The Cursed Prince

Gewen tried to distract Harlow from her mother's delivery because he didn't want her to feel worried. At the same time, he also wanted to stop himself from feeling jealous. He felt like such a bad friend for envying Mars and Emmelyn.

Both had suffered so much to get to where they were now. So, they deserved all the happiness in the world. Edgar and Clara were finally married and Mars surprised them with such a wonderful wedding gift, a castle for them to own where they could build their family.

Not only that but Edgar was also given a title by the king for all his service to their kingdom. He was actually the youngest nobleman to ever receive a dukedom title for himself. Gewen was so proud of his friend. He thought it was well deserved.

He didn't feel jealous in that regard because he would inherit his father's title after Duke Athibaud passed away, which he hoped wouldn't happen until at least fifty years to come, because Gewen was the only son.

Edgar, on the other hand, was the youngest son of three in his family, so he wouldn't inherit his father's title and probably just a small portion of his estate. So, it was really nice to see Edgar make a name for himself and accomplish so much.

No, Gewen was not jealous of the title, nor the castle. He had both, or he would have both sooner or later. However, he was jealous of Edgar for his happiness with Clara. They seemed so deeply in love and were now even expecting a baby together. Life was perfect for both Mars Strongmoor and Edgar Chaucer.

While Gewen...

Well... he was still feeling miserable. He did try to court Iris, Lily's younger sister, but after a while, he came to a conclusion that Iris was... a bit boring.

Yes, she was young and beautiful and well educated, also had a good personality. However... she reminded him of most of the women he dated in the past.

They were... quite similar to each other and he didn't get the butterfly in his stomach when he was with them. For a  man who could get any girls he wanted... this was not fun.

Gewen wanted to experience love and thrill, and butterfly...

But after six months that Kira left, he still had not felt it again. Sometimes he thought he was really paying for his bad karma in the past.

"The queen has given birth!"

Suddenly John's voice moved Gewen from his reverie. He was looking at the mini arrow that Harlow used to shoot a target and got lost in his mind.

"Uncle Gewen...! John said my mom has given birth..." Harlow tugged his sleeves excitedly. "What does it mean???"

Gewen put down the arrow and lifted Harlow to the air. His face was filled with happiness. "It means, you now have a sibling! Let's go there and visit them."

John suddenly cleared his throat. He corrected Gewen's words. "Ahem... two siblings, Lord Gewen."

"Huh?" Gewen's movement halted and then he turned to see John and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean... TWO SIBILINGS???"

His heart felt so heavy when he immediately realized what John must mean.

TWO??? So, it was not a very fat baby... but really twins.

TWO?? Mars was a lucky bastard, he thought in annoyance.

"Yes. Her majesty the queen just gave birth to twins. Twin boys." The butler wiped his teary eyes. He was feeling so emotional because he was reminded of Harlow's birth. Back then, the situation was far from ideal and both mother and daughter suffered so much.

Now, Emmelyn was accompanied by her dear husband, good friend Lily, and her mother-in-law. She had all her support systems present around her during this tough but at the same time joyous event.

And to top it all, she was giving birth to twin boys, who were very healthy. Now, the king and queen were truly blessed with a complete set of children. They had a beautiful daughter and two handsome sons. It was truly a dream come true.

When John thought about how Mars Strongmoor was cursed that having a child of his own was only a distant dream, but now he had three, the butler felt so emotional. He cared a lot about the family he served, and their happiness was also his happiness.

"Yes, my lord. His majesty was very surprised... I think he actually passed out for a minute there..." John said with a big smile on his face.

Gewen nodded, too distraught to speak. He took Harlow to the queen's chamber and met Lily to ask for the update. When he reached the entrance, he also saw Edgar and Clara arrive. Clara was now three months pregnant but her stomach was already protruding. This made Gewen upset.

Was Clara also carrying twins? Shouldn't her stomach still be flat?

"Hey..." he greeted them, faking a smile. "Emmelyn has given birth."

"Oh.. that's good!" Clara was very happy to hear that. She unconsciously rubbed her belly lovingly, thinking about her own baby. She couldn't wait to have her child with Edgar.

The husband was beaming with happiness. This made Gewen feel more irritated. He felt bad for being jealous, but it was so hard to tell his heart that he didn't care. 

He cared.

Lily came out of the chamber. Her face was filled with smiles. "Twin boys... They are very strong. They are still being cleaned. We will see them soon."

"Oh.. that's great!" Clara said. "How is Her Majesty?"

"She is very tired.  So, we let her sleep."

"Okay. We  will just wait outside until we are allowed to see them."

