Sixth: Confliction

Though her body had roused quite some time ago, she was still lying in bed with her head covered by a pillow. She didn't want to get up and face the day. Somewhere in the castle he was there waiting for her. She knew this, and what really scared her was how much she wanted to see him. He was unlike any man she had ever known. No matter how badly she bit at him, he continued to pursue her. She was running out of excuses to convince herself that he wasn't serious with his intentions.

Finally Reed and Samus gathered up enough bravely to nudge her. They were obviously concerned about her. She was touched; they were truly loyal servants. But she wasn't in the best of moods at the moment. She brought her head out from beneath the pillow and glared at them.

"Will you stop that? I'm awake already!"

"Sorry, milady," squeaked Reed. "We were just… making sure. We were worried you might be ill."

"Well, I'm not! But I'm not going out today! I don't want to hear any more of Percival's nonsense!" The two servants exchanged unreadable glances. She sensed what they were thinking, and absolutely fumed. "I don't care about him! I'm just tired of him bothering me all the time!" If she couldn't convince herself that was true, at least she could convince her servants.

"He's not here," muttered Samus. Lilly sat up like she had been zapped with electricity. She gazed wildly at the dark-skinned man.

"What?!" He coughed nervously; he was not looking forward to relaying this information.

"He's not here. He left earlier this morning."

"And you didn't tell me?!" she shrieked, leaping out of bed. "Where'd he go?"

"Uh, Brass Castle, I think."

"Well, thank you for telling me!! Now get out!" The duo immediately scurried to do so. She was still fuming as she got on her clothes, when suddenly it struck her: why was she so upset about this? Shouldn't be glad that he was out of her hair? Yes, of course she was. She would have time to herself to get her thoughts back together. She had just been confused while he was spouting all that nonsense. It meant nothing, absolutely nothing.

By the time she was dressed and ready for the day, she was in a much better mood. Now that she thought of it, this was probably the best thing that could've happened. No matter what his motives had been for trying to woo her, all that would be forgotten the moment he stepped inside Brass Castle. His fan club would be there waiting for him and he would forget all about Lilly. Maybe when he came back he would realize how wrong he had been to pursue a girl like her when he had so many girls that were willing to have his attention.

But if this is a good thing, why can't I feel happy about it?

------

He was not exactly willing when Lady Chris instructed him to go to Brass Castle. He really thought he was making progress with Lilly, and now he had to leave her. He didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. Reluctantly he got his horse saddled and ready to ride. He glanced back once. She'll be glad, he thought with a sigh. She probably won't even notice I'm gone. But even that heavy thought wasn't going to keep him down.

Lilly Pendragon was unlike any girl he had ever known. She was extremely self-confident and spoiled, and could easily take care of herself. She wasn't like most of the girls that fell over themselves for him; she wasn't looking for a knight in shining armor to save her from anything. Her tongue could be as sharp as any blade, her temper as hot as an inferno. All of that he knew before. But he had seen behind all of that. For the briefest moment her walls had been down and he saw something completely different.

I'm afraid of being forced to be something I'm not! I'm afraid of falling in love just to have my heart broken! He never thought before that Lilly could be afraid of anything. If anything, everyone else was afraid of her. But the more he thought about it, he began to realize that she was only protecting herself. If no one could get close to her then she couldn't get hurt.

"Oh, Lilly. You miss out on so much," he sighed, shaking his head sadly.

He made his way to Brass Castle. He was only here to get a few things for Lady Chris and check up on their allies here. It was unfortunate that hardly two paces inside, a swarm of girls gravitated towards him. He groaned and rolled his eyes good-naturedly. It was his little fan club gathering to welcome him back.

"Please excuse me, ladies. I have some business to attend to here."

"Oh, Sir Percival! Please let me ride your horse! Tell us about the war!" cooed the girls. Not too long ago, he would've put his duties on hold for these ladies. This time he didn't even consider the option. He shook his head and moved on. They relentlessly followed him, begging for his attention.

