The Crown’s Entrapment

After a bit of explaining to his admiral about their current plans, Darius finally managed to walk out of the Lucian with Xen in tow. They looked a bit out of place at first, but after a bit of people watching, they managed to mimic much of the masses’ mannerisms. Before long, they were strolling down the port’s nearest market, casually walking amongst the populace as if they weren’t even royalty.

As for their current disguises, his mate had no need for a new name, simply going by Xen as she once did back when they first met. For him, however…

“Did you see that, Dar? Do you think we can get that for later?”

Dar was hilariously bad as far as nicknames went. Regardless, it was the first one they came up with on short notice. He would have to change it on the off-chance they had to go out like this again, but for now, it would have to do.

“This is nice,” he hummed in content. “I didn’t think I’d like walking amongst the populace like this, but this is a nice change of pace.”

“Right?” Xen smiled. “There’s a certain charm to simply taking a casual stroll out in the streets. We get to see the situation on the ground ourselves, all while not being recognized or swarmed by the people.”

Darius nodded in agreement. Looking at it now, he might just see if he could do this disguise by himself the next time he had the time. He could see a lot of applications for such a skill, and it would shore up his espionage skills for if he ever needed to infiltrate an enemy stronghold or possibly do his own investigations.

Under the guise of a pauper, Darius kept an ear out as he walked with Xen. While the stroll was meant more as a date between them, it also gave him the opportunity to hear a few rumors circulating around his kingdom.

“Have you heard? That human princess wants to participate in the trials.”

“She’s going to die… Shouldn’t the king stop her?”

“Having the Ebodian princess die under our watch might just open a new front to this war we’re waging…”

The more they walked around, the more of these rumors began to filter into his purview. Slowly but surely, the frown forming on his face deepened the more he heard the lack of trust his people had in Xen’s abilities.

“Dar?”

“Aren’t you offended?” he growled out, his anger against his own people starting to grow the more the rumors kept on being echoed out onto the streets. “We should clear those rumors up while we’re here?”

“Are you crazy? That might blow our cover,” she vehemently opposed. “I can just prove them wrong in a few days anyway. Why not just wait then?”

Darius almost wanted to nod, but after another round of gossip passed by his ears, his thinning patience had completely evaporated. He was going to stop this slander, whether or not she liked it or not.

“Dar?”

Stopping in the middle of the market, the undercover king ignored the worried look on Xen’s face as he took in their surroundings. Making sure that there were enough people to hear his words, he began to talk loudly, obviously as a way to make sure that he was heard.

“I for one think that Princess Xenia can overcome those trials,” he argued aloud, acting as if he was talking to Xen even if his attention was everywhere but. “She has what it takes. Why else would King Darius have her as his mate?”

“What?”

“Don’t you see it?” Darius continued, seemingly answering his mate’s confused question. “One look at her and you’ll see that she’s hiding a bit more behind her beauty. Why, I bet she can fight with a sword already.”

The king almost smirked when he heard his citizens’ opinions starting to sway to his needs. Also, Xen began blushing up a storm the more he praised her in public, practically trying to hide her cheeks under the brim of her hat as he kept on talking.

“Yeah… I can see that happening…”

“But she’s just a human, right?”

“If she can fight with a sword, maybe she’s hiding a bit of her strength for the trials…”

The public opinion around them became a buzz of activity, men and women alike debating on whether or not Xen would even be able to survive. Still, even if some of them were still a bit too slanderous for his own liking, the fact that most of the people in the market were starting to rethink their opinions would have to do for now.

“There,” he smirked in satisfaction, his tone returning back down to a mere hush. “That should do it. Right, Xen?”

Xen didn’t respond. Instead, her hand was still on the brim of her hat, pulling it back down in an attempt to hide her face.

Before he could even ask what was wrong, she had already pulled him with her out of the crowded markets. He could feel her trembling, and he was starting to get worried.

“What’s wrong?”

She didn’t reply. It wasn’t until they were well and away from any significant number of people that she looked up to face him. Instead of a frown, his worry was immediately relieved once he saw the barely held laughter trying to escape her lips.

“Y-You didn’t have to do all of that!” she laughed aloud. “That didn’t sound like me at all!”

“I was merely telling the truth,” he chuckled. “Am I not wrong that-“

“Hey, doesn’t he look like the king?”

…

…Oh dear.

“What? Oh, him?” Xen quickly scoffed. “He looks nothing like him!”

“Really?” the random passerby frowned. “Looks just like him to me.”

Darius could only look to Xen for directions as she worked hard to convince the man. Before he knew it, her hands were already on his cheeks, stretching them in an obviously exaggerated way.

“Nah. Your eyes need some recalibration,” she rolled her eyes. “This ugly oaf isn’t the king.”

To their relief, the man simply shrugged before walking away.

…

…

“We should probably return to the castle,” Darius suggested after a bout of awkward silence.

“Right,” Xen nodded. “It’s starting to get late anyway.”

The two then shared a knowing look, one that spoke that they knew they’ve more than overstayed their welcome. Playing with disguises was fun, but maybe they should shelve the thought for another time.