The Crown's Entrapment

The sun was about to set when Xenia and Darius finally arrived at Castle Cordon.

"Sister-in-law, welcome back!"

Xenia had just gone out of the carriage when Freya immediately greeted her. Likewise, the Queen Mother approached her for a warm hug, saying, "I'm so grateful to see you safe and sound, my dear. Welcome back..."

"Thank you, Freya. Thank you, Queen Mother," Xenia gratefully replied with a wide smile.

"Mother, Xen and I will join you and the rest for dinner soon," Darius informed them. "But for now, let me walk her to our bedchamber first so that she can freshen up..."

Xenia agreed with her husband. But before she followed behind Darius, she turned to him and said, "Let me have a quick word with Jayra first..."

Darius nodded before letting her hand go. With her husband's permission, Xenia quickly approached Jayra. Her friend had just gotten down from Pluto and was also preparing herself to look presentable.

"Jayra, please keep the sack with you for now," Xenia whispered to her friend in a secret Ebodian language as soon as she got near. "It's the evidence we need against Nasser."

"Understood, milady. I'll guard it with all my life then..." Jayra nodded. "I'll do what's needed to ensure that it's well kept and safe..."

"Thank you... See you at the dining hall later then," Xenia smiled before grabbing the purse in Pluto's saddle that contained the magical pearl. "Let's talk about the good news you said you had after."

Having said her piece to her friend, she quickly walked back to Darius. She still had a lot of things to discuss with both him and Jayra. She couldn't wait to spill every little thing she had to them and let things be over with, but she knew that they still needed to do some meticulous planning to ensure that no innocent lives would get entangled with their actions in the process.

Soon, she finally arrived at her own bedchamber. Walking inside, her chamberlain and servants were already waiting to assist her.

"I would love to assist you myself, my love, but I might end up tiring you out even more, depending on what happens," Darius whispered in her ear. "So instead, I'll leave you here with them so you can prepare yourself for dinner. I will pick you up once you're done preparing..."

Giving her one last look, he leaned closer and gave her a gentle and loving kiss on her forehead before then leaving her to the care of her chamberlain.

Seeing her husband leave, Xenia felt her shoulders sag as she let herself go. She was honestly so exhausted that she didn't even protest letting the servants do all the work on her body. Letting it at all happen, she made sure to not take too long in preparing herself since she didn't want everyone to wait for her. As soon as she was ready, she dismissed her servants, leaving her alone with her own thoughts and devices.

Sighing to herself, Xenia stared at the shell resting in her palm. She felt anxious just looking at it, but she knew that Darius and her family had the right to witness what exactly happened.

The visions stored inside the magical pearl were all organized according to how important the events were in terms of how much they needed it against Nasser, and she was sure that the escalating string of events within would evoke more than a few pointed reactions from her friends and loved ones.

Waiting for Darius to arrive, she quickly stood up as soon as he arrived, and the two of them walked hand in hand through the hallways to join the others for dinner.

"Will it be alright to show everyone Nasser's past after dinner?" Xenia inquired as they stopped right at the doorstep of the dining hall. "I'm worried it might be inappropriate..."

Darius gently squeezed her hand. Turning to him, she almost melted when she saw his reassuring smile.

"We're all ready for it, Xen," Darius firmly reassured her. "All these years I knew that he was the culprit, and I want to know just how exactly he killed my father. I want to witness it all happen, Xen..."

"Alright then," she weakly whispered.

From there, Darius signaled for the guards to open the door for them. Walking inside, everyone was already present in the dining hall. The Queen Mother, Freya, Gideon, Bartos, Calypso, Osman, and Jayra were all seated and waiting for them to arrive.

After they've all exchanged some pleasantries, they all had a good meal together while also discussing some important matters. All the while, Xenia found herself listening in on as much of the discussions as possible. She knew she had missed a lot during those thirteen days she was in the forest, but fortunately, everyone was safe while Darius's plan was still in progress.

Once everyone was finished, Darius proudly looked at her and told everyone, "It's only unfortunate that we didn't manage to find Princess Katelina, but Xen managed to get a hold of a magical pearl that had Nasser's past stored inside it..."

Everyone gasped at the revelation, their eyes falling onto her as they waited for her to speak. With the room's attention firmly on her, she gathered a bit of air before she began narrating how she had acquired Nasser's past. She blushed hard with their praises, and she bashfully murmured, "Please... I strongly believe that everything was destined to happen, so things will all work out for the good."

"Still, you're a blessing in disguise for our Kingdom!" Calypso burst out in awe.

She smiled, but that smile quickly faded when she shifted her gaze to Darius, the Queen Mother, Freya, and Calypso. She knew that they would be very much affected once the vision of King Lucian's death played out...

"I'm honestly hesitating to show you all these visions, but I do understand how time is very important and crucial for us especially now," Xenia murmured. "We need to act as fast as if we want to win against our enemies. And I must also remind all of you to remain calm and not to act on an impulse to whatever the vision will have you witness. To ensure that... Jayra will cast a spell so that no one will be able to feel... murderous, I suppose."

Xenia gave her friend a knowing look, to which Jayra nodded before casting a calming spell to prevent them all from going ballistic. Emotion was a very powerful factor that could affect one's rationality, so she had to make sure that tonight, no one would rush out to kill Nasser as soon as they were finished watching the visions.

Waiting for the spell to take effect, she looked at Darius for some sort of confirmation to continue. As soon as he gave her a nod, Xenia then grabbed the shell from her pouch and let it rest on her palm. Mentally uttering the spell Polo taught to her inside her head, the shell floated towards the center of the table before them. It then opened up, and inside it, the magical pearl shone brightly, reflecting a light that started showing the visions of Nasser's past.