The Crown's Entrapment

The next morning, Clara woke up early, but to her surprise, the space beside her was already empty.  She had slept well last night, and she was sure that she had felt Gilas's warmth beside her some time after she had nodded off. Honestly, she was just waiting for him to join her in bed last night when he told her that he would check on his mother first. Unfortunately, she fell asleep without her even knowing while waiting for him.

Clearing her thoughts about the whereabouts of her mate, Clara immediately got up and readied herself for the day ahead. She would first have breakfast with her mother-in-law, before then bidding her farewell since the older woman would be leaving the castle without her and Gilas. Unfortunately, as much as she or Gilas would like to accompany her, they both had to stay in the castle to attend to some more pressing matters.

Looking around, she couldn't help but notice that she would now constantly stay in Gilas's bedchamber for the night instead of using her own room within the castle. It was quite bigger than her previous bedchamber, but then again, Gilas was the Great Constable of the Kingdom, the second highest position after the King. It was no wonder then that the King had granted him one of the best chambers in the castle.

As such, she couldn't help but smile at how her things were now arranged within the room. It was probably the Queen Mother who had handled the transfer of her things from her previous chamber to Gilas's chamber.

"I miss the Queen Mother," Clara murmured.

Well, she and the Queen Mother had just greeted one another a few days ago at Freya's Ritual of Marking. No… What she missed was her bonding moments with the Queen Mother whenever they were alone.

Absently, her eyes darted toward the empty bed. She couldn't smell Gilas's scent on it at the moment, and she couldn't help but feel a bit of pity that she couldn't smell his lingering scent.

"I was sure that he was with me last night…" Clara pondered as she searched for something to change in today's activities. She was sleeping like a log, she thought, so no wonder then that Gilas didn't bother waking her up.

[Why? Are you disappointed with not having another intimate moment with him?] her wolf Sheba teased her, as was expected.

Clara simply raised an eyebrow as she gave herself one last look in the full-size mirror. There was no way that she would entertain Sheba's teasing right now.

[Hmm… Trying your best to ignore me, huh?] her wolf scoffed. [But you won't be able to ignore how your body is reacting right now-]

"Stop it already!"

Clara hissed at her own reflection. She was already more than aware of it, and Sheba's mocking laugh only made her face burn even hotter. What else could she do? Her body already had a mind of its own apparently, and her body was craving for Gilas's touch. There was no point in hiding it anymore, no point in ignoring or even denying it. Wasn't that why she had already let Gilas do whatever he wanted with her body? She had already lost it…

[Stop being a nagger already,] Clara retorted with a sigh. [My ears have been bleeding long enough.]

As usual, her words only earned a burst of amused laughter from her wolf. Shaking her head, she went ahead and prepared herself for the day ahead. And as soon as she was done, she quickly went out of the bedchamber to look for her mother-in-law. Of course, as she had planned, the two of them had a wonderful breakfast without Gilas since the latter was already busy with work. Afterwards, Clara then escorted her mother-in-law through the hallways all the up to her carriage.

"You and Gilas shouldn't busy yourself with me at all. Instead, take your time in finishing whatever it is that you two need to do here," Shila remarked just as they stopped right in front of the carriage. "Besides, I'll also be very busy making a few changes to the manor. So if you're worried about me getting bored being alone, then don't. I also have a jam-packed schedule like you and Gilas."

Clara smiled. "I understand, Mother," she nodded. "Unfortunately, Gilas seems to be very busy today, so it's only me who will have to send you off."

Shila nodded with a smile, but her face suddenly became serious as she asked, "Is Gilas going to see Pinra today then?"

Clara was startled by that question. Still, she had already assumed that Gilas had already talked to his mother about this last night.

"I'm not sure yet, Mother. But if he would, I won't let him see Pinra alone," she directly voiced out. "I still don't trust Pinra after all this time."

The older woman nodded. "I understand. Still, I hope that Pinra will be given a second chance if she truly and genuinely wants to turn a new leaf and become a better person," Shila sincerely stated. "I really feel sorry for her with how her life turned out so far…"

Clara inhaled deeply before then letting out a loud sigh to clear her throat. She was far from agreeing with her Mother-in-law at all in regards to Pinra. She didn't feel sorry for Pinra, and she was sure that the woman was planning something even now.

"Hmm… Sorry… I just can't help but not feel sorry for her, Mother. I mean, Pinra always had a choice like how Gilas had chosen to join the right side with us," Clara began with a pensive tone.

"Really, whatever happened to her was her own choice. She chose to become evil and do heinous things just to please Nasser and get his recognition when she could've simply lived out a life of loving herself first and doing things that could make her a good and successful person. But instead of doing that, she chose to try hard in making her father see her by doing bad things just to please him…"

She didn't know, why but her gut feeling was telling her that Pinra hadn't earned her redemption just yet. Why would she even ask for Gilas to speak with her when she could've simply atoned for her sins inside her cell by keeping quiet and reflecting on all the bad things she did?

Her mother-in-law gave her a courteous smile. She then held Clara's hand and said, "Not all are the same, dear. You're lucky you have this strong character in you, but you and Pinra grew up in different environments. Sometimes, things look so easy in your own perspective, but the same couldn't be said for others, especially once you've already experienced the things that made you who you are right now…"

With a slight squeeze on her hand, Shila then added, "But that's all there is for now, I think. I'll bid you farewell for now, Clara. And please do take care of Gilas." She gave her a soft teasing smile, "You see, my son always looks like he's over the moon whenever he sees and feels how worried and thoughtful you are towards him, and I would really like for you two to, well… Go further than that."

Shila's last words made Clara blush so hard just from the insinuation. But before she could even find her words to answer, the older woman had already turned around to leave, chuckling as she entered her carriage.

Clara could only watch as her mother-in-law's carriage rolled out of the castle gates. Truly, she could tell that the older woman was indeed having too much fun teasing her and Gilas whenever she could.

"At least you're having fun," Clara chuckled before turning around and going back to her duties.