Alicia looked at Harold like he was crazy before scoffing loudly.
"Why the hell would I be jealous?!" She asked him in disbelief and marched to her chamber, opening the door forcefully and was about to slam it when he pushed it open and entered, before closing the door behind him.
"What?!" She snapped at him, wondering why he was still following her. Wasn't he eager to get away just now?
"Care to explain why you have this wild attitude right now if it's not jealousy?" He said calmly while spreading his palms open. He wasn't used to dealing with women, but something told him that this was definitely jealousy.
Maybe if Alvin was here now, he would have been able to tell since he was usually smart about these things when they did not concern him.
"I am just pissed. And I deserve to be." Alicia said angrily and folded her arms across her chest.
He stared at her, amused. He wanted to tell her that she looked like a wild rabbit right now, but he also wanted to save his face and hair. The last thing he wanted was for her to attack him like she had done to Ivan.
"So... you are pissed because you think I am going to meet with her?" He asked softly.
"That is not the point! You want to keep me locked in here! Are you embarrassed of me?" She gave him a fierce, accusing look.
"Why would you think that?"
"Stop answering my questions with questions!" She barked at him.
"When did I do that?"
"You are doing that right now!" She groaned in frustration and almost felt like throwing something at him when she saw him trying to hide a smile.
"Okay, calm down." He said, looking serious now.
"I know you probably do not like the fact that I am asking you to stay here, but it is for your own good. Everyone in this palace. Every single one is dangerous. And you have a special talent for attracting trouble. This is the best I can do to keep you safe."
"Is there some kind of secret about this entire palace and banquet that I do not know of?" She asked suspiciously.
Ever since she arrived here, she could not shake off the feeling that these people were hiding something from her, and Paulina had confirmed that she felt the same way. They had all been talking about having a banquet, but what was the purpose of it? No one was saying anything about that, and when she asked Susan and Tyra, they simply waved it off.
Harold looked at her intensely before nodding. "There is."
"Really?" She asked, her eyes lighting up.
Harold nodded. There was no point in hiding it because one day, she was going to find out. And the sooner she knew that something was wrong, the sooner she would begin to protect herself and stay away from trouble consciously.
"What is that?" Alicia whispered curiously.
"It's a secret for a reason." He reminded her.
"But I am a part of this kingdom now. I need to know."
"In your words, you aren't a part of anything here. Amber is. Therefore, I don't think I can tell the secret to you." He said, smirking.
She scoffed loudly in annoyance. "Don't get all smart with me." She eyed him.
"However..."
"..."
"If you would like to know, you can," Harold said with a shrug.
Seeing him like this, Alicia could not help but be suspicious. "Why do I feel like there is a condition to it?" She asked while looking at him with narrowed eyes.
"Because there is."
"And that is?" She asked hesitantly.
"I have to be sure that you think of yourself as a part of the royal family first. It is not a secret that can be told to just anyone."
"That's easy. I think of myself that way already, so tell me." She said eagerly, but Harold chuckled and shook his head. Did she think he was going to fall for that?
"That's not what I meant. I don't need your words for it. Words are meaningless. They cannot be trusted."
Alicia rolled her eyes in frustration. Why did this guy always have to make uncomplicated things complicated?
"Then what do you need me to do for you to tell me?"
"Your action."
"What... action?" She asked hesitantly, not trusting him one bit.
"You can only find out when you... bear our child. That's the only guarantee." He said calmly and blew off imaginary dust from his nails.
"WHAT THE HELL!" She exclaimed in shock while Harold looked at her and chuckled.
"I'll come see you later. Be good." He patted her head twice before he left her room.
Alicia bared her teeth, but it was too late. He had left already. What was wrong with him? Why would he think she was jealous? What was there to be jealous about? She was the one he was married to, after all. Not her. Amber. Princess Amber was the one he was married to, why did she keep missing it up lately? She needed to keep reminding herself that she wasn't Amber. She wasn't Harold's wife.
How dare he ask her to have a child for him? Did he know what that meant? That they would have to have sex with each other? Her stomach did a flip at the thought, and her body suddenly felt warm.
No! What was wrong with her? What was wrong with her brain and her body? Why was she thinking and feeling things she had no business feeling? Maybe it was Amber. She was feeling Amber's emotions, not hers. That had to be it. She wasn't the least bit sexually attracted to Harold, even though he was very handsome and sexy with his taut skin and bulging muscles and...
The rest of her words trailed off, and she frowned when something suddenly occurred to her.
The other night, when he took off his clothes in front of her, his body looked very smooth. Even his chest. There had been no sign of a scar on his body, especially the spot where she had stuck that dagger mistakenly.
How come it had healed completely? Or perhaps it was that medicine? The same one he had made her swallow last night that had made her feel better? That had to be it.
She walked over to the window and looked outside. Something else was on her mind now. What was the secret of the Moon kingdom that Harold said she couldn't know about unless she was part of the royal family? Was she going to find out about it during the banquet? She was going to have to keep her eyes and ears open the whole time.
Her thoughts suddenly drifted to a movie she had seen the previous year, "Ready Or Not", where the new bride was forced to participate in some crazy, secret, bloody family rituals.
Was this secret going to be something similar to that? Harold had said the aristocrats were going to decide if they approved of her or not. Were they going to put her through dangerous tests? A shudder ran through her at the thought. She hoped not.
Since no one was going to tell her about it, she was just going to stay alert and find out the secret herself, Alicia decided.
Away from there, Harold's earlier bad temper had been brightened thanks to their conversation. He almost whistled happily as he walked down the hallway.
How she could easily affect his mood was still a surprise to him. She made him angrier than anyone else he knew, and she was also the only one who could make his mood switch in the blink of an eye.
His eyes narrowed, and he stopped walking when he saw Alvin walking down with a smile on the edge of his lips. Why was he happy? Harold wondered as he waited for him to join him.
"I've shown them to their chamber," Alvin reported with a polite bow, wondering why it seemed like Harold was no longer in a foul mood.
"Good. I need to meet the King and inform him that we have welcomed the first set of guests. Take the royal journal to Princess Amber's chamber; she needs to memorize the names. And make sure you keep your eyes on her," Harold instructed before walking away, and Alvin left to do as he had been told.
Once he got to Alicia's bedroom, he knocked on the door lightly, and Alicia opened the door.
"Aha! Just the man I want to see," Alicia said with a wide smile, which made Alvin want to drop the book and run for his life.
He knew that look. Whenever she had that look in her eyes, he usually ended up on Harold's bad side. That look meant she had a question to ask. And it was often a question that he wasn't meant to answer.
"Prince Harold asked me to bring this book to you," he said with a polite bow as he handed it to her.
"Please come in," she said, but Alvin shook his head.
"I can't be alone with you in your chamber, my lady," Alvin said politely, and Alicia's lips rounded in a silent 'O'.
"My apologies. I will just step out then," Alicia said as she closed the door behind her, smiling creepily at him.
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