A silence passed between both the proud gardeners and Daisy had joined them by then.
"See this was what I was saying." Daisy said as soon as she reached them, panting slightly.
Mr. Walker turned to Daisy giving her a stink eye, "You were blabbering about cookies and pears and left out the important part! I should give you a restraining order from me."
"Oh, but it won't work, as the order will be given to me to pass. And I won't pass it. Who passes a restraining order on themselves!" Mr. Walker was about to reply another snide remark when Ella interrupted, "Enough both of you. I have heard enough to have my ears ringing!" She turned to Mr. Walker and spoke, "Thank you for planting the lilies. You grew it in the exact place I wanted it to. But wasn't there an apple plant here that was growing?"
Mr. Walker scratched his neck and said, "Uh, it wasn't growing well. So I cut it down and since you wanted the lilies to be under good sun. I planted it there. Must I say it was very irritating at first. Identifying the difference between a full grown flower and a growing flower was very difficult. It didn't even ripe in different color. All looked the same!" Ella laughed at that.
"That's because it's a flower and not fruit, which will give you sign to let you know when it has ripened." He just muttered under his breath.
Ella looked around the lilies and plucked one among them, holding it to Mr. Walker, "My thanks to you for looking after them. This is a full grown flower." She said smiling at him, while giving him the flower.
"I'm a fruit person." Mr. Walker took it from his mistress, happy to acquaint with her again after a long time.
"I know, which is why I gave you a Wild Lily as the lone flower among the fruits." He didn't know how to reply to that. If not for his beard, his cheeks would have been visible with a tinge of pink. It seemed like Ella wanted to let him know that she would be the flower decorating his fruits.
"Um, I have many other fruits to look after. They need me. Just, ask for anything you need... Ella." It has been so long for him to call her name and so long for her to listen it from him. They had made an agreement for him to call her Ella and not to address her title. Sure he would address her as his mistress for the others, but they both knew he treated her like a daughter to call her by her name. She smiled at him, understanding evident in her eyes. He turned back to leave when he stopped and turned to her again, "I hope you look after the flowers now."
"I will." Indirectly stating that she would be here. After he left Daisy said, "He's lying you know. The apple tree was growing well, but he cut it down to plant your lilies. He wanted to keep a part of you closer to himself. He wouldn't let anyone come around this area. It has the perfect sunlight and the vibrant lilies, that used to attract many visitors. He had made me threaten to cut their hair and clothes, if he saw anyone passing by the garden."
Ella's heart filled with warmth. She had missed it so much. Daisy then said she had to head back to the reception and Ella claimed that she wanted to stay here a bit more. She turned back to the lilies and looked up to the sky. Noon was coming down, yet the light on her face facing the lilies was a vibrant sight to behold. She closed her eyes, taking in the light.
"Incredible right?" The voice interrupted her calm mood. She opened her eyes to see Roy standing opposite to her. How did he come over around her to start on the opposite side was beyond her. Her breath hitched at his sight. She should be hanged for appreciating the man and his looks. He looked more handsome than on the TV. His suit and trousers intact with both his hands in his trouser pockets, meant that he returned just now from somewhere. She remained quiet, while he looked at her from head to toe, scanning excruciatingly slowly. His eyes roamed from her boots which were actually canvases, but too muddy to look like one, wearing jeans and a thick top with her scarf tied around her neck loosely, giving him the view of her collar bones peeking out from her shirt, her neck looked attractive due to her continuous gulps; his eyes went down again to notice her breasts to have grown bigger than the last time he had seen, he thought he was just imagining but how can he be wrong about such matters. His eyes then moved upwards again to her face, her lips which she was licking now and then; only making him unleash his wanton side. Her eyes were no longer looking at him and was everywhere else.
Ella had looked away from his eyes, with the way he was looking at her. She couldn't just keep up with his eyes, that was undressing her, in front of him. How was she supposed to look at that! She was fidgeting with her fingers at her sides and moving on her feet at the same place. She then reminded herself that this wasn't the man who she was supposed to feel like that. She had moved on from him. Thinking that she looked at his eyes, who was already staring at hers, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance after a long time Mr. Knight."
The words were enough to sooth his mind. Though she retorted formally, he had missed her voice. No one, none of them had what she had. He closed his eyes after listening to her, his neck stretching back slowly, as though enjoying what she was saying. He looked back at her eyes again saying, "Pleasure is all mine. But I can share it to you. Like always." If it wasn't before, she was certainly afraid of the look in his eyes, he opened his eyes back with full of desire, that for a moment she didn't know what to say.
"I have a proposition for you Mr. Knight."
"Already? And here I thought I'll have to woo you to convince you." Ella glared at his remark. He made it seem like she was craving for his attention.
"You haven't even heard what I came here for."
"Do I have to?" He asked while skimming his fingers around the lilies. The both of them were standing opposite to each other, representing their differences and provocation of dealings.
Ella nodded and said, "To give you the next heir of the throne."
Roy looked at her eyes intensely and walked to her rounding the area where lilies were planted and came to stand next to her. This close he was very soon losing his sanity and keeping up his charade around her. "And you want my help." She nodded to his statement.
"Let's start then." He took her hand in his, interlinking her fingers and dragged her with him, all the while looking at her face. She noticed that and was looking straight ahead.
"Look ahead. Or you'll trip." Not a second later, Ella's leg gave away when came across something and was about to fall flat on her face, when Roy clutched her stomach from the back lifting up in the process. Now he had her lifted closer to him, her back touching his chest, her mouth slightly open expecting the fall to be hard, her legs were in the air; he said in her ears, "Like this?"
"Let go of me." She gritted her teeth when she understood he did it purposely. He was always like that. To teach her he would go to extent of putting her in danger only to save her later. That was how he gained most of the praises from Mark Kingsly, the previous heir, her father.
"Anything other than that darling." By now they had reached the hall of the main palace with Roy lifting her in the same position. He wouldn't lie that he missed her body against him. His nose was touching her side of the neck, his hands around her stomach and the other holding her hands. She didn't stop struggling though.
Roy then stopped at the middle of the hall, Ella thought now would be the time, when he would put her down, but he didn't. She got frustrated and made the last attempt of freeing herself, she didn't want to feel what she was feeling now. For that she will have to let go of him. She finally freed herself from him, only for him to pull her back to him with her front pressed against his chest now.
The both of them looked intensely at each other; one with a death glare while the other with a mischief in there.