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 Thirty-One

A message was magically sent the next day, as King Regis refused to bet on Voldemort's possible respect of the inviolability of emissaries.

An hour later, an answer was sent back. A crow arrived carrying a scroll.

Few words were written on it.

In two days, at dawn.

So, the army of Men and Dwarves started to ready itself for the fight. The elves would act as healers, helped by the unicorns and phoenixes. The latter would also help with the Basilisks. The Darcorns and Griffins had also agreed to join their side.

During the days of preparation the soldiers would train and prepare their weapons and protections, checking them again and again. The wings of riders were working restlessly, particularly the Lions who were animated by an avenging fire.

Finally the day of the fight came.

James woke up earlier than usual. Blinking a few times, he suddenly remembered what day it was.

Slowly he got up and looked out of one of the windows. Rows of tents were visible around the mansion Albus had transformed the shack into. Men and women were starting to ready themselves.

With a sigh, he stilled his nerves. He would be strong for Lily.

He put his tunic and pants on, and then his coat of mail. Then came the rest of his equipment: for torso, arms and legs.

Taking his helmet, he checked the straps holding his dagger in place as well as his sword, before sheathing it.

Looking once more outside the window he clutched his pendant.

"For you Lily"

With a determined glint in his eyes, he left his room, heading towards the hall. On his way he met up with Bella. The young woman was dressed in an outfit similar to Lily's, all silver. They faced each other without a word before embracing each other, drawing strength from the other.

Finally they withdrew from their embrace.

"Do you think we have a chance, Bella?" asked James, in a low whisper.

Bella looked up.

"We are going to fight, James. We will fight, and we will win, make no mistake."

The young prince nodded slowly and both of them left the mansion to join Exer, the dwarves and Albus with the army. Dawn was approaching quickly, and they had to get the troops ready.

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After the dinner, during which Lily had had to bear with Voldemort's presence, his touch, the lustful glances of some men and the hateful and jealous looks from the women, she had been escorted back to her room. Once there, the guards had let her enter the bedroom while posting themselves on either side of the doorway, squashing any thoughts of escape out of Lily's mind. Alda was there to help her get out of the gown.

None of them spoke, they moved in silence, not meeting each other's eyes. When Lily was dressed for the night, she softly thanked the maid who left without a sound.

In a daze, Lily reached her bed. It was a large canopy bed. The mattress was soft and adapted to Lily's curves. The bedding was freshly washed and had a fresh scent of lavender to them. They were made of silk and the feel of the material against her skin drew chills along her spine.

Drawing the covers around her body, she encased herself in a warm cocoon, praying with all her might that she would wake up tomorrow morning and that Voldemort would then be a bad dream, that James would be there at breakfast, and Bella was sleeping in the room next door.

Unfortunately, as she woke up the next morning the knot of dread was still present. Lazily she stretched, popping her shoulders. Dawn was breaking and the sun's first rays were hitting her bed, since she had forgotten to close the curtains. She got up in a fluid movement and walked to the window. The sight reminded her full force of her situation. Before the castle were camping Voldemort's armies. The Dead Army, the Vampires, Werewolves, Trolls, Giants, Basilisks, Chimeras and other Dark creatures.

The sight of the Vampires reminded her of the one she had killed while she and her friends had been looking for the Unicorn's horn. He had been a fair and worthy opponent. He had died with honors and she had enjoyed their fight.

If his people proved to share his fighting code, she would be happy to face them.

A knock on the door startled her from her musings.

Quickly, she wrapped a long thick shawl around her frame and went to sit on her bed.

"Enter"

Her voice was commanding and cold, with a small amount of scorn seeping through.

The door opened, allowing two guards and Alda in.

They looked around, their eyes resting a bit on Lily, raking her form. Unnerved by those glances, she tightened the shawl around her shoulder. With a last glance at her, they left, closing the door behind them.

"Alda"

"Lady Lily"

A tight smile appeared on Lily' lips.

"I am no lady, Alda, call me Lily."

The woman sent her a piercing look.

"That is for me to decide, Lady."

