Hollow Kingdom

Lily didn't know how long she had been out in the woods, but she found herself woken by the sound of footsteps crunching over the underbrush. She sat up with a jerk, blinking in the thick darkness. She was so far from the village she couldn't even see the flickering light of the torches; all the light she had was the full moon overhead.

"Alec?" she called quietly as a tall figure approached her. "Tobias?"

"Not quite, Lady Belmont. Although I guess that's not really your name, is it?"

Lily narrowed her eyes and stood up, her every nerve taut. She didn't like the smirk on Warren's face or the mocking malice in his tone. He looked her up and down, lip curling.

"Pathetic. Having to lay our hopes in the hands of someone like you. No matter. Soon enough we'll have what we need."

"I'm not telling you anything," Lily said coldly.

"That's the beauty of magic, my dear. I don't need you to tell me."

He waved a hand through the air and Lily barely had time to react before two more men emerged from the trees on either side of her. They came at her with ropes and a gag and Lily spun, landing a hard kick to one's stomach before snapping her elbow into the other's nose. There was a crack and he swore as blood gushed over his face. Lily prepared to land a another blow but her limbs went numb and limp and she crumpled to the ground with a cry.

"Tie her up, now," Warren snapped. Lily's hands and ankles were bound, a rag stuffed in her mouth. Feeling returned to her arms and legs with an unpleasant tingling. She glared up at Warren, cursing around the rag. He knelt in front of her, beginning to chant a spell under his breath. Tendrils of wispy light formed around his hands. They writhed like snakes before Warren suddenly gripped the sides of her skull tightly. Lily shrieked around the cloth in her mouth as pain exploded in her head.

She could feel the light burrowing into her mind, slithering through her memories. She jerked and flailed desperately against her restraints, trying to bury every vulnerable thought and memory from Warren's prying.

"The more you fight it, the more it hurts," Warren told her, looking amused at the idea. Loyal to the rebel cause or not, he was enjoying making her suffer. Lily clenched her eyes shut and tried to make her mind blank. The tendrils of Warren's magic burrowed deeper. Lily was dimly aware that she was still screaming and she could feel dampness on her face.

Soon all she knew was the searing agony in her skull, and she couldn't even scream anymore when she knew Warren had found what he was looking for. The memories were yanked to the forefront of her mind and Lily was helpless to stop them. The network of tunnels beneath the castle that few knew about. The special enchantments the former king had started having added to the castle walls and battalions to help repel attacks. Angie had had them completed, and that must have been why she started jailing and executing magic users; to keep anyone from breaking through or undoing the spells.

The guards' change of shifts. Where weapons were kept. Even where Angie's room was. Warren pummeled her mind with his magic until he had all of it. Finally the light around his hands went out and he released her, dropping her limply to the ground. Lily's ears were ringing and her entire body felt like one giant bruise. Every movement made her feel like her nerves and bones were scraping together. She tasted blood in her mouth.

"I guess you proved to be of some use after all," Warren remarked. He chuckled and untied her bonds. She wanted nothing more than to spit in his smug face but she lacked the strength. He patted her head and she flinched. Triumphant, Warren and his companions left her lying there on the forest floor. Lily lay still for several minutes, but she refused to stay in the dirt. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to her feet and took slow, agonizing steps.

She felt at once freezing and clammy and weakly wrapped her arms around herself. After what felt like years she made it back to the village. Climbing the staircase to Tobias's tree house was a fresh sort of hell but somehow she made it. Some of the pain had eased but her muscles felt stiff and weak. She let herself quietly into the house, moving as silently as a ghost across the hardwood to the room she shared with Belle. Belle was sound asleep and Lily tried to move carefully, fumbling to the small sink for a rag to clean the blood from her face.

In the dim light from the moon and torches outside, she could make out her reflection in the mirror and grimaced. Her face was pale, making the dark circles beneath her eyes stand out even more starkly. Blood trickled from her nose and her eyes were red. She looked terrible and was relieved no one had seen her come back. Her hands shook as she reached for a rag, and she knocked the hairbrushes lying beside the sink toppling to the floor.

