Alicia was led to a room far bigger and well-arranged compared to the other kingdom. The room was almost empty, left for a king-sized bed and a dressing table with a small mirror. She remembered how her room was well decorated. Bright sheets instead of these dull looking sheets, floor-to-ceiling windows compared to the small windows in the room. The similarity was that the room was on the second floor, so she could still look at the city from her window even if it wasn't that big. Something clicked in her head, and she approached the window with a smile on her face. The door behind her opened and a girl entered, but she didn't bother to spare her any glance as she went to the window.
"My lady,"
'I can pass through this window.' Alicia thought to herself. She only had to try a little, plus she also needed a rope to help her down. She had played several dangerous roles and had refused to use a stuntman because she had aimed to be the best actress. And one of the ways she demonstrated this was by reducing the cost of hiring a stuntman to play her role. So she had been trained a lot. Jumping down from here would be an easy feat.
"Can you hear me?"
'I just have to wait until midnight. But first, I need to find a strong rope.' She turned to look around the room absentmindedly, still not noticing the person inside.
She tried to find something solid she could tie the rope to, and her eyes landed on the solid legs of the bed.
'That's it! I will try to move the bed a little closer and make do with it. And I will need a horse. I should still remember how to ride one.' She had starred in a historical drama before and was made to take horse riding lessons for the role.
She heard a loud sound behind her, like something was being flogged, and was startled as she jumped back. Then she finally took note of the girl inside the room with her, who had a cane in hand and had used it to hit the dressing table.
"Who are you?" Alicia asked and eyed her up and down. She wore a simple dress and had her hair tied in a ponytail with a red head band around her hair and a crescent moon knitted at the center of the front of the band.
She'd noticed that the other maids in this kingdom had the same thing around their heads. But unlike the maids she saw in the other kingdom, who looked very meek and humble, this one had an air of arrogance around her, which she didn't try to conceal. She acted like she was superior to Alicia, which felt weird to Alicia because, technically, she was the prince's bride and was supposed to be respected. The girl looked to be in her teenage years or early twenties. She couldn't guess."
My name is Beth. I will be your handmaiden from now on and cater to all your needs. I will also be in charge of teaching you the things you need to know about the palace. Firstly, you need to have a warm bath and greet the royals." She turned to face the door and yelled, "Come in."
The door opened and about five other young girls hurried inside. They all bowed to Alicia, but it seemed like they were bowing down to Beth. They also looked very nervous, and she could tell it wasn't because of her. Each had a bowl of something in their hands.
"Set up her bath."
Alicia watched everything happen in confusion.
They all hurriedly pushed open a curtain at the end of the room and entered the next room, which she believed was the bathroom.
"You should be stripping out of these," Beth said, eyeing her up and down like she was wearing rags.
"Where is Paulina?" Alicia asked.
"Who is that?"
"My handmaiden. She came with me."
"She will be assigned other duties."
"She is going to attend to me."
Something akin to a smirk grew on Beth's face. "You do not have a choice here, My Lady. It is the order of the inner court that I train you. Therefore; She. Will. Be. Assigned. Other. Duties," Beth said each word pointedly, as if she was deliberately trying to annoy Alicia.
'There is something wrong with this place,' Alicia thought to herself as she took a step forward so that she was standing directly in front of the maid, "And if I say no?" She asked with a slightly raised brow, challenging the maid.
"You seem to be mistaken about something here. I... didn't ask for your opinion. If you care about your maid, it would be best you do as I say," Beth threatened.
'Didn't the rumor say that everyone was scared of Prince Harold? How come this girl could treat me, who happened to be Prince Harold's wife, like this? Who is she exactly? She is no ordinary maid. Everything about her points to that fact. Aside from that, maybe I am being treated this way because they must have heard that Prince Harold does not like me. It doesn't matter. I need to swallow my anger and be nice to her if I need a rope to get out of here.'
Alicia paused when something else occurred to her. Paulina. She hadn't realized that there was a flaw in her plan until she had to think about Paulina now. What was going to happen to Paulina if she managed to escape? Perhaps she shouldn't have brought Paulina along with her?
"W-We are... done, Miss... Beth," One of the girls said when they came out of the bathroom. She had her head bowed and so did the others.
Now, Alicia wondered who this Beth was and why they had assigned her to attend to her.
Beth, on the other hand, could feel her blood boiling from having to attend to a mere human woman. She had been working for the royals since she was a baby. Her mother had been a handmaiden before she died. And she was born in this palace. Unlike the humans, who she had heard didn't let their maids or servants get married and procreate, it was different in the moon kingdom because they were werewolves. And they have to keep procreating to keep them from going extinct. They also needed warriors.
Not only was her mother a strong Beta who had sacrificed her life to save the queen, but her father was also a Beta and one of the best warriors. Everyone feared her because she was the favorite handmaiden of the royals, and this was because of her family. She was also quite strong since she trained with her father sometimes.
She deserved better than to attend to a mere weak human girl.
THE STRANGE GROOM'S CURSED BRIDE (Add to Library)
Prince Harold looked out the window in his chamber. The city was dark except for a few lights here and there from torches and lanterns.
