Mated To The Cruel Prince

"There is a shy Fae

on my horseback 

Needs not to ask twice 

He rides me all right." 

Issac was red-faced and looked like he was going to combust anytime soon. Just as "her poem" suggested, he was riding Maximus, her horse form, but not in the way she suggested. It seems that after passing her test, she had dropped all forms of pretense with him and now, he was on a talking horse. Yep, as if it couldn't get weirder. 

How couldn't he have seen the signs? Everything was pretty much obvious that she was not a normal horse. But then, Maxi was good at pretending. Now, he had to suffer through her horrible rhyme filled with sexual innuendo. 

"I'm satisfied with my ride,

Now I've got to shake, shake, shake 

Shake my beautiful ass…." 

"Alright, that's enough!" Issac shouted and didn't need to ask twice, he got off the horse, his actions nimble and swift. He had been a soldier in the king's army after all and didn't find dismounting a horse one bit stressful. 

However, he was glaring at Maximus now, his ears were going to bleed anytime soon if she continued with that horrible poem of hers. All she has done throughout their journey back to the Fae realm was annoy the hell out of him. Had the prince given him the Medallion, he would have simply opened a portal straight to the palace and left her. But no, he had to be saddled with this annoying horse shifter. 

By the gods, he was going to explode if he heard another word from her or him. Whatever form she took, he doesn't care! As if Maximus took his warning seriously, she stilled and didn't make any other sound. Relief passed through him, at least she was good at receiving instructions in her horse form. Even if she was older than him and an endangered species, he held the reign and she ought to obey him. 

But Isaac shouldn't have rejoiced too quickly because, in the next minute, she was in his head instead. 

"So not only are you a shy Fae, you're a grumbling Fae too?" She spoke in his head. 

"Get out!" Isaac told her, his jaw clenched tight. She broke through his mental defenses without even sweating and It felt like an invasion of privacy. 

"You demanded I should not talk, I'm soliloquizing instead." 

"Not in my head! Soliloquy out of it!" Issac demanded in an outburst. Right now, he looked like a human child throwing a tantrum. 

"Isn't that the aim of soliloquizing? Speaking to oneself even if there are people around?" She grinned in his head, "You're my audience." 

Issac was utterly dumbfounded. Just what kind of sin did he commit in this life to get himself in this situation? The horse was going to drive him crazy. Seeing that he couldn't defeat Maximus in an argument, he decided to ignore her instead. That should get him or her to shut up then. He couldn't tell which of her forms was more annoying at this point. 

The silent treatment seemed to work because no matter how much she forced those dirty innuendos into his head, he ignored her. The horse shifter was eccentric and a troublemaker. He was none of those but a normal Fae who wanted a quiet, comfortable life until he was thrust into this madness. 

But that peace lasted but a while, Maximus wandered straight behind him and shoved him in the back. Issac stumbled forward but caught himself, and didn't glance back knowing that she wanted a reaction from him. But not looking at her was an equally bigger mistake because she shoved him not once but a second and a third time before he whipped around to face her with his teeth bared. 

It was a warning. 

But the fearless horse shifter seemed to disregard that rule and instead shoved his nose in his hand. Issac slumped in defeat, as annoyed as he was by her behavior, it didn't stop him from petting him and Maximus seemed to relish the sensation. If only she was a normal horse, Issac sighed inwardly. 

He ran his hand along the soft fur of his neck. Maximus was a muscled onyx horse through and through, there was not a stitch or streak of other colors. He dared to say that he was beautiful. And powerful. He could see why someone like Prince Adric could get attracted to her. Not to mention she was older as well. All her kinds were gone and it made him wonder if she had no plans of reviving her kind. 

Surely, if she had lived for hundreds of years, she had the chance of raising as many foals as she wanted. That is if she doesn't have one already and just hasn't told him yet, not that it was any of his business. Issac had a feeling if he raised such a sensitive and sexual subject with her, he would be the one suffering afterward. 

However, Issac couldn't help but feel pity for her. She was all alone in the world and he couldn't imagine being on his own without his Fae brethren around. Perhaps, that was why the harsh lines of his face softened and he didn't complain when she threw one of his odd jokes in his head again. Perhaps, this was her way of combating loneliness. 

"Stop teasing me and perhaps, we might get along," He offered her a truce. 

Maximus threw his head back and released what Issac recognized was a snort. Either she just called him bluff or Maximus was too proud to want one. However, the horse's equine eye narrowed the next minute and Issac realized she didn't believe him. 

"I'm serious. No more dirty jokes and no infiltrating my mind without my permission. That's rude."

"Fine," Isaac heard her answer in his head, "Ride me properly then and I would leave your virgin mind alone for a while." 

Issac groaned into his palm. To think they just talked about the dirty jokes and her getting into his mind. She was simply unbelievable. 

"Fine, deal."

"Good." Maximus was back to talking out loud, "Get on my back, shy Fae." She waited anticipatedly for him to grab the saddle and climb on . 

Issac had no choice but to obey. Perhaps, he too recognized that the sooner he accepted the horse shifter was stuck with him for gods knows how long, the better for him.