The Crown's Entrapment

Xenia let out a self-deprecating chuckle as she joked, “So I’m just a baby then. A baby struggling with her new wings…”

“As much as you say it like that, yes,” Devas amusedly scoffed. “You didn’t grow up having wings, so why should you expect to know how to use them on the first day that you get them?”

The princess opened her mouth to retort only for her to close it as she found herself digesting the two guardians’ points more thoroughly. It did make sense for her to struggle like this in the same way that a chick would when they first came out of the egg. Then again…

“But I’m an adult,” Xenia amusedly pointed out. “Shouldn’t that help me learn faster?”

“That’s exactly what I was trying to tell you earlier,” Devas exasperatedly chuckled. “You’re already making good progress, I’m sure. You just have to give it some time.”

“I agree,” Helena nodded along. “After a bit of deliberation, I concluded that meditating as you are now would yield nothing but frustration.”

Xenia flinched. Still, she didn’t linger too much on the negativity as she tried to cheer herself up. “I’m sorry. I’m just a bundle of nerves right now, you know?”

“Exactly, and that might just be the key for you to try and call your wings back to you.”

Xenia blinked at Helena’s words. She didn’t know why exactly the Fairy Queen’s words elicited such a reaction from her, but she couldn’t help but feel hopeful that she might actually get some progress done.

“And before you say that we should go back out there and try again, you should know that it’s already night out,” Helena advised, quickly deflating Xenia’s hopes as she slumped back onto the bed. “It’s better that you recuperate further. Perhaps a bit of time away from training would do you some good.”

Xenia grumbled in protest, but she quickly acquiesced as she allowed herself to relax. Letting herself sink into her bed, she closed her eyes to try and sleep.

…

“What do you think is wrong with her?”

“I don’t know, but I fully intend to find out.”

…

Yes… Xenia tried her best to sleep but…

“She makes a good point though. This should be easy for her.”

“No, it shouldn’t, Devas. Don’t encourage her to take the easy way out.”

Only, sleep didn’t come to her easily, especially with the two guardians talking about her as if she had already fallen asleep.

“She is quite beautiful, don’t you think?”

“Don’t, Devas. You know full well that she’s already spoken for.”

With her eyes still closed, Xenia couldn’t help but grumble as she shook her head. Just listening to the two guardians talk was making her want to interject with how noisy they were being.

Doing exactly that, she sat back up, her eyes opening only to see that both Devas and Helena were looking at her as if they had just seen a ghost.

“Y-You were still awake?” Devas anxiously questioned.

“Yes. Yes, I am,” Xenia sighed in disappointment, her nerves starting to flare up as a bit of annoyance began seeping into her tone. “Why even tell me to get some sleep when you two will just be staying here and talking about me anyway?”

To his credit, the Sphinx quickly deflected blame as he pointed all the blame to his fellow guardian. “Well, for one, I didn’t see the need to leave since I wasn’t being kicked out just yet.”

Turning her gaze to Helena, Xenia waited for the Fairy Queen to possibly explain herself.

“Why should I leave? This is my territory, after all,” Helena dismissively replied. “If anything, Devas here should’ve seen himself out. He is technically trespassing right now.”

“What the- I wasn’t the one that told me to stay for as long as I’d like,” Devas defended himself. “If anything, we should both leave for Xenia’s sake. She’s had a rough few days, and she’ll need as much rest as she can.”

Xenia found herself placing her face on her palms as she listened to the two guardians bicker. With the lack of sleep, combined with her utter annoyance at both herself and the situation she found herself in, she couldn’t help but growl as she stood up.

“Both of you… Please leave…”

The argument stilled immediately. For a second, Xenia thought that her outburst was all that was needed to get some peace and quiet, only for her hopes to be dashed when Devas spoke.

“Wha… Xenia-“

pa(nd)a no vel “No! You both told me to get some sleep, so I want some sleep!”

She didn’t care that she was currently shouting at someone that could possibly just kill her with a snap of their fingers. No, her patience had worn thin enough for her to not care anymore.

Thankfully, Devas quickly got the message and disappeared into the nearest corner. Helena, meanwhile, stayed put.

“Xenia, I know you’re mad, but you’re currently not-“

“I thought you were supposed to help me,” Xenia cut the guardian off, much to both of their own surprises.

“Xenia, I-“

“I need some time alone! Please!”

*THUD!*

Stomping on the ground, Xenia was surprised when two things happened. One, she felt like she was about to explode, both physically and mentally, and two, the fact that a flash of white light suddenly erupted from her back, her wings suddenly making themselves heard as they once more draped her under their embrace.

In that instant, all of her anger disappeared. “W-Wha…”

She was speechless. She didn’t think this would happen.

Turning to Helena, she was sure that the guardian must be angry with her outburst. It was to her own surprise and confusion then that instead of quickly leaving her alone, the Fairy Queen beamed as she looked at her newly sprouted wings. “Excellent. That actually worked.”

Xenia blinked, her confusion reaching a fever pitch as she weakly asked, “What worked?”

“I did say that your nerves will be the key to making them show up again,” Helena giggled. “So after a bit of thinking, I decided to play to that aspect of yourself. After all, they did show up during a moment of extreme stress, right?”

Xenia couldn’t believe her ears. Was it… Was it that easy?