The Cursed Prince

Mrs. Adler took out a small package from the coachman seat and gave it to Emmelyn who was sitting on the back. The old wagon was filled with hay and baskets of vegetables to help with their disguise.

If the two women were stopped by soldiers, or if they met nosy people, Mrs. Adler and Emmelyn could just say that they were farmers trying to sell their vegetables to the nearest town.

Emmelyn sat down on the hay, where an old blanket was spread to make it comfortable. She was leaning her back on one of the vegetable baskets. Her body shivered from the cold.

The air was chilly because it was already midnight at the end of spring. 

She took a long deep breath several times as she thought about her freedom.

It felt weird to be sitting on a wagon like this after living a life of opulence in the crown prince's castle. Everything there was beautiful and comfortable. Now, she was sitting on a hard wooden floor lined with hay and an old blanket.

Somehow, this reminded her of what happened three years ago. She just won a bet against her father to let her go out of their kingdom and see the world again.

The memory came back to her and brought tears to Emmelyn's eyes.

She realized this was the feeling of freedom. There was something different about the air, the surroundings, and even the people as soon as she left behind the palace. She loved this feeling. 

"I have some food and a bottle of water in it," said Mrs. Adler as she handed the package to Emmelyn. "You must be hungry."

Emmelyn said thank you and took the package. She unwrapped it and found two loaves of plain bread and a waterskin filled with water. She was grateful to have such a thoughtful travel companion like the old witch.

Emmelyn was hungry. She just realized it now. So, she took a bite of the bread and drank water from the waterskin. As she ate voraciously, suddenly she was reminded of her baby girl who also ate like her.

Gosh.. Harlow ate greedily like she was instinctively worried if she didn't immediately finish the milk, another baby would snatch the bowl from her.

She was so adorable when she was eating. That must be Emmelyn's fondest memory of her child, as that was the only one she had.

Thinking of Harlow made Emmelyn want to cry. She was wondering how was her baby doing. Could Lily take her in and keep her safe?

Ahh.. Emmelyn told herself Harlow was fine, otherwise, Mrs. Adler would have already said something. Besides, Lily would not let anything happen to Harlow. Emmelyn was sure of that.

So, she pressed her feelings and ate her bread in silence, while tears were dripping down her cheeks.

"We will rest in the woods," Mrs. Adler looked behind her back and spoke to Emmelyn. "I know a cabin that we can use. I found it when I was mushroom picking."

"Okay," was all Emmelyn could say.

She thought it was a good place to talk and ask about Harlow to Mrs. Adler.  Right now, she didn't want to make a fuss and just quietly went as far away as possible from the castle.

After she filled her stomach with food and water, Emmelyn covered her head with a rag on her left. She was worried they would meet guards or servants who worked there and could recognize her.

At a glance, even if they met people, they would just think she was a poor female farmer from the village.

She closed her eyes and tried to not think about anything at all. It was better to empty her mind than to think of only sad things.

They rode the wagon for one hour before they arrived at the cabin Mrs. Adler spoke about. It was a small wooden cabin in a really pitiful condition.

The walls were filled with holes and it was n the brink of collapsing. Emmelyn was worried that the roof would crumble at any moment.

"Can't we just sleep on the wagon?" she suggested after seeing the condition of the cabin.

No, she refused to die in her sleep under the cabin rubbles if it suddenly collapsed. Not after what she had to do to stay alive. No, thank you.

Mrs. Adler looked sad when she saw the cabin. She sighed. "It was quite okay when I last saw it. Perhaps, the storm last week did this damage."

She got down from the wagon and went inside to check. She came out five minutes later with a beaming face.

"All the cooking equipment and some blankets are still there. We can use them," she said happily.

Without waiting for Emmelyn's response, the old witch went back inside and took out some blankets and rags She put rags on the ground and then covered them with blankets.

"Your Highness, you can rest there. I will go in to make fire and bring out some pots to make soup," Mrs. Adler said. "The fire will give us warmth and we can enjoy hot soup too."

Emmelyn got down from the wagon and sat on the rags and covered her body with one of the blankets. It felt warm and cozy.

Even though they were only an old blanket and rag, Emmelyn felt happy. It was much better than the bed and nice blanket in the Grey Tower. No amount of money or luxury could ever match the sweet taste of freedom.

Mrs. Adler came out not long after with some firewood, a flint, and two pots. One of the pots already had water in it. She used the flint to light a fire and made a makeshift stove.

With a branch she found nearby, Mrs. Adler created a small platform to hang the pot and cook the water in it.

From her bag that she put on the wagon, Mrs. Adler took out some mushroom, onions, and a few strips of dried beef. She cooked them together and added salt. Soon, the smell of simple but delicious soup had wafted in the air.

Soon, Emmelyn who hadn't eaten anything in three days, but the plain loaf of bread earlier, started to feel hungry again. She almost drooled as she imagined the taste of the soup.

Mrs. Adler went inside the cabin again and came out with two wooden bowls and scooped the soup to fill the bowls with a wooden spoon.

"Your Highness, you must eat a lot of this soup. This type of mushroom is very good to nourish back your energy," she said when she offered the bowl to Emmelyn.

The princess licked her lips and accepted it, feeling grateful. She blew air into the hot soup several times so it would be ready to eat. When she thought it was warm enough, she voraciously drank the soup.

It tasted so, so good.

They ate without saying anything. At that moment, no words needed. It still felt surreal that only hours ago, Emmelyn was buried alive. 

She now surely saw life with a completely different perspective. In her young life, she had suffered so much, yet she was still here, alive and kicking.

Emmelyn had lost her entire family, she had given birth to a child and now had to be separated from her, framed for murder, separated from her husband, had to flee for her life, and now she must find the wizard family who had unfairly cursed her for reasons that she didn't even know about.

Life was full of misfortunes and it was not fair.

It was the bitter truth that she had learned from her ordeal. Her easy life back in the Wintermere palace now felt like a distant dream.