A/N Hi! So this is my first Secret Garden fic, I'd appreciate if you'd stick with me through it! This is based on the musical, which is based on the book, but this is just a warning that there is quite a bit that is different.

This is mostly from Neville's point of view, he's Archibald's brother, and not in the book, I believe. The italicized words are flashbacks, and the normal words are in musical time, which is book time.

I use two songs in this story at this point, but only half of one is in this particular chapter. It's the dialogue between Rose and Lily (Rose is Lily's sister) towards the end. Here's a link for the song: watch?v=rEBsJeYPCVI

Alright, here we go! Thanks for reading!

Neville watched Archie and the girl (he had to find out her name) dance. As much as he hated it, he was shocked that she had even spared him a second glance. She was beautiful enough that she could have a choice of any man in the room to dance with, and she had chosen is hunchbacked brother. Maybe she felt sorry for him and thought that no one else would dance with him if she did not. But the mere fact that he had even attempted to ask someone was remarkable, even more so that she had said yes or not had another partner. He contented himself with that for the remainder of the dance.

As soon as the dance was over, he weaved his way through the crowd of partners taking leave of each other. He reached the young lady and, bowing slightly, said, "Miss, may I have this dance?"

She blushed a bit before saying, "Doctor Craven," she glanced at Archie, "I would be delighted to, but I already promised Mr. Craven this dance."

Neville felt his hope-she even knew his name!-crushed. She had actually given his miserable, hunchback of a brother a second dance!

"Perhaps we could dance later?" she asked tentatively.

Neville paused, he had not expected her to say that. But it was already clear that she preferred his brother to him, and he chose a curt, "Perhaps," to say that, no, they would not dance later.

As he retreated he heard his brother say, "I apologize for my brothers' behavior, it is really unacceptable." His anger grew, he did not wish to be apologized for. It should be Archie apologizing to him. This new and interesting girl had been a good chance for him to settle down, but al hopes of that had been dashed. She just had to take a liking to his brother. Never had a woman taken that path before. It wasn't Archie's fault, it was the lump on his back that drove women away.

Having not found a dance partner for this dance, Neville was left to skirt around the edges of the room trying not to get hit by swinging skirts. He heard a musical laugh soar over the music and looked around to find the source. It didn't take long, for it was obvious that it was the girl Archie was dancing with, as they were both in stitches. He had never seen Archie like this before, and he didn't understand why it had to start now.

Neville awoke with a start and groaned, he was just as bad as Archie. But in his waking minutes, he completely cut himself off from his emotions. He glanced at the picture on his nightstand, and picture of his Lily, she should have loved him, not Archie. Knowing that he wasn't going to get any more sleep that night, he got out of bed and wandered the halls, ending up in the library.

To his surprise, there was an unopened letter on his desk. He knew that he had not left it there, so it must be new-and important. He ripped it open, and read through it quickly, growing more anxious as he read. There was no alternative that he could see, there were no other surviving relatives of the girl; and even though he knew that this was no place for a living, breathing child, Mary Lennox was going to live at Misselthwaite Manor.

Neville was taking a walk through the gardens to get some fresh air. He was quickly tiring of dances, for no other reason than the fact that he had to watch Lily and Archie dance together the whole time. It was spiteful thing to do, but it was true.

In his wanderings, Neville found himself in a part of the garden he was not familiar with. He turned around, trying to get his bearings, when he saw a door. Approaching the door, he heard a faint laugh from within. Cautiously, he opened the door, taking care to make sure it didn't creak.

To his unpleasant surprise, he found that even leaving the dance would not relieve him of the pain that seeing Lily and Archie together brought him. Archie was pushing Lily on a swing almost absentmindedly, most of his attention focused on either talking to her or listening to her. Neville stood there and watched them for a few minutes. It was a mesmerizing sight, both of their eyes so full of love for each other, he almost couldn't look away.

But look away he did. In fact, he looked away so much that he was out the door. He gave no regard as to whether or not his presence was discovered, and he was pretty sure it had, because he heard Archie calling out for him through the walls. Neville wasn't sure why his reaction had been that strong, but it was, and it was too late to go back.

Archie never found out what Neville was doing that day, and Neville would like to keep it that way. When it came to Lily, Archie only ever thought of himself, and sometimes Colin. Though he had always been tender-hearted, and was being selfless enough letting Mary live at Misselthwaite, but when it came to Lily, he was utterly selfish.

"Archie!" Neville said indignantly, "You can't think that Lily will betray you if she dances with another man!"

"I have every reason to think she'll leave!" he replied sullenly.

"Why? She has promised to never leave you," Neville pointed out.

"But she is under no oath to keep that promise. Besides, I'm just a miserable cripple, no one would willingly spend their entire life with me," Archie spat venomously.

"Maybe if you asked her, you would be surprised," Neville said, pretending not to notice the wrench in his gut when he said that. It had always been obvious that Lily loved Archie and that Archie loved Lily. However, it didn't have to sit well with either of their siblings. Lily's sister, Rose, fretted over what could possibly happen if, and when, the two were married. Neville was simply being selfish.

