The scene before Alicia looked like something out of a Sageuk K-drama, or perhaps like the nightmare she had some time ago about being beheaded.
Unfortunately, the endless cry of Paulina, who was kneeling beside her, and the vicious glare in the eyes of the man she recognized as Beth's father, were the only assurances that she had that this was not a nightmare.
If she were merely an observer and not the victim here with an invisible noose around her neck, who was about to be sentenced for a crime she wasn't entirely sure yet if she committed or not, she probably wouldn't have believed herself either. Looking at herself in daylight, she could now see how the nightdress she was wearing was redder with blood than white, and even her body was stained with dried blood.
The only question that kept reverberating through her mind was, "How? How did she get here? How did all of this happen?" There was no way she could possibly have hurt Beth or Tyra, and she doubted that Queen Anne or Princess Amber had taken over her body to exert such wickedness. From what little she had come to know about them, she doubted that they were capable of such things.
She briefly remembered Harold and Alvin telling her how she had killed those men, but she shook her head. That was a different case. She believed that whoever had taken over her body at that point had done so because they were in danger.
Was it possible that she had been in danger in the hands of Beth and they had taken over her body to help her defend herself, and because they didn't know Princess Tyra, she had been hurt for getting in the way?
Alicia's gaze moved from one face to the other, hoping to find at least one person who felt sorry for her, or who was willing to believe her, but there was none.
Apart from the aristocrats whom she had served her special snacks, there were other new faces she didn't recognize, leading her to believe that these were the others who arrived on the day of the banquet.
If only Harold wasn't hurt. If only he was here, then she wouldn't have to face all this since she knew that he would understand her or at least find a way to get her out of this mess.
The queen was here, Prince Ivan was here, but where was the King? Why wasn't he here yet? He was the only other person she could depend on to have her back apart from Harold. Was he the one they were all waiting for before starting the trial?
She continued to look around to see if she would find Susan, but the only lady in the hall seemed to be the Queen. She paused when her gaze fell on Harvey, and her heart sank when he shifted his gaze away from her as if he was pretending not to know her.
Of course, what had she been expecting? That he would take her side? It was Princess Amber who he knew not her, and she had turned him away when he came to her bedroom and offered to help her get out of here.
Alicia suddenly felt a blinding headache that made her head spin, and she raised both hands to her head when she suddenly remembered something she believed was a fragment of her lost memories.
"You should be very careful around here." A voice said to her.
She recognized the voice. It was Harvey's.
When did Harvey say that to her? What did they discuss? She wondered as she looked away from him.
Just then, the queen's guard walked in and went straight to where the queen was seated. He whispered something into her ear and immediately she rose. "I will be back," she told Ivan before walking away.
She walked directly to the king's chamber to see Damon standing there beside the king's bed. "You are here," she said, and Damon turned to her.
"Yes. I came to greet the king before joining the assembly," Damon said, and the queen nodded.
"He needs to rest. You shouldn't disturb him with matters of the kingdom right now. Let's step outside," the Queen suggested, and Damon bowed to the king, who could barely speak before following the Queen out of the king's chamber.
They walked for some time without saying a word to each other until they got to the royal library, where they went in.
The Queen looked around to make sure they were alone before looking at Damon. She was about to speak when Damon beat her to it and asked,
"How is the king's health?"
She shook her head. "I don't know why his health keeps failing. The shift last night must have been too much for him and he broke down. The physician assures us that after enough rest, he would be okay."
"Are you sure that's just it?"
"What? Are you suspecting me?" She asked in disbelief.
"He is my husband!" She said angrily. "If I wanted to do anything to him because I was angry, that would have been 22 years ago."
"He is an Alpha. Isn't it suspicious that he is this sick? Do you know what is going to become of our kingdom if words get out to the public about his health?" Damon asked.
"I should be asking you that."
"What does that mean?"
The queen looked at him suspiciously. Maybe he was the one? Was he by chance aiming to be King?
She decided to brush that off for now and monitor him. For now, she had something more important to take care of.
"I thought we should have a word, and reach an understanding before joining the others," the queen said, and Damon looked like he wasn't ready to let go of that topic, but he dropped it for now.
"I was startled by the news I received. What exactly is going on in the palace?"
The queen still looked suspicious. Was he truly innocent of all these?
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