Chapter 21: The Shot

"Okay, come on boys, we've got a looong ride ahead of us," Lilly said to Brian and James.

The boys barked at her happily and Lilly giggled as they ran to her off the ferry. They ran into her and she almost fell over laughing. They had left Patrick's carriage back in Dublin so they had to either get another one or purchase a wagon. Lilly opted for the wagon. Patrick and Arthur attached their horses Seamus and Prasutagus to it while Lilly loaded the chests and other bags full of their stuff. The boys jumped up on it and Lilly laughed at them. They at least fit...somewhat. Lilly decided to ride Liath for a while and let the men drive. They headed off on their journey towards London, which was a four day trip. Lilly and Arthur were still not speaking, though she ached to talk to him, but she kept herself preoccupied with the boys or sitting into the wagon to read. At one point they had stopped to rest and Lilly went out to hunt with her brothers. She brought back a red stag and the group ate well that day. Lilly skinned the deer and put the pelt on Liath's rump before they headed out again. By nightfall, they decided to make camp. Unfortunately, they only had two tents. Lilly sighed in frustration as she set up one for herself.

When Arthur tried to talk to her about sharing it, she declined. "You wanted to be separated, so no, we are not sharing a tent. If you prefer, I can sleep outside."

"We should take shifts watching for highway men anyway," Patrick mentioned, setting up his own tent.

"Highway men?" Arthur asked. "What are highway men?"

"Vagabonds. Brigands. You know, thieves."

"Oh." Arthur went to the wagon and pulled out his rifle. "I'll take first watch."

Lilly shrugged and got into her tent. "Good night," she said before climbing into her sleeping bag. The boys came in and snuggled up with her and soon she fell asleep.

Deer. The night sky. Trees. Ripples in water. A waterfall. Lilly bathing in a small lake underneath it. Willow surrounded by diseased werewolves, laughing maniacally. Three large black wolves shapeshifting into men.

Lilly finds herself in a black room and shudders. It was the room she had been bound in. Lilly sees Nemain in the form of a giant red wolf and she blinks a few times.

"Where's The Morrigan?" Lilly asks her.

"She is still fighting in the fields of Tír na nÓg, but she sent me here with a message."

"What's the message?"

"Darkness shall go to Ireland, Evil shall go to England, and Violence shall go to Scotland. You must defeat all three to get to Carman."

"How is the fight going in Tír na nÓg?"

"We are losing, but we will still fight on."

"I want to help."

"You must destroy Darkness, Evil, and Violence. You do that, Carman's hold on our realm will falter."

Lilly woke up breathing heavily. She reached for her lantern and satchel, lit the lantern and grabbed her journal, scribbling down what she had just seen. The boys groaned and yawned, disgruntled at being woken up.

"Darkness, Evil, and Violence?" she asked herself. "How the fuck am I supposed to do that?"

She heard Arthur outside her tent. "Lilly, you alright?" he asked her.

"Yes. Just had a vision, is all."

Arthur poked his head in. "A vision? About what?"

"You can read it when I'm done," she said in irritation. When Arthur didn't leave, she stopped writing and looked at him. "I can take the watch now if you want."

Arthur sighed. "Finish your writin' first."

The boys got up and stretched, then Arthur let them out. They went running off into the dark. When Lilly was done writing, she handed Arthur the journal. "Knock yourself out," she said before grabbing her bow, quiver, sword and rifle.

Arthur opened the flaps for her, but when she got out, Arthur held out his arm to stop her. "Can we talk for a minute?"

Lilly gave him a cold stare. There was nothing to say. Arthur had doubted their relationship and the strength of it. While she knew he wouldn't have done that if he had his full memory, it still broke her heart, so she shoved his arm away. "No."

Arthur stepped in front of her with his hands up when she tried to walk away. "Lillian, just hear me out."

Lilly shook her head. "Let me by."

Arthur put his hands on her but she pushed them off as she gave him a death stare. "Don't make me beg, woman."

Lilly scoffed at him. "Ya can beg all ya like, Mr. Morgan, I still ain't gonna hear a word from yer mouth."

Arthur growled at her and walked away, pacing back and forth. "God dammit, you are the most difficult woman I've ever met! Can you just stop being stubborn this one time and listen to me?!" he snapped.

"No!" she shouted.

