"Zaku," I call out once I'm in my room after the get-together.
"Yes, Lillian?" he answers as he appears from the closet.
I want to ask him about his conversation with Ezekiel, but I feel like now isn't the right time to ask. "I thought it was going to take you a while to get the information about the people on the list. How did you get it done so quickly?"
Taking a seat on my bed, Zaku grabs me by my waist and lowers me onto his lap so that he can hug me from behind. "I didn't like being away from you for such a long period of time, so I worked really hard to find everyone quickly. Luckily, they all live nearby each other, so I was able to gather the information in just a few hours."
"You're very clingy, you know that?" I comment with a slight chuckle as I try to look up at Zaku's face. When I finally catch a glance, all I can see is nothing but pure affection gazing down at me. "I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing."
Hugging me tighter, Zaku kisses the top of my head. "I must protect what is mine. That's why I'm a good prince."
"Yes, yes," I sarcastically respond with as I try to stand up from his lap.
"Wait, one more squeeze," Zaku begs before giving me a tight hug then letting me go. He then turns around so that I can change into my pajamas. After a moment of silence, Zaku asks, "Lillian, can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah, sure. What's up?" I answer as I take off my shirt.
"Can I call you Lily?"
Shocked by his strange request, I trip over my pants that were on the ground as I try to turn to look at him while still taking off my shirt. This leads to Zaku instinctively spinning around to catch me before I get hurt, but this puts us in a different predicament.
"Are you okay?" Zaku immediately asks after he catches me in his arms. Embarrassed, I cover my reddening face to at least hide from whatever expression Zaku has. However, Zaku is still very calm and lifts me up off of his body so that I can sit on the bed. "Did you hurt your head? Why is your face so red?
While I am still trying to plot how to respond to what just happened, Zaku covers me with the small blanket that I keep on the bed. "There's no need to feel embarrassed," he finally says after securing the blanket. "I have seen your body many times already, and I find it to be very beautiful. You shouldn't be ashamed that you were exposed to me."
I want to cry. Not because Zaku saw my body but because he was so gentle and kind about it and understood what I was feeling. The only other person who has seen my body at this age is my dad whenever he told me strip my clothes off so that he could "check me". I have only had horrible experiences with exposing my body, so it's such a relief when Zaku saw me.
Zaku pulls my head to his chest and rubs my back. "You must have been scared that something bad might happen. I promise that I won't touch you like that until you're ready, so you don't have to worry if I happen to see you like this. You're my princess, so you must only experience good and happy things from now on. As your prince, I will take care of the bad things and never become the bad thing you're scared of."
I do my best to stifle my cries, but I'm sure that Zaku is aware of the sense of relief that I felt and let me cry until my heart's content. After what seems like several minutes, I finally calm down. Zaku is still stroking my head as we lay down on my bed together.
"Call me Lily," I mumble without lifting my head.
"Lily," Zaku responds as a smile of sheer happiness grows on his face.
"Again," I request but now looking up at Zaku's face.
"Lily," he obediently follows while wiping the dried tear trails from my face.
I don't know if it is a conscious decision or not, but before I realize what I'm doing, I find myself kissing Zaku. His face which is full of surprise and confusion fill me with an indescribable sense of joy. Releasing my lips from his, I continue to stare at Zaku.
"What was that about?" Zaku asks after composing himself.
"I wanted to see something."
"What is it that you wanted to see?"
"How it feels to be kissed by someone who truly loves me..."
---
Two days fly by before I know it, and I find myself waiting at the bridge for Chard to show up.
"I never asked this, but why did you want me to save Chard so badly?" I mention while looking down into the deep ravine.
"Those who are at their lowest are the closest to darkness. It's easier to gain their loyalty than with an ordinary person," Zaku answers. His answer sounds a bit stoic. As if he didn't like for that to be the only way to gain citizens but had no other choice but to use it.
After some idle chatter, I hear leaves crinkling under someone's feet, so I look around to see Chard making his way over to me. However, he seems a bit rougher than he did two days ago, almost as if he is about to give up.
"What happened to you?" I quickly ask once Chard is in front of me.
Dropping to his knees, Chard clutches onto my pants and starts wailing. "I can't. I can't take it anymore. Please help me."
"Why? What's going on? It's only been two days."
Chard shakes his head and grips tighter onto my pants, causing me to drop down to the ground. "Everyone on that list. They kept bothering me. Pestering me for more money that they know that I don't have. I have been kicked out of the place I was renting and sleeping in these woods for the past two nights because the landlord didn't like all of the people coming to his house. I was so close. I wanted to give up so bad, but I wanted to put faith in you to change my life. It sounds so ridiculous, doesn't it?"
My mask drops for only a split second. The quickly wiped smirk turns to an expression of sorrow. "Don't worry. I'm going to do everything I can to help you get back your feet. I wish I could say that I will do this with no conditions, but you should know that nothing good in this life comes for free. But it's not a hard condition. Very manageable."
"I don't care what the condition is. Just please.... Please help me." Chard's expression of desperation and fatigue solidifies Zaku's reasoning on why people like Chard are so much easier to recruit. When someone is at this point in their lives, they honestly do not care what else happens to them.
Zaku rises up from my shadow and stands beside me. "Kneel and pledge your loyalty to darkness and your rulers," I command as I stare down at Chard. "You will become a citizen of darkness and the subject of Prince Zaku and me, Lillian Frose."
Recollecting himself, Chard kneels before us with an almost steeled look in his eyes. "I, Chard James, pledge loyalty and allegiance to darkness. I will obey only the commands of Prince Zaku and Lillian Frose."
'Those who find comfort in the dark eventually find others who do the same.'
The words I have heard twice already ring in my ears, but this time, my head begins to pound. Swaying from trying to regain my balance, Zaku wraps his arm around me and supports me.
"Are you okay?!" he asks in a panic tone.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm good. My head just started hurting."
Zaku continues to looks at me with worry as if he wanted to say something but keeps it to himself. If he wants to say something, he will. I don't want to force him to say anything he's not ready to say yet.
"With this, you will listen and enact every order I give you without fail," I mention while I get myself together. "Your first order is to not go anywhere near the people who you have listed down. Find a place to stay for the next few days. When everything is over, you should have the money returned to you, so buy a house within the area. That will serve as our base for the growing kingdom. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Chard promptly responds as he stands up from the bridge. I can see in his eyes that the transformation is starting. They appear less tired and firmer.
[Oof... 'Your Highness'?... That's gonna take some getting used to, but I don't hate it.]