The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

"What?" Anne asked, looking down at her stomach.

"The baby you are carrying. That is Amber, right?"

"Amber?"

When she saw the confused look on Anne's face, she realized she really wasn't making any sense. Of course, Anne had no idea.

"It's a girl. Her name is Amber." Alicia said, looking at her stomach.

Anne looked at her stomach and caressed it. "A princess," Anne muttered with a smile before looking up at Alicia.

"How did you know?"

Seriously, how was she supposed to answer that? Because technically, she didn't meet Amber. She was inside her body.

"Why did you try so hard to summon me?" Alicia asked curiously, changing the topic swiftly.

"I told you I was surprised. Even though I am from a line of witches, I am not exactly a full-blood witch."

"What does that mean?"

"Witches are hated in my world," Anne told her.

"We are seen as the carriers of doom. My maternal lineage bears the mark of the strongest witches in existence. But that gift comes with a price. We either live secretly in peace or destroy anyone who tries to destroy us. We were tired of the endless bloodshed. So my mother placed a spell on me when I was born to stop me from practicing any spells. She wants me to live like other people. Marry someone nice, live like a lady and have a nice normal family." She said sadly.

"I saw you fighting at the market."

Anne nodded. "I didn't exactly live like a lady." She laughed. "But look at me a year later. I am married to a king and about to have a princess today."

Today? So Amber was born on a blood moon? Was that why the switch happened on the same day?

"How were you able to practice spells then?" Alicia asked her.

"It was after meeting you a year ago. I had to try everything I could to meet you again to know who you truly are," She smiled. "I am happy to know I have a descendant that looks exactly like me and survived until the year two thousand and twenty. I wish I could see what the world looked like then."

Alicia felt something was wrong, and when she looked down at her hands, she noticed she was glitching like she was about to disappear.

"Don't go yet!" Anne cried desperately, and the glitching stopped for a moment.

"Something strange happened on a blood moon 19 years from now," Alicia said, deciding to be honest since she wasn't sure when she would disappear.

When Anne looked curious, she explained, "I... found myself in Amber's body. I don't know how it happened. But she seemed to have been in serious trouble and drowned. Then I woke up in her body in the year 1503."

Anne touched her stomach protectively as she asked in a terse voice, "Where... w-was I?"

Alicia looked guilty as she said, "You... were not around."

"Dead?"

"Yes. I'm sorry," Alicia said softly, not knowing how to tell her that she had been sentenced to death by her own husband.

She smiled sadly. "I guess things are going to be difficult for me. But I'm glad I know that now."

Alicia felt herself glitch again.

"I will do all I can to protect her and make sure she lives a long life," Anne said while caressing her belly again. "Thank you for telling me."

"Why don't you try to protect yourself too? You can run away with her now." Alicia said in concern.

Anne shook her head. "One thing I have learnt coming from a line of witches is that no matter how far you run, your fate will catch up with you. So I can only live my best life until then."

Alicia nodded slowly. That was true.

"You should be wary of your husband's concubine," Alicia warned, and Anne smiled at her.

"Do you know what she was like? Amber?"

Alicia noticed how her face always lit up whenever she talked about the baby that was yet to be born.

"She was quiet. She was a good fighter like you. And had friends who loved her," she said, thinking about Harvey.

"She also had a maid. Her name is Paulina. You saved her from being sold as a slave. She is very loyal to Amber."

"I did?" Anne asked, smiling. "I guess I will look out for Paulina and raise her well to thank her for looking after my baby in the future."

Alicia smiled as everything occurred to her. So this was how it happened? No wonder Paulina adored Queen Anne. Anne must have treated her really well since she knew Paulina was going to be an important person in her daughter's future.

"I will try to live my best life and also do everything to protect my baby so I don't have any regrets when I die. Even if it means learning spells."

She said this with a happy smile before going closer to Alicia. She held Alicia's hand and smiled at her.

Alicia glitched again and found herself fleeting away.

Alicia wanted to ask if she knew anything about how Amber would come back after the swap but she felt herself already leaving the dimension, so she yelled, "You don't have to worry too much about Amber. She was able to marry a very handsome prince from the Moon Kingdom."

"What? Moon... Kingdom?!" Anne yelled, but that was the last thing Alicia heard before everything went black for her.

~~~~

Alicia groaned in pain as she regained consciousness. She could hear a voice talking to her and crying, but she couldn't make out what the person was saying. It felt like she was sleeping on a hard surface, and it made her entire body ache all over as she tried to open her eyes.

However, when she opened her eyes, she was met with darkness and only a dim fire torch that enabled her to see only a little.

She saw a swollen face with bruises and dirt hovering above hers and could hear the person crying and asking her if she was okay.

"P-Paulina?" Alicia asked in a hoarse voice and was even shocked at how dry her voice was. Paulina helped her sit up and hugged her tightly while crying.

Alicia looked around her in confusion. The place was dark, smelly, scary, and... locked?

She could hear loud cries and wails all around her. She had been here before with Harold but she had been outside the cell then.

What was happening? Was she still dreaming? Why were they locked in this scary dungeon?

"I'm... so gg-lad you... are a-awake. I... w-was so scared you wouldn't come back," Paulina cried, and Alicia frowned.

"What... is... h-happening? How... long have... we been here?" Alicia struggled to speak.

"F-for the past... two days." Paulina cried.