Hollow Kingdom

Lily and Belle walked in silence back to the castle, Belle's shoulders rigid and her stormy faze focused straight ahead. It seemed she was trying to pretend Lily didn't exist at all.

"I can tell Angie you're filling in for a maid who came down with a fever two days ago," Lily said finally. "You'll have essentially free reign of the castle."

"You can tell Angie whatever you like," Belle said hotly, shooting Lily a sneering glare. Lily felt her own ire begin to prickle. She narrowed her eyes.

"Have I done something to offend you?" she asked coldly. Belle snorted.

"You're the queen's little pet, living in the lap of luxury while the rest of us have to live with her tyranny."

"She's not a tyrant," Lily snapped. "And I am no one's pet."

"Sure you're not." Belle stomped ahead of her and Lily scowled at her back. Her face was flushed with indignation and anger. They didn't speak again as they both stalked through the castle gates. Lily was leading Belle to the kitchen when they almost collided with Angie as she rounded a corner. Raz was curled across her shoulders, and he hissed slightly at Belle.

"Razeth, don't be rude," Angie scolded gently. She eyes Belle with curiosity. "Who's your friend, Lily?"

Lily cast a quick glance at Belle, glad to see her dip into a slight curtsy and smile demurely instead of glaring daggers at Angie.

"One of the cook's helpers has taken ill," Lily said. "Beatrice is going to fill in until she gets better."

"How lovely. It's nice to meet you, Beatrice." Angie shot her a warm smile before turning to Lily.

"I need to speak with you privately in my chambers later, Lily of the Valley; once you've finished up with our charming guest."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Lily promised. "Come along, Beatrice."

"Lovely to meet you, Your Majesty," Belle said sweetly, dipping another curtsy before following Lily. As soon as they were out of Angie's sight, though, Belle was back to scowling.

"Beatrice?" she scoffed.

"Did you really want me to use your real name?" Lily smirked. "You are here to act as a spy, aren't you?"

Belle rolled her eyes and muttered, "Beatrice," under her breath again. Lily couldn't stop herself from smiling as she gestured Belle into the servants quarters and hailed one of the head maids.

"Eisa, this is Beatrice. She's going to be helping you until Annette is feeling better. The tapestries in the Great Hall need to be taken out and beaten, the guard's training room needs tidying, and Cook needs some things gathered from the garden. Feel free to send Beatrice where you need her."

"Of course, My Lady." Eisa shooed Belle along. "Come now, my dear. We have a lot of work to do."

Belle cast Lily a last sour look and Lily smiled back. No one would think twice about Belle going all around the castle if she was helping the maids. She would have free reign to search for this Samuel Denholm. It unnerved Lily to think there was already a spy inside the castle, but nothing had happened to Angie yet so maybe this Denholm was just scouting for information and not here to act as an assassin. She reached Angie's room and slipped inside.

"Evan didn't come today," Angie sighed.

"He and Alec had to leave for a while," Lily said. "He wanted me to tell you. Family issues."

Angie frowned delicately. "He said both his parents were dead and never mentioned siblings."

"It was Alec's family," Lily said without missing a beat. She prayed Evan hadn't really told Angie anything about Alec. "His mother isn't doing so well. Evan is close with the whole family so he went with him."

Angie didn't even bat an eye at this explanation and Lily almost signed with relief.

"He did tell me he's been friends with Alec for many years," Angie said. "Did he say when he'll be back?"

"A couple of weeks, probably. He said he's going to miss you," she added, hoping to clear the troubled look from Angie's eyes. It worked, and a small smile touched her lips.

"I suppose I've been neglecting you a bit since Evan showed up," Angie said. "What have you been up to these past weeks?"

"Just doing my usual duties, trying to give you and Evan privacy."

"And seeing Alec?" Angie asked slyly.

"On occasion," Lily mumbled, ears red. She spent the rest of the afternoon with Angie; strolling through the gardens and having Cook make their favorite desserts. It was well into the night when Angie finally fell asleep. Lily slipped quietly from her room and went in search of Belle. She found her skulking near the kitchen. She shot Lily a cold stare as she approached.

"Having any luck yet?" Lily asked. Belle pursed her lips.

"I haven't found him, but I will. I'm positive he's still here. I just need to flesh him out. And I won't be getting distracted as easily as my brother," she added, tone laced with disgust.

"You do realize I'm helping you and your cause, right?" Lily crossed her arms and matched Belle's glower. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"I already told you. You're friends with her. Typical noble girl, getting into the queen's pocket and flouncing all around the castle with her like you're schoolchildren. She's a callous monster."

