The Crown's Entrapment

At Valcrez Castle

Mineah quickly brought Xenia up to the bedchamber assigned to her and Darius. Meanwhile, Darius had to go along with Nikolai to greet the Elders. As much as she wanted to go with her mate, she was aware of why he didn’t bring her with him to greet the Elders. After all, the royal council of Valcrez had yet to acknowledge her as Darius’s Queen.

“Will their discussion take long?” Xenia wondered as she walked up to the balcony of their shared bedchamber.

The sun had fully set, and the darkness of the night had finally set in, all except for the moonlight and the illuminating light sources coming from outside the castle. From where she was standing, she could hear the sound of running water. It was rather soothing, even if it was rather chilly at the moment.

“Come back inside, Sister. It’s cold out here.”

Xenia smiled when she felt a blanket wrap around her shoulders. Mineah had come to pull her inside, flashing a gentle smile as she addressed her.

“As for their meeting, they’ll probably take a bit longer,” her little sister added. “But it won’t be too long to have them deprive us of being with us during supper time.”

“Let’s hope that’s the case then,” Xenia nodded with a small scoff, her eyes then darting towards the two newcomers in the room as she recognized one of them. They both had a tray with tea and some snacks in their hands. “Also, it’s been a while, Dani. How are you and the others?”

“I’m good, Princess Xenia,” Dani politely answered with a slight bow. “It’s nice to see you as well.”

The other two maidservants soon followed, politely greeting her in the same manner.

“Where are Ana and Greta?” Xenia curiously asked.

“Hmm, they’re outside,” Mineah answered. “I asked them to do something for me earlier.”

“I see…” Xenia commented with a nod.

A minute of silence settled within the room as they all assumed their chosen positions. With a nagging question, however, Xenia broke it for her own curiosity.

“Tell me, Mineah. Something’s wrong, right? What is going on with our Big Brother?” she suddenly asked. “I noticed how pale you get whenever I ask, and how quickly you try to change the topic whenever we talk about him.”

Her question seemed to have caught Mineah by surprise, judging by her little sister’s expression. It was enough for her to confirm that there was indeed something going on without her knowledge.

“Mother and Father will scold me about this,” Mineah murmured with a sigh, making Xenia frown.

“Why? I’m more mature now compared to before. I’m emotionally stronger now, so you all shouldn’t keep something important from me out of some unwarranted fear,” Xenia complained with a frown. “Seriously! I can’t believe that you’re all hiding something from me. What happened to Ezekiel? Do I need to rush out to the encampment right now just to know about it?”

It was infuriating. She wanted to scream, but she just said that she was mature enough to handle whatever it was it could be. Still, she couldn’t believe that her family would keep something potentially important hidden from her like this.

“…Big Brother is missing, but he’s fine,” Mineah admitted. “We thought it’d be best that you weren’t made aware of it so that you can focus more on your battles and struggles, big sister.” She sighed as she explained, “You see… Mother and wizard Lurio are doing the best they can right now to bring our Brother back. Something happened…”

“Tell me then,” Xenia murmured, trying her best to act calm. She understood her family’s sentiments to keep her in the dark, but she didn’t want any of that. She wanted the truth.

“…He turned into a dragon somehow,” Mineah answered, her own disbelief somewhat palpable in her tone. “I’m not sure of the exact details though, big sister. Mother is actually on her way to the encampment right now, and I’m about to make my way there as well once you left with King Darius to go back to Cordon.”

Before Xenia could gather her thoughts, Mineah grabbed her by the hands, holding on to her firmly as she said, “No one must know about this. Only I, our parents, Lurio… and I could only assume that Mother had also already informed Jayra, should know about this. No one must know that the dragon that suddenly appeared on the battlefield was our brother Ezekiel.”

She continued with a grave tone, “Right now, the news has already spread about the rise of dragons, and I’ve heard that Valcrez will want to investigate this together with Cordon and other kingdoms who feel threatened about the current events…”

Xenia’s face paled, realizing how her brother was now in a gravely dangerous situation. How did this happen?

She stared at Mineah and unknowingly whispered, “Ezekiel… He’s the one cursed? That’s the only explanation for this, Mineah. How could a dragon have stayed and lived inside of him all this time? Can we get him back?”

“That’s why Mother and I have to go,” Mineah reiterated. “We’ll sort things out for our brother.”

Xenia knew well what Mineah meant. She wouldn’t be able to do a thing even if she went with them, her physical strength having no use to their current problem. What they needed were Mother and Mineah’s knowledge. That, along with the power they have using their spells and magic.

“I’ll do everything in my power to focus on becoming Queen, Mineah. You and our parents don’t need to worry,” Xenia declared.

“I will need to gain power over Cordon for me to even help. And as much as I hate to say this… I’ll use everything in my power as future Queen to make sure that our brother can come back to us safely. I don’t know a thing about dragons, and how one even managed to merge with our brother, but I’m sure Ezekiel will get a hold of himself eventually. He won’t just disappear on us like that…”

Flashing a determined gaze, Xenia tried her best to be positive. She didn’t want to think of the worst, choosing instead to strongly believe in her brother.

“Tarah…” she murmured.

“You mean the newly appointed seer, right? She’s missing too,” Mineah revealed. “They said Tarah ran after Ezekiel, so I believe she was with our brother before he turned into a dragon. I’ll try to inform you of all the details as soon as I get a hold of them on my arrival at the encampment, Sister.”

She gave Xenia a nod, “I’ll also inform Mother that you’re currently aware of the situation and that you won’t let this matter distract you.”

“Thank you,” Xenia could only nod at her little sister before she added, “And please, don’t hide things from me again like this. Make sure you tell the same to Mother, Mineah…” Her thought ran off from her as she had an idea. “Ah, never mind. I’ll tell her myself. I’ll be writing a letter to her now. Please give it to her once you meet her.”

Mineah nodded before she assisted Xenia with what she needed. The older sister took her time in writing while they waited for Darius to finish with his meeting. Focusing on her words, she wanted to assure her parents that she wouldn’t stray from her goals despite receiving the bad news. She also told them to prioritize the search for Ezekiel above all else.

“At this rate, delaying my marriage isn’t an option,” Xenia murmured. “I need it to happen as soon as possible. Even earlier than planned…”