Killing Softly ✞ (gxg)

25 | bound to you

"I still have sand in my boobs."

Lily curled her lip as she squirmed in her chair at the dining table, pulling the fabric of her dress away from her chest in an attempt to get the sand to sift away from her breasts.

"What a lovely sentiment to announce at breakfast," Holden commented as he stared down at the puffy scrambled eggs that he had just forked, no longer caring to eat them.

They had safely arrived back to the castle the previous evening, and since Lily had insisted her and Rose stayed in one of the beach huts that other night (and since Rose insisted she simply couldn't keep her hands off Lily), she still had sand in various places of her body. Now the three, plus Peter, were sat at the table.

"I've never been to a beach before," Peter added right before he bit into his toast.

Lily felt refreshed to be around Peter. Since everything had been happening with Rose and the war, she hadn't seen much of the British boy with brunette locks. "Oh, they're my favorite places to be. Perhaps the Queen will allow you to join us on another trip to a beach in the near future?" She turned to Rose who had not been listening but was instead staring rather intently at the slices of oranges on her plate, using her fork to stab the same slice over and over. The girl threaded her eyebrows, and her stare on the Queen caused Holden and Peter to also crane their necks and watch the broody vampire stab the orange slice.

"Rose?" Lily questioned, her addressing the Queen causing her eyes to snap up to hers.

Fork in hand and fork in orange, Rose looked at the girl expectantly with her lips pouted in a concentrated expression. "Yes?"

"Have you a grievance against that poor slice of orange?" Peter butted in with a chuckle.

The Queen flashed her eyes to him, her irises flaring amber. She watched his genial smile fade into a fearful stare that he quickly averted to his plate. She then glanced to Lily, and she suddenly remembered who she really was. She was no longer the ruthless Queen who would kill a human that dared to speak to her in such a casual way. But she remembered that she was actually a kind Queen who was in love with one of those humans and was about to go to war to free them.

Her eyes returned to their tranquil state. "My apologies, Peter," she spoke formally yet also friendly. "I'm a bit on edge today." She then directed her words more towards Holden. "My senses are telling me that war is coming today."

"We've raised the drawbridge and fortified the barbicans. We also have garrisons in every village, Your Majesty," Holden assured her. Lily watched him closely, remembering the story that Rose told her about how Holden, the Queen's personal guard, came to be.

"Are the batailles sorted out?" she questioned with raised brows.

"Yes, Your Majesty, and we have heavy infantry standing on guard."

The Queen nodded, leaning back against her chair and staring down at the table searchingly, as if she was mapping out plans right there on the wooden surface. Then her eyes widened slightly, pupils dilating into wide black pools, as if she had just received news. "I have a feeling they're not going to try to conquer town by town. They're going to come straight to the castle."

"The castle is absolutely protected, Your Majesty. We have cannons on every fortified tower and more soldiers than we will probably even need," Holden responded in a gentle tone.

Rose nodded again before standing up from her chair, feeling Lily's eyes follow her. She glanced down to the girl and gave a tight smile. "I'll be in my office looking over some maps." She nodded respectfully towards Holden and Peter who both nodded back in matched respect.