Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize
A/N: Thanks a lot to all of those who reviewed and to Ally Serinity for betaing this chapter
Chapter Twelve
Everybody spent the following hours trying to elaborate a plan to rescue Lily. Soon Sir Cornelius was thrown out of the room, as he was annoying everyone by his constant complains about what a waste the project was, that Lily was not worth their effort. In the end, it had been James who threw him out.
Finally they came up with a plan. It was risky, dangerous, and a lot of things could go wrong, but they were willing to try, as were all the fighters in the army. Indeed, Lily had been respected by the whole army for her abilities, her courage, her fairness, and her kindness. The King spoke out.
"Well, we shall execute this plan as soon as we are ready. Now I want to know the name of the people who will be a part of it."
Instantly, James, Sirius, Remus, and Bella raised their hands. The King sighed.
"I do not know if I can let you all participate…"
"But Lily is our friend, your Majesty!" protested Sirius.
"Exactly! I refuse to stay here worrying. Lily is like a sister to me, and I will not abandon her." Stated Bella, crossing her arms over her chest. Remus nodded in agreement at this statement.
"Moreover father, you cannot stop us. You know that even if you forbid us to go, we shall go anyways." Finished James.
The King looked at his son, surprised.
"What a sudden change in behavior! What has made you change your mind about Lilyaris?" he asked, a bit curious.
James looked down, embarrassed a bit, and blushed slightly.
"She has proved me she has more courage than most of us. She sacrificed herself for the kingdom. I do not know a lot of people who would be willing to give their life to defend their ideals." He said in a low voice.
The fact she is pretty help too... What? Where did that come from? I must become crazy; I am speaking to myself! The Prince shook his head to get rid of these thoughts.
"I see..." said the King, noticing his son's embarrassment. "Well, I am happy, you have changed. Yes, she truly is a wonderful person."
"I know." was James's reply.
"I allow you to take part in the rescue group. I charge you to choose those who will accompany you, with the help of Sir Exer and Sir Albus."
"All right. But what should we do if Sir Cornelius refuses to let those we had chosen go?" asked Bella.
"You have full powers."
"Be ready as fast as you can; I cannot imagine what Voldemort is doing to her." Said the Queen.
"It will be easy to get ready; everybody likes Lily and will be very willing to help her." Said Remus.
"Indeed." said the King, "She seems quite popular… I wonder why?"
"I think I know. She is not noble, and so there is not a wall between her and the other people. Moreover she does not take advantage of her status as one of the best fighters. She fulfills her duties like everyone else does, and does not ask for privileges. She also is always ready to help others. I think her nickname in the army is "the silver lady with a golden heart", is it not?"
"It is." Nodded Sirius.
The King seemed a bit surprised but quickly regained his composure.
"Alright, go prepare your team." He said to his son and his friends.
The left the throne room and hurried to the army.
The King turned to face his counselors.
"What do you think of it?"
"They may succeed, but I do not know." Said Lady Minerva, worried.
"I was not speaking of that," said the King, "Have you seen how loyal most of the army are to her? It is amazing that she has managed to win their trust and loyalty!"
"I know, Regis," said Sir Albus, "She has a sort of aura around her that makes people trust her with all their soul, once they get to know her."
"It is truly incredible…" said the King. He seemed deep in thought. He finally spoke.
"I only hope she is alright…"
This thought was on everyone's mind.
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Meanwhile, James and his friends had reached the army. They had gathered in the boys' quarters.
"So, we need one dragon rider, four fighters, two elves and a fairy to compose the rescue team. Then, we need people to create a diversion."
Bella stood and waved her wand muttering "Accio Lily's registers."
Immediately, three books landed on one of the beds. She took them up in her hands.
"What are these books?" asked a puzzled Sirius.
"Lily and I have made books in which we have gathered all the information we had on everyone. We update them every week. For each fighter we have written his abilities, qualities, defaults, temper… It helped to made teams or groups and to follow the progress of everyone. We took care of the dragon riders, and asked the different captains for the normal fighters. They have access to these books as well."
The boys starred at her in amazement.
She handed them a book.
"Here is the book concerning the dragon riders. I already know who I will choose, but I would like you to search and choose too so we can compare… While you do that, I will choose the fighters, the elves, and the fairy that will accompany us. I know them better than you do."
"Alright Bella and for those who will create the diversion?" asked James.
"I think we should take some volunteers. Choose several candidates so if they refuse to come, we will be able to ask someone else."
"Understood. But why have you done this?" demanded Sirius.
