Chapter 55 - New Plan. Again!
Chapter 55 – New Plan. Again!
Alicia stood up with the others when the king entered, and just like the previous morning, she was well behaved, making the others look at her as they wondered whether she was still ill.
"How do you feel today?" The Queen asked, watching Alicia with concern as she ate absentmindedly.
Lost in thought, Alicia had no idea that she was being spoken to until Harold nudged her side while keeping a straight face.
She turned to look at Harold, raising a questioning eyebrow, but turned to look at the queen when she repeated her question.
"How do you feel? If you were still sick, you shouldn't have come here. The servants could have served your breakfast in your chamber," the queen pointed out.
Alicia tried to organize her thoughts. She needed to find a good way to start before presenting her request to the King and Queen. Remembering the historical dramas she had spent her time binge-watching, she stood up, placed her hands in front of her and bowed to the Queen, saying, "Your grace is immeasurable, my Queen,"
The others at the table watched her in silence as they wondered what was happening.
"However, I didn't want to worry any of you and had to come here today. Besides, I missed being here."
Harold almost snorted at how she was sounding, but he kept a straight face, wondering what she was up to this time.
Meanwhile, Beth, who was keeping watch with other maids in a corner, could feel her blood boiling. If rage made people burst, she would have exploded already. How dare she lie to everyone so brazenly?
"Do not be silly. Sit down," the queen ordered softly, "Your health is important. You should rest."
Alicia sat down gracefully and forced out a smile. She was about to say something when Prince Ivan beat her to it and spoke first.
"You must miss your kingdom," he said, smiling.
She smiled sadly and nodded. She wished she could give this prince a big hug for making her job easier. "True. However, I belong to this kingdom now. This is my home and nothing is more important than being here with the rest of my family having breakfast," Alicia said as her eyes moved around the table.
Harold could not hide his smirk. He was surely going to award her the best actress and liar in town. She was simply exceptional.
Beth felt like if she didn't leave there, she was going to lose it and pull the princess by the hair, demanding for her to tell the truth and stop lying. She had never seen a two-faced witch who was so good at it before until now.
"But…" Alicia said, causing everyone to pay attention, especially Harold. He knew whatever she was going to say was the reason she had been behaving this way.
"It's too stuffy inside the palace,"
"Stuffy?" The Queen asked, confused.
"Yes, my Queen." She nodded while keeping a pitiful look on her face, saying, "I am used to strolling around and not being confined within a wall. Back in my kingdom, the members of the royal family are allowed to look around the city, join the citizens during festivals, and learn how they live and the kinds of foods they eat. We also participate in games outside the palace. It doesn't only refresh the mind and soul, but it strengthens the bond in the family and brings the royals closer to the people," she said passionately.
"Unfortunately, I haven't gotten the chance to do that since I came here. And my entire body still aches from the journey down here. At this rate… I fear I might break down in health again," she concluded with a dramatic sob.
Everyone around the table exchanged nervous looks, especially the queen, who knew how much the king hated the moon kingdom being compared to other kingdoms.
Aside from that, the royal family didn't leave the palace. They had people who gave them whatever information they needed about the citizens. And games? What sort of joke was that?
Everything finally made sense to Harold. That was her new plan to run away. Unfortunately, she was wishing for too much, because there was no way the King was going to let her leave the palace walls. It was too dangerous out there since most of the population were werewolves, and not only was she a girl, she was also a human, so how could the king permit her to—
"If that is the case… you can do it.," the King said, shocking everyone, especially Alicia, who hadn't expected him to easily buy her act or agree to it.
"Really?" She asked him with wide, surprised eyes. Was it usually this easy to fool these people?
"Yes. If it makes you feel better, you should do what you are used to. Go out and look around the city."
'NO! SHE IS GOING TO RUN AWAY!' Harold's wolf yelled, ringing warning bells in his head.
'I thought you didn't like her?' Harold reminded his wolf dryly.'
'That doesn't mean we should let her run away, does it?' his wold fired back.
'You are just a confused animal.'
Alicia tried very hard to hide the smile forming on her face, but it was proving difficult and she feared that it was going to give her away, but the next thing the king said made the blooming smile vanish immediately.
"Your husband will accompany you."
What? NO! There was no way she could let Harold go with her. He already knew too much about her, and she had no idea how he knew all that he knew. She turned to look at Harold, and shook her head, signalling to him to turn down the King's suggestion, but Harold simply stared back at her without saying a word.
Alicia turned to the king, "I don't want to disturb my darling husband. I'm sure he has a lot to do with his time," Alicia said with a smile.
"Don't be silly. Your husband has to show you around. Although I doubt he knows his way around," the queen said lightly. Happy to finally see a way to frustrate Harold by making sure he was stuck with his wife.
"Then I have to ensure she RETURN to the palace safely," Harold said, causing Alicia to frown.
"It is settled then. Prince Harold would accompany you," the King said, and the queen exchanged a look with Ivan.
"Can I go with them?" Tyra risked asking without looking directly at either the King or the Queen.
"We would also love to go with them," Susan said on behalf of her and her twin brother, and Alicia almost cried in frustration.
More people on the outing also means more people to run away from or hide from. It was going to be difficult enough to run away from Harold, but adding these busybody royals to it was going to be troublesome. She paused when something else occurred to her. Maybe it was best if she didn't go with just Harold. That way, he would have someone else to focus on and distract him, and she could run away while he wasn't watching. Either way, this was still better than nothing. She was going to find a way to make it work.
"It is not safe for you all to leave the palace at the same time. We should just allow Prince Harold to go out with his bride and have some nice time alone," the Queen suggested, looking from Susan to Tyra, whose face fell.
"Yes, I agree with her majesty. You should let the couple have some time to themselves. Who knows? This might be what they need to get along with each other," Ivan suggested with a smile.
The King nodded, "The two of you can go together," the king said.
'CAN YOU ALL JUST MAKE UP YOUR MIND ALREADY!?' Alicia screamed in her head but tried to keep a smile on her face as she rose from her seat and bowed to the King, "Thank you for your immeasurable kindness," she said, before turning to bow to the queen.
To everyone's surprise, Harold didn't hurry away immediately after the King left, as he usually did. Instead, he stayed put as he waited for Alicia to finish eating.
"What? You're not going?" Alicia asked when he just sat there doing nothing.
"I'm waiting for you. We should plan our little trip," Harold suggested, and Ivan, who was listening to them, smiled when he heard Harold's uninterested tone, as he stood up and excused himself from the table, and his wife followed him.
Tyra, Susan, and Williams, who were done with their meals, remained seated until Harold turned to them, "If you're done with your meal, you can leave." He ordered, and all three of them quickly stood up and left.
He turned towards Beth and the maids, and they all excused them too, leaving Alicia alone with him.
Alicia sighed as she dropped her cutlery, "Okay. I'm done. Why do you want to come with me? I'm sure you have better things to do with your time," Alicia asked curiously.
"It's good to know that you're no longer pretending to be ill. What are you planning to do now?" Harold asked as he watched her.
"I want to look around the city. Why?" Alicia asked with a sweet smile.
"Remember what I told you the other day?" Harold asked, and Alicia's brows pulled together.
"You've said a lot of things. Which of them are you talking about?"
"I may not have exposed your lies, but if you are caught running away, the penalty is death. So think twice before abusing the king's kindness.. It's an unforgivable sin."