Lilianna
The halls of the castle are alive and buzzing with news of an arrival that no one but the King was aware of.
Ser Paul pushes through the stampede of people moving towards the courtyard. The surprise is so exciting for all that they do not see nor care about the young princess and maid trailing behind the knight, her large red gown being shoved and near-ripped.
"What is it?" Lilianna hears one servant, a young girl, ask another.
She huffs and pushes boys and girls alike off her sides, feeling the space close in around her as she tries to keep up with her knight in front of her.
More whispers find her ears. "Back... over there... many years..."
"Let me through!" Ser Paul yells over the commotion.
Some move as much as they can for him, others pretend to not hear him.
"I thought he left years ago," a woman whispers to her daughter as Lilianna passes them.
"Who?" Lili asks the woman, older and with wrinkles that make her look tired and hardened.
The woman pales at the young princess, realizing who overheard her, never having spoken with royalty before. She curtsies and averts her eyes, frustrating Lili.
Lili looks up, trying to peek around Ser Paul, with very little luck. She does see the sunlight, telling her she is close now to the surprise and mystery guest.
"Move for the princess!" Paul shouts and she keeps as close as possible to his back as the bodies finally seem to part. She looks around as she keeps moving, realizing that Gretel must have gotten lost in the mess.
"They say he was banished from his last court," a whisper to her left says and her eyes widen.
More whispers. More shoving. More yells from Ser Paul.
"It is the Trenton boy!" A man exclaims up ahead.
With that, Lili scoops up her skirts and shoves through the crowd, one person at a time, with Ser Paul shouting at her back to be careful. But he is no match for her speed and size. She manoeuvres to the front within seconds, finally breaking through the last row of people to run into her father's personal guard.
"Let me through!" She commands them and they part immediately, closing the gap as soon as she is through.
Her father is first in her sights, but he is not who her eyes land on. Her breathing stills.
"Lilianna, you remember-"
"Ser Edward," she finishes with a deep curtsy.
As she stands up slowly, her eyes take in the man in front of her, six years past the age she saw him last, yet somehow just as recognizable. His jawline may be more defined and his height and build may be taller and stronger, but his light hazel eyes have not altered. And now they are set on her, watching her movements and her own face as if he is also skimming for recognizable features he can place. She smiles meekly under his gaze, straightening her back as she becomes aware once more of her father at their side.
"Princess Lilianna, Your Highness," Edward says in a deep voice that she does not recognize as he bows low.
"Welcome back to court," she says, unable to look elsewhere as he smiles. "It has been too long."
"Thank you, princess," he returns, his tongue oversounding the 'cess' in the title as he used to do, making her lips tug upwards. "I am pleased to be back."
His eyes hold hers as his hands move to cross behind his back, a familiar glint returning behind the hazel. She tries to think of what to say to her old friend in the silence overcoming them.
"Shall we have a drink in my study, old friend?" The King interjects, and for a brief moment, Lili almost sees a look of disdain in her cousin's eyes. But as fast as she notices, it is gone, and he smiles up to his uncle, his old friend forgotten.
"Lead the way, my King."
~~~
The courtyard clears quickly, the show being over for the staff and guests of the castle. It is sure that rumours and whispers will begin promptly about the boy who returned to court a man. His years away have always been a point of gossip in these walls, although the princess only gets bits and pieces. Kernels of truth - if there was any truth to begin with in the tales of the banished boy.
Lilianna is left standing alone at the fountain, staring at the coins that live at the bottom, untouched and forgotten by all who made wishes on them.
Footsteps approach behind her, surely Ser Paul telling her that their agreed twenty minutes alone has come to an end already.
"You have grown up these past years, princess."
Her head spins to her right as she blanches and then attempts to recover, looking back out toward the fountain and away from the blonde boy smiling his wicked smile at her.
"Is that to say I look well?" She asks coyly, earning a small sound of contentment.
"I would not say such a thing," he pauses, "but I would not disagree."
"Why would you not say such a thing?" She asks, turning to look at him now, her composure finally in tact.
He stares out at the fountain. She notices the small white wolf pendant on his collar.
"I would not want to be overheard," he says and she catches the smirk forming across his lips.
"You have matured as well," she offers and his ego returns in his smile.
He must be twenty and two years, Lili calculates in her head. She last saw him days after her ten and second birthday when he was near ten and six. She can picture the day he informed her of his leave. She had been playing with a set of paint, a birthday gift from the King. He had been dressed in a uniform, ready to depart on the hour.
The memory wipes her smile from her face as she turns back to the fountain to hide it.
"Battles will do that," Edward answers, his voice not sounding as proud of the victories she had heard of over the years as one may expect.
"Was it a surprise?" He asks.
"Your return?" She turns to him, feigning boredom. "A dreadful one, but yes."
He assesses her for a beat. "Lies," he declares, smirking.
She moves her hands behind her back as she nods back to the castle.
"He is pleased you are back. My father missed you more than he would say."
