The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

Long after Harold left, Alicia stood by the window staring outside. Two things were on her mind: how had Harold climbed through here without a rope, and secondly, why did he bring her food? It seemed to her like he cared about her even though he preferred to act like he didn't, and she wondered why. Not only had he taken the window to get to her, but he had also hidden from the queen. It suddenly occurred to her that he didn't want anyone to see them living harmoniously. Why?

With a sigh, she returned to her bed and looked at what he had brought her. It seemed like he had picked out her favourite snacks in the palace since those were the things she always ate more often at the dining table. She noted, smiling unconsciously, that he had even noticed that little detail. Prince Harold wasn't as cold-hearted and evil as everyone thought he was after all. There had to be a reason for whatever he did, and now it was making her curious.

What made him live the way he did? She didn't think he was happy. Thinking about it now, she wasn't sure she had ever seen him smile or laugh. Alicia sighed as she picked up another snack and ate it.

After eating to her satisfaction, she put some away for Paulina and returned to pretending to be ill while she kept thinking about Harold. After a moment, she sat up and shook her head as she slapped her face with both hands, "Why am I thinking about Harold when I should be thinking about how to leave this place? What is wrong with me?" She asked herself in alarm as she raised a hand to feel her temperature. Maybe she was really ill after all.

She glanced at the door when someone knocked, and she quickly dove under the blanket and shut her eyes. The door opened, and Paulina looked around tentatively to be sure that Harold had left, before shutting the door and running to the bed where Alicia was pretending to be asleep.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" She asked with concern, and Alicia rolled her eyes as she sat up.

"Why are you always so dramatic?" Alicia asked, dryly.

"Damatic?" Paulina asked, in confusion.

Alicia waved it off dismissively. "Where did you go? Have you eaten?" She asked, and Paulina shook her head.

"I was outside the door waiting, but went to hide when I saw the Queen approaching."

Alicia reached out to where she had kept the remaining snacks and handed them to Paulina. "Here. Eat," she said, and Paulina eyed the food.

"The Prince gave it to you?" She asked cautiously, and Alicia nodded.

"Yes, don't worry. You can eat it."

Paulina remained quiet for a moment as she looked at the snacks, "He knows that you're not sick, doesn't he? Will he report you to the king?" She asked with concern.

Alicia shook her head and said, "I don't think he will do that. The Prince isn't as bad as you all think he is," Alicia said with a small smile, which made Paulina's brows pull together.

"Was that why you told him that you grew up in the mountain?" Paulina asked, and this time it was Alicia's brows that pulled together.

She remembered him confronting her supposed father and the queen after their wedding about their giving him an exiled princess, but how did Paulina know about it?

"I didn't tell him that. How did you know that he knew that Amber grew up in the mountains?" She asked, and Paulina's gaze shifted from her to look at her hands.

The Prince had asked her not to say anything to her mistress about their conversation, but she didn't feel comfortable about keeping it away from her. Her loyalty was to her mistress, whether or not she feared Prince Harold.

"He talked to me yesterday. He said I shouldn't let you know about it, so you can't let him know that I told you," Paulina pleaded fearfully.

"He talked to you? When? About what?" Alicia wondered with a slight frown.

"He was asking me questions about you," Paulina explained and went on to tell her all that prince Harold had asked her.

"He knows that my name is Alicia?" Alicia asked in confusion, since she couldn't remember ever calling herself by that name in his presence.

Although Paulina still could not wrap her head around whoever this 'Alicia' was, she nodded, "You didn't tell him?" She asked in alarm before raising her hands, afraid her mistress would blame her. "I swear, I never mentioned it to him."

Alicia's gaze lingered on Paulina's terrified face before she placed a hand on Paulina's shoulder to stop her from freaking out. If Paulina said it wasn't her, then it wasn't her.

But how did Harold find out about it? Only herself and Paulina knew about this. She didn't bother to count Madam Grace because the woman never took her seriously and neither did she think the woman had the balls to tell Harold that.

Had she said something in her sleep during their trip down here in the carriage? Just how much did Harold know? She wondered.

"Go ahead and eat," Alicia ordered when she saw that Paulina had yet to touch the snacks, and stood up to pace the room while trying to figure out how Harold could have found out what he knew about her.

************

The roar of a bell caused Alicia to jolt in surprise. It wasn't night yet. Probably around 6 p.m.

When the bell rang again, she rushed to the window to see what was going on, with her heart in her hand. The first thought that came to her was that a war had broken out and she was going to get caught up in a fight that didn't concern her.

She almost sighed in relief when she looked outside and saw that everything was still peaceful. It didn't seem like the palace was being invaded, even though she could see a lot of people moving to the left side of the palace. Since she could not tell what they were up to, she quickly put on her shoes and hurried out of her room, looking for any window by the side so she could see what the people were up to. Thankfully, she found one.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a young lady who was dressed like a peasant, kneeling on a wooden platform with her back to her. Her hands and ankles were tied behind her to prevent her from moving.

She could see some of the people looking down at the lady with pitiful expressions, while the others had disdainful expressions on their faces. She craned her neck to see the members of the royal family, but their faces held no emotion.

What could the lady have done to deserve such public punishment? Alicia wondered sadly as the loud cries coming from the woman pierced her heart. Her gaze remained on the lady who somewhat seemed familiar to her, even though she was sure she didn't know her.

"YOU DECEIVED THE ENTIRE ROYAL FAMILY BY PRETENDING TO BE WHO YOU ARE NOT. FOR THAT, YOU HAVE BEEN CONDEMNED TO DEATH."

A booming voice said beside the King, causing Alicia to panic when she realized what was going on. The lady was going to be executed.

Alicia looked at the young woman who was crying and pleading. Who was she? What did she do to deserve this? How had she deceived them?

Alicia's eyes widened in surprise when Harold stepped forward with a sword in hand.

Harold was better than that. He wasn't who they believed he was. Harold was kindhearted. "No." She tried to call out to him to not do it, but even though her lips moved, no sound came out.

"Please..." She continued to shake her head without looking away from him, but his face did not reveal any emotion as he looked down at the person in front of him.

Just as he raised his sword above his head, ready to swing it, the lady turned in Alicia's direction with accusing eyes, and her eyes widened in surprise and a gasp escaped from her lips when she looked directly into her own face. Not Amber's face, but hers.

Alicia collapsed on the floor when Harold's sword descended.

Her eyes opened at once, and she sat bolt upright on her bed, panting hard as her heart raced. It was only a nightmare! A nightmare! Alicia thought as she quickly rolled off the bed, which was soaked with her sweat.

She had no idea when she had slept off, but she had been pretending to be asleep when Susan and Tyra came to check in on her earlier. She had expected them to leave once they saw that she was asleep, but they remained there, and then she dozed off.

Whatever that dream was, she knew one thing for sure. She needed to leave this place as soon as possible. She couldn't let down her guard for a second, whether or not Harold was being nice. For all she knew, he could be acting nice because he was trying to find out the truth about her.

She could tell that it was already nighttime since everywhere was quiet. She walked over to the window to see if there was any sign of life outside and also to make new plans to save her life before something bad happens.

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