Lilly III

by Tiya Rayne

  “Assassin, let him go.” I hear Bartus shout. “You harm him there will be hell to pay.”

  I ignore Bartus. “What the fuck did you do?” I snarl at Rykan.

  “Guards!” Bartus shouts for his guards, but I am soon protected on all sides by, Hyland, Augustus, Bilal, Lydell, Cleo, Tuson and even little Kema is guarding me.

  Rykan laughs in my face and I slam him against the wall again.

  “I may not get to keep Lilly, but I am glad that you will never have her either. You sick bastard. I showed her the truth. I showed her who you really are.”

  “Where did you take her?” I shout, spittle flying out of my mouth.

  With a devious smile, Rykan answers. “To Diagon Alley where she got to see what loving you does to people.”

  My heartache and my anger rage a war inside me and I could not control myself. My sword appears in my hand and I jam it into Rykan’s gut. His body falls to the ground at my feet. I just killed the Prince of the Southern Kingdom. There will be hell to pay. I say, let it come.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Lilly, please let me come in.” Miriam pleads on the other side of the door. She’s been knocking on that door for 10 minutes. I know that if she really wanted to come in she could just flash inside. I’m thankful that she is giving me my privacy.

  “I need time, Miriam, please go away.” My voice sounds hoarse because of my sobs.

  It seems the harder I cry, the harder the rain beats against the roof of the castle. My heart feels obliterated. I am disgusted with Rykan for ever thinking I would agree to be his secret mistress. It seems that Rykan and Assassin both want the same thing from me, just in different ways. In Rykan’s scenario, I’m his secret side-piece that he keeps locked away from his wife and come to visit when he wants sex. In Assassin’s scenario, I’m just a tool used to enhance the sex between him and his real lover’s relationship. Neither of them really wanted me. And what sucks is, despite all that I know— I still want Assassin. I just cannot be with him in some kind of threesome with Avalia. When I asked him where he went today he told me out right he was with her. He didn’t even try to lie about it. It is clear that with her is where his loyalties lie, and I refuse to be second in a relationship. I just wish my brain would tell my heart and my tears how stupid they are being over a man that does not want me. A man that still makes my heart race. Even though I had agreed to give Rykan and I a chance, Assassin was still the only thing on my mind.

  I have cried so much after I rushed from the table that my tears and sadness crossed over into my dream.

  I’m lying on a bed in some kind of small cottage. The sun is up, the windows are open and warm air is blowing the sheer curtains into the room. Outside I can hear the sound of farm animals and the chopping of wood. I quickly climb to my bare feet and look out the window. Nevy is there. He is shirtless and he has an axe raised over his head about to swing it down and cut the large piece of wood.

  “Nevy.” My voice isn’t louder than a whisper, but he hears me. When he turns to me, those mixed up eyes sparkle and he gives me the most stunning and welcoming smile that I have ever seen.

  I push away from the window, my feet carrying me as fast as I can go. I run out the back of the small cottage down the few stairs and straight into the outstretched arms of my dream guy.

  “Nevy, I’ve missed you.”

  He wraps me in his arms and holds me tight. I have this sudden feeling of safety. It feels as if nothing can hurt me while wrapped in these arms. It isn’t like the way I felt with Assassin. This feeling almost feels artificial, like it is being wrapped around me and not coming from the inside like with Assassin. Before I could think any more of it, Nevy pulls away from me slightly and looks down at me, his smile turns into a frown as he takes in my tear streaked face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  With those simple sincere words my tears come anew. I bury my face in his bare chest and cry again over a man that isn’t mine. Nevy doesn’t say anything, he just lifts me in his arms and carries me back into the house.

  ************

  I lie on the bed with him for what seems like hours. I relay to him everything I have gone through in the last 24 hours. Again, he doesn’t say anything or judge me. He just lies on his side facing me while holding my hand between us.

  “I feel so stupid for falling for either of them.”

  “You should not. You took them for their word, it was not your fault that their words were meaningless.”

