The Cursed Prince

Note:

This chapter is dedicated to Maude Fluckiger, for gifting spacecraft to this book earlier. THANK YOU so much!! I am very grateful for your generosity and support. xx

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The royal butler returned ten minutes later with the wizard. Renwyck took the seat before the king and motioned Horatio to leave them alone.

He knew the king so well and understood Maxim must have a lot in his mind right now. So, Renwyck didn't want the butler to bother the king.

"You are back, Renywck." Maxim forced a smile and tilted his chin toward the cup. "Drink something. You look parched. The journey must be exhausting."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," said Renwyck. He took the cup and started sipping his wine. It was indeed an exhausting journey. 

"Did you come with Raphael or Margueritte?" Maxim asked Renwyck. His gaze looked hopeful. "Where are they?"

The wizard shook his head. "I am sorry, Your Majesty. When I reached Mount Tempest, the ice prince was gone. Margueritte told me Princess Elise came before us and begged Raphael to come to Myreen and heal her father, King Alexander. Raphael couldn't say no because the princess begged on her knees for three days."

"What???" Maxim clenched his cup so tightly when he heard Renwyck's explanation.

Shit! What were the odds that Elise was also getting Raphael to help her father? How did she know about the man?

Jeez... why was he always so unlucky? Maxim complained inwardly.

Had he waited with Emmelyn in Myreen, maybe Raphael would have arrived by now and he could revive Emmelyn when he came for King Alexander.

Oh, Elise... Why was she ruining his plan? Maxim wanted to curse his fiancee for this unexpected problem.

Now, how was he going to get Emmelyn to wake up? Should he wait for Rapahel to return from Myreen? It would take such a long time.

"So.. can Raphael really help heal King Alexander?" Maxim asked Renwyck to confirm. "What did Margueritte say? Why can't she go?"

Renwyck shook his head. "Margueritte said she is not a healer. Only Raphael can do it, and it looks like he can heal King Alexander. Margueritte refused to elaborate, but it seems Princess Elise promised something to repay Raphael. That's why Raphael went with her to Myreen."

"Oh... I wonder what he wanted," Maxim furrowed his brows.

He remembered Emmelyn gave Raphael the snake pendant which was said to have magical properties inside it in exchange for the scarf to revive her mother-in-law. Did Elise also promise the same thing? 

She must have, he thought again.

Myreen was a country run by magic. They must have something valuable to offer Raphael, like Emmelyn's snake pendant. Maxim remembered Myrcella had that crystal ball, which was now broken.

Did Elise offer that as payment to Raphael? What would his reaction be if Raphael came and found the crystal ball was now broken? Would he refuse to heal King Alexander?

"Hmm.. that's unfortunate," Maxim muttered to himself. He felt bad for the Leoraleis, if that was the case. The crystal broke because of Emmelyn. So, Maxim felt partly responsible too.

Maybe... he could help them pay back Raphael if they really didn't have anything to offer.

Summeria was such a big country. Raphael could ask for anything in exchange for his help to heal King Alexander.  No matter what, Elise would become Maxim's wife soon, and so, her debt would be his debt too.

That's what being a family meant. 

"I'm sorry, I failed to bring Raphael to Castilse," Renwyck said apologetically. "However, Margueritte said that there is another way to help Lady Emmelyn."

"She said that?" Maxim's interest piqued. "What is it? How can we get it?"

"It's the scarf that Raphael gifted to Lady Emmelyn," Renwyck replied. "If we can get it... Lady Emmelyn can wake up."

"Oh..." Maxim rubbed his hair in frustration.

The scarf was sent to Draec months ago and it was probably still there. He downed his wine and put the cup on the table.

The king said, "Then, I will send someone to get it from Draec. We can send the third dragon to Draec, while the other two take us to the frontline."

Renwyck coughed softly and nodded. "That won't be necessary, Your Majesty. Margueritte said the scarf is nearby. It looks like the king of Draec is bringing the scarf with him."

"Oh.. is that so?" Maxim still didn't like Mars, but he slowly developed some respect for the other man. He thought Mars Strongmoor was quite smart.

If the scarf really worked to revive his mother, it would only make sense to bring it with him to the battlefield. It would serve a much greater purpose if he was injured in a fight. 

"Yes." Renwyck replied solemnly. "Actually, I heard that the king of Draec also brought his little daughter with him."

"Really??" Maxim was so surprised to hear this information. Nobody in the throne room earlier mentioned anything about it. Maybe they didn't know? Or they just didn't think it was important? "Are you sure? Isn't Harlow still a baby?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Renwyck was glad he convey this information to his king because he knew Emmelyn's plight and the fact that she badly wanted to be reunited with her daughter. Renwyck thought it was important to let King Loriel know.

Those ministers and army commanders didn't care if their enemy was bringing a young child because they didn't see the relevance, but Renwyck cared.

"So, it's true..." Maxim sighed.

He knew the only thing that Emmelyn wanted was to see her daughter... but she was worried that being close to Harlow would bring calamity to her daughter.

She didn't know that she shouldn't worry anymore. Maxim had freed her from all the bad luck by taking his responsibility to marry his fiancee.

Maybe... Emmelyn would feel better if she saw Harlow when she woke up?

Maxim was silent for a long time. He knew he must do the right thing this time, but his heart was unwilling.

"I heard from Lysander that Your Majesty planned to leave tomorrow to the frontline. Is that true?" Renwyck asked the king after they were drinking in silence for a long time. "Should we take the dragons tomorrow?"

Maxim nodded. He finally spoke. "Yes. I need to teach some people a lesson."

"What should we do with Lady Emmelyn?" Renwyck asked again. "The scarf is with her husband."

"We have no choice but to invite the man here," Maxim replied bitterly.

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From Missrealitybites:

I am so excited!

Mars and Maxim will meet today (in the next chapter, I think). I am writing the next chapter already and will publish more in the next hours.