Lily opened her eyes. She stared at the white ceiling of the healers' room. She tried to move, but everything hurt. She had been injured more severely than she originally thought. A healer quickly came over.
"Rest. You are in bad condition." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"My babies." She whispered.
He froze.
"I need to tell King Nuada that you're awake. He'll want to see you." He left her side.
She noticed he didn't answer her question. The next few minutes were pure torture for her. Where was Nuada? Her children? Were they all alive? What had happened? She couldn't even move and try to find them herself. A door opened and she heard a baby crying. Nuada came into her view, holding Nibenon. A smile broke out on her lips.
"Oh, Nibenon. I'm so happy he's safe." Tears brimmed in her eyes.
Nuada smiled back, bouncing the baby in his arms.
"He's been wanting his mother. You've been unconscious for a day. Your injuries were pretty bad. It'll be another day or two until you can leave. Another week or so until you can walk without pain." Nuada informed her. His face had turned emotionless. His eyes got a faraway look in them. "Antien and Sophia are dead."
Time seemed to stop. Lily processed the information. Nuada looked at the wall. Nibenon cooed, seeming to be happier close to his mother. It seemed so out of place now, considering his brother and sister were dead.
"There were four elves in total. Pureblood extremists. They've been waiting until the announcement of the search for a human queen to strike. They wanted to rid the royal Bethmooran line of human blood. They were going to kill all five of you." He paused for a second, closing his eyes. "Two of them went to do it and the other two came to prevent me from stopping them. Meldiron and I fought and killed them. By the time we found you all, they had already killed Antien and Sophia. Antien went down fighting and Sophia died shielding Nibenon from any blows." He paused again. A tear came to his eye and he looked down at his only son. His voice became more choked. "You were bleeding badly from sword wounds. Catherine was in shock. She seems to have forgotten about it now. She's too young to remember. Nibenon was perfectly fine, just scared. We took you to the healers and Catherine and Nibenon have been with Nuala and Abraham since."
"I'm so sorry. I tried to stop them, but there was two and I didn't have any weapons on me. And they surprised me from behind." Flashes of the fight to protect her children went through her mind. Tears fell down her cheeks. "My babies . . . "
"The funeral is in two days. Antien and Sophia will be given monuments. They were brave." Nuada said. Lily nodded.
There was a tense silence. Lily's mind briefly wandered to Meldiron and she berated herself for ever sleeping with him. She would end it with him the next time she saw him. Her children needed her.
HBHBHBHBHB
Two days later, Lily stood with Nibenon in her arms, dressed in all black. Nuada held Catherine. They stood around two stone monuments, a carving of a smiling child on each. They were chest-high. The dates of birth and death was carved in each. Flowers were already laid across them. All of the nobles, Nuala, Abe, Meldiron, and any others deemed acceptable stood behind the king and queen. Lily was silently crying, tears flowing nonstop down her cheeks. Nuada showed no external sadness, but inside he was as much of a wreck as Lily was.
"They will be remembered forever, as brave children who sacrificed their lives for the lives of their siblings." Nuada spoke. The rest of the funeral service listened silently.
His voice cracked at the end and he said no more. Nuala put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"They will be missed dearly." She finished.
HBHBHBHBHB
After the funeral, Nuada ordered that Lily and the children would never be left alone. A guard or trusted friend would watch over them at all times. He didn't want any more deaths, especially now that Lily was sterile. Meldiron was to escort Lily to her and Nuada's bedroom.
The two lovers walked in silence. Meldiron helped Lily walk since she still wasn't healed all the way, a hand on her hip and the other holding hers. Lily was still dressed in all black. Catherine and Nibenon were with Nuala and Abe. They reached the doors and walked inside. The doors were closed once they were inside. Lily spotted a vase of lilies on the vanity.
"Sophia picked those for me. On that day. I told her we'd put them in water." Lily recounted. "They're starting to wilt."
She gently touched the petals. One snapped off in her fingers. She winced as if she had been stabbed. Meldiron noticed her distress. He stood behind her and held her shoulders.
"I'm so sorry. It's simply awful." His lips grazed her ear. She pushed him away.
"No more. I can't do this anymore. I have to be a mother. My children need me!" Lily told him, her face stern.
He stood, shocked.
"I understand. " He said. "But it's me you need. Nuada didn't put guards around you after you were kidnapped pregnant with Antien. He knew that people would always try to kill you and he did not try to protect you. He's let you slip through the cracks so much that you're able to have an affair!"
