Chapter 22 - We Have to Find Her Again?
Lord Drake stood in the throne room and stared outside the tall windows. People were gathering in the courtyard, angry and willing to fight. Lord Renaldo stood at the front, addressing his new followers. Charlotte stood by his side confidently, dressed ready for battle.
Drake looked over his army and took note of the amount of magic users he had. Some of them were non-magic users and his heart broke a little at the thought of what he would have to do to keep the realm from collapsing. Renaldo wore thick leather and battle armour, his royal seal on the deep purple cape that billowed behind him. It made Drake sick at the thought that someone of such high standing, of such power, could lead the realm to war, would be comfortable that this was right for everyone.
The doors burst open and Drake turned around to face Sir Vladimir. He ran over to the lord and bowed.
"My Lord," He said, raising back to his full height, "Sir Albert and I have gathered our forces together. Many of the castle staff remains loyal to you, as do our armies. But without our princesses we will have trouble leading them all."
Drake nodded his head gravely and looked back out the window.
"We must hold our own for as long as we can, Vladimir." He ordered, "We must give the princesses as much time as we can for them to find our rightful queen."
Vladimir nodded and stood beside his friend. "We will fight by your side to the end, My Lord. And I know Queen Erika would have supported your decisions."
Drake looked at the knight out of the corner of his eye and nodded tersely. "She may have, but I cannot forgive myself for allowing this to happen to her people, to her children."
Horns sounded and Drake and Vladimir watched as the crowd outside ran towards the castle, with Renaldo using magic to try and blast his way through the walls. Vladimir unsheathed his sword and sprinted from the room, leaving Drake alone.
Drake looked over at the painting of his queen with an agonised look.
"Forgive me, Erika." He whispered, "I have failed you. But I will not fail your princesses."
With that Drake's eyes glowed gold and he stormed out of the room, his royal cape billowing behind him surrounded by his gold magic.
"Lets go!" Riley cried, as she strapped her weapons onto the leather battle suit she vowed she'd never have to wear again.
Violet and Lilly walked into the living room, their weapons in their hands and clad in their leather battle outfits.
Riley looked over at her sisters and nodded, her face determined. "Word has come that the battle for Rayon has begun. We don't have much time so we need to split up." She nodded at Lilly. "Lilly, you will head to England and get our sister back, while Violet and I head to the sewers and get back up."
Knock knock
Riley smirked and walked over to the door. "Speaking of reinforcements-" She opened the door to reveal April and Casey standing there, ready for a fight.
"Let's kick some butt!" Casey cried enthusiastically.
"April, Casey, Violet let's head down to the sewers." Riley ordered, "Lilly, we'll meet you in England. With any luck, we won't take long and we'll head to Rayon as one unit."
Everyone nodded determinedly before they all disappeared to repair their family.
When Lilly orbed away to her old house, she didn't know what to expect, or how to feel. It'd been years since she set foot back in her childhood home, and being back after so long she felt so many emotions. But as she appeared in her once living room she didn't expect everything to be as it was so many years ago.
The walls weren't mouldy or coated in ash. The air wasn't cold and smelling of wet wood or dirt or ash. The room wasn't dark and empty, it was lit and furniture adorned the room.
It was as if the last decade hadn't happened at all. It unnerved Lilly, but she was on an important deadline with an important mission so she wouldn't let herself get distracted.
"Kim!" She yelled, hoping to find her missing sister here. "Please, tell me you're here!"
Silence met her ears and Lilly began to panic, thinking she was wrong. She looked around the room and started walking through the house, suppressing the memories threatening to resurface. As she walked into the room that had once been the nursery Lilly released the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. For Kim sat in a rocking chair by the window, her arms wrapped around her legs pulled against her chest.
"Kim," Lilly whispered, afraid to speak any louder.
At the noise Kim's head snapped up and she came face to face with her youngest sister. Kim's face fell from surprise to shame and hurt and she clenched her eyes as tears fell down her face.
"Lilly," She replied brokenly.
Lilly rushed over to her sister and threw her arms around her, letting Kim sob into her shoulder.
"I'm sorry." Kim chocked out, "I-I'm so, so sorry."