Edward sombers. "As I him." It is just for a moment before his cheeky smirk returns. "Did you miss me as well, princess?"
Lili's cheeks heat as she tilts her head to the right, looking his new face over.
"I would not say such a thing," she quips and his grin widens. "You have travelled? Fought? I heard the stories."
"Stories," he repeats, the word sounding foreign on his lips as he enunciates each letter. "Are they becoming of a King's nephew, princess?"
They both know they are not. That is why he is whispered about more than any boy in the realm.
"Some, like your battles." She smiles. "Some are rather scandalous."
He chuckles, waving her off. "Rumours. Whispers."
"Did you really win a battle by your own sole hand with the Lakra's?" She asks and his hands move behind his back mirroring hers.
"Would you be impressed if I had?"
She doesn't answer. He does not need the addition to his large head, she believes.
"Is it true that you were found with a maid in the throne room of your last host, Edward?" She asks him with her eyebrows raised and a coy smirk across her lips.
He looks surprised with her bold words, but recovers quickly.
"With no witnesses here to speak otherwise, maybe I am innocent."
She shakes her head. "I know you are not."
"Do you?" He asks, moving closer by one step.
Her cheeks flush again as she nods deeply, almost a bow.
"Welcome home, Ser Edward," she says before turning back to the castle to find Ser Paul.
"Princess?" Edward calls to her back.
She turns. "Yes?"
His eyes find hers.
"Beauty is one thing. But I am pleased to see you are still fortunate in having both beauty and smarts."
"And wit," she adds, smiling.
He chuckles and nods. "And wit, princess, as ever."
She turns before he can notice her reddening cheeks. After a few moments of walking, Ser Paul steps out of the hall to join her side.
"Are you pleased with the surprise, princess?" He asks as they turn down the hall to her room.
"I am no longer bored," she answers with a grin up to her knight.
"Dinner is in one hour, princess."
~~~
The large doors burst open with two guards and their guest. Lili turns in her chair to better see the man, before realizing the obvious. She turns back forward.
"Edward, come join us!" Her father calls, his arm spread toward the chair to his right, in the middle of the long edge of the table across from his wife.
"You are most gracious, my King," Edward returns behind Lili's back before coming into view around her.
"Enough with the formalities! I knew you as a babe. You will call me Art."
Lili grimaces, scratching her nose to cover her disdain for such a nickname.
"As you wish." Edward bows to across the table before sitting. "Queen Charlotte, aunt, you look stunning."
"Thank you, Edward." She smiles and looks him over over proudly. "You have quite grown."
He nods politely and turns to his left with a bow of his head. "Princess Lilianna," he says formally and she smiles.
"Cousin."
His eyes linger on her a moment, a feeling of pride starting to form as she senses his annoyance at her choice of words. She remembers many things about her cousin's dislikes. Most of all - her using that name.
"We were discussing Lilianna's celebrations," the King informs him, forcing his eyes onto him and away from the princess. "We are only five weeks away and she has not settled on a colour for the banners and tables."
"I do not wish to plan it, Father," she groans and picks at the green beans on her plate with her fork.
"And yet you must decide," the King declares.
Her teeth grit as she stares across the table to his seat from her end. "I am not a party planner, Father. I have no idea what colours or decor should be utilized. Frankly, I do not care."
"Should it not be red, princess?"
Everyone's attention turns to Edward, his suggestion clearly surprising them all. Not for the choice, but the participation at all.
"It is too blatant a reveal," Lili replies, mimicking her words to her father and mother on numerous occasions.
Edward frowns slightly.
"It is a sign of power. For all the wolfless," he pauses and turns to his aunt, his eyes widening at his blunder, "excuse me, aunt," he says softly and she smiles for him to go on despite the insult. "For all the humans coming from far and wide, it gives them a hint at the secret they wish to hold."
Lili groans. "It is well known about my fur. Why should I play into the stories?"
Edward straightens his shoulders. "Because it gives them hope. It keeps magic alive as they serve you."
She searches her brain for an argument - any argument. Nothing comes.
"Red, then," she mumbles and looks down to her food, stabbing a bean.
"Wear something similar to the dress you have on now, perhaps," he says and her eyes snap back to his. "It is becoming. But ensure it is bolder."
Her cheeks heat again as she looks down immediately with one swift nod.
The King claps his hands and chuckles.
"Edward, you should have returned sooner. Our princess grows more bitter and frustrated the closer she gets to her big day. She could use your guidance."
"Father," Lili warns, almost near a growl.
His eyes focus on her, his smile gone. "It will come when you-"
Her eyes bulge as she cuts him off desperately. "Father! Please."
"Let us talk of something else?" Edwards offers after a moment of silence, father and daughter glaring across the table in a stale mate.
"Tell me of your travels, Eddy," Charlotte tries and Lili looks away as the conversation shifts off her failures and on to her cousin's adventures.
Author's Note:
Anyone like Edward so far???
How about the King?
Thanks for reading!!