Hollow Kingdom

Lily was dreaming of the orphanage. She had been bedridden once when she was twelve, from a nasty beating a man in the market had given her.

"You'll be all right, sweet little Lily," a fourteen-year-old Angie said soothingly as she nursed Lily back to health. "You're stronger than all the men of Falkirk combined."

"It hurts," Lily whimpered, small body curling in on itself.

"Pain only lasts a while. Then it cools, and you can mold it into whatever you need it to be. Anger. Ambition. Wisdom." Angie sat on the small, narrow bed beside Lily and began to gently braid her hair. "One day we'll leave this place behind forever," she promised. "We'll be free, free to go wherever we want whenever we want and no one will ever tell us what to do anymore."

Lily had opened the eye that wasn't swollen shut. "How, Agnes?"

"I'll make sure of it. We'll go far, far away. We can be whoever we want. We'll change our names and wear beautiful dresses and I'll make sure no one ever hurts you again. I'll protect you, Lily. Forever."

"I'll protect you too, Agnes," Lily whispered.

"Lily? Lily, wake up."

Lily's eyes opened and she couldn't remember where she was.

"Agnes?" she said uncertainly.

"Who's Agnes?"

A face appeared above her and Lily realized it was Belle, not Angie. Her head was still throbbing slightly and there was a general feeling of filth clinging to her skin, but otherwise Lily felt more or less like herself again. She sat up and rubbed her temples.

"Agnes was Angie's name, before she left the orphanage," she explained. "I was having a dream."

"Are you feeling better?"

"Mostly. I just want to take a bath. I can still feel his magic on me."

Lily shuddered and went into the washroom, scrubbing until her whole body was pink. When she dressed and slipped into the main part of the house to find Tobias packing.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Ah, glad to see you up and about. You had us worried for a moment." Tobias straightened and gave Lily a hug, startling her.

"As a matter of fact, we're all going somewhere," Tobias went on. "To the castle, actually."

Lily stared, not sure she'd heard correctly. "What?"

"It seems Warren has obtained the necessary information to lead a raid on the castle-Lily?"

But Lily was already marching out of the treehouse in search of Warren. She found Alec first, head bent with a few of the village men, seemingly going over a map. He raised his head at her approach.

"You're feeling better," he said, smiling. "Good. We leave first thing in the morning."

"Yes, I heard," Lily replied flatly. "To lay siege to Little Aveling."

Alec's smile faded. "Lily, we don't intend to harm any innocent people-"

"No, you're just going to kill Angie while following a man like Warren Alherst." Lily crossed her arms. "The fact that he's completely deranged doesn't bother you?"

"I don't like the man, Lily. But he got the information we need, and so now is the time to make a move."

Lily stiffened. "And you're all right with this? His procurement of information, and marching against the castle?"

"This was the end goal all along," Alec said, voice rising slightly. "This kind of knowledge is what we've been looking for since this rebellion started. We have to do everything we can to stop the queen."

Lily dropped her arms and stepped away from him, stung. He may as well have slapped her. Of course he had only wanted her there because of what she knew; she had been foolish to think anything different. Foolish to think he might feel the same way about her as she felt about him. Hadn't he said she was a valuable asset to the revolution?

"Well I hope it's worth it for you, Alec," she said icily.

"I don't understand why you're acting this way."

"Of course you don't." Lily spun on her heel and stalked away. He didn't come after her. Lily stayed hidden in her and Belle's shared room for the rest of the night, not coming out no matter how much Tobias and Belle coaxed her. Belle finally brought her dinner in the bedroom, finding Lily staring out the window.

"I know you're probably pretty upset about this castle raid thing," Belle said. "But somehow I feel like there's more to why you've been squirreled away in here all evening. Alec has been avoiding the house altogether."

Lily shrugged.

"He's an idiot," Belle said. "He's my big brother and I love him, I do, but sometimes he can really be an idiot."

Lily managed a wan smile. "It's probably my own fault. I guess I thought...I don't know what I thought. It doesn't matter now."

"You should eat something. And try to get some rest. We're leaving at first light."

"I've rested for the last two days," Lily sighed. "I think I'll go for a walk, to clear my head."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Belle lowered her voice. "What if Warren...comes after you again?"

"Warren doesn't need anything else from me. He got what he wanted," Lily replied bitterly.

