Cursed Blessing
Cupid at HeartHurry. She had to hurry. People were already staring at her.
“My apologies, but we are out of the Meden leaves,” the man spoke from behind the counter. He had been searching through his entire wooden cabinets of herbal ingredients and medicine, but the request made by the stranger was that of a herb difficult to obtain.
“Do you have the Medela roots in your possession, perhaps?” The girl posed another request. Though she spoke with a rushed voice, there was something aesthetically pleasing about her tone that enchanted the owner of the herbal ingredient shop.
No, it was already happening again. She had to keep her words to a minimum if she didn’t want another incident to occur. The mere audacity to go beyond the boundaries of her castle walls was a move she would have to atone for.
“You are in luck, milady. The Medela roots I do have an abundance of,” the man spoke with b pride.
Despite the ugly ragged cloth she was wearing to conceal as much as she could, the good news made her lips curve into a relieved smile. The owner caught a glimpse of it and was completely awed. He had never seen anyone possess such a radiant smile that managed to set his heart on a rampage at a glance.
She noticed it and quickly dismissed her gleeful expression. “I shall take the Medela roots, please,” she said, her lips moving enchantingly with every syllable she voweled.
“Ah, of course, milady.” The man was caught staring at her—what was visible of her at least—and moved to get her orders ready. She was a regular customer, but her concealed identity prevented him from understanding why he was so drawn to her.
He bundled the numerous leaves and other plants together with a special kind of paper, wrapping it tight with a string. Then he handed it to the girl who exchanged some golden coins for her purchase.
“I am eternally grateful to you, Jooheon.” She flashed him another one of those dazzling smile, placed the packet in her wooden basket, and quickly set out to leave the small and humble shop.
The marketplace was crowded, it always was on a Sunday morning. Returning back to the castle would be quite a tedious job, albeit not impossible. She possessed the grace of a dancer when moving forth, and the agility of an assassin to avoid physical contact. But the numerous amount of people present at the kingdom of Heart that day was an obstacle she had yet to overcome.
Numerous voices began to murmur through one another, telling others to move away. Shoulders were being brushed and people were pushed here and there. Despite her graceful agility, she did not possess much strength, and quickly became a victim when someone accidentally pushed her to the ground.
The cloaked hoodie fell off from her head, revealing her face and identity to the commoners. As if time had stopped, everyone froze in their spot and marvelled at the one thing that immediately became imminent to the eye of the beholder.
“It’s the princess! It’s Jang Hyunmi!”
The entire marketplace exploded into a ruckus as the princess of Heart became an instant porcelain doll on display for everyone to see. Seeing a royal member from up close was rare, but the ability to stare at the youngest princess of Heart was a miraculous phenomenon.
The rumors were true; she did possess a beauty that would draw in a goddess’ envy. Her dark colored hair of ebony tousled in front of her face. When her fingers gently caressed her mid length hair strands away to reveal her face, it was like opening the curtain to a bright array of sunshine. One glance, and it was hard to look away.
A great force then appeared along with the sound of a horse’s hoof clattering against the stony pavement of the market. The crowd parted into half to give way to a knight riding the horse. They knew the man was part of the royal court, for the horse was dressed with a red linen cloth decorated by golden embellishments. It was the royal color of the Heart family.
“Sir Hoya,” Hyunmi addressed the man who just stared at her with displease written all over his poker face. The knight of Heart was no gentleman, and the princess knew not to expect his aid to get up. But then he outstretched a hand, and the least he did was assist her up to sit on the horse behind him.
Without saying a word, Hoya steered his horse to return to the direction it had once come from. The crowd continued to murmur as they gave way. The princess’ beauty would forever carve a deep impression in their heart.
“Is father mad?” Hyunmi questioned, keeping the basket close to her with one hand, as the other held unto the knight’s metal armor for support.
“More than you can imagine,” Hoya simply answered, and Hyunmi knew her doom was near. This would mark the end of her freedom.
The castle of Heart was a marvelous architect to admire, and took pride in the fact it was the tallest building in the entire Land of Mirificus. The land itself was that of magical wonder and was divided into four kingdoms: Heart, Spade, Clover, and Diamond. For the several few years, their alliance had been on the edge of another war in the making. Therefore, the kings and queens arranged several marriages between different kingdoms to ensure the peace would be kept.
To the king of Heart who was no longer without a queen, this process was extremely crucial. For the past three years, he had been diagnosed with a rare disease which even the most prestigious doctors of Heart did not have an answer for. He needed an heir to his throne, but had not found anyone worthy enough for the crown.
There was a rhythmic knock against the large door of the king’s royal bedroom. The pristine white door pushed open, revealing the youngest princess to appear along with the knight trailing behind her.
“Hyunmi…” The father weakly called out to her. He was lying on his spacious bed that could’ve fit a total of five adults. The old man held the red colored blanket up to his neck with trembling fingers he could no longer control.
Seeing this, Dongwoo, the third child and only son was quick to hold his father’s hands still until the trembling stopped. He then gave way for his sister to sit down on the side of the bed.
“I have told you repeatedly not to leave the castle.” The king used his entire strength to speak to her.