"She is not," Lily said. "I know you see her that way, but you don't know her-"

"I don't want to know her!" Belle burst out. Her hands fisted at her sides. Her blue eyes were spitting fire but Lily thought she seemed on the verge of tears.

"Listen, Belle, I'm going to find a way to put all this right again," Lily began. Belle made a strangled noise.

"You can never make it right," she said flatly.

"I can try."

"She killed the man I love." The words came out in a rush, sounding broken and jagged. Like Belle had never said then out loud before and wasn't entirely sure how. Lily stared for several moments, at a loss for what to say.

"She had him hanged," Belle went on dully. "And she sat there and watched, looking bored. Like he didn't even matter. Like he wasn't even a human being. He was friends with Alec and Evan too. They were all inseparable. He turned himself in to protect some other rebels who were in danger of being caught." Her eyes hardened. "And you sit there being her perfect little friend, defending her. You make me sick."

Belle spun on her heel and marched away. Lily stood frozen in the hall for she didn't know how long. The pain in Belle's eyes was seared into her mind. Lily couldn't even imagine how it felt to lose someone like that. Other than Angie, she'd never had anyone to lose. Finally she made her feet move and drifted back to her room. She spent the rest of the night tossing and turning.



Belle avoided Lily as much as possible over the following week, and Lily left her be. She spent most of her afternoons with Angie and her nights laying awake for hours staring at the ceiling. Everything seemed to be crumbling around her and she felt helpless to stop it. More than anything, Lily hated feeling helpless.

Erwin made regular visits, always seeming eager to see her and accept the treats she gave him. But he seemed to grow discouraged when the week passed and Lily and Belle still had no news to report. On the eighth day of Belle's stay at the castle, however, she finally approached Lily.

"I think I've found him," she said in a low voice. Lily led her to the greenhouse so they could speak privately.

"There was a guard trainer here named Denholm," Belle said. "But as far as anyone knows, he retired when the Queen took over after the king's death. Retired of course meaning the queen didn't want him around anymore. He seems to have just vanished. But, I found out that fairly recently a man came to work for the castle's personal blacksmith. He's very reclusive and keeps to himself. And I think it may be Denholm. It certainly can't hurt to go see him."

Lily nodded. "All right. We'll go tonight."

"We?" Belle looked like she had just smelled sour milk.

"Yes, we. You're posing as a maid, remember? I'm the Lady-in-Waiting to the queen. No one is going to question my presence anywhere on castle grounds. You might draw unwanted attention on your own."

"Fine," Belle grumbled. Then she stalked away without another word. Sighing, Lily trudged back inside and joined Angie in the dining hall. She let Angie's chatter wash over her as she ate, her mind reeling in a hundred different directions.

"Do you think Evan will be coming back soon?" Angie asked. Lily nodded absently.

"They said two or three weeks," she replied. Angie stopped talking for a while and just sat and stared wistfully at the wall while pushing her food around on her plate.

"I'm going to go for a walk before bed," Lily declared. Angie murmured some noncommittal sound and Lily hurried off in search of Belle. She found her pacing restlessly in front of the stables, which were near the smithy and currently deserted while the horses grazed in their stalls.

"Took you long enough," Belle muttered. She was already walking toward the blacksmith. Lily rolled her eyes. As they approached the smith, Lily could hear sounds inside. Belle knocked loudly and the noises stopped. No one came to the door, though. Belle knocked again and still there was no answer.

"We know you're in there," Belle said. "You may as well open the door because we're not leaving."

Lily thought she heard a muttered curse before the door finally opened a crack and a gruff looking man peered out at them.

"What do you want?" he demanded. "I'm working and it's practically the middle of the night."

"I'm with the rebellion," Belle said in a low voice. "Are you Samuel Denholm?"

The man didn't blink but Lily was sure she saw his shoulders stiffen slightly.

"I don't know anyone by that name, and you shouldn't be making mention of the rebellion around here, girl. Go home and go to bed."

"Wait, if you know anything you have to help-"

He slammed the door and Belle let out a frustrated noise. She pounded on the door again.

"Hey!" she shouted. "You can't just ignore me! I'll stand out here all night if I-"

"Belle, stop it," Lily hissed, yanking her hand away from the door. "He'll come forward when he's ready."

Belle yanked her wrist away. "Don't tell me what to do. Wait, you think he's Demholm too?"

"I'm good at reading people," Lily said. "He definitely had a reaction when you said that name. If he's not Denholm, he knows who is. But we can't force him to talk. He'll likely come to us on his own. Let's just tell the others we have a lead."