A lot was running through his mind as he could not stop thinking about the attack against him that night.
He knew well that those people had deliberately planned to attack him. They weren't mere hunters. He had his suspicions that it was either the queen or his half-brother Ivan, or that the two of them had joined forces together and planned to have him killed, which wouldn't be surprising at all. The most mysterious thing he couldn't stop thinking about was his wolf's voice that came to life on that night.
He had suddenly heard a voice warning him to run, and it had startled him, wondering where the voice was coming from until he realized it was in his head. He had forgotten what it felt like since he was still a boy when the voice went mute. That was when he realized there was danger lurking around the forest where he had wandered off to.
He kept thinking about how to address the issue because he could not report it. He wouldn't even dare. There were still scars and wounds from that night. Usually, it was very easy for their wounds to heal, especially as an alpha wolf. But he had not only been hurt with silver; the silver arrows had been coated with wolfsbane. The wolfsbane had gone directly into his bloodstream, making it difficult for him to heal faster despite shifting a couple more times.
"Prince Harold."
The door opened and his personal bodyguard, Alvin, walked in.
Alvin was 20 years old and well built for a Beta. They had both trained together since they were 6, so he was closer to Alvin than anyone else in the palace, even his half-sister, Tyra.
"Your bride is ready to meet the royals," Alvin informed him.
"Did you do what I asked you to do?" Harold asked him.
"I did just as you told me."
Harold's back was still turned to him. He looked out into the city, tapping his fingers on the block.
"I have ordered medicine for you. No one knows about it. I will bring it to your chambers tonight. It will help you heal faster."
Harold nodded and finally turned around to look at him, "Anything else?"
"Miss Beth was assigned to take care of your bride."
"Who is that?" Harold asked.
"Daughter of Rager. She is 20 years old and works directly under the queen. Plus... she fancies you." Alvin said the last piece reluctantly, "They must have sent her to bully your bride."
"Or monitor us," Harold said, smirking.
"Shouldn't you do something about it?" Alvin asked with a hint of concern in his voice, and Harold shook his head. Showing concern would put her in danger and also send the wrong message to the royals that he cared about his new bride, which was incorrect.
"She can take care of herself," He said as he approached the mirror to check his appearance. "Discreetly keep an eye on her. She may try to escape."
"Escape?" Alvin asked in surprise, but Harold was already heading for the door.
Maybe he couldn't exactly read his bride or smell her and her emotions, but he could see her eyes and the intent that lay behind them. Seeing how he had met her in the middle of the woods the first time he set eyes on her and how she had kept looking out the carriage and kept making excuses for a stop during their trip, especially at night, he could easily tell that she wanted to run off. She was stupid enough to make it very obvious for him to notice. Too bad she wouldn't be able to do that, because she was soon going to realize that although the kingdom had no walls around it, and it looked unprotected, there were eyes everywhere, and stepping outside of the palace was going to be an impossible feat for her.
When he got to the room where they were all supposed to meet, he stood in front of the door which the guards opened to let him in. As soon as he stepped foot inside the room, all eyes turned to look at him, and all communication ceased. The people playing the flutes to entertain them also stopped playing.
The king and queen weren't in the room, but the first prince, Prince Ivan, and his wife were present. His younger sister was also present; she was seated there timidly. There were a few other members of the family who didn't live in the palace, like some cousins, aunts, and uncles. They all took a spot on the gigantic table that seemed to have no end. There was a variety of dishes from the start of the table until the end.
"Here comes the newest groom!" Prince Ivan said, standing up with a big smile on his face while clapping, but no one joined him in the applause.
Suspect number one: Prince Ivan. The second offspring of King Eli, Beta, 24 years old, married, no kids.
Harold didn't bother to answer as usual. He took gentle strides inside the room and sat on the seat reserved for him on the left side of where the King would be sitting.
"I don't see your bride anywhere," Ivan said as he looked around.
"If you are so curious, you should go and find her then," Harold answered jerking his head towards the door for Ivan to use it.
Ivan burst into laughter like Harold had just said something extremely funny, "You never cease to be hilarious, little brother," he said with a broad smile directed at Harold before taking his seat.
At the same time, the King and Queen's presence was announced, and every one of them stood up. The pair stepped inside, looking nothing short of royalty. The air in the room suddenly changed as a result of the King's presence. He was an Alpha, after all.
They were completely dressed in their royal robes, with crowns and jewelry to complete them. The queen had a smile on her face as she looked at all the guests.
Suspect number two: Queen Arya. Beta, 42 years old. Mother of Prince Ivan and Princess Tyra.
The two got to their seats, each taking the single seat at the head of the table across from each other, and after sitting, the princes followed before the others did the same."
Where is your bride? And why are you dressed so... casually?" The queen asked Harold, with an unimpressed smile, "Weren't you supposed to come in together?"
Harold looked like he was disgusted by that and said, "I didn't want to walk side by side with a mere human." He answered flatly, as he knew that some of the people on the table would be satisfied with that answer, and he was correct.
As long as he didn't like her or have a child with her, who would eventually turn out to be an Alpha, everything would be fine. That was the best he could do to protect her.
THE STRANGE GROOM'S CURSED BRIDE (Add to Library)
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