The Cursed Prince

Emmelyn was surprised to see that Mars was right. When they arrived in their chamber, the man just washed up a bit, changed into comfortable sleepwear, and hugged her to sleep.

He was no longer dependent on his hot bath to close his eyes and sleep. This was such good progress!

Well.. when he had Emmelyn in his embrace, he didn't feel the need for anything else to help him sleep. She was enough for him.

However, it was the opposite for Emmelyn. She couldn't get a wink of sleep throughout the night. Her mind was busy thinking about Killian.

She wondered what had happened to her brother all these years. The attack on Wintermere was almost two years ago. Killian left Glasswell right after Wintermere was conquered. 

Emmelyn thought he also had perished with her other family members. When she arrived, the war had long ended and she only heard stories of how terrible was her family's situation when they lost the war.

All her brothers and brother-in-laws died in the battle, while her sisters and their families killed themselves for fear of being enslaved by the enemy who had a reputation worse than the devil.

After mourning for her family for months, finally Emmelyn found the strength to continue living. It was her desire to get a revenge.

If only she knew Killian was still alive, somewhere, she would have searched for him even to the ends of the world.

But then.. what? Would they try to get their revenge together?

How?

Things would turn out very different if that was what happened. Emmelyn would never have gone alone to the crown prince's castle and tried to kill him.

She would have never known the real person behind his reputation as the devil incarnate. She would have never fallen in love with him... and moved on from her grudge and hatred.

Emmelyn sighed. She was relieved that her favorite brother survived. Now, the question was... where had Killian been all this time and what did he do?

Emmelyn understood how terrible it was to live alone and with nothing to her name.

Now, she had such a good life and unlimited access to wealth and power.

She was also at the center of the power itself... So, she should be able to help her brother, right?

***

"Honey, wake up..." The sweet voice woke her up from her restless sleep when morning came. Emmelyn was jolted awake when she heard him.

"Hey... hey.. are you okay?" Mars grabbed her shoulder gently and looked into her eyes. "You didn't sleep well last night?"

Emmelyn batted her eyes and immediately remember what happened the night before.

"I had a nightmare," she lied. "I can't remember what it was but I couldn't sleep well... I am sorry, did I disturb your sleep?"

Mars shook his head. "No, you didn't. I was just worried about you. How do you feel now?"

"I'm just feeling cold.. I want to drink some hot tea, please..."

Emmelyn pulled the blanket to her chest and curled up in bed. She looked like a kitten who was feeling cold. Mars ruffled her hair and got down from the bed. He was relieved that Emmelyn was fine.

"Wait here. I will bring you tea," he said. Then he went out of their chamber.

Mars returned in fifteen minutes with a tray filled with two cups of tea. He put the tray on the table and gave her one cup. 

"Thank you." Emmelyn felt so much better, having him around her when she was feeling stressed and distraught.

She drank her tea while watching the prince got ready. Mars prepared clothes for them and put them in a bag.

He then found some other things that she might need on the way like some scarves and socks. He also got two sets of men's clothes for Emmelyn to disguise herself on the trip.

Suddenly, Emmelyn felt guilty. She was supposed to be the one to prepare their logistics. Wasn't it a wife's job?

"Let me do it. I can prepare our stuff," she said.

She wanted to get down from the bed and take over the job from him, but Mars pushed her back to sit where she was.

"Just drink your tea. This is easy. I can do it myself, I'm not a child," He shook his head. His voice was firm, not letting her argue with his decision.

Mars motioned Emmelyn to finish her tea before she could leave the bed. Finally, Emmelyn complied.

She quickly finished her tea and climbed down from the bed. She checked the clothes that he had prepared and nodded in satisfaction.

They would travel light and she would disguise herself as a man on the road, while she could still hide her pregnancy, so they didn't need to bring a lot of stuff.

Mars insisted that she had to at least bring one nice dress to wear on their wedding day, which she had agreed on. The packing was done very easily and they were ready in half an hour.

Mars quickly finished his tea and changed into his traveling outfit. Emmelyn followed suit. The realization that she would soon marry this man turned her mood slightly better. 

"We'll travel leisurely and stop by in many places. Think of this as an extended sightsee..." Mars said. "I think you will like the scenery all the way from here to Glendale and from Glendale to Southberry."

Emmelyn knew if they rode horses nonstop, they would arrive in Southberry in two days and one night. Usually, Mars and his men would stop by in Glendale and stay the night in there, before they continued to Southberry.

This time, he wanted to take it easy. Plenty of rest and couple it with a sightseeing adventure. Emmelyn predicted that they would only arrive in Southberry after three days.

She looked forward to the trip... and the wedding!

After being cooped up in Draec for months, she could finally leave the capital. She felt excited and worried at the same time.

Excited about a new chapter in her life, and worried about Killian. She hoped her brother would be okay until she returned.

While she stayed awake at night, Emmelyn kept thinking about what she should do. She was conflicting between telling Mars the truth about Killian, or keep things to herself and handle her brother on her own.

All this time, Mars had always been open to her. The good and the bad, she knew everything.

Now, she was feeling guilty for always keeping things from him, and only shared them after a while. One example was the witch's prophecy. And now.. her brother's appearance.

[Put yourself in his shoes, Emmelyn.]

[How would you feel if you were in his shoes? Don't you want your wife to be honest with you?]

[Yeah.. but I am not yet his wife.]

[But you will. Soon. You and him will become one. Heck, you and him already became one with that baby in your womb. So, what are you waiting for?]

[I can't! I don't know what Killian is planning. If he wants to kill the king and the prince... no matter how much the prince loves me, he won't be able to help Killian.]

[I need to take care of Killian first. Mars is not a problem. It's my brother that is the problem.]

Emmelyn pressed her temple. She felt a stabbing headache all of a sudden. Apparently, having internal dialogue could be so tiring when she was at war with herself.

She almost felt like there was an angel on her right shoulder and a demon on her left shoulder, debating on whether she should tell Mars about Killian or not.

Gosh... I'll decide later, she finally made up her mind.