The Crown's Entrapment

As it turned out, Aurelia didn't know how to handle herself.

As much as she tried to control her drinking, the constant pressure for her to drink for the celebration made her lose track of how much alcohol she was taking into her body. As a result, as the night went on, the less control she had over her own damned lips.

"Are you alright, Lia?" Calypso asked her... some time after Gideon and Freya had left. She had lost track of time as well, it would seem. "You're looking rather flushed."

Aurelia blinked at the man that was supposedly her mate. Not that she could complain. He was rather handsome, at least. His mouth could use a bit of restraint when it came to his constant babbling, but his voice was pleasant to listen to if she did say so herself.

"C-Can you keep talking?" she uttered out, her vision blurring as her inhibitions rapidly left her by the second. "I want to hear your voice more..."

"She's clearly drunk," an older woman stated, her mother, if she was hearing the voice correctly.

"That's unusual," another voiced out, her father this time. "Aurelia has more control than this."

"I'll take care of her," Calypso quickly stated. "I'll make sure she gets to our room safely."

"Don't you dare take advantage of her," her father warned. "And trust me, my daughter is smart enough to not hide such a thing out of some kind of shame if it ever happened to her."

"E-Exactly..." Aurelia slurred out. "I'm very blunt..."

In some part of her mind, she couldn't help but feel ashamed of how she was acting. However, that was far from her current thoughts as her eyes fixated themselves on Calypso's intense face. He looked aesthetically pleasing to her at the moment, especially with how the moonlight was shining against his face, revealing to her just how symmetrical and... pleasing he was to her.

"Of course, Lord Tubal," Calypso nodded. "I know my boundaries."

"Although, if it ever happens, do make sure that you give us grandchildren," Lady Rosa giggled. "You two are mates, after all."

"H-Hey! I-I haven't consented yet!" Aurelia suddenly blurted out. "He might be handsome, but I still have standards!"

Her mother chuckled, "Standards that he has already clearly met if you're already clinging onto him that hard, Dear."

Aurelia blinked. Sure enough, she was already hanging onto Calypso like her life depended on it. Granted, that was because he was helping her up and her knees were too unstable for her to trust due to her drunkenness, but it did look like she was clinging onto him like a lover would...

Not that she didn't mind, she thought, but it was the thought that counted.

"T-This doesn't count!" she whined even as her grip on her mate tightened. "He's... He's just helping me!"

"Thankfully, our daughter still has some of her wits even if she's drunk," her father sighed. "Very well, Calypso. I trust you have her best interests in mind."

Aurelia felt Calypso nod above her, and before she knew it, she was being carried off of the dining room and back out onto the hallway. She could vaguely tell that she was being carried to her room, but she wasn't helpless enough to need help, surely!

"H-Hey! Lia, stop it!"

She shook her head defiantly as she stared at Calypso's annoyingly handsome face. "Y-You can't stop me!"

Forcefully freeing herself from his grasp, the sudden weightlessness made her fall onto the ground. Thankfully, she was too drunk to feel pain as she casually sat back up and forced herself to stand.

Only, she couldn't do it.

"Come on..." her mate sighed, his hand outstretched to carry her back up. "Let me get you to bed before you hurt yourself."

"I-I'm not even hurt..." she whined with a pout, her arms weakly flailing against his chest as she fought against her captor. "Let me go!"

Try as she might, however, Calypso's arms were too strong for her to break free. Before she knew it, she was back in her bed, her mate hovering over her as he made sure that she would finally take a rest.

"Aurelia, you need to sleep," he insisted. "I don't want your parents to be mad at me. Or worse, Gideon."

"My brother doesn't have the right to butt in on my business anyway," she barely slurred out, her vision fading back and forth between clarity and blurriness. "You're my mate... And I decide for myself... That you're..."

Her words left her as she forced herself to sit back up. Leaning up, she positioned her face against his before promptly going in for a poorly-aimed kiss.

"L-Lia?"

"C-Come on... Just one..." she mumbled out, her head swaying against the wind as she tried and failed to kiss him. "Give it to me..."

"I-I don't think we should do this while you're like this," Calypso weakly defended as he easily dodged her attempts at kissing him. "I don't want you to do something you might regret later."

"Or maybe you just don't trust yourself around me..." she slurred back, her wit showing despite how blasted her mind currently was. "I regret nothing..."

And she meant it too. Even if it was only her subconscious speaking, every word she said was something even her sober self would agree to.

"Lia..."

"You know what? Mark me," she challenged with a drunken smirk. "N-No turning back, right?"

Without any hesitation, she tugged at the collar of her dress, exposing her bare shoulder to him.

"A-Are you sure?"

She rolled her eyes, her breath stinking of alcohol as she replied. "You don't want to kiss me... And you don't want to mark me? What kind of mate are you?"

Calypso was taken aback, but thankfully, he quickly seemed to recover as he all but lunged to kiss her. She couldn't help but moan as she felt his touch, her senses tingling as his lips then slowly made his way to her shoulder.

"Don't say I didn't warn you..."

His voice sounded like smooth velvety chocolate as he mumbled into her skin. But before she could go forward, a sharp stabbing pain erupted from her shoulder. Combined with her half-human heritage and drunkenness, she could do little but pass out as Calypso's mark burned itself onto her pale skin.

Still, even as her consciousness faded, she couldn't help but smirk in defiance to everyone that doubted her decision.

'T-That'd show them,' she inwardly giggled. "Nobody tells me what to do...''