"Yes, that will be perfect."

***

Happiness engulfed the royal palace and even the whole capital after the royal family announced the birth of the twin princes. Mars and Emmelyn had never been happier their whole life. They got to experience parenthood together and they took everything in stride.

Sleepless nights became part of their routine, but the new parents were working together to make sure their babies were taken care of. Even though they had a lot of help and many servants, both Emmelyn and Mars insisted to be hands-on parents.

Lucky for them, Harlow was not fussy or feeling jealous to see her parents get so busy with the new babies. She was adored by everyone around them and didn't lack love and care. Gewen was still her favorite uncle and they spent a lot of time together.

In a way, Harlow became a consolation for the lonely nobleman. He would tell her that all men were jerks and she should never trust them when she grew up. She was such a beautiful girl and he told her when she matured, she would break so many hearts.

The two-year-old didn't really understand what Gewen was telling her, but she enjoyed his company.

Gewen tried to keep himself busy with work and teaching little Harlow how to shoot arrows and stuff and slowly he could be happy again.

That was until... his butler knocked on his door and told him he had a guest.

"Huh? Who is it?" He rubbed his eyes and yawned. It was still very early in the morning and he still wanted to sleep. "Don't they know it's still very early???"

His butler cleared his throat and said politely. "I am sorry, my lord. I will tell her to go because you don't want to be disturbed."

"Yes, tell her to go!" Gewen yawned again. Before he went back inside his room, suddenly the young lord's ears perked up. "Wait... it's a woman?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Who is it?" 

"I don't know her name, but she came here once."

"She did?"

Gewen furrowed his brows. He never took any woman home, except for Ellena because she was his friend. But it couldn't be Ellena since she was dead. Besides, his butler would say so.

The only other woman who came to his home and his butler wouldn't know her name was...

But was it really her?

Before he knew it, Gewen had already run past his butler and went to the castle entrance. He must know if that woman was really Kira.

It couldn't be her... right?

She was adamant about not wanting a relationship and she already said goodbye a year ago. She was clear about what she wanted and not wanted. She told Gewen she liked her life and she couldn't see herself feeling happy if she settled down and stayed with Gewen.

However,  Gewen's heart secretly hoped and prayed that it was really Kira. When he finally arrived outside, the man was stunned by what he saw.

Kira was  standing in front of the castle, admiring the view of their beautiful garden.

"Hey!" Gewen called her in a hoarse voice. He still couldn't believe his vision.

Was he dreaming?

Kira turned around to see him. Her face looked tanned and her hair was messy, but she was prettier than ever, at least in Gewen's eyes.

"Hey..." she smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm good..." Gewen replied with a low voice. "How are you...?'

Kira shrugged. "Uhm.. not so good."

"Why? What happened?" Gewen came closer and touched her arm in concern. "Are you okay? Can I help you with anything?"

Kira took a deep breath. She bit her lip and then spoke. "I... have been thinking. About you.. and... uh..."

Gewen's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Did Kira... finally decide to try a relationship with him?

"Yes...?" He asked her gently. 

Kira swallowed hard. "I cannot stop thinking about you."

Gewen's eyes bulged at hearing her words. "But you said... you cannot stay with me and you are happy with your life as a pirate."

"I  know what I said, okay," Kira looked annoyed. "But the heart wants what it wants."

Gewen smiled so broadly when he heard her confession. Kira was not good with words, so he wouldn't push her to elaborate. He was just so happy to have her here. 

"I  understand..." he came even closer and then held her hand. "Would you like to talk about it over breakfast?"

Kira batted her eyes and looked at Gewen, conflicting. Finally, she nodded and said,  "Yeah...."

"I am so glad you are here..." Gewen whispered when they were walking together to his family's dining hall. He was no longer sleepy. In fact, his mind was alert and he felt very happy.

He was curious to know how Kira was doing the past year and what she was  thinking about him that she finally decided to return to Draec. And more importantly, he wanted to know if her visit this time would be permanent, or if she just wanted to see him and left him again.

They enjoyed breakfast together and talked about their news. Kira was very happy to know that Emmelyn had given birth to her babies and decided to come to the royal palace and pay her a visit.

"I am surprised you haven't gone to the palace," said Gewen in surprise.

"No, I came here first," said Kira.

"Aw...." Gewen felt like he wanted to cry. So, Kira thought he was more important than Emmelyn because she came here first! "We can go to the palace together."

"Yes, let's do that."

.

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From Missrealitybites:

I  actually wanted to write a bit more about Gewen and Kira, but it's almost reset time. So, I will end it here.. I hope you are happy with how their relationship turned out.