by Tiya Rayne
The servants stand there for a moment, obviously confused at my request, until the heart faced brunette speaks up.
“You heard the lady, let’s go.”
She shuffles the other three out the room, then turns back to me before she shuts the door. “If you should need anything, Milady, just call for us.”
“Thank you, and just call me Lilly.”
The elf smiles, nods and then leaves. I fall back on the bed. Assassin sits down quietly beside me.
“I would kill for a cup of coffee and a shower right now.”
The pressure on the bed shifts and when I look up the assassin is gone.
“Assassin?” I call out, sitting up on my elbows.
Did he think I was going to kill him for the coffee?
“Your coffee, Milady.” He appears right beside me holding out a cup of coffee from Joe’s Joe, a coffee shop in my hometown. One I frequent often.
“Get Out!” I squeal sitting up. “Assassin, I could kiss you.”
At my words his body tenses tighter than a string on Uncle Buddy’s banjo.
Either Assassin is gay, or the thought of me kissing him is so repulsive he’s turned into a statue.
“Relax, Assassin, it’s just a figure of speech.”
I ignore the stab of hurt in my chest. I take the cup of coffee from his hand and take a slow sip. The beautiful taste of roasted beans almost makes me forget how bad his reaction made me feel.
“Are you ready for your shower now?” he asks, standing in front of me with his hands out.
I guess he got over his shock.
“Wait, you guys have showers here?”
He laughs and the sound of it makes my toes curl. I really hope Assassin isn’t gay. That would be a detrimental blow to the female race, looks that good need to be reproduced.
“Do not let our outdated customs confuse you, we are very advanced.”
As soon as he says that I hear the sound of a shower coming on. Oh yeah, I could really kiss Assassin.
************
I walk out of the bathroom after the most amazing shower in the world. The assassin wasn’t lying, that was the largest most exquisite shower I’ve ever seen. It was large enough for four people to shower at the same time and the tile on the walls were done in an iridescent color that reminded me of fish scales. The water pressure was like bathing under a heated waterfall. Even my shower back home wasn’t this good. My body feels amazing.
“Better?” He inquires as he lean leisurely against the wall near the bathroom door.
“Much!”
“I will wash your undergarments for you, Lilly.” The heart faced elf, whose name is Miriam, says as she heads out of the bedroom with my bra and panties bundled in her hands.
I am going without underwear today which is a little weird for me. However, they don’t have a Victoria’s Secret in this wonderful realm, and those huge tent size bloomers Miriam brought me would not work.
I had planned to dress myself today, but I ended up needing help with the lacing in the back of my dress. Today’s dress is violet with gold bands around my hips, neck line, and around the bottom edge of the dress. It is more Renaissance than my dress from yesterday with it’s off the shoulders collar and flared quarter-length sleeves.
All the servants were eager to help the Chosen get dressed, but I decided on Miriam because she is the only one that agrees to call me Lilly.
“Thanks, Miriam.”
The kind elf closes the door to my room behind her. I turn to Assassin who is still leaning against my wall.
“Thanks again for the coffee.”
He waves off my gratitude, “It is nothing.” He pushes away from the wall. “Are you ready for lunch?”
My stomach decides at that moment to growl loudly. “Your kings have spoken. I guess we should obey.”
His brows crinkle in the middle as if I have said something to upset him.
“The Kings are not my concern. Are YOU hungry?” he asks, and I can’t help but smile. This has been the first time someone seems to care only about me, well the only one not in my dreams. My smile grows as I remember Nevy’s words. At least my mind seems to know exactly the type of man I need.
“I could eat.” I finally admit.
Assassin holds out a hand towards my door.
“After you.”
I lead the way out of the bedroom.
**************
Clearly, these people must think eating for three means eating for an army. There is enough food to feed a village on this table. There are two types of meat; a whole succulent pig with an apple in its mouth, and something that is shaped like a chicken, but the size of a peacock. There is also four different kinds of fresh baked bread, a mountain of potatoes, different vegetables, a tray of fruit, and some kind of green gelatinous thing that jiggles like Jell-O but looks like mashed potatoes. And they call this lunch? I was thinking more along the lines of a turkey sandwich or last night’s leftovers. This would be Thanksgiving dinner back home. By far the worse thing about my humongous meal, is that I am the only one eating.
Avalia has already eaten and is currently in a meeting with her council. Assassin is working, I don’t know what his work entails, but apparently it means he can’t sit and eat with me. And add to that, I have the entire kitchen staff and servants standing around the perimeter of the room watching me with expectant eyes. I feel as if I’m on display in a wax museum.
I pick up my fork and roll a tomato around my plate. My first course is a salad, with lettuce that looks like wild grass and dandelion roots.
“How is your meal, Milady?” One of the kitchen staff ask.
“Good.” I say, even though I’ve only eaten a tomato so far.
It’s hard to eat when everyone is staring at you like a side show freak. Finally getting fed up, I drop my fork in my plate with a loud clatter.
“This isn’t going to work.”
