The Rogue Princess (Revise)

Chapter 3 - Mairead

“I think it is time for you to step out of the shadows.”

A chuckle sounded from the darkness, stunning everyone.

Suddenly a figure walked out of the shadows. A young girl, her whole frame washed in startling light. She walked slowly towards Agatha with a beautiful smile on her face. The witch council, recognizing her witch, did not react, but the King stepped in front of his mate again, his hands in fists and his eyes following her every move.

“And here I thought you were just getting old, my friend.” She said, her voice melodic and taunting.

“Look at who is talking. You are almost twice my age,” Agatha said, chuckling, taking a step forward, and hugging the young woman.

Both of them exchanged small pleasantries, a moment later Agatha stepped aside and the young woman walked towards the Royal couple.

“That is far enough.” The king said, stopping her in her tracks. She smiled kindly at him.

“King William, Queen Isabel. I am Mairead but everyone calls me Maggie and I am an ambassador of the Fairy Realm.” She said, bowing her head in respect. Agatha arched a brow at her words.

“Good to know Maggie. Why are you here?”

“King William, I am here in official order.”

“And what would that be?”

“To accept your treaty, of course.”

“And you were doing that by hiding in the shadows?” He said in disbelief.

“My apologies, Your Majesty, it was just a precaution for my safety,” she said.

“Against who? Us? If you indeed are here to accept the treaty there is no reason to hide, is there?” She chuckled sweetly at his words.

“I am a fairy, your Majesty. I do not have pawers to protect myself. If you were to attack me, my death would be certain. I originally planned to ask for an official audience but the Witch Council was one step ahead.” She said, looking sidewise at the three women.

After a moment of silence, the king said.

“I find it fascinating how suddenly the Fairy Realm is interested in the treaty. Up until now, you have been ignoring the requests for the audience. What has changed now?” He finished sounding bitter.

“I understand, Your Majesty. Your disbelief is well-grounded. My … King is a humble man who lives in seclusion. He usually does not take interest in the matters of the rest of the Realms, but the flow of events forced him to change his mind.”

“In other words, he knows about the prophecy and the Queen's pregnancy and he wants to ensure peace between us before it is too late.” He said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. Maggie had a gentle smile on her face.

“I can neither confirm nor deny your Majesty, but this is not the only reason we would like to sign the treaty between our realms.”

“I that so? What may be the other reason then?”

“We recognize the Moon Goddess's blessing and we would like to be a part of the princess's life. We would like to educate her to give her the knowledge she needs to ensure she will make the right choices. We want her to learn and understand all five realms. That will be the only way … “ She paused, searching for the right words.

“The only way she will not oppose a threat. Right?” Maggie signed before taking a big breath. Maggie's silence gave him an answer.

“Your Majesty, from the beginning of time the Fairy Realm has lived in peace with all of the realms. The pack is in non-use for our kind, because we do not have enemies. The reason we want the peace treaty you are offering is because our princess believes that this is an opportunity for our realm to create alliances and build relationships. Our king dislikes the idea of interacting outside of our kind, but our princess thinks differently. She sees this prophecy as an opportunity to build trust between our Realms. We want to offer you the full education of the princess and her full access to our library and, in a token of good faith, we grant free passage to our realm. She will be able to travel through the realms and enter and leave as she pleases.”

“ You are granting her entrance to the Fairy Realm?” Agatha asked, surprised, shifting their attention to her.

“Yes, yes we are. I personally want to ensure the process …”

“The Fairy Realm has never grunted travels before. No one has entered for more than 500 years.” Agatha cut her off stunned.

“We are aware of that, my dear friend. But as I said earlier, our princess wants to change things. Our realm is a safe place for many different species and creatures. Their security and well-being are our first priority. After our Queen passed away, the king decided to isolate and barricade all communications with the rest of the world for the safety of our people and obstructed all passages available. But we are willing to create a new one only for the princess.” Agatha’s eyes widened in surprise hearing her words. “ We do not seek anything in return, we only want to be a part of her life and give her all that is necessary and needed for her to reach her full potential.”

The King stood tall. He turned to his mate. His eyes flickered colors he was obviously minded liking with his Queen who stood silent during their exchange.

All of a sudden, without any warning, the door flows open and two boys looking at the same age run in giggling.

“Dad, dad, is it true? Am I going to be a big brother?! A sandy blond boy asked excitedly, jumping up and down.

“Erik. How many times do I have to tell you “no running in halls!” and where are your manners? We have guests. Apologize immediately. “ the king said tiredly.

The boy looked down sadly, his previous enthusiasm forgotten.

“ I am sorry, father.”

“Aw Erik. Come here.” The Queen summoned the boy, who instantly walked toward her, welcoming her warm hug.

Beta Mark hurriedly walked into the room holding a folder, his eyes scanning his surroundings stopping at the second boy who stood shocked, gaping at Maggie.

“Damian! For the Moon Goddess's sake, we talked about this. Not running in the halls.” Before continuing, he looked at his son arching his brow “Son? Did you introduce yourself?” Looking confused at his son.

Maggie looked at the boy. She felt confused and conflicted for reasons she couldn’t decipher. She just stood there staring at him silently.

Damian took a step forward, startling her. She took a step away from the boy. He looked sad at her actions.

“Damian??” His father said, puzzled at the boy's strange behavior gathering everyone’s attention.

The light brown-haired boy didn’t answer his father. Instead, he took another step toward Maggie and said,

“I know you! I have seen you before.”

“I think you have mistaken me for someone else. I have never seen you before. I don’t know where we could have met. It’s been over ten decades since the last time I visited this realm. And you seem way too young to be over 100 years old. I think you have mistaken me for someone else.” Even though she denied meeting with the boy before, she felt her heart beating faster. For some reason, she knew his face but couldn’t remember where from.

“No! No, I know it is you. I can never forget you. You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. You come every night in my dreams, “ he said sweetly. Beta Mark growled behind him at the sound of his words. Maggie spared him a quick look and then turned at the boy again, taking a step forward.

“ I swear to you I have never met your son before, Beta Mark.” She then kneeled before the boy. On her knees, he was taller than her.

“ I am Maggie. What is your name?” She said, offering her hand to him.

“Damian.” He said, losing no time, extending his hand to take hers, but she was quicker. Instead of shaking his hand, her palm went to his fist. The boy copied her greeting.

The moment her palm united with his wrist, her whole aura changed. She seemed lost with blue-green eyes. Her hair started to glow with a light emitted from her body. She looked beautiful.

Seconds later, she pulled her hand harder, falling and landing on her back, stunning everyone. Damian looked at her shocked. He offered his hand to help but she only backed away from him. She turned towards the Queen, staring at the boy she was hugging. Her face changed. She looked sad.

“Maggie?” Agatha said, offering her help to stand, which she took without sparing her a look.

“What just happened?” Beta Mark asked, bewildered.

“I am sorry.” She said softly, looking at Damian. But what she did next stupefied them all.