Hollow Kingdom

Belle was silent on her walk back home, arm linked with her brother. Ever since Lily mentioned being an orphan, she'd been silent. Alec sighed, slipping his free hand through his hair as he tried to think of something to say.

"Do you remember when we were children, and Daniel pushed you down?" Alec said quietly. "And you were convinced that you hated that eight year old boy, and you'd always hate him. But over time, you learned to love him. Very much."

"I miss him," Belle mumbled.

"What would he be saying about how you've been treating Lily?" Alec asked.

"Not to judge a book by its cover," Belle admitted sheepishly. "Or something along those lines."

"Right."

"I don't want to talk about this right now," Belle said, looking down at her feet. "I'm tired. And sad. And I want my father, but I all get is you. And I like you better as a stupid brother than a father."

"I'm trying my best," Alec told her. "I didn't ask for any of this, and you know that. I just need you to help me a little bit. You don't have to be nice, but can you at least act a little civil?"

"Alec, I'm tired."

Alec rolled his eyes and picked Belle up, knowing it was what she was trying to hint at. He carried her on his back for a little while, until she spoke again.

"Why do I have to be civil when you get to beat Evan to a pulp?" she asked.

"He got what was coming to him," Alec mumbled. "And so did I."

"Are you going to apologize?"

"No, I have nothing to apologize for."

"Well, you did ruin his face," Belle pointed out. "And we both know that his face is the best part of looking at him. He was always the handsome one out of you three. And then Daniel. And then you, I guess. Maybe if you dressed better. Evan dresses really well."

"You know, I can drop you at any moment," Alec reminded her.

"But you won't," Belle laughed. "Well, please don't. You're my big brother, and you're stupid and terribly annoying, but you're all I have left."

Alec's heart sank a bit, and he was glad Belle couldn't see the expression on his face.

"No," he said quietly. "I won't ever drop you."

"Do you think father will come home?" she asked.

"I think... We can only continue living our lives until we see where it ends."

He hated to tell her that it was going to be just the two of them. Belle really wasn't physically as adult as she acted. Most girls her age were more concerned about how their hair and clothes looked than whether or not the revolutionaries they houses and cared for would live to see another day. Belle had only been Prissy's age when life started falling apart for them. By the time they had gotten home, she was asleep on Alec's shoulder. He laid her down in the bed and gently slid the ring off her finger, running his thumb over the tiger engraving.

"What game are you playing here, Denholm?" he muttered to himself.

The next day, Belle didn't have to return to the palace. Whatever maid had been ill before was healthy again, and there was no need for a substitute, so "Beatrice" wasn't needed at the palace. Instead, Dominic invited her to help him prepare a dinner he was hosting that night. The old man wasn't subtle about how he missed his days among the royals, and the grand banquets and parties he could no longer attend. He had invited Lily to attend, but Alec hadn't heard from her since the night before, when he'd only had a short chance to speak with her.

Evan showed up early in the morning, and the tailor let him in by force of habit. Alec caught him rummaging through a trunk, and was tempted to push him into the trunk while his back was turned. Evan heard him, looking over his shoulder at Alec and rolling his eyes before going back to what he was doing.

"Relax," he grumbled. "I'm just here for some things I left behind. I'll be out of your hair in a minute."

"Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven..."

"Very mature, Alec."

Evan stood up, hand flying up to the back of his head as he made a wincing sound. While the rest of him had been healing rather quickly, whatever head trauma Alec had caused him was still affecting him. On the outside, there was just some hints of bruising left, most of which was hidden by his clothing. More likely than not, he was ready to see the Queen, whether or not it was for the good of the revolution. He cleared his throat and fixed his necktie before brushing past Alec to leave. Alec grabbed Evan's arm, hesitating before speaking.

"Don't do anything stupid," he warned.

"I won't," Evan sighed, rolling his eyes. "You know, Alec, there's more important things than this rebellion. You're in the prime of your life, and you're wasting it. Ten years from now you'll regret not acting upon your feelings and bottling them up instead."

