The Crown's Entrapment

778  Small Remnant

Kingdom of Cordon

Despite wanting to, Jayra and Bartos couldn't leave yet since Bartos still had to personally have his own entourage to bring some important treasures, deeds, and all the money Amon owned from his properties at Cordon so that the latter could use them in rebuilding the infrastructure that had been destroyed within their kingdom.

"Our journey would be very dangerous, especially if we encountered some bandits along the way," Jayra murmured as she looked at the caravans traveling with them. The journey to Helion won't be easy with them traveling by land, and she could only hope that things would proceed smoothly.

She clicked her tongue before letting out a heavy sigh. If only she could use the teleportation spell to get them all there. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be possible. All these caravans and the things in them would be scattered everywhere inside the teleportation hole if she tried. And besides, there were only a few mages who were even gifted enough to cast such a powerful spell to help her. Not every mage could do it and execute everything perfectly.

"You worry too much, my wife. Our journey will be discreet," her husband reassured her. "And besides, no one knows what's inside each caravan. No one will dare touch our entourage, especially if they see the flag and emblem of Cordon flying on them!" Jayra shrugged, and Bartos chuckled at how she rolled her eyes. Pulling her closer to him, he gently kissed her head and humorously said, "I guess the usual mood swings during pregnancy are already kicking in for you."

"It's not that, but it's still better not to put our guard down. Devon's death doesn't mean that we'll take things easily now. It's not like all those accomplices and those that colluded with him also died along with him," Jayra lengthily pointed out. "Remember that many of them escaped. They're just laying low, and we don't know for sure if they will ever show up again. I mean, for all we know, someone evil could be leading them again. And again, remember how Amon encountered an ambush just recently? This King Moler ended up being brainwashed by a dark witch…" "Alright then, we'll take more men with us, so don't fret, alright?" Bartos resigned with a shrug. "Besides, we can just leave all these treasures behind if something bad happens. We can just easily escape through your teleportation spell, my wife."

Jayra frowned as she scoffed, "Since when did you become a joker?"

"Since I found out that you're pregnant. I heard that it's good to make pregnant women laugh, so I thought I would apply the same to you," Bartos commented with an awkward smile. "I've been trying to be funnier ever since. I don't want our baby to be like me. Having a serious and grumpy face all the time can be ugly."

Jayra tried her best not to laugh at her husband's expression. However, she barely managed to stop herself until she eventually ended up bursting into a fit of laughter. In front of her, Bartos let out a heavy sigh, and she smiled as she quickly tiptoed up to his face to give him a kiss.

"Alright. I appreciate the effort, but I still prefer that you stay the way you are, husband. It's fine for our baby to have your stoic aura. I like it, and besides, you're not that grumpy," Jayra complimented him. "It's just that you love to frown often. Anyway, we should leave soon to catch up to Amon's entourage." She let out another smile as she made her way back to their usual spot in the caravan. She would've loved to travel along with her sister-in-law and her newfound family, especially with her sister Lera, but she would just have to wait for the opportunity to arise.

"Yes, just one more caravan and we're good to go, wife," Bartos hummed.

*******

At Haven Forest, Camp of Cordon

Lena was with Queen Xenia as they watched the entourage of Helion leave. Bella was sitting in front of Amon with his horse, and they could only smile as they cheered their friend on.

"They look so good and lovely together," Lena couldn't help but comment as she waved Bella goodbye, their friend equally waving at them as they left. "I hope they have a good life together."

She then felt Xenia's hand on her arm, so Lena turned to see that Xenia was staring at her with a smile.

"I'm so proud of you for how you handle things, Lena," Xenia complimented with a wink. "You're really a strong woman." Lena blushed at the sudden praise. Still, she was genuinely glad all the same. "I'm also glad with how things turned out. Amon chose who he wanted, and I respect his decision," she remarked. "I'm happy for him and Bella. By the way, how is Queen Mineah and the baby? I would've liked to see them, but I haven't had the opportunity to do so just yet."

