The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

"But... we just need to know what is happening. Prince Ivan almost killed Williams! Shouldn't he be punished?" Susan said, trying to bait her father to tell them what exactly had happened, even though she knew it was impossible for a prince to be punished for hurting another person, especially when the person didn't die.

"Does that mean you should be punished for almost killing Prince Ivan too? Why were you reckless?"

"So I was supposed to let him go free after hurting Williams?" She asked back, sounding annoyed.

"Do not be rude to father," Williams said, touching her arm.

Sir Evan wanted to forbid them from leaving their chambers and getting involved in any of this, but he knew that doing so, would make them continue to get involved, even secretly. So it was best to be aware of all they were doing.

"I thought you said the maid was dead?" He asked, looking at the two.

"What maid?" Williams asked first.

"The maid that came in as a witness."

"Yes." He nodded.

"That was what we heard," Susan added, also nodding.

The older man scoffed. "She was brought in as a witness today. She claims it was the queen who ordered her to say it was Princess Amber, and now the queen is restricted to her quarters."

The twins looked at each other in confusion. They doubted that Alvin had lied to them about it. So what was happening? And how did the queen get involved?

"You see why you should not get involved?" He said to their two. "No matter how hard you try to fight for them, there may still be things you do not know about them or their actual plans for you. From now on, you two must stay out of it. You may not know when Prince Harold is lying to you and wants to use you. And Princess Amber... there are still a lot of things about her we are not yet sure of. Until we find our way out of this palace, I do not want either of you to get yourselves into trouble again."

Williams and Susan were not paying attention at this point as they pondered what they just heard and whether or not they were supposed to believe it.

They only slept for a few hours, and a big change like this has happened?

"So... Princess Amber is free?" Susan asked her father.

"For now."

'For now'. It echoed in Susan's head. It meant she could get real information about what had happened there from her.

"Where is your mother?" Sir Evan suddenly asked as he looked around as though she was hiding somewhere in there.

"I don't know." Susan shook her head.

"When last did you see her?" He asked Williams.

"I saw her briefly this morning when I opened my eyes. I haven't seen her again."

Sir Evan felt wary all of a sudden. With everything going on in the palace, he wouldn't want his family moving around.

"I will find your mother." He said this before walking away.

Meanwhile, the said woman was currently with Harold, innocently taking the bait and falling into his trap.

When Harold planned on talking to Victoria, he had expected to only know a thing or two about the potions that seemed to be freely roaming the palace. However, he hadn't expected to find out so many strange things that were surprisingly linked together. He wondered when and how all of these things had happened within the palace, and they knew nothing about them. Not even in the books or hearsay.

And there was probably only one explanation for that... the Moon Kingdom had a lot to hide. And it was the reason Lady Victoria was very uncomfortable as she spoke about it.

Witches ashes.

Was that meant in the literal sense?

"Ashes?" Harold echoed.

"Keep your voice down!" The woman scolded him before she remembered that it was actually Harold that she was talking to now, and when he raised a brow at her, her eyes widened, and she looked at him, a little flustered.

"I... mean you should not try to strain your voice." She said awkwardly and flashed him an even more awkward smile.

This was strange.

It seemed like since Alicia entered his life, everyone was beginning to treat him very differently. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Seeing how he wasn't saying anything but was just looking at her quietly in a way that made her skin crawl, she began to ramble, but in a whisper.

"I do not know everything in detail. But according to what the royal physician said back then, he... mentioned that it was only a medical myth he found in a book his father passed down to him."

"What happened to the witch?"

Harold's brow furrowed when he found himself whispering this time instead of talking as usual.

Okay, he hated this.

"I... think it happened just as I heard. They... they... burnt a witch alive until there was nothing but ashes left."

"And it worked?"

She nodded. "It was mixed with some strong potions that help relieve headaches."

Harold pushed back and pondered it. Just what did the Moon Kingdom get itself involved with?

"Does the others know?" He asked. "Is that why they tried to put Princess Amber to death on the mere speculation of her being a witch? Because of what Beta's nightmare caused between the King's sons?"

She shook her head. "Not even close."

She leaned closer, and her voice went even lower than it already was.

"You promised to protect my children, right?"

Was she trying to piss him off right now?

However, he tried not to break his sudden meek character and nodded. There seemed to be a lot of information that he could only get from this woman, who was willing to protect her children.

"And you won't tell anyone you heard this from me."

He nodded again.

Despite the assurance she had received from him, she was still nervous, as she explained quietly. "Since that incident, the Moon Kingdom has been in fear of retaliation from witches."