Lilly hushed her and held on tighter.
"It's okay." She said soothingly, "It's okay, I found you."
Lilly looked out the window and stared at Big Ben as it chimed in the distance. Time was running out. She had to get Kim out of this state and fast.
"Raph!" Riley screamed as her group appeared in the middle of the lair.
The group watched as a door slammed open and Raph threw himself against the railing above them, looking frantically around him. As his eyes fell on the group, dressed ready for battle, and his eyes met Riley's determined ones he leapt over the railing and landed gracefully in front of her.
"What's happened?" He demanded seriously.
"We need your help." Riley almost pleaded. "All of you."
"Rayon is falling to pieces!" Violet cried, "The people are calling for a revolution! Renaldo is leading an army of followers to take control of the realm and take the throne from us!"
Raph's eyes narrowed before he smirked. "Well, we can't have that now can we?"
Before anyone could react Raph yelled for his brothers and his father to join them and within seconds they all had gathered around them. Mikey and Leo stood at the back, their faces solemn and hurt and their arms crossed.
"My children, what is the matter?" Master Splinter asked worriedly.
"Sensai, we have to go to Rayon and help them fight." Raph explained
Master Splinter looked over at the girls and nodded. "Of course." He said, "Anything we can do to help you, my children."
Violet smiled in relief while Riley gave Master Splinter a hug. "Thank you, father." She whispered
"Why are we helping? Rayon has nothing to do with us."
Everyone looked over and stared in shock at Leo.
"Leonardo." Master Splinter gasped, shocked.
"Sorry Sensai," He replied, "But I am not about to let my family rush into danger when it doesn't concern us."
"I'm with Leo." Mikey spoke up, "This isn't our problem."
'We don't have time for this.' Violet thought, panicked.
'Calm down, Vi.' Riley soothed her sister. 'We'll get their help. I promise.'
'But we're running out of time!'
Riley internally sighed. 'I hope Lilly is having better luck than us.'
When Kim had finally calmed down Lilly pulled away and looked her sister in the eye. Her green eyes that once shone brightly were now dull and held deep sorrow in them. Lilly's heart broke at the sight, but she had a mission to complete.
"Kim, we need you."
Kim lifted her gaze so she too was looking Lilly in the eye. "Why?" She whispered, "What help could I bring? All I do is bring shame and pain."
Under normal circumstances Lilly would laugh at the rhyme and comfort her sister, but time was of the essence. Instead, she brought her hand up and slapped Kim in the cheek.
"Ow!" Kim cried, bringing her hand up to her cheek. "What the hell!"
Lilly smiled. "Finally, some emotion!" She cried, "Sorry Kim, but you have to snap out of it! We need you to help Rayon. It's falling to pieces!"
Kim scoffed. "Please." She sneered, "It was falling to pieces when we set foot in that realm. It was better off without us."
"No it's not!" Lilly objected, "Renaldo is leading a revolt against the crown!"
Kim's eyes widened slightly.
"Renaldo is raging war against everyone loyal to Drake and us! He thinks we're poison and everyone loyal to us is as poisonous as us. He's going to slay us all and take the throne himself. He'll stop at nothing until he has the throne."
Kim's gaze lowered. "Lilly, every realm goes through this every now and then. History has proven that. Look at the French revolution, everything turned out okay in the end."
Lilly's jaw dropped. "What history book have you been reading?"
Kim laughed bitterly. "Just leave the people to fight this out, let them get it out of their systems. This happens."
"That doesn't mean it should! What's gotten into you?"
Kim looked at Lilly and raised an eyebrow. "Nothing has."
"Yes, something has." Lilly disputed, "You wouldn't let people suffer, no matter the reason. This isn't like you."
"You're right, it isn't." Kim relented, "But it's time I acted like this. I can't do any good. All I do is mess things up for everyone around me."
Kim's eyes flashed orange for a second before becoming green again. If Lilly hadn't been solely focussed on her sister she would have missed it. She gasped and her eyes widened.
"You're spelled." She whispered
"What are you guys talking about?" April cried, "We have to help them!"
Leo shook his head. "Not our problem."
"Leonardo. Michelangelo." Master Splinter said harshly, gaining their attention. "This is not the way of the ninja. We do not turn our backs on those we love."
