Rejected By My Mate

When I entered the new Moonlight Kingdom in the southern part of the magic realm, which belonged to the angel clans before, I spotted Leo (Lucia's friend back at the old Moonlight Kingdom in the mortal world) wiping some dust in the clear window of his new transport.

As I looked up, I saw a castle above located on the mountain top. I was about to teleport, but I changed my mind when I saw Leo facing me.

So I waved at him to get his attention, and his eyes widened when he finally recognized me. He hurried to approach me and bowed the moment he stopped in front of me.

"Welcome back, Princess Alexandria—I mean Lady Alice!" He scratched his head in embarrassment. I chuckled. "It's fine, Leo."

He looked at me with eyes widened and mouth hanging in awe. “Y-You remember my name?”

"Of course! You are Lucia’s friend, right?” he nodded with a smile.

"Please bring me to the castle,” I said, and his face lit up.

"It is my honor. Wait for me here, Lady Alice. Let me take my carriage!" He hurriedly walked towards his transport across the road and drove towards me.

This time, his new transport is an automatic carriage (a carriage without a horse or any animals). It runs with the help of the magical stone.

He opened the passenger door, and I got inside. Wow, it looks cozy and modern. It's nothing like his old carriage. Well, this time they improvise their means of transportation because I also saw others using the new carriage, too.

Maybe it's because of the abundance of magical stones scattered everywhere. I can already see the future of the magic realm—though it consists of good and bad, either way, it's necessary for future improvement.

I noticed that their kingdom was complete and looked so modern, with a touch of classic design. The design blended perfectly, and it looked so peaceful. The colorful magical trees also added to the peaceful scenery of the kingdom. And the people's laughter resonated in my ear, which also added good vibes to the surrounding.

The aroma of different spices and dishes filled my nostrils and I'm surprised I didn't feel nauseous. I took a peek outside, and we passed by an open food court. Many people were eating inside and they looked so happy. That's where the laughter came from. That made me smile.

"Leo, why are you still driving the carriage?” I asked curiously as I settled myself back.

He cleared his throat. "Hehe. I guess I was used to bringing a visitor to the castle! Whenever someone visits, it makes me happy to serve them!" he said proudly.

I smiled and complimented him. "You're a good man, Leo."

He smiled. “Thank you, Lady Alice.”

After 10 minutes, we arrived at the castle. I thanked Leo before he left.

The guards let me inside when they recognized me.

"Princess—"

“Lady Alice!” someone called and when I looked to my right, I saw Lucas, papa Alexander's nephew, and Stephen's brother. He strode towards me with hurried steps.

"Hey, Lucas.” I greeted him as soon as he stopped in front of me. He smiled at me, then bowed his head respectfully.

"Uncle Alexander and Aunt Leia were in the garden. Come and let me take you to them," he said while looking into my eyes. His calm composure surprised me. The last time I saw him, he was so distant and only talked when needed.

I nodded, and we walked together to the path going at the back of the castle while chatting a bit. A little while later, I saw two figures sitting together on the white bench under the huge magical tree while watching the beautiful scenery below. They looked so peaceful.

Well, the castle was up in the mountain and up here, they can see the entire colorful town of the Moonlight Kingdom below.

I walked silently towards them and they still didn't notice my presence because they were talking at ease with each other.

Lucas ushered me to go on and he walked back inside the castle. "Wow, it's beautiful up here," I commented with a smile and stopped beside them.

They turned to me and froze. They blink their eyes and suddenly widen in surprise. And they both stood up in shock.

"Alexa!" Mama Leia was the first one to speak and rush towards me. She engulfed me in a tight hug while crying. "I miss you so much!”

"I miss you too, mama,” I said and returned the tight hug. When I regain my memory of the past, it hurts to know that she isn't my real mother. Of course, I love my real mother, Goddess Selene. It's just I didn’t expect the turn of events. However, no matter what the changes are, I still consider mama Leia, as my mother and my other deceased mother, mommy Rachel. That fact would never, ever change. Having three mothers and fathers somewhat makes me feel happy. If only mommy Rachel and daddy Dominic are with us...

She kissed my both cheeks when she released our hugs.

"Come on, let me hug my daughter too!" Papa Alexander whined, and we laughed.

I smiled and spread my arms at my other father. He engulfed me in a warm embrace and I closed my eyes.

"Can I still call you my princess, Lady Alice?" he uttered, and then released our hug.

