Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize
A/N: Thanks a lot to all of those who reviewed and to Ally Serenity for betaing this chapter
Chapter Twenty-three.
Lily ran, blinded by her tears. She went straight to her quarters, not bothering checking if someone was watching her. Once she was in her room, she fell on her bed, her body shaking with sobs. Then, anger replaced her tears: anger against James for kissing her, anger against the society, against the social status; but most of all, she was angry against herself beyond anything. She now knew what those feelings that had bothered for the past few days, each time James touched her or looked at her, were. The kiss had cleared everything: she was falling for him. She, the nobody, had been stupid enough to fall for the prince. Her rage rose up before vanishing, leaving her empty and exhausted. Immediately, the tears came back. She cried for quite a long time. She knew she would have to be strong and firm for both of them. She would have to make him get over her… It was already bad enough that he was her friend, she well aware that her friendship had been the main gossip's subject for a few months… She did not want to think of what would happen if word of what happened in the gardens spread in the castle…. Slowly she composed herself. She got up, took off her gown, undid her hair and put on her nightgown. She knew that the following days would be difficult, but she would hide it from the world, nobody would know… It was without counting on something she had forgotten: her friends…
James came back to the ballroom, slowly. Bella, who had been searching for him and Lily for quite a long time, immediately spotted him and ran to him. At first glance, she knew something was wrong. She looked around and saw Remus and Sirius enjoying themselves with their dates. She made a sign asking them to come quickly. They nodded, whispered few words to their dates and came to her.
"What is the problem?" asked Sirius.
"Look at James," was Bella's only comment.
"Indeed." said Remus. "What happened? And where is Lily?"
"I do not know, but believe me, I will." Replied Bella, looking determined.
They approached him slowly and cautiously. It was useless, as he seemed so deep in thought that he didn't even acknowledge them. Sirius cleared his throat loudly, making James jump, startled. Remus gave Bella a knowing glance.
"James, what's wrong? And do not say nothing, because we know there something wrong," he said, leaving no place for discussion.
James sighed heavily.
"I do not know what to say…"
"The truth could be the right thing…" retorted Bella.
"I don't know…" he said hesitantly.
"James if you do not tell us what is wrong, I am going to reveal a few things I knew for sure you do not want to see revealed and spread." Threatened Sirius, before whispering a few words in James's ear.
"You wouldn't!"
"I would." Replied firmly Sirius.
James was now visibly fighting with himself. Finally he took a deep breath.
"Alright, I will tell you, but not here… Follow me."
He led them to a small room. Once the door was closed and locked, he put a soundproofing charm on the room.
"Well, what is the matter?" asked Bella, confused by James's behavior. "Have you seen Lil?"
James's face was very pale.
"That is part of the problem… Where can I start….?"
"At the beginning perhaps?" replied Sirius.
"Why not… I went to comfort Lil after you left; she was a bit shaken but tried to hide it to me. We sat on a bench and I tried to cheer her up and made her confide in me. Finally she gave up her mask and told me what had happened, even if I already knew it. She seemed to believe what Elianor had said to her. I tried to make her see it was only lies, to make her realize what an amazing woman she is…" James had a strange and dreamy look on his face.
Bella looked at him, pale, fear and worry visible in her eyes.
"James, tell me you did not do it…."
He looked down, staying silent. Bella sat suddenly in a chair.
"You did it?… How could…?" She seemed to be at a loss of words.
"Did what?" asked Sirius, really confused. Remus was looking worriedly at James. Bella motioned to him to go on.
"Well, I was comforting her and this feeling came back."
"What feeling?" cut Sirius who was the only one clueless.
"I know not how to explain it… Each time, I feel warm, truly happy, complete…"
At this, Sirius started to understand the situation. James continued, not able to stop himself.
"But this time, this feeling was hundred times stronger, I felt drawn to her. I know she felt this attraction in some way, since I created a strongest and deepest link than necessary for the dance, allowing me to felt her strong emotions. Then, I…. I ….." James stopped.
Bella looked at him, her face deadly serious.
"James, what did you do?" she said, urging him to continue.
