Chapter 35 - A Draft

Lilith wondered if there would be questions about her relationship with Raymond. People should see it for what it is. Raymond was helping her because she was the one who was wronged. But people came up with the craziest things sometimes and it could really get out of hand.

Raymond and Lilith grew closer as time passed and they even had a fight. It seemed like they were just like any other pair of friends. Lilith considered him as a companion. She knew that it was a huge stretch to call him that, especially now that he was a King. But that was what he felt like to her. The way she acted around him and how he interacted with her, told her that he was also somewhat familiar with her as well. Lilith hoped that her thoughts were not one-sided.

There was one thing that Lilith found cool about the castle and that was how things were separated. Raymond has his own quarters and that was just like a mini house for him. His room, office, bathroom, and all that fancy stuff were in that part of the castle. There was also a part where his personal servants slept. Some of the help from the manor came with them to the castle. Mrs. Potts came along with two of the cleaners but the rest stayed. Along with the castle servants. It was gold to see that way their expressions fell when they were told the news that they were staying. Lilith did not really know the reason but she didn't really care to know.

The King's quarters were located at the back of the castle. There was a singular hallway that lead up to the area. There was one way in and one way out. Except for windows. Lilith walked behind Raymond as he was shown around the area by one of the noble servants of the castle. And once they were done, she left the both of them alone in Raymond's new office.

"Was this where... your father, did his work?" she asked him carefully as she watched him look around the room.

Raymond simply nodded.

It would be weird to have to take over the space of someone who was dead. And even weirder that it was also the place that they died.

"If this makes you uncomfortable then should you not ask for another place to sleep?" Lilith gave him a concerned look.

"There is no other place for me to go. I am the King and so I will be in the place for the King."

The office was much bigger and open than that of Raymond's old one. It was circular and jutted out from the castle a bit. There were shelves lining the walls and huge windows that let anyone see outside, but there were curtains. Thick ones at that. The desk was located closer to the back of the room with shelves behind it. Lilith made sure not to touch anything and just quietly looked around.

"It should take a day but I will have all of your work here ready for you to use. I can get them tomorrow for you." she looked back at him.

"That work... most of it had nothing to do with me anymore. I will have to look through to see what's relevant to me now but someone else will have to take over it." he sighed.

"I know that you may be feeling like you did all of that for nothing but you did well and I'm sure that your work will help the next person who gets it. And the work that you will do here will help people as well. And if you get frustrated about it, then I'll kidnap you and take you to live in Martease."

Raymond shook his head. He appreciated her attempt to make him feel better.

"Mr. Cavill." she suddenly called him.

"Yes," he looked up from studying the desk, and their gazes locked.

"Have you ever been outside?"

It was a sudden question. Why would she want to know that? Did it really matter? He could not really imagine what was so different from Creona.

"No, I've never been outside."

Lilith hummed. She had never been outside either. It was rare for people from Creona to leave much. Since the rest of the world was not as advanced as us, no one would really want to go to countries that were not as advanced. But some did and they left for good.

"Why are you asking me this?"

"No reason honestly. I just wanted to know." Lilith soothed her dress down. "I will go and prepare your room for you. See if I can make it as comfortable as possible."

That night, they both did not sleep well. They were both in a new place and so they did not expect to sleep much. Lilith had lit her lamp and taken to reading a book while Raymond's thoughts were too busy for him to focus. There was nothing the two wanted more than to be back in the manor. It was warm there, comfortable and familiar, but the castle had a draft to it that made it even scarier. It was big a little too quiet, and downright creepy.

Lilith worried that it was unsafe for Raymond. She hoped that he was sound asleep and not worried about the future. Maybe he thought that he was not good enough to be the King or that no matter how hard he tried he would not be able to do as good as people thought he would. So many people claimed that he would be great. Far better than Landon. It was a lot for someone to take in, especially when it was such a sudden turn.

Raymond worried that even if he were to find his way in the castle, his servants would not be able to. They spend all their time serving him in his manor and now they were in this big uncomfortable castle. Their place of work would be his quarters and he would make it so that no one else would be able to tell them what to do. But that was all he could think of in trying to make it more comfortable for them.

Mrs. Potts would be the only one who cooked him any food, Lilith would be the only one allowed to wake him, and all the things he needed for a personal servant and Laura and Charles to clean for him. That was it and how he needed it to be and if anyone were to try and get in the middle then he would do whatever it took to fix it.