CHAPTER 10

Lily lay in bed with her eyes shut; she felt the sunlight on her eyelids and listened to two blackbirds singing outside the open window, a gentle breeze caused the shutters to occasionally tap the wall. She could almost believe she was at home tucked up in her cosy bed in her little room. Someone gently tapped her shoulder and Lily opened her eyes to stare into the face of Shannon.

"It's time to get up" the little girl whispered, "todays laundry day, so grab your bedding and we can go down together"

Lily nodded and slowly got up she pulled on her dress, she looked at Kate's stripped bed and wondered where she had got to. She picked up her pillow and felt Inkheart fall to the bottom of the pillow case, Lily panicked, where could she put the book? Lily looked at her dress and the apron pocket in the front. With a quick check to see if anyone was looking Lily slipped the book into the pocket, but it showed up to much so Lily put a small hand towel in there as well to hide the shape of the book.

"Are you ready?" Shannon called; Lily picked up her bedding and followed the girl out of the door.

The stood in silenced and watched as their bedding spun around and around in the old washing machine. Finally the cycle stopped and Lily stepped forward to help Shannon pull the soaking, woollen bedding from the washing machine. Shannon smiled and grabbed a basket which the laundry was placed into. They stepped out of a small door and into a high walled garden; it reminded Lily of a prison garden, there was a small clothes line which Shannon had begun to hang the washing on.

Together the soon finished hanging the washing out and then they had some spare time until the washing dried. Shannon disappeared out of the garden and left Lily alone, she went and sat in a sunny corner of the garden and shut her eyes. Time slowly drifted by in Lily's dark but strangely warm world, she thought about her dad. A tear crept down her cheek and out of her world, it quickly dried and vanished like Lily's soul had in that outside world.

Voices reached Lily's ears and she opened her eyes to see who it was, two black jackets walked into the garden and into the house, they didn't see Lily so she relaxed again. She stood up though and checked the washing, it was dry so Lily picked it in and placed it in the basket. She had a look around for Shannon but couldn't see her so decided to take the bedding in and remake the beds.

She slowly walked up the stairs and pushed open her bedroom door. The room was completely trashed, beds were upturned and the mattresses and pillows were torn and stuffing lay across the floor. Lily couldn't believe her eyes, she picked up her mattress and pulled up her metal frame she put her mattress back on it. She tidied the entire room and remade the beds, she acted like a robot, her mind was whirling through confusion and hurt. This was her safe place and they had broken it like they had broken her life. She sat on the bed and pulled Inkheart out of her pocket, she put it back into the pillow and sighed, all of her troubles were caused by this one book, surely she should just give it in.

The door flew open and Basta stood in the door way, holding a single length of rope. Lily body ran cold and her heart stopped with fear, she shrank away from the advancing figure. He chuckled as he grabbed her up from the bed, "don't worry my little slut, this isn't for me this is for Capricorn!" Lily's knees almost gave away as Basta tied her hands behind her back and pushed her out of the door.

She was pushed into the red temple and up the aisle, Basta quietly hummed the wedding march and Lily shuddered. She was pushed onto the floor in front of the small steps and looked up into the icy grey eyes of Capricorn.

"Where is the book?" Capricorn shouted at Lily, "I know you have it."

Lily stayed silent and looked at the floor; she didn't want to speak just in case her voice trembled. A hand pulled her chin sharply up to look straight into the grey eyes of her capture; he pulled her closer so her nose was only a centimetre from his.

"Don't lie to me" He snarled at her,

"you can't hurt me" Lily whispered trying to find Kate's courage.

Capricorn turned and walked away, laughing quietly to himself. "No I won't hurt you but…" he paused here for dramatic effect and waved in someone who was standing behind a pillar "but I can hurt your friend."