Paulina was startled to find Williams very close to her and even more surprised that he was asking her to eat with him.
"Uhm... t-thank you, Milord. B-But I'm not... hungry," Paulina stuttered. It wasn't even a second after she said that when her stomach rumbled in protest, disagreeing with her. She did not eat the previous day because, at first, she was too worried about her unconscious mistress, and after that, when she became hungry, she was too scared to go and ask the other servants for food, considering what had happened to Beth because of her mistress.
Paulina winced as she looked down in embarrassment. She immediately dropped her painting brush and used her hands to press down on her belly, as if stopping the embarrassing sound from coming out again.
"Look at me," he said quietly. As if hypnotized, she immediately raised her head and looked up at him.
"Let's eat," Williams said in amusement before he stood up and turned away from her.
Paulina remained there, not knowing what she was supposed to do. She wanted to run away but knew that wasn't an option right now. How could she eat with a man? And he wasn't just any man, but a member of the royal family. That would be like her courting death.
She was about to open her mouth to tell him she didn't want to, but a knock on the door interrupted her, making her jump in fear, wondering who was here this time. Williams wondered the same and went to check the door, thinking it was probably his sister. But to his surprise, it was Prince Harold's guard. He didn't know his name, but he had seen him several times with him before.
"Do you have a minute?" Alvin asked.
Williams's lips formed into a straight line before he nodded and turned to look at Paulina behind him.
"I probably won't be returning soon. Eat up and return to your quarters."
Paulina felt guilty for feeling slightly relieved when she heard that. He was leaving her with the refreshment. That was great news, right? But what if he was going to get into trouble and that was why they had asked for him? What if he was getting into trouble because of her since he had been letting her use the painting materials?
"Eat," he said, cocking his head at the tray behind her before he left the room with Alvin.
Alvin was able to catch a glimpse of Paulina on the floor before he led the way, leaving the room. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on between them, and it wasn't his business, but he just hoped they wouldn't cause any trouble, especially Williams.
"I am guessing the Prince changed his mind and wants me to help with the medicine, right?" William asked when they had walked a reasonable distance away from anyone's earshot.
"Yes," Alvin replied reluctantly, not sure what Harold was thinking. He had never asked anyone for help before. And most especially, not someone related to the Queen. Just how relevant was the Princess to him that he had to resort to this method?
"You don't have to look so wary. I'm not poisoning her. Everyone knows my mother makes the best herbs and medicines. It's only normal that I know how to make one or two, and I just happen to know the right one for my cousin's bride. At least, I believe it's the right one and it would make her well."
"I will be with you throughout," Alvin said, not willing to take any chances.
"Pfft! You sound like you'll know if I mix up the wrong herbs and create poison instead,"
"You will be tasting it first."
"You're not very smart, are you? I could take an antidote first or take it after. There are different kinds of poison. Never let your guard down," Williams lectured with his hands behind him like a scholar as he walked ahead.
Alvin gritted his teeth angrily as he watched his back. He didn't have a choice. He had to endure this. He only hoped he would be able to endure the long hours he was going to spend in William's presence while they went into the town and not kill him. He desperately hoped so.
*******
Alicia had travelled back in her dream to her own life, where she was Alicia Queen and not Princess Amber. Her scandals had been forgotten, and she was once again the nation's sweetheart. Of course, she didn't think it was a dream.
She assumed that her transmigration to the past was a nightmare, and now that she was back to her real life, she ate all the food she missed, drove around town in her favourite car, went to the spa, and got a very good body treatment.
She was back in her life and she was very happy here. Once in a while, her thoughts drifted to Paulina and Harold, wondering how they were both faring. But she didn't let that bother her as she figured that Amber would have returned and taken over from where she stopped.
Unfortunately for her, she didn't get to enjoy her real life because things suddenly changed and she found herself back in the middle-ages, but this time, she wasn't in the palace. She was in a strange place that looked like a marketplace. It also looked nothing like the market she had visited with Harold. As she wondered where she was and what she was suddenly doing there when a moment earlier she had been on her way to sign another endorsement deal, she heard a voice in her head yell, "RUN!"
Looking around in confusion, she caught sight of two bulky men with swords, pushing through the crowd as if searching for something or someone. One locked eyes with her and pointed at her while telling the other person, "There she is. Get her!"
Alicia didn't know who they were or why they wanted to catch her, but she knew it couldn't be good, so she began to run, berating herself for not doing so earlier. The men were on her heels, chasing after her with all their might. Her blood went cold when an arrow flew past her and got stuck on a wooden pillar in front of her.
She continued to run until she bumped into someone in front of her who drew out his sword and tried to strike her, but she was surprisingly fast and kicked him in the gut, sending him to the ground before she picked up the sword and stabbed him on the legs. When she felt like the others were getting closer, she left him there and ran away with his sword in hand. It wasn't until she got to the outskirts of the town that she realized she had nowhere else to go since she was faced with a wide river. She only hesitated for a second before she jumped in, burying herself inside. She remained there for a long time until she felt her life leaving her, but she couldn't go up because she could hear faint voices on the river bank. After what felt like hours, but in reality, was only a few minutes, she tried to swim back up but found out she couldn't no matter how hard she struggled. She panicked and continued to try. She grew up beside a river in a rural area, so she was a very good swimmer and could not understand why she was finding it difficult to go up.
"I can't die like this," she heard Amber's voice say in her head. "I won't die like this."
"Mother... save me," she cried.
Unfortunately, she could no longer hold her breath and realized it was too late for her. As life left her, she suddenly gasped loudly and opened her eyes, sitting up instantly.
She gasped for air for a while before she looked around, wondering where she was and the reason she was here.
Her face fell when she realized she was back here and all of that had been a dream. She was thinking about the first dream where she was back in her real life.
She looked around the empty room before standing up from the bed. She felt weak all over and felt like returning to bed, but she didn't. Looking out her window, she didn't know what day it was, but it was the break of dawn. Maybe around 6 a.m.
As she tried to make sense of the dream she had just had, she staggered towards the mirror and noticed a sheet of paper on the dressing table.
Curious, she picked it up and opened it. She could already tell it was a painting even before she opened the full thing and knew Paulina had kept it there.
She smiled warmly when she saw that it was a portrait of her holding a bow. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and the smile instantly vanished, her face turning pale. She quickly looked back at the painting, realizing that she had missed something vital. The person in the painting had her real face. It was Alicia Queen.
But right now, she had Princess Amber's face.
With wide eyes, she looked at the painting. "Who... is this person?" She asked no one in particular as she inspected the painting.
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