"And we don't turn our backs on innocents." Raph added, "That's how we got involved with the girls in the first place. They were strangers who needed help and we were able to do something."
"We can't walk away if we have the power to help." Donnie said
"Rayon holds no significance to me. Not anymore." Leo bit back. "Kim-"
"Kim isn't here!" Riley cried, "She's not the one asking. And in case you haven't noticed she's still missing."
Leo's eyes widened slightly but he said nothing.
"Leo, I know you're hurt and I know Kim is the reason. But I know deep down you still love her, or else you wouldn't care. How can you stand there and let something happen to her? She's going to fight for Rayon where anything could happen to her."
"And you, Mikey." Violet cut in, looking at Mikey. "You got involved in Kim and Leo's fight and look where it got you! You and Lilly are entirely miserable. Yes, she shouldn't have blamed Leo, but none of us know the whole story. You hurt Lilly! And now you're just going to allow her to risk her life without making up? What if she never comes back?"
Leo and Mikey were silent, but their demeanour didn't change. They weren't changing their minds.
Donnie growled low and glared at his brothers.
"You two need to stop this!" He shouted angrily, throwing his arms up in the air. "You two need to put your personal affairs aside and overcome your pride. Forget about Lilly and Kim and look at what's in front of you. Riley and Violet, sure they're Kim and Lilly's sisters but they're still your friends. They're your friends! And your friends are coming to you asking for help. And you guys are going to just turn them away? You're going to turn your backs on them?"
Riley walked closer to Mikey and Leo, her eyes filling with tears. "Please, guys." She begged, "Please put aside your personal grudges and help us. We need your help. We can't do this without you."
Kim scoffed. "I'm not spelled, Lilly. I just know when to walk away."
Lilly shook her head. "You never give up, Kim. It's a quality we all look up to."
Kim shook her head. "You really shouldn't. It's a bad quality."
Lilly let go of Kim's arms and walked away from her. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair. She looked over at her sister curiously.
"Is that why you left Leo?" She asked quietly. "Because you felt you had to walk away?"
It was dead silent and Lilly held her breath, praying Kim wouldn't run again. She knew she shouldn't have brought this up, especially not now, but she was running out of options.
'Please don't run.' Lilly thought desperately.
Finally, the tense, awkward silence was broken. And Lilly didn't know it would be this relieving.
"…I was fighting so hard…" Kim whispered, "So hard…for something I wasn't even sure I wanted. Something I wasn't sure even he wanted."
Lilly slowly walked back towards her sister and kneeled in front of her. She grabbed her hands and listened intently.
"I kept fighting, ignoring all the signs." Kim continued, "I wanted nothing more than to not give up, not to lose, to keep fighting. In the end, that stubbornness kept me blind to the truth."
Lilly lifted Kim's head so they could look each other in the eyes. "What was the truth?"
Kim smiled bitterly. "Leo didn't want to marry me." She said, "He never wanted to marry me, never wanted to be crowned prince. He was only doing this so I didn't have to make the hard choice. It was a marriage of convenience rather than love." Kim's eyes filled up with tears and she clenched her eyes shut tight. "I forced him to marry me."
Lilly shook her head, ignoring her eyes tearing up too. "No." She forced out sternly. "No you didn't, Kim. Leo made his choice. You guys were getting married out of love, don't doubt that."
Kim opened her eyes and they were orange, not the brilliant green. Lilly held back her gasp, knowing if Kim knew Lilly saw the glow would disappear before she could find out what the spell was.
"I doubt because it's true." Kim whispered, "All that's happened to us lately, it's not a coincidence. They were signs, signs I was ignoring. They were signs telling me that what I was doing was a mistake. They were telling me that I was forcing Leo, and I couldn't do that to him."
Kim's orange eyes faded away back to her classic green and her head lowered in sadness. Lilly's eyes grew wide in realisation and she remembered back to every disaster they faced up to Kim's wedding. Kim was right they weren't coincidences. They were sabotage!
Lilly's eyes narrowed in anger. Someone, and she had a damn good guess who, had spelled her sister with a bad luck spell! And what better time to use it then during wedding preparations? And if Lilly's hunch was right, she would guess that this doubt was also part of the spell.
