The Crown's Entrapment

The day of the trials for the Princess of Ebodia to start finally came. Everyone in the Kingdom was anticipating it, and all were curious about how things would unfold. But despite all of the ruckus about the event, there were only two questions that remained throughout the whole kingdom…

Would the Princess die just like any other human that attempted to do the trials throughout the history of Cordon? Or…

Or perhaps it would be the princess of Ebodia who would finally be written in the history of the Kingdom to be the first human who succeeded in the trials of the Element Forest?

“Today’s the day…”

Taking a deep breath, Xenia, with Jaya’s help, dressed herself in the armor the latter had made for her.

“You’re ready,” Jayra murmured as she keenly checked her over to see if everything fit her perfectly. “You look perfect!”

Her friend beamed with a smile, but even her joyful expression failed to hide the tears welling up in her eyes.

“Hmm, why are you crying, Jayra?” Xenia asked, fighting back the tears that were also threatening to run down her cheeks.

“Oh, please don’t mind me. It’s just that I can’t help but admire the sight of my beautiful work on you,” Jayra sniffled.

Xenia knew for a fact that that was a lie. Her friend was holding back the urge to show just how worried she truly was, but it was simply way too hard for someone like Jayra to hold back her emotions.

Smiling, Xenia gently pulled Jayra in for an embrace. “Don’t worry. I’ll come back safe, Jayra,” she soothed. “Besides, Darius already marked me. If Mother is right, then all will be to my advantage. And even if that particular theory doesn’t work out, then I’m still well-prepared to deal with it. We all worked hard, and I’m grateful that you’ve been by my side this whole time.”

“I’m sorry…” Jayra mumbled out, wiping away her tears as she broke free from their embrace. “I really shouldn’t be showing this side of me to you, especially right now…”

Xenia gave her a reassuring smile, and with narrowed eyes, she snorted, “You really should have some more faith in me. Just see how confident my mother, father, and sister all were with me that they didn’t even see me off…”

“Right,” Jayra mumbled with a pout. “They all said that there’s no need to do so since they’ll see you in the Trial By Combat anyway.”

“Indeed,” Xenia firmly stated. “They’ll make sure that happens, and you’ll also see me there in the finals for sure.”

Honestly, she was grateful that her family wasn’t present to send her off. She smiled recalling how confident her family all were last night as they bid their goodbyes after the wedding ceremony. All of them said the same thing… that they’ll see her in the trial by combat soon.

‘We’ll be there for you when you come out of the Element Forest…’

Smiling at the thought, Xenia was taken by surprise when the door suddenly swung open, Darius instantly frowning as he stared at Xenia.

“That’s too… That’s too much exposed skin!” Darius exclaimed, making both women gulp at his judgment.

Recomposing herself, Jayra was quick as she immediately briefed him on the quality of the armor she made.

“This is the best thing for her to wear for the trials,” Jayra sagely explained. “Flexibility is a must. And besides, this will give her a confident look despite being a human, Sire. And still, it gives her even more cover when compared to how Cordonian Female warriors and knights are dressed.”

There was a brief silence before Jayra added, “Or would you prefer her to simply enter with her normal dress?”

There was a brief pause before Darius responded, scoffing as he annoyingly murmured, “Fine. This will do for now, but can you create a more conservative armor next time? I mean, look at her swollen breasts and those exposed skin. I’m the only one who should be seeing those things.” He reasoned, “Can’t you at least create some kind of flexible fabric that she could wear to hide those things?”

Xenia fought the urge to laugh upon seeing how red her friend Jayra was at that point.

“Your Majesty… For goodness sake, it’s not like those who might see your wife’s skin would be able to touch or have her for themselves,” Jayra whined.

“Also, aren’t you werewolves always used to see bare skin anyway? Let our Princess fight with both poise and fashion at the same time. She would be your future Queen, and do you want others to compare how sexy the other candidates are compared to the so-called human Princess? No, I don’t think so.”

She grumbled out with a hint of malice, “I won’t let those female werewolves take the spotlight away from her. Besides, look at how sophisticated the armor I made is. It doesn’t look like as something desperate to protect her with too much metal. And it’s not like it’s indecent in anyone’s eyes, especially when compared with the standard Cordonian female armor.”

Xenia couldn’t help but agree. It was an armor that doesn’t look as lewd when compared to Cordon’s armor, of course. The one Jayra made for her was a set colored in gold that curved perfectly across her counters, Jayra having designed it to emphasize her perfect bosom and lithe body. Her cleavage was visible, and so was almost half of her legs.

In hindsight, a past version of herself would’ve probably agreed with Darius, but her friend put so much effort into it. And she was feeling rather bold lately, so she appreciated it.

Still, there was a bout of silence that reigned before Xenia quickly broke it with her honest thoughts. “I like this armor. It fits me comfortably,” she shrugged, defending her friend’s taste and choices. “Also, can we move on now? Let’s not let everyone wait for us.”

Hearing his mate, Darius let out a loud deep resigned sigh before he grabbed her hand. “Let’s go then,” he mumbled. “The chariot is ready.”

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AN: A reference picture of the armor Xenia wore, that I found close to mind, will be posted in the comment section.