Mars reached out his hand and took Emmelyn by the hand to enter the palace. Meanwhile, Gewen and Ellena stood dumbfounded where they were, for different reasons.
Gewen still thought Lord Aldrich was amazing!
Apparently, he could look so beautiful with the right dress and makeup. His mind wondered if Mars asked Lord Aldrich to cross-dress when they had sex too, so he would look like a woman.
So, what that would make him? Was he into men or men who looked like women? How confusing!
Meanwhile, Ellena's beautiful face was adorned with contempt. She balled her fists to the sides and her body trembled slightly.
She realized she was late. But not too late. She could still get what was hers.
"Let's go to the library," Gewen touched Ellena's hand and asked her to follow him once the crown prince and his date were out of sight. "You don't have to worry about the woman. She is..."
The handsome man scratched his head with his other hand. He didn't quite know how to put it. She is not a woman.
"She is what?" Ellena furrowed her brows.
"Let's not talk here." Gewen pulled Ellena through the crowd and soon they were inside the palace, walking through the long passage on the way to the library.
***
Edgar welcomed Mars and Emmelyn when they entered the ballroom. As usual, a group of king's guards was blocking the way so that the female guests wouldn't try to get closer to the crown prince.
When Emmelyn set foot inside the majestic hall, she couldn't help but admire the grand design. The hall was huge with an intricate interior. The wall was white with gold decoration that didn't look over the top.
There were many guests already who all looked toward the entrance with anticipation. As their eyes caught sight of the king's guards and the prince, many people gasped.
The prince was holding a woman's hand intimately!
This was a foreign sight to behold. Most people think the prince couldn't stand women and preferred them to be as far away as possible from him. Yet... now he was walking holding hands with a woman?
Who was this lady? Everyone was wondering.
Her beauty was blinding, yet she looked mysterious especially because she didn't smile like most ladies who came to the royal ball. Why was she so cold?
"Good evening, Your Highness," Edgar greeted his friend in an official manner since they were in public. He was only on a first-name basis with the crown prince in private. Then he turned to Emmelyn and bowed down slightly. "My Lady."
Emmelyn had met Edgar during the combat training several weeks ago. However, she was disguised as a man back then. They had not properly introduced as themselves.
"Lord Edgar," Emmelyn held out her hand like a lady. The burly general took it respectfully and kissed the back of her hand. "My name is Emmelyn Rosehill."
Edgar was stunned to hear her full name. He straightened his back and turned to Mars with a confused expression. "Rosehill?"
Mars nodded. "This is Princess Emmelyn Rosehill from Wintermere. You've met her as Lord Aldrich before."
Edgar nodded and glanced at Emmelyn. "I do remember that. However, isn't Wintermere.... our newest colony?"
"You have a better memory than I do," Mars smiled faintly. He patted his friend's back and said, "Please keep this between us. Princess Emmelyn's identity is not to be revealed to anyone before I say so."
"Understood, Your Highness." Edgar was laidback and didn't talk much, unlike Gewen. So, Mars thought he could trust this man to keep his secret.
He couldn't reveal who Emmelyn was to outsiders before he could unpack the issues between Emmelyn and him. Before that happened, he didn't need other people's intervention.
He wouldn't even tell his father about Emmelyn's origin, because the king was quite strict with his family's safety.
It would be difficult to convince King Jared that the woman who tried to kill his son and wanted to kill him could be trusted not to do any more assassination attempts.
Edgar turned to look at Emmelyn again and, internally, he praised her beauty. He could see why the prince was smitten by this lady. She looked so stunningly beautiful, and to think she could also fight and use sword and arrow. Wow!
Now, he felt sorry for Ellena who had been waiting for Mars for years and spent her whole life thinking someday they could be together. As a man who was close to Mars, Edgar could see how the prince had anchored his heart to someone else.
"Have you seen Ellena?" Edgar whispered to Mars as they walked side by side toward the end of the hall where the king and queen sat at the table of honor. He intentionally lowered his voice so Emmelyn couldn't hear their conversation.
Mars' countenance changed as soon as Ellena's name was mentioned. He was distraught when he remembered the girl had hugged him so freely earlier.
It was all bad and bad for him.
What if Ellena was wrong and Mars was still cursed?
She would die the next day!
Mars couldn't lose a friend so dear to him. Someone he grew up with and would do anything for him. He had missed Ellena for years and thought she was dead.
He would be heartbroken to see her return only to die because of his curse!
They had been careful not to let him touch her, ever, from the moment they first met 20 years ago. Ellena was always wearing that leather glove and became known for it wherever they went.
She was the only girl who could be around him and touched him with her gloves on. Their friendship blossomed into love on Ellena's part and when she turned twenty, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
She announced that she would find that witch or die trying, and she left before anyone could stop her.
And now.. all of a sudden, she returned. Did she succeed as she said?
If she did... then she wouldn't die the next day. It would be such a relief.
But... if Mars was really free from the damn curse... what would happen to his relationship with Emmelyn?