The Crown's Entrapment

After making sure that King Darius was well situated on his own inside the meeting hall, Queen Dana promptly left him to his own.

Stepping out, she finally breathed out a sigh of relief at her job well done. Now, however, she had a different priority. Heading straight to Jayra's chamber, she kept her composure as she went through the previous events in her head.

She almost had a heart attack seeing her disguised daughter being carried around by the Werewolf King. She was on the verge of just breaking down and hugging her daughter, but she managed to keep herself in check.

Like everyone in their kingdom, she was well groomed enough to calm herself in emergency situations such as this. It was only a good thing that the Werewolf King didn't notice anything suspicious.

Reaching Jarya's chamber, she promptly knocked on the door. The young healer answered the door with a curious look. "Queen Dana, wha-"

"With me. Now!" the Queen quickly cut her off. "Xenia's back, and you must prepare a potion to neutralize a Tatar Berry so that she can get back on her feet." She then continued, "Also, prepare a spell that can knock out the two werewolves guarding her room. Something that can distort their memories, preferably."

"What memories should I substitute then?"

"Make it so that they think Xenia knocked them out to escape," Queen Dana promptly replied. "She's currently disguised as a man, so I'll grab her clothes while you can go directly to the Duplex guest room in the east wing where she's currently held. Act natural around those werewolves. Be careful, move quickly."

***

Taking her orders into memory, Jayra nodded and instantly grabbed the things that she'd need for her task. Meanwhile, the Queen had left her room to get the Princess's clothes.

"Why am I not surprised about this?" Jayra scoffed with a pout, her arms full with her catalysts as she rashly walked out of her room. "You absolute fool…"

Looking around, the young healer took in the emptiness of the hallway. No one in the castle dared to come out of their room as soon as they received an order from their King to stay inside their chambers.

All the while, the Ebodia Royal Family kept themselves grounded inside the Meeting Hall with the Vampire King with his Council and Royal Family. The missing Princess was the cause of all this mess, and tempers were running high as they tried to come to a compromise.

Meanwhile, Jarya was aware of why the Princess ran away. After all, she was one of the few who helped the Princess out of her own free will. She didn't think that her friend would come back this early, but at least she returned despite the mess she created.

"Truly, you're really too stubborn for your own good…"

With one last whisper of complaint, Jayra almost found herself running to the chamber where Xenia was supposedly being held. Knocking on the door, she quickly entered the room as soon as the door opened.

"I am Jayra, the healer-mage for the royal family," Jarya announced her arrival, gulping at the two muscular men in front of her. "The Queen has instructed me to look after the…"

Her words slowly trailed off when one of the men finally showed her to the bed. Keeping her composure intact, she kept herself calm while looking at her princess's unconscious body.

She might look like she wasn't doing anything at the moment, but unknown to the two werewolves, she had already started casting her spell from the moment she entered the room.

"Make it quick!" the man with a scar on his face commented.

Jayra had an awkward smile on her face as she nodded. Somehow, she felt intimidated and weirded out at how the man with the scar never left his scrutinizing gaze towards her.

"My apologies for Bartos's behavior," the other man chuckled. "He rarely sees a beauty, so-UGH!"

Jayra winced at the sudden punch coming from the scarred man. She didn't think that she'd see violence that early in the day.

"Well, that hurt," the other man shook his head, flashing her an awkward smile. "I'm Gideon, by the way. And the gruff guy here is Bartos. Please don't mind us as continue with your work."

"Very well," Jayra nodded. "Leave me to my work."

Quickly putting her attention back to her Princess, she quietly uttered a spell to repair the Princess's inner force.

"What's that smell?!" Bartos questioned, making Jayra gulp.

"It's the scented catalyst I'm using for your friend here to open his eyes," she quickly explained. She needs a booster to help her fight off the poison."

Stilling her breath, Jayra was honestly finding it hard to breathe due to the penetrating gaze that she could feel boring into the back of her head. How did they expect her to focus if one of them kept glaring at her like that?

"Heard that, Bartos? Stop distracting the healer will you?" Jayra heard Gideon scolding his companion. "It's not like the people inside this castle will do something funny when they already have enough of the mess that they're facing right now. Can you put your guard down for once?"

With that, Jayra's lips curled up, feeling a bit guilty since she was already doing something offensive. Waiting for some time for her spell to complete, she silently chanted the final words, fully empowering them to take down the two werewolves behind her

When the Princess stirred and was about to open her eyes, Jayra turned to look at the two men behind her with a smile.

"She's well now, but I'm afraid you two will have to sleep…" she murmured with an awkward smile. She really didn't have to say anything, but for some reason, it somehow felt appropriate to do so. "I apologize in advance…"

"What the hel-"

Before Bartos could even finish his words, he and Gideon had already lost consciousness. Their body fell to the floor, completely numb to the rest of the world.

After making sure that her spell worked, Jayra then turned her back and smiled at the stirring Princess, "Welcome back, Your Highness."