The Cursed Prince

The expression on the princess' face brightened as the Phoenix squawked happily and chirped. Soon, it even showed recognition and acknowledgment.

She had been so upset when Niam had dissolved into ashes and Harlow thought that the Phoenix had been gone for good. However, now she found out that her pet bird was actually back here and was alive and well. In the corner of Harlow's vision, other Phoenix birds of different sizes also flew past them.

"Has he been conserving you and your fellow brethren all this time?" Harlow couldn't help but ask. Her phoenix chirped happily as if confirming her question.

Harlow couldn't exactly bring Niam with her to go on a search for Raphael's Magic Closet. So, she eventually parted ways with her Phoenix and resumed the search. She would eventually discover a room filled with a lot of mirrors.

Her eyes widened but then before her very eyes, the mirrors started to reveal a sight before her that was even better than when she had seen the White Witch observe Icecube from a distance.

All of the mirrors started to reflect a scene before her and it was akin to Harlow viewing a live play of a theatre. There were a lot of men and women on stage, performing or dancing and it was a form of entertainment that Harlow never imagined possible before.

"So this is what magic could do?" Harlow batted her eyes and was shocked. She actually wanted to sit down on the floor and watch the play happen before her eyes but she knew that she needed to go elsewhere.

However, a sudden thought suddenly appeared in her mind.

"Don't tell me that Raphael is using this to watch me is he?"  Harlow asked aloud. "Don't tell me that he decided to coop himself in this castle and only decided to observe everything from a distance, would he? Isolation? Why did he do that?"

Harlow hesitated for a moment and actually remembered that when she asked the Demon King why he didn't just visit her during her birthdays, the man seemed to have evaded answering her questions and changed the topic.

Regardless, Harlow decided to test her theory and call out to the mirror.

"I want to see my family! Let me see Emmelyn and Mars Strongmoor." Harlow shouted and her voice echoed in the room but nothing happened. She could only continue to see the theatre that performed live before her.

She eventually sighed a little and decided to walk out of the room and felt a tad disappointed. Harlow was actually wondering what her parents and friends were doing. They were surely looking for her, weren't they?

"Maybe I could only use the mirror when I have magic?" Harlow asked herself. That would mean that she needed to ask Raphael's help and, for now, that wasn't possible. However she couldn't help but smile a little.

If she asked Raphael to help see her parents, even from a distance, he would listen to her request wouldn't he? The Ice Prince wasn't as cold and distant as he seemed but was actually a person who seemed willing to do everything to make Harlow feel happy.

"Ah, I'm almost feeling bad for him." Harlow couldn't help but say to herself but eventually shook her head and snorted at the idea that she was feeling a bit guilty for tricking him when he was the one who tricked her mother in the first place. 

On top of that, if there was anyone that she needed NOT to feel too bad for, it was definitely Raphael because a lot of men would probably give up everything to be him.

"He once boasted about having everything with him, countless riches, power, and incredible magic to boot," Harlow muttered to herself. "I bet the only reason why he wants me is because he wants to finish it off with having a beautiful wife on top."

She smiled smugly to herself. She realized she was beautiful because those princes made songs and poetry about her.

  After making that conclusion, Harlow continued to go and flit from one room and headed to the next. The princess eventually got exhausted from searching across countless rooms and decided to stop for a moment.

"I wish I could tell what time it is… but as far as I can tell, he's probably going to be asleep until the morning sun comes up." Harlow muttered to herself. "Or whatever is used to tell time here."

Wearily, the princess decided to lean against the wall and then to her surprise, the wall behind her vanished and the princess dropped into nothingness and fell flat on her butt. 

"Uff… someone could have placed a warning or heads up about walk-through walls and secret entrances." Harlow grouchily said as she stood up and rubbed her back. When she looked up though, the princess became dazed.

Everything around her was a vast void of nothingness and everything was covered in complete darkness. There was absolutely nothing else in the room that even the floor disappeared from Harlow's feet.