Lilly looked at her depressed sister and her heart broke for her. Lilly closed her eyes and searched inside her for her magic. She felt the power rising from her heart and spreading around her body. She listened and deep down words were forming in her head, aching to be released. Lilly opened her eyes and they shone a bright white.
"From this moment on
Your pain is ceased
Your bad luck is now well
Enjoy your good luck, sister
You're free from this Hell"
Kim raised her head and her entire body glowed the same white as Lilly's eyes. She closed her eyes and let Lilly's magic flow around her and settle inside her. The glow faded from Kim and she fell deep in her chair, her eyes still closed. Lilly's eyes faded back to their natural colour and she felt her magic receding and settling back to the hum it usually is. Lilly looked at her sister, begging her to open her eyes and be back to normal.
'Please, let this work.' She thought
Leo and Mikey looked down at Riley, her eyes pleading with them.
"Please." She whispered, "Help us save our people. Help protect them."
"Help protect Kim and Lilly." Violet added
Mikey and Leo looked at each other, their faces unreadable. They turned back to the girls before nodding slowly.
"We'll help." Mikey said
Riley and Violet's faces broke into wide grins before they launched themselves at the two turtles and hugged them tight. Their friends around them cheered and clapped, relieved that they'd be going into battle together.
The two pulled away from them and moved as Master Splinter walked over to his sons. He looked at them disapprovingly and held up his paw.
"You have made the right choice, my sons." He said, "But your reluctance to help disappoints me. We will discuss this later."
"Yes, Sensai." Leo and Mikey said in unison as they bowed.
Master Splinter nodded before looking over at Riley and Violet.
"My children, what do you want us to do?" He asked
"I want you all to grab your weapons." Riley replied, her voice strong and determined. "Then we're heading to England to pick up our leader."
Kim's eyes fluttered open and she looked up to see Lilly's eyes looking back. They were filled with tears and held fear. Kim stood up out of the chair before kneeling in front of Lilly. She smiled wide at her before she grabbed her and hugged her tight.
Lilly laughed in relief before she returned the hug just as fiercely.
"Thank you." Kim whispered, "Thank you, Lilly."
Lilly hugged her sister tighter at those words, knowing they meant Kim's spell was broken.
"You never gave up on me." She added, pulling away and looking at her baby sister in awe. "You defended me, against everyone. Even Mikey."
Lilly's eyes fell at his name. Kim lifted her chin back up and the two smiled sadly at each other.
"I'm so sorry." Kim apologised softly.
Lilly shook her head. "Don't be." She replied, "Shows me he doesn't want me in his life if we disagree."
Kim nodded, sensing Lilly didn't have the strength to keep this conversation up. And from what she remembers, her realm needed her. She looked down at her hands, feeling her magic slowly coming back. She felt a small part of it, deep within herself, but it was enough to know she could fight.
"I don't know how long I've been spelled for," Kim admitted, "But I consciously made all these decisions. It's my fault everything that's happened has happened." She looked seriously at Lilly. "I promise you, I will make everything right again, baby sister."
"Speaking of baby…" Lilly started nervously. "You can be honest, it's just us here, but Kim…did you leave Leo because you were scared?"
"Scared about what?"
"About being pregnant."
Kim's eyes widened. "I'm not pregnant."
"Kim, I found the pregnancy test. On your wedding day. You can be honest with me."
Kim shook her head. "Lilly, I'm not pregnant."
Before Lilly could reply the two heard several voices down the corridor, signalling more arrivals. Kim stood up and stood in front of Lilly as the voices grew closer to the nursery. Kim lifted her hand to use magic, but nothing but sparks appeared.
Kim internally groaned, knowing she would need more time to get even half her magic back, but the rest wouldn't return until she talked with Leo. She kept a firm stance in front of Lilly. Magic or no magic, she'd protect her sister. Suddenly, Riley's face appeared in the doorway whose face fell in relief at the sight of her two sisters.
"Guys!" She cried happily, rushing into the room and wrapping her arms around Kim.
