The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

When a maid suggested Alicia spend the night at Harold's chamber, she had a feeling that the water incident was not as simple as it seemed because the whole story made no sense and wasn't adding up either. But the thing she didn't know was whether this was purposely done by the maids or someone else.

She didn't think this was Harold's doing because he didn't seem like the type to be petty like this. So she assumed they probably had a shipper in the palace who wanted them to become closer. And thought doing this was going to set their plan in motion. Unfortunately for them, she was neither stupid nor interested in Harold. She had visited Princess Tyra's room instead and had seen the surprise in Tyra's eyes when she opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" Tyra had asked in concern as she looked at both sides of the hallway. "Are you okay? What are these bags for?" Tyra asked while looking at the bag she was carrying in her hand that had a set of clothes and other things she would need.

"I'm fine. My room is a mess right now. Can I spend the night with you?" She asked Tyra hopefully and noticed how the look on her face changed like she didn't want that to happen, but it was quickly replaced with a warm smile as she said timidly, "It's okay if you want to spend the night here. But... I am just worried."

"About what?" Alicia asked curiously, not sure why Tyra always lived on the edge when she was a princess.

"I'm not sure they would like it. Father, mother, and prince Harold. If something is wrong with your room, you should spend the night in Prince Harold's chamber, don't you think?" She asked reasonably.

"Honestly, I do not want to pressure you into letting me spend the night. If you aren't comfortable with it, I'll just go ask Susan. It's not a big deal," Alicia assured her with a smile.

"Did I just hear my name?" Susan asked, appearing beside her with her brother.

She noticed the bag Alicia was holding and raised a curious brow. "Going on a trip?" She asked in confusion while looking impatiently behind her.

"Not at all. My room is messed up, and I'm looking for a place to spend the night."

"What about Prince Harold's chamber?" Susan asked before it occurred to her that the two didn't have that kind of relationship yet, and even if they did, Harold wouldn't be able to spend the night with her anyway. Not when his curse forced him to leave the palace every night to shift. "My chamber is kind of small. I would have been happy to accommodate you."

"That's fine. I can just—"

"You can stay here," Tyra said at the same time that the first bell rang, making all of them cautious.

"Can I stay too?" Susan asked eagerly.

Tyra was a bit reluctant, but she nodded and opened her door for them.

Alicia sighed in relief as she went in while Susan followed behind.

"Good night. Make sure to get to your room before the second bell rings!" Susan instructed Williams, who nodded before heading his way.

That was how their sleepover started and officially began with a question and answer session, which Alicia could not wait to put an end to since she didn't want them to ask about her life.

Since the ladies seemed engrossed in that topic, she decided to play along and do most of the asking until the knock came on the door, distracting them from the fun story Susan had been telling them about.

After Harold left, Alicia returned to the room, looking a bit nervous. The two girls looked at her closely as she chewed her nails before going to the window to look outside.

"Is something wrong?" Tyra asked first, but Alicia didn't answer since she was curiously looking outside to see if the wolves had been released.

'Whatever. They probably know him and won't hurt him.' She said to herself, deciding not to let it bother her as she returned to the bed where the girls had been watching her.

"What is bothering you?" Tyra asked with concern. "Is it Prince Harold?"

She didn't bother to deny it and simply nodded. For some reason, she felt bad about just leaving him out like that when he had taken the risk to look for her. If only they had phones here so she could call him to confirm that he was okay.

"He even came here to look for you tonight. You two must be having a nice relationship now." Susan chipped in.

"Not really."

"You must care about him," Tyra said, smiling.

"He is my husband, isn't he? I should care about him," Alicia said since that was the natural thing for a wife to say.

"Did he want something?" Tyra asked curiously.

Although Alicia didn't understand why they seemed so interested in her relationship with Harold, she shrugged, "He just wanted to see if I was okay since he heard that my room was a mess," Alicia said, and Tyra smiled.

"He must care about you a lot."

"Yeah, I think he does," Alicia said with a smile.

Susan cleared her throat, "Since it's just us girls. I'm curious about something. You and Prince Harold… Has he ever tried to get closer to you?" Susan asked, and Alicia raised a brow.

"Susan!" Tyra scolded, embarrassed by the question Tyra had asked.

"No, he hasn't," Alicia said with a shake of her head even though she didn't like the personal question. She had been the one who had asked for a sleepover, after all, so she had to answer their questions and make it as fun as possible so that the next time anyone tampered with her chamber, she could always ask for another sleepover.

"Oh, why? You don't want him to?" Susan asked again.

Alicia smiled, "We don't have that sort of relationship," Alicia said, and Tyra nodded in agreement.

"I heard that Beth came to apologize to you this morning?" Tyra asked, changing the subject.

Alicia felt relieved that the conversations had finally shifted from her and Harold to Beth, "Yes, she did. I don't think she meant it though," Alicia said, and Susan snorted.

"Of course, she didn't. I'm sure she only came to you because the Queen asked her to. Beth thinks she is better than everyone else simply because she is the queen's person. She keeps forgetting that she is just a maid," Susan said, and Tyra nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad prince Harold dealt with her that way. I wonder if she still feels the same way about him now," Tyra said, and Alicia leaned forward.

"Although Paulina told me that she was punished mercilessly, she didn't see it for herself. How bad was it?" Alicia asked, and Tyra shuddered.

"Very bad."

"Let's hope she will stay out of my way now," Alicia said with a yawn.

"I was wondering, do you have any idea why Alvin is always watching me?" Susan asked Alicia curiously since she had noticed that Alvin seemed to be following her around very discreetly. Maybe someone else wouldn't have noticed, but she had done a lot of sneaking around in her life to know when someone was doing the same.

"Alvin? Prince Harold's guard?" Tyra asked, surprised.

Susan bobbed her head, "I noticed it, but I haven't asked him about it yet," Susan explained, and Alicia narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.

"Hmmm, I see."

"What do you see?" Susan asked, hoping that Alicia had the answer to her question.

"Maybe Alvin likes you," Alicia said with a grin, and Tyra's eyes widened in surprise while Susan's jaws dropped.

"What? Me?" Susan asked, touching her chest in disbelief.

Alicia bobbed her head. Maybe that explained why Alvin wasn't interested in Paulina. It would be nice if something happened between Alvin and Susan. That way, if something eventually happened between Paulina and Williams, that would make Susan and Alvin, Paulina's inlaws, and she trusted them to take care of Paulina.

"It's not possible!" Susan said with a shake of her head.

"Trust me. It is," Alicia said with a wide smile while Tyra just listened to them.

"Why would he fancy me? Fine, I understand that I'm very beautiful and any man with eyes would fancy me, but we are not even in the same class. He can't be with me," Susan said, and Alicia rolled her eyes.

"Things like that don't matter to the heart when it is love. And maybe it is because he knows he can't be with you that he has not approached you. He enjoys watching you from a distance. Aww," Alicia said, raising her hand to her chest in a dramatic gesture, and Susan blushed.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Alicia asked Tyra, and she gave her a weak smile.

"I'm inexperienced, so I don't know what to say," Tyra said with a shrug.

"Inexperienced? You have never been courted before? And there is no one you fancy?" Alicia asked curiously.

Tyra shook her head shyly, and from there on, the conversations moved to other subjects such as the planned girls' trip, until Susan dozed off, and then Alicia did the same. Having no other choice, Tyra lay beside them as she tried to sleep off, trying not to dwell on her thwarted plans.