Suddenly there was a gunshot and Lilly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Her eyes went wide as she looked down. She was bleeding. Why wasn't she healing? Arthur's mouth went agape, but as she collapsed, he caught her. "Lillian, no. No no no no no..."

Patrick came running out. "What happened?"

Arthur held Lilly in his arms. "Lilly, stay with me."

Patrick gasped and looked down. "Why isn't she healing?!"

"I don't know!"

Lilly grasped her belly and Arthur put pressure on her wound. "We need to get her to a doctor, Arthur."

Lilly looked up at her husband and her vision started to blur. "Arthur..." she groaned. "Why...am I..."

Arthur shook her and tears formed in his eyes. "No no no, stay with me Lilly. Don't..." Arthur looked around. Where was the bastard that shot her and what had they shot her with?

Patrick saddled up Liath and grabbed Arthur. "We need to get her to a doctor now!"

Arthur lifted her up and out her on Liath. He climbed up and held onto her. "Which way to the nearest town?"

Patrick pointed east. "Oswestry. Just follow the main road. I'll pack things up and catch up with you."

Arthur nodded and started riding out. He kept a good hold on his wife as she clung to him. "Arthur, I don't feel so good."

"I know, darlin'. We're gonna get you to a doctor." It took what seemed like ages to get to the town of Oswestry, but Arthur finally made it and he almost ran into a person on his horse. "Hey! I need a doctor! Where's the doctor?"

The man backed up and pointed down the road. "Follow me."

Arthur did as he was told and eventually they got to a house. The man dismounted, ran up to the porch and knocked loudly. "Dr. Smith! We need your help out here!" Arthur pulled Lilly down off Liath and cradled her in his arms. Even in the moon light, she looked pale. She'd lost a lot of blood. God dammit, what kind of bullet did that asshole hit her with? "Dr. Smith!"

An older man came out of the house. "Percy? What's wrong?" the man asked in a subtle English accent.

Arthur ran up to the house. "My wife was shot! Please help her!"

"Bring her in!" the man said and Arthur walked in. The doctor directed him to his office and Arthur placed Lilly on the table. The doctor quickly prepped his tools to dig out the bullet. "How long ago was this?"

"Forty-five minutes ago, just about."

Dr. Smith and Percy looked at each other. "Okay. We're gonna have to hold her down. Percy, you take the legs. Sir, you take her head."

Lilly looked up ar Arthur weakly. "Arthur..."

Arthur pressed her shoulders down. "Lilly, you're gonna have to hold still, baby girl."

Lilly nodded and winced. Arthur watched as the doctor pulled up her shirt and grabbed a set of what looked like skinny tongs and a piece of wood. He handed the wood to Arthur. "Have her bite down on this."

Arthur grabbed it and put it in Lilly's mouth. He watched her bite down then he looked to see the doctor putting the tongs to the wound. "Lilly, you need to hold real still now, ya hear me?"

Lilly nodded and took a few deep breaths. The doctor inserted the tongs and Lilly screamed out, but she barely moved. Arthur looked down and kissed her forehead. "I can feel the bullet, I just gotta..." Lilly kicked Percy away when the doctor dug further. "Hold her down!"

Arthur watched as Percy got up and ran back to her legs to pin them. Lilly struggled a little but the doctor managed to get a grip on the bullet, it seemed, because he pulled it out and glanced at it. He set it down in a small metallic dish then he went for the stitching kit. Arthur looked at the bullet. The casing was metal, but the tip was made out of a red gem. "What the hell is that?"

The doctor was about to go to work when he stopped. "What the hell? The wound is gone."

Arthur looked at Lilly's stomach. It was gone. Thank God. "That's...yeah, she does that," Arthur said.

"How?"

"Um, well, she's uh...she's..."

Lilly groaned. She looked rather pale. "Believe me when I say I'm not a witch. I'm just the Monster Slayer of County Galway and I have certain...quirks," she said weakly.

Arthur was relieved she was fine. The doctor looked like he had just seen a ghost. "This is...unbelievable."

Arthur watched as Lilly pulled out a bunch of money as she slowly sat up. "Here's for your trouble...and your silence," she emphasized.

Arthur chuckled as the doctor took the money. "You're really the Countess of Moycullen?" the doctor asked.

Lilly laughed a little. "Guilty as charged. You've heard of me, huh?"

"Everyone has heard of you."

Lilly looked at the bullet and took a look at it. "Huh. Looks like an enchanted gem. No wonder I wasn't healing."

