Secrets Within the Estate

13

The next morning, Liam woke up and Caspian was gone.
"Wh-what happened... oh."

Last night I drank and then ended up telling Caspian things and cried... again... and I fell asleep on him again... this is embarrassing...

Liam stood up and stumbled. "My head still hurts..."
He heard a knock on the door.
"Are you awake yet?"
"Y-yes... come in..."

Caspian walked inside and slid the door shut behind him. He was holding a small bowl.
"I brought you some soup for your hangover."
"My wh-what...?"
Caspian set the bowl on the table. There was already a spoon inside. "Sit and eat."
"...okay." Liam sat down and ate a spoonful of the soup.
"A hangover is what happens the morning after you get drunk. I'm sure your head still feels a bit fuzzy or hurts, this will make that go away "
"Okay..."

"I had them make a cake." Caspian said as he leaned against the wall.
"A cake...?"
"For Lyra's birthday."
"Oh... w-we haven't h-hard a cake b-before..."
"Well, we'll start the tradition this year. Cake for your birthday."
"..."
"When is your birthday?"
"I don't know."

"What? Then how do you-"
Liam pointed to a small book on the shelf. "Th-there's a little b-book... I c-count th-the days."
"But not your own?"
"Lyra knows. Ask h-her. Ria, t-too."

"I'll keep that in mind."
"I'm done." Liam set the spoon in the empty bowl.
"Okay. Get dressed and let's go to the dining hall."
"Dining hall...? Wh-why...?"
"It's a surprise."
"..."

Caspian left.

After he got dressed, Liam put his shoes on and had someone escort him to the dining hall.
When he got there, the room was filled with people walking around and setting dishes full of food on the tables.

Caspian spotted Liam and walked over to him. "Come with me."
"H-huh? Wh-what's going on-"
"You'll see."
"O-okay..."

Caspian led Liam into the kitchen to a cake covered in white frosting.
"Is th-this-"
"It's not done yet."
"Wh-what else-"

Caspian pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Liam.
Liam unfolded it and looked at the four letters written on the paper. "Wh-what does th-this-"
"That's Lyra's name. I want you to write it on the cake with frosting."
"M-me?! I'll mess it-"
"You spent nearly two hours practicing your letters last night. I believe that you can do it."
"B-but-"
"Even if it's not the best, I'm sure that she will still be very happy."
"..."

Caspian handed Liam a small piping bag full of purple frosting.
"To use this, you squeeze gently and use the tip like a pen. Frosting will come out of the small hole at the end, and you use that to write. But don't squeeze too hard."
"O-okay..."
Caspian took the paper and held it for Liam to see. "There's only four letters so it shouldn't be that hard. I made sure the cake was big, so there's plenty of room."

"I'll t-try..."
"I believe in you."
Liam looked at the paper and started to write with the frosting.
"L,"
"Okay..."
"Y,"
"... o-okay,"
"R,"
"...Th-that one looks b-bad..."
"It's fine. The last letter is A, you were doing really good with that one."
"O-okay, I did it..."

Caspian took a look at the cake. The only letters that were clear were the L and A, but it still looked fine, at least he tried.
"Good job."
"R-really...?"
"Yes. You should practice Y and R, but you did very good with the L and A. Be proud of yourself."
"..."
Caspian took the frosting bag from Liam and set it back on the counter along with the paper.
"Wh-what now...?"
"We go out to the dining room, and wait for your sister to come. She'll be here any minute."
"Ah... okay,"

Liam followed Caspian out of the kitchen with the cake in his hands and sat down at the table next to Caspian.
"Do w-we just w-wait-?" Liam asked.
"Just wait." Caspian said as everyone sat down.