The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

Alicia had been told countless times that as soon as the curfew began, everyone was supposed to remain in their rooms with their lights out, so she didn't think there was any trouble looking out the window. After such a nightmare, all she wanted was fresh air, and sitting inside the darkroom was not going to help her achieve that or think properly.

So, she opened the curtains and looked out the window. A few torches were burning, but no one was in sight. Even the sounds of animals chirping or running around could not be heard. The silence made her uncomfortable, but she remained there, lost in her thoughts and wondering what awaited her if she didn't leave as soon as possible.

She saw something move outside, but it disappeared before she could take note of what it was. Breaking out of her reverie, she decided to observe the environment closely and noticed something moving again. Her hands instantly flew to cover her mouth and she drew back at once when she saw something that looked like a very big wild animal. With her heart beating fast, she tried to catch her breath, scared out of her mind as she wondered what that was and why it was here.

A thought suddenly occurred to her that made her even more scared. Why weren't the guards in sight? Is it possible that the wild animal killed them and is now looking for a way into the palace?

'Oh, God! I do not want to die here!' She prayed and considered what to do next. Leave the room and go inform the others about what was happening? Stay here quietly and pretend to not exist so they won't find her?

She wished there was a phone here. She would have called Harold or someone. Shaking from fear, she slowly approached the window again and peeked. She saw nothing but didn't give up as her eyes also scanned around the room for a weapon.

It didn't take long before another animal came into full view beside a burning torch.

What animals were these? Dogs? Alicia wondered as she moved closer to the window once again to get a better look at the animals. Another thought seemed to occur to her.

Was this the reason for the curfews? Were these big dogs their security guards?

This had to be the reason since Beth had said anyone who stepped outside after the third sound of the bell would die, even if they were royal. Where did the animals come from? How come she had never heard of them nor seen them?

Why did they keep such dangerous animals? Alicia wondered as she looked at the animals, which looked like big dogs. No. They were wolves, not dogs. It seemed like there were lots of wolves in this era. This suddenly reminded her of the animal she had rescued in the mountains that night. She briefly wondered how that wolf was doing as she involuntarily reached for her arm where the wolf had hurt her.

Just as she stood there looking out, one of the wolves looked in her direction, making her heart skip a beat as she quickly drew the curtains together in fear before running to her bed and covering her entire body with the quilt.

She prayed that the wolf, or whatever it was out there, would not come up to her room to hurt her. At least now she knew for a fact that trying to run off at night was dangerous. She also reasoned that pretending to be sick would not change anything concerning those boring classes; instead, she was only prolonging them. She couldn't keep pretending to be ill. She needed to find a way out.

She sat up abruptly when an idea suddenly occurred to her, and she rubbed her hands together gleefully as her lips curved into a smile and her eyes gleamed with mischief. She was going to try this out and see if it would work.

Now that she had come up with something, she tried to go back to sleep, but she couldn't, especially after seeing those scary-looking wolves patrolling the area and even making eye contact with one. She wished she could put on the lantern. Maybe if she hadn't seen those animals, she would have taken the risk and done just that, but now that she had seen them, she couldn't even bring herself to leave the bed. What if the light attracted the animals the same way sound attracted zombies?

After turning and tossing for the whole night, she was able to get some sleep, but it didn't last long before a knock was heard on the door and Paulina walked in. It was already morning. And Alicia wasn't surprised when Paulina began to fuss over the shadows under her eyes.

But the thought of setting her plan in motion today and eventually leaving this place put her in a happy mood.

"Did something good happen?" Paulina asked with a slight frown, wondering why she looked so happy.

"Something good might happen soon," Alicia said with a smile as she walked over to the window and opened the curtains so that she could look outside. She noticed that the guards were back in place and that no animal was in sight. It confirmed her suspicion that those animals served as some sort of security guard at night. She wondered where they kept such animals during the day and how they were fed.

"Did you know that wild animals guard the palace at night? " Alicia asked Paulina in a low voice, and Paulina's face whitened as she remembered her experience.

She nodded, "How did... you know? Did you try to run off at night?" She asked, and Alicia was surprised that Paulina knew this piece of information and kept it from her.

"I saw them through the window last night. How did you know?" Alicia asked curiously and listened with wide eyes as Paulina narrated her experience to her. She was even surprised that those animals were already out after the second bell. So if they didn't do anything to whoever had saved her, did that mean the animals were trained to differentiate between people?

Thinking about it made her head ache. "That must have been very frightening. Do you know who the person is that saved you? Was it Harold's man?" Alicia asked curiously, but Paulina shook her head.

"I think he is a member of the royal family. I've seen him with Princess Tyra and Lady Susan," Paulina said, and Alicia narrowed her eyes as she tried to figure out who it was.

"Oh! It must have been Williams! Susan's twin brother," Alicia said, and Paulina almost sighed in relief on hearing that he was Susan's twin brother. No wonder they looked so much alike. She had been scared that some misunderstanding might happen if Susan or Princess Tyra was his betrothed and found out how he had saved her life. If she had known, she would have thanked him better when they met.

The door was suddenly pushed open from outside, and Beth walked in with a glare in her eyes like she was expecting to catch Alicia or something.

"Good morning, Betty Beth," Alicia greeted with a cheerful smile as she stood up."The medicine and rest worked like magic. I woke up feeling so healthy," Alicia said as she stretched her arms dramatically.

Beth said nothing as she eyed Alicia with annoyance and disapproval. It was as though her hatred for Alicia grew with each passing day. She was even more pissed at her after her confrontation with Prince Harold yesterday. Not only had he scolded and threatened her because of this thing, but he also didn't do anything or punish her for lying about being ill to everyone. She wished she could accidentally strangle the little girl to death and not be blamed for it.

"Why are you just standing there? Pick out my clothes while I go shower," Alicia said, smiling sweetly at her before she said her goodbye to Paulina, who scurried away. Paulina could not understand how her mistress seemed to be immune to Beth. Beth was scary, and one glare from her made her feel like collapsing.

Meanwhile, an exhausted Harold was getting ready for breakfast in his chamber and couldn't stop thinking about last night. Even if she hadn't seen him, he had seen her, and his wolf's sharp eyesight had helped him see how scared she looked.

Why couldn't she just behave like other normal humans and stay put whenever she was told to stay put? He guessed this time, she was going to be ill for real and skip breakfast after what she had seen last night.

He absent-mindedly arrived at the dining hall and was taken by surprise when he saw that his bride was already seated there. She had a serious look on her face and didn't even acknowledge him when he sat down beside her, which made him pissed, and he also began to wonder what she was probably thinking about with such a serious look on her face. He knew one thing for sure, that whatever she was thinking about was not good.