The Crown's Entrapment

Chapter 774 [Bonus ] The Party



"But we're here now. Whatever happened in the past doesn't matter. What matters is the future now."

"Indeed," Amon nodded in agreement. "No matter what happens, we'll have each other by our side. With you as my queen, I'm sure that we'll get past anything that life throws at us."

"And you being my king, I'll make sure to help you in your duties," Bella sincerely added. "No matter what happens, I'll always support you."

Still smiling, Bella perked up and gave Amon a peck on his cheek, only for him to quickly cup her by the chin and give her a full kiss on her lips. She hummed into their connection, almost wanting for the moment to never end as they began to savor each other's presence.

However, it would seem that despite fate helping them come together once more, it also wasn't shy in breaking up the scene between them.

"Osman?! Is that really you?!"

Bella almost let out a grunt of disappointment as she was forced to break away from Amon. Likewise, her mate also looked miffed when they parted, only for recognition to flash in his eyes as she stared at the newcomer.

"My Lord," Amon greeted, a faint smile forming on his face. Bella quickly gave Gideon a knowing look and said, "Didn't my brother brief you, Lord Gideon? He goes by the name Amon now."

"Ah right, just that I couldn't still believe it with my own eyes," Gideon snorted as his gaze went back to Amon. "We thought you were dead!" 

Amon stood up from his seat and then said, "I apologize if I can't recognize you yet, Lord Gideon…"

Gideon laughed as he walked up to them and gave Amon a brotherly handshake. "Ah! Just call me Gideon like you used to and don't give me that Amon stuff. You'll still be Osman to us. Anyway, do you even know when I realized you were alive?"

"When?" Bella curiously asked. 

"Just now!" Gideon burst out in both amazement and disbelief. "Bartos only told me and Calypso what's actually the case before we went here."

"Wait, Calypso's also here?" Bella further asked. She didn't notice him amongst the crowd but she was glad he also came.

"He's still with Bartos, I think," Gideon chuckled. "He's just as surprised with you, you know, Os- Amon? He'll probably come here to greet you later."

"I'll keep that in mind then," Amon chuckled. "I do hope that you enjoy your time here. Although my memories have not fully come back and I can't recognize you, I can feel in my heart that you're a good friend of mine. Thank you for coming in here and being with us in this special event, Gideon."

"Alright then," Gideon nodded in mirth. "Still, you owe a lot of us a drink. Maybe someday when you're not busy being king. I'm sure we'll get some time to reminisce. It's really nice to see you alive and well, my friend!"

"I'll hold you to that," Amon curtly nodded as he raised a glass of wine to the man. "I'll try to make time in my schedule."

"Schedule, huh? You're really a king now. Goodness, I wonder if I will get used to this formal countenance of yours," Gideon remarked with a light chuckle. "And to think that you were just the Great Admiral before all of this, teaching Queen Xenia how to fight out in the ocean before she was even queen."

Amon turned to Bella and she gave him a reassuring smile and said, "Later, I will tell you more about it."

"Captain Osman!"

Bella couldn't help but laugh as a group of sailors suddenly showed up in front of their table. Judging from the scent of alcohol wafting through the air, she could only assume that Amon's entire crew had already gone through a few bottles of wine. 

"Ah, these are your faithful crew," Gideon took the initiative to introduce everyone to Amon.

Amon smiled warmly at them as he got up to greet them. "I apologize if I'm still not able to recognize all of you, but- Oof"

"Admiral!"

"Captain!"

Sitting by the sidelines, Bella didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or both as she watched Amon get smothered by his former crew. Numbering by the dozen, it was surreal seeing her mate being drowned in affection. Each and every one of his men hugged and pulled him in, their drunken state stopping them from taking a hint as they crowded around their former admiral.

"H-Hey!" Gideon shouted out in both annoyance and happiness. "Settle down!"

"How can we settle down?! The Captain is alive!" one of Amon's men cheered. "We have our admiral back!"

"Hell, our admiral's a king now!" another one of his men laughed out loud. "We might just have to jump ship!"

Bella blinked at that declaration. Thankfully, before anything could go too out of hand, Amon took it upon himself to break things up.

"Everyone at attention!"

Amon's commanding voice echoed across his former crew. Sure enough, his crew all stood at attention, all of them looking like career soldiers despite their disheveled state.

"There will be no jumping ship here, got it?" Amon commanded. Bella grinned seeing how Amon naturally acted as Osman at this point. She wondered if he even realized it.

"I probably left you all here for a reason, and you will all serve here until you're all relieved, am I heard?!"

"Yes, Captain Osman!"

"Good," Amon shook his head with a chuckle. "Now enjoy the rest of the party, all of you. Again, I may not recognize you all yet but I'll surely make up to all of you once my memories are fully back. Now, I have a wife to spoil, and it would be appreciated if we had some peace and quiet."

Bella felt her heart skip at his words even as she felt his arms suddenly pull him close to him once more. By the sidelines, it would seem that Gideon had also taken the hint as he gave them an encouraging smile before leaving for his own table.

"Now, where were we?" Amon asked her before giving her another peck on her lips.

"We were just about to drink some wine together," Bella reminded him, her glass already in her hand as she spoke. "To us then?"

"To us, and more," Amon replied, smiling as he grabbed his own drink. "To our love, neverending."

With a toast, they both intertwined their arms before sipping on their glasses. This was the start of their journey together, and nothing was going to stand in the way of their happiness now.