The Crown's Entrapment

At the shrine of the Capital City, Kingdom of Cordon

“That was one hell of an offer! Do you think that Sphinx will give me the same offer if I entered the forest now?” a particular woman watching with them enviously voiced out. ” I’m envious… He’s so handsome and dreamy, not to mention that kind of offer inside a perfect paradise… Any woman will love that kind of security with a handsome man. If I were the Princess, I would definitely accept that kind of offer!”

The open shrine was abuzz with murmurs. Most of the women watching were easily swayed by the kind of life the Sphinx had to offer inside the Element Forest. It was too tempting enough not to consider, not to mention that the guardian was handsome enough to make them consider in the first place.

“Hah! I’m sure the Princess will no longer return. This’ll be the last time we’ll see her in the vision,” a random comment voiced out. “Why would she even want to come back? The Trial by Combat with the werewolves is still waiting for her here if ever she passed the trials inside the forest. Plus, someone wants her dead inside this kingdom, so her life here would obviously be filled with pain! It’ll be better for her if she just stayed there.”

Darius gritted his teeth. He was in turmoil right now, and that was because he could feel just how conflicted Xen was right now. Why would she even feel that way? Was it because she was getting swayed by the Sphinx’s offer? Was it really that too good to be true?

[Let’s go in and barge our way into that damn forest right now!] Zeus barked out. [We should get our mate back from that guardian this instant!]

Darius couldn’t help but agree. Like him, his wolf could barely control his fury at the sight before them. At this rate, both of them were about to explode.

But before he could actually go and walk out, Darius felt a hand squeezing his shoulder. Turning to Osman, the admiral had a reassuring smile at him as he telepathically said, [I don’t know why she told me this, but I can understand why…]

“What do you mean?” Darius asked with a frown.

[She said that there may come a time when she would look conflicted about her current situation inside the forest, but that doesn’t mean that she’s regretting her life choices,] Osman began.

[In fact, the only thing that would make her look conflicted about things would be if she was trying to balance things out. She’s most likely thinking more along the lines of how to successfully come back into your arms. You’re well aware that I told her not to offend any guardians inside the forest no matter what, yes?]

Darius didn’t comment, letting Osman continue his spiel. [She’s worried that once you come to watch her, you might notice how conflicted she might look at times, so she wanted me to keep reminding you to stay put where you are,] the admiral chuckled.

[This time, she would be the one trying to cross the distance to try and reach you. So please, Sire, let’s wait for a bit more and see how the Princess will handle this situation first.]

Considering Osman’s words, Darius closed his eyes and took a loud breath, breathing as if releasing a heavy burden inside his chest. He then opened his eyes, his gaze darting back to the vision playing before him…

Surprisingly, Xen’s emotions had suddenly calmed, replaced by something more intense… something peaceful and serene as she smiled brightly.

…..

Inside the vision, the Sphinx continued to coax Xen as he waved his hand over the lake. “This lake has the power to let you see your future with every corresponding choice you make,” he explained. “Let me show you the fate that awaits you if you ever choose continue to live yourself outside this realm…”

Looking into the lake, Xenia frowned as she watched a visage of herself forming in the waters, the lake showing her supposed future as she peered through the glowing veil.

Still, ignoring the visions playing on the lake, Xenia turned to face Devas. This time, she had a subtle smile on her face as she said, “Milord, I think you still know far too little of me.” She couldn’t help but smirk, “Let me enlighten you a bit about myself then.”

Devas frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

Gently pulling her hands away from the Sphinx, she looked back at the lake and said, “In our Kingdom, most people relied on our appointed Seer to see into the future, to determine the fate of the kingdom or someone’s fate that is yet to come… Seers have played a big part in our kingdom’s stability for generations, and we’ve been able to prepare for things beforehand should they even come our way after our efforts.”

She serenely smiled, “But unlike most of our people, I’m someone who doesn’t believe too much in fate.”

She turned her gaze to Devas and continued, “My fate was to marry the Vampire King of Valcrez, but I refused to accept that, so I ended up running from that arranged marriage, defying what fate had ordained for me. So if you must know, showing me something like this will do little to sway me.”

Taking in a deep breath she filled her lungs with as much air as she could before adding further to her argument. “You’re right about these sins and vices in the outside world that would bring pain and suffering to someone like me, but I’m sure you’re also aware of how the Almighty won’t will those kinds of sins into reality without also creating equally heavenly virtues to fight it,” she explained. “Those virtues are still present in everyone outside this realm; humility for pride, kindness over envy, temperance to gluttony, charity against greed, chastity for lust, diligence for sloth, and patience against wrath… It’s all equivalent…”

Xenia looked at Devas’s eyes intently, not breaking eye contact as she kept on talking. “The offer you made for me is indeed tempting, milord. As I’ve said, I don’t believe in fate, rather, it’s always been a choice for me, and I choose nothing in this world except for the love and commitment that I have for my mate and my husband Darius, the King of Cordon.”

She firmly declared, “I am willing to experience everything, whether good or bad, without batting an eye just to be with him in this lifetime. I will always choose him over everything that could be offered to me.”

She then gave him the brightest smile of content she could muster as she humorously stated, “So, after all of that talking, can we please start now with your trial already, milord? You see, my husband has a temper, and I don’t want him doing something reckless and impulsive again like barging his way into this forest and tearing everything apart just so he could get his wife back.”