"He loves me!"
"I love you! And I protect you!"
"Don't try to imply that it's Nuada's fault Antien and Sophia are dead! You were with him when it happened!"
"He's not good for you! He tried to kill your entire race!" Meldiron changed the topic quickly.
"He's better now!"
"NOW! What about then?"
"Face it! We can't be together, no matter how much you want us to be. I can't leave Nuada for you or else everyone would hate me. All of the purists would gloat about how right they were about the decency of humans! I'd be one of the most hated people on the planet! I have children and I've left my husband after two of their deaths? ! It'd be awful. Can't you see?"
"I LOVE you." Meldiron urged.
"Nuada loves me too! And he's my husband!"
"I'm better for you. His hatred for humans is still there deep down. I never hated humans." Meldiron gripped her shoulders.
"Stop. No more. Forget about it. This affair is ending!" Lily hissed.
Angry and heartbroken, Meldiron grabbed the nearest thing and threw it at the wall. This happened to be the vase of lilies. He froze after he realized what he did. He looked at Lily, but she was staring at the broken glass and crumpled flowers on the floor.
"Leave." She stated simply, anger thinly veiled in her voice.
Meldiron left solemnly. He knew he had no chance now. He opened the doors and silently walked past the two guards stationed outside of the bedroom. They gave him no acknowledgement, but he knew they heard at least part of their argument. It wouldn't be long until Nuada found out about the affair now. Or at least about Meldiron's love for Lily. He would much rather Nuada hear it all from his side. He'd do it tomorrow, after he worked up the courage.
HBHBHBHBHB
Lily carefully bent down and picked up the flowers from the mess on the floor. Petals littered the rug, separated from the stems by the force of the crash and the fall. Lily moved pieces of glass to reach some lilies. She picked up one and it snapped in half. Tears started to flow down her cheeks, her resolve broken. She gently closed her hand around the few lilies she had managed to save. Her body shook with sobs. She cried out and placed a hand over her mouth. Once she knew she wouldn't cry out again, she withdrew her hand.
"My baby. My babies. My poor babies." She whispered.
She brought the lilies close to her body, standing. She limped over to one of the bookshelves in the room and picked out a book. It was called The Kingdom of Elk, a book that she had read countless times to her children. They loved it. She opened the book to the end, the happy ending, and placed the lilies in there. She closed the book and pressed down on it. Once satisfied, she placed the book back on the shelf. The lilies would be preserved forever and her children would not be forgotten.
HBHBHBHBHB
Nuada stood in front of the council, his hands on the table between them.
"I need guards stationed around the castle. Twice the normal amount. Make sure all are loyal to the Bethmooran crown. I do not want a purist stationed near my wife and children. This will not happen again. I will speak to the humans concerning this event and quell an uproar. Any conflict between the humans and elves ends now." He ordered, looking around the room at each member.
They nodded.
HBHBHBHBHB
"The two children were killed by a team of four elves who hated sharing their royal bloodline with humans. They believed in having a pure bloodline of royals and had been planning this assassination for at least five years." Annie Jelson, top reporter for all news Bethmooran, said into the camera. "The funeral was held today, and monuments were built, the children's faces carved into them. Security around the palace seems to have increased and it's rumored that King Nuada will speak to the humans concerning the death of his children."
Crystal turned the TV off. She was done hearing about this. She could only imagine how Lily felt. The children simply adored her and she seemed to love them twice as much back. She could only imagine her close friend crying uncontrollably, Nuala or possibly Nuada comforting her.
Crystal shook her head. She needed to clear her head of these thoughts. It was such a tragedy, but there was nothing she could do. She wasn't sure if she could even get close to the palace now, let alone in it to comfort Lily. It was probably on lockdown.
She sighed and picked up a script for a job she had. She began reading and memorizing.
HBHBHBHBHB
Rocco came back from the fridge with a beer in hand, listening to some red-headed news reporter talk about Lily and her children.
"Damn, I'm glad that whore left." Rocco mumbled to himself as he took a swig from his beer. "She's too much trouble."
The news reporter continued talking, but Rocco grew bored and switched the channel to sports instead.
I almost cried writing this chapter. I hope it made you feel feelings.
Any Walking Dead fans should've seen Sophia's death coming.(I mean that in a joking manner, don't kill me.)