The Cursed Prince

"Okay, if you say so," said Maxim. He patted Emmellyn's shoulder gently to calm her down. Then, he gave quick orders to Lysander to organize his other men and told them about the change of plan.

He also sent the pigeon to Renwyck and explained what happened. Maxim was not afraid of any witch if he had Renwyck with him. The wizard had proven himself capable in many battles and missions.

"Let's go," he said to Emmelyn after making sure everything was taken care of. Emmelyn was anxious about what happened to Kira and couldn't really say anything. She only nodded silently. Her mind was filled with the worst-case scenario.

Hopefully, Kira was fine, she kept chanting her wish silently.

***

The journey to the top of Mount Tempest was quite difficult. As soon as they went up halfway, the temperature dropped and became very chill. Luckily Emmelyn already bought a new thicker coat so she could wrap herself in it and get warm.

Maxim, however, didn't seem to be bothered by the cold. He kept his coat on his horse and didn't use it until they were almost at the top where the ground was covered by the eternal snow.

"Oh my god..." Emmelyn suddenly halted her horse and pressed her lips in shock. She just saw three ice statues that looked a lot like humans.

Were these the humans that were cursed by the snow queen? The three statues looked like two men and one woman. The details were too good for just an ice carving.

Maxim had seen it too. He immediately got off his horse and checked the statue. He touched the arms and the head of one of the statues and gasped. They did look like humans, except they were made of ice.

"Are they human?" Emmelyn asked haltingly.

Maxim shook his head. "I don't know. They are definitely no longer humans if they were."

Emmelyn swallowed hard. This witch was truly powerful. If the witch could turn humans into ice, she couldn't imagine the extent of her powers.

"What about your wizard friend?" she asked Maxim. "Do you think he can come here?"

She hoped the wizard could help them. The only way to fight magic was with another magic.

"I am sure he is on his way already, or he is at the top, waiting for us," said Maxim confidently. His letter must have reached Renwyck two days ago and now the wizard was already somewhere near them.

Right after he finished talking, suddenly they heard the sound of screeching from the air and there was a big shadow covering them from above.

"Your Majesty! We've been waiting for you." A voice rang from the sky,

Emmelyn looked up to see who was talking. What she saw made her bat her eyes in shock. For a few moments, she couldn't say anything.

Emmelyn had never seen a dragon before, but she had heard how it looked like. The creature was just as magnificent as what people claimed. The dragon that was floating in the sky above them was huge. It was bigger than a medium-sized house.

The dragon was green with a scaly body. The eyes were bloodshot red and it looked very scary. The two wings were flapping leisurely to stay floating.

"Is that..." Emmelyn turned to Maxim after she found her voice. "Is that your wizard friend and... his dragon?"

Maxim nodded. "Yes, that's Renwyck."

The man waved at the wizard and asked him to land. Renwyck was a wizard wearing all-black attire and a leather cloak. Even though all his hair was white but his face looked quite young. Emmelyn couldn't really guess how old he was.

"He looks impressive," said Emmelyn to Maxim. "How old is he?"

Maxim chuckled. "You won't believe it, but the man is old. He wouldn't tell me his real age, but I heard from someone that Renwyck is already over 100 years old."

"What???" Maxim's answer made Emmelyn shocked. She looked up and observed Renwyck's face carefully. If she were to guess, she would think that Renwyck was only in his 30's, but he was actually really old?

"Yeah, we can stay young too if we are powerful like him," Maxim explained. "I found out that powerful witches and wizards could defy aging with their powers."

This knowledge impressed Emmelyn greatly. Maxim's words seemed to make sense. Her mind wandered to Draec, when she met Elmer the Wizard for the first time.

Even though Elmer was over 100 years old and actually older than his brother, Mr. Vitas, he still looked quite fresh and actually younger than Mr. Vitas.

However, Elmer's physical condition was pale in comparison to Renwyck's. This wizard here looked soooo young for his age. This made Emmelyn believe that Renwyck must be more powerful than Elmer.