Contrary to expectation, Harlow simply stayed where she was, and finally, her eyes landed on a singular object that was standing in the hollow emptiness of the place.

It was a single big closet!

Harlow's eyes bulged and she was at a loss for words. She reached out unsteadily and hesitantly to it and slowly approached the closet's door handle and she swallowed for a moment.

"I haven't actually expected to succeed in a singular night alone…" Harlow muttered to herself.

The princess was actually prepared to do whatever it took to find the closet and explore for a few more days, even weeks if the Demon King's castle turned out to be a maze and a labyrinth to her.

However, Harlow's luck played out and now she was here.

A selfish part of her suddenly ebbed in her heart.

"If I open this door, I could actually not just see my parents from a distance but I could reunite with them," Harlow spoke to herself in a state of contemplation. "Sure there is still this magical contract…"

The princess looked down at her hand and remembered the spark of magical runes that Julian showed to her. It was an oath that was bound by magic and the man said that only someone more powerful than Raphael or the Demon King could break it.

"King Alexander is not strong enough and this Alexei who introduced himself as a fledgling young god is also probably not powerful enough to break this contract if he is currently training underneath the King of Myreen…"

Harlow pursed her lips and closed her eyes.

She remembered something.  She had forgotten about it at first but now she remembered it. This put a smile on her beautiful face.

"Wait.. didn't King Alexander brush over the fact that this Demon King or Raphael is a wanted man that was ostracized by the other gods? Alexei even mentioned that I would be doing the other gods a favor if I killed Raphael."

It wasn't only the elven kingdom that held a grudge over Raphael.

"Alexei spoke of his guardian who is probably an older god… maybe he could help." Harlow closed her eyes and wondered what kind of god was taking care of him.

Possibly powerful?

But was it enough to defeat Raphael's power alone?

"Even if not Alexei's exact guardian then this older god probably knows other gods and if I can just find the right god or goddess who can help me then it is possible to break this oath with their help." 

Harlow smiled and tried to refresh her memory of the gods and goddesses of Cretea.

There were supposed to be seven powerful gods and countless others.

"I am sure that there is a God or Goddess of Law who will find that the way that Raphael made my mother make an oath as something unlawful or filled with injustice." Harlow smiled. "Maybe a God of Mercy who will take pity on my situation."

She wondered if those kinds of gods were powerful?

"If they're not strong enough, I'll find those who dislike Raphael… but who said that these gods can't combine their magic anyway?" Harlow muttered and crossed her arms as she was finally in a place of contemplation.

Even though Harlow had recently been using her emotions and sometimes brute force or sheer personality to get through the situation, the princess was also blessed with a great capacity for mental strategy and intelligence.

"I mean, pfft… Julian started asking who might be more powerful than a Demon King, but this Ice Prince probably needs a Fire God to melt his face off or anyone really." Harlow couldn't help but smile.

She realized that she had been so limited before, but somehow, now that she was in this vast room of nothingness, almost every little thing that had been burdening her seemed to wash away in this empty place.

"We're talking about the God of Healing. I'm sure that a lot of gods can overpower him."

However, there was only one person that was stopping Harlow from opening the door of the magic closet and escaping. If the princess of Draec only cared about herself and wanted to go immediately, all she needed to do was pull open the door and leave.

"But if I leave now and escape," Harlow looked at the door longingly. "It means that I have to leave Julian behind and I can't do that. What kind of person would I be to simply abandon them when I made an agreement to always stay by their side?"

Harlow sighed and knew she had to report this back to her partner in crime.

"I also can't just leave and forget about Icecube and Niam," Harlow muttered.

Harlow couldn't find it in herself to simply leave her animals and the poor guy behind. At least she finally knew where the door was. Maybe she could safely return to her chamber now and think about what to do with the information she obtained?

A voice suddenly echoed in her ears.

"Harlow!"