Chapter 72 – A Tale of a Cursed Flower I

Selena and Shawn fell silent, their attention captured by the voice’s commanding presence. Even Makara, who had been walking indifferently ahead, slowed his pace slightly, his ears pricking up.

The voice continued, its tone heavy with the weight of sorrow and reverence, as though recounting a tale etched deeply into its very essence.

This happened long before Princess was born. When King Azure was just a prince, he led a war between his kingdom and a kingdom from the west and during the final days of that war, Prince Azure led his army to the brink of victory, but before the war, Prince Azure’s father, the king, promised to safeguard the Prince’s pregnant wife, who was in her ninth month. The king sent his daughter-in-law to a haven in the north, away from the chaos of the warfield.

But the enemy forces, desperate to turn the tide of war, discovered her whereabouts and devised an ambush. On the very day the prince’s wife went into labour, the attack was launched. Her guardian soldiers and attendants were slaughtered without mercy, though their sacrifice bought her precious time to flee. Despite her advanced pregnancy, she ran, driven by the desperate instinct to protect the life within her. During her escape, a fatal blow struck her from behind, tearing through flesh and leaving her bleeding as the agony of childbirth began to take hold.

In her desperation, she fled into a dark, foreboding forest. As her last guardian fell, the enemy forces began their pursuit, relentless and merciless. While the towering trees loomed above her, their dense canopy swallowed what little light remained, shrouding her in shadow. Gasping for breath, she stumbled into the hollow of a massive tree, her strength finally failing her. There, trapped between death and despair, she positioned herself to deliver the child, her cries of agony echoing through the forest as her life slowly bled away.

The enemy warriors, relentless and unyielding, tracked her into the forest on their horses. Her cries of labour echoed through the trees, guiding them like a beacon. They galloped faster, their swords gleaming faintly in the dim, filtered light. But when they arrived, they found not a helpless woman, but a hooded figure draped in a long, dark robe, kneeling beside Prince Azure’s wife as she writhed in pain. The prince’s wife noticed their approach, but her agony consumed her, blood pooling beneath her as her strength waned. The cloaked woman, undeterred, focused entirely on aiding the birth. The warriors dismounted, eyes burning with cruel intent, and began to advance—only to halt when the forest itself stirred, as though the forest had turned against them

From the ground below, tree branches lashed out like serpents, ensnaring the warriors where they stood. They struggled desperately to break free, but the branches only tightened, crushing their bodies with merciless strength. Their screams echoed briefly before being muffled—first by the tightening wood, then by the prince’s wife, who let out a final scream, and the baby was born. The cloaked figure turned for the first time, her face emerged from beneath the hood—a woman of otherworldly beauty, her eyes fierce yet tender as she lifted the newborn into her arms, cradling the crying infant with care. At that very moment, the branches constricted one last time, crushing the trapped soldiers until their struggles ceased and their bodies hung lifeless among the roots. The forest grew still once more, the only sound remaining—the faint, fragile wail of new life.

Yet, as the chaos subsided, she turned her gaze back to the prince’s wife, only to find her lifeless. The labour and blood loss had claimed her, but her final act of courage had brought the child into the world. The baby’s cries filled the forest, piercing through the silence like a fragile thread of hope.

The mysterious woman knelt by the body and gently twisted her hand. A delicate flower bloomed from the earth, its petals pooling with milk. She held the flower to the child, feeding the newborn while the mother lay motionless beside them.

It was then that she noticed the necklace with a sigil around the woman’s neck—a necklace bearing the royal crest of the Azurian Kingdom. Then the mysterious woman figured out that the child was no ordinary infant; he was the heir of the Azurian Kingdom, a symbol of hope in a time of despair. Then she walked passed the dead soldiers with the baby in her hand, and the dead body of Prince Azure’s wife was covered with white flowers in the hollow tree.

The enemy’s failure to capture the prince’s wife did not turn the tide of the war as they expected. Victory came swiftly to the Azurian kingdom, and as the soldiers and Prince Azure returned from the battlefield, they encountered the mysterious woman at the far end. Her hood concealed most of her face, but in her arms was the newborn baby, swaddled and sleeping soundly.

The entire army froze as Prince Azure rode forward, drawn to the cloaked figure. Victory lingered in the air, but his heart was struck by an unbearable understanding. Dismounting, bloodied and weary from the battle, he approached the mysterious woman. When his eyes fell upon the sleeping child cradled in the woman’s arms, a surge of sorrow washed over him. His gaze softened, tears welling as he realised the truth—his wife was gone. His trembling hand reached out instinctively, but stopped midway when he noticed it was stained with blood. For a long moment, he simply stood there, torn between grief and reverence. Then, regaining the composure demanded of a prince, he lifted his eyes to the mysterious woman and offered a solemn nod, wordlessly asking her to carry the child to the Azurian kingdom. As she started walking with the child forward and Prince Azure followed her.

