This was a prompt given to me way back by shadowelfwarrior, sorry it took me so long to get to this! But all your prompts and support have meant a lot to me! So this takes place shortly after Far From What I Expected, as Valerie goes to deliver Yona's letter to Lily.
Lily sighed to herself in her room at Sensui, while she was still in exile thanks to her father she occasionally went to Crimson Dragon Palace to see Soo-won and find out what she could from there, but even then she was getting tired of the people spreading rumors of her and the king… Especially since he was Yona's enemy. But it had been so long since she had heard from the princess back in Xing, and it looked like Yona wanted to tell her something but she couldn't figure it out…
"Lady Lily? You have a visitor." Tetora said as she knocked on the door.
"Tetora I'm tired from our trip back here, no visitors please…." Lily grumbled as she sat on the bed. It had been a long journey back from Kuuto, and she really wasn't in the mood if it was just more random people from the Water Tribe wishing to pay tribute to her for her actions that helped save Sensui.
"She says it's important, that she has a letter from a certain person of interest." Ayura said as she opened the door, her blank expression hard to read but she didn't want anyone in the hallway to hear their conversation as she stepped inside. "… But she insists on giving it to you herself."
"Alright, alright, show her in." Lily sighed, figuring it was another letter of thanks from the people of the Water Tribe. She had been getting a lot of those after all, and she didn't want to be rude to the people of her tribe, just it was tiring and she really felt she didn't deserve all the credit. She blinked as the strawberry blonde stepped into the room when Tetora let her in.
"Ah so you must be Lady Lily, it is an honor. My name is Valerie Nightmare, and I have a message for you." The woman said, bowing once. "From a certain redhead of the dawn."
Lily's eyes widened at that, after all very few people ever had red hair like Yona, so there was a chance. "… Wait. Are you saying you know Yo-"
Valerie pressed her forefinger against her mouth. "Sweetie, there's a reason I was sent as the messenger, so you don't go screaming her name around. Walls can have ears you know."
Lily pouted at that, but had to admit the woman was right. "… Alright, but who are you? I don't remember seeing you around…. Her group." She stressed.
"Oh I just happen to be the big sister to her husband." Valerie chuckled.
"HUSBAND?!" Tetora gasped, but covered her mouth right away. Lily was glad she didn't gasp as loudly but she nearly did.
"Tactful as usual, Tetora…" Ayura remarked as she shut the door after scanning the hallway.
Lily did find her voice after the shock but lowered it just in the event they were heard. "…. Is that true? She actually married him?"
"Oh? I take it you didn't know then, huh that's funny he said you were her best friend." Valerie rubbed her temple. "Anyway here's the letter." She handed the parchment to the raven-haired girl.
Lily's brow furrowed though trying to read the letter. "…. This doesn't make any sense! It's all gibberish!"
Valerie laughed at her frustration. "See this is why I insisted on seeing you, it's in code so that if someone were to find it they wouldn't understand. So you take a few words and mess them around, and exchange this for that." She then leaned in and whispered to Lily what was needed to understand the letter and that was when the Water Tribe General's Daughter's eyes nearly exploded.
"SHE'S WHAAAAATTTT?! I HAVE TO GOTO HER NOW!" Lily tried to jump up right away and gather her things.
"Lady Lily!" Ayura grabbed her right away. "You can't just rush out of here, what if you were followed? You'd lead the Sky Tribe right to her! Or have you already forgotten what Advisor Kye-sook nearly did had you not stepped in?"
Valerie just listened with her arms crossed. She had a suspicion ever since hearing about Jae-ha's wife but now the pieces were falling into place. '…. So the rumor that Princess Yona is alive is true, and here she's the Crimson Dragon… Damn Jae-ha leave it to you to claim the princess as your bride, with the way you can charm any girl… Funny though I always heard the princess was a stubborn brat except for whenever Hak would speak of her… Makes me wonder how he's doing…'
"…." Lily bit her lip, but had to admit her guardian was right. "… But Yo- She needs my help… She's… She's…" she looked back at the letter and decided to use its coded word. "… In the family way…"
Ayura and Tetora stood there silent for a moment… And then Tetora smiled wide. "Ah so that's why she's married! No wonder you two were sneaking off for a girl talk last time!" she clasped her hands together. "So which one is it Lady Lily? After all before she kept saying none of those men were with her!"
"… It's the one that was always dressed in Kai Clothing." Lily answered, grimacing just thinking about Jae-ha. "… You know, the pervert that was smirking way too much when you offered him that wine."
"That sounds like my brother alright." Valerie snickered. "I wouldn't have believed he settled down unless he told me himself."
"Still she told me they were being careful and here he gets her pregnant?!" Lily looked furious now. "I'm going to give him a piece of my mind when I see him!"
"You know where she's going to be?" Tetora asked.
"In the letter! It says she'll be the last month in-" Lily realized she should lower her voice halfway through. "… A certain place. But that won't be for two months…" she twisted her mouth. "I need to come up with an excuse to leave, well I suppose I could just say I'm heading to Crimson Dragon Palace again. Father only sends someone once in a while to check up on me."
"Ah that explains why I had to wait for your return, I've been here for a week or so already but I needed to give the letter in person." Valerie explained.
"We thank you for bringing the news to us." Tetora said with a smile. "Will you be heading there as well?"
"I'll accompany you there, while you girls seem capable I can also help make sure we aren't followed just in case." Valerie offered. "I wouldn't mind seeing my little brother again, or meeting his wife."
"You didn't see her?" Ayura questioned.
"No she was sick when he passed the letter to me." Valerie explained. "He bumped into me trying to get medicine for her."
"Sick?! I knew she wasn't taking proper care of herself!" Lily seemed even more angry just hearing that.
"From what I hear she's rather stubborn and was pushing herself." Valerie chuckled.
"That sounds normal… And like a certain other person…" Ayura said with a serious expression.
"Oh my, whoever could that be?" Tetora said with a giggle.
"You guys are not subtle in the slightest…." Lily grumbled, folding her arms over her chest. She then turned to Valerie. "… So do you know about… Well that she's…"
"I have a hunch, I'll confirm that when we're away from here." Valerie said with a smile. "… Because I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but there are people watching your every move here. Not sure why but I could feel eyes on my back when I asked about you."
"… That is probably Kye-sook's doing…" Lily grit her teeth while balling her fist. "He doesn't like me hanging around the palace, he made that clear last time because I stood up for Yo-her…." She caught herself mid-sentence. "… Are you sure you can get us out of here without them knowing?"
Valerie smirked at that. "I was raised by pirates sweetie, trust me when I say I have my ways." She then headed for the door. "Oh by the way, once you've memorized what you need from that letter, be sure to burn it to not leave a trace. Even in code I worry about someone finding it." She advised before leaving. "I'll return in a few days for our trip, Lady Lily."
"Thank you." Lily said with a smile, glad to have heard from Yona and find out what was going on… Even if she was angry that she missed her best friend's wedding! She then looked over the letter again as Tetora and Ayura went onto their duties. '… I'll get rid of this before we leave, but for now it should be safe here….' Lily thought to herself as she stuffed the letter into a compartment in her dresser. 'Yona… I hope you're well and know what you're getting into… Marrying a dragon and now you're going to be a mother? No wonder you looked like you wanted to tell me something last time… I guess you finally told the others. I wonder how that turned out…' she pondered while looking out the window at the stars. She couldn't wait to ask Princess Yona all the questions on her mind….
Author's Notes: I found the saying 'In the Family Way' for a slang term for Pregnancy that dates back to the 1700's, so I thought that would be fitting for Yona of the Dawn's time period.