The Cursed Prince

"Are you ready?" Mars asked Emmelyn. She was daydreaming by the window when he entered their chamber.

There were no more Wintermere flowers outside. When spring came, one by one the flowers died and would only return to life after the autumn came.

She missed seeing those flowers. It was so nice to see them during winter because she could feel like she was back in her homeland.

Fortunately, her husband was understanding and already asked his gardeners to plant some other flowers to replace them.

Now, from outside her window, she could see many beautiful flowers of all sizes and colors. The yard right outside their chamber looked like a really beautiful garden. It reminded her of the garden that Queen Elara had outside of her lounge that she used to host people for tea.

"I am ready," Emmelyn replied. She moved from the couch and approached Mars.

Gently, she fastened one button on his shirt, above his chest, which accidentally opened and exposed his chest a little.

Mars and Emmelyn had agreed to hang their wedding ring respectively with a string around their necks to hide the fact that they were married.

Today, the string with the ring was exposed from his shirt and so she fixed it for him. Mars smiled gratefully and touched her cheek.

"Thank you."

"We don't want Ellena to make her own conclusion that we have got married. I know she is quite smart," Emmelyn said.

Her own ring was hidden behind the hem of her dress.

Seeing how she had to make sure that their marriage stay secret made Mars feel sad. He couldn't wait for the day when he could announce her proudly as his wife.

That had to wait several more months until their baby was born and they had handled the witch. In the meantime, they had to be patient and careful.

"Yeah, you are right." Mars nodded. Ellena was a really smart girl. He knew her that much.

"They will be here soon. You can hide in the study while I host my friends in the library. I have asked the servants to unlock the adjoining door between the two rooms. You can see what's happening in the library from the door opening," Mars said as he walked together with Emmelyn out of their chamber. "The door itself is hidden by some bookcase, so you won't attract anyone's attention."

"Got it," Emmelyn replied.

She couldn't wait to see Killian again. Gosh.. if the man was really her brother, Emmelyn would definitely try to talk to him. She MUST know what happened.

***

"Your Highness, this is for you," Roshan came with a tray of tea and some cakes. Mars told him to get everything that Emmelyn needed while he met with his friends. That's why as soon as Emmelyn entered his study, the butler came with drinks and cakes for her.

"Thank you, Roshan," Emmelyn felt her throat dry. She was nervous. So, she poured tea into her cup and quickly drank it with a trembling hand.

"Your Highness, are you okay?" Roshan asked him with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Please stand by around here so I can call you when I need you," said Emmelyn to the butler.

"Yes, will do, Your Highness. I will be just outside the door." Roshan bowed down and took his leave. He closed the door behind him.

***

One by one, the awaited guests came to the crown prince's castle. Gewen arrived first with some cakes that his mother forced him to bring.

"My sisters just learned to do some baking and my mother told me to bring their cakes for you," he said, handing over a package to the prince.

Mars turned to a servant and motioned him to take the cakes. "Thank you, Gewen."

Mars felt a bit weird that Lady Athibaud lately started paying more attention to him. She had always been nice to him since he was young, but it seemed, after he was no longer cursed, she became even nicer.

Edgar came next. He didn't bring anything with him, as expected. And finally, the people that Mars actually wanted to see, arrived with a carriage.

"Hello, Your Highness," Ellena got down from her carriage with the help of a young man. Her face was radiant and the smile on her face made her looked more beautiful than usual.

She was wearing her best dress, a pink dress with a brown leather coat and white hat.

"Lady Ellena, you look healthy," Mars smiled. He reached out his hand and kissed Ellena's hand, as per their custom. Then, he looked up and observe the man standing behind Ellena.

So, this young man was the man who came with Ellena to the royal gala. He looked neat with expensive outfits and a regal appearance.

Mars furrowed his brows. He remembered the picture that was created by Mr. Asai Ato, the painter yesterday. The picture did look like this man.

So, it seemed like this man was the same man as the one coming to the royal gala with Ellena.

However, there was a striking difference.

This man didn't have a piercing gaze like the man from the picture and he also looked quite young. 

"Lord Killian, I'm happy to see you," Mars reached out his hand to shake Killian's hand. The young man before him bowed down his head and smiled. He shook the crown prince's hand.

"It's an honor to be invited here, Your Highness," Killian replied. 

"Please, come in," Mars said to his guests and led them toward his massive library. They all followed.

As soon as they all sat nicely on several couches in his library, tea and cakes were served by the efficient servants.

"I miss drinking wine with you guys at our regular tavern," Ellena commented with a pout when the servant poured tea for her. "We almost never saw each other during winter."

"I am sorry, Ellena. I had been very busy," Mars sipped his tea and glanced at Gewen. He was happy to see that Gewen didn't seem to tell Ellena anything about Mars and Emmelyn's secret wedding. He asked how she was doing. "I trust that you are healthy?"

"Yes, I try to keep myself busy by visiting our home in the countryside," Ellena replied. She turned to Killian and added, "I am happy that an old friend came to visit me so I didn't feel too lonely."

"Ah..  that's right. We have met briefly at the royal gala," Mars also turned to Killian. He thought this was a good opportunity to interrogate the man and found out his origins. "We didn't get to talk then. Would you mind telling me where you are from?"

Killian nodded. "Sure. My family is from Asguay. I don't know if Your Highness has ever heard of it? It's a small country by the sea. Close to Wintermere. We own some land right at the border."

Again, he mentioned Wintermere, Mars thought.

The crown prince felt intrigued. Emmelyn was from Wintermere. She was the first woman who could touch him without dying.

Now, Mars didn't really know if Emmelyn was really immune to his curse, or if the curse was already broken when she came to his castle.

Nobody could know the answer but the witch. If he never met the witch, then he might never know the answer.

Another interesting thing was, it seemed, the witch had a close connection to Wintermere since the Bellevars chose to flee there after they left Draec when the curse befell the Strongmoors.

Were all these connected?

"If I may ask, where did you two meet?" Mars asked Ellena. He took a good look at her and waited for her answer. "You haven't really told me in detail what happened during the five years that you went missing."

He would know if Ellena was lying since he knew her for so long already. Ellena never lied to him. The worst thing she did was she would hide the truth or refused to answer.

"We met during my travel when I was looking for the witch," Ellena replied. She narrowed her eyes and stared back at Mars. "Your tone... sounds like you are suspecting me of something."

Mars knew, there was no fooling Ellena. "I am just curious. There are so many things that I need to know. I hope you don't mind answering my question."

Ellena shook her head. "Of course I don't mind. But I don't appreciate being interrogated by you. We have talked about this."

"I know. At that time I figured you still needed time to calm down after the traumatizing experience with the witch. However, it's been several months. I now need you to talk to me and tell me everything." Mars responded. "If... you still consider me your friend."

He looked at Ellena deeply. 

Meanwhile, in the crown prince's study, Emmelyn was standing frozen when she took a peek from the door opening. She recognized Killian right away.