The Cursed Prince

Gewen stared at Kira fixedly. He repeated his words once again. "Lower your sword."

"Not before you told me where she is," Kira replied flatly. She pushed her sword forward, touching Gewen's chest, and blood started seeping out through his shirt. Kira shook her head disappointedly. "I can't believe you will defend the wicked witch who has made Emmelyn suffer so much and almost killed Harlow."

"Harlow?" Gewen raised an eyebrow.

He was just as disappointed with Kira as she was with him. He couldn't believe Kira would be so ruthless as selling another woman to slavery in a brothel, regardless of however wicked she was.

He understood that Ellena had done heinous crimes and hurt many people, but for the love of everything that was holy, he couldn't accept Ellena being punished with what Kira had in mind.

Also, he never heard anything about Ellena trying to hurt Harlow. How could Kira say that Ellena almost killed Harlow? This can't be right.

From the day she was born, Harlow was always safe with Lily Greenan and later with Mars, her father. Even when Mars thought Emmelyn was dead, he didn't let Ellena come close to Harlow.

Gewen thought there was no way Ellena had the opportunity to do anything to that adorable baby.

"Don't you know? That wench hired a village witch to make a potion to induce early labor. That's how Harlow was born much earlier than she should be," Kira scoffed. "Harlow was lucky to be alive. She could have died!!"

"Ellena did what???" Gewen stepped back, feeling so distraught.

He already couldn't forgive let alone help Ellena for the crimes she committed toward Queen Elara, Emmelyn, and later the former king, Jared Strongmoor... but Ellena also hurt Harlow?

HIS Harlow???

Gewen's mind turned into a mess. Initially, he wanted to stay on the sideline, and not interfere. Kira and Mars could punish Ellena all they wanted, and he would not say or do anything.

But now that Harlow was involved... he could no longer keep his quiet.

"Yeah.. Ellena came to see me just now..." Gewen said flatly, still couldn't believe the fact that Harlow could have died because Ellena induced her premature birth. "You might still be able to find her if you hurry."

"Which way?" Kira asked impatiently.

"She was outside my chamber and probably she will go out through the side door in the garden. It opens the access to the small woods near our castle," said Gewen.

Before he finished his words, Kira had stormed inside the castle and pulled Gewen's arm to run with her.

"You have to show me," she said while running. "I don't know your home and don't want to waste time searching."

Gewen was dumbfounded and had not had the chance to say no, his feet were already running, following Kira. He didn't feel like himself when he heard his voice utter, "It's this way."

Before he knew it, he and Kira had run through his massive chamber, went out through the opened floor-to-ceiling windows and into the garden. His steps brought him to the side entrance in the garden that led to the open space and then the small woods nearby.

Kira let go of his arm after she saw the woods and she started running faster. Her sharp eyes had seen the shadow of a woman wearing a dark cloak, running as fast as she could inside the small forest.

Kira could immediately guess that the woman must be the convict she had been looking for. The pirate princess was very fast and in no time she had managed to shorten the distance between Ellena and her.

"Stop right there!!" Kira shouted and took out a knife from under her coat and, with precision, she threw the knife at Ellena's leg. It stabbed her right thigh immediately slowed her down.

"Aaahhh!!" Ellena's scream pierced the sky.

She fell to the ground and cried pitifully. The knife stabbed her thigh quite deep and blood immediately seeped through her dress and wet the cloak she was wearing.

"You foolish wench," Kira ran closer, followed by Gewen who was still making sense of what was happening. When Ellena was within her reach, Kira gave the woman two hard slaps on the head, until she was slammed flat on the ground. "This is for wasting my time and making me chase you!"

"Aaahh...." Ellena screamed in pain.

She didn't understand why Kira, that evil pirate came to Gewen's home to look for her. Ellena thought even if Gewen didn't want to help her, at least she would be safe from Kira's grip. 

Only after she saw Gewen and Kira talk earlier did she realize that the two people had some sort of relationship, and that's why Kira came here.

Ellena immediately regretted coming to the Athibaud's castle. Had she known Gewen and Kira were close, she would have avoided Gewen and ran away to some place safer.

Now, it was too late.

