The Cursed Prince

Emmelyn looked at Maxim with widened eyes. All things now seemed to fall into place.

So, Maxim, her old friend, was actually the king of Summeria....?

No wonder the king was looking for her. She initially thought King Loriel couldn't have possibly met her. She didn't know him.

Emmelyn didn't know any other king except her father and now her husband.

"Did you know anyone from Myreen?" Emmelyn asked Maxim in an urgent tone. "Your mother is a royal and she lived in Myreen for some time. Did she know anyone from the kingdom? Please tell me, tell me if your mother actually knows the Leoraleis!"

Maxim opened his mouth but before he said something, he suddenly changed his mind. His mother did have a relationship with the Myreen royal family. In fact... Maxim too, albeit indirectly.

Ahh.. he didn't want to talk about it. It would only leave a bad taste in his mouth. Maxim never met the Leoraleis and he didn't know them in person, but his mother kind of did.

Loriel remembered the conversation he had with his mother when he told her about Emmelyn. She was upset. She reminded Loriel that he was already betrothed to someone, some mindless girl from Myreen.

Maxim really didn't want to discuss it now with Emmelyn. They could postpone the conversation, right? They had something more urgent to do now, like... saving Kira from the white witch.

"What are you implying?" Finally, the undercover king asked Emmelyn. "That I have something to do with the curse that befell you?"

The truth was, that's what Emmelyn was currently thinking, however, seeing the pain in Maxim's face, she immediately brushed off those thoughts.

No way. Maxim must not have anything to do with her curse. Emmelyn knew him really well. They were kindred spirits. He was her best friend.

Wait...

That's not right.

She looked at him intently and realized, she didn't actually know the man well enough to know who he really was. So, he was the crown prince and now he was the king?

Was everything else about him was a lie too?

"Emmelyn, I can explain," Maxim stepped forward and touched Emmelyn's shoulder gently. 

"Try," said the woman curtly. She still acted polite before Maxim, not only because he was her friend but also because he was, apparently, a king. There were the wizard, Renwyck, and the knight, Lysander, standing around them now.

Emmelyn must not act harshly and beat the shit out of Maxim for lying to her and almost gave her a heart attack when she found out about the third bounty. However, now, Emmelyn's attitude was a bit distant.

This man was no longer the man she thought she knew. She would not make the mistake of listening to him without asking for confirmation.

"Can we talk about it later?" Maxim scratched his head. "I mean... I am already caught. You know my secrets now. I don't have other secrets to tell you. I can answer every burning question you have and I will explain in more detail if you wanted to know more."

He added, "However, I think now is not the right time. Remember what is the reason we come here in the first place?"

Emmelyn nodded weakly. "Yeah, I do."

She was worried that Kira was captured by the snow queen and made into an ice statue like these three people. She had all reasons to keep Kira safe and that's why they were here now.

She looked at Maxim probingly and saw the sincerity in his eyes. Finally, she lowered her head and nodded. There was no use to probe for an answer now. They had something more urgent to do.

Besides, no matter what, Maxim here was King Loriel Ashborn. He was the revered king of Summeria and Emmelyn shouldn't press the king before his two loyal men. She had to give him face.

"Let's hope Kira is okay," Maxim said. He heaved a sigh of relief and turned to Renwyck who had been observing the scene between Maxim and Emmelyn and quickly made his own conclusions. Maxim asked the wizard, "When did you get here?"

"Several hours ago," said Renwyck with respect. "I actually know the white witch. She is... an old friend of mine."

There was an air of mystery in his words that made Maxim think Renwyck didn't let on everything. Perhaps, his 'friendship' with the white witch was not as simple as he made it sound to be.

"Is she a good witch or evil?" Maxim asked him again.

Renwych smiled awkwardly and took some time to think of an answer, before he replied, "Margueritte is not your typical witch. She only thinks about herself. So, other people might find her to be... evil."

