The Cursed Prince

Everything was a blur. Emmelyn felt like she was hearing voices, but they were all distant. Someone said 'take a deep breath' and the other one said 'push'.

And so... Emmelyn took a very, very deep breath and filled her lungs with air, then she exhaled while pushing with all her might.

The process was repeated several times until suddenly everything turned quiet.

No, it did not actually become quiet, but somehow all the sounds around her no longer mattered, when another distinct voice rang and pierced the air.

A baby's cry.

Right at that instant, Emmelyn felt indescribable relief. All the pain was gone and she felt only calmness.

This felt like heaven after she was tortured in hell for over 20 hours.

"It's a girl!"

Emmelyn was finally sent back to earth when she heard Lily's exclaim. She opened her eyes wide and looked at Lily. She wanted to make sure she didn't mishear.

"Wh-what.. what did you say?" She asked Lily to repeat her words.

"You have a beautiful baby girl," said Lily with a big smile. 

"Oh..."

Emmelyn didn't know what to think.

She knew her husband didn't mind having any son or daughter, but she knew the king and the people might prefer a baby boy over a baby girl so he could inherit the throne.

A princess in this era would only become a trophy for her husband. She would take the role of a wife and bear children for the man.

She might even be sent to another kingdom and marry a prince to secure his family's loyalty, just like what happened to Lily.

And what's worse... a  baby girl might not be spared.

If the Prestons could get their hold on Harlow before Mars returned, Emmelyn didn't know what would happen to her daughter.

A son would at least have a better standing. They wouldn't dare to do anything to him since his safety would be more prioritized. Emmelyn could imagine if Harlow was born a boy, he would immediately get his protection team.

"Can I see her?" Emmelyn whispered.

"Mr. Vitas is cleaning her. Please wait a little bit," said Lily. 

"Oh..." Emmelyn turned to her left and saw Mr. Vitas was holding a tiny red baby in his hands and was meticulously cleaning her with warm water.

So, that was her daughter.

"Princess, I will take the placenta out and clean you up. Then you can have your baby," said Mrs. Adler, moving Emmelyn from her daze.

Emmelyn only nodded absent-mindedly. Her sole focus was on the small crying baby in Mr. Vitas' hands.

"Is she healthy?" she asked in half-whisper. Harlow was born very early. Emmelyn was worried her daughter was born without a complete organ or something. She was anxious to know how Harlow was doing. 

The baby could cry loudly, so it must mean she had strong lungs, but what about her other organs?

Mr. Vitas already finished cleaning the small baby. He wrapped Harlow in a fresh cloth and placed her on Emmelyn's chest.

"She is perfect," he said soothingly. "She is very small, but everything is complete."

Emmelyn was so relieved to hear that. 

"She will need a lot of care so she can grow healthy," the old physician added. 

Emmelyn bit her lip at that statement. How she wished to take care of Harlow herself. However, she was not in a position to do it. If she stayed much longer in the capital, she would be executed for a crime she didn't commit. 

And Harlow would lose her mother forever.

"Oh.. my baby," Emmelyn whispered to the small red baby on her chest. Harlow was still crying and she looked so pitiful. Emmelyn became panic to see her baby didn't seem to slow down on her cry. She turned to Lily and asked what she should do. "How to make her stop crying?"

"Uhm.. you can start breastfeeding her," said Lily. She explained how to do it, while Mr. Vitas went out to make more medicine for the new mother.

After she was cleaned up, Emmelyn sat up with difficulty and started breastfeeding Harlow. It took several failed attempts by the baby for them to realize that Harlow was too young and weak to suck on her own.

"The baby is too young," said Mrs. Adler sympathetically. She took the baby from Emmelyn and gave her to Lily. "Your Grace, please take the baby while I help Princess Emmelyn to express her milk. We should give the baby milk with a spoon. She might learn to breastfeed directly in a few weeks."

Lily never had a premature baby before, so she wasn't aware that such a young baby didn't have the strength to suckle. Now she felt so sorry for Emmelyn.

Breastfeeding her babies was such a wonderful experience that would bring the mother and child closer together.  It would create a deep bond between them.

At least, that's what Lily felt with her sons.  Unfortunately, Emmelyn would miss the opportunity in the early weeks of her child's life.

Emmelyn could only look at Harlow who was in Lily's arms, as she tried to express her breastmilk with tears rolling down her eyes.

Her heart was filled with so many mixed feelings. She was overjoyed that Harlow was born healthy, at least that was what Mr. Vitas said.

However, Emmelyn was worried because her baby was so young and small. Harlow couldn't even breastfeed on her own because she was too weak.

Emmelyn also felt deep hatred toward Ellena for causing her to be in this state. If it wasn't for Ellena's scheme, Emmelyn would not be giving birth to Harlow in the Grey Tower as a prisoner. She wouldn't have to worry about her daughter's safety.

And lastly, Emmelyn was also feeling angry that her husband was not by her side during her toughest time. If only he didn't leave her to kill that stupid witch...

All these emotions were filling her heart and made her tears flow profusely.

She was also sad when she thought about what she would do after this. She would fake her death and leave Harlow to Lily.

Gosh.. she felt like such a failure of a mother.