The Lily's Splendor

Chapter 18

By the end of the day, we made our way back to Henry’s cottage.

“I’m sorry, my cottage can’t compare to your mansion,” Henry admitted, casting his eyes away from me to look ahead to where a quaint, two-story cottage stood behind a wooden fence. Pink roses arched over the front door, circling the bay windows.

“Henry.” I placed my hand on his arm to stop him. He turned to me. I reached out and touched the side of his face with the palm of my hand. “It’s beautiful. Reminds me of Thomas Kinkade. I love his paintings and this,” I gestured to the cottage and its surroundings, “looks like I stepped into one.”

Henry’s eyes deepened, strands of his dark hair drifting across his cheek as he leaned in until our lips met. His hand moved beneath my hair to cup my neck as he deepened the kiss.

“Will you two stop kissing so we can eat? Lilly won’t let me eat until you two get in here! And I’m starving!” Maddox bellowed out from one of the windows. We sprang apart like two children caught with their hands in the cookie jar. I chuckled when Henry growled his brother’s name before twining his hand with mine as he opened the wooden gate and led me to the front door that opened with Lilly standing behind it. She was dressed in blue jeans and a white peasant blouse with a flowery apron over it while her red hair was piled high in a clip.

“Hi Kyra, you must forgive Maddox.” Lilly shook her head as she invited us in. She surprised me by giving me a hug. I returned it, gladly accepting her friendship.

“Did you cook everything?” I asked her when I saw the delicious food set on the table in beautiful dishes. There was a big dish of pot roast in the center, surrounded by a bowl of mashed potatoes, and green salad.

“Yes, I love to cook and bake,” she admitted modestly.

“And she is really good,” Henry praised as we sat down at their round table.

“Oh stop Madd, you need to eat your greens.” Lilly scolded as she served him a plate of salad while he made a face. “Nasty stuff.” he muttered. I couldn’t help but chuckle at how close he resembled a little boy.

“And don’t drown your salad in dressing.” Lilly took the bottle of Italian dressing from Maddox’s hands and passed it to Henry.

“Thank you Lilly for inviting me. This all looks wonderful.” I said as I dug into the pot-roast that she served me.

“You are most welcome Kyra. You are always welcomed here.” she winked at Henry as she served him.

“I wouldn’t mind coming here to do our history project.” I said as soon as Lilly had served everyone, including herself, and was now sitting next to Maddox who was pushing his salad around his plate. Lilly huffed. “Fine! Give it to me.” She took his salad and began to eat it but then choked out a cough before gulping down half of her water glass.

“How much dressing did you put in this?” she turned to him who shrugged as he stuffed his mouth with beef and potatoes. With a grunt, Lilly set the salad plate aside before digging into her plate.

“Of course, we can always alternate houses.” Lilly suggested.

“Actually, maybe you guys should stick around here,” Henry said.

“Why?” I set my fork down as did Lilly.

“Because I’ll be over at your house Kyra, working with Reeve and I can’t have any distractions.” he said, eyes glued to his empty fork that was twirling around. “I’m a distraction?” I asked skeptically and caused Henry to blush when I leaned over and kissed his reddening cheek.

“How sickening,” Maddox muttered.

“I think it’s sweet. I never thought I’d see my brother in love. Don’t worry Madd, soon you’ll be a love bird chirping away.” Lilly sighed happily as she resumed eating.

“Oh and my grandmother has invited you for breakfast tomorrow.” I told Henry in a low voice. He raised his brow questioningly.

“She wants to meet the boy who saved her granddaughter’s life.” I quoted back to him, rolling my eyes.

“I’ll be there,” he said with a charming smile.

“She’s probably going to go all out since you are royalty,” I warned. Henry chuckled.

“Would you guys like to come?” I asked Lilly and Maddox.

“I would love too!” Lilly beamed. Maddox shook his head. “I’ll have to do a rain check. Got a date tomorrow.” he said as he pushed his empty plate away. All three of us gaped at him. “With who?” Henry asked, disbelief clear in his tone.

“Why, with the lovely Nikki.” Maddox wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. I made a disgusted face that mirrored Lilly’s and no doubt Henry’s. “What’s with the bad faces? Thought you couldn’t wait for me to be in love?” he elbowed his sister playfully.

“Are you in love with her?” she asked, giving her brother a concerned look.

“Nah. But she is a nice distraction.” Maddox grinned. Lilly shook her head as she got up and began to clear the dishes. I helped her before bringing back the dessert plates while she brought freshly baked apple dumplings and a tall milk carton. I tried to get into the dessert, which smelled delicious with its cinnamon aroma, but at the mention of Nikki’s name, my stomach had coiled into itself.

