The queen was rendered speechless. She immediately rushed toward the banquet hall and look for Maxim. She needed to know if that was really him!
"M-Maxim?" Emmelyn croaked out. Her steps halted as soon as she came close to the former king of Summeria.
The man looked almost just like how she remembered him and, save for the couple of years that were now visible in his face, he looked much younger than both Emmelyn and Mars, her husband.
Huh? This was strange, Mars thought to himself.
He was now 46 years old, and Emmelyn was 42. They were healthy and still looked good for their ages. However, this man before her… didn't look a day older than thirty? Perhaps even 28.
Did he encounter the fountain of youth or something??
"I go by another name now," Loriel crookedly grinned at his old friend. "You can call me Loriel."
Mars didn't exactly look as amused or pleased as his wife but he nodded at the man as a gesture and instead glanced at his daughter.
"We and Loriel will have a private talk to catch up. We haven't seen each other for a really long time." Mars smiled gently at his daughter. "You can continue on with the party."
For once, Princess Harlow nodded and threw one last look at Loriel and her mother as they were leaving the banquet hall.
***
"So not… Maxim," Emmelyn pursed her lips. "Right?"
"Yes. You may call me Loriel now." Loriel cleared his throat. "I like the name better."
"Then, what brings you here, Loriel?" Emmelyn asked. Her eyes were wide and she pointed at his face. "Did you happen to learn magic or get a youth potion? It's like you've never aged at all."
People knew that magic tended to help slow down the aging process to a certain extent. That was how they encountered Renwyck before and other powerful spellcasters. A hint of power was revealed in their appearance.
"I've finally come here as I promised to you before," Loriel said. "I've been traveling here and there."
Emmelyn was at a loss for words. "We have so much to catch up with. The last time I saw you…"
"I have married my dear wife, Elise."
"So, I've heard."
"Now I'm traveling the world, wandering wherever I can while waiting until I can reunite with her again," Loriel said but then looked at their expression. "I do think that I came at the wrong time. Has something terrible happened? Your faces both look so tense."
Emmelyn smiled sadly and then gestured for him to take a seat. "It's a long story. By the way, you've met my gorgeous daughter, Harlow, haven't you?"
"Yes, I have." Loriel nodded. "She takes a lot after you."
Emmelyn raised a brow. "Oh, really? How?"
"Character-wise, I mean."
"Ahhh… I can say yes to that." Emmelyn laughed a little.
Mars crossed his arms and sighed. "My daughter received a letter from a mysterious man who calls himself the Ice Prince. The man sent gifts year after year here in Draec for Harlow, but today he sent a letter and said that he's betrothed to my daughter."
"The Ice Prince…?"
"Raphael," Emmelyn explained. "We've met him, haven't we? Is this the same Ice Prince, do you think? You were very suspicious of him before, but I trusted the man. I thought he would help us and I even gave him the most precious thing I had…"
"But it turned out to be your daughter." Loriel finished. "Is that right?"
"No, no… I didn't think he would trick me like this," Emmelyn's face contorted into pain and she clutched the letter with trembling hands. "Back then I only wanted to know about who cursed me and I also learned how to revive the queen mother because of him. But now… I don't really know."
King Mars Strongmoor's eyes widened and he clenched his fist. "Unforgivable! So, he deceived you and he thinks that he can actually send a letter and try to take my daughter? I won't allow for this treachery."
"I… I was the fool, Mars." Emmelyn said. She lowered her head and bit her lip. "I should have read in between the lines and assumed the worst but…"
"He once healed me before," Loriel smiled sadly. "Revived me from the brink of death, this Raphael. However, he told me that there was a debt to pay for it, Emmelyn. I am afraid that the same holds true for you."
"No!" Emmelyn shouted and shook her head. Her eyes stung. "I can't give my daughter away to him. If I had known that it was going to be Harlow then I would have never talked or agreed with him at all."
"That snake pendant you gave to him, he deemed it as not important enough," Loriel sighed and shook his head. "Perhaps we can talk with him? I don't know if I can lend my help and we will be able to…"
Emmelyn looked at her old friend in the face. "Help us? Can you talk with him?"
"It's a bit difficult… since I was cast away from where Raphael and the gods all stay." Loriel cleared his throat.
"Wait. Did you just say gods?" Emmelyn blinked.
"Yes. I think Raphael is the God of Healing and once healed King Alexander from Myreen," Loriel explained and thought about the situation with a grim expression. "However, perhaps we can come to another decision? Something not involving your daughter?"
"I'd challenge him upon our honor for deceiving us." King Mars' eyes narrowed slightly. "Why should we come begging for him to help us when it is obvious that he chose to lie and trick my wife? God or not, I refuse to bow down and beg. What will he even do? Freeze the kingdom to get my daughter?"
.
.
_____________________
From Missrealitybites:
If you read "The Cursed King", you will know why Maxim now went by the name 'Loriel', and why he is no longer the king of Summeria.