Hyunmi was a girl of obedience, never attempting to defy rules or to break her father’s heart. However, if she saw another solution better fit for the situation, she was willing to disobey her own principles. “But I got you—”
“You out of all people should know the consequences. You can't reveal yourself to the public,” he interrupted her attempt at redemption. Despite his sickly state, the king managed to harden his glare to his youngest daughter. “They saw you, didn’t they?”
“When I found her, she was already exposed to the public, your majesty,” Hoya interrupted, to which Hyunmi glared at him for.
“Oh, my precious daughter,” the king woed his agony. “Ever since your birth, your mother and I knew you were different. Your beauty is beyond any of which the Land of Mirificus has ever seen. There are rumors going around that you are being worshipped and praised instead of the gods. You do not want to evoke anger on the gods.”
Hyunmi looked away from her father, knowing it was true. Many may have said possessing divine beauty was a blessing, but she saw it as a curse. She was never allowed to attain true freedom and was kept prison behind the castle walls. It wasn’t her fault the citizens started to worship her. She hadn't done anything wrong except for being born with a cursed blessing.
“No men or prince has ever dared to court you, because they are afraid of their inability to be up to par with your beauty,” the king mumbled his next set of troubled dilemma. “How am I ever going to obtain an heir for the kingdom of Heart?”
“We have Dongwoo. Why isn’t he crown prince?” Hyunmi posed an excellent question as she stared at her brother.
“Because he is set to marry the princess of Diamond. The king and queen do not have any other offspring to marry off. That leaves us with no choice but to put you and your future husband at the throne,” the king explained.
“What about my two elder sisters? Soonkyu and Hyoyeon?” Hyunmi asked. She was after all the youngest of them all and would be the furthest down in line for the throne.
“Because no men has asked their hands in marriage either. But for you, dear Hyunmi, we have finally obtained a prince brave enough to court you.”
The news was surprising even to Dongwoo and Hoya who had been listening to the king speak. They both turned to the youngest princess who frowned at the sudden declaration.
“Who may this brave man be, father?” She asked, and it was very clear to pick up on the frustration in her usual sweet voice. But of course, her father was too delighted to be concerned with her emotions.
“Prince Sunggyu of Spade.”
It almost came as no surprise. The four kingdoms had met up prior to this, and she too had noticed the prince of Spade staring at her. His eyes were so captivated by her beauty—a gaze that was no longer foreign to the princess. Everyone always judged her by her looks, never bothering to get to know her.
“We will throw a masquerade ball to welcome the prince during his visit here next week. Please prepare yourself to be courted.”
Hyunmi moved away from the bed and faced her father with a mix of emotion swirling in her.
“With all due respect, your majesty,” she stressed the way she addressed her father, realizing this was all just a political merit instead of a father’s love towards a daughter, “I do not wish to be betrothed to a man I do not have any affections for.”
With that, the princess displayed more of her disobedience when she left the king’s bedroom.
“Sis,” Dongwoo called out, but left her be. He knew she controlled her anger enough to close the door politely behind her. He then looked at his father with concern. “Father, she is not ready for marriage. Perhaps it would be better to have our older sisters be wed first.”
“The prince of Spade has specifically requested for our youngest princess. Trying to negotiate would humiliate us,” the king spoke. He was well aware of his daughter’s reluctance, but felt an absence of fear. He had already thought of a plan to make the marriage prevail.
“Sir Hoya, bring to me the cupid of Heart.”
Hoya politely nodded as he left the room, leaving Dongwoo completely baffled.
“We have a cupid? Since when do we have a cupid?” He asked. As the prince, he knew every single member of the royal family and the workers within the castle. Never before had he heard about a cupid’s employment.
“Since the prince of Spade declared his intention to court your sister, and since I knew she would decline the offer, I negotiated with Aphrodite for his son’s help,” the king spoke with a playful grin. He may be old and sick, but it did not obscure his wisdom as the ruler.
Dongwoo wondered whom it could possibly be, or what the cupid was capable of doing. His curiosity was partially answered when the door was knocked again. This time, Hoya appeared with another man following behind him, Aphrodite’s son, Cupid.
The guy was not that much taller than Dongwoo, yet he possessed a charm that made it hard for people to look away. His dark brown hair was tousled messily in the neatest manner possible, which greatly accented the white vest he was wearing. A dark maroon overcoat—the signature color of the Heart kingdom—completed his look as a prestigious looking man despite having a mysterious identity.
“Ah, Woohyun, I have a task for you,” the king spoke, his tone cheery and expectant. He seemed to be well acquainted with the cupid.
Woohyun knelt down on one knee and flashed a smile to the king. “I am ready to receive your order, your majesty,” he spoke. There was something playful about his tone, as if he was eager to complete the task.
“I want you to make my youngest daughter fall in love with the prince of Spade.”
Woohyun’s lips morphed into a confident grin. He got up from his feet and tidied his coat.
“Consider it done, your majesty.”
Hooray for fancy oldish dialogue! I hope I succeeded in trying to make it as fancy and high class as possible.
Also, like I said, the princess' beauty has to be extremely exagerated for this story to work. Which is also why I don't want a character chart because you may visualize her however you want. Thank you for reading and subbing. It will only get more interesting from here on out~ Hehehee <33
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