The Cursed Prince

Emmelyn could rest properly that night. She slept a dreamless sleep and in the morning she felt so fresh and alert.

This change was noticed by Kira who had been traveling with Emmelyn for one week and saw her looking glum or quiet most of the time.

She realized Emmelyn had turned brighter and happier after they reached Lakeshire and met Maxim. Before, she looked like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Now, Emmelyn looked like she had shared her burden and could feel more at ease.

"How was your sleep last night?"  Maxim asked Emmelyn when they had breakfast together in the inn's dining room which was located on the ground floor.

"It was good,"  Emmelyn smiled. "I am now fresh and ready to go." 

"That's good," Maxim said before he finished his tea and then took out a scroll from his pocket. The man spread it on the table and Emmelyn could see a nice map.

She couldn't help but click her tongue when she saw the details and realized how big Summeria was. It was truly a massive country with many colonies, just like Draec, but perhaps, it was actually bigger than Draec.

Emmelyn had heard a lot about Summeria and its capital from people who came from the country or those who had traveled there. She knew it was a huge country with a capital that was very advanced. 

Castilse, the Summerian capital, had the biggest library in the world with an extensive collection of books. It had the best schools and many famous scholars.

If only Emmelyn was not in a hurry to find the Leoraleis in Myreen, she would have felt excited about visiting Castilse and witnessed with her own eyes how beautiful and modern that city was.

Well.. perhaps, she could go back to Castilse and explore the city after she sorted out her issues with the Leoraleis? She would have Maxim by her side to show her the way and places worthy of visiting.

"What is this?" Emmelyn suddenly saw a name that caught her interest. She pointed at a small sign that looked like a mountain. "Is it Mount Tempest?" 

Maxim squinted his eyes and looked at the sign that Emmelyn pointed to. He nodded. "Yeah. It's Mount Tempest. We will pass it on the way to Castilse. What about it?" 

"Oh..."  Emmelyn remembered hearing someone mention the white witch who lived in Mount Tempest.

The white witch was called the snow queen by the people around the area. When Emmelyn asked about her name, those people didn't know, they only knew the witch as either the white witch or the snow queen.

Actually, when Emmelyn heard about the white witch, she was immediately reminded of Margueritte The White, one of Mrs. Adler's sister witch. The other one was Dolores The Firebringer.

Mrs. Adler told Emmelyn that those two witches were quite powerful and they might be able to help her.

Mrs. Adler didn't know exactly if the two witches would be able to break the curse cast on Emmelyn, but she said Dolores or Margueritte would know how to talk to the Leoraleis or knew who they were.

Emmelyn didn't know if the white witch was really Margueritte. She didn't even want to think about visiting the white witch to check her suspicion since her priority was to go to Summeria.

However, now that she realized Mount Tempest was on the route to Summeria, her heart became conflicted.

Since this was not a detour, should she just try to go and see the white witch? It would be good to get a confirmation, Emmelyn thought.

If she was lucky, the white witch might be really Margueritte. If Emmelyn became even luckier, she would be able to remove the curse immediately. She didn't need to go to Myreen and look for the Leoraleis. Well.. except, to punish them for cursing her one-sidedly, when she didn't do anything wrong.

Anyway… she needed to make a decision soon if they were really going to pass Mount Tempest.

"Can we go up to the mountain when we pass by Mount Tempest?" Emmelyn turned to Maxim and asked him. "I want to check something." 

"Sure. But I thought you are in a hurry?" Maxim replied. He wouldn't reject Emmelyn's request, but he just wanted to know the reason. "Is there anything special that you want to do there?"

He was also wondering if Emmelyn had a special interest to visit a certain place. Had she been there before?

"Yes. I heard that there is a witch living there. She MIGHT be related to Mrs. Adler, a village witch that I met in Draec. She became my good friend and had helped me a lot. She said her two sister witches might be able to help me as they are both very powerful witches." 

Emmelyn briefly explained who Mrs. Adler and the two witches were. Maxim listened attentively and then nodded. "Definitely. We can go there."

"Thank you." Emmelyn crossed her fingers, hoping that the white witch was truly Margueritte and the woman would manage to break Emmelyn's curse.

After they agreed on their travel plans and packed their stuff, Maxim, Emmelyn, Kira, and Lysander all got on their horses and got ready to leave. 

Emmelyn took a deep breath after she left the inn. She felt relief because she was getting closer to her destination. Once she freed herself from the wretched curse, she could go back to Draec and get her daughter.

Harlow would be safe. She wouldn't suffer from her mother's bad luck. That was what's most important for Emmelyn.

"The next city is called Dustfal. If we ride nonstop for hours and only take two small breaks to eat, we will reach Dustfal before sunset,"  Maxim explained as they were riding their horses and arrived at the top of the hill where they could see Lakeshire and its magnificent lake from above.

"Then, let's do it. I think all of us here are young and healthy. Surely we can ride fast with short breaks,"  Emmelyn said.

"Okay. I know a good place to rest and take our first break,"  said Maxim.