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The Sweetest Bee

Chapter 8: Oh, Brother.

If there was one thing Lily was thankful for, it was peace and quiet. Night had already fallen over the town as she left the castle, and no one was out and about in the dark of night. The royal family sure ate dinner late. She wondered if they got to sleep in too. Either way, she was completely and utterly alone with her thoughts.

"So, the palace huh?"

If there was one thing Lily wasn't thankful for, it was her eldest brothers tendency to sneak up on her. She had some how managed to jump several feet from where she previously was standing, her brother leaning against the walls of the castle gate from which she herself had just exited.

"Samuel! Would you stop scaring me like that?!"

"Awe, but that's what brothers are for, baby sister!" The young man chuckles and ruffles her hair. He was almost as tall as their father, and has a small layer of stubble growing on his face. He had soft blue eyes, similar to hers, as well as a toothy grin. She pushes his hand away, fixing her hair.

"What are you doing here?"

"I followed you, of course. You really think I wouldn't notice you sneak out? Hell, even Parker noticed."

"You're not going to tell Father, are you?!"

"Not unless you tell me why you were trying to sneak in a wagon axle onto royal grounds."

"I can't tell you that, it's not my place."

"Well then, I'm sure father will love to hear that himself" Samuel started walking away, in the direction of the carpenter's house. Lily panics, knowing that he will tell their father about her sneaking out to meet a boy. If she didn't tell him the truth, she would have to tell her father the truth, and she had promised Kim she wouldn't. She had to stop her brother.

"Sam! Wait!" She hiked up her skirts in her hands and hurried after her him, latching onto his arm once she did. Sam slowed down so he could walk along side her, but he didn't stop as they made their way home.

"You have to promise not to tell a soul. Not even Parker, and especially not Father."

"I promise." Sam smiled reassuringly. Lily smiled back, knowing that she could trust him as she always had. She proceeded to explain the events of the past few weeks, from meeting the prince and helping fix his carriage, all the way to being caught by the queen herself. Sam listened intently, amazed that her of all people had managed to not only meet the royal family but to sit at their table.

"Wow. And you can't tell Father because...?"

"Because then he will know that I lied about the replacement axle, and that Kim had taken the carriage without permission."

"I see.... You just called the prince by his first name."

"Wha- don't be ridiculous, I did no such thing. I said Prince Kim, you just didn't hear me."

"Uh huh, sure Lily. And tell me, is he as handsome and as charming as all the ladies say?" Samuel bats his eyes at Lily, teasing his sister as they approached their house.

"Better looking then you, that's for sure. He could have any woman or girl in this entire kingdom just by smiling at her." Her cheeks tinged pink. She was glad it was dark, otherwise she was sure he would have teased her about that as well. That was ok though, he didn't need to see her to know that she was obviously falling for the prince. He just chose not to say anything more and instead let their conversation die off into a comfortable silence.

Lily and Sam had made it to their home above their store and workshop. They climbed the stairs silently to the second floor. The house was silent, their father's snores could be heard from his room. Just as Lily let go of her brother's arm to enter her own bedroom, Sam took her hand and held her in place.

"Lily, it's my job to make sure you stay safe. But it's also my job to make sure you are happy. As much as I respect him, I don't trust any guys near my b-"

"Near your baby sister, I know Sammy. But I'll be fine, you'll see. This was just a one time thing, I'll probably never see him again anyways. He's a prince, after all. I'm just a commoner, not a princess or anyone he would be interested in. Besides, I know I'll always habe my two older brothers here to protect me."

"That you will. You'll always be a princess to us, Lily. Now rest, its already very late." He gently kisses her forehead before letting go of her hand. She nods and smiles at him before turning and walking through her bedroom door, closing it behind her. Samuel turned as well, into the room he shared with his little brother Parker. The night was peaceful once more.

Author's Note: Hello every one! Kitten bee here. I am so sorry for how long this was delayed. It was my fault, I got so caught up in other aspects of my life that I forgot about this story. But worry not, because we have returned! I hope you all enjoyed it, and will continue to enjoy it when my honey bee releases the next chapter, which will hopefully be soon! 💜

#sweetest bee #by kitten bee

The Sweetest Bee

Chapter 7: Extravagant Introductions

A new axle. There was no way there was a new axle. But there it was, in Lily's clear sight.

He runs a hand through his hair, sighing, and letting out a soft, "Uh-oh."

Then the voice of a person he knew. He also knew he was royally screwed.

He helped Lily out from under the carriage, watching as she brushes herself off before turning towards their new companion.

