The Cursed Prince

Lyla was a stubborn woman. She thought this was fate. After ten years, she was given a chance to mend her relationship with her long-lost son.

She would not let this opportunity go when it was handed to her on a silver platter.

"Please listen to me... You are not going to the lion's den. The king is not your enemy. If I were you, I would fake my death to deter my two chasers and find refuge in Atlantea," Lyla tried to convince Emmelyn.

"Lyla.. shut up. I am not dumb, okay?" Emmelyn rolled her eyes at Lyla's persuasion.

"You can go to Atlantea and start a new life. And where is the better place to hide and start anew if not in Summeria, in the arms of the king himself?" Lyla looked at Emmelyn intently. "The king wants you because he is in love with you."

Emmelyn suddenly couldn't move. She thought the world had truly gone mad.

People whom she had never met could hate her so much to the point that they wished her bad luck and death on all the people she loved. And now... a stranger was said to be in love with her?

This was madness!

"Lyla... please, I have a terrible day... No, I am having a terrible month. I have been living in fear and distress for a long time. Right now, I am just trying to stay alive so I can reach this stupid country called Myreen and ask the royal family there to lift their curse from me."

Emmelyn started sobbing when she remembered her baby Harlow, whom she had to leave behind and she had been missing at every waking hour.

"I know how you feel, as a mother. I have a child too. I know I would do anything for her. But, I am sorry I cannot help you to mend your relationship with your son."

Emmelyn tried to pull herself together, but the stress she was having was too much for her. It reached a boiling point when she realized she was so unlucky and wanted by so many people for god knows why.

She looked at Lyla with teary eyes. "Please.. please, let me go. I don't know that stupid king and I will not go to see your son so he could bring me to him. I have other more important things to do, this involves my daughter's safety."

Emmelyn pulled Lyla's hand from her arm and turned around. She decided to just continue her journey and leave Twig as soon as possible.

Lyla said there were many bounty hunters in this town. If Lyla notified them of her presence, Emmelyn might not make it to Wintermere.

Lyla was stood rooted in her spot. Emmelyn had a daughter? Lyla was shocked to hear this. She didn't know this information.

When Emmelyn and Mrs. Adler were almost out through the door, Lyla was moved from her daze.

"Wait!" Lyla suddenly found her voice and shouted at Emmelyn. "Did you say... you have a child? Is that true?"

Emmelyn turned around and looked at her with tears dripping down her cheeks. "I do. I have to leave her behind and I am crying every day because I miss her. You have no idea what hell I am going through right now...."

"I-I'm sorry..." Lyla suddenly felt ashamed for wanting to sacrifice another woman, a fellow mother, for her own benefit. "I didn't know you have a child."

"That's right. I am a mother and I have never met the king of Summeria. So, I am sure the king is looking for the wrong woman. Even if I came to see your son, it won't do him any good. I am not the one that the king is looking for," Emmlyn bit her lip.

"Now that you said it... maybe you are right," Lyla lowered her face dejectedly.

She had thought that Emmelyn was the woman that the Summerian monarch was looking for. All the descriptions matched, and even her identity as the princess from Wintermere. She was so glad to know that she had met that woman at one point.

And when she heard from her two girls that the person who was sought by so many people just stopped by her brothel, Lyla felt so lucky.

Noone could connect the dots, yet. She felt so smart for doing a good job in recognizing Emmelyn. And she immediately thought of ways to mend her relationship with her son.

At the moment, Lysander, her son, was just a knight for hire, but he must love the opportunity to become a real knight with nobility title and wealth to match it.

It would be a perfect opportunity for him to bring Emmelyn with him to Summerian capital and see the king. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But, maybe... the king was mistaken? The woman he was looking for might be someone else who claimed to be Emmelyn.

Because... how could this woman in front of her insist so adamantly that she had never met the king if the king was in love with her? Right?

There must be a misunderstanding somewhere. Besides, Emmelyn here had already had a child. Surely, she was not the woman that a king would want to be his bride, was she?

"I know I am right," Emmelyn scoffed. "I am not the woman that the king is looking for."

"I am sorry for making an assumption," Lyla looked really sad now. "I was blinded by my obsession to please my son. I thought you are truly the woman that the king is looking for."

"What makes you think it was me?" Emmelyn asked.

"Well, the message said that the king is looking for a woman named Emmelyn who went to Atlantea for a year. She is from Wintermere. Her physical description matches yours. The king will grant title, land, and wealth for anyone who could bring her alive and protect her all the way to Summeria."

Emmelyn swallowed. Not many people knew she was in Atlantea for one year. This description sounded very specific.