“Would you like something different, Milady? I can have the chef whip up something else for you.” One of the older servants says towards the chef, who jumps into action.
“No!” I say halting him. “The food is fine. I just can’t eat all this food. Maybe some of you can help me eat it?”
The entire room gasps as if I just asked them to strip naked in front of me. I look over my shoulder to Assassin—who is standing quietly over my left shoulder.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“The help is not allowed to sit at the Queen’s table.”
“Where do they eat?” I ask, looking at all the faces of people that have served all day and yet not allowed to sit at the table and eat the food they created.
“We eat in the servant’s dining hall.” Miriam answers.
I stand to my feet and gather my tray and utensils.
“Where are you going?” Assassin asks.
He’s standing right beside me now looking confused. I never saw him move.
“I am going to the servant’s dining hall to share lunch with all these kind people.” I point around the room. “I do not do segregation, Assassin. I don’t care if it’s your customs or not.” I say, balancing my plate in one hand and my cup in the other.
“Please, Milady, we do not expect you to eat with the servants.” The older servant says.
I turn to him, “Either I eat with you or I don’t eat at all.”
I see the agitation cross everyone’s face. Being half black, my heart always goes out to people that are being discriminated against, rather it be because of race, religion, gender, status, or sexual preference. No one has the right to make someone else feel less important.
“Sit down, Lilly.” Assassin demands with a smile on his lips.
“I will not. Not unless they can sit with me. And if you do not approve, then you are not the man I thought you were.”
The smile on Assassin’s face falters for a brief second. He steps closer to me. A stalking step like a predator approaching prey. Even then I was not afraid of him, in fact i
t was just the opposite. His masculine scent causing me to get light headed. Really, this guy is a walking aphrodisiac.
“You will sit down and eat, because they are going to join you.” His eyes never leave mine as he speaks.
I straighten my back, I don’t want him to see how much he rattles me. If just the mention of me kissing him almost turns him to stone, imagine what would happen if he knew the effect he had on my hormones. He would probably run screaming out the room.
“Fine.” I say, then place my plate back down on the table.
“Barrithomy, get enough plates and utensils for the servants to eat.”
“But, Sir…” Barrithomy, the short older butler that was directing everyone today, objects. Assassin holds up his hands to quiet the elf.
“Lilly is asking for your company, would you deny her this?”
Barrithomy looks at me and I give him my best puppy dog face, his features soften and I knew the exact moment he relents.
“I’ll go get the plates.” He says, then walks out of the room.
The servants begin to fill in the seats around me.
“Thank you.” I say to Assassin as he takes his position back behind me.
He nods his head slightly.
Chapter Two
I am proud of her. Once again my little human has shocked me. Her defiance to stand down against the servant’s injustice has made me even more enamored of her. Could Avalia be right? Could my feelings for Lilly have grown from that of a protector to something more? I know when I am around her I feel calm, and my usual urge to kill is overshadowed by a new urge. It isn’t the same calming urge I once felt when I watched her play as a child. This urge is like a heating of my blood through my veins. My entire body feels as if it is on fire. Her joke earlier about kissing me brought images to my head that I refuse to acknowledge. I felt horrible when she took my sudden tension for disinterest. Am I a monster to think of Lilly in this way? Yes you are. My thoughts scream back at me.
Lilly laughs at another joke Augustus, the chef, makes. The sound of her laughter sends the fire through my veins again. By the gods, she is so beautiful.
I think back to the day I first realized the adorable little girl had turned into a beautiful young lady. She was 16 at the time. I sat on the end of her small bed, watching her as she did her hair for her Cousin Lizzie’s birthday party. It was the first party she was ever invited to. She was wearing a thin dress that stopped at her mid-thigh, with tiny straps that held it up. I remember frowning at the fragile fabric she called a sundress. Her curves came to her at a young age and she was very self-conscious about them. However, that night the fitted dress was accentuating her body in a rather breathtaking way. Her big doe eyes bright and as always filled with innocence and vulnerability. Her hazel eyes were brimmed with a powdery silver substance that sparkled when she blinked.
I did not like the idea of her going to this party. Her cousin Lizzie was an insufferable girl that did nothing but make Lilly’s life miserable. But I understood her need to go and fit in with her peers, as much as I hated them.
I watched as she applied the pink tint to her lips and pinned her ebony ringlets back on her head. She was so excited about the party she could barely keep still. I watched her as she stood in front of her mirror, pretending to be asked to dance, and I smiled at how truly beautiful she was. Lilly possessed that rare beauty. At first glance one could see how stunning she looked. Her beautiful caramel skin, big bright eyes, delicate features, soft dusting of freckles over her nose and shapely body added to her stunning outer beauty. But the rarity comes in her immaculate inner beauty and those smaller details, like the way her eyes sparkle when she truly smiles, and the way she hides her face when she’s embarrassed. Add to that the fact that she has no idea just how beautiful she truly is. She was in deed a rare find.