"I… kissed her." he said in a whisper.
His friends starred at him, speechless, apparently too shock for words. Finally Bella exploded.
"YOU KISSED HER!" she roared "How could you have done it!"
"I love her, Bella!" replied James.
"Are you sure of that? Are you sure she is the woman you want to spend your life with? Are you sure it is not a silly crush?"
James looked at her, straight in her eyes.
"Bella, I. LOVE. HER"
"Really? Suddenly, like this," she snapped her finger "you love her?"
James was a bit upset by Bella's attitude.
"Why are you doing this Bella? Why are you doubting of my feelings for Lily?"
Bella looked at him closely.
"James, I just want to protect her…"
"Protect her?" repeated James, puzzled.
"James" sighed Remus "have you thought of what the court, the courtiers, the nobles would say?"
Realization spread on James's face, he shook his head gloomily.
"It would cause an uproar, they would never accept it… You will have to marry a noble, you cannot love. You being her friend did not please a lot of people, but they accepted it in the end. You loving her will not be accepted, in particular by the nobles who have daughters old enough to marry you."
"I did not think of it… But I love her! I cannot help it!" he exclaimed.
"How did she take it?" asked Bella, worry audible in her tone.
"She ran away." answered James.
Bella jumped immediately on her feet.
"Where is she now?" she asked hurriedly.
"I do not know…"
"Idiot! You let her get away!" Then she realized he could not have done anything to stop her and continued more calmly.
"James, do not try to see or talk to her before I talk to her. Alright?"
He nodded reluctantly.
"Stay at the feast, people would notice if the heir and birthday boy disappeared….. Act like nothing happened, nobody must suspect anything." Bella said urgently, heading for he door.
"Wait Bella!" said James.
"What?"
"If you…, I mean… could you tell her I meant it?" he said, not daring to look at her.
She eyed him, judging if he was sincere. Satisfied, she nodded.
"I will."
"Promise?"
"Promise." She left the room.
Bella went straight to her and Lily's quarters. She climbed up the stairs and entered their bedroom. She immediately spotted Lily , huddled in a corner of her bed. She was sleeping, but Bella saw her tears. She softly wiped the few tears that were still on her cheeks, not wanting to wake her. Lily's eyelashes fluttered and she opened her eyes. They were red and puffy from all the crying. She looked at Bella's sorry face.
"You know, do you not?" It wasn't really a question.
"Yes, James told us."
Lily blinked to prevent herself from crying.
"He did? He must have laughed at me… at stupid me."
"Are you joking! We had to blackmail him so he would tell us what was wrong! He was really hurt…"
"He was?… Bella! I do not know what to do! I could not give him what he wanted! I could not! But I wanted it as much as him… I know it now…."
Bella's face was torn between seriousness and compassion. She sat near her and hugged her, trying to make her know she was not alone. Lily buried her face in Bella's shoulder.
"It's alright Lily, it is alright… Everything will be fine." Bella whispered in her ear, stroking her hair.
"It will never be fine, never, never…." Sobbed Lily in her shoulder.
After a few minutes she calmed down.
"Thank you Bella…." She said quietly.
"Anytime. I am sorry to ask you this, but I need to know. Do you love him?"
A flash of hurt passed in Lily's eyes.
"I am not sure, but I think I do, I really think I do."
"I am sorry…" said Bella.
"Don't be. It is me who was stupid enough to fall for him…" spat Lily.
"Falling for someone is not stupid!" exclaimed Bella.
"Maybe, but when you are not noble, falling for the heir is stupid…"replied Lily.
Bella didn't know what to answer. Her mind agreed with her friend, but her heart could not help telling her that love conquered all. So she asked her something she wanted to know for a few minutes…..
"What are you going to do?"
"What I must do." answered simply Lily.
"Care to elaborate?" You will not be able to avoid him since you train his wing!"
"Very easy. I will not train the wing anymore. You will."
"Alone! Are you mad?" exclaimed Bella.
"No; this evening Yvan told me that Kermal and Derna are ready to lead the commoner dragons. But he does not want to go back to his wing since he took a liking in leading and training a wing. He will help you. You two will make great team."
