The Crown's Entrapment



The days passed by so quickly, but for Bella, that was not the case. She had to keep herself busy so that she wouldn't think too much about the pains of her past. It was all too soon for her anyway, and yet still she felt like time was moving too slowly for her.

After all, she was doing the same routine over and over again. Really, these days, the only consolation she had for going through the motions was that she was able to visit Cordon Castle to see their Queen's adorable twins.

"Are you sure you and the King are going to come to the peace talks? I mean, I know that Helion is currently going through a lot of good changes since they changed rulers, but we shouldn't fully trust them that easily," Bella insisted. "You know how demons are… They're wicked and corrupted. They can't be trusted." 

Bella frowned upon seeing how her friend Xenia simply stared at her as if she wanted to say something. But clearly, her queen was still holding herself back. 

ραndαsΝοvεl ƈοm "What's with that expression?" Bella curiously asked while gently swaying baby Arden to sleep in her arms. Unlike baby Dinara who would often be asleep most of the time, the baby boy was alert and energetic. 

Seeing the twins, Bella couldn't help but smile despite her mood. She was just too fond of the fraternal twins. Dinara looked more like her mother Xenia except for the silver-gray hair that she inherited from her father, while Arden looked more like King Darius in his facial features except for his verdant-green eyes that obviously belong to his mother. They were like carbon copies of their parents. She loved kids, and she couldn't wait to have babies in their manor once her brother Bartos and sister-in-law Jayra got busy making them. Unfortunately, the two weren't blessed to have little ones just yet.

"I see no harm in coming to this peace talk, Bella. In fact, Valcrez and the other Kingdoms will attend this meeting as well," Xenia explained with a sigh. "Enough blood has been spilled from this war. We lost many Cordonians already, and these peace talks are exactly what Darius wanted to hear. The sudden and drastic changes that are happening in Helion also looked to be they were for the better, so that's another point to coming to these talks." She then blinked at her friend before asking, "Actually, do you want to accompany me in attending the Global Summit, Bella?"

"Hmm, do you want me to, Xenia?" Bella questioned back. For some reason, she felt something weird with how Xenia was acting. They usually talked casually with one another whenever they were alone, as was requested by her two monarchs. 

"I want to if you're not busy," Xenia casually nodded. "I heard that you've been very busy lately, so why not take a breather and be my companion at the Global Summit? I also heard that you're also starting to learn a few spells and magic from Master Kasper together with Lena." 

Bella narrowed her eyes at her friend. For some reason, she was bothered by those weird reactions and expressions that her queenly friend was giving her, but she shrugged the feelings off for now. Instead, she might as well humor her.

"Will Lena come as well?" 

She smiled as she asked that question. She and Lena actually warmed up to each other after spending a considerable amount of time together because of their lessons headed by Master Kasper. They were taking their lessons at a newly-made building built by the Queen for Cordonians who wanted to study magic and spells. And of course, she let Master Kaper manage that institute. 

From there, he meticulously chose specific Cordonians whom he could see great potential in becoming a mage. Luckily, Bella got selected as well. She needed to keep herself busy anyway, so she took the opportunity given to her. Besides, she actually found herself wanting to learn magic and spells in order to become strong enough to eliminate the remnants of the followers still aligned with the previous Demon King, Devon. 

It became painfully obvious to her that being a werewolf wasn't enough to fight off powerful demons. And although it was said that the Dragon King had already killed the previous Demon King, Devon, Bella still felt that things haven't ended just yet. For all that she knew, this new king could be worse than the devil he replaced. He might just have a good facade while he waited for the opportunity to strike. After all, one should never trust a demon!

[You're being too judgemental of someone we currently know nothing of…] Poona curiously pointed out. [Who even confirmed that the new king of Helion is a demon?]

Bella simply shrugged. No one actually knew anything about the new king of Helion since his identity was still a mystery. But with how fast the news had spread about the good changes occurring in Helion, she could only assume that something was amiss.

Some things were just too good to be true.

***

Meanwhile, Xenia was currently in a dilemma. She was itching to tell Bella about the possibilities of Osman's survival, but her husband Darius told her not to disclose anything yet till they confirmed a few things. Everyone faced great grievances due to Osman's tragedy including her and mostly her husband, and the last thing they wanted was to give false hope, especially to Bella.

"Xenia?" Bella snapped her fingers, interrupting Xenia from in her own trail of thought.

"Oh, you and Lena seem to be getting along well," Xenia pointed out, swerving the topic away if favor of dodging the subject. "I'm glad that she has found a friend in you aside from Aurelia. You know how Aurelia can be with how abrasive and stiff she is at times, so it's nice for her to have someone who has a lot in common with her." 

Xenia couldn't help but bit her inner cheek. It was ironic because Helena left the Element Forest to fight for Osman, or at least tell the man how she truly felt after all those years. She had sacrificed a lot for Osman, and yet in the end, she lost him before she even knew what happened.

Xenia let out a heavy sigh as she looked at Bella and mused, 'Maybe it's heaven's will for Helena to lose her memories.' 

Helena was already too late anyway. Even if Osman was still with them, his heart had already been conquered by Bella.

"Lena's a nice woman, and I like her. She's honestly more mature than she looks," Bella hummed as she gently put Arden back in his crib. "I mean, I feel like I'm talking to a wise and experienced lady whenever we have a serious conversation…"

Another suppressed and a quiet sigh escaped Xenia's lips. She wondered how things would turn out if Bella ever discovered Lena's true identity.

"No one knew about the Global Summit yet except Jayra, but I'm sure Lena will want to join our convoy once she finds out about it," Xenia hummed. 

One question still bothered her though. If Devas was right and Osman was indeed alive and in Helion, then how come he hadn't sent any word of his survival to them? Oh, how she hoped for three weeks to go by quickly so that the Global Summit would finally happen.

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