Kim hugged Riley back, not noticing the other visitors that stood in the doorway. The two pulled away and Kim looked in the doorway, freezing when she saw just who stood there.
His eyes locked with hers. Pain filled hazel met guilt ridden green. Before Kim could say anything her arms were filled with Violet, April and Casey.
"Where have you been?" April cried, "Don't do that again."
They all pulled away and Kim looked at everyone around her, a small smile on her face.
"Thank you." She said graciously, "Thank you for coming for me." Her smile faded and her eyes set determinedly. "Now, what's the plan?"
Lilly held up a hand. "We'll get to that, but you have to do something first."
Lilly looked at everyone else and nodded her head at them. They all nodded and began filing out of the room, all but Leo that is. Lilly looked between the two as the three of them were the only ones left in the room.
"We're not going to battle until you two talk." She said sternly.
Kim was about to object when Lilly held her hand up and cut her off.
"We have time. You two need to talk." She looked up at Leo. "And you need to know that Kim has been spelled since almost the beginning."
Leo's eyes widened before looking over at Kim.
"I broke it." Lilly said, "But you two need to clear the air before we go risking our lives. I'll give you 5 minutes. I'll be outside."
With that, Lilly exited the nursery and shut the door behind her, leaving the ex-couple in tense silence. Kim sighed and lifted her gaze to meet Leo's, his eyes boring into her soul.
"Hi," She whispered
"Hi." Leo replied stiffly, crossing his arms. "You were spelled?"
Kim nodded. "Apparently." She replied, "Lilly found out and managed to break it."
"Good."
The two lapsed into silence again.
Leo sighed. "I was to be your husband." He finally said, "What happened, Kim? We were happy. I know we were happy."
Kim's eyes filled with tears and she nodded, not trusting her voice.
"You felt it too?"
Kim gave a watery smile. "Yes, I did." She replied softly.
"And all those times you said you wanted to be with me?"
"I meant every word."
"It was…It was our wedding day."
"I know, Leo. And believe me, I don't forget it."
"If you had worries, if you had doubts-"
"I didn't exactly have doubts." Kim protested
"Then forgive me! Because I must be really stupid!" Leo yelled, his hold on his emotions finally crumbling. "What were you thinking?!"
Silent tears fell from her eyes. Leo watched the tears fall and gained a hold of himself. A hand flew to his forehead and he sighed.
"Sorry." He mumbled
Kim shook her head. "No. No. No, I should be sorry."
Leo's hand fell and he looked away from Kim, not saying anything. In a bold move, Kim stepped closer to Leo, trying to catch his gaze again. When she couldn't it didn't stop her from speaking from the heart.
"You mean everything to me, Leo," She continued, "I can be cowardly and blame everything on that spell, but I can't. And it's because this whole situation wasn't what either of us wanted. It was doomed from the start, because it was an arrangement of convenience. It wasn't out of love." Kim swallowed the lump in her throat and wiped her tears. "I had doubts, I'll admit. I feared that you weren't doing this for us, for love, but so that I didn't have to choose." Kim shook her head. "Leo, I'm so sorry. And I'm going to be sorry for the rest of my life. I've hurt you many times since I've known you and the guilt never fades. That spell may have placed bad luck on me, but I was afraid from the beginning. In one year I found you, found out I was a princess with responsibilities, and I've had to build my life from the ground up again. I was…overwhelmed. Everything was happening so fast, and I didn't have a safe place to fall. I didn't know why you were doing this, and I was afraid. But I wanted to marry you, that feeling never changed. It's just…that spell…it amplified my doubts…and those doubts are why I ran…I couldn't force you to marry me…but God, Leo I'm so sorry. More sorry than you'll ever know."
Kim took a deep breath and let Leo absorb everything she had said. When Leo still said nothing and still didn't look at her, Kim kept going. She was growing more confident. She was going to get through to him, to be honest with him. And if she still lost him forever, she'd be happy knowing she honestly opened up to him.
"I love you. You mean everything to me." She said, meaning every word. "All these years, I've been waiting for the love of my life. And I found him. I found you. All these years I'd been waiting for you."
Leo shook his head. "You only had to wait one more hour."
