Killing Softly ✞ (gxg)

9 | pet

"When am I allowed to leave this goddamned room?"

Smiling as he stood in front of the door with his hands clasped behind his back, the bangs of his curly hair parted in the middle so that he could properly see, Holden wittily responded, "Whenever you learn to not poke the beast."

Staring up at the unlit chandelier hanging from the ceiling as she lay sprawled out on her bed, Lily mumbled, "She poked me first."

Holden chuckled in amusement. "That's sort of her job."

Lily scrunched her eyes at his words, turning her head to gaze out the window. It was midday, the sun shining bright and reflecting the whiteness of the mountains right into her eyes. She longed to go outside. "Shouldn't a ruler's job be taming people instead of riling them?"

"She does both. The problem is that you are not included in the group you refer to as 'people,'" the guard responded. "You are the lesser than."

The girl snapped her head over to him, her face partially covered by the swamp of blonde hair laying like a crown around her head. "Just because I'm physically inferior by nature does not make me lesser than anything or anyone."

Holden sighed at the girl's stubbornness, tilting his head back and closing his eyes. "The whole point is that you disrespected the Queen. Lesser than or not, that's never a proper thing to do." He returned his eyes to her, tilting his head like a gently reprimanding mother. "And no, not even if she did it first."

Huffing, the girl turned onto her side so that she was longer facing him, choosing instead to stare out the window and pout. "I still don't want to be locked in this room all day." She secretly thought to herself that at least she, Jasmine, and Peter would be escaping—or at least attempting to—later that night, so it was only the rest of the day she had to endure in boredom before some action would happen.

"We are both in the same boat, little dumbass," Holden said with a smirk, also growing tiresome of standing at her door all day.

A few moments of silence fell upon them until Lily could faintly hear the sound of heels clicking in the hallway, their echo reverberating off the walls. She sharply sat up, turning her attention towards the door as she listened closely and realized that the heels were quickly approaching her room. She perked up even more when there were three light knocks on the door.

Turning on his heel, Holden took the two handles of the doors and pulled them open, but Lily could not see who stood at the door from her side of the room. Feeling suddenly hesitant to move, she tucked her thick hair behind her ear and listened closely.

"Has the Duke of Scottsdale responded to the letter?" spoke that familiar silvery voice that somehow brought heat to the girl's ears at the mere sound of it.

"Yes, Your Majesty. He requests that you bring the court with you," Holden replied in a polished tone, their voices kept at nearly a whisper.

Lily slowly slipped her body down the mattress, her bare feet resting quietly on the floor. Flattening her white dress, she tilted her head and strained to listen.

The Queen's chuckle rang out softly, and even Lily could recognize it as somewhat cutting. "The Duke requests my court?" The girl took a gentle step forward, able to see part of the Queen's face over Holden's figure. "Tell the old bastard my court has not been needed since the early days of my reign, nor shall they be needed any time soon."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Holden respectfully said, giving a small bow which cleared the Queen's line of sight, allowing her eyes to flicker up and shoot right into Lily's. The girl froze in her spot.