Heart of the Sea

Chapter 19 - Just Business

When Lili awoke, her initial happiness was quelled as she remembered the previous night. She blinked and got up, heart sinking as she saw that David was already up and about, making breakfast. Apparently she'd slept later than she'd thought.
Ah yes. There was Snow as well, preparing Neal for his own breakfast.
Lili got up uncertainly, scratching at her thick curls.
David glanced over, offering her a bit of a smile. "Good morning."
"Uh, yeh, good..good morning."
Snow looked up. "Did you sleep well?"
"A..aye, I did. You, milady?" (She nearly winced at the awkwardness of the conversation.)
"Well, thank you." Snow dabbed at Neal's lip where a bit of drool lingered.
Silence.
"I..I'm sorry."
Both parents looked at her, concern beginning to furrow their brows.
"F'r..f'r lahst night. I-really, I didn't.." she shook her head. "I would never harm the boy." She swallowed. "Intentionally. I.."
"Lili, we forgive you," David broke in. "It's okay. Not..y'know, but..."
She swallowed, head ducking. "Thank you, highness." She blinked rapidly, forcing tears back from her eyes. It was too bloody early for tears.
"Would you like to help me set the table?" Snow offered, changing the subject as David went back to cooking breakfast.
"Yes, absolutely," Lili replied hurriedly, quickly striding over, pulling out plates and silverware as Mary Margaret went to the pantry to get the syrup and cinnamon.
Lili set each plate carefully, making sure the design on each matched the one beside it perfectly, each exactly the same amount of space apart. She eyed the plates across the table, making sure they too were in line and matching. She did the same with the utensils, folding paper towels carefully, setting each just beside the plates, making the forks and knives rigidly straight as she put them down next to one another.
"Lili it's okay, it doesn't have to be perfect," Mary Margaret remarked, a little concerned.
Lili glanced up from her task. "Oh..I'm sorry, I just..I..I'll just.." Her face flushed, and she pushed a fork with her finger, making it a little uneven.
(She could hear it screaming at her.)
She cleared her throat and forced herself to move on, getting the butter and another knife, setting it atop, carefully placed, perfectly horizontal to the container.
Snow watched as the poor girl glanced back up at her, face flushing a little more before she moved the knife a little, so it was a bit more diagonal, a little more blood rising to her ears, fingers twitching into a fist before she shook her head a little. "Or, whatever you're comfortable with. It's fine," Mary Margaret said.
Lili's shoulders sank with the relief that filled her eyes as they flicked up to Snow's with gratitude. She quickly fixed the knife and scooted around the table to fix the fork, relaxing visibly once it was back in place. She cleared her throat and moved on to the next task.
Snow let her arrange the condiments as she liked, not wanting her to feel out of place or uncomfortable, simply going back to feeding Neal.
"Is..is there anything else I can do?" Lili asked once she'd finished.
Snow was about to protest, say that there was nothing she needed to make up for, when David said "yeah, if you could get me a plate, that would be great." Lili quickly went to the cabinet and got out a plate, handing it to him.
"Thanks." He gave her a smile, which she returned. He understood. While she was relatively aware and had somewhat accepted that she'd been forgiven, she still felt like she needed to make up for it, and if it made her happy, or feel better, at least, to help out more than usual, he was willing to let her. (Besides the fact that it was a bit nice.)
"Anything else?" 
He clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Not that I can think of."
"Alright." She cleared her throat, rubbing at the scar behind her ear, turning around to see if she'd missed anything. Drinks!! She'd forgotten about beverages!
"D'you..d'you know who all is coming to breakfast?" She'd set the table for six out of habit, only now thinking that the others might not be coming.
"I think everyone is."
"Right. Should I get out mugs f'r coffee?"
"Yeah, that'd be good."
Right. Three mugs. She set them at David, Killian, and Emma's places before asking Snow what she wanted to drink.
With the response, Lili got out glasses for the other three of them and sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as she surveyed her work. Blazes! She'd nearly forgotten the..the rag things, that went under the hot plate. She slipped around David, pulling out a potholder, setting it on the table. Now. That ought to do it. She nodded once to herself before the door opened and the..the other pair came in. Lili tried not to make it too obvious as she peered at the door while Killian and Emma walked in, calling their greetings to the royal pair. Henry wasn't here. Her heart sank. She'd pushed him away. (Good.)
"Good morning, lass," Killian said gently, soft smile on his lips, gaze kind as it rested on her.
"Good morning, Captain," she replied softly, unable to meet his gaze for more than a moment.
"How're you feeling?"
"Better." She was able to meet his eyes for longer than a moment, and his smile widened.
"Good."
She looked better, if..if a bit too much like that cabin boy he'd known so long ago. Fingers of one hand gently wrapped around her other wrist, eyes focused on the floor, shoulders somewhat slumped; nervous, eager to please. ..Afraid?
He longed to lift her chin, tell her she didn't need to scuff her feet any longer, but..this was something that would only heal with time.
"Um, Captain, ahfter..ahfter breakfast I've a..matter I need to speak with you about."
"I look forward to it."
She looked up at him, the smile that quirked onto his lips for a moment, before she nodded and went to remove Henry's plate and utensils from the table. They all sat down and David said grace. Lili was even more subdued than usual, and the conversation was a bit choppy as they ate, the silences a bit awkward in between sentences. "How've things been at the office lately?" Killian asked, filling the silence with something other than quiet chews and the scraping of utensils on plates.
"It's been good! The usual busy, but..manageable," Mary Margaret replied, sounding almost surprised that it was so. 
"What d'you have t'do?"
A few surprised gazes flicked to Lili, who hadn't spoken during the meal up until now.
"Um..well, right now I'm trying to update the city records. We've only just started getting more modern technology, so it's kind of..interesting, trying to find things, as mostly everything is still on paper. It's..sort of like running a kingdom, except it's a city. There's a council that helps with decisions, if decisions need to be made."
"Like..what sort of laws need t'be implemented."
Snow nodded. "Yeah, like that. I'm also responsible for ceremonial things."
Lili let out a small "hm" and poked at her eggs. She glanced up, noticing the curious looks on the faces surrounding her in the silence afterward. "What? I like t'know the inner workings of the government."
"To exploit loopholes?" Killian hinted, cheeky light in his eyes.
Lili's jaw dropped, her dry nature starting to kick in. "I would never. I just like t'know where the line is so I can put my toe on it, that's all."
Killian snorted and a few other chuckles sounded, and Lili smiled a little.