The Prince she was talking about was the kingdom's forgotten prince. Locked up within the walls of his palace was the King's first son with the Queen who had died many years ago.
The Prince has gotten ill since then.
The King of the Valor Kingdom had 2 children. One with his legitimate wife and one born out of wedlock. One of them is the said forgotten Prince who was the son of the King with the crowned Queen.
The Valor Kingdom has done everything it can to save this Prince from the unknown curse that does not let him perform his duties as the son of the king and the queen, which was being the next king of his kingdom.
The Prince's crown was taken from him when he started becoming ill to the point where no magician and healers could ever treat him.
I wonder if they have already tried calling an Elvian to treat him and break the curse.
It's been 6 second moon years since the dethronement of the real Prince. He was replaced by his brother who was born first out of wedlock. The king's infidelity caused the birth of the other prince who has come to take the throne from the real prince.
Ever since the crown was taken, the cursed prince has left the main palace and lived in the darkness where no one could meddle in his life. The mistress has discussed the news of the Prince's search for a royal consort is the very first news they have received from the Prince in 48 years.
No one remembers him until now. The people took a liking to the crowned Prince that they had fully forgotten that another Prince existed. And now that it has been expected that no one would like to be a consort to the cursed and ill Prince, the mistress wanted to send me to become the Prince's consort.
The prince will hold a party in his Palace this evening. And in the crowd of anticipating ladies, he then will choose who he's going to marry.
The reason why the mistress wanted to send me was the fortune it was going to give the consort's family. A low-life invaluable person like me in the household would come fit to be sent to the ball.
"Are you thrilled to see the cursed prince, today Alliyah?" she asked me. It's only the second time she has invited me to dine with her.
'I feel no excitement or any other feeling, Madamme.' I moved my hand to send her the message. After seeing me finish my message, she turned her gaze to Martha who stood next to me to translate each word that I have conveyed.
"She says she does feel excited, Madame." she lied.
I wanted to roll my eyes on Martha's grinning face. She does this all the time. She mistranslates everything I say in order to make me look like I said the right thing. I don't know if I should be thankful that she helps me out of trouble or not.
"Hmm, today, we'll make you very pretty. We'll let you use the best dress in the seamstress boutique that I found yesterday, my best perfume, accessories, and everything. In return, you must take the Prince's heart." she said as if it was me who wanted to become the royal consort.
'I don't want them,'
"She says she's thankful, Madame."
"You little, bitch." Martha followed me back to my room after that grossing meal with the mistress who talked nothing but badmouth the prince she had never even met before.
She starts her sentences with 'Rumour has it,' to save herself from being accused of those rumors she has made herself.
The Prince was as ugly as a frog.
He has the personality of a slug.
He was the weakest in the family.
He is extremely irrelevant if not for his money.
And that he is useless and perfect to rip off.
"How many times do I have to tell you that you have to be careful when talking to the Mistress? You be thankful that she cannot understand what you say with those hands," she huffed.
'She has to know I don't want it,' I said.
I saw how Martha sighed. She's been guilty for bringing me here and having me do all this, all this time. She gave me a remorseful look and pulled my shoulders to make me face her.
"Listen to me," she said, "You don't have to do your best. You just have to show up there and when you are not able to get the Prince, that's better. Because you'll eventually come back here and live normally. Again."
I couldn't help but sigh at the thought of having to come a long way just to show up. I wanted to do nothing. I never liked to wear the dresses she wished me to wear. Even those dangling accessories that I just couldn't keep on myself for long. And what I hate the most was the shoes she makes me wear. They hurt.
"You're going to be fine, young girl."
'I hope so,'
"It's time, let's go get you ready."
I had to take another shower to prepare for the party that's gonna take place in a few hours.
The bath lasted more than an hour. They put too much in my body that I don't think is necessary. The mistress was there the whole time. Watching. She says all those products were to hide the smell of a maid.
I tried to enjoy the time with the fascinating use of magic in the room. Everything was flying because of someone's magic. Even the scrub was working by itself.
Elvians unlike magicians who lived outside the forest have no other ability than to heal with their voice. I often find their magic fascinating as every time we go to town, I see people flying, things flying, they are using their abilities to benefit their everyday lives.
There were others who performed using their magic, heals using their magic, and many more. Magicians are strong. Their magic can do a lot of things. What's best about it is that it can be used to defend their selves, unlike Elvians who do nothing but heal and sing.
After the bath, I was sent to the vanity to dress up and style my face. It took another 2 hours.
Many things were done. When I looked at my face in front of the mirror, it was as if I hadn't put anything on. I was styled like my natural look. But cleaner and better.
The eyes that used to be red as rubies have turned black.
My now blonde hair which lost its color as time passed by is curled into a bun and was decorated with colorful flowers. I was dressed in a corset dress that revealed my whole neck and shoulder.
The dress falls down to the floor. I couldn't see my toes.
I was busy examining my face when suddenly, I heard everyone leave and the door close. I immediately looked up and saw the Mistress standing in front of the closed door. "You like it?" she asked me.
I noticed how she has aged in time. She may now still be beautiful, but nothing beats her younger age. Despite the products and the magic that she had used on herself all this time, she could never really hide the power of age. She is a normal human being unlike the others.
Elvians age differently than humans. So as other magical creatures living in this world.
The second moon in the sky during the night tells the year for magical creatures. When an eclipse between the two moons happens, it is another year for the magical creatures. These eclipses happen every 8 years in the human calendar.
Our bodies grow the same as humans during the first few stages of life. When the body becomes mature as an 18-year-old human, the growth stops and grows slowly in every 8 years of the human calendar.
I nodded in response. A gesture I am certain she would understand.
I didn't mind her and continued examining myself. My eyes landed on my bare neck. Only a piece of an unfamiliar accessory was there. Not the necklace that I have been carrying this whole time. The necklace that has my stone in the locket pendant.
Panic struck me immediately. I started looking for it in the vanity.
"Looking for this?" I looked up to the reflection on the mirror only to see the Duchess holding my necklace in her hand. I immediately turned around and tried to swipe it out of her hand when she swiftly avoided my hand covering her hand all over the golden pendant of my necklace. "Not so fast, pretty girl," she said.
With her hands still in the air, she pushed her face closer to mine.
'I want it back,' I moved my hands as if she could understand.
Why is she even doing this?
"You want it?"
I nod. I never feel fine when I notice that the necklace is not clinging to my skin.
"Why should I give it to you?"
'Because it's mine,' but of course, she wouldn't understand.
"Well now, you see little girl. The food that I have put on your plate is not free. In this timeline, you can never give without taking something." her voice warns me that she is going to say something ominous. "I'll be taking this necklace as payment for your everyday meals this past what? 50 years,"
I shook my head.
'No.'
It was then that I was tempted to talk. I was tempted to take it and run away from this place. But then Martha's face flashed into my mind and I had to rethink the choices that I was just about to make.
"But since I'm a little generous today, I can give it back. In one condition.."