Aria took a deep breath and positioned her hands in a position to hold a sword. A sudden golden light flashed and sword appeared in her hands. With a wide smile, Aria welcomed the weighty golden sword in her hands and began to practice her sword fighting in the midst of the garden.

She had found an open, secluded area where the gardens surrounded her like a fence as if protecting her from the outside while she danced on the green grass.

Ah, alone at last. She was free. No gods to order her around, No servants following her, No consorts glaring at her, No brother to anger her, and especially no Gilgamesh to interfere with her life.

As she finished her swordplay, she heard thunderous clapping behind her. Closing her eyes, she prayed it was her servant girls or even Enkidu. Someone who isn't-

Gilgamesh.

He stood there, proud and with that ever present smirk. Leaning against a column, he had been staring at her, but what really caught her attention was his chest. A chiseled, masculine chest.

Blushing furiously, Aria looked away, her sword completely vanishing.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! COVER UP!" She yelled, completely caught off guard.

Her explosive statement was met with boisterous laughter.

"You expect to rule over men, but you can't look at them in the eye when he sheds one simple cloth? Oh, Aria, you never cease to amuse me." Gilgamesh laughed, tears leaking out of his eyes.

Furious, Aria turned to walk away, but she cursed when she realized that Gilgamesh was standing in the way of the only entrance and exit.

He smirked at her, "Well, you seem to be in a situation." Aria just began to walk towards him, not even glancing at him.

She was pulled back and she managed to pull away, but with an aggressive force, she was pulled back, surprisingly.

"I'll let you through until you can look at me in the eye and ask me to move, politely." Gilgamesh said, sweetly, if you called venom dripping with disdain in every word, "sweetly."

Aria forced herself to look up and look at him. His golden hair was down this time and his ruby eyes shown with amusement and his smirk seemed to grow wider as she gritted her teeth.

"Can you please get out of my way?" She asked, through clenched teeth.

With a slight turn of his head, Gilgamesh unblocked her way. Aria almost let out a sigh of relief until she felt his arm wrap around her, lazily.

"What do you think you're doing?" She hissed in warning. Gilgamesh simply chuckled.

"I said I'll let you through, but I didn't say that I would stop talking to you, dear Aria." He teased.

Aria shoved herself away from him and started to increase her pace.

"Dinner will be in my quarters tonight, Aria. If you don't show up, I'll remove you from this palace." Gilgamesh called out from behind her.

"Wha-?" Aria asked in shock, turning around, but just like that, he had disappeared before she could object.

"Oh! I told you he likes you!" Lea cooed as she pulled out a silky light golden dress out of Aria's vanity.

"Wait until he sees you tonight!" Rie gushed, as she placed pins to put up Aria's bangs and braids to perfect the messy bun she was trying to create.

Aria was less than elated as she clenched her fists, tightly. But, with gritted teeth, she gave a little sound that sounded assuring to the girls who couldn't wait to hear about the dinner with the "most beautiful man in the world." Like that man needed to be complimented any more.

As Aria changed and stepped out of her changing corner, Rie and Lea couldn't help but let out a happy squeal in delight of their masterpiece.

"You look beautiful!" Lea cried out in happiness. Rie nodded so quickly that Aria feared that the girl's head might fall off.

Aria smiled at them and thanked them for their work. Even though she pleaded with them not to make her look this pretty.

As the girls were doing their finishing touches, a light cough was heard at the entrance of the door.

The girls turned around and Aria widened her eyes at the sight of the visitor.

"Master Enkidu!" The girls greeted, getting up and giving a low bow, instantly.

Enkidu chuckled and returned a bow to them also which made the girls blush and giggle.

"If I can have a word with Mistress Aria alone, please." Enkidu questioned, softly with a wink.

The girls nodded, still blushing, and left the room in a fit of giggles. Aria shook her head, knowing that they wouldn't only want to hear about Gilgamesh now.

"You look stunning, by the way." Enkidu greeted his sister with a soft smile. Aria simply shrugged her thanks.