"Come and walk with me then. I'm planning to visit her in their camp," Xenia offered. "You see, it's her first time being a mother, so I'm assisting her with her baby girl. I've been there already, so she needs me to be her guide since our mother isn't around."

"Right, you did so well handling the twins on your own, Your Majesty," Lena praised as she and Xenia began walking to Valcrez Camp.

Before long, they reached Queen Mineah's tent, and there they saw King Nikolai intently staring at the one crib in the room while holding a wet towel.

"I should wipe it downwards, right?" King Nikolai asked.

"Right," Queen Mineah answered as she wordlessly led Lena and Xenia to their seats.

"What happened?" Xenia asked as she worriedly approached Nikolai.

"Ah, baby Alya pooped, and I don't want Mine to move a lot so I volunteered to clean her," Nikolai replied.

"Do you even know how to do it?" Xenia snorted.

Lena smiled as she watched Xenia teach her brother-in-law the proper way to do things. Of course, that didn't mean she could just watch.

"Let me do it," Lena offered with a smile as soon as she saw that Queen Mineah was about to make tea for them. "Please sit…"

"How come nobody wants me to move?" Mineah grumbled. "I mean, how many days has it been since I gave birth? It's been six days already."

"No, you're not allowed to do things yet except for feeding our baby Alya, Mine," King Nikolai chided.

"You should rest for a few more days, Mineah. Listen to your husband, and in ten days time, you can start working your ass off to take care of Alya here," Xenia reminded. "Right, baby Alya? Tell your mother that carrying you and then giving birth to you isn't an easy task, so she should get enough rest and regain her strength first before doing anything…" Xenia then proceeded to baby talk with Alya, which made the baby giggle. By the sidelines, Lena smiled as she watched the good relationship their Queen had with her sister and brother-in-law. Well, the Ward family had good relationships with their extended families, so something like this was no longer new. She really adored the close family ties they had, and she could only hope that she'd experience the same things as them one day.

"Was it really hard, Your Majesty?" Lena curiously asked Queen Mineah.

Mineah simply smiled at her and said, "Not really. I believe it just depends on your perspective. In my own opinion, I had a very sensitive pregnancy, so I had a hard time sometimes, but that's not really the case." She then explained, "All those pains weren't that hard for me… I enjoyed the discomfort of knowing that there was a living baby growing inside of me. Nikolai and I prayed earnestly for baby Alya to come to our lives after everything that we encountered in our lives, and sure enough, she came."

Lena nodded in agreement. She was aware of what happened to them. The couple thought that having a baby wouldn't be possible after Queen Mineah almost lost her life. However, a miracle happened, and she became pregnant after almost a year of being married to the Vampire King.

"Oh right, this King Amon talked to Nikolai awhile ago, and I sensed a dark energy in him…" Queen Mineah suddenly stated. Lena gulped as she stared at Queen Mineah who was now talking to Xenia.

"He's a demon, so it's only natural for him to have dark energy," Xenia pointed out. "He's Devon's half brother and the son of Azarel."

"Yes, I know that Sister, but you see… I know King Amon's energy, and I can sense another foreign one inside of him even if it's not that strong. It's actually very weak, but I can still tell that the energy has the same color as Devon's," Queen Mineah pointed out. "I mean, it's like there's this small remnant of Devon staying inside Amon's body. Can you have Jayra check on it? I feel bothered by it. I know that our Big Brother has already destroyed everything associated with Devon but…"

"Alright, I'll inform Jayra about this to monitor and check Amon," Xenia murmured. "Still, that really sounds impossible."

"That's what I also told her," King Nikolai seconded. "There's no way a remnant of Devon would be left after Ezekiel destroyed all of him and burned them all to ash."

Shaking her head, Mineah looked at Lna and said, "Lena will never remember her past where she saved Amon that night from Devon's bloodthread and shadow mist. What if… that demon bloodthread of Devon is still inside Amon's body?" She then further questioned, "What if it just so happened to lay dormant in him because of Lena's intervention?"

Somehow, Lena felt chills running down her spine at Queen Mineah's words. "Oh heavens!" Queen Xenia burst out. "Let me send this information to Jayra this instant!"