The Cursed Prince

"You are so funny," Emmelyn chuckled. This was the first in a few weeks that she could feel happy again.

She lowered her gaze and looked at her small baby. Harlow was not as wrinkled as she was several hours ago, but she was still far from beautiful. It was hard to see an otherworldly beauty from this newborn baby, but Emmelyn decided to believe Lily.

She was right. Harlow was lucky to inherit good genes from both lines of parents, Emmelyn thought.

She had to admit that she was not bad-looking herself. So, having good genes from Mars and Emmelyn would surely work in Harlow's favor.

"I am happy to see you laugh," Lily commented. She sat beside Emmelyn and spoke in a serious tone. "What do you think if we let our children fall in love and someday get married?"

"What? Are you joking? She is only one day old," Emmelyn laughed again. "And your boys are so young."

"They are, but who knows what will happen in the future. I am asking you this question if you are willing to be my inlaw someday? If so, I will not breastfeed Harlow should anything..." Lily lowered her eyes and then looked away. "Should anything happen to you..."

Emmelyn immediately understood what Lily was trying to say. It was so hard to convey what she felt inside, but at this moment, when Emmelyn kept talking about death, Lily felt like she also needed to say something.

If Emmelyn's suspicion was proven and something bad happened to her, then Lily had to keep her promise to take care of Harlow.

Since Lily was currently breastfeeding her youngest son, Jorei, she could actually nurse Harlow together.

But if she did that, Harlow would become a sister to her boys and they could never pursue any relationship in the future if they developed a romantic feeling with Harlow.

That means, they had to treat her like a sister from now on.

However, if Emmelyn was open to the idea of their two families became inlaws, Lily would find a wet nurse to take care of Harlow.

Emmelyn looked at her baby who was still eating hungrily, and then she smiled. "Ahh.. it would be wonderful to see our children fall in love and get married when they are older. I am open to the idea."

"You are?" Lily was beaming when she heard Emmelyn's response. "I am so happy to hear that."

"Yes, but let them interact and be friends. We shouldn't match them selfishly just because we want to be family. If Harlow and one of your boys fall in love with each other, then we will support them. But we will not force a betrothal on them."

"Absolutely," Lily said. "That's all I need to know."

"Tell your sons to be great providers, my daughter eats a lot," said Emmelyn with a chuckle.

"Haha.. I can see that." Lily laughed too.

The somber atmosphere in the chamber had turned lighter as the two women talked about their children and their hopes and wishes for them once they grew up.

"You should rest. I will not bother you again," said Lily. "I will go home real quick to see my kids and then come back here with some gifts. What do you think?"

"Of course. Please send my regards to Athos and your boys," said Emmelyn.

"Okay. I will see you soon," said Lily. She got up and fixed her messy hair before she went toward the door. "Mrs. Adler, please take care of Emmelyn until I return. I need to see my kids and then I will be back here."

"Will do, Your Grace."

Lily knocked on the door and the two guards outside opened the door for her. She walked out and then the door was closed behind her. Now, there were only Mrs. Adler and Emmelyn, together with Harlow.

"How much time do I have?" Emmelyn asked the old witch. She knew she had taken the potion after lunch. So, she was wondering if the potion would immediately take effect or if it would need more time.

"You don't have to think about it, Princess. Just enjoy your time with your baby. I will take care of everything," said Mrs. Adler soothingly. "Please trust me."

"I trust you," said Emmelyn. She saw Harlow was already asleep. So, she put down the bowl of milk.

Then, Emmelyn placed her baby lying down on her chest. She could feel Harlow's heart beat softly through their skin contact.

This felt so beautiful and calming.

Slowly, Emmelyn closed her eyes.

***

When she woke up, everything was dark. She needed a few moments to get used to her surroundings.

[Where am I?]

Emmelyn's heart skipped a beat when she remembered what happened and how she and Mrs. Adler planned to fake her death.

[This is it??]

Emmelyn realized she was lying down inside a tight space. Was this her coffin? How long had she been here?

Wait.. she was not really dead, wasn't she?

She pinched her arm to make sure she was still alive. Ouch! Emmelyn wanted to growl in pain, but she quickly held back. What if other people heard her?

She groped herself and tried to find the thing that Mrs. Adler must have slipped under her dress. It was a small bell.

Mrs. Adler said it used to be worn by her cat around the neck so Mrs. Adler could always find it. The bell gifted to her by her master, the witch, for her service all those years.

The cat had long died but Mrs. Adler still kept it out of nostalgia. And now, it was proven to be useful.  With the bell, she could always find Emmelyn wherever she was, alive or dead, and if Emmelyn rang the bell, the witch would know she was still alive.

Emmelyn was told to ring the bell in a certain pattern to let the witch know that she had woken up. Then Mrs. Adler would come with some neighbors to dig out the coffin from the ground and let Emmelyn out.

Once Emmelyn was safe, they both would travel to Wintermere together.

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From the author:

I initially wanted to use the 'save by the bell' history, but since this story is fantasy, I opted for a magic bell, instead of a regular bell.. hahaha.

If you haven't already known, the history of 'saved by the bell' is quite interesting. 

There is a widespread notion that 'saved by the bell' originated as an expression that relates to people being buried alive, especially during pandemics or plague.

The idea was that, if someone were comatose and mistakenly pronounced dead and interred, they could, if they later revived, ring a bell that was attached to the coffin and be saved.

It was interesting, right? However, when I dug deeper, it said there is no evidence that this bell was ever used in such coffins and the term 'saved by the bell' actually came from boxing.