The Cursed Prince

Emmelyn stood in silence for almost one hour. Tears were streaming down her cheeks slowly. She thought her tears were already dry, but apparently, she was wrong. She didn't know humans could produce that many tears from their eyes.

Mrs. Adler only stood beside her, unable to say anything. She was feeling sad for Emmelyn, the homeless princess who was now stuck in the enemy's place and mourning her brother's death.

The witch could see how devastated this princess was, as she stood there looking at the dead man without saying anything.

Mrs. Adler saw how Emmelyn was still surrounded by the same dark aura she saw on her from the first time they met, and her heart felt so heavy.

The old witch had never seen someone with such a dark aura as Emmelyn before. Now, she wondered if this princess was actually cursed too.

Did she meet any witch on the way here? Did she offend anyone? The darkness around her didn't seem natural. 

Now, Mrs. Adler wished she was a powerful witch herself so she could help Emmelyn. It looked like misfortune after misfortune kept knocking on her door. 

Too bad, she was just an old witch who could only brew potions and read people's luck from her divination window. She had no power to help Emmelyn during these tough times.

Emmelyn was not the only lonely Wintermerian in Draec. Mrs. Adler too. She missed her comfortable home by the sea. Unfortunately, she knew with her old age and her frail health, she could never go back there.

Right now, Wintermere was just a distant dream to her. Maybe it was also a distant dream for Princess Emmelyn?

"How did he die, if I may ask?" Finally, after they were standing in silence for what seemed like a really long time, Mrs. Adler took the courage to ask Emmelyn a question.

Emmelyn turned to her and replied with a really low voice. "My brother died to protect me, Mrs. Adler. The crown prince's men shot him with arrows when he tried to kill His Highness."

Seeing the confusion in Mrs. Adler's eyes, Emmelyn slowly told her what happened to Killian.  The witch looked so sympathetic and sad for Emmelyn. By now, she already considered the princess a friend, and she cared about her.

Gosh... she felt very, very sorry for Emmelyn. So, within two years, she lost her family, her kingdom, and now her remaining sibling. 

"So, yeah... Thank you for standing by me today. I just need someone to be with me while I mourn my brother. I am afraid I would go crazy if I am on my own," Emmelyn explained the reason why she invited Mrs. Adler to come.

"I am happy Your Highness remembers me during this difficult time," Mrs. Adler replied. "It's an honor."

She saw Emmelyn's pregnancy was already showing. The old witch could only imagine how hard it must be for the pregnant woman to deal with this situation.

Emmelyn was deep in thoughts again as the memory of her childhood with Killian flooded her mind. She missed him so badly for two years, and she didn't expect that the final moments she would see him again were in the land of the enemy.

And now, Killian was dead. She was on her own.

After the sun was slowly setting, finally, Emmelyn steeled her heart and said goodbye to her brother.

"I'm sorry things turned out this way, Killian," she whispered. "I will really miss you."

She touched Killian's cold cheek and then hugged his lifeless body. She had spent hours just standing there to mourn him in silence. Now, her feet almost gave up on her. It was now time to go home.

After she bid her farewell to Killian, Emmelyn got out of the pavilion, followed by Mrs. Adler. Together, they walked slowly toward the main building. The breeze was blowing and brought chills to their bodies, but Emmelyn didn't even feel it.

Her whole being was numbed by grief. After this, she just wanted to sleep and stay in bed for a long time. 

"Is the crown prince back?" Emmelyn asked Roshan when she stepped inside the castle. The butler bowed down and shook his head.

"Not yet, Your Highness."

"Well then, I will have to eat without him," Emmelyn said. She turned to Mrs. Adler and asked if she would join her for dinner as well. "Would you like to join me for dinner before Roshan take you home?"

Mrs. Adler immediately nodded. Not only she liked the food here, but she also wanted to stay a little bit longer to keep Emmelyn company. "Yes, Your Highness. I will gladly have dinner with you.

"That's good," Emmelyn forced a smile and motioned Roshan to prepare dinner. "We can eat now."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Emmelyn and Mrs. Adler ate dinner in silence again. The old witch realized that in a moment like this, Emmelyn didn't need words of consolation. She just needed someone to be with her, to suffer with her in silence.

Once they finished having dinner, Mrs. Adler took her leave. Roshan asked a coachman and one servant to take the old witch home. 

"Thank you for coming today, Mrs. Adler. If you don't mind, would you like to come back again here, maybe.. next week?" Emmelyn asked as Mrs. Adler got ready to go.

The old witch nodded with a smile. "Yes, Your Highness. I will come and bring you some potions that will be good for your health."

Emmelyn still took daily potion from Mr. Vitas to keep her pregnancy healthy, and she didn't feel like taking any more potions from other people, but she didn't want to turn down Mrs. Adler's kind gesture. 

So, she said yes. "Thank you, Mrs. Adler. I really appreciate it. Safe travels and see you next week."

The old witch bowed down again and turned around to leave the castle.

Once the witch was gone, Emmelyn went to her chamber and lay down in bed. It's past 9 pm but her husband was still not home. She wondered what took him so long.