The Cursed Prince

Actually, Maxim didn't come alone to Lakeshire to get Emmelyn. He was accompanied by his group of trusted knights. No matter what, he was the king and his safety was paramount.

They didn't show themselves around King Loriel after he met Emmelyn to keep his persona as Maxim. However, they still protected him from afar.

They traveled with the king's small group to the city after city and kept their distance. Most of the king's knights looked like merchants or travelers so as not to attract attention.

For Maxim, it would be very easy to summon them to help him and Emmelyn should the snow queen try to give them a problem. And not only those knights, but Maxim also had another help.

The royal family of Summeria was protected by three very powerful wizards and one of them actually went with him to look for Emmelyn.

Since Maxim didn't want to create a commotion, he already told the wizard, by the name of Renwyck, to wait for him in Varias. It was also his hometown, so Maxim wanted to give the wizard an opportunity to visit his family.

Varias was a town located three days away from Kilshade. Renwyck was relaxing there and met his brother's family while waiting for the king's order.

Now might be a good time to summon Renwyck Of Varias to come and help him, if they were really going to go up against the snow queen.  Maxim was very confident with Renwyck's power, in addition to his own king's knights. They wouldn't lose out to anyone.

"Let's just continue to Castilse," Emmelyn still kept her decision. "I will not take risks."

She realized, being a parent changed her a lot. In the past, she wouldn't care about her own safety, she was bolder and a risk-taker. Now, all she ever thought about was her daughter. What would happen to Harlow if Emmelyn did something.

She understood that it was different with Maxim. The man was still single and had no dependents. He didn't have anyone to come home to... yet. So, he was more adventurous than her.

"Okay... I will do whatever you want," said Maxim. 

He paid for their accommodation and they ate dinner together before they rested. Tomorrow they would continue their journey to the Summerian capital. Kira didn't eat dinner with them. Apparently, she was still upset that Emmelyn changed their plan one-sidedly.

Maxim told Emmelyn to let Kira be. He was sure the pirate princess would be fine on her own.

***

Maxim was wrong about Kira. He didn't know the woman that well to make such a conclusion. When they got ready to leave for Castilse, Lysander reported to him that Kira had left them to go to Mount Tempest.

"What?" Maxim's eyes widen in surprise. "She left alone? When?"

"I am not sure," Lysander replied. "She came down from her room this morning wearing her new coat. I didn't think anything about it. But the inn owner told me just now that his son saw Miss Kira went toward Mount Tempest with her horse."

"Oh my gosh..." Emmelyn massaged her temple. She didn't know Kira was really stubborn. Couldn't she wait to see the snow in four more months? Didn't she have any fears?

Then, she realized Kira was much braver than her, and she was also more powerful than her. Kira could easily fight and beat up six men in Glasswell. She must be used to violence and hardships and had such high confidence in her own capabilities.

She was not Emmelyn who was scared of many things and only wanted to go home to her daughter. Kira was something else, she thought worriedly.

Emmelyn sighed and looked at Maxim. "I can't leave her behind. I will be such a bad friend if I left her alone. I promised to bring her to Summeria and meet Edgar.. and..."

She had another mission by getting on Kira's good side. She wanted Kira to find Regan, her teacher's son who was captured by her pirates' group and sold somewhere.

Emmelyn owed it to her teacher to return his son to him in one piece. She hoped Regan was still alive and still could be saved.  For that, she needed Kira.

"So, you want to go after her?" Maxim asked Emmelyn seriously. "We can do that. I can also summon help."

"The wizard, you mean?" Emmelyn asked Maxim with doubts clearly decorating her face. "We don't have time. You said he is in a different city, quite far from here. He won't make it to come in time."

"Well, we still need several days to climb Mount Tempest and get to the witch's place," said Maxim. "If I sent a pigeon now to Renwyck, he can immediately come to Mount Tempest and meet us there. He can travel faster than us because..."

"Because...?" Emmelyn was wondering why Maxim halted his words.

'Because Renwyck rides a dragon,' was what Maxim wanted to say. However, he knew this would make Emmelyn feel suspicious. She would wonder who Maxim really was to be able to summon such a powerful wizard with his dragon.

So, he changed the topic. "Just trust me. So, what do you want? Should we go to Mount Tempest?"

Emmelyn now felt she didn't really have another choice but to go. She didn't want to leave Kira behind and risk her dying or turned into an ice statue at the hands of the snow queen or the white witch.

Her father, Grim Serpent might chase Emmelyn if he heard of what happened to Kira. He would definitely blame Emmelyn for that. Now, the last thing Emmelyn wanted was another enemy who would want her dead.

Not only that, another reason why she must make sure Kira survived was to get Regan back. She felt so guilty toward her teacher for causing him to lose his son. She wanted to make up for it, as much as she could.

Emmelyn touched the snake pendant hanging from her neck and secretly hoped that the white witch was truly Margueritte The White, Mrs. Adler's sister, and she would not treat Emmelyn as her enemy.

"Yeah... let's go," Emmelyn whispered. Her voice was now filled with determination.