The Crown's Entrapment

At Cordon Castle.

“Hmm… So how is he fairing?”

Freya shook her head at the sudden question her mother gave her while they were inside the carriage. They had gone out to the Main Market to personally supervise everything they would need for the coming wedding, and her mother wanted to make sure that it would be grand, something that would surely be remembered by everyone for years to come. Having supervised all that was needed, they were now currently headed back to the castle.

“I don’t know,” she murmured with a blank expression. Her gaze then shifted out towards the window of the carriage.

“How come? Even I can see that Gideon is doing his best,” her mother chortled, sparks coming out of the older woman’s eyes. “Are you aware that he would even volunteer in the kitchen? He wanted to personally prepare dinner for you later.  And I guess that includes me as well..”

Freya could help but grin at her mother’s demeanor. “Look at you. You’re so excited that you can’t even hide it, Mother.”

“Well, your brother and I are both rooting for Gideon, so expect to hear nothing else but praises from us about him,” her mother promptly replied with a smile.

“He is your mate, my daughter, so I don’t see the point of holding back. If you’re worried about not being in love with him, then don’t be. You’ll eventually fall in love with him in time. He’s loveable and adorable, Freya… Not to mention about how he’s been supportive of our family, most especially to your father.”

A beat passed, and Freya turned to look at her mother who was sitting in front of her. “Are you still worried about me and my feelings towards Lord Gilas, Mother?” she asked. “I told you, I’ll sort it out. I do admire him and respect him a lot, and he’s indeed someone special to me, so it will take time for me to process everything. He’s my first love, unfortunately.”

“I know, my dear. Just don’t forget that I’m there… I witnessed how you and Gilas got along really well. But… he’s not the one for you,” her mother pointed out. “Everyone here knows that he has his eyes on Clara. Even I noticed it. And while he’s nice to you, there are differences in the way he looks at you compared to Clara. It’s more like he looks after you like a sister, Freya.”

Freya sighed. She was aware of that fact, and no one knew that she was already determined in changing the way Gilas treated her while she was at Mount Sorel. She promised to herself one day that she would make him look at her differently once she came back as a grown-up woman.

But something unexpected happened once she came back… She suddenly recognized her mate… Plus, she came to know the truth about her father’s death.

“What if he’s not a good cook, Mother?” Freya commented with a grin, trying to change the topic away from Gilas.

“Well, it’s not his job to cook for you anyways,” her mother scoffed. “It’s your duty as a wife, and it’s a good thing that I’ve already taught you how to be a good one.”

Freya chuckled. She couldn’t agree more with her mother’s words. She did learn more than enough things to be a proper wife, and she’ll make sure that she would do as was needed of her by her future husband… whoever that might be.

Soon enough, the carriage stopped, and she and her mother got out to walk back inside the castle.

“Mother, you go on ahead first. I’ll just go and check on something…” Freya commented with a smile.

She was smiling when she then quickly walked towards the training grounds, going up to her favorite spot of entertainment as she anticipated another bout of amazing views. To her dismay, however, the routine of the training was different, making her eyebrows snap in disappointment.

‘What the hell happened here? How come it’s not the new trainees?’ she thought in annoyance. Looking around, she sniffed when the familiar scent of her mate wafted up inside her nose.

“Princess, you’re here…”

Freya gulped, hearing the familiar voice of Gideon walk up to her. Before she knew it, he was already sitting beside the nearby bench.

“Lord Gideon, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Freya commented, doing her best to avoid turning to face him. She was too embarrassed to be seen in that area of the training grounds. She was Bartos’s area, and Gideon never came there at all since he had his own knights and area to train at.

“Well, Bartos is away, so I’m obliged to look after the infantry as well…” Gideon commented.

This time, Freya turned to look at him with a frown and said, “But Lord Bartos has his trusted assistant for that.”

Gideon sighed, “Alright, I surrender… I caught your scent earlier, so I followed and it led me here…”

“Well, I used to feast my eyes at naked new trainees here, but all I see are the senior ones,” Freya retorted with a pout. She wondered how Gideon would react to her words, or if he would even react at all.

“It’s your brother’s fault, milady. He moved their training to another area,” Gideon laughed. “He didn’t want Princess Xenia to see other men naked… And to be honest, I wouldn’t want you looking at them as well, so I strongly agreed with His Majesty’s move.”

Freya raised her eyebrows,  but she was still too speechless to utter any words. She didn’t know why, but hearing Lord Gideon’s act of possessiveness towards her didn’t make her feel annoyed at all.

Absently, she shifted her gaze back to the senior soldiers below training in swordsmanship.

“Would you like to go out with me tomorrow if you have free time?” Gideon asked. “We could skate around perhaps…”

Freya unknowingly smiled at the offer. She indeed loved watching everyone skate. But unfortunately… she was bad at it.

“I’ll teach you how,” Gideon added.

“Alright then. Let’s do it late in the afternoon,” Freya replied. “I still have to accompany Mother in the morning.”

“Sure.”

Another bout of silence settled between them, one that was quickly broken when Freya spoke.

“I heard you’ll be cooking dinner later,” she commented.

“Right,” Gideon nodded. “I’ll cook everything you like.”

Freya turned and looked at him, her brows furrowing as she inquired, “You also know my favorite dishes?”

“I do.”

“Seriously?!”

“I know everything about you, Freya… It’s only natural for someone who likes a person to get curious about what she or he likes or dislikes,” Gideon explained. “I recognized you as my mate when I was eighteen, so I started observing everything about you since then… I simply wanted to make sure that I know the things that would please you so that when the right time comes, I’ll be able to do it for you while also avoiding things that might displease you.”

Her eyes widened. All of a sudden, Freya felt compassion for Gideon’s effort. He had indeed waited long for her, and he seemed confident enough to know more about her than she probably knew herself.

Turning to him, she stared at his side profile as she murmured, “Tell me everything about yourself, Lord Gideon. Your likes and dislikes…”