The Crown's Entrapment

Xenia was frozen stiff at what she just heard from the king. Her arms faltered, the intensity of his words almost cowing her into submission. It was only when a sudden cough interrupted the scene between her and Darius that she managed to push the intruding king away.

Letting out a short breath, she shakily declared, “I-I appreciate you taking your time to visit me, but my mage and servants are already here to assist me in my preparations. If you’ll excuse me, I shall take my leave.”

Xenia then quickly signaled for her chamberlain to open the door, after which she hastily walked inside without even looking back. Jayra and her servants followed her inside, shutting the door behind them as the princess let out a sigh of relief.

“That looked intense,” Jayra teasingly scoffed. Based on the look the mage was giving her, it was obvious that her friend was fishing for more details.

Xenia let out a scoff as she replied with a wink, completely sidestepping Jarya’s comment. “Quickly. Let’s get ready.”

“Ah, so unfair, Milady,” Jarya whispered out with a pout. “How come I have to tell you every experience I get while you keep me in the dark like this?”

Xenia simply let off a faint smile at her friend’s complaints. Usually, Jayra would only address her by her name if there was no one around. They kept their casual conversations private and their interactions were quite limited since there were still servants around. Of course, outside the castle, both of them were known troublemakers.

Xenia looked around, reminding Jayra that they weren’t alone before letting off a light chuckle. “Fine, later then…” she replied. “We’ll talk along the journey, my friend. But for now, let’s get ready.”

“Yay!” Jayra let off a squeal as she enthusiastically answered. “Alright, Milady. I’ll hold you to that later.”

Getting ready, all the preparations didn’t take as much time than Xenia expected. Of course, she still made sure to properly take a bath since she felt so sticky and exhausted from all of the action she had just gone through.

Going through the motions, the servants helped her get dressed in her combat armor. Jayra, meanwhile, prepared all her weapons to make sure that they were all sturdy and ready for battle.

***

Once all was said and done, Jayra then dismissed everyone. It was only after the room had been emptied that she began speaking candidly.

“Alright. Now that we’re all alone, you can start telling me everything,” Jayra hummed in anticipation.

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Seeing her excitable friend, Xenia sighed as she replied, “There’s nothing much to tell, Jayra…”

“So unfair…” her friend scoffed with a pout, making Xenia chuckle. That was the same expression she had whenever she would ask Jayra for stories about her experiences.

Mirthfully shaking her head, Xenia smiled as she resigned herself, “Alright, fine. I’ll give you a quick summary so you can stop asking.”

Jayra eagerly nodded, and Xenia let out a sigh as she finally told her friend a brief rundown on what exactly happened to her. By the time the princess was finished, the mage was practically giggling with excitement.

“Wow!” Jarya burst out, her palm covering her lips in surprise. “That’s definitely fate!”

“Absolutely not!” Xenia vehemently denied it. “It’s all nothing more than an unfortunate string of misfortune and coincidences!”

“Oh, stop being negative,” Jarya waved her hand at her. “You always did say back then that there’s always a purpose for everything that’s happening in this world, and you’re no exemption, Xenia. You met him because it’s meant to be. It was bound to happen. Like how you turned out to be his future wife instead of marrying the Vampire King.”

Jayra then cheekily poked the princess on her side as she teased further, “Look, I see that there’s some tension between you and the Werewolf King a while ago. And while one can say that it’s nothing but hot air, I can definitely see something going on between the two of you.”

She shrugged, “Besides, and I’m sure you know it as well, the Werewolf King is a very powerful and fine-looking man! I mean… he and the Vampire King are both jaw dropping to simply look at. In pure physical aspects alone, they’re already in a different league than most men. Both of them are just oozing with majesty, class, and gallant.”

Xenia shook her head as she scoffed, “Close your mouth, Jayra. You’re drooling too much.”

Hearing her, Jayra narrowed eyes her eyes and said, “Don’t tell me you think otherwise because I won’t fall for that, my Milady. I definitely saw something in your eyes when-”

“Stop already, okay?” Xenia stressed out, stopping Jarya from finishing her teasing remark. “We both know I’d prefer marrying a human than any other kind of being.”

“Hmm… Do you still hate-”

“No… I realized along the way that not all of them are bad, Jayra,” Xenia cut her off.

“Look, it was bad on my part to lump them all together and generalize them with one negative perspective,” the princess admitted.

“I won’t criticize any kind of beings that are with us anymore, but let’s face the fact that they’re still far more powerful and dangerous than us humans. Look at how we need to cower behind them resulting in forming an alliance with absurd conditions such as marriages like mine and Mineah.”

We’re already lucky enough that Father at least found rulers like Darius and Nikolai who have some respect for humans. They at least see our kind as equals, but what if it was someone else? What if they weren’t as generous?”.

The Kingdoms were constantly at war. Whether it was for territory or power, they had warred against one another restlessly for the past few millennia. Whether it be humans, vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, or demons — all were fighting for the right to rule over each other’s dominion.

Amid all this turmoil, the kingdoms ruled by humans were always considered the weakest. This weakness led the rulers of these kingdoms to forge unfavorable alliances to protect their families and subjects. One such human kingdom was their kingdom; Ebodia.

“I understand your sentiments, Xenia. But let’s focus on the bright side,” Jayra insisted, trying to lift her friend’s spirit. “Our Seer Beirut also saw this coming, and he reassured the King and Queen that you and Mineah will be in good hands in this lifetime…”

“You mean Beirut also predicted that I’ll be marrying the Werewolf King?” Xenia asked with wide eyes.

“Yes, he did. That’s the reason why the King and Queen somehow expected this already. Although, it still came as a surprise since we weren’t sure how or when it might even happen,” Jayra replied with a nod of remembrance.

“All we knew back then was that Beirut mentioned that you were destined to meet a powerful man in this lifetime. A man who will keep you safe no matter what happens. A man who will fight against the whole world to stand by your side just to be with you…”

Jayra cringed and added, “Ah… I’m still getting goosebumps just recalling how hauntingly Beirut predicted it. Seers can be scary sometimes. At this point, I wouldn’t want to hear any sort of prediction about my life.”

Xenia murmured with a frown. “So he didn’t precisely mention that it would be the Werewolf King…”

“Well, who could it be then?” Jarya wondered. “Well, he also mentioned something about a rising dragon from Ebodia, but it’s unclear how or when that will come true…”

“A dragon?” Xenia raised an eyebrow in skepticism. “But it’s been ages already since we heard of them. They’re practically extinct.”

“I know, right? But Beirut saw it coming regardless,” Jarya shrugged with a heavy sigh. “Anyway, let’s wrap things up, shall we? The ceremony can start at any moment.”

Seeing her friend’s reaction, Xenia couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty for what was about to happen. “I’m sorry I had to drag you with me like this, Jarya…” she sighed. She knew how her friend hated going outside, especially out on the danger that was the battlefield.

“Please don’t say that. I’m not here just because it’s a part of my duty to the kingdom,” Jarya reassured her with a smile. “It’s absolutely an honor just to be with you on this journey. Both as a mage, and as your friend…”

Xenia smiled at her friend. However, even as she showed her appreciation for Jayra’s words, her mind was already busy falling into deep thought. She wondered about Beirut’s foresight and its implications. Could it be that the Werewolf King was the one that the seer was referring to?