The Cursed Prince

After Emmelyn thought about it, she realized that Mars must know his friends better than her. That meant, he knew the best way to handle things.

Well.. in that case, Emmelyn decided to just trust him.  She really hoped things would go according to plan and they could get married without any hitch.

Gosh... she couldn't wait to marry this man and call him husband. Ahh.. how wonderful would that be? They would soon become a real family.

They continued riding their horses leisurely and by the time the sun was so high in the sky, they arrived at the top of a big hill overlooking a vast valley.

The view was amazing and the plants around them had mostly become green again. Flowers also started blooming in the valley in front of them. It looked like spring came early to this part of the world.

Gewen advised them to stop by for lunch. He said they would get lunch with a view and Mars agreed with it.

"You are right, this place is perfect." He nodded and motioned Edgar to tell the soldiers to rest.

They all got down from the horses and let them graze while they find a good spot to sit and enjoyed the lunch they brought from the capital.

The cooks provided food enough for them to have lunch and dinner. Tomorrow they would have to hunt animals and roast meat to eat. Emmelyn was so excited when she heard it.

"I know you would like that," Mars commented. "I told you, this would be like a semi-adventure for us. We can actually stop by in any Lord's estate and get proper food, but I want to do things your way sometimes."

Emmelyn was beaming when she heard his words. She did like that, very much. There was something liberating when you could feed yourself with the food you caught or gathered.

She almost forgot her disguise and kissed him. Fortunately, she remembered at the last second and held back.

"That's wonderful," Emmelyn said with a big smile.

"I can show you that I can provide for you, even though we are outside," Mars said. "Gewen and I are the best archers in Draec. Let us show off our skills tomorrow to please the future queen... hehe."

Emmelyn batted her eyes and nodded excitedly. She looked extremely adorable that Mars pinched her nose.

The truth was, Mars actually felt jealous when Emmelyn told him about some of her adventures with Maxim in Atlantea.

Emmelyn made it sound like Maxim and she really clicked as they were both very adventurous. She said Maxim was a great hunter when they were traveling together through the woods.

Mars was annoyed by the story and wanted to look for a chance to prove his skills too.

He was a great warrior and general, but Emmelyn would never see him in the battle. He would never want her to be at the frontline and witness him leading his army if there was any war broke out.

So, the only way to show Emmelyn his skills and prowess was when they traveled together like this or went on adventures.

As suggested by Gewen, they stopped at a nice place to have lunch and admired their surroundings. The soldiers took turns eating, as the half was keeping guard.

Even though they were in their own country and it was during a peaceful time, they didn't let their guard down.

There might be robbers or some rebels who were operating around them. Their prince had always told them to be alert at any time.

Meanwhile, Mars, Emmely, Gewen, and Edgar sat on an animal skin that they laid down on the ground and enjoyed good food prepared by the cooks from the crown prince's castle.

This morning, the three cooks especially packed food that they knew Emmelyn liked.

Ever since the day when she gave them gold coins, the cooks had become especially devoted to her and did their work even better than before. This didn't escape the prince's observation.

He was glad Emmelyn treated the staff well and they, in turn, loved her and were loyal to her.

"I like this place. It's beautiful," Emmelyn commented when she had finished her food. She cast her glance around them and let out an admiring sigh.

She didn't come from this direction when she was coming to Draec from Wintermere, so she felt fascinated by what she saw.

Her reaction made Mars feel happy. He was glad that Emmelyn liked his kingdom.

Emmelyn had seen the world, so she must have a much more refined taste and was able to appreciate beauty and culture more than regular people.

People who had never been anywhere would have a very limited understanding of the nature and culture around them. They might think what they have was the best when in reality, there were better things out there.

So, knowing that Emmelyn liked things she saw and experienced in Draec gave the prince a sense of pride. Also, he already made Draec the dowry for Emmelyn to marry him, it was nice to see that she liked his dowry.

