The queen sat on her bed, her hair a mess, and her eyes so red that fire could come out of them. She had never felt so helpless before. The sound of the door unlocking echoed in the room, and she looked up, hopeful for news of her release.
As Damon entered the room, he looked around the room, his face showing his irritation. Everything was either on the floor or broken. It was no argument about whom Prince Ivan had taken after.
From the first look on his face when he entered, she knew immediately that he had no good news for her. But she didn't want to believe it.
"Damon, what is happening? Why am I still locked in here?" she asked as she stood up, desperation in her voice.
"I have not received any information regarding your release. The court is still considering the options," Damon replied, his voice calm and steady.
"What do you mean, 'considering the options'? I am the queen of this kingdom; I should not be treated like a common criminal!" she exclaimed, anger and frustration evident in her voice.
Damon sighed. "I understand your frustration, but you must understand that the situation is complicated. We need to ensure that justice is served and the truth is uncovered."
The queen's anger boiled over. "The truth? The truth is that I am innocent! I had nothing to do with that crime!" She paused and began to laugh in disbelief. "You all really want me to go crazy, don't you?"
"You left the palace before the banquet night. Where did you go to?" Damon asked her.
The queen's eyes twitched, but she quickly collected herself and scoffed. "Now, I have to explain where I go to? Harold always leaves the palace! Why don't you go and ask him where he always heads to?"
"You are the suspect now. That is why we have decided to bring Damian in for questioning."
"W-What? Why?" She asked in an apprehensive tone.
"Damian is your bodyguard, and he was with you when you left. To get to the bottom of this, we need to leave no stone unturned," Damon replied, trying to remain calm in the face of the queen's wrath.
"You better be on my side, Damon. If not..." the queen left the rest of her words unsaid, her voice low and menacing.
"I am not on anyone's side but the truth. I am merely carrying out my duties. I suggest you cooperate with the investigation, and hopefully, the truth will come to light," Damon replied, his voice firm.
The queen's rage was uncontainable; she started pacing the room. "I won't cooperate! I won't be made a fool of! I am the queen of this kingdom, and I demand to be treated with respect!" she screamed, her voice echoing in the small chamber.
She then picked up a broken piece of mirror that she had shattered earlier in her fit of anger and ran the sharp edge across her palm, drawing blood.
"Look what they have reduced me to!" she exclaimed, holding up her bleeding hand. "I am not just a suspect; I am a prisoner in my own kingdom!"
Damon watched in horror as the queen's behaviour became more and more erratic. He knew that he needed to get out of there as soon as possible before things escalated even further. What was wrong with all of them? The queen, Ivan, and even Tyra By chance, did they have a mental illness? Remembering Sir Zealot now, he realized this craziness had started a long time ago.
"If you want me to help, you have to tell me what you have been up to and where you went that day--"
"I WILL NOT TELL YOU ANYTHING!" She yelled, shoving him.
"Do not forget. If not for my father, you would be nothing more than a poor rat in the streets."
His eyes flashed dangerously.
"If you do not want to be in an even worse position in your life, you know what to do."
He gritted his teeth as he stared down at her, matching her glare.
"I will do my best to see what I can do to help you. In the meantime, I suggest you calm down and rest," he said, backing towards the door.
He quickly left the room, locking the door behind him. His anger was rising to the point where he felt like exploding.
But as if that encounter was not enough to rile him up, as soon as he turned the corner, he found someone there, already waiting for him.
******
Alicia was walking down the hallways back to her chamber that evening when she saw Prince Harold coming from the opposite side. As soon as his eyes landed on her, he paused, his head tilting to the side as he took in her new look. Alicia also stopped walking and mirrored him, also tilting her head to the side in amusement.
He always knew that she was a rebel, but this was far more than he could have ever imagined.
As he approached her, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. The way she looked, with her eyes lined and her hair cut, it was almost as if she were a different person.
"Princess?" he called, his voice hesitant. He stopped in front of her. "You look... different."
She raised an eyebrow and gave a wicked smile. "Do I?" she asked, her tone teasing.
Prince Harold cleared his throat, trying to shake off the feeling that something was off. "It was you?"
"Me what?" She asked curiously, but instead of answering, he asked, "Should I be wary? You look quite... scary."
Alicia could no longer suppress it and burst out laughing, the sound filling the hallway and putting Prince Harold at ease. "Oh, Milord," she said, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "You're always so serious. Don't worry, I won't hurt you."
Harold let out a chuckle when he heard that. "I'm glad to hear that," he said. "But, may I ask what brought on this sudden change in appearance?" He took her hand and twirled her around, looking at her in wonder.
When she faced him again, the smile on her face faded and her expression became serious. "I just needed a change," she said softly. "I was feeling trapped like I was living someone else's life. I needed to do something that was just for me." which was also true, literally.
Harold nodded, understanding her frustration. "I know what you mean," he said. "As royalty, we have certain duties and responsibilities that we must uphold. Dressing like this is... abnormal, especially within the palace walls--"
"I know--"
"But Queen Alicia dressing like this... is very not abnormal." He remarked, winking.
He said with a smile that made her grin.
"It's Alicia Queen."
"I don't see the difference, Princess."
He offered her his hand, and she took it, locking their fingers together as they began to head down to her chamber, their hands swinging in the middle and the entire palace unsettled. But that wasn't their business.
That night, Alicia lay in bed, and this time, Harold didn't need to sneak in later at night. He was beside her as she flipped through the pages of Amber's diary.
She had been hesitant to pick it up this night because of the dream she had last night. She assumed the diary had something to do with it. But as much as she hated the headache, she also wanted to learn more things, and even though Harold didn't like the idea, he did not object.
The moonlight filtering through the window cast a soft glow on the pages, illuminating the words written there. She couldn't help but feel a sense of fascination with the diary as if it held all the secrets of the world within its pages.
She had been trying to understand the words written in the diary for days now, but for some reason, they just didn't make sense. The more she read, the more confused she became. But tonight, as she was going through the pages, she came across a page and noticed it was thicker. She suspected some pages were stuck together and gently pulled them apart.
Surprisingly, she saw only two words written on it: "YEVRAH EVOL."
"What does this mean?" Alicia asked, turning to Harold for answers.
He shrugged. The words didn't make sense to him either.
Alicia frowned, deep in thought. She couldn't shake the feeling that the words were important, and she was determined to find out what they meant. She traced the letters with her finger, muttering the words under her breath.
Just then, Harold passed her a glass of drink to soothe her mind, and as she reached for it, her hand slipped and the drink spilled all over the page with the two mysterious words.
"Oh!" Alicia cried, quickly grabbing the diary and trying to clean the page. She tried to wipe away the liquid, but it had already soaked into the paper, smudging the already weak ink.
"Let me help," Harold offered apologetically and took the diary from her, flipping the page over.
The two suddenly paused when they saw the mirror image of the two words.
YEVRAH EVOL
Behind, it spelled: "LOVE, HARVEY."
Alicia's eyes grew wide with surprise as the realization dawned on her.
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