shock. He remained rooted on the ground as he stared at her tiny frame then looked at the table. Just how was she going to finish all that food?

Athena looked at the frozen waiter feeling annoyed. "What's wrong?"

The waiter snapped out of his daze and stammered, "Please wait a minute miss." He then scurried out of the room. Athena began to eat. A few heads turned to look at her table then at her curiously. Athena felt more annoyed. Why were they staring at her like that?

She ignored their strange gazes and ate with a blissful expression. She did not forget to feed Little Snow too.

Soon the waiter came back with the roasted chicken.

He was shocked to see half of the food that was on the table earlier gone. He looked at the little girl who appeared not more than fourteen years old. She was not eating too fast nor slow too. The way she ate was so elegant...

He almost dropped the tray that he was carrying in disbelief. He placed the tray on the table and left.

She rolled her eyes. What's wrong with these people?

People looked at her every now and then. Soon only the roasted chicken was left.

Their eyes almost popped out of their sockets in disbelief. Just were did all that food go? Athena was about to start eating her roasted chicken when four tall men entered. They had an intimidating aura and they wore that kind of no-nonsense look.

A short and fat man followed behind.

Her heart skipped a bit.

The fat man was none other than Lord William. What was he doing here?

Could it be that the crazy king had sent him to find her? She quickly covered her face with a hood and tried to concentrate on eating but her hands were trembling noticeably.

Lord William's small red eyes scanned the place. "Look around," he ordered the four tall men. Athena swallowed hard but did not dare to raise her head. The four obediently began to check everyone's face.

"I don't think that our future queen is here, my lord." one of the four tall men said.

Athena bit her bottom lip hard until she could taste her own blood. So they were looking for her...

Little Snow seemed to sense her fear and snuggled closer to her chest. Athena looked into its innocent black eyes and gave it a weak smile. She knew that she was doomed.

Lord William moved his fat short legs and walked around, checking everyone's face. "But where could she be? We have looked everywhere for her." The men did not say anything. Lord William stopped at her table that was in a corner.

"Look at me," he commanded in a cold voice. She did not look up.

"I said look at me!" he raised his voice a little. Still she continued to look down. The people looked at her like she was crazy. Was this girl stupid? Did she still want to live?

"Are you deaf?!" he yelled but she only flinched and did not look up.

He stretched his hand to remove her hood. With a swish, she gave Lord William a hard kick and did not forget to pick up her roasted chicken and fled. She jumped out of a window and ran at full speed. It happened so fast that no one could comprehend what had actually happened.

Everyone looked at Lord William who was laying on the ground while holding his precious jewels.

"..."

Five minutes... Six minutes... Ten... Fifteen minu....

"She is getting away," one of Lord William's men said, making him snap out of his daze. His face flushed in anger and embarrassment. "Don't you just stand there!" he yelled. "Quickly go after that brat!"

They ran out of the restaurant but she had already disappeared out of their sight. "Look for that brat!" he yelled. How could that brat dare to kick his jewels... Does she have a death wish?

"Could that person be our future queen?" the one youngest of the four asked hesitantly.

Fatty shot him a glare. "Andrew, how could the future queen do something outrageous like that? Besides I did not get to see the brat clearly. What I am sure of is that it's a lady because she was wearing a dress."

"..." Who could that crazy brat be?

"Look over there!" said Andrew as he pointed at a running girl with a hood hiding her face. She then disappeared in a crowd.

"It's that brat! Catch her!" Fatty ordered.

"F*ck," Athena cursed when she noticed that there were people following her.

"You pigs go home! Why are you following me?!" Athena yelled at them.

She yelled all the curses she could think of at them. Their expressions darkened. Just who was this outrageous lady?

Fatty was the one who was insulted the most. His face was dark and his fat and round body was trembling with rage. When he surely gets his hands on that stinky brat, he was going to shred her into pieces!