"Like the ones on those collars?" Arthur asked.

"The very same."

Lilly got off the table and pocketed the gem. Percy stared at the woman and Lilly rolled her eyes, pulling out more money and handing it to him. "Not a word of this to anyone."

Percy nodded with fear in his eyes. "Yes, m'lady."

Lilly looked at the doctor. "Thank you for savin' my life." She looked at Arthur and her expression became cold. "Where's Patrick?"

"I left him behind to pack things up," Arthur replied.

Lilly left the house and Arthur followed. "Well, we better go back and make sure he wasn't shot too, although I suspect whoever shot me was only interested in my death, not yours or Patrick's."

"I would have gone after him, but I was more concerned about your well being."

Lilly pat Liath on the neck and gave him a carrot. "Well, thank you, Arthur. You saved my life too. Do you want to drive or should I?"

Arthur was flabbergasted at her reaction to the whole thing of getting shot. She was amazing and he was impressed by her composure. "I can drive."

Arthur got up into the saddle and Lilly got behind him. She clung to his waist and they rode off into the night. They eventually ran into Patrick and the wolves, and they decided to keep going to avoid another assassination attempt on Lilly's life. They stopped back in the local village and got two rooms for the night, but Arthur was forced to bunk with Patrick. The next morning they left and Lilly rode with Patrick in the wagon while Arthur rode Prasutagus. The ride was uneventful and Arthur was grateful for it. Over the next few days of traveling, Lilly still refused to say much to Arthur, and Arthur decided to give her some space. He hated it. It made him forlorn, not speaking to his wife.

Then the day finally came where they ended up in London. Arthur was blown away by the size of it. It was a lot bigger than Galway and Saint Denis. Then again, this was the city of royalty. They got three hotel rooms and Lilly decided she needed to wear a dress fit to meet a king, so Patrick and Arthur waited for her in the lobby. The wolves, surprisingly, were allowed to stay in as they were apparently famous as the Countess of Moycullen's Hunting Wolves. Some of the guests were frightened by their size, of course. The wolves stood a little over five feet at the head and were nine feet long. Arthur sighed as he waited in the chair. Lilly sure was taking a long time. Arthur was reading a newspaper to pass the time.

"Arthur," Patrick said. Arthur looked up and saw Lilly. His lips parted when he saw what she was wearing.

It was an eggshell colored satin dress with intricate black swirl designs decorating all over the dress symmetrically. The shoulders were netted fluffs, she wore white elbow gloves, and there was a small train behind her. The bodice made a wide "u" shape at the top, so Arthur gulped at her slight cleavage. Her hair was done in various sized celtic knot braids. She wore dark red rouge and dark red lipstick. And...was she wearing a corset? She was. Arthur couldn't believe what he was seeing. He stood up as she approached both Arthur and Patrick. "Well? How do I look?" she asked them.

Both the men couldn't take their eyes off her. "Lilly, ya look marvelous," Patrick said.

Lilly smiled at him. "Thanks."

She looked at Arthur and he swore he could see her blushing. "Lilly, you look...my God, I have no words for how you look. You're so...so...beautiful."

Arthur saw her cheeks redden even more. "Thank you, mo fhear céile." [my husband.]

Arthur smiled. She hadn't called him that in says. He had missed it. "Well, shall we go get a carriage?"

Lilly nodded. "Yes, let's."

They eventually got a carriage and got inside while Brian and James merely tagged along behind them. "Do ya have yer letter, Lilly?"

Lilly pulled it from her clutch bag. "Got it right here."

Finally, they stopped at the front gates of Buckinghan Palace and Lilly looked at both the men. "Well, here I go," she said nervously, getting out of the carriage.

Lilly took a step down from the carriage and went to the ground. She called the boys over and they went to each side. One of the guards at the gate approached her. "State your business," he said.

Lilly pulled out the letter from the king and handed it to him. "I'm the Countess of Moycullen. The king is expecting me."

The guard looked the letter over and nodded, giving back the letter. He and the other guard opened the gate.

"Lilly," Arthur said behind Lilly. She pivoted at the waist and looked at him. "Ádh mór, mo bhean chéile." [Good luck, my wife.]

Lilly smiled at him. "Thanks. I...I don't know how long this will take, so you guys should probably go." Lilly turned back around, held her head high, and started walking with her brothers towards the palace.