Hey so sorry I haven't updated this in a while. This story is going in completely different directions that I would have expected and I keep getting writer's block. Anyway, hope you like it and if not that's ok because I do! Lol, please read and review!

Why Did it Have to be You?

Chapter 1:

Lily awoke one morning to find her room cooler and more damp than usual. She looked out of her window and saw that it was a dreary, rainy morning with grey skies and stormy clouds overhead. She snuggled down into her downy quilt and tried to savour as much of this carefree, cozy time as she possibly could before she had to leave its warm embrace. Just as she was about to close her eyes and drift off, back into sleep, her chamber door flew open and in waltzed her charismatic lady's maid, Katherine Oliver or Kitty for short.

"G'mornin' m'lovely!" she said in her usually cheery voice. She practically pranced over to the large windows on the opposite side of the room and whipped open the rich brocade curtains. Sunlight flooded into the room and Lily had to pull the covers over her head to keep from being blinded. Kitty looked to her disapprovingly and marched over to the bed. "Come on now hun. You's best be getting' up an' outta bed; yer uncle wonts to see you 'fore you 'ave your breakfast, so come on m'dear!"

Kitty went over to the bed and stripped back the covers from Lily's lazy form. Lily reluctantly pulled her heavy self up, out of the bed and followed Kitty into the water closet; she had already poured a hot bath for Lily with lilac oil and bubbles. She helped Lily into her bathing shift and then proceeded to wash her hair and her body. Kitty wrapped Lily in a fresh cotton sheet and led her into her room.

Lily dressed in her morning wrapper and sat down at her vanity table. Kitty dressed her hair simply in a braided coronet and added a few fresh flowers. Lily applied her favourite perfume, lilac, to her pulse points and put on her pearl drop earrings. Kitty then placed a fresh chemise on Lily, drawers, a bustle and three petticoats. Lily walked over to the column in the corner of her room and held onto it tightly with both hands while Kitty laced her extremely tightly into a pink brocade corset. A corset cover was placed overtop and finally a dove grey morning gown was placed on Lily.

"I know it has been over three years since auntie's death, but I cannot bear to wear bright colors whenever I think of her; she was the only mother I have ever known," said Lily solemnly, justifying her choice in dress to Kitty.

"Oh sweetie, you can't mourn 'er forever; she wouldn't 'ave wanted it tha' way. You know wha' a 'appy woman she was!"

Lily gave her a little smile and turned to her mirror to pinch her cheeks to a rosy pink. She put on a pair of satin slippers and whisked her way down to her uncle's morning room. She knocked on the door and entered to find him sitting in his favourite chair with his head in his hands. When he saw her enter he plastered a smile on his face and stood up.

"Good morning uncle!" said Lily cheerily. "Are you feeling alright? You did not look quite well when I came in; is it another head ache?"

"Lily, dear, sit down," he said softy. "There is something I must talk to you about."

Lily looked at her uncle suspiciously, but sat down in her favourite winged chair. She had been coming into her uncle's parlour for years, usually to play board games with him or read a book; he too was the only father she had ever known. When she was younger she would often come and snuggle up in this chair and fall asleep to the sound of him reading.

"Uncle, what is it? You can tell me."

"Lily," he started, sitting down in the chair opposite her. "Do you remember your mother?"

Lilt looked at her uncle and blinked a few times. They had never talked about her mother in all the time that she could remember. Aside from her aunt and uncle telling her that her mother had died when Lily was three there had been nothing said of her since. "I…I think so," she said putting a hand to her temple. "I sort of vaguely remember the scent of rose and lilac, but that is about it. Auntie once told me about her, and that we were very close when I was young."

"Yes, you were. Your father had died before you were born and it was only you and your mother left. When you were three she developed tuberculosis and died soon after. She had made sure that we were to take you in, if such a thing were to happen, and that events in you future were to be secured."

"What events?" said Lily suspiciously.

"First of all Lily, your mother was the queen of Crina."

"Crina? That horribly corrupted country? You and Auntie always used to talk about it and how it had gone to the dogs," exclaimed Lily.

