Emmelyn sat gracefully on the sofa with her eyes glued to the letter in her hand. She read every word religiously. It was a short letter, so she read it over and over. Mars told her that they had reached Branwell.
Everything went well. They made a point to stop one day in each province that they were passing by, to give the impression that the crown prince was only visiting and doing an inspection on their colonies.
They didn't want anyone to know that the main destination was Wintermere. News traveled fast. If they looked obvious in their journey toward Emmelyn's homeland, they were worried the witch would get wind of their mission.
This made Emmelyn relieved but sad at the same time. She was relieved, knowing that her husband wouldn't take the arduous trip by forcing himself, his horse, and his men to go as fast as possible to Wintermere.
She didn't want him to get sick. Even if he would return so late, she didn't mind. Yes, she felt sad too because the journey took longer, but that was okay. She didn't want to be selfish. What mattered was that Mars came home safely and healthy.
"Ahh... I'm happy with the progress," said the queen after she read the letter intended to her. She turned to Emmelyn and smiled. "If things go well, he will be back in slightly over two months."
Emmelyn nodded. Yes, if Mars and his men could quickly apprehend and kill the witch without problems, meaning everything went well, the prince would be here before she gave birth to Harlow.
Ahh... Emmelyn really hoped everything would go well.
***
Lately, Harlow became so calm. The fetus didn't kick Emmelyn's stomach as often as before. Initially, Emmelyn became worried.
However, Mr. Vitas convinced her that it was nothing to worry about since babies didn't always kick much, especially after it became older and bigger.
Their room to move about became smaller and it was difficult for them to move vigorously. Emmelyn was advised to start walking a little bit around the garden, so she could stay healthy and get used to being active.
When her pregnancy entered the eighth and ninth month, Emmelyn would be required to walk even more, to help the baby get into the right fetal position for the labor.
If she kept staying in her chamber and didn't do anything active, it would be harder for her to do this walk in a few months.
So, after she got over her sadness from being left alone by Mars, Emmelyn started walking a lot.
***
"I have a surprise for you," said Queen Elara one day when she saw Emmelyn enter her lounge for their daily tea.
She had a wooden box opened in front of her. From afar, Emmelyn could see some pieces of jewelry glittering, reflecting the sunlight from the floor-to-ceiling windows behind her.
"A surprise?" Emmelyn pressed her lips when she heard the queen's words.
She loved Queen Elara like her own mother and just having the queen in her life was already a blessing for her. However, the queen had a surprise for her? Ahh... this was too much.
Judging from Queen Elara's happy expression, Emmelyn could assume that the surprise must be something really good. And.. maybe it had something to do with the jewelry box on her lap?
"Come and sit with me," said Queen Elara. She patted the sofa next to her. Emmelyn obeyed and sat beside the queen.
Her eyes immediately caught sight of so many pieces of jewelry inside the box. There were so many necklaces, brooches, bracelets, rings, hair accessories, and even several tiaras.
She had never seen this many jewelries her whole life before. Even her mother, the queen of Wintermere didn't have this much jewelry in her treasure chest when she was still alive.
Emmelyn took a glance at the box and the contents. Whoa.. there were so many jewelry items in there!
Their shine was almost blinding to the eyes. So many golds, diamonds, pearls, and other precious gems.
"Do you see anything you like?" The queen asked with a sweet smile.
Queen Elara had noticed that Emmelyn didn't really have any jewelry with her, except for her wedding ring that she started wearing after she and Mars disclosed their marriage to the monarchs.
When they were still keeping the marriage a secret, both she and Mars hid their wedding ring around their necks with a string.
Emmelyn was a normal woman, who loved beauty and jewelry. Mars often said Emmelyn could get whatever she wanted, all she needed to do was ask. But she had never asked for jewelry from her husband.
They had been very busy and their focus was mainly getting their lives back in order and welcoming Harlow. Besides, for Emmelyn, every single piece of jewelry that she would like to own should hold a special meaning.
Like her wedding ring, for example. She loved it because it signified the day when she and her husband were united in holy matrimony.