That night when her Mother announced that Lizzie was there to see Lilly I knew that it would not end well. As soon as Lizzie walked into Lilly’s room and took one look at Lilly with her natural beauty and soft curves through her dress, her face twisted in jealousy. She then told Lilly she was no longer invited to her party because no one at school wanted her there. I sat silently and invisible by Lilly all night as she cried herself to sleep. That night as she slept and I watched the slow parting of her full lips as she slumbered; I knew that I needed to grant Lilly more privacy. It was then that I cut back on my days of seeing her. Did my mind know then that I was starting to see Lilly differently? Is that why it came to the conclusion she needed privacy from me? I know the dark realm will see my soul if I continue to think of her the way her laugh makes me think.
Another one of those laughs from Lilly brings me back to the here and now. She is telling the servants a story of her youth, one I already knew. I watch as they listen to her every word. They are gazing at her, not as though she is the Mother to the twin kings, or the chosen one, but as a girl that would refuse her own needs to see that they are not mistreated. It is then I think about Avalia. She is right. We cannot win against the Dark King without an army. People will never fight just for the sake of it; they are not made like warriors. However, they will throw down their lives to save one of their own. Lilly needed to be one of their own. Already, she was winning them over. Not because we asked her to or because it is her plot, she won them by just being Lilly.
I reached out through my mind for Avalia. “You were right.”
“I usually am. But to what do I owe your acknowledgement.” She says playfully and I know she assumes I am speaking of the feelings she thinks I have for Lilly, but that is still up in the air.
“She needs an army, and I think she is starting to build her own.”
Avalia’s playfulness sobers, “Show me.” She demands.
I pull up the pictures in my head of Lilly refusing to eat, and the camaraderie I see at the table before me and show them to Avalia like scenes from one of Lilly’s movies she loves to watch.
I feel the subtle pride in Avalia’s mind as she views Lilly through my memories.
“Quite the little crusader isn’t she?”
I laugh at her words. “They love her, look at their faces as she speaks.”
I show Avalia the faces around the table. The look of admiration shining brightly on each of the servants faces. Even though it’s only 30 or so elves here, and Lilly would need to win over not only elves, but other magicals, immortals and Non-magicals, she has still garnered the respect of people who do not easily accept new faces into their mix.
“We have another problem.” Avalia says suddenly.
“What is it?”
“Rykan came to see me today.” Fuck !! “He requested that I remove you as Lilly’s lead guard.”
“Did you tell him that he could stick his request up his ass?”
“Not with those particular words, but yes.”
“Good!”
“Not really.”
I sigh, already knowing what’s coming next. The bastard was adamant about keeping me away from her. “He sought claim to his sons.”
“And you allowed him?” I snarled into Avalia’s head.
“I had no choice, Assassin. It is his rightful place to claim his heirs.”
I fought against the urge to trace to the Southern kingdom and slaughter the entire clan. I clench and unclench my hands at my sides. I am seeing red, and I want Rykan’s blood. My urge to kill is boiling over inside me. Lilly, oblivious to the current of rage sweeping through my body, looks over her shoulder for me. She does this every few minutes as if she is checking to make sure I am still there. The knowledge of her looking for me for assurance cools my raging temper. I nod towards her, ensuring her I was there and always will be, regardless of what Rykan request. She smiles at me, those lovely dimples deepening as she turns back to the table.
“Let me guess, he requested I stay away from his sons?” I ask, barely containing my snarl.
“He did. But I would not worry. I have devised a plan that I think will work on our beha
lf.”
Avalia is a brilliant leader and cunning as well, if she has a plan I am sure that it will work.
“What of this plan?”
“I will not tell you, but you will know when it is in play.” She says, with a bit of laughter. Now I am nervous. What plan does she have that she will not tell me and that brings this much joy to her.
“Will I like this plan?” I ask skeptically.
“I think you will, as soon as you stop being so pigheaded.” I ignore her jibe.
“So what do I do until this plan takes effect? Do you wish for me to leave her with another guard?”
I ask only to be polite; I would never leave Lilly in the care of another.
Avalia laughs, “As if you would.” She knows me too well. “I told Rykan that I would deliver the news to you as soon as I saw you.”
“Is that why I have not seen you today?”
“I am a very busy woman, Assassin. I do not have to see you every day.”
That was actually a lie. From the day I began work for Avalia I have seen her every day. We work closely together, the only time I have ever been away from her is when I went to see Lilly, and before then when I bedded women.
“That you are, my Queen.” I laugh.
“Assassin?”
I look up as Lilly calls my name. The sound of it rolling off her lips sends the fire through my veins again. I curse this sinful feeling.
I hear Avalia laughing in my head. “Go, pig head, see what she wants.”
I feel the disconnection from Avalia as she slips out of my mind.
Lilly is walking towards me now. The servants are clearing the dishes from the table. “Assassin,” she says again and I notice she is excited about something.
I love that I can tell her moods with one glance. When she stops in front of me I am tempted to touch her cheek where her dimples are deeply imprinted. I cross my hands over my chest to fight down that urge.
“What has you so excited?” I ask.
“Augustus invited me to his daughter’s 20th year festival.”
