The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

By dinner time, it had become news all over the palace that Harold's bride was ill, and everyone couldn't help but worry about it, for different reasons.

"She is still unconscious?" The king asked with concern as they ate.

"Yes, my king. The royal physician is doing all he can to make her wake up," the Queen responded.

"What did he say was the problem? Was it something she ate or drank? Did you eat at the village?" The King asked as he turned to Harold, who shook his head, not thinking that he was lying to the King. After all, the king had asked if 'he' ate. He didn't eat. It was his bride and Alvin who ate, and there was no reason to tell him that since he knew that she hadn't been posioned.

"What was she doing when she became unconscious?" The Queen asked curiously.

"She was exhausted from the trip." He left it simply at that, knowing they would formulate something on their own.

She had been 'sick' and traveled into the town for hours; it was only normal for her to lapse back into illness.

The queen looked at him, not sure whether to believe him or not.

The King turned to Harold and asked, "Have you been to her chamber to see her yet?"

Harold cleared his throat and answered in a monotone voice, "I did." He said and didn't continue, even though he knew the others were waiting for him to continue. The King wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. Harold was a very perceptive person, but he honestly couldn't tell what kind of relationship Harold had with his bride.

Both the Queen and Ivan exchanged a subtle glance when they heard that.

"Really? I didn't hear about that," the Queen said with a curious smile while waiting for him to say more.

Had he spent the night in his bride's chamber? That was the question that kept plaguing their minds. What would it mean if he had truly not shifted for the first time in all these years? Did it mean the moon goddess had lifted the curse? Why?

"It was during my training at the break of dawn. And... I used her window," he said, surprising all of them, except the queen and prince Ivan, who looked confused because now, they were not sure what to believe anymore, but as it stood, it seemed Prince Ivan's guard had gotten the time wrong, making them think too much about this. It made them annoyed.

Harold noticed the shift in their eyes and almost smirked, but he didn't. If they thought a single thing would get past him in the palace, they must be dreaming.

"Can I go with you to see her?" Williams, who usually preferred to keep to himself whenever they were all gathered, suddenly asked, surprising everyone.

Harold glanced at him, wondering why he wanted to see Alicia. "Okay," Harold said, not seeing any reason to turn down the request. Although he would have preferred to go alone, saying no would make the others think he cared about his bride, and he didn't want them to think that. Unfortunately, saying he had paid her a visit this morning was probably going to give them the impression that he cared about her and there was nothing he would be able to do about it.

He knew that the queen and her son didn't care whether or not he cared about her. They were only worried that she would conceive, and they didn't know the probability of a human birthing a werewolf and an alpha for that matter. Aside from that, they liked her as his bride because she was unruly and no one would want that kind of woman as queen.

"You must have grown quite fond of your bride overnight. You were quite creative with Beth's punishment. And to think you were there to supervise it," Ivan said in a light tone, even though his words held a lot of meaning.

"You must like the maid to have taken note of how I chose to punish her," Harold responded dryly.

"You can relieve the maid of her duty to serve Prince Harold's bride. Get someone else to continue her training," the King instructed the Queen, since word had gotten to him that Harold's bride wasn't getting along with the maid and she had also slapped Beth.

"But she has been punished. Can she just continue to serve? She is..."

"Get someone else," the king cut in, interrupting the queen, before standing up, "Harold, join me in the royal garden," he instructed as he walked away, and Harold stood up immediately and followed him while Ivan and his mother exchanged a nervous glance.

The queen stood up and immediately left, followed by Ivan and his wife, Luciana.

"This is the most boring dinner I've had in my life!" Susan said, when the four left. "Am I the only one who thinks something smells fishy?"

"What do you mean?" Tyra asked curiously, but Susan shrugged. "I don't know. I just think something smells...fishy," she said, sniffing the air.

"Yea. There is a grilled fish right in front of you," William deadpanned, and pushed a plate of fish closer to his sister.

Tyra giggled before rising from her seat. "I will go to bed early. If you will excuse me." She bowed to the two who returned her bow. Immediately she was out of the room, and it was just the twins left in the entire room, Susan faced Williams.

"Why did you want to go see Princess Amber with Prince Harold?"

He raised a brow to look at her as he asked, "Is it wrong of me to pay a visit to my relative's wife? With my relative."

"Don't get all smart with me. You've been acting very suspiciously lately. What are you up to?" She narrowed her eyes into slits and peered at him closely, but he used his finger to push back her forehead.

"What were you talking about something being fishy?" He asked curiously.

"Haven't you noticed?" She asked before lowering her voice to a whisper.

"There is something going on between Prince Harold, Prince Ivan and the Queen. I don't know what that is... but I know it's not very good." She said, seriously.

Williams looked like he was pondering what she said, but instead, he said, "Don't go sticking your nose in other people's business. When you are in the palace, you should be blind, deaf, and mute. Just focus on your classes."

"Yes, father," she said while rolling her eyes. "Such a boring person."

Outside the dining hall, neither the King nor Harold said a word to each other as they walked to the discussion room. Immediately after they took their seats, the king dismissed the guards so that he could be alone with Harold.

"Why didn't you report it to me that you were attacked on your way back to the palace?" The king asked in a slightly angry tone.

There was no need for him to question the king about how he learned about the attack. The King had his own way of finding out information, just like he did.

"You said nothing happens without your knowledge, so there was no need to," Harold said with a straight face that made the king sigh.

It seemed to him like no matter how much he tried, Harold was never going to forgive him for his mother's death nor acknowledge him as his father.

"You should have told me. You owe it to me. Not just as your father, but the king of this kingdom. You are royalty, and so is she."

Harold met his father's gaze. He was very tempted to tell him that he didn't owe him anything, but he refrained himself from doing so.

Knowing how stubborn Harold was, the king decided not to push it. "Did they hurt your bride..."

"Amber," Harold said. "She has a name."

Honestly, it sounded kind of weird to say her name out loud. He wasn't sure he had ever called her that before.

"Did they hurt h—" The king asked in a tone that told Harold he was offended but trying not to show it.

"No. She was exhausted, just like I said earlier," Harold cut in. When they were alone, this way, he could speak with him normally.

"So the people who attacked you yesterday, are they the same as those who attacked you the last time?"

"I don't know. But they were humans," he informed the king.

It still didn't make sense to him that they had sent human assassins after him when they knew he could perfectly deal with a hundred humans at once. Was this some kind of sick game?

Over all, he was a little glad they had been humans. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to handle them, especially with his bride around. It would have been impossible for her to hurt his fellow breed.

"If that's all, can I leave now?" Harold asked.

"You... should be careful," the King warned softly. Harold took that as his cue to leave, so he stood up and gave him a bow before leaving.