The Crown's Entrapment



Eventually, Jayra finally came to Bella's tent to pick her up.

"How's Lena?" Bella immediately asked. She was truly worried for her friend, and she could only hope that things had improved since she last saw her.

"She's fine now. She has calmed down now, and Xenia told her everything," Jayra stated. "I also heard she even had a brief communication with the Guardians. Also…"

Jayra trailed off, and Bella frowned as she heard her curse and let out a frustrated sigh. "What's wrong?"

Her sister-in-law just put her palm on her face as she let out another sigh. 

"Tell me," Bella insisted with a frown.

Resigned, Jayra took a deep breath as she replied, "Well, she received one of the parchments distributed by Helion regarding the selection for King Amon's Queen… She asked our Queen to put her on the list."

"What?!" Bella burst out. Her face contorted in surprise. She didn't expect this at all. "Does she know I'm participating?"

"Yes, and she said that it's clearly stated in the parchment that each kingdom can send two…" Jayra explained. "So she had her name put down on the list as well." 

Bella's shoulders slumped as she thought about what just happened. Lena doing this only meant one thing.

"She's going for it…" she murmured with a sigh. "She's fighting for Osman."

"There's no denying it," Jayra shrugged. "Xenia told me that Lena felt a deep connection with Amon the moment she saw him."

Bella felt like her head was spinning the more she thought about the news. "It's her right, and I understand why she needs to do it, but…" She sighed, "It's just that… I feel sad fighting her over…"

"Ah, you should be watching out for yourself then. This fight isn't about physical strength like in our kingdom, Bella," Jayra advised. "I mean, Lena is a proper lady of poise and grace. She's very good at lady-like things like sewing, cooking, and other things a woman- rather, a wife should have…" 

Bella stood there as she took it all, her face falling upon seeing how her sister-in-law was trying to stop herself from laughing.

"I'm good at painting though! I'm sure painting is included there! There's also physical strength involved there too even if it's not as extreme as in Cordon," she snorted as she crossed her arms together, her eyebrows colliding as she exuded confidence. "And I will excel in them…"

"Oh, our Bella... Don't worry. You still have enough time. Bartos already asked someone to help you train while we're still here at camp," Jayra informed her. "Well, your brother felt threatened when he found out that Lady Lena would join, so he took the initiative to get you some help." 

Blinking, Bella couldn't help but feel touched by the gesture. Her brother was a man of few words, but he was truly someone who cared for her.

"We should get going now before it gets dark," Bella said as she pulled Jayra out of her tent. 

The two of them then walked toward the forest as they headed for Helion's camp. There was a path leading them there, and there was no way for them to get lost despite being in a forest out in the dark.

"Tell me honestly, what do you feel right now?" Jayra asked her. 

"They prepared so well for this," Bella couldn't help but hum, ignoring Jayra's question.

"Of course, all the powerful kingdoms provided everything that was needed for this event to become possible," Jayra replied. "Are you going to participate in the activities tomorrow?" 

"I'm not sure yet," Bella shrugged. "I'll check the list later and see where I can participate…"

"Or are you planning to see where the King of Helion will participate first and then stalk him?" Jayra teased.

"Well, I need to take every advantage I can get since I heard it would be rare for us to see the king once the competition starts," Bella chuckled. "While I'm here, I might as well make a big impression and take risks. Who knows? He might just recognize me soon since his memories are starting to come back."

"About that, I offered him help and he said he'll think about it," Jayra informed her.

"Do you think you can heal him by bringing back his memories then?" Bella curiously inquired.

"I'm not sure, but we can try…" Jayra admitted. 

Bella simply nodded. She was trying her best to act normal, but internally, she was honestly still struggling to process it all. The fact that Lena would also participate in the competition threw her for a loop.

If she recalled, Osman's feelings from before had changed. Lena was his first love, but she didn't truly manage to capture his heart. The main reason for this was that her love for him was impossible since she was a Guardian of the Element Forest. But now, that was no longer the case. Helena was a free woman now. She could love and be loved by anyone… 

Deep inside Bella's heart, she knew there was fear despite the confidence she was indulging herself in.

[Stop that. Focus on making Osman fall in love with you again…] Poona cheered on her. [I know it'll be a tough competition, but I can smell it… How you're already ahead of him…] 

Bella smiled at her inner wolf. Perhaps there was hope for her yet… "How about you, Sis?" she asked as she changed the topic. "Are you feeling nervous?"

"A bit. I just hope my family is alive and doing well too," Jayra answered with a loud sigh. "I honestly can't imagine how this is truly happening. Meeting any of them like this is almost a dream come true..." 

Eventually, they neared their destination, and they stopped just by the border of Helion's camp. It was well guarded, and Helion's guards were checking everyone first as a precautionary measure. That couldn't be helped.

From afar, Bella saw Amon, and their eyes met. He gave her a curt nod and she answered him back with her sweetest smile just before he walked into a tent,

She could hear Poona's chuckle inside of her as her wolf chortled, [Ah, you really take every opportunity you see. How about giving him also a wink?]

[No, a sweet smile is enough. If I wink at wink he'll think I'm doing quite well already. Let's see how worried he is to me, later.] Bella hummed with a bashful smile.

[Ah, that smell… His scent is driving me insane,] Poona remarked and Bella could only sigh. She wanted to always pounce on Amon whenever she would see him. The Mate Pull was quite strong that she was barely holding out from attacking Amon well sweetly and intimately of course.

Just the thought of being intimate with her Mate was making Bella feel so hot all over her body.

[We'll have a problem once we have our cycle of heat this year. I just hope it doesn't come yet until you succeed in winning Amon back. Oh, Bella, we'll be doomed and I can't imagine how painful it could be if not addressed.]

Right, she heard those cycles of heat only happened once a year and usually during winter. Bella gulped because autumn was almost over and winter was coming soon.

[I told him that he's our mate and about this cycle of being in heat… At least I warned him. Maybe I should remind him about it more often or whenever I see a chance to do so.] Bella inwardly sighed.

Back to what was in front of her, when it was their time to enter the borders of the camp, the guards surprisingly didn't bother to check them. 

"Please go in and follow him."

Bella and Jayra looked at each other with a shrug as they went and followed one of the guards who led them into the tent where Amon went inside.

"Lady Jayra, Lady Bella, greetings." 

Once again, to their surprise, it was Queen Mother Mona who warmly greeted them inside. Bella also noticed that both Lera and Casimir were inside, so they all exchanged curt bows as a courtesy.

"It looks like you were expecting us to arrive," Bella started with a smile. 

It was obviously the case. That was what she read from their faces. It was as if they were all delighted that they came.

"Yes, we were expecting Lady Jayra's arrival," Amon spoke, making Bella raise an eyebrow.

"Ah, I see… I guess no one's delighted to see me," she mumbled loud enough for the rest to hear.

Mona chuckled. "Of course, we're all delighted to see you too, Lady Bella," she smiled. "Now, I do believe Lady Jayra is here to also submit a blood sample?"

Bella blinked. "How did you know?"

"My cousin Lera believes that Lady Jayra is the younger sister she's looking for," Amon answered. 

Surprised, Bella looked at Lera, and then at Jayra.

"Lady Jayra looks exactly like my mother…" Lera spoke with a teary-eyed smile.