"Ihave a lead," Belle muttered as they left the smith. "I'm the one who found out about him."

"And I'm the one who got you into the castle," Lily pointed out. Belle rolled her eyes but said nothing else. She reluctantly followed Lily to her room to wait for Erwin so they could tell him what Belle had uncovered. Belle took in the large room with its polished floor and four poster bed. She said nothing but Lily could practically feel disgust radiating from her.

It occurred to Lily that as far as anyone besides Alec and Evan knew, Lily and Angie had grown up in places like this; surrounded by luxury. She didn't know whether to bristle or laugh at Belle's reaction to her bedroom. They sat in awkward silence for a long time and Lily started to doze off, snapping awake when she felt a furry paw on her cheek.

"Lily, wake up." Erwin stared down at her, nose twitching.

"Hello, Erwin," Lily yawned.

"It's about time," Belle said, rising from the couch she'd been sitting on.

"Well who stuck up a stick up your behind?" Erwin replied haughtily.

"Shut it, rodent. Just tell Dominic and Alec that we have some information for them. Maybe Dominic can find a way to learn more and confirm my theory."

"I'll pass the message along," Erwin sighed. Lily gave him a frosted cookie and he munched eagerly, though he kept muttering about how he hadn't signed on to play messenger ferret and why hadn't Tobias warned him how obnoxious his children were.



The next night found Lily and Belle making their way through the cobbled streets to the rebels' hideout. Inside they found Dominic accompanied by a very surly-looking Alec and Evan. Alec's expression softened when he saw Lily and Belle. He pulled his sister into a hug.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said. He flashed a warm smile Lily's way and she returned it shyly.

"I think we've found Denholm," Belle said, wasting no time. "I tried to approach him, but he denied it and slammed the door in my face. But even Lady Belmont here thinks it's him."

"You're sure about this?" Dominic asked, leaning forward eagerly.

"Almost positive," Belle assured him. "He's working for the castle's private blacksmith."

"That's good work, Belle." Dominic nodded approvingly and Belle seemed to sit up a little straighter.

"And thank you again, Lily, for helping us with this," Dominic added. Lily nodded.

"It wasn't a problem," she said. "But I should be getting back, before-"

"Before 'Angie' summons you?" Belle asked, arching an eyebrow. Lily glared back at her and noticed Evan shift awkwardly in his seat. Alec shot him a cool sideways glance. Feeling like she was intruding on something private, Lily stood abruptly.

"I should go," she repeated flatly. She spun around and stalked to the door, flinging it open and slipping outside. She didn't pay attention to anything around her as she tried to hurry back to the castle, her stomach in knots and her thoughts jumbled.

She jumped as a door banged open and several noisy men stumbled drunkenly out of a tavern. One of them spotted Lily and leered.

"Well look what I found," he called jauntily to his friends. He lurched forward and tried to catch Lily's arm but she easily stepped out of reach.

"Now don't play hard to get like that," he said, making a swipe at her again.

"I'm not playing," Lily said coldly. He laughed.

"I think I like this one," he told his friends.

"Lily!"

Lily turned to see Alec and Dominic, with Belle and a still limping Evan trailing behind them.

"Get in line," the drunk man said to Alec. "I saw her first."

Alec scowled but Lily stepped between him and the loudmouth.

"Touch me and you'll lose the hand," she said quietly.

"I think that's a risk I'm willing to take." He winked. Lily drew a deep breath. Something hard and dark rose up inside her. The drunk tried to snake an arm around her waist and she reacted. She twisted out of his grasp and moved slightly behind him, catching his arm and jerking and twisting until she heard his arm pop free of the socket. He howled in pain and Lily kicked him in the back of the knee to knock him to the ground. One of his friends advanced on her and she delivered a swift fist to his throat. While he was choking and spluttering she palmed the knives in her sleeves. She held one to his throat and one to his groin.

"I do believe I said anyone who touched me would lose a hand," she said calmly. The man's eyes bulged.

"Hey, we were just having a bit of fun," he said nervously.

"Fun. Right. Fun for who?" Lily cocked her head. "I am not your plaything. Do you understand?"

He didn't answer and she pressed harder with the knives. "I asked you a question."

"I understand," he said, voice cracking.

"Good. Now go sleep it off, all of you." Lily stepped back, watching them scoop up their friend and shuffle away. She casually slid her knives back into place and found Alec and the others staring at her.

"Well that was something," Dominic remarked. "I didn't think noble women were trained to fight."

"They aren't." Lily tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "But orphans from Falkirk learn, if they want to survive." She lifted her chin and met Dominic's startled gaze. "Which is what I am."