I smiled warmly. "Of course, papa! I would be glad. Even though I'm older than you. Hehe."

I felt a little embarrassed, but his reply made my heart warm and at ease.

"It doesn't matter to me. In my eyes, you are still my child. The child I thought forever left us behind. It broke my heart when you died back then. When I saw you again on the battlefield, I'm so glad that you were alive, even though your identity changed. I'm so happy, my child." he heartily said. The sincerity of his voice made my eyes well up. I didn't expect him to say that.

"Can I still call you my Alexa too?" Mama Leia asked, and tears were streaming down her face. I nodded and I couldn't help but let my tears roll down my face. How did I deserve someone like them? It makes me feel so lucky. Is this my reward, too?

Mama Leia hugged me again while sobbing. "I'm so glad that you are alive, my Alexa. We felt so broken when you died back then. When I saw you save the entire world, I was so proud and said, that's my daughter right there. My daughter saved the world. You make me so proud, my child." She said and kissed my head before she released our hug.

"Thank you, mama and papa. I'm so glad that you are safe.” I said as I held their hand while smiling at each other.

"By the way, where's Angelo?" I asked when I couldn't feel the presence of my little brother.

"Oh, he traveled to the Dwarfinian Kingdom. He made friends with some dwarves and asked them to teach him how to forge a sword.” Papa Alexander said.

Forge a sword? Wow, my little brother is growing.

Using my tracking power, I saw where he was now and he already crossed the border of the dwarfinian kingdom.

"Wow, does he have the skills to forge?” I blurted out.

They chuckled at my remark. "Oh, we let him do what he wants as long as he's serious. He will learn over time. That kid is a fast learner and I'm sure he can make a sword on his own." Papa said.

Yeah, he's right. Angelo is so passionate whenever he wants to learn something.

We chatted a little longer than I expected. Before I left, I gave them a necklace with a magical stone pendant, each with their name carved on it. And I have one for Angelo too and I handed it to mama Leia to give it to my little brother.

"What's this?"

"It's a protection stone. It will protect you as long as you will carry it with you everywhere you go.” "Thank you, my Alexa.”

"Thank you, my princess."

I hugged them both tightly. "I love you, mama and papa. Please take care always. And tell Angelo I love him too."

"I love you too, my child,” they uttered in unison.

I genuinely smiled at them when we pulled apart and I stared at them longer as I imprinted their face in my memory before bidding them goodbye.

“Goodbye, mama Leia and papa Alexander..."

“Till we meet again’

One last look, then I teleported back to the Central Kingdom with a heavy heart. All I could do was to let out a deep sigh.

It was already 9:00 pm, and I silently went to the conference room on the ground floor. When I stepped inside, all attention was on me. The council members, together with my mother, were already seated in their respective seats while waiting for me.

I sat in my chair at the center. They were waiting for me to talk. I met their gaze, and I cleared my throat. "I have something to tell you."

They looked at me, then nodded for me to continue.

"I decided to let you all back in the promised land after I settled the score with Yael.”

They gasped in surprise.

"Are we free from the punishment?" Jupiter asked curiously. The others had a look of anticipation. To their dismay, I shook my head. "No. As I stated before, you will only regain your power little by little with every good deed you do. Your position in the council was still the same. However, in order to gain the same respect from the other gods, you have to prove that you are still worthy to be seated in the respective divine chairs. You should redeem yourselves in accordance with the divine rules.”

They became silent and sigh deeply.

"Thank you, Alice. We will never let this opportunity go." Apollo said with a sigh of relief.

I look at them one by one. "Then I'll expect more improvements from now on.”

"Alice, are you and your sisters going back to the promised land too?" Diana asked.

I can feel my mother's heart rate speed up in anticipation. I looked at her and I shook my head. "No. But we can still come and go to the promised land whenever we want to. You still need our approval for everything.”

They nodded in understanding. Then again, the room fell into silence. I can tell from their expressions that they are still in doubt about something. "Can we still visit the magic realm anytime we want, Alice?” my mother asked.

I sighed. "Yes, you can, but only for six hours every day."

"That's all right.”

“I guess..."

"However, your power will be limited whenever you go down from promised land," I added, and they sighed in dismay.

"Lady Alice, how about the demons lurking in the magic realm? Everyone is still wary every time they see a demon.” Ceres asked. Now that she brought that topic, that's also the reason why I called them all.