If someday her husband would give her jewelry, maybe a birthday present, or a gift for a special occasion, she would gladly accept it.
But, Emmelyn didn't want to collect jewelry for the sake of having them. She found jewelry to be annoying when she was traveling since they could attract criminals to rob her.
After she left Wintermere to go on adventures, all the small pieces of jewelry that she brought with her were hidden in a special pouch and sold when she needed money on the road.
This was actually something that she regretted later on, because after selling them or pawning her jewelry to the shop, she didn't have anything left from Wintermere.
Now, there was nothing on her that was given by her father or mother, no keepsakes, even a small earring. She never thought her kingdom would fall and her family perished, while she was away, leaving her with nothing.
"What do you think? Is there anything you like?" The queen repeated her question, moving Emmelyn from her reverie.
The princess batted her eyes and smiled. She got rid of the sad memories about her lost keepsakes from her parents and focused her attention on the treasure chest on the queen's lap.
She realized, Queen Elara wanted to give her some of her jewelry, and this gesture touched Emmelyn's heart deeply.
"They are all so beautiful," said Emmelyn to the queen politely.
"Thank you. I am glad you find them beautiful," the queen chuckled. "Now.. I want you to choose which ones do you like the most and take them."
"Uhm... Queen Mother, you are too kind," Emmelyn wanted to refuse the queen's kindness. "But I cannot accept them. They are yours and they must hold important meaning to you."
Emmelyn thought those beautiful things must be gifted by the king to Queen Elara, seeing how much the man loved his wife.
They had been married for almost thirty years, so he must have given her countless gifts, including these jewelries.
Emmelyn couldn't possibly take them from the queen, even though the queen really liked her.
"Emmelyn, my dear, I don't have any daughter but you, whom I can pass down my jewelries to," Queen Elara said calmly. "I will not live forever and these beautiful things would be useless to Mars or my husband after I die. Those manly men don't wear any accessories... hehe."
Emmelyn chuckled when she heard the queen's words. She couldn't imagine the king or the prince wear any of the items inside the queen's jewelry box. She nodded in agreement.
"It would be funny if they did," she admitted.
"That is right," Queen Elara said. "So, I was just thinking... if you like any of these things, please take them and wear them for me. I would love to see you wearing my jewelry. You are so beautiful. They would look good on you."
She took a glittering pink diamond brooch from the box and gave it to Emmelyn. "What about this one? It will bring out the color of your eyes."
Emmelyn bit her lip when she saw the beautiful offer. She really liked the brooch. It was a big pink diamond, encrusted on a simple wiring frame made of gold, surrounded by maybe ten smaller purple diamonds.
She could guess that this brooch might be one of the most expensive items in the box since pink diamonds were the rarest of all.
"I-it's too expensive..." she stammered. "I think I will just take the pearl necklace over there.."
Pearl was one of the cheapest materials, compared to the other precious stones in the box, but the design of the necklace was elegant and Emmelyn thought would look good with all her dresses.
The queen smiled and took the necklace that Emmelyn pointed at. "This one? Sure. You can have it too."
Then she put both the brooch and the pearl necklace on Emmelyn's palm.
"Please accept this." The queen looked at Emmelyn deeply. "I will be sad if you said no. Think of it as a welcome gift from me. Now, you are my daughter."
Emmelyn was in a daze. She could barely move when the queen took the brooch and carefully pinned it on her dress. Today, she was wearing a light blue dress, and the pink brooch immediately stood out when the queen finished her job.
"Ahh.. look at that," she gushed. "It looks so good on you!"
Then, she also took the pearl necklace and put it around Emmelyn's neck. Emmelyn was really touched. She didn't move an inch when the queen dolled her up with the beautiful gifts.
"Ahh.. you should see how you look in the mirror," said the queen excitedly. She rose from the chair and took Emmelyn's hand to follow her to see the big mirror on the corner of the room.
When Emmelyn saw her reflection in the mirror, she was so surprised, that she pressed her lips. The queen was right. The necklace and brooch looked so perfect on her.
Now, she looked like a queen. She only needed a tiara to complement her appearance.