"Men are all idiots," Belle said. Lily laughed softly. She accepted the food Belle had brought her hesitantly but once she began eating she realized she was famished. Her magic-induced illness had taken a lot out of her. After she'd finished she wandered down from the trees. Despite what she'd told Belle, she kept her senses on high alert in case Warren did decide he wasn't done with her.

She found herself at the entrance to the cave she and Alec had gone swimming in. It had only been a few days but it felt like a lifetime ago. She sat down at the base of the hill and pulled her knees up. She hadn't felt this despairing and bleak for a long time. She couldn't just sit by and allow this to happen. It would be a blood bath.

She lifted her head, telling herself to stop moping. She was the only one who could stop this, and she owed that to everyone since she had been stupid and allowed Warren to get the jump on her. She knew what she had to do.



"Warren's hair looks stupid from the back," Belle remarked. Lily let out a startled laugh.

"He also smells like old onion peels," Lily added.

"He's so giant and hairy. Do you think his mother was a mountain troll?"

"Most definitely. And she used to drag him around banging his head on rocks, which is why his head is so lumpy now."

"Lumpy Trollington. That should have been his name."

Belle and Lily exchanged a look and then both started laughing. Tobias and Alec were walking a ways ahead of them and both turned slightly at the sound of Belle and Lily giggling like school girls. Tobias smiled slightly but Alec looked perplexed. Lily's laughter died when he caught her eye and they both turned their gazes away. Warren scowled slightly as she and Belle kept snickering and whispering.

They stopped late that night to rest and go over their plan of attack again. It seemed that despite all of Warren's crucial intel, everyone couldn't agree on the best way to stage the attack. They had brought the three royal horses Lily, Alec and Belle had ridden from Aveling; two of them were hitched to a small wagon that held weapons which were enchanted to look like baskets of fruit, should anyone look inside.

Lily intended to take back her stallion and ride for the capital while everyone else slept. If she could get to Angie first and warn her, maybe she could prevent this battle from ever happening.

"What are you doing?"

Lily spun around at the sound of Warren's voice. He was watching her suspiciously as she cooed to the horses.

"The horses seemed tired," she said coolly. "I was feeding them."

Warren stepped closer, looming over her. "I've got my eye on you, little girl. You'd do well not to cross me."

"Maybe you should be more concerned about crossing me," Lily shot back. Warren looked her up and down, lips twisting into an unpleasant smirk.

"Watch yourself. You're not really a Lady, after all."

Lily bristled as he chuckled and walked away. She stomped back to where the others were gathered, face stormy.

"Whoa. What happened?" Alec asked.

"I was just having a chat with your new best friend, Warren," Lily snapped. Alec opened his mouth, then closed it again, blue eyes hardening slightly. Lily sat next to Belle, as far from Alec as she could get. She remained silent, letting Tobias and Belle's chatter wash over her. Finally the fire was doused and everyone climbed into their sleeping rolls.

Lily lay awake, feeling restless while she waited for everyone to fall asleep. She made herself wait until she was surrounded by the steady rhythm of deep, restful breathing. Then she waited a little longer. Finally she couldn't stand it anymore and she crept out of her sleeping roll. She tiptoed silently to the wagon. She had already loosened the harness and was able to easily slip her stallion free.

She tensed as a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Going somewhere?" Warren asked. "I told you I had my eye on you."

Lily brought her heel up between his legs, then spun and rammed her fist into his throat before he could make a sound. He staggered back, wheezing. Lily drew a blade from her boot and twirled it casually through her fingers.

"And I told you you shouldn't cross me," she said quietly. She knelt and grabbed his hair, yanking his head up so he was looking at her. "Lay a hand on me again, Alherst, and I'll cut it off and feed it to you."

She hit him hard in the head with the hilt of the knife, and he tumbled onto his side, unconscious. Lily led her horse away from the small troop of rebels, swinging up onto his back when she thought she was a safe distance away. She glanced once over her shoulder, feeling a pang. But she knew there was no other choice.

Alec was determined to win this fight, no matter what it took. If Lily could convince Angie to flee before the rebels got there, he could have his victory and Angie would be safe. Maybe she could save all of them.

Lily dug her heels into the stallion's sides and galloped hard for the castle.