"Three days?" Alicia asked in alarm, sitting up to look outside the window again, and the princess bobbed her head.
'No! no! no! no!' She cried in her head.
Three fucking days? What was she supposed to be doing in a carriage for three days? She had always hated long trips. And by long trips, she meant flights that were more than 2 hours. But here she was, sitting in a carriage that was going to take them three days before arriving at the Sty kingdom or whatever they called the place?
Perhaps she could escape from there at night when everyone falls asleep? Maybe that was a better plan.
Harold watched her from the corners of his eyes, and he could tell that a lot of thoughts were going on in her head judging by the creases on her brows. He doubted that she ever stayed for a moment without thinking or saying anything.
He tried not to let her bother him for now. He had a much bigger problem which is was going to be facing soon. And he was sure that whoever had plotted to kill him a few days ago was going to try it again.
~~~~
By the third day of their journey, Alicia finally admitted to herself that running away was impossible. In the first two nights of their journey, she had tried to wait for everyone else to sleep off or for the carriage to come to a stop so that she could sneak out of the carriage, but it seemed like the people did not sleep. Not once did the carriage stop to take a break at nights.
Only a few times when either Princess Tyra or herself wanted to ease themselves or have a maid clean them up with a bowl of water and towel did they stop and it hadn't been for more than a few minutes.
They were served food inside the carriage which Alicia had no idea how they had prepared it.
The only thing off was Prince Harold. During the day, the damned Prince never seemed to shut his eyes. At nights, he was nowhere to be found. Whenever he returned at daylight, he looked completely exhausted and worn out but he still kept a straight face and rarely spoke to her.
She was glad Tyra had kept her company or else, she would have died of boredom before she returned to the future.
With a sullen look on her face she eyed the man who was seated across from her. It was strange how he was her husband yet he seemed very uninterested in her. The only time she knew that he was paying attention to her conversations with Princess Tyra were the few occasions he snorted or grunted at something she said.
"We are about to enter the city," Princess Tyra announced with excitement in her voice as she looked outside the window of the carriage, and Alicia quickly moved to the other window to look out.
Unlike the city they were coming from, there was no tall city wall or gate. People were moving about freely like they had no care in the world. There was an undertone of arrogance to it, almost as though they were daring other kingdoms to attack them. She noticed how the people knelt and bowed their head once they saw the carriages, and she turned to spare Prince Harold a glance.
His face held an expression of boredom as he looked ahead of him without bothering to see what was going on outside the window. Now that they were in the city, he became even more worried about what to do with the woman he had married. He was just going to entrust her in the care of Tyra, and stay as far away from her as possible.
He would also need to sleep in a separate bedroom from her, as he couldn't pass the night with her, and he wasn't ready to answer her questions or give her any explanation.
Once the carriage rolled to a stop in front of what Alicia suspected to be the palace, Harold jumped down, and without sparing either his bride or half-sister a glance, he walked away as if he had been dying to put some distance between himself and them.
Alicia turned to look at Princess Tyra, "Is he always like that? That... that obnoxious?" She asked unbelievably, wondering why he had bothered to marry her if he was going to act like she didn't even exist.
"Obnoxious?" Princess Tyra asked, clearly intrigued by the new word.
Why did she keep forgetting that these people were from a different era? Alicia closed her eyes, and let out a soft breath before opening them, "Yes. Is he always this annoying?" She asked, and Princess Tyra let out a soft giggle.
"I'm sure you have a lot to learn concerning your husband. Don't worry, I will be here to answer your questions. We should get down now," Princess Tyra suggested as she dropped her novel on the seat before graciously climbing out of the carriage with the help of a guard.
Curious to see where would be her home for the next couple of days until she was able to find her way back to the river, Alicia raised her gown, and jumped out of the carriage in the most ungracious manner without waiting for anyone to help her.
Once her feet hit the ground and she looked ahead of her, she noticed the man who had held a dagger to her throat earlier, glaring at her, and she scoffed at him before focusing on the gigantic brick building that stood proudly in front of her.
One look at the architectural design of the building and she could tell that the people of this kingdom were smarter and wealthier than the other kingdom. Well, if she had no choice and had to be stuck in this era, she would rather live in a place like this, than the other kingdom which was full of those stupid and spoilt brats called princesses.
"My Princess," Paulina whispered behind her, reminding her of her presence, and Alicia turned to look at her with a smile. She was glad that she at least had Paulina to turn to. Madam Grace would definitely not be missed. At least not by her.