The Cursed Prince

Emmelyn's head and hair looked wet. Her long, beautiful hair, flowing down her back, covered part of her smooth skin.

At a glance, Mars could guess that Emmelyn was about to wash her hair before she suddenly fell asleep. The prince walked over to Emmelyn and stood by the bath.

"Ahem..." He cleared his throat to attract the girl's attention.

However, Emmelyn didn't open her eyes at all.

[Is she sleeping in the tub again?]

[Good God!]

Mars was very jealous of Emmelyn, who seemed to fall asleep very easily anywhere. She was also such a deep sleeper. This wasn't the first time Emmelyn had fallen asleep in the bathtub. 

Last week, Mars had to wake her up so that the girl's skin would not wrinkle from sleeping in the bath until morning.

When she slept, nothing in the world could bother her. The noise outside wouldn't wake her up if she had not got her beauty sleep.

One time, Mars even used her right hand to help him getting his release, and the girl slept through the process!

Ugh ... what a lucky girl! Mars was so jealous of her ability to sleep so well, despite her circumstances.

"Em ..." Mars called Emmelyn's name after he was ignored by the girl.

Emmelyn still didn't open her eyes. In fact, now, her lips were slightly open, showing a row of pearly-white teeth between her luscious red lips.

"Jeez ... she is really sleeping ..." Mars mumbled, massaging his forehead.

He couldn't imagine what would happen if Emmelyn did this when Mars wasn't around. She would have fallen asleep until morning in the bathtub and found by the servants, naked, while they were cleaning her chamber.

Crazy! He would have to chop their heads if that happened!

They must not see his Emmelyn naked!

No one was allowed but him.

Mars quickly made a mental note to tell Roshan to have a female servant check on Emmelyn every night, to make sure the girl didn't fall asleep carelessly while Mars went to Southberry.

The man took off all his clothes and got into the bathtub. With a very subtle movement, he entered behind Emmelyn and slowly pushed the girl's body forward.

Now he was at the end of the bath with Emmelyn's body on his lap.

Mars shook his head in amazement. Emmelyn's ability to sleep deserved two thumbs up. The girl still did not wake up.

"Oh my God, Emmelyn ... you're really an expert sleeper and eater," said Mars with a chuckle. He embraced the girl's waist and buried his head in her nape.

Hmmm .. he could sense Emmelyn's distinctive scent filling his nostrils. He was addicted to this scent and wished he could keep it in a bottle to bring to Southberry, so he could feel like she was with him throughout the journey. 

The one week trip now seemed like torture to him.

Oh well... They still had three days before the trip. He would allow Emmelyn to train again tomorrow so they could spend more time together.

He noticed how Emmelyn seemed to really enjoy today's session. The girl looked very happy earlier.

Come to think of it, Mars hardly ever saw Emmelyn looking radiant like that.

The first, was when she saw all of her favorite foods on the dining table for the first time.

The cooks delivered! Mars would give them a good bonus for making his Emmelyn eat well.

The second time, was this afternoon when she was sparring with Gewen. When the young general dropped his sword and admitted defeat, Emmelyn looked very satisfied.

Even though they knew that Gewen was going easy on her, at least Emmelyn's performance was not too bad. Her abilities were probably equivalent to that of an officer-level soldier.

Mars was actually impressed. Her skills in using her sword were better than he thought.

The man opened his eyes and kissed her nape. Seeing that her hair was already wet, Mars decided to help the girl and wash it. 

Carefully, he took the wooden bowl and used it to scoop water and wash Emmelyn's hair.

After the girl's hair was wet, Mars took some mint leaves from a case beside the bath and squeezed them along the girl's hair. 

"Uhhmmm ..." Emmelyn's muttering voice was heard as Mars's hands washed her hair and massaged her scalp. The smell of mint immediately wafted into the room. It was so good and refreshing. 

Mars, who thought Emmelyn was awake, stopped his movements, and waited for the girl to speak.

However, Emmelyn was just muttering incoherently. She was still sleeping soundly.

The man let out a long sigh and shook his head in disbelief.

"Honey ... don't sleep too much. You miss out on a lot of nice things when you are asleep," Mars whispered, wringing Emmelyn's hair with a squeeze of mint leaves.

"Uhmm .. "

"...?"

"What did you just say?" Suddenly, Emmelyn's lazy voice rang in the air.

BADUMP!

Mars immediately stopped moving. He was surprised to hear Emmelyn suddenly speak. This time the girl had actually woken up.

"Are you awake?" asked Mars. "I helped wash your hair, so you can get out of the tub."

Emmelyn lifted her nose and sniffed the air. She could smell the refreshing scent of mint. The girl spontaneously grabbed her hair and looked back. Her face was filled with a surprised expression, and her beautiful eyes went round.

"Hey! When did you come??" she asked in amazement. "I didn't know you're here already..."

"Fifteen minutes ago. Jeez ... you really are a sleeper, aren't you? What if I wasn't here? You would have slept in the bath till morning with your body shivering and all wrinkled," Mars scolded her. He took the wooden bowl and handed it to Emmelyn. "Come on, rinse your hair now. Soon, the water will turn cold."

Emmelyn accepted the bowl with hesitation. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously toward Mars. She did not know why the prince was kind enough to wash her hair.

Jeez ... Emmelyn pinched herself. She really shouldn't sleep so carelessly like this. 

Ahh .. this was a bad sign, she thought. Apparently, she was already used to this castle that her brain just let her guard down.

In the past, she only slept like this when she was at her parents' palace in Wintermere.

Whenever she was traveling, her body would naturally become more aware of her surroundings and her brain would not let her sleep for long. Even a small animal's noise would wake her up!

"What about you? Don't you want to wash your hair too?" asked Emmelyn, staring at Mars's long hair. She thought if she felt her hair sticky, he must be feeling the same.

Mars shook his head. "I'm a man. I can easily wash it tomorrow while showering in the well after the training. I'm just taking a hot bath to help me sleep."

"Oh ..."

Emmelyn nodded. She finally decided to do what the man suggested and quickly rinsed her hair.

It felt so good!

Once she was done, she rubbed her skin and washed up. She did it quickly because the water was getting cold.

"Okay, I'm done," said Emmelyn. She was about to rise from the bath and get out when that husky voice whispered in her ear.

"Don't you want to pay me back for washing your hair?"

GULP.

Emmelyn pursed her lips and turned around. "What do you want?"

[I knew it! He couldn't possibly help wash my hair without wanting anything in return!!]

[Hmmphh...]

[I knew I shouldn't trust him.]

Mars smirked and took her hand, placed it on his chiseled chest. "You can pay me back by washing me."