While Alvin rode his horse ahead of them, Harvey followed behind them to watch their backs, while Harold rode beside Alicia's side of the carriage so he could keep his eyes on her. Lance and Williams rode their horses at the other end quietly.
At first, no one was talking. Despite Luciana's and Susan's initial excitement to join them, they fell silent immediately the carriage left the palace.
Alicia herself had been too lost in her thoughts to bother with a conversation. Different thoughts were going through her mind at the same time.
Even though no one was talking about it or asking her about what had happened, Alicia could tell that they were all curious to hear her own side of the story, and just maybe they were holding back from asking because of Harold's presence.
She really wished she had the answers. Although she knew now without a doubt that she didn't do it, since she couldn't remember what happened or who did it, she still couldn't explain herself to them. However, she was grateful that they were still on her side.
Still, she wanted to know what Tyra had said or if the killer had been found, or if she was still the major suspect, but she didn't know how to ask them that question. Would Harold have been able to take her out of the palace this way if she was still a suspect? Would they all have been here with her too? She wondered.
Another thing that she found strange was the fast healing. Alicia looked down at her hands, which had been full of bruises before now. She knew she was supposed to be in a really terrible physical state following all that happened, but she wasn't, and neither was Paulina.
The first time she woke up, she thought it was a dream because she had been expecting to see so many wounds and bruises on her body from the torture. Especially the burn wounds, but had been surprised not to find any, and even the burn under her feet seemed to have healed up. She only felt a little discomfort, but she was certain she could move about freely.
She still couldn't understand the kind of medicine they used in the kingdom or how it worked, but whatever it was, she was grateful for it, or else she and Paulina would have been in severe pain by now.
She was also glad that Harold had healed completely from his wound too and could be by her side, she thought as her gaze moved outside the carriage and settled on Harold, who was riding beside her and occasionally looking at her.
When he turned again and found her staring at him, he sent her a small smile, which she returned before he returned his gaze to the road ahead of him.
"The carriage is too quiet," Susan complained with a bored yawn, making Alicia return her attention to them.
Soon, Susan began to tell them stories about her hometown and some of her funny experiences growing up, and how she often sneaked out of the house and almost always ended up in trouble.
As Susan spoke, Luciana laughed and often interrupted to ask questions or comment on something while they laughed together.
Their endless conversation seemed to make Alicia relax a bit, and her feelings of anxiety slowly vanished. They also had snacks inside the carriage that they munched on as they spoke.
The guys who were riding on their horses remained silent, and the only people talking ceaselessly were Susan and Luciana inside the carriage.
Since they were not so quiet, everyone of them could hear their conversation, and Alvin, who was riding ahead of them, tried not to shake his head as he listened to Susan's unladylike stories about herself.
Alicia remained quiet as she listened to them, but she smiled or giggled occasionally whenever she heard something funny. However, she soon joined in the conversation. All it took to make her speak was Luciana's curiosity about her outfit.
The carriage had become quiet again for some seconds, and as Luciana looked at Alicia's outfit, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she clapped excitedly as though she had just discovered a huge secret, making Susan look at her with interest.
"What is it?" She asked, and Luciana leaned forward in her seat as though she wanted to share a secret with the ladies.
"You were the lady the king spoke about who wore men's clothing, right?" Luciana asked, remembering how Princess Amber had challenged Ivan and even told him he could wear a dress if he wanted.
Susan rolled her eyes as she said, "Is there any other lady in this kingdom who could have done that, if not her? Besides, didn't you see how she vehemently defended the lady?"
Alicia could not help but laugh out loudly. "From all you've said, I think you could have done it," Alicia said, and Susan bobbed her head.
"Yes, but only second to you. Now that I've seen how good this looks on you, I'm going to try to get one for myself too. I'm just not sure how I'm going to convince them to sell it to me. Williams might not agree to help me either," Susan said with a frown.
"That's right, dear sister, I won't help you do something like that," Williams said from his horse.
"I will gladly help you, my lady." Lance chipped in, even though he barely knew what they were talking about since he had just been dozing off on top of his horse.
Susan's lips formed a thin line as she tried to ignore him. It seemed like Lance was trying to make her lose her mind, so she was just going to ignore him.
"Prince Harold helped you get yours, didn't he?" Susan mouthed so that Harold wouldn't hear her, and Alicia gave her a nod and began to tell them how the people had reacted in the market when she wanted to get the clothes and how Harold had helped her.
Harold was glad to see how much better she seemed now compared to earlier as she involved herself in the conversation.
But he began to feel uncomfortable when Alicia narrated how he had threatened the vendor in a dramatic way, and the girls squealed while the guys outside rolled their eyes, except Harold, who looked slightly embarrassed but kept his gaze ahead.
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