Hollow Kingdom

It was several days before Lily was able to get away to visit Alec. She had to oversee the repairs to the servants quarters roof and help Geraldine design a surprise gown for Angie. Lily's best friend seemed to have taken a shine to the "Duke of Pretendington," as she had dubbed Evan. It seemed to amuse Angie to no end that he had tried to pass himself off as a trade partner who supplied Aegaera with trees.

"Of all things!" Angie laughed. "And the guard believed him. How perfectly ludicrous".

"So it doesn't bother you that I invited them? I didn't know Evan had been posing as Aegaera's top tree trader." Lily smirked.

"Invite whoever you want to the parties, Lily of the Valley. They belong to you too, you know."

"I'm going out today. I have some errands to run."

Angie rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure you're going to see the illustrious duke's manservant, but if you want to call what you two do running errands then suit yourself."

"We don't do anything," Lily said, feeling her ears turn red. Angie just laughed again and waved her away. Lily tied her hair back in a braid as she left the castle grounds and made her way through Little Aveling to the outer wall. She paused in the gateway, glancing back at the castle. Alec had seemed strangely intent when he asked her to visit him outside the castle walls, and what he had said about people living on the streets baffled and worried her. He must have been mistaken.

But she couldn't totally shake her unease as she left the confines of Little Aveling behind and went to find Alec. Walking along the path that spanned the space between the castle walls and the outer part of the capital felt like crossing a boundary into another world entirely, and it was with a tingle of dread that she crossed the threshold.

Alec was waiting for her where the southern edge of Aveling met the path. He gave her a warm smile but there was something tense in the way he stood. He was on edge about something and that sound of warning in the back of her mind grew slightly louder. She kept her expression friendly and gave away none of her misgivings. She couldn't understand what was causing them in the first place.

"So you live in Aveling now?" she asked as they walked.

"My sister and I have been living here for a while. Have you been out of Little Aveling much since you came here?"

"Not for some time," Lily admitted. "I've been at the castle for four years, and I don't usually have much reason or need to leave it."

"The queen seems to be very fond of you," he remarked.

"She's my best friend," Lily said quietly. She looked around the city as they walked along the cobbled streets. The further from the castle walls they went, the more the charm and glamour of Aveling faded. There were houses in disrepair, closed shops with boarded windows, and the people themselves seemed more ragged than they should have; eyes cast downward and walking quickly. She also started to notice Royal Guards milling about among the commoners, watching with sharp, cold gazes. It hadn't been like this when she had first arrived with Angie four years ago.

"What happened here?" she asked softly. Her heart was beginning to thud painfully in her chest. Why would Angie have allowed Aveling to fall into such a state?

"Taxes have been raised, like I mentioned before. Magic users have been expressly banned; anyone caught using it is to be executed. And the queen seems to think there's a rebellion stirring. I guess she's heard some rumors and wants to ensure it doesn't progress. Anyone thought to be acting against the crown is arrested. Sometimes the guards conduct random searches of the houses in the outer sectors."

Lily stumbled to a halt, staring at him in bewildered horror. "She wouldn't...she's not a monster."

Her head was spinning and she was beginning to worry her knees might fail her and she's collapse in the middle of the street. It didn't make sense. Angie couldn't possibly be condoning all of this. Alec was watching her with a sad but thoughtful look.

"You really didn't know about any of this," he murmured. Lily shook her head, trying to clear it of the cobwebs.

"You have to be exaggerating," she said. The words came out like a plea rather than an accusation. Every fiber of her being was trembling with the hope that he was wrong. She so desperately needed for him to be wrong. He didn't answer; just took her arm gently and kept walking. The air of fear and melancholy that hung over the city seemed to prove Alec's allegations true, but it was the sound of a woman's frantic begging that made Lily realize Alec wasn't exaggerating at all.

Two guards were dragging a man out of his house while his wife screamed at them to stop; shielding her two young sons from coming outside.

