The Crown's Entrapment

The next morning, Calypso and Aurelia prepared themselves for the journey ahead well before sunrise. It was their third day of traveling in their search for the princess, and they were making decent time. Making their way to the southeast portion of Ebodia's border would take them a long while, however, and they still had a long way to go before they reached their destination.

Of course, for Calypso, that also meant having a bit of time with Aurelia to try and woo her.

[As if your usual methods would even work on her,] Axel scoffed. [And we're not exactly alone with her right now.]

[Don't remind me,] Calypso sighed. [Still, I'll try and find a way to get a word in with her.]

Fortunately for him, Aurelia had requested for her own horse to travel in since she was starting to feel bored traveling inside the closed-off carriage alone. It would've been perfect as well if it was just the two of them trotting along the path.

Unfortunately, Lord Hebron had decided to be their chaperone on their way to their destination.

[I mean, can you even blame him?] Axel chuckled. [He does own the land around the general area. It would be best for us not to antagonize him too much until we've reached our destination.]

[Hey, I know that much. Politics will always be a pain, and this man will always have an advantage over us so long as we're in his own territory,] Calypso scoffed at his wolf's advice. [Still, that doesn't mean that I would tolerate him muscling in on my conquest.]

[I'm glad you're seeing sense, at least,] his wolf chortled. [Also, calling her your conquest now? Are you deadset on courting her then?]

[Like I said before, she's my puzzle to crack,] Calypso confidently chuckled. [I'm going to make her like me, even if it's the last thing I do.]

[That's the spirit,] Axel confidently nodded. [Now look alive. She might look like she's ignoring you, but women like her are always mindful of their surroundings.]

[Meaning that she's actively listening to me right now,] Calypso mentally nodded. [I'll see what I can do.]

Taking in a deep breath for what he was about to do, Calypso directed his horse to take him closer to Aurelia. Sure enough, she looked like she was more focused on the road than the people around her, but if his wolf was saying otherwise, then he'll try and take advantage of that.

***

Aurelia was carefully minding her own business when she felt Calypso's presence move towards her. She wasn't clueless. She knew that he was currently doing his best to try and woo her. It was only too bad for him that his efforts would all be for naught.

She didn't care what he had to say, only that he actually did his job so that they could all finally move on with their lives.

"Good morning, milady," Calypso greeted her with his usual charming smile. "Fine weather we're having, right? Not too cold despite the winter air?"

Aurelia inwardly scoffed. She could bet that those sparkling smiles of his were one of his best assets in coaxing and wooing women. It was only too bad for him then that they wouldn't work on her.

"Indeed, Lord Calypso," she coolly replied. "I would expect that this pleasant weather would continue until the end of our journey for today."

Inwardly, she clicked her tongue as her eyes went to the warrior-servants that were supposed to be acting as her buffer between her and Lord Calypso. She knew she shouldn't have called them off out of a whim to be alone for a while, but what was done was done. She would have to fend for herself against this man's constant advances. It also didn't help that she was starting to feel something whenever he talked to her.

'Seriously, this is rather annoying...' she scoffed to herself.

Taking in a small breath, Aurelia calmed herself down, centering her thoughts away from the foreign feelings threatening to try and influence her mind. If she wouldn't able to shake this man's attention away from her, then she will settle for the next best thing.

After all, Lord Hebron was only trotting a ways ahead of them. She could always just force them all into a group to try and deflect the attention away from her.

"I'd say, the scenery is rather beautiful, don't you think?" Calypso commented, his tone clearly trying to compliment her. "Much-"

"Much like myself?" Aurelia cut him off with her sharp tongue. "While I must thank you for the compliment, our time would be spent better if we focused on more productive tasks."

"Like what? What would you be doing right now that would be more productive?" Calypso cheekily replied, his tone taking on a challenging tone.

Aurelia inwardly smirked as she decided to humor his challenge. "For one, we can try and familiarize ourselves more with the lay of the land. And what better way for us to do that than to talk to our good chaperone, Lord Hebron?"

"Huh? But-"

Before Calypso could even reply, she directed her horse forward, leaving the man in the dust as she tried to catch up to her friend's location. While she firmly believed what she just said to be true, there were also other means to try and familiarize themselves with a foreign land.

For one, they could just use their own eyes, but that wouldn't exactly be efficient, especially when they had the best source of knowledge already available to them in the form of their current guide.

"Lord Hebron," she nodded to her friend as soon as she caught up with him.

"Lady Aurelia," the Ebodian Lord nodded back. "Is there a problem?"

"I was just about to ask you about the local terrain," she explained herself. "As foreigners here in your homeland, we're- Oh, there he is already."

She inwardly smirked as she heard Calypso's horse quickly trotting its way towards them. Eventually, he managed to catch up with them, his schooled expression only making her smugger even if only in her thoughts.

"Ah, perfect timing, Lord Calypso," she coolly greeted. "I was just about to ask Lord Hebron to give us a lay of the land."

This way, there was no way that she'll ever be caught alone even if she had inadvertently told her warrior-servants to stay back for the day. She'll just have to use her friend as her shield for now. Besides, she was still being productive with what she just did.