Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize
A/N: Thanks a lot to those who reviewed and to Ally Serenity for her help.
Chapter Four
"Lily?"
Lily was stunned. She then turned, desperate and ready to leave.
"Lily! Wait!"
She stopped, and faced Bella with hope in her eyes.
"You are a witch?" Bella was incredulous.
"Yes."
"Since when did you know it?"
"My eleventh birthday but I have trained myself since my fifteenth," she answered.
"But last year, when we bought our horses you didn't have a wand! How could you have done magic for three years without it!"
"I can do wandless magic and I prefer it; I don't like using a wand even if it does improve my powers a bit." Explained Lily.
"Wandless... My God! But why did you not give your real name?"
"Lady, I am a commoner; how do you think people will react if they knew it? Imagine, a commoner with wizard powers, able to do wandless magic and linked with a silver dragon! I wanted also to preserve my parent's memories; I know that my father was Kethran but the majority will think that my mother had cheated on him!"
"I understand, but you could have told me!"
"I could not! You were always with Sir Sirius, Sir Remus and Prince James!"
"Why?"
"In your opinion, what would they think if they know that a commoner had beat them?" asked Lily sarcastically.
"I see what you mean, it is already difficult for them to accept that a woman has beat them, much less a woman commoner!"
"How did you find out?"
"Angel."
"Sorry?"
"You are the only besides me who is able to approach her."
"Oh yes, I was so happy to see her again that I had forgotten that; you are witty!"
"Thank you. Can I know where you live now?"
"In the northern Forest."
"There! But, people say she is haunted!"
Lily laughed.
"The only monsters in that forest are wolves, birds, stags, and rabbits. I lived there with Amaris and Sir Albus. He has taught me magic ever since the season when he had found Amaris and myself…"
Lily told her the whole story.
Suddenly a herald burst in the stables.
"Lya? The fight is about to begin!"
Lady Bella and Lily hurried towards Amaris who was waiting for her rider. Before she mounted Amaris, Bella grabbed Lily's hands.
"Lily you have to win this, otherwise James ego will be much to good for his own good!"
"Alright Lady Bella." Answered Lily
"And call me Bella!"
Lily smiled and gave Amaris the signal to spring.
"So Albus, you are still for Lya?" asked a bemused king.
"Yes my dear Regis, I do not think James, even if he is strong, can win against her." Stated Sir Albus.
"How could you say that?" said the Queen.
"I have trained her, and she is still able to surprise me with new movements, new strategies. Moreover, you would not believe the training she has done for the past two months. She spent her days working with Amaris or working alone. Every morning she has run for one hour and every evening she has practiced her magic or read books to find new spells, invent some, or find new strategies… Amaris is nearly as strong as Tharis even if she is a female. She is much faster, and moreover, these two completely trust each other and work as a real team. Even if he strong, James has not worked enough to beat her… But that is my opinion." explained Sir Albus proudly.
"I have not realized that." admitted the King "But why does she do this?"
"She is a commoner, your majesty; she knows that people will not accept her. She knows she is powerful, but she does not want to be looked down upon."
"She is trying to be someone she is not." summed the Queen sadly.
"Yes. But I do not know how to explain it to her. Her arguments are true, that is the problem, and that is why she has masked herself and has given a nickname…"
"We will have to do something for that; but for now, what do you think of watching the fight?" The King was thoughtful.
"An excellent idea, my dear Regis."
While in the air, the fight had begun. As this was the last one, the two competitors were allowed to use protective charms. Immediately, Prince James had cast a protective shield, a strong one. Lily had preferred to cast a repulsive spell on her and Amaris along with a shield. The fight was first acrobatic. The dragons dived, rose turned, stopped, made incredible movements. The strengths were nearly equal but James realized that the silver female was more enduring and fast. He decided to try a different tactic. He started to cast illusions and spells in order to break her shield. She dodged them easily.
You're great, Maris! Continue like this!
You too Lil,
Lily was enjoying herself, her two last fights had been interesting, but this one was great! James was good and Tharis too. With a better training they would be as strong as she and Amaris, maybe more.
