The Cursed Prince

Jared Strongmoor was not at all offended when he realized Mars trusted Athos more than him, his own father.

He realized Mars had his reasons, and after what happened between them, Jared should have felt grateful that his son didn't cut ties with him. He was mature enough to understand that.

"I trust that you know what works best," Jared said tactfully.

He, too, was not interested in politics. Now, he just wanted to spend as much time as possible with his wife and lived in peace. If Mars needed his help, he would be there for his son, but if Mars asked him to watch from the sideline, it was fine by him.

"Thank you, father..." Mars smiled. He was relieved to see his father really didn't make a fuss about his decision. Jared Strongmoor seemed really changed.

This gave Mars peace of mind. For him, it was one less thing to worry about.

Now, he just needed to make sure Harlow was okay before he could leave her behind to get Emmelyn back from Summeria.

He also had to find ways to get the Prestons to pay for what they did to Emmelyn. He needed to discuss this with Athos, so his cousin would know what to do.

It was such a beautiful day for everyone, after a horrible sleepless night where they were worried about Jared's life and death situation.

When Mr. Vitas checked Jared's wounds, he was dumbfounded to see how it was already healed. In fact, he looked like he was never injured in the first place.

"This magical artifact is amazing," Elmer said. He turned to Mars and looked at him deeply. "Your Majesty, this will be very useful for you when you go to the battlefield. I suggest you bring it with you."

Mars nodded. "You are right. I will bring it, just in case. Besides, I want to ask Emmelyn about the origin of this scarf. I will also need you and Bruinen to go with me. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course we don't mind," Elmer replied. "It would be an honor. I believe we both can be useful for you. My brother, Euclid is old and he wouldn't be able to help with his medical and herbomancy skills. So, I think, Bruinen can take his place to go by your side. Bruinen is a very gifted herbomancer too, in addition to the magic he learned from me."

"Yeah... I am thinking the same way," Mars nodded. Then, he crouched down and touched his mother's knees. "Mother, I will need to talk to my people and get ready to go. Will you be okay here with father? Do you need anything?"

Queen Elara touched his head and caressed his hair lovingly. Her face looked concerned. "No, we are fine here. You go ahead. I have many things to catch up with your father."

"Very well, I will leave you two here." Mars took a deep breath, then got up. He turned to his father and asked the same question. "Do you need anything, father?"

Jared Strongmoor shook his head. "We are fine. Do what you need to do."

"All right. See you later. I will talk with my men and then see Gewen depart."

"Oh... he will go today?" Queen Elara got up. "I need to see him before he leaves."

"Yeah. He will leave today. It's a really long and arduous journey. He should go as soon as possible," Mars replied. "I will ask John to get you to see Gewen off. For now, you can just rest. You haven't slept all night. You look very tired."

He had not slept too, but he forced himself to stay up and look fresh. There were so many things to do today.

Queen Elara nodded in agreement.

"Okay. Sounds good. You should rest too after Gewen departs. Delegate whatever things you still need to do to Edgar," she said. "I am sure he is very capable. You can also ask Athos to do things for you."

"Understood, mother," Mars replied with a smile. 

He finally left the queen's chamber and held a short meeting with his most trusted people. Elmer, Bruinen, Edgar, Athos, and three other generals, who would command his army from the capital. They would leave in two days. 

Most of the preparations were done and they had sent messengers to the governors on the provinces they would pass by. The local rulers would prepare logistics and their army to join the main army from the capital. 

Pigeons were sent to Wintermere and Asguay several days ago. The governors were getting ships ready and even built new ones. They were prepared to accommodate up to 50,000 soldiers.

It was such a big deal. The last time they went to war was two years ago. They conquered another kingdom after Wintermere, called Redwyn. After that, there was no more invasion because so many things happened in the past year.

Now, his men were itching to go to war. They had rested for a long time already. Hearing about this mission to go to Atlantea, they were pumped and excited.

So far, all the battles they went through were considered easy. Their power was so much bigger than their opponents. So, most of the time, it was an easy win. Now, it would be a different story since Summeria was just as big and powerful as Draec.

Gewen joined them not long after Mars started the meeting. John had notified him about it and he immediately came. He was still carrying Harlow and the baby immediately flapped her hands to motion a handover to daddy.

Gewen reluctantly gave her to Mars. The king was very tired, but he accepted his daughter with a big smile on his face.

As soon as she was sitting on her father's lap,  Harlow cast her gaze around and looked at the men one by one. She was so alike with her father, that the people felt like they were seeing double.

.

.

**********

I can't wait to see Gewen encountered Kira. I have a reference picture for Kira in the comment. XD