The Cursed Prince

Emmelyn was checking her new dresses, sent by Mrs. Coultard when she heard a knock on her chamber door. She motioned one of her maids to open it and Roshan immediately came and bowed down in respect.

"Your Highness, Her Majesty and her ladies-in-waiting have arrived." The butler gave his report.

"Ah, thank you for letting me know. I will be right there with them. Please bring them to my lounge."

"Will do, Your Highness." Roshan bowed down again and took his leave.

Emmelyn quickly fixed her looks after Roshan left the chamber. She put on some light makeup and changed into a nicer dress.

She knew those ladies-in-waiting loved to gossip. It was always the same everywhere. So, she better looked flawless and not gave them anything to criticize behind her back.

Emmelyn had talked about the visit with Mars yesterday, and they decided to convert their small dining room into a lounge for Emmelyn to receive her guests.

He wanted her to have her own space like his mother's in the royal palace.? So, Mars asked Roshan to add several nice sofas and a beautiful rug to make the room more feminine.

He had no problem eating his lunch or dinner in there with the new arrangement. It was easier to convert the room into a lounge for tea, than having to build a completely new one.

That's where the queen and her ladies-in-waiting were directed after the butler received them. When Emmelyn arrived, the queen just plopped her butt on one of the nice sofas in the brand new lounge.

"Your Majesty, welcome," said Emmelyn with a curtsey. Her pregnancy was already showing a little bit. Seeing the baby bump made the queen beam in happiness.

She got up and hugged Emmelyn with a broad smile. "I am so happy to see you. How are you feeling?"

"I am feeling slight discomfort, but nothing I cannot manage. Thank you for asking, Your Majesty." From the corner of her eye, Emmelyn could see the sour expression on Lady Preston and she became tempted to annoy that woman even more.

"That's good to hear. Do you get cramps or any other discomfort in particular?" The queen held Emmelyn's hand and took her to sit next to her on the sofa.

"Well, I do. But His Highness is very helpful. He always massaged my legs and my back every night before we go to sleep," Emmelyn spoke in a flat tone, but she intentionally said those words to spite Lady Preston.

[Eat that, old hag!]

She knew how much Lady Preston wanted Ellena to marry the crown prince and Emmelyn was happy to see that old lady's face turned red in anger.

"Oh. I am so happy to hear that my son is taking care of you," said the queen happily. "I didn't raise him to be a good man for nothing."

"Thank you for teaching the prince how to be a good man," Emmelyn smiled when she heard the queen.

It was true. She could tell that Mars was very close to his mother and she assumed that his good attitude and his care were learned from his mother.

Emmelyn was forever grateful to this woman for giving birth to and raising the man she loved.

"Ah, it's every parent's job to raise their children to be good people. As you will have a child yourself, I think you will understand what it means to be a parent soon." Queen Elara patted Emmelyn's arm lovingly.

This display of affection didn't escape the other ladies' eyes. They exchanged glances and tried to make their own assessment of what happened before them.

Why was the queen treating this woman like she was her daughter-in-law? Emmelyn was just a vessel to deliver the babies for the royal family, right?

She wasn't going to be the prince's real wife, was she?

The queen's sweet treatment toward her was solely because she was pregnant with her grandchild, wasn't it?

The three ladies just asked the questions internally and didn't say anything. Their attention was diverted when three maids came with trays filled with ginger tea, apple pie, and several other snacks.

"Thank you for your kind words, Your Majesty," Emmelyn was touched by the queen's kindness.

For a while, she almost felt like she was being tended to by her mother.

No, actually her biological mother wasn't even this attentive.

The Wintermere queen was always tired and didn't have that much time for her children. Emmelyn was always competing for their mother's attention with her older sisters.

She felt loved by Queen Elara, and damn she felt lucky to have this woman as her mother-in-law!

"The tea smells really nice," the queen commented when the maids were carefully placing the teapot and cups on the small table in the middle. "Did they put ginger in it?"

Emmlyn nodded with a smile. "Yes, Your Majesty. This is a special tea from my hometown. It's a..."

Her voice halted mid-sentence. Emmelyn suddenly realized that she had been telling people that she was from Glendale. She had no idea what was the typical tea or stuff unique from that area.

Gosh.. would they feel suspicious?

"What's it called?" Lady Athibaud asked with rounded eyes. "My sister lives in Glendale. I will ask her for this tea next time she comes to visit me."

Emmelyn bit her lip.

Shit. She was swayed by the queen's warmth and care that she let her guard down just now.

She said the tea was special from her hometown? And now apparently Lady Athibaud had a sister in Glendale? Gosh...

"No, actually this is a special tea with a family recipe. I cannot share it with outsiders. I am sorry," Emmelyn blurted.

Luckily she was quick-witted and used to lying to cover up her behind. Finding an excuse like this was not hard for her to do.

"Oh, is that so?" Lady Athibaud looked disappointed but she didn't press on that matter.

"Please try the tea. I hope you will like it," Emmelyn smiled to cover up her nervousness from being found out. She motioned her maids to pour tea for them.

One maid came swiftly and poured tea into five cups. The ladies took one cup each and sipped their tea after Emmelyn drank hers.

"Hmm.. this is really good! I feel warm and cozy," Lady Chaucer commented. Her eyes sparkling and her lips smiling. "This is perfect for winter."

"You are right. I think so too," the queen added. "I love this."

Emmelyn was happy to see they liked Wintermere's special ginger tea. This made her feel proud of her culture and homeland.

Ahh.. that's too bad that she couldn't tell them that this amazing tea came from a small kingdom by the sea, called Wintermere.

"We brought you many gifts for the baby, by the way," the queen said after she put her cup down. She motioned to Roshan who was standing in the corner of the room to bring in her gifts from the carriage.

Emmelyn's face was beaming when she heard this. She loved gifts. Which woman didn't? She was curious to know what the queen was preparing for her.

"We also brought gifts for you from The Athibaud family," Lady Athibaud added. So did Lady Chaucer. Apparently, everyone brought gifts for Emmelyn, even the sulking Lady Preston.