Chapter 39 - BABY?

Much to everyone's surprise, Alicia didn't speak unless she was spoken to as they all ate dinner. She was still thinking about all that Paulina had said, and she wanted nothing more than to retire for the night so that she could read through Princess Amber's diary.

Harold, who was seated beside her, looked at Alicia from time to time, while he wondered what was going on in her head. Even though he liked that she was quiet, he doubted that her silence had anything to do with his threat or warning. He had observed her long enough to know that her mouth was only this silent when her brain was working. Something was on her mind, and right now he wished he could read her mind. 

'She is too quiet.' His wolf complained.

'Shouldn't you be happy?' Harold asked.

'It makes me worried when she is like that.'

Are you scared of her?' Harold asked, amused. 

'Why will I be scared of that... th-at—' His wolf stopped talking when it felt something suppressing it. 

'Do not call her unpleasant names. She is ours.' Harold warned darkly. 'And you should be scared of her. She stabbed us.' 

'Because you let her! You let down your guard around her and you know she is not alright in the head. Wait until I take over, I will bite her!' He huffed like a child throwing a tantrum before disappearing. 

Harold didn't know what he did to deserve this. Was it a good thing that his wolf awakened? He had to deal with this internal demon and also deal with the other one, in the form of his bride. His once peaceful life was suddenly noisy everywhere. Both inside his head and outside.

"Are you feeling unwell?" The king, who had been silent, suddenly asked, surprising everyone.

Harold thought the king was referring to him until he saw his father staring at his bride. A frown formed on his face. He didn't like the fact that his father was giving her his attention. He never did so with Princess Luciana or Tyra. 

Alicia, whose head was bowed as she ate distractedly, didn't realize that the king was talking to her until Harold nudged her side gently, "The king is talking to you," he whispered to her, and her head snapped up immediately.

"I beg your pardon?" She asked as she blinked at him in confusion.

"He asked if you felt unwell," The queen repeated, and Alicia's lips curled into a smile. This handsome king was fast becoming her favorite person in the palace.

"I'm well, your majesty," Alicia said with a bow.

"My king." Tyra, who was sitting across from her, mouthed to her. Thankfully, Alicia caught it this time without making a fool of herself like the last time. 

"And your chamber? Has it been decorated to your taste?" The king asked, and Alicia pushed back her seat as she rose.

"It has, your maj— I mean, my king. The Queen saw to it personally. Thank you for your boundless generosity," she said with a dramatic bow to the king, and then to the queen. 

Seeing how everyone was staring at her, she could tell that they were confused because she was acting out of character. Everyone knew that she was a little psycho, but today, she was too... okay. That was weird.

Well, this was the calm before the storm. She was just going to keep behaving herself this way, so she wouldn't get into trouble until she found out all she wanted to know and had a tangible plan. 

Seeing all the attention the new bride was receiving, Luciana got jealous. The king never showed much concern when it involved her, while the queen merely tolerated her. She could understand why the queen was nice to Princess Amber, but she could not understand why the king was fond of her. There was nothing special about her, and she was foul-mouthed. She decided to bury that evil feeling before someone took note of it and smiled at her. She knew she was not supposed to talk unless she was spoken to, but there were times she broke the rules, and today was one of those days.

"Why don't we have lunch together at the royal garden tomorrow? I'm sure a lot of things about the palace must still be confusing to you. I will show you around," she said to Alicia. 

On hearing that, Harold's gaze moved to his brother, since he knew that his brother's wife wouldn't have made such an offer had she not discussed it with him. What were they up to this time? He wondered as he met his brother's gaze, who smiled fondly at him, you would think they were best friends. 

Harold could only hope his bride was smart enough to see through these people. For some reason, he trusted her to be able to handle herself properly.

Alicia didn't need anyone to tell her that there was some sort of power tussle going on between both half-brothers, and from what she had observed since she got here, her groom seemed to keep to himself a lot. She had never watched any drama where half-brothers who happened to be princes got along. She had never expected to find herself in this situation.

Even though she didn't care much about Harold, she wasn't stupid enough to take the side of his enemies, especially after stabbing him and seeing that he was still sitting here like nothing happened. Did that have anything to do with the curse people talked about?

"What do you say?" Luciana asked, trying to conceal her anger at being kept waiting. 

"Thank you very much for your kind offer. But Princess Tyra has been showing me around. And I plan to have lunch with my husband tomorrow," Alicia said before turning to look at Harold with a blinding smile, "Right, baby?" She asked, making Harold nearly choke on his wine if he hadn't learnt enough self-control to act like nothing concerned him. 

'SHE JUST CALLED US A BABY!!!' His wolf yelled, deciding to show up again since he could not take that kind of disrespect.

Harold wasn't deaf. He had heard that.

Baby? Did she just refer to him as a BABY? Harold wondered, staring at her in disbelief as his hands tightened around the goblet he was slowly putting down. 

There was suddenly a pindrop silence in the room, with Susan's mouth hanging open and everyone looking at her with confusion and shock. 

How could a lady refer to her husband, who was her Lord, as a baby? A prince for that matter? And Prince Harold for the main matter!?

"B-Baby?" Luciana almost stammered. She forgot to get mad at her for turning her down because this was a more pressing issue. 

"You call your husband a baby?" Prince Ivan echoed, trying his best to not let out a loud guffaw. The look on Harold's face was priceless, and he would have given anything just to see it, but since the moon goddess was on his side, they let his bride show it to them for free of charge. 

"Is there a problem with that? It's just an endearment. Same way you call your spouse darling, honey, babe, sweety, sugar, etcetera," Alicia explained, and almost rolled her eyes when they all continued to look at her with a blank expression.

'HOW CAN SHE CALL US HONEY? THAT'S FROM BEES!!!' His wolf yelled once again, sounding disgusted. 

"People... call their spouses that in your kingdom?" The Queen asked, bewildered. 

Alicia nodded, even though it wasn't technically from Amber's kingdom. 

"A baby is an infant. How is addressing your lord as an infant or as a food like honey and sugar, an endearment?" Susan's twin, William, asked, genuinely curious. 

"My lord?" Alicia asked, surprised, while pointing at Harold beside her. 

Many heads around the table bobbed up and down to answer her questions. Alicia turned to look at Harold, who had his eyes closed and his fist clenched. She scoffed.

"Is he Jesus Christ or something?" She muttered to herself in disbelief. 

Why did she even bother with these ancient and outdated people?

"Nevermind. Let's just eat." she said with a small smile as she returned her attention to her food. 

That even surprised them even more, because she sounded like she had the right to tell them when to eat and when to stop eating. 

The King looked at her with a gleam of amusement in his eyes but said nothing as he pushed away from the table and stood up. "Let's have lunch together one of these days when you're not having lunch with your... baby," he said with a barely noticeable smile, much to the surprise of everyone, before walking away with his wife following closely.

Once both the King and Queen had left, Harold looked at her. If looks could kill, she would have died on the spot. "Let's speak in private," he said as he stood up, expecting her to follow suit.

"But I'm not done eating yet," she protested. 

"You. Are. Done." he said, jerking his head to the side for her to stand up.

Grumbling, Alicia stood up and followed him.