The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 195: The Trials

Chapter 195: The Trials

"A pigeon... How interesting..."

Nikolai mumbled to himself as he watched the curious bird fly right past him. He most certainly couldn’t recall ever seeing this bird in Valcrez, considering that ravens and crows were the more common ones seen. Whoever that pigeon belonged to, it wasn’t from their kingdom.

"Oh, did you see it fly past you?"

He turned around to greet the person he was most intimately familiar with. To his surprise, Mineah had snuck up behind him, her eyes remained glued on the pigeon now flying beyond the horizon.

"You recognize the owner of the pigeon, don’t you?" Nikolai casually stated as he looked at her. "Only someone from your kingdom would ever use a pigeon and given the fact that you and your people are the only foreigners living here, there’s no other possibility."

"Ouch! I’m really hurt hearing that. You still think of us as foreigners?" Mineah teased with a fake hurt expression. "Even after marrying into the royal family and spending so much time with you?"

"While I’ll ask you to forgive my choice of words, it’s not as simple as it sounds, unfortunately. At least, not for the average citizen below," Nikolai explained as he moved to hug Mineah from behind. "Also, I know you know that I don’t think that way. Hell, I’m sure nobody thinks you’re a foreigner in the palace. You’re a part of our family now. A Valcrezian true and true."

Mineah hummed in contentment as she leaned into his embrace, his strong back making for a good and warm wall for her to lean on. "You got me there, Lai. I think I’m still more Ebodian than I thought I was."

"Which is why you used the pigeon to send whatever message you needed to," Nikolai finished the thought. "What brought it on? Isn’t Nik at your disposal for such tasks?"

Mineah sighed as she explained herself, "Nik’s busy keeping tabs on my sister and her trials. I can’t just pull him out of there only for him to act messenger when he’s better off doing his original job."

"Can’t argue with that logic," Lai nodded in agreement. "Still, a pigeon?"

"I need it to keep in touch with Mother and Wizard Lurio back home," she further explained. Especially concerning my brother’s situation among other family matters. I hope you’ll understand."

Nikolai narrowed his eyes. He still wasn’t sure what to think of such things, but he supposed that her reasons were understandable.

"Very well," he mumbled as he leaned into Mineah, pulling her closer into a tighter hug. "I’ll allow it."

"Thanks, Lai," Mineah beamed as she craned her neck to look up at him. "I knew you’d understand."

Nikolai simply hummed as he rocked both of their bodies to the unseen tune, their eyes looking up at the sky turning dark as he thought about the things to come. He could only hope that nothing bad would happen so that they could finally have some semblance of peace of mind after everything they’d been through...

*****

It was another usual night as Mineah stirred on the bed and carefully extracted herself from her husband’s arms. She looked at the balcony where the moonlight filtered through the chamber, casting an ethereal glow.

She sat on the bed and retrieved a palm-sized disc resting on the bedside table. It was a unique device her mother let her have, allowing her to witness Xenia’s trials through visions. It had been a while since she last saw Xenia who had entered the Element Forest a few days ago to start her trials.

"Right, the trials are still ongoing..." Mineah found herself mumbling out loud upon noticing how the disc glowed. Casting a quick glance at her slumbering husband, she ensured he remained sleeping before refocusing on the disc.

"I just hope she doesn’t get herself killed somehow..."

Pulling up the disc, Mineah chanted a spell that would enable her to watch the trials from where it was happening in the Element Forest. The Element Forest was filled with danger so she could only hope that her sister was still doing fine despite it all.

As soon as her chant was completed, a puff of smoke erupted from the disc. Then, the telltale light of visions soon followed as the smoke cloud it first ejected became the medium for which the vision was shown to her. In it, she saw that Xenia was currently making her way through what appeared to be a trial that required agility and speed.

"You can do this, Sister," Mineah whispered as her eyes remained glued to what she was watching. "I know you can..."

Watching Xenia move, Mineah almost found herself moving along with her sister despite her actions not even remotely helping her in the slightest. She was so deeply absorbed in all this that she didn’t even realize that her husband eventually noticed what she was doing.

"Watching something, Mine?"

"It’s the trials Xenia is going through in order to become the Queen," Mineah explained, her eyes never leaving the disc even as she felt Nikolai move behind her. "She’s doing remarkably well so far. I know she’ll emerge victorious in the end."

"Seems like she’s doing well for herself," Nikolai hummed in approval as he began watching with her.

They both watched as Xenia navigated her current trial with speed and finesse that even a few veteran warriors would find hard to execute. Mineah couldn’t help but feel proud as she watched her sister move with immense confidence.

"I feel like there was no point worrying given how good she is," Mineah chuckled as she finally moved her eyes away from the disc. "I am hungry," she pouted.

"We have some fruits. Let me get you one," he said as he stood up from the bed. He was topless with his back displayed to her revealing the beautiful image of soaring vultures etched onto his back, the Mark of Eternity.

The mark on his back had a story that had something to do with Valcrez’s prophecy she read from Rosela’s mind before. She was curious and had been wanting to ask Nikolai about it but hesitated as she would feel more guilt for hiding the truth from him about her angel blood and Vulcan’s soul inside Ezeikel’s body while Nikolai had been completely honest with her.