The Crown's Entrapment

At Hindman Manor, Lock Heart Pack

After making sure that she was well prepared and rested, Clara went ahead with her plans to make her way to the Hindman Manor. The journey was shortlived, and she quickly made her way up to the manor as soon as she was able.

"Lady Clara?" Jayra greeted her with a smile. "This is a welcome surprise."

"A surprise?" Clara blinked in surprise as she invited herself into the manor. "I had thought that I sent a forewarning of my arrival here."

"Well, nothing really came here, no," Jayra wondered aloud. "Maybe you were just faster than your messenger?"

Clara didn't know what to say as she simply allowed herself to be led by the human mage. She didn't think that her message wouldn't be received before she arrived. Then again, did it even matter? She was already there, right?

"I… I apologize for coming here so suddenly then," Clara mumbled out. "I guess I didn't give the messenger raven enough time to arrive."

"It's nothing, Lady Clara," Jayra scoffed with a wave of her hand. "If anything, you should get faster ravens if that's the case. Either way, you're already here, right? There's no use fretting over something that's already happened."

"Yeah…" Clara sighed, a hint of relief coming into her tone. "I guess so…"

Her thoughts quickly went back to her being recently marked by Gilas. Sure, she had fully accepted that it was going to happen eventually, but she still had some hiccups regarding the situation that put a damper on her mood. One, she was pretty sure that she still harbored feelings for Darius, but it was slowly being eroded ever so slightly as her mate slowly came to the forefront of her mind.

[Still denying it, I see,] Sheba scoffed.

[No, I'm not,] Clara rolled her eyes. [It's just… surreal, I suppose…]

The fact that her feelings for Darius was even being threatened like this was a bittersweet realization that she had to learn how to process. Gilas's stock was rapidly rising in her heart, and while her first love still occupied a vast majority of her feelings, her mate was well on his way to eclipsing even that.

[I just didn't think this would happen,] Clara inwardly sighed. [It's… I just don't know how to feel about it right now.]

[You already know how you feel,] her wolf shook her head at her. [You're just still somehow clinging onto the past even though your future is already ahead of you.]

[I know, alright?] Clara admitted in defeat. [Just… Time… Just give me some time…]

[I sure hope that you don't take too much time before you seal the deal with Gilas.]

Ignoring her wolf's incessant remarks and teasing for now, Clara focused her attention more on her immediate surroundings. Somehow, she only now remembered that she was within the Hindman Manor, and the fact that Bella could be hiding anywhere somehow kept her on edge despite the lack of danger. Sure, she needed to thank her old friend as well, but she really didn't want to see her right now. At least, not before she had managed to center herself again.

Thankfully, Bella didn't seem to be present either. Or maybe she was somewhere Clara hadn't seen yet. Either way, Jayra eventually ushered her into what looked to be her personal workshop. Looking around, the whole area looked more like a haphazardly put together study more than anything. Still, if the utter familiarity that Jayra was showing in the room was any indication, then the amount of trust the mage was giving her was nothing short of amazing.

"So, what brings you here anyway?" Jayra asked with a smile as she leaned on one of the nearby shelves. "Bartos isn't here at the moment, and if you're here for Bella, you should've called for her by now."

Clara couldn't help but clear her throat as she firmly faced the mage. She was here for one thing and one thing only, and that was to thank the woman for healing her wounds. And maybe thank Bella as well… assuming that her old friend wouldn't be too much of a tease once she inevitably notices the mark on her shoulder.

After all, why else was she trying to avoid the woman…

"I wanted to thank you for healing my wounds," Clara began, a faint smile adorning her face. "I couldn't imagine the pain it must've been to try and treat someone like me."

"What? It's no big deal, Lady Clara," Jayra chuckled as she shook her head. "Your wounds were nothing compared to what I've dealt with in the past. Besides, you're King Darius's precious friend, and any friend of him is a friend of mine."

Clara fought the urge to flinch at that word. Friend… Oh, how she wished they went past that just a few weeks ago before… Gilas happened.

"Still, you didn't have to do that for me," Clara insisted. "You could've just let me see one of our many healers."

"Seriously, it's fine," Jayra insisted, a small frown now adorning her face. "I didn't even break a sweat."

Clara couldn't help but chuckle. "I suppose so…"

"Right?" Jayra giggled. "Besides, if there's anybody you should thank, it's-"

"Clara's here, right?!"

Before Jayra could even finish her sentence, the door had already swung open, Bella unceremoniously inviting herself into the room with what looked to be a crazed smile on her face.

"Clara!"

Upon hearing her name, Clara almost immediately wanted to shrink into herself. The unwanted attention was going to be the death of her, but unfortunately, she already knew what Jayra was about to tell her. She knew she had to thank Bella for her own efforts in getting her healed.

Still, that didn't mean she was ready for the relentless teasing she knew she was about to take.

Jayra couldn't help but chuckle as she spotted the new addition to the room. "Ah, great timing. I was just about to say-"

"You're alright! You're up and about and not dead!"