The Cursed Prince

Emmelyn managed to find two dry stones that she used to make fire. Soon, she was enjoying grilled fish to fill her stomach. It tasted quite good, even without any salt or other seasoning.

She usually brought some supplies in a small pouch whenever she was traveling, but she didn't have any today. Who would have thought that she would be 'kidnapped' in a broad daylight, in the king's town where her husband was the crown prince?

Gosh..!

Thinking about what happened earlier made her blood boil. She really wanted to find Ellena and pull her hair, and drag her until she screamed and begged for forgiveness, which Emmelyn would never give.

Hey, but at least with this incident, finally Mars would have an excuse to really cut ties with that wench, Emmelyn thought.

She had been feeling uneasy ever since she found out that Mars had a childhood female friend. Initially, she was worried that she was partial toward Ellena because she was just jealous.

But now, she was certain that Ellena got on her nerve not only because Emmelyn saw her as a romantic threat, but also because Ellena was trouble, to begin with, and she had evil intentions.

From this moment on, Emmelyn decided she wouldn't hold back on her feelings toward Ellena. She hoped Mars would really punish Ellena and her family for trying to hurt Emmelyn.

Otherwise, Ellena would think that she could do whatever she wanted without getting any consequences.

Emmelyn chewed on the grilled fish angrily as if it was Ellena that she was trying to devour.

After she finished the fish, Emmelyn still felt hungry. Uff, it's so hard being a pregnant woman. Her voracious appetite was so hard to please.

Emmelyn got up and checked her traps to see if she caught any animals at all.

There was none.

"Shit..." She cursed again. She was still feeling very hungry. However, seeing the sun was almost setting in the west, she realized she couldn't stay for too long. If she waited, she might have to spend the night in the woods.

It would be dangerous to do that since she would be outside of the carriage. What if there was a wild animal coming for a hunt? She didn't want to enter the carriage and shared it with the wounded thug.

If he tried to kill her and escape, Emmelyn could only blame herself.

She finally took all her traps and brought them to the carriage. She put off the fire and prepared the horses to pull the carriage again.

With renewed energy, both horses seemed to gallop faster. Emmelyn kept her plan to move in a straight line. She still hoped she could get out of the woods if she did that.

After one hour and the sun was finally gone, she could see a village as she left the woods behind her. 

Emmelyn breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. She quickly drive the carriage to the village and asked for direction to the first man she saw on the road.

"Good evening, Sire. I am lost on the way to the capital and don't know where I am now. Would you mind telling me where is this?"

The old man looked at Emmelyn probingly. He had never seen her before and was wondering did this person come from.

"Where are you from?" He asked her.

Emmelyn quickly made up a lie. "I was from Southberry. I am here to visit a relative who just passed away. I went to his place many years ago but it's been a while, so I don't remember the way anymore."

"I see. Well, this village is called Brownberg. The capital is quite far from here actually. You can just follow this road and keep going. You will pass by several villages like Vurten village, Sven village, Bydell, and..."

"Did you say Bydell Village?" Emmelyn suddenly interrupted the man. She remembered Mrs. Adler lived in Bydell Village.

So, it's not really that far from the capital, she thought.

"Yes. It's Bydell Village. Do you have any relatives there too?" the villager asked Emmelyn. The princess nodded. Her face was beaming with relief.

She would visit Mrs. Adler and asked her to treat the thug's wound and made sure his life could be saved. So Emmelyn could make a case against the Prestons and Ellena. Without this thug as her witness, they might refute her claim.

"So, it's this way?" She asked again.

"Yes, that's right."

"Ah, thank you, Sire. I will do it," Emmelyn wanted to go immediately, but suddenly she felt he hunger again, followed by some kicking from her belly.

Uff, it looked like Harlow was hungry. Finally, feeling a little embarrassed, Emmelyn asked the man if he had food that he could spare for her.

"I am very sorry to be asking this.. but, do you, by any chance, have food that you can share?" she asked the man with her puppy eyes. "I am very hungry and I didn't find food in the woods where I was earlier. And... if possible, also some water."

The villager nodded. "I have some. Wait here."

He went to a small house to the carriage's left and came out not long after with a loaf of bread in his hand and a small bowl filled with water. "Here, you can have them."

"Oh, thank you.. Thank you so much, Sir," Emmelyn was so happy, she almost hugged the man. Luckily, she could still hold back. This villager would be suspicious if a stranger like Emmelyn hugged him.

"I don't have money with me... Can I give you an IOU note and pay you back after I get my money?" she asked the villager.

She was so angry when she thought about how the thugs had robbed her of the 500 gold coins. 

"That's okay. No need to pay me. It's only water and a piece of small bread."

"But, still.. I have to pay you someday," Emmelyn insisted.

The villager chuckled when he saw her persistence. He waved his hand. "Fine. Do as you wish. By the way, be careful on the road. Hopefully, you can soon find your relative's home."

"Thank you, Sir." Emmelyn bowed her head to the villager and got back on her carriage. She drove the vehicle in the direction that the villager showed her just now.

She vowed to return to this village in the future and reward the man handsomely.