"Lily said it was useful to know every fighter, so we could work with them more effectively."
"Indeed." Stated Remus.
Then they started to flip through the book. After about an hour, they were done and had selected a few riders. They saw that Bella was almost done too. A few minutes later, she closed her books.
"Alright who have you chosen?"
They handed her a piece of paper on which they had written the names of the fighters they had chosen.
"Hmmm… Sir Frank, blue dragon… Sir Yvan, brown… Sir Thomas, bronze… Sir Arxes, brown, …Sir William, green. Good choices. Your order is good too. I agree. These are my choices for the fighters: Mistress Derna, Sir Nathael, Orthon and Urval. They are sword masters, good riders, and Sir Nathael and Urval are some of our best archers. Then I have chosen Iona and her cousin Ither to accompany us. They are good healers and are able to defend themselves with shields and spells, as they cannot injure a living being. Lysalia will be part of our team too. The fairy chief keeps praising her skills."
The boys starred at her, how could have she chosen some women to accompany them? But they finally decided to remain silent knowing that Bella would not appreciate their comments.
"May I advise you not to make comments on women in front of Derna? She is quite a touchy person."
They nodded.
"Good. Now I believe we should call everyone here, to find volunteers for the diversion teams."
"Right."
They exited the room. Once outside, they reached a place where the army usually gathered for meetings.
"Listen," said James. "I am going to call everyone, and then explain them the situation. I will ask the volunteers to stay behind afterwards. Look for the people we have chosen to see if they are willing to help."
They all agreed. James pointed his wand to his throat "Sonorus."
"ALL FIGHTERS MUST COME TO THE MEETING PLACE!" he said. "Quietus."
In a few minutes everybody was there. Remus stepped forwards.
"As you all know, one of us, Lilyaris, is prisoner of the Dark Lord. She has exchanged herself in order for the King to be let go. We have decided to go save her. In order to do that, we need help. All the people who do not want to help are free to leave."
A few people left. Sirius noticed that it was Sir Lucius, Sir Severus, and all of their friends. James continued.
"Now, two groups will be made. One will create a diversion by attacking their camp, while the other will go rescue Lilyaris. I must warn you, will be extremely dangerous. We have the names of the people who will accompany us rescue our comrade. They will be notified soon. Now, we need volunteers to create the diversion. Think for a while, discuss it between yourselves, make a team of about twenty riders and thirty fighters, and then give us your answer. In the meantime, we shall be at headquarters." James and the others left the meeting place and headed to the headquarters where they started to prepare their equipment and sent messages to the eight people who would accompany them, asking them to come in two hours.
Nearly an hour after, they heard someone coming, and then knocking on the door. Remus open the door and saw Sir Yvan.
"We have chosen." He handed him a piece of paper.
"Good" said Bella. "Thank you in our name and in Lily's."
"You are welcome."
"Yvan, here are the plans for our team, but I think you should go join the people who will take part of the diversion's group; I trust you to elaborate plans and strategies for the attack." Said James.
"Understood. When will we go?" asked the rider.
"Tomorrow afternoon, meet us at the field." Answered Sirius.
Yvan nodded and left.
A few moments later, Derna, Nathael, Orthon, Urval, Iona, Ither, Frank, and Lyasa came in.
Once they had sat down, Bella started to explain to them their project.
"We have chosen you to be part of the rescue team. Firstly, do you accept?"
They immediately nodded.
"I shall first explain to you the plan, and then be free to ask questions."
She started to tell them what they had planned to do. Once she was finished, they started to speak.
"The plan is good, but why are we here? We cannot fight." Asked Iona.
"We know it. But you are good healers, and you do not need to be protected in a fight." Answered Remus.
"Oh, Right."
"Have any of you any other questions or suggestions to improve this plan?"
They remained silent.
"Good. Be ready tomorrow, we shall leave right after lunch. Meet us at the field. Prepare your equipment and everything you will need. Good night."
With that, they went their ways to their own quarters.
Tomorrow morning, everyone woke up early. Bella dressed herself in her fighting clothes, black leather and silver. Then she practiced a bit with the boys before preparing all the things she needed. Once she was done, she went to Sir Albus to get something she had asked him to prepare.
"Hello Sir,"
"Hello Lady Bella."
"Have you finished it?"
"Yes, here it is," he handed it to her.
"Thank you very much."
"You are most welcome." his face grew serious. "Promise me you will be careful."
"We will Sir."
"Then good luck, we shall be waiting anxiously for you."
