Mated To The Cruel Prince
Chapter 501: Friend Or Foe —2

Chapter 501: Friend Or Foe —2

It wasn’t until Soma saw the twinkle in her eyes that she realized that Anya was teasing her. She burst into laughter. She really did like the Fae.

As Soma and Anya continued walking, Anya couldn’t help but wonder aloud, "Shouldn’t a prince like Aldric have his own cart to transport goods back to the castle?"

Soma’s eyes widened momentarily, caught off guard by the question. She hesitated for a moment, debating how much she should reveal, but before she could stop herself, words began spilling from her lips like water from a burst dam. It unfortunately turned out that Soma was a blabbermouth and the fight that night had been so epic it woke some of the staff who saw everything. And that included her, Soma.

"Well, you see, there’s a bit of a situation," Soma began, her tone growing increasingly animated as she recounted the events of the past few days. "Aldric got into this big fight with his human captive, Islinda, and she managed to escape. Now Maxi and Issac are keeping him hostage in his own home until they figure out what to do."

Anya stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening in shock at Soma’s revelation. "Wait, what? Aldric’s been captured by Issac?" she exclaimed, disbelief coloring her tone.

Soma looked at Anya with surprise, "You know Issac?"

"Who doesn’t know Issac? His father was a great and beloved captain of the King’s battalion. Just like his father, he had quite a potential, it’s a loss he now works for Aldric?" Anya sounded sympathetic.

She added with a frown this time, "Also Maxi, who.....?" Anya intentionally let the question linger.

Soma blushed a little, saying, "She’s Issac’s fiancée."

"Isaac’s fiancée?!"Anya’s eyes widened in shock, and she stopped in her tracks once again. "What? When did that happen?" she exclaimed, clearly taken aback by the news.

Soma shrugged, a sheepish grin spreading across her face. "Honestly, I have no idea," she admitted. "We found out the day Maxi visited for the first time. Apparently, they’ve been engaged for a while now, but it’s all been kept pretty hush-hush."

Anya raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. "Really? You seem to know a lot about them," she observed, her tone laced with intrigue.

Soma’s smile faltered, and she shook her head. "Actually, I don’t know much at all," she confessed. "In fact, I barely know anything about Maxi. She kind of just... appeared out of nowhere one day, and suddenly she’s engaged to Issac and causing all sorts of chaos."

Anya’s eyes appear to widen in surprise, her expression mirroring Soma’s confusion. "That’s... strange. Tell me more about it."

Soma winced, realizing she had said too much. "Um, well, it’s not that much..." she backtracked, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment and hesitation.

Anya said with a determined look. "Come on, Soma. You can tell me. I won’t breathe a word of it to anyone. Sometimes it helps to share your suspicions with someone else, you know? It might take the load off your shoulders. Moreover...." She rolled her eyes nonchalantly, "It’s not like I can just walk in and tell Maxi whatever you’re about to share with me. I might be reckless, but I’m not stupid enough to step into Aldric’s castle. No offense but I think that place is cursed."

Soma hesitated, her brow furrowed with uncertainty. She knew she shouldn’t be sharing this information, but Anya’s persuasive tone was difficult to resist. "I... I don’t know, Anya," she stammered, torn between her desire to confide in her new friend and her fear of the consequences.

Anya leaned in closer, her gaze intense. "Please, Soma. You can trust me. I promise I won’t tell a soul," she insisted, her voice earnest.

Soma sighed, her resolve weakening under Anya’s unwavering gaze. "Okay, but you have to promise not to say anything," she relented, her voice barely above a whisper.

Anya nodded eagerly, a strange gleam in her eyes. "I promise," she vowed, her tone solemn.

Taking a deep breath, Soma began to speak, her words cautious and hesitant. "Well, I hate to say this but I didn’t see Maxi come through the front gate the day she arrived. I asked around, but none of the other staff seemed to know either," she admitted, her voice trembling slightly. "And... and there’s conspiracy she might be the shadow Fae."

"What shadow Fae?" Anya was so intrigued she didn’t realize both of them had stopped walking.

"It’s mostly rumours but there’s a dead vengeful Fae that lingers behind the castle wall. A dead vengeful Fae. One of my acquaintances encountered it one day and while we took it as tales, more stories came up of the vengeful Fae ghost, sometimes clothed and the others naked. Our clothes go missing and sometimes we find them at the corner of the castle obviously used. We seem to think that Maxi is the shadow Fae and she might have somehow enchanted Issac into marrying her. "

Anya felt her blood run cold by the time Soma was done. Turns out it was a good reason to intentionally orchestrate this meeting and get some information from this Fae. She knew from the start that there was something off about Maxi and it was finally beginning to make sense.

Soma continued, "Also, there’s something else."

"What is it?" Anya was holding her breath this time.

"One of the guards reported sighting the ghost retreat into the stable and followed, but there was nothing to see except Prince Aldric’s scary-looking horse. However, ever since Maxi’s arrival, Aldric’s horse has been missing."

Anya’s eyes widened in shock, her expression mirroring Soma’s disbelief. "What? That’s... that’s strange," she murmured, her mind racing with possibilities. No way, that can’t be. Maxi was Fae, not whatever she was thinking right now.

Soma nodded, a worried frown creasing her brow. "I know. It might not seem connected, but... but it just seems too coincidental," she confessed, her voice trailing off.

Anya frowned thoughtfully, her gaze distant as she processed this new information. She knew about the dark prince’s famed war horse. It was called Maximus..... Anya trailed off as a chill washed over her. Maximus... Maxi.... No, there was no way. That was impossible!

But then Anya knew nothing was impossible in the Fae realm. Everything now finally seems to click into place. Why Maxi didn’t seem to exist. That was because she was not exactly Fae. What enchantment had she used? There must be an item on her body concealing her real appearance.

"Are you okay?" Soma asked in concern seeing her stare into nothing for over a minute.

Anya glanced up, a devious smirk curling the corner of her lips. "Trust me," She said, "I’ve never been better."