The entire army understood the prince’s action, their victory overshadowed by grief, marched in solemn silence as they surrounded the woman holding the baby prince and the prince Azure behind her in the centre and escorted them back to the Azurian Kingdom. Everyone in the main city was waiting for the army to welcome them, but when they saw the solemn silence, they withstood their celebration and stood in silence. The main group, including the generals, Prince Azure, the woman and the baby prince and a few of the warriors, entered the palace, where they were welcomed, and the king rushed towards them to comfort them. When he approached the prince Azure, he slowed down and walked slowly towards them with his head down as a father who failed to keep his word to his son, a king failed his word to his heir. Prince Azure, with the woman and everyone who was with them, just walked past the king without saying a word. There, amidst the grand halls, the woman with the baby prince was surrounded by a group of servants and under the watchful eyes of countless servants, the child refused to rest in anyone’s arms but hers. The prince noticed that and ordered the servants to stand by and make sure the woman was treated like her home, indirectly telling the woman to stay.

Though hesitant at first, the baby grabbed her finger with its tiny hand. Moved by the baby’s innocence, she decided to stay. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months and months to years, and while the kingdom celebrated its triumph, Prince Azure mourned his wife in private. By day, he was a fearless leader, but by night, he was a broken man haunted by loss.

One night, the woman found him in his solitude. She spoke to him not as a prince, but as a grieving husband and father. She assured him that justice had been served to those responsible for his wife’s death and promised to protect his son as though he were her own. Her words, gentle yet resolute, brought him solace.

In time, she became more than a protector; she became a mother to the young prince and eventually the second wife of Prince Azure, binding her fate to the kingdom she had once only wandered into.

The voice paused, the weight of the tale lingering in the air like an unspoken command to reflect. “That,” it concluded, “is only the beginning of the story.”

The voice resumed, its tone deep with sorrow and reverence, painting a vivid picture of a bittersweet legacy.

After the war ended and a few years later, Prince Azure was crowned as king. The mysterious woman, now his queen, bore him two sons after Prince Zhao – Prince Aerion and Prince Enthril. She treated Prince Zhao as though he were her own flesh and blood, her kindness and warmth creating a bond so strong that he never felt the absence of his birth mother. She brought love and stability to the kingdom, and her compassion became a beacon for all.

But everything changed during her third pregnancy. She was 9 months pregnant and expecting to go into labour anytime, a momentous occasion for the royal family. One day, a group of women arrived at the palace gates. Their long, dark robes were unlike anything seen in the kingdom, each uniquely adorned with symbols. Despite their foreboding appearance, they were welcomed as guests—the queen’s first visitors from her past.

These women were her kin, though their presence brought unease to the palace. She spent hours alone with them, speaking in a language that no one else could understand. When they finally departed, their departure felt as heavy as a storm cloud looming over the kingdom. They left without ceremony, their faces veiled and unreadable.

King Azure, sensing the weight of something unspeakable, rushed to his wife’s chambers. His heart pounded with fear as he found her sitting quietly, her face calm but her eyes holding a sadness he could not ignore. It was then that she revealed the truth she had kept hidden for so long.

‘I am a witch,‘ she confessed, her voice steady but tinged with resignation. ‘I was part of a coven, but I walked away from that life, breaking the sacred balance of the sisterhood. For breaking the coven’s bond, a curse was released upon me. For years, I thought I had escaped by running far, but it has caught up now, but this child…’ placing her hand on her pregnant stomach, ‘our daughter…,’ hearing they’re gonna have a daughter made King Azure happy in his heart, but simultaneously worried about the truth being unrevealed. ‘…will bear the weight of my sins. The curse will claim me the moment she enters this world, and it will live on in her, and I promise, I will try my utmost effort to shield her from the curse.’

King Azure’s heart broke into pieces. The woman he loved, the woman who had saved his son and given him a family, would be taken from him because of a cruel curse. Yet he stood strong, for her sake and for their unborn child. Tears welled in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. King Azure’s hands were held by her, which were calm but cold as she came to terms with her fate.

Then she cupped his face with her hands, her touch gentle. ‘I have lived a life full of joy, thanks to you,‘ she whispered. ‘I never thought I would know such love or such peace. For that, I am grateful. My only wish is that you love this child as fiercely as you have loved me.’

King Azure swore it. He promised her with all his heart that their daughter would be cherished, protected, and loved unconditionally. No curse would diminish her place in his life or her worth to the kingdom.

A few days later, the time came. The queen went into labour, and the palace filled with an air of dread and hope as many servants ran here and there. After hours of excruciating pain, she brought a beautiful baby girl into the world. The child’s eyes were a vibrant, otherworldly green, a testament to the power she had inherited.

The queen smiled through her tears, her gaze fixed on her daughter. She held the child close, her strength fading with every breath. With her final moments, she whispered, ‘Her name is Thyra.‘