The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

Harvey stepped forward and grabbed both Alicia and Paulina's hair, and as they cried out in pain, he whispered, "Hang in there a little longer. I believe you. And we are trying to prove your innocence. You have to survive this."

"How could you hurt Princess Tyra? You deserve what you're getting," He growled for the benefit of others before he let go of their hair and walked away, ignoring the strange look he was receiving from the others who were wondering why he did that since he didn't seem close to the princess.

He believed her? He said 'we'. Who were the 'we'? Was it Susan? But Harvey wasn't close to Susan, or was he? Alicia wondered, but she didn't have much time to think as the guards placed a cloth over her face, and before she could guess what they were up to, they started pouring water into her face, and her cries came in muffled gasps as she struggled to breathe.

Alicia tried to reach for Paulina's hand, but she couldn't. No matter how much she was suffering now, she promised herself that she was not going to die. It was going to be unfair that after being brought to this world without her permission, she was going to leave like this for something she had no control over.

'Amber. Queen Anne. You have to save me.' She said in her head as she kept struggling to breathe. This was a terrible way to die, and it began to give her flashes of when she had fallen into the water in her world and had been drowning.

She blacked out for a moment, and when she came to consciousness again, she remembered herself leaving the room.

At that moment, she also began to strangely remember some things she could not remember happening.

She remembered looking all over her room that night for something. Her actions seemed clumsy, and she even managed to knock down some things as she made her way to the door of the room.

As soon as she managed to open the door, she almost stumbled to the floor but held back and touched her head.

She felt someone standing there. She didn't know who the person was, but someone had been standing outside her door.

"W-Water..." Alicia had said to the person in a very dry voice that she couldn't recognize herself.

Alicia gasped loudly as soon as the cloth was removed from her face. She could not remember when the person stopped pouring the water over her face, but at this point, she could not even cry from relief. Because she felt like she was going to die at any minute.

She could hear some of the aristocrats who were still present murmuring loudly, but she did not bother to learn what decision they were coming to now. She was focused on the person who was untying Paulina and began to panic as she wondered where they were taking her to.

As soon as Paulina was made to stand under the same burned feet, Beth's father was in front of her and slapped her so hard that Paulina spat out blood before she fell to the ground.

"W-What... are... you doing?" Alicia asked in a panic.

"Say it again," Beth's father growled at Paulina as a guard roughly held her up again.

"I.... d-did it."

"What... are you saying?" Alicia asked weakly, wondering what Paulina was talking about.

"I did it, milady. I killed Beth and stabbed Princess Tyra."

Alicia's eyes widened, and she looked at Paulina in shock. What... did she just say?

"Please milady is innocent. I did it alone. I still have the scars from when Beth hurt me. She has always been mean to my mistress. I could not take it anymore." Paulina cried, and Alicia turned to her.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Alicia yelled angrily, and Paulina shook her head, tears falling from her eyes.

"I did it. You are innocent. I did it. I killed Beth, and I hurt the princess for getting in my way," Paulina repeated, and Alicia's body shook with both pain and anger since she could understand that the foolish maid was trying to sacrifice herself to save her.

"Shut up your filthy mouth! You didn't do anything," Alicia snapped at her while Beth's father stepped forward and signaled the guards to untie Alicia.

"Your maid has confessed; all that is left is for you to confess. There is no way she could have done it without your permission," Beth's father said, but Paulina shook her head.

"No. I did it alone. She knows nothing about it. It was me. I did it all alone," Paulina cried in her cracked voice.

Beth's father snorted and faced Alicia. "There is no way a maid can carry out such actions without the orders of their masters. Maybe you will finally confess your crimes after you watch her die."

Alicia looked at Paulina with anger, disappointment, and fear. Maybe Paulina had done this to save her, but she had no idea she had just put them into more trouble.

As Alicia saw a guard dragging Paulina to the podium where she was to be beheaded, she recovered and yelled, raising her voice with all her might.

"ARE YOU STUPID?" She asked Beth's father, who looked at her, frowning.

"Do you look down so much on your daughter that you think Paulina, who can barely kill an ant, can kill her and stab a princess? What does she intend to gain? What do I intend to gain?" She asked angrily.

"Are you so blinded by grief that you cannot open your eyes and see that this is a great scheme before you? Your daughter's murderer is out there living freely, and they are making you kill the wrong person! Do you think you will be safe after killing me or my maid? Is this your definition of justice? Are you an idiot?"

Beth's father was obviously shaken by her words, and he just stood there and stared blankly. Some aristocrats also seemed to ponder her words. Seeing this, the Queen ignored all of them and stood up.

"Behead the maid," she said in a vicious tone.

Helplessly, Paulina was dragged away while Alicia could do nothing but scream.