Now Lily was gone, and Rose was gone, too. She had had the chance to see that her predictions of a crippled child had been true, though not for the reason she had thought. Neville thought bitterly over the fact that Rose had the opportunity to raise her child for ten years and had neglected her while Lily never had the chance. How the child had survived the Cholera was beyond him, but it was clear that she was missing both of her parents.

Her father, Albert, had been very attentive and loved her deeply. He also kept contact with Lily and Archibald when his wife refused to after they married. Lily and Rose had reestablished contact just before Lily had died. When Lily died, she had been devastated.

She and Albert had moved to India not long before Lily had died, but they came back, Rose pregnant and all, for the funeral. Neville had been worried about their child and what such a long, hard journey would do to it, but Mary had been born perfectly during their stay at Misselthwaite.

"You can't marry this Archibald, he's a gloomy, miserable cripple who hides himself away in that horrible house! He can't believe you love him and neither can I!" Rose said venomously.

"No one is asking for your approval, Rose," Lily replied calmly.

Rose interrupted her, "Lily, if you don't care what happens to you, think about your children. Do you want your children to be crippled as well?"

"I will marry him," Lily insisted.

"Don't do this," Rose pleaded, "Don't wed him! Don't bed him, don't do this!" Set him free, through the world, let him go his lonely ways!"

"Now that I love him, I will live for him! Live just to love him!"

"I won't forgive you!" Rose said harshly, "Won't see you live there. Lily, I swear I'll never see you!"

A flicker of doubt crossed Lily's determined face, but resolve returned almost instantly, "Do what you will then! I'll never leave him!"

"Cut off from pain! Cut off from pain! Now you must leave him!"

"No, I'll not leave him!" Lily said stubbornly.

"Yes, you must leave him!" Rose tried calmly.

"How can I leave him? I'll never leave him, nor e'er deceive him!" Lily said, all the love evident in her voice.

"You must leave him! Lily, promise!" Rose pleaded.

"Rose, I promised! Never leave him!"

"Yes you must leave him!"

"You must believe!" Lily said harshly.

"You must believe!" Rose insisted. "Lily, think about the children!"

"I will wed and bear him children!"

"Lily, think about the children!" Rose tried one last time.

"He will love me, love the children," Lily said softly.

Rose stormed off, on the brink of tears. She couldn't imagine why lily would do this to her children. She understood being in love, but at least she was in love with someone who wouldn't cripple her children! How she would be able to handle knowing what she did to her children was completely beyond Rose.

Neville processed in shock what he had just heard, Lily and Archie must be engaged for such an argument to occur. How could Archie not tell him? He went out to the garden where he knew he would find Archie. If they had really gotten engaged, he would want to go to the place that truly bound them together.

To his satisfaction, he did find Archie there, and alone, which made it even better. He cleared his throat, and said, "Archie, is there something you're neglecting to tell me?"

Archie jumped out of his daze, and looked at Neville in confusion, "What?"

"Are you not telling me something?" Neville said impatiently.

"Oh," Archie said, smiling, "There might be something, but you already seem to know what it is."

Neville felt his heart sink, he had absolutely no chance now, that much was certain. "Congratulations, Archie," he said stiffly. Without saying anything else, he turned around sharply and walked away. In that moment, he vowed to never feel so strongly about someone ever again.

Archie entered the library, his mood as bleak as it always was. Neville hardly spared him a glance until he started speaking. "She has a picture of Lily. She says it was on her dresser and thinks her mother put it there."

"Which picture is it?" Neville asked, pretending to be disinterested.

"The one where she's sitting in that horrible tree," Archie answered bitterly.

"How did you find out?" he asked, still trying for disinterest.

"She showed it to me," Archie said, almost defeated.

"her mother was Lily's sister, I'm sure she would want the child to know who her aunt was," Neville reasoned.

Archie sighed, "She heard Lily singing, she is just as haunted as I."

"She heard Lily?"

"She wanted to know what happens when people die. Natural, of course," Archie said, ignoring Neville. "Her parents are here, too."

"How do you know?" Neville asked, truly surprised.

"They were in the ballroom with Lily, Mary's holding on to them."

Neville shook his head, "I don't believe that, and neither do you. You are holding on to them because you are holding on to that entire life with Lily."

"But why would they show up now?" Archie said, pleading for an answer.

"Whose child are you now the guardian of?" Neville asked impatiently.

"She heard Colin."

Neville looked up sharply, "What?"

"She heard him crying last night as well as Lily singing."

"We must send her away before she does any damage," Neville said, horrified.

Archie raised his voice slightly, "No, I refuse to have her sent away. She is Lily's niece, and she wants me to care for her."

Neville raised his eyebrow, "And how do you know?"

"The child heard her singing, what else can that mean?" Archie shouted.

"That she is just as crazy as you!" Neville shouted back, standing up.

Archie turned around and left abruptly, not saying anything. Neville knew he had gone a bit far this time. It was time for Archie to move on, Lily was not coming back and however many ghosts he saw, that did not mean he was dead as well.

A/N I hope you enjoyed that! If you would be so kind as to review and tell me what you think, that would be awesome! Thank you so much!