The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

As Alicia stormed to her room, determined to find out the things Amber had written in the diary and make sense of them, a sharp pain shot through her head, causing her to almost fall. Fortunately, she leaned on the wall, wincing in pain as her head began to throb.

The pain increased, and she began to feel lightheaded, groaning in pain as she pressed her palm to her forehead.

Different memories and voices began to flash in her head as she remembered a series of events that had happened that night.

"Now, it's your turn."

"Did you think you would live forever?"

"Prince Harold is not here to save you."

"I brought you some biscuits."

​ Everything went by so fast until she heard a voice clearly, the other voices disappearing from her head.

"My Princess, come with me to get some water."

Alicia remembered squinting to look at the maid, who was standing outside her door. Alicia tried to speak, but her head was aching terribly, which was affecting her vision, and her throat was very dry.

Even though Alicia was sick at that point, she wanted to ask the girl why she was standing outside her door at that time of the night. Unfortunately, the pain in her head worsened and made her almost fall to the floor, but the maid held her up and helped Alicia away from there.

"Y-You..." Alicia turned to look at the maid's face.

"Are... you... o-kay?" Alicia asked in a tight voice. Despite the pain and discomfort she was feeling, she could tell the girl was not feeling well. Her entire body felt like it was on fire. Her face was red, and her eyes were teary.

"A-Are you... sick... s-somewhere?"

Matilda looked at her with teary eyes and sniffed. "I'm... sorry, My Princess. But... I can only survive if... if I do this." Matilda said in a guilty tone.

Alicia cried in pain from the headache and began to breathe heavily as she felt like she was going to pass out soon.

"P-Prince H-Harold... where... where is he?" She asked with all her might.

"I'm sorry. I am so sorry, my Princess." Matilda cried as she kept leading Alicia far away from her room.

Alicia's breathing turned erratic, and at that point, she found it difficult to speak. She began to gasp for air, and it seemed to affect her current state as she also began to gasp and slide down the wall to the floor.

"WHAT IS WRONG, MY LADY?" Paulina's panicked voice threw her off her thoughts as she ran to embrace Alicia on the floor, panicking as she tried to pull her up.

"What is wrong with you? Are you unwell? Should I send for Prince Harold?"

"It's fine... I'm fine." Alicia said painfully.

"Just... just sit with me for a while." She added before Paulina could say anything else.

Paulina didn't think that was the best solution since Alicia didn't look well at all. But seeing how exhausted Alicia looked, she hesitantly sat down on the floor beside her, both resting their backs on the wall, not thinking about how inappropriate their action was.

The two sat there, with Paulina looking at her with worry until Alicia's breathing returned to normal as she massaged her temples gently, thinking about all she had just heard. This just made her certain that someone had truly planned to make her take the fall for all that had happened that night.

When was this going to stop?

"Do you feel better now?" Paulina asked her in concern, making Alicia sigh heavily.

"I don't know. I am... so confused. One minute I believe myself, the next I don't know anymore, and then I believe myself again. It just continues." She didn't want to talk about this now. She would have to put in enough effort to remember all that had happened that night.

"We can't... run away from here, can we?" Paulina asked in a whisper.

"Do you still want to run away?" Alicia returned the question to her, looking at her intensely.

Paulina's cheeks flushed as she looked away from Alicia and sighed. "I... I don't... know. I am just scared."

Alicia nodded. "I can understand."

"Why... are you okay with this? This whole thing?" Paulina asked curiously.

"I have heard about werewolves before. Although I didn't think they were real. But I also didn't think transmigration and witches were real. But I guess that is not the same for you."

Paulina didn't understand the other thing Alicia said, but she got the message and nodded. "After Queen Anne took me in, I only lived in the palace before I moved to the mountain. I have only heard a story among the palace maids about a person turning into an animal and people taking potions to see themselves as different people, but they were too scary, so I stopped listening to their stories. I didn't think... it was real."

"Do you think Sir William will hurt you?" Alicia asked her.

Paulina pursed her lips and shook her head as she said shyly, "I... don't think so."

"It's the same way I feel about Prince Harold. Things are different now, but they are also not different. If that makes sense."

"You... must like him a lot," Paulina said with a small smile.

"I do," Alicia confessed.

"A whole lot. And it... it all scares me. Because I don't know what may happen next. I don't even own this body, and sometimes when I look at this body in the mirror, I... imagine different things."

"Like what?" Paulina asked as she turned to face Alicia fully.

"That... he likes Amber and not me. I know it doesn't make sense. But I just cannot help but feel that way sometimes. I wonder what it's going to be like if someday I'm in my real body, standing in front of him, and Amber is also standing beside me. Will he get confused? Would he be willing to let that body go? What about Amber? This is her body. Yet..."

"I don't think he will be confused," Paulina said, cutting off her rambling.

"You are you. Princess Amber is Princess Amber." Paulina smiled at her warmly. "You can tell me what you really look like in the future, and I will make a painting of you."

"You've already given me one."

Paulina shook her head. "That was of Queen Anne. I'm sure you look a little different; even the way you dress should be different. You can gift the painting to Prince Harold so he'll never forget what you look like and do not get confused."

Alicia almost laughed, remembering how he had taken the other painting from her. She couldn't bear to tell Paulina about it.

"Or do you want to try using the potion that can make him see the real you?"

"I'm sure something like that doesn't exist."

"That's how I thought humans that turn into animals didn't exist."

"That makes sense," Alicia said, almost laughing.

"You went to see Williams, right?" Alicia asked her, remembering she had been missing the whole morning.

Paulina nodded and looked crestfallen.

"I could not meet him. His family's guards were standing outside the entire time, and his mother was inside. I waited, but I could not go in. I had to run away when his father returned." She said sadly.

"You fancy him, don't you?" Alicia asked her in a serious tone. Almost immediately, Paulina shook her head. "I... wouldn't dare."

"Because he is a Lord and you are a maid?" She asked.

"I... don't know. He... is like a star. I know I cannot reach it. But I don't want to either. I am happy just looking at it whenever it shows up in the sky."

"How would you feel if he were to marry another woman?"

Paulina pondered.

"I... want him to be happy. If the woman makes him happy, I will be happy too." She said in a genuine tone. "I just... want him to always smile and paint and practice medicine and do all he loves to do. If I can be of help in any way, I will be happy to help."

"Such pure love." Alicia sighed. "You may never get married at this point."

"Should I?" Paulina asked.

"You should. You will make a great woman, a great wife, and a great mother," she said, making Paulina blush.

"So should I find you a husband?" Alicia turned to face Paulina now, asking in a playful tone.

"Would you like to marry Alvin?"

Paulina immediately shook her head. "No. And I don't want Lady Susan to be mad at me."

"Oh! You finally got wind of that, didn't you?" Alicia laughed.

"What about Harvey?"

Paulina shook her head.

"Lance?" Paulina grimaced and vigorously shook her head, making Alicia laugh loudly.

Harold watched the scene from afar, smiling a little. He was glad to see her out and about now that all the attention was on the queen, who was going crazy in her chamber and shattering everything she could find.

He turned to leave, a certain potion on his mind.