The Crown's Entrapment

At Cordon Castle

Gideon paced back and forth near Freya’s bedchamber door. As usual, he was beset by hesitation and nerves even after he had already decided that he wanted to talk to her. There were just too many things that could go wrong. Why did she run? Would she run again if he pushed her too far? There was just no way for him to know all of those things in advance.

[Can you just make up your mind already?!] his wolf, Eli, hissed.

“I’m still thinking of the best way to approach her, along with the right words to use,” Gideon clicked his tongue as he mumbled.

That morning had been quite the busy one with him going all the way till lunch before he could even get some time for himself. And consequentially, he didn’t manage to get the talk he wanted to have with Freya. He had been trying since yesterday, of course, but last night, his mate had retired early, and he quickly noticed how she was seemingly avoiding his gaze during dinner so he simply let her be and gave her the space she might need for the rest of the night.

Still, that didn’t mean that he wanted Freya’s time away from him to last longer than an entire day.

[Then just go inside and be done with it,] Eli grumbled. [Stop this anxious farce and knock on the door.]

Gideon let out a long sigh. His wolf was right. He really shouldn’t be doing all this lollygagging in the first place. He was a fully-grown adult, not some random teenager who was still battling against their own hormones.

“Right…”

Giving himself another breath of confidence, Gideon let his knuckles touch the wooden door, his eyes unblinking as he waited for his wrist to actually do the knocking…

Anytime now…

…

….

Okay, this was harder than he initially thought.

“Why am I like this…” he lamented, letting his fist lean on the door as if he looked at it like some sort of unassailable castle gates. “Just knock… Simple as that…”

Shaking his head, Gideon puffed up his chest as he raised his fist once more. His knuckles were practically scraping against the door’s surface, Freya assuredly waiting for him on the other side if only he’d get the courage to do so.

“Here goes…”

*…knock knock knock*

Three knocks… Three agonizing beats of silence as he waited for a response. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as he stared at the door, a part of him still hoping that his mate was not to be found on the other side of the door. He felt his anxiety rise higher with each second that passed without a sound.

“Who is it?”

A response?! “I-It’s me, Gideon,” he promptly replied. “Can I come in?”

A terse silence followed, the sound of something being arranged echoing from within the room as he stood in vigil for her answer. From the sounds of it, Freya was walking all throughout her room, possibly cleaning up for him, perhaps?

“Alright, you can come in.”

“If you’ll excuse me then…”

With a prompt warning, Gideon walked inside, his nose immediately being assaulted by Freya’s pleasant smell as he fought the urge to do anything less than being prim and proper in front of her. Even though it wasn’t his first time being in her room, it still felt like he was walking onto the sacred ground as she ushered him inside.

“Take a seat,” she insisted, her gaze visibly trying its best to be level with him. “I know it’s not much, but I can make you some tea if you want to.”

“Oh, there’s no need,” Gideon waved in refusal.

“Or maybe I can ask some of the servants to bring us a few snacks,” Freya mumbled aloud, his words obviously going unheard as she seemed to be overthinking herself into a frenzy. “What if I-“

“Freya?”

“Y-Yes?!”

Gideon couldn’t help but smile as his mate looked so damn cute being flustered like this. Still, it was clear that she wasn’t thinking straight, so he tried to fix her current scatterbrained self the only way he knew how.

“Are you okay?” he firmly asked, his voice level and loud as he shocked her back into logical sanity. “It’s fine. I don’t need anything.”

“W-Wha- But…”

“I’m just here to talk,” Gideon emphasized, his eyes staring firmly into hers as he did his best to be calm. “If you don’t want to, then feel free to tell me to leave.”

Holding her in place by her shoulders, his words seemed to have worked as she finally stopped stuttering to herself. Instead, she stared straight into his eyes, her soul seemingly laying itself bare to him as his own surely did the same. The tension between them grew with each passing second, their bodies drifting ever so minutely closer as neither seemed to be pushing the other back.

“I… I wanted to talk to you as well,” Freya meekly whispered. “I want to make things clear…”

“Then, by all means, feel free,” Gideon furiously nodded. “Don’t be shy in telling me about anything.”

Even now, his hands were still on Freya’s shoulders as she shrank in front of him. Her lips quivered invitingly, his instincts telling him to go for broke and just kiss her right then and there.

“I… I like you,” Freya breathed out, barely audible if not for their close proximity to one another. “I-I don’t know if it’s love yet, but… I’m willing to see where it leads.”

Gideon blinked, his own heart hammering the longer they stayed in that position. If he could just lean in closer, to simply let his lips brush against hers even as her words rang inside his head…

“G-Gideon…”

No words were exchanged as their lips finally met, both of them taking the other by surprise as they sank into a world of their own. Gideon’s hands were still on her shoulders, but Freya made no attempts to push back as they settled into each other’s lips.

And just like that, mere words both seemed so clear and yet so inadequate in expressing their feelings.