The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

"Can you be a little more patient?" Alicia asked, gazing into Harold's eyes earnestly. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, and at the same time, she didn't want to do something she might regret later because she let herself be carried away by the moment.

"How long?" Harold asked calmly.

"Until the banquet is over? I need some time to think and sort out my feelings," Alicia said, and Harold looked at her skeptically.

"You will give yourself to me after the banquet?" Harold asked, wanting to be sure that he wasn't going to wait only to be disappointed at the end.

"I need to think about it, Harold. I care about you, and I do not want to hurt your feelings, but I also need to be sure that I want to do this with you. I have to weigh the pros and cons," Alicia said, and went on to explain what she meant by pros and cons when he stared at her blankly, but Harold could care less about whatever that meant.

Harold looked at her for a moment, and then he gave her a nod. "I will wait," he said as he moved away from her to put some space between them. To a point, he could understand her and her reservations. Who knew? Maybe he would have acted the same way had he been in her shoes.

"Thank you," Alicia murmured in relief. She knew if he had pressured her a bit more she would most likely have given in, but she was glad he didn't pressure her. She needed to analyze everything, and then get as much information as she could in that period too. Besides, this was not her body. Using Amber's body to fulfil her lustful desires didn't sound like a very smart thing to do.

"Harold?" She called softly when she remembered something she had been meaning to ask him.

"Hmm?"

"Is there really a curse? I mean, why are you called the cursed Prince?" She asked, and Harold stiffened on his side of the bed.

He was silent for a while, and she almost thought he had dozed off until he spoke again, "I will tell you all about it after you've given yourself to me," Harold said, and Alicia raised an eyebrow.

"Does that mean you won't tell me if I don't give myself to you?"

"Yes," Harold said simply, and she sighed.

He didn't want to tell her. It was nice to see her living so freely like this. What would she think of him when she realized what he truly was?

"When will we resume the lecture with Hellion?" She asked, and Harold's heart skipped a beat. They were still on that?

"Do you still plan to escape from here?" He asked, hoping that wasn't the case.

"Do I need to learn to ride a horse only to escape from here?" Alicia asked, and Harold relaxed a bit.

"We should sleep now, Princess. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day," Harold suggested.

"Why do you always call me princess when you know I'm not a princess?" Alicia asked, ignoring everything else he had said. She had long noticed how he always referred to her as "princess," and it was an endearment she had strangely come to love.

Harold sighed. It was obvious she wasn't ready to sleep now. He really wanted to sleep since he knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep once the banquet started as they would all need to leave the palace at night apart from Alicia and Paulina, who were humans.

"I am a Prince. You are my wife. You are my Princess," Harold said simply, and Alicia's brows pulled together.

That wasn't the kind of response she had been hoping for. She had wanted to hear something more romantic, not just such a logical response as that. "That's all?"

"Is there something else you want to hear?" Harold asked, and she hissed.

"Nothing. Goodnight," she said as she turned her back to him.

Harold looked at her back for a moment, and then he moved close to her and pulled her close to himself.

"Harold..."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything. I promised to wait. I just want to hold you while you sleep," Harold said, and Alicia's heart skipped a beat at the thought of being cuddled all night by Harold. At least it was a good thing that he was not sleeping bare-chested tonight.

Alicia stayed still and tried not to resist as Harold adjusted on the bed until she was lying comfortably in his arms. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until Harold spoke, "You should breathe. I already told you I'm not going to do anything," he reminded her, and she slowly took a deep breath.

They both lay there in comfortable silence while Harold listened to the sound of her heartbeat until it stopped racing and she finally drifted off to sleep. Once she was asleep, he also let himself give in to sleep.

By the time Alicia woke up the next morning, Harold had left as usual, but her bedsheet still smelled of him. She sat up when she remembered that he had cuddled her all night, and immediately she hurried to the mirror to check her face just to be sure she didn't look terrible. The last thing she wanted was for him to have seen her looking like she had been in a cat fight in her dream.

She smiled when she saw that she looked pretty, as usual, and then turned to the door when Paulina gently pushed it open. "Good morning, Milady," Paulina greeted, and Alicia watched her closely, wanting to see if there was any change in her attitude.

"You realize that you don't have to serve me anymore, right? I can ask Harold to get me another palace maid if you feel uncomfortable serving me," Alicia offered, not wanting her to keep serving her if she wasn't comfortable with it.

"I want to keep serving you, my lady. I will continue to serve you," Paulina assured her.

"Why? Because you think I can help you get your mistress back?" Alicia asked, but Paulina shook her head.

She had barely slept all night because she was thinking long and hard about everything they had discussed the previous day.

She had remembered how Alicia had confronted Beth for hurting her and all the other times Alicia had treated her more like a sister than a servant. She had treated her even better than Princess Amber had ever treated her.

She knew that had Alicia been princess Amber she never would have been brought to Moon kingdom. The mistress she knew wouldn't have tried to force Prince Harold into taking her along with them, and from their discussion the previous night, it was obvious that regardless of her love and loyalty to Princess Amber, she really didn't know her much.

If Princess Amber came back, she would continue to serve her, but even if she didn't, she was more than willing to serve Alicia. Alicia, who had the face and heart of Queen Anne and lived in Princess Amber's body.

"I came to this kingdom because of you, Milady. I want to remain by your side. I'm sorry for my manners yesterday. I was... shocked," Paulina apologized with her head bowed, and Alicia stared at her, not knowing how to react.

"It's okay. You can get the others to prepare my bath," Alicia said, and Paulina quickly left to do as she was told, while Alicia walked over to her window to look outside.

Somehow she wasn't feeling very excited about the day since she wasn't sure how it was going to be, especially after last night's dinner. The place was going to be boring and lonely for her if Tyra also started to avoid her, as Susan and Luciana were doing.

She knew she had Harold, but there was no way he was going to be able to spend every moment of the day with her. Besides, she didn't want him to. Not after last night. She needed time away from him to sort through her feelings and decide for real if she wanted to stay here beside Harold or leave.

Perhaps she should spend the day in her chamber and pretend to be ill? That would save her a lot of stress and drama.

She paused when she realized that if she did that, then Harold would be there all by himself. He had said before she came that he was only existing and not living. Her heart fluttered, but also squeezed painfully at the same time when his words came back to her.

Just how bad must his life have been before she showed up? She too had felt empty at some point, despite the love her fans had poured on her and her abundant possessions. She had always felt this void. This longing to be wanted by someone. To love someone and be loved in return.

Her case was still better than his because she had been alone when she felt empty. But he was surrounded by people. Even though he was surrounded by his own family, he felt this way.

She turned when the door opened once again and Paulina and the maids entered the room, carrying the water for her bath. She drew a deep breath as she walked away from the window and began to undress.

No matter what, she couldn't leave him to eat with all those people by himself. For his sake, she was going to face the day with her usual charm and grace. She would try to be brave for both herself and him.