The Crown's Entrapment

At Cordon Castle

Xenia woke up with a small groan as she tried to move her body. Darius said that they'd make love till either of them passed out, and they did. Unfortunately, she was the one that gave out first. And here she thought that she would show off her wings to him for the fun of it.

"Ugh…" she mumbled. "This is going to be a problem…"

Blinking away her obvious exhaustion, she felt like she had just run circles around the castle with how her legs trembled beneath her. Standing up, she almost had to hold on to the nearest wall before she just gave up and went back to bed. It would seem that they overdid it earlier that morning…

"Xen?"

Turning her head, Darius stirred beside her. Immediately, memories of their time last night quickly came back to her as she wrapped her arms around him for a hug. Likewise, Darius took her cue to hug her back, letting her nuzzle her head into his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Good morning," she cooed into her neck, lifting her gaze up to look deep into his eyes. "Also, you did me so well earlier that I can't walk straight right now."

"Was it that good?" Darius chuckled, a hint of pride coming into his tone.

"Very much so," she smiled. "And if that was only a taste of what's to come, I don't know if I'll survive to be your Queen."

"Well, you've survived long enough, my love," Darius cooed into her ear. "Besides, how else will you bear the heirs that you promised me last night?"

Xenia blushed up a storm as that one particular memory played out in her mind. She didn't even know what came over her that time, but she did mean her words, and she would make sure to do that once the time came. And of course, that time wasn't now.

Shaking her head, she forced herself to break away from his embrace as she stuttered, "W-We should be getting ready for my coronation. It's already scheduled for this morning, right?"

"Indeed. Although, I made sure to give us some leeway to be late just for this exact moment," Darius smirked. "I was sure that we'd make love last night, and if you haven't noticed it yet, the sun is already pretty high up."

Xenia's eyes widened as her gaze roamed towards the open window. Sure enough, it was already well into the morning, and they were both still naked without a care in the world. Well, it was still far from noon, but it was late enough for her to start worrying.

"W-What?! Why didn't you wake me?!" Xenia burst out. "We're going to be late!"

"Xen, we're the most important people in this castle right now," Darius reassured her. "It'll be fine for us to be late."

"We'll, it isn't fine for me," she retorted as she hastily began to prepare herself. "What kind of Queen would I be if I was late for my own coronation?"

***

After a bit of prodding on her part, Xenia finally managed to get Darius to prepare himself. They went through the usual rituals of grooming and cleaning before promptly going to their fitting for the coronation ceremony. And as she recalled, her mother had a gown specifically made just for this exact moment. Also, she had barely begun to remember the lines she had to say during the coronation, but she was hoping that Darius would just telepathically remind her if she forgot a line or two.

Going through her fitting, Xenia blinked as her mother presented the gown to her. "Mother… This is…"

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Queen Dana faintly smirked as she held out the gown in front of her. "Made only by the most skillful of Ebodian tailors, your sister and I went ahead and got this made for you as soon as we were able."

"But with this fine a fabric…" she trailed off before she continued. "This couldn't have been made just recently."

"Exactly. We knew that you were going to win, so we went ahead and had it made ahead of time," her mother chuckled.

Xenia held her breath as she let her mother along with the rest of the nearby servants dress her up. Wearing enough golden regalia and frills befitting a queen, she gasped at her mirror as she took her appearance in.

"I look like a Queen…" Xenia mumbled in amazement.

"You already are, my dear," her mother smiled. "Now go out there and get that crown."

Giving her mother a nod, Xenia confidently strode forth, servants tailing behind her to hold onto her coattails as she went up to the throne room.

As soon as she arrived, the entire room fell silent. In front of her stood Darius, equally dressed in all of the regalia befitting his stature as king as he waited for her to walk forward.

"Attention all citizens of Cordon! The Queen has arrived!"

An announcer called out her arrival, and everybody that wasn't of equal rank to royalty knelt as they waited for her to move. Amongst the crowd, she spotted her mother standing tall beside her father, and King Nikolai. Likewise, Mineah and Ezekiel simply bowed their head, signifying that they wouldn't bow to a ruler that wasn't Ebodia's own.

No, it was merely a formality. She was still of Ebodia, but Cordon was now her first priority.

With a self-nod, Xenia confidently walked forward. With each step, she came closer and closer to the crown that was rightfully hers.

"My Queen," Darius addressed her with the formality befitting the ceremony.

"My King," she replied back.

"Here is your crown," he loudly stated as he gave her a circlet bearing the insignia of Cordon. "From here on, you will be my Queen, and you shall help lead this Kingdom to prosperity."

Taking a deep breath, Xenia bowed her head just enough to expose her head to her husband. Gingerly, she felt Darius place the crown on her head, coronating her in front of everybody present.

"Wear this crown with pride, for you have earned it in spite of all the hardships you have faced," Darius recited. "You have proven your worth, and you are now rewarded for your efforts."

Xenia gulped as she stood straight up. Turning to face the crowd, it was now her turn to speak.

"As you've all seen through the trials I've faced, I do not condone any sort of injustice being done to anybody. I might look like a tyrant for saying this, but my own brand of justice does not discriminate. I will uphold the peace and order in this kingdom, and help my husband King Darius in all manners of running this nation," she proudly declared. "I will act in good faith, and I shall do my best to be the Queen that this kingdom deserves."

Taking a deep breath, she took in the looks of approval coming from both the Elders and her family members alike. From her mother-in-law to the friends she had made during her stay in this kingdom, she took strength from their respect as she took a deep breath for one last shout of the Kingdom's guiding words.

"Long may Cordon stand proud!"