The Cursed King

"It would be a great service if you could come to visit my mother often..." Loriel said to Elise after their meeting.

He intentionally told her to visit Queen Maude often because it was something that would make Loriel's mother happy and would get Elise out of Loriel's private times.

He thought it would be good to keep her busy on her own, so Loriel didn't have to babysit her.

Elise looked up at her fiance's face and wondered what he was thinking. She didn't understand why Loriel had to ask her in the first place to visit his mother. It was obvious to her that she would do it as part of her responsibility as the daughter-in-law.

"Yes, Loriel. I will do that, of course." Elise replied politely and smiled. 

"Good." Loriel nodded briskly. "You have my thanks…"

The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Loriel couldn't help but really think about how beautiful this woman was, that despite not doing anything, just being around him was enough to make Loriel's thoughts linger into dangerous territory.

He had been practicing abstinence for a long time and seeing this beauty before him, Loriel's heart was tempted. When Elise spoke with her melodious voice, he wondered about how soft her lips were… and how they would feel.

Uff... this was wrong.

Elise must have been some kind of enchantress that was seducing him and trying to entice him through his needs and desires as a man. 

Loriel immediately got rid of his dirty thoughts and focused on other things. He already made up his mind that he would not consummate the marriage.

Loriel couldn't stand being around her. The only thing interesting about her was her physical beauty but Loriel was not a superficial man who would just sleep with her without feeling. 

Those days were far over for him a long time ago… when he met Emmelyn and understood what it was like to fall in love. He didn't love Elise and he couldn't sleep with her as husband and wife because… every time he saw her,  he would be reminded of what he had to sacrifice.

Loriel finally said found an excuse to get away from her. "I have other matters to attend to, so I will be leaving you now. The royal physician, Zaff, will be taking care of my mother. You can talk to Horatio and ask for his help if you need anything. Goodbye."

Without another word, Loriel left before Elise could even say anything else. 

It was as if Loriel couldn't even be in her presence and it left Elise… a little heartbroken.

Was she that terrible of a companion that the man did not want to be with her?

No. 

What if Loriel was actually busy? He already made time to go visit his mother with Elise so that proved her troubled thoughts wrong. 

The thing that troubled her the most was his lack of warmth and enthusiasm. Slowly, Elise was made to understand that even though Loriel wanted to marry her, he was obviously not in love with love.

This was now clear as day.

Elise bit her lip and batted her eyes, trying to hold herself not to shed tears. This must be hard for Loriel because he didn't know Elise yet. He proposed to the woman he had never met before because he wanted to make his dying mother happy.

This made Elise feel sympathy for the man. She promised to be patient and showed Loriel how much she would be a good wife to him. So, he would see her worth and love her back.

Elise wiped her eyes and smiled.

I am fine, she told herself.

***

Over the course of the next few days and then weeks, Elise would make it a point to visit Queen Maude frequently and bring her gifts and other things that she brought from Myreen.

This was something that made Queen Maude really happy.

"I would have loved to visit Myreen again… but circumstances have made me stay here in Summeria," Queen Maude smiled sadly. "I do not think that I will be ever able to visit that place again, so I am happy that you are here, darling."

"Your Grace, please don't say that," Elise responded. "Once you get better, we'll be able to go there with Loriel, and… it would be a wonderful trip." 

The expression on Elise's face changed slightly at the mention of her future husband. 

Elise bit down on her lip and tried not to look upset in front of the Queen. 

It was not right for Elise to worry about this at a time where Queen Maude was supposed to be recovering from her health.

"Has my son not seen you today?" Queen Maude frowned slightly and asked. 

"No, not yet, Your Grace," Elise replied sweetly and tried to smile, brush over the things that worried her. "But His Majesty is a busy person and has many affairs that he is taking care of while I am staying as a guest of Summeria."

"Do you meet him during meal times?" Queen Maude asked. "As the guest and future queen of Summeria, he is required to meet with you and have your meals together."

"Yes… but he tends to leave early. I think that he does not have an appetite to eat anything and I worry about his health, actually," Elise said. "The pressure and weight of being a king must be something that puts him in a bad mood frequently."

Queen Maude looked at her daughter-in-law with some sympathy. 

The queen was completely aware that her son was still in a state of grieving over a lost love, but it did not mean that it was right for him to ignore Elise. "What do you mean that he's in a bad mood frequently?"

Elise blushed and realized that she was complaining about Loriel to his mother.

"It's nothing, Your Majesty." She smiled sweetly. "His Majesty is kind to me. He is just busy."

"Tell me, Elise." Queen Maude insisted. She could tell that Elise was not happy but she pretended everything was fine.

Elise folded her hands together as she sat beside the queen dowager. Now that she visited frequently, there was even now a chair meant for her so she could stay longer in the chamber.

"When Loriel and I first met… he asked me to call him by his name. He seemed upset at that time and I do not know his other name, Your Majesty. It is a small thing to get upset over, but it mattered to him."

Queen Maude sighed loudly that it worried Elise, but then she began to speak.

"That boy, when he was out adventuring and trying to rebel against me and his father… I think he took on his second name as Maxim to hide his identity related to the Summeria kingdom. It was the name I used to call him when he was a child. The majority of his old friends and companions called him that."

"A-ah, I see…" Elise said. 

"So if he's still making a fuss and is actually upset over it, call him Maxim."

"I don't think I will, Your Grace," Elise replied and bowed her head lightly. "I do not think that he will be happy to know that I have learned it from you.. He told me it is fine to call him Loriel."