The Cursed Prince

For a few moments, Mars and Edgar were frozen in their place, looking dumbfounded.

So... the scarf worked?

How did Emmelyn get it? Who gave it to her?

They didn't know that humans could come back from the dead after they die.

Well... Elara Strongmoor was half-elf and from what Emmelyn explained to Edgar, it might only work because of that fact.

"Son....?" Queen Elara batted her eyes in confusion.

She slowly sat up and held her head with both hands. Right at that moment, Mars suddenly moved from his daze. Tears started forming in his eyes when he realized his mother was truly alive.

"Mother..." He tossed the scarf to the slab and came to hug his mother.

Edgar felt moved too. He wanted to cry but he held back, not wanting the queen to feel more confused. He stepped back and wanted to give Mars and his mother a chance to talk in private.

When his foot touched Gewen's body, he looked down and sighed.

Gosh.. apparently Gewen was shocked or scared. He must think he was seeing a ghost and it was enough to scare him. Edgar could only shake his head.

He knew Gewen was valiant in the battleground, but the man was scared of ghosts in particular. This was his one weakness that only a few people knew about.

Edgar now realized he and Mars should have kept Gewen updated with their plans to revive Queen Elara. So, this wouldn't happen.

Sigh. It's too late for that now.

Edgar crouched down and patted Gewen's forehead. "Hey... wake up. Gewen...!"

The handsome man fluttered his lashes and slowly opened up his eyes. Once he regained full consciousness, he jolted awake and sat up. His eyes bulged and he looked around them with confusion.

"Edgar... did you- did you see that?" His voice faltered.

Edgar nodded. "The queen is back."

"Huh?" Gewen looked at Edgar seriously. "So, I wasn't dreaming? I wasn't seeing a ghost?"

"No... you weren't."

Edgar understood that Gewen must be so shocked. So, he briefly explained his meeting with Emmelyn and how he ended up with a dragon in the capital.

Gewen needed some moments to let all the information sink in.

"Oh, my gods..." Gewen muttered over and over again. He slowly got up with Edgar's help and tried to see Queen Elara better. They found the queen and Mars were hugging and both cried without sound.

Edgar and Gewen exchanged glances. They had a tacit understanding to not disturb the heartfelt reunion between mother and son.

So, they both slowly stepped back and decided to wait for Mars and Queen Elara outside the cave.

"Where is this?" Queen Elara looked around after she and Mars let go of their hug. "Where is Emmelyn?"

Mars felt his heart ached when he heard his mother's second question was to ask about Emmelyn. He could see how much his mother loved his wife. 

The man forced a smile and rubbed his mother's arm. "She is okay. It's a long story. What do you say if we get out of here and we can talk about it in a nicer place?"

Queen Elara furrowed her brows and suddenly anger flashed in her eyes.

She gripped Mars's hand and spoke urgently. "Where is Ellena Greystorm? She did something to me..!! She took out a knife and stabbed me!"

Mars held both his mother's hands and looked at her deeply, tears started dripping down to his cheeks. "Mother, I will make sure Ellena gets her punishment. Let's not talk about her now. I don't want to ruin our reunion by mentioning her name."

Queen Elara was surprised to see her son crying. Her heart felt ached and she started crying too. 

"No... don't cry, Mars. Look... I am fine. I asked because I wanted to know what happened, not to see you sad." She touched her son's cheeks with both hands and wiped his tears. "Okay... let's not talk about her. Let's get out of here."

Mars forced a smile and nodded. He took his mother's hands and kissed them. Then, he took the wooden box from the slab and put it inside his coat pocket.

Mars decided to take Queen Elara home. So, he wrapped his mother's hands around his neck and he scooped her in his arms. 

He thought his mother must be feeling weak because her body had not moved for months. So, he decided to carry her.

Queen Elara batted her eyes in confusion as she cast her gaze around them. She finally realized they were in an ice cave when they left the chamber and went through the passage.

She remembered this place because she and her husband came here several times in the past when it was just discovered. It was a magical place.  Now she was wondering how she ended up here.

What happened after Ellena stabbed her heart?

Wait...

Shouldn't she be dead by now?

"Son..." Queen Elara looked at Mars' face that was only inches away from hers. "Did I die?"

Mars could never lie to his mother. He nodded weakly. "Yes. It's a really long story, mother. I know so many things confuse you right now, but I hope you can be patient for a little while. I will tell you everything soon."

The queen suddenly felt uneasy. From the way her son spoke, Mars seemed to be hiding something. He wasn't lying to her, but he didn't want to tell her everything right away. Did bad things happen?

Gosh... so many questions. She hugged Mars's neck more tightly as her mind went to the day she came to visit Emmelyn in Mars's castle. Roshan said Emmelyn was very unwell and asked to see the queen in her chamber.

When Elara went inside, she met Ellena instead. And then... the next thing she knew... Ellena swung a knife to her heart and stabbed her.

With one hand, she touched her chest and felt her heart. There was no more wound. She also didn't feel any pain. What happened to her after the stabbing?

And the more important question was... if Ellena could be in Emmelyn's chamber and stabbed the queen, where did Emmelyn go? What happened to her?

.

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From the author:

Yes!!! Finally, the queen is back! We will soon see how Mars handled Ellena and her family, and Queen Elara read Emmelyn's letter.

Thank you so much, Mamabird for gifting this book a dragon today! You are so kind and I am very grateful.

Thank you, everyone, for your support. We are now still in #2 Golden Ranking. That means I will publish 3 chapters per day throughout the next week. Let's keep the same target for next week. Your support and votes truly motivate me to write more and more, so we can immediately finish this story.

I can't wait to continue with Maxim's story in "The Cursed King", but I want to do him and Elise justice, so I will quickly end TCP and then focus there. Crossing fingers.