"You f*cking pieces of shit! You... *Beep* Bastards* Beep*You motherfuckers! Beep*Beep* Go and eat your own shit. *Beep*"

Surely the five began to see red but to their astonishment, they could not catch her. She ran so fast like a cheetah. Little Snow's ears twitched as it listened to her vulgar words. She surely had a foul mouth.

She entered into the forest and the five men followed her. Fatty was already panting hard. Sweat broke on his forehead.

"You stop right there!" he yelled at her but she did not stop. Instead she ran further into the forest. Her face flushed and she panted but that didn't stop her from hurling curses at them.

She took a sharp turn and her tiny frame disappeared from their sight. It was as if they were playing hide and seek. Fatty felt frustrated. They surely could not catch a little brat?!

Athena began to slow down involuntarily. Her breathing became heavy and her legs felt numb. Why does she always have to run most of the time? Was she going to keep on running away from people till the day she dies? No, she needed to become stronger for the time being. She quickly hid behind a tree.

"Where did she go?!" Fatty yelled. "She got to be somewhere here..."

Athena held her breath as she listened to their heavy footsteps.

"I can sense her presence," someone said. She tried to calm down her pounding heart.

A huge black snake slithered towards her. Athena watched the snake slowly made its way towards her and bit her bottom lip hard, trying to prevent herself from screaming. It came nearer and nearer...

"I have found her!"

Thoughtlessly, she picked the snake up with her free hand and threw it at the source of the voice and began to run again!

"Ah!" someone screamed. Athena did not look back and kept on running.

Can't they just leave her alone?

She knew that she had reached her limit. Her vision became hazy and the voices of those idiots became distant. She dragged her feet. She needed to escape. Her eyes lit up when she saw a house that was ahead of her. She turned to look back and noticed that no one was following her.

She dragged her exhausted body to the house. She raised her hand and rapped the door hard. The door opened, revealing a young and kind looking woman.

"He... Help me," she whispered and collapsed in the woman's arms and fainted.

...

"Are you alright my lord?" Andrew asked with a shocked expression as he stared in fascination at Lord William's shiny bald head. His clothes were dirty and wrinkled. He had a strange look in his eyes. He looked haggard and he looked like he had aged fifty years more after two months.

He looked completely different from the elegant and calm man whom everyone knew. Right now, one might mistaken him for a tramp or a madman.

"Do I look okay to you?" Lord William aka Fatty snapped at him. He rubbed his smooth head in frustration. Andrew could not take his eyes off his bald head.

Lord William had slowly lost his hair after the disappearance of the future queen. How can someone loose his hair just because of anxiousness? His temper had even become so unreasonable.

"What are you staring at?!" he yelled loudly at Andrew.

Andrew's ears almost bled instantly at the sound of that loud yell. He rubbed his ringing ears.

"Get lost immediately!" he yelled and Andrew scurried away.

"How impudent!" he spat and glared at the guards who were staring at him agape. They quickly looked away and acted as if nothing had happened.

He harrumphed and walked away.

The guards turned to look at him with sympathy. He really was on the verge of loosing his mind. They all shook their heads bitterly. Future human queen, where are you?

Somewhere in the kingdom...

A woman wearing a gorgeous red dress stood with a sly smile plastered on her porcelain face as she looked at the dark sky. The stars shone brightly but she was interested in a star that was slightly bigger and was a bit far from other stars.

It shone dimly unlike other stars. Her face was half covered with her fiery red hair and her red painted lips moved slightly. Her appearance was so seductive and enchanting but she had an intimidating aura that made her look unapproachable.

"The great king of stars," she muttered as she stared at the dim star. "Or should I say the great queen of stars?" She let out a low chuckle.

Someone came running. Her face flushed and she panted. She gave a quick bow. "Greetings, your highness."

The woman just waved her hand nonchalantly as a response.

"Your highness, should I begin the task?" the girl asked calmly.

"What's the rush?" the woman drawled lazily. "She is still weak and useless after all. She needs to face some hardships to strengthen up."

