The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

Harold knew if Alicia was seen alone with Harvey, considering that they were not related in any way, and Alicia was a married princess who had no business meeting with another man in private, it would look suspicious and cause eyebrows to be raised. He didn't want any unnecessary and unpleasant rumours to go around the palace, so he needed to be careful.

"My bride wants to speak with you," Harold said after some time, surprising not just Harvey but Alvin too, who couldn't understand what business Princess Amber could possibly have with Harvey and why Prince Harold was willing to deliver such a message on behalf of his wife to another man who had snuck into her chamber the previous day.

A lot of things about Princess Amber were confusing to Alvin, and he couldn't help wondering what Prince Harold and Princess Amber were hiding from him.

"You asked me to stay away from her," Harvey reminded Harold quietly as he continued to shoot.

There was no doubt in his mind that Harold adored whoever was possessing Princess Amber's body. Who would have thought that the almighty Prince Harold could serve as a messenger for his wife?

"And I still stand by that. I'm only asking you to meet with her because she has some important questions she needs you to answer. Also, I will have to be present there when you speak with her to avoid any misunderstanding, especially now that you are courting Lady Susan," Harold said, making Harvey turn to look at Alvin curiously as he wondered if Alvin also knew that a stranger was possessing the princess's body.

Seeing how Harvey turned to Alvin, Harold remembered that Alvin was still standing there with them and could hear what they were saying.

"Lead Princess Amber to the pavilion. Let her know we will meet her there. Arrange for tea to be served," Harold instructed, and Alvin bowed to him before hurrying away.

Immediately after Alvin left, Harold returned his attention to Harvey, "She needs to know about Princess Amber and understand what happened. I want you to help her," Harold said, and Harvey finally dropped his bow and turned to Harold.

"Why?" Harvey asked, and Harold raised an eyebrow.

"Why what?"

"Why does she need to understand what happened? What difference is it going to make? You don't want Princess Amber, do you? It is this person in her body that you want. Am I wrong?" Harvey asked, and Harold looked at him for a moment.

"You are not wrong. She is my wife, and I can't say no if she wants to find out what happened to her," Harold said, and then paused when something occurred to him.

"Why did you want to help her escape?" Harold asked curiously.

"Because this place is not meant for her. Princess Amber would never have agreed to get married to you and come to your kingdom if she was here," Harvey said with such certainty that made Harold even more curious.

"Why not?"

"She knows about our kind, and she is not very fond of us," Harvey explained.

"Did she know about you?" Harold asked, and Harvey shook his head.

"So you told her about our existence, but didn't tell her you were one of us?"

"She was attacked by a werewolf in the mountains some years ago, and I saved her. Did you expect me to tell her I was one too?" Harvey asked, but Harold did not respond.

"I taught her all she needed to know to protect herself..."

"You were the one who taught her how to fight?" Harold asked, and Harvey looked at him curiously.

"She already had the gift. I just helped. How did you know she could fight?"

Harold contemplated whether or not he should tell Harvey the truth, and seeing how Harvey was being honest with him and knowing that Alicia needed Harvey's help too, he decided to open up to him, "I think she might still be in there somewhere. Twice, Alicia has used weapons in a way she normally isn't capable of doing," Harold explained.

"Alicia?" Harvey asked curiously.

"That is her name?" Harvey asked a second question immediately, thinking that the name sounded familiar. It wasn't a common name around here, but he had certainly heard of it before.

Harold gave him a nod and said, "Why don't you seem very surprised that someone else is possessing Princess Amber's body?" Harold asked, thinking that Harvey had come to terms with the idea too easily.

"We are werewolves. I don't think something like this should be very surprising to us," Harvey said, matter of fact, but Harold felt like Harvey was still hiding some things. It was obvious he was. And the fact that he was chill about this whole thing made him even more suspicious.

"I know you are suspicious of me," Harvey said, narrowing his eyes at Harold. "But I have heard things, read things, and seen things. Things you wouldn't believe are in existence. Also, Amber was... close to me. And this concerns her."

Harold did not like the sound of that, but he didn't push. That wasn't the priority right now.

"Are you ready to meet with her?" Harold asked when they saw Alvin approaching, and Harvey gave him a nod.

Harold led the way to the pavilion, and neither of them said a word as they walked through the courtyard down to the pavilion, attracting the attention of everyone they walked past.

Harold did not doubt that before the end of their discussion, the Queen and Ivan would have heard of their meeting and would want to know what they had talked about.

Alicia, who had been impatiently waiting for them as she paced around the pavilion with Princess Amber's journal in hand while rehearsing her questions, stopped when she saw them approaching.

Harold turned to Alvin and said, "Go keep an eye on other things, and let me know when it's time to welcome the guests," Harold ordered Alvin, reminding him indirectly of an assignment he had given him earlier that morning. Immediately, Alvin bowed and excused them.

After they all sat down, Alicia poured some tea into their cups before looking at Harvey, "Thanks for agreeing to meet me," she said politely, and Harvey gave her a nod.

"Prince Harold said you have some questions," Harvey said, and Alicia bobbed her head before sipping from her cup.

"I do. Can you tell me what you know about Princess Amber? I'd also like to know about her mother, Queen Anne. That's if you know anything about her," Alicia said, while Harold remained silent.

"What exactly do you know about her?" Harvey asked curiously, and Alicia raised the journal, which was resting on her thighs.

"Do you know about this? Paulina said this belongs to Princess Amber," Alicia said, and Harvey looked at it curiously, realizing it was the familiar journal which Amber always carried around with her.

"Yes. It belongs to her," Harvey confirmed.

"Can you understand what is written here?" She asked, but Harvey shook his head.

"She used to write things only she could understand so that no one else could read her journal," Harvey explained, and Alicia's brows pulled together.

That explained why she had been unable to make sense of what was written on it no matter how much she tried to get it. If Harvey could not understand what was written in the journal either, that meant the journal was useless to her.

"Did she tell you why she was sent into exile?" Alicia asked the second important thing on her mind.

"Her mother was found guilty of treason and witchcraft. She was sent to exile because they believed she might also be a witch like her mother. It was the last plea of her mother to save Amber." Harvey said, making Alicia gasp in surprise, while Harold stared at him in disbelief.

"Witchcraft?" Harold and Alicia asked in unison.

"She didn't tell me that since she didn't know the details because she was sent away when she was still very young. I found out about it myself by going to her kingdom to ask questions. Queen Anne was greatly loved by the people and seen as a saviour," Harvey explained, and both Harold and Alicia exchanged a look.

"Do you believe that? How can they send a little girl into exile to such a place because they think she might be a witch?" Alicia asked in disbelief.

"Witches do not exist. It's like saying vampires and werewolves exist. That doesn't make any sense," Alicia said incredulously, and this time it was Harvey and Harold who exchanged a look.

"Does it make sense to you that you ended up in another person's body?" Harvey asked, and Alicia frowned.

"Do you think it is true? That Queen Anne might have been a witch?" She asked Harvey in confusion.

"Princess Amber believed that her mother had special powers," Harvey said, as if that answered her question.

"What does all of this mean? Why do I look like Queen Anne? Why am I in Princess Amber's body? I don't understand anything. It's becoming more confusing," Alicia complained as she looked at Harold helplessly.

"You look like Queen Anne? How did you know that?" Harvey asked with interest.

"Paulina made a portrait painting of Queen Anne. That's what I looked like before coming here," Alicia said, and Harvey's brows pulled together thoughtfully.

"Wait... are you from the future?" Harvey asked when he remembered a conversation he had with Amber some months ago about something she had read in her late mother's secret diary.