"What are you trying to say?" Alec asked.

Evan didn't answer, shrugging away and going out the door. Sure enough, Alec was right. When Lily showed up at his door, he knew that Evan had gone back. Whatever cover Lily had come up with for him had failed with him returning so soon, but the Queen was supposedly too pleasantly surprised to care. Evan would find some cover for the bruises. Lily had escaped while the Queen was occupied, putting a thick, dark, hooded cloak over her head so she wouldn't be bothered on her way. If the concerned look on her face hadn't distracted him, Alec almost told her how wonderful the dark color complimented her bright hair and eyes.

"Worst case scenario, he whines about our little scuffle to her," Alec said, when addressing Lily's concern of whether or not Evan would give it all away. "He's upset with me, but he'd never do anything like that. The punishment is something I wouldn't wish on anyone, and he feels the same way."

"Well, I'll take your word for it," she sighed, hands curling around the cup of cheap tea Alec offered her, which was really the only thing he could give her other than the stash of hard liquor he secretly kept under his bed. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, how are you?" Alec shrugged.

"No, I mean your injuries," she said, rolling her eyes. "Have they healed?"

"Most of them," Alec told her. "If there wasn't a mark on my face, I'd easily be able to leave the house."

"I see."

Lily looked down at her feet for a little bit, going silent. Alec could tell there was something on her mind, but he didn't want to pry. Eventually, he stood and held a hand out to her.

"The fresh air would do us good," he said.

She nodded with a slight smile playing on her lips, taking his arm and letting him lead her out for a walk. Alec moved towards the quieter, safer areas, deciding it would be best if they didn't get attacked for once. Aegara could be quite beautiful when it wanted to be, and when people weren't out rioting in the streets. It was pleasantly quiet, for the time being. Every now and then, Alec looked at Lily to find her looking around with an odd look on her face, like she was trying to see the streets one way or another. He suddenly felt guilty, thinking about how many different directions she was being pulled in. He wasn't making things easier for her.

"You're allowed to have an opinion," he said.

"Of course I am," she frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, in the few days you've been out and about, you're allowed to form your own opinion," he explained. "If you want to give us away or join us, or if you want to run away somewhere secluded like Summercrest Valley, you're allowed to do that. I hope you don't feel obligated to take a side."

"I know," she said, though her expression seemed slightly more relaxed. "Don't worry about me, Alec. You know I'll pave my own path."

He nodded, continuing on his way in silence. This time, he felt Lily's eyes on him.

"Do you spend a lot of time with women, or do you not have the time?" she asked.

"Pardon?"

"I didn't mean that in a bad way, but I can tell it's not exactly your main focus," she said. "The way you walk, stand, talk... You're not trying to impress anyone."

"I have nothing to impress you with," he smirked. "I live in the storage space of a tailor with two other people and the most obnoxious rodent on the planet."

"Was it always like that?" Lily asked curiously.

"It depends on how you look at it," he shrugged. "When we were young and met for that first time, it was alright. My mother fell ill after Belle was born, and nothing was really the same after she passed. And the change in monarchy didn't help us in any way. The constant raise in taxes made it difficult for us. My father knew a thing or two about 'magic' use. He tried using that skill to help get some money off the black market, but he got caught when I was about sixteen years old. You know the rest. It's not going to get much better for me. I just wouldn't wish this kind of life upon anyone else. That's why I do what I do."

"Well, I am impressed by one thing, for sure," Lily said. "You have more drive and ambition than most people I know."

"Well, I might as well," he sighed. "It would be a terrible life if I didn't."

"Alec, can I ask you a question that you probably don't want to answer?" Lily asked.

"You can certainly ask."

"Who exactly is Daniel? I mean, he was Belle's dear friend and whatnot, but I'm only picking up pieces here."

There was a pang of hurt in Alec's chest when Daniel was mentioned, and he knew Lily had caught on that he was a little tense. She slid her hand down from his elbow to squeeze his hand lightly, but she didn't take back the question.

