The Crown's Entrapment

At the Great Hall of Castle Cordon, Darius kept his emotions in check once the news of how Xen passed the trial by fire reached him through a telepathic report.

Then the formal report was made by Chancellor Talon, who quickly brought it up to the meeting by stepping forward and saying, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Her Royal Highness, Princess Xenia, has passed the trial by fire inside the Element Forest."

"That is good news, indeed," the Queen Mother commented with a wide and satisfied smile. "That is one of the trials completed by her. Surely the next would be completed in due time as well."

"And while we're on this topic, it has come to our attention the fact that the Basilisk had mentioned how Princess Xenia has something special flowing through her veins, implying that she's not purely human," Elder Nasser pointed out as Darius had expected.

"And since when did you become interested in my mate, Elder Nasser? Weren't you one of the people who opposed her in being my Queen?" Darius questioned with a raised brow. "Why? Will you come to acknowledge her now and excuse her from the trials once you've come to know about the special blood inside her?"

"Because if she will have the privilege to get excused from these trials because of that blood, then I'll be willing to scream that fact all over the world," Darius coolly threatened, his gaze never leaving the Elder's devious eyes. "Of course, if that's not the case, then let Xen and her family decide when to disclose that personal matter on their own terms..."

[Let's just crush that old geezer into pieces,] Zeus grunted. [I'm always itching to do that whenever I see his ridiculous face!]

There was silence in the room before Elder Karim coughed and wisely changed the topic. "You should at least watch the next scheduled trial by combat in the arena to boost the confidence of the participants, Your Majesty," the Elder suggested.

"Everyone is already talking about how rude your speech was during the registration. They've also been pointing out that the King is being too biased when it comes to his mate..."

"And do they prefer for me to lie before them right in their faces?" Darius countered with a faint smile. "I'm sure not every Cordonian is narrow-minded enough to take it negatively, especially those who understand the importance and sanctity of the Mate Bond."

"So you're saying that you'll refuse to acknowledge any woman as your Queen except for your mate," Elder Nasser thought aloud, taking the place of the last Elder that had been left speechless. "Let's say then that your mate failed the trials. Are you saying that you will not abide by the laws of our Kingdom and still make her Your Queen?"

Darius sported a genuine smile on his face and confidently said, "Worry not, Elder Nasser. It won't come to that since my mate will not fail this trial..."

[Tsk... Look at you stressing out such confidence when deep inside you're more than ready to rip the whole world apart just to make sure Xen becomes your Queen...] Zeus sighed. [Or are you planning to...]

Hearing his wolf, Darius sighed deeply as he replied, [I got this, Zeus, so don't worry. There's no way I'll let Nasser have the throne, and there's also no way that I'll let anyone be my queen except for Xen.]

[How? What if... Just what if, Xen indeed fails?" Zeus curiously asked. [Will, you really...]

[Yes, I'm fully planning on becoming a tyrant king...] Darius sincerely replied before he humorously added, [Besides, I already have a lot of descriptions attached to my name... Devious, impetuous, ruthless... So I don't see any harm in adding one more to the pile.]

[You're crazy!] Zeus snorted, making Darius inwardly chuckle at his wolf.

"You're too confident about your mate, Your Highness, but things can still happen in these trials. The Princess may or may not succeed depending on both her luck and skill.. We can only hope that you will abide by our kingdom's laws should the worst case scenario happen. You mustn't endanger your position as the king of our kingdom just for one woman, even if she is your mate."

Darius scoffed and said, "Hah, you don't have to worry about that then, Elder Nasser, because as your King and ruler of this kingdom, I have everything under control. So please be at ease..."

He then looked at Elder Handi. The Elder, understanding his knowing look, promptly interrupted and said, "Admiral Osman is currently present in our meeting to report about the progress of our ports and the current steps being undertaken to ensure the safety of our borders and territorial waters.

Hearing his cue, Osman immediately stepped forward and began reporting as His Majesty instructed, purposely giving out misinformation for Nasser and his minions inside the court.

Some more discussions took place, and Darius was grateful enough to know that Xen's next trial hasn't started yet. He had already missed her this morning because of his court duties, and he would most definitely not miss watching her next trial should it start later.

Soon, the meeting ended, and almost everyone had left the room except for Darius, Osman, the Queen Mother, and Chancellor Talon.

"Your Majesty, is it possible to borrow Osman for dinner tonight?" Chancellor Talon suddenly asked of him.

At the request, Darius looked at Osman, who was also seemingly baffled at the sudden request from the Chancellor.

"I have nothing important to discuss with Osman over dinner, so he's all yours, Chancellor..." Darius answered with a smile.

The Chancellor chuckled. He probably noticed the baffled looks both of them fielded to the older man. Straightforwardly, the chancellor added, "It's my wife, actually. When she found out that the Admiral is in the Capital City, she's been urging me to invite him over for dinner to meet my daughter Bella."

Darius chuckled at seeing how pale Osaman's face had suddenly become.

"Oh, that's great then," Darius commented with a faint smile, enjoying the nervous look that his friend was currently showing. "I'm sure our Admiral here will make a fine husband for your daughter. Any woman would be lucky to have Osman as their man, and I myself can attest to his strength of character, Chancellor."

[While you're out of the city, why don't you have fun?] Darius telepathically teased at Osman. [Xen had mentioned to me how you've also dreamt of having your own family, and this might be your chance. Just look at this as your dreams being answered. Oh... And just be careful with Bella. I heard she bites...]

With one last smirk, Darius left the room, leaving Osman alone under the chancellor's care.