The Crown's Entrapment

At Realm of Eferia

"You... How dare you prevent me from using my powers!" Devas burst out the moment he opened his eyes. Getting up from the bed, he glared at Polo who was still calmly sitting near him while casually sipping on his tea.

"Welcome back, Devas," he said with a shrug.

"You!!!" Devas grunted as he rushed to strangle Polo. During those last few tests, he had tried his best to use his power to at least save Darius, but try as he might, it didn't work at all. In the end, he had no choice but to pull Xenia out to safety, but the then latter pushed him away before jumping off to rescue Darius.

He then halted, remembering that Xenia must've made her choice. Turning around, he had his hopes up only to see an empty bed.

"Did she pass the test then?" he inquired with wide eyes. He didn't know what exactly happened because of the loud thundering and rumbling, not to mention that sudden blinding light that made it impossible to even see what was happening... His eyes widened more as he gasped, "Did she grow wings?"

"She's already in the Fairy Queen's territory if you're that curious," Polo snorted at him.

"Hah! I'm sure she passed then! But how come I can't use my powers properly!?" Devas hissed with a frown.

Polo simply stared at him. With a shrug, he murmured, "That's not my fault. You were too excited to enter without even confirming important things like if you can properly use your powers or not." He scoffed, "Like I said, the trial I created was distorted because you and the King entered it without any sort of preparation..."

Devas only clicked his tongue. In that instant, he quickly disappeared before Polo's sight with anger still boiling in his blood.

"That fool... I guess he's really smitten by that Princess..." Polo murmured. He was honestly quite impressed with the Princess himself. It was the first time he had tried to implement this thousand dreams trial he created, and it was also the first time his trial succeeded.

"I suppose it wasn't all that bad," Polo murmured to himself before finishing up his tea. "I'm rather curious if she'll continue to succeed after getting out of this realm now."

"I have a hunch that she would," Saha, who popped out of nowhere, interrupted.

"Someone wants her dead though..." Polo reminded the Basilisk.

"Ah, right... I wonder why I didn't receive such an offer though..." Saha mumbled in thought. "Only you and Devas got the offer. Is it a coincidence? Or were those letters really only addressed to you and Devas? Even then, are you going to cooperate with the King's investigation?"

Saha continued as she mentioned, "A parchment had also arrived from the king. I'm sure Devas will cooperate and hand the king that parchment he got, but how about you?"

"It was nothing more than a mere letter, so I don't see the point of handing it over to the king," Polo scoffed. "Though, I wonder how those mere letters would serve as proof for them... Surely, whoever sent them wasn't stupid enough to leave any hide or trace of their guilt behind..."

"Well, who knows?" Saha shrugged. "Maybe the king has his ways..."

******

At Queen Fairy Territory

"How is she?" Devas quickly asked the moment he appeared at the Fairy Queen's castle hanging up in the sky.

"She's resting, Devas," Helena sighed. "I've just finished attending to her since she's still adjusting to the sudden appearance of her wings. It would take her some time to get the hang of controlling both their appearance and manifestation."

Hearing the news, Devas let out a sigh of relief... Helena had her kind-hearted smile on her face as she added, "You did all you could to save them, so don't worry. I'm sure she knows of your efforts."

Devas let out another sigh. He really didn't want to look like a villain to Princess Xenia. He had no intention of leaving Darius behind, and he really couldn't use his powers at the time, leaving him with no other choice but to do everything in his power to save her first.

"I feel weird, Helena. I've never felt something like this before," Devas confessed.

He really wanted the Princess to stay in their realm, but he still knew his boundaries. The fact that the Princess took such a risk in saving the King even though he wore a different face was more than enough to give him a clue as to what happened. She clearly recognized him, and he couldn't help but feel envious of that kind of love.

"That king is one lucky bastard!" Devas snorted with a pout.

Helena chuckled. "I understand how you feel. For the many years of being the guardian of earth, you finally experienced what it means to genuinely like someone," she sagely explained. "The Almighty hasn't deprived us of these kinds of emotions so long as it won't be a hindrance to our main objective and responsibility, which is to maintain the balance of the elements in this world."

Devas no longer commented. Taking a small breath, he then asked, "Can I see her?"

Helena nodded before she then walked him towards where Xen currently was. The princess was still lying on her bed, unconscious from her ordeal.

"I'm sure she'll be ready to take on my trial as soon as she wakes up," Helena inferred, looking carefully at Xenia's current state. "She'll be in a hurry to get back to her husband."

"And I'm sure your kind trial will train her on how to use her wings..." Devas chuckled.

It was to be expected, after all. Helena was like that. Her trials were always the easiest of the bunch, mostly being composed of tests designed to make someone stronger... It was always a trial meant to pass by anyone with common sense.

"Well, you all know me..." Helena smiled. "Still, I'm glad you interrupted Polo's trial. If not for you distorting those thousand dreams, we wouldn't even be sure if we'll be able to see her still in one piece right now."

"Polo intentionally administered that trial knowing that I would mess it up... He always acts tough and hard, but deep inside, that merman also keeps an eye on people who deserve to live and pass the trials," Devas commented with a sigh. "We could all see inside the hearts of any possible intruders, and this Princess has a lot of things she wants to do in the outside world for the betterment of many..."

"Indeed..." Helena agreed.

"How long will it take for her to wake up and get a hold of her own wings?" Devas inquired.

"I can't exactly predict when that will happen..." Helena answered. "A few more days maybe, but it will still depend on her performance..."

"Then we must stop giving the Cordonians a view of her for now," Devas suggested.

"Agreed," Helena nodded.