His Mate

Chapter fifty seven

“The Dark Prince agreed,” Irene said, putting the chicken in the oven and setting the time. “Women were the last thing in his mind. However, unbeknownst to him and the princess, a servant had seen the princess sneaking into the prince’s chambers and had followed and therefore related their discussion to his master, the first prince. Princess Mariah true to her words told her father to postpone her wedding till a year’s time and when asked why, she said she wanted to court her groom and get to know him before becoming his wife. Her answer sounded reasonable and so her father agreed. Determined to win the heart of her love, Princess Mariah started learning how to cook and when she could, she started cooking for the prince twice in a month and taking it to him.”
“Wow,” Aliyah said again and Irene laughed.
“Wow indeed,” she replied. “She would pluck the freshest fruits and put in the basket along with her baked foods and take to her Prince. The Prince thought she was wasting her time but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings by telling her she doesn’t need to. Every time she took food to him, she would stay three days with him before going back. One night then, she had come to visit her Prince and then a telegram was sent to her room, the Dark Prince was demanding to see her. The Princess was the happiest because for the past eight months that they have agreed to court, it was the first time he was asking for her himself. She quickly woke up her handmaidens and had them dress her in her best dress while she regretted not coming with the best of the best. Her hair was held up with almost twenty pins to bring out her fair face and like that, she went to her Prince’s chambers alone and with a racing heart. However, when she pushed open the door and stepped into the room and her eyes went to the bed, her heart shattered into a million pieces.”
Aliyah placed a hand on her chest as she was gripped by an unbearable pain, her eyes shut tightly and she tried not to think of the pain the young woman must have passed through at that moment. “Why?” she ended up whispering.
Irene sighed, “Broken, the princess ran back to her room and ordered her maids to pack her bags for she was leaving and that night. It didn’t hurt because she saw him with another woman, a maid in fact, but the fact that the prince had sent her a letter and called her to see him breaking the one condition she had shattered her. When the prince woke up in the morning, he didn’t understand what was going on but he was surprised to hear that the princess left and at midnight. He didn’t want to feel offended that she left without telling him but he couldn’t deny the fact that he was worried why she would do that. Two days passed and he finally heard the news, one of his men told him what happened and the prince was enraged. He searched for the maid and it turned out that it was his brother, the first prince that forced her to do that so that the princess would call off the engagement and for their father to refuse giving him the throne.”
“He was set up?” Aliyah asked and Irene nodded. “Hold on, setting people up was a thing back then?”
“Oh sweet child,” Irene chuckled, “it started back then. Anyways, the prince killed the maid but pardoned his brother, after all, he was family. He didn’t go after the princess though, he told himself that she should have figured out that he would not do something like that and was waiting for her to come and apologize.”
“How prideful,” Aliyah frowned.
“Indeed,” Irene nodded, “and it cost him. Almost ten days passed and there was no news of the princess and the Dark prince couldn’t deny that he was really worried now and it was not helping if he realized that he was actually missing her, her smiles, her laughter, her voice and also, her baked foods and fruits. So for the first time, the prince geared up, taking no one with him to go and get his princess back. However, right before he could reach Vallahan, he met the crowned prince with his men on the way and the prince charged at him upon seeing him. After defending the attacks, the dark prince stated the reason of his visit. Prince David laughed sarcastically and asked him if he hadn’t come a little too late. When the Dark Prince asked why, Prince David told him that his little sister never left her chambers after coming back from his palace, nor did she eat or spoke to anyone, locking herself inside. And yesterday, he had broken her door to force her to eat only to find her in a dried pull of blood with her wrists slit open and a letter written in blood.”
“Oh my God,” Aliyah whispered.
“In the letter, she had written with her blood ‘my heart became yours before I was even promised to you and it’s so sad that I never got to experience your love before this. My heart is entwined with yours my Dark Prince and I pray for an opportunity for you to see that and love me same,’. The Dark Prince didn’t stay and fight after hearing such news, he turned his horse around and journeyed back home and when he got home, he drew his sword and went to his brother’s chambers, taking the life he had once pardoned before he locked himself in his chambers and mourned for a love he didn’t even know had sprouted in his heart.”
Aliyah closed her eyes, having mixed feelings on the fact that Edward has loved another before her.
“The Dark Prince mourned for three days in his room and didn’t come out until he was summoned by his father. King Solomon had declared war on them for killing his only daughter and he needed the Dark Prince to do what he does best and bring victory back to them. Charging with his men, he met prince David on the battle front and he tried to explain to him that he had killed those responsible for Mariah’s death but David wouldn’t hear of it. According to him, no death was worth that of his sister and so he charged with hatred and revenge blinding him. At first, the Dark prince wasn’t really into the fight, believing that the Prince was doing what any loving brother would do but when Vallahan soldiers started killing women and children of Antaddon, he was forced to retaliate and since the prince wouldn’t listen to reason, he wasn’t ready to lose the fight anymore.”
“Hold on, that’s how the Great war started?” Aliyah asked, “it’s totally different from our book.”
“This is the true story. The two Princes, blinded by pain and hatred, led their men to an endless fight, each not wanting to lose to the other. And as if the God was angry with them, drought fell upon both kingdoms and soon, famine set in. People started traveling in search of food but no other kingdom wanted to join in the fight because of the two princes. Four years passed with the princes surviving with only few of their men and they decided to go home and recruit but when they got home, all they met was chaos and not a single soul waiting for them or good lands to plant food. All they had were bodies to bury, those that died of starvation and the ones that were killed in the war. The kingdoms weren’t safe for habitation anymore and so they left in search of a new place, neither of them willing to bend their head and seek for refuge from other kings.”
Aliyah nodded, “and that was how we were birthed.”
“Aye, but the princes survived the war with more than five men, however, they lost a lot to starvation in their quest for a new kingdom.”
“I see,” Aliyah nodded.
“Also, Selene was the one responsible for the creatures they became.”
“Selene, the moon goddess, sorry, the goddess of love?”
“Aye,” Irene nodded, “she has always wanted a world of her own, her own children and seeing the lost men, she knew that they would give her her supernatural beings and so she worked on them becoming what they are now. She started by directing the Dark Prince and his men to the tree of Death and then waking the wolf god from his sleep to pass down his power before his death. Prince David didn’t kill the animal out of his own strength but because the creature has already outlived his lifespan and was at his deathbed and because of that, his power wasn’t as strong as it used to be hence why you still have your human form, otherwise, you would have been wolves entirely. Selene was disappointed at first but at the end, she found out it was the best, making you part human and part wolf.”
“Wow.”
“Yes. Although, there is something else,” Irene smiled, “Selene had heard Princess Mariah’s death wish and although she couldn’t bring her back immediately, she didn’t forget and to punish the Dark Prince for being prideful, she made him search for his Mate for two thousand years until he had learnt to appreciate love and understand the meaning of eternal companion. And so, when Princess Mariah was longing for a mate, the one that would complete her, Selene woke up the Dark Prince from his slumber with her voice because it was high time for a lost love to be reunited again. I didn’t read this one from a book, my vision told me so,” she smiled. “And to make them meet, she made the princess, now in another form to go to the human realm and also made the Dark prince to go there as well, and when they met, their hearts recognized each other even if their minds were filled with hatred because their fate has already been set in a world long forgotten.”