Castle of Lilies

Chapter 27

Genevieve's PoV

After our date and Zach's formal, second proposal we began to spend more time together, I lifted my rule of not speaking to him and we began to have actually interesting conversations. We all went back to Loutocia, me, dad and Zach. Dad especially pleased with himself for distracting me long enough for the date to be set up, a smug look on his face all the way home. Very annoying. Zach was allowed to sit next to me and for half of the journey I slept with my head in his lap and then the other half our hands refused to be separated. My dad kept smiling at us like a school girl obsessing over her friends relationship. It was weird. Once we got back to Loutocia, I allowed Zach to move in to my spare bedroom but with ground rules. He's not allowed to shower when I'm in the room. He's not allowed in my room unless I allow him in. He's not allowed to walk around with just a towel or no trousers on. Shirtless I've allowed. He's not allowed to sleep in my bed and he's not allowed to give the maid my laundry.
It's going pretty good. No fallouts so far, no massive arguments, a few petty ones over where we put our bathroom stuff but we figured that out. One about how he folds his laundry which was just plain horrible but we also fixed that. Occasionally I think about Lillia and how she's doing, but I no longer pine after her. Sometimes I think maybe she was just an experiment or maybe I really did love her but then I realise that I'm happy with Zach and that's enough for me.
Sat at the breakfast table with Zach's arm around my shoulders , my mum drones on about some stupid ceremony for "Queens of the kingdoms" as she puts it but apparently she hasn't been invited and that's soo sad because she "...so deserved to go." I say my voice coated with sarcasm back in mine and Zach's room.
"Honestly, I wish she'd just shut up about herself sometimes. Like if she cared about me at all she would notice that I was wearing an engagement ring or that the wedding is going to be next month and that we are planning everything because she's too consumed by the fact that she didn't get invited to some stupid ceremony to be helping us plan."
"Hey hey hey. She's an imbecile and an idiot and a stupid idiot imbecile monkey yes, but we can ignore her, plan our wedding the way we want it to be. Instead of having her, you know she would, ruin it by planning something too extravagant and not at all what we want. So we'll just send her an invite three days before to see her panic over the perfect dress. How 'bout it?" Zach says calming my anger down to annoyance.
"I love you. You know that right." I say hugging him.
"I did not know that no. Did you know that I love you too?" He replies happiness in his voice.
I pause my brain processing what I just said.
"Did we just say I love you for the first time. And did I say it and freak you out because that would be something I'd totally do. I'm so sorry."
"Shush." Zach says pressing a finger to my lips, "Do not be sorry. You didn't freak me out. And yes you did say I love you but in case you didn't hear me, I love you back. I've been waiting for a while to say it because I didn't want to freak you out. But now we've both said it and it was adorable. I love you."
Taking a breath of relief I say sincerely "And I love you."
I give him a quick kiss before taking his hand and dragging him through the halls, "Can you ride?"
"Yes why?" He replies laughing.
"Let's go then!"
We saddle up and set off on a hack through the woods, chatting and laughing.
"I'm going to stop trying to impress mother. I'm only going to try and impress myself and you." I say suddenly in a serious mood.
"You don't need to impress me, everything you do is perfect in my eyes. But I'm glad you're going to stop trying to impress her. She doesn't deserve you."
"Thanks."
A few hours later we walk into the castle laughing once again to see Mother stood with a stern face and hands on her hips. Zach squeezes my hand in support as she says in her usual disappointed tone "Where on earth have you been? And why are you filthy? You've missed six of your etiquette lessons! And you have a reputation to uphold and looking like that does not comply with it. Go and clean yourself, change and then come and apologise to your tutors."
"No."
A shocked look appears on her face "I beg your pardon?"
"Mother I said no. I won't comply to your reputation of me. I'll make a new one. One where I'm happy. I went on a ride, I had the most fun I've had in a long time. Those stupid tutors teach me the same thing, I know everything. The people in our kingdom want to see their princess happy not bored or tired. I'm marrying Zach, you got what you wanted, but I've had the best time of my life with Zach in these past few days and more fun than I've had in years. Your disappointing tone doesn't make me feel guilty anymore. You don't have to control me now, I'm old enough to take care of myself, go and worry about why you didn't get invited to that ceremony. We'll go and plan our wedding."
We walk past her, leaving her bewildered at what just happened.
"I'm proud of you." Zach says with a kiss to the top of my head.
I lean further in to him my arm around his waist for support, the adrenaline leaving my body shaking.

