The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

Harold led Alicia to the closest chamber, which just happened to be a mini library. Thankfully, no one was inside, so he locked the door and waited for her to stop crying since he wasn't sure how to comfort her.

Alicia didn't even know when they got in here because she was just crying in his embrace. For some reason, she felt that this had happened before and wondered when she cried in his arms like this, but she could not exactly place it.

"Are you okay now, Princess?" He asked quietly as he broke free from the hug.

She noticed he was holding the box of snacks in his hand and wondered when he had taken it from her. No wonder she had been able to fully embrace him.

She wondered why he addressed her that way most of the time. Did he know that calling her "princess" like that sounded like an endearment?

"I'm fine... sorry," she said and wiped her tears with her sleeves.

Harold looked like he didn't believe it. He took her hand and led her to a seat before he sat down beside her. He dropped the box on the table and took out a handkerchief from his inner shirt before reaching to clean her face.

He looked so focused and so worried that it made her feel even worse. She shifted back a little and took the handkerchief from his hand to clean her tears on her own.

He was not helping. What was going to happen to her if she allowed him to do all this? How was she going to successfully plan her escape?

For days, she hadn't taken her time to make any serious plans. She hadn't even wondered about Amber's mother and why they had the same face. She had stupidly tried to drown herself, and she hadn't been able to do that either, with all these people's faces flashing before her eyes. What was she going to do now?

Harold frowned at her when she took the handkerchief from him. He said nothing and pulled it out from her grip before reaching to clean her face stubbornly.

She tried to reach for it again while calling out his name, "Har—" but he interrupted her with a glare, "Behave." He stated sternly and began to gently clean her eyes.

She resigned and let him do it, but didn't look at him. She looked to the side.

"Did the king say anything to you?" He asked. He felt only the king would probably have such an effect on her. He was the king. He was an alpha wolf. Maybe he had threatened her? Because he knew the king knew about many of the things she had said and done.

"We had lunch together, so, of course, we talked," she said, trying to play it lightly.

"What did you talk about?" Harold asked seriously as he used his hand to arrange her hair that was all over her face.

She looked at him for a second before she averted her gaze and looked at the box on the table. "I brought you some snacks I think you would like," she said and reached for the box.

Harold wanted to scold her for changing the topic, but he paused and looked a little surprised when she reached for it and handed the box to him.

He took the box, still looking confused before looking down at it and up at her, "Why?" He asked quietly.

"Why what?"

"This..." He looked down at the box.

Firstly, no one had given him a packed lunch box with snacks. The maids served him when he wanted, and he joined the rest of the family at the dining table, but that was it. Secondly, he had thought it was for Paulina.

"What do you mean?" She asked, also confused at his confusion.

"I saw them and thought you might like them, so I bought them for you. Besides, I know you haven't had lunch yet."

"What about Paulina?" He asked. He wasn't sure he hated saying any name as much as he hated saying that name. Why did he dislike her this much?

"Paulina?" Alicia was a little confused before she remembered and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh! Paulina! I totally forgot!"

This was worse than she had thought. She had forgotten about Paulina, who she wanted to escape with, but had thought about Harold, whom she wanted to escape from. She shook off the thought. She was going to think about that later, not now when he was staring at her the way he was.

Harold tried to keep a straight face as he looked at her. She had forgotten to pack some snacks for Paulina but had packed some for him instead? He thought to himself, feeling... he couldn't place how he felt exactly, but he knew that he was trying to not smile.

"Can you share?" She asked with an apologetic look, making the smile transform into a scowl.

"No!" He eyed her unpleasantly before clutching the box to his side. It was her fault for forgetting, so what did that have to do with him?

Alicia looked at him in disbelief. "Why not?"

"Because it's mine, and whatever is mine belongs only to me," Harold said stubbornly, his grip tightening on the box.

Alicia eyed him for a minute. His attitude was really funny. She couldn't believe that this full-grown man was acting like a baby. "Go on and eat it then," she said, watching him.

"Here?" He asked, looking around the library, and she bobbed her head.

"I will get someone to get you a drink," Alicia said, wanting to rise, but Harold quickly stopped her.

"Just stay here. Don't worry about it," Harold said as he opened the lunch box.

"You will need to drink something," Alicia said, concerned, but Harold shook his head.

"I asked Alvin to get me water before meeting you. I'm sure he will bring it here," Harold said, and then looked into the lunchbox as he tried to enter Alvin's head. As soon as he was able to, he asked him to bring a gourd of water to the library before raising his head to look at Alicia. He exited Alvin's head as quickly as he entered, leaving Alvin in a panic at the sudden intrusion again!

"What did the king say to make you cry?" Harold asked as he picked up a snack and bit into it.

On hearing his question, Alicia remembered what the king had said about them being attacked, and she sat up, "Why are you teaching me how to use a bow and arrow?"

Harold's brows creased. What did that have to do with her tears? "The king asked you that?"

Alicia fought the urge to roll her eyes and said, "The King didn't say that. I'm just asking to know."

"Why? Was that why you were crying? You don't want me to teach you that?" Harold asked, and this time Alicia glared at him.

"For chrissake, Harold! Can you just answer the damn question and stop asking me silly questions?" Alicia snapped at him, and Harold glared back at her, not liking being yelled at. Even his wolf growled at the disrespect.

Thankfully, Alvin chose that moment to knock on the door. "Come in," Harold called, without breaking his gaze.

Alvin walked in and tried to hide his surprise at seeing Harold seated with a pack of snacks in front of him. When Harold stormed away from the pavilion angrily after he informed him that his wife was done dining with the king, he had expected to come in here and see Alicia on her knees crying for her life, not Harold eating. But then again, this was Harold and his bride he was thinking about, so he ought not to be surprised. But then again, it looked like she had cried.

"Alvin," Alicia called, breaking her gaze from Harold to look at Alvin, who was dropping the water gourd on the desk.

Alvin quickly looked from Harold to Alicia, praying not to be dragged into whatever was going on between them since he had noticed them glaring at each other.

"What happened on our way back from the market place?" Alicia asked, and Alvin quickly turned to Harold.

"Don't say a word, Harold! I'm talking to Alvin, not you," Alicia said when Harold opened his mouth to dismiss Alvin.

"Look at me," Alicia instructed Alvin, who was still staring at Harold, and he turned to her.

"Talk to me. He won't do anything to you. What happened?" She asked again eagerly.

Alvin believed her when she said Harold wouldn't do anything to him, since even Harold was scared of her. If his master was scared of her, who was he not to be scared of her? His only worry was that he was loyal to Harold and he didn't want to break Harold's trust. For some reason, she couldn't remember the attack, and Harold wanted it to remain that way. He had to honor Harold's wish.

Harold tried to enter Alvin's head, but he couldn't no matter how hard he tried. It seemed like as she was talking to him, Alvin couldn't hear him. He could only hope that Alvin wouldn't say a word.

"Uh... nothing happened, milady," Alvin said awkwardly to Harold's relief and to the disappointment of Alicia.

"Nothing happened? So the attack was nothing?" She asked with a harsh glare.