Lavender & Lilies

Settled

Lilliana slid backwards off her bed with an exaggerated groan.

"Can you let me out?" She whined, kicking her feet up and down. "I need to talk to someone sooooo badly."

There was a shift in the feet outside the door. "I'm sorry, Miss Lillie, but... His Highness says you can't."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, what do you say?"

"What... What do I say?" The guard seemed taken aback.

"Yeah. Do you think I should stay locked in here like an animal, or should I be allowed to just hang around?" She stood, walking to the door and tapping on it to let him know she was there.

The guard was quiet for a moment. "Uhm... I guess..."

Lilliana's fingers crept up the door and she leaned her ear against it. "Hmmm?"

"I guess I'd have to ask the Prince what to do," the soldier said finally, with much more confidence than before.

She soured. "...I see. And where is our beloved Prince?"

"Outside, I think he's training."

"Ohh, is he?" Lilliana rushed to her window. "Maybe I can get a glimpse, eh?"

The guard, named Horace, frowned. "The window's locked down, you know."

"So what?" Lilliana called. "Windows are much easier to unlock than doors."

"Hey, don't try anything funny." Horace warned, turning to the door in case he needed to open it."

Lilliana replied slyly, "All you need is some focused effort and..."

Just as she made a loud scraping with the window, Horace burst into the room. Dodging the grab he made for her arm, she darted behind him and slammed the door.

"It is possible to escape through the window if you need to, though," she said over the click of the lock. "Thanks for talking with me."

Horace banged on the door after a moment of stupor. "You! Lilliana! Let me out!"

She was already trotting down the staircase when she replied with a "Gotta ask the Prince."

"Whew, remind me not to take sunny days for granted," Lilliana said once she finally stepped outside. "Amazing now that I'm back under the sun."

"What in the blithering blue blazes are you doing out?"

She looked up to see Dimitri storming toward her, lance in hand.

"Whoa, hey..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes lingered on the sweaty white shirt that clung to his body.

Dimitri stabbed the butt of his lance into the ground. "Well? How did you escape?" He demanded.

"Goddess, Highness, you can't spring a question on me with a body like that and expect me to answer quickly," Lilliana pulled her gaze up to meet his. "I tricked the guard you put there. Now it's his room."

"Stop staring at me, witch," Dimitri snapped, cheeks going pink. "How he fell for your tricks, I have no idea."

She smiled at him sweetly. "You look awfully hot, prince. What is it you want? A bucket of ice? A cool towel? A tussle in the hay?"

Dimitri began to advance, but Webbs came forward to restrain him.

Lilliana inspected her nails. "But yes, your guards are incompetent and gullible. Also, I'm looking for the children."

"I don't know where they are, " the prince huffed, shaking Webbs off.

She snorted. "Wow, great move locking me up; without me, you lose track of twelve kids."