Hollow Kingdom

Angie didn't stop pestering Lily about Alec and it was doing nothing to improve the pounding in her head. She should never drink that much wine again.

"Your face has been red all morning. My lovely Lily of the Valley, darling, are you breaking your vow to never form an attachment to a man?"

"I never vowed that," Lily protested. "Besides, I'm not trying to strike up a romantic relationship with him. There are no 'attachments' being formed. He was handsome and we were drunk."

"He was handsome," Angie agreed. She leaned back in her lavish chair and daintily plucked a chocolate from the small box beside her. She took a bite and watched Lily thoughtfully as Lily massaged her aching temples and reviewed the budget for repairing a leak in the ceiling of the servants quarters.

"It was just kind of embarrassing, having you walk in on us," Lily mumbled. "I'm a redhead; you know I can't keep from blushing."

"You don't need to be embarrassed about that, you silly thing." Angie tossed a chocolate at Lily. "This is why I brought you here."

"So I could get drunk and have sex with strange men?"

"If that's what you want." Angie laughed. "You know what I meant. Freedom to do whatever we want was always our dream."

Lily nodded, lips lifting in a smile. "I always knew you would make it happen. Though I don't know why you're always so vague and cryptic about how you did it."

Angie sorted through her box of chocolates. "I did things I'm not especially proud of, with people I'm even less proud to have done them with. It's in the past now, we never need discuss any of it again. It's another life."

Lily nodded slowly, letting the subject drop. She could guess at what Angie had endured in her quest to attain enough wealth and status so that the two of them could leave their dingy prison behind. That's how Lily always thought of Falkirk. She was loathe to ever refer to the place as her childhood home; there was nothing remotely homey about her memories of it.

"But you are going to see him again," Angie said suddenly. Lily blinked, confused for a moment. Then she realized Angie was talking about Alec. She was staring at Lily with teasing slyness, but there was something oddly intent about her gaze.

"Maybe," Lily admitted reluctantly. She didn't know why the confession made he uneasy. Surely Angie wouldn't care if Lily saw him again. But she remembered the way Raz had hissed at Alec and the cool stare Angie had given him. Lily had the distinct impression that the queen didn't like or trust Alec, though she couldn't begin to fathom why.

"I do need to go out today though," Lily added. "It's Geraldine's granddaughter's birthday and I wanted to get her something."

Angie's face softened. "It's always baffled me how you know everyone and everything about their families. I try, but you know I'm awful with names."

"The staff understands. You have queenly things to worry about."

Angie nodded, looking suddenly far away. "Yes," she said quietly. Lily finished with her budgeting charts and stood, smoothing her plain green and white dress.

"Lily, do me a favor while you're out?" Angie called.

"Of course."

"Pick some more flowers for my room. It's looking a bit colorless and you always find the prettiest flowers. And take Raz with you. He's been cooped up for days."

"Come along then, Razeth." Lily patted her leg and the dragon bounded off the bed to follow her. One of the guards milling about the castle fell into step behind her and she gave him a polite greeting. When she had first come to the castle at Aveling she had wandered freely, rarely with the presence of a guard. Lately though they had been accompanying her more regularly. Raz scurried up her skirt, draping himself across her shoulders like a shimmering, scaly shawl.

The fresh air felt good on her face and eased her lingering headache. She stroked Raz's head as she walked, calling friendly greetings to the shop owners and lower nobles who lived at court in Little Aveling. Her guard trailed a ways behind her as she made her way into the toy shop to pick up the doll she had ordered for Geraldine's granddaughter. She placed the fine porcelain replica of the little girl into a box tied with pink ribbon.

When she stepped out she noticed her guard was looking the other way and she quickly slid around the side of the building to give him the slip. She'd been known as a Lady for four years but she would never get used to it. Having someone follow her brought back ugly memories that she'd rather not think about. After successfully losing her armored shadow, Lily headed back toward the castle gardens to pick Angie's flowers. Raz ruffled his wings in agitation, lifting his nose to sniff the air.

"What's the matter, Raz?"

The dragon sat up on her shoulder, placing his front paws on her head. With a hiss he leapt to the ground and darted toward the garden wall. Lily chased after him, hearing a startled squeak. Raz had some small furry creature cornered and was gnashing his teeth at it.

"Razeth! Stop that this instant, you brute."

The dragon yipped in surprise as Lily grabbed him and yanked him away from the little animal, which she discovered was a ferret with his fur puffed up.

"Oh you poor thing," Lily cooed. She picked the ferret up and stroked his head gently until he calmed down. Raz stood off to the side, looking affronted that she was petting his foiled snack.

"Would you like a toffee?" she asked the ferret. She pulled one of the candies out of her bag and held it out to him. His little pink nose quivered and then he snatched the toffee in his paws and nibbled at it. With a flick of his tail he hopped out of her arms and scampered away. Raz made a displeased rumbling in his throat and glared at her.

"Hush, you spoiled brat," Lily laughed. She tossed him a toffee too and he peeked right up, catching it in midair and swallowing it whole.

"I think that's enough adventures for today. Let's go get Angie's flowers." She stood and Raz returned to his spot on her shoulders. Lily strolled through the archway and into the garden, kneeling to gather some of the small vibrantly colored flowers. She hummed quietly to herself as she arranged the bouquet. Someone coughed behind her and she shot to her feet, whipping around. Alec held up his hands.

"Sorry to startle you," he said.

"Oh, that's all right." Lily forced her shoulders to relax and gave him an easy smile. Having people come up behind her always made her jumpy. Raz hissed at Alec and stalked away with his muzzle in the air.

"He's such a snob," Lily said apologetically. She eyed him curiously. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I noticed you come in here and wanted to say hello. I told you I'd like to reconnect with you." He nodded to her bouquet and box. "What's all that for?"

"The flowers are for Angie. And I bought a doll for our seamstress's granddaughter." She paused and considered before speaking again. "You know, tomorrow night Angie is having one of her smaller soirées. It's still going to be quite a party of course, but it's invitation only. She likes to host games; I think this time she's having part of the gardens converted into a maze. If you'd like to come, I can give you an invitation."

"I'd love to," Alec replied, looking pleased. His expression turned to one of confusion as Lily scooped up two polished white stones from the fountain depicting a frog with water gushing from its mouth. She laughed as she handed them to him.

"She doesn't usually hand out paper invitations," she explained. "Every month it's something different. She thinks it keeps things more interesting. This time she picked these marble pebbles. Just present them to the guard and they'll let you in."

Alec shrugged, still looking unsure as he tucked them into his pocket. "I'll be there," he promised.