Capítulo 22: Consummation?
"Your bride is quite an interesting lady, isn't she?" The King asked Harold once it was just the two of them remaining in the dining room.
"Is she?" Harold asked indifferently as he sat back on his chair, staring into the goblet of wine in his hand.
He knew that there were probably some palace servants around the hall, who had masked their scents and were trying to eavesdrop on this conversation so that they could report it to the Queen and his brother, so he needed to be extra careful of whatever he said to the king.
"You don't like her?" The King asked curiously.
"Funny you're only asking me now after the deed has been done," Harold said dryly, and the King smiled at him fondly.
Although Harold was a child born to him by a slave, he favored Harold more than his other children. He was wise enough to know that he couldn't show that in the presence of the others, especially considering the fact that Harold had killed one of his other sons during a fight when they were younger.
"I'm sure you know that I only did what I believed was best for you. I learned that you were attacked during your trip. Do you know who did it?" The King asked, and Harold raised his head to meet the king's gaze.
"Who told you that?" He asked with a slight crease on his brow, wondering why Alvin would give such information to the King without his permission.
"Need I remind you that I'm the King of this kingdom, and I'm also your father? You don't think anything would happen to my son without my knowledge, do you?" The King asked, and Harold's face hardened.
"Since you know so much, then you should know the people that came after me, shouldn't you?" He asked his father bitterly.
"I will have some men look into..."
"Don't. I do not care about whoever had attacked me. They seemed like mere hunters. I don't want to get myself involved in any kind of fight." Harold told his father as he gulped down the rest of the wine in his goblet.
Although his father was King, he knew that his father couldn't help him, especially if the Queen and his brother, Ivan, had something to do with his attack. He knew firsthand how the rules of the kingdom were made to favor only the full-bloods. Also, he was careful of everything he was saying because of the spies listening. He didn't want to give them any idea about his plans.
If the Queen had gotten her way with getting rid of his mother, he knew that the Queen could get away with almost anything else, especially considering the fact that she was from a line of pure royals and she still had the support of her family.
The King looked at him as though he wanted to argue, but sighed instead, "If that's what you want."
"Thank you," Harold said and waited for the King to stand up so that they could leave, as he couldn't walk out on the King, but when the King made no move to stand up, he looked at his father, who looked like he still had something to say, so he waited to hear it.
"I know you might not exactly like her... yet. But you should protect her," the King advised.
King Eli knew how painful it had been to see Harold's mother die without being able to do anything about it or even mourn her openly. The last thing he wanted was for Harold to go through such emotional pain.
"I'm not interested in her. I didn't ask to marry her, so you should protect her yourself if you're so worried about her... Or maybe you can't," Harold added the last part under his breath, reminding his father how he had failed to protect his mother.
The King heaved a deep breath before standing up to leave, and Harold stood up at once and bowed to the King. The King placed his right hand on the left side of Harold's shoulder, "When you've lived long enough, you will realize that things are not always as they seem," the King said, and then dropped his arm before walking away.
Meanwhile, some rooms down the hall, Alicia stood by the window looking down at it at the people who were still moving around. Now that Alicia was here in her bedroom with no place to go and no idea where Paulina was, she realized that she was in for a very long and boring life if she didn't find a way out of here. There was no television to watch, no phone or laptop, no place that she knew she could hang out, and there was even nobody to talk to! How did people survive in this era?
She turned to the door when she heard a slight knock. Thinking it was Beth, she just stood there and stared at the door, expecting the rude lady to walk in, but whoever it was remained quiet, as though they were waiting for her to open the door.
"Come in," Alicia said tentatively, now wondering who it was.
To her surprise, the door was pushed open, and Harold walked in, "Oh! I wasn't exactly expecting you," she said with a small frown as she eyed him curiously. What did he want? He couldn't possibly care about consummating their marriage, could he? No matter how handsome he was, she wasn't interested in having sex with him. All she wanted was a problem-free way out of here. Maybe she would have considered if it was the king.
"Don't worry. I have no intention of touching you," Harold said in a slightly irritated tone.
'Oh, thank goodness!' Alicia thought to herself and then paused with a scowl on her face when the meaning of his words hit her. What did he mean by that? It wasn't like she was interested in him either. She turned down men, men didn't reject her. So what did he think he was doing?
Seeing the annoyance in her eyes, Harold shook his head. He could tell she was having a conversation with herself in her head again, "I won't be sharing a room with you. Stick to your side of the palace. Don't talk to anyone unless you're spoken to. Don't leave your bedroom unless you're sent for. Don't think about sneaking..."
"Hold it!" Alicia ordered, raising one hand to stop him.
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