"Yes, milady." she bowed and sneaked a glance at her lady's beautiful face before leaving. Her cheeks were slightly red. The woman noticed her actions but pretended like she did not notice.

She clicked her tongue and muttered to herself. "I wonder what you are doing right now, child of darkness... Do enjoy your numbered days because..." She paused before continuing with a strange smile. "...the time of destruction is about to arrive."

...

"Athena..."

Athena's eyes shot open when she heard someone call her name. She looked around and was puzzled when she did not see anyone. She could no longer hear the voice that was calling her name.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes. What was that? Her hazy eyes became focused as she looked around sharply and let out a groan. Why was she in some foreign room again?

What was more bewildering was that she did not feel uncomfortable. Instead she found it familiar and cosy. This place gave off a pleasant feeling making her relax a little.

The door was opened and a young human girl entered.

The girl was surprised to see her awake. A wide grin appeared on her face. Before Athena could say anything, the girl pounced at her and pinched her cheeks. Athena's eyes turned watery. It hurts!

She glared at the tough looking girl. This girl is too strong for her age. "Kiddo, you have finally woken up!" she chuckled lazily and pinched her again.

"Who are you calling kiddo?" Athena tried to sound intimidating but her voice came out sounding pitiful. Coupled with her watery eyes and red cheeks, she looked so adorable tempting the girl to pinch her again.

"Mommy, Trisha is bullying people again!" a childlike voice rang. Both turned to see a five year old girl standing calmly at the door whilst holding a white rabbit.

"Little Snow?" Athena blurted out but Little Snow did not turn to look at her. Athena felt annoyed. "Little Snow!" she called out hoarsely.

"What's going on?" a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties came. "Didn't I tell you to not... You are awake?" She sounded surprised as she stared at Athena.

"Yeah the kiddo is awake," the tough looking girl who was named Trisha said.

Athena glared at her secretly. First she pinched her cheeks and now she was calling her kiddo? This girl seemed to be the same age as her!

"Trisha, what did you do to her?" the woman glared at Trisha.

"I just pinched her cheeks, mom." Trisha answered with an innocent look.

The woman sighed helplessly.

"Please don't take my daughter's behaviour to heart," the woman said apologetically. "Trisha, get our guest a glass of water. She must be thirsty after being unconscious for about a month."

Athena's eyes widened. Trisha was her daughter? She appeared to be a maiden... But that was not important. The important thing is that she had been unconscious for a month... A whole month!

"I have been unconscious for a whole month?" she asked looking astounded.

The woman nodded. "Let me introduce myself properly. I am Alisha Robson. You can call me Lady Alisha and that girl over there is Sophia."

Trisha entered the room with a glass of water at that moment. "And that is Trisha."

Athena nodded. "It's nice to meet you all. I am Athena. How did I end up being here?"

"Oh, you don't remember?" Lady Alisha asked in surprise.

Athena thought hard and recalled something. She remember being chased by Lord William and his lackeys then she stumbled upon this house.

"I do remember now," Athena said with a smile.

"Thank you," Athena said gratefully as she accepted the glass of water from Trisha. "Thank you for taking care of me whilst I was unconscious."

She looked resentfully at Little Snow who was resting comfortably in Sophia's arms. Traitor!

Lady Alisha waved her hand. "You are welcome. I am curious. Were you being chased?"

Athena fidgeted. She did not feel like talking about her previous experiences. Although they all looked kind and did not seem to have any bad intentions, she did not yet fully trust them. "I..."

"It's okay if you do not want to talk about it," Lady Alisha said with a kind smile. "When you feel like talking about it, you can just look for me."

Athena nodded. After drinking the water, she handed the empty glass back to Trisha.

Lady Alisha stood up. "I am now leaving. If you ever need me, I will be in the lounge room. Trisha and Sophia make sure that our guest is comfortable. Athena, please make yourself at home."

With that, she left.

"You have to take a bath," Trisha said.

She looked at her tiny figure. Athena felt uncomfortable under her intense gaze.

"My clothes are too big for your tiny frame but for the meantime they will do."