The Crown’s Entrapment

Gideon kept his eye on the prize as he pushed his horse forward. He knew he shouldn’t really think of Freya’s challenge as a selfish way to have his way with her, but that primal part of his mind still pulsed in the back of his mind despite his own adamance at the idea.

Although, he wouldn’t mind if he used it for something far lesser than having her all to himself.

Spurring his horse to go faster, Gideon clicked his tongue when Freya and her horse began to leave him in the dust. It had already taken a lot of stamina out of his horse to even keep pace with them, let alone catch up to them in the first place. But to think that their speed still wasn’t enough?

Well, her horse was named Speedy for a reason, he supposed.

“Keep up with me, will you?”

Giving his horse a few words of encouragement, he kept his body profile low as he spurred his horse onward. Even now, he could barely hear her screaming out in the distance. He didn’t know why, with her words being too unintelligible against the sound of the wind lapping against his ears, but the tone in her voice alone told him that she wasn’t feeling in the best of terms.

“Freya…”

Gideon took a deep breath before kicking the poor thing beneath him into overdrive. While he knew his chances of losing were practically guaranteed, he didn’t have the heart to care anymore when he just heard her voicing out whatever frustrations she had out into the open air.

He could only hope that he could help somehow. But to do that, he first had to catch up.

***

Riding through the wilderness, the cold air hitting Freya’s face did little to calm her fraying nerves. She didn’t know what came over her when she issued that challenge, but knowing that she gave out a reward so loaded that it almost made her blush just thinking about it.

“What the hell was I thinking?!”

Her rhetorical question echoed out into the woods, her own frustrations coming back to her even as she did her best to shake off the annoying feelings of doubt and confusion.

[Do you think he heard you scream just now?] Poona teased. [I’m not in the mood for this!]

Then again, since when was she ever in the mood to feel like she was being rocked back and forth between a rock and a hard place. Her poor heart had already had enough with all of the drama, and she just wanted to have all of her problems fall into neatly ordered places of priority.

[As if that’s how the world works~]

Freya groaned as she ignored her annoying wolf. So what if he heard her screaming out her frustrations? He was asking her what was wrong earlier, right? Then she might as well answer him!

“Are you still keeping up there?!” she called out, not bothering to turn around as she sped up. “Well, no matter! Cause I’m about to say it anyway!”

The sound of thundering hooves beneath her masked any and all noise as she began to scream. She didn’t care, how or why, just that she somehow managed to get all of this hesitation out of her chest.

“I don’t know what to make of you, okay! I just don’t know!” she yelled out, a few tears almost escaping her eyes. “I want to like you, but all of these conflicting memories just get in the way! All of these weird signals are just driving me mad!”

[Weird signals? I’m pretty sure he’s already laying it on thick for you~]

“Stop talking!”

Freya shook her head in frustration at both herself and at her stupid wolf for being right. Lord Gideon was clear in his intentions. Hell, he was practically ready to marry her the moment she said yes. No. The weird signals were coming more from within, from her memories of pining for Lord Gilas while simultaneously taking all the teasing from Lord Gideon for years.

It’s just… What was she supposed to think?! She already knew the easiest solution to all of her problems right now, but for the life of her, she just couldn’t take it. Did she really like Lord Gideon that way? Or was it merely the Mate Pull egging her on?

“ARGHH!!”

The rush of wind blowing past her almost froze her tears off as she closed her eyes. They were moving pretty quickly, and the slight scent of salt in the air told her that she was nearing their intended destination.

Opening her eyes, Freya quickly pulled on the reins, Speedy swiftly moving to her whims as she slowed down to a trot. Sure enough, the sparkling blue waters of the Moonlight Sea greeted her, the low light of the morning sun making the waves sparkle as it stood against the backdrop of white and green.

“Freya!”

Turning around, Freya quickly schooled her features, wiping away what few tears she held in her cheeks before donning a smirk that befitted her status as the winner of her race. Lord Gideon had finally arrived, and she had to at least be presentable for the inevitable questions she’d get.

“Looks like I won this one,” she scoffed, letting out a bit of a breath.

“So it would seem,” Lord Gideon frowned. “Are you alright? I heard you screaming earlier.”

Freya held her breath, her words carefully chosen as she answered, “I’m fine, Lord Gideon. I was merely screaming against the biting cold touching my cheeks earlier.”

“So you say,” he mumbled, clearly unconvinced. “You sounded distressed.”

“Like I said, it was just the cold,” she retorted, her gaze averting his own worried stare. “Anyway, with me being the winner, I get a reward from you as punishment.”

She didn’t see whatever it was he did. With her head still turned, she only heard his horse moving closer to hers before she turned around. To her surprise, he was practically only an arm’s length away from her.

“A reward then,” Gideon hummed. “Would it still count as punishment if I don’t mind doing so?”