"Roshan .. I'm going to Bydell Village again," Emmelyn said after she went down to the ground floor and looked for Roshan. "I'm going to see Mrs. Adler again."
Emmelyn decided to ask the old witch further on what she knew about the curse on Mars and Emmelyn's own future.
When she met Mrs. Adler for the first time, Emmelyn was too shocked and could not think clearly. Now, after a few days, she wanted to go back to having a good talk with the witch.
She didn't know what she would do when she saw Mrs. Adler again. Maybe she would ask the old woman to help her... or ask if there was anything she could do to change her fate.
"Your Highness, you want to go to Bydell Village again?" asked Roshan. "Now?"
Emmelyn nodded. "Yes. Please prepare the carriage."
"Yes, Your Highness."
After seeing Roshan go outside to prepare the guards and carriage for her, Emmelyn immediately went up to her chamber to change into men's clothes. She would disguise herself as a man again so as not to attract people's attention.
She also brought apple pie in a wooden box to give to the witch as a token of her apology to the old woman for trying to threaten her at knifepoint during their first meeting.
Not long after, Emmelyn and Roshan, as usual with the guards watching them from a distance, walked through the marketplace in the middle of Bydell Village. The girl quickly walked towards the witch's hut.
As before, Emmelyn knocked on the door of the hut repeatedly, but there was no answer. Emmelyn remembered coming here at the same hour the last time. So even if Mrs. Adler had gone out in search of herbs, she should have come home by now.
"Let's just wait," said Emmelyn to Roshan. She plopped her butt on a wooden bench in front of the hut and sat to wait for the witch.
Emmelyn observed the villagers passing by from the marketplace carrying sacks of vegetables or other food. She thought she took the right decision by coming here. At least, here, she could do people watching and saw different scenery.
In the castle, she could only sew, read, or walked around the castle area. She was tired of exploring every floor in the castle and really wanted to talk to other people.
"Your Highness... uh, sir ... how long do you want to wait here?" asked Roshan two hours later.
He saw that the crowd had started to diminish, and the sun was starting to lower on the horizon. He also saw Emmelyn wrapped her coat tighter because the air was getting cold.
"Why isn't the witch home yet?" Emmelyn sighed. Soon, it would be dark, but she saw no sign of Mrs. Adler returning home. Was that witch still in the forest gathering herbs?
"Maybe she's out of town?" asked Roshan. "I'll ask the neighbors. Please wait here."
He walked to another hut to the right and knocked on the door to ask the neighbor about Mrs. Adler. Meanwhile, Emmelyn, who was sitting with her chin rested on her hands, turned her gaze down the street, trying to see if Mrs. Adler was coming from that direction.
"Eh .. wait... That's her!" Emmelyn muttered to herself when she saw the figure of the old woman shuffling toward her direction. She was carrying her large basket filled with various herbs, just like the last time.
The girl immediately got up and walked to Mrs. Adler, and offered to bring her basket.
"Here, let me help you..." said the girl in a respectful manner.
Mrs. Adler looked at Emmelyn with suspicious eyes. "Why are you suddenly being friendly to me?"
Emmelyn scratched her head and smiled sheepishly. "I'm very sorry. We got off on the wrong foot, and our first meeting was not very pleasant. At that time, I was just shocked. You said my aura was terrible, and I will cause a great war ... It was very shocking, and I lost my cool. I know, it's not an excuse, and I shouldn't have threatened you."
Mrs. Adler snorted, but she handed Emmelyn the basket and shuffled toward the house.
"You need to learn manners, young lady," scolded Mrs. Adler as she reached her hut and opened the door.
Emmelyn lowered her head. She remembered Mars once commented the same thing, that she had no manners, and asked if all the girls from Wintermere had bad manners like Emmelyn.
"I'm sorry ..." said the girl in a low voice. In her heart, she apologized to her mother, who always tried hard to educate her to act like a respectable lady, but Emmelyn still occasionally forgot to act like a lady.
"Come on in. Just put my basket on the floor," said Mrs. Adler as she entered her hut. She pointed to the floor, which was lined with a thin animal skin. "You can sit there."
Emmelyn obeyed the old witch's words. She put the basket on the floor and then sat down beside it. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Emmelyn watched Mrs. Adler walk to the simple stove at the back and light a fire to cook. She then poured water into a small pot and prepared to boil water. That's why Emmelyn offered to help.
Mrs. Adler laughed at Emmelyn's offer. "I am old, but I can still boil water myself."
Emmelyn nodded. "Okay then."
While waiting for Mrs. Adler to boil some water, Emmelyn turned her gaze around the hut to have a look. This wooden hut looked very normal, just like any other villagers' house. It was small, simple, and had very little furniture.
She could see a wooden divan with blankets in one corner. She assumed that was where the witch slept. Next to it were several wooden chests that seemed to be used for storing things.
Then, in the back, there was a kitchen area with a simple stove, water bucket, and several blackish pots. There was nothing special in this hut.
If she had not had direct contact with Mrs. Adler a few days ago and had heard how much she seemed to know about Emmelyn, perhaps she would not have believed that the old woman was a witch.
"Do you live here alone?" asked Emmelyn after a while. She wanted to talk to Mrs. Adler to ease her boredom.
Mrs. Adler did not answer. She was stirring something in the pot and ignored Emmelyn's question. The girl finally said nothing and waited patiently.
She wouldn't make the mistake of being rude to this witch again.
Ten minutes later, the smell of tea wafted in the air. Ah, it looked like Mrs. Adler boiled water to make tea for them.
Not long after, the old woman came to Emmelyn with two cups filled with tea and a small package wrapped in cloth.
She placed the two teacups on the animal skin and handed the package to the princess.
"You left your thing here," said the old woman with a hoarse voice.
Emmelyn immediately remembered that she threw the knife into the corner of the hut in shock when she first came here and forgot to take it back. At that time, she thought the knife had actually turned into a snake.
"Oh ..." she muttered as she accepted the package and opened its contents.
Her guess was right. Inside the package was a sharp gray dagger with a wintermere flower engraved on the handle. She looked at Mrs. Adler gratefully. "I'm sorry I threatened you with this knife. Thank you for returning it to me. This... this is important to me .."
"Hmm ..." Mrs. Adler lifted her cup and took a slow sip of her tea. "I felt like I had to return it when I saw the wintermere flower on the handle of your knife ... So, I was just waiting. If you come again, then you can take it back. If not, then it's your loss."
"Oh .. you know this flower?" asked Emmelyn in surprise. The wintermere flower engraved on the dagger handle was a flower native to Wintermere and that was what her kingdom was named after.
Wintermere flower was small, about the size of a coin, with four white petals. This flower only grew in Wintermere and bloomed in winter. So, it was often referred to as the snow flower.
People who had never been to Wintermere would not know that flowers like this existed.
Hence, Emmelyn was surprised that Mrs. Adler recognized the flower on the handle of her knife. She wondered if the old woman had ever been to her homeland.
"Have you been to Wintermere?" asked Emmelyn again. Her eyes gleamed in excitement.
Mrs. Adler nodded.
"Yes. I actually lived near the shore, in the Bay of White Whales," replied the old woman.
"Ohh ..." Emmelyn instantly pursed her lips. Tears slowly trickled down her cheeks.
She knew the Bay of White Whales. It was one of her favorite places in the whole Wintermere!
Oh, how much she missed that place!