Unedited.
Alicia's brows creased with annoyance when she walked into her chamber and saw her wet mattress. Who was the mad person that had decided to do something like this? How long was it going to take before the mattress got dry? Now she didn't have a place to stay or rest during the day until nighttime, when she would go to Harold's chamber to pass the night. She reasoned irritably as she carried the chair from the dressing table and went to sit by her window, where she looked outside at the people coming and going.
Her heart skipped a beat when her thoughts drifted to her arrangement with Harold. After their agreement earlier, he had said that he didn't want anyone to know that she was sleeping in his chamber, not even Paulina or Tyra. He had suggested that she leave her chamber shortly after the sound of the third bell and return to her chamber very early in the morning before anyone would notice anything. The question that plagued her mind now was why?
Why didn't he want anyone to know about it? If, like she had assumed, he was doing it to quell some kind of rumors, then why didn't he want people to know that they were sharing his chamber? Or did he perhaps have other plans? What exactly did he want from her? Why was it so important to him that she sleeps in his chamber if no one was to know of it? Did she need to be wary of him? Alicia paused her lips as she tried to understand what Harold was up to.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a sniffle, and she quickly looked behind her. There was no one in the room with her, so where had the sound come from? Was it outside the door? She wondered as she listened to see if she would hear it again, but everywhere was silent.
Just as she returned her attention to the window, she heard the sniffle again, and this time she stood up and went to look outside the door. There was no one there. Her eyes darted across the room to where her bathroom was hidden behind a curtain, and she slowly approached it.
Once she got there, she pulled open the curtain carefully, and she was surprised to see Princess Luciana seated inside the dry tub crying.
"What is wrong?" Alicia asked as she quickly rushed inside and went to meet her.
Luciana said nothing but shook her head as she kept trying to stop the tears which were flowing down her cheeks.
"Did someone say something to you? Did anyone hurt you?" Alicia asked with a concerned frown as she patted Luciana's back to console her, but it seemed to only make her cry the more.
"Stop crying. Dry your tears and talk to me," Alicia pleaded as she used her hand to wipe Luciana's tears.
Once Luciana was able to calm herself, she looked into Alicia's face, "I'm sorry I came here. I didn't know anywhere else to go," Luciana said in a shaky voice, and Alicia's heart broke for her.
"You can always come here. My room will always be open to you," Alicia promised with a friendly smile. Although she had been suspicious of Luciana's intentions from the first time they had spoken to each other, she had taken a liking to the girl and was really concerned about her.
"Thank you," Luciana said as she tried to stand up, but Alicia put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Do you want to talk about why you were crying? Maybe I can help?" Alicia offered, and Luciana stared at her, wondering if it was a good idea to confide in her.
"You can talk to me. I promise whatever you say will stay between us," Alicia encouraged her.
Luciana drew in a deep breath, "I don't have any friends here, and the only person who is close to me in the palace is my husband. I just heard... I heard him and the Queen talking. He wants to marry another girl." Luciana cried.
************
Alvin had noticed during their usual practice that Prince Harold was in a good mood. It wasn't as if he was jumping with glee, but knowing him, Alvin could tell by the subtle changes in his mood that showed he was excited.
As much as he was curious, he had decided not to ask. But he could guess that it had something to do with his bride, especially after seeing the two of them enter his room together earlier. Did it mean that his plan had worked? He wondered to himself, feeling betrayed that Harold didn't tell him anything when he had been doing a lot of thinking on how to get them together.
After thinking about it for some time, he decided that he needed an explanation and was just about to go find Harold when someone appeared in front of him, taking him by surprise.
He was even more surprised when he saw that it was Susan. The two of them had never had any reason to chat with each other before now. So why was she here?
"Come with me," she said to him and turned to walk away without giving him the chance to say a word.
Alvin looked at her in confusion but didn't bother to move from where he stood. He didn't answer to anyone apart from Harold, except for the King and Queen because, of course, he could not say no whenever the royal couple summoned him, and so far, only the king had summoned him. So why should he answer this girl?
When Susan realized that he wasn't following her, she stopped and turned around to look at him. She hadn't thought that he was the type to be shy, considering how he looked so manly. So he was shy because she approached him first? Susan mused as she eyed him up and down with interest.
It seemed like he hadn't expected that his love interest would suddenly show up in front of him when he was used to looking at her from afar.
"You must not have expected me to ever talk to you directly, right?" She asked as she returned to where he stood.
"Yes, Milady." He answered honestly with a curt bow.
Susan was a little surprised that he answered honestly. She had thought he was going to deny it. Just how deep was his hidden affection for her?
Meanwhile, Alvin was annoyed at her for rudely stopping him without going straight to the point. But he tried to keep a polite front as he waited for her to say what she was here for. But when she didn't, he decided to get it done with and ask instead.
"Can I ask why you wanted to see me?"
'He still can't believe that I approached him,' Susan thought to herself and sighed while tucking some strands of hair behind her hair. Although he was a fine man. Unfortunately, this thing was not going to work.
"I'm sure you must be exhausted."
"From what?" He asked in confusion.
"The moving around. Spying on me." When she said that, she noticed how guilt flashed in his eyes before they turned normal. She was an expert at studying people, so nothing went past her.
So it was true indeed. He secretly loved her. Why did he have to punish himself like this? She looked at him pitifully.
Alvin, on the other hand, was a little surprised that she had caught on that he was keeping his eyes on her. It wasn't as if he hadn't noticed that she had noticed him. But pointing it out to him this way was unexpected.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding, Milady. I was not spying on you."
"Then you were looking at me? Watching me?" She asked.
Alvin looked around him consciously before he answered, "I was not either. You must be mistaken. I—"
"It's fine. I understand. You do not have to try to deny it. But all I can say is, it won't work out. Save yourself the heartbreak and heartache now. You are good-looking and very manly. I'm sure you will meet someone who is good for you."
"..." Alvin felt like he was missing something here. What was she talking about? What heartbreak? Meet someone good for him? Meet who? Was she talking about his friendship with Harold?
He just wanted to get away from her and go do something else, so he nodded and bowed.
Susan looked at his bowed head with pity. She felt kind of bad for being this blunt with him, but it was what needed to be done. She was an aristocrat and was born to end up with an aristocrat. Same with every other aristocrat in the world. It was something that no one could change. Ever.
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