Luciana had never been heartbroken in her entire life. To think that she had been on her way to meet her husband for comfort, only to be met with such heartbreak.
For four good years, they had been married, but could not get a child. Sometimes, she felt her husband was pissed at her for not being able to give them a child, but he still continued to show her love even when the king and the queen didn't.
He held a special place in her heart as her best friend and husband, but she was about to lose him as well.
The painful part was that he seemed to be considering the decision because, without a child, taking over the throne would be difficult.
The pain in her heart had brought her here to brood. She didn't even know why she thought about coming here first. Maybe because she assumed she wouldn't return here since it was left in a desolate state last night and she didn't even spend the night here.
She wasn't sure if telling her about this was a good idea, but she knew she would not be able to keep this within her. Still crying, she told her, while Alicia hugged her close and patted her back like a big sister.
Alicia listened patiently as Luciana poured out her heart to her. Alicia felt sorry for the princess and angry at the unfair manner in which women were treated.
How come everyone was quick to assume that the woman was responsible for their inability to have a child and not the prince? Why wasn't the woman also allowed to get another husband to see if she would conceive?
The most annoying part of it was that the Queen, who was a woman and should have been more understanding, was the one advising her son to get another wife.
Alicia was grateful for civilization and technology. She was glad that she wasn't from such an era and that now people were not only more knowledgeable about situations like this, but there was also a wide range of other methods for couples to try when having difficulty conceiving a child.
She was even more glad that women of her era wouldn't hesitate to walk away from their marriages if their husbands decided to so much as insult them by getting another wife, unless, of course, it was by mutual agreement.
"Don't cry, darling. Your husband isn't worth your tears, trust me. Everything will be fine," Alicia said as she patted Luciana's back.
She waited patiently until Luciana finally calmed down, and then she helped her clean her face.
Once Luciana stopped crying, she didn't know what else to do, so Alicia led her out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Alicia offered her the seat by the window while she stood there staring outside.
"You shouldn't blame yourself. There are several factors that could have made it difficult for you two to have a baby. You never know, your husband may be the problem." Alicia said, making Luciana stare at her like she had just said something blasphemous.
"H-How... can my husband be–"
"I know it may seem impossible for you to believe it. But that is the truth. Having a baby is the responsibility of the two parties involved. Why do you think you are the problem and not your husband?"
Luciana still looked confused by this new knowledge, so Alicia decided to let it go for now and not confuse her tired brain.
"You know, you can stop him from getting married to someone else if you want to," Alicia said, and Luciana looked at her doubtfully.
"I can't. As long as the queen is the one asking him to marry someone else, he will do it," Luciana said, knowing how much her husband fears and respects his mother. She was like his god.
Alicia sighed and shook her head. "Listen, you have a choice to either stop him from marrying someone else or stop yourself from being hurt by his actions."
"What can I do to stop being hurt by his actions?" Luciana asked hopefully and began to wonder why she seemed to trust her words when she was only newly married.
"Get a life outside your husband. Stop making your world revolve around him," Alicia advised, and Luciana frowned in confusion.
"How? What life?"
"Start doing things that are not centered on pleasing your husband, but yourself. Do those things you like, and go to places you please, but with the king's permission, of course. Learn to do new things," Alicia advised, but the frown didn't leave Luciana's face.
"What if I get thrown out of the palace? It would be shameful to return to my family," she said, and Alicia almost cried in frustration, but she reminded herself that this was probably one of her missions here; to emancipate these women from the mental and social bondage that had been imposed on them.
"I can assure you that you won't get thrown out. You will continue to play your wifely roles, but you will no longer treat your husband as if he is your Lord. It is left for him to try to figure out what changed and sit up, or lose your love and respect entirely. If he marries another woman, it will be his loss, not yours," Alicia assured her, and they both turned to the door when someone knocked.
"Princess Amber, are you in?" Susan asked softly, and Alicia glanced at Luciana to see if she was okay.
"Yes, you can come in," Alicia said when Luciana gave her a nod.
Susan walked into the chamber, and she was taken aback to see Luciana seated by the window. She didn't understand the newfound friendship between the two, but it also wasn't her business either.
"Have you seen Princess Tyra? I've been searching for her all over the palace," Susan asked from the doorway, but Alicia shook her head.
"No, I haven't. Is there a problem?" She asked, noting the slight worry in Susan's voice.
"I just finished talking to him," Susan said in a dull voice as she approached them.
"Him? Who?" Alicia asked in confusion.
"Alvin." Susan mouthed to Alicia so that Luciana, who had her back to her, wouldn't hear her.
"Oh!" Alicia exclaimed in surprise since she hadn't expected Susan to actually confront Alvin.
"What did you say to him? What did he say?" Alicia asked curiously, and Susan glanced at Luciana skeptically, wondering if she could speak freely in her presence without being summoned by the Queen later.
Susan entered the room and closed the door behind her before carrying the small table inside the room beside the window so she could sit on it.
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Susan looked at the table and up at Alicia's face in confusion. Luciana also looked at the two and looked at the table, confused too.
"Why are you two looking at me like that? Sit," Alicia said before offering the seat to Susan.
"On... a table?" Susan asked in confusion.
"Jeez! Can you all stop being too rigid?" She asked in frustration before sitting on it and tapping the last space for Susan to sit on.
Susan sat down and was considering telling Alicia about Alvin in the presence of Luciana when someone knocked on the door again.
"I think we're finally going to have a girls' time out," Alicia said in amusement, guessing it was Tyra as she went to open the door.
Surprisingly, it wasn't Tyra outside. A man stood in front of her while three maids were behind him, carrying trays of different delicacies, except for one maid who had a different tray with something else.
She looked confused as she stared at them.
"What is this for?" She asked in surprise. She hadn't asked for room service.
The four bowed at her before the man leading them spoke, "Prince Harold wanted us to serve you. We are not sure what you like, so we brought a variety. In addition," he turned to the maid with a different tray, who stepped forward with her head bowed.
The man took the note and the brush from the tray before looking at Alicia, who had just been taken by surprise.
"I need a list of the things you would like to eat, so we can get fresh ingredients for them outside the palace."
"Whose others?"
"Prince Harold's."
"Woah! I didn't know Prince Harold had this side to him." Susan said, pleasantly surprised as she appeared beside Alicia to look at the four people.
Luciana had also been listening in on the conversation too, so she stood up from her chair and went to the door, surprised to see this sight. She was even more surprised to see the head of the kitchen here in person.
"May... we?" The head chef asked hesitantly since they were all blocking the door.
"Oh, yeah. Thanks." Alicia said with a smile, feeling touched at the effort he was making for her.
They had all skipped breakfast this morning, so she was certain the girls would also be interested in eating.
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