The Crown's Entrapment

[Fifth day inside the Element Forest]

"Xen, my love!" Darius burst out the moment that he opened his eyes. Blinking, he saw that his wife was currently resting comfortably under a big tree.

"Shhh, keep your voice down, will you? Can't you see she's resting?" Devas shushed him. "She's sick, and she needs as much rest as she could get right now. The trials inside the thousand dreams could hit her multiple times in a row without rest, but knowing Polo's character, I believe he set this all up to have a considerable amount of time for her to rest."

It was only then that Darius noticed the man who was sitting beside him.

"You... That's my face..." he murmured as reality sank in. He was currently facing himself, but a sudden pain in his inside made him freeze and groan. Looking at himself, the impostor was also curling in pain.

"Be careful. Do you want us ending up dead, right?" Devas retorted. "We'll be trapped here inside this dream for good if one wrong word comes out of your mouth!"

Darius held his breath, quickly turning to Xen who obviously felt the pain he felt throughout her body as well. "What was that sudden pain?" she whispered as she opened her beautiful eyes. Her eyes widened and her lips parted the longer her gaze fixated on the man beside him.

'No! My love! Don't stare at him like that! This is me!' Darius inwardly pleaded. 'I'm your husband! Not that fake!'

[This Devas is right. You should be careful and think more carefully before opening your mouth,] Zeus reminded him. [We don't want to bring more pain to Xen right now, not to mention us getting trapped inside the thousand dreams like this.]

[Oh heavens, Zeus. I'm glad you're still here with me,] Darius almost cried.

[Of course. It's still your body, so I'm still here. You and this Devas just swapped physical appearances, not the entire bodies themselves,] Zeus explained. [Still, I'm powerless inside this dream. I won't be able to help you at all except to maybe just talk to you. The Mate Bond also isn't working inside this dream, so Xen would probably not be able to feel us...]

"Darius?" Xen gasped as she fell down on her knees before Devas.

Darius was about to move to intercept, but...

[Stop that!] Zeus reminded.

Darius froze midstep as he stared at Xen hugging another man wearing his face. She was crying so hard. And he couldn't help but grit his teeth in anger. This couldn't be! How could he just watch his wife with another man like this? This Devas was even hugging his Xen back! He wouldn't let this stand. He had to do something.

"Stop!" he barked out.

Xen moved, still hugging Devas as she turned her gaze to him.

"Break away from that hug this instant! It's forbidden in this forest!" Darius authoritatively declared. "No hugging, touching, holding hands, or doing anything intimate this instant! Or else, you will all lose in this trial!"

"What?!" Both Xen and Devas burst out.

Fortunately for him, Xen instantly moved away and broke the hug with the impostor. She then quickly got up on her feet and took a step back.

Looking at him, Xen whispered in shock, "Lord Devas. You're also here..."

Darius inwardly cursed upon seeing how crimson red Xen's face was in embarrassment.

[Hahahaha! That's a nice one. Since you have Lord Devas's face, Xen will surely believe you more regarding this trial,] Zeus praised. [You can use this to your advantage so that our mate wouldn't touch this fake!]

"What are you saying there, huh? And who are you to forbid such a thing?!" Devas interrupted with knitted brows. The man was obviously not pleased with how he interrupted his intimate moment with his Xen.

"Who am I? Seriously?" Darius challenged, his glare turning deadly as he squinted at Devas. "Are you questioning who I am right now?!"

"You..."

"Darius, stop that," Xen murmured to Devas.

Darius watched as Xen was about to hold the impostor by the arm. He wasn't going to let that happen. "Stop right there, Xen!" he barked aloud. "Don't touch that man if you want to continue or pass this trial!"

Darius rejoiced when Xen refrained from touching Devas that instant. It wasn't much, but it'll have to do for now.

Visibly restraining herself, Xen longingly stared at the fake Darius as she said, "This is Lord Devas, one of the guardians in this realm. We should listen to him since he's a good man. He'll help us. But tell me, what happened? How come you're inside this trial?"

Devas looked at him in suspense. Darius then smirked as he followed up on the question with a smirk, "Right, how about you explain to Xen the situation we're in right now, huh?"

Darius inwardly frowned. He wondered just what would Devas's alibi be in this situation without compromising their life.

"Well, this Polo..." Devas started.

"Polo?" Xen questioned.

"Uhm, yes. That's the name of the merman who's the guardian of the waters in this realm," Devas answered.

"How did you know his name, Darius?" Xen asked with a frown.

[That's it, my love,] Darius inwardly cheered as he observed the two's exchange. [Quickly piece this puzzle together.]

"Oh, that," Devas shakily replied. "You see... Uhm, Princess, remember that we can also watch you from the runes back home. And there, I..."

"Princess? Since when did you start addressing me as Princess? I'm your wife! You either call me Xen or my love!" Xen retorted. She then turned to Darius with a sharp gaze and hissed, "What's going on here? Why is Darius acting weird? Did something happen while I'm sleeping?"

"Xen, I'm alright, my love. It's just an adverse effect of me coming here..." Devas answered, and Darius almost wanted to vomit watching the man address his love intimately like that. No one should address her like that except for him!

"Coming in here?! Did you barge your way inside this forest?" Xen asked in outrage. "I told you to stay put. Will I fail this trial now because you came here?"

"Just relax, Xen, will you?!" Devas pleaded. "Let me talk and explain everything to you, my love."

"That's it! Don't call her Xen or my love inside this forest!" Darius demanded. "Aside from physical contact, endearment is also not allowed!"

Devas rolled his eyes at him and said, "She's my wife, right? So I'll call her whatever I want!"

With an unyielding glare directed at Devas, Darius barked out, "Call her Xenia!!! Or Princess! I will not allow any of your public displays of affection inside this realm, whether in words or through actions!"

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