"Kim, I'm thoroughly disappointed in you. Leading this fine lady through the tunnels instead of showing her through the front doors. I thought I had raised you better than that."

"Sorry, mother."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lily turn and gawk at him. Her surprise was written clearly all over her face.

Kim supposed it made since. His mother never chose to walk about, flaunting the fact that she was the queen.

Queen Amarie was a lovely woman. Brown hair cascading down her back in waves, the same green eyes as her son, a kind and welcoming face. But her clothes didn't match those of a queen. No, instead she chose to wear simple dresses instead of the large ones that spread out in a circle around the ladies who wore them. Her head was also bare, no trace of her crown.

Amarie holds a hand out towards Lily.

"Come dear. I wish to get to know you properly instead of in our musty carriage house. I've had tea and small cakes prepared in the kitchen. Kim, come along too. You are a part of this as well."

She leads Lily off, not noticing the slightly startled look on Lily's face. Kim sighed again and followed. He could only hope his mother didn't go too extravagant.

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Amarie went too extravagant.

They reached the dining room and Kim had to resist the urge to hit his forehead.

The table was set out with more than cakes and tea. There was almost a full meal laid out. Multiple soups, rolls, custards, puddings, and even a small roast covered the table.

Kim could only gawk as Amarie led Lily to a seat and sat next to her, in her normal seat next to Darius's.

"Help yourself dear. Kim, come sit down. The food will become cold."

He walked over and sat in the seat across from his mother.

"Mother, this is far too much. Lily really didn't need all of this. How did you even know that we'd be in the carriage house?"

Amarie claps her hands and smiles.

"Lily? Oh that's a beautiful name! It's perfect for such a beautiful girl. As for your question, son, it was quite a brilliant plan on my part. You see, Mario discovered the broken and rather roughly fixed axle during one of his routine checkups. He came to me, and I told him to go ahead and fix it. I knew that whoever had broken it would eventually come back to finish fixing it. So every evening, I've waited for them to come back and then I'd have them caught! I just never expected it to be my own son and his lovely lady friend."

She grabs a roll and begins pinching off pieces of it, eating it was she watches for Kim's reaction.

Kim was fully astounded. Though he shouldn't have expected less from his mother since she had originally hailed from Raven's Crest.

He looks at Lily, worried about how she was reacting to this.

She sat in her seat, head tilted slightly, taking in everything Amarie had said. She smiles and takes a roll, copying the queen's actions.

"That really was ingenious of you, your highness. I'm glad that the carriage was fixed, especially since my work was, like you said, rough. But as the prince said, this food is indeed too much. I would never expect something like this to be done just for a setting for an introduction."

Amarie smiles, finishing her roll.

"I did indeed use this as the setting for our introduction, but this is also our family dinner."

Kim's gaze snaps from Lily to his mother. "You can't possibly expect for Lily to stay for dinner."

"And why not? Louis spent the time making all of this. We never finish it ourselves anyways. We could use the fourth mouth."

Kim opens his mouth to reply but is interrupted by the scraping of a chair. Both he and Amarie turn to look at Lily standing up.

"As much as I would love to enjoy having dinner with the royal family, I have my own family waiting for me back in the village. If you may excuse me your highnesses."

Lily smiles at Amarie then turns the smile to Kim. To him, it felt like there was a little bit more behind that smile than there was the one given to his mother.

The queen and prince watch her leave before settling in at the table to wait for the king.

#sweetest bee #by honey bee

The Sweetest Bee

Chapter 6: Busted

It took Lily two days to figure out how to ask her father to make an axle. The second morning after the expedition with the prince, the question was asked over the breakfast table, a simple “It’s my friends birthday, and his family’s wagon axle broke months ago. You don't know them, but would it be okay if I gave him a replacement for his special day?” Needless to say, four days later when Kim sent his carrier pigeon, she sent it back with a bit of wood chipping. That next night, Lily snuck out of the workshop door with the newly made axle to the front of the palace walls, as per Kim’s instructions.

After the 20 minute walk to the meeting place, Lily finally arrived and quickly noticed that Kim had not arrived yet. She wondered if she was in the right place, but a few minutes later the prince arrived with a scroll in his hands. She let out a relieved smile when he got close enough, followed by “So, how am I going to sneak in?”

He took out the parchment, which tuned out to be a map, and began explaining his plan. While he was talking, Lily watched him and listened, but mostly watched. The way he elaborated his thoughts made him sound so intelligent, so hard working. It was ... admirable, to put it simply. Once he finished, she looked down at the map and said, “Lead the way.” Giving a nod, he turned and sneaked them to a more up kept part of the castles back wall, filled with beautiful topiaries and other exotic plants. Glancing over his shoulder, Kim pulled one of the bigger bushes back to reveal a dark wooden door that blended in perfectly with the outer wall. Pushing it open, the two entered, Kim closing the door behind them.

