The Crown's Entrapment

Darius was walking through the hallway to go back to the chamber where he left Gideon and Bartos when he passed by Nikolai and his sister, Ezme. He didn’t announce his presence, but it was clear that the duo noticed his arrival.

“What a fool… using the Beholden Law for a mere human,” Darius heard Ezme snort, only for her to quickly compose herself as she saw him. “K-King Darius, I-”

Raising his hand in both greetings and as a signal for her sister to shut up, Nikolai chuckled, “Apologies for my rude sister, Darius. Give her some time. She’ll get over you.”

Ezme’s face fell at her brother’s words. Without even so much as a sound, she stomped her way back inside her delegated chambers, leaving the two kings alone in the hallway.

Watching her leave, Darius only shook his head with a half smile. He knew Ezme well enough to ignore such words from her.

Leaning on the wall, Nikolai crossed his arms and commented, “You made such a great scene today, my friend.”

Darius let out a sigh, “I apologize for what happened. I’ll be sure to make it up to you in other ways, Nikolai. It’s just what it is. The moment the Princess entered this hall, I already recognized her scent and I can’t be mistaken.”

Nikolai let out a commiserating sigh at his friend’s words, “I trust you, and I know you well enough Darius… But I never thought that of all werewolves, you will be the one that would end up surrendering to the Mate Pull.”

He shrugged, “I guess even the mighty Darius is also helpless against this so-called Mate Pull thing.”

Darius growled at what he heard, signaling to Nikolai that he better stop talking. It was humiliating. He knew that he’d be the butt of everyone’s jokes if the news ever got out in a bad light.

Those who knew him well enough would just be ecstatic to hear that the mighty Werewolf King, one who famously didn’t believe in traditions such as ‘Mates’ and the ‘Mate Pull,’ ended up surrendering to those very things.

Taking his cue, Nikolai shook his head with a teasing laugh as he patted Darius on the shoulder.

With an amused scoff, he replied, “Well, I suppose we’ve taken up too much of each other’s time. See you on the battlefield, my friend. Although, you don’t need to watch my back this time.”

The Vampire King nodded to his friend, “Just let me die in peace. I don’t want you invoking the Beholden Law right at my face for a woman again.”

Returning his friend’s nod, Darius simply let out a sigh as he watched Nikolai walk back to his chambers. He knew it wasn’t new, but still, he didn’t understand why that bat had his inner struggles about living.

[Sire! Xen escaped,] Gideon telepathically reported, taking Darius out of his musings. [He knocked us out, but something feels off!]

Hearing the obvious, the Werewolf King frowned as he ignored Gideon’s outdated report. Heading back to the chamber where he left the two, he nonchalantly opened the door, only to be greeted by his two lackeys as they quickly ran their mouths.

“Your Majesty!” Gideon and Bartos burst out in chorus, both of them massaging their heads as if they had just regained consciousness.

“Since when did you two learn to put your guard down?!” Darius chided.

“Your Majesty, Xen knocked us out, but something feels wrong…” Gideon reasoned, repeating the words he just said to him just seconds ago. “I don’t know why, but-”

“Stop repeating yourself,” Darius cut him off with a breath. “Xen is here. She’s the runaway princess of Ebodia.

“Xen is a woman?!” Gideon, his eyes and mouth agape at the news.

Darius simply nodded before continuing with a sigh. “Yes. I can only assume that the Queen asked a mage to secure her, and apparently distort your memories while they were at it,” the King noted.

“Also, judging by how you two don’t even have the slightest bruise, not to mention how clean this chamber still is, it’s only obvious that not a single fight took place here.”

The brief silence that followed was both nerve-wracking and embarrassing, to say the least. Darius didn’t know when his men became this dull, but he was sure to rectify such a mistake as soon as he was able.

“Thank Heavens and the Almighty for this, Your Majesty!” Gideon happily exclaimed. “Your mate is a woman! This is definitely good news!”

“Mate?!” Bartos questioningly burst out, his mind still trying to process the news about Xen being both a woman and a Princess.

“Yeah… No wonder His Majesty was possessive of Xen,” Gideon nodded his head in understanding. “No one knows His Majesty better than I do, and I noticed his weird behavior ever since we embarked.”

He then curiously remarked, “Although, isn’t she bound to marry the Vampire King?”

Darius resisted the overwhelming urge to sigh as he addressed them, “We will talk more about this later. For now, I want you to pass on a message.”

He let out a short breath as he relayed his instructions, “I want my Moonlight Cavalry to aid Ebodia as reinforcements in this coming battle against the approaching armies of Helion. I had just signed and finalized an alliance agreement with King Stephan, and I intend to uphold my end of the bargain.”

Gideon quickly nodded, but he slightly frowned as he then asked, “An alliance? A marriage alliance?”

“Yes,” Darius nodded. “I will marry Xen thirty days from now. I used the Beholden Law on Nikolai to get her hand in marriage. By the end of the discussion, he ended up agreeing to marry the second Princess today to continue the agreed upon alliance.”

“Tsk… that’s a shocking turn of events,” Gideon clicked his tongue at the news.

“However, the Elders probably wouldn’t accept Xen as our Queen even if she’s your mate, Your Majesty. She’s a mere human, so she will most likely be nothing more than a lady consort.” He continued, “For our kingdom to strive, they’ll insist on you need a Luna-”

“Enough, Gideon. I know what I’m doing…” Darius cut him off with annoyance seeping into his tone. “You two should go on ahead and finish the task I ordered. After the wedding, we will then march towards the Ebodia encampment with Xen to aide Prince Ezekiel.”

“Yes, Sire!”

With a snappy salute, the two quickly answered before hastily leaving the room. There was no time to waste, after all, and the war was nothing if not bloody and time-consuming.

[Since when did you know?] Bartos telepathically asked Gideon.

[Since he brought Xen to the chamber next to his back in the castle,] Gideon mentally replied.

[I already smelled something fishy back then, and then I find His Majesty constantly sneaking glances at Xen for some reason. Add to that his insistence that they both ride on one horse? That’s too unlike him.]

[How come you never-]

[Ah-ah… I refrained from gossiping about it to you and the others!] Gideon quickly shut him up to his reasoning.

[Do you want His Highness to kill me? Xen was a male in at the time. I can only sympathize with his torment then, but at least now we know that Xen is a woman! Isn’t the Almighty still good to him? Giving him a female mate?] He mentally showed his excitement.

[Wow… Now I’m wondering what Xen would look like wearing her actual clothes as a woman.]

Bartos telepathically relayed his lack of interest, [It doesn’t matter. The problem right now is what exactly His Majesty is planning on doing. The Elders are right. They predicted a marriage alliance being finalized in this meeting, and while they aren’t against it, they will surely not allow a human princess to be the Queen.]

[That’s why I reminded His Majesty about it,] Gideon agreed with his companion.

[I’m also curious about what he’s thinking… It’s not like him to take two wives just so as to have the other one as his legitimate Queen, right? Though… I do believe we have a law on this…] he vaguely recalled.

[If memory serves right, Xen will just need to prove herself worthy to be a Queen… She will need to fight the others for it… And it will be bloody for a mere human.]