The Crown's Entrapment

For the next few days, Shila made sure to care for Pinra whenever she got the chance. Of course, that also meant that she had to make sure that she informed Gilas of what she was doing, but that was negligible when it came to making sure that her niece was well cared for.

From giving her meals to simply spending time with her, the older woman was quite happy with the progress she was seemingly made with the younger woman. With every day that passed, Pinra seemed more responsive, and more radiant as she gave her the warmth and love that she seemingly lacked in her life.

Although, Pinra still kept on asking for Gilas to see her. She had hoped that it would stop once she gave the girl her full attention, but it would seem that her niece's efforts had only doubled ever since she realized where she was being held.

"C-Can I see Gilas please?"

Shila sighed as Pinra once more asked for her son's presence. She knew that Gilas would rather pretend that his cousin didn't exist, but that wasn't possible anymore, it would seem.

"Pinra, why do you wish to see Gilas so badly?" she couldn't help but ask.

The older woman waited patiently as Pinra seemingly thought over her question. Her emotions danced all across her face, flashes of confusion and anger written all over Pinra's features before she took a deep breath and banished them from her face.

"I… I want to apologize," Pinra slowly began, her tone sounding more strained than usual.

"Pinra, do you even know what you did to deserve this?" Shila questioned further.

The younger woman squinted in deep thought as she replied, "I… I did bad things, right? Horrible things… Things that I… That you said I shouldn't do…"

"Yes," Shila nodded. "Although, I don't think he'll ever want to see you at the moment."

Pinra visibly shook at her response, and Shila couldn't help but feel pity as she watched her niece fight off the tears threatening to fall down her cheeks.

"Don't cry, dear," she comfortingly sighed as she rubbed Pinra's back. "Look, I won't make any promises, but I'll see if I can get Gilas to come and visit you."

"T-Truly?!"

"Yes," she smiled, glad to see Pinra perk up with hopeful eyes. "Again, I won't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do."

As if truly grateful, Pinra crashed herself into her embrace, her arms hugging Shila tightly as she sobbed her thanks into her shoulder. Somehow, she knew she should be happy, but for some reason, an inkling of doubt suddenly wormed its way into her heart. Still, that shouldn't be possible. The relief in Pinra's voice was genuine, and she could only wonder why that was even the case.

Nevertheless, she knew she was making great strides in healing Pinra's broken mind. She just had to keep at it, and they'd have yet another person they could consider to be family.

***

​ Gilas sighed as he paced the hallways of the Manor. His mother had just told him that Pinra had wanted to apologize to him. Of course, he quickly brushed off the request, but a nagging curiosity had lodged itself into his mind now. Even back when they first met in that cell, Pinra had constantly begged him to see her. It was pretty much the only thing his cousin screamed for, and for her to still yearn for his presence almost made him want to actually see why that was the case.

'Or maybe it's a trap,' he thought to himself. 'It's Pinra, after all. This might just be her plan to lull me into coming near her.'

"Gilas?"

Turning around, Gilas smiled as Clara came to greet him. His mate gave him a nod before they proceeded to walk side by side.

"So, apparently Pinra's still begging to see you," Clara casually began. "The guards said as much, and I'm sure you've heard the same."

"From my own mother, no less," Gilas nodded in confirmation. "Really, Pinra just wouldn't give up. Even said that she wanted to apologize to me."

"Will she now?" Clara scoffed. "I doubt that would be the case."

Gilas wanted to nod, but hearing it from his mother almost made him want to believe otherwise. Mother wouldn't be so assured of Pinra's recovery if she truly didn't see something good blossoming within their former enemy.

"Maybe I should see her," Gilas wondered aloud. "Just this once. Just to see why she's calling for me this badly."

Clara frowned. "You know I don't want that to happen, right?"

"I know, but maybe this will shed light as to why she's like this in the first place," Gilas reasoned. "You know she still doesn't recognize either of us, right?"

"Yes?" she raised an eyebrow. "Your point?"

"What if she's no longer faking it?" he replied. "What if she's truly just a confused woman who doesn't even know why she's locked up in the first place?"

"Gilas…" Clara sighed as her shoulders slumped. "Alright then. Say that it's true, what does that mean for us?"

"It means that Pinra might truly have a chance to turn over a new leaf," he explained. "It means we save someone that's truly in need."

"And what if you're wrong?"

Gilas sighed as he shook his head. "Then I'm wrong, and I'll regret my decision for the rest of my life. Regardless, we need answers."

"I don't think we do though," Clara let out a deep sigh. "Still, if you're this sure, then I'll allow it just this once…"

Gilas smiled as his mate then gave him a soft embrace. It was nice to know that he had her support even though they both knew that what he was about to do was going to be needlessly dangerous.

"I'll see Pinra tomorrow then," Gilas smiled. "In the meantime, it's getting rather late. Shall we retreat to our chamber?"

Clara raised an eyebrow as she smirked. "You're not as subtle as you think, you know."

"You'll still say yes though, right?"

"What else am I to do? Not sleep for the night?" Clara chuckled. "Come on then. Let's get ready for bed."