((AN: Do not own))

Chapter Four: Hidden Truths

Lilly's POV:

Manny after an hour or so Manny had joined Ellie and I was walking with Diego. Sid was trying to keep an eye on Crash and Eddie as they made their way ahead of us running under the logs and over the rocks. We all had our ways of getting around the logs other than that though. Diego and I leaped over and on to the logs. Manny threw them out of his way. And Ellie…Well, Ellie was trying to go under the logs.

"So…What were you and Manny talking about?" Diego inquired.

"Nothing much…Just getting to know each other, why, jealous?" I asked watching his face. It was priceless. "I'm kidding, Diego." I laughed.

"Very funny, Lilly." He said sarcastically.

"Oh, don't get your fur in a bunch. I was only messing with you." I smiled at him. He shot me a small smile. We caught up to Manny and Sid. Manny was holding a log with his trunk.

"She's not half bad." Diego told Manny. Manny turned his head and accidentally hit Sid, knocking him to the ground. Diego and I had ducked in time. Diego sat up. I stayed down next to Sid.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. He nodded. I helped him up.

"Crazy," Diego started. I shot him a look.

"Confused," He quickly changed his word. "But sweet. So,"

Manny turned his head, hitting Sid again in the head. Diego and I dodged it in time. I crouched down next to Sid, "You're going to get a concussion by this rate." I helped him up.

"So what's pulling you back?" He asked Manny. Finally I got what, well, who they were talking about: Ellie.

Manny dropped the log. "My family." He picked up another log. Sid was inside of it.

"It can happen again, you know." Sid told him.

"No, Sid, I can't." Manny told him.

"If you let this go, then you're letting your whole species go and that's just selfish." Sid exclaimed. Manny threw the log.

"You didn't have to throw him, Manny." I ran after Sid. I caught him in my mouth and brought him back.

When I got back, I spit him out with a vile taste remaining in my mouth. "Remind me never to put you in my mouth. You taste worse than Crash."

"I told you not to put him in your mouth." Diego laughed.

"Oh shush you." I said in mock anger and turned my attention to Manny. "I get what you mean Manny."

"How could you get it, Lilly? You wouldn't after what really happened, your highness. There are cave paintings about you, Lillianna. After what you did, how would you? Sick? That's as much truth-"

His words hurt more and grew louder in my mind as he said them. They brought back memories, I never want to reminisce. "Stop it! Stop it! Shut up!" I cried in hurt and frustration. "I didn't do it! It was an accident! It wasn't my fault!" My sister Dakota's last words echoed in my mind: 'Run, run, far away, Lilly and never return…' I did exactly what they told me to do. I ran away from Manny; away from Sid; away from Ellie, Crash, and Eddie; and away from Diego. It was the only thing I was ever truly good at. Running. I collapsed in a meadow far enough away that away that no one could find me.

Diego's POV

"Why did you do that?" I asked him furiously. "She hasn't done anything to you or anything!"

"How do you know that?" He countered.

"Because I can just tell." I growled. "She didn't do anything."

"You knew her and you didn't tell us?" Sid questioned Manny. He was hurt.

"I didn't know her personally. I knew of her. The legends call her Lillianna Lullaby."

"Wait! I know that name. Lillianna Lullaby was the saber who killed her family and was banished." Sid told us his epiphany.

"That's one way of putting it." I replied.

"Either you get the right one or she's not going to be traveling with us anymore, Diego." Manny retorted.

"That isn't fair and you know it, Manny!" Sid defended. "I like Lilly and I don't care what she did."

"She hasn't done anything, Sid."

"How do you know she's telling the truth?" Manny questioned me.

"She's not a liar, you can tell it in her tone and it was in her eyes. Leave her alone, Manny or I will force you." I sprinted off to find her.

Sid's POV:

I looked at Manny. He was looking at the ground. "You didn't really mean that, did you, Manny?" I asked him sadly. On the inside the was the smallest hint of happiness because it drove Diego closer to Lilly, but not exactly the way I wanted it to be though.

"No…I didn't mean to go off on her, but you guys need to know the truth about her." He replied.

"You like her, don't you, Manny? She's good for Diego, right?" I asked.

"She's nice, but there's something off about her." He walked away.

Lilly's POV:

"Why did you lie about what happened to you?"

I looked up. It was Diego.

"I didn't lie; I answered the question you guys asked honestly. You asked how I got to live with Ellie, Crash, and Eddie. You never asked how I got to be abandoned, just how they found me." I answered.

"So, what happened?"

I sighed and looked up at the shimmering, starry, sky. "Stampede…My sister left me alone, she and her mate were supposed to be watching me, they left. A stampede came I didn't know what to do…I ran. I saw a small tree; I climbed up and hung on. My father saw me and came after me. He threw me up on the rocks so I was out of the way. After the stampede cleared, I went to see what happened to him, he was dead. My sister found me and she told me to run away and never return. So I ran. It was an accident. Sometime later, I found the cave paintings. Actually, I met the monkey and the human who were painting them. The human belonged to a special clan that allowed them to understand animals. The painting's called Lillianna's Lullaby, they considered calling it Lillianna's Lament, that would have been a better name. It's supposed to explain the truth about my story. It gets misconstrued because my sister and I look almost identical. My sister wanted my title. I was the chosen one; she's older and hated it. So she took the title. As a cover, they let search parties to look for me, my sister, Dakota and her mate, Desoto, found me unconscious and told everyone I was dead. Then awhile later Eddie and Crash found me. And you know the rest…" Eddie was the only other person who knew this. I don't know what compelled me to tell Diego, but it felt right.