Nodding, Bella left him and went to the boy's quarters. While there, they talked a bit. Then they ate and headed to the field. Everyone was there.
"Alright," said loudly Bella. "Does everyone know what to do?"
A chorus of "yes" answered her.
"So go!"
The riders mounted their dragons, while the fighters gathered around their captain. Bella gave a portkey to each of them. These portkeys would bring them near Voldemort's camp. The rescue team would take one too, and then take Lily's one to go straight to Voldemort's quarters. Their dragons would follow behind them.
Once they arrived near the army, they stopped, waiting for their friends to start the diversion. Not long after, they heard shouts and yells. They waited until their dragons told them that Voldemort had left his quarters, and then they immediately took the rings and James said the keyword. They were immediately transported to the headquarters. The room was dark and it took a few seconds to get used to it. Derna, Orthon, Nathael and Urval stood near the door, ready to stop anybody who tried to enter. Meanwhile, the others were searching for any trace of Lily. James spotted a door hidden behind black curtains. He tried to open it, but it was locked. He tried the unlocking charm but could not manage to open the door.
"Bella! Come here!"
Bella approached him.
"I cannot open it."
"Have you tried Alohomora?"
"Yes."
"Let me see."
Bella knelt near the door. After mumbling for a few seconds while studying the door, she stood and pointed her wand to it.
"Devrlosa."
The door opened immediately.
"I'll explain later," said Bella, before entering the room.
It was dark and silent.
"Lumos." muttered James.
The tip of his wand started to glow brightly. They scanned the room and their eyes stopped on a form in the shadows. They approached it and gasped. It was Lily. They could tell she was badly injured, but as they were approaching they started hearing her moan: "No, no, I did not want to… Please… stop…I didn't… It is not my fault…. I am sorry…. No, no…." It scared them. James put a hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly. She did not seem to notice, and continued her pleas. He shook her a bit harder, but again she did not have any reaction.
"Bella, what is this?"
"I do not know James, I really don't. We should get out of here as soon as we can, the diversion will not last forever. Sir Albus will know what to do."
"You're right." Sighed James. He knelt near Lily and lifted her up, careful not to hurt her more than she was. Unexpectedly, Lily grabbed James's neck tightly and buried her head in his shoulder, still moaning.
"Now I am sure that whatever is wrong with her, it is bad. There no way Lily would do that in her right mind." Stated Bella.
They went out of the room. Their friends gasped when they saw Lily. She was really injured. One of her legs seemed broken as well as a few ribs. Her back was bloody. She had several deep cuts on her arm and few bruises on her face.
"We have to get out of here," said Bella "and quickly. Apparently she is under a curse, but I do not know which."
They nodded. Iona and Ither had approached, and were using a bit of their powers to heal some of her wounds but after a few seconds they started to shake violently.
They collapsed.
"What happened?" asked immediately.
"She is under the Missorfea spell," said Iona, still shaking.
"It forces her to see her worst fears, her worst sorrows, all the things she thinks that she is responsible for, again and again. This is used to break someone's mind or make him go insane." Added Ither. "It is stopping us from healing her."
"One reason to get back as quick as we can." said Remus.
Lysalia quickly cast an invisibility charm on them. It was her specialty, and made her one of the best spies of Erkansvald.
They went out. They saw that their friends were leaving, and ending the diversion. They accelerated. They were halfway from the place where their dragons waited for them, when they heard a shout.
"The prisoner has escaped!"
They started to run.
They arrived at the edge of the forest, but suddenly as they were about to enter in, they were stopped by an invisible wall.
"An energy wall!" whispered Bella. She turned to face the other. "I need five minutes to make an hole in it. You shall have to stop them while I do it."
"Alright, do it as fast as you can, we shall try to handle them." Replied James. He handed Lily to Ither.
Immediately, Death Eaters started to come in their direction. Despite the fact they could not see them, they knew something had tried to go out there.
"Who is there, reveal yourself!" shouted the tallest Death Eater.
Could they be more stupid? Thought Bella.
As nobody answered them, they raised their wands.
"Bella, how much more time do you need?" whispered James.
"Three more minutes."
"All right. Nathael, Urval, I will put a silencing charm on them. Can you touch them in the legs so they will not be able to run for help?"
They nodded and took their bows. A moment later, the three Death Eaters were on the grounds, an arrow in the legs, unable to move.
"Perfect; but someone is going to come to see what happened." Said Remus.
Indeed four Death Eaters and five fighters came a minute later.
