The Crown's Entrapment

"That was too intense," Gideon murmured to himself as he watched Lady Deni's lifeless body being removed from the arena. He then turned to Gilas and asked, "Do you think Clara's alright?"

"She's not. This is her first time killing a fellow Cordonian," Gilas sighed.

"Right… Clara was so pale earlier," Gideon nodded in agreement. "She's someone who didn't really intend to kill in this tournament. She would usually either ask her opponent to yield or she herself would yield if knew she had already lost. But this Lady Deni was quite fast with her movements… She fought intending to kill, and if Clara didn't see her opportunity to strike through her defenses, then this fight would've likely ended with a different result…"

Currently, he and Gilas were the major officials overseeing the battles for today. Bartos and Osman had already headed to the Dead Sea to work on the mission their King had tasked them. And since the King was present today to telepathically discuss things with Gilas, Freya had no choice but to stay at Castle Cordon and help the Queen Mother pertaining to court matters.

With Gideon's thoughts lingering on Freya, his face turned beet red upon suddenly recalling how he once again reached cloud nine last night due to her generous service. He honestly didn't expect what she did, and he most certainly never saw those events coming in more ways than one…

[But you thoroughly enjoyed it though…] Eli interrupted.

Yes, indeed. He very much enjoyed himself last night, but hell, he still couldn't even believe that he let Freya do all the work last night!

[Well, you can make it up to her tonight if you want,] Eli suggested. [You can sneak in and crawl onto her bed. Return the favor she did for you.]

Gideon bit his inner lip at the thought of doing such things. He would love to do exactly that, but he wasn't confident enough that he'd be able to restrain himself if he wanted to go any further. His body was practically burning and screaming to take Freya already, and he knew that once he started, there would be a high possibility that he wouldn't be able to stop himself!

With those thoughts still lingering in his mind, Gideon hastily shook his head and quickly diverted his attention to other more important things. It wouldn't do for him to be corrupted by his own perverted thoughts now while he was still performing his duties.

Looking around, he spotted Leon. Walking towards the youngest member of the Royal Moonlight Knights, Gideon called, "Leon."

"Yes?" Leon asked with a frown.

"I need your help," Gideon directly stated. He then added, "Your father is the one managing the Market place here in the Capital City, correct? Can I have a word with him? Do you know when's the best time to see him?"

Hearing the request, Leon pondered with interest before he replied. "Hmm, I'm not so sure. I'll ask him later. Why? What is this about?"

"I want an area in the Market Place," Gideon declared. Leon's father was the head of the Market Place Council. If there was one person that could help him with his current plans, it was him.

"I'm sure he'll be glad to assist you, but why do you need a spot there?" Leon curiously asked. "Are you planning on selling something?"

Gideon's lips stretched wide as he replied, "Well, I plan to gift it to my future wife, so I want a good spot to impress her!"

Hearing his superior's reason, Leon chuckled as he shook his head. "Look at you being in high spirits like this," he mumbled. "I guess you're really settling down now like Bartos. Anyway, I'll tell Father about your intentions. I'll let you know when he'll be available to talk to you."

"Thanks," Gideon gratefully smiled while patting Leon's back.

Walking away, Gideon couldn't help but smile as he thought about the days ahead. He only had a few more days left before he and Freya could finally mark each other in the Ritual of Marking. Hopefully, this tournament will end soon so that they could get on with it.

[Can I ask you another favor?] Gilas suddenly talked to him telepathically.

Gideon turned and looked at Gilas. Their eyes met, and the latter added, [I'll need to leave early as soon as our King departs from the arena. Can you cover for me just this one time? I'll make it up to you at a later date…]

[Hmm, fine then,] Gideon nodded. [I'll cover for you as soon as His Majesty leaves.]

Gilas let out a sigh of relief beside him. Shrugging, Gideon could only assume that the man was planning to go to Clara at the first possible opportunity.

'Ah well… It wouldn't hurt to let him do that just this once anyway…' Gideon inwardly mused.

********

Standing by the sidelines, Gilas was getting really worried about Clara. He could tell that she wasn't being quite like herself when her battle ended. He had asked one of his men present in the area through mindlink to look after her in the shadows, and from there, he found out that Clara had already left in her carriage to make her way back home.

Moments passed, and soon Darius talked to him telepathically. There, Gilas informed the king regarding his end of the bargain. He wanted nothing more but to ensure his mother's safety, and he'd be willing to cooperate if this one demand was met.

[I'll talk to Jayra about this then, maybe even contact Ebodia's high wizard to find a way to put a barrier for your Mother,] Darius hummed in thought. [That way, Nasser wouldn't be able to inflict pain on her through their Mate Bond.]

Hearing the response, Gilas became hopeful that he was making the right choice. The two of them then discussed more important things, with the King giving him certain instructions that he must follow and cooperate to do so.

Before long, his telepathic discussion with the king ended, he quickly left the arena, but not before he looked at Gideon and confirmed that the latter would cover for his absence.

As soon as Gideon gave his assent, Gilas didn't waste any time as he shifted into wolf form so he could quickly reach Clara's place. As soon as he arrived, he immediately shifted back into his human form and quickly asked the nearest servant for some clean clothes that he could use.

"Where is she?" he asked Clara's chamberlain as soon as he was properly clothed.

"She's inside her bedchamber, milord."

"Did a healer or a physician attend to her already?" Gilas questioned.

The chamberlain simply shook her head and said, "She refused to see any, milord. She said that she will care for herself on her own. She just let the physician leave her with all of the things she would need to care for her wound."

Gilas inwardly cursed. "Show me to her bedchamber."

Nodding, the Chamberlain immediately led him towards his destination. As soon as Clara's chamberlain stopped just in front of the door in question, Gilas promptly dismissed the woman.

[What are you waiting for? Go inside now.] Ham instructed.

Nodding to himself, Gilas knocked on the door before he called out, "Clara, it's me Gilas. I'll be entering now."

Opening the door, he frowned as soon as he saw the scene right in front of him. There, Clara sat on the ground, her back leaning against the wall as she stared blankly at the blood still staining her hands.

"Clara…" Gilas whispered as he rushed to her side her. She raised her head, and there, Gilas saw the tears running down her cheeks.