“You okay?” Henry leaned in and whispered when he noticed my sullen expression. I tried to smile and nod. I could see that he didn’t buy it and wanted to press me, but instead just kept a close eye on me as we finished our dessert.

“I better walk you home.” Henry exclaimed after we had all finished and had been chatting about school homework and projects.

“Thank you Lilly for a lovely evening. And Madd,” I waited for him to look at me and I held his gaze, “be careful on your date tomorrow.” His brow went up suspiciously at my grave tone but he slowly nodded. “I can take care of myself. It’s you that needs to be careful,” he said before getting up and retreating to the den.

“See you tomorrow.” I hugged Lilly goodbye before Henry walked me out and back down the same path to my house.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Kyra,” Henry demanded when we were far away from the cottage.

“I honestly don’t know. I just got a sick feeling when Maddox mentioned Nikki.” I admitted with a heavy sigh. Henry’s brows creased as he thought about my words. “Kyra, you don’t have to worry about her taking me away from you.” Henry said after a long period of silence. “Oh, that’s not what I meant at all.” I said though his words warmed my insides as my heart fluttered.

“Then what did you mean?” he asked as he tucked me underneath his arm and kissed my temple. “I honestly don’t know what I meant. Just that when he mentioned her name, my stomach got all funny. And no it wasn’t your sister’s cooking.” I slugged his stomach, getting a good feel of his corded muscles. He chuckled.

“That’s strange,” he admitted. “Yeah.” I agreed. “It’s probably nothing.” I tried shrugging it off but Henry wouldn’t let me. “No. Let’s not do the mistake of turning our backs on nothing when it could be something. I’ll look into it.” he gave my shoulders a gentle squeeze.

“You mean we’ll look into it,” I clarified. Henry shook his head. “It’s my strange, sick feeling, not yours, so you’re lucky you know and that you can help me.” I voiced. We both remained quiet as my words replayed in my head until I was able to hear how silly they sounded. “Well, you know what I meant.” I said when Henry laughed quietly under his breath. “Fine,” he said at last.

When we reached the back door, Henry pulled me in for one more hug and kiss before giving me a light shove to the door.

“Night Henry.” I whispered as I slowly closed the door.

“Goodnight my flower,” I heard him whisper before turning around and walking away.

~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~

“Kyra dear,” my grandmother poked her head into my room the next morning.

“Yes?” I walked out of my closet, wrapped in my bathrobe.

“Were you able to find something nice to wear?”

“I’m working on it.” I went back to my closet.

“Allow me to help.” She stalked in and scanned the clothes on the hangers, tapping a finger on her chin before pulling out a baby blue sundress with a slender black belt. “Here you go.” she presented it to me. “Oh and I also came up to tell you that they are here and waiting in the dining room.”

“What?” I squawked and hurriedly shed the robe and pajamas before slipping into the dress.

“Sorry dear, it slipped my mind. Oh and do wear those white ballet slippers I got for you. You know, the ones with the beads.” she scanned the shelves and frowned when she couldn’t find them. I froze. “I lost them that night I met Henry. Sorry, I forgot to tell you.” I mumbled. She waved her hand. “No matter. I’ll get you another pair. Well, just hurry up and choose a pair of shoes.” She quickly walked away, leaving me alone with the million pairs of shoes to choose from. I stuck with plain white ones. Grabbing a dark brown barrette, I clipped back my hair from my face, letting the rest fall down my back before heading down the stairs.

~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~

Breakfast went smoothly as I chatted with Lilly while my grandmother chatted with Henry, obviously approving of him. While my grandmother excused herself to her study when all the dishes had been cleared, the three of us went outside and made our way to the gazebo surrounded by willow trees.

“Breakfast was wonderful. I’ll want that recipe for the omelets,” Lilly praised.

“I’ll make sure to pass your compliment along to Jacques, though I doubt that he would give out his recipe.” I leaned into Henry and he lifted his arm up for me to curl into his side.

“Where’s Reeve?” Lilly asked as she looked around the premises. A light bulb went off in my head. Could she be interested in Reeve? She had asked about his whereabouts when he hadn’t showed up for breakfast. I wonder . . .

“Here I am.” he poked his head into the gazebo before joining us, taking the seat next to Lilly.

“Oh, hi!” Lilly slightly blushed.

“Hey.” Reeve gave her a chin up before his eyes went to me. “Can I borrow you for a second?” he asked. I studied his desperate eyes as I nodded. “Sure.” I untangled myself from Henry and followed Reeve, wondering why his eyes had looked odd.

“How are you holding up? After that note, I mean?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets as he glanced at me.

“Is that all you wanted to ask?” I knew he hadn’t pulled me away just to ask me that.

“No. But that was on my mind,” he admitted.

