The Cursed Prince

"Give Harlow to me," Mars asked Gewen to hand over his daughter.

Gewen kissed Harlow's hair and both his cheeks before he reluctantly gave the baby to Mars.

"Bye, little bear. Take care, okay? See you soon. Uncle Gewen will go to Castilse as soon as possible and pick you up. Tell aunty Kira that I... I miss her."

He uttered his last sentence in a whisper, so only Harlow could hear him. Gewen was actually surprised to hear himself admitting that he was missing someone. 

Ahh.... what was going on here? He hit himself in the head exasperatedly. He didn't understand why he told Harlow he missed Kira. Did he really miss her? It actually felt strange.

He had never missed a woman besides his mother before. What was happening to him?

Ahhh... Gewen felt confused. He didn't know what to do with this feeling.

"What are you doing?" Mars furrowed his brows when he saw Gewen hit himself. "Are you okay?"

Gewen chuckled nervously. "Yeah.. why wouldn't I?"

"You just hit yourself in the head like an idiot," Mars said. "That's why I was asking you if you are okay."

"Oh... it was mosquito," Gewen blurted. He proceeded to slap his right cheek and pretended to grumble. "See, there is another one. Die you! Stupid mosquito!"

Now Mars really thought that Gewen was out of his mind. Mars always had a really sharp vision. He could even see clearly in the dark. Yet, he didn't see any mosquito like what Gewen claimed.

Now, he was wondering why Gewen hit himself and lied to him.

This made Mars feel worried about this friend of his. He finally told Gewen to go see Bruinen in Redwood and get himself checked.

"I'm fine," Gewen said, pursing his lips. "Just go. Emmelyn is waiting for you. Don't worry about me."

"Hmm... okay." Mars refocused his attention on Harlow and forgot about Gewen.

Harlow looked so excited when she was passed on to her father and sat on Sand's back. She giggled and chirped to express her excitement. She could tell something exciting was about to happen.

Meanwhile, from the side, Maxim watched the scene with a heavy heart. From the first moment he saw Harlow, he was reminded of how much Emmelyn loved her daughter.

Maxim thought Mars was so lucky to have such a cute daughter with Emmelyn. This baby truly solidified their bond and love for each other, even when they had a grave misunderstanding.

His mind went back to Myreen. He remembered Elise's face that he saw in the painting. After he let Emmelyn go, Maxim would immediately marry his fiancee.

It was not going to be a love marriage like what Emmelyn and Mars had. So, he and Elise might not conceive since they probably wouldn't even consummate their marriage.

This thought made him feel a bit depressed.

"We are ready," Mars announced after he and Harlow sat comfortably on Sand's back. Maxim turned to him and nodded. Before he tell the dragons to take off, he suddenly remembered something. 

"Emmelyn sent a scarf through Lord Edgar to revive your mother," Maxim spoke. "Did it work?"

Mars furrowed his brows when he heard this question. He had been wondering where Emmelyn got the magic scarf. Edgar didn't know the origins because Emmelyn didn't tell him. He was only assigned by Emmelyn to bring it to Draec. 

Did Emmelyn get it from Maxim? Mars was wondering. Did this mean he owed Maxim? Uff... he hated owing Maxim anything.

Mars nodded. "Yes, it did."

He could see a genuine expression of relief on Maxim's face. The king of Summeria sighed. "Wonderful. Did you have it with you now?"

"Yes," Mars replied. He touched his coat pocket. "It's here."

"Good." Maxim nodded. "We will need it."

"Where did she get it from?" Mars decided to ask Maxim the burning question.

From Maxim's expression, he could tell that Maxim didn't give the scarf to Emmelyn and this made Mars secretly feel happy. He didn't want to owe the man anything.

"It's a long story," Maxim replied briefly. He patted Aslain's back and asked the dragon to go. "Let's go now."

SWOOSH!!

Mars was pleasantly surprised when he found out that Sand's movement was extremely gentle when he took off and started flying.

He could tell that the dragon was really intelligent and understood that he was carrying a human child on his back, so he flew really carefully and his movement was soft and gentle.

Flying felt like a breeze. Mars's worry that he would have to struggle to keep his balance and Harlow's were unfounded. It was actually very smooth.

Aslain flew beside Sand, slightly above him, enough to prevent their wings from clashing, with Maxim on his back, while Renwyck and Eris followed them from behind. They flew in a relaxing manner and this allowed Maxim to speak to Mars.

"We'll travel more slowly because you bring a baby. So, we'll probably reach Castilse in four days, instead of three. I hope it's okay with you." Maxim said to Mars. "We'll stop anytime Harlow needs us to stop. Just tell Sand. He'll understand you."

Mars was astonished to hear the man's sincere words. He didn't expect Maxim to be so thoughtful about his situation with Harlow.

Mars could only nod and muttered his thank you.  He didn't mind taking a slower journey as long as he could reach Castilse safely with Harlow. 

"Harlow... we will see your mother soon," Mars tightened his hug on Harlow's body and whispered to her ear. "I miss your mommy so much."

Harlow didn't care that her father was feeling mushy about being reunited with his wife soon. She was in awe at her surroundings and felt joyful when the wind blew on her face.

Her eyes bulged and her mouth was agape. At 11-months old, Harlow couldn't see the beautiful view under them, but she could feel that something exciting was happening and the touch of wind on her skin felt so nice.

Mars was very happy to see Harlow enjoy their trip and was not at all fussy. In fact, ten minutes later, she already dozed off.

As they flew toward the sunset, his heart became lighter and lighter.