The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

Susan knew that she was taking a big risk. With what had recently happened in the palace, the security was tightened and everyone was being careful so they wouldn't be suspected of anything. But she couldn't just stay back. Time is of the essence currently. She was certain that from tomorrow, Princess Amber would face interrogation, and seeing how she didn't know anything was not going to help her out of this at all. She had to find something before her parents forced them out of here. And during the day, she wouldn't be able to do whatever she wanted.

She made sure to spray the scent mask Williams had made for her a year ago to help her with her sneaking and changed into dull-coloured clothes before sneaking out of her room. Her initial plan had been to go to Tyra's chamber, but she changed her mind and took the opposite direction to the last place she was supposed to be, a bag of snacks in her hand.

She successfully got to the hallway of Harold's chamber but became nervous when she stood in front of the door.

How was Alvin going to react if he saw her there? She wondered. Realizing she didn't have enough time to ponder those things, she placed her hand on the doorknob and turned it. As soon as it opened a little, she felt the sharp tip of a blade on her throat, making her gasp.

The door opened fully, and Alvin's face came into view. He looked exhausted and angry. And despite seeing it was Susan, he didn't put down his sword.

She had made sure to wear a mask, so how did he know she was there?

The shock quickly wore off and she stepped back, then tried to peek inside, but Alvin blocked her view.

"What do you want?" He asked in an unpleasant tone that made her swallow nervously.

She didn't know what to say first, so she quickly raised the bag of snacks in her hand and offered it to him.

"I figured you haven't had anything to eat in days."

Alvin didn't bother to look at what he was being offered, but he looked even angrier now.

"Are you clowning?" He asked as he lowered his sword and she frowned.

"You expect me to accept that from... you?"

That 'you' in his statement meant a lot more than he implied, and she understood that. She was the queen's niece. And she was not ignorant of the fact that Alvin was probably suspecting the queen or even her family for this.

"You think I poisoned this?" She asked, almost sounding annoyed, but figured she didn't have the right to be angry. She would have been wary too if she were in his shoes.

"Go back!" He ordered and tried to lock the door, but she forced her way in and placed her hand there, confident he wouldn't slam the door on her hand.

The annoyance on his face increased.

"I know you do not trust me. I wouldn't trust me either if I were you. But do you really think I would poison you? I risked a lot to come here to talk to you. I could get caught by the night guards. The queen would be furious if she heard of this, and my parents would skin me alive. Do you want me to have a bite of the snacks first before you believe me?" She asked and thought about doing just that, but that also meant she would have to remove her hand from the door, and he was most likely going to slam the door against her face.

"The queen or your parents could have sent you here." He said pointedly, letting her know that he didn't trust her at all.

"Go back." He repeated. At the same time, the second bell rang, startling her.

"DO YOU THINK PRINCE HAROLD WOULD HAVE WANTED THIS?" She asked in annoyance.

"What do you know about what his highness would have wanted?" He asked angrily as he stepped out to meet her, towering over her.

She looked up at him and swallowed nervously again. He was very intimidating. Maybe all those years of being together with Harold had shaped him this way. If they all didn't know he was a Beta, everyone could have believed he was an Alpha considering his build and how serious he always looked.

She looked into his eyes boldly as she said, "Princess Amber is going to die."

His frown deepened.

"And I'm sure your dear master is going to be so pleased when he wakes up and realizes you left her there all alone just because you wanted to protect him." She said it with sarcasm laced with anger.

"She is awake. She doesn't remember anything that happened that night. And I'm sure you do not believe that Princess Amber actually did all of that."

"So you are telling me to leave His Highness unattended?"

"If you are so worried, Williams can look after him. Williams also knows a lot about herbs—"

"Can you even listen to yourself?" He asked, almost laughing at how absurd she sounded.

"I know you are suspicious of everything and everyone right now!" She yelled in frustration before remembering she was supposed to be quiet.

"But Princess Amber needs your help. And staying by the Prince's side every second is not going to help her!" She cried out in a hushed voice.

"We need to put our heads together and think of something. You should know some of the king's trusted guards. You can put them in charge of looking after the Prince. And..."

She dipped a hand inside the bag of snacks and took one before biting it and painfully swallowed it without chewing it much.

"I... d-didn't poison it." She said, trying to catch her breath.

Alvin looked at her suspiciously before turning his face to the hallway.

"Return to your chamber. It is unsafe." He said in a calm voice this time before he returned to the room and closed the door behind him, leaving behind a frustrated Susan.

She had never met someone with such intense trust issues before. But she couldn't blame him. Harold was shot with three silver arrows coated with wolfsbane. His wife was accused of murder, his sister was hurt and his father was ill. He had every reason to be suspicious of everyone. Especially someone related to the queen like her.

She was about to turn and walk away when the door opened. She looked at Alvin, her eyes gleaming with hope, while he continued to stare at her suspiciously.

It wasn't like he didn't want to do anything. He was worried, scared and confused. He had never felt this way in his entire life before. He also knew that Prince Harold was going to kill him if he woke up and found out what had happened to his wife. But what could he do? He was loyal to Harold and had to make sure he was safe. But ensuring Harold was safe meant ignoring his wife, who was in the dungeon. If anything happened to her, he didn't want to imagine what was going to happen. But then, he was very worried about leaving his friend, even for a second.

"Let me know whatever you find." He said to her. "And if... you are trying to deceive me..." His eyes turned dark as he said, "I will make you watch me skin your brother alive before I do the same to you and the rest of your family. You know I'm not joking, right?"

Susan blinked at him and opened her mouth in shock. Of course, she wasn't planning to deceive him, but why did he have to sound so evil and threaten her like that?

"I... know." She nodded slowly and handed the bag to him again, but he eyed her unpleasantly before shutting the door in her face for the second time.

Susan scoffed in disbelief. But when she heard the last bell ring, she realized it wasn't the time to get annoyed. It was time to sneak back to her chamber since Tyra's chamber was farther away from here. She was just going to pay Tyra a visit first thing in the morning.

Her heart was in her throat by the time she was finally able to sneak back into her chamber successfully. Several times, she thought she was going to get caught but was fortunate enough to escape all of them. She had just gotten to the point where she was about to breathe freely since she had done this successfully, but a presence in her room startled her. She almost screamed, but the person was fast and used a hand to cover her mouth from behind.

"It's me." The person said quietly.

Susan's eyes widened, and as the hand left her mouth, she slowly turned around and saw Harvey standing there, staring at her.