It didn't take long for King Stefan to be informed of the situation. The moment he heard another prince had arrived in his little Kingdom, especially someone with a higher status than the previous one. He abandoned all manners of graciousness and immediately rushed towards the front gates, followed closely behind him by his personal knight guards and old advisors.
He yelled at the gate guards, "Open the gates!"
Henry, who was on his way to turn around and leave, suddenly saw the gates opening and stopped. The first one to step out was King Stefan, wearing his furry-covered coat with golden linings and royal markings.
Henry even noticed the crown atop his head and stopped himself from laughing. He has never seen a King this pompous to the point he would wear his crown outside the royal castle.
A King's crown is the highest symbol amongst the royal members of a Kingdom, sure. However, not only do they weigh on the head but they also irritatingly mess with the hair most of the time.
His father himself told it to him when he once asked, so he knows.
"Crown Prince Henry! It is my glorious honor to welcome you to my humble Kingdom! Please, come in and make yourself at home! My servants are already preparing a feast for your rather… unannounced arrival." King Stefan spread his arms to welcome him, a strained smile plastered on his face, and a single drop of sweat sliding on his right cheek.
Henry raised his hand to stop the man from speaking. He has watched the Maleficent film already, and he knows what kind of man is in front of him.
This is someone who once betrayed someone who truly loved him and became the reason why his daughter was cursed and placed the entire Kingdom in peril.
Even if the man treats him with respect, Henry would find it hard within himself to reciprocate the manner.
King Stefan stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw the raised palm. He mentally frowned, feeling something familiar with the young man in front of him.
'Same as the other. Both arrogant.' He clicked his tongue. He's a King goddammit, he should be treated with high respect even if they have a higher status than him!
He fought his way to get the crown, through bloodshed, betrayals, and several sacrifices. He didn't go through those horrible things just to get treated like air by a bunch of snotty brats!
"King Stefan of Ironmere Kingdom. I came not as your guest but as a passerby. In the meantime, answer my question. Did my brother, Alexander Charming come here? If so, I need to know his location right now." Henry crossed his arms, making him look intimidating, very much so considering he's also sitting atop a horse that stood menacingly.
If one didn't know better, they would see Henry asserting his dominance over King Stefan.
King Stefan mistook this as such and he could only grit his teeth and swallow his kingly pride, "…Yes. Prince Alexander came here a few days ago and stayed with us for a while. He just left this morning along with his entourage."
Having the King confirm what he overheard from the guards earlier, Henry nodded his head, "Thank you."
That was all he replied before shifting his horse to turn around and leave.
'Air. He treated me like air.' King Stefan's expression turned grim. One of the knights behind him approached his side.
"What do we do now, your highness?"
King Stefan gave it a moment of thought before replying, "Get our best scout and give him the fastest horse. I want him followed and report all of his movements to me." After giving out his order, he turned around and left.
'Two princes from Lioncrest Kingdom. What could be their interest in the Moors Forest? Could it be her?' For a moment, a flash of pity and longing appeared in his eyes
He truly loved her back then. But he was too ashamed to admit that he fell in love with a monster, not to mention that his ambition for the crown outgrew his love for her.
And because of that, he has been living the past few years searching for a cure, or perhaps forgiveness from Maleficent's cold and cruel heart. Which ironically, he was the cause.
'Doesn't matter anymore. The past is the past, once I find a way to remove my daughter's curse, everything will be fine. But if not…' A dangerous thought passed through his mind.
'She should prepare herself for a war against my Kingdom…'
———
While the King of Ironmere was already plotting countermeasures, Henry was on his way to enter the dreaded Moors forest. Alex and his entourage of knights had long entered the forest and had been wandering around for the past few hours.
"We've been roaming for hours now. Where is this Maleficent and her monsters? Don't tell me she got scared of us."
"Hiding in cowardice definitely. Why else do you think she would place a curse on an infant of a King? Obviously to put that idiot on a leash."
"You're right! Hahahahaha!"
As the knights behind him were whispering aloud, laughing, and playing around, Alexander remained focused. His mind was already making scripts and possible decisions once he met the Queen of the Moors forest.
According to the King, Maleficent was rumored to be a very powerful and capable dark sorceress, an efficient master of the dark arts and curses. Alex also had a suspicion that King Stefan was hiding something from him for some reason.
Even though the man admitted he had already told him everything he knew, Alex trusted his gut more, and it was telling him there was more to Maleficent than met the eye.
'Doesn't matter. She'll tremble before my presence, especially as soon as I introduce myself as a prince of Lioncrest and soon to be its King. She will bend her knee to me, I'll make sure of it.' Alex murmured under his breath, clenching his fists with determination.
