The Cursed Prince

Note:

This chapter is dedicated to Kelly Goodwin for gifting a spacecraft to "The Cursed Prince" last night. Thank you so, so much, for your amazing support. xx

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The journey from Astland to Castilse really took four days, just as Maxim had predicted. They made several short stops every day, but would always stop in a city and rest on the mayor's mansion, so they could get proper sleep and food supply to continue the trip.

On the second day, flying became more enjoyable and Harlow slept less. She really enjoyed the cool spring breeze on her hair and her face and she laughed a lot too.

It was unfortunate that Harlow was still very young, so she couldn't enjoy the amazing scenery below them. Her vision was not as good as her father's when he was her age.

The three dragons were flying low so the riders could see the lakes, towns after towns, rivers, flower fields, and people shrieked in excitement when they saw the majestic animals.

Mars enjoyed the beautiful sights very much. He never knew what the world was like being seen from above until he took that journey with the dragon. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

He thought Maxim or King Loriel was lucky to have access to those dragons through Renwyck, his loyal right-hand man. There were no dragons ever found in Terra so far.

Dragons were mythical animals that Mars only read about in books. Although many people swore they had witnessed its existence, only a few dragons were ever recorded to be seen by the masses.

It was said that they came from another realm, a place filled with magic, which was also the place where many magical creatures lives.

Mars knew this place existed because his mother was conceived by a male elf who came to Draec and fell in love with a regular woman. Elves lived in the magical realm too.

Renwyck was obviously had gone to this other realm and that's how he acquired the dragons. He must have a good relationship with the monarch of Summeria to swear loyalty to his family like this, just like Elmer and the Strongmoor.

Normally, powerful wizards were lone creatures. They didn't like to serve any kings. They would only do it under special circumstances. 

There were so many thoughts in Mars's mind as he traveled for days with Maxim and Renwyck toward Castilse.

These moments, when he was up in the air with just his daughter, served as a good opportunity for him to think about a lot of issues, reflect back on his life, and planned the future for his family after he and Emmelyn were reunited.

Since the journey was slow, for dragon's standard, Mars could start to enjoy the exclusive time he had with Harlow and his mind became clearer.

He was still anxious about meeting Emmelyn, but now the anxiety was lessened considerably, replaced by excitement.

He couldn't wait to see his wife and presented the healthy and naughty Harlow. He hoped Emmelyn would be proud of him for raising their daughter well in her absence.

Mars also had managed to stop Harlow from attacking Maxim when they were together. On the second and third day, when they rested in another city mayor's mansions, 

Mars and Maxim started to talk more. They were polite with each other and to reduce the awkwardness, they found light topics to discuss, and mostly they would talk about Harlow, since she was safe territory.

Maxim refused to elaborate on his relationship with Emmelyn and what happened in Myreen when Mars asked him. As he was the guest on this trip, together with Harlow, Mars felt it would be rude of him if he forced the host to answer all his burning questions.

Finally, he stopped asking and decided to wait until they arrived in Castilse to find answers. He and Maxim acted civil toward each other and talked about the land, the difference in languages and cultures, and how adorable Harlow looked when she ate voraciously.

The baby girl had stopped treating Maxim as the enemy and, on the fourth day, she was even willing to be carried by him without any fierce resistance.

"Let me carry your daughter while you get on Sand's back," Maxim offered when he saw Mars carried Harlow from the mayor's mansion with his left hand and the bag and coat with his right hand. He could see the young father was struggling again.

Mars looked at Harlow and decided maybe it was time to mend the fence between her and Maxim. So, he nodded and handed Harlow over to the king of Summeria. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Maxim received Harlow with a smile.

The scratch mark on his face was already gone, not that he ever felt the pain. So, he already forgot about it.  He also didn't harbor any grudge toward a baby.

This time, Harlow didn't do anything hostile to him. She just looked at her father quietly while Mars got on Sand's back and prepared a place for her to sit comfortably like usual.

Deep inside, Maxim felt relieved to see Harlow's reaction. She probably had seen how the two men acted civil to each other,  there was no more enmity between them. So, she decided she didn't need to defend her father any longer.

"From this town, it will only take around four hours to get to Castilse," Maxim explained to Mars. "We will reach my home by lunchtime, I think."

He lifted Harlow and gave her to her father who received her with a joyful heart. Finally, after going through so much, for so long... he would soon see his wife.

Ahh... Mars started to feel emotional. He had to look away to hide his gleaming eyes.

"Thank you," he said with a low voice. 

Maxim just nodded, pretending not to see Mars's emotional state. He understood the man. After going through this short journey together with Mars , and saw how he talk and act, Maxim actually realized he and Mars had many things in common, not just their love for the same woman.

If only they were lucky to know each other in a different scenario, they might actually click and could become good friends. Now, Maxim realized Emmelyn was a really good friend to him, and that must be one of the reasons Mars was also attracted to her.

She was a great friend to have, and he was just lucky that their friendship could blossom into romance. Maxim had been denying this for a long time, but now he admitted that Emmelyn and Mars loved each other, they were meant to be together, and he was sure Emmelyn would be happy with her husband and child.

Seeing that Mars was such a devoted husband, who spared no efforts and expenses to get his wife back, and the way he cared for his daughter, slowly Maxim's respect for his former competition grew considerably.

Since he would never have a chance with Emmelyn, he had learned to let her go and wished her the best with the man she loved and their daughter.

His mind was at peace when they finally reached the destination.

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Oh no.. apparently, still not yet. Sorry.. They will really meet Emmelyn in the next chapter. ^^