"Perhaps…" Bella seemed half-convinced. "But will you stopped our own training?
"No! Unless you want to, we will just train at the shack since nobody know its location."
"Alright, you seemed to have planned everything. Are you sure you want to do this?….."
"I have to Bella. I must be strong…. He will get over me. It is just a silly crush." as she said these words, her tone denied them.
Bella cast her a doubtful look.
"Bella it is my duty. He will forget me and marry a noble. I would only be a burden for him…"
Bella's face showed how much she disagreed with her friend but she decided to drop the subject.
"If you say so…. So what will you do?"
"Well, The Golden Gate will not last forever… about a month, not more…. I will train with the staff, until the Pure appears, make researches about it, and practice my magic…. But do not think you can get rid of me like this, you will still have to train with me…"
"I had not thought of it." said Bella.
"I know. That is why you will have to train the riders harder for the coming fight. I had prepared a training plan that I will give you tomorrow."
"Alright… I will let you alone; I have to go back to the ball."
"Go, I will be alright now. Thank you…."
"Of course." replied Bella with a faint smile on her lips. She headed for the doors. Before leaving, she turned back.
"You know, he asked me to say something to you: he made me promise to tell you that he meant it." With that she passed through the door, closed it, not seeing the look on Lily's face, where hurt was disputing to love…
Unknown to Lily and Bella, a discussion similar to theirs had taken place in the room Bella had left. Sir Albus and King Regis had entered a few minutes after her departure. They left after a quite long talk. The King had reminded his son of his duties and obligations, then left the room quite angry as James had objected to his lecture. Sir Albus sighed.
"James, you will have to give up on her. She will make you."
'Who?"
"Lily." stated Remus as if it was obvious.
"How? Why?" James was confused. He knew she felt strongly attracted by him and knew for sure that he had fallen hard for her.
"James, you should know by now that Lily has a strong sense of duty. She is very conscious of your status difference. She will not allow herself to return your feelings even if she is dying to do it." Explained Sir Albus.
This hit James.
"What should I do then?"
"Someone told me a long time ago that time heals all wounds." said Sir Albus.
"Translation?"
"Let some time pass, you will see then if your feelings remain the same or not… But for now, do not try to see Lilyaris, please."
"I cannot promise I will not, Sir." James answered truthfully.
"I feared you would not… Just be careful, and please call me Albus."
James nodded.
"Well" said Sir Albus "we had better get back to the ballroom." James, Sirius and Remus nodded and left the room, coming back to the feast and acting like nothing had happened.
Next morning, the three friends hurried to the field where the training would take place, dying to see Lily and Bella. You can imagine their surprise when they saw Bella and Yvan discussing quietly in the field, looking at some papers. Apparently Bella was explaining something, and the three boys knew better than to interrupt her. They settled in the field, waiting for the other riders. Fifteen minutes later, they were all here. Bella faced them, having heard all of them whispering and building crazier and crazier theories about Lily's absence.
"Good morning riders! As you may have noticed, Lilyaris is not here today, and will not be anymore. Yvan is replacing her, but she will continue to give him and me advice, do not dream…"
James raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"Why did she resign?" the prince asked, voicing the question everyone was thinking.
"She did not resign." answered Bella. "As the Golden Gate will not last more than a month longer, she decided to do research on the staff and its uses, as she is for now the only one able to use it. She will come back later. Now we are going to intensify the training as Voldemort will be able to attack in about a month. So let us run!" said Bella, not letting the riders question her more.
"And Yvan and I will put into action the training plan Lily has prepared," she added. These words were followed by a general groan.
