The Cursed Prince

Rowena wept all the way back to the palace. She was worried about the mistreatment Julian received. Her face was wet with tears and even when they arrived at the palace Rowena would not stop crying.

From a distance, Lady Liz had been waiting for her arrival anxiously. The woman crumpled up Rowena's hat in her hands. She found it yesterday on the riverbank along with the pouch given by the old beggar which contained plant seeds.

Yesterday he spent all night looking for the whereabouts of the princess who suddenly disappeared in the crowd. Even the knights who were supposed to protect the princess didn't notice Rowena's disappearance because they were too immersed in the festival.

King Draco was very angry when he found out what happened. He threatened everyone responsible for the disappearance of the princess, along with their entire family, if his daughter was not found.

That night, there was a commotion in the palace. No one could sleep before they could know what happened to Rowena. Lady Liz cried all night and nobody could comfort her. Apart from being afraid of the king's punishment, it turned out that deep down, she was genuinely worried about Rowena's fate.

She did not expect to have such care for her ward. Lady Liz kept imagining the worst-case scenarios. A girl as beautiful as Rowena would certainly invite evil from men. That morning, when Rowena saw her, Lady Liz's eyes were puffy and swollen.

The carriage stopped and a guard opened the door. Rowena got off in a hurry. When she saw Lady Liz again, Rowena ran and hugged her. She was despondent.

"Are you all right, Princess?" asked Lady Liz worriedly. The woman cupped Rowena's face and instead examined Rowena's entire body to see any signs of abuse. She found none.

"I'm fine, Lady Liz," Rowena said hoarsely. "I am not hurt."

Seeing Rowena didn't seem hurt nor traumatized, Lady Liz fell down on her knees and then sobbed so despondently. "Oh.. thank gods... I was so worried."

Rowena bit her lip. She didn't expect her governess to show genuine concern for her wellbeing. Slowly, her impression of Lady Liz changed for the better. She crouched down and touched the older woman's shoulder. "I am sorry to make you worried."

"Where did you go?" asked Lady Liz between sobs. "What happened to you? Why did you leave me and not say anything?"

Lady Liz didn't know whether she felt so relieved because the princess was okay or because her head was safe from beheading. Lady Liz slowly got up and hugged Rowena tightly.

She panicked when she looked behind her at the festival and didn't find Rowena. She immediately alerted Jarvis as soon as possible. Jarvis and the other knights rushed to check all over Almere but they couldn't find the whereabouts of the princess.

Lady Liz, who was almost desperate, found a shabby brown pouch and the woman remembered it was the pouch an old man had given her to thank Rowena for the bread she gave him. Sure enough, she found some plant seeds inside the pouch.

Why did the princess throw the bag away? Rowena clearly said that she wanted to plant them when they returned to the palace.

Lady Liz pressed her mouth in frustration as she thought of the worst thing that could happen to the princess. Her hands trembled at the thought that Rowena might have been kidnapped by someone.

"Lady Liz, we found this by the river," said a knight brandishing one of Rowena's shoes and her wet hat.

"Did you find any tracks or other clues? Did someone kidnap Princess Rowena?" asked Lady Liz frantically.

"We still don't know and Jarvis and the others are down the river to investigate further."

Lady Liz immediately followed him towards the riverbank. The knight pointed out the riverbank slope area where the grass was damaged and presented two possibilities. One, Princess Rowena accidentally fell into the river. Second, she was really kidnapped.

Lady Liz squinted her eyes when she imagined what had happened to her princess.

"Please find the princess as soon as possible," said the woman sadly.

Until night fell and the darkness engulfed the world, they continued searching tirelessly. With limited light, Jarvis led the search and prioritized the riverbanks. Lady Liz was increasingly pessimistic because the night was so cold and she knew Rowena would not be able to survive in these conditions.

A few hours before dawn, Jarvis suggested that they return to the square one more time to make sure the princess might have returned. However, when they went there the town square was very quiet. There wasn't a single person in sight.

Finally, Jarvis suggested that they return to the royal palace and ask for more knights to help locate the princess. Lady Liz who was unable to do anything just complied.

The news of Princess Rowena's disappearance sparked great anger from King Draco. The king threatened to sentence to death all those who accompanied Princess Rowena at that time including Lady Liz, Jarvis, as well as other bodyguards if they could not find Rowena before morning.

Just as the search squad was about to be deployed, a man in shabby clothes stopped Jarvis' horse at the city gates and said he saw a young man carrying a young woman into an old hut in the middle of the forest, near Almere. The man said he passed the young man while out of the forest after looking for firewood.

Without waiting any longer, Jarvis mobilized his men towards where the old man pointed out.

***

Lady Liz led Rowena back into the palace. "Let's go in."

A worried Lucent flew around the palace and perched on the window of the princess' bedroom. After waiting a while, Rowena came in and buried herself on the bed. She started to cry again remembering what Lady Liz had just told her.

As a result of her impulsive decisions, she almost cost many people their lives. However, her sadness due to the unfair treatment that Julian received was deeper.

Lucent flew slowly and landed beside the girl. He spread his wings while hugging the princess who never stopped crying. Rowena who felt a warmth lifted her face and saw Lucent who looked fine.

The girl got up and carried Lucent in her arms. Then she hugged the Phoenix tightly as if Lucent was the last source of her strength.

"I can't just stand here and let him get punished. He is innocent. Crying and doing nothing won't set Julian free. I have to talk to my father!"

Rowena released her arms from Lucent.

"Thank you for being by my side, Lucent. I'm going to see father right now," she said gently, stroking the bird's orange feathers.

Rowena hurried out of her residence and ran to her father's study. A knight who stood guarding the king's study didn't allow Rowena in on orders from King Draco himself.

"I want to see my father right now! Get out of the way!" Rowena ordered sharply.

But the two bodyguards never gave an opening for Rowena to enter.

"On orders from His Majesty the King himself. You are not granted permission to enter and meet His Majesty the King."

"I just want to talk for a bit!" Rowena said starting to feel frustrated. "He is my father!"

"My apologies, Princess but His Majesty the King is currently talking to some other people."

Rowena growled in annoyance. The girl remained where she was, waiting for the two bodyguards to step aside or when both were caught off guard, Rowena would use the opportunity to barge in.

Rowena tiptoed in surprise when she heard the sound of something slammed down from inside the king's study. Then, she could hear clearly that King Draco was cursing a knight.

"I don't care! Execute all the eyewitnesses who saw Rowena with that bastard! If word got out that Princess Rowena Roseland was spending the night with a man, then no princes or kings would want to marry her! And if that happens I will not let you and your families go free!"

Rowena's heart skipped a beat at her father's threat.

"And execute that bastard on the spot. I'm not in the mood to punish a lowly pest like that kid," King Draco added.

Rowena suddenly felt her knees go weak. She dropped to the ground, unable to speak anymore.

King Draco must be thinking that Julian took advantage of Rowena. Thus he wanted to get rid of him.. Rowena realized that Julian's life was in danger.