"I'm really very sorry, ladies, but my heart is set on someone." The girls gaped at him in pure shock. He turned slightly red; he hadn't meant for those words to slip out. "You're all very nice and I'm sure you can find someone else. Now, please excuse me." They just stood there, too stunned to make any response.

He was just as stunned as they were. He never turned them down before, even when he was interested in Lady Chris. He had really enjoyed their fawning. But now suddenly it just seemed silly to him. Lady Chris had never fawned on him, and he had been gone over her for a long time. Now there was Lilly; not only did she not fawn over him, but she completely rejected all of his fawning. Strangely, that's what he was liking best about her.

He finished with his work in Brass Castle and headed back home as soon as he could. He was actually starting to miss her.

------

"Do you ever leave the bar?" she snorted, giving the knight a quizzical look. The swordsman of rage stared back at her in confusion.

"Of course I do."

"Yeah, right. Whenever I come in here, I see you and Sir Percival at this same table." She pulled up a chair, trying to be casual. "And speaking of him, you two are pretty close friends, aren't you?"

"Yes," he answered slowly. "We've been friends since we were kids."

"So…" She hesitated, wondering how best to ask Borus this. She wasn't going to relax until she knew for sure if Percival was really interested in her or not. "You and he didn't, by any chance, make some kind of stupid bet that he could tame me or something, did you?"

"Um, no. I'd really hate to say this, Lilly, but Percival honestly loves you."

"You're lying!" she screamed, knocking his glass over and spilling its contents into his lap. "He does not! He-- he's just-- well, I don't know why he's doing it, but he can't love me!" Borus was staring at her, and to her great surprise he was smiling.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"Shut up!! Don't you dare even suggest that!" she snapped, angrily rising to her feet and stalking away. People scrambled out of her way just in time to avoid her boots as she kicked at anything in her path. She went out of the bar and slammed the door shut behind her.

She stomped over the castle, trying to expel the anger boiling inside her. She was angry because she wanted to believe it was true, yet she was afraid it wasn't. If Percival didn't care about her, than he had been playing her this whole time, like she suspected. What made her even more upset was that Borus was right about her own feelings. She was conflicted: she really did want to be in love, but then she didn't want to be hurt.

Her anger hadn't abated one bit, and she had stomped over every inch of the castle. She went outside and headed for the stables. Sometimes being around the horses calmed her down. Of all people, she saw Percival leading his horse inside and unsaddling the equine. Suppressing what she really felt, she held her head high and walked straight over to him. He turned and greeted her with a warm smile.

"Lilly! What a pleasant surprise. You're the very person I wanted to see."

"Now you listen to me, buster," she interrupted, pointing her finger at him. "I will not be subdued by your sweet words. I'm a girl that wants to travel around the world. I'm not going to be tied down by anybody. So why don't you leave me alone and go womanize someone who'll appreciate it?"

"You must've missed me," he commented with a soft laugh.

"I did not!" she denied angrily. Well, maybe she did a little bit. But she sure wasn't going to tell him that! "Weren't you even listening to a word I said?"

"Sure I did, but I never said I would try to tie you down. I'm a traveling man myself." He flashed her a grin. "And anyway, you bothering to come all this way just to tell me what I already knew is a clear sign that you missed me."

"You wish!" she huffed.

"I sure do," he agreed cheerfully. He gave his horse an affectionate pat on its side. "Well, see ya later, Lilly." He waved to her and casually walked by. She stood stunned for a moment. Once she got herself together again she spun around and glared at him.

"Is that it?" He turned towards her, looking surprised.

"What else were you expecting? I thought you didn't like me showering you with affection." She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Percival gazed back at her; his eyes showed he was reluctant to leave. "I'm sorry, Lilly. We'll talk later." And just like that, he was gone.

Lilly and Percival were battling with words. So far, the score was Percival: 3, Lilly: 0.