"Yes I know, it has indeed gone to the dogs. Before your mother died she made sure that you were her sole heir; you are to inherit the kingdom upon your 21st birthday or once you marry. As you were only a child at the time your mother made her chief advisor Prince regent in your stead. The regent has, however, taken supreme control and now rules the country as though he is a tyrant. It will not be easy to reclaim your throne, but it is yours to take."

Lily sat silently for a few minutes, letting all of this information run through her head. "Why? Why are you telling me this? And why have you waited until now to do so? Why did you never tell me before that I was the heir to Crina?"

"Lily we thought that information like this was not something a child was ready to hear. How do you think that you would have reacted to knowing you were technically the queen of an entire country? You would have let it gone to your head. You would also have not known how to cope with such information, nor would you have known what to do about it. You are older now and can now make a useful decision when the time arrives," her uncle stated calmly.

"But why now? Why not tell me this when I turn 21, or when I marry?"

Harold looked at his niece, practically his daughter, and sighed. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and reached for her hands. "Lily, I'm dying."

Lily's eyes widened to those of an owl. She sat still again for what seemed like an hour and then took a deep breath. "H…how long do you have?"

"The doctors say that I have an advanced case of tuberculosis; they say that I will be dead in less than a week."

It was at that moment that Lily started to cry. She rarely cried, but when she did it was a full blown waterfall. "Why! Why is it that everyone I love leaves me?" she cried. "First my father, then my mother then Auntie and now you!" She continued to cry into her hands and then into her uncle's arms as he sat down next to her.

"Lily, there is more," he said calmly. "You will not be left alone, if you choose. Before your mother died, she asked your aunt and I if we would agree to betroth you to James. We agreed whole-heartedly and proceeded to do so."

"What! James? But…but we don't even get along!"

"We are not forcing you two to marry, but it is the wish of al of us for you to do so. Your mother wanted you to be cared for and safe, James will give you that. With the two of you united, you can take back your kingdom and rule it together."

"I…I don't know," said Lily slowly.

"I'm not asking you to decide now, it is just something to think about," said Harold soothingly. "Now if you don't mind sweetie, I think I am going to take a nap."

"Oh, of course uncle! You just lie down and rest here and I'll just be in the library if you need me," Lily said kissing him on the forehead and leaving the room.

She brushed away the remainder of her tears as she made her way to the library. She must be strong through this, not just for herself, but for her uncle too. She knew that it pained him to see her cry, so she would be a big girl!

Lily came to the large doors of the library and opened them, only to hear the familiar creek them welcomed her with. She walked over to her favourite chair where her book was waiting, only to see that someone was already in it.

"James? What are you doing home?" she said, surprised.

"Father sent me a letter at school telling me that I must come home immediately," he said looking through the pages of her book. "Yours I presume?" he said looking up at her. When he saw her cheeks flame he knew it was hers. "I never pegged you as one to read these types of books Lila, but I suppose everyone has their little secrets."

Lily marched over to him and snatched it away, hugging it to her chest. "Jerk! And why are you in here anyway? Why didn't you tell anyone you were home?"

"I just got here. When I asked to see father they said that he was having a private conversation with you, so I wasted my time in here. What were the two of you talking about anyway? Does he have a suitor lined up for you or something?"

At this Lily's eyes started to water again, but she quickly brushed them away. "You might say that, but you should really go and talk to him soon. He's having a nap right now so go and see him after lunch," said Lily in a slightly quivery voice.

James, who had previously been searching through the shelves for an interesting book, turned back to Lily at the tone of her voice. He noticed the tears in her eyes and became surprised. "Lila, have you been crying! Not stone cold Lily! The last time I saw you cry was a mother's funeral…wait, what's wrong! Is it father? Is he alright?"

At this Lily broke into a waterfall again and ran to James for comfort. She buried her face in his chest and let the tears flow. Surprisingly he brought his arms up and wrapped them around her small frame. "Seriously Lila, what's wrong. Is father alright?"

"N…no!" she sobbed. "He…he's dying!"

James's grip on Lily tightened and she could feel his entire body go ridged. She wiped the tears form her eyes and looked up at him. His pink lips were hardened into a thin line and his strong jaw was clenched unnaturally tight. His bright hazel eyes were shut closed and she could see a single tear drip down his tanned cheek.

"James, are you-" but he let her go instantly and left the room in a fury. She could hear his long strides down the corridor and then heard a door slam at the far end of the corridor, the one that led to his mother's old parlour.