Tharis blew three fireballs that James transformed in arrows, then he threw them to Lily. She cast a freezing charm. Amaris then blew fire, which Lily transfigured in tiny balls. She shot them to Tharis. There were so many and they were so small that the prince was unable to catch them all and was hit. The fight continued like this, and for a moment none of the two seemed to weaken.
Maris I think we have to end it. Do you remember what we did during the fight with Dumbledore when he used a protective shield?
The illusion?
Yes but today I will make the illusion stronger and add a repulsive charm. You will have to distract him. Do you think you will be all right?
Yes, go on; you have a fireball on your left. They dodged it.
They rose in the air and stopped far above the Prince and his dragon. She then repeated the movements she had done during her fake fight with Dumbledore, casting the Insensivium charm on Tharis, the illusion and the repulsive spell.
As soon as Sir Albus heard Lily casting the Insensivium charm, he knew what she was about to do. He smiled wisely; James did not stand a chance.
"Why do you smile Albus? She has not won yet!" said Regis.
"The fight will be over in minutes."
"What!"
"Watch her, she has used this strategy against me and nobody stands a chance against it."
"She cannot destroy the shield!"
"She had found a way to go round this difficulty…" he explained the method Lily was using now.
Once he was finished, the King was impressed.
"She is definitely witty, intelligent, and imaginative… I would not have thought of it."
Then they watched as Lily ended the fight.
The first part of the maneuvering passed perfectly. Lily was now positioned on Tharis foot, bellow the prince who was busy hexing the illusion.
"Metacordia shield." she whispered. The prince was instantly tied up.
"What!" he yelled.
"Accio wand!"
The prince's wand flew directly into Lily's hand.
Amaris!
Amaris went near Tharis and Lily jumped on her back. She ironically saluted the prince, who was speechless. Amaris went closer, and Lily snapped in front of James. He blinked.
"I think we should land, your Majesty." she said, a very small smile on her lips.
"Yes, but could you remove these ropes?"
"Certainly." With a flick of her wand, the ropes disappeared. Then Amaris closed her wings and dived at full speed and a few meters before hitting the ground she opened them fully and landed perfectly.
Show-off…
I know, I know
You were wonderful Maris, you are the best dragon of the kingdom, and the best friend I could ever have."
I will always be there for you Lil, don't ever forget it.
I will remember it Maris. And do you realize we have won!
Sir Albus and I had told you so. teased Amaris.
I can't believe it, we are the winners! And the first female winners!
Once she landed, Bella came and hugged her.
"That was the most amazing fight I have ever seen. I would not have thought of that way to by-pass a protective shield."
"Thanks Bella, it means a lot to me…"
"Congratulations Lya." said Prince James
"Do you want to have you revenge later, your majesty?" asked Lily kindly.
"Yes, but next time, you will have to think of something else." he warned her. "And call me James."
"Alright your… I mean James," she answered happily.
Then she spotted Sir Albus.
"I am very proud of you Lya! You were wonderful today! I did see some details you shall have to correct, but not today; today is yours!"
Lily smiled widely. Sir Albus had become like a father.
He hugged her and whispered in her ear.
"The King and the Queen know your identity. We want to talk with you as soon as you are able."
She nodded, a bit worried; but Amaris reassured her. Then the crowds that had surrounded her moved away as the King and the Queen arrived to congratulate the winner.
Lily curtsied, intimidated to be in presence of such high society.
"No need to be shy my dear," said the Queen kindly, with a warm smile.
Lily relaxed a bit.
"We wanted to congratulate you on your amazing fight!"
"Thank you your Majesty. I was lucky…"
"Don't disparage yourself! You were wonderful, and I think even James will agree with me!"
"Yes, I did not stand a chance; but I will have my revenge, won't I?
"It will be a pleasure." Answered Lily.
"You shall be our privileged guest tonight for the Masquerade." added Queen Dorilys.
"A masquerade?" asked Lily, worried.
"Yes, Sir Albus has told you, has he not?" Queen Dorilys seemed surprised.
She glared at Sir Albus, who had the decency to look a bit ashamed.
"He must have forgotten," she finally said, rather angrily. "I will come gladly, but I afraid I do not have proper clothing for such an event." she started.
Sir Albus coughed.
"I have brought some for you in case of…" he could say no more, for the look Lily gave him was now murderous.
