The Crown's Entrapment



"The moon's shining brightly tonight. It's beautiful," his mother hummed as she continued drinking her tea. "I'm sure you're having a hard time, Son, and I'm sorry that I have to put you through all this as soon as you returned to our kingdom."

"Mother, please stop saying your sorry. This was all bound to happen anyway," he answered. "This is my fate, and I also wanted to do this." 

It was true. He could feel in his heart the desire to become a good ruler; the desire to change Helion for the better. He had witnessed the suffering of his own people for months, and he too experienced the evil acts of his tyrant brother Devon. He wanted to make things change, to make everything better.

"We'll get there soon, Son. What's important right now is establishing your reign and a good cause, including commencing peace talks with the other kingdoms," her mother stated. "They must all understand how our Kingdom is no longer a threat to them… Also…" 

Seeing how his mother hung over her words, Amon turned to her and asked, "Is it about the coming Global Summit?"

He could tell that his mother had more to discuss with him, and it might all have to do with the Global Summit. It would be the first time that he would let the world see the new King of Helion seeing as he never once set foot out of their kingdom. He hadn't even allowed any foreign visitors from places that weren't their registered denizens to enter their territory since he started his reign. Unfortunately, it was all because of the ongoing cleaning process that was still going on inside the whole territory of Helion. He had strictly banned anyone coming in and out of Helion, resulting in a bit of isolation for the rest of their would-be neighbors.

Mona nodded, and Amon didn't miss that sudden glow in her beautiful cobalt blue eyes that he also possessed.

"I will also announce that our king is in search for a wife at the Global Summit," his mother burst out with a wide smile. "It will be a good opportunity! Oh, I can't wait! I'm sure many kingdoms will offer their princesses knowing how powerful our kingdom is!"

Contrary to his mother's excitement, Amon's face paled. "Is that really necessary? I still have a lot of things to do, Mother, and having a wife is the least of my priorities!" he retorted. "Also, this would make us sound desperate for a Queen."

Hearing his words, his mother's shoulders dropped, and Amon immediately sensed how disheartened she was with his words.

"I'm sorry, Son. It's just that with everything that had happened, our people… I mean, they already see hope in you and how you're managing things so far in such quick a span of time," she sighed. "As your mother, my only hope is for you to also have your own family. A wife that will care, assist, and stand by your side… A Queen for our kingdom. Your Queen…"

"But our kingdom already has the benevolent Queen Dowager. I'm sure they couldn't ask for more?" Amon answered with a smile, hoping that it would be effective enough to let him dodge this topic further.

His mother shrugged and murmured, "Stop it, Son. This is a serious topic, and trust me, you'll have a hard time dodging this matter starting tomorrow." She gave him a small snort as she began, "Your court officials already talked to me about this. And honestly, I support their thoughts. You see, I'm not getting any younger, Son. I would love to at least see my grandchildren with you. The preparations are already ongoing as we speak." 

"W-Wha-"

"Don't worry, I'll do the announcement at the Global Summit in a vague enough way," his mother interrupted him with a smile. "It will be a good sign if other kingdoms show their interest in sending us their representative to participate in the competition for the Queen's Throne."

Amon almost choked on his own saliva, making her mother burst out in a fit of laughter. Despite his own suffering, he couldn't help but smile as he watched his mother laugh to her heart's content. He heard of how his mother suffered a lot in Devon's hands, and he would love to only make her smile more just to make it up to her. If having a wife would bring her this kind of happiness, then maybe he should think about her words a bit further.

"A competition?" he murmured.

"Yes," his mother nodded. "It's necessary since you're not in a relationship, and you don't even look at any women at all!"

Amon let out a restless sigh in defeat. "Alright, Mother. I'll let you handle everything in regards to getting me a new wife."

Seeing his nonchalant expression, Mona frowned at him and scolded, "But you're the one getting married, so you should participate in this as well, Amon. You should be the one to choose who you want in the end. I'm sure many women would want to be your wife once they finally see you," she scoffed. "And after the news of how handsome the King of Helion spreads throughout the world, more and more would be lining up to be your queen."

Amon shook his head, not bothering to hide the smile on his face. "Mother, you're exaggerating."

"No, I'm not! You'll see… Our Kingdom will be bombarded with offers from other kingdoms for us to choose from their maidens to be your wife…" she bragged. "And that's not to mention the already long list of Helionian maidens hoping to be your queen! Do you want to see that exact list already? I'm not joking, Son. It's already going up to the hundreds, and that's with me having already downsized the list to those that will be fit enough to be our Queen."

Amon wasn't aware of it yet, but he was sure that this would all be further discussed by the Helion Royal Council during their routine court meeting tomorrow morning. Honestly, he just gave the authority to manage the administrative aspects of the royal household as well as other major decisions involving things inside Castle Helion to his mother, the Queen Dowager, to avoid all of the unnecessary stress from doing so himself. 

"That's why you're here, Mother," he shrugged. "You're supposed to be the one to give me a warning on what to expect tomorrow." 

Seeing that awkward smile from his mother, he could only assume that she already knew what to say next.

"Well… I suppose this can't be helped, Son. Tomorrow, you will personally meet the fifty candidates, and you're going to tell me if you find anyone that you personally like if only in appearance," she stated. "From there, we'll downsize them further since foreign countries might send their own delegates sooner or later."

"I feel like my head will burst just the thought of it," Amon murmured with a frown.