The Cursed Prince

  "Edgar!!" Gewen jumped down from his horse as soon as he reached them. He threw the reins to a soldier nearby and walked toward Edgar. "Where have you been???"

He gave Edgar a bear hug and then hit him on the back. Edgar growled in pain because of it. He was still too weak and this fucker just casually hit him so hard. 

"Gewen... fuck! Why do you have to be so extra...?" he cursed under his breath as he almost lost balance. "I just went through an exhausting journey..."

Gewen immediately helped supporting Edgar's swaying body. Gewen was shocked to see how fragile his friend was. "Oh... I'm so sorry, man. I am just very excited to see you."

"Calm down, you guys..." Mars helped Edgar too and pushed Gewen aside. "Hey, Gewen. How are you doing? Have you recovered from your 'injuries'?"

He looked at Gewen with a questioning gaze. The womanizer cleared his throat and replied shyly, "Yeah... I am good now."

Mars knew that Gewen was not really injured, and Gewen could guess that the king knew he actually caught a... ahem... venereal disease, but Mars pretended he didn't know.

Gewen felt slightly embarrassed when he thought about it. He really hoped Mars didn't say anything to Edgar though. It would be hella embarrassing.

Wait.. did Edgar know? Gewen stole a glance at Edgar to see his reaction. Finally, he realized Mars didn't gossip about him to Edgar since Edgar Chaucer didn't show any mocking expression toward Gewen, like he would normally do if Gewen did something stupid.

This made Gewen feel happy again. He cast his glance around them and whispered to the king, "Why are we here? Did something happen?"

Mars didn't answer his question. He just motioned them to follow him to enter the cave. Edgar and Gewen had no choice but to follow.

"Do you know why? Why are we here?" Gewen asked Edgar in a whisper. He was very curious.

However, the man was still feeling pain after Gewen hit his back and refused to talk. So, Gewen could only wonder why the first thing Edgar and Mars did after Edgar returned home was to see the late queen.

What was so important to do here that Edgar didn't bother to go home and rest after going through such a tiring and exhausting journey?

So much mystery!

Gewen was disappointed because none of his friends would talk to him about it. So, he could only keep walking and hoped he would find out the answer soon.

They walked inside the cave further. It had a narrow passage for around 100 meters long with dim lighting came out from luminous stones decorating the walls. This ice cave held so much mystery to it and nobody really knew why it became really special.

Some people said the cave was the secret passage to a mysterious land but there was never proof found. What they knew was this place had such low temperatures that anything that was kept here would be preserved really well.

That was the reason why King Jared immediately thought of this place when he found out his wife was dead. He didn't want to let her go. For as long as he lived, he would want to be with her.

And it worked. After so many months, it was said that the late queen's body was still preserved perfectly. 

"By the way, I heard from my sisters, you came home riding a dragon," Gewen asked again to Edgar, while they were walking deeper inside the cave. "What was it like?"

Mars finally put his finger on his lips and motioned Gewen to stop asking questions. They almost reached the end of the passage and were about to enter the big underground chamber where his mother was laid to rest.

"We are here," he announced. The three of them walked inside the chamber and both Gewen and Edgar were amazed by the beautiful chamber. They could see properly inside this chamber because of the light that came out of the luminous wall.

"This is amazing," Gewen whispered. He couldn't help openly express his feelings about the beauty of this place. "The wall must contain some sort of minerals that glow in the dark."

"Yeah..." Mars nodded. "This place is really special. We are here to see my mother."

He walked toward an ice slab in the middle of the room. There lay the beautiful queen with her eyes closed. Her appearance, except for her pale skin, looked healthy and normal.

She was wearing a really beautiful blue dress and her long silver hair sprawled around her head down to her waist. She looked like she was sleeping. Only Gewen shivered because he knew the queen was long dead.

While Mars and Edgar both were feeling nervous. They didn't know if they could really revive the queen. Mars especially tried hard not to harbor any hope. What if it didn't work? He would feel so disappointed.

"Mother..." His voice was hoarse when he greeted his mother.

He sometimes came here to visit Queen Elara with Harlow, just to slowly introduce his daughter to her. Every time he came, he would just sit by the ice bed for half an hour and didn't say anything. And then he would leave.

This time, he sat there again, and he took out the wooden box from his coat pocket. Gewen's eyes bulged when he saw it.

He became more confused. What was the king trying to do?

Was Mars too overcome by his grief that he was now slowly losing his mind??

Mars opened the box lid and took out the white scarf from inside the box. Then he put the box aside. He looked at his mother's beautiful face deeply. He missed her so badly.

Mars spent so many days crying and regretting the fact that he left to chase a witch and it caused the two women he loved to suffer. If he didn't go, nobody... nobody could touch his mother and Emmelyn.

There was no use crying over spilled milk. Now that he was given a second chance to have them back into his life, he promised he would do things right.

He took a long deep breath to calm down his nerves, and then covered the scarf on his mother's face. Gewen furrowed his brows in confusion. What's going on here? He turned to Edgar and found his friend was solemnly watching the scene unfolding between Mars and Queen Elara.

Were they expecting something? Gewen was wondering. 

Mars looked up and asked Edgar, "How long should we wait?"

"I honestly don't know..." Edgar admitted. 

"Wait.. is something supposed to happen?"Gewen blurted his question. He couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore. "Please... will anyone tell me what's going on???"

Mars didn't pay him any heed. He kept focusing on his mother. He waited and waited for something to happen. However, after ten minutes... there was only silence and stillness.

He let out a long sigh, then took the scarf from his mother's face. "I guess... it doesn't work..."

"What doesn't work?"

That gentle voice suddenly made Mars's heart skip a beat.

It was his mother's lovely voice!

"No-mother..?" he muttered and look at the queen's face. His mouth was agape when he saw Queen Elara's eyes opened and now were staring at him lovingly. Edgar let out a loud gasp when he realized what happened. Meanwhile, Gewen who was standing beside him suddenly passed out.

His body fell to the ground with a loud thud.