Blinking open my eyes, I find myself in my bed in my room covered by my duvet with a cold flannel on my forehead.
"What?" I say groggily.
"Hey, don't move yet. You've been out for a while." I look to where the voice is coming from to see Zach sat on the armchair by my bed, a reading book on his lap.
"What?" I repeat not able to think of what else to say.
"You passed out so I put you to bed. You've been out for four hours. I was starting to worry."
"Well I'm fine now." I say and attempt to sit up but immediately my vision goes blurry and I have to lay back down again.
"Yes. You can't get out of bed until tomorrow. Doctors orders. Bed rest." He says firmly.
"You got the doctor in?" I say sighing.
He shakes his head, "No because I know you hate doctors but you can't hate me because you're marrying me so I say as a trained doctor, bed rest."
Confused I raise an eyebrow at him, signalling for him to explain.
He laughs before taking a seat again, "I was kicked out of Corallone as you know. I was demoted to being a commoner, so I decided to help the people out in someway, I trained to become a doctor and passed with flying colours, I had a practice in the city and people trusted me. But I knew I wanted to go back to my home so trained one of my young doctors and left the practice to them."
"Look at you, trained, hot doctor. What more could I ask for in life?"
He laughs again a sound that warms my ears to hear, "What more?" Then he presses a light kiss to my forehead and says "Hungry?"
I nod enthusiastically and immediately regret it. "Very." I say instead.
"Well then my love, I will go and get you some food."
I smile gratefully as he closes the door and leaves me to sleep.
The smell of food wakes me up, the exquisite smell of pancakes with syrup fills my nostrils and I look up to find Zach stood at the end of my bed with a tray full of them, trying to be quiet as he places the tray on the table at the foot of my bed.
"That smells amazing." I say startling him.
"Oh my goodness Evie! You startled me to death."
"Sorry, and Evie?"
He takes a breath then smiles "Yeah, I thought it was a good one."
I smile back, "I do too. Can we eat that?" I point to the tray.
"Yes, I made it myself especially for you."
He brings the tray around and carefully climbs onto the bed to sit next to me in order to share. We eat greedily, both of us stuffing our mouths very unroyal like with pancakes and syrup. It does taste absolutely delicious though so I have no regrets. After we've finished I ask, batting my eyelashes jokingly at him "So... can I get out of bed today doctor?"
"Fine. But you can't do any exercise or lessons, today your only allowed to relax and chill."
"I have absolutely no objections to those orders."
He smiles a smile that lights up my heart, "I didn't think you would."
I decide to do some gardening with the help of Zach, well, when I say gardening, I really mean I sit in my deckchair while ordering Zach about what to do with the plants and where to put them. He grumbles a little bit, okay I lie, he grumbles a lot, like constantly but he does the work I've been meaning to do for weeks but I've had stupid lessons that I no longer attend. He plants some trees for me and some poppy seeds along with some lettuces in the vegetable garden.
As the midday sun gets too hot to sit out in, we head inside to the library where we proceed to read the heck out of some non fiction books, setting a competition up to see who could read the most without getting so bored they drop dead. It's fun. I win. Zach read one chapter before throwing it across the room and annoying the librarian and getting us kicked out.
Then we sit in my room on my sofa, me leaning my head on Zach, my legs curled underneath me.
"I'm glad I accepted your proposal when I read your file."
"Huh?" He says.
"Me and Lillia weren't planning on ever reading it because we thought you were a jerk, but Lillia read it that night after mum said she hoped it was a phase and realised what you were doing in Loutocia, then she showed me and were it not for my fear of letting my mother down which I no longer have, then I wouldn't have broke up with Lillia and we wouldn't be here. Planning a wedding."
"I will be eternally grateful that you did that." He says with a smile, "And in relation to our wedding, have you got a dress yet? And what flowers do you want?"
"I do not yet have a wedding dress however I will soon. And then the flowers I want are white roses. And also some pale pink freesias."
With a kiss to my head he says "Ok. I love whatever you choose as long as I'm marrying you."

Zachary's PoV

She is the most perfect girl ever to exist. She gives out so much love and I just want to return it all to her. I'm so happy that she agreed to marry me. I love her stubbornness and the way she cares so deeply about how people are affected by her actions. She's taken so much abuse from her mother and I'm so proud of her for standing up to that snob. When I first met Penelope I knew immediately that she wasn't a nice woman. She spoke in a much too fake tone to be a nice person. Like she always has something to hide, and her eyes were calculating and manipulating as they examined me.
But now I look down to see Evie sleeping peacefully, her hair perfect as always, her hand gently resting on my chest and I think about how lucky I am to have found her.