The Cursed Prince

Emmelyn found the bell and she gripped it tightly, trying to regulate her heartbeat before she finally rang the bell.

This was it.

Soon, she would know if their plan worked, or if she would be buried alive and died for real.

DING

DING

The bell was really small but the sound was quite loud because the space where Emmelyn was lying down was really small. Emmelyn's heart skipped a beat when she heard the sound for the first time.

She was worried other people would hear it. So, she stopped.

Emmelyn decided to wait and see if there was any reaction from outside. If not, she would ring the bell again several times to let Mrs. Adler know she was awake.

Fortunately, there was no reaction from outside by the startled guards. It looked like she was safe and nobody was guarding her grave as she feared.

Great. Now she just needed to wait.

In what seemed like forever, finally, Emmelyn felt there was some movement from outside. She was deep in thoughts as she was thinking about her baby. Oh, how much she missed Harlow.

Emmelyn hoped Harlow was fine and safe with Lily.

She was moved from her reverie when the coffin where she was lying down was slowly moved and she could hear voices of whispers from outside.

Gah.. she hoped it was Mrs. Adler and her neighbors.

"Princess... are you all right?"

Emmelyn wanted to jump in joy when she heard Mrs. Adler's voice.

So, their plan worked!

This was such a big relief. She waited in anticipation to see the witch.

"Yes, yes.. I am all right, thank you," said Emmelyn. She looked up and waited for her sweet freedom. She felt the coffin moved more violently and suddenly the lid was opened.

She could see the moonlight from the crack and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The lid was now opened completely to the side and she could feel fresh air coming from outside.

"Princess, you are all right. I am so happy to see you," said Mrs. Adler with tears in her eyes. She helped Emmelyn up and hugged her. "Can you walk?"

Emmelyn felt her limbs and checked her body. It seemed she was fine. Only her breasts felt sore and swollen. This might be due to the fact that she was breastfeeding but the milk was not expressed and there was no baby to nurse.

"I am fine. Let's go," said Emmelyn firmly.

She looked around and saw three villagers with shovels in their hands standing by the grave. Their faces looked relieved too. She decided to express her gratitude by coming to them one by one and shook their hands.

"Thank you so much for your help. I have been wronged and I need to escape so I can survive. But once I can return and take what is rightfully mine, I will reward all of you properly. I will never forget your kindness," she said with a hoarse voice.

One of the men, who was standing with a shovel, nodded and smiled. He was an old man of around 50. Poor villagers usually had strong physique because they had to do a lot of menial and physical works to make a living.

"No need to think about it, Your Highness. I am just paying back your kindness that you have shown my brother back in the castle," said the old man.

Emmelyn furrowed her brows. She didn't know any villagers who worked in her castle. Which servant was this man talking about?

The old man continued with teary eyes, "He is one of the cooks, working in the kitchen. You gave him a lot of gold a few months ago. You have no idea how much it means to us. My wife was very ill and couldn't afford medication. We had to sell one of our daughters to pay our debts... and with that money you gave him, we could buy her back."

Emmelyn was stunned when she heard the man's explanation. She realized life could be so hard for poor people. That's why she always tried to be kind to them and treated them well.

Ah.. that reminded her of her shenanigans with Maxim in Atlantea. They would often 'steal' from rich evil lords and distribute their loots to the poor people around the lordship.

Seeing the joy in those poor people's faces when they realized they could pay their debts and buy food was priceless. It was one of the most memorable experiences of Emmelyn's life.

She wished she could do it again. Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, she couldn't do it as she was married to the crown prince.

What she could do was, after her husband took the throne, supported him to work hard to improve the people's livelihood and reduced inequality between the rich and the poor.

Now, it was still a distant dream for Emmelyn since she couldn't even be sure if she would see the day when her husband took the throne and be by his side. She had to survive first.

It was true what people said, there will be no tomorrow if we don't live for today.

So, now, of course, her priority was to get away from the capital and save herself.

"Oh.. so, your brother works in the kitchen? I love all the cooks in the castle. They are great," said Emmelyn with a smile. "Which one is your brother? Is he Dorian, Bren, or Jonah?"

The old man was wide-eyed when Emmelyn mentioned the names of each cook in the castle. He didn't expect the princess to know their names and even remembered them.

"It-it's Bren, Your Highness..." he said with a stammer.

"Ah, I know Bren," said Emmelyn. "He is so kind. He always made me my favorite dishes. I am glad I meet you. Please convey my regard to him, and of course, your entire family. I am happy to know that the small amount I gifted Bren made a big difference to your family."

The old man couldn't say anything. He wiped tears from his eyes. He felt so sorry for this woman, who now had to live in misery because she was framed for a murder that she didn't commit.

"Thank you, all. I will never forget your help," said Emmelyn again. She had seen the old witch made a sign for Emmelyn to follow her. 

There was an old wagon with two horses parked near the grave. Emmelyn knew this was their ride to leave the capital. The three men bowed down in respect as Emmelyn walked past them and got into the wagon.

She sat on the wagon while the old witch took control of the horses and started their journey.

Meanwhile, the three men went back to work. They closed the coffin lid and lowered it down into the grave. Then, they covered it again with soil using the shovels they brought.

The men were used to hard work, so they finished the job in less than one hour. By midnight, they all left the place. The moon was seen shining dimly over two graves in the small forest near the crown prince's castle.

It was Killian Rosehill's grave and Emmelyn Rosehill, his younger sister.