After her conversation with Amon, Bella hadn't left her tent at all. Instead, she stayed inside making plans.
[I've never been under this pressure my whole life. Can you just relax?] Poona complained.
"I can't relax one bit, Poona. Amon's message was clear. He has to follow the rules and abide by his kingdom's traditions. If I don't win the competition for the Selection of his Queen then that would mean the end for us. If I don't win, we'll lose him, our mate, the love of our life!"
[I understand, but you're giving me a headache with all of your overthinking! It's not like you have any form of stock knowledge. You may be reading books but your mind keeps wandering back to thoughts of Amon!] Poona scolded, making Bella giggle.
"You should just calm down, Poona. All you have to do is help me a bit by storing important details that may come up during the written exams about Helion during the competition in your head." Bella tried to coax her wolf.
"Damn. Why are there written exams for this? Why couldn't the competition just be something like a battle until one woman was left standing? Why does it seem harder than facing an actual battle!" Bella exasperatedly said as she flipped onto the next page of the book that she was reading.
She had to familiarize herself with the traditions and customs of Helion. History nor studying other kingdoms was not exactly one of her stronger suits. So she was basically clueless about things involving the Kingdom of Helion! The only thing she knew about it was that the rulers of that kingdom for generations were powerful pure demons. Amon was the first who broke the bloodline of pure demon rulers being a hybrid since Amon's mother was a mermaid.
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm "Lady Bella…" the familiar voice of her personal instructor, Miriam, called.
"Oh please come in," she quickly answered. Miriam entered, her face adorned with a smile, yet Bella knew all too well the peril concealed behind it. She was the strictest tutor in their kingdom. Miriam was an acquaintance of her mother which meant that she was quite close to the old lady. However, she sensed that their amicable aunt-niece dynamic might soon take a dark turn.
Miriam comfortably sat on the chair across her with crossed legs as she leaned back on the chair's backrest.
"I believe you already know why I am here, dear Bella. Your brother Bartos begged me to give you a quick lesson here inside the camp before you headed to Helion to compete for the Selection of the kingdom's Queen," she casually remarked with a serious tone.
"Yes," Bella answered with her usual sweet smile.
"Very well. As of today let us maintain a tutor-pupil relationship so that we don't carry any hard feelings in the future.. We're not here to play games. You are after all set on becoming Helion's new Queen, aren't you?!"
Bella's head nodded as she declared, "Absolutely! I will become the new Queen of Helion, and will be King Amon's only woman and wife!"
Mirian nodded and then she clapped her hands, at the sound the servants entered with an assortment of things that they proceeded to arrange inside her tent. Bella simply watched and then gulped. She hated studying before, which is why she would usually sneak out and skip classes.
[Good luck!] Poona snorted inside her head.
"As the sun is about to set, let's begin with some briefings for now, starting with the basics. I will leave you some assignments to work on tonight on your own to save us some time for tomorrow's lesson," Miriam coldly stated.
She spread out the copy of parchments from Helion, which explained the rules and regulations of the competition, the scope of each level, and how the points of each competitor will be computed.
"Interesting, at least they mentioned the scope so it gives us an idea of what to focus on in our studies. They want someone who can excel physically, mentally, and emotionally. Hunting and hawking, dancing, arts, archery, fencing, and wrestling… There's no doubt that you'll excel in these aspects. So we'll have to focus more on reading, board games, stitching, embroidery, decorative stitching, cooking, and political knowledge and views. It's very important that you train yourself to always act with grace."
Bella gulped as Miriam highlighted her strengths and weaknesses… It was a testament to how open and transparent she tended to be, even with others.
"Being a Queen won't be an easy position. You'll be managing court events, involving yourself actively in political endeavors, acting as a mediator between the king and other members of the court, and so on…" Miriam reiterated.
Bella's shoulders dropped as she humorously mumbled, "If Devon is still king, the only duty for a Queen to do is warm his bed for sure…"
"Then you wouldn't have bothered to join a competition for a king like that," Miriam snorted.
"That's true. I can't believe I'm so bad at simple tasks such as stitching." Bella murmured with a pout.
"With a determination like yours, I'm sure you'll master everything in no time. Come now, let's start with the basics… You may think that these are all simple topics, but in a competition like this even cooking has more to it than just presenting the best recipe. You must even possess the knowledge about the best ingredients to use." Miriam lectured.
Bella nodded as she keenly listened to Miriam. At the back of her head, she couldn't help but inwardly curse herself for not studying well before. She was also the worst in cooking! She preferred to just eat delicious meals! If only she had, then everything would be effortless by now.
*****
Meanwhile, as Bella was eagerly working hard and focusing on her studies, Jayra and Bartos were both celebrating alone as they waited for the King and Queen's return who were both still at Valcrez camp.
"How about dinner with Bella to see if she'll be able to notice my pregnancy?" Jayra suggested as she nudged her naked body to her husband's chest.
"Hmm, I don't think it's the best time for that. Bella has preferred to stay in her tent unless it was absolutely necessary. She's taking her lessons with Miriam very seriously and wants to focus without any interruptions. Let's wait until she comes out of her tent on her own…" Bartos answered as he kissed her head and then played with her locks.
"Any news now from our King? Maybe we should just go to Valcrez camp and congratulate Queen Mineah and King Nikolai. I'm sure by now, the baby would have been born already. I wonder if it's a boy or a girl," Jayra curiously hummed.
"Wait a moment, let me try something…" Bartos replied, activating his mindlink with his men.
"Oh, a Princess! A baby girl!" Bartos suddenly burst. Jayra jolted up and quickly jumped off the bed to get dressed. "Come and hurry, let's see for ourselves how adorable she is!"
Bartos chuckled as he watched his wife get dressed in a hurry, "Do you think ours is a boy or a girl?" he amusingly asked as he pulled his wife closer and started undressing her again with his eyes. "Come here… Let's just visit them tomorrow morning once everything is settled down." But Jayra had no intention of listening to her husband as she was way too excited to see the newest baby.
"Hurry up now or I'll leave you here," she scoffed at him with a pout.
Bartos chuckled as he quickly got up and put on his clothes in a flash. Holding her husband's hand, Jayra practically pulled him outside the tent.
It was already dark outside as they walked.
"Look up, they're such beautiful formations of the stars. It's an Aquarius!" Jayra pointed out the sky. Bartos followed her gaze.
"Hmm, it's nice. How about we name our baby Aquarius?" he suddenly said. Jayra turned to him and chuckled upon seeing how his eyes sparkled as he waited for her response.
"Aquarius seems too long, but it's a good name, a representation of water… But do you think it's for a boy or a girl?" she hummed with a smile. She could feel her husband's overwhelming emotions through their bond. And Jayra was so grateful that she was able to make Bartos so happy like this. The heavens and the Almighty were so merciful to them for giving them such a wonderful and unexpected blessing like this!
"I think it sounds good enough for both a boy and a girl, so let's just give that name to our baby no matter what," Bartos remarked and Jayra nodded.
Bartos suddenly pulled her in for a hug as he lovingly whispered, "I'm filled with so much joy and excitement, Jayra. I still can't believe that we're about to have a baby of our own!"
"Me too…" Jayra murmured with a wide smile. They even already had a name for their dear Aquarius!
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