The Crown's Entrapment

The message Jayra got was from Wizard Lurio, the old wizard informing her about the current happenings from the Ebodia Encampment.

At the time of writing the letter, their Prince was still unable to control the dragon inside of him, even if he was already managing to shift back to his original form with the help of Tarah. Apparently, not only was the woman a Seer, but she was also a dragon tamer.

"She seems to be very helpful," Jayra murmured as she frowned. "Why would Beirut warn Prince Ezekiel about her then?"

Thinking about it, it didn't exactly make sense to be suspicious of the woman. But then she realized that none of them knew exactly where Tarah even came from. All they knew about the woman was that she had the ability to see the future and that she bore the mark to become their kingdom's Seer just like Beirut, the prophecy for every Ebodian Seer.

Jayra was still deep in her thoughts when her door swung open.

"Wife? What's keeping you?"

Hearing the familiar voice, she smiled as she turned to her loving husband, the latter currently wearing a frown on his face as he worriedly approached her.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

Instead of replying, Jayra nodded before she then wrapped her arms around Bartos's neck and gave him a passionate kiss.

"Everyone's already waiting," Bartos huskily murmured into her mouth, their kiss almost reluctant to be broken before they willingly parted their lips.

"Is that so?" Jayra chuckled. "Let's go then."

"Hmm... How about we just do it first?" Bartos suddenly suggested.

"Didn't you just say they're already waiting for us?" Jayra teased.

"But you started this," Bartos groaned as he complained. "I can no longer stop myself... I'll be quick. We can let them wait!"

Before Jayra could even protest, Bartos had already sealed her mouth with his once more. Lifting her up, he pinned her against the wall, all while ravishing her like there was no tomorrow and without a care as to whether somebody was waiting for them downstairs.

*****

Meanwhile, everyone was already seated in the dining area. Chancellor Talon chuckled as he humorously pointed out, "It seems like it wasn't a good idea that we let Bartos pick up his wife for us. Judging from how long they're taking, I have a feeling that those two will take their sweet time in getting here."

He then humorously suggested, "Maybe we should start eating, shall we?"

Bella clicked her tongue as she snorted, "Seriously, those two..."

Everyone at the table chuckled as they started eating. After a while, Bartos and Jayra finally arrived.

"We apologize for being late," Bartos casually stated. "I had to help my wife with cleaning up some of the more dangerous messes she had in her workshop. We just couldn't leave them unattended for too long, you see."

None bothered to contest his claim, but Jayra still couldn't help but blush upon seeing everybody's teasing eyes land on them. Especially Bella's. She was practically beaming with mischief just looking at them.

Having had enough of all the attention, Jayra cleared her throat and suddenly remarked, "Clara has already been marked by Gilas."

'Ah, nice one, Sister-in-law!' Bella wanted to tease, but she tried her best not to, knowing that it was her sister-in-law's way of diverting attention away from her.

"Really?" Bella's father gasped.

"It's true," Bella promptly nodded. "She tried to hide it, but I managed to spot it earlier."

"That means she won't be able to participate in the finals then," Livia commented. "With that mark, she's no longer qualified to wear the crown..."

"She won't back down," Bartos chucked. "Knowing Clara's nature, she'll still try and make sure that Pinra wouldn't be able to wear that crown in the end."

Bella nodded in agreement. Clara was willful like that.

As if noting her thoughts, her mother's eyes towards her and scolded, "You should quit as well."

"Why should I? Clara will need all the help she can get to try and put Pinra down, not to mention her minions that have also somehow managed to enter the finals," Bella defended with a pout. "At least let me contribute something good to our Kingdom, Mother. I'm fighting for a good cause..."

"But there's still no vision coming from the Element Forest. There are currently too many assumptions in regards to the Princess's status, and one that stood out the most is that the Princess might no longer return..." her mother reasoned.

"If that really happens, then there would be a real possibility that you might become Queen, my daughter. With Clara already marked, you'll be the next best candidate available. Are you really up for that?"

Bella frowned at the information. Turning to Bartos, she asked, "Does that mean that all who entered the finals are all Nasser's people except for me and Clara?"

She was aware of the current situation since Bartos and her father would usually talk about such matters over dinner. In a sense, she was well-updated just from listening to the two of them talk.

​ "Right now, based on their fighting techniques alone, seven contenders of the twelve contenders who advanced for the finals are indeed Nasser pawns," Bartos remarked. "We can only hope that tomorrow, the remaining three contenders to reach the final twelve would be genuine participants..."

"Hah, seven against two? Oh, wait, Commander Zandro's sister will be fighting tomorrow," Bella recalled with a twitch on her face. "Still, Lady Evelyn will win for sure!" Lord Zandro was the Commander of the Moonlight Chivalry, the exact same one that their King had dispatched to send us support to the Ebodia Encampment.

"That's still three against seven, Bella..." her mother pointed out. "We're still not sure about the other two who will advance tomorrow. You and Clara will have a bloody fight in the final twelve for sure."

Bella turned to Osman who was silently listening to them talk. Raising an eyebrow at him, she scoffed, "You're surprisingly quiet tonight, Lord Osman. Care to share us your thoughts?"

Osman sighed deeply and murmured, "Our King can feel that his mate is in perfectly good condition right now. I'm sure that Princess Xenia will appear at just the right time to aid you and Lady Clara..."

Bella blinked at Osman in disbelief. Instantly, she wondered just what made Osman, her brother, and her sister-in-law to be this confident whenever it came to Princess Xenia.

"Why would she even bother when she already secured her spot in the finals once she comes out of that forest?" Livia questioned.

Bella couldn't help but ask the same question. Her mother was right. Would the Princess even bother to aid them when she was already too busy and tired from fighting for her life through the four trials?

"Mother, Princess Xenia will definitely aid them just from her knowing that Bella is someone that I care for," Jayra confidently stated.

"Well, Clara is also someone the royal family cares for, but it's always in Xenia's nature to help whenever she sees someone in need of help anyway. She'll definitely try and push herself to fight in the final twelve should she come out of the forest during that time. That, I assure you..."

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