"He was... a lot of things," he started. "Daniel was an orphan, too. The place that housed him closed when they ran out of money, and the children sort of had to fend for themselves. He was about five years old when this happened, and Dominic ended up taking him in so he'd stop eating out of his trash. Dominic was a good friend of my father, so Daniel grew up with Evan and me. Despite all of Dominic's money, he really only gave Daniel the bare minimum to 'toughen him up'. He was a lot like Dominic. Needless to say, he adopted Dominic's bitter attitude towards the government. He was the first to join, and eventually convinced us that it was the right thing to do. He was quite the leader. Everyone looked up to him. That's why it was so devastating when he was executed. I've never seen so many people protest an execution before. Even those who took no part in the rebellion protested. And then there was Belle, who at some point fell head over heels and made things a thousand times more difficult than it had to be. I swear, sometimes she steals wedding veils from the tailor, hides in a corner, and cries until the sun goes down and comes back up."

"You sound more bitter about that than losing a revolutionary leader," Lily pointed out.

"She's my sister, he was my friend," Alec shrugged. "It's all gotten... quite personal."

Lily stopped, squeezing Alec's hand again and turning to face him. She opened her mouth to say something, then seemed to change her mind and hugged Alec tightly around the waist instead. He awkwardly stood there with his arms limp at his side at first, but then gently hugged her back, combing her hair back out of her face. He honestly wasn't sure what Lily was to him at this point, because he certainly wasn't this way around his other friends. He wasn't sure Lily knew, either. They'd somehow come to a mutual implied conclusion that they just wouldn't question anything.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this," he said finally.

Lily didn't answer, looking up at him and shaking her head with sort of a half smile as she moved her hands up to straighten out the front of his shirt. Alec leaned in and kissed her forehead, then she pulled him down to kiss his lips, locking him so he couldn't get away. It was nice, until Lily suddenly jerked back away from him. He frowned, loosening his grip on her when she saw her stunned expression.

"I'm sorry, I'll just go stand over there," he mumbled.

"No, no, no, it's not you," Lily said quickly, taking his face in her hands. "I just realized something. Of course Samuel Denholm isn't going to trust us. Why would he?"

"I had a lot of things running through my mind at that moment, and Samuel Denholm is not someone I wanted to join in on it," he said flatly.

"What?" Lily frowned, blinking a few times, then glaring at him and giving him a whap on the side of the head with her palm when she realized what he meant. "Oh, get your mind out of the gutter. Remind me to beat you up for that later, but I need to get this thought out before I forget it."

"Alright, shoot."

"Your father. Denholm knew him well," Lily continued. "He'd trust your father with whatever information he has. We need to bring him here."

"You're forgetting a few things," Alec said. "One, I have no idea where my father is. I haven't seen him in years. Two, even if I did know, he's on a list and can't step foot in the kingdom, let alone get far enough to see Denholm. Three, I'm on a watch list. If I'm caught trying to leave the kingdom, it'll be bad."

"Well, what if you're not leaving?" Lily said. "What if the Duke and his servant are leaving?"

"The Duke is dead to me."

"Fine, just the servant. A fake identity."

"Lily... I don't know..."

"If I figure it out, will you do it?"

"Lily... It won't work."

""Will you?"

Alec sighed, running a hand over his face, then shrugged. "Fine. If you come up with a foolproof plan, I'll humor you."

"I will," she promised.

She stepped back as if to leave, then suddenly stopped and turned to face him again. Alec thought he was used to getting slapped across the face, but he was proven wrong when this hurt worse than all the rest. He stared at Lily with wide eyes, but didn't say a word.

"That's for five minutes ago," she told him. "Good day to you, sir. I'll be back with full report by tomorrow afternoon."

She saluted him and started to leave again, then looked over her shoulder at him and rolled her eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, with those eyes," she scowled. "You know you deserved it."

She grabbed his face and kissed him again, lingering there for a few moments before leaving a third time, this time without coming back.