Chapter 71 - Sleeping

Once she was done drinking from the water gourd, she began to feel drowsy, and before she could fall, Alvin caught her once again and turned to look at Harold with a worried expression. 

"She fainted."

Harold looked at the water gourd and scratched the back of his neck. "She just fell asleep," he said as he approached them and took Alicia from him before carrying her in a bridal style. 

Knowing how troublesome and mischievous she could be, something told him that she had added something to the water. And he did not doubt that she had likely done it, so she would give it to him. He would need to be more careful with this one. She was smart and could be dangerous.

"Clean this up quickly," Harold said to Alvin, who immediately went to work. 

Instead of leaving immediately, Harold carried her under a tree and sat on a thick log of wood with Alicia still in his arms, sitting on his thigh with her head on his chest.

He looked at her face that had suddenly turned paler and could also notice the changes happening to her body. He didn't need anyone to tell him that she was going to be sick for real this time. 

Gently, so as not to wake her up, he brushed the strands of hair away from her face as he kept staring down at her. 

Alvin spared them a glance and was almost taken aback when he saw how Harold was looking at her with a soft, worried gaze. He had never seen such an expression on the prince's face before. While it made him a bit happy, he was also worried as it dawned on him that at this point, she was going to be the prince's weakness. Harold hadn't even fought the way he usually did. It seemed he was playing around with the assassins so she could get far away before he unleashed the beast in him, and he had also been keeping his eyes on her while he fought. He just hoped that nothing bad would happen. He also couldn't help thinking about how good Alicia was at fighting, so he cleared his throat and asked, "Did you know that she could do that?" while looking at Harold curiously.

Harold didn't say anything as he kept trying to figure out why Alicia had decided to come back to fight with him when she could easily have escaped. This bride of his was a tough nut to crack, but he had to admit that he was beginning to like her. She was very different from other ladies, and it made her very useful. 

'Hmm... she is not that bad. Just mannerless, talkative, stubborn, disrespectful, and many other things,' his wolf supplied as though Harold had asked for his opinion. 

Seeing how Harold didn't respond, Alvin deduced that he probably already knew about his bride's fighting skills. He had been aware of how she had stabbed Prince Harold in the chest but didn't think much of it, assuming she had only been able to do that because Harold let her. Who would have thought she was a warrior and was able to easily take down these trained assassins? That had to be one of the reasons Harold had been curious about her and interrogated Paulina. 

"Should I look into this? Although they are humans, I don't think they were simple bandits," Alvin said, referring to the piled-up bodies, but Harold shook his head. He was curious to know why they had sent human assassins after him and how they were able to mask their scents, but this was not the right time and place to think about this. It was getting darker and they had to leave. 

"Let it be. We should leave," he said to Alvin before standing up carefully so that he wouldn't disturb her sleep.

By the time they arrived at the palace, it was past dinner time, but Alicia was still unconscious. Some of the guards gathered around Harold once they arrived, but it was Alvin who came to stand beside the horse so that he could hold on to the unconscious Alicia while Harold got down.

The other guards wondered what could have happened to Alicia, but none of them could question Harold, nor question Alvin in the presence of Harold, so they just waited for his instructions. But it didn't stop many of them from thinking that he had probably done something to her outside the palace since it was no news that he didn't like her. Some of them had also seen how he had allowed her to mount Hellion. 

Once Harold got down, he carried Alicia from Alvin, and without saying a word, he took her inside, trusting that Alvin would take care of the horse and whatever else needed to be handled. 

As Harold headed for Alicia's chamber with her in his arms, most people stopped to stare in curiosity, wondering what was going on. Was she hurt? Did something happen? They wondered as they watched Harold from a discreet distance. Although his bride was a handful, she made the palace lively with all her antics and gave the maids something to gossip about. 

Tyra, who was walking down the hallway with Susan, stopped in her tracks when she saw Harold, and she quickly ran up to him and said, "What is wrong? Did something happen to her?" She asked with concern even as Susan joined them. 

"She is sleeping. Tired," Harold said as he continued walking, not wanting to divulge any information to anybody. 

Tyra exchanged a concerned look with Susan as Harold walked past them. "Maybe he knocked her out?" Susan asked speculatively.

"I'm not sure," Tyra said as he continued to watch Harold's back.

Once Harold got into Alicia's chamber, he gently placed her on the bed and sat down beside her. He knew that he would need to leave soon to prepare for the night, but somehow he wished he could look after her in her state. 

The door opened suddenly, and Paulina ran in, not caring about Harold. The moment she heard that her mistress was back, and she was unconscious, she left what she was doing and ran down to see her. She assumed that Alicia had probably been caught while trying to escape and that maybe Harold had hurt her. 

"My lady," Paulina cried loudly as she ran to the bedside, making Harold turn to look at her with displeasure.

"Keep the noise down. She is sleeping," he scolded, and Paulina stopped crying as she stood beside the bed, unable to get close to Alicia because Harold was still seated beside her. Paulina wanted to ask him what happened, but she couldn't. She wouldn't dare. 

Seeing that her servant was there to watch over her, Harold sighed as he stood up, "I don't think she will be up until tomorrow. Clean her up and help her wear something more comfortable before the first bell rings," Harold instructed before walking out of the chamber to his chamber to freshen up. The disgusting smell of human blood was all over him, making him uncomfortable. 

Immediately after Harold left the room, Paulina sat down on the bed beside Alicia and ran her hands over Alicia's body, searching for wounds or anything that might show that Harold had hurt her. When she found nothing, she sighed in relief before proceeding to undress her mistress, crying quietly. 

"Thank you for not leaving me, my lady," Paulina said with a sniffle as she went about taking care of Alicia. "I promise to always protect you. Even if it costs me my life." 

When Harold returned to his chamber, he found Alvin already waiting inside, who asked, "How is she?" Alvin asked in a concerned tone.

"She is fine," Harold said dismissively, not wanting to think or worry about it, "Where are the clothes?" He asked, referring to the commoners' clothes he and Alicia had worn at the marketplace.

"They are in there," Alvin said, pointing to Harold's closet.

"Good. Continue to keep an eye on her," Harold said as he walked over to the window to look outside. It was already getting dark, and he didn't have time to waste. He quickly freshened up and was already out of his chamber when the first bell rang. 

When he walked past Alicia's room, he stopped and looked at the door. For a long time, he simply stood there, staring at the door, even after the second curfew bell rang. He knew it was time for him to leave. It wouldn't be long before he would shift, but he decided to just check on her before leaving. He could just jump out of her window after checking on her. 

So that was what he did. He entered the darkroom but could make out her sleeping figure on the bed, all thanks to the moon, which was shining brightly tonight. 

He stood by the door for a while before he began to approach her bed.