The Cursed Prince

After Red Bean, the journey felt less arduous and they actually enjoyed the trip. Emmelyn was impressed by the beauty of Summeria and how prosperous the people seemed to be.

After they no longer needed to disguise themselves, Maxim took them to rest in the mayor's residences in the cities they were passing by. He wanted to make sure they all get proper rest and eat good food so the trip wouldn't be too tiring for them.

Finally, in the third week, they reached Castilse, the capital city of Summeria.

"Welcome to my hometown," Maxim smiled broadly at Emmelyn. He opened his arms as if showing the grandness of the Summerian capital city.

For a few moments, Emmelyn was at a loss for words. They were standing on the top of a hill and below them was a vast area in a huge valley, where she could see an endless sea of buildings and really nice roads crossing the city. 

Maxim told her this was the best place to watch the beauty of Castilse and he was right. The journey to the hilltop was worth it.

Many buildings were built in nice designs and bright colors. She could also see parks in many corners of the city. People were busy with their daily lives. The streets were crowded with people on horses and carriages. It was lively and gave out a happy atmosphere.

Emmelyn thought Kingstown in Draec was already really nice and big, but she was dumbfounded when she witnessed the grandness of Castilse. Being a princess from such a small country like Wintermere, she felt slightly intimidated.

She couldn't help but turn to her right and watched the happy-go-lucky man she knew as Maxim, her bored friend, and realized he was Loriel Ashborn, the king of this vast country and this was the capital city where he lived.

"Is there something on my face?" Maxim turned to Emmelyn and asked her. He could feel being stared at and he wondered what Emmelyn was thinking, now that they had arrived in Castilse.

"No... nothing," said Emmelyn, quickly turned her gaze somewhere else. "This city is huge."

"I told you," Maxim replied smugly. He pointed at the tallest and most majestic building in the middle of the city. It was surrounded by a vast garden and had tall white walls, while all other buildings around it had earth colors. He said, "That's my home."

The place was huge and fortified, looking so cold and inaccessible, but since they saw it from the top of the hill, Emmelyn could see the buildings in the palace compound were so beautifully designed. It was truly a work of art.

The main palace was the tallest building in the compound with four big towers in each direction. From the windows and doors on each level, Emmelyn could see that the palace had around 5 floors.

There were many smaller buildings around the main palace and they were all connected by beautiful gardens and many ponds. Seeing it from the hilltop made Emmelyn feel in awe.

There were no such hills outside of Kingstown in Draec where she could see the city from above like this.  This was truly a feast to the eyes.

"Are you ready to enter Castilse?" Maxim asked Emmelyn. The woman nodded. Maxim smiled. "Let's go down and enter through the proper channel."

He couldn't wait to show his hometown to Emmelyn. Her astonished expression just now made Maxim feel so happy. He loved the fact that Emmelyn was impressed by Castilse. Well, what she saw was nothing yet, compared to what Castilse actually had.

"This city looks amazing," Kira also voiced her amazement. "Too bad it's far from the sea, but I like it."

She loved the ocean because she grew up around it, but this journey she took had shown her the other sides of the world and she loved learning and seeing new things. She couldn't wait to see what's in store for her in Castilse.

They went down from the hill and rode their horses to enter the city through a big entrance at the foot of the hill. Castilse was located in a big valley surrounded by many hills, which made it shaped like a bowl.

Hundreds of years ago, the early settlers cut a hill into two and opened access that connected the valley to the outside world. Maxim explained that this entrance was actually heavily guarded by armed soldiers but Emmelyn didn't see them.

She only saw several officers patrolling on horseback and people on foot, horses or carriages came from all over the place to Castilse and entered through this entrance.

"You won't see the guards unless there is a commotion or something. They have stations where they observe the surroundings and they also patrol in commoner's clothes," Maxim replied when Emmelyn asked him about the guards.

He added, "But you will see them soon enough, at least some of them, because Tyrel, my king's guard commander has notified the city commander of my arrival."

Maxim was right. As they entered the city entrance, a group of soldiers immediately came out of nowhere and lined up neatly to welcome their king.

"Welcome home, Your Majesty," the leader of the soldiers came forward and bowed down deeply to Maxim. "We are happy to see you return."

"Thank you for your hard work in keeping the city safe," Maxim waved his hand and motioned the commander to make way for him and his little group. "I will go to the palace and I hope to see you in the royal hall tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Is there any news about the man I asked you to find?" Maxim asked the commander.

"Yes. We have found the man you are looking for, Your Majesty," the city commander reported. He raised his hand and the soldiers split to the left and right and gave way for Maxim to pass. The king halted his horse to listen to the report.

"He is still in the capital?" he asked the commander.

"Yes. We already sent an invitation for him to visit the palace tomorrow." The commander cleared his throat. "We did it nicely, as you requested."

Emmelyn immediately knew they were talking about Edgar. She looked at Maxim in awe. She was impressed because the man was super-efficient.

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Yes!! They finally arrived in Castilse! Emmelyn can meet Edgar tomorrow.

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