  I roll over to my back and stare up at the exposed wood ceiling. Nevy lays a hand over my belly. I turn to look at him and he is staring at my slight belly bump as if he is in deep thought.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask him. He looks up at me and if I’m not mistaking, he’s blushing.

  “It’s nothing.” he pulls his hand away and turns on his back so close, our shoulders touch.

  “Tell me, please?”

  He huffs and then turns to me with a sheepish look.

  “I was just thinking how I would feel if your belly was rounded with my young.”

  My mouth falls open then closes. What do you say to that? He took my silence for the wrong thing, and starts to explain himself.

  “It’s just that, I’ve never met a girl that hasn’t been disgusted by my eyes or my scar. I’ve kind of come to the conclusion that I will never marry. I will continue to live on this farm alone and for a moment I envisioned that you would be the one to see pass my flaws and….” He stops speaking and turns away from me. “I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable. You do not need someone like me fawning all over you. You deserve royalty like the young prince or the assassin, not some lowly farmer.”

  My heart breaks at his words. Before I came to this place, I thought the same way he did. It wasn’t until I came here that I believed that Lilly Ann Peters, from Springvalley trailer park, would ever end up with royalty. I guess even in fairytales one must know their place.

  I roll over to my side and place a hand on Nevy’s face turning him to see me.

  “You are not just some lowly farmer. You are beautiful, inside and out. You would make any woman a wonderful husband. You should strive for someone better than me. I’m not worthy of your admiration. I wish I was.”

  “You are more than worthy, Lilly. You just haven’t found the right man to show you just how much you’re worth.”

  His words are refreshing to my broken ego. I needed them. Without a second thought, I kiss him. I place my lips to his and just go for it. What was meant as a quick reassuring kiss, turns into me rolled on top of him and his hands on my back. Even though I wasn’t ready to start anything with Nevy, I don’t stop kissing him. Not even when I feel the impeccable bulge pressed against my thigh. I kiss Nevy because he is kind, because he has been a friend to me since the moment I slipped into his dream, and I kiss him because I just wanted so badly to forget about Assassin. Even if for a brief moment.

  Nevy’s lips are soft yet firm against mine. I can feel him holding back from me. He’s being gentle with me. I didn’t want gentle. I wanted hard, assertive kisses. Kisses that would leave me aching and feeling as if he owned every inch of me. I wanted Azriel. I pull away from his kiss, although it was nice, it did not stop me for thinking of Assassin. It only made me yearn for him more. The way his kisses seem to sear my lips with the heat of them.

  Nevy places soft kisses on my neck and it makes me giggle.

  “I love the sound of your laugh.” He says as he lies back on the bed. Those amazing eyes looking into mine. Nevy was too good to be true.

  “I wish you were real.” The words spill from my lips without me meaning them to.

  One of his thick eyebrows raises slightly. “What would you do if I were?” he asks.

  What would I do? As much as I want to go home, I know I can’t take this battle to my family. I would never intentionally place them in harm’s way. However, I can’t stay here in the southern Kingdom with Rykan, and I can’t continue to see Assassin. My heart w
ill not be able to take it. Plus, I no longer trust any of them.

  “I would come to you.” I reply, running a hand down his jaw.

  I wasn’t in love with Nevy. I wish I could trick my heart into falling for him, but it doesn’t work that way. Besides, I can’t trust my heart when it comes to Love, that thing is shady as hell. I needed to start using my head. My head would tell me to be with a man that can be trusted, one that doesn’t want to keep me pregnant and hidden away, and definitely not one that wants to share me with the real woman of his life. I’ll take a smart relationship over dumb love from now on.

  “I don’t have much to offer you, Lilly. I’m just a flawed man with a little land and this small cottage. But I will promise that if you come to me, I would cherish you every day and I will lay down my life to protect you.”

  He had no idea that he had just told me everything that I’ve ever wanted to hear. I’ve never needed much. I’m not much of a materialistic girl. All I’ve ever wanted was someone to truly love me. And, though it isn’t from the one man I really want, I could do so much worse.

