The Crown's Entrapment

The more they spent time together, the more Xenia easily felt relaxed being around Freya and talking to her. Maybe it was because she was just a year older, and Freya was naturally bubbly and friendly which reminded her a lot of how Jayra acted.

They casually shared some talks, and Freya eventually brought up something along the lines of, "Things would've been easy if Darius just turned you into a werewolf before introducing you to everyone here. You'll be considered one of us, thus allowing you to skip the trials of the elements and just do the trial by combat."

Hearing Freya, Xenia chuckled, "I guess it wouldn't have mattered anyway. I still need to fight one way or another if I want to secure my position as Darius's Queen."

"But at least you'd be more powerful as a werewolf," Freya shrugged before continuing with a more apologetic tone. "I mean, I don't want to offend, but please don't take my words as belittling you. It's just that we all know that werewolves are stronger than humans."

Xenia chuckled as she smiled reassuringly, "No offense taken. I understand what you mean, but I'm still glad Darius didn't turn me. I prefer to stay as I am right now."

Freya simply nodded in understanding before she suspiciously looked at Xenia. Her gaze was piercing as if she was looking deeply into her.

"What is it?" Xenia inquired, seeing how Freya narrowed her eyes on her with a glint of curiosity.

"Do you somehow have a special power?" Freya casually asked. "Are you a mage and you're not just letting us know? I heard it's the second Princess of Ebodia who's good at magic and spells while the oldest is good in combat and fighting skills…"

"And where did you hear that?" Xenia asked with a grin.

"Well, news from all over the world travels fast. So I asked around while I was at Mount Sorel as soon as I heard about King Nikolai's marriage to an Ebodian Princess," Freya explained herself. "You do know that our kingdom has good relations with Valcrez, right? And that my brother is good friends with King Nikolai himself?"

Xenia nodded, "I know. And I also know that Darius used the Beholden Law on Nikolai to ask for my hand in marriage."

"Right," Freya chuckled. "Still, I can't believe how easily Brother snatched a bride from Nikolai, but I understand why he did that. I'm sure my brother didn't want to use the Beholden Law against Nikolai since he genuinely cared about him. Hell, he didn't even mind saving the Vampire King numerous times. It's just that he had no choice, especially since King Nikolai was probably with his Royal Council and Family members at the time."

She then added, "You see, they can be scary sometimes, so things should be done with some calculation in mind. That was probably why my brother used the Beholden Law to get you."

As Xenia was listening, she couldn't help but wonder about her sister, Mineah. She really hoped that the latter was doing well at Valcrez.

Freya probably noticed the sudden concern written on her face when she said, "Don't worry about your sister. King Nikolai is a good man, and I can assure you that he'll take good care of your sister. He'll make sure that she won't have any difficulties there."

"Thank you, Freya," Xenia replied with a warm smile.

"So tell me, are you secretly a high grade mage?" Freya curiously inquired.

She shook her head almost immediately. Xenia wished that she was, but spells and magic were simply not for her. She was just not born for it like Mineah.

"I'm really not," she whispered with a chuckle. "Honestly, Jayra's still teaching me a lot of things, and I'm far from confident about it anyway. I'm simply not good with it. I trust my fighting skills more than my pitiful magic."

Freya shrugged at the answer she got. Casually, she voiced, "Goodness. I guess I'll tell brother Darius to prolong your training outside the castle if needed. Hmm… Wait, I'll let you borrow some of the more important notes I have on me."

Xenia chuckled, "That's nice of you, Freya. Thank you so much for everything."

Freya frowned as she murmured, "Don't thank me yet. Not until you have already succeeded. And I haven't done anything yet either. We both have a long way to go." She sighed, "I can only hope that you can muster everything you need in the span of two weeks, but I guess we'll see you soar, seeing my brother's fighting spirit. Seriously, that werewolf is so desperate."

Xenia unconsciously blushed, making Freya candidly flash a teasing grin on her face. She sipped on her tea before looking around.

"Hmm… I never thought that someone would finally occupy this chamber. It's a very memorable place for my brother," Freya wistfully explained. "My brother and father would often stay here to study and have those private man-to-man talks that I was always curious about, and- Hmm?"

Freya stopped talking, and Xenia followed suit as the princess trailed to where her eyes darted towards.

Freya smirked, "What is that?"

Xenia's eyes widened when her guest stood up and walked towards her bed. Reaching in, Freya grabbed one of the books that Jayra had lent her. It seemed she failed to fully hide it from sight.

Freya picked it up and chuckled, "This book seems interesting!" Her brows then furrowed when she raised the bedsheets only to see even more books hidden beneath.

Xenia gulped as she felt her throat dry, watching Freya's amazed reaction as her guest read random pages from the book.

"I guess you'd also like my brother for reading this type of book," she scoffed.

"Ahh, T-that... I was just curious…" Xenia stutteringly explained. "I mean… I… Jayra! They're all Jayra's! She just lent m-me some of her books. I honestly d-didn't k-know what they're all about… She said those will help me in my relationship w-with Darius…"

Freya gave her a knowing look as she encouraged, "That's okay, Xenia. I'm also a woman like you so I understand your sentiment." She then hummed, "When you're done, can I also borrow these myself? I'll probably also want to learn from these books, which I can then use in the future for, well, stuff."

"Alright," Xenia timidly nodded.

Freya chuckled, "Relax. From now on, I want you to treat me as your sister too, Xenia. We can be partners in crime, you and I. Ah, you don't even know how excited I am to have someone I can get along with for having the same interests-."

"How about Clara then?" Xenia didn't know why she suddenly brought up Clara's name, but it felt appropriate somehow.

"Clara's more like a big sister who will always scold me," Freya waved off her question. "Really, she's so biased towards brother Darius that she'll always take his side. Maybe that's because she's six years older than me? Ah well. I guess I won't take much of your time for now… Hehe… I'll let you rest early."

Xenia could only nod as she found herself walking Freya to the door. Closing the door shut, she let out a sigh of relief. She was honestly grateful that Darius's family was being so warm towards her like Darius himself. Her parents would feel at ease once she delivered them this good news about her in-laws.