The Cursed Prince

They made love slowly and passionately for a good long while. There were love and warmth in every movement, every kiss, every whisper.

Even though they had had sexual intercourse so many times already, this felt like the first time that their hearts, bodies, and souls intertwined and became one. It was so beautiful.

"I love you too," Emmelyn whispered between her panting as she reached her peak for the 'nth time that night, and he chased her to the clouds.

They stayed there for a while, their little heaven on earth, before slowly coming down and realized that it was almost dawn.

It was the first day of winter.  The fire was completely gone now, leaving behind some burning charcoal in the fireplace.

However, none of them felt the cold. All their beings were engulfed in a peaceful warmth.

Mars rolled to the side and pulled Emmelyn into his embrace. He kissed her hair and took the blanket to cover their bodies. It felt perfect.

This was how he envisioned they spent their nights together from now on. He no longer cared if the curse was lifted or not. The only thing that mattered was Emmelyn had accepted him and his kingdom.

She couldn't go back on her words now, could see?

Soon, they would welcome their first child and more children to come. Things would finally be on the right track.

"It's almost morning..." he whispered dotingly. "You should rest. I love you."

Emmelyn had closed her eyes and only replied with a soft mumble. She snuggled her head on his chest and received his warmth, transferred from their skin contact.

Mars hugged her gently and listened to her heartbeat thumping. It gradually became slower and finally regular, much to his relief.

Ah.. he remembered Mr. Vitas said she shouldn't feel stressed during her pregnancy. Mars vowed to shield her from anything that could make her feel upset or agitated.

"I'll protect you," he whispered before he, too, closed his eyes. "I'll make you happy."

***

When Mars opened his eyes the next day, he realized Emmelyn was no longer in his arms.

For two seconds, the man was in a daze, before he jolted awake.

Was he dreaming last night?

Why wasn't she in his embrace? Did she leave?

He cast his gaze around the chamber in a panic. When he found her crouching down on the sofa by the window, peeking outside, he let out a sigh of relief.

Gosh... he was so scared that she was gone just now. Apparently, Emmelyn was just observing the scenery outside. 

Mars smiled to himself. He removed the blanket and climbed down the bed to approach her. He took his pants and shirt from the table and put them on before he sat on the couch and hugged her thighs from behind.

"Good morning," he said before kissing her back. "What are you looking at?"

Emmelyn turned to him and smiled. "It's snowing. It looks so magical."

Mars furrowed his brows. "I thought you don't like snow?"

Emmelyn pursed her lips and replied nonchalantly. "I usually hated snow... but weirdly enough, today I find it beautiful."

"Ahh..." Mars nodded with a smile.

He also thought everything became so beautiful when he was with her. Even daily and mundane things became interesting and fun. The power of love was too OP, he thought in amusement.

Emmelyn opened the curtain to the side and showed him what she had been watching earlier, while he was sleeping. "What do you think? They look beautiful, don't they?"

"Yes... so beautiful," Mars replied, but his eyes were fixed on her side profile.

Nothing was more beautiful than this creature before him.

Emmelyn watched the snow falling for ten more minutes, while Mars was watching her. Then she finally had enough.

"Let's eat," she said. "I am starving."

"Ahh.. that's good! Let's eat," said Mars with a broad smile. He was always the one to ask Emmelyn to eat and eat, but today it looked like she had the initiative.

Ha. Things were really on a good track.

It was too good, that Mars almost felt scared.

They went down to the small dining room and had breakfast together. True to her words, Emmelyn ate like she was starved for days. She kept asking for more stuff to be added to her plates.

The prince could only comply with a big grin on his face. He cut more meat for her, put more bread, more pie, more sausage on her plates, and some other things that the cooks prepared.

Maybe her pregnancy hormones had started to kick in and changed her appetite. She ate like there was no tomorrow.

Roshan who came with another pot of tea was struck dumbfounded in his place when he saw the princess enjoying herself with so much food.

He turned to the prince who just waved nonchalantly and motioned him to come closer.

"Here is the tea, Your Highness," Roshan said in a low voice. He thought the prince wanted him to pour them more tea.

"Roshan, I want to know about the new chamber downstairs. Is it ready?" Mars asked him immediately. He remembered that he asked his butler to prepare a new bigger chamber for him and Emmelyn last week.

This new chamber was supposed to have two twin beds, so he could sleep in the same room with Emmelyn, but they didn't have to share a bed. It was what she wanted last week.

"Yes, Your Highness. It's finally ready. Do you want to take a look today?" Roshan replied. "It has two smaller beds and two bathtubs as you requested."

"Hmm.. I changed my mind." Mars cleared his throat. "Please remove the twin beds and one of the bathtubs. I want only one big bed for us. Plus, if you can hire some carpenter to make the room soundproofed, I will be very happy. I will give you a bag of gold as a reward."

Roshan batted his eyes. He needed a few moments to understand this new order.

Wait... 

The crown prince asked for two smaller beds in their new chamber could only mean that he and his lady didn't want to sleep together since... the lady was already pregnant. Right?

So... if they changed their minds now...

Did this mean, they would go back to sleeping together again on the same bed?

Roshan really didn't understand how the royals' minds worked.