Weeks passed. The training for the whole army was becoming harder and harder, in particular for the Lions. Yvan and Bella, with the help of Lily, had intensified the training. Lily had not started to train the wing again. She was spending her time with some scholars, collecting information about the staff, training herself to its uses by practicing times and times with it. Sir Albus often helped her, as well as Praïn. She had made huge improvements and was now able to use it as well as her wand. She did not know why she was the only one able to manipulate it. The obvious would be thinking that she was the Pure, but she had quickly scratched that option from her list of possibilities. She could not be the Pure. In her mind the Pure would have to be someone amazing, not a plain woman like herself…but something was bugging her….. It was important, but she could not place her finger on it….. It was something the two Ladies, who had appeared when they were retrieving the staff, had said. But she could not remember it! She suspected that Sir Albus, Sir Exer, and the King knew who was the Pure and why she could hold and use the staff… When she was not practicing or doing researches, she was training with Bella or Derna and her friends, or training Angel…. This way she was very busy, something she was thankful for, as it allowed her to avoid thinking about him or simply avoiding him. He had tried several times to speak to her, but she knew she must not see him until he had gotten over her. It was what her mind was telling her, but it was hurting her like crazy. Since the kiss, her feelings for him were clear or at least clearer. And the fact that Bella was trying to make them talk was not helping….
"Lilyaris Evans!"
"No Bella, I said no!"
"But talk to him at least!"
"I mustn't! It would only make things worse than they already are!" stated Lily.
"But I am sure this situation could be rearranged!"
"It is impossible and you know it…."
"But…."
"Bella you know the situation as well as me, and its consequences too…."
"I know!" yelled Bella exasperatedly, they had had this conversation at least once a day since the ball. "But laws can be changed!"
"Bella, this is reality, not a marvelous and romantic fairytale where the prince marries the shepherdess before living happily for the rest of their lives." Lily's tone was bitter and Bella could see she was on the edge of tears. She immediately calmed down.
"I am sorry Lily," she said sincere, seeing this whole mess was affecting her friend deeply.
"Don't be. Can you just stop talking about it?"
"All right, I will not talk about it anymore." sighed Bella. At least around you, she added in her mind.
Then the two young women headed for their training session with Derna, watched by three men from a balcony.
"She is strong," stated one of them.
"Yes Regis. But how long will she be able to keep it this way?" said another.
"Until James comes back to his senses I hope…." Answered the first one, the king. "Even if I must admit that he and Lilyaris could be a great couple, that she would made an amazing Queen, and that I would greatly welcome her as my daughter-in-law, it is impossible. Their marriage would create an uproar, and in the worse case a civil war, as a lot of powerful nobles who have daughters old enough to marry James would take it as a personal offence. Imagine their reaction! A part-elf, raised as a commoner, heiress of Erkanswald!"
A silence followed these words.
I understand you, your Majesty, but you should say that to your son. He has been rather depressed for the past weeks and is convinced you are the one opposed to his relationship with Lilyaris. He has become more careless, and he fights as if nothing matters anymore for him…." Worry was audible in Sir Exer's voice.
The King's face showed his worry for his only son.
"I will, thank you Exer."
"You are welcome, your Majesty…" replied Sir Exer.
They looked back at the two silvers that were about to enter a building.
"Albus, how are the researches advancing?" asked the King.
" Very well, Regis. Lily had perfectly mastered the staff and is continuing her searches to find a way to stop Voldemort definitively. She is being helped in her task by most of the scholars. They had not made huge progress, as most of the methods are not proper for our situation. Fortunately we have still two more weeks before the Gate disappears, and Voldemort had not been able to strengthen his army….."
Suddenly the doors burst open, startling the three occupants of the room.
"Your majesty! Your majesty!" shouted a man they recognized as sir Charles, the leader of the spies.
"What Charles?" asked the King, worried by the panic he could feel in Sir Charles's tone."
"It's Voldemort your Majesty….."
They hurried to the throne room. There, they met the other counselors, the prince, the scholars, the leaders of the different communities (elves, fairies….) They each took their seats. Charles approached a large orb.
"A few hours ago, we started to order our daily spy reports and that is what they sent us…
He touched the orb with his wand.
"This device had been created by Lilyaris; she would be able to explain how it works better than me. To sum it up, it allows us to see what the spies see. Each of them records everything they see with a small device put before their eyes. All they have to do is cast a small charm. Then what they see is sent to this orb and store in it. At the end of the day, we see each of their observations and order them. To see one of them we just have to tap the orb and say the name of the spy, and we will see all he has recorded. For more detailed explanations see Lilyaris, she should be here in a few minutes." Explained the spies' chief.
