The Crown's Entrapment

At Realm of Eferia

"It's been eleven days already…"

Xenia whispered to herself as she stared at her reflection by the lake. While she knew that some of those days went into her training, it still felt like she was still wasting time. She had to get back home somehow.

Letting out a sigh, she flinched and frowned when she saw another man behind her through the lake's reflection.

She quickly turned around. "Who are you?" she asked, even though she already had a hunch as to who this man was.

He had short black hair, and he harbored a serious aura around him since he didn't smile as much as Devas, who would always have those friendly smiles with him. Looking at the man a little closer, she noted that like Devas, he was handsome as well. He looked young, probably just around Darius's age, or maybe even a bit younger than…

"I'm the ruler of the waters in this realm, the guardian of the element of water: Polo," the man nonchalantly introduced himself.

"Milord…" Xenia quickly murmured, unable to find the proper words to add to her greetings due to the man's intimidating looks.

Looking at the guardian now, she realized that she hadn't had the opportunity to personally meet Polo until now. The guardian hadn't bothered with introductions as he immediately sent her to her trial inside the thousand dreams.

Their eyes met, and Xenia gave the guardian an awkward smile.

"Looks like you're enjoying your stay in Helena's territory," he casually stated. "Shouldn't you be doing your trial by air right now?"

Xenia didn't know how to respond. Thankfully, Devas arrived at just the right time to bail her out.

"Huh, Polo? What brought you here?" Devas questioned his fellow guardian with lifted brows.

Xenia remained quiet as she simply observed the two men. Well, they were a Sphinx and a Merman respectively, but right now, they were in their human forms. And truth be told, these two men were honestly gorgeous.

She unknowingly smiled as her possessive husband crossed her mind. Darius would definitely get jealous if she vocally praised these two on how beautiful they looked. Darius did skin Devas's head of his dark, red-brown hair, but even that didn't make the guardian less handsome in her eyes.

Of course, no one would be able to beat her husband in her eyes. After all, he was the best-looking man for her bar none. And just like that, she shrugged as she felt her impatience rising again. She couldn't wait to be with Darius again after all this time.

Unfortunately, she still had to master her wings and have complete control of them before going out of this forest. She really didn't want to make a mess of herself during the trial by combat in front of all the Cordonians, after all.

"And how about you?" Devas scoffed. "You barely visit any territories that aren't yours if it's nothing too important."

"I'm here to remind you all about your duties," Polo quickly replied as he handed his fellow guardian a piece of parchment, making Xenia gulp in the sideline as she recognized the Cordonian sigil on it. "Why are you even idling in the Fairy Queen's territory?"

'Was that another offer to kill me?' she wondered with a frown.

Devas rolled his eyes before he went on to read the letter. A beat passed, and he looked at her and said, "It's from King Darius."

Xenia bit her inner cheek as she grabbed the letter off Devas's hand. Reading her husband's letter, it stated to the guardians that they should show her completing the trial by air as per their agreement.

"When do you plan on doing the trial by air?" Polo asked. "The final twelve will be finalized come tomorrow, and I believe that your presence would be needed for that round."

"She'll be ready to do it by tomorrow," Helena interrupted, entering the scene with a smile.

"She better be. You two have been pampering this intruder in our realm for far too long," Polo directly stated, not minding that Xenia was even there to hear it. But with how Devas had described Polo's character, his words really didn't bother Xenia in the slightest.

"To see you here in my territory is a rare occasion, Polo," Helena warmly noted. "How about you have some breakfast with us? I've already prepared some for us… Come."

With the Fairy Queen leading Polo to her dining area, Devas and Xenia simply followed from behind as they watched the scene unfold.

"Are you really going to be ready come tomorrow?" Devas worriedly inquired.

Xenia couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing Devas being this worried about her. Honestly, it puzzled her as to how she had become this close to Devas and Helena. Still, she was truly grateful for the two for helping her out despite her shortcomings. It was so rare to find strangers who would genuinely reach out to help you, and the three of them actually became good friends during those days that they spent together.

Also, Xenia couldn't wait to inform Osman about Helena and how the Fairy Queen was currently doing inside the Element Forest.

"You should be grateful," Devas amusingly grinned at her even as she remained silent to his prior question. "You're the first intruder who has had the privilege to dine with the guardians."

"How come I'm not invited?" Saha snorted as she suddenly appeared, grabbing a chair for herself as she sat down.

Devas laughed, "I technically wasn't invited, and even Polo," he chuckled. "We simply invited ourselves in here…"

Staying back, Xenia didn't know how to react as she quietly watched the four guardians interact before her.

Before Xenia could go and grab a seat of her own, Saha looked at her and scoffed. "Ah, those eyes... I really want those. It's only too bad that you passed Polo's trial, meaning that I'm unable to dig out those beautiful eyes for myself," she pouted. "I no longer have any hopes for Helena's trial, seeing as no one in history had failed her trials before… Then again, most intruders never really reached her trial, what with them being dead just from passing our territories first."

Xenia had an awkward smile as she murmured, "I'm glad to be still in one piece then."

Devas chuckled. "Still, I'm curious, Xenia… You could've avoided all of the suffering you've gone through if you just stayed with the King as one of his lady consorts," he curiously remarked. "So why bother? I mean, some females who love a man would sacrifice that much just so they could be with their man."

Xenia's face twisted as she straightforwardly replied, "Simple: I don't want to share my man. Power struggles are complicated in the outside world, and I refuse to let another woman share my husband with me, lest I give them the opportunity to try and get rid of me down the line."

She then let out a long deep sigh as she added, "Either way, I don't like that kind of suffering. I'd prefer to fight for him in any way possible."

Xenia subconsciously smiled as she recalled her private moment with Clara. "I remember how another woman even accused me of being an intruder in Darius's life before by saying that I wasn't a Cordonian; that I was someone who didn't care about the kingdom."

She then looked at everyone around her, their eyes still on her as she said, "For posterity's sake, I'll say it again like how I said it to her… Darius is already my kingdom… My home… That alone made Cordon a place that I care for."

She smiled, "Knowing that Cordon is Darius's Kingdom that he truly cares for, I will do everything in my power to secure the throne… to stand by his side as his only woman and Queen."

******

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