The Crown’s Entrapment

“Something urgent?!” Osman burst out with a frown.

The admiral fumed as he waited outside his King’s mountain cabin. He knew for a fact that the two lovebirds were at it again, but what else was he supposed to do other than wait for them to finish? Even now, even if they thought that they were being sneaky, he could practically hear Xen’s moans leaking through the cabin walls.

“Seriously, those two just couldn’t stop humping each other…”

Shrugging, Osman leaned by the cabin doors, his mind turning as he decided to get some sort of petty revenge on their constant sexcapades. They wanted to waste time instead of focusing on training, did they?

Well, he could play at that game if they wanted.

*****

“Sorry we took so long.”

“It’s fine, Your Majesty,” Osman nodded. “I understand.”

“It was… urgent,” King Darius vaguely added, as if his usual stoic facade would hide the fact that Xen was practically glowing beside him. “It couldn’t wait, so I addressed it as swiftly as I possibly could.”

“Right,” Osman nodded in a patronizing manner. “Anyway, we’ll get on with the next batch of training once you’re both up to it.”

Xen raised an eyebrow. “Both?”

Osman kept a straight face even as he inwardly sniggered at his idea of a dual-faced prank. “You’re both attached to the hip anyway, and King Darius also needs to prepare himself just to even watch you,” he pointed out with a deadpan delivery. “So yes, you both need to prepare.”

“What’re you planning, Osman?”

Ignoring the small glare being leveled onto him by His Majesty, the admiral kept his cards close to his chest as he responded, “Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as the previous ones. Besides, I think you’ll get a kick out of this one.”

Darius raised an eyebrow in curiousity, but he pushed no further as he kept his silence. Instead, he trailed behind Xen as he waited for the admiral to enact the next training session.

“Right. If you would both follow me…”

Leading the way, Osman trekked even higher up the mountain, leaving the cabin behind as he made his way to a spot that he knew would suit his purposes well. Acting as the trial by fire, it didn’t necessarily mean that it would have literal fire involved. Just having enough heat would be more than enough… That, and the knowledge of making said heat even worse.

Making their way through the woods, the first one to notice something was his King as he telepathically reached out to him.

[Is that a small shack out in the middle of the woods?] Darius asked him. [I don’t recall that being here.]

[I built it yesterday,] Osman lied. He actually built it while the two were being ‘busy’ with each other. It didn’t even take too much of his time. [Don’t worry, I can dismantle it later if needed.]

Hearing his King’s hum of acceptance, Osman took that as his sign to continue their journey to their destination. Eventually, they reached the shack, where the admiral almost waved the two forward as he opened the door.

Almost immediately, a cloud of scalding hot steam erupted from within the shack.

“Welcome to something that I call a steam box,” Osman began, his hand still holding the door open. “There’s nothing complex to it all. No tricks. Just you, and how well you can hold up to the element.”

“I see,” Xen nodded in understanding. “I’m assuming that you want me to get in there?”

“Of course,” Osman almost scoffed. “Nothing fancy to it at all. Just stay in there for the rest of the day and I’ll consider that as you having succeeded.”

“Osman, I thought that you’ll be testing her in the realm of fire,” his King curiously asked. “I can’t see how this ties to it.”

“Ah, but fire can come in many forms,” Osman sagely explained. “Most people forget that it’s not the fire itself that’s dangerous. It’s the many effects it has on the environment that can truly kill. Smoke, ash, heat, all byproducts of the self-same element. And of course, steam is one of them.”

“I don’t like this,” Darius hummed in pensiveness.

“Don’t worry, I can handle it,” Xen smugly stepped forward, assuaging her mate with her usual bravado. “What’s a little steam compared to an actual fire?”

“Don’t underestimate this tiny shack, Princess,” Osman chuckled. “Who knows? You might just be surprised at what’s in store for you.”

In truth, the steam box itself wasn’t truly dangerous. It was the fact that it was built right on top of a noxious sulfuric hot spring that was the true killer. Well, that, and the intense heat that the humidity was multiplying tenfold. Sure, the whole thing was therapeutic in short bursts, but prolonged exposure would test anybody’s endurance to the literal fires of the dormant volcano.

“Will she-“

“Yes, My King, she will go in alone,” Osman pre-emptively answered his king’s question. “Unless you want to watch her, of course. The box is large enough to hold maybe two people at maximum, so you can definitely squeeze in with her if you want.”

Osman watched as the couple looked at one another in what looked to be a silent contest. Xen obviously didn’t mind going in alone, but his King was a whole other story as he exuded authority.

He couldn’t help but smirk. This was exactly what he wanted to happen.

“Feel free to strip, by the way,” Osman added. “Those clothes will be ruined by the steam, after all.”

“What? I don’t think that’s needed,” Xen naively smirked. “I can handle a little heat.”

“Likewise,” King Darius nodded. “And I shall accompany her inside this box to keep an eye on her.”

“If you insist, Your Majesty,” Osman shrugged. “I’ll call out to you once the day is done. Otherwise, leaving the box would mean that you failed, Princess.”

“As if that’ll happen,” she scoffed. “I’ve dealt with your bullshit before, Osman, and I’ve wisened up to some of your tricks.”

“Oh? Feel free to pass this test then, seeing as there’s absolutely none of those tricks in here,” Osman chuckled. “Just remember, if you’re feeling sweaty, feel free to strip~”