The Crown's Entrapment

At Cordon Castle

After a few hours' journey, Bella and Jayra finally arrived at the castle. Getting off Bella's back, Jayra handed her a coat to wear before she went into one of the private shifting spaces built near every gate of the castle. Before long, Bella was back to her human form, walking out of the room with a smile for her sister-in-law.

"Let's go inside," Bella said once she got dressed. Instantly hugging Jayra's arm to pull her with her, they both walked inside the castle.

"Clara and Lord Gilas look good together, don't you think?" Bella noted. She was glad that Gilas was there to take care of Clara. In all honesty, she had wanted to come to her old friend's place to have a sleepover and personally take care of her, but Gilas seemed to have no intention of leaving Clara any time soon.

"Well, they don't look as good as you and Lord Osman once you two get together," Jayra cheekily replied with a chuckle. As usual, her sister-in-law indulged in this natural habit of hers to tease her about Osman whenever she could.

"Here you go again..." Bella rolled her eyes as she chortled. "Still, I do hope that Clara can finally move on from our King and start opening her eyes and heart to other men. Lord Gilas is honestly a good choice. But then, the downside of giving him a chance would I guess be his father."

"Hmm, indeed," Jayra nodded. "They look good together, and I can tell that Lord Gilas truly cares and has deep feelings for Lady Clara." She gave Bella a smile. "Still, I'm glad that you decided to go back with me instead of asking Lord Gilas to bring me back here."

Her sister-in-law knew about her intentions to stay behind and take care of Clara, so it was rather surprising that Bella offered to take her to the castle.

"Well, I'd feel bad for staying there after I saw the effort that Lord Gilas was putting in," Bella casually shook her head. "Besides, I want Clara to notice his efforts as well, so it's better that he stayed there instead of me. I'll just check on her tomorrow if needed."

Walking through the hallways of the castle, Bella unknowingly let out a heavy sigh upon thinking about Lord Osman. She couldn't help but wonder if the latter stayed in their pack's territory with her brother since the two had a mission there.

Osman had promised her that he would tell her about his adventure days as a pirate one story at a time, but he was unfortunately quite busy today and in the following days.

"What is it?" Jayra asked her with a frown, having noticed her sister-in-law's mood.

"Oh, nothing, Sis. It's just that I thought about Lord Osman's origins..." Bella replied.

Jayra hummed in thought. She already knew about the man's origins already, how the admiral was an abandoned baby that grew up under a pirate's wing.

Bella then turned to Jayra and curiously asked, "Sis, did you try looking out for clues in regards to knowing more about your family?"

"Hmm, I did, but it's hard to search for something when you don't even have enough clues to start," Jayra shrugged. "In the end, I stopped my search for them. Of course, deep inside, I honestly want to find out why they abandoned me. Sometimes, I couldn't help but feel scared of knowing the reason why... but I guess I'll never know..."

"Hmm, it doesn't matter anyway. What's important is that you grew up as a good woman," Bella reassured her, giving her sister-in-law a gentle squeeze on her arm. "Besides, you have us as your family now. We'll definitely fill in any missing space you might still have in your life..."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jayra chuckled. "Anyway, I'll be turning right here. Good night, Bella."

Bella nodded, letting go of Jayra's arm as she replied, "Good night, Sis."

Letting Jayra leave, Bella continued walking towards the bedchamber she was currently using in the castle. Well, she could actually just go back to their territory since she had a few more available days left to spare while waiting for the rest of the contenders to complete their respective fights to get into the final twelve.

[I told you earlier that we should've just gone home,] Poona interrupted her thoughts with a smug tone. [It's not like we're going to stalk Osman since we'll be in our own home anyway!]

Bella inwardly sighed. Poona was right. She really had nothing to do inside the castle beyond just waiting for time to pass.

Absently walking forward, she suddenly halted in her steps when she saw a familiar figure standing in front of her door. "Lord Osman?"

Called out, the man turned to her with a smile as he politely greeted her, "Good evening, Lady Bella. I was honestly about to knock to see if you're still awake..."

"I thought you're still in our pack's territory with my brother?" Bella asked with knitted brows.

"Indeed, I was, but your brother came back here to pick up his wife," Osman explained himself with an awkward smile. "And since you didn't have a scheduled fight for a few more days, I thought that you would also like to travel back home with some company. Perhaps we can do that tomorrow before sunrise?"

"But I usually travel in my wolf form," Bella teasingly chuckled. "Do you want a ride on my back?" It was the only traveling arrangement she could think of knowing that Osman didn't have a wolf form.

The latter shook his head. "How about a slow journey with me riding a horse instead?" he suggested with a counteroffer. "I promise you won't get bored with my company. I can keep you entertained with stories about my life as a pirate, even."

Bella's eyes sparkled at the offer. She was indeed waiting to hear more about Osman, especially about his experiences from when he was still a pirate.

Nodding, she excitedly replied, "Sure... I'll look forward to it then!"

"Excellent," Osman nodded. He then looked her over from head to toe as he asked, "Also, why are you dressed like you're still outside, milady?"

She didn't know why, but Bella couldn't help but blush at the way he looked at her with such curiosity. For the first time in her life, she felt conscious about her appearance, wondering if she looked fine at the moment for him to even look at. She even unconsciously brushed her hair with her fingers, making sure that it wasn't tangled up from her prior journey.

"I was outside earlier," Bella answered with an awkward smile. "Sister-in-law and I visited Clara in her mansion. After that, we had to come back to the castle, and I ended up offering myself as her ride..."

"Oh, I see," Osman nodded with a warm and thoughtful smile. "I guess after all that traveling, you want to get refreshed and prepare for rest. I won't take much of your time then, milady. Have a good night's sleep." He then gestured towards her room. "See you tomorrow. Please go inside..."

"Good night to you as well, Lord Osman," Bella nodded. "See you tomorrow."

Making her way towards her door, Bella had her hands on the doorknob when she heard Osman try and grab her attention again.

"Uhmmm..."

"Yes?" Bella blinked in curiosity.

"Can you address me as just Osman?" Osman requested with a bashful smile. "You don't need to be formal with me, so can you drop the 'Lord' whenever we talk?"

Seeing his earnest look, Bella chuckled and said, "Alright, Osman... How about 'Os' for short?"

"Anything is fine with me so long as you're the one calling me that..." Osman commented with a wink.

[Such an amateur talker...] Bella inwardly scoffed.

[He's adorable and really roguishly handsome!] Poona promptly countered. [I love him already!]

"Good night, Os," Bella said before turning around, opening her door, and heading inside her bedroom.

As soon as she was inside, she quickly closed the door and helplessly leaned her back against it.

"I feel weird," she murmured as she raised her hand to her chest to gently feel the rampaging beat of her heart. "This isn't normal..."