He glanced at the ice statues beside them and Maxim immediately got his point. So, if he asked Renwyck whether the white witch was good or evil, the answer would vary, depending on which perspective he wanted to see it.

The people who were turned into ice by her would think she was evil, but the white witch would say she only defended her interest by not letting people trespass her property.

"What did you say her name is?" Emmelyn suddenly spoke. She had heard Renwyck's words just now, calling the white witch as 'Margueritte.

Wasn't it the name of Mrs. Adler's witch sister? Were they really the same person?

If so, then Emmelyn considered herself very lucky.

It seemed, as soon as she landed in Atlantea, her luck really started to change.

"Yes, her name is Margueritte. Do you know her?" Renwyck turned to Emmelyn and asked her. He could already guess that this woman was the one whom the king had been looking for.

She looked so beautiful and he could really see her being a princess. However, Renwyck never expected the woman to be this brave to go up all the way to Mount Tempest to save her travel companion.

And now, it seemed she also knew Margueritte? He thought Emmelyn must be a special woman to know the king and now the white witch too.

"I've been looking for her, actually," Emmelyn said haltingly. "I know a woman who studied with her under the same witch, decades ago. Her name is Mrs. Adler. She said, if I showed Margueritte this necklace, she will recognize it."

She took out the snake pendant from under her collar and showed it to Renwyck. "I mean... if this is the same person, she used to be called Margueritte The White."

Renwyck nodded. "Yeah... that's her."

"Oh... that's good." Emmelyn was relieved. Not only was the white witch friends with Renwyck, she seemed to be the same witch that Emmelyn was looking for. She couldn't wait to meet Margueritte and hopefully get some insights about the curse that befell her.

Now, her journey to find Myreen wouldn't be in vain. She would meet Maxim's mother who would be able to point her in the right direction to find Myreen.

She could also meet Margueritte and, hopefully, the powerful witch would give her some insights about breaking the curse that had made her suffer so much.

Maxim looked at Emmelyn with a faint smile. Seeing Emmelyn's face beam in relief and happiness, he felt the same relief and happiness.

Finally, their good intention to save Kira, if she needed saving, that is, gave Emmelyn an opportunity to meet the witch that she had been wanting to meet.

Margueritte The White seemed to be very powerful and there was a good chance that she was not their enemy. They still needed to see her to confirm this, but with Renwyck by their side, Maxim was very feeling confident.

"Let's go up and see Margueritte, then," he said to Emmelyn. "I hope she can really help you."

"Your Majesty, do you want to ride Aslain to get to the top?" Renwyck asked Maxim. "If you walked, you will need several more hours."

"Have you been there?" Maxim asked back.

"Yeah. As I said, Margueritte is a friend," Renwyck replied. He pointed at the top of the mountain and they could see the blue object that sat nicely there. "That's her castle. You can see it from here, but it will take a while to get there."

Maxim turned to Emmelyn and asked her opinion. "What do you think? Do you want to ride the dragon to go up there? It will be faster."

Emmelyn batted her eyes when she heard this question. Riding a dragon would surely be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her. She never even saw a dragon until today, and now she would get the opportunity to ride one?

Whoaa...

"Is it hard?" she asked him with a low voice. She couldn't imagine how it would feel, to fly high in the air atop the dragon's back.

It might be like riding a horse but the horse was flying, right? 

Maxim cleared his throat. "It can be daunting and the first time is always quite hard because you have to keep your balance differently from when you ride a horse, but I think you can get used to it quickly. I know you are smart and brave."

His words of compliments now made Emmelyn's face flushed red. Today, things suddenly became different between them. Before, everything he said, she would take them for granted. He was a friend, so of course, he would compliment her.

But now that she found out who he really was... and the fact that King Loriel Ashborn was said to be in love with her, Emmelyn could no longer accept his compliment as is.

Gosh, Maxim. Why did you have to make things complicated between us? Emmelyn cursed inwardly.