The Cursed Prince

Maxim knew he had to listen to Renwyck, not only because the wizard knew the force of nature better than him since his dragons seemed to have special abilities to predict the weather, but also because Renwyck still could think straight.

Maxim was too frustrated and upset by everything that had happened to him and Emmelyn after they reached Myreen and found out the truth. Added to the fact that Emmelyn was in a bad condition, he sometimes felt like he was about to lose his mind.

So, he was glad that Renwyck was around him to give him good advice, to nudge him when he strayed, and to give him support when he felt like giving up and didn't want to go back to Castilse.

So, having listened to Renwyck's advice, Maxim asked the coachman, Jon, to drive faster so they could reach the city in front of them as soon as possible.

Before they entered the city gate, he told Renwyck to let the dragons go and rest in a place where humans wouldn't bother them. 

"Let's stay in this city until the storm is over," he said to the wizard. "You can go ahead and tell the dragons to find a safe place."

"Okay, Your Majesty.."

Renwyck motioned Aslain and Eris who were flying above them to go find a  place to stay while he and Maxim would enter the city and find a place to stay for the night. The two dragons encircled them from the air before they dashed toward the hill and disappeared.

Renwyck got on the carriage to join Maxim and they continued the journey to the city. They stopped in a big inn in the city center and decided to rest there while waiting for the storm to pass.

Renwyck took care of everything with the innkeeper while Maxim carried Emmelyn from the carriage and brought her inside. The coachman and the maid followed them.

"Is the lady sick?" The fat innkeeper asked Maxim when she opened the door for the big room at the end of the hallway. "Do you need a doctor?"

Maxim shook his head. "No, thank you."

"Oh..." The innkeeper tilted her head to see Emmelyn's face and clicked her tongue. "She looks really pale. Are you sure you don't want me to call a doctor?"

"Can you mind your own business?" Finally, Maxim ran out of patience. He gave the woman a murderous glare. "I am tired and don't have time to answer your silly questions.

The innkeeper instantly shrank in shock and stepped back. She murmured, "I was just trying to help..."

The maid from Myreen whose name was Alina, immediately entered the room and prepared the bed so Maxim could put Emmellyn down. She could see the king was really tired and annoyed. So, she offered to take it from there.

"Your Grace, I will take care of Lady Emmelyn. You should rest now," she said respectfully. 

Maxim carefully placed Emmelyn on the bed and stood still in his place for a few moments to observe her breathing.

Once he was sure she was fine, Maxim finally turned to Alina and nodded. "Thank you, Alina. I will leave her to you. You also should get decent rest. We will continue the journey tomorrow morning after the storm passes."

"Understood, Your Grace."

Maxim left the room and went to his own, which was apparently located next door. This time the innkeeper kept her mouth shut and didn't ask any more silly questions.

After she made sure this guest was happy with everything, she took her leave and closed the door behind her. Next, she showed Renwyck and the coachman their rooms respectively.

Maxim washed up and rested for a bit before he decided to call Renwyck to have dinner together in his room. The wizard came with two jugs of wine, followed by a servant who brought a tray filled with food for them.

"I got this wine from the store next door," Renwyck told Maxim as he handed him one jug. "I figured we need good wine to warm up our bodies during this especially cold night."

Maxim smiled for the first time that day and accepted the jug from Renwyck. "You are right."

"I already gave Jon and Alina some wine too. They are probably having dinner in their rooms right now," Renwyck added. 

"Hmm, good..." Maxim sat on the chair and poured wine into two cups. He waited until the servant finished preparing dinner for him and Renwyck, and took his leave, before he motioned the wizard to sit down and take a cup. "Let's drink."

Renwyck did as he was told. He sat down, took the cup, and raised it a little before he took a big gulp. "Happy birthday, Your Majesty."

Maxim smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Renwyck. You remember."

"I can't forget your birthday because it is our national holiday," Renwyck chuckled. "Actually, I got one jug of wine for free because I bought two. The shopkeeper said that's for the king's birthday. That's how I remember."

"Damn. I thought you care about me," said Maxim jokingly.

It had been a while since Renwyck saw him smile like this and it made the wizard feel happy. He watched Maxim growing up and had a special fondness for this young king. 

So, even though Renwyck only swore his loyalty to Maxim's father, he stayed after the king passed away and decided to help Maxim as he ascended the throne and became the next king of Summeria. 

Sometimes, when he saw Maxim, Renwyck would be reminded of his unborn son and thought about him. He often wondered what it would be like to raise his own son.

As Maxim and Renwyck ate their dinner, thunder started blaring outside, followed by the howling wind. Soon, the storm that Renwyck predicted came and shook the whole town.

"You are right about the storm," Maxim commented. "It looks quite scary."

He turned to the window and winced to see the view outside. It did look very bad. The windows started banging and the sound of the storm from the outside soon overcame their voices.

"It might last all night," Renwyck replied. "I hope we can sleep with this much noise."

"I hope we can sleep while the walls stay intact," Maxim added. "At this point, I wouldn't even worry about the noise."

He shuddered when he realized if he didn't follow Renwyck's advice earlier, they might be stranded outside the city and had to face the raging storm with the carriage. Now, he wasn't even sure if the carriage wouldn't be blown away by the wind.

"We have left the capital for a long time," Maxim said after he downed his wine. "Maybe it will be better if we go see the mayor tomorrow and ask him to send a pigeon to Castilse and notify the palace of my arrival."

Renwyck nodded. He also thought this was a good idea. So far, they had been traveling incognito because they were passing through some regions that were loyal to one of Maxim's brothers-in-law.

He didn't want them to know he was there without a proper security team. It would be the same as inviting assassination on himself.

Now that they had reached a neutral province, Maxim decided it was time to make his presence known.