Kira stood with her hands akimbo and threw a disgusted look at Ellena. "You did this to yourself. I will make sure you will be tortured every day and you would beg them to kill you, but you can never get the luxury..."

Her words were icy and sent a bone-chilling shiver to anyone who heard them, including Gewen. Perhaps, he was just too soft-hearted, he thought regretfully. Edgar wouldn't bat an eye upon hearing this.

"Please... please... I already regretted my past actions..." Ellena slowly looked up and begged Kira with her tears. The wound in her thigh was still bleeding profusely. When she realized Kira wouldn't pay her any heed, Ellena turned to Gewen. "I will go quietly and atone to my sins... Gewen... for the sake of our past friendship... could you ask her to spare me...?"

Gewen had arrived at the scene and he stood frozen in his spot seeing Ellena lay on the ground with an injured thigh, and a knife sticking from her wound. She looked very pitiful.

Now that the cloak that covered her head was removed, he could see her half-bald head, obviously, she had been plucking her hair in stress during her lockup.

"Gewen...." She bit her lip so hard until it was bleeding too, and her eyes were filled with tears. "I... I don't want to be sold... into slavery... I don't want to end that way... I am still so young...."

Ellena felt cornered and she realized this was only a matter of time until she would be punished severely for her crimes. Now, being locked up in prison for the rest of her life didn't seem so bad anymore.

Why couldn't Mars just follow what Emmelyn wanted and keep Elleana in prison until she grew old and die?

If Ellena was any braver, she would have taken her own life... but she was terrified of death. She didn't want to die. That's why, with the last fighting spirit she had, she tried to escape and save herself.

She offered her last jewelry, her father's head, and used her friendship with Gewen to get away from Kira... however, now, she was running out of luck.

"Gewen... answer me...!" Ellena crawled toward Gewen and hugged his legs, "Why don't you want to help me???"

The man was unmoved. When he saw Ellena, he remembered their childhood together and tears slowly filled his eyes. He really didn't want her to end like this.

But then, the image of Harlow swirling around his mind and he gritted his teeth at the thought that Ellena was responsible for Harlow's premature birth. Harlow could have died.

Gewen could never imagine what his world would be like without that little girl in his life. He loved Harlow more than he loved himself. The feisty female toddler had stolen his heart more than any humans ever could.

He could never forgive Ellena.

Suddenly...

SWOOSH!

Kira's eyes bulged when she belatedly realized what Gewen did. Ellena's face was filled with the biggest shock of her life. Color immediately drained from her face and blood spurted from where Gewen's sword stabbed her when the man pulled out his weapon.

Gewen had suddenly drawn his sword and stabbed Ellena on the chest, right in the heart. The move was totally unexpected by both Kira and Ellena, and the two women were dumbfounded. None of them could react in time.

After Gewen pulled out his sword from Ellena's chest, the woman pressed her wound with one hand and the other one tried to reach out to Gewen. She touched his thigh and gripped it with the last remaining strength she had.

"This is for Harlow..." Gewen muttered, almost inaudibly.

He looked at Ellena with trembling lips. In fact, his whole body trembled at the sight of Ellena dying.  The woman looked at him deeply, with the last of her consciousness.

Then, before she took her last breath, she whispered so softly, and only Gewen could hear her. "Th-thank... you..."

Ellena was a coward and she was terrified of death. She couldn't kill herself even if she wanted to, but she realized that death was her only way out. The other possibility was far too gruesome to imagine. She had heard how Kira was planning to make her a sex slave for pirates in the coastal cities.

Ellena was a lady, she was raised in luxury and never had a hard life. She could already imagine what kind of hell was prepared for her by Kira.

She knew she needed to die... but she was too scared to kill herself.

So, Ellena was glad that her own friend finally made that decision for her.

Even though Gewen said he did it for Harlow... Ellena would like to think that he did it for her, for the old time's sake, for their childhood memories.

So, she thanked him before she died. She didn't want to be an ungrateful friend.

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From Missrealitybites:

OMG... I can't believe I cried when I wrote this chapter. In the end, it was Gewen who finally killed Ellena.

Why do you think he did it? Is it really for Harlow....? Or is it for Ellena?