  I hop up from the bed. “How do I find you, Nevy?”

  His feet hit the floor and he grabs me around the waist and pulls me into a quick hug.

  “When you wake, go to the forest and head towards the river. I will find you, just head to the river.”

  “I’ll come.”

  “I cannot wait to have you here in my arms for real. I’ll will make you happy, Lilly.” He pulls me in and places a kiss on my lips. “But first, wake up.”

  I wake to my room inside the Southern Kingdom. I’m not sure how long I have slept, but the rain has seemed to slacken with my misery. I quickly climb from the bed. I chance a peek out my bedroom door and find no one there. That’s odd. I was sure I would have at least one guard at the door, or maybe now that I’m no longer a contender for a booty call no one cares about my safety. Were they all just using me? I have to get away from here, the longer I stay the more I get depressed. I quietly slip out of my door. The entire castle almost seems vacant as I creep through the corridors. I stop near the kitchen, deciding to take the servants entrance out of the castle to the woods. It’s always less people that way. I hear voices and I pause to listen outside the door.

  “Poor child. I can’t believe the prince would choose anyone over the human, she’s such a lovely girl.”

  “I say it served him right for what he did to her. Too bad the Assassin didn’t finish the job.”

  There is an audible gasp. “Silviat, if they were to hear you speak that way of Prince Rykan, they would have you in the dungeon with the others.”

  What happened while I was sleep? I was so tempted to find out, but I needed to get out of here. I was done with Rykan and Assassin. I wait until the voices trail away before pushing on.

  I quickly make my way to the stables and find Thor. My beautiful horse seems to question my appearance at this time of night.

  “Hey handsome, want to get out of here?” he bobs his head and lifts his hooves.

  At least somebody is still reliable. I use the stable’s wood planks to climb on the back of Thor. As soon as I’m settled he takes off. I aim him towards the woods and he easily obeys. We race through the woods in a blur. The light misty rain dampening my face and soaking through my clothes. The tall dark trees look ominous against the violet sky. The trees cast dark shadows that appear to be reaching for me. I can barely see ahead of me, but I remember the river being a straight run through the woods. I’m not afraid of the woods. I spent most of my youth in the woods behind my house. I was taught at a young age how to survive in the forest. However, it is the things that could be hidden in these woods that scare me. I lower my body closer to Thor’s and click his rein telling him to go faster. We do. Suddenly, I hear the caw of a bird close by. I look up and through the darkness of the trees I can see the shape of a bird flying alongside me. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I get this eerie feeling. It’s the same feeling I got that day with the unicorns. There was a bird there too. Could this be the same bird? As I watch him, the bird disappears in thin air. My heart rate kicks up and now this doesn’t seem like such a good idea. Unexpectedly, a large black wolf appears right in front of Thor. The large horse fights to come to a stop. The jerking of the sudden stop loosens my grip on my rein and when Thor stands on his hind legs to get away from the sharp teeth of the wolf I fall to the ground with a loud cracking sound in my ankle. I cry out at the pain. Thor’s hooves come down around my body protectively, but the wolf is forcing him back. After taking a bite to the front leg, Thor has no choice but to race away. The searing pain in my ankle and the lack of food earlier causes me to black out.

  When I wake I am being carried by large arms. I smile. Nevy must have found me. But, the smell is all wrong, and I don’t get that comforting feeling I get from my dreams when I’m in Nevy’s arms.

  “Nevy?” I call out to the arms that are wrapped around me. When I finally get my head to stop lulling and my eyes to focus on my rescuer, the fear that races through me almost causes me to black out again. I am being carried by a monster. I have never seen anything so terrifying in all my life. Its skin looks raw as if someone has peeled away layers of it to leave it red and oozing. Its eyes are reptilian with their oval shaped irises. The creature has no lips, just blackened gums and cracked rotting teeth. I try to pull away from it, but it only holds on tighter.

  “Let me go.” I yell.

  “Hush now, girl.” I hear a female voice say behind me.