"That makes more sense…Don't worry, it won't happen again."

I looked at him. "How do you know that?"

"Because I won't let it."

Sid's POV:

I went to see what was going on with Diego and Lilly. I stopped in my tracks, when I saw Eddie. I knew it was Eddie; there was a connection between them that was very different from the relationship between the others. "Eddie?" I asked to make sure. He looked at me and then looked back at Diego and Lilly.

"I can see what's happening." Eddie said flatly and upset.

"What?" I asked confused.

"And they don't have a clue at all."Eddie continued.

"Who?" I asked confused.

"They'll fall madly in love and our group goes down to three and your trio's down to two." Eddie continued.

"Oh…"

I had finally gotten it.

"They'll get distracted by the sweet caress of twilight and all the magic in the air. Then a romantic atmosphere will blind them. I can see it though. I know disasters in the air!"

Lilly's POV:

We talked for a while and then decided to walk around. We ended up near a river bend. I looked at the water and then looked at Diego. He was staring off with a dazed look on his face. I splashed him. "Hey!" He exclaimed. I laughed and ran ahead before he could return the favor.

Sid's POV:

I watched them and Eddie with mixed emotions. My plan was working well for them, but I forgot to figure in everything else in.

"And if she falls in love tonight, it can be assumed." Eddie said sadly tears streaming from his eyes.

"His carefree days with me are history…" I said sadly.

"In short they're doomed."

We looked behind us to the voice that was not ours. Crash had joined us. The brothers hugged and Eddie started to cry. I picked them up and slowly brought them back to where we were resting for the night.

"Now, Eddie do you want Ellie to see you like this? Or Lilly? When she comes back do you want her to see you all sad like this? It would hurt her." I tried to get him to stop crying.

"Lilly…"Eddie sobbed. I set him down.

"What happened to him?"

Lilly and Diego had comeback earlier than most of us had expected. Lilly was looking at Eddie and Diego was staring at Lilly.

"I wanted to try flying again and I hit another tree. I'm sorry I scared you, Eddie." Crash lied and held his brother tighter. Lilly whispered something to Diego and then picked up the two possums and left us alone.

"So…how'd it go?" I asked.

"Fine…"

"That's it? Your guys' rendezvous was just fine?" I asked in a teasing manner.

He glared, "Nothing happened, Sid. Leave your matchmaking for Manny and Ellie."

"But you wanted something to happen." I smiled.

"Shut up, Sid."

Lilly's POV:

"Crash, can you go check on Ellie? I need to speak with Eddie, unless you need to be consoled too." I said to Crash, putting him down on a rock.

"I'm fine; whatever you decide is fine with me as long as you stay with us." He replied and left.

"So what's this really all about, Eddie?" I asked him. I knew Crash well, not as well as Eddie, but if I knew one thing for sure about Crash, he didn't do the same moronic thing twice. He learns his lesson after the first one and then thinks of some new dangerous way to have fun.

"I don't want to lose you." Eddie cried.

"What? Lose me? What are you are you talking about?"

"Diego and you are so close, you're not gonna want to be with us anymore once you've mated him." Eddie cried.

"Mated?" I repeated shocked. "We're just friends, Eddie. And you can't lose me, you can bet your life on that."

"Yes, I can, you can't be with us forever." Eddie cried.

"Eddie, come stop your crying. It'll be alright. Everything always works out in the end, you see. I am here to protect you and Crash. I will always be here. So, don't you cry…" I told him. He looked up at me. I placed him on the rock.

"Lilly, you're like my mom. You treated us like your cubs (look up later), when our mom died. But being with others is starting to pull us apart."

"Our bond can't be broken, Eddie, because you are a son to me, and as I get to know Crash better, he becomes like one too. Even when I'm not with you, you're in my heart, now and forevermore. No matter what anyone says or where life takes us. You'll be there always." I told them. He stopped crying.

We sat there in silence for awhile.

"Why can't they understand why we're like this?" Eddie asked abruptly about our group.

Most didn't quite understand our little herd. A saber, a mammoth, and two possums didn't make a lot of sense. Especially since we act like family. The only ones like us are Sid, Diego, and Manny.

"They just don't trust what they can't explain. It's always been like that Eddie. Hakuna Matata. Don't worry about it." I replied.

"That monkey taught you some weird lingo, Lilly." He laughed.

"Yes, but it makes you get out of your sad mood. Let's see…What other phases did he teach me…" I thought for a moment and then said in a sing song voice, "Asante sana Squash banana, Wewe nugu mimi hapana."

He laughed with a wide smile on his face, "What does that mean?"

"Thank you very much, Squash banana, you're a baboon and I'm not." I replied laughed. He laughed harder.

"We should go back." I told him seriously.

"Okay…" He hopped onto my back. "Let's go." We went back to the others. I let Eddie off, when I saw Crash and then, I came up behind Sid and sat next to Diego.

"Hi Sid!" I greeted him a little too loud. He jumped almost a mile high.

When he landed on the ground, he turned to face me, "Don't ever do that again! Carnivores, ugh!"

"Sorry Sid." I laughed. Diego laughed at Sid.

"You gotta admit it was kind of funny, Sid." Diego said to him.

"What next are you two going to have me do since I'm so funny? Dress in drag and do the hula?"

"That could be entertaining." I said to Diego. He laughed.