The Villainess Wants To Go Home novel Chapter 76

It was the feeling of happiness and joy in the castle. The cheerful voices echoing the hallway once again, maids chatting joyfully as they strolled down the huge corridors of the marble palace with their daily chores or flirted with the royal knights or guards.

Kitchen staff cooked up a feast with loud enthusiasm, the mouth-watering smell lingering the air making the people close by drool at the thought of the glorious food that was going to be prepared for all of them as a reward from the king for spending night after night, day after day looking after the young prince who was ill.

Knights were drinking away in entertainment, clashing their wooden mugs together spilling their ale across the table as they did.

The cheerful atmosphere of the castle had returned once again taking over the gloomy and dull feeling that lingered around everyone these past months.

Meanwhile in the sleeping chamber of the prince where the warm rays of sun shining down upon the windows and brightening the room, the Empress sat on a chair beside her sleeping son while her hand gently stroked his soft silver hair. A soft melody she sang as her lavender eyes stared tenderly down at her son's sleeping face.

His chubby cheeks enlighten with a hint of pink that made Arabella want to kiss it, a little button up nose, thin eyebrows and long eyelashes that covered his eyes. He was an adorable little boy who would grow up to become someone handsome that all the girls will fall head over hills like they did to Ambrose when he was in his youth years and still marriageable and now to Neil who resembled his father very much.

Soft gentle breaths came from as he snored soundly.

"\~May you bring love and may you bring happiness. Be love in return to the end of your days\~" Arabella sang softly. Her voice gentle like melody of a flute yet beautiful like a siren.

"\~Now fall off to sleep, I'm not meaning to keep you. I'll just sit for a while and sing loo-li, Lai-lay\~" with a every stroke of his silver hair Arabella sang, her hands tracing through his hair as his head lay comfortably on the white pillow.

"\~May there always be angels to watch over you. To guide you each step of the way\~" the birds had began to chirp outside listening to the sirens voice inside the castle.

"\~To guard you and keep you safe from all harm, Loo-li, loo-li, Lai-lay\~"

Her beautiful singing wasn't just listened by the sleeping prince but the emperor who stood outside the chamber with his back leaned against the wall as his gloomy silver eyes stared down at his feet, eyes filled with shame and guilt and a face that could contain the anger towards himself.

His heart begged him to waltz in through these doors, kneel down on his knees and beg for forgiveness from his wife, but his mind refused. He was too ashamed of his actions yesterday to even come face to face with his dear wife.

With the end of her lullaby, Arabella pressed a kiss on Ben's forehead. "M-mother why did you stop?" Arabella felt something sting her heart. Glancing down she met the faded colour of her son's violet eyes that stared up at her in wonder. Those sweet eyes that she thought she would never see again made her heart sink to the ground as her eyes became a blur because of the tears that she could not contain came prickling down.

"B-Benjamin" Arabella voice trembled with a crack. "Thank the Gods they gave mercy to my son" she scooped his head up into her embrace, hugging him as she snuzzled her face on top of his head soaking his silver hair with her tears.

The young prince hugged his mother back, hiding his face on her bosom and clenching the back of her material with his fist while salty tears began to fall down Ben's eyes. "I'm sorry for getting sick and worrying you mother" Ben apologised with a muffled voice.

Arabella released her hug, cupping her child's cheek and staring deeply into his innocent eyes that resembled hers so much "My dear child you are not at fault. Do not blame yourself but your mother for not being able to stop it sooner" she placed her brow on his, tears still blurring her vision.

The door suddenly flung open startling the two. "Ben!" Ambrose gasped as he stood in the entry with a trembling body. His face had become pale, and his black pupils shook. Staring at his youngest son's sudden surprised face that faded away to be replaced with a sweet innocent smile.

"Father"

Ambrose tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, he bolted towards Ben before kneeling beside the bed and placing his head on Ben's lap. "Thank the Gods you are alive and recovered. I thought I lost you" he cried clenching his son's soft little hands gently.

"I thought the Gods had ignored my prayers and left you to die" Ambrose sniffed, his face hiding away from everyone. "Forgive me child that I had failed as a father"

"Why does everyone keep blaming themselves for something they hadn't done. I should be the one apologising for getting sick" Ben said with a sniffle, wiping away his tears with his sleeve.

Ambrose lifted his head up and glanced at his teary son, his cheeks had gone red from crying and so had his eyes.