James' eyes lit up at the idea of Lily's arrival… Before Sir Charles started the record, the door were quietly opened and closed. Lily sat silently between Praïn and Sir Albus.
"Sorry for the lateness," she said quietly, her eyes focused on the orb. James, who was sitting in front of her, was starring at her until a strong kick in his leg brought him back to reality. He looked around him and saw Sir Albus giving him a meaningful glance. He sighed and brought his attention back to Sir Charles.
"As I was saying, this is what the spy in charge in the beginning of the afternoon sent us. He touched the orb a second time, saying "Frederick, watch".
Immediately they saw the scene, feeling as if they were there. They saw the gold dome of the gate, and the scene became clearer as the spy approached it. Then they saw him. He was standing on a stage with ten Death Eaters forming a circle around him. They had their hands joined and were chanting an incantation. Voldemort raised his hand started to chant a spell. As he was saying it rather loudly, they heard it clearly.
Powers of the Devil
Powers of Demons
Listen to my summons
And help me in my fight for Evil.
Somber souls, listen to me
Souls tainted by evil hear me
Came, be my soldiers, my army
And defeat the light definitively.
He kept on repeating it times and times. The Death Eaters forming the circle looked more and more exhausted. Suddenly to the spectators' horror, a hand burst from the ground, followed slowly by an arm, then the head and finally the whole body. Bodies were appearing everywhere. The Death Eaters were looking frightened at the creatures. They were standing, eyes closed. Their skin was ashen, their hair black, gray or white, their lips pale blue. Suddenly the first of them to come opened his eyes, followed by the others. If the spectators had been really there, they would have shrieked: their eyes were either white or gray or black, but the horrible thing was that the entire eye was in the same color, they had no pupils and no iris. Only one had his eyes a different color, the first one, who looked like the leader, his were blood red. He approached the dark Lord and bowed, smirking.
"You have called, master?"
Voldemort smirked evilly.
"I have. I need the Dead army to crush the Light and the Pure." he said.
"We will fight at your side, master, but you will need to call our companions. A hundred of us will come each time you do the ritual…" the creature bowed.
"Very well. For now, do as you wish, soon, we will attack." Voldemort laughed coldly. Suddenly he barked, startling the Death Eaters.
"Take your positions! We are starting it again!"
The Death Eaters, exhausted, reformed the circle, trembling. The same thing started again, but after a few minutes, one of them fainted, completely drained of his energy.
"What!" bellowed Voldemort "Crucio!" The Death Eater cried in pain.
"Get up! Immediately!" he stood up, trembling, barely standing on his feet.
"Get out of my view, all of you!" yelled Voldemort "Team two, in position!"
Another group of Death Eaters rushed on the stage to form the circle while the ones of the previous group got away as fast as they could, fearing the wrath of their master.
The spectators came back to reality. Lily cast a glance around and noticed that everybody was pale. She knew she was too. She knew of this incantation and its effects.
His voice shaking, the King spoke.
"Does anyone in this room know what Voldemort did?"
A long silence answered him, finally broken by a scholar.
"He called back people from the land of Death. I do not know this incantation and what it means, but I can say that the whole thing is evil…"
The room fell silent, suddenly the silence was broken again.
"He is right. Voldemort is summoning the Dead Army." Everybody turned to see who had spoken and faced Lily. She was looking down.
"The Dead Army? What is it?" asked the King. But he could already tell by the look on Praïn, Albus' face that it was not good.
"My researches had me read a lot of books. One of them was a necromancy book. While reading it, I found an ancient incantation belonging to the darkest arts known. The one chanting it, supported by the energy of the circle of ten of his followers, chanting a simple prayer to Evil, would summon the Dead Army. An enormous army, composed of dead people. But not common people, only people with the darkest souls, forming an army only devoted to pain, slaughter, destruction….. they are merciless. The only ways to kill them is either burning them, or beheading, or piercing their heart. They can regenerate their body. Another way to destroy the Army is killing the one who summoned it." Explained Lily, in a quiet voice.