Sighing, Lily decided not to pursue the argument, knowing it was useless.

"What must I do?"

"The Dark Lord wants you at his side for breakfast; I know not what his plans are for the rest of the day."

Nodding, Lily took off her shawl, folding it before placing it on the back of a nearby chair. She then followed Alda's instructions as the maid got her ready.

Half an hour later she stepped out of her room. Immediately the two guards were at her side. She was wearing a simple high-collared, long sleeved green dress with little ornament. Small star shaped studs were put in her ears, and a thin chain was circling her throat. Her red hair was kept down, falling in copper waves to the middle of her back. A few strands were twisted together and fixed with a few star shaped claps, to keep her hair out of her face. She still had on the two bracelets the Dark Lord had ordered she wore the day before. She had quickly found the reason for their use. They blocked her magic, preventing her from using her wandless abilities.

The maid was led back to the other prisoners while Lily was escorted to the dining room.

This time, only The Dark Lord and what Lily gathered to be his Inner Circle plus a few others were settled at the table. To her disgust, Jonathan of Nearth and his daughter were there. Elianor was sitting at the right side of Voldemort

"Lilyaris!"

Lily barely refrained her lips from curling in disgust.

"Voldemort."

Her tone was dripping with scorn.

He smirked at her knowing he had her under his control.

"Sit down and eat, Lilyaris, I have something I want you to read…."

He handed her a parchment.

Warily, she took it, sitting as far from Voldemort as possible. A plate appeared before her. Distrustful, she refused to eat anything coming from Voldemort. She unrolled the scroll, immediately recognizing the King's handwriting.

To Voldemort who gives himself the title of Lord

I, King Regis of Erkanswald, hereby challenged the aforementioned party. As challenger, I will wait, as it is decreed by the rules, for your answer and the conditions of the challenge.

May the Powers design who out of us if worthy enough.

Regis, King of Erkanswald.

Her hand was shaking slightly as she put the letter down. Cold eyes looked at Voldemort.

"And what was your answer?"

The Dark Lord smirked.

"You did not say please, Lilyaris."

A tightening of her jaw was the only outward sign of her revulsion.

"Please."

A pleased expression appeared on Voldemort's face as he leaned towards, approaching his face to her ear.

"In two days time," he whispered in her ears, "your little prince and his father will face my army with his pitiful soldiers. I will enjoy seeing them being slaughtered. But the prince and your friends will be treated with special care, do not worry. I am sure they will enjoy their time within the dungeons."

A shudder went through Lily as Voldemort traced her jaw with his fingers. Her whole being was shouting for her to move. But she wouldn't give him the joy of seeing that he was affecting her.

"But you, Lilyaris, will not witness the fall of your army. No, you shall be with me…." The man paused. "You will be falling under my power as your side will fall before my army."

Lily ignored him or at least tried to. She merely raised an eyebrow, refusing to acknowledge him.

"We shall see, Voldemort, we shall see."

She placed her hand above her plate and used what elven magic she had inherited from her father.

It was draining to use, but she didn't want to risk being poisoned. She was not taking any chances; it wasn't like she could trust any of them not to tamper with her food.

Reassured that her food was now risk free, she started to eat, slowly, keeping an eye on everyone, ready to block any curse, hex or jinx someone might throw her way.

Breakfast was quite tense at least on their side of the table. Those further away from them were involved in quiet talks, but all people seated were glancing once in a while toward Voldemort, to keep tab on the Dark Lord's mood.

As the last plates circulated between the table, people started to talk more. Lily put the silverware down and folded her napkin carefully. Sitting rigidly in her chair, she waited, looking straight ahead, not sparing a glance to those within the room.

Finally, Voldemort stood up and motioned to those present to leave the room. He then handed his hand to Lily who took it reluctantly. The red eyes of Voldemort were challenging her to defy him, to give him a reason to put his threat into motion.

"I shall walk you to your room, Lilyaris," he was not asking, but merely ordering her around. Her capacity of choice was quite limited, so she complied, fighting the urge to spit in his face.

