The Crown's Entrapment

It was a new day, and Gilas was hard at work doing what was expected of him as the Great Constable of the kingdom. Of course, he didn't let his responsibilities stop him from continuing on with his courting of his ever-so hard to get a mate.

[As if you ever even stopped trying,] Ham chuckled.

Gilas could only smile as she looked at the flowers he currently had in his hand. Ever since he heard of how his father Roman had courted his mother, he decided that perhaps he should try and emulate him just to see if it would work.

[And emulate your father, you did,] his wolf teased. [I didn't even think you had it in you to pluck flowers for her.]

[I'll do anything if it'll endear me more to Clara,] Gilas scoffed. [I just didn't think that something like this would work on her though.]

It was true, after all. He hadn't really thought about bringing flowers to Clara, if at all because he didn't think that she was that kind of woman. Sure, most women loved it if their man gave them flowers, but for some reason, it just didn't occur to him that his mate would be the same. He just assumed that she wouldn't appreciate it because she...

[She didn't act womanly at times?] Ham cackled.

[She's just as much a woman as any other, maybe even more,] Gilas quickly retorted. [I just... It just didn't occur to me, alright?]

Shaking his head, Gilas decided that he had had enough of talking to Ham about this decision. Instead, he was just going to go through with giving her flowers and going from there.

Taking a deep breath, he made his way to where he knew Clara would be during that time of day. Being busy at the training grounds, his mate was starting to return to her former duties before the Trials for being the Queen happened. After all, the King had already alluded to wanting Clara back in her old position, and Clara was more than happy to get back up to speed with her former men.

"Clara?" he called out to her.

Raising an eyebrow, Clara walked away from some of the men she had been training to go up to him. Meanwhile, he was doing his best not to sound to stutter as he hid the bouquet of flowers he brought her behind his back.

"Gilas? What brings you here?" she asked with a small nod of greeting. "I thought you were usually busy this time of day?"

"Well, I just wanted to see you," he warmly smiled at her. "Also, I brought you something for today."

"Again?" Clara scoffed as she shook her head, the faint blush on her cheek making it known to him that he was getting through to her. "Seriously, I appreciate the good food, but aren't you... kind of spoiling me now?"

"Not at all," Gilas chuckled.

Well, in truth, he had made sure to bring Clara something to eat whenever she got into a few training sessions with her men. Also, he had begun to up his efforts in being attentive and showing her affection whenever he could. Why, just the other day, he had noticed her hands getting callouses from all of the archery she had been doing. It had been a while since she had done frequent training like this, so her hands had lost some of the built-up resistance she used to have.

And to his delight, his gift to her in the form of a small archery band still prominently wrapped itself around her right hand. It was a small leather strap snuggly wrapped around her fist and palm, preventing too much wear and tear from affecting her skin.

"You said that last time," Clara weakly chuckled, the red on her cheeks only making her even more radiant than usual. "And I can tell that you have something for me again. What is it? Another batch of snacks personally baked by yours truly?"

"Close, but still far from the truth."

Gilas smirked as he pulled up the bouquet of flowers he had brought for Clara. It was a bunch of red roses, all ruby red and pure as they glistened slightly from their freshness. Immediately, her reaction made his efforts worth it as she stared gaping at his gift.

"What... Where did you buy this?" she asked.

"I didn't. I plucked them all by hand this morning," Gilas proudly replied. "It took me a while, but it's worth it, isn't it?"

Wordlessly, Clara reached out to grab the flowers from his grasp. Cradling them in her arms, she inspected each and every flower she received, acting as if she was doing her best to find something that she could tease him with. She looked transfixed with their red color, the roses still fresh and fragrant as they bloomed brightly in her hands.

"These... These are perfect," Clara breathed out, her cheeks as red as the roses she was currently sniffing. "Thank you, Gilas..."

"It's nothing," he warmly smiled at her. "I just thought you'd appreciate them."

Truly, it was fortunate that she liked them. He wasn't really sure she'd appreciate the bouquet only having one type of flower.

"Say, how did you know I like roses?"

Gilas did his best not to flinch in surprise as he smirked. "I have my ways..."

"Really? You'd keep that a secret?" Clara pouted.

"We're still entitled to them, yes?" he shrugged. "Besides, it's more fun to have a bit of surprise in our lives, right?"

"Spoilsport," Clara scoffed. "Very well, I'll try to give you some surprises of my own if you want them so much."

Seeing Clara wave him off, Gilas couldn't help but grin at yet another job well done. With every gift and small gesture that he did for her, he could see her walls crumbling down ever so slightly.

Also, he wouldn't admit it, but the reason why he gave only her one type of flower was because it was the only type of flower he could find on short notice. Well, there were more, but it looked like they'd clash against the pure red of the numerous roses he had found.

Thank the Almighty for small mercies.