The Cursed Prince

Back rubs worked like magic! Emmelyn was delighted to find out that such a simple thing could relieve pain, in her case, her massive headache.

"Thank you," said Emmelyn after she felt so much better. She then turned around, facing Mars. The man was forced to stop rubbing Emmelyn's back because now her back was in the opposite direction.

Their two pairs of eyes met. Emmelyn cleared her throat and decided to start probing Mars about the details of his curse.

From Mars' story about his sickly childhood and the fact that all his siblings died stillborn or in infancy, Emmelyn couldn't help but worry if what the witch said was true about the curse on the entire Strongmoor family, not just Mars alone.

Then, what would happen to their children? Would they really not be affected by that curse? What if they also died in her womb or if they didn't survive infancy?

What would happen to the contract that Emmelyn and Mars made if Emmelyn became pregnant three times and all her children died? Did that mean Emmelyn had fulfilled her part of the deal? Or would the contract only accept living children?

Details like this weren't discussed before they entered into that contract...

[Crazy .. what was I thinking just now?]

[Sorry, kids, I am not keeping score or being calculative with your father. I need to talk about this because I'm TERRIFIED that something bad will happen to you because of the curse.]

Emmelyn took a deep breath. Her change of attitude didn't escape Mars' observations. The man waited patiently for Emmelyn to convey what was in her heart.

From the girl's attitude and gestures, Mars could see that something was bothering her. Now, he wanted to know what was wrong.

"Uhm ... I wonder, exactly what kind of curse that was cast on you..." Emmelyn finally said. "From your story just now, when you said that your siblings all died when they were little or even before they were born, I am wondering if it was not only you who were cursed but your entire family ..."

Mars looked closely at Emmelyn. He knew this beautiful girl was very smart, but he didn't expect Emmelyn to even come to the right conclusion, just from listening to his story about his childhood and siblings. He didn't even talk about the curse that he suffered.

Mars knew it was time to discuss the whole truth with Emmelyn. Didn't he wish that this girl would marry him someday? If Emmelyn became his wife, then they would become family.

Thus, all his family's secrets and problems would become Emmelyn's secrets and problems too. Mars didn't want Emmelyn to feel trapped with him when she found out the truth after it was too late.

However, Mars also hoped that Emmelyn would be able to understand and feel empathy for what his family was going through.

"Hmm .. do you really want to know?" Mars asked, looking deeply at Emmelyn.

The girl nodded. "I want to know because this has to do not only with you but with our children as well."

Our children.

Those were only two words, but somehow they were able to fill the prince's heart with so much joy. His face was immediately lit with a happy smile. He was beaming.

Our children.

Ahh ...

He hoped that Emmelyn would get pregnant soon, and they would soon have THEIR children.

"All right. I'll tell you what happened," said Mars. "A long time ago, when my father was 24 years old, younger than me now, my father had a fiancée. Her name was Lady Marielle. She was the daughter of a duke in Draec. Both of their parents were good friends and their betrothal had been decided since they were little."

Emmelyn slowly sat up and leaned back on the headboard. She listened carefully to Mars' story. From what he had said so far, Emmelyn could get a conclusion that Mrs. Adler's words were true.

Emmelyn unconsciously held her breath.

"Then? How did your father end up marrying your mother?" she asked in a low voice.

"My father always knew that he would marry his fiancée. He did not mind it at all because he understood that to become a king, he must do whatever was expected of him by this kingdom, including marrying a girl that he didn't love."

Mars continued his story, "The thing is, up until that point, my father had never been in love and so, he did not object to the engagement. However .. before they got married and my father took the throne ... he asked my grandfather's permission to travel and see the world. Because after he was married and became the king, the opportunity to travel would disappear."

Emmelyn understood very well what King Jared was feeling at the time. She felt the same way too. She even deliberately gambled with her father and bet that if her father lost, Emmelyn would be allowed to see the world.

"So.. your father left, and then ...?"

Emmelyn could already guess what happened afterward. It's the same as Mrs. Adler said. Mars's father met Elara on his way, fell in love with her, and then broke off the engagement with the other girl…

Ah, Emmelyn could imagine the hurt that Lady Marielle must have felt. Hurt and humiliation. She was tossed away, just like that, after years of preparing herself to marry the crown prince.

"My father traveled for a year. And on his way, he saved my mother who was kidnapped by a landlord on the outskirts of the Draec kingdom near the border to Gallifrey. My mother, as you can see, is very beautiful. That's because her father is an elf, while her mother is a regular human."

Emmelyn pursed her lips. Again Mrs. Adler was right.

This means that everything she said could be trusted ... So far, everything she said was exactly what Mars told Emmelyn.

"That's right, when I saw your mother for the first time, I felt like I saw an elf queen. Apparently, I was right. Your mother is indeed half-elf," said Emmelyn.

Mars nodded. "My mother was just a regular girl from the village, but her beauty was known far and wide, even to the neighboring kingdoms. There were so many men who tried to marry her either properly or by force ..."

"I can imagine it," said Emmelyn. She had never seen a woman more beautiful than Queen Elara. Her husband should be proud because he managed to marry a woman whose beauty was famous everywhere and was desired by so many men.

"So, what happened then?" Emmelyn asked again.

"When my father met my mother, he saved her from kidnapping by a lower lord from Draec. The man tried to force my mother to marry him," said Mars. "The unfortunate man did not know he was meeting the crown prince. When he knew, it was too late...."

"Oh ..."

"After that day, my father fell in love with my mother so madly that he claimed he could not live without her. So, in order to make sure his father, the king, did not reject my mother to be my father's wife, my father married my mother secretly before taking her to the palace and announced publicly that they were already married. He asked for my grandfather's forgiveness, then begged that his engagement with Lady Marielle be canceled."