The Cursed Prince

"Emmelyn... I am very, very sorry for what happened to you..." Maxim touched Emmelyn's knees and looked at her endearingly.

He was feeling pain and anger at the same time for everything that Emmelyn had been through. He could only imagine how she felt since she was the one who experienced everything directly.

By then, Emmelyn could no longer shed tears. She looked at Maxim and forced a smile. "Thank you. I am just glad to know you are okay. I was very worried that you will be affected by my curse and you had encountered bad luck too.... like all other people I care about."

Maxim felt touched when he heard Emmelyn's sincere words.

So, Emmelyn considered them close and she cared about him? This truly made the man feel happy.

He looked at the grieving woman lovingly. At first, Maxim was disappointed by the fact that during their separation Emmelyn had fallen in love with another man and even married him.

However, the feeling didn't last long. What mattered now was Emmelyn was here with him. Maxim believed this was a sign that he was given a second chance to be with her. And he wouldn't let it go to waste.

"You don't have to worry. I am here... I am fine," Maxim spoke soothingly. "And now that I have found you, I will help you to do whatever you want. Do you want to take Wintermere back from the enemy? Do you want to get your daughter? Tell me... and I will make it happen."

Emmelyn looked at Maxim with widened eyes. She wanted to laugh, seeing how Maxim looked so confident with his words, but she was still grieving, so it was inappropriate to laugh.

How could this man say he would make things happen for Emmelyn? Didn't he know that now Wintermere had fallen to a very powerful kingdom?

Unless he had hundreds of thousands of army, then there was no way he could get Emmelyn's country back for her.

Ahh.. maybe he was joking to lighten up the atmosphere. 

"It's not the time to joke around," Emmelyn snorted and rolled her eyes. 

"Why do you think I am joking?" Maxim asked her. "All you've got to do is ask, and I will make things happen. I mean it."

"What are you? A genie or something that can grant all my wishes?" Emmelyn turned to look at the man with pursed lips.

"Why genie? Why not fairy godmother?" Maxim chuckled. 

"There is no such thing as a fairy godmother," Emmelyn crossed her arms on her chest.

"Well, there is no such thing as genie too..." Maxim retorted back.

"I cannot imagine a fairy godmother looking so handsome like this," Emmelyn finally let out a dry laugh. "Shouldn't you be wearing a skirt to be considered a fairy godmother?"

"If that will make you happy, I can wear one," Maxim replied leisurely.

He smiled at seeing Emmelyn laughed. Smiles and laughter suited her more than frowns and tears, he thought. This was the Emmelyn that he knew. The happy and carefree girl who traveled with him and did so many shenanigans together.

"Stop it. You won't look good in skirts," Emmelyn shook her head. "You're too manly."

"I am?" Maxim smiled broadly when he heard this. It was a nice compliment from the only woman whose opinion mattered to him. He looked down at himself and shrugged. "I guess I am."

Emmelyn touched his shoulder and looked at him deeply. "Thank you so much for saying all those nice words to me. At the moment, I just want to go to this kingdom called Myreen and meet the royal family. Once I can get them to lift their curse from me, I can think about other things."

"Myreen?" Maxim just remembered that Emmelyn already mentioned this before. 

"Yes. You told me about the country once. Do you know where it is?"

"How did you know that they cursed you?" Maxim asked her. "I heard that the family that rules Myreen is a very powerful wizard family, but they don't care about the outside world. They hide their kingdom exactly because they don't want to deal with most people."

"Two seers told me that I am surrounded by a dark aura. One finally told me he recognized all the signs as the Leoralei's curse." Emmelyn bit her lip, trying to suppress her anger.

She added, "I have no idea why they cursed me. It looks like I have offended them by accident. I don't even know who they are until Bruinen, the seer told me about them."

"Hmm..." Maxim seemed to be deep in thoughts.

He had heard about the Leoraleis, even though he had never met them. As far as he knew, they were not evil. So... how did Emmelyn end up suffering a terrible curse cast by the family member?

"Can you take me to Myreen?" Emmelyn asked Maxim seriously. "If you can't help me, I will have no choice but give myself to the king of Summeria and trick him to help me."

"Huh?" Maxim looked at Emmelyn with furrowed brows. "What do you want to do?"

"Since King Loriel Ashborn is looking for a woman named Emmelyn. So, I will come to him and trick him to help me. I will tell him that I can help him find that woman he is looking for," Emmelyn shared her plans with Maxim. "He has the resources. I will ask him to get me to Myreen."

"Trick him?" Maxim repeated her words, to confirm that he didn't mishear. "Emmelyn... what if, the king is really looking for you? If he wants you.. will you give yourself to him in order to get his help?"

Emmelyn waved her hand and chuckled. "Stop spouting nonsense. I have never met him. How could he wants someone he has never met. That's just crazy."

"Maybe he is crazy," Maxim stared at Emmelyn deeply. "I am just thinking out loud here. If you came to see him to Summeria, he might never let you go. Will you take that risk? He is a powerful man and he could force you to stay with him."

Emmelyn looked at Maxim with bulged eyes.

Shit. This man was right.

.

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From the author:

Sorry for the delay in publishing this chapter. I had to do interpreting in two conferences. They lasted all day. I can finally find the time to sit down and write. ^^