Harold could understand how she felt. Maybe Alicia would wish to turn a blind eye and forgive them because it hadn't directly affected her, but she was a descendant. And she was living inside the body of one of the people it had directly affected.
As a little girl, Amber's life suddenly took a bad turn when her mother was publicly executed and she was sent out into isolation. Amber must have hated the people responsible for putting her entire maternal lineage in that condition. So what if she woke up one day and found out that she was not only married to, but surrounded by all of those people? — Lord Zealot's descendants, which include the queen, Sir Evan, Williams, Susan, Ivan, and Tyra. And also those that were indirectly related to him, including Luciana and Lady Victoria.
— The former king's descendants, which include King Eli and Harold, to whom she was married to.
— Sir Richard and his family, including Harvey, who had always been her friend.
— And the entire residents of the Moon Kingdom.
How would Amber handle something like this? It would definitely be tough for her.
Even though Harold wanted to focus on the future, even though he didn't want to care about all that now, he couldn't help it. He couldn't help how much he understood her.
He thought about the best thing to do for Alicia now. She needed a distraction from all of this. At least for tonight.
Thinking fast, he realized there was only one thing he could probably do for her now.
"Would you... like to see yourself? Would it make you happy?" He asked her hesitantly.
"I don't want to." She shook her head as soon as he asked. "That isn't me. It's Queen Anne. And I would just end up feeling terrible agai—"
"Not... the painting." He cut her off.
Alicia looked at him with her teary eyes, wondering what else he was talking about if it wasn't the painting.
Seeing the questioning look in her eyes, he gave her a reassuring smile before he locked their fingers together.
"Just trust me." He spoke quietly to her before leading her to her chamber.
Alicia followed quietly. She didn't even have the energy to ask him a question. She just wanted to trust him now. She looked at their locked fingers and tightened her hold on his hand.
Of course, she trusted him. And she hoped there was a way—or any kind of miracle—to help her get through this night sane.
As soon as they got to her chamber, he locked the door, and with his gentle hands on her shoulders, he turned her around to face him and reached to clean her tears with his hands.
Then he went to find the lantern and lit it, making the room brighter, before turning to look at Alicia, who was still standing.
Then he dipped his hand into his pant pocket and took something out.
Alicia's eyes followed every movement of his.
She looked at the clear liquid he held in a small bottle with confusion.
"It's a potion." He informed her as he also looked at it.
"What's it for?" She asked curiously. Her first guess was that it would help her sleep. But at this point, she was beginning to feel wary about potions.
"It's known to help reveal things that are hidden. For what they truly are." He explained before walking to her.
Once again, he took her hand and led her to the bed, making her sit down before he sat down beside her, the two facing each other.
"It can help you see yourself. The real you."
Her eyes slowly widened, and she looked at the potion in his hand before looking back at him.
Wasn't this what Paulina had talked about?
"How... is it possible?" She asked with a mixture of surprise and confusion.
Harold decided to be honest with her about this. He would respect whatever decision she came to. If she wanted to take it or not. But he had to make sure he relayed it exactly as Lady Victoria had explained it to him.
He remembered how Lady Victoria had explained it to him and said the same thing to her.
"When humans were at war with our kind, it was used to identify the werewolves hiding among them since humans cannot really tell."
She looked down at the bottle, obviously not getting it.
"It means that if my kind is made to drink the potion, they would appear in their true form against their will— their souls. Which is our wolf form for our kind."
"That sounds... like magic," Alicia whispered. She didn't think it was the kind of potion that normal people were able to make.
Harold had felt that way too. And when he voiced out that he didn't think humans could make something like that, Lady Victoria had answered, "Anything is possible in this world. As long as there are witches in existence."
"Did she make this herself?" Alicia asked curiously as she took the bottle from him and looked at it closely.
"Someone else did. But she completed the process." He answered.
She looked up and deeply into his eyes.
"How... did your kind know how to make things like this?" she asked curiously.
"If this was common here, I believe it would have been easier to identify witches by making them drink this. The noblemen would have suggested I take this too," she said thoughtfully.
Harold's brows pulled together as he pondered it. He hadn't thought about it like this.
"By chance..." she stopped talking and shook her head. She didn't want to suspect Lady Victoria's family of anything.
Maybe they were just too good. But if that wasn't the case, maybe their medical reputation was a lot more than it seemed on the surface.
Even though she wasn't saying anything, Harold seemed to be seriously thinking about it too. And now he was beginning to wonder about the identity of the physician who lived on the outskirts of town.
"We are probably just overthinking it." She said, sighing.
"I think I'm just very sensitive now after all I heard." Alicia tried to assure him.
He was already building a good relationship with Lady Victoria, and she seemed to be an honest person. She didn't want to make him put his guard up again.
"It's okay if you do not want to take it." He said and tried to take it from her, but she moved it out of his reach.
"We should... at least try." She said and gave him a tiny smile.
She could see how hesitant he was now. Besides, they weren't sure what exactly was going to happen if she took it and if it was truly going to reveal her real self or something else.
Now that Alicia was showing interest in it, Lady Victoria's words echoed in his ears: "I do not know who you are going to use this on, but you have to think about it very carefully. You don't want to bring out something you didn't plan for."
"How long does the effect last?" Alicia asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Only a few hours. You... can only take it once." He said to her, remembering all of Lady Victoria's instructions, or rather warnings.
"Thank you," Alicia said honestly and reached out to touch his face gently. "For thinking about this." She whispered.
"And you do not need to worry too much. I do not think I can die easily. It's now my decision to try this."
"The worst that might happen is that I may be able to see more of Anne and Amber's lives. I believe everything that happens here is just like the fulfilment of the reason why I was brought here in the first place."
He sighed heavily and touched her hand, which was on his face before he looked down and nodded.
"Will I seem selfish if I tell you to take a break?" He muttered as he looked deeply into her eyes.
He too looked exhausted.
"You do not deserve this. It feels like an endless punishment for you. You need a break. Please." He spoke softly, making tears cloud Alicia's eyes.
She sniffled and cleaned her eyes before smiling at him.
"Would you... like to see me?"
"Can I?" He asked meekly, and she let out a laugh.
"Would I do this if you weren't going to see me?" She asked in an amused tone before she stood up.
"Wait here." She whispered to him before she headed toward the bathroom.
When she got there, she shut her eyes tightly and prayed to whatever deity had sent her here.
Just for tonight, they had to help her and make this work.
She dipped herself into the water and just stayed there for a while with her eyes still shut in prayer.
Just for tonight.
Please.
Harold waited in the room. He was impatient but tried to stay still as he prayed in his heart to whatever god or goddess had sent Alicia to him for the potion to work since he wasn't exactly sure how it would work in her case. But he wasn't this anxious for himself. It was for her. If she could only be herself for the next few hours. Not for anyone, not even for himself. But for herself. He wanted her to stop thinking about anything else and remember that she was still existing and focus on the present.
Whatever future they had, he was going to be there to help her sort through it. But for now... just for tonight. For her sake.
He felt the curtain shift after a long time. It felt like time stood still at that moment as he turned his attention in that direction at once.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om