Mated To The Cruel Prince
Chapter 155: Finding A Witch

Chapter 155: Finding A Witch

"Would this be all, your highness?" Derek asked, a twitch in his eyes when he saw crown prince Valerie mount his favorite horse.

"That would be all," Valerie told him, pulling the reins so the animal broke into a trot while his second in command was left behind as he watched dumbfounded.

When he heard the prince was riding into town and gracing the streets of Astaria with his presence, he assumed Prince Valerie would go with the stately carriage and draw attention to his arrival so the citizens cheered him. But the opposite was the case here because the prince wore a black cloak that shielded his identity and took a simple horse.

Only those with sharp eyes would be able to discern that this was the crown prince and it bothered Derek. He was the crown prince and the people were supposed to sing his praises. Although Valerie humbled himself before everyone, Derek knew inwardly that he loved the fame.

And thus, there came that nagging feeling in the pit of his belly that the prince was up to something. Having stayed with Valerie for years, Derek knew the prince like the back of his head and sensed he had an ulterior motive for coming out today. And the worst, he perceived it was related to the girl.

Left with no choice, Derek mounted his own horse and galloped after the prince. He had to keep a close eye on the prince and not just because the Fae queen put him up to it. Derek was fiercely loyal to the crown prince and he nearly lost his mind thinking Valerie had died in the attack of the wraiths.

He was unable to protect him then and would do everything now to stop the prince from doing something stupid for the human who doesn’t deserve him. Crown Prince Valerie was the hope of this nation and he would protect him at all cost.

Derek caught up to the prince in no time and they walked side by side in tense silence. Prince Valerie stared ahead with an impassive expression, acting as if he didn’t have company which was weird. When they usually went on walks like this, they would crack jokes and have conversations as if they were friends and not just a prince with his subordinate.

Could it be that he knows....? Derek stared at the prince with narrowed eyes. No, it can’t be. He had not given out anything aside from his obvious dislike of Islinda. There was no way the crown prince knew his mother had him spy on him.

Although the prince did not arrive in the town in style, Valerie still had a grand aura and two men riding magnificent horses were not exactly inconspicuous. Faeries peered at them from their wooden stands in the streets and had suspicion about their identity, not that Valerie paid them any attention.

Thankfully the snow fell softly even though the ground was hardened with frost. Derek could only guess the prince was in a good mood which was a real surprise. During his past sessions - which were countable - there had been howling winds that bit at the skin and cold that was so offsetting, Faeries, except the winter ones who were immune to the cold, would not step out for the sake of frostbite. The clouds are usually dark and the mood of the people is gloomy.

However, there was one session the Faeries of Astaria would never forget till the end of their immortality. It was the day Aldric had found out about Valerie’s deceit and his cruelty was let loose. No one had seen it coming, just one minute there was a clear cloud with few snowflakes, and the next, a snowstorm raged in the sky, thick with thunder.

There had been no time for some faeries to find cover, the crisp and bitter cold whipped through the streets and alleyways. And then came the snowflakes which fluttered down at first until it gained momentum out of nowhere, joined by more and more until the snowstorm became violent.

The wind blasted through the streets and shook every door and window in the neighborhood. The snow kept piling up higher and higher until the ground was quickly buried beneath a thick white blanket, muffling every sound and transforming the world into a silent, surreal paradise.

That year, many Faeries had severe frostbites as they were trapped beneath the mountain of snow. The only reason they didn’t suffer any loss of lives was that the king himself subdued Aldric’s powers and threw him into prison to calm down. It was then that they learned what Valerie had done, but the king judged it was still not enough reason for Aldric to jeopardize the lives of many Faeries.

He was then sent away from the palace and given his own castle and the next was sent to war. It was an event no one was going to forget. But then, with Aldric refusing to return to the battlefield, Derek feared they were going to have a repeat of such an event, if not worse. And it was going to be because of that human girl. Why couldn’t the crown prince realize that the dark prince was toying around with him?

Lost in his thoughts, Derek realized a second too late that Valerie had seen through his distraction and took advantage of it. Prince Valerie opened his purse and flung a large number of coins in the air and it drew the attention of the Faeries who rushed to pick it up. The commotion created an opportunity for Valerie to run off and try as hard as he could, Derek could not follow after him without tramping on a Fae.

He attempted to maneuver his horse another way but watched from afar as Valerie summoned a portal and walked into it. He vanished.

"Fuck!" Derek cursed, raging with anger. He knew it! He should have stopped the prince from the start when he recognized he was up to something.

Derek thought of returning to the palace and reporting this to the queen and having the portal traced, but doing so might land the prince in trouble especially if what he intended to do was illegal.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Derek cursed more aggressively scaring away some Faeries who were almost done with picking the money. He glared viciously at them, they were the reason the prince escaped.

Left with no choice, Derek decided to track the spots Valerie might be and if the gods help him, he might find the prince. He doubted it.

~~~~~~

Valerie appeared at his destination with grace. He looked around, it was a segregated area of Astaria marked by dilapidated houses and was overcrowded. Try as much as they could to improve the conditions in this impoverished area of the capital, life was unfair and there were still going to be low-born and poor Faeries.

Valerie tugged the hood of his black cloak to cover his face knowing he wasn’t supposed to be in a place like this. Not to mention places like this were full of crime and he had to be on alert. But he had no choice, this was for Islinda. While she might hate at first for the decision he was about to take, she would thank him later at the end.

As if Valerie had jinxed his luck, a haggard-looking teenage Fae bumped into him and though it happened in mere seconds, he felt the Fae reaching for his pocket in that split time. But Valerie was faster and snatched his hand, almost crushing it in the process as the Fae yelped in pain.

"What are you doing?!" The Fae feigned innocence, trying to draw the attention of other Faeries available and tapping into his power at the same time.

Valerie turned his face away, twisting the Fae’s arm further up his back and subduing the power he had summoned with his stronger ones. The Fae’s eyes widened when he realized that he was a high Fae and began to beg for mercy

"Please don’t do this! I am nothing but a single child trying to find food for his mother and family." He cried out, lips trembling.

Valerie scoffed, "That sob story of yours is not going to work on me. But luckily, you are not going to die because I need you for something."

As soon as the Fae heard that, his eyes widened with hope and he asked hurriedly, "What do you need, sir?"

"Information."

"Information about what?" The Fae said, eager to please Valerie and to save his life, "You have come to the right person, sir. They call me Rat Ear because nothing bypasses me in this society. Tell me what you want to know. Or whom do you want to find?"

"A witch."

The Fae’s face fell at once and he wouldn’t look Valerie in the eye as he shook his head saying, "I’m afraid sir, there is not a witch in this community. Have you forgotten they are banned from Astaria and only the king has exclusive use for them?"

Valerie did not argue with him and brought a purse of money, watching as Rat Ear’s eyes shone with greed.

He said," Don’t worry I’m not here to kill your witch. Now tell me where I can find her. "