"I begged them to make me look ugly, but they're so infatuated with the king that they begged me to let them make me look presentable." Aria sighed, with a small smile.

"You've always wanted little sister when you were younger." Enkidu chuckled at the memory. Aria giggled, reminiscing.

As the moment passed by, Aria grew stiff. What was she doing?

"What did you want?" She asked, a little forced, but coldly.

"I wanted to apologize for what happened in the gardens. I didn't mean to make it awkward with that talk. I just didn't know how to talk to you, normally. So, I talked to you like how I talk to Gilgamesh, but I forgot you were—"

"A woman? Ha. How many times do I have to hear these apologies as if I should be sorry that I'm a woman? I'll—" Aria's eyes glowed with anger as her brother cut her off.

"No, Aria. It's not that. It's because you're my sister. What kind of sister wants to hear about her brother's sex escapades?" Enkidu explained, lightly, "You being a woman has nothing to do with my apology."

Surprised, Aria faced her brother with wide eyes. "Oh." She answered, not knowing what to say to her brother's startling apology. Softening a little, she rolled her eyes at him, mockingly.

"Well, you were right to apologize to me. I don't want to know anything about that." Aria sighed in relief and groaned in disgust as she remembered that conversation.

Enkidu laughed, "It's my job to irritate you as your older brother, Aria."

"Hmph. I get enough of that from your best friend. I figured he told you about what's going on tonight." Aria grumbled, motioning to her appearance.

Enkidu smiled, "It's just a dinner, Aria. You're not dying."

This. This is what he craved. A normal conversation with his sister. Solemnly, Enkidu couldn't help but think of how his sister grew up so quickly. Sighing, he just had to accept it and amend their relationship once more.

They were the only family they each had left.

Aria sighed. "I guess I should get it over with then." She began to walk towards the door, but was stopped by Enkidu's arm.

"Shall we?" He asked, proposing her to loop her arm through his.

He swore he saw the smallest of smiles light up Aria's face and that's what made that little walk towards their destination all the more worth it.

Gilgamesh didn't know what he had been thinking when he invited, well, threatened Aria to come to his quarters for dinner. Maybe it was the way she captivated him with that mysterious way she danced with her sword or the way she entertained him as she covered her eyes when most women would gawk and drool over him.

Well, whatever it was, Aria was coming to dinner.

Servants were standing against the walls and his room was lit with bright candles and the stars streaming through his glass roof. The table was filled with food and he sat on plushy cushions with his back against the wooden end of his bed.

A loud knock was heard at the door. Gilgamesh put a hand up as one of the servants rushed to get it. He got up and adjusted his simple bottom white harem pants and red sash wrapped around his waist that it covered half his torso. At least, Aria won't complain at that.

Smirking, he answered the door. He was pleasantly surprised when he saw Enkidu escorting her.

"Enkidu! Did you finally decide to join us?" Gilgamesh asked, pleading with his eyes because he knew it was a bad idea to be left alone with such a fiery woman. A tempting, fiery woman that happened to be the sister of his best friend.

Enkidu seemed to sense his best friend's desperation, but he decided to be cruel to place a warning to Gilgamesh.

"Ah, no, my dear friend. I've just come to escort my sweet little sister to the dinner you so graciously invited her to. Please take good care of her. I don't want her to contract any diseases or infections since she's not used to the food or water here." Enkidu smiled, harmlessly.

Gilgamesh got the warning. Oh, he got it.

Enkidu kissed his sister's head in a simple goodbye and gave a light hearty slap on Gilgamesh's face.

"Enjoy, you two. Hopefully, you both will get along!" Enkidu said, rounding the corner to where women were giggling.

Aria rolled her eyes while Gilgamesh sweated, profusely.

"So, are you going to let me in or…?" Aria questioned, impatiently.

"I was going to let you in, just give me a…" Gilgamesh trailed off.

Aria looked at Gilgamesh, curiously. He was staring at her like she had something on her face.

Irritated, she glared at him.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, daring him to insult her.