The thought gave Emmelyn a sense of relief. Now, hopefully, Renwyck was also more powerful than the snow queen.

"Your Majesty." Renwyck finally landed with his dragon and he quickly bowed down respectfully to Maxim. "It's good to see you again. I trust that you are well?"

Maxim's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Dammit. He forgot to tell Renwyck in his letter that he was covering his real identity from Emmelyn.

Now, this wizard just called him 'Your Majesty' without feeling any guilt and ruined his cover.

Maxim heard a gasp from his side and he knew immediately that his cover was exposed.

"Maxim... what did he call you just now?" Emmelyn turned to look at Maxim with a confused expression.

Meanwhile, Renwyck had jumped down from his dragon and walked toward the undercover king. He was wondering why King Loriel suddenly looked pale.

Did something happen? Was he sick?

"Max..." Emmelyn held her breath as she looked at Maxim intently.  Suddenly a crazy scenario popped up in her head as she pieced together so many events and connected the dots. "Is there something you are not telling me?"

Her voice sounded urgent when she asked him this very important question.

Lysander said he knew the king and wanted to bring Emmelyn to see him.

King Loriel Ashborn was looking for Emmelyn and promised many rewards for anyone who could bring her to him safely.

Emmelyn never met the king and thought he was schemed by a woman who claimed to be her. However, what if she was wrong?

What if... the one who was schemed was actually her?

Maxim cleared his throat. "I don't mean to lie to you."

Emmelyn furrowed her brows and asked him again with an urgent tone. "Who are you? Please don't lie..."

"I am Maxim," the man replied. "You know that."

"Yes, but why did Renwyck call you 'Your Majesty' just now?" Emmelyn asked again. "Don't tell me I misheard. I am tired but I'm not dumb."

"No, no... of course, you are not dumb," Maxim blurted. "I was just like you. I left my country because I wanted to find myself, go on adventures and see the world. My full name is Loriel Maxim Ashborn. You know me as Maxim, it's my childhood name. However, most people know me as Loriel Ashborn."

"Oh my god..." Emmelyn pressed her lips with both hands.

Saying she was shocked was an understatement. She couldn't speak for the whole five minutes, trying to find words to convey her feelings.

Oh my god...

Oh my god...

Oh my god...

"Are you okay?" Maxim immediately stepped closer and supported Emmelyn's body.

He became worried by her reaction. He thought this would be a good joke and when he finally uncovered his real identity, she would laugh it off together with him.

"No... I'm not okay..." Emmelyn finally found her voice. She brushed him off and stepped back.

Suddenly, so many thoughts flooded her mind.

So, Maxim was no ordinary man. He was actually the king of Summeria! The biggest kingdom in Atlantea which he always called boring.

So, when he was traveling with Emmelyn two years ago, he was actually the crown prince of his country?

Emmelyn thought she was so good at hiding her status as a royal princess of a small kingdom, but what Maxim did was taking things to a whole new level.

He was the crown prince of Summeria, but he spent several years of his life living like a commoner, doing so many shenanigans.

He even stole from some lords and distributed his loot to poor people! It was really not something a future king should do, right?

Gosh... this man was unbelievable!

As she stared at Maxim with disbelief, suddenly something struck her mind.

Didn't he say his mother used to live in Myreen when she was younger?

Did she know the Myreen royal family? Since she was a princess herself, who married the king of Summeria, did she actually know the royal family of Myreen?

Emmelyn never thought in this direction because she thought Maxim was a commoner and his mother too.

Now, knowing the fact that the man was actually of royal blood and so was his mother... Emmelyn thought she might be related to Myreen's royal family.

Did his mother know who cursed Emmelyn?

Or.. did the curse have anything to do with Maxim?

Emmelyn didn't know anyone from Myreen and she didn't know how she could have offended anyone from that kingdom. Her only connection to Myreen was actually Maxim.

Was she cursed because of Maxim??