Mated To The Cruel Prince
Chapter 166: Be My Moral Support

Chapter 166: Be My Moral Support

The one thing Islinda noticed as they successfully escaped Aldric’s castle was that it was silent as a graveyard. Nothing special happened. However, as soon as they walked a fair distance, it was like stepping into a different world.

The streets were alive with all manner of Faeries roaming around and there was a warm cheer in the air. There were so many people, and Pixies flew all around leaving a trail of illuminating dust that added color to the night. The sound of laughter and chatter pierced through the air.

"Is there a festival going on tonight?" Islinda assumed that was the reason why no one was asleep by this time.

"No, not tonight. Although Faeries are festive and appreciate a lot of fun and extravagance, this is Astaria at night, a city that never sleeps." Maxi said, snatching a snack from a Faerie’s table without him noticing.

She broke the unfamiliar snack into two," Want one?" The Fae offered her, and something about her attitude told Islinda she was merely being polite by asking and would have fed it to her in the first place.

Islinda looked conflicted between the snack in her face and back at the Fae who seemed to have just noticed one of his products was missing but could not identify who had stolen from him in the crowd of Faeries.

She does not condone stealing, but this was girl’s night and guess anything goes for tonight. It was not going to happen again, though. Hopefully.

Islinda stared at Maxi who had been waiting patiently for her to receive the snacks and as soon as she took it from her, she beamed at her for a job well done. They were now officially partners in crime.

Chewing slowly at first, Islinda did not have high expectations for the snack only for the delicious flavor to explode on her taste bud and she moaned in delight, her eyes widening subtly.

"Delicious, right?" Maxi nudged her side with a knowing look, saying, "Should we go back and take more?"

"What?!" Islinda shouted, staring at her wide-eyed. Try as much as she could, It seems the Fae she attracts to her side always has questionable morals.

"Joking!" Maxi said all of a sudden and Islinda let out the breath that she had been holding in. That was close. It seems there was hope for Maxi after all.

"Of course, I have money!" Maxi dangled a coin pouch in front of her excitedly and did not mention that she stole that as well from a passing Fae. In Maxi’s defense, Islinda had a fragile heart and she did not want to bother her with overwhelming information.

"Come on, let’s go then." She dragged Islinda along before she could object. Well, tonight was all about having fun anyway.

They went back to the Fae who smiled beckoningly at them, "Welcome pretty Fae’s, how many snacks do you need?"

"How about all of it?" Maxi answered with a greedy gleam in her eyes.

"All of it?!" Islinda and the trader asked at the same time, shell shocked. Were they entertaining a pregnant buffalo?

Maxi rubbed her belly, grinning sheepishly, "I have a huge appetite."

"Well, if you say so...." The trader looked unsure at first, but this was business after all, and as long as his customers had money, who was he to object?

The Fae set to work and wrapped their purchase. According to Maxi’s instruction, he was to pack the snacks into two and because Islinda did not eat much, the biggest portion was given to Maxi.

Maxi accepted the huge snack with a glint in her eyes, already taking a bite from it and moaning in satisfaction.

"Here, have this." She tossed the pouch in the air to the Fae and he caught it, his mouth dropping open when he tested the weight of the coin in his palm.

So when he opened the coin, he said in awe, "Young Fae, this is too much."

Maxi announced with an air of self-righteousness, "You served us well and deserve the bonus."

"Thank you, miss! Thank you!" The trader thanked her while Islinda looked at Maxi with adoration. It seems the Fae was a good person, after all.

If only she knew.

Perhaps, it might be because she’s a horse shifter, but Maxi was itinerant and never remained in a place for a long time. Thanks to that she doesn’t have any major investment - her only achievement being winning battles alongside Aldric. Also, she has to be in hiding because she was a dark Fae. In one word, she was broke.

Not that Aldric has ever withdrawn his resources from her, the both of them won the wars together and deserved the reward. But some habits were hard to get rid of and living in the moment was fun. Pickpocketing was fun - until she met Islinda.

"So what’s next?" Islinda asked, as they strolled the streets. While this was fun, Islinda has always been the type to work with a plan and catch a glimpse of the result.

"I don’t know," Maxi said and Islinda turned to her sharply, brows drawn together.

Her lips pressed together, slightly displeased, "But we can’t wander all night? This was supposed to be a mind-blowing girl’s night."

Maxi asked her, "Aren’t you having fun?"

"Yes, but -"

"Then, say no more." The Fae cut her off, looking at ease and undisturbed by her frivolous worry, "Why worry about making plans when life never goes according to plans? Try being spontaneous, it’s much more fun."

Suddenly, they spotted a crowd gathered together and cheering an ongoing fight.

"Speaking about fun," Maxi’s eyes glinted as if she had just spotted her next big moment.

"No, don’t think about it," Islinda shook her head, discouraging her from it, "What is fun about some Faeries beating each other up?"

As a hunter, Islinda could stomach violence, but today was their girls’ night and when she pictured it, she thought they would eat, drink and gossip a lot tonight. She had even thought of getting information about Aldric from her invitees - who rejected the offer in seconds.

"We don’t have any more money."

"Huh?" Islinda was confused.

"I bought snacks with all the money, remember? There are no more coins for drinks afterward. " Maxi told her with a straight face.

"But why would you give him all the coins if there’s no more?" Islinda could not understand her at all.

Maxi shrugged, "You seem to hate it when I stole from him, only smiling in the end when I made it up to him?"

In one word, this was her fault?

"By the gods..." Islinda pinched the space between her brows. This girl’s night was a disaster, they shouldn’t have snuck out of the castle in the first place. Islinda bet there was a cellar in Aldric’s castle and they would have a drink or two.

Yet, Islinda could not deny it felt good taking in Astaria at night. Aside from the visit to the palace, she had not been given a tour of the city. Perhaps, it was not entirely a disaster after all.

"So what’s the plan? Watching the fight would not give us any money.... No way..." Islinda refused as soon as everything made sense to her.

"You’re going to fight!" She pointed at her with her free hand, since she held the remaining snack in her other grip.

"Yes! Can you imagine it?!" Maxi was thrilled and did not understand Islinda was trying to advise her out of it.

"No, I cannot imagine it! Don’t do this, Maxi. We can go back to the castle, I’m sure Aldric has spare wine you can steal, I won’t judge." Islinda said, willing to compromise if she changed her mind.

But even with her pleading, there was that crazy glint in the Fae’s eyes that Islinda recognized often in Aldric’s eyes whenever he was up to no good. Both Fae’s were much more similar than she thought.

Maxi placed her hand on her shoulder, asking, "Do you trust me, Islinda?"

And there goes that question again

"This is a silly move, you could get hurt, you know?" Islinda told her sincerely, avoiding the real question. How could she trust such a mad move?

Maxi came so close to Islinda that she became self-conscious and the air around them became intimate. Her heated gaze held Islinda’s and she gulped, "What’s wrong?"

"I’m tempted to steal you from Aldric."

Islinda nearly choked on her saliva.

"W-what are you talking about?" Her pulse raced and her breathing became labored.

Maxi did not answer, rather she reached out and trailed a hand from her cheek down, tracing the column of her neck and her heart missed a beat. Islinda stared at her speechless, what was going on here? Why was her heart wavering?

"My shy Fae better work hard else I might be tempted to snatch someone else’s curious cat." Maxi laughed even though it wasn’t funny.

"I don’t understand," Islinda had a deep frown, with an unsettling feeling in the pit of her belly.

"You don’t need to, Isla. Just be my moral support, it’s girl’s night, after all." She grinned devilishly.