“Oh, well, I’m doing okay I guess.” I inhaled sharply when Reeve stopped to cup my face in his warm hands. “Kyra, please listen. I know I’m probably too late but I want to say it anyways.” Reeve’s breath became slightly ragged as his eyes intensely held mine.

“Reeve, what are you doing?” my hands went up to pull his away but they just stayed there when Reeve said his next words.

“I think I’m falling in love with you, Kyra.”

“But Reeve—” he used his finger to cover my lips as he went on; “I know that sounds lame. You’re thinking, how could I fall in love with you when we only just met last week? I think it happened when I held you while you cried. I’ve been trained all my life to protect the Water Lily; that they are to go before my life because their life is worth far more than anything.”

“That’s not true—” I began, but he shook his head, saying that he wasn’t finished. “But then when I saw you that day, crying, you don’t know how humble you looked and how it felt for me to comfort you. I haven’t been able to get your image out of my head. Or the way your hair smells and feels; the way one can get lost by just looking into your luminous eyes.”

I quickly stumbled out of his hold, and his hands fell uselessly to his side.

“I knew that Water Lilies don’t look at simple sentries like me and see me good enough to love—.”

“Reeve, stop! That’s not true. You don’t know how much I value your friendship.” I ignored the disgusted look he made at the word ‘friendship’ and continued on, “Please say that you will still be my friend. Or I can always ask my grandmother to send you back home if that’s what you want, but my heart belongs to Henry. I’m sorry.” I finished in a rush. My mind was reeling at my spoken revelation. I felt the tears rim and fill my eyes as I stood there, breaking Reeve’s heart. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, looking away from his pained expression.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. And I’ll still be here. I am your guardian after all.” He began to turn away. “Reeve,” I said his name softly. He didn’t turn around but stopped walking. “You’ll still be my friend?” I asked hopefully.

“I’ll always be your friend Kyra, and more, if you ever change your mind,” he said before I watched him walk away.

~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~

“Are you sure you want to do this daughter?” King Albion said as he watched his only daughter pack her things.

“I’m sure. If Henry won’t come to me, I must go to him.” Princess Damita said fiercely before smiling up at her father. “I will know how to charm him; perhaps even seduce him. I want him father.”

“Then go. But keep in touch and let me know how you’re progressing. If you accomplish this, then our kingdoms will unite and become stronger.”

Princess Damita bowed to her father before clapping her hands for her servants to gather her things.

“Good luck to you daughter.”

“Thank you father. I know I shall not fail. No man has ever walked away from me without wanting.” Her cherry-red lips smiled deviously as her blue eyes sparkled with excitement. She will make Henry love her if it’s the last thing she does.

~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~

“So how did your date go?” I asked Maddox the next morning in the school parking lot.

“It was fun. Too bad it had to end.” Maddox sighed wistfully. His face lost its grin as he paled.

“Madd? Are you alright?” I peered into his face but he ignored me and instead went to open the passenger door of the SUV.

“I was coming out, you know, but my stuff had spilled from the front pocket of my back-pack.” Henry protested as Madd wrestled him out of the car. “What’s wrong with you?” Henry asked as Lilly joined them.

“Look over there.” Maddox said under his breath. We all turned to a bright red car where a blonde girl stood as she studied her schedule.

“Oh, another new student.” I summarized and turned back to Madd, but then noticed that Henry and Lilly had also paled and shared the same dread expressions.

“What is she doing here?” Henry asked, his voice a low growl. He sucked in a breath when the girl looked up from her schedule and smiled at him.

“You guys know her?” I asked, still not seeing why they acted as if this girl had three heads.

“What’s up guys?” Reeve jogged over and joined our group after he parked. He turned his head to see what we were all looking at. “Who’s she?” he asked when she began to walk towards us; more like saunter with her swaying hips. I looked at Henry and waited for an explanation. He pulled me to the side and said in a very low voice, “Do you remember what I said about my father pushing me into an arranged marriage?”

I swallowed a heavy knot that had formed in my throat as I nodded.

“That’s her. I don’t know why she is here or how she found out that I go to school here. Her regions are in Europe,” he said. Feartightened in my gut and Henry seemed to sense it for he put his arms around me and whispered, “You have nothing to fear or worry about, my flower.” I tried to let his words ease my mind, but the fear still moved about in me. We walked back to the group just as the girl reached us.

“Maddox,” she simply said, and Maddox inclined his head in acknowledgement. Her eyes skipped Lilly and Reeve entirely and went to Henry before landing on me and then going back to Henry.

“Hello Henry.” she purred as she took a step closer to him. I felt Henry’s bicep tense as he just gave her a curt nod.

“And who’s this? Are you collecting playthings now?”

I stiffened.