The walk to her room was silent. She could feel Voldemort's eyes on her, and it made her feel dirty and tainted. There was no mistaking the lust in his glances.

Time stretched agonizingly as they stopped before her door. With a wave of his hand, Voldemort dismissed the guards who shot Lily suggestive looks as they passed next her.

Shaking with disgust, she vowed to clean herself first thing.

With a flourish, Voldemort opened the door and motioned for her to enter. Having no choice, she obeyed, keeping a weary eye on her jailor.
He followed her and closed the door behind them, before walking to her.

She met him with a cold stare.

"Maintain your distance."

This only drew a chuckle from him, but he stopped a meter before her.

"Why resisting, Lilyaris? You know you will submit…. There is no escape this time, and I do not plan on letting you go, no…"

In one stride, he was next to her, his face, centimeters from hers.

"Hear this, Lilyaris, you will be mine, make no mistake of it. Forget your little prince. You were made for greatness and greatness you' will achieve by my side, as queen of Darkness."

"I will kill myself first."

A dark smile stretched Voldemort's lips.

"You will not. When time comes, you will come to me willingly and take your rightful place."

He took both her hands, and before she could react, she sensed the bracelet activate. Tendrils of magic seeped through her body and she felt them reaching for her magic centre.

Hastily, she tried to build defenses around her inner core, to no avail. As the tendrils reached her center she felt herself getting drowsy.

Frantically, she tried to break free from the Dark Lord's hold, but she was feeling so tired.

Voldemort brought her hands to his lips and kissed them as she started to lose consciousness. Her last conscious thought was of the Dark Lord' satisfied smile.

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Lily slowly came back to consciousness. Her back was aching from an uncomfortable sleeping position.

She stretched lazily, slowly becoming aware of her surroundings.

She was in her room... and dawn was breaking…..

DAWN!

She sat upright, startled and realized she wasn't dressed the same she had been before fainting.

As she got up and approached a mirror, she saw she had been undressed of her green gown, and instead wore a tight-fitting black dress. The sleeves made of veil were clinging to her upper arms before flaring. Black threads were crisscrossing the veil. The bodice, following her every curves, was sporting a low cleavage, but not low enough to be indecent. The skirt was multilayered, but the upper one was made of a shimmering material discreetly embroidered with silver.

Her hair was down, her red curls contrasting with the black attire. Little make up adorned her face.

The result, she had to admit, was impressive. Looking down on her wrist she noticed that she still wore the bracelets. Their sight reminded her of her own jewelry. Worried, she raised her hand to her neck and was reassured to felt the reassuring weight of her pendant. The Elven spells had held….

Two knocks on her door brought her back to reality. How long had she slept?

Before she could answer two men entered, followed by someone she had learnt to despise and hate.

Lord Voldemort.

"Lilyaris, as gorgeous as always. The servants dressed you accordingly to your future status, good, good, very good."

He eyed her predatorily.

"Yes, this will be proper for the ritual…"

Ritual?

A feeling of dread started to spread through Lily's mind. But that would mean...

"Take her to the Chamber," said Voldemort, with a sharp edge to his voice, motioning to his two men to get moving."

She took a few steps back.

"I would not do that my dear, or your servant," he nearly spat the word, "friends will pay the price…"

Cornered, Lily let the two guards took her arms and drag her out of her room.

"I will join you soon, my precious, but first I have a few things to care of…"

As she watched him leave, her heart tightened.

James

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Meanwhile, as dawn grew nearer, both armies had gotten ready, and were moving slowly to the plain were the challenge would take place.

James was now with the rest of his wing. All of them were ready: they were armed, and their dragons were fit and rested. They were among the best and knew it. Today would put their abilities to the test, but opposite to training, a mistake on the battle field would be paid by their deaths.

None of them spoke as they put their helmets on, but as she was about to climb on her dragon, Bella pointed her wand to her chest and muttered a few words.

Slowly a black lily embroidered itself on her tunic, easily seeable on the silver attire she had chosen to wear, instead of the dark clothes which were the customary uniform for the soldiers.

