The Crown's Entrapment

With the tournament officially over and Cordon's new Queen now both proclaimed and officially coronated, the crowd could only watch with bated breath as the King escorted their new Queen to the stage of the arena. With her wings still displayed in all of its splendor, there were a few burning questions in everyone's minds even as they cheered and chanted her name with both respect and admiration:

Just when exactly did the Princess even get those wings? More so, what exactly was she?

***

Xenia still couldn't stop herself from smiling as she stood by Darius on the stage in the middle of the arena. With his right arm still wrapped tightly around her waist, her emotions were at an all time high, and her wings were practically a window to her real feeling as they flapped and shivered excitedly from all of the attention.

This of course, also meant that she was having a hard time moving without her wings being a bother to everyone near her.

"I should really get rid of these things," Xenia awkwardly chuckled as she felt her left wing embrace Darius far too close to her again before she corrected it. "It's embarrassing that I don't have full control of them yet."

"I thought you already did, my love?" Darius smiled in amusement. "They did protect you from Pinra's attack."

"That's what I thought as well, but apparently, they're highly attuned to my emotional state," she amusedly sighed. "They're good in battle and general use, but they're horrible if I'm trying to hide my expressions."

"Is that so?" Darius smirked. "Then I'll look forward to making them flutter to my tune sometime in the very near future."

Xenia blushed at her husband's obvious flirting, and her wings did little to hide just how much his words affected her. Somehow, they mimicked her blush by shedding feathers, and she really didn't want to make a mess right out in the open.

Shaking her head, she flexed her shoulderblades, forcing her unruly wings back to where they came from. Inwardly, she took a mental note to further train her control over them, just so that she wouldn't be read like an open book whenever she had to use them.

"Once more, let's give our new Queen our wholehearted respect and applause!"

As the announcer pulled her thoughts back to reality, Xenia became aware of the crowd once more as their shouts of celebration and cheer threatened to overwhelm her with happiness again. It just felt too good to be true that she was now Queen. She didn't think this would happen in her whole life, but now, it almost felt like it would be unthinkable for her to be anything but Darius's Queen.

"And with that, I shall now pass on the stage to His Majesty, King Darius!" the announcer bowed down, retreating to the back of the stage as bid the audience goodbye.

With the stage now relegated to the two of them, Darius strode forward to address the crowd. Behind them, Xenia could feel a familiar presence appearing on stage. Taking a peek, she forced herself not to move as she saw her family waiting for her by the sidelines.

'I have to stay here,' she inwardly groaned, stopping herself from running towards her parents and hugging them. 'I can't be disrespectful just right after I won the crown!'

"People of Cordon! As of today, our Kingdom now has a new Queen!" Darius proudly declared. "She will be the one to stand beside me in sickness and in health, and she shall be the one to bear the heirs that will further stabilize this realm's future!"

Xenia almost sputtered out a cough as she heard Darius's words. Heirs?! This early?! She wasn't even wearing the crown yet!

"Xen will be an excellent Queen, and I'm sure that she will do her best to lead alongside me for the betterment of this Kingdom!"

Another round of cheers echoed throughout the arena, and Xenia quickly turned her attention back to her new subjects. Right… They were her subjects now, and judging by how Darius was motioning for her to walk up to him, she could assume that she had to give out a few words of her own to the waiting crowd.

Nodding to her husband, the new Queen strode forward. Taking a deep breath, she focused on her words using all of the nobility and public speaking training she got back when she was simply a child.

"Citizens of Cordon, I speak to you all now as your newly-crowned Queen!" she began. "While I may not be a werewolf like a vast majority of you are, I shall do my best to be as enduring and strong as your race dictates I should be!"

A cheer of approval shuddered across the arena, and Xenia knew that she had to follow her words up for a full speech. Then again, she had a feeling that there would still be a formal coronation to follow shortly after this day was over. As such, she might as well answer the burning question that she was sure everyone watching would all have about her status.

"As for the matter of race, I do believe you all have questions about my own!" she amusedly chuckled. "You see, I am a Nephilim; A half-human, half-angel hybrid with the power of the heavens at my disposal! I've only very recently taken control of my wings and a portion of my full power, and I'm sure that the rest of my might will soon follow!"

At the mention of her power, the crowd got even more animated than usual. They probably liked the fact that their Queen was guaranteed to be powerful, and that they didn't have to carry the worry of having a fragile human being alongside their beloved king.

Taking another deep breath, Xenia was about to continue when she felt Darius's hand squeeze her own. Turning to him, his look told her that she should wrap up her words and let him end the program.

"And with that, I thank you all for supporting me!" she finished off. "I hope you will continue to support me as your Queen, and I will make sure that I will do my best to make our Kingdom stronger and better!"

With one last bow, she let Darius take over once more. He thanked their citizens for coming, and he then announced something that she partly expected even before it happened.

"As for the Formal Coronation, it shall commence tomorrow morning in Cordon Castle!"

Xenia smiled. It would seem that the best day of her life just got extended.

*******

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