The Next Day

"Wasn't the ball last night great?" I sighed as Ally, Lianne and I browsed the Corus markets.

"Ha! For who? Not me. My escort was such a bore! He droned on and on and on and on and about cheese and…"

"Cheese?" I interrupted.

"Oh, something like that. I wasn't paying attention."

" So, anyway, what about you Li?"

"Fine. Prince Regan was nice, I guess. But the boy I really wanted to dance with was Squire Joren!"

"Li, why on earth would you prefer a squire to an heir to the throne?" Ally demanded.

"Who cares about a stupid title? Joren suits me far more than some rich old prince!" Li exclaimed.

"Does Joren know?" I asked. Of late he had been turning up in odd places, when I was alone in the gardens, or alone at the market. He would often stop to talk with me, and once in particular I remembered. I was swinging by the creek, when he stopped the swing and stood behind me. He took a handful if my hair that was hanging freely down my back, then in his clear, educated voice he said: "I would very much like to see this same hair on my pillow." I had sarcastically replied, "Good luck with that!!" He had just smiled and walked away. I got a bad feeling about him and I told Li so.

"I should hope so! I kissed him last night on the terrace!" she squealed.

"What!!!" Ally and I screeched in unison.

"Are you two deaf? I said I.."

"We know what you said, but we need details! Where, when, why, how?"

"I already told you! Honestly, on the terrace, last night at the ball, because I like him, he put his lips on mine! Or was it the other way around?"

"Li! That's absolutely scandalous! What if your father finds out?" Ally asked. It was common knowledge that King Jonathan was determined for all his children to make marriages that would be beneficial to the kingdom.

"What's there to find out, that I like a noble boy? It's not like I'm going to marry him or anything! It was just a kiss."

"Li, what if, you know, it leads to, umm, other things?" I asked, not sure how to put it.

"Lilia, if you're trying to tell me something, say it."

"I just did! What if it leads to other things?" I repeated.

"Like what?" Ally asked, as she looked through fabrics.

"Guys! Don't be dense!" I was getting annoyed.

"I know what you mean. And don't worry Lilia. I promise I won't let it get anywhere near that level," Li patted my shoulder.

"I hope you don't," I said seriously.

"Will someone please tell me what you're talking about!!!" Ally shouted.

"Ally, if you don't know, perhaps you should talk to your mother," Li told her. "So, Lilia. You and Prince Reeve seem to like each other!"

"True, but you may be the one marrying him." I said gloomily.

"I know." Li sounded just as gloomy as me.

"Okay, what are you talking about now?!" Ally demanded. Li and I just laughed.

Later that afternoon:

"Lady Lillianne of Mindelan, is that you?" a foreign male voice called. I looked up from the stitchery in my lap. Prince Reeve was walking to where I sat on a bench in a small palace courtyard filled with trees and benches and paths that led to a maze of gardens.

"Good afternoon, your highness," I greeted him as he sat next to me.

"Reeve, please," he insisted.

"I will if you'll call me Lilia."

"Did you learn to negotiate from your grandfather, Lady Lilia?"

"Yes, I did."

"He should be proud."

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"Didn't I just say he would be?"

"And what are you doing this afternoon?" I asked.

"Talking to you, is it not obvious?"

"Once again, I must say how did I miss that? But do you plan to talk to me all afternoon? The pressure of maintaining conversation that would entertain a royal personage like yourself would certainly cause me a great deal of stress."

"Really? I would hate to cause you the evident anxiety that merely talking to me would cause. So, how shall we mend the situation?"

I shrugged.

"How about I talk to you and you can go back to your sewing. That way you'd only have to nod occasionally to signal that you are still awake and you wouldn't have to worry about what to say or anything. That okay?"

I nodded mutely. So, for the next two hours, I worked on my sewing while Reeve talked. Sporadically I laughed or nodded at a joke or sarcastic remark. Reeve talked about everything and anything, his family, his childhood, his beliefs, his friends, his plans. I was sad when I realized we had better part to get ready for the dinner party.

"We better go get ready for the dinner party," I said sadly. He heaved a sigh.

"I suppose so. I hope I've bored you enough that you have built up your tolerance to tedium."

"Actually, sitting in on peace talks built up my tolerance so much that things that normal people find boring I find fascinating."

"I guess I'll see you at dinner," he said and departed.

I walked to my home-away-from-home, Lianne's room. I had been staying with her, getting to my parents town house in the city was just a pain. When I entered she was reading a book in her window seat. She looked up and smiled, her sapphire blue eyes sparkled with a secret I could tell she was anxious to share.

"What?" I demanded.

"Oh, someone's in love," she chirped.

"What?" I repeated.

"Someone in this very room. And I'll give you two guesses but you're only going to need one." I stared blankly. "She just spent two hours listening to a handsome prince tell her all about himself while she watched him with that deer-in-the-hunters-aim look in her hazel eyes," she continued.

"Li! I am not in love!" I declared.

Li snorted. "Yeah right!"

"Li, I've known the guy for a day! I like him certainly, but I don't love him!"

"Come off it Lilia! You're positively glowing! And I have some news that might mess things up, Squire Joren called while you were out."

"He did not!"

"Yep. I invited him in. He saw you out the window, you were laughing with Reeve. He was really mad. But, he kissed me on the cheek before he left and said he'd see me tonight!" she giggled.

"Dinner! We have to get ready for the dinner party!" I made an attempt to change the subject, but as we dressed Lianne continued to chatter about Joren.

A/N - Review!!