"I will take you to my favorite place in Southberry. The vineyards are really pretty," Mars responded. He had been wanting to take Emmelyn there since they just got to know each other months before.

He did really like the vineyards and thought she would enjoy going there too. However, he only got his chance now.

"Will we have a chance to sightsee?" Gewen suddenly asked. "I am just wondering about it since we have to talk about the strategy and the next kingdom to conquer with Prince Athos. I think we will be too busy."

"Well.. I am sure we can find the time," Mars replied.

He only smiled faintly, thinking how surprised Gewen and Edgar would be when they found out this trip wouldn't have anything to do with any conquest plans since Mars wanted to end their invasion missions starting this year.

"Hmm..  okay," Gewen shrugged. 

After they finished eating lunch and had a short rest, they continued the trip. They arrived in a city when the sun was setting. It was called Havertown.

"Let's spend the night here and take things easy," Mars told his men. "We can stay at the mayor's place and tell the soldiers to spread around and rest."

"All right, Your Highness." Edgar nodded. He shouted his orders to the soldiers and soon they reached the city gate, two soldiers went ahead to inform the city guardians that the crown prince was passing through their town and would like to spend the night there.

Soon, the mayor came with his men and welcomed the crown prince and his entourage. He didn't expect Mars would stop by his town and was so excited to welcome him and his men.

Usually, when the crown prince traveled to Southberry, he would always spend the night in Glendale, the province's capital since it was bigger and, of course, had better accommodation options for him.

However, it looked like this time the crown prince was traveling leisurely and was still quite far from Glendale when the night came, so he decided to rest in Havertown.

The mayor couldn't be happier to host the future king in his home. He quickly told his servants to prepare the best rooms in his mansion for the prince and his companions.

"I will be very honored if Your Highness and my lords would have dinner with us. My wife and daughters are great cooks and they are so excited when they heard that Your Highness is here. My daughters want to serve Your Highness with the food they prepare themselves." Marquis Milot, the mayor bowed down sooo deeply that Emmelyn was worried he would break his neck.

"Sure, why not?" Mars nodded. He didn't want to be rude by saying no. Even though his cooks had packed up food for them to eat at dinner, it would be nice to eat properly in Havertown tonight.

Tomorrow they would go all out and hunt their food on the way from here to Glendale.

"Thank you, Your Highness! My family is very honored." Marquis Milot gave instruction to his butler to show the prince and his companions their room so they could freshen up and rest for a bit before dinner.

The mayor's residence was a huge mansion in the city center. It was surrounded by really tall and thick walls. The guest rooms were located on the second floor. Mars got to see the beautiful garden in front of the mansion from his window.

Emmelyn got the view of the market, which she liked and she quickly thought of going out in the morning to check the market.

***

"Welcome, Your Highness."

Four beautiful young women welcomed Mars, Emmelyn, Gewen, and Edgar at the door when they came to the dining room to fulfill the mayor's dinner invitation.

The girls' appearances looked similar to each other which made Mars assume that they were sisters. He was wondering if these were Marquis Milot's daughters...

His assumption was confirmed when he saw the mayor waiting for them at the long dining table in the middle of the room.

He was all smiles when he introduced his daughters. "Your Highness, these are my lovely daughters. They are so happy to serve you. If you need ANYTHING at all, please let them know."

He emphasized on the word 'ANYTHING' which immediately invited a massive eye-roll from Emmelyn.

Gosh, the mayor was so obvious in his attempt to sell his daughters to the prince and the lords.

Emmelyn hated Marquis Milot almost instantly.

She had heard stories and saw with her own eyes, how daughters were treated by their parents as bargaining tools. They were raised only to be sold... ahem... married off, for the family's or especially the father's gain.

No wonder Marquis Milot looked so excited when he saw the guests.

He must be thinking that if his daughters could attract all these men, or even at least just one, their family would benefit greatly.

It would mean getting wealthy and powerful in-laws, if his daughters could get Edgar or Gewen, or even the crown prince himself.