"How much Bella?"
"One minute."
James thought for a while.
"Lysalia, could you take off the invisibility charm on us except for Bella, the elves and Lily?"
The little fairy nodded and waved her hand. Instantly, they became visible, and shouts could be heard.
They started to fight, and soon the Death Eaters were out cold. Derna, Nathael, Orthon, and Urval were still fighting, but James saw that they had the upper hand, and were just continuing the fight for the fun.
"Ten seconds James!" he heard Bella yell.
He looked at Derna, ready to ask her to stop, but saw she had already ended her fight and the Death Eaters were lying on the floor.
"Everyone finished!"
They hurried next Bella and saw…. Nothing.
"Where is the hole?" Asked Nathael.
"Here!" She pointed to something in front of her. "Go! Trust me."
They shrugged and walked. They passed through something and felt their hair stand straight up on their heads.
"Nice hair-do" said Derna a small grin on her lips.
Once they were all outside, they saw that several Death Eaters had spotted them.
"I think we should run," said Orthon.
"Very good idea." replied Sirius, "How about we go now, I do not think they are really happy to see us."
"No kidding."
"We must hurry," said Ither, looking to Lily. Her whole body was shaking, and she was crying, still moaning.
James took Lily from Ither, seeing he was beginning to tire. They ran to where their dragons were waiting.
They immediately mounted them. Nathael mounted with Remus, Orthon with Sirius, Derna with Bella, and Urval with James. Iona and Ither mounted Amaris who had allowed them to climb on her. They rose into the air and started to fly far from the camp so they could disappear. Suddenly they heard Amaris yell.
Hydrias!
They turned and saw indeed about ten hydrias chasing them.
"James, go straight to the castle, we will stop them."
"But…"
"GO!"
James stopped arguing and flew away as fast as he could.
Bella turned and faced the hydrias.
"Ready?"
"Not really." Said Remus.
"Too bad, go. Try to dodge them, we have just to slow them a bit before leaving."
They nodded.
"Good luck."
They all attacked, besides Amaris who stayed behind covering their backs.
During the following minutes, they managed to stun two of them, but they were outnumbered. Deciding quickly, James had enough time to reach the castle, Bella motioned for everyone to leave. They suddenly dove and using that speed, flew away. They managed to reach the place where they could disappear, a few seconds before the Death Eaters managed to stun them.
Once they reappeared near the castle, they sighed. They had all been quite injured. As soon as they landed, Iona and Ither started to heal them.
"Thank you."
"You are welcome." Answered Iona, smiling.
"We should see if Lily is alright." Said Remus, worried.
"You are right, come."
They ran to the castle.
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James managed to reach the castle easily. He was worried about his friends, but much more about Lily, who was still trembling in his arms. He quickly landed. As soon as he reached the ground, he was surrounded by Sir Albus, Sir Exer, and Praïn.
"What happened?" said Sir Exer.
James looked at Sir Albus and Praïn, he saw that the elf chief had grown very pale.
"Ither and Iona said that she is under the Missorfea charm."
Everybody gasped.
"Bring her to the throne room immediately." Said Sir Albus. "I will join you there shortly."
James did as he was told to do. He put her on a couch that Lady Minerva had conjured. Lily grabbed his hand and held it tightly. Surprised at first, James did not remove her hand.
Sir Albus burst in the room. He held a small crystal ball in his hand.
"To end this, we need to break it from the inside; we must convince her that what she saw or heard is not real. To do that, I will practice the Zusamlin charm. It will allow some people to go into her mind."
The others nodded.
"I think only two people should go."
"I want to," said someone behind them.
They turned and saw Lady Bella. She was pale, but determined.
"Lily is my best friend, she will listen to me." She explained.
"I need someone else," said Sir Albus. Seeing Praïn and Sir Exer, along with King, ready to volunteer, he added "More likely someone about her age."
"I'll do it," said the Prince suddenly. Everyone looked at him in shock.
"It is the least I could do to repay her."
Sir Albus and the King seemed doubtful, but the old wizard nodded.
"Alright, come here please."
They approached and sat on the couch. Sir Albus raised his wand and said the spell: "Zusamlin."
Immediately the wand shot forward a silver light that hit Bella and James. They fell on the couch, and the crystal ball glowed golden.
The other people in the room conjured chairs and sat, waiting, while Bella and James reached Lily's mind.
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Lily had been tortured for a few hours but not too hard. Voldemort wanted to know the plans of the King and his counselors. Lily didn't say a thing, a fact which made the Dark Lord rather mad.