He sharply turned around and yelled an order, "Stop dawdling and get faster!" Quickly silencing the knights.
Clicking his tongue, Alex snapped the reins of his horse to make it run faster, only for the opposite to happen.
One second ago, the horse was running fine, another second passed and the horse suddenly skidded to a stop. Not only that, but the other horses of the knights behind him also did the same.
"What the? What is wrong with you, you stupid horse!" Venting his frustration, Alex used the spur on his shoe and harshly stabbed it on the side of the horse.
To his shock—which he shouldn't be—the horse suddenly went rearing, throwing him off its back and onto the ground.
Thud!
"Akh!" With a painful grunt, Alex was about to pull himself back up and curse the horse when the rest of the horses behind him also jumped and did the same, throwing off their riders in a single motion.
"Woah! Easy!"
"Girl! It's me, Girl!"
"Wahhh!"
In unison, they all turned back and galloped down the road where they had just gone. Everyone, including Alex, stared at this scene with a confused and dazed expression. Their horses, their partners for years, all ran away and didn't even look back at them for even a single second. It's as if they all forgot the past few years they spent together.
"Come back here, you stupid horses!" Filled with an unimaginable amount of anger, Alex grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and threw them at where the horses disappeared from—only for his throw to be short-lived and hit the knights on the faces instead.
"My Prince! You hit me!"
"Akh! It got in my eyes!"
Seeing this, instead of apologizing, Alex simply swallowed his saliva and turned around, "Get your arses up and we're going on foot!"
Before he could even take a single step forward, an eerily calm and collected voice interrupted him from the sky, "Arrogant, pompous, hurls curses, and hurts horses. You got everything checked when it comes to your pampered prince personality list."
Alex's eyes widened, and he quickly took a step back while unsheathing his sword before thrusting it forward, threatening to slice whoever was in front of him into dice, "Who goes there!"
The voice continued, "Up here."
Not only Alex, but also the other knights raised their heads at the same time and they all met eye to eye with the blood red eyes of a raven.
"A speaking bird? Never expected to see another one…After that green bird that Prince Henry brought with him."
"A black bird is speaking to us? This is a heresy! That must be the devil!"
"Shut it you idiot! If that's really the devil, it would be suicide to antagonize it that way!"
While the reactions were varied, the raven simply remained silent, his tiny eyes observing the reactions of each human before him and if one is sharp enough, they'll notice the hint of disappointment that momentarily flashed in his eyes.
In the meantime, Alex bravely stepped forward, "You must be Maleficent's pet. Good job on finding us. Now take us to your master, I have an offer to her that she definitely can't refuse!" There was confidence in the tone of his voice when he spoke, as if being granted an audience for Maleficent was already granted just because he asked.
Meanwhile, the raven squinted his eyes at the young prince, with dark green hair, blue eyes, and an expensive attire littered with jewels and gold. The bird of death couldn't help but scoff in disgust.
"And who are you supposed to be, to meet my master and make her an offer. There is none in this world that she can't get herself." When the raven spoke, there was an obvious tinge of amusement in his tone, like a predator playing with his prey.
And that is something that Alex clearly doesn't like, but he gritted his teeth and endured just for now, at least until he gets the audience he wants, "What if I tell you it concerns Ironmere Kingdom? The place and its ruler that she surely despises so much. Considering how it's still standing despite whatever grudge she has with the King, she fails to burn the Kingdom to smithereens."
Then, with a confident step forward, he slapped his chest, "I am the prince of Lioncrest, a Kingdom ten times stronger than a mere Ironmere Kingdom. I'll give you an army that could topple the entire Kingdom and even make it hers to take. Allow me to meet her and I'll state my terms. Trust me little bird, this is something she definitely wouldn't want to pass on."
The raven remained silent after the bold declaration, there was a silent whisper of 'Foolish boy' under his breath. However, the bird stayed still like a stone, his expression—hard to decipher—went through several phases.
It is as if the raven were talking to someone inside his mind, which he actually is.
A few moments later, the raven finally spoke, "Fine, it seems you're interesting enough for her to meet you. Follow me." The bird turned around and flapped its wings, instantly taking off into the air, heading in a certain direction.
Alex quickly shouted at the stunned knights behind him, "Get up, you idiots! Follow that bird! Quick!"
While the humans behind him scurry off just to follow him—more desperate than he expected, the raven couldn't help but mentally smile with glee at this point.
'That's right, foolish humans. Follow me and keep up.'
Unbeknownst to the oblivious humans, there is no such thing as an audience with Maleficent that is going to happen.
Just what they call—a point of no return.