Chapter 13: Liz

This was not happening. I thought I had escaped my old life. But a part of it had followed me here. "Hey guys?" I said. "Can I talk to Zephyr? Alone?" My voice was cold, and gave nothing away. They just stared at me for a moment, then Chloe walked away, muttering something about training. Jet followed after her, copying her excuse. That left Danny and Emma. I stared at Danny, a pleading look in my eyes. That made him crack. He took Emma by the hand and led her away. I felt anger rise in me, and I didn't know why. I decided to ignore it, then turned to face Zephyr.

"I didn't tell her anything," He whispered to me. His voice was defensive, and he had a detached look on his face, like he was lost in memories. "I can't believe it's actually you. It's been years. I would have thought you were dead if not for the fact that we were supposed to capture you. Have you really just been on the run this whole time?" Zephyr said normally. He had so many questions, but I could understand that. It had been close to four years since I had last seen him. And we hadn't exactly left on the best terms.

"Let's talk about this in a more privet location," I said, my eyes drifting over to where Danny and Emma were sitting, pretending to not be paying attention to mine and Zephyr's conversation. I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the woods.

"You can't tell anyone about my past, you know that, right?" I asked when we were safely hidden in the woods. I sat him down on a tree trunk while I sat on the ground in front of him. "No one can know, or they would take my plans the wrong way. They would think it was a ploy for revenge, when it's not. I don't care what happens to Lydia, I just want her to step down."

"Don't worry," Zephyr said. "Your secret's safe with me," He added with a wink. I groaned at him.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you? And when did you join the army? You were just a servant when I left, so you wouldn't have been allowed." I probably shouldn't have pointed it out, and I regretted it the second the words left my mouth. I visibly cringed at the end of my sentence.

"After you left, everything changed," Zephyr's eyes glazed over as he said this, his mind lost in past memories. I wanted to reach out and touch him, but decided against it.

"What happened?" I asked. I was scared to know, but curious at the same time. What could have happened that they would let servants join the army?

"I stood up to Lydia. I spoke my mind. And she punished me. I was sentenced to life as a privet in the army, with no chance of ever rising any higher." Zephyr sounded depressed.

"How long were in the army for?" I asked, my voice extremely quiet.

"I was in it for two years. A few days ago, I snapped again. I couldn't take the way some of the soldiers were treating the civilians. I stood up to my commander. He was going to have me hung, but I escaped and ran. Then I ran into Emma, and she saved me."

"I'm glad you escaped, then. You're to good of a person to be killed for doing what is right. But that's never stopped Lydia before." My voice was dripping with hatred as I said her name. That's why I didn't want people to know who I was. Cause they would know that I hate Lydia and make that my motive, when it wasn't. It just made me fight all the harder.

"We should probably go back now. Your friends will be wondering where we are," Zephyr said, standing up.

"Yeah, let's go." Zephyr helped me up, and then we walked back to the camp. Emma and Danny were sitting exactly were we had left them, and they were smiling at each other. I felt my face flush, and I didn't know why. Chloe and Jet were sparring and laughing at each other, hardly trying in their fight. When they noticed us, they stopped laughing. This got Danny and Emma's attention, and they noticed that we were there.

"So, how was your chat?" Danny asked, his voice rather cold. This surprised me, and I didn't know why he cared.

"It was great!" Zephyr said happily. I wanted to hit him, but he just kept going. "We just had to get caught up on all the gossip in our lives. Well, mainly mine." He smiled the entire time he said this, like he was enjoying making this awkward.

"Wait, how do you know him?" Emma asked. She sounded surprised, and slightly sad, like I had beaten her at her favorite game.

"I used to be a servant for Lydia, at the same time that Liz was living there." Zephyr replied.

Everyone just stared at us, shock apparent on their faces. Zephyr just smiled, like he had done nothing wrong. I really wanted to hit him, but suppressed the urge.

"And you trust him?" Jet asked skeptically after a few moments. I just nodded at him. I didn't trust my voice at the moment. Zephyr could reveal so much that I had kept hidden, but I trusted him to not betray us to Lydia.

"So," Zephyr said, clapping his hands together. "When do we start planning and what are our plans so far?"

"We start now." I said. "And our plans include find a way into the castle so we can find enough evidence to take Lydia down, and then take Lydia down, replacing her with a more suitable ruler."

"Do you have anyone in mind? To rule?" I knew where Zephyr was going, and I really didn't like it.

"No. Any suggestions?" Emma asked.

"Yeah," Zephyr replied, a smug look on his face. "The princess."

Please review! I love reviews! If you have any questions or comments, review or PM me. Thank you for reading!