"You know you will not be able to resist forever my lady."
Lily starred at him with her huge emerald eyes. Voldemort avoided her gaze.
"Quite a strong mind I see, but even the strongest mind can be broken." An evil smile appeared on his lips.
Lily looked at him, expecting the worst.
"I wonder what you are hiding deep in your mind. Do you want to see it? I am sure you would love to." He raised his wand. Lily's eyes widened as she realized what he was about to do. She tried to dodge the curse, but she was chained.
"Missorfea."
Lily collapsed on the floor, shaking. Then she screamed before starting to cry and moan. Voldemort looked at her and laughed coldly.
He turned to face his minions.
"Take her into the cell and warn me when she is be ready to speak."
"Yes Master."
They lifted her up and put her in a dark room before shutting and locking the door.
As soon as the curse had hit her, Lily had fainted. She had seemed to fall into darkness. She tried to fight the curse, but she felt as something was entering her brain, breaking all her defenses. It was painful. Finally the 'thing' placed itself at her deepest thoughts and tried to reach them. After a few seconds, it destroyed the protections around these. Lily screamed. She felt as if she was being skinned alive. Then pictures started slowly to form in front of her. She recognized her parents. They looked at her. But instead of love and kindness, she saw hate, scorn and disgust in their eyes.
"How could have you done this to us, you little monster!" spat her mother. "How could have killed us?"
"No, I don't… I didn't." said Lily, with tears in her eyes.
"You are a freak, a monster, you do not belong to anything." Sneered her father.
"No, please… It's a lie."
"You little murderer! Ingrate, lazy, good for nothing!" screamed her sister.
Then Bella faced her.
"How could anyone be your friend? You are worthless; only dirt on my shoes. Nobody will ever like you yet alone love you."
It continued for a while. All the guilt, all the things she felt guilty for came to her. Then it started again and again.
At one moment she felt someone shaking her. She tried to grab it. Unable to reach it, she started to cry. She collapsed and sobbed, knowing nobody would come help her.
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James and Bella fell in the dark, and then arrived in a gray place. They heard someone sobbing. They turned and saw Lily sobbing on the floor surrounded by figures that were laughing at her and yelling at her. They hurried next to her. Bella put her arm around her, in an attempt to comfort her. Lily pulled away.
"Don't touch me! I am a freak!" she shrieked.
"No you are not," said Bella.
"I am! I harm all the people I care for, I do not deserve to live!"
"Don't say that." Snapped Bella. "You are the most courageous person I know. You are a wonderful person, and most of the people who knew you are ready to do anything to help you."
Lily seemed confused. James decided to take advantage of that.
"You are a great woman, Lilyaris; people need you. They need you because you remind them of things they care for. Courage, kindness, compassion, and generosity. They need you, you cannot abandon them!"
"I don't know, I don't know. They cannot need me, I am worthless, I am a murderer, I killed my parents!"
Bella approached her and hugged her. Lily first tensed, but then relaxed slightly.
"You did not kill them. The only person responsible for that is Voldemort, not you. I am sure they are as proud of you as we are."
"We?" Lily was puzzled.
"James, Sirius, Remus, Sir Albus, Praïn, Sir Exer, King Regis, Queen Dorilys, Lady Minerva, and me!"
"All the fighters respect you for your courage." Added James.
"Moreover, you are our friends no matter what happens."
"Friends? I cannot have friends," said Lily with tears in her eyes.
"You HAVE friends, we are your friends!" exclaimed Bella and James.
"You…you are?"
Before they could do anything, she had thrown her arms around them and was hugging them firmly, crying, but this time from happiness.
"We are." said James softly.
They stayed like that for a moment, and then they stood up, extending a hand to Lily, they asked.
"Are you ready to leave this horrid place?"
Lily nodded, and the place changed color. Instead of gray, she was made of all the colors possible.
Then they felt as if invisible chains were dragging them. They closed their eyes.
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Sir Albus was looking at the ball; it was becoming darker and darker. Then suddenly he saw a golden point in it. A smile spread on his face. The golden point became bigger and bigger. When ball was completely golden, it seemed to explode and everyone could see all sorts of colors swirling around in it.
"They have succeeded!" announced Sir Albus. Everyone cheered. "We have to bring them back."
He raised his wand.
"Spiretur."
A few moments later, they opened their eyes. Lily looked at them.
"Thank you."
She then closed her eyes and fell asleep instantly. James and Bella sat and started to explain what had happened.
