The Cursed Prince

For Queen Elara, the journey home felt like forever. There was so much she wanted to know but she couldn't get the answers from her son.

  His gloomy expression already told her bad things had happened, and now she was preparing herself for all the worst possible scenarios.

After his mother entered the carriage, Mars told the head of security in front of the cave to not let anyone hear about his visit today.  The punishment for spreading the news was death.

Since Mars already had a fearsome and ruthless reputation from the beginning, they knew he was very serious with his order. So, they promised to keep their mouths shut.

"Gewen, we are going to the royal palace. You can follow the carriage from behind, or you can go first and tell John to get everything ready. Please keep this a secret from everyone you met. Just talk to John," Mars said to Gewen after he helped his mother enter the carriage.

Gewen nodded. His face still looked pale and he couldn't believe his eyes that Queen Elara was alive.

Welp... there were so many surprises today. And what's more surprising was Queen Elara was not the only one who was still alive, but Emmelyn too!

Edgar said he met her in Summeria? How did she get there???

Gewen still had so many questions raging in his mind. He wished he could join his friends and the queen in the carriage, so he could hear their conversation.

Alas! He came here with his horse and there were already three people in the carriage. Since both Edgar and the queen were unwell, they would need more space so they could lie down.

Finally, Gewen sighed and got on his horse. He decided to go first. John would need to prepare the queen's chamber so she could immediately rest when she arrived in the palace. They also need to invite the old king from his mansion to come to the royal palace.

From what Edgar told him, Gewen knew Jared Strongmoor didn't know that his son was trying to revive his late wife. The old king must be shocked and happy at the same time.

"I will go now. See you at the palace," Gewen said before he left with his horse. Mars nodded. He got in the carriage after Edgar and told their coachman to go back.

"Can you please tell me what happened, son?" Queen Elara touched Mars' arm and looked at him pleadingly. "What happened to Emmelyn? I was asked to come to your chamber because your butler said your wife was very sick."

Mars remembered his treacherous butler, Roshan, and his fists clenched. He was sure now that Roshan was killed by Emmelyn and she was the one who carved the word 'TRAITOR' on his body.

Now, he actually thought the punishment was not enough. Roshan should have been tortured slowly to death. Maybe he should be flayed alive to set an example.

"Emmelyn is fine," Mars replied, trying not to lie to his mother. "She is not here at the moment, but I will get her as soon as possible. We have a baby daughter... Harlow was born six months ago and she is now very beautiful."

The queen's eyes lit up when she heard Harlow's name mentioned. "She is??? Where is she? Is she with Emmelyn?"

"No... Harlow is with me. You can see her soon," Mars replied.

His answer made the queen feel confused. From what she could gather, Emmelyn was currently away, but their daughter was left behind? How could a mother leave her child? Why did she go? Where did she go??

"Oh, my gods... Why isn't Emmelyn here? Harlow needs her mother..." Queen Elara looked devastated. "How could she do this to her own flesh and blood...?"

"No... no, mother, you are wrong to assume Emmelyn left Harlow. It's not her fault. It's mine..." Mars' voice faltered. He looked at his mother deeply and, finally, he was forced to explain to her what happened.

He knew his mother couldn't wait until they reached the palace to hear everything. She would break down. So, slowly and gently, he told her how Ellena framed Emmelyn for the queen's murder, how Emmelyn faked her death twice, and where they all stood now.

His story ended when the carriage stopped in front of the main palace. Queen Elara was struck dumbfounded when she heard about everything that had happened after she was stabbed and considered dead.

Her pale face was now seething with anger. She didn't move or say anything even after they reached the palace and the carriage stopped.

"Mother..." Mars talked to his mother with a hoarse voice.

All his life, he had never seen his mother feeling this angry.

No, Queen Elara Strongmoor was a gentle and sweet woman. She never expressed anger openly. So, seeing his mother's face filled with fury, made Mars worry.

"Please, don't talk to me," the queen clenched her jaws and brushed off her son's hand. "How could you let your father do that to her? She is YOUR WIFE. She doesn't have anyone in this world after we took away her everything...."

Tears were streaming down hard from the queen's eyes. She exerted all her willpower and got up from her seat, refusing any help from Mars to get out of the carriage.

Mars was very surprised to see his mother's supposedly weak body was apparently strong enough to walk on her own. She walked with long steps and entered the main palace.

"Mother... wait...!" After he was moved from his shock, Mars quickly chased after his mother.

With a murderous glare, he motioned the commander of the king's guards to make sure nobody will leave the palace and spread rumors about the queen coming back to life.

Queen Elara only halted her steps when she met John who came out to welcome her with teary eyes. The royal butler immediately dropped himself to the floor and cried.

"Your Majesty.... you are back..." he cried happy tears. "I am so happy to see you again..."

Queen Elara pressed her hand to her chest. She was was touched by John's reaction to seeing her return. "I am back, John. Please help me to go to my chamber. I am very distraught."

She reached out a hand and John quickly got up and took her hand. He could see the queen was very weak, but she obviously avoided her son. This made him realize something bad must have happened between them.

So, he readily helped the queen to reach her chamber safely. Mars could only see the sight with a broken heart.

He knew his mother was blaming him, just like Emmelyn was also blaming him for what happened. He felt like a failure of a husband. If he could turn back time, he would have done things differently. However, he couldn't go back to the past and redo everything.

He could only fix the present.

"I asked the king's guards to close all exits and not let anyone leave the palace, but they said Gewen already told him to do that. So, we're good," said Edgar who just entered the palace.

He could understand what his friend was feeling and hoped Mars could immediately resolve everything and get his wife back.

"You should give your mother the letter," Edgar reminded Mars. "It's in the box."

"What if Emmelyn blamed me in her letter?" Mars asked Edgar. "It will make my mother angrier."

Edgar sighed. "Then, it's the risk you have to take."

.

.

***************

I have a feeling that Queen Elara will be so mad at her husband and wouldn't want to have anything to do with him anymore. Btw, what do you think Mars will do? Will he give Emmelyn's letter or keep it to himself?