Harold could see she was now making her move with Hellion. Too bad for her that she was going about it the wrong way.
"If you want to get used to living here, then you don't need a horse. Women of the royal family do not own horses," Harold pointed out sweetly.
"You knew that, yet you promised to give Hellion to me if I could handle him. You can't go back on your word," she countered.
Okay, that made sense. "You don't possibly expect me to help you handle the horse I promised you on the ground that you would handle him."
"I'm not asking you to help me handle him. I'm asking you to help me make him like me," Alicia said impatiently.
"So how am I supposed to get him to like you?" He asked, his hands behind him.
She gave him a sweet smile, seeing he was not giving her his default "NO!" and was also happy that he seemed to believe her. Why did God choose to bless her with such a genius brain? She praised herself.
"Well, I don't exactly know about that now. But I think if Hellion keeps seeing me every day and I continue to feed him snacks, he will come to like me soon enough."
He almost snorted. But he pretended to be following, so he nodded, "And where do I come in? Providing the snacks?" He asked curiously.
"Well, yes. I'm sure you know all that he likes. So you'll provide the snacks and then be my escort to the stable every day. I'm sure if he sees me with a familiar face, he will realize I'm a friend and then begin to like me," she said with a confident smile, and Harold nodded his head as though he was following all she was saying.
"That makes sense," he said after some time, and she was about to smile when he spoke again, bursting her bubbles. "So why do you want me to help you? Didn't you say you were not my wife?"
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"What do you mean? What has being your wife got to do with this?" She asked, exasperated. Why did he always have to make things difficult for her? Just when she was beginning to rejoice that they were on the same page, he had to ruin it.
"Listen, you aren't helping me with anything," she said, glaring at him and showing her true colours. "You are only going to spend a little time taking me there so Hellion can keep seeing me regularly. Besides, you didn't even give me any wedding gifts, so you have to do this!"
'Is she... ordering you right now?' His wolf asked in disbelief.
'No, please! Not you too. Please go back!' Harold complained in his head. He never looked forward to dealing with the two of them at the same time because it always felt like he was dealing with two Alicias.
"Why aren't you saying anything to me?" Alicia asked, eyeing him angrily when he just stared at her without saying a word.
"I don't owe you any wedding gifts. We already talked about it. You said Amber is my bride, not you."
He was about to walk away, but Alicia was in no mood to let him leave. She hurried to block his path, spreading out her arms to stop him.
"But you didn't know that. Yet you didn't buy her a gift," Alicia reminded him.
"And now I do, so I'm not getting you any gift."
Alicia sighed. "Wait! Listen to me, okay? Look, I know what I said before, but this... this body belongs to Amber, so technically, your wife is still in here somewhere. It's just the person in this body that is not your wife, so you have to help me out because you are also helping out your wife, who owns this body so that she can return to her body," She said and began to seriously wonder if what she said just now made sense.
He suppressed a smile as he watched her. Amused at how confused she looked. "So... you are saying the body is for my wife... not the soul?" He said in a quiet voice that made her look up at him suspiciously.
His intense gaze fell from her face down to her body... her chest precisely, and then back to her face. He took a step forward, making her take one step backwards. He took another step forward, and she went backwards again.
"So..." One step forward.
One step backwards.
"That means..." One step forward, one backwards.
"The body..." He looked her up and down again and said while moving forward, "Is mine. And... I can do whatever I like with this body."
"W-What... are you... sayin—" She yelped when she took another step backwards, not realizing she was at the edge of the pavilion. She was just about to fall out and into the lake, but luckily for her, Harold didn't let her fall this time. Her heart skipped a beat as he grabbed her by the waist and held her in midair. Her hair fell to the back while his fell in front of his smiling face as he watched her flustered expression.
If anyone saw them from afar (Actually, a lot of people did see them from afar. They had been entertaining the bored servants and guards, so they never let go of an opportunity to spy on them so they could have something to talk about to light up their boring lives), the sight looked like a picture-perfect scene of a couple dancing.
The two stared at each other, each thinking different things. While Harold thought about what to do with her and how to handle her, Alicia thought about how handsome he looked up close with the evil smile dancing on his lips, and she wondered what he was going to do.
Alicia was lost in her thoughts until he broke the silence and spoke up. "Why is your face so red?" Harold asked, the evil smile not leaving his face.
That just seemed to snap her out of her useless thoughts, and like a wild horse, she tried to push him off with an annoyed expression on her face.
He pulled her back and let her go before she quickly took several steps away from him and crossed her arms in front of her chest protectively.
"Wh-hat... were you... thinking? How... can you say this body is for your wife? Is... she here now?" She asked angrily.
"You said so yourself," Harold reminded her with a smug smile.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Wipe that dirty smile off your face, and take your mind out of the gutter! As long as I'm in this body right now, this body is mine. Do not come anywhere near me, or else I'm going to kill you!" Alicia warned him, making him chuckle.
"That means you are my wife, and I have every right to touch you," Harold pointed out reasonably, which only infuriated her the more.
"Harold, I am warning you. I'm going to kill you if you come anywhere near me," Alicia warned, pointing a finger at him.
"Okay, " Harold said with a nod and turned away to leave.
"Okay what?" She asked in confusion.
"Okay, I'm not coming anywhere near you. I'm sure you can find a way to make Hellion like you all by yourself. There is nothing you set your mind on that you cannot achieve after all," Harold reminded her before walking away, leaving Alicia glaring at his back.
"You are the most annoying human on the face of the Earth," she called out to him, but he completely ignored her as he walked away, making her want to scream out in frustration.
Alicia closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself. She was Alicia Queen. The same orphan who rose to fame by sheer determination. There was nothing she couldn't achieve if she set her mind to it. She could always find another way if Harold refused to help her. He could go to hell for all she cared. With that thought in mind, she squared her shoulders as she left the pavilion and returned to the palace.
"Princess Amber!" Tyra called out to Alicia from under the tree where she was seated reading a book when she spotted her.
Alicia turned, and when she saw Tyra seated beside Susan, she smiled as she approached both ladies. "Hey!" She greeted with a wave.
"You seem to be very busy lately. I barely see you anymore," Tyra said as they both adjusted for Alicia to sit down between them.
"I know, right? I've missed your company. It's been a while since we last sat down together," Alicia said apologetically as she sat down. "And that is why I've been thinking long and hard about spending quality time with you ladies," Alicia said, and both ladies looked at her with interest.
"I'm planning a hangout for the ladies of the royal family. Excluding the Queen," Alicia announced.
"Hangout?" Both Tyra and Susan asked in unison, and Alicia bobbed her head.
"What... are we hanging?" Tyra asked in confusion.