"Yes. Demons will always be demons. There are some who violated the rules when their craving for blood and to kill humans triggers. We can't let demons go freely. They might start a ruckus any time soon.” Bacchus said with an obvious distaste in his voice.

"Don't worry about that. I have a plan for the demons.” I said, which piqued their interest as they looked at me expectantly.

"What is it?"

"I will recreate the demon realm," I stated with finality clear in my voice.

"What?!"

As expected, it's a reaction I was expecting to see. They looked so flabbergasted at my decision. "That's impossible!" Ceres reacted in shock.

“We can't allow that to happen!” Juno said, while shaking her head.

“Princess Amelia“s sacrifice would be in vain!” Venus said, with brows knitted together.

“It's not in vain. In fact, her sacrifice was wrong in the first place. Her actions before are what make the demons rebel and want to conquer the magic realm because their home was ruined.” Minerva contradicted Venus’ statement.

“You're... right,” Venus sighed.

“If you let Yael get what he wants, his forces will get stronger and they might try to ruin the magic realm again!” Vulcan opposes strongly while looking directly at me.

“Alice's decision might be a good thing to do.” Jupiter and mother said in unison.

“Yeah. I'm sure Alice has explanations.” Neptune nodded his head in approval.

“l also agree,” Mars said

The entire room became lively with their different opinions on the matter while I just observed their reactions.

I cleared my throat to get their attention back to me. "It's the only way to maintain peace. Well, they can't enter the magic realm without permission. There will be some conditions if they want to enter. I will talk to Yael about the negotiations. So leave this matter to me.”

They look at each other before nodding their heads to agree with my idea.

Suddenly, my mother’s questions made me speechless for a while.

“Alice... are you hiding something from us?”

"Yeah. We can't comprehend the changes in your aura. There's something strange about you.” Minerva said skeptically.

“It's nothing to worry about,” I said coldly, then paused as I looked at my mother's worried expression. I let out a deep sigh. “You'll know when the time comes,” I said, and she nodded reluctantly.

I'm thankful they didn’t press the matter and decided to drop the topic and we proceeded to talk about the changes in the magic realm.

It was midnight, and I found myself lying down at the top of the castle's roof while staring at the starry night sky and the two moons. Will I be able to see this view again?

“Nah, Destiny, do you think I can make it?"

I raised my left hand and looked at the tattoos on my wrist.

"Why does it have to be you?”

I sighed dejectedly and put my hand back under my head as a pillow. And once again I fell into deep thought.

My head throbbed slightly for all the thinking I did. I guess I am mentally exhausted.

Suddenly, my wrist lights up, and when the light subsided, a figure was sitting beside me and his long golden hair shone under the moonlight.

I smiled wryly. “Now, you get out without my permission?”

"Oh, sorry about that. Well, I think you need my help,” he said, but his attention was on the moon.

I sighed. “At least, tell me if I could make it...”

"Of course you could make it. Just believe in yourself, Alice.”

“Nah, destiny, tell me... will we be all right during the process?”

He looked at me with a mysterious smile. I really can’t read him and predict his plans. He is indeed a mysterious being. Now that I learn that he is the destiny, I can see clearly his entire body is full of void chains and a string void creates a golden glow that connects to my soul.

“That's beyond my knowledge, Alice. Only you could tell that. Well, you know the high risk and what is at stake this time. However, you only have two options: either you'll go with me to the eternal unknown for your freedom and sacrifice your time or stay and carry all the burdens of the world's future but also sacrifice your life with Azrael and your... offspring.” He said, void of emotion.

"Aren't you too cruel to me... Darius?”

Until now, I couldn't fully process in my mind that Darius is the destiny I have been looking for all this time

He smiled sadly. “But it's for your own sake. In this matter, I'm doing you a favor and you also do me a favor. So it's a win-win situation. Although, the chances of success are fifty-fifty. You might... never come back to this world.”

My heart clenched excruciatingly at the thought of never coming back. I sigh deeply. “Yes, I know that. After all, I have fully understood that the only choice I have is to accept this inescapable future.”

"N-No! Y-You are lying! Alice..."

I froze, and my heart rate sped up in nervousness. That voice...

I sat up and slowly looked behind me. Our gaze met, and it broke my heart to see the love of my life look so broken. His face was filled with tears. Just how much did he hear from our conversation? My mind has been too preoccupied that I haven't paid attention to his presence.

My lips trembled. "A-Azrael..."