Kim nodded sadly. "I know." She whispered, "But I couldn't overcome my fear, my doubts. I didn't know what you wanted, what you honestly wanted, Leo." Kim took another step towards him. "But know that all I've ever wanted is to be your queen. And for you to be my prince. I still want to be your queen."
"I'm sorry, Kim." Leo said, finally looking up at Kim. "But I don't want to see you. I cannot look on you every day. What if you get scared and leave me again? What will I do then? No, I can't do it."
Lilly sighed sadly and leaned her head back against the wall behind her. She stood in front of the nursery door, worried about her sister. But this had to be done. Nobody could go out into battle with their minds unfocussed.
A tear silently fell down her cheek.
'Like me.' She thought, knowing her mind was on Mikey than on the battle she was about to enter.
But the things that Mikey had said, it hurt her more than the worst battle wound ever could. And what he said angered her too. She didn't know if everything he said was true or not, but she couldn't forgive him, even if he apologised. He crossed a line.
She pushed off the wall and walked down the corridor, her eyes on the ground, her arms around herself. Suddenly she bumped into someone and as she looked up her breath caught in her throat.
"Mikey," She gasped
Mikey's face was expressionless and Lilly couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Mikey held her gaze and bowed his head. "Princess," He greeted before manoeuvring around her and continuing down the hallway.
Lilly's heart clenched before she felt anger rising in her. She spun back around and shouted.
"Hey!"
Mikey stopped but didn't turn around.
"You can be rude and cruel to me all you want." Lilly said, "But at least I wasn't the one who broke us. You have to live with that decision for the rest of your life."
Mikey looked over his shoulder at Lilly, noticing the silent tears running down her face.
"You broke up with me." She said softly, "That was your decision. So you have no right to be angry with me. Especially when I said nothing hurtful to you." She wiped her tears away. "What you said to me, what you did…It was a lie. You said so yourself. Now…Everything I cherished between us, everything we had, it's gone. And that'll never change. Unlike your feelings for me."
Lilly turned back around and began to walk but she stopped. She couldn't leave it like this, no matter how hurt and angry she was. Without turning around, she said the one thing she had left to say.
"I never once stopped loving you. Never once."
With that she continued walking down the hallway until she disappeared into the living room. Had she turned around she would have seen Mikey's expressionless face crumble into one of heartbreak and shame as he watched his ex walk away.
Kim felt like a knife stabbed her in the heart. But she knew it was what she deserved, everything that's happening was her fault, and she'd accept it. She tried to fix it, but it wasn't enough.
"I wanted to marry you, Kim." Leo admitted, "I really did. I had the ring and everything." He shook his head, "And no, it wasn't the way I wanted to propose, nor was it the way I wanted us to get married, but it didn't change the fact that I wanted you. I wanted all of you for all eternity. I wanted you to be happy, to have everything you ever wanted. It's more than you deserve. I would brave that wedding and brave the royal duties, and accept you'd be busy for a long time after your coronation, but I planned on a second proposal, a wedding just for us. That way we would get the legal wedding, and the romantic wedding we wanted."
Kim's eyes widened and she felt her insides warming at Leo's words. The sheer emotion he was expressing, the honesty in what he was saying, was warming her heart and she felt her magic returning. Though, not fully, but that was expected when her heart was broken.
"I always wanted to marry you, Kim." Leo finished, "It was never a matter of duty or obligation." He looked away sadly. "I can't forgive you. And we can't be together."
"I can't live without you, Leo!" Kim cried, forcing back more tears that threatened to fall.
"That is my decision." Leo said before looking back up at Kim. "I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry, Kim."
With that Leo turned and left the nursery, breaking Kim's heart once more. Kim's insides were hurting and her heart was pounding but Kim kept it together. She clenched her eyes tight and forced back her tears.
She was expecting this, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt any less. But now was not the time to wallow in self-pity. She had a job to do. She was a princess and she was going to save her kingdom.
Kim snapped her fingers and in seconds her limited magic swirled around her and transformed her into her leather battle outfit, her weapons securely around her. Kim marched out of the nursery and towards the living room.
Everyone inside stopped talking as soon as they saw Kim standing there. She looked at them all and nodded.
"We have a revolt to stop." She said