Beloved

Chp. 35

Khael

Clack!

The fire from the lamp dimly lit the room we were in. A few of the group leaders gathered around the table to look at the layout.

"Over here to here. We're doubling the amount of men on each post. I don't want even a single mouse getting through our gates."

One of the guys crossed his arms in concern.

"How about the merchants? They're gonna be coming frequently especially for the supplies we need for the construction. I think we should push the construction aside for now, it's too risky."

"No, we continue as usual. I'm not letting fear control any of our matters. And what makes you think the front gates are the only risky places? Keep your eyes open. We proceed as usual."

I didn't plan on stopping any of my plans. Absolutely not because of fear. That was exactly what they wanted us to feel.

Lilith

I opened up the small used notebook I found at the library. There were some missing pages and the edges were a bit discolored but other than that, it was fairly useful. I planned on bringing it with me later. Cree and Cicili were going to bring me around the north tower just so I could get an idea of how I wanted the rooms to be.

Just about a quarter past 11, I rang the bell for the girls. They came immediately from the lodging grounds and past the curtains to the room. Cicili came rushing towards my side with a bright smile and a cluster of flowers in her arms.

"Lady Lilith! We've missed you dearly."

My heart flutterred from her honest words. In the contrast, I could not express these things so lightly. But I also missed these girls and pushed through what I wasn't used to.

"I..I've missed y-you girls too. T-These flowers?"

"We brought it for your room. Do you like them?"

I leaned over the bunch hundling against each other. The leaves still have droplets of water on them. The soft petals and their flagerence had me smile.

"Y-Yes..you girls are m-much too kind."

Cree had a gentle smile and as always started opening the back curtains but after seeing their faces, I couldn't help but wonder if they were hurt by Khael's words from before. I noticed Khael came off very intimidating to a lot of people. It wasn't surprising especially because I was too when I first met him. But I realized the way he spoke and treated me was very different from everyone. He was more expressive towards me.

"Lady-"

"Girls-"

My eyes widened as we interrupted each other but I felt we were on about the same matter. She insisted I go first.

"W-Well I just wanted to check if y-you girls are alright f-from what Khael said before. H-He usually doesn't r-raise his voice."

Cree immediately responded from my concern.

"Oh no, please don't worry. We understand Chief Khael's concern for your safety. It was initially our fault for all the misunderstanding. We apologize for any incovenience."

"T-There was no i-inconvenience at all. I was j-just hoping you w-weren't upset from Khael's words."

"Of course not. We're only glad to serve beside you again."

I was relieved when I heard these words.

"Oh, this vase is taken already."

I peered back at what Cicili was refering to. She was gazing down at the blue vase with the flowers Khael had brought for me. The flowers were growing limp in the water and ends of their petals were shriveled.