The Crown's Entrapment

Xenia's body was still trembling as her sharp gaze followed the back of the woman who had entered her tent without her permission. She knew who that woman was, although they haven't been formally introduced to one another just yet. She clearly remembered that woman bluntly yelling to the Vampire King that he couldn't marry Mineah because she was cursed.

"The audacity!" Xenia grunted with a clenched jaw. She didn't care if she was a vampire princess or if she was more powerful than she was! That didn't give that vampire princess the right to invade her privacy like this, let alone berate her sister like she didn't even have any feelings.

Closing her eyes, Xenia took in a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down. It was simply absurd. The vampire princess even invaded her dreams out of random curiosity.

"How dare she!?"

Grumbling to herself, Xenia wiped the sweat off her face as she gathered herself up from the bed. Washing her face with some cold water from the nearby basin, she huffed in annoyance at her current situation.

She felt so weak. Not physically, but emotionally.

"Princess, can I come in?"

Her ears perked up. It was Jayra's voice.

"Yes, Jayra. Please enter," she answered as she walked towards the nearby chair and sat.

Entering the tent, Jayra approached her and quickly touched her cheeks. The mage then felt for her pulse from her wrist.

"I'm fine, Jayra," Xenia lethargically chuckled.

Instead of answering her, Jayra only sighed as she then sat beside her.

"Say, how long has it been since I passed out?" Xenia inquired.

"Long enough," Jayra shook her head. "The sun will rise soon if that's any indication."

Xenia almost grimaced. She was out for that long?

Shaking her head, the princess took in a deep breath as she began, "Look, I know you're worried. Don't be. Master Beirut visited me in my dreams, and although I still can't accept how he passed away like this, I think I'll be at peace…"

She then grumbled, "Although, the vampire princess invaded my dreams just now. What's her name anyway?"

"She's Princess Ezme. I heard she often causes a lot of trouble," Jayra helpfully supplied. "She likes to prank and torment people, apparently. She has quite a reputation, but she does good work on the battlefield in her young age."

She then teased with a chuckle, "I must say, she's quite like you; someone who loves to explore the field rather than staying inside the castle."

"And we'll definitely not get along," Xenia murmured. "I don't like her, and she's way too vocal and showy in the fact that she doesn't like me either."

A terse silence followed, the two simply content in each other's presence.

"...Do you think they succeeded in punishing those responsible for Master's death?" Xenia asked, breaking the short silence.

"I'm sure they would. They'll be back soon, and we'll find out how gruesome Prince Ezekiel had them pay by then," Jayra nodded. "In the meantime, what's your plan now?"

"About what?" Xenia naively asked.

"You know what I'm talking about, Xenia," Jayra voiced out her concerns. "Before you passed out, you're blaming yourself and all that. I'm worried."

Xenia turned to look at her when Jayra held her hands and slightly squeezed them.

"Master told me that everything's already destined to happen. No matter how hard we try, if things are meant to be, then we can't do anything about it," Xenia said in resignation, her eyes welling up as she continued. "He emphasized that life is short, and he told me to live without regrets… Heh… I can't believe that even in dreams, I can still see and hear his constant sermons."

Seeing her friend tearing up, Jayra pulled her into her arms and said, "It's alright. Let's cry our hearts out, seeing as we just lost someone important in our life." She weakly chuckled, "Seer Beirut is right. Life is short, so we shouldn't live with too many regrets. Let's stay focused and gather our strength not just physically, but emotionally as well."

Xenia sobbed. She didn't know how long, but she was sure that it took the two of them a while before they finally calmed down and wiped their tears dry.

"Every Ebodian will be devastated once they hear of Master Beirut's passing in the kingdom," Xenia whispered.

Jayra simply nodded. She couldn't agree to her friend's words even more.

Another terse silence followed, which Xenia broke as she said, "Jayra, I'll be staying in another tent prepared by my brother."

"Are you sure about that?" Jayra asked.

Xenia nodded. She needed some space right now, and she felt like it wouldn't do her good to be staying with Darius in the same tent after everything that had happened.

"Alright. I'll ask the servants to have it prepared," Jayra nodded, leaving Xenia alone to her own devices. There was nothing to do except to wait. And wait, she shall.

****

Time passed, and Xenia went out of Darius's tent as soon Jayra told her that her tent was ready.

She wasn't sure how the king would react once he returned, but she could only hope that he'd respect her wishes for now. After all, she had no intentions of running away. She just needed a bit of space to call her own at the moment. A lot of things were going inside her mind, and she was having mixed emotions with everything that was happening in her life.

As soon as she was situated in her new tent, she asked Jayra to stay with her for a while. There was a moment of silence after that, which Xenia then promptly broke as she asked, "Do you think I'll be accepted at Cordon? I'm not a werewolf, and I don't want to become one as well. I'm curious to know what my future will be like there."

Jayra sighed deeply, "I'm supposed to brief you about it, actually. King Stephan had a message for you, and maybe now's the right time to get that out of the way while keeping us occupied. After all, talking like this is better for the heart as opposed to us crying too much."

Xenia had a faint smile as she nodded. "Fair enough."

Jayra cleared her throat as she began, "Right. King Stephan said that you might experience some opposition from the court since you're a human and that they will surely won't allow you to be their queen. However, the Kingdom of Cordon has a law regarding that matter, especially when the current King chooses another being not of their kind."

She sagely continued, "King Stephan wanted you to know every detail that can help you in your new life. Although, it's still up to you whether to do it or not. The decision will be on whether you intend to be Darius's only wife and Queen or not is still yours."

"I see… So I don't want to be queen, what happens?"

"Hmm… Then you'll be just a lady consort. They'll honor and respect you as his wife and mate, but the king has to get another wife as his Queen…" Jayra answered.

Xenia didn't respond as she let Jayra continue. "Apparently, you need to pass The Five Trials to become Queen. Only then will you gain acknowledgment not just from the court, but from every Cordonian that might witness your efforts. However, it won't be easy, and no one in the history of Cordon has passed those trials."

She shook her head, "I've heard that many had died trying to pass the fourth trial since it's brutal and deadly. It's survival of the fittest, and you will have to fight female werewolves vying for the throne. King Stephan is quite confident that you can do it though, seeing as you have angel blood in your veins."