Kaelen leaned closer to her as they walked. "So, uh… what's the deal with her? She seems charming, even though she's aggressive"
Mazikeen sighed. "She's Maximus's watchdog. Always sniffing around for trouble."
Kaelen grinned. "Well, at least I gave her something to sniff at."
Mazikeen couldn't help but smirk slightly. "You're impossible."
"Thank you," Kaelen replied, tossing his apple core to the side as they approached the next gate.
"Try not to make trouble when we get inside, it's not going to be friendly, I promise" Maze warned him
"Whatever you say ma'am" Kaelen said raising his hand in surrender
Before Mazikeen could say another word, a familiar voice called out.
"Maze!"
Mazikeen's head snapped toward the voice, her expression softening instantly. "Chloe!" she cried, her emotions flooding to the surface.
The two women ran toward each other and embraced tightly. Tears streamed down their faces as they held each other, their reunion filled with both joy and sorrow.
"You came back," Chloe said, pulling back just enough to look at Mazikeen's face.
"I had to," Mazikeen replied, wiping her tears quickly.
Chloe shook her head, her expression filled with worry. "Maze, it's dangerous. You know the consequences of returning."
Mazikeen gripped Chloe's hands tightly. "I don't have a choice, Chloe. It's been fifty years, and I'm still in the dark. I can't keep pretending everything is fine when it's not. I deserve answers."
Chloe's eyes brimmed with fresh tears. "I don't agree with this, Maze. You'll be punished, and you're not strong enough to withstand it right now."
Before Mazikeen could reply, Kaelen cleared his throat loudly, drawing their attention. "Excuse me, ladies, but I'm a little lost here. Punished? For what? Maze just came home. Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?"
Chloe frowned, her eyes narrowing as she turned to Kaelen. "Who's this?" she asked her gaze focused on him
"His name's Kaelen," Mazikeen said, her tone casual. "He's Lord Xandros's son."
Chloe's eyes widened in shock. "What? He's from the werewolf realm?"
Kaelen folded his arms and tilted his head. "And what if I am? Is there a problem with that?"
"You don't understand," Chloe said, her voice a low whisper. "It's dangerous for you to be here. The heavenly realm and the werewolf realm are enemies. You're not supposed to set foot here, Kaelen. If they find out who you are..."
Kaelen interrupted with a chuckle. "Wait, let me get this straight. I could get punished for just being in the heavenly realm? That doesn't seem very… well, heavenly."
Before Chloe could respond, the air grew tense, and Mazikeen's posture stiffened. A group of heavily armed guards surrounded them, followed by a delegation of elders. At their head was Lord Maximus, his presence suffocating and his expression thunderous.
Chloe's face paled as her heart raced. She knew this confrontation was inevitable but hadn't expected it so soon.
"So, it's true," Lord Maximus said, his voice calm but laced with menace. His piercing gaze locked on Mazikeen. "You dared to return."
Mazikeen's legs felt like jelly, but she forced herself to bow slightly. "Master," she said, her voice trembling.
"You dare disobey my orders?" Maximus asked, his tone growing harsher.
"No, Master, I..."
"Silence!" he thundered, cutting her off. His eyes blazed with fury. "Not only did you return without permission, but you had the audacity to bring an imposter from a forbidden realm! A traitor!"
Kaelen's brows shot up. "Whoa, hold on! Imposter? Traitor? That's a little harsh, don't you think?"
Mazikeen quickly stepped in front of him, her voice pleading. "Master, please. Kaelen is innocent. He's my friend. If you must punish someone, punish me. He didn't know the rules."
Maximus sneered. "Your friend? You dare speak of friendship with a werewolf? This is a betrayal of the highest order, Mazikeen. You are no longer worthy to stand before me."
Kaelen stepped forward, his fists clenched. "Alright, enough of this nonsense. Maze isn't some criminal, and I'm not an imposter. If you have a problem with us, maybe we should actually talk about it instead of jumping straight to threats."
"Kaelen, stop!" Mazikeen hissed, panic in her voice.
Maximus turned to Rose, who stood smirking in the shadows. "Take them both to the dungeons," he ordered coldly. "No food or water for three days. And see that they each receive two hundred lashes every day until I decide their fate."
Gasps rippled through the crowd that had gathered to watch. Many of them loved Mazikeen and couldn't bear to see her treated so harshly. Some wept openly, their pleas falling on deaf ears.
"Master, please!" Chloe cried, stepping forward. "She's just a child who's made a mistake, her body is still too weak for two hundred strokes, Maze might die. Please have mercy!"
"Enough!" Maximus roared, silencing her. "You do not oppose my orders, got it?" He said looking at Chloe and without another glance at Mazikeen or Kaelen, he turned on his heel and disappeared into the crowd, his robes billowing behind him.
Mazikeen's heart sank as she turned to Kaelen. "I told you this place wasn't friendly."
Kaelen shrugged, trying to mask his growing fear. "Yeah, well, I guess I should've listened to you" he said
*********
Some group of men that has been planted by Annabelle to watch over Mazikeen returned with panic spread on their faces, although they were trained warriors but they don't have the right to invade the heavenly realm, as soon as they approached and Annabelle saw the look on their faces she knew that things has gone out of control, she immediately stood to her feet
"What happened?" She asked as soon as they came closer
"The star goddess is in trouble," one of the warriors said. "Although we didn't gather much, she was stopped on her way into the realm by Rose," he said, stressing the word Rose. Annabelle's eyes lit up with rage and hatred on hearing the name, she tightly folded her hands into a fist, she recalled how Rose slit her father's throat during the war between the demons and the heavenly realms.