As she motioned to her band to fly up, she saw in the corners of her eyes the members of the wing following her example, the lily silver instead of black so that the contrast between it and their tunic was greater.

With a small smile, she climbed up and settled herself, checking her equipment one last time. By the time she was finished, the whole wing was looking expectantly at her.

Wordlessly she raised her arm, before bringing it down; signaling for the wings to take flight.

Once in the air, the riders fell into the usual fighting formations.

The Green dragons would carry the injured away and transport the healers around, with the help of the younger and smaller blue dragons.

As soon as they reached the right height, she sent sparks in the air and all the dragons disappeared.

They reappeared above the plain before the castle.

Bella smirked as she noticed that the sun would rise from behind them. Their enemy would be blinded by the sun rays during the fight. It would give them an advantage, even if it was a small advantage.

The dragons rose higher, the different wings flying in large circles, waiting for the cavalry, infantry, and war machines to arrive by portkey, along with the dwarves.

Finally, as the first rays of dawn appeared above the horizon line, dark forms sprang into the air and started to circle above the castle. More of them joined those already in the air, groups appearing as they flew. After a few minutes, like a dark cloud, they headed towards the dragons.

Hydrias.

Lots of Hydrias.

Bella felt her blood grow cold, there should not have been so many of them. How could there be so many? Nonetheless, her determination did not waver. They would win.

As she reflected on this thought, horns were heard from the castle as the doors opened and Voldemort's troops walked out.

The remaining Death Eaters were first, then the Dead Army.

The sight of those undead fighters chilled Bella. She could see that her fellow riders were also quite subdued by their arrival.

Several popping sounds distracted her. Turning her head, she saw their army appearing, group by group, via portkeys.

Dwarfish portals were opened for the cavalry. It had been decided that only the cavalry would use those, to spare the energy resources of the Dwarfish priests.

The horse riders took their place, calming their mounts who seemed to have been quite upset by the travel, but it would have been worse had they traveled by portkey.

Slowly, the two armies gathered, facing each other. Dark creatures had joined the rank of Voldemort. Among them were several Basilisks, and several clans of Vampires, as well as werewolf packs.

Bella did not pay more attention to the other creatures who had decided to fight against them, focusing her attention on the Hydrias.

Finally King Regis appeared with the last group. He was riding his stallion, a magnificent grey mount. He galloped to the front of his army, and turned to his soldiers and to the dwarves, his horse pacing back and forth before them.

At the same time, a dark figure rode through the Dark Army.

Bella immediately noticed that his mount was not a simple horse. To her horror, she watched as the monstrous beast walked down to the front of the Dark forces.

It was a horse-like creature, but some of its features were Thestral ones, including huge bat-like wings and pupil-les eyes. A hybrid, there was no other explanation possible for the creature's existence.

A sneer made its way on the young woman's face.

Voldemort.

There was no mistaking the tall figure, draped in flowing and shining black robes with silver lining. His black hair was gently blown back by the breeze. And only he would have been foolish enough to play around and do some experimental breeding.

King Regis directed his horse towards the Dark Lord who also urged his mount forwards.

From her place up in the air, Bella could not hear what was said, but whatever was exchanged, it had not been niceties.

Raising her arm, she signaled to the riders to take their positions. Seconds later, all of them had their wands out and their swords at their side, since Bella had wanted them to learn to use them while on their dragons. The dragons raised their heads and let a loud roar escape, as if daring the Dark soldiers to harm their riders.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as both armies' leaders headed to their respective side, as their soldiers drew up their weapons. The sounds of metal sliding against metal, of pawing and neighing horse, the rustling of the armors, all those were overwhelming Bella's perceptions, even from up there

Finally as the sun appeared above the forest, horns blew up from both sides, echoing in the plain, scarring away birds and other animals which fled the battle field.

As the sounds faded, King Regis raised his swords.

"For the Land!"

As one, the soldiers raised their weapons, roaring the same words before running towards the Dark army, which was mimicking their action.

The two armies collided on the ground as well as in the air, where dragons and hydrias battled.

And a dawn of blood and death settled on the kingdom as green grass turned red.

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