Hollow Kingdom

Lily's sleep was troubled after her talk with Alec. She tossed and turned wildly, plagued by shadowy nightmares of the castle on fire and Angie swinging from a noose. When she tried to pull Angie down, her face changed to Alec's, then Evan's, then her own. She gave up as the sun was just starting to poke its head over the horizon and wandered aimlessly through the halls. How had everything gotten so out of control? She should've been paying more attention for the last several years.

It occurred to Lily that if Evan was going to be visiting Angie that morning, he wasn't likely to use the front door. Angie had probably told him about the secret gate in the garden. The idea made Lily's skip several beats as she imagined a swarm of angry rebels knocking it from its hinges as they laid waste to the castle. She shook herself. That would not happen. She would absolutely never let that happen.

Lily made her way to the secret gate, perching on the edge of the fountain and waiting for Evan. Her theory proved correct when the gate swung open twenty minutes later.

"Hello, Evan," Lily said mildly. He jumped nearly three feet in the air.

"Lily!" he said, clasping his hands behind his back nervously. "Uh, good morning."

"So, Angie showed you the gate."

"Ah, yes. Yes she did. She thought it made our trysts seem more daring and romantic."

"You weren't followed?"

Evan blinked. "Followed?"

"Don't play coy, Evan. I know you're a rebel. A secret gate into palace grounds would be useful information to them, wouldn't it?"

"I'm not-I would never-I wasn't followed." A flurry of emotions crossed Evan's features and he ran a hand through his hair, mussing it.

"You actually care about her," she said, feeling a twinge of surprise. Evan hunched his shoulders and nodded.

"None of this is turning out like I expected," he muttered. "She's not what I expected."

Lily nodded slowly. "There's a lot about her that the kingdom doesn't know. How much has she told you, about her life before she married the king?"

"All of it," Evan said quietly. "Even her real name."

Lily's eyebrows shot up. Angie considered her former self to be dead and buried; it was inconceivable to her that Angie had told Evan about Agnes.

"She must trust you," Lily said. "As her oldest and best friend you should know it's my duty to make sure her trust isn't misplaced."

"I haven't even told Alec about any of this. As far as any of the other rebels know, Angie hasn't told me a scrap of useful information. And that's how it's going to stay." He grimaced slightly. "Plus Angie has told me stories about your propensity for violence. I'd like all my limbs to remain where they are."

Lily gave him her best feral orphan smile. "Smart man. Keep in mind that I've got my eye on you. Now go, Angie's waiting for you."

He turned to leave then paused and looked at Lily over his shoulder. "I don't want to see her get hurt either," he said quietly. Then he was gone, headed for Angie's room. Lily stayed seated at her fountain, waging an internal battle with herself. Evan did seem to genuinely care about Angie, but the rebels were likely to grow impatient with his supposed lack of progress. What would happen when Angie did something else to anger them? Lily couldn't be completely sure where Evan's loyalty would fall if things came to a head.

Sighing, Lily stood and made her way back into the castle. She helped in the kitchens for most of the morning to try and take her mind off of everything because it just made her head hurt. She didn't see Angie all afternoon and knew she must still be locked away in her room with Evan. Lily wanted to talk to Angie about him, but she wasn't going to interrupt whatever was going on in her friend's bedroom. She shuddered and pointedly avoided Angie's wing of the castle.

Instead she found herself outside near the guard's barracks, where she could hear raucous laughter and singing. Whoever was off duty tonight was clearly taking full advantage of their free time.

"Has anyone told the queen about this yet?"

"No. She's been in her chambers all day and everyone was instructed not to disturb her for anything. But she's made her orders clear on this matter. If we have cause to believe someone is involved with the rebels, then we search their home and take them into custody."

Lily ducked and pressed herself flat against the side of the stables when she heard the voices. She didn't know why she was hiding; she was the queen's Lady-in-Waiting and people likely assumed she knew all about the rebellion and what Angelique was doing about it. But she stayed where she was, unmoving and hardly daring to breathe as the guards continued their conversation.

"Do you think this rebellion will come to anything?"

The other man snorted. "If it's made up of more people like a village baker then not bloody likely. We'll check the bakery tomorrow night, and then the house."

The two men moved away, their voices fading. Lily continued to stand stock still for several moments with her heart in her throat. Then she bolted for her room. She hurriedly tugged on a cloak and slid a small knife into each of her boots as well as up her sleeves. If she ran into any more bandits in the woods she would be more than prepared this time. The sun was starting to set as Lily bolted from the castle grounds and into the woods to make her way to Alec's house. This time she didn't encounter anyone on the trail.

She arrived at the house flushed and out of breath. She raised a hand and knocked urgently on the front door, jumping slightly when the tailor swung it open suddenly with an annoyed look on his face.

"What do you want?" he grumbled. Lily threw back her hood and he winced, giving her a hasty bow.

"My apologies, Lady Belmont."

"It's fine. Is Alec Spaulding here? I need to speak with him."

"Everyone just sat down to dinner-"

"It's a matter of great importance," Lily said. "He won't mind the interruption, I assure you."

"Would you like to come inside and speak to him?"

"No, thank you. Just please send him out."

The tailor nodded stiffly before turning and disappearing back into the house. Lily paced nervously, realizing she probably seemed ridiculous showing up unannounced, out of breath and pale. Alec opened the door and stepped out, brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Lily? What are you doing here?"

"I overheard some of the guards talking. If you know of someone who's part of your rebellion and a baker, you'll want to warn them that their bakery and home is going to be raided and searched tomorrow evening."

Alec's expression turned grim and he nodded. "Thank you, for telling me."

"If Erwin really does talk, maybe you should send him to the castle every day. If I have something to report I can tell him and he can relay the message. I don't know that I'll always be able to get away and sneak over here to tell you in person."

Alec nodded again. "That's a good idea. Although it's kind of a nice surprise, you showing up out of the blue."

He smiled slightly and Lily thought he must teasing her. Her cheeks flushed.

"Would you like to come in for a few minutes? You must be tired from running all the way here."

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Lily mumbled. "Your sister hates me, remember?"

"She doesn't hate you, exactly. It's complicated."

Lily's lips twisted in a rueful smile. "I'm sure it is. I should really get back to the castle. Good night, Alec."

She turned to walk away, back to the woods, but Alec loped forward and blocked her path, catching her hand to pull her to a stop.

"You realize this basically makes you an official rebel," he said quietly. "If the queen were to ever find out you helped us, what would she do to you?"

"Nothing. Angie would never hurt me."

Alec looked doubtful. "Lily...just be careful."

"Angie would never hurt me," Lily repeated through gritted teeth. "I'll be fine."

Alec abruptly put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. Her heart stuttered and nearly stopped. He took a small step back and bent his head to kiss her cheek.

"For your sake I hope you're right," he said.