Amaris, can you tell Deris to say to my dear teacher that we have to have a private talk about that…
Yes, but he is right, you cannot hide for ever…
I know Maris, but I am afraid; I'm not a commoner, but I'm not a noble. What am I?
The winner of the new-rider tournament?
At Amaris's answer Lily couldn't help but smile a bit.
"I will be honored." she finally said, curtsying.
"You will sleep here; Lady Bella will show you your room."
"Thank you, your Majesty"
"You're worth it."
With that, they left Lily with Bella and her friends.
Lily was so happy that she did not see the look on Sir Albus's face.
He approached Lily.
"I have forgotten something for tonight. I must leave but I will be back for the Dance."
He mounted Deris, sprang up, and disappeared.
"Come," said Bella, dragging her by the hand, "I will show you your room, and then we will start to prepare for the ball."
"All right, Bella." sighed Lily. It will be a long afternoon!
How could have I been so blind? Sir Albus slapped himself mentally. All the hints, her powers, wandless magic, strong links with animals; how come I have never realized this before?
Sir Albus was flying towards the South Forest.
When Lily had curtsied in front of the King and the Queen, he had seen something that had the answer to all of his questions about Lily and her unusual situation. He was now hurrying to meet someone who would have to answer to him.
Once he arrived, he climbed off of Tharis, and went straight to an elf that was waiting. He had landed in Meriance, an elf town.
"May I see Praïn?" asked Dumbledore.
"Follow me." The elf motioned courteously. The elf Harvel remembered Dumbledore.
They walked into to a big house. Praïn was the elf chief.
"Welcome Scianor," said a new elf. He was a middle-aged elf, tall and strong.
Scianor was the elf name for Dumbledore.
"Why have you come here?"
"I have not come here only for the pleasure to see you. I want to tell a rather unusual story: A year ago I found a girl with red hair and green eyes. She had just linked herself with the daughter of Deris and Faris. Then she told me she was a commoner! I was a bit surprised; but I soon discovered that she was very powerful, and was able to do wandless magic. She had also a strong link with animals, particularly horses."
Praïn was becoming paler and paler during Dumbledore's talking.
"A few minutes ago, I noticed that she had on her right temple three beauty spots which formed a triangle. She is the daughter of Gladys Evans and …"
"Kethran" sighed Praïn. "What is her name?"
"Lilyaris."
If it was possible Praïn became paler.
Dumbledore looked at him.
"I think you have some explanation to give."
"Kethran was an elf and was my youngest son. He had no strong powers, so he decided to live with the humans; he married one, Gladys. When we saw that his daughter was completely human, we had stopped looking after him. He had chosen to live like a human. We have not known he had a second daughter… If we had known, she would have been brought up with us… but…"
"Praïn why have I the feeling that you are hiding something from me?"
"You are much too intelligent for your own good Scianor… Follow me"
They walked into another room. Praïn took an old book, and he opened it.
"Read it."
Soon will come
An era of pain
Of fear and death
Evils will rise
And Angels will fall
Destiny will lie
In the chosen hands
The Pure will meet
The Prince of Light
And the Lord of Darkness
Green and red
Here will be the choice
Golden and silver
Will brought with them
The end of the night
Sliver and red
Will be followed
By eternal shadows
Help will be given
To the chosen one
The Snake, the Spy, the White follower
Will stand for one
The Beauty, the Sage, the Star and the Founder
For the other
A cross is coming
A cross in the Fate
From the choice of the Pure
Will depend the future
"When this Prophecy was written, hundreds of years ago, nobody had been able to decrypt it. But now it is clear… Do you not think?"
"Yes indeed… Poor child…"
"Scianor, do you think people will accept her more if they know she is part elf?"
"Yes; Elves are highly respected, even a bit feared by common people; they are untouchable."
"I will come with you to explain it to Lilyaris. She is after all my granddaughter…"
"Alright, may we go soon?"
"Wait while I warn someone…"
Praïn left for five minutes and then came back.
"It's fixed, Xervas will take care of every thing during my absence…"
"Excellent." replied Sir Albus.
They climbed on Deris, who rose and quickly apparated to Erkansvald.
