The two just sat down like that for a while and looked at Alvin before Alicia said, "I have a lot to ask. But I don't know where to start."
"I am still the same person," Harold said, turning to look at her, but she didn't look back at him.
"Why... didn't you tell me?" She asked, still not looking at him.
"I wanted to. But... it's... I..." He paused, not sure what else to say.
"You wanted me to have your children first. Why?" She asked as she looked up at him, noting how guilty he looked.
She scoffed, "Do you know how unfair it would have been to have kids without knowing what they would have truly been?" She asked.
"Did you try to think about how I would feel seeing my children turn into wolves or lead lives that I have no idea about or how to help them?" The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she couldn't sit still anymore, so she rose, and Harold did the same.
"Do you realize how selfish it is of you to even think of taking that choice from me?"
Harold didn't try to interrupt. He just let her speak. At least she was talking about it.
"What if they suddenly transformed into werewolves and ran into the wild? How... how do I chase them and bring them back home?!"
"Alicia..." He called softly, seeing how worked up she was. "They won't do that. And... if they do, I can... catch them for you." He said with sincerity.
"THAT.... is not the point!" Alicia snapped at him in disbelief.
"I opened up to you about everything. I hid nothing from you! I've been honest with you from the start, but you withheld such important information. You had no right keeping this from me! Only God knows what happened the other night! To think you all knew...."
"I'm sorry...."
"Don't you dare shut me up with an apology!" Alicia hissed at him, trying hard to keep her voice down because of Paulina and Alvin.
"I'm not trying to shut you up. You can say all you want, but I also want you to understand that I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," Harold said apologetically as he watched Alicia walk over to the window to look outside.
Alicia took a deep breath as she stood there, trying to calm herself. After some time, she turned to look at him. "Why? Why did you choose to marry a human?"
"No matter how superior our kind is, we need humans around us. It was a sacred pledge made hundreds of years ago. We are not to interfere in humans' lives, and we are not to expose our kind to them for there to be a balance. You are... the first human in this palace. You and Paulina. The king wanted to protect you and also wanted to make me stay married. No one was supposed to tell you."
"Why? Because I will run away, and it would be difficult to find another bride willing to marry you?" she asked and he gave her a nod.
She doubted that. Benedicta and Beth seemed very interested in marrying him.
"Why... why me? Why Amber? Why not your own kind?" She asked curiously. "I know many people are scared of you, but there are also people willing to marry you. The king could have also given a royal decree or something."
"It's more than just that," Harold informed her. There was his curse. Where was he going to start in explaining that part to her?
He looked out the window and noticed it would be morning soon. "You need to rest. I promise you, we will talk about this tomorrow. But..."
"No! I want to talk about it tonight. Who knows what might happen tonight or even tomorrow?" she asked, and Harold sighed patiently.
"It will be morning soon. You need to rest, and there is someone I need to talk to briefly before we attend the assembly in the morning," he explained, and Alicia's heart skipped a beat when she heard that.
"You don't have to fear anything. All you have to do is deny everything you are accused of tomorrow," Harold said, and she looked at him in confusion.
How was that supposed to solve anything?
"They didn't believe me when I said I didn't kill Beth despite being tortured. What makes you think they will believe me this time?" Alicia asked, and Harold stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder as he held her gaze.
"No harm will come to you as long as I'm there. Trust me and do as I say. You are not a witch, and you know nothing about the accusations against you..."
"But... I already admitted it to Susan and the others," she cut in.
"It doesn't matter. They know better than to say anything else," Harold said as he dipped his hand into his pocket and took out two small bottles of potion, then handed them to her.
"What... is this?" She asked as she took them hesitantly.
"It's a potion. It's added to the water you and Paulina bathe with."
"What? Since when? Why?" She asked as she looked at the black liquid in the bottle.
"You have no smell, and Paulina has too much smell."
"What does that mean?" She asked in confusion.
"Everyone has a smell."
"And... I have none?"
He nodded. "The potion gives you a very faint smell to make people who pay attention to you think you have a smell but wear a mask to cover it. A bottle of this can last for many days before the effect wears off."
"And Paulina?"
"It helps to mask hers. Hers is stronger, so people might not know she is around them unless they pay proper attention." He said as he showed her hers and Paulina's.
"How long has this been going on?" She asked, already exhausted.
"Since you arrived at the palace."
"So it's possible that some guests who followed you from this kingdom to the wedding already knew I had no smell?" She asked curiously, and that made Harold pause.
Why had he never thought about it until now?
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