"Lily?" Belle was sitting up, watching her. Lily could see her in the mirror and kept her face down.

"Sorry," she croaked. "I dropped something. Go back to sleep."

"You sound awful. Where have you been?"

"Nowhere. I went for a walk." Lily wetted the rag and dabbed at her face. A fine sheen of sweat covered her cheeks and forehead. She swayed on her feet and nearly collapsed. She was startled when Belle rose from her bed and came to help her.

"Sit," Belle instructed. Her eyes widened when she got a better look at Lily's face. "What in the stars happened to you?" she asked in a horrified whisper. She touched Lily's forehead.

"You're burning up. Lie down, and keep this cold cloth on your head."

Lily was too exhausted and too stunned by Belle's sudden concern for her to protest. She did as Belle said.

"Lily, what happened?" Belle asked again. "You look like death warmed over."

"Warren," Lily whispered hollowly. "He attacked me in the woods...he stole my memories."

A flash of fury and disgust appeared in Belle's eyes, quickly followed by sympathy.

"How dare he?" Belle seethed. "It's incredibly unethical to perform that spell without someone's consent. It's extremely dangerous, not to mention invasive and perverse."

"I'm kind of used to that," Lily said, staring dully at the ceiling. Belle was silent for a moment and when Lily risked a glance at her she looked slightly ashamed.

"Lily, I'm...I'm sorry," she said slowly. "I didn't know...I never should have pressed the issue."

Lily started to shake her head and stopped with a grimace. "Don't apologize. You've every right to hate me and Angie."

"I don't hate you...anymore. I still can't forgive the queen but I understand now why you protect her. I guess if I were in your position, and Alec was the one behaving like a mad tyrant, I wouldn't be able to betray or hate him either."

"But I did betray her," Lily whispered miserably. "Warren knows everything now."

"That's not your fault. Now you should rest and get your strength back."

Lily curled into herself and closed her eyes, caught off guard again when Belle used another rag to clean the blood off her face while humming a quiet song. Some time later there was a knock at the door.

"Belle?"

Lily tensed when she heard Alec's voice.

"Lily came back," Belle told him, keeping herself between Alec and Lily so he couldn't see the state she was in. "She's not feeling very well; I think she's come down with something."

"Is she all right?"

"She will be. She just needs to sleep now."

Lily kept her face toward the opposite wall so Alec wouldn't see her. She felt a surge of gratitude toward Belle.

"She's fine, Alec," Belle said, and Lily could practically hear her rolling her eyes. "You can visit her in the morning. Now she needs rest."

Alec sighed. "Fine, fine. Goodnight, Belle."

"Goodnight, Alec."

"Thank you," Lily whispered when the door had closed. Belle nodded and returned to her gentle humming. Lily finally drifted off into a fitful sleep.



Lily didn't feel much better when she woke the next day, feeling hazy and delirious. She saw Belle's worried face above her, then it disappeared and she heard Belle calling for Tobias. His and Alec's faces appeared a moment later.

"Gracious child, what a state," Tobias said, placing a hand on her forehead. "She's much too warm. Belle, darling, fetch some ice."

"What can I do?" Alec asked.

"Stay back and give her a bit of breathing room," Tobias instructed. He clucked and fretted over her, using ice and some herbs that smelled strong but not unpleasant in an effort to bring Lily's fever down. Her lips felt cracked and her skin felt like it was on fire but soon the herbal tea Tobias forced her to drink made it easier to fall asleep.

"How did she get so sick so suddenly?" Alec asked, his voice sounding far away.

"She may have come across something in the woods," Tobias said. Belle continued to dab ice across Lily's face, saying nothing about Warren. Lily allowed her eyes to flutter closed, craving sleep that wasn't riddled with fever-induced nightmares.

"Alec, Tobias. The village council is gathering and would like to speak with you. It's an urgent matter."

Lily didn't recognize the voice, but before she could hear anything more Tobias's tea kicked in, and she succumbed to sleep once again.