The Crown’s Entrapment

Arriving at Cordon’s main harbor, Darius and Xenia were quick to get ready as they hastily put on their clothes. She couldn’t believe that she had passed out like that, but what’s even worse was that her mate didn’t even bother waking her up early enough to properly get ready.

“I blame you for this, you know,” Xenia half-heartedly grumbled as she haphazardly put on her dress. “What would your citizens think once they see their potential queen looking like she just went through the ringer?”

Darius’ silence almost made her actually angry as she hastily casted a spell on the both of them to mask their scent. To think that he was unapologetic about all of this was both infuriating and weirdly arousing.

“Darius? I’m talking here,” she sighed. “I know you like it when I pass out from sheer pleasure, but at least put some effort in making me presentable as your potential queen.”

“If that was the goal, then you’re already more than ready,” Darius coolly replied.

“What?”

Turning around, Xenia almost let out a traitorous snigger once she saw the smug smirk adorning her mate’s face.

“You wouldn’t mind me walking out there looking like I just had my soul pounded out of me?” she chided, inwardly chuckling as she kept her angry facade up.

“Yes,” he unapologetically nodded. “On top of it practically declaring that I’ve taken you as mine, you also look far more ravishing while you’re disheveled.”

…

….

“I can’t believe you just said that to me.”

Xenia knew that she was fighting a losing battle the moment Darius flashed his teeth with a cool smile. He knew exactly what he was doing, and her growing arousal only made her preparations go even slower despite the Lucian already making its preparations to dock.

“Ugh! You’re distracting me!” she whined, her furious blush making her complaints lose much of its punching power. “I hate you…”

“You know you don’t mean that,” he chuckled.

The princess sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. With her hair still looking like it just went through a storm, she just knew that there wouldn’t be enough time for her to even make herself look presentable enough for the masses. Meanwhile, Darius already looked as regal as ever, with his annoyingly handsome face ready to dazzle and impose upon his adoring masses.

“It’s not fair,” she grumbled. “Why do you get all the time to prepare while I only get a few minutes?”

“In my defense, you didn’t wake up after the first three times I tried to wake you,” Darius shrugged, the mischief in his eyes never leaving despite his apologetic tone. “From there, I just hoped that you’d wake up on your own before you left me no choice but to wrap you in blankets and chuck you into the nearest carriage.”

Xenia let out a breath of resignation as she dropped her hair brush. She could already hear the deckhands drop anchor, and from there, she’d have to walk out with Darius whether she likes it or not… Unless…

“Xen?”

Ignoring her mate’s curious tone, she made her way to Darius’s clothes, searching for something comfortable for her to wear while also being able to mask her presence. It wouldn’t be much, but it would probably work for her current idea.

“Get out of those regal robes, Darius,” she practically commanded as she tossed away every nonviable piece of clothing from the drawer. “If I’m going out there looking like a wet cat, then you’ll be coming with me looking the same.”

“What are you…”

“Remember when you first caught me while I’m in disguise?” Xenia began, already tossing out her own dress in favor of donning one of Darius’s smaller trousers. “It’s gonna be faster for the both of us if I just went out as Xen the adventurer. That way, I won’t get recognized while also just doing away with all of the fluff that I have to go through to look presentable.”

Darius curiously frowned as he caught one of the shirts she threw at him. “And I’ll be getting out of my clothes… why?”

“Do you really want to be seen walking around with what looks to be a poor young lad while looking like you can feed him for a year with one of your rings alone?” Xenia smirked. “No, you don’t. Besides, wouldn’t it be fun to just walk around not being recognized by everyone? It would be like our own secret day being with the masses.”

Hearing the proposal, her mate visibly hummed in eager curiosity as he nodded. “I wouldn’t mind it, but your idea does have merit. I’d want that, yes.”

“See?” she smirked, her hands already doing up her hair in a way that he could easily hide it under a small hat that she found inside the cabin. “You can also look at this as a way to see the will of the people. We’d be able to hear any sort of rumors that might be circulating under our noses. People talk, especially when they think they’re out of earshot.”

Taking another look in the mirror, Xenia nodded to herself as she took stock of her current disguise. It wasn’t as great as her previous ones, but it would suit her current purposes. Besides, she just needed something that would be able to hide her passing familiarity. Not every citizen in Cordon intimately knew her face yet, and that was more than enough leeway for her to relax her usually stringent standards.

As for Darius, however…

“It would seem that I’m far from ready for this,” Darius blandly stated, his own makeshift disguise barely hiding his identity.

“You just need a bit more work,” Xenia smiled. “Don’t worry. After I’m done with you, nobody will be able to recognize you.”

Letting her skills do the talking, her motions were all second nature to her as she transformed Darius from the handsome king that he was to a mere pauper that didn’t look too out of place beside her own cover.

Well… A handsome and rather imposing pauper, but it would have to do.

“That should do it,” she nodded. “And just in time too.”