"They are badly wounded," Susan said sadly as she and Williams applied ointments to the wounds on Alicia and Paulina.
"Focus on the bright side, they are alive. Their wounds will eventually heal," Williams said as he carefully treated the wounds on Paulina's feet, while Susan tended to Alicia.
"But not like ours. It's going to take a long time for them to heal." Susan said, still sounding sad.
"You were not the type to care for people this much," Williams said, despite the mood.
His sister was a rebel. She didn't act like other women, and so people saw her as abnormal. She didn't have any friends either, since most young ladies felt they were too refined to be friends with someone as wild as her. It was the reason their parents were worried about her and had kept her here to learn how to be a proper lady so she could eventually get married like her mates. So seeing her suddenly caring about someone other than him was unusual for Williams, but he could understand why she was that way around them.
"I don't want anything to happen to Princess Amber," Susan said in a quiet voice. "Especially when it is obvious that it is a set up. I want to see her come back to herself. The wild, noisy, abnormal bride of Prince Harold. I'd like to see that." She said with a nostalgic smile, as she remembered when everything was smooth. Taking classes together, eating together, spending the night together, sharing things about themselves, baking together, gossiping, and just being young ladies. Was it too much to hope they could return to those days?
She suddenly snapped out of it and said, "But I'm glad Princess Tyra is up now. I wonder if she has told them who is behind the attack," Susan said thoughtfully and looked down at Alicia when her eyes slowly fluttered open. Susan was about to excitedly badger her with questions about how she felt when she noticed Princess Amber was trying to speak.
"What?" Susan asked curiously and lowered her ears to Alicia's lips so she would hear what Alicia was saying.
"P-Paul-ina. Where... is she?" Alicia asked in a weak and raspy voice.
"She is fine. She is here," Susan said, and assisted Alicia as she tried to sit up to look at Paulina's unconscious form.
Tears of relief streamed down her cheeks. She had thought they would execute Paulina for real.
What happened? She wondered as she looked around William's painting room.
"What happened? How are we here? Have they found the person behind it?" Alicia asked, and Susan placed a hand on her arm to stop her.
"You should have some water first," Susan said as she brought the gourd of water to her lips.
Without resistance, Alicia gulped down every drop of water in the gourd and only dropped it after it was empty. She wanted more.
"Do you need more?" Susan asked, and she nodded.
Susan handed her another gourd, and she emptied it again, before looking at Susan with appreciative eyes. "Thank you."
"Tell me what happened. Why are we here? Are we free now?" She asked, even though she doubted that was the case. If they were free, she would be lying on her bed in her chamber, not on the floor in a painting room.
"Princess Tyra is awake now. You need to hurry up and eat before they come to take you away again," Susan said urgently, and Alicia's brows pulled together and her heart skipped as soon as she heard that.
Take them away? Did Princess Tyra say that she had done it? Had she really done that to them?
"Why... are they taking us... again?" Alicia asked fearfully.
Susan glanced at Williams, who had been silent the whole time. It was Williams who spoke this time.
"She just woke up, so we don't know anything yet. We brought you here immediately after the others left, and they don't know where you are. Eat quickly. You need strength," Williams said, and Alicia looked at both siblings with eyes filled with gratitude.
"Thank you for helping me. I am so sorry for whatever trouble this is going to cause you. I wish there was something I could do about it."
"Stop talking. We will be fine. What is the worst that could happen?" Susan asked.
Alicia was truly grateful to the twins. If it weren't for them, she probably would have been dead by now.
"Harold... how is he?" She asked.
"You almost died. You should be worried about yourself right now, not Prince Harold. Have you been able to remember what happened?" Susan asked as she placed a bowl of porridge in front of Alicia.
Alicia shook her head. Judging by what was happening and how Susan was not answering her question directly, she guessed Harold was still unconscious.
"Do you remember eating biscuits or giving any to Lance?" Susan asked, and Alicia's brows furrowed together as she tried to remember if something like that had happened.
"Lance?" She asked in confusion as she tried to remember who that was.
"Sir Gregory's son." Williams offered.
That gave her the memory of who that was. Even though it seemed like she had a memory of talking with Lance, she couldn't seem to access it.
She raised a hand to her head when it started aching once again and tears gathered in her eyes, "I can't remember anything," she cried, and Susan exchanged a look with Williams.
"It's fine. You shouldn't force yourself. Just eat and take this medicine. It would help with the headache. I'm sure you will be able to think better when it's gone." He said and pushed a little bottle in front of her.
"Did he say I gave him biscuits? Did something happen to him too?" she asked, looking at Williams this time.
Susan picked up the spoon and helped feed Alicia. They didn't have time to waste here, and it was very obvious that Alicia wouldn't be able to feed herself.
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