A Fairy Tale for Big Girls – 26. chapter

Mark dropped into the chair across from his friend and, staring him straight in the eyes, announced dryly,

“I know now who Lili is.”

Martin raised an eyebrow and waited.

“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” Mark delivered theatrically, then calmly waited for Martin to grasp what he had said.

Martin stared at him for quite a while without reacting, until he finally blurted out,

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Philip recognized her,” Mark replied with a shrug.

Martin stared at him in disbelief, then after a moment lowered his gaze and thought it through.

“Well,” he began slowly, “it is actually possible. We have never seen Queen Elizabeth.”

Mark knew that too.

“In the end, she won’t be mine after all,” he whispered. “I cannot keep the ruler of a free country here against her will. That would basically be a declaration of war. And she herself does not wish to stay. She will leave with Philip.”

“Well… it will be interesting to see what he does when he finds out you fucked his bride.”

Mark gave his friend a stern look, but then slowly shook his head.

“Why didn’t she tell me?”

“I don’t know,” Martin shrugged. “Perhaps she was afraid you would do exactly what you started doing anyway. That you would force her to marry you.”

“I would never have dared touch her if I had known she was a queen!”

“But she could not have known that.”

“…Well, I’m still curious about tonight’s dinner. The only difference is that Lili will be sitting at my table after all.”

“Elizabeth,” Martin corrected him, fully aware he was poking a hornet’s nest.

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Martin managed to inform all the important residents of the castle of Lili’s true social standing before dinner. So when she appeared on the stairs, a hush swept through the room, with whispers here and there, but at least there were no cries.

Everyone, including Mark and Philip, stood as a sign of respect for Her Majesty. Mark did not miss the chance to study her as she walked to the table. She was different. He was used to her straight shoulders and elegant, restrained movements. The far more lavish dress and hairstyle and the expensive jewels did not quite seem to belong to her, but they suited her. She was beautiful. But lifeless. Like a statue carved from marble. Just as pale, just as devoid of any emotion on her face. As if her heart, too, were made of that cold stone. She was suddenly a completely different person from the one Mark knew. In that moment, she was not his little girl, but a noble, revered, and heartless queen.

It was not hard to understand that Philip must not know what had been happening in the castle until now. So when Lili reached the table, Mark bowed to her and greeted her exactly according to the rules of court. Philip did the same. She did not grant either of them eye contact and sat down. A moment later, everyone else did the same, and they began to eat.

Mark did not even try to listen to Philip’s empty talk. He focused on hiding his stolen glances at Lili instead.

I would never have let you become this cold, the thought crossed his mind. He turned his gaze away in displeasure and gave it to Philip instead.

“How long do you plan to stay?” he asked, trying to make casual conversation.

“Certainly not long. A day, two at most,” Philip replied. “Isn’t that so, my dear?” he turned to Lili slickly.

She did not even look at him. She cut the food on her plate into small pieces without putting any of them into her mouth and replied dryly,

“Indeed.”

Mark shifted in displeasure and tried not to frown. Inwardly, he fought the temptation to remind Lili not to play with her food.

“Why?” he addressed the slimy man across from him instead. “I would be glad if you stayed,” he said, trying to buy time, although he had no idea how he wanted to use it.

“Everything has long been prepared for the wedding,” came the answer, and it brought a pressing sense of helplessness. He looked at Lili, but with a stony face she continued dissecting the contents of her plate.

“Is the food not to your taste?” Mark asked before he could stop himself, forcing Lili to look at him.

“I am not hungry,” she replied politely, but with her nose lifted imperiously. She made it fully and confidently clear that he could not command her, but it did not seem to improve her mood.

Mark gritted his teeth only inwardly.

Lili ignored the disapproval in his face and returned her attention to the plate. She was the first to fail under the suffocating atmosphere. After a few moments, she excused herself with a headache as an excuse and left. Lost in his own thoughts, Mark managed to nod along to Philip’s nonsense long enough for dinner to end at an appropriate time.

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When he and Martin were finally alone, they both sat in silence for a while.

“I had another room prepared for you,” Martin said quietly, enduring his friend’s displeased look.

Of course. Lili was a queen. Just before her wedding. They could not be alone together, much less at night. Mark rose without a word and went up the stairs. He paused for a moment outside the door of the bedroom that had still been his yesterday. It took everything he had not to storm inside, but in the end he entered the room next door instead.

He collapsed onto the bed and spent almost the entire night awake, staring at the ceiling. He could not get Lili out of his head. Her eyes and her smile. Her small body when it arched beneath him in orgasm. The thought of Philip touching her drove him mad. And still more and more images came, of the woman he loved and the torment of knowing she belonged to another. He managed to fall asleep only shortly before Martin came to wake him for breakfast.