"Please, we gave the tax collectors all we could spare! You can't take my husband away!"

"Neglecting to pay your share of taxes is a punishable offense," one of the guards said lazily. One of the man's sons managed to duck around his mother and dart into the road.

"You can't take him!" the tiny boy shouted defiantly. There were tears glistening in his eyes as he kicked the guard in the shin. The guard's face twisted into a scowl and he raised his fist. Memories exploded in Lily's mind. She had been ten years old and one of the market vendors in Falkirk accused her of stealing some bread. The man had struck her hard across the face and knocked her small form into a puddle of mud. No one had even batted an eye. No one stuck up for orphans in Falkirk. That wasn't how things were supposed to be here. Rage surged up inside her chest like a living thing and she was across the road in a breath, despite Alec hissing her name.

Lily pushed the boy behind her, coming between him and the guard's blow. He lowered his fist at the last second, meeting her fiery stare with a look of annoyance.

"What's this about then?" he grumbled.

"Do you not realize who I am?" Lily asked in a steady voice. The other guard nudged his companion and the man's eyes finally widened with recognition.

"Lady Belmont, my apologies," he said hastily. "We were just dealing with this tax evader."

"His wife claims they paid their taxes," she said coolly.

"Aye, but not the full amount they owed, my lady."

"And so you saw fit to beat him? His nose is bloody and his eye is already swelling shut."

"He resisted arrest, my lady."

"Leave him be."

The guards frowned. "My lady-"

"I said, leave him be. Are you deaf, or merely stupid?"

The guards reluctantly released the man, who lurched to his feet. His son sprang into his arms.

"We were following our orders, Lady Belmont," the younger guard spoke up. "The man hasn't paid-"

"I'll see to it the difference is taken care of," Lily interrupted. "Go find some actual work to do instead of bothering decent citizens." She stepped closer and lowered her voice so no one else would hear her. "And if I ever catch you raising your hands to a child again, I will take that sword and cut you open from your neck to your jewels, do I make myself clear?"

Both guards stepped away from her, looking stunned. They mumbled hasty "my ladies" and hurried away. The few people who had stopped to watch the spectacle also made quick retreats. The family had disappeared back into their house. Lily was shaking fiercely and pulled away from Alec as he stepped closer to her. She darted to the side of the road, feeling like she would retch. But she hadn't eaten anything yet that day and all she could do was dry heave until her sides ached. This was all wrong. And the memories of Falkirk wouldn't leave her, rolling over her like a tidal wave.

"Lily, I'm sorry," Alec murmured when her shaking had subsided. He was watching her with concern. "I shouldn't have brought you out here."

"I'm fine," Lily rasped. She felt like a war was raging inside of her. She couldn't imagine that Angie; who had once suffered beatings in order to sneak Lily extra portions of food; would allow her guards to force people from their homes and strike children.

"She must not know," Lily whispered. "She can't know it's this bad; she would never let this happen."

Pieces of an ugly puzzle were coming together in her mind no matter how hard she tried to push them away. Reconstructing the town square so that it couldn't be viewed from the castle. Having guards follow Lily more often when she went out. Somehow it all had to be connected but she still refused to accept it. She would talk to Angie. She would figure this all out and then put it right.

"I think I'd best go home, Alec."

He nodded, still watching her with a worried frown. "I'll walk you."

They made the journey back to Little Aveling in silence. Lily's thoughts were racing too fast for her to make any coherent sense out of them. When they reached the wall, she turned to Alec and bit her lip.

"I'm going to try and straighten this all out," she said.

"Are you sure you're going to be all right? You seemed pretty shaken back there."

"I'll be fine." Lily nodded. "I'll talk to Angie and I'll make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again and everything will be fine. I'll see you later, Alec."

She turned and hurried back to the castle with a hollow feeling in her chest. Anyone who had grown up in Falkirk knew that the words "everything will be fine" were almost always a lie.