  I turn my head and I’m met by bright lights. When my eyes adjust, I see that the lights are coming from a small cottage. It looks like something from a fairy tale. The roof is made with thick green grass. Large picturesque windows in the front and a large red wooden door that opens in half. I think it is called a Dutch door. Flower pots are lined in the window sills and a beautiful garden in front of the house. The house has a very Hansel and Gretel feel. If I were to stumble onto this house in the woods I would go to it immediately. It looks welcoming and inviting, but that eerie feeling is telling me that there is nothing but horror behind those doors. I start to panic. Again, I push at the thing that’s holding me.

  “No need to fight with him, girl. Familiars aren’t much to look at, but they are mighty strong.” I’ve heard of familiars before. It was in a story my cousin Lizzie told me once to scare me. Familiars were magical beings that aided witches and often took the shapes of animals. This creature must have been the bird and wolf.

  “Bring her closer so I can see her, Plinket.”

  The familiar walks me closer to the woman and sets me on my feet. I immediately drop down as I try to put weight on my sprain ankle.

  “Are you sure this is the one you saw with the unicorns? She looks rather weak.” Plinket responds by making a loud keening sound that resembles a police siren mixed with a cry.

  “Well, you best bring her in here then.” Wait, she understood that?

  Plinket tries to lift me again, but I fight with all I can to stop him. He makes that loud whine noise again and I’m instantly struck across the face.

  “Stop giving him a hard time.” The old women, whose face looks like beef jerky, has a mean right hook. With me nurturing a broken ankle and a sore jaw, Plinket has no problem picking me up and taking me in the house.

  The smell of rotting meat hits me and I almost hurl. This house looks like the set of a horror movie. Blood and entrails lay on every single surface. Organs are thrown around like decorative ornaments. Animals and insects of all kind are in jars and in cages in every nook and cranny.

  The old woman runs a hand over the top of the cluttered table, spilling jars and cages on to the floor. “Put her on the table.” Plinket plops me on the table and I once again fight to get free.

  “Hold her down.” The woman directs as she stands over me with a small blade with a wooden handle. Up close the women’s hair looks like spider webs as it hangs in thin strings in her face. She drags the sharp k
nife against my arm and immediately blood appears and pours down my arm. She places a bowl under my arm and my blood runs into a bowl. Once she has enough she drops a black leaf into the bowl, and chants some strange words, there is a sizzling sound and then large white puffs rise from the bowl where my blood is. Plinket and the old woman both squeal in delight.

  “We’ve found a pure, Plinket. Her blood is potent. As soon as she has those bastard babies, her blood will be even more powerful.”

  “Let me go!” I shout. “I have someone looking for me. He will find me.”

  The woman laughs, more of a cackle than a laugh. “Honey, no one will ever find you here.” She snatches the butterfly pendant from around my neck and places it inside a jar with a black snake.

  “Plinket, go put that in the basement. She won’t need that little talisman anymore.”

  I have a strong urge to cry as the necklace that I’ve had all my life is taken from me.

  I follow Plinket with my eyes down the stairs to the basement. With my busted ankle I can’t take on Plinket, but I can give this old lady a run for her money. While I was busy watching Plinket the old woman sneaks and places a pair of witch cuffs on my wrist. These are nothing like the ones back at the goblin kingdom. As soon as they are placed on me I can feel them weakening me. I immediately feel tired, almost drugged. My body falls back onto the table and I barely have enough strength to keep my eyes open. The old woman slides the blade over my skin taking more blood in to that bowl. This time, instead of placing a leaf into the bowl, she pours the blood into a smaller bowl. She then floats around her filthy kitchen adding more ingredients to the bowl. When she is done, she places the small bowl to her lips and drinks. The moment the blood mixture hits her lips her body changes. Gone is the beef jerky skin and spidery hair. Standing in front of me is a beautiful woman with smooth dark brown skin. Jet black hair that hangs in waves down her back. She went from looking like the Creep Keeper to looking like a swimsuit model. She is stunning with her gray eyes. She laughs and admires her skin in the filthy mirror over the sink.