The Crown's Entrapment

Once the rain let up, Calypso and Aurelia’s journey continued. Unfortunately, the weather only remained cooperative for a bit until a few hours later just before nightfall. The outpour was both hard and fast, and they were only thankful that they were actually near an inn already so that they could probably rest for the night. As expected for a rainy day, the inn was crowded with travelers looking to wait out the rain. And of course, seeing as there were too many people to even get some peace and quiet, Calypso decided that it would be best that they had had their dinner inside their own room.

Which was great, since Aurelia was planning on nipping something in the bud for a while now.

“It’s been pouring outside,” Aurelia commented as she tried to dry her wet hair with a towel while staring out the window. “And here I thought that the weather would cooperate.”

“I suppose so,” Calypso chuckled as he entered the room. “Are you already done cleaning up?”

“Go ahead and use the privy,” she nonchalantly stated. “I already went ahead earlier.”

“Thank you, Lia.”

Aurelia raised an eyebrow at Calypso’s retreating form. Seeing him disappear into the privy, she rolled her eyes as she finally allowed herself to think again. There were things that she wanted to know about him ever since she heard of the reason of this trip in the first place, and after talking to Seth about it while her mate was away, she now had the full gist of what truly went wrong.

[Can you even blame him?] Aura scoffed. [Being left by a mother like that at such a young age can be traumatizing for children.]

[That’s understandable, but he’s an adult now,] Aurelia rolled her eyes. [Getting hung up over the past is very much illogical for the future.]

Of course, that was what her logic was telling her. She still had enough empathy to know that emotional scars could be a nightmare to heal. Some could take years, even decades before they actually stop hurting.

She should know. She lost her parents too.

[Your case is different, you know,] her wolf chuckled.

[I know, but that doesn’t mean other should know about it,] Aurelia slyly chuckled. [I can use myself as an example for later.]

And just as she was thinking about it, Calypso went out of the privy after he had cleaned himself up. Unsurprisingly, he was half-naked with drops of water still dripping off him. And also unsurprisingly, she felt herself staring at him, if only just a bit.

“Like what you see?” Calypso teased.

“That’s a foregone conclusion,” Aurelia deftly responded with a wave of her hand. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“Fair enough,” her mate chuckled. “Still, I can tell you have something on your mind.”

“How do you know?”

She raised an eyebrow as he sat in front of her. Their food had just arrived, which meant that they could finally eat their dinner. Of course, the fact that her mate was starting to catch on to her thought processes faster than usual didn’t pass her by despite her sarcasm at him. In fact, she rather liked that he was matching her wavelength more often than usual now.

“Your sarcasm is very much appreciated,” Calypso cheekily remarked. “But again, you have something in mind. Care to share?”

Aurelia let out a small scoff as she picked up her eating utensils. Wordlessly, she started eating, with Calypso doing the same as he followed her lead. Their silence was both comfortable and awkward, with her mate clearly curious as to what she was planning.

“So…”

“So, indeed,” Aurelia coolly replied. “I’ve been talking with Seth, and I finally know why you’re so against this trip in the first place.”

Almost immediately, Calypso deflated. “So Seth spilled the beans, huh.”

“Quite,” she casually confirmed. “You’re upset that your mother left you for another man, which is also why you’re so against women in the first place.”

His eyes widened, and she inwardly smirked as she hit her target. Truly, the statement she just said was a stretch, but she didn’t think she’d land on the problem that quickly.

“Lia, you’re different, alright?” he quickly stressed out. “You’re my mate, and I will never abandon you like that.” ｂ𝚍ｎｏｖ𝚕．ｃｏｍ

“Just like how your mother abandoned, you,” she coolly scoffed. “Calypso, as much as I’m developing feelings for you, I couldn’t really care less if you just up and broke my heart into a million pieces.”

[Cold…]

She rolled her eyes as she watched her mate get beaten down by her calculated words. All the while, she felt her heart clench just seeing him this down. It was… It was the truth. She knew in her mind that she’d easily move on given enough time, but her heart also told her that she would never be the same if it ever happened. Also… she was never good at comforting people like this…

[Just say what comes naturally,] Aura advised. [Calypso knows how you are. He’ll understand.]

Taking a deep breath, Aurelia spoke once more. “Time can’t heal wounds if you refuse to even let them,” she began. “Like an infection, resentment can spread and get worse, turning you into a bitter husk that knows nothing except how badly the world had screwed them over without even trying to look at things from a different perspective.”

“But… Ugh…” he sighed. “You’re right… Seth’s right… You’re all right, but I… I still can’t see women as nothing more than emotional backstabbers.”

Rolling her eyes, Aurelia placed a hand over his. While her own sensibilities didn’t allow her to smile at that moment, she could only hope that their Bond would convey what she was trying to do.

“By your logic, I’m a backstabber as well,” she pointed out. “Do you believe that?”

“…No,” he weakly answered.

“Louder.”

“Of course, not,” he frowned. “You’re pragmatic. You’re stuck with me despite clearly despising the air I breathed back then. You’re… You’re you.”

She couldn’t help but blush at his words. Why did he have to do this to her now?

“Calypso, I’ll be with you every step of the way,” she sincerely stated, shaking off the growing warmth settling within her. “I’m no emotional healer, but I’ll still try nevertheless. You’re my responsibility just as I am with you. I refuse to see you beating yourself over something so inane.”

Shaking his head, Calypso chuckled. “You really have a way with words,” he warmly smiled at him. “You’re blunt and tactless, but effective nonetheless.”

She felt his appreciation through their Bond, and she gave him a playful smile as she slapped his hand away from her. “I’m glad that’s over then. You can go back to being the smug bastard that you are.”

“Ah, but you like me just like that, don’t you?” he quickly quipped.

She gave him a sincere smile, one that she passed off as a smirk. “Just shut your mouth and eat. I’d like to get some rest before tomorrow. And no, we’re not having sex again.”

“Are you sure about that?” he smirked.

“Absolutely,” she scoffed, a sly look adorning her face. “I have some ideas that a mere inn wouldn’t be able to support. And I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise.”