"My dear son" Ambrose reached out his hand and placed it behind Ben's neck before pulling him into his embrace. "Do not fret now, you are well, and the empire will now rejoice for your recovery"

Ben did not reply but continued to hug his father deeply. A gentle smile appeared on Arabella's face as she watched her husband and son like this however her heart ached from Ambrose actions yesterday that would lay a permanent home in her heart for as long as she could remember.

"Father where is big brother Neil? Why has he not come to see me?"

\~Artemis P.O. V\~

"Your cheating!" Homura squawked loudly, his voice echoing the cell room and making the chains rattle a little.

"Your just saying that because you suck" I said with a dead panned expression while watching Homura observe my fingers with his beady onyx eyes.

"I was doing perfectly fine before you cheated" he hissed tapping my index finger with his feather version of it and I changed my number of fingers that was two to three.

"You lost 45 times in a row without a single win" I rolled my eyes, tapping my other hand that had one finger out and making it consist of four fingers now.

"That's because you cheated the whole time" he said refusing to believe that he just sucked at playing chop sticks. His eyes examined my hands from left to right, nervously thinking of a way to beat me.

My left hand had four fingers out while my right had three. Homura on the other hand had 1 feather out on his left wing and 2 on the other wing.

In general, he was going to lose whatever he plans to do.

"Hiya" Homura smacked his feather on my left hand turning it to five and disqualifying that hand from the game. I could see in his eyes that he was smirking.

"Dumb bird" I smacked his right wing that had two fingers and disqualifying that one, I glanced up to his face drop from sheer confusion. Homura lifted his one feather up to eye level.

"One left"

It was his turn, and he couldn't bring his other hand back in because he only has one feather instead of two or three to be able to use. His only choice is to hit my only had which has three and turn it into four and I will be able to take him out and win again for the 46th time.

"that's it I'm not playing with a cheater" he squawked throwing his hands in the air like he threw a pack of cards.

"It's not cheating Homura, it's called tactics" I explained placing my chin on my palm and resting it on my leg "and coincidentally I know all of them" a smirked appeared on my face revealing the mischief hidden in my eyes.

Homura gave me an emotionless expression as if I said I was going to fly or something "That's just telling a newborn child to run a race an adult" Homura referenced with a slight sarcasm.

"Why do have to be such a sore loser for everything. It's just a game"

"You mean human games not fox games" Homura huffed in annoyance, his chest raising up in dominance.

"Well then since you suck at human games, why don't we play a game you want?" I suggested gesturing my hands to him. He narrowed his eyes at me searching for any misleading information.

"No" Homura said without any hesitation, lifting his beak in the air like a sassy drama queen.

"Oi, you crazy old hag stop talking to your bird" A ruff and croaky voice echoed the hallway and to the cell I was staying and for those cackles of laughter soon took over the whole dungeon. These dungeon dwellers have been making fun of me for the whole day, telling me I fucked up or I was never going to be released.

They were just a bunch of annoying convicts I ignored yesterday and today.

Homura and I glanced at each other for a mere second as if we just seen something stupid again.

"At least she is going to be set free unlike you guys who will be rotting in here for the rest of your moral mutton chopped life" Homura squawked.

I sighed, ruffling my white hair back and leaning against the stone-cold wall, I was exhausted not from working out all day but from the lack of sleep I had last night.

The cell reeked of rat shit and piss and the moisture in the air clogged my air way a couple of times. I can't say much about last night either, it was damp freezing in this cell that I probably would have had trouble opening my eyes due to it being frozen and the thin blanket they gave me wasn't much of a help either excluding the fact it was so itchy and didn't cover my whole body.

‘They could have at least given me a VIP prison cell then this dump. I saved their prince, those ungrateful bastards'

I glanced over to Homura who lay in the middle of the prison with his wings and claws spread apart as his eyes stared up at the ceiling, bored. "Has the human cub woken up yet?" Homura whined with disinterest. He too was bored out of his mind like me.

"You're asking a million-dollar question"

"Huh?" he lifted his head to take a peek at me.

"Human slang" I rose my eyebrow with a sarcastic smile forming across my face. He slumped his head back down and sighed a long breath before it all went silent. None of spoke a word for a couple of seconds.

"Wanna play chopsticks?" I broke the silence with a suggestion to play again.