The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

By the time Alicia got to her chamber, Paulina was already waiting for her there. Alicia smiled at her, thinking that Paulina always took her duties too seriously.

"Good morning, milady," Paulina greeted with a smile of her own as she watched her mistress curiously. Two things were on her mind.

First, she had come early to check on her mistress after hearing the rumours of her fight with Prince Ivan the previous night. She had rushed down to her chamber before the bells were rung to see if she was fine, but after waiting until the first bell rang, and her mistress did not show up, she raced back to her quarters.

Secondly, seeing her return to her chamber just now confirmed that she did not spend the night in her chamber. Paulina had believed her mistress when she said she had chosen to spend the other night in Harold's chamber because her chamber had been ruined by that water incident, and she couldn't sleep in her bed in the state it had been, but seeing how she had returned to her husband's chamber again despite her chamber being okay, it had to mean that there was more to it. And maybe the rumours about them expecting a baby soon weren't far from the truth.

"I take it you are here to get me ready for breakfast as usual. Where are the others?" Alicia asked as she went to sit on her bed.

"Prince Harold said I should let you know that there won't be a general breakfast today since everyone is preparing for the banquet, which is starting tomorrow. I will get the others when you're ready," Paulina explained, and Alicia's brows pulled together in displeasure.

Because they were preparing for a banquet that would be happening the next day, they were supposed to stay hungry? What sort of fasting exercise was that? She hadn't even eaten well last night because of Ivan and Luciana's drama.

As if reading her mind, Paulina said, "Prince Harold also said the head chef has gotten the items you requested, and you have from now until before noon to go to the kitchen and fix whatever you want," Paulina added, surprising Alicia, who had forgotten that she was supposed to have gone to the kitchen the previous day to find out if the chef had gotten the items.

How could something as important as that have escaped her mind? Oh, yeah! She could remember how. She had been busy.

First Harold had kept her occupied in training after breakfast, and then she had gone to have lunch with the king from there, followed by her running into Ivan and that small drama, and then Alvin had revealed that she, who couldn't even hurt an animal, had murdered some human beings. Three men, for that matter. Not average, harmless men, but assassins, and with a sword and daggers. Who would think about food?

She had been too distraught to think of anything else, and then she had ended the day on an even more exciting note by jumping on Prince Ivan and snapping at the Queen. Yeah, yesterday had been a very eventful and busy day, so it was only natural that food would be the last thing on her mind.

To think that of all the things she had to worry about, such as possibly sharing Princess Amber's body with Queen Anne, Harold was mad at her over the number of men she had touched and allowed to 'touch' her. She shook her head in disbelief.

Something else occurred to Alicia, and she looked at Paulina, "Where did you meet Prince Harold so early in the morning?" She inquired, hoping this would explain where he always went.

"He sent Alvin," Paulina explained, and Alicia almost sighed. Of course, that was it. Harold wasn't exactly the type to want to meet with Paulina unless he wanted to scare her into telling him something he wanted to know. She would have to talk to Alvin and find out where Prince Harold always went to early in the morning.

She paused when another thought occurred to her. Seeing how he was going to be busy with welcoming the guests, and she didn't even know just how busy they were going to be with the whole banquet ceremony, was he going to be able to find time to groom her and also take her to Hellion?

"Can I go and call the others now?" Paulina asked, breaking into Alicia's thoughts, and she nodded.

"Wait," she called before Paulina could leave, and Paulina looked at her with curious eyes.

"How have you been? I know I've been distracted a lot lately, and we barely have enough time to talk anymore," Alicia said, and Paulina beamed a smile at her.

"I'm fine, milady," she said with a bow.

Looking at her, Alicia could tell that she was okay, at least physically. She didn't look as pale or thin as she had been some time ago. In fact, she had a glow about her.

"I hope nobody is bullying or harassing you?" Alicia asked, and Paulina blinked in confusion.

"Is anyone making things difficult for you? Like Beth?" Alicia asked, and Paulina shook her head.

She didn't know if it was because of her friendship with Williams or because of what Harold had done to Beth, but no one spoke rudely to her. They weren't particularly friendly, but they were not hostile either. And thus far, she had yet to run into Beth.

"I've not seen her," Paulina said, and Alicia nodded.

"Good. Just stay out of her way. And if, for any reason, she does something to you, make sure you report it to me, okay?" Alicia instructed.

"Yes, milady," Paulina said with a bow.

"What are your plans for today? Have you started the painting yet?" She asked curiously, wanting to know if Paulina could accompany her to the kitchen since she would need some extra pairs of hands if she were going to be quick with all she planned to do.

Paulina shook her head. She was supposed to add the finishing touches to Sir Williams' painting that morning, "Not yet, milady. But I will start today," Paulina assured her.

"So, can you join me in the kitchen?" She asked and watched as an emotion flickered in Paulina's eyes.

"Yes, milady," Paulina said, even though it meant she was going to have to cancel her plans with William.

"You have plans already, don't you?" Alicia asked knowingly, and Paulina looked away guiltily. Her loyalty was first to her mistress before Williams, so she felt guilty for feeling bad about cancelling her plans with Williams to serve her mistress.

"It doesn't matter, milady," Paulina assured her.

"What plans did you have?" Alicia asked, not wanting her to cancel her plans just for her sake. From the look she had seen in her eyes, she could tell that whatever plan she had was important to her.

"I... was supposed to complete a portrait painting of Sir Williams this morning," Paulina said, sounding apologetic about it, but Alicia smiled.

"It's fine. You can do that. Don't worry about me. I will have Tyra and Susan accompany me," Alicia assured her.

"No Milady, I will go with you," Paulina said, but Alicia shook her head dismissively.

"I don't want you to anymore. Just do what you have to do, Paulina. You're not my slave. You should have a will of your own. Now go and get the others. I have to hurry so I can finish up at the kitchen before noon," Alicia instructed as she went to stand in front of the mirror, and with a polite bow, Paulina left the room to do as she was told.

Alicia was grateful for whatever medicine it was that Harold had given her last night. She knew that ordinarily her body was supposed to be aching badly, especially her scalp, considering what that demon Ivan did to her, but thankfully she was feeling very healthy and energized.

As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she wondered just what these people here did for skincare aside from their normal bathing processes.

She was going to have to use some of those items in the kitchen to prepare a face mask for herself and the girls. How exciting it would be to finally put those do-it-yourself training to use here.

Wouldn't she be known in history as the first person to introduce natural skincare routines? She thought with a wide smile.

And maybe to win the hearts of some of those aristocrats whose approval she, no, not her. Whose approval Amber needed, she could prepare some lovely hors d'oeuvres with the items the chef had gotten her and have them serve it to welcome the guests. Or maybe she could even serve it to them herself as she introduced herself to them.

What better way to get into the heart of a man than through his stomach? If it worked on modern men, she was sure it would work even more on these chauvinistic men.