The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

"I have to help you up. It's a royal order," Harold said for the benefit of those around the table as he lifted her off the ground while Alicia tried not to glare at everyone in the hall.

They were all very annoying, and even if the king hadn't suggested that she go to her chamber, she doubted that she would have been able to stand looking at them. Not after they all ruined her escape plan.

Once she was standing on her feet and dusting off her dress, Harold turned to the King, "Thank you for your kindness, father... And I'm sorry for her behaviour. I think the illness is affecting her more than I thought. I will keep an eye on her and make sure it doesn't happen again," Harold promised, making Alicia grit her teeth in annoyance as she bowed to the King, and then to the queen before walking away with Harold, ignoring the deadly glare Damon was sending at her.

Once they were out of earshot, Harold chuckled despite every attempt to stop himself, making her turn to glare at him, "What is funny?" She asked angrily.

"You didn't think this through, did you?" Harold asked in amusement as he kept walking.

"Think what through?" She asked, despite the fact that she was still very angry with him and his entire family and also at the universe for bringing her here.

"You did that because you thought you would be banished, didn't you? What made you think you would be banished over something like that?" Harold asked, making her eyes narrow. So Beth had lied to her?

"I don't know what you're talking about. And you don't need to come with me to my chamber. You can go back and eat with the others," Alicia said, shooing him away as she walked past him, but Harold continued to follow her as though he hadn't heard her.

"I said you can go. You don't need to..."

"I should eat with you. You are my family," Harold cut in, making her heart involuntarily skip a beat.

Family. What did that even mean? Being an orphan, that word was foreign to her. Even the few friends and colleagues who had claimed to have her back, saying they were her family, had been the first to desert her when the scandal started. The only family she knew was her dog, Ruby.

She sighed, wondering how Ruby was doing without her. The thought of Ruby being alone and confused by her absence brought tears to her eyes. She really wished Amber had taken over her body and was taking care of Ruby on her behalf because her manager was the least dog lover on the planet. But was it possible for Ruby to not realize that she wasn't the one even though it was her body?

Thinking about Ruby now, she remembered the wolf she had encountered in the woods. She wondered if it was okay and hoped that the hunters had not captured it.

Seeing how she kept walking without turning back or saying anything, Harold could tell that she was lost in her thoughts again. He was curious to know what was on her mind, but didn't have to wonder for long because she suddenly crouched down and started crying, startling him.

Harold looked at her in confusion, wondering why she was crying. Was it because her plan failed? He took one look around and could tell curious eyes were watching, but they started running away when he looked around.

"Eh... What is wrong?" He asked in confusion, not sure how he was supposed to console a crying person. He was the one to make people cry, not stop them from crying. Actually, he has stopped a few people from crying—just by stabbing them with a sword to shut them up forever. It was a very effective method. But he could not use that method now.

Alicia had been looking for an outlet to pour out all her anger and frustration, and crying now seemed to help.

"I... I miss Ruby..." She said in between tears. She missed her life. She missed home. How could she live here with weird people, weird clothes, no wifi or internet... She paused to remind herself that there had to be a smart device for there to be wifi or internet in the first place. She would rather have cyberbullies bully her than live here.

​

Ruby? Harold frowned. He guessed he had heard that name before, but could not exactly remember where or when.

Was it a man? Was that the reason she had been actively trying to escape all this time? This thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. Her loud sobs were making him more angry and frustrated. Would she at least be better and stop running away if Ruby died?

'Ruby is her dog. The one... she wants me to mate with,' his wolf reminded him in a bitter tone, and he could imagine his wolf gritting its teeth.

No wonder he always disliked his bride and called her disrespectful.

Harold almost chuckled again, especially as he saw how much she was crying. At least Ruby wasn't a man.

"Come," he said gently, before helping her up and leading her by the hand to her chamber.

By the time they got to her chamber, she felt a little better and had returned to her senses. Before she could shut the door in his face, he moved quickly and stopped the door with his leg.

Alicia knew that she didn't have the strength to win this fight, so she stepped away from the door and let him enter her chamber.

"What do you want? Why are you suddenly behaving this way?" Alicia asked tiredly since he used to avoid her a lot before now and he never liked talking to her, so what changed? Why was he acting out of character?

"What if we had been banished? What would you have done?" Harold asked, ignoring her question as he shut the door behind him.

"We?" She asked with a frown.

"You didn't think they would banish you and let your husband be, did you?" Harold asked, and Alicia's said brows drew together.

"Just so you know, if you pull another stunt like this to make them banish us, you won't escape from me even after we leave the palace," Harold promised.

Oh, God! Alicia cried within herself. What was she going to do? How was she ever going to leave this place? Was she going to be stuck here forever? She wondered as a knock sounded on the door, and Harold pulled the door open for some maids to walk in with different trays of food.

They bowed to Harold as they went to set the food on the bed. Neither Harold nor Alicia said a word to each other until the maids left.

********

After dinner, Prince Ivan and his mother met again. Usually, they didn't have to meet often like this, but lately, a lot was changing, so they had to always meet to analyze the situation.

"I think Harold is very fond of his bride," Prince Ivan noted. How else could they explain that despite everything she did, he seemed to tolerate her, when he knew that Harold wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone that tried such with him. And to think he was amused just a moment ago during dinner.

The queen nodded. "I think so too."

It seemed like Harold was trying to hide it, but he had been failing at doing so lately. He had even apologized on his bride's behalf tonight. That was so out of character for him. And he didn't believe he had only done so because he would have been banished too. Even though they would have wanted that.

"Should we be worried or happy?"

"For now, we should be happy," she said, smiling. "This is what we have been waiting for. The day he finally has a weakness. And she just happens to be a weak human with an uncouth mouth," she chuckled.

Although Prince Ivan felt slightly relieved that Harold's weakness was a weak human, something else bothered him. "What if they have a child together? He is an Alpha, remember?" Prince Ivan reminded her, trying not to look too worried.

"Think about it. She is a human. Do you think she has it in her to produce an offspring of our specie?" The Queen reasoned. "That's a far-fetched dream. It is obvious that she doesn't like him, even if he likes her. To the point where she will do silly things just to get away from him. She even threw him out of his chamber at noon. How do you expect them to be in one side and produce a child?"

Prince Ivan thought about it for a while before he nodded. It makes sense. Besides, Damon seemed to dislike her a lot. He won't ever support such a person becoming the Luna of the Moon Kingdom. Never has it been heard that a human was a Luna. She was also mannerless and disrespectful to her husband. No one would want a king who cannot control his wife.

"I guess I was worried for nothing," he said, sighing in relief, but he didn't expect his mother to glare at him.

"You better be worried. If Luciana does not produce an offspring soon, you will lose your place."

"But—"

"No buts. 30 more days and if nothing happens, you will have to get a second bride," she said in a dismissive tone.