The Cursed Prince

Note: There was an error in publishing the chapters earlier.  I have edited the chapters now and you can read the proper chapters by clearing the cache:

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"Did you use to live here?" the princess patted her dragon's back and eyed the castle with some hesitance.

She had her arrows, but if this person was powerful enough to obtain a phoenix and dragon, cast powerful magic, and was an actual god… Then what could Harlow even do?

The Crown Princess of Draec could have turned back and started returning to her home if she could steer her dragon. She had a feeling that if she demanded to go back then she would be able to return… however she was already here.

It was too late to go back. She had traveled so far away from home and if she returned now, her sacrifice when she took this arduous journey would mean nothing.

At long last, the ice dragon finally descended in the castle of snow and glacial ice.  It was a small castle but built with a very beautiful design. From the top, it looked like a castle made entirely of ice.

It had two towers and one main building with a huge dome, supported by many tall pillars. It looked unreal.

It was such a beautiful castle and yet it was so cold that it made Harlow wish that she had an extra cloak to protect herself from the cold. What she wore now was not enough to protect her from the bone-chilling temperature.

However, the princess forced herself to get up her feet and she stepped down into the snow and kept walking as her dragon followed her inside of the castle.

"Hello?" she started and heard her voice echo within the ice castle's halls.  Harlow frowned and glanced at her dragon. 

She was prepared to confront the Ice Prince but she found herself only surrounded by ice and there was no one else there. The princess glanced out at the towers and didn't even find any sort of guards or watchers at all.

"Is there no one home?" Harlow asked herself and was prepared to turn back to reach outside of Mount Tempest again and yet before her very eyes, the floor beneath the door of the castle suddenly rose up and turned into a very thick wall of ice.

"Icecube!" Harlow ran forwards and pounded her fists on the ice. She clenched her teeth and felt the cold run up to her arm and she quickly drew her arm back. She found herself separated from her dragon and with no way out.

It seemed like someone was inside of the castle and she was welcome to stay.

"How very considerate of them to close the door after a guest arrives," Harlow muttered and shook her head. Warily, she held on to her bow and placed an arrow on it, and was ready to attack anyone who came her way. 

She took slow steps forwards and yet before she could take another step towards the door at the end of the hallway, a gigantic ice stalagmite hanging from the ceiling fell behind her.

It crashed so loudly and fractals of ice flew around so hard that an ice shard embedded itself on Harlow's back leg. She groaned in pain and yet she couldn't even do anything but suddenly be on guard.

When Harlow looked up, there were numerous giant ice shards across the ceiling and started falling fast like raindrops. The princess immediately started to move and dart across the hallway and grounded her teeth.

Everything was so painful and if she had a choice to limp she would have, but she needed to move fast or die. 

"Is this how you greet your bride?!" Harlow asked angrily, but couldn't even say another word as she felt the floor around her become super slippery and she slipped for a moment. "Ahhh!" 

The princess ensured that she fell on her knees this time and before she knew it, Harlow had already crashed into the throne room and ended up kneeling in front of a woman who was seated on the throne.

Her skin was extremely pale as if Harlow was staring at some kind of ghost. There was an enchanting beauty to her however despite the fact that she looked as if she could freeze you alive.

The White Witch, Margueritte, looked down at the woman who trespassed into her abode and she looked at them with a cold expression. "And who are you to waltz into my castle without any permission? You're lucky enough to survive with only an injury to the leg, my dear."

Harlow was wincing in pain, but then looked up at the woman and said. "I'm here to meet with the Ice Prince!"

Marguerite's face flickered for a moment. She seemed to have been in a bad mood, even worse than usual but her expression changed at the mention of the man and she looked at Harlow with suspicion.

"And what business do you have with him?"

Harlow soon realized how her plans had several flaws in them. The first had been how difficult it had been and incredibly lonely to travel all the way from Draec to here in Mount Tempest to meet with the Ice Prince.

She did her best to bring some things but underestimated the travel and her ability to be quick on her feet. If Harlow had been any second slower then perhaps she could have ended up killed by the stalagmites from earlier.

The woman, or rather, witch in front of Harlow seemed to not care about the princess but only the business she had with the Ice Prince. It meant that the woman in front of Harlow was not aware?

Harlow gulped for a moment.

Was this woman involved with the Ice Prince or something else? 

The witch didn't actually look that old compared to Harlow, probably only a couple of years older and she could see how this woman may get even more upset if she learned that the Ice Prince called Harlow his future bride?

"Um… are you two siblings?" Harlow asked carefully.