"You." He answered, curtly. His smirk returning to his face and his proud, cocky stance coming in to play.

"Must've worked really hard to try to impress me, huh?" He continued, with a suggestive smile.

Aria groaned and pushed her way inside the room.

"For your information, the servant girls you assigned to me are infatuated with you and begged me to make them make me presentable." Aria explained, as she looked around his room.

His room was gigantic and spacious. Gold and red tapestry draped everywhere. There were bookshelves and a study in the corner of his room which caught her attention. A tactical map and a weird mirror looking things facing out towards the vast land on one of the many balconies, but what caught her by surprise was the nonexistent roof above her.

Is this what the heavens looked like to the humans below?

"You can sit down now, Aria." Gilgamesh said, amused, as he sat down across from her.

Aria blushed and sat down. Gilgamesh snapped his fingers and the servants began placing the food in front of them. Aria's stomach growled.

Blushing furiously, Aria looked down at her food when she felt Gilgamesh's eyes trained on her.

"You can also eat when you want to, Aria." He said, a slight chuckle in his tone.

Embarrassed, Aria began to eat. She finished, quickly, and asked a servant for more.

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow once he found out that Aria was on her fourth meal.

"You eat a lot for a tiny woman." Gilgamesh stated, curiously.

Aria just gave him a glare and finished her meal.

"Is this dinner over yet? I'm done eating." Aria said, coldly. Gilgamesh chuckled.

"We're moving on to the talking part then." He said, snapping his fingers. A servant brought a gold pitcher and two golden cups.

Aria looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"You're insufferable." She stated. Gilgamesh just nodded to the balcony. Aria got up and followed him to the balcony where she saw the weird invention.

He handed her a cup full of red wine and she leaned against the railing, enjoying the cool breeze against her skin.

"Why do you have books and a tactical map? Are you planning to go to war?" Aria asked, curiously, also accusingly.

Gilgamesh laughed, not surprised at her sudden accusation.

"No, Aria, I plan to research the heavens. Look through here." He motioned towards the invention.

Slowly, she bent down to look through the invention and was pleasantly surprised on how close the starts looked to her.

"I want to see why you gods think it's so great to live up there." Gilgamesh continued, as he sipped his wine.

Aria looked up at him in surprise. She was also surprised at the answer she gave him.

"It's secluded that's why. No one bothers you unless you have to be bothered. It's high up so people have to look up to you. Like you're on a pedestal of some sort, but you're on the highest one."

Gilgamesh listened, intently. "Did you like it up there?"

Aria just kept surprising herself. "No. It was boring. It was lonely." She added that last part, softly.

She caught herself from looking vulnerable. "But, like I said, gods are higher ups so they should be on a pedestal. So, the heavens seemed to be the most obvious choice."

Gilgamesh just stared at the vast sky, silently.

"I honestly think that you should focus on expanding your kingdom more." A soft voice brought him back to earth.

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow in question, "Weren't you just accusing me of unnecessary war planning?" He teased.

Aria silenced him with a glare. "I didn't say war. I said expand. Branch out to other people in this vast desert. No bloodshed, but make peace. People talk about you more than you know. Why do you think the gods sent me this time?"

Gilgamesh stared at the woman before him, feeling the adrenaline rush she had just given him.

"And why do you suggest that? I thought you don't like me as king or, as you call it, my reign of terror?" He asked, his red eyes never straying from her.

Aria didn't respond to his bait, but she answered with something that got him thinking, "Up there, Gilgamesh, it's nothing special. Trust me. But here, these lands? You have no idea the great value and experience you can achieve. Your people, especially those two teenage girls you've put under my leadership, are different than the gods. I give you that. That's why I feel like they deserve a king who's head shouldn't be in the clouds, but on the earth where the people wait to be led by you."

Could this woman be full of any more surprises?

Clutching his golden cup, Gilgamesh wasn't sure if Enkidu's warning was enough to keep him away from dear Ari.

And that's what scared him the most.

A:N Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! Reviews are always welcome!