“Well, that was fun. Sneaking around like ninjas, definitely a change of pace from the usual actions of a prince.” Lily smirked, “Maybe for you, but my ninja club meets every Tuesday.” Kim looked at her like she had just told him the sky was actually green. “... Wait, seriously?” “No! Of course not! We meet on Wednesdays.” At this, Kim bursts into laughter which he quickly tries to subdue, Lily joining in with quiet giggles of her own. She hadn't laughed so much with one person before, but as they tried to stop the joyous sound coming from both of them, Lily quickly realized something both promising and jarring: she didn't want to stop laughing with him.

The two continued on their path to the carriage house soon after. Lily, not wanting to be consumed by the silence, began asking some questions, such as “Why do these tunnels exist” and “So these can go anywhere in the castle?” which were followed by “I don't know” and “Probably”. After plenty of twists and turns, they exited out another door into the stables. Making sure Mario wasn't doing any late night maintenance, they snuck over to the carriage. Once there, Lily quickly got to work replacing the old axle with the new one. However, as soon as she had crawled under the carriage, she was quick to notice the lack of duct tape, and the new axle in general. Taken aback, she called out, “Uh, Kim? We may have a problem”. His head peaked into her field of view under the chasee. “What? What’s wrong?“ She looks at him with a mix of confusion and terror, replying with, “The axle has been replaced. This is a new, unbroken, un-duct taped axle.” Silence fell between the two before the prince let out a timid “Uh-oh.” Then, from across the room, a new voice could be heard, causing the duo to freeze up in panic, like prey being caught by their predator.

“Why don't you crawl out from under there miss, and you, your companion and I can have a nice little chat.”

#sweetest bee #by kitten bee

The Sweetest Bee

Chapter 5: The Plan Unfolds

Kim left Lily at her father's shop and started on his way back to the castle. However, his mind wasn't focused on the path home. No, his mind was filled with the image of the beautiful woman. The way her hair caught the sun and turned to gold. The way her eyes shone a vibrant, shining blue, especially when she was happy. The way her laugh was music.

It was a good thing the horses knew the way home.

Once back at the castle, he put the carriage away, praying to the gods that it wouldn't be used any time soon, and then helped Mario unsaddle and lead the horses in the stable.

Kim entered the castle, still smiling ear to ear, when he ran into his father.

King Darius was a kind and joyous man, the laugh lines on his face proving it so. The only slightly unnatual thing about him were his golden eyes-which were now fixated on his son.

The prince knew of the golden eyes in his family. That once you did something heroic on behalf of another, your eyes would turn and you were marked as the next to take the throne. He had never asked how his father had earned his eyes. He never thought he would.

King Darius, those gold locked with his son's own green, grinned.

"Why that's the largest smile I've seen on you for a while my boy! What's lifted your spirits?"

Kim shrugs, the smile never leaving his face. "What is there not to smile about?"

His father let's out a bellowing laugh, one that echos throughout the room, and claps his hand on Kim's shoulder. "That's the attitude! Keep smiling, boy, and evil will cower before you!"

The prince rolled his eyes at the king's comment but nodded anyways as he continued to his room.

Once there, he started pacing. He had had a brilliant moment down on the carriage about using a pigeon and he had told Lily he would find a way to enter the actual castle.....but now. Now he was stuck.

He sat on his bed for a moment before jumping back onto his feet. He knew how he was going to get her inside. He just needed the map....

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Everyday he sent a pigeon and every time it returned empty. And entire week passed. Kim began to worry.

His father was planning on using the carriage soon. He had to use it for the long trek north to the Viper Empire.

Once again he found himself praying to the gods for Lily to be swift.

It was two days later when the pigeon arrived back with a wood block.

He quickly scribbled a note telling her to meet him in front of the palace walls and sent it off. He then grabbed the map he had gotten the previous week and rushed outside.

He found Lily exactly where he had told her to meet him. And when she turned and smiled at him.....he could have melted right then and there.

She held up the new axle and questioned, "So, how am I going to get in?"

Kim pulls out the map and unfolds it. "There are secret tunnels all over the place benath the castle. Some leading to the wall too. I figured out where we should enter and which tunnels we should take so we come out near the stables. That's where I left the carriage."

He looks up from studying the map to find her staring at him almost in....admiration?

She notices him watching and quickly looks away. "Lead the way."

The prince nods and begins to lead the carpenter's daughter to their way in.