If it was possible all the people in the room had become paler.
"How many of them compose this army?" asked a general.
"The exact number is unknown," answered Praïn, "Each time the incantation is said, one hundred soldiers come. Last time the army was summoned, it reached the number of two thousand soldiers under the command of Grindelwald."
"Two thousand!" exclaimed Exer.
"Yes," said Lily. "But the Army could in theory gather more than a hundred thousands soldiers. It depends on the number of times the incantation is said. Moreover, it is exhausting."
James looked at Lily, amazed: she was young, but so full of knowledge…"
A new silence spread in the room.
"So what should we do?" asked the King.
"Sirs, your Majesty; our army counts 9,000 men in whom we find 100 spies, 500 dragons and their riders, 200 elves, 200 healers, 500 fairies, 350 phoenixes, 450 unicorns, 400 griffins. Each ten dukes possess a personal army of 500 soldiers. This put our strength at 14,800 fighters if we count the personal armies, and 1450 healers or spies. The phoenix can heal and fight if necessary. On the other hand, Voldemort has 500 Basilisks, 2,500 Vampires, 2,000 goblins, 1,000 trolls, 100 giants, 10,000 men, 500 hydrias and their riders, maybe some ghouls. These numbers come from our spy's reports. It puts its strength at 17,500 fighters. If we add an unknown number of soldiers from the Dead Army, we will be largely outnumbered. We need reinforcements, in particular if the dead soldiers are as Lily has described them…" the tone of Sir Exer was grave and serious.
"Even if I asked the Dukes' soldiers to join the army, it would not be enough," said the king.
"What about recruiting volunteers?" asked a counselor.
"Useless, it would take months to train them and we only have two weeks." cut Sir Exer.
"So what do you suggest?"
Several people started to talk at the same time. It was a complete mess. Nobody could hear the other…
"SILENCE!" yelled the King.
The noise stopped immediately.
"Does someone have a valuable solution to propose…?" asked the King in quiet voice.
Nobody spoke.
"Try to contact the dwarfs and gain their support." Lily said suddenly.
They thought about it for a while, and finally Sir Exer spoke.
"It could function, they are said to be exceptional fighters. But they prefer to avoid any contact with humans or elves. They spend their times in their mines or their mountains."
"I will send them a message immediately," said the king "Any other suggestions? No? Well, it seems they are our only hope… Thank you for coming and for your advice."
They got up and quietly left the room, discussing the news, and the possibilities of the dwarfs' arrival. James tried to corner Lily, but she was too quick and managed to escape. He sighed and headed for the fields where the Lions were training.
Two days passed, and on the third, the dwarfs' answer came. The dwarfs, even if they were concerned by the threat that Voldemort was representing, felt that it was something concerning humans and elves. They were sorry, but could not leave their mines and mountains without protections against the goblins, the trolls, and the ghouls, which swarmed in their mountains. Of course, everyone at Erkanswald knew it was only a pretext to refuse. The king was desperate. He did not know where to turn to. That is why he warmly welcomed the Duke of Nearth, Elianor's father, despite his dislike for the man, when he said he knew how to convince the dwarfs.
"Good morning Your Majesty," said the Duke, bowing to the King.
"Drop the formalities Jonathan," cut the King " you said you know a way to convince the dwarfs?" he asked, full of hope.
"Indeed." replied the Duke.
"Well, what do I have to do?"
"Your majesty, you have to know that it is a wrench to tell you this secret. It has been well kept in my family for centuries…"
The King was disgusted by this man. Even when the kingdom was about to be defeated, he tried to obtain something for information. King Regis knew he was ambitious and greedy but did not think he could fall this low. He cut the Duke.
"What is your price?"
"Well, your majesty" started the duke in an oily tone "I'm a father, devoted to my only daughter, Elianor. I could not help but noticing what a great couple they made at the ball. I know for a fact that she is attracted to the prince, and I am sure the heir is not indifferent to her. So that is my condition. In exchange of the information allowing you to make the dwarves join our side and be here in less than a week, I ask that my daughter marry your son before the end of the week, in four days…"
