The Cursed Prince

Harlow was now eleven months old and could stand up on her own if she held on to something. In this case, she was holding on to Gewen's arms.

She could also say some words to talk back to her father, and eight teeth that would look so adorable when she was smiling.

Oh... don't forget two cute dimples on her cheeks. When Harlow was smiling, laughing, or even pouting, those dimples would show and made her look even more adorable.

Everyone who saw baby Harlow agreed that she would grow up to be a really beautiful girl. The single ladies in Astland were all captivated by this cute baby with a big personality.

They all adored her and wished to have a daughter like her when someday they had a child, while mothers with sons would love to see their children someday had a chance to court this princess from across the ocean..

The fact that her father was the most powerful man in the Terra continent was the more reason Harlow became popular. 

Who wouldn't want to be in-laws with the Strongmoor? No wonder wherever Harlow showed up with either Gewen or his sister, Ilma, Harlow would always become the center of attention.

However, when Harlow was with her father, those ladies stayed as far away as possible from them. They knew King Mars' reputation as a cold and ruthless man. He hated being surrounded by women, and they thought he was a woman-hater.

Mars couldn't care less if those women misjudged him again. To him, it was better to be thought of as a terrible woman-hater than being surrounded by women who would just make him feel annoyed.

Ever since the incident where Lorian tried to kiss him when she thought he was sleeping, Mars became very easily annoyed by the opposite sex and he limited his interaction with them, only when absolutely necessary.

He always kept his distance and didn't let anyone misunderstand into thinking that they had a chance with him. It worked quite well so far in his favor.

Women all stayed away from him. They only got close to Harlow when she was with her nannies.

After Lorian was sent home, Ilma behaved and didn't dare to pull any stupid stunts around the king. She did her work as Harlow's nanny as well as possible.

When Gewen came, the job was divided between the two of them because Harlow also loved being around that man and Ilma trusted her older brother to take Harlow for playing, more than other people.

So, just like today, Gewen decided to take Harlow to get some sun and watched the beauty outside the castle. The baby was standing on his lap, holding on his arms. She was wearing clothes in layers, but no longer bundled up in a thick coat like she was in winter.

Harlow's hair was a bit messy because of the wind and her cheeks flushed from excitement. For one moment, Mars stood in awe, looking at his daughter. 

The way she looked around her with an interested gaze, her animated hands when she 'talked' with Gewen - even though she could only say a few words perfectly and the rest were gibberish, all reminded him of his wife.

Harlow might physically look like him, but her attitude and personality seemed to take after Emmelyn through and through.

"Tell your father you are sunbathing, sweetheart." Gewen rubbed Harlow's hair and whispered to her ear. "You need to maintain your beauty by getting a healthy tan and blushing cheeks. Morning sun will give those to you."

Mars rolled his eyes when he heard Gewen's words. He grumbled, "Harlow doesn't need to maintain her beauty, she is just a baby."

"No, appreciation for beauty must be engraved since a child is still young," Gewen insisted. "Harlow is very beautiful. She needs to appreciate what she has and works hard to maintain it because people DO JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER."

"Oh, my gods, Gewen.. she is just a baby!!" Mars snapped. "Don't instill stupid ideals on my daughter."

The king suddenly felt worried to leave his daughter with Gewen for a long time. What if Harlow became superficial like Gewen? Mars didn't like his daughter to judge people only from their outer appearance.

"Harlow, come here, with daddy," he said gently and reached out his hands and took Harlow from Gewen.

Harlow chuckled and excitedly grabbed her father's arms and went to his embrace. Mars was delighted when he realized Harlow had become so heavy.

It showed that his daughter had grown well, even though the environment around her was not ideal. They were constantly moving and often they didn't get decent rest because Mars wanted to reach Summeria as soon as possible.

Though they still traveled slowly for normal people's standards, it was not really slow enough for someone who was bringing a baby with them.

Gosh, Harlow's resilience and adaptability amazed her father so much. Mars knew Harlow would grow up to be an amazing woman. That was if she didn't pick up some bad habits from Gewen.

"How was the meeting?" Gewen asked Mars with interest. "Are you cutting ties with Monmouth?"

Mars nodded. "Yeah. They need to be made an example. I can't tolerate them pillaging Redwood."

"Yeah.. they are a small country anyway. It doesn't have any impact on us if we kick them out," Gewen commented. "I hope the others wouldn't do the same stupidity."

Mars sighed. "I just want this stupid war to be over."

Gewen understood his friend's frustration. It had been almost six months of constant traveling and moving, and now waging war with Summeria...  It must have taken its toll on his friend.

He looked at Mars with furrowed brows. "You look so tired. Can you even sleep these days?"

Mars shook his head. "No. I am feeling so anxious. There has been no news from Summeria about their king. I am getting more worried that something bad happened to Emmelyn."

Gewen wanted to say something but suddenly there was a commotion from the front part of the castle. They heard people screaming something like... dragons?

"..."  Mars and Gewen exchanged glances.

In the past month, there had been no dragons from the Summerian side in the battle against their army which was quite odd.

They knew the royal family had access to three fierce dragons, so why weren't the dragons used to their advantage in the war?

This only made Mars feel worried. He heard from Gewen that Renwyck and King Loriel took two dragons to go to Myreen with Emmelyn. Even until he left Castilse, they still had not returned and there was no news from King Loriel which made everyone in the royal palace worried.

If the dragons and King Loriel were still not coming to the frontline, this would mean that they were all still stuck in Myreen, or something bad happened to them.

All possible scenarios just made Mars feel more anxious by the day.

"Dragons..." he muttered to Gewen. "Do you think it's them?"

Gewen became anxious too. "Maybe? I don't know. We should check."

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From Missrealitybites:

Yes, they are here and you will read in the next chapter Mars and Maxim finally meet. Ahaha.. I'm not teasing you because the next chapter is already written and I am editing it now. I will publish in in half an hour. xx