The Crown's Entrapment

Xenia sighed deeply as she watched Aurelia check on Helena. She couldn’t believe what was happening right now. There were so many questions in her head… Why was Helena out of the Realm of Eferia? And what was she doing in that place of the incident where Osman and the convoy got attacked? Did she purposely leave Eferia and somehow knew that Osman would be in danger?

Her head hurt from all of the confusion… Her heart was still breaking with the news about Osman, and now this… Jayra had already checked on Helena before she brought her friend back to the castle with her. As was discovered, Helena was mortal now, a human according to Jayra, which was the consequence should a guardian would face if ever they left Eferia. They would lose their powers and become mortals, all because they left the territory they were supposed to guard.

Another heavy sigh escaped Xenia’s lips as she looked at Aki watching from the open window. Aki was the name she gave to the raven bearing a rune which served as a way of communication between her and the guardians of Eferia.

Walking up to the window, she held Aki by the perch of her finger as she whispered, “I don’t know what’s going on, so please enlighten me as soon as you can. For now, I’ll make sure that Helena will be taken care of. I’ll protect her to the best of my abilities.”

She gave the raven one last look before releasing it back into the wild, allowing it to leave and deliver her message. She then looked at Aurelia and asked, “How is she?”

Jayra had told her that Aurelia was much more knowledgeable than her when it came to knowledge regarding the human body. After all, her friend had focused more on the core and inner energy methods in her healing arts.

“She’s currently in a coma, but hopefully it’s only temporary,” Aurelia explained. “From what I can tell, it’s due to the temporary disruptions that her injury dealt to her brain’s functions. Everything else looks fine except for a few minor injuries…” There was a pause, and Xenia noticed how Aurelia stared closely at Helena. “She looks so familiar…”

Xenia quietly sighed. Many had seen the face of the guardians, and Helena was quite popular not only with men but also with women because of her beauty. Even though she once had pointed ears, her beauty still shone through. Even now as she looked like any normal human, barring the unusual color of her hair, there was no denying her graceful features.

“How many days do you think it’ll take before she’ll regain her consciousness?” Xenia asked, purposely changing the topic.

“She can wake up as early as right now, Your Grace, but not longer than a week at most,” Aurelia informed before she began packing up all of the tools she used in examining Helena. “In the meantime, I’ll be preparing a concoction for her recovery. I’ll be back shortly…”

Xenia nodded as she watched Aurelia leave. Once she was sure that the healer was gone, she promptly sat by Helena’s bedside and held the once-Fairy Queen’s hand.

“What happened, Helena? Please wake up soon…” she gently murmured as she fought the urge to cry. Osman was still missing sure, but she was also aware of the high possibility that the man was already dead.

She closed her eyes, her tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

[My love…]

She weakly sighed. Darius had softly called her through their Mate Bond, showing that she had forgotten to put her wall back up. Still, she did promise her husband that she wouldn’t hide anything from him anymore.

[I know… It’s not good for our baby for me to stress myself like this, but I can’t help but feel sad and broken at everything that’s happening,] she replied in resignation. “Osman… I still can’t accept that he would just leave us like that. Please make sure you find him… Or would it be better that you find nothing? That would mean that there’s a possibility of him still being alive, right?]

She was aware of how stupid that statement sounded, but she couldn’t help but hope otherwise. It didn’t matter that there was also a possibility that Osman’s body had been eaten by all kinds of creatures living in that deep river to explain the missing body. If there was no proof, there was still a chance.

Her eyes widened as she shouted, “Call for Aurelia this instant. The patient’s waking up!”

“Yes, Your Grace,” the servant outside quickly answered.

Xenia watched eagerly as Helena slowly opened her eyes.

“Helena…” she called out to her, her tears still running down her cheeks as she smiled.

Helena frowned at her and murmured, “Do I know you?”

Xenia frowned, but she quickly shook her head as she moved to aide Helena. The former guardian was struggling to get up from bed, and the confusion on her face only made it all the more apparent as to what happened.

“Easy, you have a head injury, so you shouldn’t move so much yet,” Xenia explained as she helped Helena rest her back on the headrest.

“I… what… happened… I…” Helena winced as she clutched her head.

“Are you in pain?” Xenia worriedly asked.

Before Helena could even reply, Aurelia had already arrived to check on Helena. Stepping back, Xenia watched from the sidelines, her frown deepening with each passing second.

[Helena can’t remember a thing,] she told Darius through their Mate Bond. [She doesn’t even remember her own name…]

[Are we sure she’s really Helena then?] Darius inquired. [She might just be someone that looks like her.]

[I don’t know anymore,] she sullenly replied. [I already sent word to Eferia, and we’ll find our answers soon enough the moment Aki returns.]

Xenia then unconsciously touched the bracelet she was wearing, hoping that it would come to life with the answers she was seeking. And just as she looked at it when the pearl in the bracelet suddenly lit up. Knowing what was to come, Xenia immediately left to go to the connecting master’s chamber by the next room. There, she pulled out the pearl and put it on her palm where a live vision of Devas appeared.

“How is she?” Devas instantly asked.

Xenia held her breath. That question alone confirmed that the woman they were caring for was really Helena.

“She just woke up,” Xenia informed. “She can’t remember everything about herself though…”

“That’s because she used up all her powers before they can leave her body naturally!” Devas grumbled. “Why is she so stubborn? She even left us a note saying that she had decided to step down from her responsibilities as one of the guardians. She doesn’t want to have any regrets anymore, she said, so she took the risk to try and pursue Osman even knowing that she might already be too late!”

“How about Osman?” Xenia inquired. “Can we know from the Lake of Life what happened to him?”

This time, it was Polo that answered her question. “The Lake of Life… had turned dark…”