That parlour had been a sanctuary to him ever since her death five years ago. Whenever he was home and he struck a particularly bad mood he went to vent in there. She had not been in it since her aunt's death, but she didn't doubt that it looked exactly the same as when her aunt was alive. James would have revelled in being around items that had been so precious to her as the ones in that room were.

By 8:30 that night James had still not emerged from the parlour. He had Pullman, the butler, bring him his lunch and dinner in there and had not even set a foot out.

Lily had told her uncle that James was back, and also that she had told him of his illness. He said that he understood James's grief and that they should just let him be until he was ready to come out. Lily had at first agreed with him, but after nine hours of him being cooped up in there, she started to become angry with him. She tried to ignore him and her anger and went up to her room to go to bed. She had Kitty change her into her nightgown and she tried to go to sleep.

After half and hour of tossing and turning she sat up in bed, fuming. She jumped out of the covers, put her dressing gown overtop of her nightgown and made her way down to her aunt's parlour.

Lily didn't even bother to knock on the door; she just burst through it and closed it behind her. She found James sitting before the fireplace in a large, winged chair, drinking a tumbler of brandy and smoking a cigar. He turned around at the sound of the door opening and turned back when he realised that it was Lily.

"What d'you wont?" he said, slurring slightly from the brandy.

"James, grow up!" she said, going to stand before him.

"Get outta here Lily," he said finishing his glass of brandy and pouring himself another one.

"No James, it is time you started acting like an adult! Get your ass off that chair and go and talk to your father! You have been moping in here all day, not even caring what your father is going through. We have less than a week left with him and you are choosing to spend it alone! You are being selfish and immature!"

"What the fuck do you know!" he roared. Lily cowered back slightly, closer to the chair opposite James's. "You have always been the daughter they never had! They spoiled you, did everything for you; you were always around them and where was I? They shipped me off as soon as I was old enough and I see then once a year! I barely have enough memories with them in the past ten years to write down on a single page! You have no idea what it is like to feel like a stranger around your own father, so don't you dare tell me how I should act in a time like this!" he roared and Lily fell back into the chair with James towering over her.

Lily's face was scarlet at this point and she was ready to break. "I have no idea what it feels like to be a stranger to me father, do I James?" she said almost shaking with rage. She stood up abruptly and slapped James across the face. "At least you have a father! I have never even met mine, remember James! Your father is the only one I have ever known, so don't you even try to tell me what it is like not to have memories! Now go! Go and see him and make some damn memories before it is too late!"

Lily's eyes were full of tears and she had to turn away from James as she let the tears flow again. Seeing this, James's hard face softened and he stepped closer to Lily. "Please Lila, don't cry. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that; I wasn't thinking." He reached for her face but she stepped back into the chair and covered her face.

"Just go to him James," she said.

He gave her one last look and left the room,

When James returned to his mother's parlour he was surprised to see Lily still there. She had fallen asleep in the same chair he had left her in. It was then also that he noticed she was just in her thin cotton nightgown; her lithe form was practically visible through the flowing fabric.

James walked over to the chair and looked more closely at her. It was strange, but for a moment a feeling that he had never felt around Lily passed though him; something one feels before love…attraction? It was true that James had never felt like a brother to Lily, they had only lived in the same house for three years before he was sent to school, but he had never felt anything like this around her.

James had not seen Lily in over a year, and in this time she had changed greatly. She was no longer the gangly teenager that he had last seen, she was practically a woman. She had new curves that the nightgown she was wearing was delightfully clinging to. He face was clear from its blemish faze and her lips had developed a delicious little pout.

James grabbed a blanket from the chaise lounge and brought it over to her. He wrapped her in it and picked her up, sitting down in the chair and holding her in his arms. She had always been a deep sleeper, so James did not expect her to wake up. He didn't feel like being alone right now, so he was content to hold her while she slept. She smelt of lilacs and roses and her skin was as soft as the petals of a rose. He couldn't resist placing a soft kiss upon her pink lips, holding her tight as he did. At this Lily stirred slightly. While still asleep, she snuggled into James's form and let out a deep sigh before relaxing again. He laid his head atop her and fell into a peaceful sleep, determined to make her feel the same about him as he did her.