A fairy tale for big girls – 25. chapter

Lili woke again to a gentle caress. She stretched contentedly and did not resist the light kiss.

“Good morning,” Mark whispered tenderly.

“To you too,” she answered sleepily.

“Eat something. We’ll take a walk in the courtyard,” Mark ordered, watching the untouched breakfast as he unfastened the chain from her anklet.

“We can walk, but I’m not hungry,” she replied, sitting up. Mark gave her a displeased look and hesitated.

“I’ll eat after the walk,” Lili said, trying to soften her previous, too firm tone. Mark nodded only after a few more seconds. He waited while she dressed, and they went out without another word.

“Little one, I’ll have little time for you for the next few days,” he began once they had passed between the flowers and shrubs and left the curious ears of the guards behind.

“Why?”

“I have to rule for a little while,” he winked, earning a smile.

“All right,” she nodded, without the slightest hint of displeasure.

“And,” he continued reluctantly, “for a few days you’ll have to eat at the ladies’ table.”

He walked beside her as if nothing were wrong, but his voice betrayed that he himself disliked what he was saying.

“Why?”

“Um… Even though I’m king, I must follow certain rules. King Philip arrived this morning…”

Lost in his explanation, he did not notice Lili go rigid.

“It’s unacceptable for someone without noble blood to sit at the table with a king…”

Only then did he see that she was standing several steps behind him, staring at the ground without moving.

“Not even Martin may sit with us. You know such nonsense means nothing to me, but I must respect another ruler’s majesty,” he explained.

Lili lifted an absent gaze to him and slowly reached behind her neck to catch the hood of her light cloak and pull it over her head.

“I’m sorry,” Mark whispered apologetically.

“I’d rather eat in my room,” Lili said quietly, her voice flat.

“All right. As you wish,” came the immediate reply.

“I’d like to go back inside,” she asked, and immediately received another agreement without the slightest hesitation.

They both turned back at once.

“Did he say what he’s looking for?” Lili asked, trying to hide her quickened step.

“He claims nothing specific,” Mark shook his head. “Supposedly just something exceptional as a wedding gift for his future wife.”

Lili did not answer, only pulled the hood lower over her face as they neared the guards. Mark disliked her reaction in the least, and he felt guilty himself too. He decided not to deepen the heavy silence and talked on instead.

“Her Majesty Elizabeth II must be properly stupid if she is willing to marry that bastard. Though perhaps she doesn’t want it much herself. The wedding was announced almost a year ago. I’m curious how much trouble the neighboring rulers will have from the fact that, with that wedding, Philip’s realm and army will nearly double…”

He was simply trying to talk about whatever came to mind, because everyone nearby had been discussing for months what a big problem Philip’s marriage to the ruler of another country was. Through the hood he could not see Lili’s face and did not notice she was not listening. They were almost at the marble terrace when three armed men appeared there, clearly members of Philip’s guard by the colors on their armor. None of them reacted to their surroundings and were clearly only passing through, but the instant Lili saw them, she turned sharply and stood with her back to the men. She tried to avoid Mark’s startled look, but in the end she did look him in the eye.

He watched her hesitantly for a moment. Then realization drew a triumphant smile onto his face, and he lifted his chin.

“So you don’t mind that you can’t sit with me at the table. You only know someone might recognize you!”

Lili nervously lowered her gaze to the ground.

“Then talk,” Mark did not even try to hide his excitement, “which one was it, and what did you do to him?”

She did not answer.

“Oh, come now!” Mark called mockingly. “Do I really have to drag you before the assembled guard and wait to see who recognizes you?!”

Only then did Lili slowly lift her head and look at him with a stone still face. Mark smirked and waited. 

He was fully aware that Lili’s running had just ended, and joy took hold of him because in a moment he would finally know what he had wanted to know for so long. His gaze drank in the large brown eyes, full of defeat. In that moment he began to pity her and felt the need to reassure her.

“Don’t be afraid, little one. I won’t give you up. You’re mine,” he whispered and smiled encouragingly. “I don’t know what you did, but surely not a capital crime. You would have told me long ago, so I would turn against you and let you go. You’re not married. I’m the very man who would know,” he smiled. “So it’s just some foolishness that, at worst, gives me a reason to punish you. And I’ll gladly do that,” he finished with satisfaction, watching Lili’s cheeks turn red.

“Your Majesty!” King Philip’s delighted call suddenly rang out from the terrace.

Mark would have rolled his eyes in irritation at the unwelcome guest ruining an important little moment, if Lili’s reaction had not stopped him. She stiffened, went sharply pale, and her pupils widened. He was nearly certain she swayed. She stared rigidly at him for several long seconds without blinking. Then she suddenly put on a hard expression and clenched her teeth. She straightened her back and shoulders and, with her head held high, turned toward the approaching man. Mark hesitantly did the same a moment later, determined to get rid of the intruder as quickly as possible.

It took him a moment to realize the approaching repulsive smile was not meant for him, but for Lili.

“Elizabeth, my dear!” Philip called before he even reached Lili. A moment later he took her hand, and while he kissed it and released it again, Mark barely reacted, convinced Philip had made a mistake. Philip straightened and finished, “I am very glad to see you again!”

Lili lifted her head even higher and replied in a voice so distant and hard that nothing like it had ever sounded in this castle.

“We both know I won’t return that pleasure!”

Mark turned to stone.

Philip was not surprised by the answer and, undeterred, continued.

“I did not know you would choose this place for your pre wedding journey.”

The ominous, threatening tone of his voice left no doubt that his words were only theater. The only answer he received was the sharp click of Lili’s teeth, which he also ignored.

“I must leave you without my presence for a few moments longer, my dear, but surely we will see each other at dinner.” He added a farewell bow with a slimy smile, and when he straightened, Lili snapped,

“I wouldn’t count on it!”

He pierced her with a confident, malicious look and finally turned his attention to Mark.

“Your Majesty,” he greeted him with a bow of the head, which the shocked Mark barely managed to return.

Philip immediately turned and left quickly. Lili watched him go for a moment longer, then slowly turned back to Mark. He stared at her without the slightest movement as he slowly began to understand what he had just witnessed. Unable to react in any way, he walked around her and headed toward the castle. Only after a few steps, without turning, did he shout harshly,

“You will be at that dinner!”