“It’s fine by me,” she cooed, “as long as you always come back to me. Besides, toys always lose their fun after a while.”

“What are you doing here?” Henry interrupted. I noticed his jaw was tense and a vein visibly pulsed on the side of his neck.

“Is that anyway to greet your fiancée?” she asked in a playful tone.

“I won’t tell you again, Damita. You and I are not promised to each other, or ever will be.” I watched as the mockery slipped from her face for just an instant as her eyes flashed at me.

“We shall see.” she grinned like a wild cat that could only see her prey. She sauntered away, swishing her hips back and forth, causing every guy to stop and gape.

“I hope you are telling the truth and that she is lying or else I’m gonna have to slug you for playing with Kyra’s heart.” Reeve said moments after Damita had left.

“He is. Trust me.” Maddox muttered. The bell rang and our group began to disperse. Reeve sent me a worried glance before walking on ahead, leaving me alone with Henry who was stiff and quiet.

“Are you okay?” I asked as we slowly shuffled to homeroom. His laugh was empty as he looked down at me. “I should be asking you that.”

“I’m fine.” I said as my mind whirled with my grandmother’s voice.

With a girl, all you have to do is place the palm of your hand over their heart. Would I e*****e her to me just so she wouldn’t be a threat? Wouldn’t that be selfish? Yes, I should only use my power as a last resort; when absolutely necessary.

“What are you thinking about?” Henry’s voice shook me back to reality. We were standing in front of my homeroom door. I could see that Maddox and Reeve were already sitting in the back and, surprisingly, chatting with each other.

“Nothing.” I lied. He awarded me with a speculative stare before sighing and giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before hustling off to his homeroom.

“Aren’t you going to go in?” Damita’s voice spoke from behind me. I whirled around and there she was, smiling at me that cat smile of hers.

“Kyra right?” she asked conversationally as I walked to the back of the room with her hot on my heels.

“Yes, how did you know?”

“Oh, I just had to ask around and give your description. Not many seemed to like you.” she twirled a string of yellow hair on a manicured finger. I shrugged my shoulders even though my insides twisted. “I didn’t expect on being liked. Nor do I attend school to be liked,” I said tartly.

“I see that.” she said before walking to the opposite side and sitting with a group of girls.

“What did she tell you now?” Maddox started as I took the seat next to Reeve who was between us.

“Just nonsense. I don’t care.”

“Good. Can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m glad Henry found you. And I’m proud of you.”

“Awe, thanks Madd.” I got out of my seat and gave him a side hug before kissing his beet-red cheek. Reeve laughed out loud. I was glad that he wasn’t acting funny around me after his declaration. He stayed true to his word and has been my friend. It looked like I would need every friend I can get.

~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~

“Maddox told me that she talked to you in homeroom.” Henry said when I reached my seat next to his in science class. “What did she tell you?”

“Like I told Maddox, a lot of nonsense.” I sighed. Surprisingly, I was feeling confident that I could take care of myself and anyone else who decides to be a threat to me and Henry.

“I’m just making sure. If you have any doubts about me, about us, just tell me. She is a very good liar, Kyra.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I said as our eyes went to the door where, low and behold, Vincent walked in with Damita on his arm. Vincent winked at us when he caught us staring.

“Don’t be jealous, love,” Vincent said as he passed by our table, eyes on me. Though we weren’t touching, I still felt Henry’s muscles bunch and tense. Damita snuggled in closer as her cat eyes roamed over me.

“Looks like she got over you.” I said. Henry shook his head.

“I know her. She doesn’t give up easily, especially after coming all the way out here.”

“Oh.” I slumped in my seat.

“Hey, what happened to my tigress?” Henry’s warm hand stroked my back. I lifted my head to smile at him but caught Damita’s eyes narrowed on Henry’s hand that was still on my back.

“She’s there . . . somewhere . . . I hope.” I plopped my head back into my arms, muffling Henry’s chuckle as he coaxed me to look at him.

“Hey,” he tenderly pushed locks of my hair behind my ear until I tilted my head and was looking up at him with one eye. “Now the other one,” he cajoled. I scrunched my nose before finally lifting my head to rest on the palm of my hand.

“There, those beautiful sea eyes that I love so much,” he murmured. I felt myself blush as I blinked my eyes innocently. “I like yours better. They remind me of beautiful, chaotic, storm clouds.And they twinkle.” I admitted shyly as my fingers played with my necklace. Henry just stayed silent as his eyes spoke for him, revealing his heart. I could have stayed in this moment forever but the final bell rang and we had to focus on science.

Damita was in the rest of my classes but, surprisingly, left me alone. She would still give me taunting looks, but that was it. I wasn’t shocked when she befriended Nikki or joined her little posse.