The Cursed Prince

"Please let me go!!" Emmelyn no longer tried to break free from Mars embrace, but she tried a different tactic by pleading with him. "I have to see my brother..."

Mars didn't reply. He only walked briskly toward their chamber with Emmelyn in his arms. Once they were inside, he put her down in bed.

Then, he crouched down at the foot of the bed and hugged her legs. "Emmelyn, please calm down. I will not let anything happen to Killian if he is really your brother. I want you to trust me."

"Look at me." He took a deep breath and continued his words, emphasizing every word of his last sentence, to get Emmelyn's attention. "I. Will. Not. Kill. Your. Brother."

Emmelyn's face was wet with tears and she sobbed uncontrollably when she heard his promise. He said he would not let anything happen to Killian IF he was really Emmelyn's brother?

That means, Mars still didn't believe her that Killian was really her brother.

"He IS my brother... How many times should I repeat myself?" Emmelyn screamed, looking extremely stressed.

"Okay, I believe you. Please, calm down." Mars knew Emmelyn was in a bad mental state, so he tried to speak gently. "Honey... so many things happened today. I know you are feeling distraught, but I want you to calm down so we can handle things properly. Can you do that for me?" 

He wanted her to be calm so he could leave her with the maids while he checked on Ellena's condition and find Killian.

However, it was hard to stay calm with everything that happened. He was distraught too, but he had to put up a calm exterior to set an example for everyone.

The truth was, Mars was really shaken by Ellena's action. His mind was in a mess. He never thought Ellena would do such a thing.

What if Ellena died? How could he face his parents and the Prestons?

And if his family's political opponents caught wind of this incident, there would be riots.

He couldn't let this incident become a trigger for unrest in the capital. Some people who had been lurking in the dark just wanted to find one good opportunity to wreak havoc.

They could instigate the Prestons to go against the monarchs. Duke Preston had quite an influence in the capital. If he decided to usurp power, he could actually rally some power behind him.

The Prestons were among the few people who knew about the curse and the story behind it. So, this incident could provoke Lady Preston to divulge the secret and spread lies that the crown prince was ungrateful.

She could say that after Ellena sacrificed so much for him, Mars killed her without mercy.

Mars could imagine the uproar. His family was not ready for a power struggle this early. 

There was no other way. Ellena must survive.

Emmelyn grabbed his shoulders and gritted her teeth. She looked at him with determination in her eyes. "You must promise me, you will never hurt Killian...."

Mars nodded. "I promise. I promise, Honey. Now, will you stay here and rest so I can find where he is? I also need to check on Ellena's condition and send word to the royal palace. My parents must not know about this incident from a third party."

After she looked at him dead in the eye for a few seconds, finally Emmelyn sighed and nodded weakly. "Okay..."

"Good girl," Mars took a deep breath. He rose and kissed Emmelyn's forehead before he went out of the chamber and found several maids outside to take care of Emmelyn.

"Lady Emmelyn is unwell. Please help her change her dress and stay by her side as she is resting." He ordered them firmly.

The three maids bowed down respectfully and swiftly went to the chamber to see Emmelyn. Mars strode toward the main entrance and found Roshan.

The butler was giving instructions to other castle staff on what to do. Mars felt relieved that he had such a reliable butler.

"Where is Lady Ellena?" he asked Roshan quickly.

"Lord Gewen took Lady Ellena to the guest room in the west wing," Roshan informed Mars. "I have sent several people to get Mr. Vitas and some extra maids from the royal palace. I am waiting for an order from Your Highness."

"Okay, you wait here and help organize the situation inside the castle. If Edgar came back with Lord Killian, the man who came here with Lady Ellena, you immediately report it to me. I will be going to check on Lady Ellena's condition."

"Yes, Your Highness," Roshan replied.

Mars quickly went to the west wing and found the guest room where Ellena was being treated. His heart palpitated and his mind kept thinking of the worst possible scenario.

Please, Ellena... don't die... he kept saying those words in his heart.

He found the room and immediately entered. Gewen was looking so distraught as he ordered several maids around to treat Ellena. 

"How is she?" He asked Gewen.

"These maids don't know how to take care of injured people," Gewen grumbled.

Mars pushed him aside and quickly checked on Ellena's condition. The girl was still conscious and she turned to look at Mars when she heard his voice. Her eyes were still wet with tears, and she winced in pain several times.

Weakly, she tried to push Mars away, but she barely had any strength to do it.

"Go away..." she growled with a low voice. "I don't want to see you... I want to die..."

"No, Ellena, please don't say that..." Mars felt like something was stuck in his throat and he could barely talk. "You are too emotional. Why on earth did you do that? Do you have any idea how scared I was?? Please don't ever do it again..."

He could see the wound in her stomach was bleeding and ruined her beautiful dress. Mars felt choked and distraught.

A maid was told by Gewen to press on Ellena's wound with a cloth while they waited for Mr. Vitas to come. After she heard Mars' words, Ellena looked away. She slowly pushed the maid's hand from her wound.

She whispered weakly, "Let go...!"

"No, Your Grace... we need to wait for the doctor..." the maid begged Ellena to let her do her job. She looked up and asked the crown prince's help with her eyes.

Mars swallowed and nodded. "Go and wait for Mr. Vitas. Let me press on her wound."

Mars knew that Ellena wouldn't object if he was the one who helped her. So, he took over from the maid and motioned her to go.

The maid looked very relieved. She was very worried if something happened to Ellena, she would be the one they blamed.

Now, with the crown prince present, she thought Ellena would be more obedient and accept being treated to save her life.

"Gewen, you can go find my butler and ask him for bandage and other stuff to treat Ellena," Mars turned to Gewen and gave his order. "And then get Edgar to come here."

"Ugh.. okay," Gewen was actually very reluctant to leave Ellena, but he knew he was of no help. And it looked like Mars and Ellena had something they wanted to talk about personally.

So, he finally left to search for Roshan and Edgar.