The Cursed Prince

Elara almost lost her strength and couldn't walk. The stress she was experiencing was too much for her delicate heart. However, she forced herself to walk out of her chamber.

From the end of the hallway, she saw several burly men carried a stretcher with Edgar walked at the very front. Behind them, she could see Mr. Vitas walked slowly, accompanied by John who was carrying his medical bag.

On the stretcher was her husband's body. Jared Strongmoor looked lifeless. The sight made her heart skipped a beat. Elara was very worried that they were too late.

What if her husband's wound was fatal?

What if the scarf didn't work?

She clutched the scarf tightly and her mouth muttered prayers to the gods. She really hoped her husband could be saved. Jared was still too young to die. Their granddaughter, Harlow, was very little. She needed to grow up with her loving grandfather around her.

And most importantly... their family had to be able to apologize to Emmelyn for all the bad things she went through because of them.

Elara knew her husband well and she realized Jared was tormented by his guilt toward Emmelyn. She wished her husband would be given the chance to redeem himself and make up for his past mistakes.

"How is he...?" Elara asked with a hoarse voice when the men arrived by her doorway. "Please bring him inside."

The knights carefully placed Jared Strongmoor's body on the bed. His wound had been cleaned and bandaged. He was not wearing an upper garment and his pants were still covered in blood.

Queen Elara frantically found some fresh clothes for her husband and help the men change Jared's clothes. Edgar had to hold her hands to calm her down and took her to sit on the chair because she looked like she was on the brink of collapsing.

"Your Grace, please calm down. We will take care of His Grace," Edgar coaxed the beautiful woman. He sat next to Queen Elara and paid attention to the other men and Mr. Vitas who were busy taking care of Jared Strongmoor.

Finally, after they were done, Elara could breathe a sigh of relief. She walked to the bed and sat by the bedside. Her husband looked as white as cotton. He had lost a lot of blood from his wound and his condition was really weak.

His heartbeat and his breathing were very faint. 

"Mr. Vitas... what's his chance to survive?" Elara looked up to Mr. Vitas and asked his opinion. "Tell me the truth."

The old physician looked reluctant to answer, but after the queen threw him a demanding gaze, he took a deep breath and replied. "It's really bad..."

"Oh..." Queen Elara pressed her lips with one hand. She looked at her husband's pale face and cried again. "Oh, Jared... you must not die. You promised to take care of me and protect me for as long as I live... Please, don't leave me now. Don't break your promise..."

The beautiful queen's cry was heartwrenching to everyone who was watching. They could see how much she loved her husband and was devastated at the possibility of losing him.

Except for Edgar who was away in Atlantea when the queen was attacked and died, the knights and Mr. Vitas still remembered how the old king broke down when he found out his wife died. Now, they witnessed the same thing, but this time it was on the queen's side.

This couple truly loved each other deeply and they could see it clearly. Now, they all hoped that the king could be saved and the couple could live happily together again.

"He is now in a critical condition," Mr. Vitas explained. "I have treated his wound and gave him medicine. Now, I will be waiting outside while His Grace rests. I will be here on standby, in case his condition worsens. Please just call me if you need anything."

"Thank you, everyone... I think you all can go now," Queen Elara nodded toward the three knights who brought Jared to her chamber and expressed her gratitude.

Now, she wanted to be left in private with Mr. Vitas and Edgar. "Mr. Vitas please wait here a little bit. I have something to discuss with you. You too, Edgar."

"We will take our leave now, Your Grace..." one of the knights bowed down, followed by his men. Then, they all took their leave.

Now, only the old physician and Edgar were left with the queen. Elara opened her hand and showed the scarf. Edgar immediately knew what the queen wanted to do. He had the same question. Would the scarf work this time?

Only Mr, Vitas didn't understand what was going on. Elara's recovery was kept secret from everyone, including him. So, seeing the queen alive and well in the ballroom earlier already gave him so many questions.

However, he knew his place and didn't ask anything. He thought the king or his mother would explain to him what happened when they thought the time was right.

"Mr. Vitas, Edgar received this magic scarf from Emmelyn in Summeria. She said she got it from a powerful person who said he could revive me. As you can see now, I am alive and healthy. All they did was cover me with this scarf..." She could see the old man's face look so surprised. So, she quickly added, "I am thinking... maybe if I put it on my husband's wound... he might be healed too."

"Oh... that sounds very unusual, Your Grace. I have never heard of anything like it," Mr. Vitas commented. "We can try... hopefully it will work."

He agreed that there was no harm in trying. He was curious too. If Elara could recover, maybe Jared too? He would ask his brother, Elmer the Wizard, for his opinion. Maybe Elmer knew this type of magic. 

"Very well...." Queen Elara was relieved to see Mr, Vitas agreed. She asked  Edgar's help to roll her husband's body to the side, so she could see his injured back.  They did it very gently.

Once Jared was lying on his stomach, Elara covered the scarf on his back. 

"Now, we should wait...." she whispered, feeling hopeful.